Chapter 110 The Last Medicine
Ye Qing sat in the living room, his body had already recovered 70%, and he was going to go with Black Bear tonight, still possessing a fighting chance. Unfortunately, time was insufficient; if he could have regained his full strength, the odds of winning would have been much higher.
"My heavens, what happened here? Was there a tornado?" Old Wang Ba's exaggerated voice came from the doorway, the old swindler hadn't shown up all day, but now he ran over at dinner time.
Seeing the expressions on the faces of the two men inside, Old Wang Ba instantly felt that something was wrong and hurriedly asked, "Little Leaf, what happened?"
"Huo Pingping was kidnapped!" Ye Qing said solemnly.
"What?" Old Wang Ba's eyes widened and he said, "You... you had an agreement with Zhao Chengshuang for two days, right? Why did these people make their move ahead of time?"
Ye Qing said, "The one who made the move wasn't Li Lianshan, it was Young Master Wei."
Old Wang Ba cursed angrily, "Damn it, the little bastard is quite bold, daring to brazenly take hostages; he really thinks he's in the mafia. Right, why did he kidnap that shrew? She didn't even hit him!"
As Old Wang Ba spoke, he glanced at Black Bear. The one who had acted the night before last was Black Bear, logically, they should have come for revenge against Black Bear.
Ye Qing said solemnly, "He kidnapped Pingping to force us to go to North Huanqian Bay Bar at half past ten tonight."
"North Huanqian Bay Bar?" Old Wang Ba frowned and said, "Why would they go there?"
"What's wrong with that place?" Ye Qing asked curiously.
"North Huanqian Bay Bar is where those street racing gangs in Shenchuan City gather. Every night, the Qianwan area is filled with street racers. Young Master Wei is one of these racers. These gangs, how should I put it, either are from wealthy families or children of powerful people; only those with a certain background would frequent such places," said Old Wang Ba.
Old Wang Ba scratched his head and carefully adjusted his hairstyle, continuing, "These young masters, I don't even know how to describe them. Normally in the city, although they are arrogant, they don't operate any black-market businesses. However, the bad things they do are no less than those done by the mafia.
In Shenchuan City, because of these street racers, at least a dozen people lose their lives to their wheels. You can say, these young masters don't realize the value of human life and are more unreasonable than the mafia. But since they have money and background, no one can do anything about them. All in all, this group might be the most arrogant in the whole of Shenchuan City!"
Old Wang Ba looked at Ye Qing and whispered, "This Young Master Wei is quite familiar with the street racing crowd. By setting up tonight's meeting there, it's clear that these racers are ready to back him up. Honestly, if you guys go there tonight, it could be very troublesome.
You can't even dare to strike them, accidentally injuring any one of them can lead to serious trouble as their families will pursue it rigorously. Yet, these people don't hold back, this... this situation looks really tricky indeed..."
Ye Qing frowned deeply, his biggest concern was exactly this scenario. If the opposition were just a band of desperadoes or terrorists, that would have been the easiest to handle. Relying on force and, if pushed to the brink, simply killing them off. But now, the opposition was just a group of young masters with complex backgrounds. Harming any one of them could have serious consequences!
Old Wang Ba whispered, "If I were you, I'd call Zhao Chengshuang to handle this matter."
Ye Qing shook his head; he didn't trust Zhao Chengshuang to handle this situation effectively. By now, Young Master Wei must know about his connection with Zhao Chengshuang, and yet he still came here to brazenly kidnap someone, clearly disrespecting Zhao. Moreover, Young Master Wei had already mentioned that if Ye Qing called the police, Huo Pingping would be in danger.
In such a matter, Ye Qing couldn't afford to be careless. If calling Zhao Chengshuang resulted in any danger to Huo Pingping, he would never forgive himself.
"If not calling him, then what do you plan to do?" Old Wang Ba asked anxiously, "Don't tell me you guys are going over personally? Let me tell you, these people are not easy to deal with."
Black Bear said, "What's not easy to deal with? If it really comes down to it, just kill them all!"
Old Wang Ba looked at Black Bear in astonishment, knowing he was a brash man, but hadn't expected him to be that rash. Kill them all, were you planning to go against all the influential people in Shenchuan City?
Ye Qing said sternly, "No matter what, we must rescue Pingping tonight!"
Old Wang Ba looked at Black Bear, then at Ye Qing, and finally sighed, "Since you guys have decided on this, then I won't stop you. If something really happens tonight, I'll arrange for you guys to flee to Xiangjiang; I have connections there. But Ye Qing, you at least need to recover fully before you go!"
Ye Qing said gravely, "There's no time left, it's already half-past ten; we don't have much time left!"
Old Wang Ba handed the medicine to Ye Qing, saying, "This is the last time you'll need this medicine, and it's the most critical one. After taking this medicine, if you follow the Acupoint Seeking Technique's method of Breathing and Meditation, it will rapidly repair your body and restore your strength. Moreover, it's very beneficial for your meridians.
You should quickly prepare and drink it; there might still be time."
