Jiang Fei was increasingly convinced that Ye Yuanyuan, the big-eyed, flat-chested girl, was highly reliable and a woman worthy of trust.
It had taken her only one day to help find Min Dong, the culprit behind the medical incident. Finding Min Dong’s wife and daughter took even less time. By 11 PM that very night, she had news and had discovered the whereabouts of the kidnapped pair.
Jiang Fei secretly thought to himself, since this woman had helped him so much, should he seriously consider finding a way to help her… enhance her chest? Although she was a violent maniac, a real tough girl, she actually cared a lot about her figure and appearance. She probably even went home every day like many women to apply face masks and cucumber slices…
Late at night.
The sky was pitch black, without a single glimmer of light.
Out in the suburbs, there were none of the towering buildings or bustling traffic of the city center. The small alley was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. The light from the streetlamp at the alley’s entrance was weak, unable to penetrate deep into the lane.
At that moment, two figures, a man and a woman, slipped silently into the alley entrance.
They were none other than Jiang Fei and Ye Yuanyuan.
“Are you sure we don’t need any backup?” Ye Yuanyuan whispered.
“If I can’t rescue them, then sending more people probably won’t help either. Having others involved might just be a hindrance,” Jiang Fei replied.
After the investigators pinpointed the kidnapping location, Jiang Fei decided to handle it personally, just to be safe. With his current abilities, scaling walls and leaping rooftops was child’s play; he could handle even the most formidable kidnappers.
The two proceeded deep into the alley, stopping outside an ordinary small courtyard that couldn’t really be called a traditional quadrangle compound.
Jiang Fei gave Ye Yuanyuan a signal. Then, like ghosts in the night, they effortlessly vaulted over the wall, entering the small courtyard from two different directions.
Ye Yuanyuan’s skills were certainly not as advanced as Jiang Fei’s, and she didn’t know qinggong (lightness skill), but she was still a trained fighter. Most so-called special forces soldiers wouldn’t last more than a few moves against her. So, a wall under two meters tall was easy for her to cross.
The courtyard was small and simply laid out, easy to take in at a glance. Besides a kitchen and a toilet on either side, there were only three rooms in the main central area: a main hall in the center, with a bedroom on each side.
The lights in the side bedrooms were already off. Only a faint, flickering light came from the main hall, as if someone was watching TV. However, the TV made no sound, clearly muted on purpose, probably so they could hear if anyone approached.
“I heard that Min Dong has been arrested. Given how cunning, spineless, and cowardly these doctors are, he’ll probably confess soon. Then holding his wife and daughter hostage won’t mean much,” said a man in a black T-shirt, drinking beer and eating a late-night snack in the main hall.
“He won’t. The higher-ups specifically emphasized today that Min Dong cares deeply about his wife and daughter. As long as we have these two women in our hands, he definitely won’t dare to talk!” Besides the man in the black T-shirt, there was another middle-aged man who was actually a foreigner!
“Good,” the black T-shirted man nodded. “But don’t you think the higher-ups are being overly cautious, making a mountain out of a molehill? Min Dong got caught, so they’re worried his wife and daughter might be rescued too. Can’t the three of us guard two helpless women?”
After Min Dong’s arrest, Du Ziliang learned the news and took it very seriously. He ordered his men to maintain one hundred percent vigilance at all times and avoid any mishaps.
“If Jiang Fei doesn’t find out about us, then of course we can guard them. But if he’s as resourceful as they say and tracks us down here… well, then the outcome is hard to predict,” said the foreigner, a look of caution on his face. He knew a bit more and was aware of what a terrifying individual Jiang Fei was.
Eleven S-rank assassins from the organization had been dispatched together. They used high-tech modern weapons, set up an inescapable net with all sorts of traps to assassinate Jiang Fei. In the end, not only did they fail to kill him, but all eleven S-rank assassins were wiped out. Not a single one returned.
That was a truly frightening level of power.
