Ji Zhongjin and Ji Chongwei exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
Hua Ming, the renowned divine physician of Western Shu, had just... knelt before this young man?
Hua Ming's aged face flushed red as he pleaded hoarsely, "Please... spare my grandson. I was possessed by greed. I falsely claimed to have saved Miss Ji and accepted money against my conscience. My grandson had nothing to do with this. He had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai earlier. Please, divine physician, spare his life."
He lowered his head, his voice trembling.
Ji Zhongjin's heart tightened, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
Hua Ming had admitted it!
He could not cure Thousand Spiders and Ten Thousand Poisons at all. Everything had been this young man's doing.
Just who was this extraordinary figure who could cure Thousand Spiders and Ten Thousand Poisons and late-stage liver cancer?
Gritting his teeth, Hua Ming took out the black card containing eighty million and handed it back to Ji Chongwei.
"This..." Ji Chongwei instinctively looked at Lin Fei, then said politely, "Young man, since you were the one who saved my daughter, please accept this consultation fee."
With that, he offered the black card with both hands.
Unexpectedly, Lin Fei did not even glance at it. "No need. Give it back to Yaoguang," he said calmly.
Ji Chongwei froze, unable to react for a moment.
This was a full eighty million, yet this young man did not care in the slightest?
Ji Chongwei gritted his teeth and insisted, "Young man, my conscience won't rest if you don't accept it!"
Seeing how determined Ji Chongwei was, Lin Fei was momentarily speechless. Unwilling to keep pushing it back and forth with him, he figured he could return it to Ji Yaoguang himself and accepted the black card.
Then Lin Fei looked impassively at Hua Ming. "For the sake of your ancestor Hua Tuo, I'll spare your life for now."
"If there is a next time, I will slay you without fail."
All three men stared at Lin Fei in disbelief.
What did he mean, for Hua Tuo's sake?
Hua Tuo had lived during the final years of the Eastern Han dynasty, nearly eighteen hundred years ago. How could he possibly have crossed paths with Hua Tuo?
Hua Ming felt his heart pound wildly as the records left by his ancestor immediately came to mind.
He swallowed and ventured in a trembling voice, "Our ancestor once encountered an immortal who also knew the art of Controlling Needles with Thought..."
Lin Fei cut him off. "That was me."
Hua Ming's legs gave way, and he sank onto the ground, his eyes wide.
The Ji Family father and son were stunned too.
Such a thing was like a tale from the Arabian Nights, impossible for them to believe.
Yet apart from him being an immortal, how else could they explain his earlier display of Controlling Needles with Thought?
Lin Fei could not be bothered to explain anything. With a casual flick, he sent a streak of spiritual light into Hua Ming's brow.
In an instant, Hua Ming's expression changed drastically.
He saw his ancestor Hua Tuo kneeling on the ground, begging an immortal to teach him medicine. The immortal stood upon a rock at the edge of a cliff, his back to Hua Tuo, bathed in the wind.
The immortal turned his head, his robes fluttering. It was none other than Lin Fei.
This scene was exactly as the ancient records described!
Tears instantly streamed down Hua Ming's aged face. He kowtowed hard several times. "Ancestral master, your unfilial, wayward disciple Hua Ming begs your forgiveness!"
He had knocked his forehead open, and blood seeped from it. His face was filled with unbearable shame.
The Ji Family father and son were almost petrified, towering waves surging through their hearts.
Lin Fei ignored their reactions and merely extended a finger toward Hua Cheng.
In an instant, wisps of purplish-black mist seeped out of Hua Cheng's brow and vanished into nothing.
Hua Ming prostrated himself and kowtowed deeply once more. "Thank you for sparing his life, ancestral master!"
Lin Fei gave a quiet "Mm," then stood up.
After nodding slightly to the Ji Family father and son, he headed straight out the door.
Ji Zhongjin gave Ji Chongwei a meaningful look, and the latter immediately hurried after him. "Young man, wait!"
Lin Fei turned back with a smile. "What is it?"
Ji Chongwei thanked Lin Fei repeatedly, but Lin Fei merely waved a hand lightly, indicating that he need not take it to heart.
Only then did Ji Chongwei offer a purple-gold business card with both hands. "My name is Ji Chongwei. May I ask your name, young man?" he asked sincerely.
The entire business card had been forged from purple gold, with finely engraved lettering.
Everyone in Rongcheng's circles who knew Ji Chongwei knew that he almost never handed out business cards, much less purple-gold ones.
The last person to receive one had been Ma Kaixuan, the richest man in Huaxia.
Clearly, Ji Chongwei intended to befriend him.
"Lin Fei." After a moment's thought, Lin Fei accepted the business card.
The Ji Family father and son watched his receding figure, their expressions complicated.
Hua Ming, meanwhile, remained kneeling on the ground.
"Chongwei, look into this young man's background and his relationship with Yaoguang."
Ji Zhongjin pondered for a moment, then said quietly, "You'd best have a word with Yaoguang and ask her to spend more time with this young man."
There could be no harm in befriending a mysterious figure who might be an immortal.
Ji Chongwei nodded solemnly.
After leaving the Hua residence, Lin Fei had nothing to do. After some thought, he simply headed for the Ji Group.
In truth, Lin Fei had plenty of places to go. Although he had not moved through the secular world for nearly twenty years, there were quite a few juniors like Qing Fen.
But he was concerned about Ji Yaoguang's safety and did not trust Wu Moling's abilities, so Lin Fei could only protect her himself.
Unsurprisingly, security guards stopped Lin Fei at the Ji Group building.
He had no intention of causing a scene at Ji Yaoguang's company, so he simply took out the purple-gold business card.
