Chen Bufan's heart ached even more. The stronger Sisi tried to be, the more suffering she must have endured.
"Huh, Uncle, how do you know my name is Sisi? Do you know me?" Sisi asked innocently, her face a picture of pure bewilderment.
"I..." Chen Bufan was at a loss for words. Over the years, he owed Sisi and her mother far too much. A plan suddenly formed in his mind, and he quickly said, "I'm a friend of your mom's."
"Oh, I see." Sisi lowered her head and muttered softly, "I thought Daddy came back." With that, she went to pick up the paper cranes scattered on the ground.
"Sisi, why are you folding so many paper cranes?"
"I heard Mommy say that if you fold ten thousand paper cranes, a wish can come true."
Ten thousand... Chen Bufan felt as though his heart were being squeezed by a knife.
"Then what is Sisi's wish?"
"My wish is to see Daddy," Sisi said with innocent earnestness, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she beamed with longing.
A wave of sorrow washed over Chen Bufan.
"Sisi, you don't need to fold so many paper cranes anymore. Your daddy has already come back."
"Really?" Sisi asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Really. As long as you're a good girl and behave, I'll take you to see him in a couple of days."
"Okay, I'll definitely be good," Sisi said earnestly.
"By the way, why aren't you eating?" Chen Bufan asked.
"Sisi wanted to save the steamed bun for Mommy to eat," Sisi said, dropping her head. "Mommy has already spent so much money on my medical treatment. It's all Sisi's fault." Tears streamed down her face in big drops.
Chen Bufan felt a stinging in his nose, and he almost broke down crying right there in public.
As the Lord of the Demon God Palace and the master of the Xuanying Sect, wealth was the one thing he had in abundance. Yet his own daughter couldn't even bear to eat a single steamed bun—it was the ultimate irony!
Chen Bufan ordered a large portion of KFC and sat by the bed to eat with Sisi in the ward.
After just a few bites, Sisi suddenly collapsed on the bed.
"Sisi?" Chen Bufan cried out in alarm. He reached out to check her pulse, and his expression shifted violently.
Chilling Qi had invaded her marrow, altering her blood and causing multiple organ failure.
"She's been poisoned!"
Who could be so ruthless as to poison a little child?
"Bastards, absolute bastards!"
Rage surged within Chen Bufan.
At that moment, a nurse hurried in. Taking one look at the situation, she said coldly, "There's no saving her. You're a family member of the patient, right? Sign the release form."
"You say there's no saving her, and that's it?" Chen Bufan asked coldly.
"I said it." An elderly man walked into the room, glanced at Sisi, and sighed.
"This is Professor Li, a leading authority in medicine who is volunteering his time at our sanitarium. He already examined this little girl earlier," the nurse introduced respectfully.
"That's right, I've already examined her. If she had been sent to a major hospital, she might have held on a bit longer, but I never expected... Young man, my condolences."
"Condolences your foot! With me here, even the heavens themselves cannot take her life!" Not wanting to waste words, Chen Bufan flipped his hand and silver needles instantly appeared, plunging straight into Sisi's acupuncture points.
As the supreme head of the palace, he was invincible across the realm, and as the master of the Xuanying Sect, how could he possibly not know medicine?
"How is that you dare speak to Professor Li that way!" the nurse snapped, stepping forward to reprimand him.
Professor Li was also boiling with anger. The young man was full of arrogance, refused to listen to reason, and was actually trying to treat her with silver needles—it was sheer recklessness.
Chen Bufan didn't say a word. Compared to Sisi, these people were absolute nobodies.
Swish, swish, swish!
Multiple silver needles pierced down in rapid succession. Sisi's complexion shifted from pale to rosy, and her breathing gradually returned.
"Ancient medical arts—you're an ancient medical practitioner!" Professor Li cried out in astonishment, looking as though he had seen something terrifying, completely losing the dignified demeanor of a master he had held just moments before.
The nurse was also stunned. He had actually managed to bring someone back from the dead—if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she simply wouldn't have believed it.
"Using eight needles of my Guigu Mysterious Needles, I finally managed to save Sisi. Whoever administered this poison was truly vicious. No matter who you are, I will make you pay with your life!" Chen Bufan declared coldly.