Never mind just the five of them, A-rank assassins; even if they had ten times their number, it would be useless against Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei could probably kill them as easily as playing around.
Of course, they weren’t planning to confront Jiang Fei head-on. They had hostages! As a last resort, even if Jiang Fei did find this place, they could still use the hostages to keep him in check!
“Is this Jiang Fei really that powerful? If I get the chance, I’d really like to see for myself!” The black T-shirted man raised an eyebrow, a hint of disdain in his eyes. Due to some unpleasant past experiences, he held a strong prejudice against doctors. In his view, any doctor, including Jiang Fei, the chairman of some Chinese medicine association, couldn’t be all that impressive, even if he knew martial arts.
“Well, now’s your chance.”
Suddenly, a mild, amused voice rang out. The wooden door of the main hall was kicked open from the outside with a bang!
Thud!
The black T-shirted man and the foreigner were stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted, their faces changing dramatically.
They didn’t need to guess or even turn around to know what had happened and who had arrived.
Who else could it be but Jiang Fei?!
At this moment, both the foreigner and the black T-shirted man who had just spoken disdainfully of Jiang Fei felt a shock run through them, followed by a surge of fear.
There were five of them in this courtyard! Besides the two of them, two other assassins were stationed in hidden spots outside, standing guard to prevent anyone from sneaking in silently. If there was an intrusion, those two guards would definitely notice first and sound the alarm.
But now, Jiang Fei had appeared silently outside the main hall, and they hadn’t heard any alarm. What did that mean?
It meant the two A-rank assassins stationed outside were already dead! And they had been instantly killed, without even a chance to struggle, otherwise they would have raised the alarm.
The thought made the foreigner and the black T-shirted man’s scalps tingle. A chill ran down their spines, and they felt cold all over.
Being able to defeat or kill someone, and being able to silently eliminate someone instantly, were two completely different concepts!
The former could mean a close fight, while the latter meant the two parties were not even on the same level! It was like the difference between a human and an ant!
What kind of monster was this? Killing two stationed A-rank assassins was as easy as stepping on an ant. This level of power was too terrifying, simply unbelievable, beyond imagination!
So, the two assassins abandoned any thought of fighting this smiling, harmless-looking man. Their only hope now was to use the hostages to threaten Jiang Fei. That might give them a slim chance of survival.
Otherwise, they were doomed!
“Zaozi, quickly, secure the hostages!” the foreign assassin shouted urgently. As long as they had the hostages, as long as Jiang Fei wanted the hostages alive, they were still safe.
Fortunately, they had been thorough. Besides posting two assassins in the courtyard, they had two more inside the main hall, and another assassin was constantly guarding the bedroom where Min Dong’s wife and daughter were held!
This was to ensure the fastest reaction time if Jiang Fei showed up, allowing them to seize the hostages immediately.
“Jiang Fei! I advise you not to make any rash moves! Don’t come any closer! Otherwise, we’ll kill the hostages immediately!” the black T-shirted man also roared, eyes wide and fixed on Jiang Fei.
The two men, who had been drinking beer and eating snacks, tried to stand up and retreat towards the bedroom where Min Dong’s family was held.
But the moment they stood, their faces changed dramatically, and they plopped back down into their chairs!
Their legs had gone weak, completely strengthless. This wasn’t just fear; they genuinely had no strength left! They couldn’t even stand up; their whole bodies felt limp.
“Poisoned!”
That was the only thought in their minds.
Only poisoning could cause such symptoms. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have suddenly lost all strength, finding it difficult to even move a finger.
Soon after, they felt a sharp sting in their eyes. Tears and runny nose started flowing uncontrollably, as if they were overcome with immense grief, weeping incessantly.
“What kind of poison is this! How can this be!” Their horror reached its peak. This poison was like something out of science fiction, unheard of! It was odorless and tasteless, affecting them without their knowledge, leaving their bodies paralyzed.
If they were already immobilized, what about Zaozi, the assassin inside? Chances were he was in the same state, limp and weeping uncontrollably!
