CH 2

When Xu Qingyan woke up, she felt disoriented for a while before regaining her senses. She immediately got up from the ground and hurriedly rushed to the bedside to assess the situation.

It was already the third day after the surgery, and these past three days had taken a toll on Xu Qingyan both physically and mentally. 

She felt light-headed and her head was throbbing. During the surgery, her hands had trembled uncontrollably and it took a great effort for her to remain composed and focused. 

She had originally specialized in surgery and was hailed as a rare talent. Professors from her department often invited her to observe and learn from their surgeries due to her high aptitude and rapid progress. 

However, after her rotation in the hospital, she ended up in the gastroenterology department. 

Although she had confidence in performing surgeries, this particular surgery demanded her full attention and a hundred and twenty percent of her spirit. Fortunately, the patient displayed incredible resilience, and no complications arose during the operation.

And now, the first three days of the postoperative recovery were crucial. She stayed by the bedside without leaving for even an inch, until on the third day, she suddenly blacked out and collapsed.  

She was too exhausted, repeatedly pulling this person back from the brink of death, and each time it felt like she herself had also ventured into the realm of the afterlife. Even during work, she had never experienced such high level of mental pressure.

“While you were asleep, everything seemed relatively stable,” the leopard-man reported to her as he followed by her side. “When will he wake up?” 

Xu Qingyan examined his wounds. She was afraid of postoperative infections or complications. Everything here was so primitive, without any monitoring equipment. There was a sense of helplessness, as if they were at the mercy of fate. So far, they should have passed the critical period.

After careful consideration, Xu Qingyan said cautiously, “It’s hard to say. The surgery was successful, but the conditions here are too rudimentary. It’s still necessary to recuperate in a place with adequate equipment.”

“Someone will come to pick us up soon.”

Xu Qingyan nodded. “That’s good. I hope his willpower is strong enough.”

“It will be,” leopard-man said aggressively.. “He won’t die so easily. He still has many wishes…”

Xu Qingyan couldn’t help but turn around and looked at him, and he suddenly realized he had lost his composure. Immediately, he composed himself and returned to an expressionless state. “You’ll leave with us in a couple of days.”

“If you don’t come with us…”

The dark-faced man was about to find some threatening words to intimidate Xu Qingyan, but she interrupted him and calmly said, “I understand.”

The leopard-like man didn’t say anything, while the dark-faced man continued, “If anything happens to Lord Liang, we’ll hold you accountable.”

From what she had heard so far, they referred to this person as “Lord Liang”. He must be their leader. Xu Qingyan didn’t know what trouble they had encountered, but based on her observations over the past two days, she could determine that they were not avoiding the police but rather fellow members of the underworld.

The third night was as difficult to endure. According to the leopard-man, their companions would come and join them, quietly escorting Lord Liang back to their headquarters. 

However the most worrying thing was whether their enemies, who were searching for them, would find them, and whether Lord Liang’s injury would suddenly worsen and get out of control.

The dark-faced man remained guarding outside, barely closing his eyes for the past three days. His eyes were bloodshot, and his red pupils looked terrifying in the darkness. Meanwhile, the leopard-man never left the bedside, silently observing Xu Qingyan at the same time.

Although he somewhat admired her calmness, he never fully trusted her from the beginning. 

He had control over all her personal belongings, checked her identification card and found out her name was Xu Qingyan. He also found her work ID in her bag, so she couldn’t easily escape. 

However, what surprised him was that instead of trying to find a way to escape, she took extremely meticulous care of the patient. There were several emergencies, and her expression was even more grim than theirs.

Why was this the case?

They were complete strangers, brought together by chance and circumstance. It was luck for them, but misfortune for her as she was forced into saving a life. 

Once, he deliberately left her luggage at the door and used the excuse of going to the restroom. The room was then left with only her and the unconscious Second Master. It was the perfect opportunity to escape, yet this woman remained indifferent, as if she had forgotten that she was being held against her will.

Perhaps, as she claimed, she had a compassionate heart as a doctor, but he didn’t fully believe it.

Lord Liang had once said that there is a reason behind every phenomenon and a motive behind every action.

Xu Qingyan forced herself to stay focused as she watched the medicine drip slowly into the intravenous tube. 

