chapter 9 The blood is a bit strong and the nosebleeds can’t be stopped.

"William Lin was bewildered. It seemed like he had previously mentioned that two burglars had entered the room but hadn't mentioned they were armed. William quickly tossed the gun to the ground, holding his head and crouching down before he spoke, 'Easy there, don't get too worked up. We don't want any accidents with that gun – it belongs to those two burglars! I just disarmed them.' Hearing this, Judy Li, feeling a bit embarrassed, hurriedly signaled her men to put their weapons down. Once the weapons were on the floor, Judy Li picked up the gun that William Lin had dropped and somewhat sheepishly said, 'Sorry about that. It's just a professional reflex. No one mentioned the burglars were armed when you reported the incident.' Watching as the patrol officers collected the firearms, including the one William Lin had retrieved from the ground, he slowly stood up and explained, 'I forgot to mention it.' William Lin then proceeded to recount the sequence of events to Judy Li. After hearing the account, everyone in the room, including Judy Li, was somewhat astonished. You see, Judy was a tough woman who had won the national patrol officers' martial arts championship. Judy Li cast a skeptical glance at the bullet holes in the room and still found it somewhat unbelievable. She asked, 'So, you're saying you single-handedly subdued two burglars, and one of them was armed?' William Lin nodded. He hadn't wanted to mention it, but there was no way to hide the evidence at the scene, and he had to be honest. But William Lin had already thought of how to explain, 'Seems like they had a disagreement, so I saw an opportunity.'" Listening to William Lin's explanation, Judy Li nodded. It was the only explanation that made sense. After taking the two burglars into custody, Judy Li had initially thought about bringing William Lin and Susan Su along to document the evidence. However, upon seeing Susan's injuries, she changed her mind. She did take down their phone numbers, though, and decided she'd apply for commendations for them later. As the patrol officers left, William Lin spoke to Susan Su once again, saying, "Don't worry, once I get the medicine sorted out, there won't be any scars on your face." Susan Su nodded and said, "Thank you. Without you today, I don't know what might have happened." William Lin smiled and replied, "Aren't we friends? Do friends need to thank each other?" Seeing that Susan Su's emotions were stable, William Lin took his leave, planning to prepare the medicine and remove the scar on Susan's face as soon as possible. As he watched William Lin's departing figure, Susan Su seemed to recall something. Last night, William Lin had warned her about possible misfortunes in the coming days, and today her face was injured. Could he really predict the future? But then, she shook her head, thinking, this was the new society, a new era – no room for superstitions. After returning to his room, William Lin followed the knowledge passed down in his mind and placed the medicinal herbs directly into the pressure cooker he had at home. Unfortunately, there were no traditional alchemical furnaces left in this modern society, so he had to make do. After what seemed like a long while, William Lin finally managed to produce the elixir on his third attempt. William Lin looked at the dark, lumpish substance in his hand and awkwardly scratched his head, muttering to himself, "I hope Susan Su won't mind." He picked up the newly concocted elixir and headed toward Susan Su's room. He knocked on the door but received no response. So, he turned the doorknob. With a resounding crash, the door swung open. ... "No wonder she got kidnapped," William Lin thought. "She's really laid back; something just happened, and she's not even locking her door." Upon entering the room, William heard the faint sound of running water from the bathroom and noticed that the room was filled with smoke. "She can't be taking a shower now, can she?" flashed through William's mind. Just as William was about to leave, he heard the water stop, and then Susan Su emerged, wrapped in a bath towel. Susan's long, wet hair cascaded down, the towel covering her up to her chest, revealing her fair skin and captivating long legs. It was a sight to behold. William couldn't help but steal a quick glance, and his nose started bleeding uncontrollably. "Oh!" Susan Su exclaimed as she looked up and saw William standing in the room. She let out a sharp scream. William quickly turned around and rushed out. A while later, William had two tissue rolls stuffed up his nose, and Susan Su was dressed. Both of them sat on the sofa in Susan's house, their faces flushed, an incredibly awkward atmosphere surrounding them. Unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, William spoke up first. "I didn't mean to intrude. I knocked, but there was no response, so I turned the doorknob." Susan Su remained silent, only nodding slightly. Seeing Susan like this, William had to change the subject. He placed the medicine pill he had brought on the table and said, "This is the treatment for the scar on your face. After you take it, the wound will heal overnight, and once it naturally fades off, there won't be any trace left. You can trust me." Upon hearing that her facial scar could be quickly removed, Susan Su finally lifted her head. As William Lin saw Susan Su's flushed cheeks, he felt another nosebleed coming on and quickly summoned his inner strength to keep his wits about him, not wanting to embarrass himself again. Susan Su glanced at the pill on the table, furrowing her brows in curiosity. She looked at William Lin with questioning eyes. Although she didn't say anything, he could sense her doubt. "Really, you can trust me. Even though it's my first time making medicine, I'm confident, that it won't take long. Two days should be enough!" William Lin hurriedly explained. Susan Su nodded again without speaking and picked up the pill from the table, swallowing it with some lukewarm water. Seeing Susan Su take the pill, William Lin realized that it wasn't the best day for conversation. He quickly excused himself and rushed out of Susan Su's house. Back in his own room, William Lin's mind kept flashing images of Susan Su's figure, and his nosebleed started again. The tissues were soaked in blood. He scolded himself silently, "Can't you handle being around a woman? But then he negated his own thoughts. He really had never seen a woman as beautiful as Susan Su. He steeled himself and found a silver needle in his house. After a quick self-administered jab, the nosebleed finally stopped. He looked at the tissues filled with blood and sighed, "Is my blood really that hot?" As night fell, William Lin prepared some food for himself and then focused on studying his mother's medicine. He spent the night practicing his techniques without disturbing Susan Su again. At the break of dawn, William Lin got ready and went straight to a print shop to print his resignation letter. He didn't inquire about Susan Su's condition; yesterday's embarrassment had been too much. William Lin had decided to resign first, planning to return to his hometown to cure his mother's illness. After bringing his mother back to the city, he would resume work. The world was vast, but family's health came first. At the same time, William wanted to take some time to relax in the countryside. The recent changes in his life had been quite sudden, and he needed some time to digest it all. William had been working in a jewelry company, and as he approached the company's entrance, he spotted his colleague, Johnson Zhang, who also happened to be one of his few good friends at the company. Johnson had joined the company at the same time as William, and over the years, they had encouraged and helped each other at work, surviving the fierce competition in the jewelry business together. Seeing William, Johnson hurriedly ran over, looking somewhat flustered, as if something important had happened. Observing Johnson's anxious expression as he reached him, William asked, "What's going on, Johnson? Why the rush? Is something big going on?" ..