Cao Hong was dumbfounded upon hearing this, and muttered, "Hiring even the lowest-level assassin costs 100,000 yuan, so... how much would it cost to kill that powerful old man? My God... that guy can make Hong Kong's entertainment tycoon obey his every word with just one phone call, so... I'm afraid he wouldn't take this job for less than a million yuan, right? But I... where am I going to get that much money!"
Cao Dong chuckled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, if that person's true identity is revealed, then let alone a million, even ten million might not be enough for him to take the job. But right now, isn't that old guy playing the Tang Bohu Flirting with Qiu Xiang game? Hehe... With his status, he's actually mingling in the poorest residential area of Tonghai, pretending to be a down-on-his-luck nobody to seduce that woman surnamed Su... That way, even if that organization investigates, they probably won't find anything in a hurry. If that organization treats him as an ordinary old man, then we've struck gold. We might be able to kill a world-class tycoon for a pittance... Haha..."
Cao Hong's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He nodded and said, "That's true... If that old guy hadn't made that phone call, and then... I would never have believed that such an old, ugly, and sleazy fellow could be any big shot... And it's certain that the old guy isn't a local. It'll probably take that assassin organization a while to find out his background. But... that old guy shouldn't be that stupid! If there are hidden experts protecting him, then... if that assassin organization only sent one or two low-level assassins the first time, wouldn't they all be exposed?"
“So…” Cao Dong narrowed his eyes and said, “If that assassin organization really misjudged that old guy’s identity and strength, then we must buy out this mission target at three times the price. At that time… as long as that assassin organization takes our money, it will definitely be a fight to the death. No matter how powerful that old guy is, he can only bring a limited number of people with him when he goes out. So he simply cannot resist the crazy attacks of a huge assassin organization.”
"Three times the buyout price!"
Cao Hong gasped and said, "Even if their base price is only 100,000, that's still 300,000! But I... I don't have that much money to come up with right now!"
Cao Dong curled his lip and said, "It's only a few hundred thousand. You can't come up with that much cash right away? Hehe... Even if you can't come up with that much cash right away, it doesn't matter. Didn't your uncle leave you a shop on a commercial street after he passed away? The property there has appreciated a lot now. Your shop may be a bit small, but it should be worth at least a million. If you can't come up with that much cash right away, I can help you mortgage that shop. I can't say for sure, but mortgaging it for seven or eight hundred thousand shouldn't be a problem."
Upon hearing this, Cao Hong quickly shook his head and said, "Ah... no, no! I've already lost my job. If I mortgage that shop too, and I can't redeem it, then... I'll really have nothing left."
Cao Dong sneered and said, "Fine, then you can just cling to your shop and eke out a living! Almost everyone in Tonghai knows about the shameful thing that Cao Hong was thrown into a latrine. If you can swallow this, then I can't help you. But... don't blame me for cutting ties with you as your older brother and severing our brotherly relationship. Hmph... with a brother like you who eats shit, I might as well not be able to stay in the underworld anymore."
Upon hearing this, Cao Hong felt a chill run down his spine. Over the years, he had done countless bad things by relying on Cao Dong's power, and he had bullied so many people that he couldn't even count them all. If Cao Dong really had the heart to sever ties with him and show that he would no longer protect him, then one could imagine how miserable his future would be. Although he had never committed any heinous crimes such as murder or arson, so he wouldn't be killed, he probably wouldn't fare much better. On top of that, he would be branded with the stigma of eating excrement, making his life worse than death.
"Okay... then brother, please help me make the contact!" After hesitating for a long time, Cao Hong finally gritted his teeth and said, "If the total amount I have to pay is less than 500,000, then... then I'll do it. I can't afford any more than that."
"Alright! That makes things easier."
Upon hearing this, Cao Dong was overjoyed and quickly said, "Then it's settled. It's unlikely that the assassin organization will be able to find out the old guy's background in the short term. And as long as they can't find out, how high a base price can they offer for an old man living in a poor area? Maybe just the minimum of 100,000 yuan. But if they really do find out the old guy's true identity… then forget about three times the buyout price, you couldn't even afford the base price, could you?"
