Chapter 4: Courting Death?

Xia Liu unceremoniously flung the severance document onto the floor.

He had long known that this foster sister was no good, but no one else in the family ever believed him.

Now things had come to this—he no longer needed to expose her true face himself.

“What are you still standing there for? Didn’t you want to leave? Then get out!”

Xia Liuli, enraged, gave a sharp laugh.

She and Xia Liu had always been at odds, and now there was no need for pretense.

Stooping, she picked up the severance paper from the ground, her gaze lingering coldly on Xia Liu.

“Sixth Brother, you will regret everything you’ve done to me today.”

With that, she turned to leave.

But in the very next instant, as she pivoted, her eyes fell upon Xia Zhuozhuo, who was standing nearby, watching her.

The moment she saw Xia Zhuozhuo’s face, Xia Liuli’s brows furrowed.

Such a beautiful girl.

Even in the plain, rustic clothes of the countryside, her beauty could not be concealed in the slightest.

It was a beauty with an edge—so sharp it unsettled the heart.

And those eyes… they resembled Madam Xia’s far too closely.

Almost instantly, Xia Liuli guessed Xia Zhuozhuo’s identity.

She strode up to her, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

“So you’re the lost Xia Zhuozhuo?”

Xia Zhuozhuo’s lips curved faintly as she countered, “And you must be the ungrateful white-eyed wolf?”

“You—”

Fury flared in Xia Liuli’s eyes as she raised her hand, aiming a slap at Xia Zhuozhuo’s cheek.

But before she could even swing, Xia Zhuozhuo’s hand shot up, seizing her wrist firmly in midair.

At once, Xia Liuli found herself unable to move, pain searing through her wrist.

“Hiss—”

Xia Liuli gasped in pain, hissing through her teeth before shouting, “Wretch! Let go!”

“Calling people ‘wretch’ at every turn—your manners are truly lacking. Before I lose my temper, leave on your own.”

Xia Zhuozhuo released her grip on Xia Liuli’s wrist, then brushed her palm against her trousers as though she had touched something filthy.

Xia Liuli was so infuriated she laughed again in rage.

“Fine, you really are all alike. Don’t think that just because you’ve come back from the countryside you can enjoy an easy life. The Xia family is finished!”

“Whether it’s finished or not, I don’t know. But I do know that if I count to three and you’re still here, then you will be finished.”

Seething, Xia Liuli tried to lunge at Xia Zhuozhuo again, only to be blocked by Xia Liu.

“Housekeeper! Drag her out of here!”

“No need to drag me, I’ll leave myself! I never wanted to stay in this family anyway! But you just wait—today’s humiliation, I’ll repay every bit of it!”

Today she had returned alone, and a wise person did not suffer needless losses. Once she entered the Du family, she would have plenty of ways to get her revenge.

Xia Liu was about to curse her out when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Madam Xia’s body sway and collapse to the side.

“Mother!”

He rushed forward to catch her, but before he could reach her, a gust of wind swept past. A shadow flashed before his eyes.

When his vision cleared, Xia Zhuozhuo was already holding up the fainted Madam Xia.

“Xiao Qi…”

“Give me a hand—let’s take her back to her room.”

“Alright, alright…”

Soon, Madam Xia was helped back into her room and laid onto the bed.

Xia Zhuozhuo drew close, took her hand, and focused intently on her pulse.

The pulse was in utter disarray—this fainting spell had been caused by rage attacking the heart.

And her body was gravely weakened, the illness clearly stemming from an old condition that had lingered for years. She would need careful, sustained treatment; otherwise… her body would not be able to endure much longer.

Just then, Xia Liu, who had ordered the housekeeper to call for an ambulance, turned his head and saw Xia Zhuozhuo examining Madam Xia’s pulse.

Startled, he stepped forward quickly. “Xiao Qi, you know medicine?”

Xia Zhuozhuo casually spun a lie. “I studied a little with the village’s old physician. Does the house have an acupuncture kit? She needs needles right away.”