Ye Qing looked at the medicine, then at Black Bear, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Alright."
After taking the medicine, it was around seven o'clock. All the women had returned, except for Mu Qingrong. Knowing about Huo Pingping's situation, they were also very anxious and discussed incessantly in the living room.
After drinking the medicine, Ye Qing only felt weak all over and was surprised as he looked at Old Wang Ba.
Old Wang Ba spread his hands, saying, "Don't look at me, the medicine is supposed to nourish the meridians throughout your body. You'd better go inside now and breathe as instructed. It will work wonders. Once this feeling of weakness is completely gone, your body will be healed!"
Ye Qing asked, "How long will that take? I still need to go save someone at ten thirty."
Old Wang Ba replied, "Who knows? If you are in a hurry, you better start right away."
"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? If I had known, I wouldn't have drunk it," Ye Qing said frustratedly.
"Damn, if I had told you earlier, you really wouldn't have drunk it," Old Wang Ba said. "This dose is crucial; it must work in conjunction with the previous ones. So, you had to drink it tonight, or else the previous doses would have been wasted. I didn't tell you the whole truth for your own good. Now, stop glaring at me and hurry up and cultivate!"
At this point, Ye Qing had no choice but to comply. He turned to Black Bear and said solemnly, "Xiong Zi, if I don't come out by nine thirty, start the rescue without me!"
Black Bear stood at attention, "Yes!"
As Ye Qing was about to enter the room, he suddenly remembered something and quickly turned to add, "Remember, unless it's absolutely necessary, do not hurt anyone!"
"Yes!"
Old Wang Ba nodded repeatedly, "That's the best thing you've said tonight. If he actually goes out and injures a few people in a reckless manner, we might indeed need to flee!"
Ye Qing returned to his room and, with great effort, managed to climb onto the bed. He sat cross-legged and began breathing and meditating using the Acupoint Seeking Technique. After a while, his mood began to stabilize, and he gradually entered the zone. His stomach felt warm; the medicine he had consumed earlier was taking effect, that warmth slowly circulating within him.
Ye Qing slowly breathed and manipulated the warm current within him using his Internal Breath, allowing it to flow through his meridians. As the warmth passed through, he could almost feel the meridians changing within his body, the pathways for Internal Breath seeming much wider.
According to Old Wang Ba, Neijia Kung Fu focuses on cultivating Internal Breath and meridians. Internal Breath is the internal strength stored within the body; the stronger the stored internal strength, the greater the power. However, meridians are the channels for internal strength. Without clear meridians, even abundant internal power is useless.
Ye Qing had been well-prepared by Third Master Li from the beginning, even subtly incorporating breathing and meditation into his boxing practice, establishing a foundation for his internal strength. However, his various meridians had not been unblocked. The last time he had forcibly broken through the meridians, he nearly ended up paralyzed due to the damage caused.
Old Wang Ba's medicine was truly remarkable, nourishing not only the meridians but even expanding them. After recovering from this ordeal, Ye Qing's strength would greatly increase, this was indeed a blessing in disguise. This version was sourced from M|V|L^EMPYR.
Ye Qing sat quietly, adjusting his breath, gradually entering a state of clarity, forgetting everything around him, his spirit fully immersed in the flow of Internal Breath.
Outside, when nine thirty arrived and Ye Qing still hadn't emerged, Black Bear got up, "Tell the captain, I'm going to save them first!"
"Be careful," Old Wang Ba initially wanted to remind Black Bear not to injure anyone, but thinking about the ferocity of those spoiled brats, he opened his mouth but then swallowed his words.
Even if Black Bear didn't hurt anyone, those spoiled brats would not show any mercy. If Black Bear were too gentle, the one at a disadvantage would probably still be him!
Seeing Black Bear going alone, Fang Tingyun couldn't help but ask again, "Should we call the police?"
"It's useless," Old Wang Ba shrugged, "First off, who knows if those cops would even respond. If that Young Master Wei finds out, your friend Huo Pingping might end up dead first. Don't look at me, those little bastards are far more ruthless than the mafia. If you cross them, they really might kill your sister!"
"Is there no law anymore!" Chen Keai exclaimed indignantly.
"Law?" Old Wang Ba glanced at her and said, "If there was any law, would they kidnap someone in broad daylight? Young lady, don't be naive. I'm telling you, in this society, power is the only truth!"
Chen Keai clenched her fists, "I refuse to believe it. Good always triumphs over evil since ancient times!"
"That's utter nonsense!" Old Wang Ba sneered, "What does 'good always triumphs over evil' even mean? There's a saying: 'The victor becomes king.' History is written by the victors. Who knows what is evil and what is good? If you're powerless, then whatever you do is considered evil.
Ever heard the saying, 'For one general's success, thousands lie dead?' Which ancient emperor or monarch wasn't standing on heaps of bones, yet who dares to say they were evil?"
Unable to argue with Old Wang Ba, Chen Keai could only say frustratingly, "You... you're just twisting the facts!"
Old Wang Ba glanced at Chen Keai and sighed, "Young girl, you really don't understand this society!"