Chapter 3

Xu Yinglong let out a bitter laugh. This woman was even colder than before; it seemed that the incident had hurt her deeply. Indeed, any woman who suffered such a trauma would be lucky not to go mad, let alone remain the same as before.

The woman who entered was extremely beautiful. Just by her appearance, she could be considered a beauty that could topple a nation. However, her cold and stern expression was a slight flaw.

This woman was Ji Hanlei, the eldest daughter of the Ji family in Tianhai Province and the sole heir to the Ji family's business empire. Ji Hanlei's coldness was not an act; it came from deep within her, a coldness that could instantly turn a man's passion into nothing. It was truly a mystery how that young man managed to seduce this cold beauty.

Seeing Ji Hanlei, Xu Ying was extremely happy and exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Hanlei, you're here! I have some good news to tell you, my brother has woken up!"

"Hmm, good people don't live long, but scoundrels live for a thousand years. I've always said that a scoundrel like your brother wouldn't die so easily!" Ji Hanlei still had that expression that could freeze anyone to death.

Xu Yinglong smiled bitterly and asked, "Why are you here?"

"If I didn't come, you would have been killed by now, hmpf!" Ji Hanlei said with a blank face.

"Why are you helping me? According to reason, you should be the one who most wants me dead. You have more reason to hate me than Yang Ling," Xu Yinglong asked, puzzled.

"I hate you, I wish I could eat your flesh and peel your skin. Precisely because of this, I won't let you die in someone else's hands. If you die, it can only be by my hand!" Ji Hanlei said, her eyes gleaming with cold light and her teeth clenched.

Xu Yinglong nodded and said with a bitter smile, "I understand!"

"It's good that you understand. However, even with the lawyer I found to help you, the chances of your case being overturned are slim. The best outcome would be a conviction for attempted rape, with a sentence of about three years. This is the best result you can hope for," Ji Hanlei said, frowning.

After a long moment of contemplation, Xu Yinglong said, "I will handle this matter myself. If you really don't want me to die, then help me take care of Ying'er. I promise I won't let that bitch Yang Ling's plot succeed."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!"

"Alright, I'll do it. Also, I'm here to tell you that the prosecutor has already submitted the indictment to the Lucheng Hedong Court. The trial is scheduled for two weeks from now. The school is also considering whether to expel you, but the results are not yet out. However, the school leadership is clearly waiting to see what happens. If you are sentenced, even if it's just a suspended sentence, the school will expel you," Ji Hanlei told Xu Yinglong a piece of not-so-good news.

"Two weeks? I understand, thank you!" Xu Yinglong nodded and said, looking at Ji Hanlei.

"Don't thank me. I've already said that I'm helping you to take revenge personally. The harm you've caused me is so great that even executing you ten thousand times would be too lenient. How could you escape punishment so easily!" With that, Ji Hanlei turned and walked out of the ward.

After Ji Hanlei left, his sister couldn't help but ask, "Brother, what is your relationship with Sister Hanlei? Why is she..."

"Ying'er, our relationship is complicated. In short, I have wronged her. But now, she is the only person we can trust," Xu Yinglong said.

"Brother, do you really have a way to clear your name?"

"Yes, but I need your help with something!"

"Brother, what is it? Just say it. As long as it can clear your name, Ying'er is willing to do anything," his sister said firmly.

"Get me a pen and paper!"

Xu Ying quickly found a pen and paper, and Xu Yinglong took them and began to write.

After writing, Xu Yinglong handed the paper to Xu Ying and said, "Ying'er, this is a prescription. Go to the pharmacy and get the herbs listed. Buy one kilogram of each herb and also a pot for boiling the herbs."

"Brother, are you going to treat yourself?" Xu Ying asked, full of doubt.

"Ying'er, don't ask for now. I'll explain when you come back," Xu Yinglong said.

"Okay, I'll be back soon!" Xu Ying said and left.

"Alright!"

The area around the hospital was always full of pharmacies, and since Xu Yinglong needed some common herbs, his sister returned quickly.

After looking at the herbs Xu Ying had bought, Xu Yinglong frowned. From the memories of the tragic man, he knew that most of the herbs from the immortal realm existed on Earth, but the physical appearance of the herbs was completely different. The herbs were still the same, but their medicinal properties were weakened by more than a hundred times.

