RETURNING FROM THE IMMORTAL WORLD

Chapter 1121 - Chapter 1130

Chapter 1121: Annoying Troubles

 

Watching Mu Wanying's slightly beaming face, Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing and said, "You know, I just don't care what the other party pays for my treatment. Though I did realize something through this matter."

"On what issue?" Mu Wanying was confused.

"Well, I just found you've already become quite an aunt even who picked up a gossiper perk before you become a mother, LOL." Tang Xiu went on, "You have too much idle time recently, so you got your mind full of thoughts while crunching some fried watermelon seeds or something?"

Mu Wanying looked shy. With her gentle character, she always treated everything lightly with indifference no matter what happened in the past. But her womanly side had been awakened after she got along with Tang Xiu and occasionally revealed her girly side.

The leisure and free time always fleeted by quickly, and 2 days had passed in the blink of an eye. The news hadn't spread out that Tang Xiu had returned to Shanghai, so he had been very leisurely in these 2 days, and no troublesome matters disturbed him.

Early in the morning, when the first sunshine rose from the east, the newly transferred security captain of the Bluestar Villa Complex, Zhao Fanggang, was silently smoking a cigarette in the sentry post. His eyes swept over every villa owner coming in and out of the complex. Just as he thought nothing unusual would happen at this moment, a Porsche supercar suddenly vroomed and stopped outside the gate with a sudden brake.

Alas, another wealthy scion or miss...

He sighed inwardly. He thought and counted inwardly. He was paid ten grand a month and then counted with his fingers. "How many years would it take for me to afford this 1-million-yuan supercar."

Creak...

Honk, honk...

Several rapid braking was sounded yet again as a few more supercars rushed from a distance and blew their horns. Then, a young man with bleached hair and earrings poked his head out of the driver seat's window and shouted, "Hey, can you hurry up and not block the gate?!"

The Porsche's driver's door in front was opened and a woman in a red coat, cape, and high-heeled leather boots came out. She turned and glanced at the several supercars behind and shot a look at the listless security guards on both sides, saying, "I haven't registered this new car yet, so register it for me and remember to allow me to pass through directly later, got it?"

"Okay."

Both guards obviously knew her and even treated her as a goddess or something. One of the young ones immediately ran to the security room after seeing her.

"What the hell is up?"

Having puzzled himself after struggling to figure out how many years of salary he'd have to save to buy such a Porsche, Zhao Fanggang looked bitter and sour and asked with a worn-out face.

The young guard grabbed the registration form and replied with an excited face, "It's Miss Ouyang, Cap'. I'm gonna register her car first."

"Huh? The procedure requires the owners to register the car themselves, right? You just wanna get noticed since she's so pretty, right, brat?!" Zhao Fanggang grunted.

"Hey, hey, don't speak carelessly like that, Cap'," said the young guard hurriedly. "All the inhabitants living in our villa complex are rich and those who we can't afford to displease. Especially Mr. Tang and Miss Ouyang. They are on the list of those that must never be offended no matter what, else you can expect to be in for great troubles."

"Ehh? Which Mr. Tang and which Ms. Ouyang you're talking about?" Zhao Fanggang frowned.

"Some villas in the innermost area are Mr. Tang's property. Don't tell me you've forgotten what happened a week ago, Cap'? That one outside is Ms. Ouyang. She's Mr. Tang's woman and someone we can't afford to provoke."

Zhao Fanggang was shaken inwardly, and his face turned a bit ugly. It was his first time reporting to work here at that time. When he went for the inspection, he was sternly stopped by someone. Even though he showed his identity of security captain, he still wasn't allowed to enter and thus, led to a clash. He thought that he was already skillful enough and it'd be easy to slap and knock down those few people. The result was him getting knocked out in just three seconds, causing him to crawl up from the ground—something that never happened for a very long time. Later on, he inquired about it and learned from the security team the reason. That was why he secretly recorded the owner of those villas and his men.

Further, he also knew something. The news was the owner of those villas just returned from some other region or something. He also heard that he brought a woman and they were now in the villa.

"Anyways, Little Zhao, does Mr. Tang have several women?" Zhao Fanggang asked in a low voice to the young guard who was about to run out of the sentry post.

"He got a lot. I'll tell later about that, though," the young guard replied back in a low voice.

Having said that, he strode to the security booth and then headed straight to Ouyang Lulu's car and quickly registered the car's plate number. But he frowned upon seeing the doors of several supercars behind it being opened. In particular, the Ferrari, since the bleached-haired youth came out and headed to the Porsche in front.

Knock, knock...

The bleached-haired youth knocked on the Porsche's driver's seat window. As the window glass came down, he bent down and smilingly sized up Ouyang Lulu a few times, saying, "Well, well, a beauty who just came back from the nightlife? Do you have time to have morning tea with me?"

"Nope. Got no time."

Ouyang Lulu raised the window glass in disgust. As the front railing was opened, she directly started the car and sped up to the interior.

The bleached-haired youth stroked his chin and murmured, "What a young hot pepper, huh? Never thought about that. Ah, hey, you! Who's that belle and which villa she lives in?"

The young guard also knew that this young man was similarly not to be trifled with, and immediately replied, "Ms. Ouyang usually doesn't live here. But her boyfriend lives here."

"The villa numbers!" The bleached-haired youth frowned.

The young guard shook his head and said, "I can't do that. We are forbidden to disclose the owner's information. Please check it yourself if you'd like to know."

The youth was angry and was about to hit him. But then, he recalled something and then pointed to another youth before quickly returning to his car. The cars then roared and sped up to the interior.

After a few minutes, the bleached-haired youth drove the Ferrari and caught up with Ouyang Lulu's Porsche. But as he kept pushing the car's horn and drove to the no.10 villa, two black-suited middle-aged men quickly blocked the way.

"What the hell? Make way, sissies! Did you guys starred in Matrix or something? Are you gonna be an eyesore this early in the morning?" the bleached-haired youth poked his head out and yelled some profanities.

One of them coldly said, "You're the first offender here. We'll spare you this once, but do keep your mouth clean later. These few villas are private residences, and you're not allowed to enter!"

"Are you f*****g sick?!" The youth cursed angrily. "This Big Daddy is the owner of this Bluestar Villa Complex! I can go wherever I want. Make way now, else I'll kill you. Especially you!"

A chilling light flashed in the man's eye. He dashed to the Ferrari's driver seat and forcefully pulled open the door. He dragged out the blond youth from the inside and heavily slapped him and gifted the fella with the last kick after he nearly fainted.

" Hmph , a cheap mouth deserves to be trashed!"

The blonde youth slumped on the ground with eyes full of venom.

Three youths rushed down from the two supercars behind, two of whom ran to help the bleached-haired young man whereas the other pointed to the middle-aged man and shouted, "Who the fuck are you? You dare to hit people here? Believe it or not, this Big Daddy can find dozens of people to break your bones!"

"Get. The. Fuck. Out!"

The big man just waved in response, seemingly treating him like a fly, and straightly ignored his threat.

On the balcony of a villa.

Tang Xiu slowly opened his eyes as he heard the commotion outside. But he couldn't help roll his eyes when he saw that it was Ouyang Lulu inside that Porsche. There were quite a few women around him, but he had been in contact with her the most. Had it not been for him stuffing his cell phone into the interspatial ring, it was just a sure hit that he would receive her phone calls and a dozen text messages nearly every day.

Ugh, no shit. I put away the phone into the interspatial right. I haven't received any calls for the last 2 days, and it's likely that she called me. What a headache. I didn't tell her I came back. This great auntie will definitely go ballistic with her concern.

The moment Tang Xiu thought about it, he couldn't help but feel a headache. There was also one thing that made it worse. Mu Wanying was still on the bed in the bedroom, too tired due to last night and hadn't gotten out the bed until now. Ouyang Lulu would probably go crazy if she saw her.

He shook his head wordlessly, got up and went back to the bedroom, only to see Mu Wanying still sleeping soundly. He quickly dressed up neatly but then heard Ouyang Lulu talking to the housekeeper just as he went down the staircase.

"Lulu..."

Tang Xiu walked to her in strides while interrupting their conversation.

Ouyang Lulu's eyes immediately lit up upon seeing him and unhappily grunted. "When the heck did you return to Shanghai, huh? Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's been 2 days and, well, I haven't called you since I got occupied by something." Tang Xiu smiled. "If anything, I was about to call you up, but it turns out you ended up coming here."

"What the hell happened to your cell phone, though?" Ouyang Lulu grunted. "I kept calling you, but it said that you were not in the service area. Did you put it in your interspatial ring again?"

"You're just like my parents, knowing me inside out, Lulu." Tang Xiu praised, raising his thumbs up. "I even suspect that you've become a worm residing in my belly, you know."

Tang Xiu's response was much to her liking, but she still rolled her pretty eyes at him. She skillfully moved her hands to hug Tang Xiu as she always did and smilingly said, "Bah, you're the worm! I don't care anymore. I've caught you now since you're back, so you will go out with me!"

Tang Xiu just let out a smile. After the housekeeper left, he nodded and said, "Alright, let's stroll around since you wanna go out! Besides, I got nothing to do today. Strolling around, shopping, watching a movie, having dinner... it's your call."

"Alrighty, then!"

Ouyang Lulu finally beamed with a smile and she almost dragged Tang Xiu to run outside.

Chapter 1122: Blue Starfish Mansion

 

Outside the courtyard.

While looking at the Porsche, Tang Xiu helplessly said, "Anyways, isn't driving this car out way too high-profile? I'm quite a celebrity now; don't we have to pay attention?"

"Hahaha, so what? You got a great car and an amazing belle, what are you being unhappy for?" Ouyang Lulu crisply laughed. "Besides, you're still young. That means radiating the passion around, right? Alright, let's head off, you take the wheel and I'm sitting shotgun, okay?"

"Fine, then!"

It was Tang Xiu's intention to leave this place quickly, so as to prevent waiting for Mu Wanying to wake up and let hell break loose. Hence, he directly took the driver's seat and started the car to head outside right after the door was closed. However, although the road was very wide, it had been blocked by three supercars.

"What's going on here?" Tang Xiu lowered the window and asked.

The middle-aged man went to greet him and respectfully said, "These little gangsters want to create trouble, so we're stopping them, Boss."

"I see. Just notify the security guards and throw them out directly." Tang Xiu waved and said, "That's right. Kang Xia called me some time ago and she also mentioned the issues here. Now that I've bought all the villas in this part, then the security work here must be dealt with, too. Let them go if they want to. The road is for everyone. Just straightly ignore them if they don't trespass and disturb the villas."

"Understood!" The middle-aged man nodded respectfully.

The bleached-haired youth, who had crawled up from the ground at this moment, looked at Tang Xiu like he wanted to swallow him. He immediately yelled furiously upon hearing Tang Xiu's words, "Hey, get off your ass the car, Boy! Your dogs keep biting us at random. You must give me an explanation now, else this problem is far from over!"

Tang Xiu couldn't help but burst into laughter and said, "We're all adults here, can we not be so naïve? Besides, you're all the haves judging from your looks, no? Haven't you also gotten some nine years of compulsory education yourselves? Can't you at least preserve some quality and dignity? Also, spare yourselves from swearing since it will lower your status."

The youth held his breath. Expression twisted, he angrily yelled again, "What the hell? What does it have anything to do with you whether I have quality? This villa complex doesn't belong to your family, yet you're acting so arrogant, even your men are hitting people? Isn't this obviously your mistake?"

Tang Xiu secretly sighed inwardly and got out of the car to stand in front of the youth. He deeply bowed to him and spoke with a sincere expression. "Then I apologize for my crude and reckless behavior. I hope you can forgive me since they are just doing their job."

"This..."

Never once the youth dreamed that Tang Xiu would resort to such a move. Originally, he wanted to create some excuses as a pretext to attack him, but it was he who was now left helpless.

A young man next to him yelled, "Hey, do you think everything is over with such a casual apology? How can there be such a good thing in this world?"

"Apologies aren't good, so what do you want then?" asked Tang Xiu back.

