Yu Nanzhi glanced at them briefly. Needless to say, Li Chengru was perceptive. He walked over, crouched down, placed the medical kit on the ground, and looked up at Lu Chengqing. “Which one of you is injured?”
Lu Chengqing shifted her gaze, glancing at the man in the white coat. He was handsome, yet his expression carried a faint hint of roguishness, making her doubt his identity. Even though the name tag on his right chest confirmed his position, she remained skeptical. “Are you a doctor?”
Li Chengru replied candidly, “Yes.”
Lu Chengqing pressed further, “Do you have a medical license?”
He answered patiently, “Yes.”
Lu Chengqing gently stroked Ji Liao’s hair and spoke cautiously in a low voice, “She’s in worse condition than I am. Please check on her first.”
Li Chengru fixed his gaze on the woman. The familiar apricot-colored dress triggered a rapid recollection in his mind, reminding him of the figure he had encountered not long ago at the supermarket entrance. With Yu Nanzhi present, he became even more certain that this was indeed Ji Liao.
He just hadn’t expected Yu Nanzhi to act so quickly, already tracking her down here.
The moment he touched her, Ji Liao immediately looked up, her reddened eyes filled with unmistakable panic. She clung tightly to Lu Chengqing, her entire body trembling uncontrollably. “Don’t trust him. They’re in cahoots. Qing’er, you need to leave. Don’t let them harm you. Go, quickly…”
Misidentified as a villain, Li Chengru didn’t take it to heart. As a doctor, he understood the patient’s state of mind and patiently reassured Ji Liao, “Don’t be afraid. I’m a doctor—I only save people, I don’t harm anyone.”
The former Heaven’s Proud Daughter had been reduced to this pitiful state, and it was likely inextricably linked to Yu Nanzhi.
Li Chengru discreetly reached to take her pulse, but she pulled her hand away abruptly.
“Won’t harm anyone?” Ji Liao’s tears fell once more as she said, “You’re someone he called. Why should we trust you?”
The sorrow in her eyes was palpable. Li Chengru glanced back at Yu Nanzhi, only to see him turn away coldly, his expression still filled with disdain. Before leaving, his thin lips parted, and his voice was as icy as frost. “If she dies, you’ll join her in the grave.”
The seriousness in Yu Nanzhi’s eyes seemed genuine, but Li Chengru paid it no mind.
Ji Liao happened to overhear his words and, assuming they were directed at Qing’er, panicked and screamed again, “Yu Nanzhi, how many more people do you need to hurt before you’re satisfied?”
Yu Nanzhi replied expressionlessly, “That depends on your behavior.”
Both Li Chengru and Lu Chengqing could see how terrified Ji Liao was of Yu Nanzhi. They dared not say more, fearing the situation would spiral out of control.
As his close friend, Li Chengru was aware of the command Yu Nanzhi had once issued to the world: those who helped Ji Liao would meet a grim fate.
Ji Liao froze, unable to refute him.
Yu Nanzhi then delivered another blow, sealing her fate and casting her back into hell with no hope of redemption. He said, “He was implicated because of you.”
His words were like a curse, a shackle Yu Nanzhi had placed upon her—a burden she would carry for life, an unresolved knot in her heart.
She was trapped by these words, and the beautiful dreams she had secretly cherished shattered into fragments in an instant.
Lu Chengqing’s heart ached sharply as she glared fiercely at Yu Nanzhi, grinding her teeth in indignation. “Don’t pin your wicked deeds on others with such flimsy excuses. Their misfortune was caused by you, not by anyone else’s influence. Sister Liao won’t bear the weight of your sins.”
Yu Nanzhi let out a cold laugh. “Ungrateful wretch, have you forgotten it was she who begged me to send someone to rescue you?”
Wearing a fearless expression, Lu Chengqing retorted angrily, “Well, that’s just perfect! I don’t need your help now, so get the hell out of here!”
A sinister, terrifying smile curled on Yu Nanzhi’s lips as he replied, “So audacious—truly a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.”
Lu Chengqing snorted derisively. “Those with nothing to lose fear nothing. Yu Nanzhi, let me tell you this: tormenting Sister Liao again will only deepen your Sin. The one you love will suffer unrest because of your Sin—this is Karma!”
Though he knew her words were meant to intimidate, for some reason, the images of Cheng Shuangshuang and his parents suddenly surfaced in Yu Nanzhi’s mind. One pair had perished in the Blue Sea, the other in the Sea of Fire. The panic and terror on their faces as they endured suffocating agony instantly overwhelmed his reason. He seemed to hear their piercing screams—so mournful and helpless.
Clenching his fists tightly, Yu Nanzhi roared in fury, “I’m the one living in torment, not them!”
He had finally shouted those words but refused to acknowledge whether they held any truth. Every midnight, he would relive those two horrifying dreams—a habit now etched deep into his bones.
As his rage threatened to spill over onto innocent bystanders, Li Chengru immediately stood up to block his advance. “Yu Nanzhi, calm down. Don’t waste your anger on irrelevant people.”
Yu Nanzhi sneered, his menacing gaze fixed on the fearless Lu Chengqing. “If you help her, the consequences will be severe.”
Lu Chengqing snorted coldly. “Justice may be delayed, but it never fails to arrive. I have no regrets helping those in need. Yu Nanzhi, one day you’ll regret hurting Sister Liao—just wait and see if you don’t believe me.”
Their eyes locked in a tense standoff, the atmosphere thick with hostility—like a cleaver splitting lightning, sparks flying everywhere.
Yu Nanzhi moved to teach her a lesson, but Li Chengru stepped in to stop him. “She’s just a child. Let her go… spare her, please!”
Yu Nanzhi snorted lightly and turned away indifferently.
Lu Chengqing scoffed softly, tightening her embrace around Ji Liao.
Both seethed with anger, neither yielding an inch.
Only after Yu Nanzhi disappeared around the corner and left Lu Family Village did Li Chengru squat down and remark leisurely, “You two share quite similar temperaments—both stubborn as mules.”
“Cough…” Lu Chengqing forced herself to swallow the metallic taste in her mouth and retorted disdainfully, “That really drags down my character and morals.”
At that moment, Li Chengru noticed her deathly pale face and the flicker of fear in her eyes, instantly stirring his protective instincts. “Don’t be afraid, he’s gone now.”
Unfazed, Lu Chengqing mocked him, “You’re all in the same boat, yet you pretend to be the good guy here.”
Li Chengru naturally didn’t bother arguing with a child. Instead, he turned to Ji Liao and spoke carefully, “I’m Li Chengru. You probably know of me.”
Li Chengru…
Ji Liao froze for a moment before slowly turning toward him, her voice trembling slightly. “You’re the third son of the Li family—the rebellious one who refused to inherit the family business and wanted to become a doctor?”
Li Chengru was utterly surprised. “I never expected you to know about that.”
He admitted without the slightest hesitation, which startled Lu Chengqing beside him. “You know each other?”
Li Chengru replied, “We’ve exchanged glances once or twice at various banquets in the past, but it’s been many years. We’ve mostly forgotten each other by now.”
“You… cough…” A mouthful of blood was coughed up before Lu Chengqing remembered his severe injury.
The blood splattered across Ji Liao’s face. The instant he smelled its fishy-sweet scent, Ji Liao trembled while supporting Lu Chengqing and shouted loudly, “Qing’er!””