In the study.

After hanging up the phone, Wong Qifu looked toward the door where Xu Ke, who had just returned, was standing. He held a package of medicinal herbs and a USB drive in his hand.

"You heard everything, didn't you?" Wong Qifu asked as she stood up.

Xu Ke nodded. With his hearing as a Martial Artist, he'd naturally caught the entire conversation.

"Do you want to come with me to the group meeting tomorrow?" she asked.

Xu Ke shook his head, placing the items on her desk. "I'd better not. I have no official capacity or title to be there, especially for something as confidential as a group meeting. I should avoid arousing suspicion."

"Alright."

Wong Qifu nodded slightly, her gaze flickering as it fell upon the items in his hands.

Xu Ke held up the herbs. "This is the last package. After I drink it tonight, I should be fully recovered by tomorrow."

He was quite precise in gauging his recovery progress.

"If you had just listened to me and stayed in the hospital for one more day, you'd have been better by now," Wong Qifu said coolly.

Xu Ke rubbed his nose, not refuting her. She was right. After leaving the hospital, he had gone to the Dapeng Trading Company to kill Yi Ju and Yang Dong, fought Sun Luo, and then used acupuncture to treat both Xiao Jie and Duan Chongfeng. All of it had slowed his recovery.

"You need to prioritize your health from now on. More and more people have their eyes on you," Wong Qifu said.

Xu Ke nodded silently.

The pressure isn't just from the Ye and Huang Families. There's also Wong Ting overseas, and even Wang Yu and Wong Liqing, who are right here by Wong Qifu's side. They are all threats.

His cultivation was still restricted by the Oath of the Medical Path, preventing him from advancing. He couldn't afford to be in a weakened state again.

"Go take a shower. I'll ask Aunt Lin to brew your medicine," Wong Qifu said, stepping forward to take the herbs from him.

But Xu Ke waved her off. "It's fine, you go first. I have something to give your sister. I'll find Aunt Lin downstairs later."

"What are you giving her?" Wong Qifu raised an eyebrow.

"She wants to learn medicine from me," Xu Ke replied. "I'm having her start with some acupuncture techniques."

"I see. So that's what she's been thinking about all this time, learning medicine? It's not a bad idea," Wong Qifu mused. "The Ye Family's methods have been getting more aggressive lately, so I don't plan on letting her go back anyway. It's fine for her to stay here, work on her graduation thesis, and learn some acupuncture. Did you bring the techniques with you?" she asked with a frown.

Xu Ke waved the USB drive.

Wong Qifu blinked. "The acupuncture techniques are on a USB drive?"

"Yep. My master said this storage method keeps up with the times and ensures the techniques won't be lost," Xu Ke nodded.

"That makes sense," she admitted, a strange look in her eyes. "Alright, go give it to her. I'm going to shower. Remember to come up soon to shower and get some sleep."

Xu Ke nodded.

「In Wang Qiya's room.」

Unlike Wong Qifu's minimalist style, Wang Qiya's room was a bit cluttered. A denim jacket with a baseball cap hooked over it hung on the wardrobe. Several trophies stood in a corner, and the bookshelf, filled with books, was wiped spotlessly clean. Clearly, this was the result of her tidying up after she returned from being kidnapped two nights ago.

"Brother-in-law, this is the acupuncture technique?" Wang Qiya asked, stunned, as she stared at the encrypted file Xu Ke had put on her computer's desktop.

Xu Ke pulled out the USB drive. "Yes. Open it and take a look. The text and illustrations are very detailed. Study it well on your own. All the precautions are listed inside."

Wang Qiya was bewildered. "You're not going to teach me?"

"When I learned from my master, he didn't teach me either. It was all self-study," Xu Ke stated matter-of-factly.

Wang Qiya was speechless. "..."

"You can ask me if you have questions," he continued. "I won't charge you."

She was baffled. "You mean there's normally a charge?"

"Of course," Xu Ke nodded. "Whenever I asked my master a question, I had to carry gas canisters from the foot of the mountain to his house, run errands for him, and even hang his laundry. Although the mountain had electricity, gas wasn't delivered, and delivery runners wouldn't come up. I spent that entire year climbing up and down. It made me a lot stronger..."

Her eyes widened. "What kind of master is that?!"

Xu Ke nodded gravely. "My master says it's a rule of our school: everything has a price. I hope that if you want to learn from me, you'll understand that principle too."

Wang Qiya was speechless again. "..."

"Start studying. I'll check on your progress in a couple of days."

With that, Xu Ke turned and went to the kitchen to get the medicine Aunt Lin had brewed, leaving Wang Qiya staring after him, dumbfounded.

「At the same time.」

Outside Tianhai Pass, in an old residential community.

Downstairs, Yang Qing stood beside a car. Dressed in a black shirt and pants that highlighted her graceful figure, she gazed up at the building with a slight smirk. Just then, Sun Luo emerged slowly from the car, a look of impatience on his face.

Ever since his last failed attempt on Xu Ke's life, Sun Luo had been scheming to use the Huang Family's power to abduct him a second time. However, with Wang Wu constantly at Xu Ke's side, he hadn't found an opportunity. Wong Ting had offered to send more men, but Sun Luo refused, reasoning they couldn't spare anyone from their overseas territories. There was another reason, too: he wanted to personally reclaim the face he had lost to Xu Ke.

As Sun Luo saw it, he hadn't failed because Xu Ke was formidable, but because Wang Wu was. To deal with a loser like Xu Ke, did he really need reinforcements? Wouldn't that just prove his own incompetence?

Now, just as he was about to contact the Huang Family, Yang Qing had dragged him here, instantly souring his mood.

What time does she think it is, bringing me to this rundown dump?!

Sun Luo walked up behind her and demanded gruffly, "Yang Qing, what are we doing here?"

Yang Qing smiled. "Elder Sun, do you know where this is?"

"No," he snapped, not bothering to hide his irritation.

Her smile didn't waver. "This is where Xu Ke's ex-girlfriend lived. The Siao family's home."

The Siao family?

Sun Luo's brows furrowed, the age spots on his face wrinkling. "The Siao family? Didn't Xu Ke kill one of them and send another to prison? They're just a bunch of worthless nobodies. What are we doing here?"

If Wong Ting could dig up information on Yang Qing, they could certainly investigate the Siao family.

Yang Qing chuckled. "Ever since her son was taken away, Chang Xiujuan has harbored a deep hatred for Xu Ke. But she's shrewd and knows how to avoid trouble. She's afraid of offending the Wang Family, so she's never dared to cause a scene at the Wang Family Corporation. But what if we backed her up? Couldn't we get her to go raise hell at the foot of their building?

"What if she, claiming to be his former mother-in-law, broke the explosive news that Xu Ke murdered Siao Jia and seized the other half of their Huating Community apartment after being kept by a rich woman? I think that scene would be quite the sensation, don't you?"

Sun Luo looked at her with disdain. "So what? She has no evidence. All her fuss would accomplish is a few more insults aimed at Xu Ke online. That's it. What I want is to capture Xu Ke, not waste time trying to annoy him. Get your priorities straight."

He shook his head and sneered.

And here I thought Yang Qing might have a useful idea. As expected, if Xu Ke is a loser, then Yang Qing, who he could walk all over, must be one too.

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