"Guigu Mysterious Needles?" Hearing those words, Professor Li turned pale and trembled all over.
It was the peerless medical art of legend capable of bringing the dead back to life, said to have been lost for ages, yet he was seeing it with his own eyes.
Just what kind of divine entity was this young man?
"Thud."
Professor Li dropped directly to his knees.
"It was I who was blind and failed to recognize a master. Please forgive me."
Chen Bufan completely ignored him. "Sisi needs to rest. Everyone out, leave at once!"
At his command, how could Professor Li and the nurse dare disobey? They scurried out of the room.
Chen Bufan took Sisi's small hand, looking down at the sleeping little cutie with infinite tenderness.
"Sisi, my good daughter, with me here, from this day forward no one will ever hurt you again. Whatever I owed you in the past, I will make it all back to you."
With that, he pressed a gentle kiss to Sisi's forehead.
When he stepped out of the ward, a crowd of people was waiting outside.
Having learned that someone declared dead had been brought back to life, virtually the entire staff of the sanitarium had rushed over. Upon seeing Chen Bufan, every single one of them wore a look of profound respect.
"Master..." Professor Li started to butter up, but before he could finish, Chen Bufan abruptly raised a heavy foot.
"Crack, crack!"
The floor tiles shattered instantly, sending a web of countless cracks spidering in every direction.
"Hisss..." Professor Li gasped sharply in terror, stumbling backward along with everyone else, their expressions filled with shock and awe.
"Take good care of Chen Sisi. If there is even the slightest mishap, I will raze this sanitarium to the ground!"
Accompanied by these clanging words, Chen Bufan's figure vanished amidst a sea of fearful gazes.
...
Outside the sanitarium, Canglong had returned.
"Lord, the nurse who bullied your daughter has been dealt with."
"Mn," Chen Bufan nodded expressionlessly. Dealing with a mere nurse was far from enough to calm the storm in his heart after seeing Sisi.
"Lord, I just received word that in three days, Jiang Yurou will be holding a grand wedding with the young master of the Han Family."
What? Chen Bufan felt his heart turn cold. Yurou had waited for him for a full few years. He had only just returned to Liyang and hadn't even had the chance to see Yurou yet, and now she was going to marry someone else?
*Easily the old heart's feelings change*—did Yurou actually fall for someone else?
And what a coincidence: that very Han Family was the prominent family he had once married into as a matrilocal son-in-law.
"No, there must be some hidden hardship behind this!"
He believed Yurou wasn't that kind of person. Otherwise, with her beauty, why would she bother giving birth to Sisi, and why would she have waited all these years?
"Canglong!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I want you to immediately investigate everything that happened to Yurou over these past few years! In addition, find out clearly who poisoned Sisi!" Chen Bufan ordered, his murderous intent surging fiercely.
To poison a three-year-old little girl—it was utterly deranged!
"Understood!" Canglong replied, and decisively departed.
Chen Bufan turned to glance back at the sanitarium and took a deep breath.
Four years ago, battered and in utter disgrace, he had drifted on a great river for three days and three nights. If not for Yurou, he would have died long ago.
Four years of battle had brought him supreme glory and unmatched renown!
"Whoever bullied you, I will make them pay it back a hundredfold!"
An intense killing aura blanketed a radius of ten miles!
Inside a Mercedes-Benz sedan driving toward the sanitarium, Uncle Hui's eyes narrowed as a sharp glint flashed through them!
"Careful, there might be assassins!"
"Assassins?" asked the woman in sunglasses beside him.
Uncle Hui's sword-like gaze swept toward the direction of the sanitarium.
"There is a dense killing aura surging from over there—even I find it deeply unsettling."
"Did even our sworn enemies find out about our arrival in Liyang?" the woman in sunglasses asked coldly.
"Given the resources of those enemies, just how much blood money did they spend to hire such a powerful assassin?" Uncle Hui frowned.
"Strange, the killing aura is gone now..."
"Oh no. Professor Li!" The woman in sunglasses' tone turned sharp and urgent. "Step on it, go to the sanitarium!"
Vroom! Vroom!
The Mercedes shot forward like a streak of lightning.
...
