Chapter 84: Are You My Sister’s Boyfriend?

Ye Fei gave a dismissive laugh, not taking his threat seriously in the slightest.

“Mr. Xing, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Xing Ge shook his head, casting Ye Fei a look filled with complex emotions. “The Pan family is backed by the Northern Huabei Military District. They’ve always been at odds with your Southern Huannan Province. Acting so rashly is hardly rational.”

“Mr. Xing, I know what I’m doing,” Ye Fei replied with a faint smile.

“Then I won’t interfere further.” Xing Ge nodded slightly, his gaze unconsciously sliding toward Chen Yu.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Xing,” Ye Fei caught his meaning immediately. “Yu’er and I are on good terms—she’s not an outsider. Not long ago, I treated and cured Old Master Chen Bozhong’s illness.”

“I see.” Xing Ge took a deep breath. “Would you let me examine the pill you just refined in the bronze cauldron?”

Without hesitation, Ye Fei handed over a pill.

Xing Ge held it in his palm, studying it intently before exclaiming, “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

“What have you discovered, Mr. Xing?” Ye Fei was taken aback.

Returning the pill and glancing at the bronze cauldron in Ye Fei’s hand, Xing Ge hesitated for a few seconds before speaking. “In fact, this cauldron is part of a matched set—a Parent and Child Cauldron.”

“A Parent and Child Cauldron?” Ye Fei and Chen Yu were both startled.

“What do you mean by that?” Ye Fei asked, puzzled.

“What you’re holding is the Child Cauldron. There’s another—the Parent Cauldron—an ancient bronze vessel unearthed from the Western Zhou period.” Xing Ge explained deliberately, “Bronze cauldrons from that era had reached the pinnacle of craftsmanship and quality. Legend has it that a remarkable figure first crafted the Parent Cauldron, then passed it on to future generations, who, following the blueprints, made the Child Cauldron. According to an ancient book I once read, both cauldrons have corresponding grooves that allow them to fit together perfectly. When used in tandem, the pills refined are of extraordinary quality.”

A flash of excitement lit up his face as he continued, “Once, I had the fortune of witnessing a master use the Parent Cauldron to brew a medicinal soup—the fragrance wafted for miles, filling the air for ten leagues around!”

“That sounds unbelievable,” Chen Yu exclaimed in astonishment.

“Not at all,” Ye Fei said, taking a deep breath. He quickly asked, “Mr. Xing, do you know where the Parent Cauldron is now? No wonder I felt something was off with the heat distribution when refining the pills earlier—this explains it.”

“It’s a matter of luck, not something one can seek out deliberately.” Xing Ge shook his head and handed the bronze cauldron back to Ye Fei. “It’s no small feat that I can even recall this. The last time I saw that person was a decade ago. Even if I wanted to look, I wouldn’t know where to begin. I’m telling you this because I know Pan Shanfutuo brought fifty million to buy this cauldron from me—not on his own initiative, I suspect. There may be someone important in his family’s background orchestrating this.”

“Thank you for the warning, Mr. Xing.” A trace of disappointment flitted through Ye Fei’s heart, but he didn’t press further, merely making a mental note to be cautious.

For now, the Pan family wouldn’t dare make a move against him, so there was no need to worry too much. After all, he was in Hangcheng, still some distance away from them.

“Mr. Xing, your shop won’t get dragged into this, will it?” Chen Yu asked, concern in her voice. “If the Pan family does cause trouble, I can ask my second uncle to step in and mediate.”

“Mediate?” Xing Ge let out a cold laugh. “There’s no need for that. The Pan family wouldn’t dare trouble me.”

“That’s good to hear,” Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon after, the three of them took their leave from Xing Ge. They placed the bronze cauldron in a rosewood box and caught a flight back home the following day.

—

As soon as Ye Fei landed and was about to head back to work, his phone rang again.

On the other end was Li Yueyao’s voice, laced with faint sobs.

“Ye Fei, I’m in a bit of trouble. Can you help me? I… I didn’t know who else to call…”

Her tone was pitifully vulnerable.

“Trouble?” Ye Fei hesitated, but did not refuse. Instead, he asked, “What’s happened? Tell me.”

Li Yueyao was silent for a moment, then began to explain in a halting voice.

As it turned out, Li Yueyao had lost her father when she was young. Her mother remarried early on and had a son with her stepfather—a younger brother seven years her junior named Li Xiaolong. Not long ago, he’d suddenly become seriously ill.

At first, Li Xiaolong was simply lethargic, sleeping for unusually long periods. Then, he began having intermittent seizures, suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, until finally his condition worsened to frequent comatose episodes.

The family was beside themselves with worry, having visited every hospital in the city. Yet all the doctors treated it as a common stomach ailment. After days of medication and injections, his condition only deteriorated.

After exhausting every connection and favor, Li Yueyao eventually managed to find a highly respected, overseas-trained medical doctor at the city’s People’s Hospital to examine her brother.

Professor Zhang, after a thorough diagnosis, named a rare disease, stating that the incidence rate was one in ten million—so rare that most hospitals in the country had no means of treating it.

Upon hearing that their only son had contracted such a bizarre illness, her mother and stepfather were driven to tears. Yet the treatment was not only complicated, but the cost of surgery and medication was astronomical. Professor Zhang was reluctant to take the case, and it was only after the couple pleaded outside the hospital for a day and a night, promising to cover all costs, that he reluctantly agreed.

To save her brother, Li Yueyao’s stepfather had already spent his meager savings, but it wasn’t enough to cover the surgery. In the end, they forced Li Yueyao to come up with the money for her brother’s operation.

The total: six million.

Six million.

For Li Yueyao, a university lecturer, it was an impossible sum.

Ever since her mother remarried, she rarely returned home, as her so-called stepfather had often beaten and scolded her as a child. There was no question of asking him for help.

“And for this, you’re crying?” Ye Fei rolled his eyes at the sound of her sobs. “Where are you? Give me the address and I’ll come take a look.”

Li Yueyao was momentarily stunned, then gave him the address.

Once at the hospital, Li Yueyao led Ye Fei to Li Xiaolong’s ward. Pushing open the door, he saw a delicate-looking boy lying in bed, his face pale, body covered in medical apparatus. Beside him stood a pair of middle-aged parents, their expressions grim.

“Mom, Dad, Xiaolong, this is… my friend. He’s here to visit Xiaolong,” Li Yueyao introduced.

Her parents cast Ye Fei a cold glance, nodding perfunctorily.

Ye Fei narrowed his eyes, focusing on the sickbed.

Due to the worsening illness, Li Xiaolong was now little more than skin and bones. Still, his bright, clear eyes were wide open, filled with curiosity as he studied Ye Fei.

“Are you my sister’s boyfriend?”