After saying that, Cao Dong immediately stood up and said, "There's no time to lose. I'll contact that organization right now, and you should prepare the money as much as possible! If you need my help to mortgage that shop, just tell your brother."
Cao Hong nodded, got up and saw Cao Dong out of the ward, secretly thinking that it would be great if the assassin organization really only offered 100,000 yuan.
Even if he tripled his investment, it would only amount to 300,000. He currently has tens of thousands of yuan on hand, plus over 100,000 yuan in stocks. If he were to sell his car... he could probably scrape together 300,000 yuan.
Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to mortgage that storefront.
Little did Cao Hong know that his cousin wasn't really trying to avenge him; he was just scheming to get his hands on the shop under Cao Hong's name...
Su Miao's illness is indeed very troublesome. It's Shaw's femoral muscular atrophy, which is not just a simple atrophy of the nervous system. It involves a severe decline in almost all aspects of bodily functions. It is a comprehensive disease, so it is extremely difficult to cure. It is not a terminal illness, but if you really want to cure this disease, the medical conditions in China are simply not enough. And going abroad, it is not something that ordinary hospitals can treat. Even if you can find a hospital that can treat it, the specific cost of treatment will be an astronomical figure that the Su family can never imagine in their lifetime.
However, after undergoing a transformation, Zhou Ziwei's soul power has evolved to have the effect of nourishing and strengthening the body. This has been proven in Zhou Ziwei's case. His physical condition was at least three or four times weaker than that of a normal person before, but after a period of continuous nourishment with soul power, his body is now several times stronger than that of a normal person. This difference is enough to show how terrifying the effect of soul power is on nourishing the body and strengthening muscles and bones.
Although Zhou Ziwei had never tested whether this nourishing and strengthening effect was equally effective on other people's bodies, he figured that since his soul power could also speed up the healing of wounds on others, this effect would likely be just as effective.
Although Zhou Ziwei had scanned Su Miao with his soul power more than once, he was still startled when he saw Su Miao lying on the bed with his own eyes.
At this moment, Su Miao was so thin that he was almost skin and bones. He lay there and looked like a skeleton in clothes. Only when Su Miao's eyes moved slightly could one feel a trace of life in him.
At this moment, Su Miao's weakness was far more terrifying than Zhou Ziwei's back then. If Zhou Ziwei's physical condition was three or four times weaker than that of an average person, then Su Miao was probably more than ten times weaker than an average person.
Getting Su Miao back to her feet and regaining her vitality is going to be a very difficult task.
Zhou Ziwei followed the normal procedure first, taking Su Miao's pulse and searching for the cause of Su Miao's illness from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine. Then he gently massaged several parts of Su Miao's body with his palm. During this process, Zhou Ziwei actually transferred a small amount of soul power into Su Miao's body to nourish several major nerve lines in Su Miao's body.
A few minutes later, Zhou Ziwei stood up, smiled slightly at Su Miao, and turned back into the living room.
Seeing this, Su Yan hurriedly followed and came out. After Zhou Ziwei sat down on the sofa, she quickly poured him a glass of water before anxiously asking, "Mr. Zhao, how is my brother? You should have a way to cure him, right?"
Zhou Ziwei did not answer immediately. Instead, he frowned slightly and pondered for a moment before speaking, "It is possible, but... to cure him to be like a normal person, I'm afraid... it's still very difficult to do for the time being. Well... at most, I can enable him to sit, lie down, and walk like a normal person, and to take care of himself in basic life, but... he cannot do any strenuous exercise, and probably... he won't be able to lift anything weighing more than ten pounds."
"Ah...really? That's great."
When Su Yan saw Zhou Ziwei frowning, she was almost in despair. If even this living saint couldn't save her brother, then Su Miao was probably beyond saving. To be honest, she hadn't dared to have too much hope for Su Miao's condition from the beginning. Now, hearing Zhou Ziwei say that he could cure Su Miao to the point where he could stand up and walk on his own and take care of himself, it far exceeded her expectations. That's why she was so pleasantly surprised.
