Chapter 136: A Clear Conscience

Ever since his leg was crippled, Jiang Liliang had almost no sensation in that limb. After leaping into the air, he found he had completely lost his former mastery over his body.

Jiang Liliang, who had intended to hack down at Hua Tianyu, began to plummet rapidly before he could even reach his target’s head.

"Damn it..." Jiang Liliang cursed under his breath. He twisted his body violently in mid-air, attempting to change his trajectory and swipe his blade horizontally at Hua Tianyu.

But would Hua Tianyu give him such an opportunity?

Siding away from the machete, Hua Tianyu transformed his palm into a fist and smashed it into the back of Jiang Liliang’s neck.

"Crack!" Another sickening sound of bones shattering echoed through the room.

The vertebrae connecting Jiang Liliang’s neck to his spine were instantly pulverized. His body hurtled toward the floor like a cannonball, gaining speed until it slammed into the tiles with a heavy thud.

Hua Tianyu’s strike had instantly rendered Jiang Liliang paralyzed from the neck down. By channeling his internal force, Hua had ensured that Jiang would never regain sensation for the rest of his life. In other words, from this moment on, Jiang Liliang would only have feeling from the head up; everything below functioned only as a mechanical shell, devoid of all sensation. Hua Tianyu had completely obliterated his sensory nerves with that single blow.

Because he had lost all feeling, Jiang Liliang did not pass out from the pain upon hitting the ground. Lying face-down, he felt as though his entire body had vanished, yet when he cast his peripheral vision downward, he could clearly see that his body was still there. His mind went blank.

"What did you do to me!" His tongue could still move, allowing him to speak, but his neck was locked. He could only face the floor and choke out the question.

"I said I would leave you your life, father and son alike," Hua Tianyu replied coldly. "Your cervical vertebrae and spinal canal have been shattered. Spend the rest of your life lying quietly in bed! Cherish that tongue of yours, for it’s the only thing you have left."

As he spoke, Hua Tianyu kicked the machete away from Jiang Liliang’s head. Since he had promised to spare him, he could not allow him to commit suicide.

"Hua Tianyu!" Jiang Liliang gritted out the name. To spend a lifetime bedridden was worse than death! The fact that this was how Hua Tianyu chose to "spare his life" left Jiang in despair. Even if the hatred in his heart were enough to burn the entire city of Shangjiang to the ground, vengeance was now an impossibility.

"Hua Tianyu, how is this any different from killing me? Do you have no conscience?" Jiang Liliang’s voice was muffled against the floor. He didn't care if Hua Tianyu could hear him clearly; he simply had to confront him. His tongue was the only thing he had left to fight with.

Hua Tianyu pondered for two seconds, then nodded. "A person should indeed have a clear conscience. But if one feels guilt, one must simply convince oneself not to."

Jiang Liliang fell silent. He finally remembered what kind of man Hua Tianyu was—the same man who had forced him to pay four million just to buy back a single leg! Compared to this man’s shamelessness, he was an amateur. Jiang Liliang closed his eyes in defeat.

Hua Tianyu wasted no more time; his objective for the day had been met. With a crash, he kicked out the hospital window, gauged the height, and leaped from the top floor of the VIP wing. After a few agile jumps, he bypassed the security cameras and vanished into the bustling crowds below.

The door to the VIP ward creaked open.

"Help! Doctor, help me!" Jiang Liliang, who could not lift his head to see, began to shriek frantically. In his heart, the doctor was his only hope. He didn't know if ten minutes had passed, but he assumed it was Dr. Lin. As long as the doctor arrived now, he might still be saved; perhaps with modern medicine, he could recover. He refused to spend his life bedridden.

"Dr. Lin, is that you? Hurry, my neck and spinal canal are shattered, save me!"

"Hall Master, who could have wounded you so miserably?"

A shadow slowly crouched before him, and a gloomy voice reached his ears.

Wan Rong!

It wasn't the doctor! Jiang Liliang recognized the voice immediately—it was the man he had forced to report to him daily, the man he had sent Feng Wenhu to summon earlier.

Jiang Liliang’s heart sank. Why had Wan Rong come at such a moment? Why was the timing so coincidental? If he had arrived minutes earlier, Hua Tianyu might have killed him too; if he had arrived minutes later, Dr. Lin would have been there, and Wan Rong would not have dared to act. Now, Jiang Liliang feared for the life he had barely managed to keep from Hua Tianyu.

Wan Rong stared at the man sprawled on the floor with a mocking expression. Seeing that Jiang remained silent, he stood up and scanned the room, briefly assessing the injuries of everyone present. Having done so, Wan Rong suppressed his inner terror, returned to Jiang Liliang, and gave a sinister smile. "Did things go wrong with the Green-Haired one? Was Hua Tianyu here?"

Jiang Liliang let out a muffled "Mm" and pretended to be kind. "He’ll be back soon. Get out of here!"

"Ha!" Wan Rong sneered. "Do you think I’m a child? He’s coming back? To do what? Call you a doctor?" His tone turned icy. "Don't worry, Hall Master Jiang. I will call a doctor for you—but not right now."

"Wan Rong, I warn you..." Jiang Liliang knew exactly what he intended to do.

But before he could finish, Wan Rong’s hand moved. In an instant, Jiang Liliang’s head was severed from his neck. The life he had so arduously saved from Hua Tianyu hadn't lasted five more minutes.

Wan Rong could not let such a perfect opportunity slip by. Before Jiang Liliang’s injury, their conflict had been simmering beneath the surface, but the injury itself—which had been inflicted by Wan Rong under Hua Tianyu’s duress—had brought their feud into the open. Wan Rong had been held back by Jiang’s status, and Jiang had made his life a living hell even from his bed. With no further hesitation, Wan Rong struck.

"Cough, cough!" A soft cough suddenly echoed through the ward.