Chapter 38: That’s More Like It

Moreover, Jiang Hao wore a faint smile, as if silently mocking the two bodyguards and the woman in red.

“Miss, there’s something strange about this guy!” the bodyguard called Da Huang exclaimed to the woman in red, his face full of alarm.

“What’s so strange? The two of you can’t handle one man? Are you both useless?” the woman in red snapped angrily.

The two bodyguards exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and exerted all their strength together.

Yet, even so, they could not move Jiang Hao even an inch.

Jiang Hao laughed. The power of the Red Jade Ring was indeed impressive. He had channeled the heat flow so that it circulated between his body and the ground, anchoring his legs and feet firmly in place.

In this way, he and the earth were as one; not to mention two bodyguards—even a bulldozer would struggle to budge him.

“Enough! Let’s get him!” Da Huang shouted furiously, and with that, he drove his fist straight at Jiang Hao’s face.

Jiang Hao, however, stood there unmoving, as if he hadn’t even noticed the fist barreling toward him.

With a dull thud, Da Huang’s fist crashed squarely into Jiang Hao’s nose.

Jiang Hao was completely unscathed, while Da Huang recoiled in pain, shaking out his hand and staggering backward.

“There’s something really off about this guy!” Da Huang exclaimed, his face pale with fear as he stared at Jiang Hao in disbelief.

Jiang Hao spoke calmly: “You really think you can hurt me? Have you any idea of your own strength?”

The other bodyguard, Da Kui, refused to admit defeat. He swung a punch at Jiang Hao’s chest.

Another dull thud rang out, and this time Da Kui was sent flying backward more than two meters. He landed with a pained shriek.

“My hand... my hand is broken...”

The woman in red was shocked. She stared at Jiang Hao, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Da Kui and Da Huang were professional bodyguards personally hired at great expense by Zhao Ziyun. Both were former special forces soldiers with formidable hand-to-hand skills.

Ordinarily, the two of them together could easily take on five to eight ordinary men, if not more.

But now Jiang Hao stood unmoving, and there was nothing they could do to him. It was downright uncanny.

Jiang Hao himself was quite satisfied. Previously, he had only used the Red Jade Ring’s heat flow to attack others, but now he tried channeling it across his entire body, concentrating it at the surface like a suit of armor.

Sure enough, this vastly increased his defense. The bodyguards’ full-force attacks felt no more than a tickle.

He even felt that with this level of defense, not even a high-explosive grenade detonating nearby could harm him.

“Who… who are you?” the woman in red asked, her voice trembling as she took several steps back.

“I’ve already told you—I was invited here by Zhao Ziyun to treat Zhao Shibo,” Jiang Hao replied coolly.

“Liar!” she shouted.

At that moment, an elderly voice rang out from the courtyard.

“What’s all this noise? What’s going on out here?”

Jiang Hao and the woman in red turned to look and saw an old lady approaching briskly, supported by two maids and leaning on a dragon-headed cane.

The woman in red ignored the injured Da Kui and Da Huang and rushed over to the old lady’s side, immediately launching into her complaint.

“Auntie, this man is causing trouble at our gate! I told him to leave, he cursed me, and when I asked Da Huang and Da Kui to throw him out, he injured Da Kui!”

At these words, the old lady’s face darkened with anger. “Who are you to cause trouble at the Zhao family’s house? You’ve got some nerve!”

Jiang Hao’s patience was nearly spent. He was on the verge of turning and leaving.

Zhao Ziyun had personally pleaded with him to come treat Zhao Shibo, yet he was being blocked at every turn. It was infuriating.

“I’ll say this one last time. My name is Jiang Yun. I was invited here by Zhao Ziyun to treat your family’s head, Zhao Shibo,” he said, his tone hardening.

“Treating an illness? Is this how a doctor behaves?” emboldened by the old lady’s presence, the woman in red pointed at Jiang Hao and shouted even more arrogantly.

The old lady frowned and asked, “You claim my son invited you? How can you prove it?”

“Are you people all out of your minds? Just call Zhao Ziyun and ask him yourselves!” Jiang Hao retorted impatiently.

“How dare you insult us!” the woman in red fumed.

But the old lady held her back. “Hong’er, call Ziyun right now and ask if he really invited this Mr. Jiang to treat your uncle.”

“Auntie, you actually believe him?” the woman in red protested in surprise.

“Just make the call. We’ll find out the truth,” the old lady said impatiently.

“Alright,” she muttered, pulling out a compact phone and making the call.

But three or four minutes passed, and the call wouldn’t go through.

“Auntie, Ziyun is probably in a meeting with a client—his phone is off,” the woman in red said helplessly.

The old lady pondered for a moment, then turned to Jiang Hao. “In any case, come with us to the parlor and wait. Once we reach Ziyun and clarify the matter, we’ll decide whether to allow you to treat my husband.”

At this, Jiang Hao’s patience finally snapped.

“I came here out of goodwill to treat your patriarch, yet your family has shown me nothing but disrespect. Fine, I won’t treat him—you can do as you please!” With that, Jiang Hao turned to leave.

“Stop! You injured our Zhao family’s bodyguards and now you think you can just walk away?” the woman in red shouted after him.

The old lady, clearly more reasonable than the younger woman, stepped forward and addressed Jiang Hao. “Mr. Jiang, at the moment we cannot reach Ziyun and have no way to verify your story. Please wait in the parlor—we will offer you tea and refreshments. If it turns out that my son Ziyun did indeed invite you to treat my husband, I will personally apologize to you.”

The old lady’s attitude was at least acceptable.

Jiang Hao nodded. “Very well. I’ll wait.”

With that, he followed the old lady and the woman in red through the Zhao family’s grand gates, down a long corridor toward the parlor.