"What's that? Get out. Don't stand here getting in the way!" The fat guard on the left looked impatient and did not even want to glance at it.
The thin guard on the right glanced at the card in puzzlement. "Ji Chongwei? That name sounds a little familiar..."
When he saw the small print underneath-"Chairman, Ji Group Joint-Stock Limited Company"-his expression changed instantly.
Holy fucking shit, the chairman's purple-gold business card!
The thin guard studied Lin Fei uncertainly. Seeing his casual clothes, he began to doubt.
The chairman's friends should all be wealthy and influential, and anyone who could obtain this purple-gold business card ought to be even more extraordinary. But no matter how he looked at this man, he did not look rich!
"Sir, may I take a look at this business card?" the thin guard asked with a polite smile, prompting even the fat guard to glance at him in surprise.
"Sure." Lin Fei calmly handed over the card.
Once the thin guard took it, he and the fat guard examined it together.
The two exchanged bewildered looks, unable to tell whether it was genuine.
When had they ever seen the chairman's purple-gold business card?
Lin Fei frowned slightly, feeling that these two were simply wasting his time.
The fat guard gritted his teeth and declared, "This has to be fake! If the chairman had given out a card like this, wouldn't the whole company already be buzzing about it?"
The thin guard found that perfectly reasonable and immediately felt the urge to curse. "What the fuck are you trying to show off for with a fake business card?"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The Ji Group paid very well, but its management rules were also quite strict. The security department explicitly stipulated that guards on duty would be dismissed if they allowed unauthorized people into the building.
"Get lost, or I won't go easy on you!" Convinced that Lin Fei wanted to sneak in and cause trouble, the fat guard reached out to shove him.
Crack! A sharp snap rang out.
Before the fat guard could touch Lin Fei's shoulder, his arm was twisted and broken.
"Aah!" He screamed in pain, then cursed, "Motherfucker!" and kicked viciously at Lin Fei.
Another sharp crack rang out as Lin Fei kicked his knee like lightning, shattering his kneecap outright.
The thin guard's expression changed, and he immediately raised his stun baton and thrust it at Lin Fei.
But Lin Fei swept his foot out, sending him crashing to the ground with a thud, then planted a foot on his back.
"You overestimate yourselves." Lin Fei shook his head lightly.
"He's attacking us!"
"Someone's forcing his way into the company! Help!"
Seeing that things were going badly, the fat and thin guards immediately shouted at the tops of their lungs.
Soon, the commotion drew people over-not just a group of security guards, but also Wu Moling, who had come to the front desk to collect documents.
Hearing those cries, Wu Moling froze for a second, then followed the guards toward the entrance.
Who was bold enough to cause trouble at the Ji Group?
Seeing Lin Fei standing on his two subordinates, the security captain's face turned livid. "Beat him!"
Lin Fei let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
He did not want to cause trouble at Ji Yaoguang's company, but some people simply had no eyes.
Seeing a group of guards rush at Lin Fei, Wu Moling's expression changed. "Stop!" she shouted.
The guards all froze and instinctively looked at their captain.
The security captain frowned. Seeing that Wu Moling had called for them to stop, he was angry but dared not speak out.
There was an old saying: even the prime minister's gatekeeper ranked as a seventh-rank official. Although Wu Moling was only a bodyguard, she was close to President Ji. A lowly captain like him could not afford to offend her.
Suppressing his anger, the captain said, "Miss Wu, you've come at just the right time."
"This man forced his way into the company and injured two of my employees. I was just about to deal with him."
Wu Moling's eyelid twitched. You probably don't understand the situation. Who exactly would be dealing with whom?
She forced a smile. "He's a friend of mine. I asked him to come to the company."
The captain paused, then gave a hollow smile. "Miss Wu, even if you asked him to come, does that mean he can hit people?"
Holding the business card between his fingers, Lin Fei said indifferently, "They brought it on themselves."
Anger welled up in the security captain, and he was about to curse.
Seeing things going wrong, Wu Moling hurriedly held him back. "Captain, there must have been some misunderstanding here. Do me a favor."
Lowering her voice, she whispered in the captain's ear, "The deputy department head is about to retire. Haven't you been hoping to compete for that position?"
For Wu Moling, something like this basically only required a word to Ji Yaoguang.
After all, Ji Yaoguang would not concern herself with personnel changes at that level.
The security captain was immediately overjoyed and laughed heartily. "Since it was all a misunderstanding, let's not take it to heart. It's hardly a big deal!"
Lin Fei glanced at them both and did not take this trivial matter to heart either.
The fat guard was dumbfounded and immediately began wailing exaggeratedly. "Captain, look how badly he's beaten me! We can't just let this go!"
The security captain's expression changed at once, and he snapped sternly, "Shut up! Do you still want your job?"
"You stopped Miss Wu's honored guest. You deserved to get beaten!"
Resentment filled the fat guard's heart, but he clenched his teeth and dared not say another word.
Seeing the strange looks his subordinates were giving him, the security captain realized he had gone a little too far. Trying to salvage his dignity, he warned Lin Fei, "I'll let you off this time for Miss Wu's sake. Next time, remember to explain yourself first..."
Lin Fei could not be bothered with him and turned away before he finished speaking.
This infuriated the security captain. He had not expected Lin Fei to show him so little respect, and he cursed inwardly, What the fuck are you showing off for?
You just have some connection to Wu Moling, and you think you're some big shot?
Seeing the captain's expression, Wu Moling could more or less guess what he was thinking. It left her speechless, and she very much wanted to say a few words.
If I hadn't arrived in time, every one of you would've ended up with broken arms and legs. Do you know that?