The beautiful suns.h.i.+ne bestowed its brightness on the Earth amid the blooming beautiful purple and red flowers, adorning the villas and courtyard in a beautiful and picturesque scene. Tang Xiu was calmly sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard while holding a book, yet he didn't have any thoughts to read it. He just received sudden news that made him put his plan leaving for Thailand on hold temporarily.

"We can only wait more time, Mr. Tang," said Singluen with a helpless expression, though with a bit of regret in his eyes while he sat across Tang Xiu.

Tang Xiu nodded without a word and didn't speak for a long while. Then, he remarked, "Well, since your Big Brother is in Europe for some time, we'll talk about it again later then! Just keep an eye on the situation over there. Once you get a message that he has returned to Thailand, do inform me immediately."

"You can rest a.s.sured about that. I'll send some people to keep an eye on him," said Singluen. "Also, about our deal…"

"I'll wait for you in Shanghai three days from now," said Tang Xiu. "As long as you bring me a batch of Sorcerer Stones, I'll give you the medicinal pill. Singluen, we did have some conflicts before, but I shall let bygones be bygones and I hope you also do the same.I really hope that we can become friends and not enemies in the future."

"I understand, Mr. Tang," said Singluen solemnly, "Although there's a mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+p between us, I dare not provoke you and I can't afford to. I also know that it's better to be friends with powerhouses rather than becoming their enemies, to begin with. I'll also never do anything unfair to you in my life as long as you don't harm me either."

"I'll hold onto your words. You can go," said Tang Xiu with satisfaction.

Singluen didn't stay any longer and left under Tang Xiu's watchful gaze. He knew that he had encountered a huge opportunity due to the jade rat. He wanted to seize it and thus, he must hurry to go back to figure out the whereabouts of his brother and try his best to help Tang Xiu get the jade pig.

The zodiac jade carvings may bring about good effects for him, yet the gap between it with the miraculous elixir was like a chasm. He wanted to get a lot of medicinal pills. He wanted to be a genuine powerhouse, and hoped that he could use that miraculous elixir to cultivate a large number of experts. At least, they must be at the level of Tang Xiu's men who had powerfully crushed even the renowned Zhang Family in Macao and frightened them.

****

Inside the compound, Tang Xiu was watching Chen Anhu who was now cultivating in accordance to the cultivation route he had taught him. While looking at him, however, he secretly sighed inwardly. As a matter of fact, he had actually helped Chen Anhu to embark on the path of cultivation, yet the path to immortality was fraught with dangers. One might even lose their souls and be consigned to eternal d.a.m.nation once they failed.

As for the present… he had imparted cultivation technique to his parents, as well as several core members of the Tang Family. Even then, he didn't have much hope for these people either. After all, cultivating on the path to immortality was not something that could be achieved overnight. Whether they could have great accomplishments, or whether they could ascend to the Immortal World in the future, everyone could only rely on themselves alone.

"Are you thinking about something, Xiu'er?"

Tang Yunde, who came inside from the outside, accidentally found himself walking in front of his son. He hadn't even noticed it.

Tang Xiu came back to his senses and smilingly said, "Yeah, I've been in thought about something, Dad. Anyway, what's up? Are you busy with something?"

"Sure. I do have something to be busy with," said Tang Yunde with a chuckle. "I just looked at the financial statements of the company in Macao and kinda learned about some business of the company here. In fact, it's your Uncle Chen who's the real busy man. That reminds me, though. What's up with him now? He also wants to follow your path and cultivate now?"

"Uncle Chen is no longer suitable to walk on the cultivation path, Dad," said Tang Xiu. "At least not for now. I did teach him some physical exercises to keep his body healthy and to prolong his lifespan, giving him the taste of cultivation first."

"Everyone wishes to obtain the fate of becoming immortal, yet how would such a path be easy to traverse? Otherwise, there would be tons of cultivators in this world, so not as scarce as it is now. That's right, have you dealt with your business here in Macao? What's your next plan, continue on to Thailand?"

"Nah, Singluen just told me that his brother just left for Europe, so I won't set off to Thailand for the time being" Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "I'm planning to go back to the mainland tomorrow to deal with some important issues."

Tang Yunde produced a wry smile, "I really felt that I've become more and more useless when compared to you, son. But you're still young, so don't work too hard. Money has no bounds and struggle is a never-ending phenomenon. As for your cultivation, you should also relax a bit and slowly progress forward. I just wanna say that you also need a good rest, to have a love life, and enjoy your time. Besides, your mother is looking forward to holding her grandchildren."

"Ugh, I'm only 21 now, Dad, so there's no rush about that," said Tang Xiu. "Besides, being young means that I am full of energy to work hard and struggle more! My path is already fated and I'm already destined to be very different from others. I will fall into difficulties in the future if I'm not working hard now."

Tang Yunde fell into silence for a while. Then he seriously asked, "Xiu'er, can you tell me what your ultimate dream is? I always watch you struggle and go all out; what is it for?"

Tang Xiu stood up and pointed to the vast expanse of the sky, "The goal of the first phase is to break the shackles of the sky above my head and ascend to a higher plane. As for the future, I'll become an eagle that flies in the sky or a fish that traverses the bottom of the ocean—one who struggles to compete with myriads of others to break free from the frozen sky—one who upsets the lonely corridor that presides over mother earth and becomes a sovereign who oversees the ups and downs in life."

"You…"

Tang Yunde stared at him with a dull face. He opened his mouth, yet swallowed back all the words he was about to say. His son's remarks made him realize that his son's ambitions and heart were so big that he dared not imagine them.