"Compensation, and all the expenses on medical, nutrition, mental loss, and delaying work!" The young man sneered. "Aren't you rich, buying so many villas here? We are not blackmailing you, but paying 1 million in compensation is fine!"

"Paying 1 million in compensation will do just fine, huh?" asked Tang Xiu with a strange expression.

"That's for sure." The youth sneered.

Tang Xiu turned to the middle-aged man and lightly said, "I give you 20 minutes to bring me 1 million. Also, there's a café nearby. Send the money there."

"Affirmative!" The man immediately went to do his bidding.

Tang Xiu shifted to the four youths in front again and smilingly said, "You want me to pay compensation, so how about heading to the café with me, then? Things have been too boring for me recently, so you can accompany to chat there."

The bleached-haired youth shot a glance at the Porsche, but consciously covered his cheek immediately after seeing Ouyang Lulu in the front seat. After a moment of pondering, he sneered. "Let's head there. Don't think we're afraid of you."

Tang Xiu just gave squinted eyes and returned to the car, heading straight out of the villa complex. Soon after, four supercars stopped outside the café and Tang Xiu brought Ouyang Lulu inside the café and headed straight to a quiet corner, followed by the four youths.

"Can I ask you something, Lulu?" asked Tang Xiu with a smile after taking a seat.

"What is it?" asked Ouyang Lulu back curiously.

"Do you know if there's any abandoned factory around here?" asked Tang Xiu. "It's best that it has a large area and is located in a very desolate place."

Ouyang Lulu gave it a thought and then shook her head. "I have no idea. Shanghai's development is literally everywhere. You may have to look outside Shanghai, I'm afraid. That's right. Chang Xi! I just remembered. The junction of Shanghai and Chang Xi is kind of remote and desolate. I used to participate in the race game with Chi Nan and I remember passing by some spots with a very big factory. I asked Chi Nan out of curiosity then, and she said that it was an abandoned industrial area."

"Take me there later." Tang Xiu nodded.

"What will you do at such a place, though?" asked Ouyang Lulu.

"I want to refine some equipment," said Tang Xiu.

Ouyang Lulu nodded in response. As she was about to speak, she suddenly heard Tang Xiu's phone ringing in his pocket.

Tang Xiu stared blankly for a moment. He just took out his cell phone from the interspatial ring. It was rather unexpected to have someone call him now. Then, he took out the phone and looked at the screen, immediately patting his head and wryly smiling. "Alas, I forgot something."

Having said that, he pressed the answer button and Li Cai's voice then came out, "Is it you, Divine Doctor Tang?"

"I am. You've arrived?" asked Tang Xiu.

"I arrived in Shanghai yesterday afternoon," said Li Cai. "I called you then, but your cell phone couldn't be reached. Can we come to visit you now, Divine Doctor Tang?"

"Ah, where are you now?" asked Tang Xiu.

"At the Blue Starfish Mansion," answered Li Cai.

Tang Xiu pondered for a moment, and then said, "Text me the address and I'll come over later. We can speak about anything else when we meet."

"Alright, then. Sorry for troubling you, Doctor Tang," said Li Cai excitedly.

After hanging up, Tang Xiu looked at Ouyang Lulu and asked, "Anyway, where's this Blue Starfish Mansion?"

Without waiting for Ouyang Lulu's answer, the bleached-haired youth sitting not far from them wore a contemptuous look and mocked. " Hmph , I thought you were a very powerful person, it turns out that you don't even know the Blue Starfish Mansion at all. Really. The upper-class society is nothing like a hillbilly such as you can understand."

Tang Xiu just shot him an indifferent glance and his eyes quickly went back to Ouyang Lulu.

The person in attention slammed the table and glared at the youth while glowering. "Don't you dare run your mouth without concern, or I'll slap you until your mother won't be able to recognize you!"

The youth originally wanted to hit Tang Xiu in front of Ouyang Lulu and display his brilliance, but he didn't expect that it would make her go mad at him, instead. His expression immediately turned ugly and he just glared at Tang Xiu, grunting with a lowered voice. " Hmph , what a coward, hiding behind a woman."

"You'll know whether I'm a coward or not later," replied Tang Xiu apathetically. "Also, no need to rush to bother them either, Lulu."

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Lulu immediately understood Tang Xiu's intention. She didn't understand why Tang Xiu would compensate these fellas a million yuan before and then brought them here. Now, she figured out that Tang Xiu was waiting to give them the money and then make them pay for the arrogance.

"The Blue Starfish Mansion is located on the coastline southeast of Shanghai. It's the most beautiful upscale resort area in Shanghai, slightly better than the Paradise Manor. Also, you need to drive to the Bay Port and take a boat from there."

Tang Xiu nodded and got up. "Alright, let's go there first."

The bleached youth abruptly got up and jeered. "What's up, mate? Did you just find an excuse to escape or something? I already told you I must get a million-yuan compensation from you, got it?"

"The money will be definitely yours. But I'm in a hurry, so I got no time to keep you accompany," said Tang Xiu. "I'll send someone to give you the money if you're willing to stay here. But if you're not, you can go with me to the Blue Starfish Mansion, and I'll tell my subordinate to send the money there."

"Of course I'm going with you! Whom do we ask for the money if you run?" After the bleached-haired youth was done speaking, he straightly took out his cell phone and dialed a number. After his call was picked up by the other party, he smilingly said, "It's Dalong here, Young Master Kun. Anyway, I'm going to play at the Blue Starfish Mansion with Zizi and the rest, and um... let's meet there and have a chat."

****

The Blue Starfish Mansion was a small island surrounded by bodies of water and was as large as several football fields. The construction of the resort, however, was rather extraordinary. It depicted the exquisiteness of a garden in the southern region and the beauty of the northern landscape, the combination of both through wonderful workmanship created a marvelous creation excelling nature itself and became a sight to behold.

Inside a pavilion, Hu Shaokun hung up the phone, then looked at the 16-plus-years-old-looking girl in front of him and smilingly said, "You can rest your worries about Auntie Zhuang's illness, Cai'er. I learned something about Divine Doctor Tang. He can definitely cure Auntie's illness since he's willing to help. I'll definitely honor him as honorable guess and treat him to my best."

"Thank you, Brother Shaokun," said Li Cai.

The guy turned around and looked at the coastline not far away. His eyes swept at the sea surface and slowly took a breather, before saying, "Cai'er, it's indeed very important to let Doctor Tang treat Auntie, but you had better let Doctor Tang to examine your body too. It's been 9 years already, and you've always been looking like this. I'm afraid problems with your health will arise in the future."

Li Cai was silent for a moment. She looked a bit helpless as she replied, "I've already checked my condition in many hospitals, both in the country and abroad. The current medical science just can't examine whatever is happening to my body. I'm afraid..."

Hu Shaokun was back to his senses and sternly looked at her and said, "Cai'er, isn't the check-up result of auntie's illness similar even though we've brought her to tens of large hospitals? If Divine Doctor Tang can cure her illness, he'll definitely be able to cure yours, too. But if you don't want to talk to him about that when he comes, I'll speak to him myself. I don't care how much I must pay him."

Chapter 1123: Dramatic Change of Attitude

 

At the small Bay Harbor, Zhao Dongfeng, who was wearing a gray vest and white gloves, looked energetic while watching the tens of expensive luxury cars on the beach's parking lot.

It was Divine Doctor Tang Xiu.

The name was so famous that he had long heard of it. He also knew another identity Tang Xiu had as the owner of the Magnificent Tang Corporation, with a net worth of more than 10 billion yuan. He previously thought that he would never meet such a great personage such as Tang Xiu for the rest of his life, but he didn't expect that he'd receive a notice from his boss to greet Tang Xiu as the General Manager of the Blue Starfish Mansion.

Vroom...

In the midst of the car's engine, Zhao Dongfeng's spirit was shaken up. His eyes trained at the four supercars speeding up in the distance. He immediately turned to give a signal to the two staff he brought and then strode forward to greet them.

"Hello, Divine Doctor Tang!"

The moment Tang Xiu got off the car, Zhao Dongfeng was able to recognize him at a glance and suppressed the excitement in his heart to greet him.

Tang Xiu gave him a slight nod in response and then waved at Ouyang Lulu, who was still sitting on the front seat. Then, he said to the former, "Are you from the Blue Starfish Mansion?"

The man himself was slightly shaken inwardly once he noticed Ouyang Lulu. He was also one of the business people who run upscale restaurants in Shanghai, so there was no way he wouldn't know Ouyang Lulu's identity. Seeing how close her relationship with Tang Xiu was, Zhao Dongfeng suddenly felt that the duo was really a perfect match made by heaven.

"Divine Doctor Tang, I'm the general manager of Blue Starfish Mansion. I'm under the instruction of my employer..."

The bleached-haired youth and the three others, who were walking shoulder to shoulder shot a contemptuous look at Tang Xiu. He directly interrupted Zhao Dongfeng and proudly said, "Heh, he got ordered by his Boss to greet us. Hey you, Tang Boy. You'll see that the Blue Starfish Mansion is something the likes of us can enjoy, but not something you're qualified to spend your time inside!"

"Is that so?" responded Tang Xiu apathetically. "But I don't feel like chatting with you."

Zhao Dongfeng himself knew who the bleached-haired youth and his gang of four was. They were not Shanghai locals. They hailed from large families and just came to Shanghai recently. However, they had a good relationship with his employer. He had keen eyes as the general manager of Blue Starfish Mansion, how could he not notice the smell of gunpowder between this young man and Tang Xiu?

However, upon seeing Tang Xiu's indifference, he hesitated a bit and braved himself to speak. "Young Master Wu, my employer instructed me to pick up Divine Doctor Tang. But I'm sure he'll definitely be happy and surprised if he knows some good friends of his came visiting."

The bleached-haired youth, Wu Dalong, suddenly looked extremely ugly. Zhao Dongfeng's remarks were like an invisible slap to his face. He just shot a contemptuous look at Tang Xiu, wanting to show off his grace and par of excellence to the belle, yet the result was the smacking slap. He almost straightly left out of fury and shame.

"Why don't you shut the hell up, surnamed Zhao?"

Wu Dalong clenched his fists and sternly raised it. He would've punched the man if it weren't for the two staffs of Blue Starfish Mansion behind him.

Zhao Dongfeng held his breath. He never thought that Wu Dalong would turn on him all of a sudden. However, he could only suppress his own anger inwardly since he feared the young man's identity. He forced out a wry smile and said, "I'm telling you the truth, Young Master Wu. You'll understand when you meet my Boss. Divine Doctor Tang, Proprietress Ouyang, please follow me on board, my employer has been waiting for you."

Tang Xiu shot a teasing look at Wu Dalong and let out laughter while holding Ouyang Lulu's hand and quickly jumped onto the boat.

Wu Dalong panted and gasped a few times. His eyes then fell to the remaining two staffs and yelled, "What are you staring at like some idiots? Hurry up and take me on board!"

Having said that, he and the other three also quickly boarded another boat. As the boat rowed, the young man who had been with Wu Dalong suddenly shook his head and said, "I think we're in trouble, Brother Dalong. And it's not just your everyday trouble!"

Wu Dalong stared blankly for a moment before frowning and replying with a cold face, "Just spit it out at once and don't hold back if you got something to say, Hao Zizi!"

"You know, that surnamed Zhao addressed that surnamed Tang as Divine Doctor Tang." Hao Zizi forced a smile and said, "That reminds of someone who has an illustrious reputation as the young Divine Doctor Tang Xiu in the country. It wouldn't have been an issue if he's only some Chinese medicine practitioner, but he also has two other identities. You've been abroad for a few years and haven't come back for a long time, so you've never heard of him. But the two of them are likely very clear of what I'm saying."

The other two young men suddenly had their complexion changed as they suddenly recalled something. One of whom couldn't help but shiver and hurriedly said, "Stop the boat and go back!"

"What the hell is going on with you?!" Wu Dalong angrily yelled at him. "Just spit it out if you got something to say. What exactly is the background of that brat, huh?"

