"What kind of unexpected patient is this? As long as they arrive at our HanTang Hospital, in my eyes, they are simply a patient; there's no such thing as unexpected or not!" Liu Hui chuckled.

"Boss, you were online in 2008?" Mei Peng asked him mysteriously.

"Of course I was. Is there something special about that?" Liu Hui asked, puzzled.

"Then you must know what happened in early 2008!" Mei Peng **smiled wryly.

"Early 2008? Oh, right. There was that massive snow disaster in the south in early 2008," Liu Hui looked at Mei Peng, confused.

"Oh, come on, my boss, have a little curiosity! Stop focusing all your attention on national affairs," Mei Peng grumbled in frustration.

"Then why don't you just say it directly instead of playing charades with me?"

"Still playing coy. During the 2008 snow disaster, I was studying the artistic photos taken by Senior Chen Guanxi online. Dare to say you didn't study them?" Mei Peng looked at Liu Hui with disdain.

Liu Hui was covered in sweat and laughed awkwardly, "Well, I... I studied some of them."

Mei Peng patted Liu Hui's shoulder and chuckled, "That's more like it. As men, we should all be thankful to Master Chen."

"Why?"

"Because of Master Chen's existence, even though I'm here on the mainland, my understanding of those female stars' bodies has reached the same level as their husbands'," Mei Peng expressed deep admiration for Master Chen.

"Wait a minute, what does all this have to do with our patient?" Liu Hui finally caught on.

"It's clearly related! Aren't Master Chen's artistic photos not fully released?" Mei Peng explained patiently.

"That seems right."

"Didn't everyone suspect there was one female star in the photos who wasn't revealed?"

"That seems right."

"And weren't there rumors circulating back then that this female star was quite something, having done things with many Hong Kong male stars?"

"That seems right."

"Then someone let it slip—didn't they say this female star had AIDS?"

"That seems right."

"It’s said that once those words were out, many Hong Kong male stars quietly went to the hospital for check-ups."

"That seems right."

"That female star is at our hospital today."

"It seems so... Wait, you mean she's at our hospital? What is she here for?" Liu Hui hadn't fully processed it yet.

"Boss, she's here for treatment! She's the unexpected patient I was talking about!" Mei Peng looked at his boss, who was slow on the uptake in this area, and was left speechless.

"Ah, she really has AIDS? Is it the one everyone suspected online?" Liu Hui finally snapped back to normal, his gossip fire blazing fiercely.

"Heh heh, why don't you go see for yourself?"

"Where is she? I'm going to see if it’s who I think it is!" Liu Hui started to get up.

"Boss, she just said she wanted to see you. She has something important to discuss with you. I'm just here to notify you. Do you want to see her?" Mei Peng smiled.

Hearing that she wanted to see him about something important, Liu Hui immediately sobered up, slapped Mei Peng, and scolded, "It’s all your fault for messing with me; you’ve corrupted me. Go call her over now!"

Mei Peng rubbed his head, glanced at Liu Hui, felt like the words were backward, and then trudged out dejectedly. He quickly returned, ushering two women into Liu Hui's office.

Liu Hui recognized the female star immediately; it was indeed the one netizens had suspected. The star's agent spoke to Liu Hui, "Mr. Liu, we have something important to discuss with you."

"What important matter do you need to discuss with me?" Liu Hui asked curiously.

"Mr. Liu, I believe you recognize my client. My client is a very high-profile figure, so I hope your hospital can provide us with privacy protection." The agent got straight to the point.

"That's not an issue. During her hospitalization, as long as she follows our arrangements, we guarantee she won't be exposed. Even our medical staff have undergone strict confidentiality training; they will not leak anything about the hospital to the outside world. You can rest assured on that point," Liu Hui stated proudly.

"We are very grateful that Mr. Liu can guarantee these things. However, we have another, perhaps unreasonable, request."

"An unreasonable request? Just say it. As long as we can manage it, we will do our best to accommodate you."

"We hope that no treatment records will be kept at your hospital."

"That's impossible. According to relevant national regulations, treatment within a hospital must have corresponding records," Mei Peng, being an industry insider, immediately rejected the idea.