A few minutes later, in the sanitarium office.
Professor Li offered a bitter smile. "Thank you for your concern, I'm quite alright, but I'm afraid I cannot help with Miss Bai's matter."
"Professor Li is a leading authority in medicine and the country's premier clinical expert. How could you not be able to help?" the woman in sunglasses asked.
"Miss Bai, please don't misunderstand. It's not that I'm unwilling to help, but that I simply lack the capability. Perhaps... there is one person who can."
"Who?"
Professor Li recounted everything that had happened earlier.
Thinking back on it still made his heart race with lingering fear. The person he had personally diagnosed as beyond saving had been easily cured by that young man—it was simply terrifying!
"The Guigu Mysterious Needles are still in this world?" Uncle Hui was deeply shaken, his usual composure completely vanishing.
"What are the Guigu Mysterious Needles?" the woman in sunglasses asked, puzzled.
"Rumored to be the peerless medical art left behind by Guiguzi, it possesses the power to bring the dead back to life, but it was lost to history thousands of years ago. Professor Li, you couldn't be mistaken, could you?" Uncle Hui's gaze was sharp.
"To tell you the truth, I spent the better part of a lifetime studying medicine before finally discovering the unique brilliance of ancient medical arts. Over the years, I've researched a great deal of literature, and I can say with certainty that was the Guigu Mysterious Needles."
"If it's true, it's enough to help us!" Uncle Hui said excitedly.
"May I ask where that person is, Professor Li?" the woman in sunglasses asked.
"I've traveled the length and breadth of the country these past few years precisely to seek an ancient medical master as my teacher. If I knew where he was, I wouldn't be standing here sighing," Professor Li said with a desolate expression.
The opportunity he had waited countless years for had just slipped right through his fingers—it was a true tragedy.
"Uncle Hui, search the whole of Liyang, and you must find this person. The life and death of the Bai Family depends on it!" the woman in sunglasses ordered.
"Understood!" Uncle Hui nodded decisively.
Professor Li's pupils contracted. A family as powerful as the Bai Family, which dominated the Divine Dragon Empire, was actually facing a crisis of life and death?
Before he could open his mouth to ask further, the woman in sunglasses had already turned and left.
The life-and-death crisis of the Bai Family could not afford a single moment of delay!
...
In Liyang City, atop the tallest skyscraper, Chen Bufan stood leaning against the railing, his white robes fluttering in the wind.
Liyang, being a prefecture-level city in Dongzhou, could not compare to the capital of Guangling, but it was still a crucial economic hub undergoing rapid development. Four years away had seen even more high-rises spring up, showcasing prosperity.
Yet amidst such prosperity, his wife and daughter had suffered to the absolute limit!
The thought sent a sharp, piercing pain through his heart.
Swish!
At that moment, a figure drifted over silently.
"Reporting to the Lord, I have completed the preliminary investigation!"
The newcomer was none other than Canglong. With the resources of the Demon God Palace, investigating a trivial matter was effortless.
"Speak!" Chen Bufan desperately wanted to know what Yurou and Sisi had endured over the past few years. Without a crystal-clear investigation, how could he possibly have the face to face Yurou?
"Reporting to the Lord, according to my thorough investigations across various channels, the poison your daughter contracted is related to the Han Family."
The Han Family? Hearing this, Chen Bufan's gaze instantly turned icy.
It was the damn Han Family again!
Back when he fled from Guangling, the family he was married into as a matrilocal son-in-law was the Han Family, where he had lived like a dog.
Four years later, the person his beloved was forced to marry was still the Han Family, and even the poison in Sisi's body came from the Han Family!
"Go on!" Chen Bufan suppressed his killing intent.
"Miss Jiang Yurou was targeted by the Han Family long ago. Faced with wealth and power, Miss Jiang was never swayed. The Han Family's young master, Hanshuai, refused to give up, and even after Miss Jiang gave birth to a child, he tried every possible means to get her."
"When Miss Jiang was seven months pregnant, they even resorted to violent coercion, almost causing a miscarriage."
"Under the power of the Han Family, not a single hospital dared to take her in. From her pregnancy to the birth of Sisi, Miss Jiang had to bear it all completely on her own..."