"Mr. Zhao... oh, no, no, no... Immortal Zhao, why aren't you hurrying up and treating my brother's illness?!"
Su Yan hesitated for a moment, then felt something was amiss. It seemed that the other person didn't owe her anything, and had been helping her all along. Therefore, she really had no reason to ask anything of him. So, after hesitating for a moment, she bit her lip and added, "Or... if there's anything... if there's anything you need me to do, as long as I can do it, then I... I definitely... I definitely won't refuse."
As the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even gods are not necessarily without desires. Moreover, Su Yan had already decided that even if Zhou Ziwei was a god, he would definitely be the most lewd and lustful god. Her family could not possibly offer anything that would catch the eye of a god as a reward. After all, only she herself might be of some interest to Zhou Ziwei.
The reason Zhou Ziwei spent so much money—five thousand yuan—to stay at her house was clearly because he was lured by her beauty, wasn't it? Therefore… after thinking it over, Su Yan finally made up her mind: as long as Zhou Ziwei could really cure her brother, she would accept paying for his services, even if it meant using her body as payment.
Zhou Ziwei could easily understand the meaning behind Su Yan's words, but... although Zhou Ziwei was indeed somewhat tempted, he wasn't thick-skinned enough to be that shameless.
If he were to take possession of Su Yan in this way, it would be a completely different matter from what happened with Liu Xiaofei.
Liu Xiaofei genuinely liked Zhou Ziwei back then. Even before that mark was left on her soul, she had already developed feelings for him. Although the mark had an effect on them, it was undeniable that they had a deep bond, which is why Zhou Ziwei was willing to accept Liu Xiaofei's devotion.
If he were to accept Su Yan's offer now... it would become a blatant transaction. Even if Zhou Ziwei experienced the same intense passion at the time, he would probably feel disgusted with himself afterward.
Although Zhou Ziwei didn't intend to do anything to Su Yan, he didn't directly and righteously refuse either. Instead, he smiled faintly and said ambiguously, "I do need your help sometimes, but... let's talk about your brother's situation now!"
Seeing that Zhou Ziwei did not refuse her, Su Yan couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart. She despised Zhou Ziwei's immorality, and was saddened that her chastity, which she had maintained for more than 20 years, was about to be destroyed... However, at the same time, she also felt a faint sense of joy.
She didn't quite understand what she was so happy about, but that sweet feeling made her heart pound uncontrollably. For a moment, she was in a daze and didn't even hear what Zhou Ziwei said next.
"Hey...did you hear what I said?"
Seeing Su Yan's distraught appearance, Zhou Ziwei couldn't help but chuckle to himself, and mischievously reached out and lightly patted her face.
"Ah—" Su Yan exclaimed softly, instinctively wanting to dodge Zhou Ziwei's large hand, but after a slight hesitation, he forcibly held back.
After all, she had already made up her mind to give herself to Zhou Ziwei. If she couldn't even stand it if Zhou Ziwei just touched her face, how could she face the rest?
"You...you say it, I...I'm listening..." Su Yan's pretty face was already red to the roots of her ears, but she sat there stiffly without moving, and her breathing became more and more rapid as if she couldn't control it.
Teasing! Although Su Yan didn't actually do anything, her silent endurance, her beautiful face, and her hot breath were absolutely a fatal provocation to Zhou Ziwei!
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 210: Sanshui Street
Feeling the warmth emanating from Su Yan's face and the delicate fragrance emanating from her rapid breaths, Zhou Ziwei's heart fluttered. However, he quickly suppressed his restless thoughts, coughed lightly, withdrew his hand from Su Yan's face, and then said in a pretentious tone, "Ahem, well... what I wanted to say is that your brother's condition is really bad. Even if I were to treat him, it definitely wouldn't be a quick fix. So you need to discuss it with your father and the others first. If you really intend for me to treat him, then... after I've finished my work for a while, you'll need me to take him away and bring him to my home. That way, it will be easier for him to receive treatment regularly every day, and his recovery will be faster. Even then, it will probably take at least three to five months to fully complete the treatment, and it might even take three to five years."
