Inside the Rolls-Royce Phantom, everything felt sealed off, a quiet world soaked in the smell of expensive leather. It was almost hard to believe, with the mess Ye Chen had left behind on the street just minutes ago. Right next to him, Su Yan sat ramrod straight, her hands clenched in her lap until her knuckles stood out, white and strained.
She glanced at Ye Chen. They'd shared the same bed for three years, but right now, he might as well have been a stranger. He leaned back against the seat, eyes closed, the bruises on his face starting to look more like battle scars than something to be ashamed of.
"Ye Chen," she whispered, her voice barely holding steady. "Who are you? Where did all of this come from? You don't just buy a fleet of cars or make someone like Han Mufeng bow his head. This isn't real."
Ye Chen opened his eyes. The gentleness she remembered was gone. He looked right through her or maybe right through the city itself. "Ten years, Yan'er. I spent a decade hiding in the shadows to protect the people I love. Last night, I figured out that staying quiet just made it easier for monsters to find you. I didn't buy this life. I took it back."
She wanted to ask more, but the car slid to a stop outside Central Hospital.
The hospital usually buzzed with quiet hopelessness, but today it looked like something out of a spy movie, guards in black suits everywhere. Ye Chen stepped out first. Waiting by the curb was Dr. Wang, the hospital director, famous for his sky-high fees and attitude. He was already sweating, dabbing at his bald head, practically dancing in place.
"Young Master Ye! It's an honor! Truly, an honor!" Dr. Wang bent so far forward it looked painful. "The specialists you asked for are already in the ICU. We cleared an entire floor for your father-in-law."
Ye Chen didn't slow down. He strode right past, not even glancing at the director. Su Yan scrambled after him, her thoughts all tangled up. Just yesterday, she'd begged Dr. Wang for a little more time to pay, and he'd laughed her out of his office, told her to sell her car, or her dignity, if she wanted her father to stay on the machines.
They reached the VIP ICU. The air was sharp with antiseptic and nerves. Outside the glass doors stood Zhang Li, Ye Chen's mother-in-law, who must have flown there in a panic. She looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"Ye Chen!" she shrieked as he got closer. "What's going on? Who are these men in suits? Why is Dr. Wang bowing and scraping like that?"
"Quiet, Mother," Ye Chen said, his voice low and dangerous. "If you wake the patients, I'll have you escorted out."
Zhang Li sucked in a breath, her face turning purple. "You! How dare you talk to me like that? What, you think you can rent some cars and hire a few actors and"
"Actors?" Dr. Wang cut in, his tone suddenly icy. "Madam, if these are actors, then the whole world's a stage and we're all ants. This man just donated fifty million dollars to our research wing. In the last ten minutes. He's our biggest benefactor."
Zhang Li's mouth dropped open so wide, it looked like her jaw might never close. Fifty million?
Ye Chen barely noticed the chaos around him. He stared through the glass at Su Tang, his father-in-law hooked up to so many machines he looked more like a ghost than a man. Gray face, hollow cheeks. It was hard to look at.
"Dr. Wang," Ye Chen said, eyes sharp. "Explain it to me again. The accident was supposed to be a mild concussion. So why hasn't he woken up? Six months of this, what aren't you telling me?"
Dr. Wang fumbled with his clipboard, sweat beading on his brow. "Uh, Master Ye… the trauma to the brain was well, it was severe. We're doing everything"
Ye Chen cut him off. "You're not telling the truth."
The room felt like it dropped ten degrees. Ye Chen didn't bother with the usual ICU protocols, he stepped right in, went straight to Su Tang's side, and took the old man's hand. His fingers pressed hard into a spot on Su Tang's wrist.
Before exile, Ye Chen had been the top student of the Old Man of the Mountain, a legend, a ghost, the sort of sage who knew things today's doctors couldn't even dream up.
"It wasn't the car," Ye Chen muttered, voice flat as ice. "He was poisoned. Blue-Stripe Viper neurotoxin. Fools modern doctors, makes people look comatose, but inside, it's eating their organs alive."
Su Yan choked out a sob. "Poisoned? But who? who would do that?"
Ye Chen's eyes snapped to a junior doctor in the corner, trying to slink away.
"Stop him," Ye Chen said.
Two guards moved fast, pinning the kid up against the wall.
"Check his locker," Ye Chen told Dr. Wang. "You'll find a vial of clear liquid. And a bank transfer from the Zhao family."
The junior doctor went sheet-white. "I—I don't know what you're talking about! This is assault!"
Dr. Wang, realizing just how deep he was in, barked at security. Five minutes later, a guard came back, holding a tiny glass vial.
Ye Chen's voice echoed in the suddenly silent room. "The Zhao family didn't just want the company. They wanted Su Tang dead. That way, they could swoop in, play the heroes, and take everything. Zhao Wei wasn't your savior, Yan'er. He was the one killing your father."
Su Yan collapsed into a chair, tears spilling down her face. The man she'd almost married, he'd been behind it all.
"Can you save him?" she asked, desperate.
Ye Chen met her eyes. "I'm the King of Medicine's shadow. If I say he lives, he lives."
He reached into his jacket, pulled out a small leather roll, and unwrapped thirteen silver needles etched with ancient symbols. The 'Seven Star Resurrection', a forbidden art, the kind that could drag a soul back from the brink.
"Everyone out," Ye Chen ordered. "Except Su Yan."
The room emptied fast. Zhang Li hesitated, but one look from Ye Chen and she bolted.
For the next hour, Ye Chen worked with a speed and precision that hardly seemed human. The silver needles flashed, punching into points across Su Tang's body. The heart monitor stuttered, jumping all over the place. Black, foul blood oozed from beneath Su Tang's nails.
Sweat poured down Ye Chen's face. Every move cost him, but he didn't stop. Not for Su Yan.
When the thirteenth needle slid into the crown of Su Tang's head, the monitor flatlined.
"Ye Chen!" Su Yan screamed, lunging forward. "The monitor! He's"
"Wait," Ye Chen gasped, barely able to keep himself upright. "Count to three."
One.
Two.
Three.
Suddenly, Su Tang's eyes snapped open. He jerked upright, coughing out a thick, black clump onto the floor. His eyes sharp, alive.
"Su… Yan?" His voice rasped out.
"Dad!" Su Yan sobbed, hugging him tight, shaking with relief.
Outside, chaos erupted in the hall. But Ye Chen felt a strange pulse in his chest, his Golden SIM card, buzzing. He fished it out, glanced at the glowing message on Han Mufeng's temporary device.
[The Ye Family Elders have convened. The Third Young Master has been sent to 'clean up' the city. ETA: 2 Hours. Prepare for the Hunt.]
Ye Chen watched Su Yan and her father, warmth blooming in his chest. But his mind was already somewhere else. The Zhao family was nothing. The real threat, the real monsters were his own kin.
He walked to the window, looking out at the street below. A black car idled across the road, a coiled serpent on the hood.
"They're early," Ye Chen muttered.
He turned. Su Yan stared at him, caught between awe and fear.
"Take care of your father," Ye Chen said. "I've got a debt to settle."
"Ye Chen, wait!" Su Yan called out. "You're hurt, you need to rest"
He didn't look back. "I'm going to the serpent's den. Time for the Ye Family to see what happens when they cast out a son only to watch him become a god they can never chain."