The offer made Shanzeley pleasantly surprised. Collecting twenty billion pounds in a short time was far from easy. Even if his Salzburg clan were to sell all the properties they had been acc.u.mulated for millenniums, such a sum of money entailed strenuous effort to pay even for them.
However, if he could pay with jade, agates, gold, silver, jewels, and other treasures, then he didn"t have to try to sell these items to outsiders anymore. It was actually very great since they didn"t have to pa.s.s through transit s.h.i.+pment agents" links. In addition, his clan had been restraining for several centuries and the other clans thought that they had been defeated, though, in fact, they were not. They had been planning something for these few centuries, and only recently did their plan go into action.
Vampire Lord.
It was the plan of his clan by gathering the power of the whole clan to cultivate a super powerful expert at the Lord rank. The one who finally became Vampire Lord was Shanzeley"s great grandfather after a few centuries of preparation. This was also the chief reason why his clan was highly in motion recently to destroy the other clans that had been glaring at them with their greedy eyes, and then finally occupied the huge resources of those clans.
"What about antiques, Mr. Tang? Do you need them? My clan has more than a millennium of heritage and we have a large collection of antiques and curios. If I remember correctly, the Chinese have a saying to gather gold in troubled times and collect in flouris.h.i.+ng times, right? Well, it"s an era of peace nowadays, so you"re gonna like it," said Shanzeley confidently.
"Antiques and curios? Were they the objects that held significant pasts?"
"What do I wanna do with that stuff anyway? Keep them to waste s.p.a.ce at my home? Forget it." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "I"m only interested in jadeites, agates, and those gold, jewels, and pearl-like treasures. What interests me other than those are precious ores, precious herbs, the remains of fierce beasts, and rare and very unique objects. As for others, forget it!"
Shanzeley looked regretful and sighed, "Well, it"s a pity, though. I thought you were interested in antique and curios since the Salzburg kind has quite a ma.s.sive collection, many of which come from China, like that Imperial Jade Seal of China…"
Having said this point, he shook his head helplessly.
Imperial Jade Seal of China?
Tang Xiu suddenly stared dumbfounded as he also recalled the Qin Emperor"s Imperial Jade Seal which symbolized a great seal of the authority in the Qin Dynasty. There was literally an endless power of faith like a vast ocean contained within; even he couldn"t absorb it with his current cultivation. However, he knew very well that once his cultivation reached a critical point, like when ascending to the Immortal World, he would be able to absorb that power and turned it into his own. An immortal who bathed in this kind of power would be able to condense a spiritual body and his strength would soar and become mighty.
The most profound and all-encompa.s.sing cultivation technique from the Buddhist school went by the name of Myriads Buddha Canonical Scripture. Tang Xiu obtained a copy of this cultivation technique after killing a sc.u.m from the Buddhist Realm and the art recorded a method to absorb this so-called power of faith for own use.
"Shanzeley, can you elaborate more about this Chinese Imperial Jade Seal?" sternly asked Tang Xiu.
"Well, it"s an Imperial Jade Seal from the ancient times of China. Ah, right, one that is carved with Mr. He"s Jade, the Heirloom Seal of the Realm," said Shanzeley casually.
"Tell me more about this Heirloom Seal of the Realm," continued Tang Xiu.
Shanzeley thought for a moment and then said, "It"s square-shaped and about four inches long with five-clawed dragons carved on top of it. Right, there"s a line engraved on the front side with the words "Having Received the Mandate of Heaven, May the Emperor Lead a Long and Prosperous Life". My great grandfather once studied the calligraphic style and characters. He said that it seems to be the characters from the early period of China."
Tang Xiu"s heartbeat was beginning to race, as he had already determined that this mentioned object was the real Imperial Jade Seal of China. But how could this seal fall into the hands of these vampires?
Moreover, as a comparison, the Qin Emperor Imperial Jade Seal had already condensed an enormous power of faith; what about this Heirloom Seal of the Realm then? During the era of the Qin Dynasty, Prime Minister Li Si ordered someone to carve Mr. He"s Jade and it has been pa.s.sed down from generation to generation. This heirloom was even still used during the Qing Dynasty, where a line said that the Heaven bestowed mandate was given to the emperor to govern the realm with a lawful and proper manner. Would this Heirloom of the Realm also condense the power of faith, and, if any, how vast would it be?
As Tang Xiu thought up to this point, he immediately asked, "How exactly did you get my country"s Imperial Jade Seal?"
"It was a man from… Rumors have it that he spent quite a fortune and a great deal of effort to get it out of China," said Shanzeley with a smile. "I dunno how he got it, though. What I know is that my great grandfather sucked his blood and picked it out of his collections."
Tang Xiu took a deep breath and said slowly, "I may not like antiques and curios, but the Heirloom of the Realm has been pa.s.sed down for generations in China and indeed has significant meaning to my country, so it"s necessary for me to recover it since I know its whereabouts. If so, then I"ll take that Imperial Jade Seal of China with an estimated worth of £5 billion!"
£5 billion? A quarter of the total?
