"Are you calling me stupid?" Yoshida Hideo retorted, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Cheng Xiaofan shot him a disdainful glance before turning to Inoue Masakazu. "Mr. Inoue, is your assistant mentally challenged?"
"Mr. Cheng, what makes you say that?" Inoue Masakazu asked, taken aback.
"If his brain were working properly, would he ask such a question?" Cheng Xiaofan retorted. "If you had drunk the Golden Tea here on the spot and were suddenly infected with corpse poison, could you still return to Sakura Country?"
"Everything has a process, do you understand process?" Cheng Xiaofan continued, his voice rising. "With a brain like his, I doubt how he managed to get into Sakura Country's high management."
Yoshida Hideo hadn't expected his remark to provoke such a sharp rebuke from Cheng Xiaofan.
Inoue Masakazu quickly intervened. "Mr. Cheng, Yoshida Hideo spoke out of turn. Please don't hold it against someone like him. Now, present us with a plan for treatment!"
Cheng Xiaofan grinned. "Very well, I'll alleviate your pain for now!"
He then produced two dark pills from his backpack and placed them on the coffee table. "These are pills I refined before coming. Take them, and the pain will disappear!"
"These two pills are on the house, consider them a welcome gift!"
Hearing this, Matsushita Kunitaki immediately picked up the pills from the coffee table and presented them to Inoue Masakazu and Yoshida Hideo.
The two men took the pills and swallowed them immediately. A warmth spread through their bodies, and as it subsided, the excruciating pain that had made their lives unbearable vanished.
"Miracle medicine! Mr. Cheng is indeed a divine doctor!" Inoue Masakazu scrambled to sit up from the bed, exclaiming, "Mr. Cheng, how will you treat us next?"
Cheng Xiaofan chuckled. "That depends on your generosity. The higher the medical fees, the better the treatment I can provide."
"More importantly, you must satisfy me before I can completely eradicate the hidden dangers within you. Without removing these, they will recur sooner or later."
*Is this disguised extortion?* Inoue Masakazu thought, but considering Cheng Xiaofan's known avarice, it seemed par for the course.
"Mr. Cheng," Inoue Masakazu said with a fawning smile, "could you give me an approximate figure? What range would satisfy you?"
Cheng Xiaofan playfully replied, "Guess!"
Inoue Masakazu was momentarily stunned. *How can I guess when I'm not inside your head? Who knows how much this bottomless pit will demand?*
"Mr. Cheng," Inoue Masakazu said with a troubled expression, "you are a divine being walking among the clouds. How could a mere mortal like myself possibly guess!"
Cheng Xiaofan's eyes lit up. "Mr. Inoue, you are indeed a straightforward man. I like your words. How about this: give me two hundred billion, and I will completely eradicate the virus from your bodies." He didn't dare ask for too much, fearing they might not have it readily available. Even though the Blood Demon Sect had acquired nearly seven hundred billion in assets from Sakai Kazuo, it hadn't been liquidated yet, and it might be difficult to produce such a sum on short notice. If they were pushed into a corner, things could get unpleasant.
"Two hundred billion?" Yoshida Hideo exclaimed, his voice laced with shock.
Cheng Xiaofan's expression turned grim. "What, Mr. Yoshida, do you find my price too high?"
"If not, then prepare your final arrangements and await death!" With that, he pushed away the two young women attending them and stood up, feigning an imminent departure.
Inoue Masakazu panicked. "Mr. Cheng, I am in charge here. Don't listen to Yoshida Hideo. I will have two hundred billion Chinese yuan transferred to your account immediately."
"Now that's more like it!" Cheng Xiaofan sat back down.
Inoue Masakazu quickly signaled to the two women to continue massaging Cheng Xiaofan's shoulders and legs. At the same time, he shot Yoshida Hideo a stern glare, conveying that he should not trouble Cheng Xiaofan now. Once the corpse poison was expelled, all debts could be settled.
Cheng Xiaofan saw through Inoue Masakazu's ploy. He pretended to be angry. "Mr. Inoue, I am very displeased with the disrespect you showed Mr. Yoshida earlier. Once the two hundred billion is in hand, I will treat you alone. If Yoshida Hideo wishes to live, he must pay an additional one hundred billion." He then provocatively glared at Yoshida Hideo. "For this special virus lurking within you, only I can provide treatment. This virus is extremely insidious, undetectable by anyone else in the world. No one can help you eliminate it!"
Yoshida Hideo was dumbfounded. *I didn't say I wouldn't pay the two hundred billion! I just exclaimed in surprise. Why is this guy acting like he's on a power trip and creating trouble?*
Inoue Masakazu quickly interjected, "Mr. Cheng, everything is as you say. The additional one hundred billion for Yoshida Hideo will be transferred to you at the same time!"
Cheng Xiaofan was curious why Inoue Masakazu was so protective of his assistant, who was merely a subordinate. However, that wasn't his concern at the moment.
*Ding dong!*
A moment later, a message notification sounded from his phone. Without checking, Cheng Xiaofan knew the three hundred billion had arrived. The greatest pleasure in dealing with these people was fleecing them. Everyone who came from the Blood Demon Sect was a ruthless individual. Cheng Xiaofan reveled in the fact that he could step on them, and they had no choice but to bow their heads.
"Mr. Cheng, the money is in your account. Can you reveal the treatment plan now?" Inoue Masakazu asked expectantly.
Cheng Xiaofan replied, "I will write a prescription for Chinese herbal medicine. Have your people procure all the ingredients."
"This afternoon, arrange a quiet place for me. I need to refine a special pill alone, and no one is to disturb me during this period. Otherwise, if I fail to refine the pill, you will all be left to die!"
Inoue Masakazu quickly reassured him. "Mr. Cheng, rest assured. I will do as you say. No one will dare disturb you!"
Cheng Xiaofan then took out paper and a pen from his bag and wrote a full page of medicinal ingredients, handing it to Inoue Masakazu.
Inoue Masakazu passed the prescription to Matsushita Kunitaki. "Kunitaki, arrange for people to procure all the medicinal ingredients listed by Mr. Cheng immediately!"
"Yes!" Matsushita Kunitaki took the prescription and withdrew.