Volume One, Chapter 21: Hospitals Not Only Save Lives, They Also Take Them

"Father, you cannot do this."

"Mr. Yan is not as simple as you think."

"If you provoke him, it will bring no good to the entire family. Stop now."

Shen Man was in the hospital, covered in bruises and injuries. Even so, huddled in the corner, she still urged Shen Congwen to stop.

Shen Congwen watched coldly. "In this world, there are far too many people who can fight, but in the end, they are all just flesh and blood."

"He might be able to fight a hundred, but can he fight a thousand?"

"Father, you have no idea what I’m talking about. I’m talking about his background."

"Haven't you noticed? He caused such a massive stir in Qinghai City, and yet, here he is, completely unscathed as if nothing happened."

Her stepmother, teeth bared in a snarl, stepped forward and slapped Shen Man across the face. She poked a finger into Shen Man's temple, wishing she could tear her apart. "You little slut, always siding with outsiders. Stop trying to scare us."

"I’m telling you, if that little bastard doesn’t come here and give us an explanation today, you’re as good as dead."

Shen Chengcai added, "Father, leave him with a breath for me. He cost me two of my fingers; I want to settle this score myself."

The stepmother instantly forced a smile. "Of course, of course. My son is so imposing—worthy of being the future heir of the Shen family."

"Just wait, your father will definitely give you the chance. Right, honey?"

Shen Congwen nodded faintly. "You are born to carry the burden of our family business. Let’s use this opportunity to intimidate those old fools at the company."

Just as they were speaking, there was movement in the corridor.

"He’s here?"

Shen Congwen narrowed his eyes and walked out immediately.

The corridor was packed with bodyguards the Shen family had hired at high costs from overseas. These were bloodthirsty men, every one of them with blood on their hands. While Shen Congwen had kept a low profile in Qinghai City, in terms of strength and foundation, he was far superior to the arrogant Li Tianchen. Now that his son had lost two fingers, he no longer needed to be discreet.

A man and a woman stepped out of the elevator.

The man had sharp, sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes. He stood tall, exuding the aura of someone accustomed to command.

The woman had long, straight black hair and amber eyes. Her face remained emotionless, but she carried an incredibly heavy black case. It appeared even heavier and more mysterious than the cases carried by the bodyguards brought by Zhao Kangnian from Shanghai.

"Yan Fengjia!" Shen Congwen said with a crooked smile. "You really came?"

Yan Fengjia glanced to the side and saw the battered Shen Man, whose hair was being pulled by her stepmother as she was dragged into the hallway.

The middle-aged woman’s voice was grating and hateful. "You little bastard! You dared to cut off my son’s fingers—do you know how precious he is?"

"Today, if you don't give us a satisfactory explanation, the Shen family will never let you go."

"Are you alright?" Yan Fengjia ignored the Shen family entirely, his face showing a hint of impatience. He was speaking to Shen Man. It was the first time he had ever personally intervened to save a subordinate.

Shen Man had blood at the corner of her mouth. "Mr. Yan, I can handle this matter myself. Please, don't go too far."

Yan Fengjia lit a cigarette and looked at Shen Man with disappointment. "You still hold onto these so-called family feelings for them?"

Shen Man bit her lip. "My mother’s spirit tablet is still in their hands. I can lose everything else, but not that..."

"Understood." Yan Fengjia disliked people who were emotional and indecisive. However, he was more than happy to help a subordinate who possessed filial piety.

Exhaling a cloud of smoke, Yan Fengjia looked at Shen Congwen calmly, his tone sounding more like a command—or a warning.

"As of today, Shen Man is severed from your Shen family. Return her mother’s spirit tablet to her. Since you wasted my time today, I won't settle the rest of the accounts with you."

Shen Congwen forced a smile. "Do you have the power to do that?"

Yan Fengjia looked at the foreign-blooded bodyguards in the hall. "Is this what you’re relying on?"

"Kill him! Kill him, hurry!" the stepmother commanded, striking first.

As the words left her lips, the hulking bodyguards—whether they understood or not—charged forward like a black storm. The entire hospital had been cleared out by Shen Congwen’s wealth and status; no one would witness what was about to happen.

