Chapter 219
Su Tao immediately rushed from Xiangnan's Xingzhou City to Huaibei's He City. The instant he stepped out of the airport terminal, he felt the stinging pain from dusting snow on his face.
He never felt that much rage for one person. Although Bai Fan played numerous schemes, he had touched his bottom line this time. Su Tao never considered himself to be perfect, since he had his own weaknesses and weak spots. He regarded those around him as precious, and whoever dared to harm them would be crossing his bottom line.
Liu Jianwei and Xia Yu had already gathered there. After picking up Su Tao from the airport, the three of them silently sat in the vehicle, especially Liu Jianwei. He had his eyes closed throughout the entire trip, looking like a furious wolf.
The vehicle drove towards She Wei's residence, and following the navigation, the vehicle soon reached the villa. In this time, the snow had become more intense.
Zhao Jian was lying in one of the rooms located on the first floor with the air conditioner raised to a high temperature. Su Tao walked to Zhao Jian and placed his fingers on the latter's pulse. After examining the latter's wounds, Su Tao's expression loosened up. It wasn't as bad as he had imagined. One month of rest was sufficient for Zhao Jian to be as lively as a tiger.
Cai Yan stood beside Su Tao with a bandage on her head. Su Tao removed the bandage and applied his self-manufactured ointment and dressed her injury. Cai Yan forced a smile and comforted, "I'm fine. Zhao Jian was courageous when he stood before me. Will he be fine?"
"Just a few fractures, I'll deal with it later to make sure that there won't be any repercussions." Su Tao said in a solemn tone.
Cai Yan had spent a great deal of time with Su Tao, but despite that, she had never seen the latter's face so dark and reminded, "Don't be rash. After all, this is Huaibei, and we're in Bai Fan's territory."
Since ancient times, there has been a saying that not even a powerful dragon dares to suppress a snake at the latter's territory. Nodding his head, Su Tao said, "Don't worry. I won't be rash."
Due to the excruciating pain from the fractures, Zhao Jian wasn't in a deep sleep. Su Tao gave an eye signal to Cai Yan, and the latter tactfully left the room with everyone for Su Tao to conduct his treatment. Bone fractures weren't a big deal. Su Tao gently wrung a bit, and Zhao Jian could hear the crackling noise coming from his body, before the pain was instantly alleviated.
Once Zhao Jian's conscious was more focused, he forced a smile and said in a hoarse voice, "Master, I'm sorry that I couldn't protect the new branch; it was completely ruined."
The new branch received the funding of nearly ¥2,000,000, and this event had practically made it go down the drain.
Hearing his words, Su Tao felt complicated in his heart and he said, "Next time, don't blindly charge forth. If they trash the place, so be it. Your life is more important."
Hearing Su Tao's words, Zhao Jian felt more comforted, before he gritted his teeth. "The other party had too many people with them. If it's just three to four of them, it wouldn't have been an issue for me to deal with them!"
Su Tao apologised, "I'm sorry. I didn't consider enough. I should have let Brother Liu follow you guys to the new branch."
"Master, I have something that I would like to ask of you." Zhao Jian lowered his voice.
"What is it? As long as it's something that can be done, I will do my best for you." Su Tao has never given out a promise so solemnly.
"Don't tell Senior Sister about this matter." Zhao Jian was ashamed as he continued, "I'm afraid that she will be disappointed."
Hearing his words, Su Tao was briefly stunned. He never expected this fellow to be such a Casanova to have such deep feelings for Xiao Jingjing. He nodded his head. "Rest assured. I won't let Xiao Jingjing learn about this matter."
Licking his cracked lips, Zhao Jin smiled in self-ridicule. "Master, I actually know that Senior Sister already has someone in her heart, but I just can't get her off my mind."
Tapping on Zhao Jian's shoulder, Su Tao comforted, "Choosing a lover that loves you is a tough problem, to begin with. I believe that Xiao Jingjing will realise your sincerity for her and change her mind."
When Zhao Jian heard Su Tao's words, his eyes lit up and smiled. "Master, my injuries no longer hurt after hearing your words."
Xiao Jingjing's heart has been on Su Tao, which the latter had tactfully expressed his thoughts. But it was this unidirectional feeling that Xiao Jingjing had for the latter that made Zhao Jian feel attracted.
All along, Zhao Jian has been having complicated feelings in his heart. Su Tao was his master; his idol. If it was another love rival, he might have the courage to fight. But if it's his master, he didn't have the courage and confidence to do so.
"I'll perform acupuncture on a few acupoints of yours to let you rest better." Su Tao retrieved his needle box. Through this incident, he has gained a better understanding of Zhao Jian. Although the latter looked ordinary, he had strong potential. He had practically been growing daily for the past few months. Most importantly, Zhao Jian had a kind nature and was an affectionate person.
He did not choose the wrong disciple!
Once Zhao Jian's brows loosened up, he fell into a deep slumber.
When Su Tao came out of the room to the courtyard, he saw Liu Jianwei and Xia Yu smoking with the corner of their eyes slanting up.
"I want to kill." Liu Jianwei uttered with a coarse voice.
Ever since joining the Three Flavour Hall, he has built a good relationship with Zhao Jian. The two of them belonged to a category of people, without many words. He would often bring a bottle of alcohol to Zhao Jian's room and the two of them would chat the whole night with peanuts and alcohol.