"You see, this is beyond our capability. We are truly unable to comply," Liu Hui spread his hands.

"Mr. Liu, I absolutely cannot have any traces of treatment left behind. If these treatment records leak out, my career will be completely ruined. Please, won't you?" The star was extremely anxious, grabbing Liu Hui's hand and placing it over her chest, pleading flirtatiously.

Liu Hui broke out in a cold sweat. Why are women always like this? If I didn't know you had AIDS, and you pulled me close like that, seeing as I once admired you, I might even take advantage and flirt a little. But now that I know you have AIDS, and you still do this—isn't that intentionally trying to harm someone!

Liu Hui coughed awkwardly and quietly withdrew his hand. He said, "This matter is indeed very difficult. We can't violate national laws either."

"Mr. Liu, my client is from Hong Kong. According to HanTang Hospital's regulations, the treatment fee is one million RMB, correct?" The agent began to press the issue.

"Yes, the fee for domestic patients, including those from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, is one million RMB," Liu Hui confirmed.

"What if we are willing to pay in US dollars? I mean, one million US dollars!" The agent smiled.

"Rest assured, your client has never been treated at HanTang Hospital, and we know nothing," Liu Hui immediately shook the agent's hand warmly.

"Then we thank you, Mr. Liu," the agent smiled, then left with the star.

After seeing them off, Mei Peng looked at Liu Hui strangely and asked, "Why did you agree to their demand? That's against the rules."

"Second brother, don't worry. I have things under control; there won't be any problems. Don't forget, our hospital is tax-exempt for the first three years."

"You mean?"

"Exactly. Since we're tax-exempt, no one will audit our books. And that star is certainly not going to jump out and announce she has AIDS and was treated at some hospital. So, by doing this, not only can we collect a few million more, but there won't be any issues. This isn't a matter of principle; it can be handled flexibly," Liu Hui said with a smile.

After Liu Hui settled this matter, Wu Yuanjia also concluded negotiations with Jiangnan Yi. Wu Yuanjia reported the outcome of the communication to Liu Hui. Liu Hui listened carefully, but most of what Wu Yuanjia reported was technical jargon that Liu Hui couldn't understand.

Liu Hui grew tired of listening and finally asked directly, "Will the special services personnel interfere with the normal operation of our hospital?"

Wu Yuanjia replied, "No, they won't. Internal hospital matters are still under the jurisdiction of our own security team."

"That’s good. As long as they don't enter the hospital grounds, cooperate with them on other matters. However, we must maintain our independence; you need to gauge that balance correctly," Liu Hui said, relieved.

In the following days, the number of patients at HanTang Hospital gradually increased. The second-floor wards were under renovation and temporarily uninhabitable, so some rooms on the first and third floors were converted into temporary wards. Even so, they could only admit fewer than thirty patients, with more than ten still waiting in line.

The patients arriving during this time came from all over the world, with the majority being wealthy merchants from the Middle East, clad in white robes and moving around the hospital all day. Another unexpected group of patients for Liu Hui were some tribal chiefs from Africa. He hadn't expected them to be able to afford the one-million-dollar medical fee, but then it made sense—Africa is rich in diamonds, perhaps these tribes treated diamonds like mere glass beads in their daily lives.

Liu Hui also took advantage of the downtime over these few days to contact a renowned headhunting firm, intending to recruit some talent for his hospital to ease the workload for Mei Peng and Liang Jingyue. The headhunting firm introduced several candidates for interviews. After meeting them, Liu Hui felt they were generally acceptable and signed them all. With the addition of this new talent, the management of HanTang Hospital began to standardize, slowly acquiring the air of a legitimate hospital, with everything trending in a positive direction.

Zhou Tengyun remained unconscious, causing Liu Hui great worry. He specifically consulted the Zerg of the insect race, who assured him not to worry and that Zhou Tengyun would wake up on his own after some time. One day, Liu Hui visited Zhou Tengyun's ward to check on his condition. He suddenly noticed Zhou Tengyun's eyes move. He rushed over, leaned close to Zhou Tengyun's ear, and shouted his name repeatedly.

