Chapter 1043: Praises
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
After chatting with the guests, Tang Xiu left since he still had some things to do. When he was just at the door, he happened to see Qin Ling coming over, eyes glancing around as if he was looking for someone.
“Hey, dude. You turn out to be here!” Upon seeing Tang Xiu, Qin Ling’s eyes lit up as he called out and strode over.
“Have you been looking for me?” asked Tang Xiu with a smile. “Is there something up?”
“Nothing serious. It’s just that I only saw a few familiar faces here,” said Qin Ling smilingly. “I told you that we’re fated since we met outside, didn’t I? Besides, I wanna introduce you to a friend of mine. Don’t look down on him, though. My friend’s ident.i.ty is kinda unusual.”
“Care to tell who this friend of yours is?” asked Tang Xiu smilingly.
Looking a bit proud, Qin Ling reached out to grab Tang Xiu’s hand and pulled him to the courtyard. His eyes then glanced around. As he saw Tang Wei’s figure, he looked a bit excited and said, “Well, I’m a friend of the Tang Family’s scion—the famous Young Master Tang Wei. I used to entertain him back when he visited Beihu Province.”
“Well, I also know him, though,” said Tang Xiu smilingly.
Qin Ling stared blankly and his pace suddenly slowed down a lot, asking in surprise, “You also know him? Ah, that’s right. I forgot to ask you. What does your family do?”
“Some of them are government officials and some are business people,” said Tang Xiu with a chuckle.
“For you to come here means that your family should be very powerful indeed.” Qin Ling nodded and said, “Anyways, I did feel that you’re familiar with that brother of mine. But it doesn’t matter since we’ll be friends later.”
At this moment, Tang Wei had also seen Tang Xiu and Qin Ling. There was a bit of curiosity on his face as he inquired after greeting them. “How did you two get together here, guys? Were you acquainted before?”
“Young Master Tang, I just met brother Tang Xiu outside today,” said Qin Ling hurriedly. “I think he’s a good man, so I want to introduce him to you. I just didn’t expect to hear from him that he already knows you.”
“Pfft… hehe…” Tang We couldn’t help laughing and pointed to Tang Xiu while saying smilingly, “Qin Ling, don’t tell me you really don’t know who he is?”
Qin Ling shook his head and replied with a confused face, “I just feel that he’s a bit familiar, but I really don’t know who he is. Young Master Tang, you…”
“Given our age, he’s my younger brother. But if you count his abilities, he’s my big brother.” Tang Wei interrupted him and smilingly said, “To think that you’ve never even heard of the Tang Family’s Young Master Tang Xiu is quite unexpected, you know. Haven’t many news about him been spread out lately?”
Tang Xiu? As in Tang Xiu of the Tang Family?
Qin Ling was stunned and dumbfounded. His pupils contracted and disbelief filled his eyes. He finally recalled why he felt that he had seen Tang Xiu before and why his face felt somewhat familiar. It turned out… that he was the famous Tang Xiu of the Tang Family! That’s true. He was also the famous Young Divine Doctor and the Magnificent Tang Corporation’s owner, Tang Xiu!
d.a.m.n it! I just met G.o.d!
Qin Ling groaned inwardly. He finally realized why the guards didn’t check Tang Xiu’s credentials when he came in before. It turned out that he was a member of the Tang Family! Feeling awkward and embarra.s.sed at this moment, Qin Ling wanted to find a hole to burrow himself into. It was really a shame… big time. Wasn’t it so stupid of him to introduce him to his own brother?
Tang Xiu just let out a faint smile watching Qin Ling’s awkward face. He patted his shoulder and smilingly said, “It was my fault to make things so vague, so I made Brother Qin Ling misunderstand. Brother Wei, you got a good man as a brother, so treat him well now that he has visited our home. I’m going outside since First Uncle and Uncle Yunqing called me to greet the guests.”
“Roger that!”
Tang Wei grinned and laughed. He then hugged Qin Ling’s shoulder, taking him to the inside and smilingly speaking, “That was a surprise mishap, don’t you think? But you’re really lucky, boy! I don’t need to speak about Tang Xiu’s ability, especially when it comes to reading people, since his insight is especially accurate. He said that you’re a good man, so I’ll make it up to you as your buddy. Let’s stroll around, I’ll introduce you to some friends.”
Upon hearing his words, Qin Ling immediately felt a bit excited inwardly. He didn’t expect that such an unexpected mishap would relate him to Tang Xiu, even earning him Tang Wei’s approval. He was crystal clear about Tang Wei’s personality as someone whose eyes always looked at the top, thus making him quite difficult to approach. It was truly his good luck to get his recognition.
A few minutes later after Tang Xiu appeared outside the gate of the courtyard, he saw his First Uncle, Tang Yunpeng and his other uncle, Tang Yunqing greeting the guests. He then went towards them after nodding at the unfamiliar guests.
Tang Yunpeng, who was welcoming the guests into the house, shot a meaningful glance at Tang Xiu and asked, “You have met with the old patriarch and discussed some interesting issues, right?”
Tang Xiu understood his meaning and noddingly said, “Yeah, we had some discussions about it. The Tang Family’s patriarch will take the leader position, though Uncle Tang Dong will be very busy later. As for the funds, I’ll provide 40 billion yuan, so it should be enough for the early stage.”