That meant Jiang Fei had subdued them all without the slightest effort. They never had a chance to use the hostages to threaten him!
Without the threat of the hostages, the fate awaiting them was…
Their hearts filled with dread and anxiety. They had considered many possibilities, but forgot one thing: Jiang Fei was the top master of Chinese medicine! He might very well be capable of concocting some unbelievable poisons!
“What a waste! Using this on a few small fries like you cost me 1100 gold coins. You really are unforgivable!” Jiang Fei looked at the terrified, incapacitated men. He was quite satisfied with the effects of the Sadness-Clear Wind, but also a bit pained about the 1100 gold coins.
If not for wanting to be absolutely safe and ensure the hostages’ rescue, dealing with small fries like them would be easy even with one hand. There was no need to use a high-end item like Sadness-Clear Wind.
“However, among this bunch of small fries, there are quite a few foreigners… Hmm, that’s rather interesting. It seems I might gain some unexpected information,” Jiang Fei soon added, nodding.
1100 gold coins? What the hell was that!
The two assassins stared wide-eyed, on the verge of bursting, but utterly helpless. They could only watch as Jiang Fei walked into the bedroom where Min Dong’s wife and daughter were held. A few seconds later, Jiang Fei came out, dragging their comrade Zaozi like a dead dog.
Their last hope was shattered. Their final hidden assassin inside the room had also been poisoned.
Thump!
Jiang Fei casually tossed the assassin Zaozi next to the other two. Then he went back inside and brought out Min Dong’s wife and her seven or eight-year-old daughter, who was unconscious.
“Jiang Fei! Give me the antidote, now!” An angry woman’s voice came from outside the room.
“Coming,” Jiang Fei smiled. He turned on the courtyard light, then walked to the corner of the yard to administer the antidote to Ye Yuanyuan, who was sitting on the ground rather inelegantly.
After sneaking into the courtyard, Jiang Fei, with his heightened perception, had easily assessed the situation inside. The main hall door was locked, and an assassin was closely guarding Min Dong’s wife and daughter in the bedroom. While his combat skills were high, ensuring a one hundred percent safe rescue under these circumstances wasn’t guaranteed.
So Jiang Fei came up with a foolproof plan: first use the Sadness-Clear Wind to incapacitate all the assassins. That would be absolutely safe.
However, the Sadness-Clear Wind was an area-of-effect weapon. Besides Jiang Fei, who had the antidote, Ye Yuanyuan, caught unprepared, had also been affected.
“Take a whiff. Just one whiff will neutralize the poison.” Jiang Fei bent down and held the antidote bottle under Ye Yuanyuan’s nose.
“Ugh… It stinks! What kind of antidote is this! Jiang Fei, are you messing with me on purpose?” Ye Yuanyuan recoiled after one sniff, turning her head away, unwilling to smell it again.
Jiang Fei, smiling, chased her nose with the bottle. “This is the antidote! Just smell it a bit longer, and you’ll be fine.”
“Get it away! Get it away!” Ye Yuanyuan, unable to stand the stench, said angrily. She instinctively reached out a hand to push Jiang Fei’s hand away.
Then she froze in surprise. “My strength is back? I can move?”
Jiang Fei stood up matter-of-factly. “Of course you can move after smelling the antidote. Alright, it’s fine now. Take this mother and daughter to the car first. I’m going to interrogate these kidnappers.”
Instead of immediately taking Min Dong’s wife and daughter away, Ye Yuanyuan pursued Jiang Fei, questioning him discontentedly, “What poison did you use just now? It’s so powerful! And why didn’t you tell me beforehand or give me the antidote?”
“Given the nature of the poison and the antidote, can’t you guess? It’s Sadness-Clear Wind!” Jiang Fei stated truthfully without hiding anything. “As for not telling you in advance, that’s because I hadn’t planned to use it initially. I decided to use it on the spur of the moment.”
