“Alright, I know,” Su Xianghua said. “Thanks a lot.”“You don’t have to go that far, Uncle,” Wang Yao said. “I’m just doing what I’m supposed to.”


  “There is no need for too many people to know about this.”


  “I know what to do.”


  “That’s good to hear.” Su Xianghua chuckled. The two men walked out of the study and went to the dining room. The whole family had a good time at lunch.

  After eating, Wang Yao accompanied Su Xiaoxue to school. She had classes to attend in the afternoon.

  “What did you talk about with my dad?” she asked. “You guys were being so mysterious. Was it something to do with Guo Zhenghe?”


  “Yeah.”


  Wang Yao told Su Xiaoxue some of the details, which ironically, were more detailed than what he had told Su Xianghua.

  “He’s a schemer with bad behaviors and attitude,” Su Xiaoxue said. “Now, is he a killer too?”


  “I’m afraid this wasn’t the first time,” Wang Yao said.

  “People like that need to be punished accordingly,” Su Xiaoxue said.

  “Definitely.”


  Wang Yao stayed at Jing for two more days before hurriedly heading back to Lianshan County. An inspection team suddenly showed up in the county. They were targeting the Nanshan Pharmaceutical Company. They asked many questions and was demanded changes to be made to production operation before a stipulated deadline. If they did not comply, the factory was required to cease production. Doing so would have caused a huge loss.

  When he heard the news, Guo Zhenghe immediately came to mind. At the same time, he told Zheng Weijun to look into it to find out if there was anything wrong on their side that allowed competitors to get a grip on them.

  The two men met right away after he returned to Lianshan County.

  “Those people suddenly showed, and I wasn’t even notified beforehand,” Zheng Weijun said. “First, it was the environmental guys. Now, it’s the safety department. Those people demanded a good number of changes to be made. They were being really difficult.”


  “Was there any problem with the company itself to begin with?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Gosh, I shouldn’t have given a 100 percent guarantee regarding our factory’s operations since there was nothing that could have been guaranteed absolutely in terms of time,” Zheng Weijun said. “Then again, it’s not that I’m a rookie in the medical supply business. I can safely say that when it comes to environmental and safety concerns, we’re definitely maintaining the best standards to be found in the industry, be it in terms of hardware or software.”


  “What did they say?” Wang Yao asked.

  “They told us to get all the adjustments done within a month,” Zheng Weijun said. “They will show up to inspect the place again.”


  “Let me look at what they told us to change,” Wang Yao said.

  “Noise problems?”


  “They performed tests on the road outside,” Zheng Weijun said. “Just having a car passing by, any car for that matter, would have exceeded tolerable limits.”


  “These people are indeed being difficult,” Wang Yao said.

  “Look at the changes demanded in terms of safety, which are even more strict,” Zheng Weijun said. “I’ve already asked for relevant third-party corporations within the country to help with the assessment.”


  “All of this might have something to do with me,” Wang Yao said.

  “With you?” Zheng Weijun was surprised. “How so?”


  “Personal grudges. We’ll see,” Wang Yao said.

  A wordless clash had begun.

  The night passed without any incidents.

  “Have you taken care of matters in Jing, Master?”


  When they saw Wang Yao had returned home, Zhong Liuchuan and the others went to the clinic.

  “The matters over there are settled,” Wang Yao replied. “Something happened here instead, so I had to come back.”


  “I heard about it too. It’s that Mr. Guo again, I take it.”


  “It’s most likely him,” Wang Yao said.

  “What do you need of us, Master?”


  “Nothing for the time being,” Wang Yao said. “We’ll wait and see.”


  “Will do.”


  At the Su family home in Jing, thousands of miles away……

  “Madam, that guy is trying to mess up Wang Yao’s pharmaceutical company.”


  “Yeah, he’s being very obvious with that,” Song Ruiping said. “Is there anything wrong with the company?”


  “Not at all,” Chu Lian replied. “The medicines they produce are very effective and of good repute. Furthermore, the medicines are not all that expensive either.”


  “Yeah, I know that,” Song Ruiping said.

  “Don’t tell Xiaoxue about any of this.”


  “Yes, Madam.”


  In another mansion in Jing……

  Guo Zhenghe was unable to stop coughing. He did not look good. A middle-aged man was diagnosing him.

  “What’s wrong with me, Doctor Xu?”


  “I can’t really tell what specifically happened. I’d advise you to get a full-body checkup at the hospital tomorrow. You’ll be able to better learn about what is going on with your body there.”


  “Sure, thank you.”


  “You’re welcome, Mr. Guo.”


  The butler sent the doctor away.

