From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

Mo Han suggested, "In this situation, you better go along with it and see what she really wants from you. Anyway, she’s not bad-looking, you won’t suffer much."

Xu Chunliang said, "What if she wants my life?"

Mo Han said, "Aren’t you proud of your unmatched charisma? Just make her fall for you, turn her against them, and let her help us deal with Lexus."

Xu Chunliang said, "You have such faith in my charm?"

Mo Han said, "You could even leave Mei Ru Xue behind, what is there that you can’t do? When it comes to being ruthless, I really haven’t seen anyone better than you."

Xu Chunliang said, "You’re overestimating me."

Mo Han said, "Men always underestimate their own cold-bloodedness, while women overestimate their heartlessness."

"You’re quite heartless yourself, sacrificing my charm for your goals without hesitation."

Mo Han said, "The path of evil always surpasses the path of righteousness. This Bai Lan is nine out of ten times sent by Lexus to seduce you. Use their own methods against them, I want to see who will prevail."

Xu Chunliang sighed, "Why do I feel like I’m being led step by step into depravity under your guidance? If I turn into a scumbag in the future, you’ll be fully responsible."

Mo Han said, "Believe in yourself, you won’t change, because you already are!"

Under the arrangement of Deputy Director Xiao Dong of the Culture and Tourism Bureau, Director Cheng, head of the local historical materials office at the Dongzhou Museum, warmly received Xu Chunliang and Bai Lan and their group.

The office leader made special preparations, as some materials were being provided for the first time to visitors for viewing.

Qingshan Mine doesn’t hold particularly significant importance to Dongzhou. Dongzhou has a long history with many relics, most notably the culture from the two Han dynasties. According to the Dongzhou Culture and Tourism department’s plan, Qingshan Mine will be positioned as a patriotic education base in the future, as it’s unlikely anyone would consider the Qingshan Mine site a popular tourist attraction.

There is quite a lot of information about Qingshan Mine, but Bai Lan is most concerned with material associated with Li Puyuan.

The museum provided an old photograph in which Li Puyuan stands beside several Ghost Army officers.

Li Puyuan’s appearance shows him with parted hair, wearing glasses, and dressed smartly in a suit, indicating he’s not a typical worker.

Director Cheng introduced, "There isn’t much information on this Li Puyuan. From what we currently know, he came to Qingshan Mine back then as a technical personnel from the Japanese side, helping design the mine shafts and being responsible for the mine’s safety. Later, due to a landslide accident at Qingshan Mine causing great losses to the Japanese side, Li Puyuan was executed, and they didn’t even spare his family."

Xu Chunliang glanced at Bai Lan, but Bai Lan’s attention wasn’t on the photograph. She requested Director Cheng to see the journals and newspapers from those years.

Director Cheng explained some precautions as Bai Lan donned a hat, mask, and gloves to prevent damage to relics, though they’re not the most important relics.

Bai Lan carefully examined the journals, reading very attentively. Director Cheng arranged for an assistant to accompany her and invited Xu Chunliang to the office for some tea.

Xu Chunliang is quite well-known in the Culture and Tourism Bureau; with Deputy Director Xiao Dong personally handling this, Director Cheng gave it much importance.

Xu Chunliang took a sip of tea and asked, "Was this Li Puyuan just an engineer?"

Director Cheng said, "There isn’t much information on him. What we can confirm now is that there were indeed dozens of Peninsula people here back then. They weren’t ordinary miners; they included engineers and management personnel. During the war, they helped the Japanese army invade us and were termed second Ghosts, even worse than the actual East Asian Ghosts."

Xu Chunliang nodded.

Director Cheng lowered his voice, "I’ve heard this Li Puyuan is the father of Lexus Group’s president?"

Xu Chunliang said, "That’s right. The female writer here is for writing a book about the Li Family."

Director Cheng frowned and said, "They wouldn’t write the Qingshan Mine uprising as if they led it, would they?"

Xu Chunliang chuckled, "I don’t know. After all, it’s a novel they’re writing."

Director Cheng said seriously, "Director Xu, we need to take this seriously. What if the novel she writes discredits our country? Then wouldn’t the materials I provide to her contribute to promoting evil?"

Xu Chunliang said, "It’s not that exaggerated. The Lexus president, Li Bingxing, admitted that if it wasn’t for the help from our Qingshan Mine workers, he would have been killed by the Ghosts long ago. They acknowledge this."

Just then, Bai Lan approached, wishing to take some photos to bring back, and thus sought Director Cheng’s consent.

Director Cheng, having been alerted from the earlier conversation with Xu Chunliang, expressed that photography wasn’t impossible but emphasized that for provincial-level key relics, permission must be sought, and if approved from above, shooting could proceed.

Bai Lan responded to his words without hesitation and resumed reviewing the documents.

Before long, Xu Chunliang leaned over: "I say, how long do you plan to keep reading?"

Bai Lan replied, "If you have something to do, go ahead. I can take my time looking through them alone."

Xu Chunliang said, "Then I’ll head out first." He had just received a call from Yan Huaiyi asking him to return immediately, though nothing specific was mentioned over the phone; it just seemed urgent.

Xu Chunliang returned to the hospital, where Yan Huaiyi was waiting for him in the office, along with a man in his thirties. Judging by Yan Huaiyi’s attitude towards him, this man seemed to have quite the status.

