Chapter 14 - Reprimand Pang Han, the Master Awakens _1

Huang An shook his head, explaining:

"That's not the case. These past few days, Junior Brother, you have been preparing medicine and tools to treat the Master at home, hardly stepping out of the courtyard except for meals. How could you possibly have leaked the news?"

Having said that, Huang An looked at Zhao Yan, sensing there was something else he was oblivious to.

Hearing his words, Zhao Yan frowned slightly and voiced her doubts:

"Little brother, you may not know this, but apart from a handful of people, no one knows about my father's lingering injury. City Lord's men came with great conviction last night, obviously knowing about my father's serious condition. Otherwise, they wouldn't dare lay a hand on us."

At her words, Huang An also furrowed his brows.

He was insightful and quickly grasped what Zhao Yan meant. As their gazes met, a sense of heaviness overcame both of them.

Huang An had now stepped onto the leaky ship of the Zhao Family's martial arts school. According to Zhao Yan, there was somebody within the school betraying them, leaking their secrets.

How could this be?

Their expressions hardened significantly. Only Zhao Le, the naive little miss, didn't understand their silent conversation. She touched her cheek, quietly fuming.

She had made up her mind that once Junior Brother Huang had healed her father, she would insist that he helps her get her revenge.

She was determined to tear Li Wei's mouth into eight pieces.

The trio quickly arrived at the backyard, where Huang An saw a badly beaten Pang Han.

Looking at his injuries, Huang An was taken aback. My goodness, the cumulative injuries of everyone in the courtyard are not as severe as yours?

If it weren't for Zhao Le yelling "Senior Brother," Huang An doubted he would have recognized that the pig-headed man before him was Pang Han.

Although pitiful, it was somehow amusing. Huang An managed to keep a straight face and greeted him without prying further. After all, Pang Han's attitude towards him had been extremely hostile. Expressing concern may be mistaken as taking pleasure in his misfortune, which wouldn't be good.

No need to invite troubles willingly.

Unexpectedly, Huang An had still underestimated Pang Han's tolerance. This robust man didn't even look at Huang An and issued a cold warning with his back turned towards him.

"If you fail to save my Master, I will kill you!"

The bitter resentment and brutal intention in his words caused Huang An's expression to darken completely.

Even a clay figurine has a temper, let alone Huang An?

Just as he was about to retort, he was cut off by the Zhao sisters.

Zhao Le, the money-loving girl, was already in a bad mood. Seeing Huang An being wronged, she immediately lost her temper and blurted out:

"Pang Han, what do you mean?"

She didn't even call him Senior Brother, but directly addressed him by his name!

Huang An closed his mouth.

Zhao Yan gently tugged at her sister, shook her head at Huang An, and then gave her sister a meaningful look before finally speaking coldly:

"Senior Brother Pang, why take out your anger on Junior Brother Huang? I understand that you feel wronged, but the restoration soup that saved his life was bought by my father with his money, not yours. It was because my father had given him this precious remedy that he was saved. If it weren't for Huang Junior Brother saving my father, our martial arts school would have been in a far worse state yesterday. Would you, as the Senior Brother of this school, be able to stand here then?"

Without finishing her sentence, the meaning of Zhao Yan's words was clear — she was accusing Pang Han of being overly selfish, only considering himself.

Zhao Yan did not elaborate further and forcefully tugged at Huang An's sleeve to enter the house.

Zhao Le snorted.

"Don't think that just because you're the Senior Brother, I have to respect you. Hmph! Stingy fool!"

After saying this, she quickly caught up with the two and closed the door behind her.

Only Pang Han was left in the courtyard, his face alternated between red and blue.

With his battered face, he clenched his teeth and fists so tightly that the wounds from yesterday reopened, colouring his whole hand red with fresh blood.

With bloodshot eyes and shaking with anger, he badly wanted to rush in and kill that accursed sick man, but considering the Master's condition and his own martial arts journey, he held back.

"I'll remember this for now. Once Master recovers, I'll ask for a dose of Restoration Soup as well! Once I break through, you're going to pay!"

As for Zhao Le calling him a stingy fool, Pang Han didn't care.

Which martial art practitioner doesn't see money as important?

Zhao Le, or should I say the entire Zhao Martial Arts School, or even the entire world - who isn't stingy?

Without money, you can do nothing but till the soil and barely scratch out a living.

Pang Han had been practicing martial arts for ten years, and now he finally saw a chance to change the fate of the Pang Family. He naturally wanted to seize it, but was disturbed by Huang An, this sick ghost.

Was it possible for Pang Han not to hold a grudge?

Meanwhile, Huang An, upon hearing Zhao Yan reprimanding Pang Han, only then understood the reason behind Pang Han's hostility towards him. It was most likely because of the Restoration Soup.

However, he was left with a new question: What exactly is this Restoration Soup?

Was it really the miracle drug that saved me?

In truth, Huang An didn't know the specifics about the Restoration Soup. Although he had been in Feng'an County for five days, he'd spent two days unconscious, two days back on Earth and the remaining day either at the martial arts school or Doctor Xue's medical hall.

He was not well-acquainted with Feng'an County, let alone the Restoration Soup related to martial arts?

Setting aside his question for the time being, Huang An decided to inquire about the Restoration Soup after preparing for the surgery.

He had a premonition that this Restoration Soup was of great utility.

Not only did it alleviate his pancreatic cancer effectively, but it also had a tremendous impact on the healthy and martial arts-practicing Pang Han.

Otherwise, Pang Han would not have unleashed his anger on him.

After making some simple arrangements, Huang An placed the medicines and instruments in his hand on the table, preparing to check on the Master's condition and see if it had changed.

