Top-tier Unruly Master

Zhou Ruoran felt a throbbing pain in her head, and after a bout of coughing, she slowly opened her eyes.

She carefully surveyed her surroundings and quickly understood her situation, she must be in a hospital.

Zhou Ruoran was somewhat confused—how had she ended up here? She distinctly remembered. Wasn't she trying to commit suicide by running into a wall to avoid being bullied by the Iron Dragon?

"Ruoran, you're awake?" At that moment, the door of the hospital room opened, and Hu Jin walked in, carrying a thermos.

Zhou Ruoran was even more perplexed upon seeing Hu Jin. "I… how did I get here? What about those bad guys?"

Hu Jin slightly shook her head. "I'm not sure about the specifics, I only know that when we came to, we were rescued by the fire alarm, the hotel had caught fire…"

A fire had occurred? Zhou Ruoran widened her eyes and looked towards Hu Jin.

Hu Jin nodded. "I have no idea what exactly happened, by the time I woke up, I was already here in the hospital with you, although I didn't suffer serious injuries and have been looking after you since I woke up."

Back at the hotel, Zhou Ruoran had fought desperately to save them, a gesture Hu Jin naturally remembered. So, naturally, she had been taking care of Zhou Ruoran while she was unconscious.

Zhou Ruoran felt there was something odd about this situation, but she couldn't make sense of it no matter how hard she tried.

"Ruoran, you need to focus on resting; your body is quite weak. Don't worry, I'll be here to take care of you during this time," Hu Jin said with a smile to Zhou Ruoran.

Zhou Ruoran didn't want to trouble Hu Jin, but Hu Jin insisted. Eventually, Zhou Ruoran stopped persisting. The two had been through a life-and-death situation together, so they quickly became close friends who shared everything.

Ring… At that moment, Hu Jin's phone rang.

The number was an unfamiliar one. Hu Jin hesitated for a moment then directly answered the call.

"Hu Jin, I've heard about your situation. Rest assured in the hospital for the next few days. I'll have someone else take care of things at the company."

Upon hearing the voice, Hu Jin recognized it—it was Ding Fan on the call.

Ding Fan had intervened to rescue Zhou Ruoran and her, but Hu Jin had already been unconscious by then, so she didn't know that Ding Fan had saved her. Therefore, she didn't have a favorable tone for this manager, who seemed to be just coasting along.

"Manager Ding, there's something important I need to tell you—Fan Aiping and Zhao Qingshui are problematic. Most of the issues at Morning Light Group are likely caused by them," Hu Jin said.

Hu Jin remembered what Iron Dragon had said when she was captured at the hotel. Iron Dragon had remarked that she was meddling, and even mentioned Fan Aiping. So, Hu Jin was certain there was something wrong with Fan Aiping.

"I've noted this issue; you just focus on recovering," he responded.

Just as Hu Jin was about to say more, busy tones came through the phone line, clearly indicating that the call had been hung up.

Hu Jin frowned deeply, clearly annoyed as she hung up the phone.

"What's wrong? Is there an issue at the company?" Zhou Ruoran asked, noticing Hu Jin's annoyed demeanor.

Hu Jin shook her head. "It's just our Demon King of Chaos."

"Demon King of Chaos?" Zhou Ruoran was hearing this term for the first time. It somewhat piqued her curiosity.

"We have a Manager Ding in logistics who just comes to pass his days, so I always call him the Demon King of Chaos…"

Manager Ding?!

Zhou Ruoran was momentarily stunned.

"What's the matter, Ruoran?" Hu Jin asked, noticing Zhou Ruoran's reaction.

"Nothing much, I just suddenly remembered someone…" Zhou Ruoran replied.

Zhou Ruoran inwardly gave a bitter smile—it seemed she was missing Ding Fan too much. Merely hearing a surname, Ding, made her nervous.

However, for some reason, Zhou Ruoran always felt that while she was unconscious, Ding Fan might have been there. She could even smell his distinctive faint scent.

Perhaps it was just longing…

Zhou Ruoran did not believe that Ding Fan had really been there; perhaps it was just because she missed him so much that she felt this way. Zhou Ruoran continued to be lost in her thoughts.

Ding Fan… Where are you now? Are you well?…

…

At that moment, Ding Fan was sitting under the locust tree at the Ning Family Medicine Shop, sitting cross-legged and practicing his breathing exercises…

Yesterday, Ding Fan had slain Iron Dragon and rescued the three women. After some contemplation, he had used a Fireball Technique to set the Paradise Hotel ablaze.

Being relatively weak at the moment, Ding Fan did not want to live a life on the run; therefore, to cover up his actions, he had set the entire Paradise Hotel on fire along with the bodies of Iron Dragon and others.