"I see..." Su Yan finally regained his composure. After listening to Zhou Ziwei finish speaking, he nodded and said, "That's easy. I'll talk to my dad about it later. If my brother continues like this without your treatment, he won't even live for a year. So... I don't think Dad would object. But... are you really going to take Xiaomiao to heaven?"
"puff--"
Zhou Ziwei had just taken a sip of water when Su Yan's words shocked him so much that he spat it all onto the ground.
Luckily, he wasn't facing Su Yan just now, otherwise he would have ended up washing Su Yan's face right away.
"I mean... you don't really think I'm a god, do you? Taking me to the sky... I'm dizzy. I would take Su Miao to the sky, but it would be by plane. We'd have to come down in a few hours at most. If we were to fly in the sky for a long time, the plane wouldn't have that much fuel."
"Ah...you mean you...you're not a god?"
Su Yan was really dizzy. She didn't believe in gods at all, but Zhou Ziwei's behavior last night was too terrifying. She didn't even know she had her period, but he knew everything perfectly well.
Moreover, he could make Da Niu spin like a top by simply drawing a circle in the air. Besides using the word "god" to describe him, Su Yan really didn't know which group of people to categorize this perverted and lewd man into.
Zhou Ziwei nodded, both amused and exasperated, and said, "Of course not... When did I ever say I was a god? At most, I know a little about feng shui and physiognomy, and also... a bit about medicine, martial arts... and some other random things. But knowing a lot doesn't make me a god!"
Upon hearing this, Su Yan chuckled, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. He let out a sigh of relief and said, "Hehe... so you're not a god... really not a god..."
Zhou Ziwei rolled his eyes, utterly speechless...
An hour later, Zhou Ziwei massaged Su Miao's body again, while slowly permeating strands of his soul power into every part of Su Miao's body.
Zhou Ziwei was utterly speechless as he watched the soul power being absorbed by Su Miao's body at a snail's pace.
Experiments have shown that when his soul power enters another person's body through gentle means, it will be absorbed by that person's body, thereby strengthening their body and increasing various bodily functions.
However, this speed is really frustrating. Zhou Ziwei estimates that if he can't think of a way to speed up the process, it will probably take three to five years to completely cure Su Miao.
It should be noted that when Zhou Ziwei's body absorbs this soul power, the natural speed is very slow. Only when Zhou Ziwei practices Niu-style Tai Chi Chuan can he use the intent of the fist to catalyze the soul power to spread rapidly within his body.
Even if Zhou Ziwei were willing to teach Su Miao the Niu-style Tai Chi, it wouldn't work, because Su Miao can't even sit up right now, and it's difficult for him to move his arms. How could he practice Tai Chi like that? So for the time being, Zhou Ziwei didn't have any good ideas.
However, since he had already promised Su Yan, Zhou Ziwei did not want to go back on his word. At most, after he destroyed those two assassin organizations and had no more worries, he would bring Su Miao to Dangyang and let him live in his home. He would only need to spend a few minutes each day transferring a little bit of soul power into Su Miao's body so that his body could slowly absorb it.
As for when it will be fully recovered, let's leave that to fate!
After Zhou Ziwei's two massages, although Su Miao's physical condition did not change much, his severely atrophied nervous system began to show obvious signs of improvement after Zhou Ziwei used his soul power to unblock it.
"Thank... thank you..."
A low, hoarse voice came from Su Miao's parched throat. Zhou Ziwei didn't seem to notice anything, and simply smiled and nodded.
But Su Yan was completely dumbfounded.
You see, Su Miao hadn't spoken for almost half a year. It wasn't that Su Miao didn't want to speak, but rather that his physical functions had deteriorated to the point where he couldn't even speak. Yet now, she only saw Zhou Ziwei gently massaging Su Miao's emaciated body a few times, without feeding him any legendary elixir, and Su Miao had actually regained his ability to speak. How could she not be overjoyed...?
