SAG -Chapter 43 The Methods of the Past

The person waving Hao Yuan over was naturally Zhang Ran.

Although Zhang Ran hadn’t recognized Hao Yuan immediately, Tian Ya had just called out his name.

For Hao Yuan, twenty-eight years had passed.

For Zhang Ran, however, they hadn’t.

Hearing the name and seeing the face was enough for him to match the two together.

When Meng Mingxuan heard Tian Ya calling for Hao Yuan, he had been about to stop.

He knew Hao Yuan.

The man was Tian Yaohui’s bodyguard and trusted confidant.

More importantly, Hao Yuan actually wouldn’t hesitate to beat him up, even knowing who his father was.

But soon Meng Mingxuan noticed Hao Yuan standing frozen, staring straight ahead.

Following his gaze, he saw Zhang Ran smiling calmly.

He immediately knew what to do.

“You bastard! You actually dared hit my face? Take this!”

Meng Mingxuan shouted as he launched into another merciless beating.

Sun Gaixin was practically in tears.

Who did I offend?

Why am I the one getting beaten up?

As far as he could remember, he’d landed maybe one punch.

Meanwhile, Meng Mingxuan had already hit him dozens of times.

“Uncle Hao!”

“What are you standing there for?”

“Hurry and help Gaixin!”

Tian Ya shouted anxiously.

Hao Yuan instinctively took a step forward.

But the moment he saw the smile on Zhang Ran’s face begin to fade…his feet abruptly changed direction.

Tian Ya stared blankly as Hao Yuan walked straight toward the other side.

She couldn’t process what she was seeing.

Hao Yuan no longer had time to worry about Tian Ya.

Walking up to Zhang Ran, he lowered his voice.

“Boss Zhang.”

Zhang Ran clicked his tongue.

“Boss Hao…”

“So you’re planning to interfere in my family affairs now?”

His smile remained.

Only his eyes had turned cold.

Originally, Hao Yuan had thought he would face Zhang Ran confidently when they met again.

After all, he was now successful.

Backed by Tian Yaohui, he had wealth, influence, and status.

Zhang Ran, on the other hand, had only just returned after disappearing for twenty-eight years.

All the power he’d once possessed should have vanished with time.

But now…

Standing face-to-face…

Hao Yuan still felt his heart tremble.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“I was only…”

He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself.

Before he could finish, Zhang Ran’s expression turned icy.

“Only what?”

“Only because you think Zhang Ran is easy to bully now?”

“Or do you want to avenge your old boss?”

The moment Zhang Ran mentioned “your old boss,” Hao Yuan’s heart skipped violently.

His forced composure instantly vanished.

He became visibly nervous.

Because he knew…

The “boss” Zhang Ran referred to wasn’t Tian Yaohui.

The truth was…

Hao Yuan hadn’t met Zhang Ran through Tian Yaohui.

Back then, Hao Yuan had been a gangster, following a notorious underworld boss who wielded enormous influence in Yangcheng.

At the time, Zhang Ran happened to visit Yangcheng on business.

Somehow, Hao Yuan’s boss learned that Zhang Ran was rich.

Influenced by the kidnapping-for-ransom stories popular in Hong Kong at the time, they decided to kidnap him.

Their demand?

Five million yuan.

In the 1980s…

Five million was an astronomical sum.

Zhang Ran feared that agreeing too quickly would only encourage them to ask for more.

So he deliberately endured several beatings before finally “giving in.”

Hao Yuan had been assigned to guard him.

For reasons he himself couldn’t explain, he had softened somewhat and secretly treated Zhang Ran a little better than the others did.

After collecting the money, the gang leader chose not to kill Zhang Ran.

With the power he possessed locally, he wasn’t afraid of retaliation from an outsider.

Besides…

Murder would only make matters far more serious.

Everyone expected Zhang Ran to seek revenge afterward.

They were prepared.

Not one of them felt worried.

They were the local snakes.

At most, Zhang Ran was merely a dragon passing through.

Yet…

To everyone’s surprise…

After Zhang Ran left…

Nothing happened.

No retaliation.

No revenge.

