Chapter 267: There Is Always Someone Better
Yuan Tianhui's face was dark. "I've already sent people to investigate who was so bold as to rescue Yuan Tiancheng!"
"That person is definitely not one of Yuan Tiancheng's men. I've never known him to have someone like that."
Just as he finished speaking.
The phone rang.
He answered the call, and the surrounding Yuan Family members pricked up their ears in curiosity.
The voice of a subordinate came through the phone. "Young Master Hui, we've investigated. The man's name is Xiao Ye."
"He looks about thirty or forty percent similar to Xiao Ye, the Patriarch of the Xiao Family in the Imperial City. It's highly probable they're one and the same!"
Yuan Tianhui shot to his feet. He remembered now—Yuan Tiancheng had left for a while and gone to the Imperial City.
'That's right. I heard the Xiao Family Patriarch is from Jiangcheng, and his engagement ceremony was even held there.'
'And as it happens... Yuan Tiancheng went to Jiangcheng too!'
The other members of the Yuan Family knew this as well; after all, they weren't the only family from Shanghai to have gone!
Yuan Tianhui had desperately wanted to go back then. It was a prime opportunity to connect with the Xiao Family.
Unfortunately, Yuan Tiancheng never gave him the chance.
"If it's really the Xiao Family, then we're in big trouble!"
Yuan Tianhui was terrified. He was a man of mediocre talent to begin with and had no idea what to do.
"We're no match for the Xiao Family! Damn it, how did Yuan Tiancheng get so lucky? To think he actually knows their Patriarch!"
"No, if it's really the Xiao Family... we can't touch Yuan Tiancheng!"
'With the Xiao Family backing him, Yuan Tiancheng is bound to make a comeback!'
"What's there to worry about? Hasn't Yuan Tiancheng already been poisoned? So what if he has the Xiao Family backing him? He can't make any waves now."
"That's right. He'll be dead in a few days, guaranteed!"
Yuan Tianhui suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. "You're right. Yuan Tiancheng won't survive!"
"Once he's dead, what can the Xiao Family possibly do? Interfere in the Yuan Family's internal affairs?"
He hurriedly summoned the various elders of the Yuan Family to begin a meeting!
It turned out that Yuan Tiancheng hadn't been betrayed by just a few people, but by the entire family!
They had long grown tired of Yuan Tiancheng's strict discipline. They were the wealthy second generation, members of a great family—why couldn't they throw their weight around?
Why should they have to lead by example?
They were born a cut above the rest, completely different from those ordinary people!
The Yuan Family's discussions dragged on late into the night.
Yuan Tianhui, for his part, was sleepless the entire night.
The next day, he received another message from his subordinate.
"Young Master Hui, we've confirmed it. That man is not Xiao Ye!"
"What!?" Yuan Tianhui was stunned. "How could it not be him?"
"The man just looks like Xiao Ye. We've investigated thoroughly."
Since Xiao Ye had chosen to disguise his appearance, he naturally didn't want his identity exposed too quickly.
So he had deliberately fudged the details of his identity.
Anyone who investigated him would follow the false trail Xiao Ye had laid, leading them to a different identity—not a member of the Xiao Family, but an ordinary person.
He just happened to bear some resemblance to a member of the Xiao Family and shared the same name, that's all.
People like those in the Yuan Family would naturally jump to conclusions.
They assumed Xiao Ye had deliberately changed his name to ride on the coattails of the Xiao Family's reputation!
Yuan Tianhui felt like he'd been on a roller coaster all day.
One moment he'd plunged into hell, the next he was soaring into heaven.
"So he's not from the Xiao Family! That's great!"
"Then I have nothing to worry about! Men, gather more people! We're moving out to bring back that traitor, Yuan Tiancheng!"
"As a member of the Yuan Family, how dare he leave? And that punk pretending to be one of the Xiao Family—get rid of him too!"
He wasted no time putting his words into action.
Once the other members of the Yuan Family learned Xiao Ye's "true identity," they cast aside all their worries.
A large group of them quickly set out for the location their investigation had uncovered.
BANG!
The hotel room door was kicked open!
"AHHH!" A woman shrieked, clutching the blanket to her chest.
The bare-chested man glared furiously at Yuan Tianhui and his men. "Who the hell are you people!"
Yuan Tianhui said nothing, merely motioning for his men to go in and search.
"Young Master Hui, Xiao Ye and Yuan Tiancheng aren't here."
"Useless fools! You can't even get the location right!" Yuan Tianhui had brought all these men to cause a scene, only to find they were in the wrong place.
'If word of this got out, wouldn't the Yuan Family become a laughingstock for their incompetence!'
Yuan Tianhui's face was dark. Without a word, he turned and left.
The man and woman in the bed exchanged a look but said nothing.
If their intruders hadn't been so numerous, the couple would have surely demanded justice.
「In the villa.」
Xiao Ye had sent his men to prepare the medicine for Yuan Tiancheng's poison.
His subordinate soon entered the room with various herbs, looking embarrassed. "Patriarch, there are a few ingredients... that we couldn't find."
"Couldn't find?"
Xiao Ye had written the prescription, so he knew exactly what was in it. "Which ones are missing?"
"Wubei Grass and Wunan Grass."
Xiao Ye understood. "Those two herbs are indeed relatively rare, but they're not impossible to find. Are you telling me there are none in all of Shanghai?"
The subordinate lowered his gaze. "That's right. We've fast-tracked a search in the Imperial City. If any are found, they'll be sent over immediately."
"Three years ago, someone bought up massive quantities of Wubei Grass and Wunan Grass, offering a very high price. We suspect that's when the local stock was completely depleted."
Xiao Ye frowned. Yuan Tiancheng's condition wasn't good. Every day of delay meant more damage to his body.
'I thought preparing the medicine would be simple,' he mused, 'but I didn't expect this kind of problem.'
Yuan Tiancheng was also getting anxious. Suddenly, he remembered something. "That's right, Master Xiao! I once had the good fortune of meeting a Divine Doctor."
"He's very young, but he is truly brilliant. I've witnessed his skills firsthand."
"He doesn't have many hobbies, but he loves collecting all sorts of medicinal herbs. He even opened a place called Hundred Herbs Hall. They say he can find any ingredient, as long as it's not impossibly rare."
"He's in Shanghai right now. Many people have gone to him for help finding ingredients."
Yuan Tiancheng looked at Xiao Ye tentatively. "It's just... I don't have many people I can dispatch right now. I might have to trouble you to make the trip personally, Master Xiao."
"Fine. I'll go take a look."
As it happened, Xiao Ye was quite interested in this so-called Divine Doctor.
He knew full well that no matter how skilled one was, there was always someone better.
Lingxiao Daoist had once mentioned a Divine Doctor Valley, an existence similar to a martial sect.
The story went that a warlord from that era had stormed the Divine Doctor Valley, burning, killing, and plundering without restraint, ultimately severing its ancient lineage.
Otherwise, Chinese medicine today would surely be a far more glorious and brilliant field!
Therefore, Xiao Ye was willing to believe that somewhere out there, true inheritors of Chinese medicine's legacy still existed, simply living in obscurity.
Seeing Xiao Ye agree, Yuan Tiancheng breathed a long sigh of relief.
「Hundred Herbs Hall.」
Though it sounded like a clinic, it was actually a traditional Chinese pharmacy.
They didn't diagnose patients, only filled prescriptions.