Yancy Shaw watched as Qian Peng was carried onto the stretcher. He reached out to check the man's breathing—it was shallow, almost imperceptible. He needed urgent treatment.
"Sorry, Third Young Master. I was a step too late." Yuan Ran reported the situation to Yancy Shaw.
Lu Chaoran’s expression was complicated. "Did you see what the attacker looked like?"
Yuan Ran shook his head. They'd been too far away, and the man had worn a hat and a mask. The moment he noticed he was spotted, he'd fled quickly.
While they were still talking, Yancy Shaw got into a car, already preparing to return to the hospital.
Lu Chaoran stopped him. "Why the rush? We haven’t properly discussed this case yet."
"We’ll talk later. I need to save someone first." There was a cold edge to Yancy Shaw’s voice now, making people instinctively wary.
Lu Chaoran watched Shen’s car follow behind the ambulance. Suddenly recalling something, he called for Yuan Ran to come along, and they drove after him.
At the hospital, Yancy Shaw changed into his white coat and headed straight into the operating room.
Lu Chaoran waited outside the operating room door.
Zhao Jiang saw him waiting and offered, "Lu, why don’t you head back to the station? We’ll keep watch here."
Lu Chaoran shook his head. "I'll stay right here. You all can go back first."
Qian Peng was carrying too many secrets. There was something Lu had to figure out, so he insisted on staying.
Seeing his determination, Zhao Jiang didn’t argue further.
The operation lasted more than five hours. Only as evening fell did the lights outside the operating room finally go off.
Yancy Shaw stepped out, and Lu Chaoran immediately stood up to ask, "Is the kid dead or not?"
Yancy Shaw was just removing his mask when Henry Mills also emerged from the operating room. Hearing Lu Chaoran’s question, Henry Mills replied, "With Dr. Shen on the job, a man could have a foot in the grave and still get dragged back."
He wasn't exaggerating—Yancy Shaw really was that skilled.
"The stab wounds are identical to the ones on Hong Kun. The killer must be the same person who murdered him," Yancy Shaw said, recalling Hong Kun’s autopsy report.
Lu Chaoran thought for a moment. "The other side is getting impatient."
Lu Chaoran glanced meaningfully at Yancy Shaw. "Sounds like it’s time to lure the snake out of its lair." Shen did not reply, but that silence showed he was thinking the same thing.
Henry Mills was left thoroughly confused. Scared? Luring snakes? He couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were talking about.
Word that Qian Peng was still alive quickly reached the Snow family.
Xue Wenchang started to panic. "Didn’t you say you killed him? Why is he still alive?"
Uncle Lu was baffled too. He'd clearly seen Qian Peng fall, even stabbed him a few extra times just to be sure. If he hadn’t heard someone coming, he might have stabbed him again.
"I'm certain he was dead at the time. How could he still be alive?"
Xue Wenchang’s face was grim, deep in thought.
"Could it be that the Shen family already knows about what happened all those years ago…"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Xue immediately dismissed it. "If the Shen family knew what we did back then, do you think we'd still be sitting here like nothing happened?"
Uncle Lu voiced his worry, "I heard it was Yancy Shaw who personally saved Qian Peng at the hospital."
Brows tightly knit, Xue Wenchang thought hard about the whole chain of events.
Voices sounded at the doorway. Looking up, he saw Old Master Xue enter, leaning on his cane.
"Dad, didn’t the doctor tell you to rest? If you need anything, call me and I’ll come to you. Why did you come all this way?"
Old Master Xue had barely left the house recently, so angered by Eva Snow’s situation that he’d been seething for days. Just seeing Xue Qiang’s family made his blood boil.
He looked at Xue Wenchang, a face lined with worry.
"If I lie in bed any longer, something bad’s going to happen."
Xue Wenchang didn’t reply. Somehow, the old man had already heard about Qian Peng. He rapped his cane on the floor, voice full of anger. "That Qian Peng—isn’t he Qian Sheng’s younger brother?"
Meeting his father’s glare, Xue Wenchang felt uneasy but nodded. "Yes."
Old Master Xue paced the room, cane tapping angrily on the floor. "We can't let him live. He surely knows about his brother’s fate. If the Shen family finds out about it, do you have any idea what the consequences will be? You should have dealt with this cleanly from the start."
Xue Wenchang tried to explain, "Dad, we don’t even know if he really is alive. It could just be the police spreading false news to throw us off."
A ruthless look flickered in Old Master Xue’s eyes. "Whether he’s alive or not, we'll know for sure after tonight."
—
11 p.m. That night.
The inpatient wing of Ancheng Hospital was silent, with only nurses occasionally walking the halls.
Two police officers guarded the entrance to Qian Peng’s hospital room.
Zhao Jiang yawned as he sat by the door.
"Tired?" the other officer asked.
Zhao Jiang shook his head. "Even if I am, I can't sleep. That man inside's an important suspect. I heard the surgery went great, but he’s still unconscious, so there’s nothing to question him about yet."
His voice carried through the quiet corridor, drawing a nurse over to remind them to keep quiet and not wake the patients.
Zhao Jiang lowered his voice.
Moments later, a sudden commotion sounded from down the hall.
"Help! Help! Someone’s being attacked!"
At the shout, Zhao Jiang sprang to alertness. He told his partner, "Go check it out!"
No sooner had the officer gone than Zhao Jiang received another call and dashed off in the opposite direction.
With both of them gone, a shadowy figure appeared at the hospital room door.
Wearing a baseball cap and a face mask, only his eyes visible, the man slipped into the room as the nurses at the station looked away.
The room was dark, but it was just possible to make out the figure lying on the bed.
He drew closer, quietly pulling a syringe from his pocket. Stepping lightly to the bedside, he jabbed the needle into the IV tube.
Suddenly, the lights snapped on. Someone seized the man’s wrist. Before he could react, he was flipped over the shoulder and slammed hard onto the floor.
By the time he realized what was happening, his hands were already cuffed. He tried to shove Lu Chaoran aside to make a run for it.
Trying to run at a time like this? Lu Chaoran kicked the man’s leg out from under him, eliciting a miserable howl.
He tore off the man’s hat and mask, finally revealing Uncle Lu’s face.
Lu Chaoran didn’t recognize the man—he only knew this was today’s would-be killer. Whatever his reasons, there’d be no getting away now.
Yancy Shaw walked in from the hallway, a cold edge to his expression upon seeing who it was.
"Third Young Master Shen, do you know this man?" Lu Chaoran asked, though he pretty much knew the answer.
Yancy Shaw’s gaze grew even colder. He answered frankly, "Yes. He’s the Snow family’s steward."
Lu Chaoran gave him a pointed look. "So this guy’s actually the Snow family’s butler?"