  Guo Zhenghe rose and went to the French window to look outside. He felt something was off with his body. He felt very tired. It also felt as if something was hitting his head from the inside.

  “This definitely has to do with Miao Xihe’s blood,” he muttered.

  He had been worried about the problem before, but he never expected the problem to show up so quickly.

  How should I go about this? He lit a cigarette.

  He knew the best way to address the problem was to look for Wang Yao, but the situation was such that they were practically enemies at the moment. They were standing on opposing sides. There was no chance of reconciliation between the two of them.

  I guess I’ll have to see after the checkup tomorrow.

  The next, Guo Zhenghe felt his body had become even worse. The hospital’s checkup results were severely bad news.

  “Mr. Guo, we found that many of your internal organs show signs of deterioration, especially the kidneys, which are more severe than the others. We advise you to be admitted to the hospital for further treatment.”


  “Admitted for treatment?” Guo Zhenghe stayed silent for quite some time hearing that. “What are my chances of recovery?”


  “Well, that……”


  “Dr. Xu, just tell me the truth.”


  “You have a certain chance at a full recovery.”


  “I know,” Guo Zhenghe said. “I’m quite busy. I’ll look into it at a later date.”


  “It’s best that you hurry. Your current situation indicates that things will get worse for you very quickly.”


  “I’m aware.” Guo Zhenghe rose and walked outside, wobbling as he did so.

  “Sir.”


  “Head to that valley.”


  “Sir, won’t it be too dangerous to go there now?”


  After thinking about it, Guo Zhenghe said, “I have to get there. I can’t afford to wait.”


  “Sure.”


  A plane took off from Jing. It was heading straight for southern Yunnan.

  In the early morning, the Valley of Thousands of Medicine was very quiet, but a storm was brewing in the village, which had been around for hundreds of years.

  “Is there still no news of the chief?”


  “None.”


  “It’s been almost two weeks now. We can’t just let things keep going like this.”


  An elder, who was in his 70s, asked, “Yeah, Qingfeng, where did the chief go?”


  “I really don’t know, Uncle. He just told me that he was going up north.”


  The elders in the village had a meeting. A place could not be left for long without a leader. The village needed someone to be in charge, especially in such a situation. There were scores of outsiders coming to the village every day. The older generation did not like outsiders much, but the younger generation in the village welcomed them. They were young and curious about the outside world. They needed to have a plan to tackle the problem sooner or later.

  “Sigh. The chief has not been out that far away for many years. When he did, he stayed outside far longer than he would have on any of his trips.”


  The meeting was interrupted by someone.

  “An outsider wants to see the person-in-charge?”


  “Indeed.”


  “Who is the outsider?”


  “Someone with the surname Guo.”


  “Guo?”


  The elders all looked at each other and felt puzzled about it. It was apparent that none of them knew of that man with the Guo surname.

  “We’re not seeing him.”


  “He said he knows of the chief’s whereabouts.”


  “What?”


  An elder from the village finally met the young man surnamed Guo.

  “Good day.”


  “Good day. How should I address you, Sir?”


  “Miao Shaoxing.”


  “Well, my name is Guo Zhenghe. I was once the secretary of He County.” The elder shuddered for a bit when Guo Zhenghe said that. He knew about what happened out there.

  “Good day, what brings you here today, Secretary Guo?”


  “I’m no longer the secretary of the county. I’ve resigned, thanks to you people,” Guo Zhenghe said with a smile. Afterward, he coughed without stopping.

  “Miao Xihe is dead.”


  His words were stunning.

  The elder he was talking to was frightened to the core. The old man practically froze where he stood.

  “So, do you not believe me?” Guo Zhenghe took out a picture and threw it before the elder. It depicted what Miao Xihe looked like before dying.

  “I never thought it would come to this,” the elder said.

  “Enough chatter,” Guo Zhenghe said. “I’m poisoned, and I’m here in the valley to seek treatment. I wonder if you could look into my condition.” He was now immune to bug curses, but the medicinal effects in his blood proved to be a double-edged sword. They protected him and hurt him at the same time.

  “I’ll take a look.”


  The elder checked him out for a bit. He grew increasingly surprised.

  “Where did you get this disease?”


  “I drank Miao Xihe’s blood.”


  “Huh!?” The elder was so frightened that he shivered as he backed away. His eyes were like that of someone who had just seen a ghost.

  “What made you bold enough to do so?” the elder asked. “He had medicines in his blood, but poisons as well!”


  “So, do you know what’s going on?”


  “He tempered his body with medicines, and the effects went to the core of his being. However, he did so methodically, so he was able to maintain a relative balance between the two effects in him.”