Returning from the Immortal World

Tang Xiu hung up and looked at Ouyang Lulu, whose eyes stared wide at him. He forced a wry smile at her and said, “You just heard the call, so I gotta leave and deal with this issue myself. Lulu, you stay here. I’ll go to Paradise Manor to find you after I’m done with this issue.”

“Why don’t you give Li Yuquan directly to Duanmu Lin, though?” asked Ouyang Lulu curiously.

While watching Ouyang Lulu’s expression, Tang Xiu explained the concerns he had inside to her and finally said, “The most important thing is to make Li Yuquan seal his mouth. It’s the sole reason for us to find him, to begin with. That’s why I need to deal with it by myself, so I can rest assured.”

Ouyang Lulu could tell the seriousness of the matter and said, “Alright, I’m going with you too! Else, Duanmu Lin will be very curious if you leave all of sudden and leave me here alone.”

Tang Xiu gave it a thought and said, “Alright, then. But you can’t go back to the Bluestar Villa with me. I don’t want to get you involved in this matter.”

“You go directly to the Bluestar Villa. I’m heading straight to Paradise Manor,” said Ouyang Lulu smilingly.

Tang Xiu felt a bit sorry for her because he didn’t know whether Mu Wanying would return to the Bluestar Villa to rest in the evening. But if she was really there and he took Ouyang Lulu back with him, then he could expect a big headache.

****

At the #06 God’s Nectar Store.

After hanging up, Wolf Head looked at Li Yuquan and said, “If my guess is not mistaken, my Boss will move to rescue your wife and kid. But you must take a trip with me and go see him in person.”

“Your Boss?”

Li Yuquan’s mouth twitched a few times as the shock he felt inside got more intense. He truly couldn’t figure out why would Wolf Head actually work for someone else given his personality and strength. Further, Wolf Head was also very respectful to this “Boss” of his given his expression.

He wanted to ask the man who his Boss was. But when he recalled the warning from Wan Liang before, he could only put that intense curiosity away and noddingly say, “I can accept everything even if you directly kill me afterward so long as it can save my wife and kid.”

Wolf Head patted his shoulder and said, “You’re a man, and I can tell you got some hard time abound. Let’s go! And tell everything to the Boss about your situation. He’s always been a reasonable man and he’ll definitely make the arrangements.”

The night pointed to 1 AM.

Tang Xiu was back at Bluestar Villa. When he came to the meeting room, he saw Wolf Head and Li Yuquan inside. As he shot a gaze at the latter, he lightly asked, “Are you that Li Yuquan? The one who stole the Aeroglider from the army?”

“I am.” Li Yuquan nodded.

“There’s something that piqued my curiosity, though. Where did you get the guts to do that?” asked Tang Xiu, “You must know that the Aeroglider is now a very top secret of the military and ordinary soldiers are impossible to know anything about it. How did you know it and even successfully steal it?”

“I used to be a member of the Blue Eagle special force and the captain of the team,” explained Li Yuquan. “There have been power struggles among my superiors, wherein I got framed and sacrificed as a victim. But the top brass of the opposite side won the game, so he instructed his nephew outside to make my life miserable. Therefore, this nephew of his kidnapped my wife and kid and demanded 2 million as ransom.”

“2 million yuan can get them back?” Tang Xiu frowned.

“The odds are perhaps only 1% and even less than that,” said Li Yuquan bitterly. “Still, I need to know where my wife and kid are, as I’m going to take them back if they don’t let them go. I may be a bit afraid if I were to clash with some experts from foreign countries, but I’m confident I can solve those who kidnapped my family easily.”

“Pity that you won’t the chance,” said Tang Xiu. “The state’s intel network has been fully deployed to find your traces all over the world, literally. You’ll be arrested once you’re found and you may even be killed on the spot.”

“I understand that,” replied Li Yuquan. “But still, this is a gamble I must take. I just never thought that I’d lose so badly.”

“In actuality, it’s not like you can decide whether you can win or lose in this matter.” Tang Xiu shook his head. “If anything, I can help you if you promise to follow a condition of mine.”

Li Yuquan’s eyes lit up. What he was most looking forward to was getting a commitment, so he said, “I’ll agree to any condition as long as you can save my wife and kid. I can even give my life for you. I won’t even blink if you want to kill me.”

“A corpse is useless to me, mind you,” replied Tang Xiu indifferently. “I can save your wife and kid. You have my guarantee that I can save them as long as they’re still alive. The only condition I have for you is once I save your family, you must take the initiative to expose your whereabouts. Make it look like you’re walking into the trap of those from intel agency.”

“That’s it?”

Li Yuquan was dumbfounded. What kind of condition was this? He could just give himself directly to the person who caught him if he wanted to!

