With a gun in hand, Ethan Carter yanked Dragon Lady over, pressed the gun to Dragon Lady's temple, and said with a smile, “I know none of you are afraid to die, but if you dare come near me, I’ll blow her head off.”

The men in black, though bold enough to threaten people with guns in public, now found the person they were supposed to protect taken hostage. They quickly raised their empty hands and, with a slightly threatening tone, said, “Do you know who you’ve taken hostage? She’s the granddaughter of the head of the Su Corporation, Lucy Brooks! If you don’t want trouble, I suggest you let her go.”

Ethan Carter showed a look of understanding, nodded slowly, and said, “Looks like the person I’ve taken hostage is quite important.”

“If you don’t want trouble, let her go now. I can pretend I didn’t see anything this time.” The man in black took another slow step forward.

Ethan Carter, with the hand holding Lucy Brooks by the neck, slowly extended his middle finger and said, “Are you an idiot? It wasn’t easy to kidnap such a rich chick—how could I just let her go? Get lost! If I get surrounded by the police, you’ll be picking up corpses.” As he spoke, Ethan Carter pressed the gun harder against Lucy Brooks's temple and quickly retreated.

After Ethan Carter's warning, the two men in black didn’t dare pursue him further. They could only let him go and quickly called to report the situation.

Ethan Carter, holding Lucy Brooks with one arm, sprinted through several streets. He let go of Lucy Brooks and said, “The people chasing you probably won’t catch up for now. You should go.” He turned and headed toward his own clinic.

One step, two steps, five steps, ten steps...

Ethan Carter stopped, and Lucy Brooks, who had been following him, also stopped, standing not far away and watching him.

“Forget it! It’s been so long, just let it go.” Ethan Carter muttered to himself, turned, and started walking again, when suddenly he heard Lucy Brooks behind him cry out, “Ouch!”

Lucy Brooks was kneeling on one knee, rubbing her ankle with both hands. Though her eyes showed a plea for help, there was even more stubbornness, refusing to speak first.

“Fine! One more good deed—call it accumulating merit.” Ethan Carter convinced himself, squatted down beside Lucy Brooks, gently massaged her ankle, and then suddenly twisted it quickly.

Before Lucy Brooks could even cry out in pain, her sprained ankle was already fixed, but she herself fainted.

“Sigh!” Ethan Carter let out a breath, gently pinched Lucy Brooks's philtrum, but the unconscious Lucy Brooks still didn’t respond.

Faking it? Using this trick...

“Fine! I’ll be a good guy to the end.” Ethan Carter knew full well that Lucy Brooks was pretending to be asleep, but still muttered to himself, picked up the feigning Lucy Brooks, and walked toward his clinic.

In Ethan Carter's arms, Lucy Brooks was still out cold, but the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, like an innocent child having a very sweet dream.

Ethan Carter carried Lucy Brooks into his clinic, which looked like a ruin, glanced around, and placed Lucy Brooks on the only sofa in the room. “Alright, stop pretending. You’re at my place now.”

Lucy Brooks secretly opened her eyes a crack, quietly observing her surroundings.

The floor was littered with wooden and glass shards, and the air was filled with strange medicinal smells.

She herself was lying on a sofa that seemed completely out of place in the room. The front door’s glass was made up of two different colored panes, looking like they’d been taken from somewhere else, not originally part of the room.

“This is my clinic. Looks like you don’t want to go home and have nowhere to go. I’ll let you stay here for one night—leave tomorrow morning.” Ethan Carter found a relatively clean spot to sit down, leaned against the wall, and said.

Lucy Brooks still lay on the sofa, silent and not responding.

Ethan Carter shook his head slightly, picked up the remote in his hand, and pressed it toward the door. The rolling shutter automatically came down.

Because the lightbulb had long since burned out, the room was plunged into darkness.

Ethan Carter formed a few hand seals, set up a defensive but harmless barrier around himself, and sat with his eyes closed, practicing the basic zombie cultivation technique he’d repeated for centuries.

Chapter 10: Traditional Chinese Medicine? Witch Doctor?

The sun rose again. The red-light district, having lost its nighttime bustle, returned to calm, waiting once more for night to fall.

The rolling shutter of the Xuanhu Clinic slowly rose.

Lying on the sofa, Lucy Brooks squinted her eyes into a thin slit and vaguely saw four people standing outside the rising shutter.

“Qianqian, why are you here? You made us worry all night.” Lucy Brooks’s eldest aunt, Linda Brooks, moved her slightly plump body closer to Lucy Brooks with a beaming smile.

“That’s right! We were so worried about you all night!” Lucy Brooks’s eldest uncle, William Brooks, also walked into the Xuanhu Clinic with a look of concern and spoke to Lucy Brooks.