"You must have heard about the Magnificent Tang Corporation, right?" Hao Zizi forced a smile and said, "He's the Big Boss of that company, Tang Xiu. Further, he's also a powerful member of the Tang Family of Beijing."

The Magnificent Tang Corporation and the Tang Family of Beijing?!!

Wu Dalong's pupils shrunk and dread overflowed from his eyes. He wouldn't have been this shocked if Tang Xiu was only the owner of the Magnificent Tang Corporation, but the Tang Family of Beijing was like a nuke that blasted dread to his heart.

At present, which prominent family in the country was said to have the greatest power? Undoubtedly, it was the Tang Family of Beijing. Even the super-large family of the capital, House Yao, had been destroyed by this family.

With a face turned whitish and pale, Wu Dalong stared at Hao Zizi and asked, "Are you not mistaken? That brat... is really a scion of House Tang?!"

Hao Zizi nodded. "He should be. A friend of mine who went to the capital some time ago to attend the 80th birthday of the House Tang's patriarch saw Tang Xiu there. I also know another thing from him. Tang Xiu should be the next in line patriarch of House Tang in the future."

Gasp...

Wu Dalong couldn't help but gasp a stream of cold air. As a scion of a prominent family himself, he naturally knew the disparity in identity between ordinary juniors of House Tang with the so-called heirs. It would be a bit troublesome should they offend any other juniors of House Tang, but if that surnamed Tang was really the heir groomed to be the future patriarch of House Tang, then this issue would become huge. This small conflict was even likely to implicate his entire family and become their bad luck!

What should I do?

This though raced in his mind and Wu Dalong's expression was ever-changing in these tens of seconds. He finally gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go back."

Quickly after, the four young men hurried back to the shore and watched Tang Xiu and Ouyang Lulu, who had already landed on the opposite bank. Wu Dalong was silent for a moment and then said, "Zizi and you guys. I need you all to help me with something."

"What is it?" asked Hao Zizi.

"Each of us four take out 10 million yuan. We'll send the money to Tang Xiu as a token of apology," said Wu Dalong. "Further, you are to tell him that I've been beaten very badly, so I coughed up a mouthful of blood on the boat and was then sent to the hospital for treatment. Also, tell him that I've suddenly realized how arrogant I was and that I'm now regretting it so much that I sent you to him to convey him my apology."

"About this..."

Hao Zizi, however, didn't want to face Tang Xiu after recalling his identity. He was afraid he'd face bad luck of becoming the target of Tang Xiu's anger if he was in a bad mood. Yet, he didn't dare to refuse Wu Dalong, either. Even though his family did have some power, it was still inferior to Wu Dalong's. If he were to refuse this guy's request, it was likely that his future days would be very difficult to bear.

Wu Dalong frowned and said in a deep voice, "What's wrong? You don't wanna go or something?"

"I'm going. I'll cover the money!" Hao Zizi was forced to submit inwardly and hurriedly responded.

"No." Wu Dalong shook his head. "It was caused by me, so each of you will just take out 10 million since you've been involved all along. However, this matter cannot be handed to someone else because it represents the attitude of the four of us."

Only then did Hao Zizi feel relieved. In actuality, he felt a bit distressed when he blurted out that he would cover the money since he didn't have that much at hand. He would very likely have to borrow it from somewhere had Wu Dalong agreed.

****

On the island.

At the landing port of Blue Starfish Mansion, Tang Xiu and Ouyang Lulu just got off the boat and saw a man and a woman coming from afar. The man in his 25-something was handsome, whereas the woman was only 16-plus years old and was beautiful. Tang Xiu could instantly recognize the latter, Li Cai, who he had a video call with previously, which was also the person he came to see this time.

"Divine Doctor Tang."

Li Cai hurriedly called out to Tang Xiu after coming towards him. Her attitude was very respectful.

Tang Xiu slightly nodded to her in response and then asked, "May I know where your mother is?"

Hu Shaokun next to Li Cai was stunned, and his heart was at a loss whether he had to laugh or cry. He may have never met Tang Xiu, but he knew his identity. Yet, he didn't expect that he'd be straightly ignored and just went straight to the subject right after they met. However, so as to give a good impression, he didn't wait for Li Cai's answer and stretched out his hand to shake with a smile. "Hello, Doctor Tang. I'm Hu Shaokun, the owner of this Blue Starfish Mansion. Aunt Zhuang is currently in the guest room now, and her condition is not optimistic."

Tang Xiu shook hands with him while observing him. Then, he nodded and said, "Let's leave the pleasantries aside since I came here to treat the patient. Please lead the way, we'll chat when the treatment is over."

"Alright!"

After the swift and crisp reply from Hu Shaokun, he and Li Cai took Tang Xiu and Ouyang Lulu inside. Soon after, the group then came to the room where the patient was staying.

The interior was luxuriously decorated, and the room was bright and spacious with the scent of jasmine flowers wafting in the air. The sun shone through the windows into the room, reflecting the pale-faced thin woman lying on the bed.

"Huh?"

Tang Xiu furrowed his brows right after he entered the room because he was keenly aware that the temperature inside was a few degrees lower than the outside, yet there was no air conditioner or other refrigeration appliance inside.

Chapter 1124: Countless Bad Karma

 

Tang Xiu instantly released his spiritual sense and easily found the source of the cold energy. It was emitting out from the patient's body lying in bed.

Something's strange.

He thought inwardly and went straight to the bed. He reached out to move the quilt and grabbed her wrist to check her pulse. His frown went deeper as several minutes passed by and he looked even more puzzled.

'It's not a sickness! The physique is completely healthy. This woman is not sick, it's more like she's sleeping.'

Tang Xiu loosened her wrist and asked Li Cai, "Can you tell me what kind of situation your mother encountered?"

"I have no idea what happened to her, Divine Doctor Tang." Li Cai shook her head and said, "She's been in a coma for several months and fully relies on parenteral nutrition for life support."

"Anything comes to mind as to what possibly happened to her before she fell into a coma?" asked Tang Xiu again.

Li Cai went into deep thought and then said, "Something happened before she fell into a coma.? Mom had nightmares all night and days and almost never slept. Even if she woke up, she was muddle-headed and kept blabbering... blood. She just ignored me every time I asked her."

Blood?

As though realizing something, Tang Xiu cast a sealing technique and instantly hit his glabella. His body trembled a few seconds after as a dreadful force suddenly hit him, causing him to stagger backward three steps and cough up a mouthful of blood.

"Tang Xiu!!!"

Ouyang Lulu's pupils shrunk. She dashed towards Tang Xiu and supported him.

Tang Xiu wiped off the blood on his lips and looked extremely solemn. He shook his head without a word before coming to the bedside. His vision fell on the woman and he looked a bit complicated at this moment. He wanted to just turn around and leave, but he couldn't afford to follow the urge.

Li Cai, who was shocked and scared that something happened to Tang Xiu, hurriedly asked, "Are you okay, Divine Doctor Tang? What exactly happened to my mother?"

Tang Xiu pondered over something for a second and then asked, "Who else is there in your family? What about your father?"

Li Cai's mouth opened, but her expression looked grim and sad.

Hu Shaokun patted her shoulder and forced a smile. "Li Cai's life has been pretty much pitiful, Divine Doctor Tang. Her father passed away in an accident when she was seven, whereas her parents were orphans, so auntie Zhuang and Li Cai have always been depended on each other."

'As expected!'

Tang Xiu grimly sighed and headed to the door while speaking, "Boss Hu, please help find me a quiet room! I need to talk to Li Cai in private."

"Alright."

Hu Shaokun led everyone to the next room and made a pot of tea by himself. After he offered Tang Xiu, he said, "Do you mind telling me about Auntie Zhuang's condition now, Doctor Tang?"

Tang Xiu looked up and shot him a look as he sighed. " Sigh , if my guess is correct, Li Cai should still be at 15 to 16 years old. And you, Boss Hu, you've been exposed to some karmic ties and you may only have 6 days left to live. Furthermore, those who come into contact with the patient will have bad luck and suffer unpredictable events."

Hu Shaokun's expression changed and fear was bred inside him. He didn't expect Tang Xiu to be able to guess Li Cai's situation. He fell into silence for a while, then asked with a heavy voice, "What do you mean by that, Doctor Tang?"

"The patient herself is the source of the problems." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "Haven't you also found the abnormalities in her already?"

The man thought about it and said, "A chilling energy comes out from Aunt Zhuang's body, causing the temperature around her to drop to a very low degree."

"That's not just your ordinary chilling air, but is actually noxious energy—something called the origin of calamity and the bane of others' existence," said Tang Xiu. "I'm afraid she was destined to be alone right at the moment she was born, and all her loved ones will be killed."

The remark angered Hu Shaokun, and he rebuked; "DOCTOR TANG! Please have some respect! We invited you due to your Chinese medicine expertise to treat Aunt Zhuang, not some itinerant expertise on fortune-telling or something."

"The art of healing, combined with some mysterious techniques, may be able to lift up medical skills more perfectly. The reason why people hail me as a divine doctor is that I know about such mysterious and profound techniques," said Tang Xiu. "You've taken the patient to many large hospitals to get examined, so you should be crystal clear about her condition. There's no way the current level of medical science can check her problems if any."

Li Cai looked at Tang Xiu like she was seeing her savior and hurriedly asked, "Divine Doctor Tang, you have amazing skills. Have you already grasped my mother's condition, by chance?"

"That's right. But it would be a tall order if I want to save her and wake her up." Tang Xiu forced a smile and said, "It's rather difficult to do so with my current strength."

Li Cai's expression instantly turned grim. She had heard a lot about Tang Xiu's mysterious medical skills and even heard that this man had cured a lot of patients with incurable diseases. But she never thought that he didn't have the means to wake her mother up.

"I may not be able to help the patient, but you can," said Tang Xiu. "It's just that you'll need to pay some price."

The light was back on Li Cai's face as she hastily replied, "I'll do whatever it takes."

"Hold up." Hu Shaokun interrupted. "There are still things bothering me, Divine Doctor Tang. You just said that Auntie Zhuang is the bane of others' existence and she'd have her loved ones die. But why is Cai'er still alive now? She's her blood daughter and notably her closest person."

"Those who have been in their mother's womb for nearly 10 months are naturally their most loved ones, mind you." Tang Xiu sighed. But precisely because of this, Li Cai has an inborn special power to offset the influence of this evil karma. Though, to be honest, I'm now very curious about what the patient did in her past life. To think that the rules of Heaven and the six paths of reincarnation can't even wipe out this evil karma at all."

"You said that Aunt Zhuan's illness is caused by the evil karma made by her past incarnation?" asked Hu Shaokun with a bizarre expression. "How can that be? Isn't that too unbelievable?!"

Tang Xiu glanced at Li Cai and inquired. "Do you mind if I go overboard to see what kind of deeds your mother's past incarnation has done? And why such evil karma demands retribution in her current life?"

Li Cai hesitated for a while and then curiously asked, "But how... can this be possible... for you to see the past deeds of my mother's past incarnation, Divine Doctor Tang?"

"I naturally have my own means. But I need to tell you in advance that I'll also see her life experiences while exploring the patient's life," said Tang Xiu. "Certainly, it could also make a big difference pertaining to her treatment if I can figure out the cause and effect—shortly put, the karmic ties."

Li Cai turned to Hu Shaokun and shot him an inquiry look.

The man thought for a moment and then said with a solemn face, "Divine Doctor Tang, the most important issue now is her condition. We can agree to it as long as it can help her."

"Alright, then. You are all to stay here," said Tang Xiu with a slight nod.

Quickly after, he went back to the previous room and arranged a Soul Attracting Array there. He could also use some supernatural powers due to his rapid progress in power, which was now comparable to Nascent Soul Stage experts.

Attracting human soul and exploring their karmic ties was something no ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivator could do, not even immortals were able to achieve it. But he was able to do so since he had been a Supreme in the Immortal World who possessed various profound abilities.

After arranging the array, Tang Xiu cast the technique and a wisp of his spiritual sense instantly entered the woman's sea of mind.

Buzz...