Zhou Tengyun's eyes flickered, as if struggling for a moment, and then he opened them. He rolled his eyes around, his gaze unfocused and blank. When he saw Liu Hui, he managed a smile. After a long pause, it seemed as if something triggered a memory, and tears streamed down his face. He threw his arms around Liu Hui and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Third brother, don't cry. I'm here! Whatever happened, your boss has your back," Liu Hui patted Zhou Tengyun’s back, comforting him.

Zhou Tengyun, a strong man, was now weeping openly without explaining what was wrong. His body had just recovered, and his spirit wasn't strong; consequently, as he cried, he drifted off to sleep in Liu Hui's embrace. Liu Hui gently placed Zhou Tengyun on the bed, covered him with a quilt, and then sat by the bedside, watching him silently.

It wasn't until the afternoon that Zhou Tengyun woke up again. Liu Hui and Mei Peng were sitting in the room, overjoyed to see him awake. Mei Peng picked up a bowl of porridge in front of him and began to feed Zhou Tengyun. Having eaten nothing for so long, Zhou Tengyun felt hungry, and after a good cry, he was less distraught than before, so he finished the porridge from Mei Peng’s hand.

Liu Hui watched Zhou Tengyun finish the porridge from the side, then asked, "Third brother, tell us, what happened?"

Zhou Tengyun's eyes reddened again, and he began to recount his ordeal slowly, though his tone was chillingly detached, as if he were describing someone else's experience.

Right after graduation, Zhou Tengyun married his university girlfriend, Cai Lufeng, and they returned to his hometown, Mingyue County in Shuzhou Province. There, he decided to lease land to start a farm-stay resort. Unfortunately, lacking experience as a recent graduate and choosing a remote location, despite working incredibly hard, he faced continuous losses. Zhou Tengyun was forced to shut down that operation.

Later, Zhou Tengyun found a location near Mingyue County with exceptional scenery and great development potential. However, the area was vast, and the infrastructure was severely lacking, meaning developing it would require a massive financial outlay. Zhou Tengyun was highly optimistic about the area's potential. After discussing it with Cai Lufeng, they decided to commit everything. He mortgaged his ancestral home entirely and borrowed 300,000 RMB from Cai Lufeng's relatives to develop a new farm-stay resort.

Zhou Tengyun's total investment reached 1.5 million RMB. He named the resort "Peach Blossom Spring" (Shi Wai Tao Yuan), symbolizing the beautiful life he intended to create and inhabit there. During this period, Zhou Tengyun and Cai Lufeng welcomed their first child, a daughter. Zhou Tengyun took one character from his and his wife’s names to name their daughter Zhou Lulu.

The Shi Wai Tao Yuan resort was not an immediate success because of the poor infrastructure and the immature landscaping; the scenery wasn't quite up to par. But Zhou Tengyun persisted in transforming the resort according to his vision. The following year, as the plants inside the resort matured and the various scenic spots took shape, the Shi Wai Tao Yuan resort began to faintly resemble its namesake.

Through Zhou Tengyun’s persistent efforts and promotion over time, by the third year of operation, the Shi Wai Tao Yuan resort business boomed. Customers even had to book in advance. At this rate, he projected recouping all his capital by the end of that year. The next year would be pure profit, estimated to exceed 2 million RMB annually. Zhou Tengyun and his family looked forward to a beautiful future.

Once, upon invitation from a friend, Young Master Lu from Shuzhou visited the Shi Wai Tao Yuan resort and immediately recognized its immense potential. He approached Zhou Tengyun, wanting to purchase the resort, but he only offered 100,000 RMB. Zhou Tengyun had invested nearly 2 million RMB into the venture, and its prospects were excellent, so naturally, he refused to sell.

Seeing that Zhou Tengyun wouldn't sell, Young Master Lu incited the Urban Management Bureau (Chengguan) to intervene, planning to forcibly evict Zhou Tengyun. Unfortunately, Zhou Tengyun had ensured all permits and procedures were complete before setting up the resort, so the Chengguan couldn't do anything.

