Returning from the Immortal World

Tang Xiu took time to observe the facial contour of the fat middle-aged man. The man indeed had an inborn facial contour of good fortune from the heavens. Though he may not become some super-rich man, having a net worth of more than a billion wouldn’t be a problem.

Song Hao! It was the name of this fat middle-aged man, of the Miao ethnicity descent, who came out of the Miao Region to make his livelihood outside the region. He was very intelligent, with quite a vision and out of the ordinary bearing. Through his story, Tang Xiu knew that he became rich overnight more than ten years ago and had a wealth worth tens of million of yuan.

The man, however, did not get bewitched by the sudden fall of wealth, and even realized the amazing profits offered by the jade market afterward. He began to study everything about jades, constantly consulting the experts on the subject, and kept lingering in the major jade trading market without stopping, and even repeatedly worked in the mine producing jade. After several years accumulating all that knowledge, he gradually found out some doorways and then started to involve himself in the business as a middleman and as a buyer using his silver tongue and the knowledge he had grasped. He then slowly accumulated wealth and eventually amassed more than a billion net worth at present.

“Divine Doctor Tang, gambling on stones is all about your eyes and vision. Luck only accounts for a minuscule part of it. This line of water is very deep, and you better not rush to bet rashly if you don’t grasp it,” said the fat middle-aged man in a whisper.

“No worries!” Tang Xiu chuckled. “I’m not the kind of man who got jealous and envious for the others’ wealth. My main purpose in coming to this exhibition center is to buy jades, to begin with. I won’t waste too much money since I already bought some from you here. Of course, I’m going to play and buy it if I got a good hunch and the price is not that high, though.”

Song Hao was well aware that Tang Xiu was not short on money. He was, after all, the celebrated young Divine Doctor who could make a lot of money by relying on his superb medical expertise. Who never had a headache nowadays? More so that those super-rich people would probably be willing to spend a huge sum of money just to seek his medical treatment if they had some incurable diseases.

After a short while, the group then came to the place where two sheds were separated, along with streams of people. Not only this shed had a massive number of raw stones, it also had a stone cutter. Hundreds of people gathered nearby, and their eyes were now staring at the stone-cutting expert in blue overalls. Precisely speaking, their eyes were focused at the football-sized stone that was being carried by the stone-cutting expert.

“Young man, you bought this stone for a total of 2,000 yuan. Now that you have it cut and there happens to be green inside, it shows that you have won. How about you give me this stone for 2 million yuan?” A well-dressed middle-aged man next to the stone-cutting expert looked at the young man in front and spoke out his offer.

“I’ll pay 3 million! (5 million!)”

Two voices sounded nearly at the same time just as the well-dressed middle-aged man’s voice faded away. The one who bid 5 million was a young man whose looks were ordinary but exuded the aura of an upper person. He looked like around 26-27 of age, and he was accompanied by two people—a young man and a young woman.

The owner of the stone, the excited young man, looked so happy and immediately said as though he was afraid that the bidder would take back his words, “5 million it is. Transfer the money to me now, and I’ll sell you this stone.”

The young man who offered 5 million yuan nodded with satisfaction. He nodded to the young woman beside him and the 5 million yuan were quickly transferred to the bank account given by the stone owner.

“Do you want to polish this stone?” Asked the stone-cutting expert.

“Polish it,” said the young man who bought the stone without hesitation.

The stone-cutting expert nodded without a word and carefully polished the stone in his hand. Along with his movements, the green color on the stone became more and more vivid, and after several minutes, a palm-sized green color on the stone presented itself before everyone’s eyes.

“Wait!”

A voice suddenly sounded amid the crowd as Tian Jingnan, accompanied by two men, quickly squeezed forward. His eyes fell on the young man and smilingly said, “Young man, how about selling this stone to me? Since you’ve spent 5 million, I’m willing to buy it for 10 million yuan.”

“I apologize, but I’m not short on money,” said the young man with a smile.

Tian Jingnan’s breath stagnated. After hesitating for a moment, he offered again, “20 million. If you’re willing to sell this stone to me, I’ll pay you 20 million yuan.”

A smile outlined on the corner of the young man’s mouth, yet he still shook his head and said, “I’m sorry. I’m only interested in gambling on the stones. It doesn’t matter to me whether I’ll earn or lose big since what I really enjoy is the process of cutting the stones and polishing them. Master, please continue!”

With a helpless expression, Tian Jingnan shook his head. He felt like that he was really out of luck this year. The stone he set his eyes on previously had somebody beat him to it, and now that he found that this raw stone probably contained jade of good quality, the other party was unwilling to sell it yet again.

Amid the crowd, Tang Xiu stood without speaking. He had secretly covered the stone with his perception and secretly lamented on the luck possessed by that young man. That jade material contained jadeite inside, and it was also the type of Emperor Green Jadeite. Its value would be at least nine digits once it was taken out.

“Let’s go!” said Tang Xiu with a smile while pulling Long Zhengyu around.

Long Zhengyu hesitated. He wryly smiled after realizing that Song Hao also followed Tang Xiu. He shot a deep gaze at the young man who bought the jade material first and then chased after Tang Xiu.

“Why did you rush to pull me back, Tang Xiu?” Asked Long Zhengyu. “We hadn’t finished watching that good play.”

“Gloating over someone else’s misfortune when they lost in their gamble shows that we are nothing but pricks with ill character. In case we beat them in the gamble, it will just add more to their jealousy and envy toward us. Either way is not a good thing—a troublesome thing, I should say. So why bother?” Said Tang Xiu with a light smile.