Hearing this, the killing intent in Chen Bufan's heart could no longer be contained, surging up to shake the nine heavens and ten earths.
To target a pregnant woman—they were nothing short of beasts!
If Yurou hadn't stubbornly endured it and resulted in two deaths in one, he wouldn't even have a soul left to see!
"Han Family, just wait for me to settle this score with you, debt by debt!"
...
"Yurou suffered so much, but what about the Jiang Family?" Chen Bufan asked sternly.
"The Jiang Family always hoped Miss Jiang would marry into the Han Family so they could cling to high society. When Miss Jiang was being abused, members of the Jiang Family simply stood by and watched."
"After Miss Jiang stubbornly insisted on giving birth to her daughter, she was driven out of the family by the Jiangs. Because of the interference from both the Han and Jiang families, Miss Jiang couldn't even find a normal job. Raising her daughter alone, life became extremely difficult."
"The Han Family poisoned your daughter precisely to force Miss Jiang into submission..."
Just as Canglong finished speaking, he abruptly raised his head and saw a terrifying aura emanating from Chen Bufan, whipping up a violent gale and shooting a murderous intent straight into the sky.
"What a fine Han Family, what a fine Jiang Family! To treat their own flesh and blood like this! Just because Yurou is a bit pretty, she deserves to be bullied like this?"
Chen Bufan finally understood why Yurou had agreed to marry the young master of the Han Family now—it had to be for Sisi!
Because Sisi was poisoned and wouldn't live much longer.
For Sisi's sake, Yurou had no choice but to agree; she hadn't cared about her own life at all.
"To think that while I was bathing in blood on the frontiers, fighting for my country, striving to achieve peerless renown and supremacy across the world, my beloved was being subjected to such humiliation—unforgivable!" Chen Bufan's rage surged, making him want to flatten the entire city beneath his feet.
"Take me to the Han Family!" Chen Bufan roared the command. Without settling accounts with these scum, how could he have the face to see Yurou?
"Yes!" Canglong nodded.
In an instant, the members of the Heavenly Demon Palace who had arrived in Liyang poured toward the Han Family estate like a tidal wave.
At that moment, the Han Family mansion was brilliantly lit.
Tomorrow was the great day of celebration, and everyone was busy making preparations.
Han Youwei, the head of the Han Family, had only one son, Hanshuai. As long as his son was happy, even if he was marrying a widow, the pomp and circumstance had to be grand.
"Hurry the hell up and finish setting things up! Don't you dare delay my wedding tomorrow!" Hanshuai shouted arrogantly, earning silent curses from many of the servants in their hearts.
If he hadn't been born into the Han Family, given his looks, he wouldn't have been able to find a wife in this lifetime.
It was such a pity for Jiang Yurou, formerly the undisputed number one beauty of Liyang, who now had to marry such a man.
At that thought, many felt a surge of bitter jealousy.
Finished berating the servants, Hanshuai felt quite pleased with himself. He pulled out his phone, opened a photograph, and stared at it with a lecherous gaze.
"Jiang Yurou, oh Jiang Yurou, you always acted so high and mighty, but in the end, aren't you still going to be my woman!"
The person in the photo was none other than Jiang Yurou, with long, straight black hair, snow-white skin, lovely curves, and a breathtakingly gorgeous face.
The thought of possessing her tomorrow made Hanshuai's eyes burn with heat and his body tremble with excitement.
Little did anyone know, while the entire Han Family was bustling about, the outside world had changed!
Countless figures in black suddenly appeared, moving like emissaries walking out of Hades, their killing aura piercing the heavens.
In an instant, they completely surrounded the Han Family mansion, tight as a drum—not even a fly could hope to escape.
After appearing, these people gazed expectantly in a single direction.
A young man in white robes materialized in the night, looking like a battle god descended from the nine heavens, exuding an overwhelming presence.
Every gaze instantly turned intensely blazing.
"Greetings, Lord!" One by one, those towering figures, possessing the aura of gods of death, dropped to their knees in unison, their presence formidable and majestic.
To them, the white-robed man before them was not only the Lord of the Demon God Palace who dominated the globe, but also a deity towering above the nine heavens.