Almost all the herbs were just for show, with their medicinal properties being far inferior. For example, ginseng in the immortal realm, once formed, was an invaluable treasure, even making great immortals envious. However, ginseng on Earth, though often human-shaped, had lost its miraculous medicinal properties and had basically degenerated into ordinary plants. The tiny bit of medicinal properties it retained could not compare to the treasures of the immortal realm.

Using these herbs to refine immortal pills was almost impossible; at most, they could be used to make some basic pills. Fortunately, Xu Yinglong was now preparing some of the most basic bone-strengthening decoctions, and by increasing the dosage, these herbs could still be used.

Xu Yinglong was preparing a bone-strengthening decoction, a formula used by the people of the Medicine King Star Region in the Nine Heavens Immortal Realm to strengthen their bones before cultivation and to treat bone injuries. He divided all the herbs into 12 portions according to three times the dosage of the Medicine King Star Region and instructed his sister to boil them into a decoction, taking two portions per day.

The effect of the bone-strengthening decoction was miraculous. Not only did it heal Xu Yinglong's two broken ribs, but it also healed his other injuries, including the external wounds from surgery, much to the surprise of his attending physician.

After staying in the hospital for a week, Xu Yinglong was discharged. Before leaving, he received a summons from the Lucheng Hedong Court. The Hedong District Procuratorate had filed a public prosecution against him, and the trial was scheduled for seven days later. He had to appear in court. The court also warned him not to flee; if he did, the 1 million yuan bail paid by Ji Hanlei would be confiscated, and he would become a wanted criminal.

When they returned to their home in the center of Lucheng City, the siblings were shocked by the scene. The door was wide open, and the house was in a mess, with things scattered everywhere. The family photo in a glass frame was shattered, and the portraits of their parents were thrown on the ground with some messy footprints on them.

Seeing the state of their home, Xu Ying couldn't help but cry out, and Xu Yinglong was completely enraged.

At this moment, the door opposite Xu's home opened, and a woman in her sixties came out. Seeing the siblings, she hurried over.

"Xiao Long, Xiao Ying, you're back?"

Xu Ying turned and saw her neighbor Grandma Liu, sobbing, "Grandma Liu, who did this? How could our home be like this?"

"Three days ago, a group of police officers in uniform came to your home, saying they were ordered to search it. After they left, your home was like this!" Grandma Liu sighed.

Xu Yinglong, suppressing his anger, asked, "Grandma Liu, do you know which police station they were from?"

"Grandma really doesn't know, but I saw that the group of police officers included Wang's second son," Grandma Liu replied.

Xu Yinglong frowned and thought for a moment, finally understanding who Grandma Liu meant by Wang's second son. He was from a household in Building 3 of Huadu Liyuan, where the head of the household, Old Wang, used to work in the municipal government but had retired at the beginning of the year. His second son worked at the district police station. It seemed that the police from the district had done this.

Xu Yinglong silently vowed that, whether it was the municipal or district level, he would make everyone involved pay for this.

Silently, he and his sister cleaned up the mess in the house, rearranged the portraits of their parents, and lit incense. Then, Xu Yinglong returned to his room to think about how to deal with the current crisis.

He not only faced the risk of being sentenced but also the threat of being expelled from school. Through these events, Xu Yinglong clearly felt that a mysterious force was targeting him and the Xu family. The Xu family was already in ruins, and these people were clearly trying to eliminate them completely, even using his fiancée to frame him.

He knew for sure that Yang Ling was involved, but whether she had the support of the Yang family's patriarch was still unknown. However, given how openly Yang Ling had framed him, the Yang family must have known about it.

However, now was not the time to investigate these matters. The most pressing issue was how to clear his name, which would give him the chance to deal with the Yang family and the forces behind them.

Clearing the charges that those scoundrels had fabricated was no easy task. Yesterday, he had met with the famous lawyer Min Tianxing, whom he and Ji Hanlei had hired. Through Min Tianxing, Xu Yinglong learned that the prosecutor had both physical and testimonial evidence, and the Yang family had hired a team of the best lawyers from the northern region to represent them. The only thing he could do now was to challenge the legality of the evidence.