Chapter 289
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Chapter 289: Distance From Evil
At first, Ao Hanli didn’t suspect that someone else was there. However, upon entering the medical center, she noticed the lack of any signs of intrusion, which immediately made her suspicious.
She wasn’t an innocent dragon maiden, but rather someone who often rushed through things without considering every detail. Her mind had been focused on bidding farewell to her guest and retreating into seclusion. She hadn’t paid much attention to the situation at hand. Various pieces of information had been coming in, and she never had the time to connect them all.
In this regard, both Xue Hanlei and Bai Wei were much more experienced than her.
Bai Wei, unfazed, casually looked around. He took a few steps forward and found the blood testing station.
“Did someone break in?” Ao Hanli asked a nurse.
“No,” the nurse replied, shaking her head.
“Where are the thugs?” Ao Hanli squinted her eyes, glancing at Bai Wei. “Didn’t they break in?”
Bai Wei pushed open the door to the testing station, walked inside, and tapped on the glass window. “Now they have.”
“You…” Ao Hanli placed her hand on her forehead, frustrated but holding back her anger. “What are you fooling around with?”
When dealing with others, Ao Hanli would strike decisively, knocking thugs out cold. But with Bai Wei, her hand faltered, and she couldn’t bring herself to act. Though they weren’t very close, she held a deep admiration for the young man.
Besides, Nana didn’t seem like someone who had been kidnapped. Could you imagine thugs sitting by the roadside, skillfully braiding a girl’s hair to make her look pretty? It just seemed foolish to her.
Bai Wei said, “Think for yourself, gather the details, and then talk to me.”
He then asked the nurse, “Do they often perform blood tests here?”
“Not very frequently,” the nurse replied. “Young dragonlings are usually tested at a separate clinic. Only in more serious cases do they come here.”
“I heard that some young dragonlings have been brought here recently. Is that true?”
“Ah, yes, there is something like that. Their health isn’t great, so they undergo separate checkups, including blood tests,” the nurse explained with a shrug. “But I’m not in charge of those things. The higher-ups, the directors, handle the examinations of the dragonkin. They take care of everything.”
Bai Wei asked, “Who specifically? And where?”
“Director Tong, third floor,” the nurse replied.
Bai Wei turned to leave, but the nurse stopped him. “Wait…” She scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to him. “This is my contact information.”
Bai Wei stopped, surprised. “Really?”
“I’m from the Ming Country, and I applied to work here. The treatment in the Dragon Palace is great, but I rarely see anyone. My family keeps urging me to go on blind dates, and I don’t plan on staying here forever. When I visit the Ming Country, would you like to go somewhere together? By the way, where are you from? I’m from Suzhou…”
Bai Wei was about to answer politely when Ao Hanli, having already pieced things together, interrupted. She grabbed Bai Wei’s hand and turned to the nurse. “He’s busy.”
She slapped the note on the table and stormed off toward the third floor.
The nurse sighed, resting her chin on her hands. “He’s such a handsome young man… but with the Dragon Clan, no chance.”
On the third floor, Bai Wei remarked, “You have a strong grip. I bet you’re great at opening bottle caps on your own.”
“Am I to blame for interrupting your romantic moment?” Ao Hanli teased.
“Don’t joke. The girl I just saw has a high social status. I can’t afford to provoke her,” Bai Wei laughed nervously. “Even if I were to join a matchmaking event in the Ming Country, I’d still seek someone from a respectable family.”
“You can talk about your interests later,” Ao Hanli said. “Are you suspecting something wrong with the medical center? What did you learn from Nana? And then the guards surrounded us without any chance to explain. None of this seems like a coincidence.”
Bai Wei nodded. “Yes, you’re quick to react. It shows you’re thinking.”
“What exactly is going on?” Ao Hanli pressed for more details.
“What benefits can be gained from young dragons?” Bai Wei asked.
Ao Hanli pondered. Adult dragons valued their interests highly, and exploiting them was almost laughable among sea creatures. But the young dragons were different. They couldn’t communicate clearly, still naive, and heavily dependent on the care of the sea creatures. Their vulnerability made them an easy target. No one had ever considered exploiting them until Bai Wei raised the question.
“Is it… blood?” she asked.
“Dragon blood,” Bai Wei replied. “The blood of young dragons… the blood of juveniles… isn’t it quite valuable on the market?”
“That has never been sold,” Ao Hanli frowned. “Do humans really sell the fresh blood of young children?”
“Yes, exactly because it isn’t sold, it’s so expensive,” Bai Wei explained. “Dragons have robust bodies, so increasing the frequency of blood extraction wouldn’t be too harmful. But the key is extracting the right amount. Imagine if they were to take double the usual amount each time. Could they sell the extra?”
Ao Hanli’s back immediately chilled, followed by a surge of anger. This operation was certainly feasible, and no one would question it.
“But it’s not ideal to do this openly, so it’s necessary to avoid drawing attention.”
Bai Wei continued, “The nurse said some children have been sent for check-ups recently because they’re not feeling well. There are about thirty or forty young dragons, right? If just one or two extra children are sent for blood extraction every month… These children are only under the care of the chief attending physician and Fish Mother. If we take more blood, no one will notice. The amount of extra blood that can be taken is naturally up to them.”
“What could the young cubs understand?”
“They only know that being pricked by a needle hurts and they may feel dizzy after blood extraction. But the dragon race has strong hematopoietic abilities, so the children can replenish it quickly by eating more.”
“At worst, they may resist a little, not wanting the injections.”
“But the grown-ups say… You must listen, be good, and endure it.”
