It was still dark out. Morning would soon arrive but for now, the night was in full effect.
Xia Lei exited the amba.s.sador’s office with a first aid kit towards another room.
The amba.s.sador was a friendly man named Zhang. Xia Lei spoke with him for a bit and expressed his grat.i.tude for his help. Without doubt, all of this was made possible thanks to Fan Fan. Currently, his cover was a special agent on his mission, so naturally, the conversation only went on for a few minutes. If Xia Lei had come clean with his true ident.i.ty, the situation would’ve been vastly different. However, there was no need for that.
Xia Lei knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?” A wobbly string of Chinese came from behind the door. It was Giovanna.
Xia Lei answered, “It’s me.”
The door opened to reveal a dishevelled Rosa. Her body was tightly wrapped in a white towel, which squeezed her cleavage into a proud crevice. The other three women in the room were in similar states, covering their bodies miserably. They all looked filthy, hair astray but attractive nonetheless.
Xia Lei made his entrance.
Behind him, Rosa quickly closed the door before joining her sisters. The four then lowered their heads out of respect.
Back then, if Xia Lei had barged into their room at this hour, they would’ve called him a pervert. But things were different now. They had nothing but respect and full submission for the man.
Xia Lei chuckled. “No need to be so formal. We’ve known each other for a while now. Do you still not know who I am as a person?”
The four women exchanged looks, breaking into a smile.
“Of course, you’re a pervert,” answered Giovanna.
“A very impressive pervert,” added Stella.
“A good perverted hero.” Theresa went on.
“That’s why you’re here in our room at this unG.o.dly hour.” Rosa pointed out.
The atmosphere immediately brightened up.
“Xia, thank you so much,” uttered Giovanna.
Xia Lei looked at her. “For what?”
She continued. “Thank you for letting us see the true colours of the Knight Hospitaller. You saved us multiple times. It’s all thanks to you that we get to carry on with our knighthood and faith. I hope you could find it in yourself to forgive us for all the offences we made and…”
She paused.
Xia Lei flashed her a rea.s.suring smile. “And…?”
“Back in Siberia, we were fully aware that it was all a trap but continued to allow you to fall into it. We were also involved in Arthur’s operation to capture you. We…” Giovanna lowered her torso. “You’re free to punish us.”
“Are you suggesting I hit you?” Xia Lei laughed. “Look at yourselves. You’re already in this pitiful state. How could I hit you? Plus, you’re all my knights. Nothing can change the past so let’s move on from that. I’ve also hidden some things from you.”
The four of them had their attention on Xia Lei.
Xia Lei revealed what had happened on that day. “My men didn’t perish in the Siberian operation. I hid them away.”
The female knights couldn’t help but stare at each other in shock.
Giovanna hesitated but decided to ask anyway. “Xia, can I ask you something?”
“No need to ask.” Xia Lei stared into her eyes. “I killed Arthur.”
It was probably better to tell them upfront than to have them play the guessing game.
They froze.
Xia Lei went on. “I paid the Knight Hospitaller fifty million USD and even promised to return the sacred relic to them. But all they’ve done has only resulted in disappointment. Arthur wanted to kill me. If I don’t get rid of him, he is only going to make things more difficult for me. I learned of his plans and I prepared myself for it. I had no choice.”
“But…” Theresa halted herself.
Xia Lei smiled at her. “Go on, you’re free to speak.”
“Alright.” Theresa questioned, “You must’ve known that we were involved in Arthur’s plans and you could’ve taken us down easily. Why did you rescue us?”
The man laughed a little. “Didn’t you say that I was a pervert? Letting pretty and s.e.xy ladies like you to succ.u.mb to your deaths is not my style.
Of course, that wasn’t his genuine intention. His words, however, had fl.u.s.tered the Grey and Russo sisters.
“I hope you’re not bothered by my blatant lies,” said Xia Lei.
“No, not at all. You did what you should do. It’s just… We have tried to harm you countless times under Arthur’s instructions and yet…” Giovanna was ashamed of herself.
The faces of these sisters were clouded with regret. The female knights and Arthur had planned to harm Xia Lei and Xia Lei was just defending himself. His lie was technically not a scam.
Observing their reactions, a small part of Xia Lei’s worries dissipated. He smiled. “It’s alright, it’s all in the past now. You’ve made the decision to leave your old life behind, so brace yourselves for the new life ahead. I can guarantee you that there’ll be no regrets under my care.”
Those words were interpreted differently by the female knights, causing a bloom of red over their cheeks.
“Come, let me treat you. I know a thing or two about medicine.” Xia Lei switched the topic.
“Huh? Oh, dear…” Giovanna’s face was beet red at this point.
Stella mumbled meekly, “You can just pa.s.s us the kit. We can do this ourselves.”
“Yeah, we can handle this.” Theresa convinced in a barely audible volume.
Rosa gapped, lost for words. Her eyes glimmered with some excitement, but a majority of it was a complicated mix of bashfulness and discomfort.
Though their decline was made clear, Xia Lei shook his head. “I’m not trying to take advantage of you. Really, please trust me. The injuries you received are not just external. I’m certain you’ve suffered some internal damage too. I must examine you and administer appropriate medicine. If this goes on untreated, you’ll die. There’s no doctor in the emba.s.sy and you can’t show up at the hospital.”
