With me here, you won't die!

Ever since Song Kai learned that the Holy Ruins were searching for the Dust-Suppressing Bowl belonging to some monk named Xuan'e, he had kept it in mind.

To find this object, the Holy Ruins had even gone so far as to support the Sky-Roar Hall specifically to gather intelligence for them.

The problem was that this so-called monk Xuan'e was a completely untraceable figure on the internet, leaving him with no way to search for him.

Song Kai looked at Xu Ling, hoping she might possess some clues. If he could manage to snatch the item the old Taoist of the Holy Ruins was looking for one step ahead, just thinking about it felt exhilarating!

Furthermore, anything valued so highly by the Holy Ruins had to be extraordinary.

Xu Ling sat in the front passenger seat, pondered for a moment, and said, "I really have no idea about this. I'll check some records when I get back. By the way, why are you suddenly interested in an old monk? Are you planning to become one?"

"Uh..." Song Kai rubbed his nose speechlessly and said, "I'm trying to find something related to this monk Xuan'e. Wife, if you happen to come across it, remember to let me know."

Xu Ling nodded.

Song Kai dropped Xu Ling off at the entrance of her residential compound.

Xu Ling hopped out of the car, waved at Song Kai, and then walked back into the compound with her hands behind her back and a light, springy step.

Song Kai watched her receding figure, his heart instantly swelling with joy.

Damn it, here he was, a Taoist priest, and he was actually falling in love!

How ridiculous was that!

Song Kai slapped his own face lightly, then quickly drove back to the Kowloon Bay residential area.

Upon reaching the entrance of the compound, Song Kai decided it would be best to take the car in for repairs and repaint the body. Big Brother's subordinates had definitely all memorized this bright red color.

Liu Yue was just about to close the gate when he saw Song Kai's car driving in, but he didn't say anything.

After instructing the mechanics to work on the car overnight, Liu Yue pulled Song Kai into the back warehouse.

"What happened here? Was this from the time those people chased and beat you up? Looks like it was pretty intense," Liu Yue asked with concern.

Song Kai smiled slightly. "It's nothing. I didn't mean to deal with them yet. Oh, remember to help me repaint the car a different color."

"No problem. Hey, Song Kai, why don't you teach us a few more moves today? Even the basics will do. The three of us want to follow you and start practicing from scratch," Liu Yue said, looking at Song Kai with eager eyes.

Song Kai nodded. "No problem at all. Oh, but not today. I need to rush home right now because there's a troublesome creature waiting for me there. Sigh. You guys wanting to start from the basics is the right approach. When I have time, I'll teach you the foundational breathing and meditation techniques, along with basic combat moves. While it won't make a huge difference in the short term, in five years, the power will show."

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Liu Yue was slightly agitated with excitement.

Song Kai waved a hand, exited through the back door, and walked towards his home.

There was no one watching the surroundings.

Reassured, Song Kai took out his keys and opened the front door.

The apartment was pitch black.

Song Kai found it a bit strange; weren't Wu Hongying and Tang Ying both supposed to be off today? Why weren't they here?

Song Kai turned on the lights and walked into the bedroom.

Faint groaning sounds were coming from inside the bedroom.

Song Kai frowned slightly and quickly pushed open the bedroom door.

There, he saw Hua Ruyue on the bed, writhing in agony and whimpering softly.

"What's wrong with you?" Song Kai hurried over and tore the tape off Hua Ruyue's mouth.

Hua Ruyue's eyes were bloodshot, her entire body was drenched in sweat, and every single inch of her muscles was trembling violently.

"Damn it! What happened to you?!" Song Kai was genuinely starting to panic.

Honestly, Hua Ruyue's current condition looked truly miserable.

Hua Ruyue forced her eyes open to look at Song Kai, and blood-red tears began to spill from her eyes, while blood even started trickling from her nose.

Weakly, Hua Ruyue managed a forced smile. "I... I told you before. If you came too late, I... I would die. Now, I... I am going to die. You don't have to... struggle with whether or not to... kill me anymore."

Frowning deeply, Song Kai quickly reached out to check Hua Ruyue's pulse.

Her pulse was utterly chaotic, completely irregular.

Song Kai forced Hua Ruyue's mouth open to examine her tongue.

Clusters of plum-blossom-like red spots had broken out across her tongue.

"You've been poisoned? How did you get poisoned?" Not daring to slack off for a second, Song Kai immediately untied the copper wires binding her.

Hua Ruyue smiled painfully and laboriously. "Isn't... isn't this for the best? I'll be dead, and you won't be torn anymore. Oh, I... I can tell you that... that secret now..."

"Shut up!"