An intense sympathy rose inside him after his spiritual sense entered her sea of mind, seeing the short fragments of memories of her past life. It was because of the pitiful life and experience she had been through. At the same time, the evil deeds and karmic ties of her past incarnation were too strong.

"The cause... the fruit..."

It took Tang Xiu a few minutes to find the karmic threads in the dark netherworld. He quickly understood the problems with her past incarnation by following these karmic lines. Yet, he couldn't help but shudder and become greatly shocked upon finding that this woman's past incarnation was a demonic cultivator who had committed tremendous crimes.

"Star Gems Domain, Pandemonium Devil Sect, Blood Sacrifice..."

Two hours were spent as Tang Xiu immersed in the world of sins and killings. If the hands of the most serious criminals on the Earth were covered with the blood of tens or even hundreds of their victims, it was nothing but a drop of water in the ocean and nothing to speak of compared to what this woman's past incarnation did.

It was full of killings and the massacres of billions of walks of life. The blood flowed and turned into scarlet ocean; corpse piling up like hills; planets and stars were swept away... even after she had passed, no more signs of life had ever been found on that star domain since.

Her sins...

Tang Xiu opened his eyes with an intense forced smile on his face. He had once been a Supreme in the Immortal World and one who had also committed countless killings there, yet the number and outrageousness were still far inferior compared to what he just saw.

It was simply too much—a sight that could make one lose his nerve and hair to stand on end.

Looking at the woman's pale face, Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "I'm afraid you'd need to go through the Nine Reincarnations of Samsara if you didn't happen to meet me before you could get rid off this bad karma. Even then, that's on the premise that your soul doesn't scatter in the journey. Immortals obtain bad karma due to killings, but there are ways to eliminate it. But you didn't and instead accumulated it. You even tried to use such bad karma to strengthen yourself. This path of cultivation is really..."

At the end of the day, Tang Xiu couldn't find any expression to describe it.

Using killings to enter the Dao and commited more killings to prove and confirm that Dao itself.

There had been countless cultivators and Immortals, but none had ever done or gone through such an outrageous path. Even describing this woman as "heartless" was an understatement.

A few minutes later, Tang Xiu went to the next room. His eyes then fell on Li Cai, who got up from the sofa and spoke to her in a deep voice, "I've figured out the truth of the matter and I must throw away my previous ideas. You're indeed the only one who can make your mother awaken, but it isn't yet the time. It would need you... to become a different existence from your current self, wherein you'll need to increase your lifespan as well."

Chapter 1125: Demanding an Exorbitant Price

 

"Increasing my lifespan?"

Li Cai was stunned and dumbly looked at Tang Xiu, unable to believe what she just heard. Hu Shaokun next to her was similarly dumbfounded. The way he looked at Tang Xiu was almost like looking at some conman who tried every trick to mislead the public with a look that believed that his lies were real.

"You didn't mishear nor did you misunderstand me." Tang Xiu nodded. "You must increase your lifespan, or you'll only have a few days left to live."

BAM...

Just as his voice faded away, Hu Shaokun slammed the table and yelled at Tang Xiu, "Doctor Tang! I've always respected the Chinese medicine profession and I've always admired your achievement in creating a big company such as the Magnificent Tang Corp. at a young age. But even if you hail from House Tang, I still must say to you today... do spare us your absurd remarks and do not ever joke with Aunt Zhuang's condition!"

Tang Xiu was silent for a moment before he forced a smile. Hu Shaokun's outburst was within his expectation since the man was, after all, just an ordinary person. This guy simply had no idea that there were such people in this world, unaware that he had such a remarkable supernatural power himself.

Explanation?

He didn't feel that it was necessary. He was acting as a doctor, and he had his own means of treatment. Since the man didn't believe him, then it was up to Li Cai's choice. He'd lose the only means to awaken this woman surnamed Zhuang if she chose not to believe him, meaning that the woman could only wait for death to take her.

Therefore, Tang Xiu's eyes fell on Li Cai's face.

Some doubts and hesitation did fill Li Cai's heart. But after a short ten seconds, the doubts and hesitation all disappeared from her face. She could somewhat believe the issue with increasing lifespan since she thought that there were numerous mysterious cases in this world, while Tang Xiu himself was very likely to have such means.

Further, it was not blind trust either. It was due to her own physique—an instance that couldn't be explained by today's science. Her mother was also another example. She was living, yet the thermometer showed 36.5 degrees when checking her body temperature. Even many medical experts had been puzzled by the chilling energy in her body.

"I believe in you, Divine Doctor Tang," said Li Cai slowly with eyes radiating inexplicable splendor.

Hu Shaokun's expression, however, changed and he angrily cried out, "Cai'er, Divine Doctor Tang was just kidding. Who could possibly be able to increase their lifespan in this world? Even if you can make someone else live a long life, that will only happen if you got good healthcare and live a good, healthy life."

"Boss Hu, Li Cai is a family member of the patient. She chose to believe me, so it's my obligation to consider the patient's condition." Tang Xiu waved and said, "The method I use may be incomprehensible for you, but there's nothing you can help in treating the patient, either. So, please step back."

Anger burned inside Hu Shaokun's heart. He would've spat on Tang Xiu's face if it wasn't for this man's identity. Aunt Zhuang didn't have any blood relationship with him whatsoever, but he kept remembering how she had taken care of him for more than 10 years.

Back in the past when the Hu Family faced big problems in their business, it was her who struggled to mend the situation of his family's company by infusing a large capital to help them lift the crisis. Even the death of her past husband was related to his family's condition then. That was why he always treated her as a family member, closer than his own blood even though they were not related by blood.

Now, however, Tang Xiu, who was hailed as a Divine Doctor by the people in the entire country, just cracked a joke about her condition. That was truly unbearable for him.

Hu Shaokun took a deep breath while watching Tang Xiu's indifference and suppressing the anger in his heart. Then, he spoke, emphasizing each and every word, "Tang Xiu, I may have no blood relationship with Aunt Zhuang, but she's like a mother to me. She has been treating me like her own son ever since my mother passed away. You can ask Cai'er, I've always been with Aunt Zhuang and Cai'er every time we celebrated the New Year festival. Even my grandfather and my old man will also send people to bring them to celebrate it in our residence. I won't bother explaining if you were someone else, but you're that Tang Xiu, which is why I'm hoping you can understand. I'm not any stranger nor am I a bystander, so I won't step back. I need to understand the whole proceedings on her treatment."

"Is that so?" Tang Xiu indifferently glanced at him and then turned to look at Li Cai.

The girl hurriedly nodded. "That's right, Divine Doctor Tang. Brother Shaokun is really the closest relative I've ever had besides mother. Mom took care of him for several years as her own son when he was a child. He's indeed a family member to us."

Tang Xiu slightly nodded in response upon hearing the confirmation. He looked back at Hu Shaokun and said, "The patient needs a very valuable medicine for treatment that will cost me quite a physical and mental effort. Since you regard the patient as a relative, I think a 100 million yuan as treatment fee is not that much, no?"

"Pardon?"

Hu Shaokun seemingly couldn't believe his hearing and looked at Tang Xiu incredulously. He almost jumped and shouted some curses.

100 million yuan for treating Aunt Zhuang? Is it some miraculous elixir to cost that much?

Tang Xiu raised his brows and lightly asked, "What's wrong? Is it too expensive and you don't like it? I can choose not to continue the treatment if it's too expensive for you."

Li Cai shot a glance at Hu Shaokun and then to Tang Xiu. After hesitating, she said, "Cai'er will give you 100 million yuan, Divine Doctor Tang. I'll still gift you a more valuable present so long as you cure my mother."

"It seems to me that you really have money. Alright, I'll continue my treatment and open the price." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "In actuality, money is meaningless to me, but Boss Hu doesn't trust me, so don't blame me for demanding more. I want 49% shares of the Blue Starfish Mansion."

HISS...

Despite having a faint hunch, Hu Shaokun didn't dare imagine that Tang Xiu's appetite was so huge. 49% shares of the Blue Starfish Mansion? It must be noted that the total net worth of this establishment was absolutely over 2 billion, yet he actually...

Li Cai fell into silence for a few seconds and slowly said, "My family has a total net worth of 3.6 billion, Divine Doctor Tang, which I just learned recently. I'll transfer all of it to you if you can completely cure my mother's condition. But can you stop pulling Brother Shaokun in this matter?"

3.6 billion?

Tang Xiu squinted and shook his head while saying, "I already told you that wealth is meaningless to me. I only need 49% of Blue Starfish Mansion's shares. If he agrees, I can choose not to ignore his opinion when treating your mother. But if he doesn't, that means he never regarded you and your mother as family members. Thus, he doesn't have the qualification to know how I proceed with the treatment."

Hu Shaokun deeply gasped yet again. His eyes turned a bit bloodshot at this moment as he glared at Tang Xiu's indifferent face. Regret overflowed within him. He wouldn't have questioned this man had he known it would develop to such a situation. But wasn't he himself who spoke big that he could prolong someone's lifespan? Didn't he say that he had the means to treat Aunt Zhuang? Then might as well let him continue the treatment as it wouldn't be too late to worry about anything if it turned out he couldn't cure her!

But still, 49% of the Blue Starfish Mansion shares?!

This entire resort may be fully owned by him alone, yet it was all the wealth he inherited from his family nonetheless. The Hu Family was a big family with a lot of assets, but he still had two older brothers. So as to prevent these three brothers from clashing due to the family's properties, the patriarch divided the family's wealth to them earlier, wherein the family's total assets were divided into three parts and the three brothers would get equal shares.

In case... he gave 49% shares of the Blue Starfish Mansion to Tang Xiu, then his personal loss would be too big to bear, right? However, if Tang Xiu really could heal Aunt Zhuang and he chose to give up now, he was afraid his conscience would be condemned and he'd spend the rest of his life in pain and regret.

What a m*therf*cker!

He angrily cursed inwardly but made up his mind. He could earn wealth again if he lost it, but he'd lose a mother in Aunt Zhuang if she died.

Enduring his distress, Hu Shaokun said, "Tang Xiu, I agree to transfer the 49% shares of the Blue Starfish Mansion to you, so long as you can cure Aunt Zhuang's illness..."

At the side, Ouyang Lulu categorically interjected. "Heh, I'll give you Paradise Manor if Tang Xiu can't cure the patient's illness. You have my word on it."

Hu Shaokun was shaken inwardly, and an incredulous look appeared on his face. He already knew that Ouyang Lulu was the Paradise Manor's owner, yet he never expected that her trust in Tang Xiu was so high.

The Paradise Manor's total assets may not as good as the Blue Starfish Mansion, but it wasn't that far off either. What's more, he only needed that 49% shares as the gambling stake. It was still a win regardless of the outcome.

"Then I agree!" Hu Shaokun clenched his fist and replied seriously.

Tang Xiu smiled and glanced happily at Ouyang Lulu. Then, he nodded and said, "Please come with me to the next room, Li Cai."

"I'm going too," blurted out Hu Shaokun immediately.

"I'm going to prolong her life and increase her lifespan, mind you." Tang Xiu waved and explained. "It's impossible for any outsiders to know the means, so you can't follow us. But you can be present when I treat the patient."

Hu Shaokun thought for a moment and nodded wordlessly.

Quickly after, only Hu Shaokun and Ouyang Lulu were left in the room. Hu Shaokun himsel had long been an admirer of Ouyang Lulu due to her bearing and beautiful look, and he had always wanted to pursue her. But he had been helping Aunt Zhuang to contact the major hospitals all over the world, so he didn't have time to make his advance and delayed it until now.

The flower, however, already had an owner now, wherein the owner himself was not someone he could afford to provoke, so he could only sigh inside and give up in silence.

Looking at Ouyang Lulu's beautiful face, Hu Shaokun slowly spoke, "I know that you and Tang Xiu are lovers, Ms. Ouyang, but is it worth it for you to use the Paradise Manor to please him?"

Ouyang Lulu shrugged in response and smilingly said, "That was not my intention! If doing that will make him so happy, then I'm willing to give it to him at once and let him do what he wants with it."