The female knights looked at each other once again, tormented by the insufferable awkwardness.
Xia Lei eagerly pushed on. “Who’s first?”
The knights fell into silence, not daring to volunteer themselves.
A scowl appeared on Xia Lei’s face. “Giovanna, you first. Get on the bed.”
“I…” Giovanna mumbled incoherently.
“Come on, go lie on the bed. Think of this as a hospital and I am your doctor.”
“Fine, I’ll go first.” Giovanna clambered onto the soft surface. She held her torn garments tightly against her frame, afraid that it would slide off.
To her surprise, Xia Lei swiftly tore the fabric away.
“You…!” Giovanna wanted to scream. Right now, all she wanted to do was to dig a hole and hide.
Xia Lei’s course of action had the other knights praying for their lives. What Giovanna was experiencing now was the benchmark of their treatment later.
Under the anxious watch of the female knights, Xia Lei began his treatment. He grabbed Giovanna’s wrist to feel her pulse. The pulse-taking was just a façade to allow his X-ray vision scan through her body, investigating the condition of her insides meticulously.
“There’s some bleeding in your stomach. Your intestines are swollen and inflamed and there’s a displaced rib…” Xia Lei started to mumble out his diagnostics, tone stern and collected like a genuine medical professional.
They gaped at him in awe, bewildered by how much he had managed to diagnose just by a touch of the wrist!
Following that, Xia Lei moved his right hand towards her protruding mounts.
Giovanna’s nervous gulp was audible, plastering her wavering gaze on Xia Lei. The female was worried that he would take the chance to cop a feel under the guise of treatment. As she reached the peak of her anxiety, Xia Lei’s palm landed away from the soft ma.s.ses on one of the bones.
He pressed on the spot lightly. “Does it hurt?”
“It hurts.” Giovanna clenched her teeth and furrowed her brows. She seemed to be in a lot of pain.
Thinking that there would be a prolonged relief after Xia Lei’s hand moved away, the man abruptly pinched the displaced rib with his thumb and index finger, pus.h.i.+ng the bone upwards!
“Ah!” Giovanna yelped.
Xia Lei released his grip. “As I said, one of your rib bones got displaced and must be returned to its original position. Let me bandage you and you’ll be done for now. Try not to move around excessively for the next few days.”
Giovanna stared at him blankly. Her earlier suspicion and bashfulness completely diminished to leave behind respect and grat.i.tude. Sadly, the admiration was short-lived as soon as Xia Lei started to dab on her wounds with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.
His motions were gentle and slow.
Giovanna watched the cotton ball roll around her body, from her peaks to her flats and even inappropriate parts. The alcohol burned her skin a little, but it formulated an unknown feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was nervous but also slightly excited by her own predicament.
Finis.h.i.+ng up the bandage around her chest, Xia Lei helped Giovanna down from the bed. “Next, please.”
“I’ll do it.” Before anyone could answer it, Stella had already made her way on top of the bed. Peeling away her dress voluntarily before Xia Lei could do so.
Her form was firm and supple. Stella’s pale, flawless curves were adorned pitifully with visible wounds all over. However, the surface damage hadn’t interrupted the aesthetic, it had even pumped an element of stimulation into it.
“What’s the diagnosis?” Stella was chirpy, antic.i.p.ating her evaluation.
Rosa and Theresa were equally interested, staring at Xia Lei intently to watch him work his magic. They were all curious about how he had done it.
Xia Lei grabbed Stella’s wrist. Two minutes later, he spoke, “Your a.n.u.s is displaying signs of inflammation. It seems like the internal condition of your body is very heaty. You’ll be well after consuming some antibiotics.”
After a round of silence, Giovanna burst out laughing. “Hahaha!”
The consultation ended very quickly but Xia Lei took his time to clean her wounds. Throughout the process, Xia Lei kept a straight face. His sufferings were only made known to himself. If he hadn’t controlled his physiological reactions, his inner thoughts would’ve been portrayed without shame.
After Stella, Xia Lei went on to treat Theresa and Rosa. When he was finally done with the four of them, the sun was already up.
“You all shall rest and recover here for the time being,” instructed Xia Lei before exiting the room.
The four of them nodded, watching him retreat. As soon as the door was clicked shut, they burst out into a chaos of chatter.
“I wasn’t expecting him to be a doctor.”
“Yeah, me too. This is unbelievable.”
“When he treated me just now, I was trying to figure out if he was actually an all-mighty deity or an angel.”
“I had that thought too. G.o.d, I was so excited earlier.”
“Jeez, you sound so h.o.r.n.y.”
“You’re the h.o.r.n.y one!”
“Hehe, I really thought he was about to do that with us. Don’t you dare tell me that you didn’t think of that?”
“We’re in this state, how could he have the heart to do that to us?”
“Have you thought of what will happen when we recover?”
“He’s a total pervert. I’m certain he wouldn’t spare us. What should we do if he wants that from us?”
“Uh…”
On the other side of the door, Xia Lei shook his head with a defeated smile. His retreating steps regain some of his prior weight.