Quickly untying the rest of the ropes, Song Kai scooped Hua Ruyue up into his arms in one smooth motion. "Stop being an idiot! With me here, you aren't dying!"

Hua Ruyue was as frail and weak as a critically ill elderly woman.

Song Kai tossed Hua Ruyue straight into the bathtub, then rapidly turned on the cold water. At the same time, he emptied the refrigerator of all its ice cubes and popsicles, dumping them all into the tub before cranking the air conditioner up to its maximum setting.

The air conditioner vent pointed directly toward the bathroom door.

Stepping into the bathroom, Song Kai ripped Hua Ruyue's clothes away with a sharp tearing sound.

"You... you stop... right now!" Hua Ruyue struggled weakly.

Song Kai said in a cold voice, "You have no way to resist; you just have to endure it. Let me tell you, I won't let you die."

Hua Ruyue was extremely slender. Although her figure was flawless, she was so skin-and-bones that her breasts were only about the size of small steamed buns.

However, Song Kai had no time to appreciate any of that right now; he completely submerged Hua Ruyue in the cold water.

Hua Ruyue shuddered violently, and even more blood seeped from her eyes and nose.

Narrowing his eyes, Song Kai quickly retrieved his acupuncture kit, pulled out the needles, and rapidly pricked the tips of all ten of Hua Ruyue's fingers.

Dark, pitch-black purulent blood began to ooze from the punctures in her ten fingertips.

At that moment, Hua Ruyue finally stopped shaking inside the ice water.

Observing Hua Ruyue's complexion, Song Kai let out a quiet sigh of relief.

She wasn't going to die for the moment, but it wasn't enough!

Song Kai knew very well that this had merely been a symptomatic treatment. Such measures were far from enough to eradicate the poison from Hua Ruyue's body; the next time it flared up, if he wasn't by her side, Hua Ruyue would still die.

Well, perhaps he was overthinking things. If this woman died somewhere else, it wouldn't really have anything to do with him, and he wouldn't need to feel guilty.

Still, as a Taoist priest and a medical practitioner, he couldn't just stand by and watch a woman die right before his eyes.

Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, the sound of the front door opening echoed from outside.

Judging by the footsteps, Wu Hongying and Tang Ying were back.

"I'm dead tired! Oh god, my salary for this month plus next month's has all been wiped out!" Tang Ying complained. "As soon as I get my paycheck this month, the first thing I have to do is pay off my credit card. Dammit, Hongying, I told you not to get that spa treatment, but you insisted! Two thousand big ones! Doesn't it break your heart?"

Wu Hongying laughed. "Not at all. It was your money anyway! I've got nothing left—my bonus is gone, and my salary is next to nothing. The crucial point is that I don't have wealthy parents or grandparents, so for this month and the next, I'll just be freeloading off you."

"I don't have any money either!" Tang Ying cried out angrily. "And what's more, I was seduced by you into spending it all."

"But you have a good mom and dad. They have money," Wu Hongying said with a smile.

Tang Ying fumed. "Bullshit! I am not going to ask them for it. If I take their money, I'll have to go on all those arranged blind dates they set up! You think that money is easy to get? I'm going to go wash my face... Ah!"

Tang Ying stood frozen at the bathroom doorway, staring straight at Song Kai.

Song Kai was currently holding Hua Ruyue down in the water—and holding her down completely naked, at that.

Wu Hongying rushed over as well, took one look at Song Kai, and then shook her head in furious outrage. "Where's my gun? Where the hell is my gun?! Damn it, I'm going to execute this rapist and corpse-dumper of a bastard!"

"Will you two shut up? I'm practicing medicine here!" Song Kai said speechlessly. He helped Hua Ruyue sit up and said, "Look, she's still alive."

"Why does practicing medicine require stripping her clothes off?!" Wu Hongying pointed accusingly at Song Kai.

Song Kai scratched his head. "She's not completely naked; she still has her little underwear on."

"Puff—"

Hua Ruyue coughed up a large mouthful of dark blood, not from the poison, but from sheer rage and fury at being driven over the edge by Song Kai.

Seeing this, Song Kai finally relaxed completely and said, "Alright, alright, Hua Ruyue, you're genuinely fine now."

"I swear... I am going to kill you, you bastard!" Hua Ruyue gritted her teeth, her face flushed so red it looked as though blood might drip from it at any second.

Paying her no mind, Song Kai waved at Wu Hongying and said, "You two come over here, dry her body off, and change her into some clothes."

Wu Hongying walked over and asked, "Why can't you do it yourself?"

"If I do it myself, this female assassin might literally die of anger, and then we won't even need to treat her anymore." Song Kai shrugged, then walked out of the bathroom...