At this moment, he was willing to accept the outcome of the bet, his expression sincere, giving the impression of someone willingly taking him on as a master!
Yet this kneeling was done for the sake of the long-lost Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles!
If he could obtain the lost acupuncture secret technique, what did it matter if he had to kneel before a cripple?!
"I won't take you."
"You're too old; you're bound to outlive me."
Lin Pingfan refused on the spot.
This reason for refusal made Li Qubing's eyelids twitch violently. Yet, he didn't fly into a rage; instead, he wore an expression of sheer awkwardness.
At this moment, Zhao Anran's breathing had completely evened out, and he looked at Lin Pingfan with eyes full of shock.
His heart had suffered from a chronic ailment that could never be properly treated, and doctors had never been able to pinpoint the cause.
Yet this treatment had brought unprecedented ease to his heart, as if his old ailment had been healed along the way!
"Mr. Lin, my attitude earlier was unacceptable. Please forgive me."
"Thanks to you today, I, Zhao Anran, owe you a favor!"
The tone of Zhao Anran's speech had undergone a dramatic shift compared to before.
Hearing this, Lin Pingfan remained completely impassive and said indifferently, "There's no need. It was Medicine King Sun who invited me here this time. If you want to thank someone, thank Medicine King Sun instead."
Calculating the time, he pulled out the silver needles one by one.
Afterward, he brought the blackened tips of the needles to the tip of his nose and sniffed them gently. Lost in a brief moment of contemplation, he spoke up: "Your root problem isn't with your heart. Someone is poisoning you."
"As for who did it, you should look into the people around you."
Leaving behind words that struck terror into Zhao Anran's heart, he motioned for Sun Wanxing to push him out of the ward.
After Lin Pingfan left, Zhao Anran's face darkened to the extreme, and he immediately dispatched his bodyguards to thoroughly investigate the internal ranks of his family!
...
Stepping out of the hospital building, Sun Wanxing offered profuse thanks, his emotions running exceptionally high.
"Young Lord, thank you so much."
"If anything had happened to the Richest Man Zhao, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Project would certainly have been doomed, and my Lin Family would likely have faced bankruptcy by then!"
Lin Pingfan shook his head. "When the Young Lord's Token appears, I must act, regardless of whom it concerns. However, you must fulfill the price demanded by the Young Lord's Token."
Without a moment's hesitation, Sun Wanxing agreed immediately: "Please rest assured, Young Lord, I will certainly fulfill the price required by the Young Lord's Token!"
*Buzz, buzz...*
Suddenly, Lin Pingfan's cell phone vibrated with a notification.
Pulling out his phone, he discovered a text message from Old Ghost, who had been missing for a long time!
"Kid, you've suffered wrongs these past few years. Just endure a little longer; the right time is almost here."
"Besides, you can come home now."
Looking at the text on the screen, Lin Pingfan's calm expression finally broke into a long-absent smile!
The home mentioned in the message was not the Ye Family Villa.
It was the home that belonged to Lin Pingfan himself.
That old courtyard left behind after the destruction of the Lin Family.
To redeem that old courtyard, the only thing that could do it was that Yanxia Dragon Card, of which there were only a handful in the entire realm!
Lin Pingfan didn't let Sun Wanxing take him, choosing instead to hail a cab by himself and leave.
...
Shanhai Tiangong!
The most luxurious estate in Haizhou City, covering an immense area filled with all sorts of extravagant architecture.
One could tell just from the exterior how immensely wealthy the person living here must be.
This was Lin Pingfan's former home.
Ever since the decline of the Lin Family, this estate had become ownerless, and framed by his enemies, the property had been confiscated by the state.
Yet now, Shanhai Tiangong carried a staggering price tag of one billion!
Furthermore, owning the Yanxia Dragon Card was a mandatory requirement for purchase.
Just moments ago, Lin Pingfan had used the Dragon Card to buy this residence back.
At this moment, Lin Pingfan was strolling gently through the villa, his fingers repeatedly brushing against the cold furniture.
It was as if that cold furniture still carried the warmth of the past.