“I’m not done yet,” continued Tang Xiu. “After you’ve entered the trap, you mustn’t say anything about seeing me and neither will you tell anything about Wolf Head and the God’s Nectar exclusive store.”

“You can count my word on that!” promised Li Yuquan without hesitation.

Tang Xiu nodded and went on, “Alright, but you must be aware that only a dead-end awaits you once you’ve entered the trap. But maybe I can save your life if I stretch my hand on this matter.”

“I’m at your command,” replied Li Yuquan respectfully.

Tang Xiu smiled slightly and extended a finger. “There is one last question from me. You must answer honestly and hide nothing.”

“Please do ask!” said Li Yuquan solemnly.

“Did you tell anyone else about the Aeroglider save the auction organizer?” asked Tang Xiu.

“No.” Li Yuquan shook his head and said, “Just to get rid of that Aeroglider, it took me painstaking efforts to find out the auction at the Blue Starfish Mansion, to begin with. Besides, this stuff is too important for me to tell others that easily. I didn’t even tell the auctioneer the entire functions of the Aeroglider when I explained it to him.”

It was something Tang Xiu was aware of, so he nodded. “Alright, that’s it. Now tell me where your wife and kid are being held, or the number I can contact the other party with.”

“I got it saved in my cell phone,” said Li Yuquan. “That guy told me to call it once I have the money. But I don’t know where they are.”

Tang Xiu squinted and said, “You can immediately call him now and tell him that you already got the money and ask where the exchange will be carried out.”

Following Tang Xiu’s instructions, Li Yuquan quickly dialed the number but nobody picked up his call. He called for five ties and it was still the same.

“That guy is very likely to be sleeping at this hour,” said Tang Xiu. “Let’s just wait since we can’t contact him now. You are to rest here tonight and then contact the other party early in the morning.”

After dealing with Li Yuquan, Tang Xiu brought Wolf Head to his study. As both men lit up their cigarettes, Tang Xiu sighed. “You can expect to see fights wherever there are people. It seems that the struggle for power and profits in the army is much more serious than I thought. Given Li Yuquan’s abilities, he would’ve been able to solve tons of problems for the country and carry out missions many people cannot had he continued to stay in the army. For a soldier with such good abilities to end up in this predicament is truly unfortunate.”

“I used to be in the inner circle myself, Sect Master. I naturally understand the situation inside.” Wolf Head sneered. “Li Yuquan is truly unfortunate, indeed, but the opposite party is simply disgusting. People said that worst misfortune may be fallen onto your wife and kid when such a situation arises, but to think that the other party actually kidnapped Li Yuquan’s family is outright despicable.”

“They seem to be using him as a warning to others,” said Tang Xiu faintly.

“But do you really want to keep his life, Sect Master?” asked Wolf Head while hesitating.

“This guy is in despair and he’ll give his everything, even his life, once we receive him after this. Besides, he’s a talented man and very likely to become a great talent if nurtured well,” said Tang Xiu lightly.

“Then, I’d like to thank you on his behalf, Sect Master,” said Wolf Head gratefully.

“No. Don’t thank me.” Tang Xiu waved and said, “I wouldn’t just sit idly by if I happened to run into some ordinary people whose wives and kids were kidnapped before my eyes. However, Li Yuquan is a special case since I need to ask a favor from Duanmu Lin. Alright, let’s save the talk for the time being. Tell me about the specific progress of the preparation Jin Shi has been carrying out to set up the intelligence network. At which step you’re at now?”

“I just came over for less than a week, so I’m not too clear about the details either,” replied Wolf Head respectfully. “But one thing is certain. We’ve bought a lot of people in the southern region of China and already have the foundation laid out. Additionally, there’s another thing. Jin Shi has broken through to the Golden Core Stage.”

“I know about the entire situation as well.” Tang Xiu nodded and said, “I entrusted the establishment of our intel network to Jin Shi since I think he can do it well. But since you’re back to the mainland now, you should also help him and work hard to lay out the entire intel network in entire China in the shortest possible time. Afterward, I want you to set up the web for the network in every corner of the world.”

“But more haste will lead to less speed, Sect Master.” Wolf Head argued.

“Sigh, I know that. I don’t need you to say it to me!” Tang Xiu sighed. “Now, the only way left is to provide the funds and pour it away. I’m sure Jin Shi can still do a good job on this basis.”

“I have a suggestion, or you can say a recommendation, Boss.” Wolf Head hesitated. “But I dunno how to say it.”

“You got a suggestion? What is it?” asked Tang Xiu.

“Our sect has a lot of inner disciples, but the number of the outer ones is far too few, I think.” Wolf Head said, “Excluding those children we’ve been raising up, we only got a few hundreds of them out there. If we want to develop the sect, I think we should secretly train and foster some capable people such as some businessmen in China.”