"That's right. You already died once."
Aak rattled a medicine bottle in one hand as he replied offhandedly,
"I could already tell at the doorway that your complexion wasn't right. Honestly, you really are astonishingly carefree. Your body's in this kind of condition and you're still hopping around all over the place, still talking about starting a business. You seriously have no idea whether you're alive or dead."
As Aak went on lecturing him, Chen Huijie's thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
He now seemed to understand why he had ended up in this new world.
Because he had embraced death once again.
The first sudden death had sent him into reincarnation in Lungmen.
The second one had hurled him almost seamlessly into this place.
Ugh. The more I think about it, the more depressing it is. I managed to get off work on time for once and then died halfway home. What kind of nonsense is that?
Still… could my old injury really be that severe?
Don't tell me the roots of the illness got stirred up again because of the Oripathy?
No, that's not right either.
When my Oripathy first healed, my chest didn't hurt at all. This pain only started up again recently.
Did someone somehow hit me with something underhanded?
At that thought, Chen Huijie's expression sharpened at once.
His eyes narrowed as he began combing back through every detail.
But after recovering from Oripathy, there had only been one incident where he had actually been harmed—and that had been poisoning.
The culprit had been Swire.
The poison had been a secret Victorian recipe.
The poisoning method had been that he swallowed it himself.
The symptoms had been several days of violent vomiting and diarrhea.
Surely that one meal couldn't have left a permanent root in me, could it?
A vivid memory floated up before him: a pot of dark violet soup bubbling ominously.
Chen Huijie fell silent.
Then, extending a hand toward Aak, he said quietly,
"Doctor Aak. Add a blood-toxin screen, please."
"What for?"
Aak looked at him, baffled.
"Didn't I already show you? Your blood composition is completely normal."
"Then why is my old chest injury flaring up?"
Aak shot him the kind of look reserved for people beyond help and said,
"Let me ask you this. When was the last time you slept?"
"One, two, three, four… only five days ago."
After thinking it over, Chen Huijie answered carelessly,
"My internal cultivation isn't weak. Usually I only need to sleep once every eight or nine days to maintain condition. My inner breath never went chaotic, so it shouldn't have been enough to trigger an old wound."
"You don't have an old wound."
Pressing a hand to his forehead, Aak sounded like he was on the verge of snapping.
"I am telling you seriously—there is no old injury anywhere in your body. So stop obsessing over that already. The reason your chest hurts is because you're exhausted."
He fixed Chen Huijie with a look and continued,
"I don't care what level of martial arts master you think you are. One rises with the sun and rests with its setting—that's how blood and qi remain abundant. Especially in a race like yours, with a constitution even weaker than ordinary humans, staying awake eight or nine days isn't merely being sleepy. That's running yourself clean past your limit."
Then he glanced at Chen Huijie again and let out a sigh.
"And more than that… excessive thought harms the heart and spleen. Overthinking drains yin and blood. Watching the way you sank into thought earlier—hmph. Between staying awake and overthinking, your poor little heart has done an admirable job lasting this long."
"Oh… so that's what it was."
Chen Huijie stroked his chin thoughtfully.
It truly had not occurred to him that that counted as overdraw.
But even if he had known, what then?
After the unrest, Lungmen had lost people everywhere—dead, fled, scattered. There genuinely were not enough hands left to go around. And those disgusting parasites swarming around the city had all been trying to sink their teeth into Lungmen and suck it dry.
Under those circumstances, if he did not stay up and work, then his uncle would have had to.
His uncle had only just managed to get back out of bed.
How could Chen Huijie bear to let him exhaust himself like that?
So the only choice had been to keep swallowing herbal medicine and let himself suffer a bit more.
Tch. I kept thinking that once the turmoil fully passed, I'd bring the young hero to my side and teach him bit by bit so he could eventually take over my position. Never thought… miscalculation. A serious miscalculation.
Bang!
Aak slammed the medical file down on the table.
Pulled out of his thoughts at once, Chen Huijie immediately understood and said in a rush,
"I understand, Doctor Aak. From here on, I'll sleep early, get up early, keep regular hours, take my medicine on time, empty my mind, and lie at home like a salted fish."
"The fact that you can zone out and still hear every word I'm saying is honestly kind of impressive. Very nice."
Aak's sarcasm came out sharp, but when he looked again at Chen Huijie's still-young face, his tone softened a little despite himself.
"If you don't learn to treat your body kindly when nothing's wrong, then when something does go wrong, it'll hurt terribly. Now get out. I'm writing you a prescription…"
Then he paused.
"No. Don't leave. Stay right here. I'm brewing the medicine myself and you're drinking it right here in front of me. This is the first time I've ever dealt with a race as physically weak as yours. Go wait outside."
Waving Chen Huijie away, Aak bent down over his medical books.
Elsewhere, after leaving the detective agency, Lin Yuhsia hesitated only briefly before taking her people and heading toward the locations on the slip of paper.
Whatever else might be said, she simply could not shake the sense that when that man handed her the list, the confidence in him had not been an act.
So fine.
I'll trust him once.
And if he dares to fool me, I'll settle the account with him later. I'm not someone that easy to provoke either.
With Lin Yuhsia moving at high speed, she reached the nearest location in less than half an hour and stormed it cleanly.
Everyone inside was pinned down.
Looking at the warehouse packed to the brim with smuggled goods, Lin Yuhsia silently clenched the slip of paper in her hand. She left several people behind to handle the site and rushed at once toward the next.
Before long, she scored again.
By now, the eyes of this little mouse had begun to shine.
She hurried with growing excitement to the third location and again made a rich haul. Taking a deep breath, she unfolded the paper once more for another look, then carefully refolded it and tucked it into her pocket.
She had decided.
She was going to bring this Chen Huijie into the association and make him her right hand.
How he knew about this matter. How he found those locations. None of that was important. Everyone had secrets.
What mattered was that he had ability. He had methods. He was exactly the sort of talent she most needed at present.
In Lin Yuhsia's mind, a whole catalog of ways to honor and recruit worthy talent had already begun to unfold. She would absolutely let Chen Huijie feel the sincerity of her invitation.
And given how old he seemed, he was probably still in that stage of hot blood and ideals. So after showing due sincerity, she could speak with him about her own aspirations.
Surely he would accept.
At the same time Lin Yuhsia was heading toward the fourth location, Guard Department police cars were also racing toward that same point.
Meanwhile, back at Lee's Detective Agency, Chen Huijie, having nothing to do while waiting for the medicine, passed the time by playing a game of Go with Mr. Lee.
Looking down at the board, Lee smacked his lips and laughed.
"Outwardly one killing line, inwardly another. Young friend, your Go is sharp indeed."
-------
My patreon : patreon.com/RuneA
Succubus Chen Sir Reborn in Terra, with the Ability to See Affection Levels? (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it