While looking at Chen Jianshe"s simple and honest face which now appeared slightly unsettled, Hao Lei soothingly said, "Don"t worry Mr. Chen. If the jade ox you brought is one of the zodiac jade carvings we"re looking for, we won"t take a penny from the 100 million US dollars."
"Good, good. We"ll listen to you then."
Chen Jianshe"s emotions were finally stabilized and he exhaled a relieved sigh as he walked back after greeting Hao Lei. Just as his bottom sat on the sofa, however, he abruptly bounced up fl.u.s.tered and spoke, "I-I"m sorry. I"m really sorry… M-my clothes are too dirty. I can"t sit and make your sofa dirty. I-I"m fine sitting on the stool."
With that said, he went a few steps to the edge of the sofa, opened the campstool and sat directly.
While looking at his actions, Hao Lei was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly noticed Tang Xiu outside the door. She immediately headed out to greet him and said, "This is the jade ox, Boss."
Tang Xiu received it and shot a deep look at Chen Jianshe before he observed the jade ox. After his appraisal, he verified that this jade ox was indeed one of the twelve zodiac jade carvings—genuine.
"Hold this, Hao Lei."
After Tang Xiu handed the jade ox to Hao Lei, he walked to Chen Jianshe"s front and said, "You"re Uncle Chen Jianshe if my guess is correct, right? I"m Tang Xiu, the buyer of this zodiac jade carving. I"ve just appraised it and what you brought is indeed the object I need. It"s still early in the morning, however, and transferring the money via online banking must wait until daytime."
"I know you. You"re that amazing divine doctor!" said Chen Jianshe excitedly. "You… do you really want to buy it?"
"I do. It"s been said and decided," said Tang Xiu smilingly.
Chen Jianshe excitedly said, "Tang… Divine Doctor Tang, 100 million US dollars is too much. You can just give us however much you think enough is fine for us, as long as my son can buy a house and get married and my daughter can finish college."
"I can"t, Uncle Chen. I, Tang Xiu, is one who always keeps his word." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "The promise is 100 million US dollars and absolutely not a penny less must be paid. Let"s do it this way, then. You can give me the jade ox first and I"ll tell someone to transfer 690 million yuan to your account later. You"ll also get some cash for the odds."
"But I don"t have a bank account! I only have a checkbook," said Chen Jianshe with some worries while scratching his head.
Chen Jianwei at the side pulled him and whispered, "Jianshe Brother, the account number is on the checkbook, you know!"
Tang Xiu produced a wee smile. Then, he asked about the two brothers" b.u.mpy trip today and exchanged pleasantries. They were hungry, so he accompanied them to dine and drink some wine. After that, he personally sent them to the luxury VIP room. Before he left, Tang Xiu ordered someone to measure their bodies to prepare two sets of clothes for each of them according to their measurements.
Inside the luxury VIP room.
Chen Jiawei stepped on the soft carpet and looked up at the crystal lamps that illuminated soft light. He sighed a few times and then went to the bedroom, observed the bathroom, and eventually came to a small balcony. His vision had blurred after seeing too many dazzling things. He then went back to the living room and saw Chen Jianshe sitting on the sofa in silence as he said excitedly, "Brother Jianshe, going with you this time is truly great. The luxury, the grandeur style—everything is just like having a dream in paradise. I really never thought that I could live in this luxurious room all my life."
Yet, Chen Jianshe frowned and stayed silent but his worry was evident on his face.
Chen Jiawei finally realized his unusual att.i.tude and quizzically asked, "What happened to you, Brother?"
"Divine Doctor Tang took the jade ox away—how do you judge him? Do you think he"ll go back on his word?" asked Chen Jianshe hesitantly.
"Ugh…" Chen Jiawei"s expression froze and he mulled hard over it for a long while. With a bit of an unsettled look, he worriedly said, "That"s right! Why did he take the jade ox away? We"ll get nothing if he"s a fraud. Let"s go out to find him now."
Chen Jianshe grabbed him to hold him back and said hesitantly, "Let"s not find him first and put all the pieces together clearly, shall we? Divine Doctor Tang wouldn"t deceive us, I think. What kind of person do you think he is? He"s the famous young Divine Doctor; many TV stations in the country have reported his deeds. It"s just… I still have some concerns in my heart, though."
"Alright, then let"s go see him and ask for some money first," said Chen Jiawei with a nod. "At least, we don"t have to worry about money anymore!"
"You"re right," immediately nodded Chen Jian in agreement.
Ten minutes later, once the duo had left the VIP room and was looking for Tang Xiu everywhere, Hao Lei appeared before them and handed them a black bag as she smilingly said, "This is 500 thousand yuan in cash. The small odds up till the total amount will be given to you in cash, whereas the rest will be transferred to your account! You can expect to have the money in your account by tomorrow at noon."
"Five… five hundred thousand?!" Chen Jianshe couldn"t help but tremble. He quickly received the black bag and pulled its zipper and looked at the stacks of one hundred-yuan bill that had been put in order inside. He trembled. He had never seen so much money all his life, yet all this money was now his?
Suddenly, he seemed to recall something and looked at Chen Jiawei, "We"ve been wrong by suspecting Divine Doctor Tang, Brother. He"s like the rumors say: a good person—a great kind-hearted man! He doesn"t deceive us and he really means what he said. The worries we both had before… were truly a mistake."
