Chapter 57: Stepping Into the Game Themselves

"I was wrong, I was wrong, stop groping around."

Terrified, Li Qi clutched the edge of the blanket tightly, his face as red as a newly wedded bride who had just been thoroughly ravaged.

Tian Miao burst into laughter.

"Little brat, still daring to act cocky with me? The shits I've taken outnumber the meals you've eaten."

"Were you raised on laxatives?"

Hearing this, Tian Miao's face turned fierce again as she reached out to grab him. Li Qi quickly caught her hand, his brow suddenly furrowing.

"Why does your hand smell so awful? Did you just go digging in some filthy pit and then come over to sniff around?"

"Get lost!"

Furious, Tian Miao raised her hand to hit him, but Li Qi hurriedly changed the subject.

"Did things go smoothly?"

Mentioning business, Tian Miao put aside her playful mood.

"The outcome is good. Wang Yue, Li Manjiang, Wang Defang the hospital's vice president, and Liu Xianming the chief surgeon who was going to operate on you have all been arrested. Behind this, there must be high-ranking officials in the health department, and they will be dragged out too. But the process had a few twists and turns. If my father hadn't been far-sighted and arranged for General Ye to back us up in advance, your kidney might really not have been saved today. We must never take such risks again next time."

Tian Miao grabbed Li Qi's hand tightly, looking straight into his eyes with utmost seriousness.

"I knew doing this was the right thing, but standing outside the operating room, watching Vice President Wang Defang order people to seal the doors and keep everyone out, my heart was pounding wildly like it was about to jump out of my throat. I was truly terrified. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to save you, afraid I couldn't bring you out of that operating room alive."

At this, Tian Miao could no longer suppress her emotions. She buried her face in Li Qi's chest and wept softly.

It had been too close. A few minutes later, and Li Qi might never have woken up from the operating table.

Looking at the girl in his arms with heartache, an infinite gentleness welled up in Li Qi's heart. He flattened his palm and gently patted Tian Miao's shoulder, stroke by stroke.

"Don't cry, don't cry. Look, aren't I completely fine? You're the amazing one; you saved my life. I won't take risks like this anymore, alright?"

"You're not allowed to take *any* risks!"

Li Qi scratched his head.

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you in everything."

Only then did Tian Miao break into a tearful smile. Li Qi took a deep breath and suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought that while this might get Wang Yue and that director named Wang Defang convicted, as for Liu Xianming the surgeon—as long as he insists he followed standard operating procedures and pushes the responsibility of declaring my brain death onto the nurses, and if someone higher up protects him, it's very likely he will walk away scot-free."

Calming down to think about it, Tian Miao realized this was indeed a real possibility.

"Then didn't we go through all this trouble for nothing? That true executioner who is a murderer won't even face the punishment he deserves."

Li Qi sneered. "How could things be that cheap? But it's going to take you to step in. Over all these years, Liu Xianming has performed countless transplant surgeries. Surely some of them lacked clear, legally compliant sources. Both the hospital and the municipal health department will have records of all this. If we trace down these surgeries with unknown material sources, the people tangled in this web will fall one by one."

Hearing this, Tian Miao stared at him for a long time as if she were looking at a stranger. How was this guy's brain wired? How could he even think of this?

"You really are incredible, to actually come up with this angle. Let's see how he tries to deny it this time."

Li Qi smiled faintly. This wasn't because he was brilliant; there was a ready-made example from later generations. A certain famous Chinese professor published a paper internationally boasting about his extensive transplant experience. In the end, because he failed to provide the legal sources for the materials used in hundreds of those surgeries, his credentials were revoked by an international journal. Following this thread, countless figures hiding behind the scenes would surface. Just how far they could investigate depended entirely on how much pressure Guo Guodong could withstand.

Tian Miao was not the overly sentimental type. Once her thoughts were organized, she told Li Qi to rest properly while she headed straight to the municipal bureau.

However, Li Qi insisted on getting up, dressing, and going with her. He knew that given Liu Xianming's status, without sufficient evidence, there was a high probability he would be bailed out. Once the other party realized there was no hope, they might attempt to flee directly, or even escape abroad.

Why should he? A butcher in a white coat whose hands were stained with blood, after committing so many sins, could just get away scot-free?

Since Li Qi had willingly stepped into this game himself, he could never stand by and watch the outcome turn out so infuriatingly unjust.

As soon as they stepped out of the hospital room, Li Peng hurried over.

"Third brother, you're not dead?"

Although Li Qi had long known that Li Peng would have signed his brain death notification and organ donation consent form without a moment's hesitation, actually facing him now still filled him with deep disappointment toward this blood-related eldest brother.

He truly had no desire to deal with such a person at all, and gave a cold laugh.

"That's right, I'm alive and well, disappointing you greatly."

Li Peng's expression shifted, and he assumed his haughty headmaster demeanor once more.

"Why are you being so sarcastic? I am your eldest brother after all. Even if you lack education, you should at least understand basic manners."

"Stop choking on nothing and putting on airs with me. Spit out whatever you have to say, or get the hell out of my way."

Li Qi really didn't want to waste time on Li Peng; there was serious business to take care of.

Li Peng's face twitched with anger, but he was truly driven to a dead end now, so he could only speak with a sour tone.

"Just now outside the operating room, I didn't understand what was going on. While you were lying inside, the police outside started claiming that Uncle Manjiang and Aunt Wang Yue hired hitmen to murder you and harvest your kidney. Does this have anything to do with you? Let me tell you, if this involves you, you'd better hurry down to the police station to testify for Uncle Manjiang and get them released as soon as possible. Don't go framing good people. Uncle Manjiang and his wife are major leaders in the city; don't be a fool and offend them."

Upon hearing this, Tian Miao's eyes widened in disbelief. Li Qi had told her that his eldest brother and his wife had constantly schemed to have his kidney sliced out and donated to Li Manjiang's son, Li Tianyi, all for the paltry sum of twenty thousand yuan. She had found it utterly incomprehensible that such a heartless eldest brother could exist—knowing that her own two brothers treated her like the apples of their eyes and would never let anyone harm a hair on her head.

Yet Li Peng's words completely shattered her understanding of human nature. There could actually be someone so despicable in this world that even when others tried to send his own younger brother to his grave, he still spoke up in their defense.

"Comrade, your name is Li Peng, right? Li Qi's eldest brother. I have to say a few words about this. Li Manjiang and Wang Yue are currently suspected of murder and have been legally arrested by the municipal bureau. Furthermore, the person they tried to murder is your own biological younger brother. How can you still utter such words? Do you have any idea that Li Qi was actually struck by a car, and if he hadn't been lucky, he might not even have kept his leg today? He stood up so that others won't have to suffer this kind of harm, so that other innocent children won't mysteriously vanish, have their parts harvested, and be dumped in the wilderness. How can you speak to him like this? Do you even have a shred of humanity?"

Scolded like this by a young woman, Li Peng lost face and snapped defensively, "Who do you think you are? What business is our family's affair of yours? Don't I know what kind of person my younger brother is? When has he ever done anything proper? You open your mouth and accuse Uncle Manjiang and the others of murder and whatnot—do you have any evidence? Besides, isn't he fine right now? All he's done is cause me to lose out on twenty thousand yuan. He has to make that money up to me!"