Chapter 2: Passing the Buck

"Presumptuous! What kind of thing are you, daring to curse my young lady? I see you have no desire to live!"

Huang Yong scolded Chen Che angrily and shouted to the driver: "What are you doing?! Hurry up!"

The driver rushed over in a panic, bent down to grab one of Cheng Kexiang's arms, and suddenly sat down on the ground on his backside.

Huang Yong cursed: "Are you trying to die? Stop dawdling!"

The driver stared at Cheng Kexiang with a look of horror; upon touching her, he discovered that Cheng Kexiang actually had no pulse. The driver gathered his courage to check Cheng Kexiang's breath, and with another thud, he collapsed onto the ground.

"No... the young lady has stopped breathing!" the driver cried out, his voice trembling.

Huang Yong was startled and reached out to check as well; there really was none!

Huang Yong and the driver looked at each other, cold sweat streaming down.

"Get up quickly and take the young lady to the hospital!" Right now, the only thing in Huang Yong's mind was taking Cheng Kexiang to the hospital.

The driver said: "But the young lady has already stopped breathing, and it takes ten minutes to drive to the nearest hospital from here. If it's really as this person said just now, it's simply too late."

"We have to go even if it's too late, hurry up!" Huang Yong was also panicked; if Cheng Kexiang died under his protection, it wouldn't just mean losing his job, he might even end up in prison.

The driver clearly thought the same, to the point where fear made his legs go weak and he couldn't stand up at all, crying out in a breakdown: "The young lady is dead, the boss definitely won't let me off! I can't do it, I don't want to go to prison, and I don't want to die even more!"

"Then what are you still dawdling for! Huh?! Hurry up and drive; if the young lady is fine but we delayed her, then it's completely over!"

Huang Yong's body was also weak; if ranked by status, the Cheng Family could rank in the top three in Shanghai. The Patriarch of the Cheng Family was also extremely doting on this little granddaughter, Cheng Kexiang.

Furthermore, there was a precedent where servants had gossiped about Cheng Kexiang in private and were skinned alive by the old master of the Cheng Family.

The driver was trembling and could not stand up at all; Huang Yong was so anxious he was jumping on the spot, neither of them having any judgment or solution.

Chen Che had not expected Cheng Kexiang to have such a family background; no wonder Yang Simin would invite her to attend the birthday party. Jinhai Group was just a small-to-medium-sized private enterprise; if they wanted to remain standing, sucking up to a family like the Cheng Family that ranked high in Shanghai was a logical choice.

"Going to the hospital is useless; I said she is dying. There were five minutes left just now, but now that you two idiots have delayed it, there are two minutes left." Chen Che looked at the two with cold eyes, speaking sarcastically.

"Do you want to die?!" Huang Yong was already anxious, and Chen Che's words further incited the fear and anger he had nowhere to vent. "If my young lady really dies, I will kill you!"

Chen Che ignored Huang Yong's threat and said calmly: "I can save her."

Huang Yong looked Chen Che over carefully; he was quite handsome but dressed too strangely. A long robe, long hair, and carrying a dirty backpack—he looked just like one of those superstitious, swindling charlatans.

Huang Yong rolled up his sleeves and was about to lash out when a sudden thought struck him: "Master, I can tell at a glance that you are a Master! Forgive my offense just now. My young lady is critically ill; I beg the Master to act immediately to save her. The Cheng Family will surely reward you heavily afterward!"

Chen Che saw through Huang Yong's thoughts but ignored them. Even if Cheng Kexiang didn't have the Cheng Family background and was just an ordinary girl, he would still act. Saving the dying and healing the wounded was one of the duties of an Artisan; he always remembered the teachings of his master, Taixuan.

Chen Che went around to the front of the wheelchair, took three Ghost Gate Silver Needles from his backpack, and inserted them into Cheng Kexiang's Baihui Acupoint and temples respectively. He gently ground his fingers, and True Qi was slowly injected into Cheng Kexiang's body through the Silver Needles.

Seeing Chen Che's strange technique, the driver pulled Huang Yong and whispered: "Why are you letting this charlatan treat the young lady?"

"Are you stupid! Letting this swindler treat her means that if anything really happens to the young lady, we can push all the blame onto him. That way, even if the Cheng Family Patriarch blames us, the punishment won't be too heavy."

The driver suddenly realized, silently taking out his phone to record the scene of Chen Che treating Cheng Kexiang.

Huang Yong began drafting his story for how to answer if the Cheng Family members asked.

Clearly, both of them had concluded that Cheng Kexiang could not be saved. They also didn't believe at all that Chen Che knew Medicine; looking like he knew what he was doing was just a setup to ask for money later.

This was a common tactic used by charlatans!

If the Cheng Family found out later that Chen Che had stuck needles into Cheng Kexiang's head, it wouldn't just be as simple as being skinned.

The evidence and excuses were all prepared; now, to completely clear their names, they were missing a plot of heroically protecting their master.

Huang Yong signaled to the driver, who nodded and zoomed out the camera, bringing Huang Yong into the frame.

Huang Yong rushed up, filled with righteous indignation: "Stop! Daring to harm my young lady, I see you have no desire to live!"

Huang Yong opened his large hands and grabbed Chen Che's shoulder: "In the time it took me to go to the restroom, the young lady has actually been bullied by a swindler like you. If I don't kill you today, I won't be worthy of the boss's trust and cultivation!"

"Go to hell..."

Huang Yong was startled; he exerted force with his arm, but Chen Che didn't move in the slightest.

He tried again: "Die!"

Chen Che still didn't move, as if he were a great mountain.

Huang Yong looked sideways and realized he had underestimated this charlatan. He diverted the True Qi in his body and exerted force again; this time, Chen Che finally moved.