Each of Bai Wei’s words felt like a dagger piercing Ao Hanli’s heart. Not long ago, she had spoken to the young dragon maiden in the same way, without giving it much thought.
Ao Hanli asked, “Are these just guesses?”
Bai Wei casually replied, “They could be, or it could be reality. If we investigate, we will understand. The Medical Center and certain Fish Mothers—if we examine their possessions, we’ll definitely find traces.”
Ao Hanli’s eyes turned icy cold. “You’re right,” she said. “As long as we investigate, we will find clues. And from what we’ve seen, the web of interests among these aquatic creatures runs deep.”
Bai Wei nodded calmly. “It’s inevitable. The Four Seas Group is growing rapidly, pumping immense capital into the East Sea and driving its market economy. But that also brings trouble, such as the change in the dragon race’s status and the growing wealth of the sea creatures.”
“The Dragon King has been out of touch for centuries, so the management of the East Sea became lax. Some took advantage of this. Though the Four Seas Group expanded the wealth of the aquatic creatures, it wasn’t shared equally. The sacredness of the dragon race was diluted. Naturally, people tried to exploit the dragons’ interests. But they lacked the courage to confront the adult dragons, so they focused on the children.”
Bai Wei spoke in a relaxed tone, “If adult dragons were exploited, that’s their issue. But exploiting young children crosses my line. If we don’t get to the bottom of this, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Ao Hanli looked at him with a complex expression. In a corner hidden from the dragon race, an outsider had noticed something. Family matters should not be made public, but the safety of the hatchlings was more important.
Ao Hanli kicked open the door to the director’s office, but the figure was missing. It didn’t matter. She kicked the table in frustration, sending it crashing into the wall. A mighty roar echoed through the air as a green dragon flew out of the building, calling all dragons to assemble.
Instantly, the roars of dragons reverberated from all corners of the Dragon Palace.
Ao Hanli landed and said, “This matter will be thoroughly investigated. I hope your suspicions are not baseless rumors.”
Bai Wei shrugged. “Since the Dragon Clan is involved, I won’t interfere.”
He had a clear conscience. “Everyone should sweep the snow in front of their own doors.”
Ao Hanli gazed at him with admiration and a hidden heroism in her eyes.
Just as Bai Wei stepped outside the medical center, he noticed Nana, hand in hand with a Fish Mother, seemingly about to leave. They were stopped by the arrival of Xue Hanlei and Yun Wuxin.
Xue Hanlei frowned, scolding, but without harshness, “Let her go, are you trying to revolt?”
The Fish Mother froze, then saw Bai Wei. Her expression grew desperate as she panicked, “Don’t come any closer!”
Bai Wei noticed the symbol above her head, which was turning red. He exclaimed, “You’ve already been exposed, and you still want to resist?”
The Fish Mother’s face turned pale. “I’m not… I’m just doing my duty.”
Bai Wei laughed, “Clearly treating her as a tool for wealth accumulation.”
The Fish Mother shook her head. “I’ve been taking care of her for over a decade… I’ve been looking after her well. Nana, tell them…”
Nana, not fully understanding, nodded. “Ayuh has been kind to me.”
Bai Wei said calmly, “It’s different. I know a young man who raises animals. He takes care of his livestock just as patiently.”
Xue Hanlei gave him a look. What a silly metaphor.
“When you treat her as a means to accumulate wealth, you’ve already lost your integrity,” Bai Wei said, his voice firm like a Buddhist lion’s roar. “Now, crawl away!”
The Fish Mother collapsed, her legs giving way under the weight of Bai Wei’s words.
She embraced Nana, crying, “I didn’t want to… I was coerced. My family needed money, so I was deceived. I didn’t think, but afterwards, they kept threatening me… I was wrong, I’m sorry…”
Nana, though confused, wiped her eyes and said, “Don’t cry, don’t cry. Is Ayu hurt? The pain will go away.”
The Fish Mother cried louder, overwhelmed by guilt and despair.
No one sympathized. She had chosen this path, and now there was no turning back. The deception had to be exposed.
Yun Wuxin spoke. “There are others involved. If you confess, you may still get a lenient treatment.”
The Fish Mother nodded eagerly. “I will, I’ll tell everything…”
Just then, a dark arrow shot from the shadows. A special crossbow had been used. The first arrow struck the Fish Mother’s chest, blood flowing immediately.
A second arrow followed, aiming to kill and silence her.
Daring to shoot within the Dragon Palace… This was a deep-seated plot. A small surface issue had turned into a hidden decay.
Behind this, an entire chain of interests was at stake. The Fish Mother knew too much, and she had to die to keep those secrets.
Yun Wuxin tried to intercept the arrow, but she couldn’t reach in time. Bai Wei, however, had already rushed to find the assassin and dropped them to the ground, transforming into a deep-sea fish. But it was already dead.
“I cut off its breath,” Bai Wei said. “Do you recognize me?”
Xue Hanlei chuckled. “I recognize this… It’s not from the East Sea.”
“What is it?”
“I come from the North Sea.”
Bai Wei clicked his tongue. “Should I have not intervened?”
Xue Hanlei replied, “A little late for that. But thank you… and your paper crane.”
Bai Wei pointed to Yun Wuxin. “It’s hers.”
Yun Wuxin said, “My paper crane isn’t magical enough to understand self-sacrifice.”
Bai Wei shrugged. “In any case, it wasn’t me. Whoever you love, so be it.”
He closed his eyes, and finally, a notification appeared, signaling the completion of his task.
[The event was completed]
[Acquired: Appearance – Gentle Rain in the Southern River with Azure Dragon]