Returning from the Immortal World - Chapter 717

Chapter 717: Sitting On A Treasure Mountain Without Knowing

Just merely this box made of Growth Amelioration Wood was very much unexpected to Tang Xiu, since this type of wood was famous as fine lumber even in the Immortal World. The Growth Amelioration Wood was used to manufacture training swords for the Immortal cultivators who just entered the cultivation path. It was very durable, brimmed with life activity, and was even able to accumulate life force within, albeit very slowly, bit by bit nurturing the bearer's body along with their growth as well as improving their focus and calming their qi.

Using Growth Amelioration Wood just to store something inside was a luxury even to Tang Xiu! After all, this place was Earth, and it had fewer resources compared to the Immortal World. He looked suddenly forward to the object stored inside the box.

After opening its lid and clearly revealing the objects inside, Tang Xiu saw a writing brush made of weasel's bristles. The silvery brush appeared to have nothing particular or special about it, but as a cultivator he could keenly feel the clear, spring-like spiritual power strands that surged in each bristle. After a while, he focused his gaze and instantly released his spiritual sense.

"These are…"

It was quite a shocking discovery to Tang Xiu. Despite having broad and deep knowledge, he had never heard of anyone who would record an ancient manual on the strands of a weasel's bristle brush. The characters written on each bristle were tiny, and composed a complete set of cultivation technique.

That's right! it's a record of cultivation technique!

This weasel's bristle brush had at least several hundred strands, which meant that there were hundreds of cultivation techniques recorded in it. Moreover, every cultivation technique was complemented with combat styles and magical spells it was most suitable with.

"One must use a microscope with at least a hundred magnification levels to be able to see the record written in these strands. In spite of everything, though, who could this powerhouse be? To think that he recorded the cultivation techniques of many small sects on this thing? These cultivation techniques may be ordinary, but they are peerless ancient scriptures to ordinary people. I would be ecstatic getting these ancient manuals if I was not once a Supreme in the Immortal World."

Retracting back his spiritual sense, Tang Xiu then looked at Ji Mu and let out a faint smile, saying, "Do you really want to gift it to me?"

"Yes! What is gifted is equal to spilled water, and cannot be taken again," said Ji Mu seriously.

Tang Xiu snapped his finger and waved to Mo Awu, saying, "Find him a room and teach him to recognize the acupoints and meridians in the human body. I want him to memorize all the channels of the main acupoints and meridians by tomorrow morning."

"Understood!" Mo Awu nodded respectfully.

Ji Mu was speechless. He may be quick-witted, but at this moment his brain was like it was short circuited. Only after a long while did he finally snap back to his senses, as ecstasy covered his face and he jumped up from the sofa, seemingly about to kowtow to Tang Xiu. However, Tang Xiu stopped him and did not give any chance for him to speak.

Lulu, who sat cross-legged by the table, just watched as Ji Mu followed Mu Awu with an excited expression. Then, she turned her head and ask, "Why did you teach him a cultivation technique so easily? Are these things he gifted you very precious?"

"Each strand of this weasel's bristle brush records a magical spell, combat style and cultivation technique. The Ji Family have been in possession of a treasure vault all the time, and yet they were unaware of it. Since he wants this opportunity, then I'll give him this chance."

They have been sitting on a treasure mountain and yet were unaware of it?

Lulu glanced at the corridor where Ji Mu left with an expression of being at a loss whether she had to cry or laugh. She then shook her head and said with a smile, "The Ji Family is really interesting."

At this time, Jin Shi strode in and then respectfully reported, "Boss, I just caught a very interesting man."

Tang Xiu blanked and asked with a confused expression, "A very interesting man? What do you mean?"

"He's called Mouse—Shanghai's underground local tyrant to the core," said Jin Shi. "He controls Shanghai's information network. As long as it is an event that occurred in Shanghai, either a woman's underwear being stolen, from small incidents to murders, he will definitely be able to obtain results as long as he wants to investigate it. Interestingly, some chaps from the military sometimes find him to buy information in order to solve major cases. Just before we caught him and brought him here, some guys from the army spent a million to buy information on major crime cases that happened in Shanghai recently."

"What a resourceful guy!" Tang Xiu was astonished. "His information network is better than the state intelligence agency's? Speaking about it, what do you mean by catching and bringing him here?"

"I think you'll need such a talented guy like him, Boss." Jin Shi smiled. "He's very capable, and puts money over his life."

Tang Xiu squinted his eyes and said, "Alright, bring him here."

"Yes!"

Two minutes later, Jin Shi came to the living room with Mouse. Just as Mouse arrived and met them, he secretly glanced at Lulu, precisely at the jade carving hanging on her neck.

"About 100… no 3 million. How about selling me this jade carving for 3 million?" Asked Mouse with a hoping expression.

Lulu rolled her eyes and mocked him, "Huh? 3 million? Are you dreaming or just got a fever that made you dumb? You can recognize what this made of and its quality, no? Do you think it's worth only 3 million?"

