"Hello, you're on."
As the phone rang, Li Wan'er glanced at the time. Only five minutes remained until the two hours Li Xuan had mentioned. She chuckled inwardly at her own lingering anticipation and shook her head.
Seeing the number displayed on her phone, Li Wan'er felt a flicker of confusion. Finally, she answered.
"Is this Ms. Li Wan'er? I am Li Enzhong." A deep voice resonated from the other end of the line.
"Li Enzhong... President Li?!" Li Wan'er thought for a moment, then stood up in surprise.
It was clear that Li Wan'er had now remembered who Li Enzhong was. A faint spark of expectation ignited within her. Could this Li Enzhong be the solution Li Xuan had devised?
"Heh, indeed it is Ms. Li. Ms. Li, I have just transferred five hundred million to your company. Please check your account. Additionally, the suppliers of my Li De Group can provide you with goods. If you don't mind, we can discuss further cooperation," Li Enzhong's voice came through.
"President Li, you... you're saying? Five hundred million? Cooperation?" Li Wan'er was once again stunned.
The General Manager of the Li De Group, the number one corporation in Hangcheng, was calling her? Not only that, but he had transferred five hundred million to discuss cooperation?
"Heh, Ms. Li, there's no need to be surprised. How about this, it's not very clear to explain over the phone. I'm free this afternoon. Ms. Li, could you come to my office? It would be more appropriate to discuss the specific cooperation matters face-to-face," Li Enzhong said with a smile.
"This afternoon... Ah, okay." Li Wan'er's mind was still blank. Upon hearing Li Enzhong's words, she nodded in agreement.
"Alright, then that's settled. I still have some matters to attend to, so I won't disturb Ms. Li any further," Li Enzhong said and then hung up.
*Knock, knock, knock!*
"President Li, our corporate account just received five hundred million!" As soon as Li Wan'er put down the phone, Xiao Cai rushed in, knocking on the door.
"It's all true..." Hearing Xiao Cai's report, Li Wan'er slumped onto her chair. She then glanced at the time on her computer. It was exactly two hours.
...
In the afternoon, 3:30 PM.
Li Xuan woke up, glanced at the alarm clock on the wall, and immediately got up and walked outside.
"This Director Qi really knows how to lose gracefully," Li Xuan said as he reached the hospital entrance, his eyes falling on the flowing message of free medical treatment on the hospital's electronic billboard. He smiled slightly, hailed a taxi, and headed towards the vegetable market in Jinxiu Community.
"Calculating the time, Zhuo Xian's subordinates should be making their move by now," Li Xuan mused with a smile as he got out of the car and looked around.
Li Xuan hadn't forgotten the conversation he'd overheard between Zhuo Xian and his subordinates that morning. Coupled with what had happened earlier, Zhuo Xian would likely not let him off easily.
Although Li Xuan had used nearly ninety percent of his spiritual energy to treat Li Enzhong's father, Old Master Li, the five hours of sleep had restored some of it. Li Xuan believed he could handle a few ruffians without much trouble.
Li Xuan retracted his gaze and slowly walked towards the vegetable market.
"Young Master Zhuo, that Li Xuan has appeared. He's currently heading towards the vegetable market. Should we make a move now?" A man on the rooftop of a residential building made a phone call as Li Xuan appeared.
"Be clean with your hands and feet," Zhuo Xian's voice came through, followed by the abrupt end of the call.
Hmm?
As Li Xuan reached the entrance of the vegetable market, despite the crowd of pedestrians, two men walking towards him directly approached him. Seeing this, Li Xuan smiled slightly and continued walking as if oblivious.
*Bang!*
The two men collided with Li Xuan. With a loud bang, one of the men, who was rather thin, collapsed.
"Ouch, ouch..." The thin man cried out in pain.
"Hey, you! Walking without looking where you're going. You bumped into someone, didn't you see! My cousin just had his stitches removed, and this impact might have worsened his injury."
As the thin man fell, the surrounding pedestrians also gave them a wide berth. The burly man walking with the thin man suddenly grabbed Li Xuan and yelled.
"Are you alright? Should we go to the hospital?" Li Xuan asked with a smile, finding their clumsy acting rather amusing. However, he didn't expose them and instead feigned a look of fear.
"Of course, we need to go to the hospital. If his injury worsens, you'll have to take responsibility." The burly man glanced at Li Xuan with some surprise, seemingly taken aback by Li Xuan's cooperation.
However, this played right into their hands. Seeing Li Xuan's fearful expression, he didn't think much of it. He then pretended to help the thin man up and dragged Li Xuan towards an alley outside the vegetable market.
The next moment, Li Xuan observed three other men, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, following them from different directions.
Clearly, these three men were with the other two.
The pedestrians on the street didn't pay much attention. Moreover, Li Xuan had indeed appeared to have bumped into someone, so it was reasonable for him to go to the hospital for a check-up.
"Gentlemen, if I recall correctly, this road doesn't lead to the hospital. Did you perhaps forget the way?" As the crowd thinned, the burly man, holding Li Xuan's arm, slowly led him into an alley when Li Xuan suddenly spoke.
"Heh heh, of course, it's not the way to the hospital. Kid, if you have to blame someone, blame yourself for offending the wrong person!" Now that there were very few pedestrians, the burly man pulled Li Xuan into the alley, followed closely by the other three men.
The burly man glanced at Li Xuan and said with a sinister smile.
"Alas, I am a benevolent person. Why do you force me to do evil?" Li Xuan smiled faintly upon hearing this. He glanced at the three men who were closing in, and his expression gradually turned cold.
If he hadn't regained his memories, given Zhuo Xian's petty nature, he would have attacked him sooner or later.
And with his former timidity, he likely wouldn't have survived.
Li Xuan knew he had come to this world for spiritual cultivation. Death meant utter failure. Zhuo Xian's actions were undoubtedly jeopardizing his foundation.
"Attack!" The burly man, seeing Li Xuan's expression, felt a sense of inexplicable unease. However, he quickly shook his head, suppressed this unease, and then waved his hand, ordering the four men to attack.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
Three minutes later, Li Xuan clapped his hands and walked out of the alley.
"Next time you attack, try not to be so clumsy. Go back and tell Zhuo Xian that if this is all he's got, then I truly overestimated him. If there's a next time, I, Li Xuan, won't mind making his Zhuo family disappear from the river of time."
Li Xuan glanced back at the five figures lying on the ground in the alley. After speaking, he turned and left.
Baoxiu Garden, Zhuo Residence.
"What? Li Wan'er's company received funding and suppliers from the Li De Group? How is this possible?" Zhuo Xian exclaimed in shock, standing up just seconds after answering the phone. The coffee in his hand spilled.
"When did Li Wan'er get to know Li Enzhong? Damn it!" After hanging up the phone, Zhuo Xian, in a fit of rage, threw the coffee cup to the ground. However, the phone rang again almost immediately.
"Young Master Zhuo, the people I sent to deal with that Li Xuan just sent a message. They said... they said..." A voice on the other end of the line stammered.
"What did they say?" Zhuo Xian frowned, his impatience evident.
"They were all taken down by Li Xuan. He even said that if there's a next time, he... he will make the Zhuo family disappear."