Being able to witness Chen Bufan in the flesh was the supreme honor of a lifetime!
"Keep a close watch. Not a single person is allowed to leave!" Chen Bufan commanded coldly, before instantly appearing before the main gates of the Han Family.
Bright red lanterns hung high, and double-happiness characters were pasted on the main doors, exuding an air of festive cheer.
Had he not returned, once tomorrow arrived, Yurou would have been ruined. At that thought, boundless killing intent rolled within Chen Bufan's chest, and he lashed out with a kick.
"Bang-crash!"
The iron-plated gates shattered instantly, plunging everyone inside the Han Family courtyard into sudden panic.
"What's happening?"
"Why did the main gate break?"
Countless gazes snapped toward the entrance.
There stood a young man in white, proudly erect, radiating a bone-chilling frost. Just his gaze alone was enough to make people tremble with terror.
Behind him stood a flat-topped man, tall, sturdy, and radiating an aura of absolute righteousness.
"Who are you people?"
"Why is their presence so terrifying?!"
Their hearts skipped a beat—they had never encountered anyone with such a crushing aura; just standing there, it felt as though he could suppress heaven and earth itself.
"Who the hell are you?" Hanshuai asked, startled, before regaining his arrogance.
In Liyang, the Han Family was king; they had nothing to fear.
"I heard the Han Family is holding a joyous event, so I came to deliver a gift," Chen Bufan said.
"Oh, so you're here to offer congratulations," Hanshuai sneered coldly, thinking the man was just some troublemaker.
"That's right. I'm the one marrying Jiang Yurou tomorrow, and you've come too early."
"Not early at all, not early in the " Chen Bufan finished his sentence, lunging forward like a wild dragon, and delivered a swift kick straight into Hanshuai's chest. Hanshuai was sent flying seven or eight zhang through the air, crashing heavily onto the ground and spewing a mouthful of blood.
"Gasp..."
Everyone present sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, their jaws dropping wide enough to fit three eggs.
Someone had actually come to beat up Hanshuai on his own turf!
To run all the way to the Han Family estate and beat people up—it was completely unimaginable!
"Aren't you here to deliver a gift?" Hanshuai shrieked in fury.
"Wiping out your Han Family is the gift I'm bringing!" Chen Bufan proclaimed in a ringing voice, striding toward Hanshuai.
Crack, crack!
The stone slabs beneath his feet exploded outward like pressed biscuits.
The rage he had suppressed for days finally erupted at this moment—who could possibly withstand it?
He had fought for his country for thousands of days, annihilated the Ten-Nation Alliance, and permanently suppressed the evils of all four directions, yet his wife and daughter had been subjected to endless bullying right here in Liyang.
Today, the Han Family would run red with blood!
"The Han Family has dominated Liyang for twenty years as the premier local family! Do you really think your empty boasts mean anything? Daring to cause trouble at the Han Family—no matter who you are, I'm going to kill you!"
Hanshuai immediately shouted for help, and in a flash, over a dozen bodyguards rushed toward Chen Bufan from all directions.
Boom!
Chen Bufan clenched his fist violently, veins bulging on the back of his hand as explosive power instantly erupted.
Bang, bang, bang!
Under Chen Bufan's fists, the dozen-odd bodyguards were as fragile as withered weeds, falling one by one. With dozens of bones broken across their bodies, they passed out cold on the spot.
"You motherf..." Hanshuai was stunned, staring at Chen Bufan in terror. Was this even human? He had sent over a dozen bodyguards flying with a single punch!
"Was it you who constantly harassed Jiang Yurou all these years?" Chen Bufan asked coldly, his voice sharp and biting as a sword.
"Jiang Yurou is my woman, what business is it of yours?"
"Scum like you—do you even deserve a fraction of Yurou?"
Chen Bufan's foot came down like a giant cauldron, sending Hanshuai flying once more as blood spattered across the ground.
"Tell me, did the Han Family poison Sisi?" Chen Bufan pressed, his eyes bloodshot and blazing like a man about to devour his prey.
"Just who the hell are you? What is your relationship to Jiang Yurou?" Hanshuai asked with extreme difficulty, bubbles of blood bubbling from his mouth.
"What qualifications do you have to know my name?"