Chen Jiawei also looked at the money and his eyes were nearly bursting out light as he said, "Yeah, you"re right, Brother Jianshe. Divine Doctor Tang is truly honest and sincere. He"s really a good man."
Hao Lei was again at a loss between laughter and tears upon seeing the true feelings of the two brothers revealed. Then she smilingly said, "Truly, my Boss does have good integrity. Besides, the way he looked and treated you is very kind compared to how he sees other distinguished guests who sold the jade carvings to him. If anything, I can now understand why my Boss did that, though. It"s because he sees that you are honest and simple people. Anyway, you two can go back to have some rest. When the money has been transferred to your account, you can either choose to tour Shanghai for a few days, or you can go home directly. The Boss has told me to reimburse all the expenses during your stay here."
There were several European-styled buildings deeper in the forested part north of Paradise Manor, one of which was recently built and had just been renovated. It was then taken by the owner, Ouyang Lulu, who officially moved there a few days ago.
Basking under the moonlight, Ouyang Lulu was sleeping soundly. Her slight snoring sounds were like the wind blowing outside the window, highlighting the stillness and tranquility of the villa amid the shadows of leaves that fell through the window.
The six jade carvings—the ox, tiger, dragon, rabbit, monkey, and chicken—were neatly placed on the table next to the bed, exuding a hazy glow under the basking of the moonlight. Tang Xiu was now sitting in front of the table with eyes that were particularly lit up as he observed every zodiac jade carving.
He already had made up his mind. He was sure that if he could collect the whole set of twelve jade carvings and was able to figure out some profound meaning of them, and even made his cultivation to progress rapidly in a short time, the time he could ascend wouldn"t be too far away.
"I"ll immediately set off to Longquan Bay in Kanas by the end of the final exam to open that Immortal Trove. No matter what fortuitous encounter I can obtain there, regardless of everything, I have to go into seclusion to comprehend the Heavenly Dao trajectory in these six jade carvings. I must comprehend the Heavenly Dao laws of this world however difficult it is."
Tang Xiu clenched his fist with unprecedented firmness in his eyes.
He always wanted to soar and ascend back to the Immortal World. He would pay off all the old scores for himself, starting anew and reappearing once again there proudly, overlooking the myriad of living beings in the Immortal World.
And yet, what he wanted the most was to have his family members and loved ones to accompany him traverse the vast Immortal path—especially his mother, who had never cultivated. He must do everything possible to take her with him. Prior to this, there was always a struggling feeling in his heart even though he had been cultivating. It was because he had no other way to successfully bring his mother to the Immortal World.
But now, he could see a wisp of light, the dawn, and also hope after the appearance of these zodiac carvings.
The Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis was the canonical scripture, the supreme cultivation of the Demon Realm that even the top Demon Lords there had been dreaming to obtain. Yet, he cultivated this canonical scripture of the Demon"s cultivation path. He believed that he would become stronger than ever in the future. But the drawback was that even if he did break the shackles of this plane, he could only leave by himself and couldn"t take his relatives with him.
But now, even though he cultivated the Demon"s cultivation path, he would be able to use it for himself as long as he could comprehend the Heavenly Dao laws of this world. At that time, needless to say, he could leave this plane and re-enter the Immortal World easily, and he would also be able to take all his relatives and subordinates he had been cultivating to leave this world.
Even so much that he could bring all the human races of the entire Earth to the Immortal World without a problem if he wished to do so.
"I"ll set two years of time. I"ll even tell Yan"er and Chimei to act to scour every nook and corner of the Earth if I can"t find the remaining six jade carvings within this time. And that is… as long they are still on Earth."
As the next day came, per Tang Xiu"s order, Hao Lei announced that the fourth jade carving had been found: the jade ox. However, Grand Fortune Jewelry kept the ident.i.ty of the seller secret as they didn"t want to disclose their ident.i.ty.
Through the competing reportage of the journalists, the news broke and proliferated as though growing wings by itself. The ma.s.sive hype of numerous media helped it once again to be known to everyone in the whole country. The power of the media made it so that the news of Grand Fortune Jewelry spending hundreds of millions of US dollars to buy zodiac jade carvings began to spread all over the world. Moreover, the event was still fermenting and it may not take long before it caused a great sensation all over the globe.
A few days later.
Tang Xiu comfortably headed out of his exam room. He had taken all the subjects tested and was confident that he could pa.s.s what was required, even scoring excellent results.
Honk, honk…
The sounds of a car"s horn suddenly came from outside the exam building, pulling Tang Xiu"s attention.
"Hey, handsome guy, wanna take a ride with me?" a soft voice carrying the unique sweetness of a woman came from several meters away.
Tang Xiu looked at the source of the voice and suddenly felt a bit at a loss whether he had to cry or laugh.
It was Mu Wanying who stood next to a few million yuan luxurious supercar. She looked gorgeous in her light cyan floral skirt and pink sungla.s.ses that accompanied her loose long black hair, looking at Tang Xiu in front of the car with a beaming smile. Her figure and her appearance simply like a G.o.ddess coming out of a picturesque painting.