Lee Jung-hee’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot upon hearing Ye Qiu’s words.
He wanted nothing more than to slap Ye Qiu senseless.
At the same time, a question gnawed at him: Had this kid figured something out?
Ye Qiu continued, “A doctor’s duty is to save lives and heal the injured, even if the patient can’t pay. A doctor should still treat them.”
“But you? Before even starting treatment, you demanded payment from the patient’s family.”
“Of course, I’ve seen cases where morally corrupt doctors secretly ask for benefits from patients’ families.”
“But they’re different from you. They might ask for a small bribe, but you? You opened your mouth and demanded ten billion dollars. Bloody hell, your greed knows no bounds.”
Ye Qiu said, “The moment you asked Uncle Xu for ten billion dollars, I knew you were up to something.”
“And your performance after that was just laughable.”
“You claimed Mr. Xu Senior was under a spell and needed a ritual.”
“Unfortunately for you, I have a friend who’s the head of Longhu Mountain, so I know a thing or two about Taoist rituals.”
Lee Jung-hee’s face twitched slightly at this.
Ye Qiu pointed at the peachwood sword in Lee Jung-hee’s hand and said, “That peachwood sword you’re holding? It’s not a ritual tool—it’s a cheap craft item, worth maybe twenty or thirty yuan on the market.”
“And those talismans you stuck on Mr. Xu Senior? They’re not life-saving charms; they’re just peace talismans.”
“Uncle Xu, this old fraud took advantage of your ignorance about talismans and tried to pass off peace talismans as something special.”
“Those peace talismans in China cost about ten yuan each. You can buy them at any temple.”
Instantly, Xu Zhiming’s face turned ashen.
He clearly remembered Lee Jung-hee saying the life-saving talismans were obtained by begging a reclusive master, each one costing a hundred million dollars.
“Lee Jung-hee, you dared to deceive me?” Xu Zhiming’s tone was icy.
“Mr. Xu, don’t listen to this kid’s nonsense. Those are life-saving talismans, not peace talismans,” Lee Jung-hee argued.
“Lee Jung-hee, you can fool Uncle Xu because he doesn’t know talismans, but you think you can deny it in front of me?”
“Peace talismans are the most common talismans in China. I could draw one with my eyes closed.”
“I recall you said each talisman was worth a hundred million dollars, right? Lee Jung-hee, tell me how many you want. I’ll draw them for you right now.”
Ye Qiu grinned, “I won’t charge a hundred million. Ten thousand yuan per talisman will do.”
Hmph!
Lee Jung-hee snorted, “I don’t have time to deal with you.”
“Mr. Xu, this kid is clearly stirring trouble. Kick him out.”
“If we delay Mr. Xu Senior’s treatment…”
Before Lee Jung-hee could finish, Ye Qiu interjected, “The one delaying treatment isn’t me—it’s you.”
“Since you’ve dressed up as a Taoist priest for this ritual, could you at least take it seriously?”
“Have you ever seen a Taoist priest chanting ‘Namo Amitabha’ during a ritual?”
Lee Jung-hee’s pupils shrank sharply.
My voice was so low—how did he hear me?
Ye Qiu went on, “Besides demanding an outrageous fee and pretending to perform a ritual, you’ve got another flaw.”
“When you entered the study and picked up that wooden box, Uncle Xu asked what was inside. Without a moment’s hesitation, you said it was a painting.”
“Let me ask you, the box wasn’t even opened—how did you know it contained a painting?”
Lee Jung-hee kept up his defense, “That’s because not long ago, I saw Mr. Xu Senior put a painting in that box.”
Ye Qiu said, “Even if that’s true, why didn’t you come straight to the study to find this box? Instead, you wandered around the entire villa before ending up here?”
Lee Jung-hee replied, “I didn’t know what I was looking for was in that box from the start.”
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble.”
“I searched for so long, I’m exhausted.”
Ye Qiu nodded slightly, “That explanation barely holds up. Fine, let me point out the next flaw.”
Bloody hell, there’s another flaw?
Ye Qiu said, “Before you came in, it was Changjin who found the wooden box.”
“Changjin wanted to open it to see what was inside, so she searched the desk but couldn’t find the key.”
“Lee Ming-han, you found the key so quickly. Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”
Lee Ming-han avoided Ye Qiu’s gaze and said, “The key was on the desk. Miss Xu didn’t find it because she wasn’t thorough.”
“Nonsense!” Xu Changjin retorted, “I searched carefully. If the key was on the desk, I would’ve seen it.”
Lee Ming-han’s eyes darted, and he came up with an idea, “Right, I remember now. I found the key on the floor.”
“That’s impossible,” Xu Changjin said. “I checked the floor too.”
Lee Ming-han was speechless.
Ye Qiu continued, “I was puzzled before about why Mr. Xu Senior was in a coma with no apparent cause. It wasn’t until I saw this painting that I understood—it’s the painting that’s the problem.”
Pointing at the painting in Lee Jung-hee’s hand, Ye Qiu asked, “Do you know who painted this?”
“Lee Seong-yeop…” As soon as Lee Jung-hee said the name, he saw a smile on Ye Qiu’s face.
Oh no, I fell for it!
“Look at that, another flaw exposed.”
“You only glanced at a corner of the painting. How did you know it was by Lee Seong-yeop?”
“This can only mean you already knew who painted it.”
Ye Qiu said, “If I’m not mistaken, not only have you seen this painting before, but you also used some method to give it to Mr. Xu Senior, causing his coma, so you could extort a huge fee from Uncle Xu.”
“It’s all part of your conspiracy.”
Cold sweat beaded on Lee Jung-hee’s forehead.
He couldn’t fathom how Ye Qiu’s analysis was so precise, as if Ye Qiu himself had orchestrated the plot.
“I absolutely can’t admit to this, or the Xu family won’t let me and Ming-han off.”
With that thought, Lee Jung-hee chuckled, “Ye Qiu, I just realized you’re quite the storyteller!”
“You’re wasted as a doctor. You should write detective novels—you might become a bestselling author.”
“Everything you just said is your speculation. You have no evidence.”
“And let me remind you, this is Korea, not China. With those accusations, I could sue you for defamation.”
Ye Qiu sneered, “You want evidence, do you? Fine, I’ll make you confess yourself.”
Whoosh—
Ye Qiu suddenly left his seat and grabbed Lee Jung-hee’s right arm.
“What are you doing?”
Before Lee Jung-hee could finish, a “crack” sounded, followed by a sharp pain shooting through his right arm.
