Chapter 85: The Money-Grubbing Warlord of Shou’an
Su Tao, on the other hand, couldn’t fall asleep at all.
Lying on the bed in the guesthouse, she was drenched in sweat. When she picked up her communicator and shined a light on the sheets, there was a whole sweat imprint left behind.
Even Xuedao was sprawled out on the floor, tongue out, completely flattened from the heat.
Guan Zining turned over and sat up as well. “I can’t take this—it’s way too hot.”
Su Tao felt dizzy and weak all over.
“Let’s go sleep in the car. I can’t take it anymore.”
She hadn’t slept well for several nights in a row, could barely eat during the day, and now her body was reaching its limit.
After quickly gathering their things, she sent a message to Shi Zijin.
She thought he’d be asleep at this hour, but the moment she hit send, he replied instantly:
“Which part of you is feeling unwell? Come out to the hallway, let me take a look.”
Su Tao was stunned. She opened the door and, sure enough, saw Shi Zijin standing in the hallway, fully dressed, holding his communicator.
He walked over, pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, and immediately frowned.
“You have a slight fever—probably heatstroke. Anywhere else feeling uncomfortable?”
Su Tao felt dizzy, her heart pounding erratically. Before she could answer, her vision darkened, and she nearly collapsed.
Shi Zijin caught her in his arms and lifted her up.
Seeing this, Guan Zining quickly stepped forward, touched Su Tao’s forehead, then reached into the back of her collar, pulling out a hand covered in sweat. She looked like she had just been fished out of water.
“This is bad. Major General, take her to the car now! I’ll go get some Huoxiang Zhengqi water from the logistics team.”
Su Tao’s mind was a muddled mess. When she finally regained some clarity and opened her eyes, she was already in the car.
The air conditioning had just been turned on, and the cool breeze instantly made her feel a lot better.
She glanced at Shi Zijin beside her. “With my weak constitution, do you think I’ll just suddenly drop dead halfway through this journey?”
Shi Zijin’s face darkened. “If you still have the strength to talk nonsense with me, I guess you’re fine. Sit up and drink more water.”
Su Tao accepted the water and sipped it slowly.
“Aren’t the warlords of Shou’an pretty rich? Why is the guesthouse so shabby? They can’t even afford electricity?”
Even if there was no air conditioning, as long as the wiring was intact, she could install one herself. How did she end up with heatstroke like this?
So ridiculous.
Seeing that she was recovering, Shi Zijin secretly let out a breath of relief and poured her another glass of water.
“The real power behind Shou’an is Ge Haibin. He’s the older brother of Jiang Qingxiang’s husband and the fat guy you saw on the first day we arrived. He’s extremely stingy and obsessed with money.”
“Forget about providing decent accommodations for outsiders—even in his own home, he probably doesn’t have air conditioning or fans. He’d rather suffer through the heat than spend money. To cut costs and minimize resource consumption, he never invests in public infrastructure. Electricity is only available in the wealthy district. Even Shou’an’s local network was set up by other warlords pooling their own money. Otherwise, this place would still be completely isolated.”
Su Tao was dumbfounded. “Then what does he make all that money for?”
She was the type who couldn’t hold onto money—whenever she had it, she’d immediately spend it on building something. She couldn’t understand the point of hoarding wealth without using it.
Shi Zijin replied, “He just sees money as his life. He’s also got his eyes on the water and fuel we brought, constantly hinting that he wants them. He’s already tried several times, acting like if I don’t give in, he’ll keep holding Jian Kaiyu hostage.”
“So how did you handle it?”
Shi Zijin said casually, “I made it clear—if he doesn’t release him, we go to war. But I knew he wouldn’t dare. He’s too stingy to waste military supplies.”
Su Tao was impressed. “You really know what you’re doing. A solid psychological battle.”
“For now, he’s agreed to release him tomorrow. But who knows if he’ll pull some other tricks? So tomorrow, stay in the car and don’t come with us to pick him up. Just rest.”
Just then, Guan Zining returned with a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi water.
Su Tao took a few sips, then instinctively hesitated to finish it. Medicine was expensive—it felt like drinking money.
Shi Zijin saw right through her thoughts and urged, “Just drink it. Consider it my treat—you don’t have to pay me back.”
Su Tao thought, Who treats someone to medicine? But she gulped down the rest anyway.
That night, she finally got a decent sleep in the car.
The only one who suffered was Lin Fangzhi.
When he woke up and stepped out of his personal space, he realized Su Tao wasn’t in the guesthouse.
He didn’t talk much, nor did he know many people. He wandered around looking for her, growing increasingly anxious—so much so that he was nearly in tears.
Eventually, someone noticed and reported it to Shi Zijin, who personally went to retrieve him.
When Lin Fangzhi saw him, his eyes were red with fear and frustration. Still, his first words were, “Where is she?”
Shi Zijin’s expression remained neutral.
“She’s sick and resting in the car. I’ll take you there later. Keep quiet and don’t disturb her.”
Lin Fangzhi froze. Sick?
In his understanding, sickness meant death.
He had once met an old grandmother who fell ill. At first, she would give him food and pat his head, but soon, she couldn’t speak or move. Her body became cold and stiff.
He had thought she was just sleeping and carried her on his back for a long, long way—until someone told him he was carrying a corpse.
That was when he realized—sickness meant death.
Death!
At that thought, Lin Fangzhi started trembling uncontrollably. His face turned ashen, as if all the blood had drained from his body in an instant.
Shi Zijin was startled, thinking he had some sudden illness. Just as he was about to check on him, Lin Fangzhi suddenly let out a choked cry, “Tao…”
Shi Zijin understood immediately. His face darkened, and without any patience, he grabbed Lin Fangzhi by the collar with one hand and carried him all the way back to the convoy, dumping him beside a jeep.
“She’s inside. Be quiet when you look.”
Lin Fangzhi scrambled up, pressing his face against the glass window.
Inside, Su Tao was lying motionless.
She’s dead.
All of Shi Zijin’s warnings were thrown out the window. Lin Fangzhi yanked the car door open with a loud bang, launched himself inside like a cannonball, and threw his arms around Su Tao.
“Tao… Taotao!”
Su Tao had been sleeping soundly. Suddenly being tackled like that, her head slammed against the car door. Stars exploded in her vision.
Shi Zijin’s face instantly turned murderous. In two strides, he climbed into the car, grabbed Lin Fangzhi, and yanked him out, tossing him onto the ground.
“Do you have a death wish?”
Su Tao, rubbing her aching head, sat up groggily. “What’s going on?”
Hearing her voice, Lin Fangzhi scrambled up again. His throat made choked, whimpering sounds as he threw himself onto Su Tao’s lap, sobbing.
She’s not dead. Thank goodness.
Shi Zijin grabbed him again and tossed him back onto the ground.
Lin Fangzhi, his face covered in tears, stubbornly got up and lunged forward once more.
Before he could repeat the cycle, Su Tao stopped him. She looked at Shi Zijin and said, “Why are you bullying him? Look how upset the kid is.”
Shi Zijin choked on his words. He glanced at the scorching sun in the bright sky and seriously considered whether he should summon a blizzard.
