Chapter 7: Even the Strongest Martial Artist Fears the Butcher's Blade

Angelo had to admit, Carlos Yale's medical skill was outrageous. Once his name spread, the nation's elite would flock to him, and that web of connections would only grow until he might even be summoned into the palace as an imperial physician. With him shielding the Quinny family, they would soar. No one could shake them. So he decided this was the best time to get rid of Carlos, before his wings fully grew. He wouldn't allow anyone to block the Good family's rise. He shot Bennett Lawne a look. After all, Carlos had saved his elderly mother; even Angelo couldn't bring himself to harm a benefactor. Bennett got the message at once. He gave Carlos a cold smile. "Divine Doctor, I have to admit, your medical art is brilliant-enough to keep the Quinny family shining. But remember, no matter how high your medical skill, in front of martial arts you're still a soft persimmon-easy to squeeze." He clenched his fist. Crack, crack. It sounded like a warning: don't stand in the way of the Good family's rise, or he could take Carlos's life in minutes. "Heh." Carlos curled his lip. "Even the strongest martial artist fears the butcher's blade." He slowly raised his hand. In an instant, a two-meter-long blade of cold light appeared out of thin air in his grip. The air around him dropped by more than ten degrees. Angelo and Bennett jolted. Terror flooded their faces. Condensing qi into a blade-this was a Martial Arts Grandmaster! "Let's see whether your fists are harder, or my edge is sharper." Carlos's voice went cold as his gaze hardened. Thud, thud! Angelo and Bennett dropped to their knees. "Angelo greets Grandmaster Yale!" "Bennett was blind and didn't recognize Grandmaster Yale. I offended you, Grandmaster. Please forgive me!" They trembled, cold sweat pouring down. "I wonder what happens if this blade falls on the two of you," Carlos said. "No, no! Someone would die, Grandmaster!" They were terrified out of their wits. "But since the blade's already out, I can't put it away without tasting blood, can I?" Carlos glanced at Angelo, then Bennett, making it clear that one of them had to bleed. Both men looked like they were at a funeral. "Grandmaster, if you must cut, cut me," Bennett said, chest squared. "Fine." Carlos nodded. A heartbeat later-swish!-a cold flash descended, slashing at Bennett's shoulder and biting into the ground. A trench tore open out of nowhere, racing toward the little river ahead, cutting the flow in two. It was terrifying. Gulp. Angelo and Bennett swallowed hard, nearly choking on their tongues, faces frozen in horror. A single slash cutting water in two! That was at least Peak of Transformation Realm! "Ah!!!" Only then did Bennett feel the drilling pain. His left arm had been sliced off. "Brother Bennett!" Angelo cried out. "I-I'm fine," Bennett gritted out, teeth clenched as beads of cold sweat fell like grapes. His face went paper-white. Carlos picked up the severed arm and set it back in place. A stream of true essence poured into the cut, and the wound sealed at once. "Heh heh! It's good! Thank you, Divine Doctor! Thank you, Divine Doctor!" Bennett was so excited he kowtowed over and over. Carlos rose. "If I can save you, I can kill you just the same. In my eyes, the two of you are ants. Conduct yourselves properly." With that, Carlos clasped his hands behind his back and walked away. He knew that after this lesson, the two would treat him like a god. Sure enough, the moment Carlos left, Angelo dialed Finance. "When you get to the office, the first thing you do is wire another two million to the same account we sent two million to yesterday-no, make it five million. Remember, five million." Around nine in the morning, Jenden's Traditional Medicine Street bustled outside Treasure Hall. A tall banner rose beside Treasure Hall's gate, bearing a couplet. Top line: Ride and shoot to pacify a troubled world. Bottom line: Guanyin seated on a lotus, delivering all beings from suffering. Center: Healing the world through medicine. A young man stood under the banner, a lazy, irreverent smile tugging at his mouth. It was Carlos. Time to slap Wilson Zimmerman's face. "Everyone, come look! That seems to be Physician Wilson Zimmerman's former son-in-law. He's raising a 'Healing the world through medicine' sign outside Treasure Hall. Is he here to get back at the Zimmerman family?" A man shouted at the top of his lungs. His name was Aziel Warth, a plant