After a separation of five years, everything in the house remained unchanged, exactly as it had been back then.
Even the photographs from those days still sat in their original places.
It was almost as if someone had known he would buy Shanhai Tiangong and had deliberately come to set everything up in advance.
He lay down on the soft sofa, experiencing a long-overdue sense of comfort.
Although Lin Pingfan and Ye Yaxin had already obtained their marriage certificate, she was entirely unwilling, so Lin Pingfan had simply chosen to live at Shanhai Tiangong.
At noon the next day, Lin Pingfan's phone suddenly rang—it was actually a call from Ye Yaxin.
"Lin Pingfan, it's me, Ye Yaxin."
Lin Pingfan couldn't help but pause for a moment, asking with some confusion, "What is it?"
"Later today, I'm going to a bar with some friends. Come with me; it'll be a good chance for you to meet them."
Hearing these words come out of Ye Yaxin's mouth, Lin Pingfan found them almost unbelievable.
Didn't this girl utterly despise him?!
Suddenly, she wanted to introduce him to her friends.
This 180-degree turnaround caught him quite by surprise.
Still, Lin Pingfan didn't overthink it; they were legally husband and wife now. Although they had rushed into getting the marriage certificate, affection could still be cultivated over time.
He readily agreed.
After dressing, he got back into his wheelchair and headed out, preparing to take a taxi to the Ye Family Villa.
Just then, a luxury off-road vehicle pulled up outside Shanhai Tiangong.
Two people in military uniforms stepped out of the vehicle!
Judging by the badges on their shoulders, their ranks were by no means low!
Especially the woman among them, whose heroic bearing and breathtaking beauty gave her a rank that was shockingly high!
If any outsiders were present, they would surely gasp in astonishment at the War God Shangguan!
Shangguan Yunyu!
The eldest daughter of the Imperial Capital Shangguan Family, current commander of the Twenty-Eight Mansions Divine Army, hailed as a modern Hua Mulan and revered by the world as the Female War God!
Shangguan Yunyu's stunning brows furrowed slightly in bewilderment as she looked at Lin Pingfan and asked, "Why is it you?!"
"You live here?!"
Seeing the woman appear before him, Lin Pingfan felt a flicker of disgust.
Strictly speaking, there was some history between him and Shangguan Yunyu.
Back when he was a child, the Imperial Capital Shangguan Family had traveled all the way from the Imperial Capital to Haizhou City because they needed a favor from the Lin Family.
It was precisely because of that matter that he and this Female War God had become betrothed.
Yet many years had passed, and his parents had never mentioned the matter to him, nor had the people from the Shangguan Family ever honored the engagement.
It wasn't until the Lin Family was ruined and destroyed, and he was cast into Modu Prison, that he completely cast the affair behind him.
In his memories, Shangguan Yunyu had been a sensible, obedient, and well-behaved young girl.
Who could have guessed that people change as they grow up.
The Shangguan Yunyu of today had turned out so domineering, especially toward him.
Every time she escorted prisoners to Modu Prison, she would invariably look down on him from her pedestal and humiliate him thoroughly.
Before Lin Pingfan was released from prison, she had even come to find him in person.
Citing his background, she tore up the engagement right before his eyes.
At the same time, as compensation, she promised that she would step in to help him up to three times if the need ever arose.
Lin Pingfan could understand her tearing up the engagement; back then, he was a prisoner with broken legs—how could he possibly be worthy of Yanxia's Female War God?
That wasn't why he detested Shangguan Yunyu.
The reason he despised her was because of her self-righteous tyranny. As for needing Shangguan Yunyu's help—he, a dignified Young Lord, had never once needed the likes of Shangguan Yunyu to bail him out!
"A friend lives here. I came to take a look."
Lin Pingfan dropped a casual remark, then turned his wheelchair, intending to put some distance between himself and Shangguan Yunyu.
Hearing this, a flash of surprise first crossed Shangguan Yunyu's eyes, followed immediately by a tone that seemed to say it was just as she had expected: "Heh, figures. With what you've become now, wanting to live here again is nothing more than a pipe dream."