"Little brother, you...you can speak now...Thank God...No, no, I should thank Dr. Zhao! Dr. Zhao is the greatest benefactor of our whole family...Little brother...don't worry, Dr. Zhao just said that he can cure your illness. In three to five years at most, you will be able to stand up like a normal person, walk on your own, eat on your own...you can do everything by yourself...It's only three to five years at most. You must cooperate well with Dr. Zhao. Do whatever he asks you to do, understand? Even if you are completely cured in the future, never forget Dr. Zhao's great kindness. Your life was given to you by Dr. Zhao, and you must repay him as much as possible in the future, understand?"
Upon hearing this, Su Miao nodded repeatedly, her eyes reddening, and she appeared very excited.
He had been lying quietly in bed for almost a year, unable to speak or move. During this time, he was like a vegetable, needing someone to take care of him no matter what he did.
If he really is just a vegetable, that would be fine, at least then there wouldn't be any psychological burden.
The problem was that although his body was extremely weak, he remained mentally clear-headed, even more so than most ordinary people, which naturally amplified the pain he endured.
Given his physical condition, he should have been able to hold on for another three or four years without any problems. However, because he was in so much pain that he wished he could die immediately, his body naturally weakened even faster than normal without the support of life.
But now he finally saw hope for survival and recovery again, so how could Su Miao not be excited... Su Yan could only see that Su Miao had gone from being unable to speak to being able to say a few simple words in a hoarse voice. However, Su Miao himself could clearly feel the vibrant life force in his body constantly nourishing every cell, making him like a withered plant receiving rainwater, gradually recovering.
This feeling instantly excited Su Miao...
After Su Miao fell asleep again, Su Yan accompanied Zhou Ziwei out of the room. Suddenly, he lowered his head, gently twisting his clothes with his hands, and glanced at Zhou Ziwei with some shyness. Then he said softly, "You went to bed so late last night, are you... are you a little tired now... um... do you want to... do you want to go to sleep for a while... I... I can keep you company..."
Su Yan was clearly grateful to Zhou Ziwei for truly curing Su Miao, rather than just making empty promises, and was therefore prepared to fulfill his previous commitment.
It was incredibly awkward for a girl like her to bring up such a thing. Even though Su Yan kept trying to convince herself that it was all justified and something she should do, it was still incredibly difficult to actually say it out loud.
Fortunately, Zhou Ziwei is now accustomed to maintaining twice the hearing ability of an ordinary person at all times, so even though Su Yan couldn't hear her last sentence, Zhou Ziwei could still hear it clearly with his abnormal hearing.
"Um...you're not serious, are you?!"
Zhou Ziwei was genuinely aroused by Su Yan's advances, but the thought of the poor patient lying in the other room, whom he had just helped a little, and now being forced to... you know... with that person's sister... it was truly beastly...
Zhou Ziwei couldn't quite get past his own conscience, so he could only shake his head vigorously and say, "Alright... I'm not sleepy right now... Hmm, if you can get away, you could come for a walk with me..."
"Oh...of course...of course you can..."
Hearing Zhou Ziwei say that she wouldn't need to sleep with him for the time being, Su Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Although she was the one who brought it up, she still felt a little uneasy when it came to actually facing it.
This is also because Zhou Ziwei's current appearance is too unconventional. Not only is he not good-looking, but he is also so sleazy that it is hard for people to form a good impression of him.
If it weren't for the fact that his abilities during this period were truly remarkable, Su Yan would probably feel disgusted just looking at him...
However, after letting out a sigh of relief, Su Yan still felt a little lost. Of course, she didn't think that she had fallen for this ugly and lewd old man, but rather that she was afraid that this debt would only grow bigger and bigger! Sometimes, the debt of gratitude can be more devastating than the debt of money.
"Well... wait a moment, I'll go and call Aunt Qi over..."
Su Yan dared not let his mind wander any further and quickly got up and walked towards the door.
She also usually goes to the beach park with her father to set up a stall, so the family has to find someone else to take care of Su Miao.
That Aunt Qi is the upstairs neighbor. Because she has hearing problems, she has stopped working and relies entirely on her husband to earn money to support the family. If both Su's father and daughter have to go out to work, Aunt Qi will take care of the house. They give Aunt Qi a few hundred yuan every month to help with household expenses, which is convenient for both of them!