Chapter 1126: Purifying Marrows and Cleansing Veins?

 

With a slightly changed expression, Hu Shaokun looked at the smiling Ouyang Lulu with furrowed brows and unhappily responded, "You just said that you..."

"I know what you have in mind, Hu Shaokun," Ouyang Lulu interrupted him and smilingly said. "The reason I said that I didn't use Paradise Manor to make him happy is that I have absolute confidence in him. Though it's also certain that I'm actually hoping that he could lose the bet since I can brazenly demand him to support me fully if that happens."

Now, Hu Shaokun's brows stretched so much that he shook his head and sighed. "I'd truly feel sorry for you if that happens. The annual profit of Paradise Manor should be quite a lot, more than enough to cover your spending. But why give it to a man just so he can take you up, though? I know Tang Xiu's identity is by no means ordinary, but don't you think you'd have more dignity if you can support your spending with your own income?"

"You know, I finally understand what Tang Xiu once told me, that it's really very difficult to see eye to eye with others from the secular world. Hu Shaokun, you think you know everything about Tang Xiu, but do you really know him that deeply, though? Anyway, let's drop this off. It's meaningless speaking about this topic, to begin with. I'm sure you'll get to understand it once Tang Xiu is done with his treatment."

Hu Shaokun no longer talked, though he really sympathized with Ouyang Lulu at the moment. Words had it that women in love may lose their intelligence, and he used to not believe it. But now he experienced it firsthand.

It was like a blind trust—something no different from love-struck foolhardiness!

In the next room.

Tang Xiu walked to the table's side as he took a seat and quickly wrote a set of cultivation art. He didn't give it immediately to Li Cai, however, but mystifyingly said, "What do you think about Hu Shaokun giving me the 49% of the Blue Starfish Mansion?"

Li Cai was silent for a few seconds before slowly replying, "Brother Shaokun doesn't have any side of him that can be suspected in this regard. Well, at least to me and my mother. But I understand what you wanna hear from me. I'd want nothing more than he'd lose 49% shares of the business, and then he'd ask compensation from me. But I believe that he'll never do that. Absolutely."

"What if I can really cure your mother, then?" asked Tang Xiu with a smile.

"If that happens, then I'm going to use my wealth to make up for his loss," said Li Cai.

Tang Xiu gave a thumbs up and praised. "Hu Shaokun is so incensed, yet he can agree to exchange your mother's life for 49% shares of the Blue Starfish Mansion. He has proven himself a very good man. But your trust in him also shows me what kind of people you two are. No worries! I won't take those shares even if I can cure your mother's illness. However, that 100-million-yuan payment is still not enough. The following treatment will cost quite a lot."

"You're really the legendary good doctor as rumors have it outside, Divine Doctor Tang!" Li Cai sincerely said with eyes lit up. "I'm even more convinced that you can cure mom now."

"Alright, spare me the flattering and memorize this cultivation art which emphasizes on the heart and mind. Afterward, I'm going to teach you something else," said Tang Xiu with a smile.

"State of mind cultivation art?"

Li Cai glanced at the paper with curious eyes. She read it seriously and asked in surprise, "Did you just say that this is a cultivation art, Divine Doctor Tang? What exactly are cultivation and this True Qi something? Is it the likes of something those experts from the martial world have?"

" Haih , after all is said and done, you actually have quite the good luck, you know." Tang Xiu sighed. "So is your mother, since you both run into me. I'm really glad for you both. If anything, just memorize this set of mind cultivation art I taught you. But you can never tell another soul even if that person is the one who you trust the most like Hu Shaokun. Further, there's still another promise I'd like to have from you."

With a solemn expression, Li Cai seriously said, "Then I'll never pass on what you just taught me to others, Divine Doctor Tang. And please tell me, what else do I need to promise you?"

"In this life and this world, you must never become enemies with House Tang of Beijing," said Tang Xiu. "Additionally, you must remember that you owe me, which is equal that you owe House Tang a huge favor. If House Tang is in trouble in the future, then you have the obligation to do your best to help them once."

"I, Li Cai, vow that as long as it is within my power, I'll never sit back and ignore the Tang Family should such a situation arise. You told me that I only have the obligation to help the Tang Family once, but I vow before you that I'll help them thrice, should I have the ability."

Li Cai's vow was much to Tang Xiu's satisfaction, so he nodded and said, "Alright, then. I'll teach you how to practice this cultivation art first."

After spending two hours, Tang Xiu was able to convey all the aspects of cultivation to Li Cai. Certainly, it was also thanks to her own intelligence that she could quickly and completely memorize the circulation route for True Essence energy and the acupoints the energy must go through.

"Take this Life Essence Pill and begin cultivating the mind cultivation art I just taught you. And keep in mind that you must focus and calm your heart and mind when doing that." Tang Xiu took out the longevity pill and handed it over to Li Cai.

Life Essence Pill?!

The medicinal pill aspect was something out of Li Cai's knowledge, but she chose to believe in Tang Xiu at this moment and directly swallowed it without hesitation.

"AH?!!"

Torrential heatwaves rolled down from her throat into her belly, and she couldn't help but scream due to such a mysterious situation.

"Don't let your mind wander and immediately do what I just told you!" Tang Xiu ordered in a deep voice.

Li Cai quickly restrained her mind and focused it.

Time passed by. When seven hours passed, Li Cai's body suddenly shook. She opened her eyes and could smell the stench from her own body.

Tang Xiu didn't hesitate to take out the Essence Amassing Pill and spoke to her, "The stench is coming out of your system. But that's because of the impurities discharged from your body. I know that you like cleanness, but it's not yet the time for that. Take this Essence Amassing Pill first, I'll help you to step on the cultivation path."

Li Cai felt her cheek a bit hot since she didn't think that she was so dirty with so many impurities contained in her system. However, after observing Tang Xiu's reaction, she found that the man didn't even seem bothered by the stench from her body. Only then did she finally feel relieved, taking the Essence Amassing Pill and swallowing it at once.

Night then came in the blink of an eye.

When she opened her eyes again, her lips squirmed a few times and her eyes were full of brilliance. She felt power was evident in her body, and she felt much better in shape than she ever had before.

Tang Xiu, who sat cross-legged in front of her, took out a jade bottle from his interspatial ring and handed it to Li Cai. "There are some Life Essence Pills here. You must take one every day without fail. Afterward, begin cultivating according to the mind cultivation art I taught you. After you've consumed all these Life Essence Pills, contact me directly, as that will be the time to treat your mother."

Li Cai got up and her nose moved ever so slightly. Then, she said, "I'll keep your instructions in mind, Divine Doctor Tang. But... could you please wait for a while? I... I wanna take... a shower."

Tang Xiu let out a faint smile and waved. "It's rather late now. I'm not going to stay longer. Go and have a bath. I'll come back to see you after you've finished taking the Life Essence Pills."

"But it's late, and I didn't see you eating today either, Divine Doctor Tang." Li Cai hesitated before speaking out. "If anything, why don't you stay for a bit longer and have a meal here? I'll tell Brother Shaokun to provide you a room so you can spend the night here!"

Tang Xiu was about to reject but then suddenly remembered that Mu Wanying was still in the Bluestar Villa, while he was with Ouyang Lulu now. There would be no way to leave this imperial lady tonight, but God knew what would happen if he were to take her to the Bluestar Villa and run into Mu Wanying there.

"Alright, then! I'll spend the night here." Tang Xiu finally agreed and turned around to leave.

At this moment, Hu Shaokun was pacing back and forth with an anxious expression in the hallway outside the room. Tang Xiu and Li Cai hadn't come out even once from the room all day long, keeping him restless.

Creak...

As the door was opened, Hu Shaokun trembled and looked up to see Tang Xiu coming out from the inside. He then hastily asked, "How's Aunt Zhuang? Is she cured yet?"

"I already told you previously that I can't treat the patient, for the time being, else Li Cai will be harmed, didn't I?" replied Tang Xiu. "But no worries! I can begin the treatment in a few days."

"What have you been doing all day, then?" asked Hu Shaokun hurriedly.

Li Cai came out from the door behind Tang Xiu at this moment. She didn't even look at Hu Shaokun and hurriedly ran towards the bathroom.

"This stench..."

Hu Shaokun frowned deeply and raised his hand to pinch his nose. The intense stench gave him the urge to throw up. He was shocked that the stench was actually coming out from Li Cai's body.

He knew her of her love of cleanness. She usually washed up even if she was only a little sweaty and sprayed herself with a fragrant perfume. And yet, how did she become so stinky today?

"Alright, stop gawking and staring blankly like that, will you?" said Tang Xiu. "Li Cai is fine. I just use a special means to discharge the impurities in her system, which will be very beneficial for her. Also, we're staying here tonight, so please arrange a room for us."

Hu Shaokun felt relieved upon hearing it. However, he was still very curious about how Tang Xiu was able to discharge impurities out of the human body. Is it the likes of the marrow purifying and vein cleansing the experts from the Martial World do?

"Okay, I'll tell someone to arrange it immediately. Do you want a room or two?"

Tang Xiu turned his head towards the next room's door and replied back to Hu Shaokun lightly, "What do you think?"

"Ugh..."

Hu Shaokun raised his hand to touch his face with an awkward expression. Although he didn't want to see Ouyang Lulu spend the night with Tang Xiu here, the reality was cruel. They were a man and a woman, and also a couple. It was perfectly justified for them to spend the night together.

Truly a pity!

He couldn't help but shake his head in secret.

Chapter 1127: Swearing-in

 

In the spacious and bright deluxe room, Tang Xiu leisurely took a shower and changed to a set of new clothes from the interspatial ring. He then looked at Ouyang Lulu, who lackadaisically sat on the sofa. A smile sported on his face as he asked, "Don't you want to take a shower?"

Ouyang Lulu pouted and unhappily said, "We agreed you'd go shopping with me, to taste some delicacies and watch movies today. But at the end of the day, everything's delayed just because of your patient's treatment. This tender baby's heart is pained and she has no power left to bathe."

Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing and said, "How can you be like a child, though? Well, it wasn't like I wanted this either. Alright, alright. I'll keep you accompany all day tomorrow."

The grievance on Ouyang Lulu's face instantly disappeared. She bounced up from the sofa instead and smilingly said, "That's a deal! No taking it back, got it?"

"Deal!" Tang Xiu smilingly nodded.

As Ouyang Lulu entered the bathroom and the sound of water was heard from the inside, Tang Xiu fished out his cell phone and dialed Mu Wanying's number. After his call was connected, he said, "Wanying, I'm in the Blue Starfish Mansion right now since I suddenly learned that Li Cai brought her mother here. Hence why I came to examine the patient's condition."

"Can you treat her?"

Although Mu Wanying was somewhat at a loss and dissatisfied due to Tang Xiu's sudden departure, she still asked concernedly out of kindness.

"It can still be treated, but will take quite a lot of hard work." Tang Xiu smilingly said, "Anyway, it's too late, so I won't go back tonight."

"Then rest well and have a good sleep." Mu Wanying replied, "Also, I may not have time to accompany you for the next few days. The company sent me a notice in the afternoon that there's an important business which requires my presence."

"Alright, then. Just call me when you're done," said Tang Xiu.

After hanging up, Tang Xiu could only apologize to Mu Wanying and felt sorry for her inwardly. But then again, the crazy girl Ouyang Lulu was always difficult to deal with. He wouldn't be able to figure out where and when she'd rush to find him if he didn't accompany her well enough. But after spending time with Ouyang Lulu all day long, he found that she had been diligent in her cultivation as her cultivation had been steadily improving. Even now she had reached mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Taking medicinal pills is good, but still, the foundation is very important!"

Tang Xiu couldn't help but sigh secretly. Although he was perfectly aware that his women and subordinates had taken a lot of pills for their rapid growth, there was no way around it to let them grow as fast as possible. As for the foundation problems, as long as they reached the Spirit Formation Stage, he would take them to the Immortal World wherein he could find the way to obtain the Immortal Spirit Liquid from some mystical place there. The root cause of the problem for their shaky foundation would be completely lifted up if they took it.