When that tactic failed, Young Master Lu immediately contacted the Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Tax Bureau, Fire Safety, and Health departments to conduct surprise inspections of the resort. Zhou Tengyun was a scrupulous man; everything was strictly in accordance with national regulations, so the joint inspection found no legal grounds for action. The only consequence was that the business suffered slightly due to the frequent, random checks.

When Young Master Lu saw that Zhou Tengyun still refused to yield, he dropped all pretense and directly called the police to have Zhou Tengyun arrested, intending to pin a cold case from several years prior onto him. However, fate intervened; the real criminal in that case was quickly apprehended in a neighboring province and confessed to his crimes. At this point, the Public Security Bureau had no grounds to continue holding Zhou Tengyun, so they had to release him.

Unable to deal with Zhou Tengyun’s resort through legitimate means, Young Master Lu became extremely frustrated. Coincidentally, the Kuanglong Gang from Ba City was expanding into Shuzhou Province, so Young Master Lu decided to leverage the gang's strength to forcibly demolish the resort. Once Zhou Tengyun was gone, he could quickly rebuild the resort himself.

Young Master Lu bribed a deputy captain of the Chengguan, who then declared the Shi Wai Tao Yuan resort an illegal structure subject to immediate demolition. Then, Ma Lao Er’s Xinglong Service Company was brought in to carry out the forceful demolition. Following custom, Young Master Lu even managed to get the police to set up a cordon around the perimeter.

Thus, the personnel from Xinglong Service Company began the forced dismantling of Zhou Tengyun’s resort. Naturally, Zhou Tengyun and Cai Lufeng were unwilling to see their property seized by others and resisted fiercely. However, as ordinary people, how could they stand against the ravenous Kuanglong Gang members? They were promptly beaten to the ground and dragged out. The police stood nearby, maintaining order.

In the chaos, no one noticed little Zhou Lulu running into a room. The structure was already being torn down, with bricks constantly falling from above. Zhou Tengyun spotted Zhou Lulu running inside and, desperate, struggled free from the two men pinning him down. He dashed into the room, intending to pull Zhou Lulu out, but failed to notice a large structural beam falling from above. Cai Lufeng saw the danger, rushed in quickly, and shoved Zhou Tengyun aside, but she and Zhou Lulu were directly struck by the beam. They were clearly beyond saving.

The demolition crew nearby noticed the accident and were momentarily stunned, stopping their work. Young Master Lu, realizing what happened, immediately ordered the workers to retreat quickly. Zhou Tengyun tried to stop them, demanding they send his wife and child to the hospital, but they shoved him back to the ground, and the demolition crew swiftly drove off in their vehicles. Zhou Tengyun turned to the police officers who had been maintaining order, asking them to call an ambulance and transport his wife and child to the hospital, but they refused. The police then quickly left the scene.

By the time local villagers called for an ambulance, Cai Lufeng and Zhou Lulu had already stopped breathing. Zhou Lulu’s small hand was still clutching a blood-stained cloth doll.

Zhou Tengyun reported the incident to the police, but no officers were willing to respond. He mechanically handled the funeral arrangements for his wife and child. In despair, he bought a can of gasoline and went to settle the score with Young Master Lu. Upon seeing Young Master Lu, Zhou Tengyun doused himself in gasoline, intending to tackle Young Master Lu and die with him. What Zhou Tengyun hadn't anticipated was that Young Master Lu had two experts nearby. Before Zhou Tengyun could get close, one of the experts kicked him flying, and the metal tip of Zhou Tengyun's belt struck the ground, generating a spark that ignited the gasoline on his body.

Watching Zhou Tengyun screaming in the flames, Young Master Lu grew somewhat frightened. He ordered his two bodyguards to put out the fire, then they dumped Zhou Tengyun in a remote area to fend for himself.

As for what happened afterward, Zhou Tengyun had no recollection whatsoever.

Liu Hui and Mei Peng listened as Zhou Tengyun finished recounting his experience. Mei Peng started cursing, "Those damned people! This is clearly banditry! Young Master Lu coveted Third Brother’s resort and wanted to snatch it, offering only 100,000 RMB—less than a tenth of what Third Brother invested! When Third Brother refused, he pulled all those dirty tricks. It makes me furious! My poor little niece, she promised to let me visit her again next time I came by," he said, tears welling up.