Shanzeley"s eyes lit up and he replied without hesitation as though he was afraid Tang Xiu would take his words back, "No problem, then the payment will be offset by £5 billion. Anyways, my Salzburg Clan also has may great objects from China, you see…"
"I don"t want anything else except for that Imperial Jade of China for now." Tang Xiu waved and said, "But I"ll take a look at them when I leave China and visit your Salzburg Clan in the future. You and I will naturally exchange it with the pills if I like them."
"Awesome!" Shanzeley clenched his fists and excitedly waved them.
As evening came, Shanjenna finally returned from Han Jintong"s residence. She got out from her car dispirited, but suddenly, a look of surprise covered her gorgeous face. Her nose twitched a few times as she spoke in disbelief, "How is this possible? There surely was a fight here, and there is also the scent of Bloodkin"s blood left behind. But, how could there be more Bloodkin here?"
Whoos.h.!.+
A figure instantly appeared lightning fast in front of her. It was Mo Awu, whose expression was indifferent. "Miss Shanjenna, my Boss wants to see you."
"Tang Xiu is back?" asked Shanjenna quickly.
"That"s right," answered Mo Awu.
She then pointed at the place and asked, "But what has happened here? I mean, I can smell the scent of my Bloodkin"s blood here."
"Is your big brother called Shanzeley?" asked Mo Awu.
"How did you know?" exclaimed Shanjenna in alarm.
"Your brother has just come to Paradise Manor with six other vampires and fought with the people from the Special Ability Bureau," explained Mo Awu. "However, the battle was concluded after my Boss arrived here. Your brother, Shanzeley, is with the Boss now."
"Where are they?" quickly asked Shanjenna with an excited face.
"In your place," said Mo Awu.
Whoos.h.!.+
An afterimage flashed and she disappeared instantly.
Inside the European-styled building.
The siblings, Shanjenna and Shanzeley, had their reunion. Tang Xiu didn"t want to disturb them, so he left with Ouyang Lulu to visit her residence. Before Tang Xiu could catch his breath, however, his mobile rang. As he saw the screen light up, he noticed it was a call from Miao Wentang. Tang Xiu hesitated for a while before he picked it up.
"Where are you, Brother Tang? I need to see you now," the Miao Wentang"s hurried voice was heard from the phone.
"You still have that matter plaguing your mind, Brother Miao? You better forget it, I think." Tang Xiu let out a dry chuckle and said, "I do know two methods to solve it, but I dare not disclose the heavenly secret that easily, so please forgive me."
"Brother Tang, could you please remember the time we spent facing life and death together?" Miao Wentang"s voice was almost pleading. "Please help my family!"
Tang Xiu rolled his eyes at his plea. Nothing will happen to the Miao Family in the future. He had spat out some nonsensical things to frighten Miao Wentang to lead him to punish his nephew. But it seemed that he truly had scared him deeply.
"Alright, come to Paradise Manor!"
"Got it!"
After hanging up, Tang Xiu let out a wry smile and went to Ouyang Lulu"s king-sized bed as he shook his head with a forced smile, "Lulu, tell me, is it wrong for us to scare off our friend?"
"It depends on the issue and the cause," answered Ouyang Lulu with a smile, "Eh, honey. Who was it; whom have you scared, exactly?"
"Miao Wentang," said Tang Xiu.
"Pfft… Hahaha." Ouyang Lulu couldn"t help but laugh and grinningly said, "Aren"t you both good friends? How did you scare him? He sounds very scared listening from his tone on the phone."
Tang Xiu explained the whole story roughly and finally said with a helpless expression, "You see, my main goal was to make him clean up his nephew, but who would have thought that he took every nonsensical s.h.i.+t I made up in my call seriously and he now wants me to help his Miao Family? I kinda shut him out my door this morning which was quite difficult already, but he said he"s gonna see me tonight."
Ouyang Lulu was so amused by Tang Xiu"s story that she had a good laugh for a long time. Then, she said, "Honey, you"re really awesome! Even you fooled such a bigwig like Miao Wentang. Anyways, it"s easy to solve, though. Just make up some drivels or do something to fool Miao Wentang again if he comes and asks for your help. Just con him to the end."
"I did have that idea," Tang Xiu nodded.
Half an hour later, Miao Wentang had come to the Paradise Club with two men. When he saw Tang Xiu in the s.p.a.cious box of the dining area, he promptly brought out two beautifully wrapped gift boxes he personally delivered and said with a listless face, "Brother Tang, these two objects are the treasures of my family that my ancestors obtained with great difficulty. These two objects will be yours as long as you can help my family through this difficult time."
Cough, cough…
Tang Xiu coughed a few times to conceal the embarra.s.sment he had inside. He then said to him, "Please don"t. These are your family heirlooms; how can I take them? Brother Miao, I…"
"You"re looking down on this brother of yours if you refuse, Brother Tang." Miao Wentang interrupted Tang Xiu and said with all seriousness, "Count it as me asking you a favor; could you accept it?"
"I…"
Tang Xiu opened his mouth but swallowed back the words that he nearly spoke.
Seemingly afraid that Tang Xiu wouldn"t like the objects he brought him, Miao Wentang swiftly unwrapped and took out what was stored inside the gift boxes. He then took out the two red-colored jade objects, the jade dragon and the jade tiger, from the inside.
"These are…"