The clock hit ten at night.

The gentle light of the crystal lamp illuminated another room like it was daytime. Li Cai's body sent out a faint scent as she stood before the mirror while constantly observing her own skin. She just realized that her skin turned a bit different from before after taking the shower and looking herself in the mirror.

It could be said that if you used to have rough and fragile skin, it was now very smooth and tender.

"Can you not keep looking at the mirror, Cai'er? Just tell me, what did Tang Xiu do to you? You seem to have changed in just one day. Not only does your skin look much smoother, but your height is also about two or three centimeters higher than before." Hu Shaokun sat on the sofa behind Li Cai and spoke that carried out the shock he felt.

Li Cai turned around and she blinked while asking, "What did you just say, Brother Shaokun? I'm two or three centimeters higher than I used to be?"

"Yea, I just realized it when we entered the room together." Hu Shaokun nodded and said, "I surely remember that your height only reached my shoulder, but you're now almost reaching my chin. It's only one day, yet you're taller by at least two or three centimeters, maybe even more."

Li Cai gulped down and the brilliance in her eyes was even more intense, muttering, "Amazing. This is really too amazing. Divine Doctor Tang is truly like a Deity or something. I don't think anyone can be more amazing than him in this world."

No matter how unhappy it was for Hu Shaokun to see Li Cai praising Tang Xiu before himself, but he must admit that Tang Xiu did really have the ability. Such a method was even a miracle for himself.

"Just tell me quickly, what did Tang Xiu do to you, Cai'er?"

Li Cai came back to her senses. She hesitated but then spoke, "I can't tell you much about that, Brother Shaokun. It's because I already promised him not to disclose anything to anyone. However, please believe Divine Doctor Tang. He's very great and amazingly capable, and probably can be compared to some celestial beings. Please don't get incensed. I can tell you that he has taught me a lot of things, even from the things he just taught me are more than enough for me to address him as my Master!"

Hu Shaokun fell into silence. He was well aware of Li Cai's character. She wouldn't budge if she had promised something. She complied with Tang Xiu to keep everything a secret, which was very likely that he would never get the answer even if he kept asking. However, there was still another issue came to his mind, so he went on, "Cai'er, I won't ask you anything about the things Tang Xiu taught you. But you gotta answer me another one."

"What is it?" asked Li Cai.

"Divine Doctor Tang previously said that he can prolong your lifespan. Is that true?" asked Hu Shaokun.

The girl hesitated for a moment before nodding. "It should be true, I think. You've also seen how different I am now, right? Divine Doctor Tang gave me a very mysterious pill. Not only can it change my physique, but I also faintly felt that I've really returned to my true teenage years when I was full of vigor and spirit."

Upon hearing this, Hu Shaokun's complexion changed and he quickly asked again, "Did he say when he's going to treat Aunt Zhuang?"

"He gave me a few pills that seem to be called Life Essence Pills or something like that," said Li U Cai. "He said he'll treat Mom when I finished taking these pills."

Hu Shaokun seemed to be thinking of something and decided to see Tang Xiu himself, so he waved and said, "Alright, then you should rest well, Cai'er! I'm going to have a chat with Doctor Tang Xiu."

"Ah, wait up. I'm going too!" Li Cai hurriedly blurted out.

"What for?" asked Hu Shaokun helplessly.

"I haven't eaten anything until now, alright?" said Li Cai. "Though I don't feel hungry even a bit, still, I gotta fill my belly with something. Ah, that's right, did you arrange anyone to deliver food to Divine Doctor Tang, by chance? He hasn't eaten anything either today."

Hu Shaokun immediately slapped his own forehead upon hearing this. "Alas, that's my fault. I was too negligent. I'm going to arrange it now."

Not long after, more than ten fragrant dishes were sent to the room where Tang Xiu was staying. Li Cai came together with the attendants and smilingly said, "Divine Doctor Tang, Sis Ouyang, it's been hard on you both today, so I asked Brother Shaokun to prepare a meal. Shall we dine together?"

"Fine with me!"

Ouyang Lulu herself was very fond of Li Cai, so she threw the white towel she used to wipe her hair to the side, walking to the girl and pulling her hand in response.

"What about Hu Shaokun?" asked Tang Xiu.

"He previously wanted to come along and said there's something he'd like to speak about with you," said Li Cai. "But then I heard there's a friend of his surnamed Hao, who has been waiting for him all day long, so he went to his friend first. Also, m-may... I ask you one thing, Divine Doctor Tang?"

"Alright, go ahead." Tang Xiu nodded.

As Li Cai looked at him, the expectation in her eyes betrayed her. "Doctor Tang, can... can I call you a Teacher in the future?"

"Me? Teacher?" Tang Xiu's expression turned weird.

"You taught me so much knowledge, Divine Doctor Tang. Not only that, but you also gave me something like grace of rebirth," explained Li Cai hurriedly. "That's why I think I should call you Teacher to express my respect for you."

Tang Xiu lit a cigarette while looking at the several waiters quickly putting the dishes on the table. They even put a few bottles of red wine and then quickly left. He then slowly spit out the smoke at this time and shook his head. "Your mother is still alive, so I can't receive you as a disciple. The bad karma tied to her is very heavy, and once we're tied as Master and disciple, I'm afraid that the bad karma will immediately turn to you. Even if I cut off the spread of that bad karmic ties with my supernatural power temporarily, it's very likely that my cultivation would be affected."

"Bad karma?" Li Cai was puzzled and asked, "What exactly is bad karma, though?"

"I advise you not to ask more about that." Tang Xiu forced a smile and explained, "It will otherwise greatly impact your state of mind and heart. This kind of influence will make it difficult for you to achieve much in your cultivation in the future."

"But I really want to know it since it's about my mother's issue," said Li Cai adamantly. "Learning how to cultivate from you is already a lucky thing for me, Divine Doctor Tang, so I'm not afraid of how much influence it will affect me in the future."

With a sigh, Tang Xiu said, "Then I'll tell you if you insist. Your mother's past incarnation has sinned beyond what I've imagined. Even I must lay down a feng shui array to shield the detection of the Heaven when I treated her, else it would've caused me great harm instead."

Eyes shrunk, Li Cai hurriedly shook her head and said, "You must be mistaken, Divine Doctor Tang. Mom was always a kind person who's even afraid to injure small critters. How can she possibly have committed heavy sins?"

"I'm talking about what she did in her past life," replied Tang Xiu. "I told you previously that you both are very lucky to run into me, else that evil bad karma will keep haunting her in her next reincarnation and affect her every future life to no end."

Li Cai stared blankly at Tang Xiu and asked, "What exactly did she do in her past life?"

"Murders," said Tang Xiu in a deep voice. "The number of living beings she killed exceeds the number of people on this planet."

"Come again?!!"

Li Cai exclaimed, disbelief overflowing from her eyes. Although she wasn't sure how many people lived on Earth, the number was definitely around seven-plus billion people. But saying that the number of people her mother killed in her past life was more than seven-plus billion?

This... how can that be? Where in the world were so many people for her to kill, to begin with?

Chapter 1128: I'm Not Short on Money

 

Li Cai regarded Tang Xiu as though he was some kind of deity prior to this, even worshipping him. But she really couldn't accept what Tang Xiu just said, even her trust in him was shaken. Her mother to her was the kindest woman in the world and she'd never kill anyone, let alone seven-plus billion people.

"You definitely made a mistake, Divine Doctor Tang."

"My hands are tied. I can't reveal too many secrets." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "But I can tell you some simple things. Your mother was a cultivator in her past life, who eventually ended up becoming a terrifyingly powerful female devil. But her past incarnation was not of this world, but from her memories, I can see scenes where blood flows like a river into a sea of corps piling up like a hill."

A cultivator and also a female devil?!!

Tears began welling up in Li Cai's eyes. She adamantly shook her head and said, "That's impossible. Absolutely. Mom, she..."

"Each and every one of us has a fate of our own. You just began cultivating and, even though you can only feel the faint fluctuation of True Essence energy in your body, you've nevertheless already embarked on the journey of cultivation. There are things you're eligible to know now, such as the Six Paths of Reincarnation of the Six Great Divisions in the wheel of karma. They exist along with the Netherworld and the King of Hell. Li Cai, the world is still full of mysteries and magic. Just that you haven't experienced nor are able to imagine them doesn't mean that they don't exist."

"I need... some time alone."

Li Cai seemed to have lost her soul and stiffly left the room. She didn't even glance at the fragrant dishes.

Ouyang Lulu watched her disappear with compassionate eyes, then rolled her eyes at Tang Xiu and snappily said, "Telling her such things was too much and too cruel for her, you know that? This may be my first time meeting her, but I can tell she's just a pure and simple girl."

"I taught her a shallow cultivation art just to increase her lifespan," replied Tang Xiu calmly. "If she works hard and encounters a good opportunity, it's still possible for her to reach the Great Ascension Stage in the future. However, her state of mind is kind of appalling. She's like a small grass sheltered by a big tree and it'd be difficult for her to weather the storm. But so long as her mind transforms, she'll be able to go further in the future. That's why I think I'd rather act harsher and crueler to her now instead of letting her stumble later. Though it's a pity..."

"A pity? On what exactly?" asked Ouyang Lulu, though she could understand Tang Xiu's point of view.

"It's a pity that the bad deeds and evil karma accumulated by her mother are too heavy." Tang Xiu sighed. "Even if I can temporarily cure her mother, I'm afraid that she only has 10 years left. That's also because I use Li Cai's lifespan to prolong her life. That's also why Li Cai can only live to at most 60 years old."

"60 years?!!" Ouyang Lulu was shaken and couldn't help but gasp a cold breath.

"That's right." Tang Xiu nodded and explained, "Li Cai should've had a lifespan up to more than 80 years old if she didn't meet me. She's already a little over 20 now, yet she's gonna die soon. That's why I gave her the Life Essence Pill and also helped her to step on the cultivation path. If... and I mean if she can work hard and finds a better opportunity in the future, she may live for 10 or 20 years more with the progress of her cultivation level."

Ouyang Lulu abruptly got up from the chair, shaking her head and saying, "Isn't this way too cruel to Li Cai, Tang Xiu? Why didn't you tell her before?"

"Because she wouldn't have even a shred of hesitation to choose to save her mother even if I told her that," said Tang Xiu. "But being unaware of the consequences she won't have any burdens in her heart and thus, will be able to live well. She could be unable to withstand the pressure of destiny otherwise."

Ouyang Lulu fell into silence since she could understand the reasoning. Whoever knows how long they can live are usually inflicted by the heavy burden to their minds, much less a young girl who only had 10 or 20 years left to live—such a revelation would suffocate and overwhelm her very hard.

"She's really pitiful." Ouyang Lulu sighed faintly.

"This may be her fate, though it's perhaps also... her chance," said Tang Xiu. "Still, it's up to her mother for what kind of future she'll have."

"What do you mean?" asked Ouyang Lulu, confused.

"If her mother dies early, I could take her as a disciple and make up for her lost lifespan even if I have to pay a higher price," said Tang Xiu. "I can even make her stronger as time passes and still possible for her to ascend to immortality."

Ouyang Lulu was speechless. It was a topic she was never good at, so she couldn't say anything about this issue.

Ten minutes later, Hu Shaokun entered the room and saw Tang Xiu and Ouyang Lulu, who were dining, and curiously asked, "Eh? Wasn't Cai'er coming over? Where's she now?"

"She went back to rest," answered Tang Xiu.

Nodding in response, Hu Shaokun then came to Tang Xiu's front and handed over a bank card. "Anyway, Hao Zizi wanted to meet you in person to apologize to you. But I told him that you're tired and went to rest, so he entrusted me to give this to you."

A bank card?

Tang Xiu's expression turned odd. It felt like every time people offended him, compensating with money became the final solution for them.

"I'm not short on money!" said Tang Xiu calmly.