Liu Hui patted Mei Peng's shoulder and said to Zhou Tengyun, "Third brother, I understand everything now. Rest for a while. I'll come see you again later."

Liu Hui led Mei Peng out of Zhou Tengyun's room. Mei Peng, his eyes red, said, "Boss, you're someone the state pays attention to now. You must find a way to help Third Brother. Ideally, have that Young Master Lu beheaded, and those Chengguan, police, and demolition crew members who acted as accomplices must all be severely punished."

Liu Hui managed a wry smile. "I am just someone the state values highly; I have no real power against those people. After all, I’m not part of the system, and they won't help me. But rest assured, I won't let a single one of them go. Oh, by the way, Third Brother is awake. Instruct the nurses to take good care of him."

"Okay, I'll go arrange that right away," Mei Peng said, leaving with bloodshot eyes.

Liu Hui found Liang Jingyue in the finance office and told her Zhou Tengyun was awake, instructing her to buy some change of clothes and pants for Zhou Tengyun according to his size.

In the evening, Liu Hui went to Zhou Tengyun's room. Zhou Tengyun stared blankly at the ceiling, his face ashen. Upon seeing Liu Hui enter, he called out, "Boss." Liu Hui sat by the bedside, feeling a sharp pang of heartache watching Zhou Tengyun. How happy Third Brother once was: successfully winning over the class beauty, Cai Lufeng, in college, marrying right after graduation, returning to the countryside to realize his ideals, having his own child, Zhou Lulu, and seeing his business just starting to take off—only to have it brutally extinguished right when they were envisioning a bright future. Liu Hui could understand the depth of Zhou Tengyun's pain.

"Third brother, do you want revenge?" Liu Hui asked.

"Revenge? Heh heh. With what can I get revenge? What else do I have left to lose?" Zhou Tengyun's face was filled with despair.

"That’s true. In the current social climate, you can never get revenge," Liu Hui sighed.

"Then why did you ask?"

"What if you had the ability to take revenge yourself?"

"The ability to take revenge myself? Are you suggesting I should become an official? But I'm too old, and I have no connections; it wouldn't be suitable."

"I mean, what if you possessed superhuman skills, enabling you to directly eliminate them? Would you want revenge?" Liu Hui asked mysteriously.

"Boss, what do you mean by that? I don't quite follow," Zhou Tengyun looked at Liu Hui with confusion.

"Third Brother, I have a very special method that can unlock a person's latent potential, allowing an ordinary person to become a martial arts master in a short amount of time. Yes, just like those masters you see on TV—the ones who can scale walls and perform incredible feats of power," Liu Hui stated gravely.

"Boss, you aren't just messing with me, are you?" Zhou Tengyun reached out as if to check Liu Hui's forehead.

"Third Brother, I am serious. If you follow my instructions exactly, you will possess formidable strength within a short span. Then, you can exact your revenge however you wish."

"Can it really work?" Hope flared anew in Zhou Tengyun's heart.

"Absolutely. Trust me," Liu Hui nodded at him.

"Third Brother, I need you to keep this absolutely secret, especially from Second Brother. Second Brother is different from us; he is a kind soul, walking the bright, open road. What we are about to do will involve many people, and it is a dark, lonely path. Therefore, we must keep Second Brother completely in the dark so he isn't dragged into this. I want Second Brother to remain a happy man, untainted by these shadows."

"That's not an issue. I have already lost my own happiness; I don't want Second Brother to follow in my footsteps. I will walk this dark road from now on," Zhou Tengyun said calmly.

Author's Note: After a day of relentless writing, I managed to push out 12,900 characters today, finally fulfilling the promised 12,000-character milestone for the support tickets. I did not disappoint Yueya Kaixinguo's expectations.

Here, Qianyu wants to express my sincere gratitude to Yueya Kaixinguo once again, as I received another generous tip from them today.

Furthermore, if this book has managed to catch your eye, please consider contributing your recommendation votes and adding it to your collection. Thank you!