1 Withering Hyssop — I

A lone black BMW drove through a secluded road, moving towards its destination, unaware of the misfortune about to befall upon its occupants.

Inside the sedan, at the front, sat two individuals dressed in professional suits and black glasses indicating that they were bodyguards while three more men sat at the back, two of the similarly dressed individuals flanking a man sitting between them.

Between the bodyguards sat a man, dressed in a refined and elegant manner, form slack and eyes closed as he seemed to rest, sparse sunlight filtering through the tinted windows spilled upon the man's ebony locks. 

Fringes fell above his eyes, framing his handsome face perfectly as he leaned on the seat, breathing slowly.

A frown danced on his face as he slept fitfully, feeling restless. Slowly, the man woke up, eyes opening to reveal beautiful Obsidian irises as he rubbed them, stifling a yawn.

"Are we back yet?" He asked in a raspy voice, not bothering to look at his sides. 

"We will be arriving soon, Young Master," the man on his right answered.

"Oh," the young man nodded, stretching slightly as the rolled up sleeves of his white button up pulled back, revealing lean, defined muscles. "Then, wake me up when we do." 

"Yes, Young Master Li Xinyuan."

Li Xinyuan nodded, humming slightly as he shifted on his seat, preparing to close his eyes to rest once again.

"Oh, right, pass me a bar of chocolate," he murmured, rubbing his eyes as he let out an exhausted sigh. "I think my blood sugar is running low—" Li Xinyuan's face scrunched up "—this surgery took a lot from me."

He held the chocolate bar offered to him and took a small bite, slowly chewing on it with his eyes closed.

The bodyguard on his left answered. "It's natural for a surgeon of your calibre, Dr. Lǐ."

Li Xinyuan's lips curled slightly as he swallowed, covering his mouth, slowly, he chuckled. "Well, as if being a neurosurgeon wasn't enough, I had to go out of my way and became a cardiothoracic surgeon as well."

With a brief pause, he added in a joking tone. "And that too at the age of what, 26? Damn, I'm a prodigy." Heaving a sigh, he asked. "Do you have to follow me around though?"

"We are simply following Master's orders." The man on the right explained. Li Xinyuan huffed, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"It's not like anyone's going to kidnap a me, a surgeon, and I am perfectly capable of defending myself—"

The car screeched to a stop, almost flinging Li Xinyuan out of his seat had he not worn the seatbelt and had two men protecting him.

"What's going on?" He asked, dumbfounded but alert. The driver's voice came from the front.

"Things aren't looking good, Young Master. Someone's blocking the road on purpose, it seems. Please stay put, we will look into it."

Li Xinyuan's frown deepened as his right bodyguard put a finger on his earpiece and mumbled something while removing his glasses.

He was feeling so tired and confused at the same time, just what was going on?

He pursed his lips, declining to make a comment as his driver and third bodyguard walked towards the car blocking their way, looking alert.

As if...

As if they were feeling threatened.

A tingle went down his spine as the thought came to him, slowly, Li Xinyuan's eyes widened, realisation stark on his face as he looked at his bodyguards who were tense as they sat, hands resting on their guns.

He had jinxed it.

All too soon, gunshots were surrounding him, bodyguards fighting off the people who'd come to kidnap Li Xinyuan.

As for why? He didn't know.

As the gunshots came to an end, chaos of arms fell silent as the fight turned into physical combat, his bodyguards joining the fray to subdue his attackers.

Sooner than later, Li Xinyuan realised the danger around him and instead of sitting still he chose to get out of the sedan.

The kidnappers intentions were clear they had come to take him, likely for reasons he was required. But what could he give them? He was just a surgeon and it wasn't as if his background was known to a lot of people.

As he listened to yells and screams of rage, the surgeon was able to make sense of a few things.

Firstly, the people had come to take him to perform a surgery on their leader and secondly, these people were terrorists.

And lastly, it was highly likely that they had a hostage or two.

Li Xinyuan's hands balled into a fist, slowly, he took off his watch and wrapped it around his knuckles. Then, he unlocked the car door and stepped out, quickly standing on his full height as he punched one of the attackers with an uppercut, followed by a sucker punch on the solar plexus.

And as the man fell, all eyes were on Li Xinyuan.

Li Xinyuan pursed his lips suddenly glad that his father made him learn martial arts. He had always argued against it but now the ingrained response of his body could save his life.

Then, it was a blur as he defended himself against people, kicking them in the face, throwing out punches and digging his fingers into their eyes.

He breathed heavily, surrounded by fallen body's at his feet, gathering his thoughts. 

Sooner than the surgeon would have liked, he trapped one of the men into a thai clinch, following it with a knee strike drenched with a singular intent to kill.

And then, the man fell into an unconscious heap.

Li Xinyuan breathed hard, chest falling up and down as he looked up, face and clothes covered in the blood of his enemies. He didn't expect everything to end like this.

But he also hadn't expected to be surrounded by three or four men, their guns pointed directly on his forehead and temples, even his back.

Li Xinyuan closed his eyes, throat parched and vision hazy as he saw his bodyguards attempting to come near him from the corner of his eyes.

He gulped softly, raising his palm at the latter to stop him.

"Stop," he said aloud, glancing at the men pointing their guns at him, covered in wounds and blood. Curling his hand, the surgeon let his hand fall back to his side. "Okay, tell me, what do you want?" He looked back at the men, over his shoulder, feeling the cold chill of the gun's muzzle through his shirt.

"About time," the man sneered, eyes fearful as he spoke, realising that their target wasn't just a helpless medic but a fighter.

A brutal one at that.

"Go on, speak," Li Xinyuan rasped, holding his slightly aching left shoulder, perhaps the only injury he suffered from the brawl. "I'm listening."

It was almost a one-sided massacre from him.

Another terrorist stepped forward, binding Li Xinyuan's hands behind his back, as he pushed the surgeon forward, towards their car, he realised.

"Follow us." The man holding the gun, presumably their temporary leader, ordered. "No resistance."

"Of course," Li Xinyuan rolled his eyes, the viscous blood on his cheek making him feel discomforted. "Just a heads up, if you want me to perform a surgery, the conditions of the place better be sterile along with the equipment," he said faintly, head ringing as he turned to look back at his bodyguards and gave them a slight nod.

Then, the surgeon was harshly pushed into the cramped car and forced to sit while being surrounded by bloody and battered terrorists.

Hands bound behind his back, Li Xinyuan couldn't help but shift uncomfortably, never had he been treated like this, not even when he'd been kidnapped as a child.

A rough hand tightened on his nape, making the surgeon scoff. "You might want to be careful unless you want me dead before reaching your hideout."

The hand loosened.

Li Xinyuan pursed his lips, cold frown marrying his face. His situation was extremely dangerous, he mused, fiddling with his watch behind his back.

A GPS tracker was attached to it. And the moment this situation had started, Li Xinyuan's bodyguards had called the police and his father.

He had to be patient, soon enough these terrorists would be behind the bars.