It looked as though he’d been frightened into silence.

Back then, Hao Yuan had even looked down on wealthy businessmen for being so cowardly.

Until…

What happened afterward completely changed his mind.

One week later…

The gang leader suddenly felt weak all over and was admitted to the hospital.

Doctors found nothing wrong.

Two weeks later…

Parts of his body began twitching uncontrollably.

Sometimes they became rigid.

Three weeks later…

He lost control of his bladder and bowels.

One month later…

He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome.

Except…

It wasn’t ordinary Parkinson’s.

His mouth twisted.

His eyes became uneven.

He was incontinent.

Unable to speak.

His hands couldn’t obey him at all.

Yet Hao Yuan could clearly see the agony and humiliation burning inside the man’s eyes.

His mind remained perfectly clear.

He had simply lost all control over his body.

For any sane person…

That was torture beyond imagination.

Most terrifying of all…

None of the hospital’s treatments worked.

Not one medicine could even alleviate his symptoms.

Had it ended there…

Hao Yuan might have believed it was merely bad luck.

But afterward…

Nearly everyone involved in Zhang Ran’s kidnapping gradually developed strange illnesses.

Every condition appeared completely natural.

There were no signs of poisoning.

Only Hao Yuan himself seemed unaffected.

By then…

Their gang had completely fallen apart.

Later, Hao Yuan entered Tian Yaohui’s service.

It was there that he crossed paths with Zhang Ran again.

The more he learned about Zhang Ran…

The more he understood.

Zhang Ran had taken revenge.

They simply had never realized it.

The most horrifying part…

His revenge left no trace.

It was utterly invisible.

Even thinking about it now sent chills down Hao Yuan’s spine.

So now…

When Zhang Ran spoke those words…

Hao Yuan instantly remembered those events…and all the rumors he’d heard afterward.

What frightened him most was this:

Even after all these years…

No instrument had ever detected anything abnormal.

There had never been a shred of evidence linking those mysterious illnesses to Zhang Ran.

Forcing a smile, Hao Yuan said, “Boss Zhang… you must be joking.”

“How could I possibly dare?”

Zhang Ran glanced at him.

Then suddenly smiled.

The smile made Hao Yuan’s heart pound.

Zhang Ran knew exactly what Hao Yuan feared.

After all…

His game contained far more than beneficial plants like the Fragrant Orchid.

There weren’t any plants that could directly kill people.

But perhaps because the game’s designers wanted to be innovative…

They had certainly created plenty that specialized in making people’s lives miserable.

“Boss Hao…”

“It’s been so long since we last met.”

“I was only joking.”

“Look how nervous you got.”

Hao Yuan laughed awkwardly without answering.

A joke?

It hadn’t looked like one at all.

Meanwhile…

Tian Ya stood there completely dumbfounded.

Why did Uncle Hao seem so deferential…and even fearful…toward that young-looking man?

Just as she was about to march over and question Hao Yuan…

Meng Mingxuan finally stopped punching.

One reason was that he was getting tired.

The other was that the mall security guards had finally arrived.

Pointing at the bruised Sun Gaixin, Meng Mingxuan snorted.

“Watch where you’re walking next time.”

Then he turned toward Tian Ya as though only just noticing her.

“Oh?”

“Isn’t this Tian Ya?”

“When did you come to Shanghai?”

Tian Ya was furious.

“Meng Mingxuan, you…”

“Miss, we’d better leave first.”

Hao Yuan hurried over.

The moment Meng Mingxuan stopped fighting, Hao Yuan came immediately.

Ignoring Tian Ya’s rage and the gloomy expression on Sun Gaixin’s swollen face…he forcibly pulled the two of them away.

Because Sun Gaixin had spent the entire fight getting beaten…

He’d barely managed to stand before Hao Yuan dragged him off.

He never even got a clear look at Zhang Ran’s face.

With the fighters gone, the crowd quickly dispersed.

It had only been a fight.

Nothing truly major had happened.

The entertainment was over.

Meng Mingxuan jogged back toward Zhang Ran, grinning proudly.

“Uncle Zhang…”

“How did I do just now?”