Tang Xiu produced a faint smile and looked at Tang Yunde. Then, he suddenly said, "Father, I just changed my mind. I'm going back to the mainland now and won't waste my time here. I'll make a trip back right away. Ah, that's right, when will you go back?"

"I'm going to stay here for a while. I'll be going back after settling all the issues with the ports," answered Tang Yunde.

Tang Xiu nodded at his answer and shouted in a deep voice, "Gu Tao, Zhang Jue! You both will protect my father's safety for some time. I'll arrange some others to take over your duty once I get back."

"Understood!" Gu Tao and Zhang Jue appeared outside the courtyard's gate and respectfully replied.

****

As dusk came, Tang Xiu had already returned to Shanghai. The first person he contacted was Xue Yu and learned that she was currently in the Xichang Province. He immediately caught up with her along with Mo Awu, Jin s.h.i.+, Xue Sha, and Hei Xiong. It was already ten at night when he arrived there.

Chang City was the capital of the Xichang Province in the western region. It had been rapidly developing in recent years and was now ranked as a second-tier city in China. In the center of its downtown area was Bayi Square, which contained high-rise buildings accompanied by upscale commercial establishments. Here, the Chang City Hotel Hotel was located.

"Tang Xiu!"

At the entrance of the hotel, Xue Yu in her usual long white dress saw Tang Xiu get out of the car in front of her. Happiness was evident on her face because they had not seen each other for a while since she was in another region while having nothing much to do, whereas Tang Xiu was always busy elsewhere.

Tang Xiu let out a light smile and came to hug her. Then, he smiled and asked, "What kind of busy work do you got going on here?"

"Well, it was the idea you told me before," said Xue Yu with a smile. "I felt that it was easy to do, so I did it. Well, I now got jades and antiques apart from medicinal materials. And the company I just registered is kinda growing very fast and is quite profitable from the business."

"It's okay doing business, but don't forget to cultivate. Don't make it delay your progress," said Tang Xiu with a smile. "The path we'll be walking on in the future is destined to be different from ordinary people."

"I know," replied Xue Yu with a smile.

Tang Xiu nodded and asked, "Alright, shall we go now? Let's take a rest here today and we'll head to Longquan Bay in Kanas tomorrow morning at once. We're going to open the Immortal Trove there early to see what's stored inside."

Xue Yu looked hesitant and asked, "Can we stay a day more? I need to tend to some more things here. I already invited some guests that will arrive in Chang City tomorrow afternoon."

"Who are they?" asked Tang Xiu, surprised.

"There are two of them, one of whom is an herbalist, while the other one is a Dragon Vein specialist," explained Xue Yu. "Both of them are not ordinary people and I just got acquainted with them through the elder of my family when I returned to the village. The elder said that if I get the help of these two people, it would equal to having two right arms for me in the future."

"I know an herbalist is someone who makes a living by gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains, but what is a Dragon Vein specialist exactly? I never heard of it before?" asked Tang Xiu with confusion.

Xue Yu grabbed his arm and entered the elevator under the countless envious gazes of people in the surroundings. The former then said, "A Dragon Vein specialist is actually a kind of Feng Shui expert, just with a specialty to look for the earth vein which is called Dragon Vein. These kind of people are very proficient in Feng Shui and what they are best at is finding and prospecting mineral deposits. Rumors have it that this Dragon Vein specialist has made sensational feats, though I can't tell you about it specifically now. Besides, you're going to see him anyway."

"He's good at finding minerals, you said?" asked Tang Xiu with raised brows.

"Of course!" affirmed Xue Yu. "Besides, he seems to be a world-renowned geologist as well."

"Alright, we'll stay a day more and will meet him tomorrow then." Tang Xiu nodded and said, "Anyway, let's not talk about this. How have you been all this while? You're not tired after running about everywhere?"

A smile covered Xue Yu's face and she replied, "I'm not, but I often think that I don't have sufficient funds, though. It's been kinda limiting my moves."

Tang Xiu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Why didn't you tell me if you're short on money? Your man may be lacking many things, but money isn't one of them. Alright, I'll transfer one billion yuan to you later. Just tell me if it's not enough."

"Pfft, hehe…"

Amid the wake of their simmering laughter, a discordant voice suddenly sounded in the elevator, "I've seen people bragging so amazingly, yet never once have I seen one that blows it up to this height. A billion, huh? Why don't you say 10 billion outright?"

Tang Xiu and Xue Yu exchanged glances as the duo gazed at the only outsider in the elevator at the same time. It was a young man in a suit and tie, clamped with a briefcase beside his elbow. He had just sneered at them.

"What's your name, buddy?" asked Tang Xiu with a smile.

The young man rolled his eyes, showing that he didn't feel like answering. His eyes, however, swept over the fine skin on Xue Yu's neck and her face before he finally spoke to her, "Name is Wu Mingkun; I should be a few years older than you. You won't suffer a loss if you call me a brother."

Tang Xiu broke into laughter and didn't talk to Wu Mingkun again. When the elevator reached the fourth floor, Xue Yu pulled him out of the elevator and they pa.s.sed through a long corridor before entering a deluxe room.

"I know that young man, Tang Xiu. He's a very persistent salesman and he seems to be coming to this hotel to pester a business owner here every day. It seems like he wants to discuss some big deals or something," said Xue Yu smilingly while taking off Tang Xiu's coat gently.

Note:

Wu Mingkun here means a man who wins a female heart, a kind of sarcastic reply from the character, not truly his name