Tomb raiding: Today is another day I don't want to go home.

Chapter 61: Premeditated, Answer Finally Revealed

"Waaah... Dr. Lu, you be the judge! All I did was hold the eye drop bottle a tiny bit closer to his eye! Did he really have to hit me like this?"

Jie Jiu gasped for breath, clutching his aching back with one hand, and pointed at Yan Huai with the other, demanding justice: "Yan, you have to compensate me for my mental distress today, or this isn't over!"

“…It’s compensation for emotional distress.” Lu Yun subconsciously corrected himself, but after realizing what he had said, he cursed himself inwardly, then slapped his forehead and pulled Jie Jiu back to the accompanying chair, making him sit properly. “Alright, don’t get agitated! We’ll handle this as it should be handled. Let’s get him bandaged up first!”

Jie Jiu's lips trembled as he mumbled, "Fine! You there! Your name is Yan Huai, right? I was ordered to come and take care of you, but you injured me. Even if it was just an accident, you still have to pay for medical expenses, lost wages, and what's that called, emotional distress compensation! It'll be at least 100,000. You figure it out yourself!"

Sitting cross-legged on the hospital bed, Yan Huai awkwardly touched his nose. Jie Jiu was indeed innocent, and he had indeed hit him a bit too hard at the time, but that was just a stress response!

Imagine you open your eyes and the first thing you see is a stranger standing next to you, who looks like he's about to poke your eyes. How could you possibly do nothing?

"I'm so sorry! I really didn't mean it, I'll pay you back..." Yan Huai pursed his lips, and his eyes, still bloodshot, revealed a hint of pitifulness in his sincerity—100,000 yuan...

"System, how much money do I have left?"

"Host, your current balance is: 321,054 yuan."

After paying out 100,000, I'll only have 221,054 left...

Just as Yan Huai lowered his eyes and lamented his dwindling fortune, a bloodline connection he had deeply ingrained in his memory suddenly appeared at the door of the ward. He followed the connection and looked over—hmm? How could it be him?

Yan Huai remembered seeing this person just moments before he lost consciousness. Could the bloodline connection be his?

No, it's the person behind this person; that person is a member of the Wang family.

"Hey, what are you looking at? Pay up..." Xie Jiu impatiently followed Yan Huai's gaze, but when he turned his head and saw Xie Yuchen, his eyes, which had been swollen and squeezed into slits, suddenly widened.

Xie Jiu involuntarily shivered. He quickly pulled aside Dr. Lu Yun, who was applying medicine in front of him, jumped up from the chair, and stammered, bowing his head respectfully, "Master, Master, Master!"

"Continue, don't let me ruin your prestige." Xie Yuchen's face was expressionless, but Xie Jiu, who had followed him for more than ten years, knew that his family head was angry.

"Master, please calm down. We just had a small misunderstanding. We didn't mean anything by it. We were just joking."

"Is that so?" Xie Yuchen looked at Yan Huai on the hospital bed. Seeing that the other man's gaze was directed at him, or rather, at what was behind him, and seemed to carry some strange emotions, he suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and continued calmly, "You mean, the story of the Xie family's employee being beaten is just a joke?"

"That's not what I meant." Jie Jiu lowered his head even further, and at this moment, there was no trace of the arrogance he had just exuded.

"Master Jie, you two chat, I'll head out first!" Seeing that the atmosphere in the ward was off, Lu Yun decided to slip away for the sake of his own life.

"Dr. Lu, thank you for your hard work. The Xie family will take responsibility for all the broken items in this ward. As for what happened today, I am truly sorry!"

Xie Yuchen regained his usual gentle and refined demeanor. He nodded slightly and took the blame on behalf of Yan Huai and Xie Jiu. However, as for the aftermath... well, every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. Whoever paid for it and how much they paid, they all have to pay back tenfold or a hundredfold.

"It's nothing, you guys go ahead with your work..." Lu Yun jumped out of the ward with a pounding heart, closing the door behind him as he left.

While Yan Huai was on the hospital bed, he had already learned about the man in the pink suit and shirt from the system during the brief conversation between the people opposite him. He was Xie Yuchen, the head of the Xie family, one of the three branches of the Ninth Sect. He was the nephew of the special hidden figure Xie Lianhuan. He took over the family at the age of eight and was incredibly intelligent.

However, that Wang family member...

A thoughtful look flashed across Yan Huai's eyes. It seemed that Wang Quan's earlier statement about sending people into the Xie family to investigate was not entirely a ruse to mislead him.

Moreover, Wang Quan's decision to place this person directly next to the head of the Xie family was probably for some purpose. Regardless of whether the hidden figure Xie Lianhuan mentioned by the system is dead or alive, judging from the current situation, he has to find a way to help Xie Yuchen get rid of this person.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I will cover all the expenses that need to be covered. Also..." Yan Huai turned his gaze to Xie Jiu, "I'm really sorry! I really didn't mean to hurt you. I will also pay for the expenses you mentioned earlier."

"..." Jie Jiu gritted his teeth, inwardly groaning—you'd better stop talking now!!!

Hearing this, Xie Yuchen chuckled. He then looked at Xie Jiu and said, "Go and treat your injuries, and take care of the things in this ward. After you've made a list, bring them back to this gentleman."

"Yes!" Xie Jiu nodded and walked out of the ward with a stiff back.

Xie Qi, who was standing behind Xie Yuchen, kept his head down and had a very low profile. However, Yan Huai's frequent gazes on him made Xie Yuchen unable to help but speak first: "I just heard Xie Jiu call you Yan Huai?"

"Yes, Yan is the 'Yan' in 'Shuoyan Mingru' and Huai is the 'Huaihe' in 'Huaihe'." Yan Huai had no intention of hiding anything.

"I am Xie Yuchen."

"Master Xie, I have long admired you."

Yan Huai's polite yet distant attitude piqued Xie Yuchen's interest. This person clearly knew his identity, but why didn't he try to curry favor with him like others did?

With a change of heart, Xie Yuchen pointed to Xie Qi as if to test the waters: "This is my subordinate, Xie Qi. You can ask him for help if you need anything."

"Thank you, Patriarch Xie, but it's not necessary for now." Yan Huai didn't make any promises, after all, action was inevitable sooner or later. His concern was something else entirely: should he tell Xie Yuchen about the Wang family? If he did, and it affected Wu Sansheng's plans, or caused any deviations from the original plot, then Zhang Qiling...

Yan Huai dared not take the risk; he decided to wait until he had met Wu Sansheng before making any decisions.

cuckoo-

Yan Huai looked bewildered for a moment, then looked down at his stomach. "What's your name?"

Seeing that there was hardly any room to stand in the ward, and even the only companion chair was crookedly leaning against the cabinet to barely stand, Xie Yuchen felt a little disgusted. However, he still had some questions that he needed to clarify with Yan Huai.

So, just as Xie Yuchen was pondering how to get Xie Qi away, the sounds of hunger he heard nearby gave him a sudden inspiration...

What a great opportunity! Xie Yuchen's gaze fell on Yan Huai's stomach, her eyes subtly filled with admiration.

"Jieqi, go and buy some light and filling food, but don't bring onions."

"Yes!"

Yan Huai wasn't stupid; he understood what Yu Chen was trying to say, but...

"Yan..." Xie Yuchen was about to speak when Yan Huai gestured to him with his eyes to stop talking.

"Patriarch Xie should know the Wu family of the Nine Gates very well!"