Tang Yunpeng’s eyes lit up and he praised with a thumbs up. “To think that you’ll take out 40 billion yuan, you’re so filthy rich, Nephew! But who raised the leaders.h.i.+p issue, though?”
“Well, none of those elderly wanted to raise it up, which I think they must feel that it’s not appropriate on everyone’s faces, hence why I straightly raised up the issue,” said Tang Xiu smilingly. “If anything, I’m just a junior, so it wasn’t a problem no matter how inconvenient it was.”
“Wisdom is indeed the most powerful force,” sighed Tang Yunpeng in praise. “I really can’t figure out how deep your brain is, Kid. Anyways, you’ve made great contributions to our family. What rewards do you want? Uncle will do everything possible to make it up to you.”
“Reward? No need for that, Uncle,” replied Tang Xiu smilingly. “Only, I’ll be leaving the capital when Grandpa’s birthday party is over. I’m going abroad to deal with something after dropping by in Star City first.”
“I heard you’ve been busy with things abroad recently. What have you been busy with, exactly?” asked Tang Yunpeng curiously.
“My men have had conflicts with some foreign cultivation forces and we’ll be engaged in brutal fights soon,” said Tang Xiu. “Should we end up the victors this time, those cultivation forces will never dare to provoke us again. But we’ll suffer big losses if we lose.”
Cultivation forces?
Tang Yunpeng and Tang Yunqing’s complexions changed and turned solemn instantly.
“Is there anything we can do, Tang Xiu?” asked Tang Yunpeng in a deep voice. “The Tang Family has its own armed force. Though it’s not that strong, we still have numbers on our side. Just tell us if you ever need manpower. It’s no big deal for us to fill in with our lives, as long as we can wipe out all the enemies.”
“The strength of these cultivators is not something that can be defeated by numbers, Uncles.” Tang Xiu shook his head and said, “But please, don’t worry. I won’t send my men to fight them if I don’t have the absolute a.s.surance of winning. Rather, I’m planning to use these cultivation forces’ experts to train my men.”
Tang Yunpeng and Tang Yunqing exchanged glances, and there was a strange look in their eyes. After some time, the former said again, “I’d like to see the people you’ve been training if you got some time, Xiu’er.”
“It’s fine, but we can’t go there for the time being.” Tang Xiu nodded and explained, “Wait until we’ve taken care of the things over there, then you can visit the place. Else I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“I understand.” Tang Yunpeng nodded and said, “Besides, I need to apply to the top leaders above if I want to go abroad given my current ident.i.ty. It would be quite difficult to go abroad shortly regardless.”
Shortly after, Tang Xiu accompanied Tang Yunpeng and Tang Yunqing to welcome the guests. There were many guests who came to celebrate Tang Guosheng’s 80th birthday since he was also the old patriarch of the Tang Family. It was also the reason for those who even had a bit of qualification to do everything they could to attend it.
As noon approached, Tang Yunpeng and Tang Yunqing returned to central pavilion, while Tang Xiu took a stroll outside with hands in his pockets. He needed to observe the situation in the surroundings. He planned to go inside and partake in his grandfather’s celebration banquet if there wasn’t any problem. Ever since the Yaos had been destroyed by him, he was crystal clear that there would be other prominent families that would become potential enemies. The scenery in front of the Tang Family may look beautiful, but no one knew how many potential menaces were hidden behind it.
“Nothing special happened?” asked Tang Xiu while casting his gaze at Tang Hu, who was responsible for security issues. This man was an outstanding talent trained by Tang Guosheng. Although he didn’t have the Tang Family’s blood, he had been following Tang Guosheng ever since he was a child, and his loyalty toward the Tang House was unquestionable.
Tang Hu shook his head and answered, “There’s nothing. All the guests that met the entry criteria have all gone inside, and those who don’t have left.”
“What’s with this criterion, though?” Tang Xiu stared blankly and asked with a confused face, “You mean, those who came to congratulate Grandpa’s birthday have unusual ident.i.ties?”
“That’s correct. Except there’s this old beggar,” said Tang Hu.
An old beggar? Tang Xiu’s face slightly s.h.i.+fted and he asked again, “Where’s him?”
Tang Hu pointed to the alley mouth in the distance and said, “I just left that spot 40 minutes ago. He should’ve left by now.”
Nodding in response, Tang Xiu then strode to the alley mouth. His complexion suddenly s.h.i.+fted as he cast his sight to the road dozens of meters away. There was an old man with ragged clothes and a five-plus years old girl sitting quietly next to him.
After walking over to them, Tang Xiu looked at the old man and the little girl. He immediately furrowed his brows and said, “Old man, are you here for the birthday party?”
The old man looked up and bitterly nodded. “That’s right! It’s just unfortunate that I can’t get in.”
“Those who can attend the party, aside from the Tang Family’s relatives, are dignitaries and people with quite a status. Are you perhaps related to the Tang Family, either related to their relatives or friends?”
The old man fell into silence for a moment. He then turned to look at the little girl a bit reluctantly before he nodded and said, “I don’t know whether I’m related in some way or not. But I do have a reason. Alas! It’s for the sake of this child and a small wish that I’d like to see him. But I never thought…”
Tang Xiu’s eyes swept over the several scars on the old man’s neck and eventually stayed on his left cheek. Only then did he realize that this old man had lost his left ear. Further, he also noticed that this old man was emitting a death qi and was likely dying.
“Can you tell me your ident.i.ty, Elderly? I might be able to take you inside.”