2026-09-20 04:20:46"Grandfather! Grandfather, wake up!"
Claire threw herself onto the cold marble floor, tears streaming down her pale face. She grabbed William Hayes's limp hand, but his fingers were already cold.
"Doctor Clark! Get Doctor Clark down here right now!" Robert Hayes shouted in terror at the trembling servants.
Within seconds, a silver-haired man in a lab coat rushed into the Great Hall carrying a medical kit. It was Doctor Clark, the Hayes family's private physician and a top heart specialist in Riverdale.
Doctor Clark dropped to his knees beside the old patriarch.
He shone a penlight into William's eyes. The pupils were wide, fixed, and completely unresponsive.
Next, he pressed two fingers against William's neck.
Nothing.
He placed his stethoscope over William's chest. The entire room fell into dead silence.
Ten seconds passed.
Doctor Clark slowly lowered his head, his hands trembling.
"Doctor Clark, speak to us!" Patricia cried out. "How is my father-in-law?!"
"I am so sorry," Doctor Clark said in a broken whisper. "The old master's heart has stopped completely. There is no pulse, no respiration, and no brainstem reflex. The toxic congestion caused a massive cardiac rupture. Old Master Hayes... has passed away."
"No!" Claire wailed, burying her face into her grandfather's chest as sobs racked her body. "Grandfather, please open your eyes!"
Robert collapsed onto a sofa in shock, while Patricia dabbed at her dry eyes with a silk handkerchief, letting out loud, theatrical cries.
Just then, the double doors swung open.
A handsome young man in a sharp navy suit walked in. It was Richard Vance, heir to Vance Logistics.
"Claire!" Richard called out, hurrying to her side with a look of deep concern. "I heard the news! What a terrible tragedy!"
He knelt beside Claire, reaching out to place a hand on her trembling shoulder.
"Claire, do not despair," Richard said softly. "With your grandfather gone, rival companies will try to tear Hayes Bio-Pharma apart. But I will protect you. I will pay for the grandest funeral in Riverdale. And tomorrow, my father will release fifty million dollars in emergency credit to save your company. All you have to do is agree to marry me."
Patricia's eyes sparkled with greed. "You see that, Robert?! Richard is our family's savior! Claire, stop crying and agree to Richard right now!"
"Take your hands off her."
A cold, flat voice cut through the scheming.
Richard froze. He looked up and saw Ethan Cole standing nearby, holding an open wooden toolbox.
Richard sneered with pure contempt. "Who is this beggar?! What is a street stray doing in the Hayes mansion?!"
Patricia waved her hands in disgust. "Richard, ignore him! He is just an uneducated vagrant from the mountains!"
She glared at Ethan, shrieking, "Get out of our sight! My father-in-law is dead, and your filthy presence cursed him!"
Ethan ignored her completely. He walked forward, dropped onto one knee beside William's body, and set his wooden box on the marble.
"If you do not want him buried today, move aside," Ethan said calmly. "He has less than sixty seconds before cellular death becomes permanent."
Richard laughed mockingly. "Are you insane?! Doctor Clark just declared him dead! Are you trying to play doctor with that dirty box?!"
Doctor Clark stepped forward in anger. "Young man, stop! Piercing a corpse is a crime against medical ethics!"
"Your useless medicine failed, so you declare him dead to hide your failure," Ethan said coldly. "Step back before I break your legs."
Doctor Clark was so shaken by Ethan's terrifying gaze that he retreated three steps.
Ethan reached into his wooden box, pulling out an ancient velvet pouch. Inside lay nine slender, pitch-black needles engraved with tiny dragon patterns.
"What is he doing?!" Patricia screamed. "Security, drag this madman out! He is stabbing a corpse with needles!"
"Get away from him!" Richard roared, lunging forward to shove Ethan aside.
Ethan did not even turn his head. With his left hand, he flicked his two fingers outward.
A sharp gust of invisible force burst through the air, slamming into Richard's knee.
Crack!
"Aaargh!" Richard screamed in agony as his knee buckled, sending him crashing to the floor. "My leg! What did you do to my leg?!"
Everyone gasped in terror. Nobody had even seen Ethan touch him!
Ethan focused entirely on William's lifeless body.
His right hand blurred.
