The Eldest Brother is Handsome but Sick. - Chapter 8

“Your Sansheng Hall has been in Jingning Town for all these years without a single soul to lean on. But I, Qi Wang, am different. My business stretches from Yizhou to the South; I am a man of high standing in this town. You wouldn’t lose anything by associating with me.” Qi Wang stroked his chin, his gaze wandering over Yan Jin’s frame. His eyes lingered particularly on the curve of Yan Jin’s waist and hips, looking as though he never wanted to look away.

This figure, this face it’s marvelous, Qi Wang thought. Better than the women in my manor. It was a pity Yan Jin was a man; otherwise, if he could take both him and that Xia girl back together, he could truly enjoy the “blessing of all people.”

Seeing that lecherous look, Yan Jin didn’t need to guess what the man was planning. Qi Wang was a notorious womanizer in Jingning, but Sansheng Hall rarely dealt with him, so they had lived in a fragile peace until now.

He hadn’t expected the man to dare harbor such twisted designs.

Yan Jin sneered. “So, Boss Qi, your meaning is that you’d rather ignore your mother’s health just to force my Junior Sister into marriage?”

“Debt must be repaid. If a doctor harms a patient, using their body to settle the score is perfectly acceptable.” Qi Wang snapped back to reality, coughing twice as his jowls quivered. “Besides, Miss Xia is a mere woman. She shouldn’t be showing her face in public like this. Even if she needs a livelihood, there is no reason for a woman to practice medicine.”

These words were an absolute abomination.

Since there was no way to settle this with silver, Yan Jin lost all interest in talking. He let out a sharp cry: “Third Brother!”

Hardly had the words left his mouth when the sound of heavy footsteps erupted outside. A group of burly, towering thugs surged into the clinic. With a loud bang, the doors were slammed shut.

The hall became as silent as a grave. Lin Jiebai sauntered out from behind the thugs, the bells at his waist jingling with every step. He brushed a lock of hair back and winked at Yan Jin. “Eldest Senior Brother, am I on time?”

Yan Jin: “Tie him up and throw him out.”

“You got it!” Lin Jiebai clapped his hands, and the thugs closed in.

Qi Wang’s primary goal today had been to seize Xia Qingyan. After his initial intimidation, he had assumed Sansheng Hall wouldn’t dare act rashly. Given Yan Jin’s reputation, he hadn’t wanted to push the doctor too far, so he had withdrawn his own men. Who could have guessed Yan Jin would actually dare to lay a hand on him?

“Guards…! Mmph!” He let out a howl that was immediately cut short as Lin Jiebai expertly jammed a teacup into his mouth. He was kicked onto the table, flipping over like an upside-down turtle, before being tied up like a festive ham.

“What guards? Your dog’s outside nearly hurt my Senior Brother, do you think I’d let them live?” Lin Jiebai grinned, revealing rows of gleaming white teeth. “Medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin. How desperate for a quick death do you have to be to offend a doctor?”

Qi Wang’s eyes bulged in terror as he squirmed like a caterpillar, only to have another layer of rope wound around him.

Lin Jiebai spun around to sit next to Yan Jin, swinging his legs with a look of disgust. “How gross!” He leaned his head against Yan Jin’s neck, acting spoiled. “Senior Brother, you have to buy me a new pair of shoes.”

“Stop playing.” Cold sweat was pouring off Yan Jin in waves, and Lin Jiebai’s swaying made his head spin. He rubbed his temples. “We always keep two copies of every prescription, one for the patient and one for the archives. Find the prescription Qingyan wrote for the Old Mistress. Then, prepare a carriage. We’re going to the Qi Manor.”

The carriage was readied quickly. Lin Jiebai drove while Qi Wang was shoved inside to be watched by Yan Jin, with the thugs following behind.

As the carriage started to move, Yan Jin spotted a figure standing by the road: Su Huai.

Yan Jin opened his mouth to speak, but Su Huai already understood. “I’ll handle the patients and the townspeople here. I won’t let rumors of this spread.”