Facing their charge, Yan Fengjia stood still. Behind him, Yan Qiluo took a step forward on her long, slender legs.

"Master, these people... should I kill them or leave them?"

Yan Fengjia glanced at them. "They came to my China to do business. Kill them all."

Yan Qiluo nodded and moved with lethal speed. She was like a gust of wind. This quiet, stoic beauty was, unexpectedly, the sharpest blade at Yan Fengjia's side. She pulled a soft sword from somewhere, and with a flash of light, blood splattered across the floor. Everywhere she passed, there were severed limbs and screams of agony.

In less than ten minutes, these high-priced overseas bodyguards all lay in pools of blood.

"Ah!"

The stepmother, who had been arrogant just moments ago, saw the blood flowing toward her feet and tripped, falling hard to the ground. "Oh, my mother, my back!"

Before the stepmother could react, Yan Qiluo was already standing behind her, a wave of extreme killing intent washing over her.

"You enjoyed cursing my master just now, didn't you?"

"Husband, save me..."

The stepmother reached out for help, but in the next second, her arm was severed and lay on the floor.

Yan Qiluo’s sword was stained with blood. She kicked the severed arm away and looked coldly at Shen Congwen.

Though Shen Congwen remained composed, the cold sweat on his forehead betrayed his fear. He had not expected this ice-cold woman at Yan Fengjia's side to be so deadly. Just who were these people?

"Shen Congwen, do you still want to play?" On the other side of the hallway, Yan Fengjia, seated on a chair, snuffed out his cigarette and walked over the sea of corpses.

"Die!"

When Yan Fengjia was less than ten meters away, the previously calm Shen Congwen’s eyes flared with malice, and he pulled a handgun from his waist.

"Yan Fengjia, watch out!" Shen Man, from behind, saw it clearly and screamed.

"Bang!"

A gunshot shattered the silence of the corridor, and blood sprayed onto the pristine white walls.

Yan Fengjia’s stride stopped, but it was Shen Congwen who collapsed to the ground.

At that moment, Yan Qiluo had opened the heavy, hundred-pound black case. She had pulled out a golden Desert Eagle and shattered Shen Congwen’s arm.

"Ah!"

A shrill scream rang out as Shen Congwen shook with pain.

"You... where did you get a gun!" Shen Congwen had obtained his weapon through special connections. How had the others acquired theirs?

"I have plenty of these. Would you like to try them all?" A hint of madness, a taste for blood, flickered across Yan Qiluo’s calm, mature face.

Looking at the heavy case and the disassembled sniper rifle inside, and noting the mark on the case, Shen Congwen felt a jolt of terror. He recognized that symbol. It was his teacher’s, Zhao Kangnian. The bodyguards behind Zhao Kangnian had carried cases with similar markings, signifying legal authorization.

"Hiss!" Shen Congwen finally understood. Shen Man had been right. Yan Fengjia truly had a massive background—so massive that his subordinates were legally authorized to carry firearms.

He knew that the Phoenix Women’s Prison held the most terrifying figures in existence. To suppress such people required immense manpower and resources. Yet, ever since Yan Fengjia became the warden of the Phoenix Women’s Prison, the factions behind those female prisoners had remained as calm as still water, never causing trouble again. This had turned Yan Fengjia into a special "talent" for the Chinese military, granted certain systemic leniencies.

Yan Fengjia ignored him. He helped Shen Man up and looked at the screaming Shen Congwen.

"I’ll give you fifteen minutes. Bring her mother’s spirit tablet here immediately. For the sake of you being her father, if you lose one more arm, you may leave."

Shen Congwen struggled to rise, his eyes bloodshot. "Who are you?"

Yan Fengjia frowned. "Are you deaf? Yan Qiluo, help him clear his ears. I don't want to say it a second time."

Yan Qiluo sneered. She stepped forward and pulled the trigger on Shen Chengcai, who had already wet himself on the hospital bed.

"Bang!"

A single shot blew Shen Chengcai’s head apart. Before he could even scream, he slumped back, dead.

"Now, do I need to say it a second time?" Yan Fengjia smiled.