Hu Shaokun hesitated and forced a smiled. "Tang Xiu, Hao Zizi and Wu Dalong are all my good friends. Can you at least look at my face and give them some slack? I know those boys. They're not that bad, though I admit they got spoiled too much by their families. If anything, you can rest assured that I'll definitely admonish them harshly so as to make them act low-key in the future."

Tang Xiu then took the bank card and inquired. "How much is it?"

"40 million yuan. They gave 10 million each," said Hu Shaokun, secretly relaxing.

Tang Xiu nodded. "This is the least compensation I've ever received, but let the matter drop here and now. Also, tell them to give less trouble for their families, lest they invite calamity to befall upon them. Not only will they fall into desperation, but even their Houses will also follow them."

"I'll definitely convey it to them."

Still, Hu Shaokun's face looked solemn. He could tell that Tang Xiu's words were not only for Wu Dalong and Hao Zizi's group but also for himself. He recalled Tang Xiu's identity and felt a faint headache. He would've still dared to clash with this man if he was just an ordinary layman. But Tang Xiu was a scion of a super-prominent family, who had proven his brilliance and outstanding qualities—a powerful person who must never be offended.

"Anyways, do you mind chatting about another issue, Divine Doctor Tang?" Hu Shaokun took out another bankcard from his pocket and placed it in front of Tang Xiu after the latter took the previous one.

"Huh? Is it necessary for you to give me money since you just want to chat about something, though?" asked Tang Xiu with a strange expression. "If this is about the 49% shares, forget about it."

"It's not about that." Hu Shaokun shook his head. "I'd have gladly offered it to you had it not been because of today's issue. But what I want to discuss with you is something else."

"Alright. I'm all ears." Tang Xiu pointed the seat across.

After taking a seat in front of Tang Xiu, Hu Shaokun forced a smile and said, "Didn't you tell me that I don't have long to live? Please have a look at me again, and can you help me increase my lifespan?"

"Ehh? Didn't you say you don't trust me?" asked Tang Xiu oddly.

"I'd rather say I'd believe what she believes in and never trust what she doesn't!" replied Hu Shaokun with a dry smile. "If anything, you're also the famous young Divine Doctor in the country, to begin with. If what you said is real, then I..."

"Alright." Tang Xiu smilingly replied, "How much do you have in that card, though?"

"100 million," said Hu Shaokun hurriedly.

Tang Xiu gave a thumbs up and praised. "You're bold indeed. You have doubts and suspicion about me, yet you still dare ask me to help you with 100 million yuan. Alright, I'll give you another pill for the money. You can be safe and sound for at least 10 more years after taking it."

Medicinal pill?!

Hu Shaokun shot Tang Xiu a puzzled look.

Tang Xiu threw a Life Essence Pill to him and spoke, "You got yourself some big benefits, I tell you. However, I already chose to be a good man, so I'm going to do the deed to the end. As long as you take this pill and do good deeds in the next days, you can live for more than 10 years. Also, the more good deeds you perform, the longer your lifespan will be. When you've done and accumulated good deeds to a certain extent, you can be guaranteed to have a long life and meet your natural death in bed of old age."

Hu Shaokun carefully fondled the Life Essence Pill. After the wax paper cover was torn, he suddenly felt an invisible force hit the back of his hand and the pill instantly shot into his mouth. But when he hurriedly wanted to spit it out, the pill turned into a hot stream in his mouth and rushed into his stomach.

"This..."

Hu Shaokun was scared senseless, but he could feel that the surging heat flow didn't harm him and instead scattered and flowed into his limbs and five bones. In just an instant, his body felt very comfortable and he could tell that his condition was much better than ever.

Is it the likes of a miraculous elixir? Hu Shaokun was wild with joy inwardly.

A few minutes later, he felt that his body's condition was much better and healthier. The comfortable feeling even made him feel the urge to sleep, so he bade farewell to Tang Xiu and headed outside. Just as he was about to leave the room, he seemed to recall something and returned to Tang Xiu, took out a golden card from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Mr. Tang, a small auction will be held tomorrow. Are you interested in attending?"

An auction?

Tang Xiu curiously inquired. "What kind of items are auctioned there, though?"

"The items auctioned are but a few, but their value is guaranteed," said Hu Shaokun. "In fact, I have always held two or three small auctions here every year, and only items worth more than 10 million yuan can be auctioned there."

Tang Xiu thought that he had nothing to do tomorrow, so he asked the time when the auction would be held. He immediately agreed after hearing the answer. But Ouyang Lulu couldn't bear with it and shot him rolling eyes. Her attractive and charming looks, however, made Hu Shaokun's mind wander everywhere.

After Hu Shaokun left, Ouyang Lulu immediately blurted out. "You obviously promised me a date, shopping, and watching movies tomorrow, no?"

"Well, the shopping, dining, and watching movies won't prevent us from participating in that auction, though!" Tang Xiu chuckled and said, "High-level auctions usually have some great stuff, after all. Also, if you happen to find something you like, I'll buy it for you. Promise."

Chapter 1129: Plans

 

Daytime of the next day.

Tang Xiu accompanied Ouyang Lulu to wander around, tasting delicacies, shopping, and watching movies. There was nothing that made him out of sort whatsoever, yet he was now a celebrity-like figure and many people remembered him. Hence, he spared some time to use special means to change his appearance.

For the entire day, Ouyang Lulu, who was like a female devil in many people's eyes, turned into a happy little lass next to Tang Xiu, enjoying herself to her heart's content merrily.

As dusk came, Tang Xiu took her back to the Blue Starfish Mansion which was already decorated with lanterns to greet the coming night. The resort that used to have a few guests now had a constant stream of visitors coming at this time.

"They are all successful people given their looks." Tang Xiu's gaze swept over the guests around him and murmured with a smile.

"Heh, what successful figures? They are just pretending and showing off." Ouyang Lulu rebuked with curled lips. "It's you who's the real successful person here since you won't show off that easily even though you got billions in wealth. You don't even show off even though you got amazing abilities. It's not like they don't know anything about their surname with their little money, either."

"That's too far-fetched comment and quite extreme, Lulu." Tang Xiu chuckled and said, "I know you want to praise me, but you don't have to attack others like that either, no? Besides, to ordinary people, the parameter of success is having money and status. It's the rule. Let's not say the whole world, there are more than a billion people in China alone, but how many of them are truly rich and powerful? They can become some bigwigs, which in itself shows their capabilities. As for shortcomings... everyone has them, no? We're not sages nor saints, so there's no need to look at people so narrowly."

Ouyang Lulu raised her chin and hummed. "Hmph, none of them are better than you in my eyes. And those who are will receive my due acknowledgment."

Tang Xiu shook his head with a wry smile. He had 10,000 years of experience and life story, it was not an egg to egg comparison, like literally. Still, such devotion and love made him warm inside. He grabbed her fragrant shoulder and smilingly walked side by side to the interior.

Auctions. Various society circles had various types of these auctions. For instance, this one. It auctioned some strange stuff. Although some objects were very valuable, most of the guests were Shanghai's locals and a few came from the neighboring cities.

"Tang Xiu!"

With the lead from the attendant, Tang Xiu and Ouyang Lulu had just entered the auction venue when he heard someone call his name. He was slightly stunned and a bit surprised. It must be noted that he had changed his appearance. Unless it was someone very close to him, others would find it difficult to recognize him.

"Gu Changmin?"

Tang Xiu shifted to the direction of the voice and suddenly saw Gu Changmin and Jin Xingkui coming towards him. However, he was keenly aware that they looked a bit stunned upon seeing his current appearance.

Tang Xiu released Ouyang Lulu's shoulder and smilingly walked over. "Hey, Old Brother Gu and Jin! I never thought I'd run into both of you here today! What are you doing here, planning to grab some treasures?"

Gu Changmin and Jin Xingkui exchanged glances and wore strange expressions. The former then inquired. "Well, we thought we saw someone with your resemblance, so we called out. But then when we saw your face, I thought I called the wrong person, you know! What's up with this appearance..."

"Blame that celebrity effect. I had to change my looks a bit so as to avoid being recognized by others." Tang Xiu smilingly replied, "You both know I never liked attention, no?"

Gu Changmin and Jin Xingkui quickly understood, and the former chuckled. "That's so very you, Brother Tang. You're always low key. But that's why this old brother of yours admires you. Which young man hates showing off and bragging about his achievement nowadays? You're of the extreme opposite, but your low-key efforts kind of rises people's hackles, you know."

Jin Xingkui, on the other hand, smilingly said, "Well, you're always making a fortune and amassing wealth while keeping a low profile, Brother Tang. Anyways, you really made me annoyed, you know. We've been cooperating for the project and half of it has been done, yet you've never been to the construction site at all. You never even spared time to visit my company, either. The way you act like a shopkeeper who only asks others to do his bidding is too excessive, no?"

"Hehe, then why should I have you, Brother Jin?" retorted Tang Xiu smilingly. "Besides, if you were someone I don't trust, I'd have inspected the worksite thrice a day."

Tang Xiu's reply made Jin Xingkui happy and burst into laughter. Afterward, he grinningly said, "That makes my painstaking efforts and hard work worth it, Brother Tang. But rest assured, though. Our project is progressing smoothly and we can start to earn some revenue in at most half a year. You can wait for the money to roll in then!"

Tang Xiu gave him a thumbs up and praised. "It's truly great and joyful to cooperate with you, Brother Jin. Anyhow, how about we grab some drinks after the auction?"

"Fine with me!"

"Deal!"

Gu Changmin and Jin Xingkui smilingly replied.

Immediately after, some prominent business people around Shanghai spotted Gu Changmin and Jin Xingkui chatting with Tang Xiu. Each one of them came to greet them one after another. But Tang Xiu himself didn't want to chat with these bystanders, so he made up an excuse and left. He and Ouyang Lulu then casually picked up some random seats in the auction venue.

"Holy... this brat is simply..."

Gu Changmin shook his head and looked at Tang Xiu's back as he left while murmuring with a dry smile.

Jin Xingkui squinted and whispered, "It's just like his usual mannerism, Brother Gu. Else, we wouldn't have our place in the world today."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Gu Changming was stunned and asked with a confused expression.

"Have you ever thought that if he has a showing-off character, then he'd get countless business opportunities coming to him given his abilities and identity?" said Jin Xingkui. "Which rich boss doesn't want to cooperate with someone with such abilities and identities like him? I dare say that tons of people in the whole of Shanghai, regardless of the industry, would definitely wave their checkbooks just to cooperate with him and join their endeavors."

Gu Changmin nodded. Then, he spoke with a wry smile, "True that. Even if we do leave out his abilities, just his identity alone is enough to make numerous people gather around him while stuffing tons of money into his pockets. But speaking about that, though, I really do admire this young man. Just think which one among those scions from prominent families in the capital doesn't rely on their status and background? They get dividends and support from other companies, but what about Tang Xiu? He never does such a thing. I don't think he'll even spare a glance at the money delivered by others to his door."

"Yeah, that's what makes him fearful." Jin Xingkui sighed. "He never proactively demands money from others, and it's likely that he won't accept money sent by others either. Even then, he just relies on his own abilities to set up the fast-growing Magnificent Tang Corporation. The amount of wealth he has made... is definitely hundreds of times more than those second-generation officials who took dividends from others' companies. Speaking about it, Tang Xiu must have become richer than us by now... right?"

Gu Changmin gave a firm nod in response and said, "True. My estimation is that just the Magnificent Tang Corporation alone is probably worth more than 50 billion yuan."

"That much already?" Jin Xingkui was shaken, disbelief overflowing from his eyes. It must be noted that the Magnificent Tang Corporation had just been established—only more than a year. How could it create so much profit in just a short time? No matter how great their products were and their demands far outstripped the supply, it shouldn't have happened that fast, right?

Gu Changmin went on with a strange face. "Aren't you now in cooperation with the Magnificent Tang Corp., though? Don't tell me you got no idea this company is now investing in Star City? Just that project investment will probably secure them tens of billions of yuan in profit. Their products are making money much faster than the bank's printing machine. I even think that my previous valuation of the Magnificent Tang Corp. at 50 billion yuan is still far short from its actual value."

