A Burst of Ambition

Chapter 32: A Burst of Ambition

Han Li turned and walked toward the door. Just as he reached the entrance, he suddenly looked back and asked another question:

“That brother standing behind you, Doctor Mo, hasn’t said a word the entire time. What background does he have?”

Upon hearing this sudden inquiry, Doctor Mo gave a faint, evasive smile and replied,

“You’re quite clever. Why don’t you take a guess? I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Han Li shook his head and walked out of Doctor Mo’s room without another word. Whether he couldn’t guess, or simply didn’t want to, was unclear.

Once outside, Han Li’s face darkened.

In this clash with Doctor Mo, I had no power to fight back and was subdued instantly. I was too naive, thinking I could match him with a few petty tricks. In the end, I expended all that effort to craft a tube of Five Poisons Water, and it didn’t even get to play its role before it was confiscated. I need to go back and carefully think about how to strengthen my own strength.

With that thought, he strode purposefully toward his own quarters. It seemed he had no intention of being so easily controlled by Doctor Mo.

Inside the room, Doctor Mo stared in astonishment at the wooden floor. A dark, bowl-sized hole had appeared in it. Just moments ago, he had casually tested the contents of the iron tube, and the venom sprayed from it had effortlessly corroded through the floorboards all the way to the ground beneath. Seeing the terrifying potency of the poison, Doctor Mo could no longer suppress the lingering fear in his heart. He jumped to his feet and began to curse loudly:

“You little bastard! When did you learn to make poison like this? I never taught you anything of the sort. I thought it was just some ordinary knockout drug. That brat is truly ruthless—turning on a dime without a second thought.”

Unaware that she had given Doctor Mo such a fright, Han Li returned to his room, threw himself onto the bed, and fell into a deep sleep. The day’s upheaval had drained both his mind and body, and he desperately needed rest to recover his strength.

When Han Li finally awoke, his spirits fully refreshed, he sat up and checked the sky. The east was beginning to lighten, which meant it was the next morning. He had slept for quite a long time.

Instead of getting out of bed, he sat cross-legged, rested his chin on his hands, and propped his arms on his thighs, contemplating ways to escape Doctor Mo’s control.

Clearly, he was safe for the next year. For the sake of his own life, Doctor Mo would not dare to harm him and would even go out of his way to protect him. But whether he would still be safe after that year was anyone’s guess.

The matter of the Eternal Spring Art didn’t worry Han Li. He had already broken through to the fourth layer a few days ago, and the fifth layer would surely come within a year without any additional effort.

As for the Corpse Worm Pill, that was also manageable. When the time came, he could simply show the progress of his cultivation to the other man and then threaten to withhold treatment unless he was given the antidote. Surely, the man wouldn’t dare to offend him over that.

Suddenly, Han Li remembered something. He pulled a medicine bottle from his robes, poured out a single emerald-green pill, and swallowed it. After a moment, once the medicine had taken effect, he began to quietly examine his own internal condition.

Cough! That old ghost Doctor Mo wasn’t lying about the Corpse Worm Pill. The Clear Spirit Powder, which is supposed to cure all poisons under heaven, is completely useless against it. It seems I’ll have to wait a full year before I can get my hands on the antidote. Han Li muttered to himself, somewhat disheartened.

He put the bottle back into his robes, got out of bed, and walked over to the room’s only table.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he began to pace in slow circles.

As he walked, he continued to sift through the various problems in his mind.

Truth be told, Han Li didn’t fully believe everything Doctor Mo had told him. He knew there were bound to be many inconsistencies in the man’s words. But even knowing this, what could he do? The man was holding his family hostage. He had no choice but to comply.

Han Li was deeply suspicious of whether Doctor Mo would actually keep his promise after a year. If things were really as simple as the man claimed, he wouldn’t have needed to resist at all. But what if the man was hiding something unfavorable? What if, when the time came, he turned on him and struck without mercy? If he prepared nothing, he wouldn’t even have the chance to defend himself.

Han Li turned the problem over and over in his mind, but no satisfying solution presented itself.

Right now, he and Doctor Mo were both afraid. The man was afraid that Han Li wouldn’t cultivate diligently and would cost him his own life, while Han Li was afraid that, once the man’s worries were resolved, he would show no mercy and eliminate him.

He could have used this leverage to force the man to act cautiously, but now that his family’s safety was in the other’s hands, he had to tread carefully and compromise.

Am I really just going to put my life in his hands and hope he shows me mercy when the time comes? Han Li felt a wave of defeat wash over him.

No. I can’t do that. I will not let my fate be decided by another person’s whim. Handing everything over to someone else’s control is the stupidest thing I could do. He immediately rejected the cowardly thought.

After racking his brain, Han Li finally came up with a solution—though it was hardly a perfect one.

He decided to strengthen himself in as many ways as possible, to accumulate enough bargaining chips to deter the other man. Even if the man did try to strike, he would at least have the means to defend himself.

It was a crude plan, one that would leave him on the defensive and force him to let his opponent make the first move. But for now, it was the only feasible option—a relatively safe and sound approach.

Having made up his mind, Han Li decided to step outside. He pushed open the door, walked out into the open space in front of his quarters, and lazily stretched. He let out a yawn.

Facing the biting morning wind and gazing at the half-risen red sun, a surge of ambition swelled within him:

My fate belongs only in my own hands. I will not let anyone else control it.