Zhao Le, following Huang An's instructions, set off to prepare hot water and clean white cloth according to the procedure from the day before.

Zhao Yan, with a worried expression, followed closely behind Huang An, attending to his needs by the bedside.

Her concern for her father had turned this usually confident and independent Zhao Yan into a dependant little woman relying on a man.

Huang An, leading the way, was about to squat down and examine the injuries but was startled by a sudden noise from behind. A quick glance left him speechless.

Zhao Yan had actually dragged a stool over to where she was standing.

Huang An wanted to say, "My back is fine now," but considering that he'd have to stand for a long time later, he didn't say it out loud, tacitly accepting the situation.

Collecting his thoughts, Huang An focused his attention on the face of the Master Zhao. He was still lying prone, his face turned inward.

Huang An leaned in slightly, intending to take a closer look.

Seemingly aware of Huang An's movement, Master Zhao unexpectedly turned his head toward them just as Huang An was about to get up to observe his facial colour.

"Mas...Master."

Huang An was taken aback, unsure whether to continue what he was doing.

"Dad! You're awake?!!"

Zhao Yan was filled with unexpected joy; her father's waking hours were becoming more frequent.

Zhao Dun did not look at his daughter, focusing his gaze on Huang An instead.

"Thank you, Little Friend Huang. I am grateful to you for putting aside our past differences and saving my life several times."

His lips were pale, but his eyes were full of life. His expression conveyed a mix of regret, gratitude, and joy.

Zhao Dun truly did not expect that his young daughter's involuntary actions a few days ago would end up saving his life.

He was well aware of how serious his injuries were. It was no better than a death sentence. When he came to his senses yesterday, Doctor Xue and his two daughters had explained this to him.

Huang An was his life-saving benefactor. It was not in vain that he found a rejuvenation soup in the city lord's mansion for Huang An to resurrect.

Seeing Zhao Dun seemingly trying to get up to express his gratitude, Huang An quickly held him down, soothingly saying:

"You're overreacting, Master. If it weren't for you and my Senior Sister saving me that day, I'm afraid I would be bones and ashes by now."

Huang An's words caused some embarrassment to the father and daughter pair, as they were well aware of the reasons for saving Huang An.

First, Huang An was knocked unconscious by Master Zhao, who felt guilty about it.

Second, Huang An carried silver with him. Saving Huang An wasn't a loss for them, they could also collect his body on his behalf if needed.

These underlying reasons were the primary factors in their decision to save Huang An.

Huang An was aware of this. Three nights ago, Zhao Le had already explained this to him and apologized.

Huang An graciously let it pass. Getting knocked unconscious when he was about to die, even in his claim of a civilized earth, 99% of people would have left him to die, let alone in this ruthlessly violent Daming?

Considering the fact that he wasn't killed on the spot, Huang An felt very fortunate.

Huang An's gratitude was truly heartfelt.

After a brief exchange, Master Zhao assured Huang An to proceed with the operation, promising that once he's recovered, he'll surely retaliate for the grudges of yesterday's confrontations and secret attacks on him. He would deal with each one of them.

It turned out he was aware of the incidents that happened yesterday.

Huang An felt a bit relieved. It seemed that this unfortunate Master is quite level-headed, not a reckless character.

Huang An feared that before the wound was healed, the demanding Master would go and pick a fight and gets himself killed. In this case, Huang An wouldn't even know where to weep for him.

Furthermore, there was a profound implication in the Master's words. The stab wound on his back was a sneak attack, and from his tone, it seemed that he knew the identity of the attacker.

In this tiny martial arts academy with a total number of less than a hundred people, such bizarre incidents were happening, which made Huang An secretly startled.

This world was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

He needed to help the Master recover as soon as possible. After all, this not so generous Master was holding up the entire academy.

Looking at the wounds on the faces of the senior brothers and sisters today, Huang An realized that he can't rely on these senior brothers and sisters.

With this mental preparation, Huang An felt at ease. After explaining the surgical procedure, he prepared to start the surgery.

He had already discerned from the Master's complexion that this Master's physique was extraordinary. Even without his surgery today, as long as they continued cleaning the wound according to the previous days' process, he estimated the Master could recover.

"What a beast!"

Huang An looked at the Master's muscles, and countless old scars and muttered to himself filled with admiration and envy.

He gave the Master three times the regular dose of painkillers and some anesthesia from Doctor Xue's, and the operation officially began.

The reason why Huang An did not give Master Zhao anesthesia was not because he was stingy or forgot, but because he couldn't legally have access to anesthesia on earth.

Of course, if he really wanted to get some, he could, but it wouldn't be worth it.

Huang An still had some painkillers left, which he had saved from last month.

Once the scalpel was in hand, Zhao Yan, standing by him, helped pass the tools, while Zhao Le sterilized the necessary utensils with boiling water at the back.

The three of them worked together, in an orderly and systematic manner.

What startled Huang An was the Master's incredible endurance. He was scraping off raw flesh with a scalpel, and the Master didn't utter a sound.

Moreover, the toughness of the Master's skin and flesh also exceeded Huang An's expectations. Fortunately, the scalpel was sharp enough to cut through, otherwise Huang An would have to instruct Zhao Yan to do it.

The surgical procedure was rough, but the effect was not bad. After all, Huang An had a small amount of iodine for anti-inflammatory use. He was very confident about subsequent infection issues.

The reason he didn't use alcohol was that Huang An feared revealing his origins.

After all, in this clearly industrial undeveloped Daming, Huang An pulling out alcohol would be a glaring omission, not resisting deep scrutiny and investigation.

Without a certain industrial basis, it is impossible to prepare qualified alcohol.