“You’re a paradox, mate!” Long Zhengyu was at a loss whether he had to cry or laugh upon hearing this, and then said, “Nevermind. You don’t want to watch, then we’ll not watch! Anyways, do you still want to play? If you don’t, let’s just take the time to send these jades back.”

“Let’s call it a day.” Tang Xiu shook his head and lightly smiled.

A few hours later, after the container truck sent all the jades and stones to South Gate Town and unloaded them in the courtyard, Tang Xiu transferred the money to Song Hao and sent him away.

“What are you planning to do next, Tang Xiu?” Asked Long Zhengyu who looked somewhat bored.

“Rest at home and let Xiaohan get used to with the situation at home before going to the exhibition center again in the afternoon,” replied Tang Xiu.

“You’re going to the exhibition center again?” Asked Long Zhengyu, surprised.

“I got nothing to do, so I might as well go there to have some fun again.” Tang Xiu shrugged his shoulders. “What about you? What’s your plan for today?”

“I’m going home first!” Long Zhengyu said. “Besides, I must go to Nine Dragons Island a couple days later, so I need to tend to some things here in Star City before I leave. That’s right. If you run into that young man who bought that stone today, you must be on guard against him. That guy… has a high knowledge like some kind of demon.”

Tang Xiu dazed for a second and the appearance of the young man who gave off the vibe of upper-class nobility appeared inside his head. He then asked immediately, “Who exactly is he?”

“He’s Chu Yuan, the heir apparent of the Imperial Garden from Shanghai, the owner of the Imperial Effulgent Group, and the founder of the Imperial Wherewithal Ventures,” answered Long Zhengyu.

Tang Xiu slightly furrowed his brows. The name “Imperial Garden” was somehow familiar to him. It was like he had heard it somewhere but couldn’t remember where.

“Is he very resourceful?”

Long Zhengyu was silent for half a minute, as he then faintly said, “He’s far more than resourceful. He’s simply… a devilishly talented man. The wealth he possesses is comparable to any prominent family in the country, and he has armed forces behind his back that can make people’s hair stand erect. His influence is not limited to the business world, even inside the military…”

Tang Xiu’s complexion changed and tempestuous waves rose inside his heart. He was perfectly well aware of the existence of the genuine prominent families in the country such as the Tang and Yao Families. They had a robust heritage and deep roots, along with colossal wealth to boot. The armed forces under these families were also very strong. And yet, that Chu Yuan was comparable to those genuine prominent families, what exactly was his origin?

While gazing deeply at Long Zhengyu, Tang Xiu asked, “Why do I feel like you seem to know him well?”

“You’re mistaken. What I know about him is close to negligible.” Long Zhengyu shook his head. “Appearances can be deceiving, and the depth of the sea cannot be measured. The Imperial Garden has been in the existence for hundreds of years, even the four major families in the turbulent times of war were deeply affected by it. Even in the anti-Japanese War Resistance period, it was too many to count how many outstanding talented people emerged from the Immortal Garden and turned into the War of Resistance heroes. Although those Imperial Garden’s people all left their positions after the end of the War of Resistance and disappeared from all walks of life, the Imperial Garden was always the Imperial Garden, as it has always been the source of dread and wariness for those in power from generation to generation. What I know about Chu Yuan is not much, but… I know way too much about the Imperial Garden.”

In a flash, Tang Xiu seemed to realize the meaning behind Long Zhengyu’s explanation. He nodded silently and then said, “I see. Go tend to your things, then! Anyways, let’s gather together before you leave for Nine Dragons Island. I should still be here in Star City in the near future.”

After complying, Long Zhengyu then left the car for Tang Xiu. As a matter of fact, what he explained to Tang Xiu was not much, just merely those words. However, not only that had an impact on Tang Xiu but also on himself. He originally did not want to mention this “Chu Yuan” name, because Chu Yuan was actually his goal, a target and an objective he had been striving towards all his life.

In the villa courtyard.

Gu Yin, whose face was curious, observed the tranquil Tang Xiaohan who silently stood at the side. She wanted to speak with him, but was worried that Tang Xiaohan was someone who was not easy to get along with.

Finally, Tang Xiu’s eyes fell on Tang Xiaohan after Long Zhengyu left. He turned and waved to Gu Yin and then smilingly said, “Yinyin, come here, I’ll introduce you to him. His name is Tang Xiaohan. You can call him junior brother or Xiaohan.”

Gu Yin stepped forward. After adorably nodding in response, she reached out her hand to Tang Xiaohan. But when she realized that Tang Xiaohan’s eyes could not see, she immediately grabbed his hand and said, “Hello, junior brother. I’m your senior sister, Gu Yin. I should be older than you, but only a few years older at the most.”

Tang Xiaohan smiled all of sudden and replied, “Hi, senior sister. Are we… are we going to be a family later?”

Gu Yin looked up to see Tang Xiu. Seeing that the latter slightly nodded to her, she immediately said with a smile, “We are going to be a family later, junior brother. Acknowledging Master for a day means that he’s a father for life. We are all Master’s children.”

“A Master for a day is a father for life.”

Inwardly, Tang Xiaohan recited this sentence silently for a few dozen times. Only then did he firmly nod and said, “I’m very happy. I have family members, more so, I have two now.”

“What you said is incorrect, junior brother,” said Gu Yin with a smile. “There are not only two family members. You’ll have a lot of family members in the future.”

Notes:

[1] The major families in the early era of the Republic of China are the Houses of Jiang, Song, Kong, and Chen.