Yan Huaiyi introduced him to Xu Chunliang, revealing that this person was Secretary Jiang Zhiming, the new secretary under Wang Jianming.

Xu Chunliang felt a bit puzzled. What would Jiang Zhiming want with him? After all, they had no prior connections.

Jiang Zhiming slowly stood up, looking Xu Chunliang over and said, "You’re Comrade Xu Chunliang, aren’t you?"

Xu Chunliang nodded: "What can I do for you?" He thought to himself that Yan Huaiyi was quite baffling as well, not mentioning this over the phone.

Yan Huaiyi had his own difficulties. After presenting his identity, Jiang Zhiming had asked him to call Xu Chunliang over, specifically instructing not to reveal his identity.

Jiang Zhiming glanced at Yan Huaiyi, who said, "I’ll just step out for a bit." He could tell Jiang Zhiming had matters he didn’t wish him to overhear, so he chose to excuse himself.

Xu Chunliang thought to himself that Yan Huaiyi was really too meek. After all, Jiang Zhiming was just a secretary, not that impressive himself, but his employer certainly was.

Xu Chunliang said, "Secretary Jiang, why don’t we take this to the reception room?" By saying this, he was both preserving Yan Huaiyi’s dignity and expressing his discontent with Jiang Zhiming’s stern demeanor.

Without waiting for Jiang Zhiming’s agreement, Xu Chunliang had already stepped out of the office.

Yan Huaiyi initially intended to step out himself to give them the space, but he didn’t expect Xu Chunliang to not extend any respect towards this high-ranking secretary at all, making him break out in a cold sweat when he saw Jiang Zhiming’s displeased expression.

Jiang Zhiming originally intended to have the conversation in the director’s office, but since Xu Chunliang turned and left, he could hardly stay behind, so he was forced to follow Xu Chunliang out, leaving without even greeting Yan Huaiyi.

Xu Chunliang went to the reception room, which was part of the hospital’s administration. Once inside, Xu Chunliang simply sat down.

Jiang Zhiming followed him, and upon noticing that Xu Chunliang hadn’t waited for him to sit before sitting down himself, his face became even sour. Was this guy clueless or was he doing it purposefully?

Xu Chunliang was clearly doing it on purpose. He always dealt with people on the basis that respect is a two-way street. Since Jiang Zhiming came in with such a grim face, what did he owe him?

This guy came to the Infectious Disease Hospital where the director, Yan Huaiyi, treated him with utmost respect, yet Jiang Zhiming didn’t seem to regard Yan Huaiyi at all. Xu Chunliang felt discontent. Regardless of Yan Huaiyi’s capabilities, he was his supervisor now and had recognized his talents before; disrespecting his boss in front of him was akin to disrespecting him.

Jiang Zhiming stood there, looking down at Xu Chunliang. He had initially intended to intimidate Xu Chunliang with his presence, but Xu Chunliang wasn’t buying it at all.

Xu Chunliang glanced at him dismissively: "Don’t be so rigid, have a seat!"

Jiang Zhiming’s head buzzed at his words. What did he mean by rigid? He was showing disdain, had he not expressed it clearly enough? Jiang Zhiming’s hostility towards Xu Chunliang wasn’t without reason. He recently heard rumors that someone was actively trying to replace him as Secretary Wang’s aide.

Jiang Zhiming had finally waited for this opportunity and was eager to prove himself in front of Secretary Wang, diligently and dutifully. He didn’t want to be replaced. He was acutely aware that the new secretary had only recently arrived, and his appointment was temporary. Whether he would gain Secretary Wang’s approval required time and testing.

Jiang Zhiming had come today because Secretary Wang was planning to visit Weishan Island to inspect the construction of the national resort. During the morning’s cultural tourism meeting, Director Li Yushan specifically mentioned the brewery hot spring project facilitated by Xu Chunliang.

Because of this, Secretary Wang instructed him to arrange for Xu Chunliang to accompany him to Weishan Island tomorrow.

Jiang Zhiming didn’t think this was a good sign. Although Xu Chunliang held a low rank and theoretically wasn’t qualified to be his rival, the decision was ultimately Secretary Wang’s. As long as Secretary Wang desired, any existing rules in Dongzhou could be overturned.

Jiang Zhiming initially wanted to give Xu Chunliang a hard time, but Xu Chunliang simply ignored him, leaving Jiang Zhiming embarrassed, stuck between standing and sitting. With Xu Chunliang seated, it felt as if he was reporting to a leader. However, sitting would acknowledge Xu Chunliang’s suggestive "don’t be rigid," and from what standing should he feel confined in Xu Chunliang’s presence?

Awareness dawned on Jiang Zhiming that he had lost the upper hand. He pulled out a chair and sat down: "Xiaoxu, I’m here on behalf of Secretary Wang!"

His statement carried a double message. By calling him Xiaoxu, he was reminding him of his junior status, and by specifying his representation of Secretary Wang, it meant that disrespect towards him equated to disrespect towards Secretary Wang.

Xu Chunliang chuckled: "You mean Brother Jianming?"

Another buzz hit Jiang Zhiming’s head. How did he address Secretary Wang? Brother Jianming? What was their relationship? Could there be some connection he was unaware of?

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