Chapter 217 Known to All
Jared's pleas for mercy were cut short as Cormac and his three men pounced on him, turning his cries into screams. They were desperate to break free from James's control, and their desperation fueled their brutality. In a matter of minutes, Jared was a broken, bloody mess, barely clinging to life.
Harmony couldn't bear to watch, turning her head away, her stomach churning.
Seeing that it was enough, James noted that Jared was now as good as crippled, having received his due punishment. Any further torture would result in death, so he said, "That's enough, stop."
Cormac and his men immediately halted at James's command. They were genuinely afraid that James might order them to torture Jared to death, which would cause them serious trouble. Now that Jared was just crippled and not dead, they could leave Serenity Province and not return for a while, a relatively minor consequence for them.
Soren and the other two men shivered as they looked at the bloodied and barely alive Jared. They didn’t care about Jared and quickly turned their eyes on James.
Their eyes were filled with fear and awe as they looked at James. They realized they had misunderstood him; he wasn't some easily bullied ordinary person but a truly dangerous man!
James felt their gazes and suddenly gave them a sinister smile, showing his white teeth, which scared them so much they almost died of fright.
'I found my strength again.' James reflected inwardly.
Ever since he became the son-in-law of The Johnson Family, he had been suppressing his true nature, living like a coward, almost erasing his original personality. Now, the seal on him was almost completely lifted, and his true nature was being released. It felt incredibly satisfying.
James walked up to Jared and said with a smile, "If you're not satisfied, you can come find me for revenge anytime. I'll be waiting. But next time, it won't be as simple as just torturing you."
With that, he turned and left.
Harmony watched his back, her eyes filled with admiration. She genuinely thought James was incredibly handsome and domineering, making her heart flutter. She felt ashamed for having looked down on him before.
"James, wait for me."
Seeing James leave her behind, Harmony stomped her foot and hurried to catch up, unhesitatingly linking her arm with his. "Why are you walking so fast? You didn't even wait for me."
James felt her chest against his arm through his clothes, and his face showed an unnatural expression as he tried to shake her off. "Well, you can just catch up. "
Harmony knew James's intention, and instead of letting go, she held him tighter, not minding her chest pressing against his arm. She even wriggled a bit, pouting. "How could you say that? What if they had bad intentions towards me?"
James was speechless. Given the situation just now, they definitely wouldn't dare to have bad intentions towards you.
Now, with Harmony holding his arm tightly, feeling her ample chest, James kept taking deep breaths, his muscles tensing up. He pulled up a serious expression and said, "Alright, let go of me. It's too hot."
"Who are you kidding? It's late at night, and I'm freezing."
Being so close, Harmony's fragrance kept wafting into James's nose, making his mind wander.
Strange men and women shouldn't be this intimate, especially since she was Jennifer's good friend. Being held like this, James felt a strong sense of guilt. He tried several times to shake her off but failed, and Harmony only held him tighter. After a few more wriggles, James felt his body temperature rise several degrees.
Helpless, he gave up resisting and let Harmony hold him.
"James."
"What?"
"About tonight, I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"I misunderstood you before and said some harsh things. I regret it."
"Okay."
"What do you mean by that? You won't forgive me?"
"If you let go of me, I'll forgive you."
"Then don't forgive me."
The two chatted all the way to Harmony's Ferrari. Reluctantly, Harmony let go of James.
At the moment she let go, James felt a slight sense of loss.
After they got in the car and left, Cormac and his men said a few words to Soren and left as well.
Left with Soren and Jared, Soren looked at the mess and Jared's miserable state, trembling with fear.
He quickly called an ambulance to take Jared to the hospital.
Jared was in so much pain that he passed out before the ambulance arrived.
"You need to be careful. The Perry Family will definitely come after you for revenge."
As the Ferrari drove down the road, Harmony spoke seriously, her tone filled with concern.
Although James enjoyed his revenge, he also caused a big problem. He would definitely face retaliation from The Perry Family, and Harmony was very worried.
James closed his eyes to rest and said, "It doesn't matter. Jared and I are mortal enemies now. If I hadn't trained in martial arts, I would have been the one tortured tonight."
Harmony understood this logic well. She didn't blame James; she just wanted to remind him.
