Chapter 1703 - 873: When Trouble Strikes One Side_3

Pa!

A cracking sound exploded.

The leeches that had crawled in through the window were sucking fresh blood and gnawing flesh, when one of them suddenly burst into a lump of sludge, and was immediately devoured by the leeches swarming in behind it.

In that tiny bucket, the leeches seemed endless, throwing themselves forward one after another into the wound. Only after a long while did a single fat leech, black and red twisted together, struggle out and drop into the doctor's hand.

The doctor examined it for a moment, then simply squeezed it to pulp, pouring the blood into his own mouth; his eyes lit up involuntarily.

Like he'd just snorted top-shelf stuff, a jolt of electricity, shuddering, his eyes rolling white as waves of convulsions hit.

Gashes exploded all over his body, like claws had swiped through him, and what seeped out of the wounds wasn't blood, but fistfuls of frozen, deathly-pale blades of ice.

In an instant, he turned into a hedgehog.

"Such pure product. Something that kills and destroys, it's normal for it to be fierce and savage, but to be this pure and tranquil, unwavering through ten thousand calamities—now that's rare."

The doctor licked at his own blood, calmly plucked those frozen blades out of his flesh and tossed them back into the bucket. "Come on, all of you have a taste. The White Deer's got a bit of Ascension mixed in, quite a lot of Ember blended through. The way it's all working together is just perfect, truly beautiful.

This is absolutely a case of complete mutual trust, lives entrusted to each other, cluck cluck cluck cluck…"

The leeches in the bucket kept churning, scrambling to devour, making a sound like boiling liquid as they feasted.

Only when the last, barely-breathing leech crawled out of the wound did the convulsing, spasming Satria finally calm down, more like his strength was utterly spent and he simply couldn't move anymore.

He was still gaunt, still on his last legs, but the tangled crimson and pitch-black aura in his wounds had already vanished. The Mutant flesh and remnants had all been gnawed out by the leeches, along with half his life.

"This stuff really is something else."

The doctor smacked his lips, savoring the aftertaste.

Disaster Beast and White Deer mixed together, with a bit of Ember inside; the flavor was somewhat like a Mutant, but the core inside was completely unreadable…

Couldn't see through it, couldn't figure it out.

Did some colleague cook up a new toy? No, that's not right. Could it be something they brewed inside the Taiyi Ring?

Whatever. None of his damn business.

Time to get paid again today, folks!

"All right, the hidden risk has been eradicated. As for the rest, you can handle it however you like."

The delighted doctor packed up the leeches, picked up his bucket again, and waved at Meng Fengzuo. "All done. Next time you get a case like this, remember to call me. I'll give you twenty percent off."

"Definitely."

After Meng Fengzuo sent the doctor off with a smile, he turned back toward Satria. "How's the leader's condition?"

"How else would it be? Since it was Mr. Han's arrangement, naturally the medicine worked like a miracle."

Satria looked at Meng Fengzuo with an unreadable expression, and suddenly asked, "It's just, Mr. Meng, you traveled all this way to get here. I doubt it was purely for my life or death, was it?"

"What are you saying? Our two families have decades of ties. How could Mr. Han possibly ignore your life and death?"

Meng Fengzuo's smile remained gentle. "I know what the leader is worried about. You don't need to. Just focus on resting and recovering. Since you've worked steadfastly for Mr. Han and haven't disappointed his expectations, then regardless of success or failure, Mr. Han absolutely won't allow that kid Ji Jue to run rampant.

I've already recruited quite a few elites to help you stabilize the situation, and I've invited experts to protect your safety. You can sleep easy."

"..."

Beside them, Himawan swallowed dryly, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing, a chill rippling over his whole body.

"Is that so?"

Satria looked at him with a blank face. After a long silence, he suddenly nodded slightly. "Then I'll trouble you."

"Just my duty."

Meng Fengzuo bowed again. "If you need anything, just call for me anytime."

He stepped back, and his figure dissolved into the Mirror's light, gone without a trace.

In the dead quiet, Himawan's expression grew increasingly grave. He opened his mouth to speak, but saw Satria raise a hand. "Relax. Given East City's scale, even with its long reach, it's not likely they'd care about a little patch like the Iron Hook District."

In this line of work, ultimately, it all comes down to reputation.

Infamy is still a kind of name, but besides scaring off small-time punks and making people fear you, it also makes people wary and guarded, even resistant and disgusted.

Since Mr. Han has his sights set on the next step up, then even if it means spending a fortune to buy a dead horse just for its bones, no matter what, he won't do anything to Satria, who risked his life for him.

Quite the opposite: he needs Satria to keep living, even to help him with Rejuvenation, so he can show off his own skill, boldness, and vision, and draw in more waverers willing to risk their lives for him.

Satria has to live, and live gloriously.

At this juncture, Mr. Han needs a fine steed to steal the spotlight.

So, there's nothing to worry about.

Even if the plan failed and the investment went up in smoke, Mr. Han still wouldn't do a thing.

He'd even, as agreed, solve all the troubles for both families and double the reward.

But at the same time, he absolutely wouldn't mind whatever Ji Jue might do to him…

Look, your Qiu Family has had all its troubles cleared away and has risen again, and now they're eyeing you like a tiger, sharpening their blades. Don't you want to do something?

This is something Ji Jue doesn't even get a choice about.

If Blood spills, it has to be wiped. If a vendetta is incurred, it has to be settled.

The struggles in the Desert Market have always been you-live-I-die. As long as Satria is still breathing, this matter isn't over.

At this juncture, even if Ji Jue steps back for the moment, any hint of weakness will just draw more eyes, more probing and testing.

Exactly like Mr. Han needs Satria to stay alive.

For Ji Jue, Satria must die.

Not dying is not an option!