It was also due to this that Wang Peng often teased the two of them as a gay couple.
"Killing is the lowest level of taking vengeance." Su Tao shook his head. He wasn't in agreement with this.
"What do you think we should do, then? Regardless of anything, I can't restrain myself." Liu Jianwei's principle has always been the one to take vengeance and his feelings were telling him to without any twist and turns.
Turning his gaze to Xia Yu, Su Tao asked, "How's the investigation that I assigned you coming along?"
Xia Yu took out a piece of paper from his bosom; it was a manually-drawn blueprint. He replied, "This is all I can find out. Bai Fan is a cautious person, and he had a lot of security measures in place. I've spent quite a bit of money to purchase this from a servant in his residence." Using a red pen to circle out a location, Xia Yu grinned. "You should find what you want here."
"There's no time to lose. We'll take action tonight. Today, we're not going to kill, but save lives!" Su Tao declared with an indifferent expression.
It was satisfying to visit the bathhouse in winter.
San Qiang entered the pool with smiles on his face as he reported to the two people beside him, "It has already been done. The shop is trashed, and we have even beaten up a blind fellow. We made sure that he will be lying in bed for at least half a year."
Ole Seventh grinned, revealing his pearly-white teeth, and handed a box, which was placed on a marble table, over. "You've done pretty good, this is a gift Boss Bai has rewarded you."
San Qiang carefully took the box and placed it to the side, then replied in a low tone, "Boss Bai, don't worry. As long as I'm around, I'll make sure that the Three Flavour Hall won't be able to conduct their business."
Opening his eyes, Bai Fan swept a glance at San Qiang before he unhurriedly said, "Open a Medicine King Hall opposite of them, and once it's operational, share 30% dividends to San Qiang." When he finished speaking, he walked out of the pool and headed towards the sauna.
"Thank you, Boss Bai!" San Qiang immediately burst into ecstasy. He knew the worth of the Medicine King Hall's signboard. Although it might be a new branch, the location was good, and it would surely guarantee a stable income of at least hundreds of thousands monthly.
The sweat on Bai Fan's body made his body glossy, and when Ole Seventh came in shortly after, he asked with his eyes closed, "Is that San Qiang trustable?"
"How many thugs can be trusted?" Old Seventh chewed on a dried snack as he continued, "But don't worry. As long as you give some benefits to people like him, he will obey you like a trained hound."
Nodding his head in satisfaction, Bai Fan asked, "Is there any movement from the Three Flavour Hall?"
Ole Seventh chuckled, "Su Tao, Liu Jianwei, and Xia Yu have come to He City. With such a big incident, even he couldn't stay still anymore."
"Strengthen the security measures." Bai Fan instructed with an indifferent expression as he continued, "Liu Jianwei's martial arts are too formidable. Su Tao, that lucky bastard, he actually managed to recruit such a powerful expert."
Know thyself, know thy enemy. Since he has considered Su Tao as an enemy, he had naturally done his homework. Thus, he could be considered as the one who understood Su Tao the most.
Old Seventh said in a solemn voice, "Don't worry, I have already arranged it. As long as he dares to knock on our door, he's just putting himself out as an easy target."
After feeling that he had enough of the sauna, Bai Fan stood up and left. Although his physique was pretty good, staying in the sauna any longer would risk dehydration. When he walked out, Ole Seventh hollered, "Should I arrange a girl for you?"
However, Bai Fan did not respond to the question. Ole Seventh looked at his silhouette and shook his head with a sigh, "He doesn't know how to enjoy life!"
In his view, Bai Fan was outstanding in many factors, but he's just too indifferent towards women.
Since Bai Fan has already left, there wasn't any more meaning in him staying in the sauna anymore. Thus, Ole Seventh went to wash up before heading to his private room. When he entered, Bai Fan had already finished changing and left, leaving this room for him. Ole Seventh shook his head and pressed on the bell on the cabinet beside the couch. Shortly after, a well-dressed woman in her forties walked in with her eyes squinted from the smile.
"Mr. Niu, are there any instructions?" The woman was an attractive woman despite her age.
"Are there any newcomers?" Ole Seventh asked with his mouth twisted.
The woman knew Ole Seventh's fetish. Ole Seventh had a thing for torturing newcomers, and often traumatised them with injuries on their bodies. Thus, she persuaded, "There's no fun in newcomers. Why don't you pick a veteran? No.7 and No.9 are both free right now!"
"Are you messing with me? I've heard that No.16 is new and looks pretty good. I'll pick her." Ole Seventh impatiently waved his hand before he continued, "Don't anger me, arrange it quickly now!"
When he finished speaking, he took out a few bills and tossed them on the floor.
The woman knew Ole Seventh's temper. Thus, she helplessly sighed and picked up the bills before stiffening her heart and went to get No.16.
No.16 was a newcomer and had just been working here for a few days. She also picked up pretty quickly, but in the massage industry, how much can they earn while relying on their massaging skills? Sooner or later, they would have to go through that phase.
"Mr. Niu is an influential figure in Huaibei. If you're able to satisfy him, then you won't have to worry about clothes and food for the rest of your life. Aren't you earning money for your father's medical fees? Here's an opportunity for you." The woman said before she got No.16 into the room.