She didn’t know how the leopard man managed it, but he had brought the life-saving blood pack and antibiotics as she had requested.

Her gaze would occasionally linger on the man’s face, and sometimes she seemed lost in thought, staying still for a long time before getting up to check his wounds. She repeated this process tirelessly.

This man had an incredibly strong will to survive. An ordinary person would not have been able to endure such severe injuries without proper medical equipment. But he had not been defeated by the grim reaper; Lady Luck was on his side. The bullet had narrowly missed hitting a vital area, and he had managed to cling to life.

“Where are you from?” the leopard-man asked, breaking the silence.

“Z City,” replied Xu Qingyan.

The leopard-man raised an eyebrow at her response. “How long have you been a doctor?”

“Six or seven years,” replied Xu Qingyan.

“You’re quite skilled,” he commented.

Xu Qingyan remained silent.

“Are you married?” he asked. Xu Qingyan’s face showed a hint of caution, and the leopard man replied sternly, “Just asking.”

Xu Qingyan lowered her head and continued to change the bandages on the injured man. “No,” she answered.

“Why did you come to a place like this?” he pressed.

“Sightseeing,” she replied.

A woman coming alone to this area they referred to as the “Black Evil Path” was either foolish or incredibly fearless.

During the conversation, Xu Qingyan also learned the nicknames of these two men. The leopard-man was called Ah Bao, while the dark-faced man was called Da Li. Da Li had a hot temper but listened to Ah Bao’s words. Ah Bao, on the other hand, was more composed and restrained, unlike his fierce and brutal appearance.

Finally, on the fifth day after the surgery, the man’s fever subsided.

“37.2 degrees,” Xu Qingyan placed the thermometer down and let out a barely audible sigh of relief.

Ah Bao kept a stern face, not daring to take it lightly, and asked, “How much longer until he wakes up?”

This question had been asked countless times already. Xu Qingyan furrowed her brow; it was the most difficult question to answer, yet it was the one that family members of patients loved to ask the most. Especially now, when the patient had not fully passed the critical period and there were no monitoring devices here, other complications could arise any time.

Xu Qingyan spoke truthfully, “It would be best to transfer him to a hospital or a place with medical equipment. The conditions here are too rudimentary and not conducive to recovery.”

Da Li immediately roared, “Isn’t that obvious? If we could go to a hospital, why would we bother coming to you…”

Xu Qingyan glanced at him, thinking to herself, ‘What’s the point of finding her? She has done everything she can. Do they really think she’s a miracle worker?’

Ah Bao raised his hand to stop him and said concisely, “I understand. Get ready, we’ll leave as soon as tomorrow.”

“Brother Bao, is it possible?”

“Lord Liang’s life is more important. I’ll take care of it.”

Xu Qingyan’s face turned pale as she pressed her lips together, silently and calmly replacing the gauze for the man they referred to as “Lord Liang.” In addition to the gunshot wound, he had multiple knife wounds on his body.

The indoor lights were blindingly white, casting an eerie pallor on the man’s skin, making him look like a lifeless corpse. 

With gentle hands, Xu Qingyan lifted the blanket to inspect the wounds. Her suturing skills had earned her mentor’s praise, and rightfully so. Although there were still areas to improve, her work looked better than the poorly-done needle marks left by inexperienced doctors. With proper care during recovery, the scar would at least be smooth and seamless in the future.

However, it seems unlikely that this man cared about the aesthetic appeal of his scars. His body was already covered with countless scars.

On the night of the surgery, she was too focused to notice, but the next day when she examined the wounds, as a doctor herself, she was shocked by the various scars, especially the deep one from his chest to his abdomen. 

It looked like it had been repeatedly lacerated with a dagger, causing a gruesome and chaotic mess of flesh and blood. Even imagining it made her chest tighten. 

In addition, there were two gunshot wounds on his knees, indicating that the entire kneecap had been replaced. And on his lower back, there was a strange circular scar, as if a piece of flesh had been gouged out.

With a gentle touch from Xu Qingyan, the person on the bed unexpectedly convulsed. 

Startled, Xu Qingyan quickly withdrew her hand, and after a while, he gradually settled back into stillness.

How did this person manage to survive?