arranged by Hugo Looske. You needed someone to fan the flames to gather a bigger crowd-and to make Wilson Zimmerman's face swell all the harder. "The former son-in-law is here to get revenge on the ex-father-in-law. Come see the show!" With Aziel's loud hawking, a crowd quickly gathered. "This guy's got serious flair-the way he pulled those two slick moves was perfect!" "I've seen him. He really is Physician Wilson's ex-son-in-law. I heard his daughter wanted a divorce a few days ago, and he tried to kill himself with sleeping pills. Now he's hanging a 'Healing the world through medicine' sign outside their pharmacy. Looks like he's here to challenge Treasure Hall." "I heard about him too. A year ago, Physician Wilson's daughter had leukemia, and he donated bone marrow to save her. The moment she recovered, they dumped him. Pretty tragic." "Looks like he took a heavy hit to the head. If he had the skill to smash Treasure Hall's signboard, would the Zimmerman family have kicked him out?" More people crowded in, and the chatter grew louder. Inside Treasure Pharmacy. A middle-aged man, near fifty, in a Tang jacket, greasy-cheeked and pot-bellied, sat in a grand chair taking a patient's pulse. His eyebrows pinched together. "Old Zhu, go see what's going on outside. All that racket's affecting my diagnosis." This was Wilson Zimmerman, owner of Treasure Hall. "Yes, Shopkeeper." The elder called Old Zhu stepped out. He ran back in a moment later. "Shopkeeper, not good. Something happened." "What happened?" Wilson asked. "Your… former son-in-law raised a 'Healing the world through medicine' sign to challenge the hall." "What?" Wilson jolted up from his chair, stunned. "That waste is hanging a 'Healing the world through medicine' sign to challenge Treasure Hall?" "Yes, Shopkeeper. There are crowds outside," Old Zhu said. "Dammit, this isn't a challenge, it's revenge-sabotaging my business!" Wilson's beer belly quivered with rage. "What's wrong, Dad?" Arya Zimmerman walked over. "That piece of trash is waving a 'Healing the world through medicine' sign and making trouble at our door," Wilson said. Pfft! Arya burst out laughing. "Him? 'Healing the world through medicine'? He's got to be out of his mind." "Come outside with me." "Okay." Meanwhile, outside Treasure Hall. "Listen up, folks-Wilson Zimmerman's medical skill is lacking, but his bragging is big. He hung a 'Strongest TCM' plaque and rakes in dirty money. Back pain, sore waist, leg cramps-things that one or two prescriptions fix-he writes eight or ten. He sells greenhouse ginseng as wild. A pound of cultivated honeysuckle that costs three bucks? He calls it 'wild from the countryside' and sells it for fifty. Every night he counts ill-gotten gains and cackles. I came today to rip off his mask and let you-" "Beast! Shut your mouth!" Wilson charged out, roaring, "Men! Rip this lunatic's mouth! Tear out his tongue!" His lungs felt ready to explode. This bastard knew too much! "Oh, the old man's here?" Carlos grinned at Wilson. "You, you, you-" Wilson sputtered, beyond words. "Rip out his tongue!" Arya jabbed a finger at Carlos, ordering the men who had rushed out. "Hold it!" Aziel, the plant, stepped in, stirring things up. "Doctor Wilson and Miss Zimmerman-if you've done nothing wrong, you don't fear ghosts knocking at the door. You're desperate to stop him from talking. Afraid he'll spill even darker dirt?" "Yeah! Treasure Hall isn't really selling fake medicine, is it?" "If so, we'll never buy TCM from Treasure Hall again." The onlookers chimed in. Seeing things turn sour, Arya hurried out, "No such thing, absolutely not! This piece of trash is slandering us!" "Everyone knows he was a live-in son-in-law at my house. I divorced him yesterday, so he's here out of spite to make trouble." "I, Arya Zimmerman, stake my honor on this: Treasure Hall never sells fake medicine. We do business with a clear conscience." "A fine 'clear conscience.'" Carlos gave Arya a thumbs-up. "I admire your courage-to lie without blinking." He swept his gaze across the crowd. "Who's willing to go into Treasure Hall and buy antler and cordyceps? I'll expose their fake-medicine act for all to see." "I'll go!" Aziel, appointed plant, rushed into the hall. Not good! Wilson and Arya's faces changed. They turned to bolt inside. "Stop those two! Don't let them go in and swap the goods!" Carlos shouted, and the onlookers immediately hemmed the Zimmermans in. A prickling sense of doom washed over father and daughter.