"So, are you the boy in this picture?" he asked again.

As Mao Lu gazed at the old photograph he couldn't help but nod his head in confirmation. It was true, he really was the boy in that picture and he really did know Old man w.a.n.g.

"I still think there might be some kind of mistake. There's no way I should receive an inheritance from Old Man w.a.n.g. We only met once, briefly and it was several years ago.

Even if he doesn't have grandchildren or relatives of any kind… giving me something… It simply doesn't make any sense."

Mr. Baker raised both bushy eyebrows and thoughtfully placed his hand on his chin. "I see now… I see why you were chosen." he muttered.

"Aren't you in debt Mao Lu?" Mr. Baker suddenly asked as he opened up a folder that had been sitting on the coffee table.

"After your family's business went bankrupt debt came from money owed to the bank obviously, but also from various suppliers, as well customers who'd booked in advance and wanted their reservations back.

Your parents also had to pay 50,000 employees a very large redundancy fee, and even more fees kept popping up. The total for the initial debt was 80 million RMB. That had to be immediately paid, and even after paying that there was still 30 million RMB of debt left which only increased with interest each day. Your parents wanted to take out loans but they were refused by the bank.

Then you all got hara.s.sed by debt collectors for a whole year, every last cent was spent on paying the debt, forcing your father to get down on his knees and grovel to his old friends. But they all turned their backs on him.

In the end he was forced to go into any inheritance left behind by his family and take all your personal savings, and even then it still wasn't enough.

Pushed into a corner, Zhang Hou decided that a family suicide was the only option and stabbed your Mother, however he wasn't able to achieve his goal and was put in prison with a life sentence, leaving the magnitude of the debt with you."

"Since then you had to move various times to avoid the gangster debt collectors, you had to use the money that should have been spent on your Mother's funeral on paying back the debt. Yet despite that you didn't beg anyone for help. You worked hard, took out other loans and struggled greatly over the years."

"Mao Lu if anyone needs an inheritance and lots of money, it should be you. Why are you fighting and questioning this? A normal person in your situation would be rejoicing, taking what they can get and running with it. Yet you sit here telling me this isn't meant to be yours."

Mao Lu was shocked, how did Mr. Baker know all this information about him? Had he researched him before the meeting? Why did he make such an in depth research just to give him an inheritance? Mao Lu suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Just because my situation is like this doesn't mean I should become a beggar."

"First and foremost I am a man of principles Mr Baker. My mother taught me never to steal, never to beg, to always be sincere and always return a favour.

I also have my pride. I will not take what isn't mine just to help myself. I will not walk over dead people like Old Man w.a.n.g. I will not become less of a human being because I am struggling." Mao Lu boldly and resolutely stated his feelings.

Mr. Baker leaned back against the sofa, a slight smile on his lips. He was impressed. What a heroic aura, what strong words, what an unbendable will. This is someone who makes a promise and will stick by it, not going against his principles. "I can see why w.a.n.g chose him" Baker thought. This boy definitely had the qualities of a Gatekeeper.

"Rest a.s.sured, the Inheritance truly is for you, no one else deserves it." Mr Baker calmly announced. "So now please accept it without a fuss."

Mr.Baker took the large envelope he'd initially brought and handed it to Mao Lu.

Mao Lu felt like arguing some more but Mr. Baker's words sounded so certain, and if this inheritance really was for him he wasn't in a position to refuse it. So he gingerly opened the envelope and took out three official doc.u.ments.

The first one was a deed to some land in Longsheng. Actually it wasn't just some land, it was 400 acres of land as well as a property. Which at the bottom of the deed the current value of the property and land was written as... 50 million RMB, that was $7.7million USD and £5.8million. This land and property were already worth more than his remaining debt. Mao Lu's breath hitched and his hands shook.

He then turned to the second doc.u.ment, it listed monetary cash a.s.sets. When he saw the numbers his eyes bulged. It seemed that Old man w.a.n.g had a Swiss Bank account which had 10 billion USD inside of it, in the UK he had another account with 20 billion GBP. Mao Lu gulped… And in his Chinese bank account there was over 100 billion CNY/RMB.

Mao Lu's throat became a bit dry and his hands shook more violently. Altogether that was 335 billion CNY, in American dollars that was 51 billion USD, and in British pounds that was 38 billion GBP.

Billions… this was big money… This was ridiculous. Did he just become a billionaire???

Hands still shaking Mao Lu turned to the third doc.u.ment. He couldn't believe there was still more to inherit.

