Chapter 123: Encountering Zhao Que Once More

The call came from Da Niu. Lao Zhao had gotten into a conflict with some people outside of campus and had been beaten until he was covered in blood and unconscious. He was currently in the hospital, and three of his ribs were broken! He was still in emergency surgery.

"Damn it! Who the hell dared to do this to my brother, Fu Yang? I’m going to kill him!"

Inside the taxi, Fu Yang’s face was twisted with rage, his roar barely contained.

"Huh? You're going to kill someone?"

The driver’s hands shook in fright. Trembling, he stammered, "Big Brother, are you... are you going to settle a score? Listen, can you get out before the destination? I’m faint of heart, I’m scared."

Fu Yang was so angry he laughed. He decided to toy with him: "That’s right! You have fifteen minutes to get to the Jiangcheng University campus hospital, or else..."

He flashed a sinister, wicked smile.

"Yes, yes! Don’t worry, Big Brother, I’m an experienced driver. I’ll get you there." The driver slammed his foot on the gas, treating the taxi like a Formula 1 race car.

Upon arriving, the guy didn't even dare to collect the fare; he fled as if chased by a ghost.

Fu Yang touched his chin. "Am I really that scary?"

He then hurried toward the surgical ward address that Da Niu had sent him.

Huffing and puffing, he reached the fourth floor of Building No. 2, right outside the operating room. He saw Gouzi and Da Niu sitting on the plastic chairs in the waiting area from a distance.

"Gouzi, Da Niu! What the hell happened? Is Lao Zhao going to be okay?"

He shouted, running to them in a few long strides.

When Da Niu saw Fu Yang, he felt as if he finally had a backbone. With a mournful face, he explained, "Fu Yang, Lao Zhao was beaten by a bunch of thugs. They were brutal. If Gouzi and I hadn't risked our lives to carry him out, he might have died today. I can't even bear to think about it..."

Gouzi nodded with a grim expression, confirming Da Niu’s account.

Fu Yang was furious.

*Bang!*

He punched the hospital wall with all his might. A chunk of white paint and plaster flaked off, and the sound was so loud that passing pedestrians turned to stare at him.

"Damn those bastards! This is unforgivable. What kind of lowlifes would dare provoke my brother?"

He was truly enraged this time. One of his own roommates had been beaten into the operating room, and by the sound of it, if they hadn't escaped quickly, it would have been a homicide case.

"Tell me exactly what happened, both of you."

Because he had been practicing Taoist arts, Fu Yang had unknowingly developed a presence that made it impossible for ordinary people to refuse him. Even he hadn't noticed this change.

Da Niu and Gouzi quickly relayed the sequence of events.

It turned out that after a long time, Gouzi had finally managed to pull himself out of the shadow of Dudu's death. Since it was summer vacation, the three of them had discussed it and, like Fu Yang, decided to stay in school to look for internships.

The search had been bumpy, but by yesterday morning, all three had finally secured positions. They were thrilled, so they decided to go out to celebrate. They found a bar, planning to have some drinks and meet some girls.

Lao Zhao, whose personality was much like Fu Yang’s—extroverted and flirtatious—was quite handsome. Naturally, he was popular with the women at the bar, many of whom were eager to get close to him.

Eventually, a pretty, "cosplay-style" girl bought Lao Zhao a drink. After she clearly showed interest, Lao Zhao happily invited her to sit and join them.

Little did they know, the girl had a boyfriend!

And he was a gang leader who styled himself after the characters in "Young and Dangerous," calling himself the "Nancheng Rooster." He had over thirty men under his command and supposedly controlled two or three streets, making him a rising underground force in that area.

The bar Lao Zhao and his friends had chosen was actually the place where the gang hung out and partied.

They had poked a hornet's nest!

The cosplay girl was dragged out and beaten severely until she was black and blue, unrecognizable as the pretty girl she had been. As for Lao Zhao and his friends, they were no match for a dozen thugs wielding steel pipes.

Lao Zhao was hit in the head with a beer bottle on the spot, blood pouring everywhere! Da Niu, who was physically strong, had used his strength to shield him and break out, calling an ambulance to rush him to the campus hospital for surgery.

"Nancheng Rooster, is it? I’ll see how I pluck this chicken!" Fu Yang said viciously.

For now, he couldn't act rashly. He sat down beside Da Niu and Gouzi, and the three of them waited in dejected, anxious silence.

They waited until the red light outside the operating room turned green. The door opened, and a doctor in a white coat wearing a mask stepped out.

Fu Yang hurried to meet him. "Doctor, how is my brother? Will he be alright?"

"Well, his condition is stable for now. It’s fortunate he was brought in promptly, and his physical health is decent. He mainly suffered three broken ribs and will need to rest..."

As the surgeon spoke, he pulled down his mask. Fu Yang froze when he saw his face.

"Dr. Zhao? You’re the one who operated on my brother?"

"You are... oh, Fu Yang! Haha, little junior, it’s you."

It turned out the doctor who had performed the emergency surgery was none other than Zhao Que, the doctor Fu Yang had met at the campus hospital during an all-night shift when he had almost died after a corpse jumped into the abandoned artificial lake.

Back then, Fu Yang had just been forced by Viki to serve her and hadn't possessed a shred of Taoist magic. When he encountered the corpse, he had no choice but to run for his life. Later, once he possessed magic, he had been so busy that he had forgotten about the campus hospital. Otherwise, given his curiosity, he surely would have paid a visit to the morgue.

"Is the injured student your friend? Although the injuries are serious and there was significant blood loss, they are external wounds. He’ll likely need to recover in the hospital for two or three months. And the overall medical costs will be quite high—likely reaching six figures..."

Da Niu and Gouzi looked troubled. They were just college students; even if their families were relatively well-off, coming up with 100,000 for their brother’s expenses was no small task.

Fu Yang waved his hand, telling them not to worry about the money. "Get him the best treatment. I’ll cover the medical bills."

He was joking!

He was a member of the Ministry of State Security’s special department now. Even if he was just a temp, he wasn't going to be stopped by money.

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and since Dr. Zhao had other matters to attend to, he prepared to leave. They shook hands in farewell.

But in that final moment of the handshake, Zhao Que’s expression shifted violently, his eyes widening in surprise. When he grasped Fu Yang’s hand, he had clearly felt a surge of spiritual energy—a distinct hallmark of a Taoist priest!