Hearing it was learned from a rural physician, the housekeeper grew uneasy, worried Xia Zhuozhuo might harm Madam Xia instead. He cautioned, “I’ve already called the ambulance. It’ll arrive in twenty minutes.”

Expressionless, Xia Zhuozhuo replied, “In her condition, the hospital will only put her on oxygen, then issue a stack of tests, and in the end prescribe a few casual medicines before sending her home.”

Xia Liu made the decision without hesitation. “Go to the therapy room and see if the therapist left behind any silver needles.”

The therapy room existed because Father Xia had suffered from chronic spine problems.

Unable to oppose Xia Liu, the housekeeper had no choice but to search there.

Fortunately, though the therapist had been dismissed, the supplies remained.

Soon, the housekeeper returned with an acupuncture kit.

Xia Zhuozhuo opened the acupuncture kit and laid out the set of silver needles inside.

After carefully disinfecting them, she inserted the needles one by one into several acupoints on Madam Xia’s body.

Yet even when the treatment was complete, Madam Xia showed no response, her eyes remaining tightly shut.

Seeing this, the housekeeper quietly pulled Xia Liu aside.

Among the brothers of the Xia family, Xia Liu was the youngest and the least reliable.

Now that the others were all occupied, running about for Father Xia’s case, he was the only one left at home who could still be reasoned with. The housekeeper could not simply watch him make a foolish mistake.

“Young Master …”

The housekeeper cast a glance toward Xia Zhuozhuo, then lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear. “The one you brought back… is she really the Seventh Young Lady?”

“Of course she is! Just look at her eyes—they’re identical to how my Mother’s looked when she was young! And around her neck hangs the twin-fish pendant Mother placed on her the day she was lost.”

The housekeeper nodded, then voiced his concern. “When you left, our investigation found that the Seventh Young Lady had been taken in by a farming family in the countryside… Forgive me for being blunt, but what could country folk possibly know about treating illness? The ambulance will be here soon—better to stop her before something goes wrong and send Madam to a top-tier hospital.”

“You mean… you think Xiao Qi would harm Mother?”

The housekeeper shook his head quickly. “Of course not… I only fear there’s a chance of mishap. You saw it too—those needles went in, yet Madam showed no response.”

Xia Liu was always straightforward. Striding up to Xia Zhuozhuo, he asked directly,

“Xiao Qi, how much longer until Mother wakes up?”

“Ten minutes,” Xia Zhuozhuo replied as she lightly flicked one of the silver needles with just the right amount of force.

The blocked qi in the chest had to be released gradually for relief to take effect.

Xia Liu nodded, then turned to the housekeeper. “Let’s wait ten minutes! If she hasn’t woken up by then, we’ll take her to the hospital. Don’t worry too much—there are skilled physicians in the countryside too.”

Hearing that, Xia Zhuozhuo also glanced at the housekeeper.

“Don’t be too anxious. She will wake.”

The housekeeper forced a stiff smile. “Y-yes… of course…”

Sixth Young Master really was…

How could he just blurt things out like that?

No wonder everyone said that among the six Xia sons, aside from Fifth Young Master who trained in martial arts, it was Sixth Young Master who was the most… simple and straightforward.

Just as the housekeeper was growing restless with waiting, the sound of an ambulance came from downstairs.

“The ambulance is here!” he urged quickly. “Sixth Young Master, we should get Madam onto it first—”

Before he could finish, the door suddenly burst open with a resounding kick.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the entrance.

There stood a man with thick brows and dark eyes, a scar etched across his right brow bone, as he strode inside.

“Xiao Liu, I heard that Mother—”

But before he could finish, the corner of Xia Wu’s eye caught sight of Xia Zhuozhuo pressing a thick silver needle into the crown of Madam Xia’s head.

His eyes widened in fury, his face twisting with rage.

“Who dares harm my Mother? Courting death!”

With that, he struck out with a palm aimed straight at Xia Zhuozhuo.