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Three black needles sank into William's chest with blinding speed. One pierced the Tanzhong point above the heart. One pierced the Qihai point below the navel. The third pierced the Guanyuan point.
Each needle went two inches deep, standing perfectly upright.
Ethan placed his right palm over the three needles and closed his eyes.
The ancient Dragon Heart Qi inside him surged like a river, rushing through the black needles directly into William's ruptured meridians.
A faint humming sound resonated from the needles. The air around William's chest grew warm with golden mist.
Then, Ethan struck William's chest with a sharp palm strike!
THUMP!
A sound like a drumbeat echoed through the hall.
"GASP!"
William's chest arched violently off the floor. A mouthful of thick, black poison blood erupted from his lips, splashing across the tiles.
Immediately after, the old man's chest began to rise and fall in deep, heavy breaths.
His fingers twitched. Warm color rushed back into his pale skin.
And right before their eyes, William Hayes snapped his eyes wide open!
"Hah... hah..."
William drew in clean air, his vision clearing until his gaze met Ethan's.
Dead silence fell over the Great Hall.
Doctor Clark dropped his penlight in utter shock. He sank to his knees, his jaw hanging open.
"He is breathing..." Doctor Clark stuttered in disbelief. "His heart is beating again! He brought a dead man back to life in sixty seconds! This is an absolute miracle!"
Richard sat on the floor clutching his swollen knee, terrified.
Patricia's mouth hung open like a fish. She was completely speechless.
Claire stood frozen, staring at Ethan in sheer disbelief.
Ethan calmly pulled the three needles from William's chest, wiped them clean, and packed them away into his wooden box.
William sat up on his own, looking at Ethan with boundless awe.
"The Nine Dragon Needles..." William whispered with tears in his eyes. "The legendary Ghost Needle Technique... Young Master Ethan, you truly are the divine successor of Master Lin!"
"Your heart poison is cleared, Old Master Hayes," Ethan said evenly. "You will live for another twenty years. But your family was eager to marry Claire off to the young master on the floor."
William's face instantly darkened with rage.
Supported by Ethan, William stood up straight on his own two feet. He did not even need his cane!
He glared at Richard Vance with blazing eyes.
"Richard Vance!" William's voice boomed like thunder. "Get out of my house before I have you thrown into the sea! Your family's money is not fit to wipe my grandson-in-law's shoes!"
Richard scrambled backward in terror and limped out the door as fast as he could.
William then turned toward Robert and Patricia with iron authority.
"Robert! Bring the marriage registry papers right now!" William roared. "Today, Claire marries Ethan Cole! Anyone who objects will be stripped of their inheritance and kicked out of this family!"
Patricia shrank back into a corner, trembling with fear.
Claire looked at her grandfather's unyielding eyes, then at Ethan's calm face.
There was no way out.
"Grandfather," Claire said, fighting back her tears. "I will sign."
She turned to Ethan, her voice turning cold as ice.
"We are married on paper only, Ethan Cole. You will never enter my bedroom, you will never touch my money, and the day my grandfather says so, we divorce."
Ethan picked up his wooden box and smiled faintly.
"Deal, Miss Hayes. Trust me, I have zero interest in your bedroom."