Jin Xingkui also gave it a thought but still felt that Gu Changmin was exaggerating the facts. He had learned some facts about the Magnificent Tang Corp. himself. The company had low output for each product. The price of each may be very expensive, but it was unlikely that the annual profit was at the 20-30 billion figure. Additionally, there was no way the investment yield from Star City would reach 50 billion either!

"Brother Gu, it's impossible for the Magnificent Tang Corp. to have a total net worth of 50 billion. Unless Tang Xiu also has other investments," said Jin Xingkui seriously.

"You're usually so smart, why have you become so silly now!" Gu Changmin with a strange expression. "What about the real estate developed by your own company? Is it without his investment? Further, are you also forgetting the fact that he's the owner of the Everlasting Feast Hall? That Hao Lei from the Grand Fortune Jewelry is also his subordinate. Now calculate for yourself how much would that be if the assets of the Everlasting Feast Hall and the Grand Fortune Jewelry are added together?"

Gasp...

Only then did Jin Xingkui suddenly realize that he had been underestimating Tang Xiu's wealth too much. Leaving out the Everlasting Feast Hall and the Grand Fortune Jewelry, Tang Xiu invested in his company and the income six months later would be a huge figure as well. Who knew if the Magnificent Tang Corp. had any other investments? If there were, it would simply... let alone 50 billion, it was even likely it was just a hair away from 100 billion.

"That's literally sitting on mountains of gold!" Jin Xingkui wryly smiled and sighed.

Gu Changmin grinningly said, "Whether he's sitting on mountains of gold or not, just with his identity and background alone and the fact that we're on good terms with him is already the luckiest thing. Alright, let's just wait for the night-snack time later. I gotta talk about cooperation with him. I hope he'll be interested."

"You want to cooperate with him? You got any good project?" Jin Xingkui was surprised.

"I'm quite optimistic about the prospect of logistics recently," said Gu Changmin with a smile. "I'm going to set up a large domestic logistics company. Be it the delivery speed or the coverage area in China, I'm gonna press several other large logistics companies. If Tang Xiu is willing to join in, I can use his identity and background to negotiate with some e-commerce business owners. What do you think? Will those e-commerce business owners give us some slices of the pie even if they have their own logistics network?"

Jin Xingkui shook wryly smiled and shook his head after hearing this. Then, he immediately said, "You're literally robbing their food. Those e-commerce guys will never bother to spare you a glance if there's no Tang Xiu. That's for sure."

"Why must we waste Tang Xiu's identity, though?" Gu Changmin grinningly replied.

Chapter 1130: Acquaintances

 

Tang Xiu himself was unaware of Gu Changmin's plans as he was now observing the guests who kept coming in from the outside, many of whom were familiar faces. It made him secretly look forward to the following auction. In all likelihood, the items being auctioned in such high-profile auctions were very valuable and there may be a couple of things that might be useful to him.

"Quite a lot of people came to this auction."

Although Ouyang Lulu also similarly saw a lot of her acquaintances, she didn't get up to greet them as she similarly also didn't want to talk with others.

"Well, there are also some business world celebrities from several nearby cities attending," replied Tang Xiu smilingly. "Also, some from the Occult Sect have arrived, and they seem to have some abilities to boot."

"Ehh? People from the Occult Sect are also here?" Ouyang Lulu was surprised. "Are there any magical weapons being auctioned here, by chance?"

"Who knows?" Tang Xiu lightly smiled. "If anything, those Occult Sect people are hiding in the midst of the urban crowd. They live the same life as ordinary people and only reveal their identity in some special circumstances. Such people generally have quite amazing abilities."

"True that." Ouyang Lulu nodded. "The Occult Sect people do have strange techniques. They also have their own means and channels if they want to seek wealth and could obtain quite a fortune with slight efforts. Further, some of them engaging in business also have some kind of win-win cooperation with all walks of life to make profits."

"So you say, just like your Ouyang Family?" commented Tang Xiu.

"Yup. When the Ouyangs just started, we resorted to many means to not be exposed to light." Ouyang Lulu smiled and said, "But after the continuous growth of the family, we slowly washed our hands and formally became a family of merchants. Still, most of the underground world of Jingmen Island is still controlled by the Ouyangs until now."

Tang Xiu smiled and was about to reply when he suddenly spotted a familiar face in his line of sight. It was Ji Mu of Changxi City.

"What's up?"

Ouyang Lulu noticed Tang Xiu's unusual expression and immediately followed his gaze and asked at the same time.

"Well, just spotted a friend of mine from Changxi," answered Tang Xiu.

"You're on good terms with him?" asked Ouyang Lulu.

Tang Xiu thought about it and replied, "Not bad, I think! He has a good character and a temper much to my liking. This boy is also a cultivator, but I never thought that he'd be able to reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining in such a short time."

"Hmph. Just mid-stage of Qi Refining." Ouyang Lulu snorted and curled her lips. "I can kill him with the flick of my finger."

Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing and rebuked her. "He started cultivating later than you, Lulu. Besides, you've been aided by the cultivation resources I gave you, whereas he never had any. All he's relying on is his own efforts, yet he's been able to cultivate a bit of True Essence energy."

Ouyang Lulu immediately nodded after hearing it and no longer looked at the man with a contemptuous attitude.

"Alright, I'll call him to sit here with us." Tang Xiu smiled and said.

Immediately after, his lips slightly moved and he transmitted his voice over.

At the auction venue, Ji Mu was respectfully accompanying a silver-haired old lady. Suddenly, a voice passed into his hears. He was stunned and stared blankly before turning and looking around. He then found a somewhat familiar face waving at him, but he couldn't remember where he had seen the person, making him puzzled.

Who's this guy?

Ji Mu thought about it. He then approached the silver-haired old lady and asked in a whisper, "Grandma, would you like to find the seat first? I'm going to see someone."

The silver-haired old lay looked gentle and kind. She smilingly nodded and replied, "You youngsters have your own circle, so you don't need to keep me accompany. Also, I'm going back to the North after the auction today."

Ji Mu was shocked and he asked with a bit of reluctance, "Can't you stay for some more time in Changxi, Grandma? I've benefitted a lot by following and learning from you these days, especially in my knowledge about cultivation. I feel I haven't taken care of you well enough all this while."

The old lady smilingly replied, "All kinds of meetings have their own farewell, Sonny. I haven't seen your grandma for more than a decade, and I never thought we'd have been separated just like that of man and Heaven already. Besides, I've been staying in Changxi for some time, so it's time for me to return to the North, else those bunches of boys at home will definitely create a ruckus."

Ji Mo helplessly nodded and whispered, "Then I'm going to go greet my friends first, Grandma. I'll be back to you later."

"Off you go, then!" the old lady slowly nodded and replied.

Ji Mu slightly bowed and turned to walk towards Tang Xiu's direction. Although he really wanted this formidable grandma cultivator to stay, he could only bear his own reluctance to bid farewell since she insisted on leaving. However, that voice just now was very strange. It just directly entered his ear instead of calling out to him normally, which made him secretly startled and scared.

And yet, he really didn't know who that familiar person was, neither could he remember where he had seen him!

"Are you the one calling me, Friend?"

Ji Mu came to Tang Xiu's front and cupped his fists first while asking. However, his pupils suddenly shrunk when his eyes fell on Ouyang Lulu next to Tang Xiu.

Tang Xiu pointed to the vacant seat near them and smilingly said, "It's me, Ji Mu. I don't want anyone to recognize me, so I changed my appearance."

Ji Mu looked happily surprised. After nodding to Ouyang Lulu, he quickly took a seat at Tang Xiu's other side and excitedly said, "I truly never thought I'd bump into you here, Brother Tang. Your face-shifting technique is truly amazing, honest! I felt that you looked somewhat familiar, but I really didn't recognize you."

"It's just minor trick," replied Tang Xiu with a smile. "It's you who's great! To think that you've broken through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining is simply unexpected. Anyhow, if my guess is correct, that old lady next to you should have given you some pointers, yes?"

"Yeah!" Ji Mu nodded. "Grandma Zui Ying has given me guidance and I benefitted quite a lot."

Nearby, the silver-haired old lady randomly found a vacant seat and took it. But when her tranquil eyes glanced at Ji Mu's direction and she was about to take back her vision, her expression slightly shifted all of sudden and her eyes fixedly stayed on Tang Xiu and Ji Mu.

"That person is..."

The old lady focused more on her observation and her body slightly trembled a few seconds after. But she looked overjoyed and nearly didn't hesitate to get up and head to the Tang Xiu's direction. After she came to his front, she ignored Ji Mu who stood up and ceremonially greeted. "Aren't you Mr. Tang?"

Tang Xiu stood up and smilingly said, "Ah, it seems you can recognize me. Have you just returned from the Himalayas?"

The silver-haired old lady excitedly said, "I've been here for a while. The operation has been progressing smoothly over there, so I thought to take advantage of it to have a trip outside of my home in the Northern region. I went to Changxi to visit my old sister, but... I never thought that this old sister of mine has passed away a few years ago."

"Please don't be that cautious. Have a seat first and chat!" Tang Xiu smilingly said.

"Alright!"

The old lady shifted to the dumbfounded-looking Ji Mu and said, "Can I take your seat?"

Ji Mu woke up from his stunned state and hurriedly let her take the seat, saying, "Ah, yes, you can. Please have a seat, Grandma."

After the old lady took a seat, she spoke in a low voice, "I thought it would be very difficult to see you again after we left the Himalayas, Mr. Tang. I never thought that I'd happen to encounter you in this place. That group of old fogies will definitely be envious of me. That's for sure."

Tang Xiu waved and said, "That's all right. We're all fellow Daoists who walk on the cultivation path, so it should be easy for us to meet each other. I just didn't expect that you're with this kid, Ji Mu, though."

"I and Ji Mu's grandma were old sisters who grew up together." The old lady explained, "It was the reason why I came to Changxi—to visit her."

"If my guess is correct, then Ji Mu's grandmother was also a cultivator, yes?" asked Tang Xiu with a smile. "But there's something I feel strange, however. How come none of the later generations of the Ji Family inherited her legacy?"

The silver-haired old lady shook her head and said, "I have no idea about the specific reason, either. Old Sis perhaps thought that only this grandson of hers who is quite outstanding in the Ji Family, so she only taught her cultivation technique to him!"

Ji Mu, who sat next to her, hurriedly interjected. "Grandma, it was not my grandmother who taught me to cultivate, but Brother Tang."

The old lady was stunned and immediately blurted out in amazement. "It was Mr. Tang who taught you to cultivate? Your relationship with him..."

"I and Ji Mu are friends," said Tang Xiu smilingly.

Ji Mu was struck with a sudden shock immediately after hearing it. How could he not witness that the grandmother he admired the most turned out to act very respectful toward Tang Xiu, as though she regarded Tang Xiu as her elder? It was precisely this reason that Tang Xiu's position was elevated by several levels in his heart.

The old lady nodded smilingly. Then, she turned to look at Ji Mu and sighed. "Little Mu, you can have a friend like Mr. Tang is definitely a blessing accumulated from your past lives. Do keep in mind that you must seek Mr. Tang for more advice in the future. He'll surely mold you much better and more brilliantly."

"Understood!"

Ji Mu shot a fervent look at Tang Xiu, but then he asked the question he had been harboring, "Haven't you been out of the North for a short time? How did you get acquainted with Brother Tang? You also said things happened in the Himalayas, what exactly happened there?"

The silver-haired old lady shifted her focus to Tang Xiu and silently shook her head.

Tang Xiu lightly smiled and explained, "Nothing happened, in fact. It's just we fought side by side in the battle against some demonic beasts. Your current strength is still too weak, so don't ask more questions about it, okay? You can go there to experience it yourself when you've reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, or better—the Golden Core Stage!"

Demonic beast?!

Ji Mu was shocked again. He was perfectly aware of how powerful Tang Xiu and Grandma Zui Ying were. He never knew about Tang Xiu's cultivation level and only knew that he was very powerful. But Grandma Zui Ying was at the late-stage of Foundation Establishment and was definitely a very strong expert in existence.