Of course, Ethan wasn't petty enough to hold grudges against the workers. He handed out a pack of premium cigarettes to every power company lineman who came to wire his temporary house, then grabbed his saplings and headed out to plant his trees.
Initially, he had only requested two plots of residential land on the west side of the village. However, because he had single-handedly funded the new bridge and the paved road, the higher-ups were thrilled and generously awarded him two additional plots on the east side. That gave him plenty of room to plant the fruit trees right in his new yard.
At the construction site of his new mansion, the three-meter-high perimeter wall was already finished, and the main structure of the house was more than halfway done. At this rate, the entire project would be completed in a week at most.
Since he was growing these plants for his own consumption, Ethan spared no effort. He poured a generous bowl of diluted Spiritual Water over the roots of every single fruit and tea sapling.
Almost instantly, a dense, intoxicating wave of spiritual aura exploded across the Village. Flocks of birds descended from the sky, circling the yard in a massive, mesmerizing cloud. Up on the Immortal Mountain, wild beasts caught the scent and began creeping down toward the village. If the village's local guard dogs hadn't united and barked furiously to hold the line, the wild animals would have charged right into the settlement.
By the time Ethan finished planting, the power company workers had moved on to wire the other houses. Now that he finally had electricity, he could cook with an electric rice cooker. He ducked into his temporary house, discreetly pulled out a few modern appliances from his Ring Space, and plugged them in. Because the temporary house was small, he only took out the bare essentials.
Just as he set the appliances down, his phone rang. It was Henry.
"Boss, it's bad!" Henry's frantic, trembling voice came through the speaker the second Ethan answered. " David and Emily were brutally attacked. They're in the hospital!"
"What? Attacked by who? What happened?" Ethan froze, his eyes narrowing.
"It's about the restaurant," Henry explained hurriedly. "After David started using our ingredients, his business exploded. It wasn't just factory workers coming in anymore—wealthy bosses were driving across town just to eat there. Even though David raised the prices, the place was packed to the brim every single day."
Henry took a shaky breath. "There's a massive, high-end hotel about two miles down the road from them. Before we partnered with David, I tried selling our premium vegetables to that hotel, but the owner rejected them, thinking they were too expensive. But recently, seeing David's place booming and stealing all their wealthy clients, the hotel owner got jealous. He went to David's shop multiple times, demanding that David shut down and move away."
"David told him he just wanted to run the shop for one more month to save up a little more cash, then he'd gladly relocate. The hotel owner refused. He demanded they leave immediately."
"But that wasn't his real goal," Henry growled. "The bastard laid out another condition: he demanded David sell him our premium ingredients at cost. He must have figured out David's connection to us and wanted to hijack the supply line for cheap. Naturally, David told him to go to hell."
"Then, at noon today, a thug covered in tattoos walked into David's restaurant. Halfway through his meal, he flipped his table, screaming that he found a cockroach in his food, and demanded ten thousand yuan in compensation. David tried to reason with him. The thug just pulled out his phone. Less than five minutes later, a van pulled up, and a dozen guys with bats piled out. They smashed the restaurant to pieces, beat David and Emily half to death, and drove off before the police even arrived. I just got to the hospital. David swears his kitchen is spotless. It was a setup by the hotel owner!"
"How bad are their injuries?" Ethan's voice was deathly calm. The sheer lack of emotion in his tone actually sent a chill down Henry's spine.
"David has a shattered leg and two broken ribs... Emily has a massive skull fracture. She hasn't woken up yet," Henry yelled, his voice cracking with rage. "Boss, I've already rallied the men from the transportation company. I'm taking a crew back there tonight to tear that hotel to the ground! I don't care if we all go to jail! I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!"
"Don't be an idiot. Listen to me very carefully," Ethan commanded coldly. "Tell your men to stand down. Do not go near that hotel. I guarantee you they are 100% prepared and waiting for you to retaliate. Stay at the hospital. I'm coming to the city right now." Ethan hung up the phone.
Damn it. This wasn't just a random dispute. This was a direct attack on his supply line—an attack on him. It wasn't until Ethan put the phone down that his suppressed fury finally erupted, a terrifying, suffocating aura radiating from his body.
He jumped into his Range Rover and floored the gas. He didn't know how many red lights he ran or how many speeding cameras flashed along the way. He arrived at the city hospital just as night fell.
"Boss, you're here," Henry said, rushing up to him the moment the car parked.
"How is Emily doing?"
Henry swallowed hard. "I just finished the paperwork. The doctor said the situation is critical. If she survives the night, she'll live... but there's a very high chance she'll be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life."
Ethan's jaw clenched. The two of them quickly walked to David's ward.
"Boss... sob..." The moment David saw Ethan, the battered, bandaged man broke down in tears.
"Easy, man. There's no hurdle we can't cross," Ethan said gently, walking up to the bed. "Trust me. I'll have you back on your feet in a minute."
Without another word, Ethan pulled a set of silver needles from his coat and began rapidly inserting them into David's body.
"Whoa, wait—Boss, when did you learn traditional Chinese medicine?!" Henry asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"A little over a month ago."
Henry choked. "A month?! Boss, you can't practice on David with one month of experience! Don't accidentally paralyze his good leg!"
"Shut up. I could pull a man back from the gates of hell," Ethan replied coolly, his hands moving with blinding speed.
About fifteen minutes later, Ethan wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and smoothly extracted the needles. "Alright, David. Get up and give it a try."
"Boss, are you insane? They say it takes a hundred days for bones to heal! Do you think you're some kind of immortal doctor?" Henry facepalmed, completely speechless.
David, however, cautiously shifted his weight. He blinked in surprise. The agonizing pain in his ribs was completely gone. Holding his breath, he carefully extended his shattered leg.
His eyes widened. The leg was perfectly fine.
Seeing David practically jump out of the hospital bed, Henry's jaw dropped to the floor. His small eyes bugged out, and he stared at Ethan as if he were looking at a ghost.
"Holy f*ck! Boss, since when are you a miracle worker?!" David yelled, patting his ribs in disbelief. Then, a desperate light flashed in his eyes. He grabbed Ethan's arm and pulled him toward the door. "Quick! Come with me! You have to save Emily!"
The three men sprinted down the hall toward the ICU, but a doctor immediately stepped in front of the doors, blocking their path. "Hey! What are you doing? This is the ICU! You can't just barge in here!"
"Doctor, I am Emily's husband," David said, quickly adopting a plan he and Ethan had whispered about on the way over. "I am requesting to transfer her to a different hospital immediately."
"Are you crazy? She is in critical condition! Transferring her right now is incredibly dangerous," the doctor warned sternly.
"I will take full responsibility for whatever happens. Your hospital won't be held liable for a thing. Just process the discharge."
The doctor glared at him, then suddenly paused, looking down at David's legs. "Wait a minute... weren't you the patient with the shattered tibia? How are you standing?!"
"Misdiagnosis! I never had a fracture, it was your hospital's incompetence!" David barked, waving his hand dismissively. "Stop stalling and get the discharge papers ready!"
The doctor was utterly baffled, staring at David's perfectly functional leg. Unable to find a medical explanation, and facing David's stubborn insistence, he had no choice but to call the attending physician and process Emily's release.
As soon as they carried the unconscious, heavily bandaged Emily into the back seat of Ethan's Range Rover, Ethan immediately went to work. Because this was the wife of a man who had bled for his business, Ethan held absolutely nothing back, flooding her system with a massive, concentrated dose of pure Spiritual Water.