"Anyway, you need to be more careful in the future. It's best if you don't return to Lindwood City for a while. Lay low somewhere else. As for Jennifer, I'll arrange for someone to protect her," Harmony said.
James replied, "Let's talk about that after I attend the Traditional Medicine Exchange Conference."
To be honest, James didn't take The Perry Family seriously. With his abilities, The Perry Family posed no real threat to him.
If he couldn't handle this, he wouldn't deserve to be the most outstanding member of The Smith Family in history.
It was already 2 AM, and Harmony, having calmed down, started yawning continuously, feeling sleepy. They found a nearby hotel to stay in.
Harmony had feelings for James, but not to the extent of sharing a room. However, their rooms were close, just next door.
James returned to his room, took a shower, and checked his phone. He saw a message from Jennifer sent over two hours ago. He had been so busy that he hadn't had time to check his phone and respond to her.
Usually, Jennifer would be asleep by this time. After some thought, he decided to reply to her message.
Putting down his phone, he felt a warm sense of being cared for.
The next day, James woke up early. He initially planned to visit Edwin, but after breakfast, as he was about to head back to his room to pack, he ran into Harmony, who had just woken up. She insisted on having another breakfast with him and wanted him to accompany her shopping for clothes. He couldn't refuse.
James had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
They shopped for half a day, and by 11:30 AM, after trying on numerous outfits, she only bought a plain women's suit, nearly driving James mad.
James seriously suspected Harmony was getting back at him, but he couldn't find any evidence.
Checking the time, James suddenly remembered that Derrick had asked him on Facebook to arrive by noon. It was already 11:30 AM, and he had only half an hour left. Checking his phone's navigation, he saw it would take 35 minutes to reach the destination, meaning he would be late. He quickly bid farewell to Harmony.
He waited by the roadside for a full five minutes before an empty taxi arrived. He quickly hailed it.
After getting in, he realized he could have asked Harmony to drive him in her Ferrari, which would have been faster than a taxi.
"Can you go faster? I'm in a hurry."
Seeing the taxi driver driving leisurely, and it was already 11:45 AM, James urged him anxiously.
The taxi driver said, "It's not that I don't want to go faster, but it's rush hour, and there's traffic. At this rate, it'll take at least 45 minutes to get to your destination."
That meant he wouldn't arrive until 12:30 PM.
James was a bit anxious. It wasn't that he feared Derrick, but he was recommended by Dr. Wheeler. Being late for the first meeting would be a disgrace to Dr. Wheeler.
But given the current situation, with cars everywhere and each traffic light taking two cycles to get through, the taxi driver indeed couldn't go any faster.
As noon approached, James received a message from Derrick on Facebook: [It's noon. Where are you?]
James replied: [Still on the road, stuck in traffic.]
Derrick: [How much longer?]
James: [About 12:30 PM.]
Derrick sent a thumbs-down emoji along with a message: [You're something else. My grandpa highly recommended you to many traditional medicine experts, and you show up late. You must be really important!]
Facing Derrick's sarcasm, James felt uncomfortable but couldn't argue. After all, it was his fault for being late.
At this point, the taxi driver said, "From your accent, you don't sound like you're from M City."
"Right, I'm from Lindwood City," James replied. Since he was already late, there was no point in stressing. He decided to apologize to Dr. Wheeler properly once he arrived.
"Lindwood City, huh? It's a nice place. My brother-in-law is from Lindwood City," the taxi driver, a chatterbox, started a conversation, and James didn't mind chatting with him.
"So, what brings you to M City this time?"
James casually replied, "I'm here for a conference."
The taxi driver immediately turned his head, curious, and asked, "You wouldn't happen to be here for the upcoming Traditional and Western Medicine Exchange Conference, would you?"
James was taken aback and asked, "Do you know about the Traditional and Western Medicine Exchange Conference?"
"Of course! How could I not know?" the taxi driver enthusiastically said, "The Traditional and Western Medicine Exchange Conference is a major event in M City, held annually. Outstanding doctors from across the country and even the world come to participate, exchange ideas, and compete in medical skills."
"For the past month, it's been all over the TV and newspapers. Everyone knows about it. But this year, traditional medicine isn't doing well. After this conference, traditional medicine might lose its qualification, and the event might be renamed to the Domestic and International Western Medicine Exchange Conference."
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