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Chapter 10
The night sky over Riverdale was dark and heavy with storm clouds.Inside Claire's silver Porsche, the only sound was the quiet hum of the electric engine and the steady swish of the windshield wipers.Claire kept her hands firmly on the steering wheel, but her fingers were trembling slightly.Every few seconds, her gaze drifted toward the passenger seat.Ethan sat there in total silence. His faded green army shirt was wrinkled, his worn sneakers were stained with hospital antiseptic, and his dented wooden toolbox rested quietly on the floor between his feet. He looked out into the rain, his expression as peaceful as an ancient monk meditating on a mountaintop.Yet, less than an hour ago, this quiet man had casually pulled an eighteen-year-old girl back from fourteen minutes of biological death.And with a single sentence, he had commanded Thomas Cross to crush one of Riverdale's wealthiest logistics dynasties."Ethan," Claire said softly, breaking the long silence."Yes?" Ethan turne
Chapter 9
The operating theater was dead silent, save for the hum of ventilation.Lying on the steel table, Lily Cross looked like a statue carved from gray stone. Her limbs were stiffening. Her body temperature had dropped below eighty degrees.Standing near the glass observation window, Claire Hayes held her breath. Her hands gripped the strap of her handbag so tightly that her knuckles ached.She had seen Ethan bring her grandfather back to life earlier that morning. But her grandfather had only stopped breathing for a few minutes.Lily Cross had been dead for fourteen minutes. In the medical world, brain cells began dying after four minutes without oxygen. At fourteen minutes, irreversible brain death was absolute law.Ethan Cole did not look at the flatline monitor.He reached into his wooden toolbox. His fingers plucked three slender black needles from the velvet lining with uncanny precision."The three souls wander, the seven spirits scatter," Ethan murmured under his breath, his voice
Chapter 8
Tires screeched as Claire Hayes swung her silver Porsche Taycan across three lanes of traffic, making a sharp turn.Her heart pounded violently against her ribs.From the speaker of Ethan's cracked phone, she had heard the raw, agonizing sobs of Thomas Cross. Thomas Cross was the undisputed king of Riverdale. He controlled the docks, private security firms, and half the city's commercial real estate. Even city councilmen bowed to him.Yet that powerful man had just wept like a broken child, begging Ethan on his knees.Claire gripped the steering wheel, glancing sideways at Ethan.Ethan sat calmly in the passenger seat, his faded green shirt resting against the leather, his wooden toolbox held between his knees. His dark eyes stared out at the flashing streetlights, calm as winter ice."Ethan," Claire said, her voice trembling. "Lily Cross has had a weak heart since birth. Thomas Cross brought in top specialists from Switzerland, but nobody could cure her. If she has already flatlined,
Chapter 7
The sound of George Shaw's heavy breathing was the only noise inside the VIP martial arena.Nobody moved. Nobody dared to take a breath.The wealthy heirs of Riverdale sat frozen, champagne glasses trembling in their hands. They looked at George Shaw, the powerful General Manager of the Apex Club, kneeling on the floor before a man in torn sneakers.It felt like a fever dream.Ethan Cole looked down at George Shaw with calm indifference. He adjusted his wooden toolbox over his shoulder."Stand up," Ethan said in a quiet voice. "I told your men I came to watch a show, not to receive your bows. You are making too much noise.""Yes, Master! Forgive my disturbance!" George scrambled to his feet, keeping his head bowed low, his hands folded like an obedient servant.On the floor, Richard Vance struggled to sit up.Blood trickled down his chin from his split lip. A gap in his front teeth made his words sound wet and slurred."Manager Shaw!" Richard yelled, his voice cracking with rage. "Hav
Chapter 6
The chief security guard felt all the strength drain from his legs.The Black Dragon Sovereign Card.It was made of black titanium alloy, and in the center sat an uncut diamond surrounded by ancient dragon scales. In the internal manual of the Cross Security Group, every guard had to memorize this card on their first day of training.Only five of these cards existed in the world.Anyone who held this card possessed higher authority than the owner of the Apex Club himself. A single word from the cardholder could shut this entire facility down in ten seconds."Is this card fake?" Ethan asked calmly."No! No, My Lord!" the chief guard stammered in absolute horror.His stun baton clattered onto the floor. The muscular guard bent his waist, bowing until his forehead almost touched his knees.The three other guards behind him snapped to attention, bowing at a sharp ninety-degree angle."Please forgive our blindness, Supreme VIP!" the chief guard begged, cold sweat dripping from his chin. "W
Chapter 5
Two hours later, outside the Riverdale Civil Affairs Bureau.The afternoon sun reflected off the glass doors of the government building.Claire Hayes stood on the sidewalk, clutching two red booklets with gold state seals in her trembling hand.Married.She was officially married to a man she had met only that morning in a thirty-dollar motel room. A man who wore dusty sneakers and carried his life in a battered wooden toolbox."Are you satisfied now?" Claire spat, turning to glare at Ethan Cole with blazing hazel eyes. "You used my grandfather's gratitude to force your way into my family. I hope you are proud of your dirty scheme."Ethan walked beside her with his hands tucked into his canvas trouser pockets. His wooden box hung lightly over his shoulder."Miss Hayes, you flatter yourself," Ethan replied evenly. "If I wanted money, your family's entire company would not buy one hour of my time.""Still bragging!" Claire scoffed in disgust. "You have no shame at all! You do not have a
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