The level of vigilance was so high that just the thought of it made Xu Qingyan shudder. In her calm and tranquil life, it was difficult to fathom the world he had come from.

Xu Qingyan covered him with a thin blanket and let out a sigh. This person possessed an extraordinary will to survive. Even in the most agonizing moments of the past five days, he only furrowed his brow tightly without making a sound.

“Lord Liang”, that’s how they call him. Xu Qingyan vaguely felt that she had stumbled upon someone with quite a lot of power.

That night, Xu Qingyan couldn’t hold on any longer and fell into a deep slumber by the bedside.

The accumulated pressure over the past few days had left her mentally exhausted. 

Her dreams were a jumble of black and white silhouettes. In a daze, she saw a white shirt and disheveled black hair, a young and handsome smiling face, and…he seemed to reach out and gently touch her face. 

She struggled to open her eyes, wanting to see more clearly, wanting to get closer. However, no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t piece together a complete picture.

“Dr. Xu, Dr. Xu!”

Xu Qingyan abruptly woke up, staring at the person in front of her in confusion.

Ah Bao was looking at her with a serious expression. “You had a nightmare.”

Da Li behind him chuckled. “Crying like a ghost.”

Xu Qingyan felt somewhat embarrassed, but she didn’t believe Da Li’s words. After almost crying her eyes out, she was basically incapable of shedding tears now. 

Xu Qingyan lowered her eyes, her forehead covered in cold sweat, and her back soaked with perspiration. Slowly propping herself up, she realized that she had been sleeping on the only sofa in the room.

Ah Bao handed her a glass of water, and she took it, hesitating. “What time is it now?”

“Afternoon.”

Xu Qingyan was taken aback. She had slept for so long.

She immediately asked, “How is he doing?”

“No fever, he looks much better.”

Da Li sneered and said sarcastically, “Surprising you still remember our Lord Liang. If anything happens to him, I will let you sleep forever.”

“Da Li!” Ah Bao exclaimed, his voice low. “Shut up.”

Xu Qingyan knew she had let her guard down and immediately got up to check on him. As Ah Bao had mentioned, his condition had stabilized somewhat, but this was not a long-term solution.

“Tonight, we’ll be moving,” Ah Bao said, as if reading Xu Qingyan’s thoughts.

“Where are we going?”

“Hmph, just follow us. If you dare to escape…” Da Li made a menacing throat-slitting gesture.

Xu Qingyan ignored him, silently lowering her head and attending to her tasks. Ah Bao approached her and handed her a boxed meal.

She accepted it but set it aside, saying, “Thank you.”

Ah Bao’s face darkened, and he ordered, “Eat it. We can’t take two patients with us.”

Xu Qingyan lowered her gaze, wordlessly putting the cold meal into her mouth.

“Brother Bao, I’m going out for some fresh air.”

“Alright, be careful.”

After Da Li left, the room fell completely silent.

“You’ll follow us tonight,” Ah Bao paused, seemingly contemplating how to phrase it, “I will report your situation to our superiors and let them decide.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyan’s wrist trembled slightly as she reached for a clean towel and gently wiped the sweat from Lord Liang’s forehead. 

Ah Bao stood by, watching Xu Qingyan’s cautious movements with a pensive expression. “Have you encountered this kind of situation before?” he asked.

” No,” answered Xu Qingyan calmly, looking directly into the eyes of Ah Bao.

“Will you let me go?”

Ah Bao shook his head. “I don’t have the power to decide.”

After spending a few days with them, Xu Qingyan realized that Ah Bao was not as vicious as he appeared on the surface. He was a rather calm and self-controlled person.

Xu Qingyan stepped forward and pleaded earnestly, “I don’t know anything, I just happened to pass by and saved this person.”

But Ah Bao remained unmoved. “As I said, I will report to our superiors.”

With her head lowered, Xu Qingyan’s short hair swayed slightly, unable to conceal her increasingly troubled expression, despite her strong-willed nature.

Noticing her reaction, Ah Bao continued, “If Lord Liang wakes up, we’ll have to see what he says about this.”

Suddenly, the door was kicked open. In a lightning-fast motion, Ah Bao leaped to his feet, positioning himself in front of the bed and drawing his gun towards the doorway.

“Brother Bao!” Da Li rushed in, urgently shouting, “They’ve found us!”