“Sansheng Hall is closed today,” Yan Jin instructed. “Keep an eye on the prescriptions. If anyone needs medicine urgently, take them to another clinic. If compensation is needed, record it and wait for me to return.”

A struggle erupted at his feet. Yan Jin gave Qi Wang a sharp kick and continued: “Once the patients are settled, make a list of everything damaged in the clinic. Every broken jar, every wasted herb—Boss Qi will pay for it all. Not a single copper less.”

Yan Jin spoke through gritted teeth. Thinking of the damaged goods and wasted medicine made his heart bleed. Money! That’s all money!

As the carriage rolled on, Yan Jin took a deep breath and said coldly to the bundle on the floor: “You better pray my Junior Sister hasn’t been frightened. If she has, this isn’t going to end well for you.”

“A monkey claiming to be king while the tiger is away… did you really think your Qi family could do as they pleased in Jingning? The guards usually listen to you because you haven’t offended the right people. Sansheng Hall is usually polite, but did you really think we were easy to bully?” Yan Jin leaned down and whispered, “Didn’t you ever stop to think why a dilapidated place like Sansheng Hall has held its ground in Jingning for so many years?”

“I heard your business in Yangzhou failed recently? And that you were hoping to use the Yan Family to turn things around?”

Even tied up, Qi Wang hadn’t been truly afraid. In his mind, Yan Jin was just making a desperate final stand, and kidnapping him was an act of suicide. Once they reached the manor, he planned to collude with the local guards to arrest Yan Jin. Then, Xia Qingyan would be his.

But the moment Yan Jin mentioned the Yangzhou Yan Family, he panicked. This was a Qi family secret—how did Yan Jin know? Qi Wang’s mind, usually filled only with lust and greed, had never been so sharp; even his clouded eyes cleared.

“Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!” Qi Wang thrashed violently, his head thumping against the floorboards. The veins in his neck bulged as he let out muffled wails. In the dead of winter, sweat began to pour down his face.

He was desperate to ask Yan Jin a thousand questions, but Yan Jin had already closed his eyes and refused to speak again.

The carriage finally stopped at the gates of the Qi Manor.

Lin Jiebai helped Yan Jin down. “Strange. There’s no one here. I knocked, but no one answered.”

It was indeed strange. Even if the brutes from earlier had been drugged, the Qi Manor shouldn’t be completely unguarded.

Yan Jin thought for a moment. “Kick the door down. Throw Qi Wang inside.”

Lin Jiebai signaled two thugs to shoulder Qi Wang. They stood on high alert, fearing an ambush.

However, the moment the door was kicked open.

“DON’T! COME! ANY! CLOSER! AAAAAAAAAAH!”

An ear-piercing scream shattered the sky. A second later, a body flew out from inside, landing right at Yan Jin’s feet.

What is that?!

Yan Jin scrambled back a few steps. He looked down to see a man with a face so bruised and swollen he was unrecognizable. Covered in tears and snot, the man wheezed: “Save, me”

Thud!

Before Yan Jin could recover, Qi Wang was dropped on top of the man, the two of them forming a human pile. Lin Jiebai and the thugs stared into the courtyard, mouths agape.

In the center of what was once a beautiful flower garden, now a mess of trampled blossoms lay a dozen men, all bruised, swollen, and unconscious.

In the middle of the carnage stood a woman, trembling violently. She was clutching a spiked iron rod, her face flushed beet-red. Tears streamed down her face, looking utterly pitiable as she sobbed: “Don’t… don’t underestimate a doctor’s strength!”

Suddenly, another man tried to rush her from the side. Xia Qingyan scrambled back several steps in terror until her back was against a wall. She screamed again: “I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME CLOSER!!!”

With the power of that scream, she swung the iron rod with a violent force, sending the man flying into the flowerbeds to join the others.

After the hit, she went back to sobbing quietly. “Why does everyone have to get so close? Talking to strangers is stressful enough… why can’t you just stay far away and talk properly?”

“Se… Senior Brother…”

Lin Jiebai’s lip twitched. After a long silence, he muttered, “I don’t think Sister Xia needs us to save her.”

Yan Jin: “…………”

Fine. So, this is the power of social anxiety?