After lighting the hotel on fire, Ding Fan untraceably placed Hu Jin and Zhou Ruoran on the hallway of the first floor so they could be easily rescued. Having done this, to avoid drawing attention, he hid inside a room.

He stayed hidden until the hotel sounded the fire alarm and chaos ensued, after which he carried Xu Rui and escaped with the crowd.

Why did he specifically save Xu Rui?

The reason was simple: Hu Jin and Zhou Ruoran did not know he had been there, whereas Xu Rui, who was conscious at the time, knew about his fight with Iron Dragon. To prevent the information from leaking, Ding Fan could only take Xu Rui back for personal treatment.

After being brought back by Ding Fan, Xu Rui was continuously healed with True Qi and was now almost out of danger. Just a couple more days of recovery, and she would return to her previous state.

Ding Fan had also sustained some internal injuries. While he was healing Zhou Ruoran, Iron Dragon had seized the chance to strike him, making him spit blood. It seemed as if Iron Dragon's strike was powerful, but the blood Ding Fan spat was not actually caused by that strike.

Iron Dragon practiced his cultivation by absorbing the blood essence from a maiden's menarche—a perverted and evil method. His cultivation wasn't powerful, so that strike was hardly a threat.

The real reason Ding Fan spat blood was because he was healing Zhou Ruoran with True Qi when an external force suddenly intervened, causing his True Qi to become chaotic and making him spit a mouthful of fresh blood. Had it not been for his strong focus, the chaotic surge of True Qi within him could have driven him mad.

Fortunately, after a night of Breathing Exercise, Ding Fan's internal injuries were no longer a major concern.

At the moment, Xu Rui sat somewhat grudgingly on the bed in Ding Fan's room. Although the wounds on her body were not yet fully healed, simple movements posed no problem.

Xu Rui barely slept throughout the night.

Firstly, Xu Rui was a very particular person who was unaccustomed to sleeping in someone else's room, let alone in a man's room.

Moreover, if she occupied Ding Fan's bed, where would Ding Fan sleep?

After it grew dark, Xu Rui noticed that after Ding Fan instructed her to sleep early, he went out.

Ding Fan was very cold towards her. Xu Rui did not engage in much conversation with him. Why did he speak gently to other girls, yet remained so cold towards her?

After Ding Fan left, Xu Rui believed that he would definitely come back. She had promised to accompany him in bed, so it must have just been a show on his part. Perhaps he would sneak back in at night.

Over the years, she had seen plenty of such behavior in men within her social circles.

However, after this life-and-death experience, Xu Rui oddly felt a bit more fond of him.

Yet, well past midnight, there was no sign of Ding Fan returning. Xu Rui searched around the window and eventually spotted him sitting under the locust tree in the yard, which greatly hurt her pride.

As a presentable beauty herself, would you rather sit outside than come inside? Did she really have no allure in Ding Fan's eyes?

Frustrated, Xu Rui had no intention of going out to call Ding Fan back. She thought it through: if you want to freeze outside, then just freeze—it serves you right if you freeze to death!

But as much as she thought so, lying down did not ease her mind. With Ding Fan sitting outside, what if he caught a cold or fell ill?

Xu Rui wanted to call Ding Fan back but felt too embarrassed; as a woman, calling a man back into her room in the middle of the night might lead to misunderstandings. However, not asking him back made her feel restless.

Throughout the night, Xu Rui tossed and turned, barely sleeping.

Early the next morning, Ding Fan pushed open the door and returned to his room.

Before entering, he had scoped the situation inside the room using his Divine Sense and found nothing inconvenient before coming in.

"Can't you knock at least? Don't you know the basic manners!" Xu Rui, fairly infuriated, spoke as soon as Ding Fan entered.

Unwilling to indulge Xu Rui's haughty nature, replied, "At least you aren't undressed. Besides, this is my room; why should I knock on my own door?"

"Ding Fan, you jerk..." Xu Rui's eyes widened in anger.

Ding Fan was too tired to argue with Xu Rui so early in the morning. "Today, I'm telling you about the rescue at Paradise Hotel. Don't tell anyone about it."

"Hmm, what if I really want to tell someone?" Xu Rui challenged, looking defiantly at Ding Fan.

Ding Fan didn't engage with her challenge. Knowing her nature, she surely wouldn't share the incident with others. Her current demeanor was just her way of sparring verbally.

"Your father and Ye Chenliang have the same illness. Spend the next few days thinking about whether they have come into contact with any special stones," Ding Fan said.

Xu Guanjie and Ye Chenliang were both suffering from an illness caused by exposure to the waste gas from Spiritual Energy Ore. Ding Fan had been meaning to inquire about the ore from Xu Rui but never found the time. Now, he finally asked.

Seeing Ding Fan mention her father's illness, Xu Rui stopped her unreasonable behavior and thought for a moment before nodding. "I'll ask my father..."