But it wasn't his body that moved; it was his hand.

Chen Che raised his hand and easily knocked away Huang Yong's hand from his shoulder; Huang Yong stumbled and nearly fell.

Huang Yong steadied himself and frowned, looking at Chen Che. He discovered that Chen Che's attention was on Cheng Kexiang from beginning to end—or more accurately, on the three Silver Needles on Cheng Kexiang's head.

Huang Yong was enraged and released all the True Qi in his body; the stone slab under his feet emitted a faint cracking sound. He was actually a Third-Rank Martial Artist!

The driver was shocked by Huang Yong's power; although he had seen many Martial Artists in the Cheng Family, a Third-Rank Martial Artist like Huang Yong was rare.

But upon second thought, it made sense; the old master of the Cheng Family doted on Cheng Kexiang, so it was normal to have such an expert by her side for protection.

"Kid, I underestimated you before. I didn't expect you to be a charlatan with some skills, but this is the end of the line. I am a Third-Rank Martial Artist. Do you understand the concept of a Martial Artist? Let me tell you this: not to mention the Cheng Family, even in the entire Shanghai, the number of Martial Artists doesn't exceed one hundred, let alone Third-Rank Martial Artists!"

"So, have you prepared yourself? Prepared to die at my hands!"

"I asked you if you have prepared yourself!?"

Huang Yong roared, deliberately posing for the camera, thinking that the image of heroically protecting his master must be established.

Chen Che turned his head to look over and sneered: "Is a Third-Rank Martial Artist very impressive? Trash! Not exceeding one hundred? That's because your knowledge is shallow. True experts don't go around flaunting their strength; only an idiot like you would completely expose your own bottom line. You are a frog at the bottom of a well!"

Huang Yong snorted: "I hope your bones are as hard as your mouth!"

Huang Yong lunged forward. True Qi erupted, and a gust of wind hit his face; even the driver could barely hold onto his phone. He squinted his eyes, somewhat worried that Huang Yong would strike too hard and Chen Che's blood and flesh would splatter on his face.

Chen Che turned around calmly: "Very well, I'll deal with you first."

Huang Yong sneered, thinking Chen Che truly didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, acting lawlessly just because he had a little skill, not putting a Third-Rank Martial Artist in his eyes.

The foundation of a Martial Artist's cultivation is practicing Qi, which is True Qi. The higher the realm, the more True Qi one has in their body. When exerting full strength, the True Qi will erupt completely.

Chen Che had exposed a bit of True Qi when performing acupuncture on Cheng Kexiang, but it was only a bit.

This bit was captured by Huang Yong, so he believed Chen Che was nothing to fear. The content of that bit of True Qi didn't even reach the First-Rank realm; at most, he was just a bit stronger than an ordinary person.

Even if Chen Che could hide his strength, considering his age, it was impossible for him to reach the Third-Rank Martial Artist realm in his early twenties, no matter how early he started cultivating.

However, Huang Yong could never have imagined that Chen Che had reached the Third-Rank realm on his third day of cultivation—not just in Martial Dao, but in Medicine, Physiognomy, Numerology, Strange Gate, and all other categories of Artisan techniques.

And this was while most of his True Qi was suppressing the poison, yet he still broke through his realm.

The Martial Dao that Huang Yong prided himself on was merely one of the many types Chen Che practiced.

Huang Yong threw a punch, his momentum magnificent. Chen Che tilted his head slightly and easily dodged it.

With a dull thud.

Chen Che struck Huang Yong in the lower abdomen with a punch as fast as thunder.

"Wah!"

Huang Yong's True Qi dissipated, and he spat out a mouthful of sour fluid, clutching his stomach as he collapsed to the ground, curled up like a shrimp, muttering, "Impossible... this is impossible..."

The driver trembled all over, watching this scene in disbelief. He had clearly seen Huang Yong swing his fist at Chen Che with imposing momentum, yet he didn't know how he had suddenly wilted and was now lying motionless on the ground.

Chen Che turned his head to look over, and the driver gave a start, hurriedly hiding his phone behind his back, staring at Chen Che with a face full of horror.

If Huang Yong, a Third-Rank Martial Artist, was beaten until he couldn't get up, he himself was just an ordinary person; wouldn't he just drop dead if he took a single hit?

However, Chen Che ignored him entirely and continued to focus on treating Cheng Kexiang.

Huang Yong lifted his head from the ground and said, "I underestimated you before; I didn't expect that someone as young as you would have a higher Martial Dao Realm than me. In Xia, Martial Artists are noble; with your age and realm, you would surely receive excellent treatment. But it's a pity that the granddaughter of the Cheng Family Patriarch died at your hands..."

"No matter how high your Martial Artist realm is, it's useless. The eldest granddaughter of the Cheng Family elder is the Commander of the Magic City Patrol Department; no matter how powerful a Martial Artist is, in the hands of the Patrol Department, they are as lowly as ants!"

Huang Yong hadn't expected Chen Che to be so powerful at such a young age, but it didn't matter. In any case, the goal of shifting the blame had been achieved, and since he was injured, he had even more reason to clear his name.

As for being defeated by a greenhorn... the Cheng Family would kill him anyway, so there was no need to bicker with a dead man.

Chen Che gazed at Cheng Kexiang's complexion; she had stopped convulsing, and her face had turned rosy.

Chen Che nodded with satisfaction and put away the Silver Needle: "Are you so certain she is dead?"

"What..."

"Wah..."

Before Huang Yong could speak, Cheng Kexiang let out a 'wah' sound, spat out a mouthful of black fluid, and woke up. "Seeking collections for the new book!"