On the third doc.u.ment there was a list of t.i.tles being pa.s.sed on to him. In a variety of European countries there was t.i.tles such as Count, Lord, Earl and Duke...there were even political positions that he was automatically inheriting. Mao Lu couldn't believe his eyes. This was so outrageous it was almost funny. Mao Lu was half hoping someone would jump into the room and yell IT'S A PRANK!

With hands shaking even harder he looked up at Mr. Baker, "What did Old Man w.a.n.g do for a living!?"

How did that friendly old man he'd met all those years ago turn out to be someone of such wealth and prestige.

"w.a.n.g Cao was the esteemed Gatekeeper of the mortal realm" Mr. Baker said in a blunt it's-matter-of-fact tone of voice.

A Gatekeeper!? He'd never heard of such a thing before.

"What is a Gatekeeper exactly?"

"A Gatekeeper is someone who controls the doorways of a realm. The Gatekeeper protects a realm and prevents it from being invaded by other realms. At the same time the Gatekeeper also controls migration in and out of the realm they control." Mr. Baker continued in his matter of fact tone.

"... I'm sorry… I don't quite follow."

"Imagine that there is a big door to the Universe and you are the one that holds the key to that door. Since you hold that key you become the Gatekeeper.

w.a.n.g Cao was the previous Gatekeeper for this realm and had been the Gatekeeper for over 6,000 years. If he'd been able to progress further in his cultivation he probably would have been the Gatekeeper much longer, but sadly he didn't have the talent.

Before him was Jonathan Creek, before him was Elena Teresa, before her was Abdoah Allayah and the list goes on."

"There have been Gatekeepers since the beginning of this universe. Forget the material wealth you see on the paper, there is much more than just those billions, and even those billions of paper money is nothing compared to your real inheritance...and that is that you, Mao Lu. You are the next Gatekeeper."

"What!!!"

Mao Lu couldn't believe what he'd just heard, actually he was certain any normal person probably wouldn't believe it. First off this whole Gatekeeper thing sounded impossible and crazy, and even if it was all true… Why him? Why would he become the next Gatekeeper out of the 7 billion people on this Earth. This was crazy.

"You may find it strange now, and you may not believe me, but I am telling you the truth. You are the next Gatekeeper."

As Mr. Baker said this he pulled out a book from the air. It literally just appeared out of nowhere into his hand.

Mao Lu's eyes bulged wide open.

"This" Mr. Baker handed the book to Mao Lu, "is your true inheritance. Only a Gatekeeper can open it. When you do open it, I'm sure everything will become clear to you."

The book seemed incredibly old, it was bound together with roots, and the paper on the cover looked like it was made from ancient lychee leaves. The texture was very peculiar, but what was more strange to Mao Lu was the strong attraction he felt to it.

It was whispering to him, small voices, saying "come closer… closer… Open me…"

His hand unconsciously found itself moving to turn the page but then Mr. Baker grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I was informed by w.a.n.g Cao that this should be opened privately. So I suggest taking it home first."

Mao Lu felt a bit dazed but nodded in agreement. He suddenly became fearful of this book, for a few seconds he was certain that it was controlling him. Mao didn't like that.

"Now to claim your property, money, and t.i.tles, I need you to sign here, here and here. I also need your bank details" he said as he took out various forms and became very professional.

The sudden change stunned Mao Lu but he was too overwhelmed to comment on it. In the end he spent an hour filling out various forms.

After he signed the last doc.u.ment his hand almost cramped.

"Thank you" Mr. Baker said with a cool tone as he put the doc.u.ments into a suitcase and handed Mao Lu a key which was for the property in Longsheng.

He then reached into his pocket and gave Mao Lu a platinum metallic business card.

"This has my personal number on it. If you are ever confused about something, need some help, or want a casual chat I suggest you call. Mao Lu thanked Mr. Baker and kindly accepted his card.

"Well then, you will have your money by the end of the day, the details for the foreign bank accounts will also be give to you then in an encrypted email. So for now I hope you go home and learn about your Gatekeeper role properly." Mr. Baker reminded like a teacher reminding his students to do their homework at the end of the day.

"I will." Mao Lu nodded.

And like that he left B&B law firm in a daze and got on the bus towards his apartment in Daxing.

Little did he know that the moment he left the building; powerful organisations from all around the world, as well as extremely powerful figures, were all notified that the new Gatekeeper was named Mao Lu.