Ugh… Mouse was rendered speechless and reluctantly moved his eyes. The value of this jade carving was not a mere 3 million, and even 30 million yuan was not enough to buy it.

Their exchange suddenly piqued Tang Xiu's interest, feeling rather amused. He looked at Mouse's sly, thief-like appearance and the disappointment shown on his face as he clapped and said, "Well, well. Crafty, cunning, and miserly—traits for capable people in some domains indeed. So, you are Mouse, right?"

Mouse's expression changed. He let out an obsequious smile and said while saluting, "Have you been well, Boss? You can be sure that Mouse will always follow you from behind, Boss. I also recommend myself to manage a mountain of gold and silver if you have it, since I'm very confident that I have what it takes to manage it. Also, this Mouse will never steal anything even if I have the chance."

Hahaha. Tang Xiu could not help laughing and said, "Anyways, I heard that you have quite a resourceful information network in Shanghai. Tell me about it. The more you can tell, the more it will prove your value as well as how competent you are. I need to assess your ability if you wish to seek a living here."

Mouse straightened up his chest and said, "I can say Shanghai receives money from me. There are more than 200 thousand people who are willing to supply me with information, whereas the number of people who have earned intelligence fees from me can be counted in the tens of thousands. Unfortunately, Shanghai is way too small, so I can't display the entirety of my talents. If not, even the world's famous Darkwind Organization is nothing but a fart to me!"

Hahaha. Tang Xiu slapped the table and laughed loudly, and then said, "Great, it's just great that you have such boldness and vision. I'm starting to like you even though it's our first meeting. Anyways, can you tell me who's the real culprit behind the murder cases that happened in Shanghai recently, Mouse?"

Mouse glanced at the fine tea served on the table, grinning, "I'm kinda thirsty, Boss."

"Just drink!" Said Tang Xiu quickly.

Mouse picked up a small cup and gulped down the fragrant tea inside. He then used his dirty sleeves to wipe off the water left on his lips and said with a grin, "I can't really figure out the background of the other party as of yet. But I know who's the leader of the pack. The guy's named Austin Cole, and he has some unfriendly bunch who are seemingly not easy to deal with. They are now staying in a motel on the Ye Street in Jingning District. It's a very ordinary motel and you don't need to use your ID card to check in and stay there as long as you spend more money. Also, he was recently in contact with Xie Zhiqiang, the owner of Brain Assembly Biotech. But I don't know the details of their meeting, though."

Tang Xiu frowned and said, "Austin Cole meeting the owner of this Brain Assembly Biotech is nothing particular, but why did he engineer murder cases in Shanghai?"

"I dunno about that." Mouse shook his head. "I only control a small turf, areas overseas are out of my reach."

Tang Xiu then looked at Jin Shi and said, "Go look for the one in charge of the Everlasting Feast Hall's intelligence in Shanghai. Also, call the men who are in charge of the ten closest cities to Shanghai."

"Understood!" Jin Shi knew that Tang Xiu was about to make a big move and immediately left to execute his orders.

A light flashed in Mouse's eyes as he squinted his eyes and asked, "There's something I wanna ask you, Boss. But, I don't know whether I should."

"Just speak it out. I dislike talking in a roundabout way," said Tang Xiu lightly.

"What kind of existence is the Everlasting Feast Hall, Boss? Isn't it… just a normal restaurant?" Asked Mouse.

"Do you really want to know about it?" Asked Tang Xiu smilingly. "You will forever be tied up to my chariot once you learn about it."

Mouse was taken aback and subconsciously, he did not want to hear Tang Xiu's answer at all. However, he hesitated, and eventually decided and asked again, "I still want to know about it."

Tang Xiu let out a faint smile. As his right arm slowly lifted up, an invisible current of qi swirled around Mouse, instantly making him float. The latter was horrified and struggled in panic. Tang Xiu made him hang in the air a meter above the floor and made dozens of movements in one breath.

"You can say that the people from the Everlasting Feast Hall can't be called as mortals. The capital and power possessed by the Everlasting Feast Hall can destroy any colossal organization in the world, while the wealth it will have in the future will surpass countless financial institutions. I can tell you that the Everlasting Feast Hall's status in the future will be above any country and dominate any organization in the world."

Every word said by Tang Xiu was so strong and powerful that it drilled into Mouse's ears, shocking him to death.

"You… are y-you a human or a ghost?" Mouse screamed.

Tang Xiu waved his hand and threw Mouse out of the door. He fell down in the courtyard and rolled for several meters before stopping. A stream of qi then wrapped and pulled him back to the living room. While looking at the dizzy look on his face, Tang Xiu said, "I'm an immortal cultivator and so are the core members of the Everlasting Feast Hall. Have you seen Xianxia movies? Those who can control flying swords in it cannot even show 1% of our ability."

Mouse's pupils contracted, looking panicked and horrified. When Tang Xiu retracted back the stream of qi that wrapped him and his feet landed on the floor, he instantly knelt in front of Tang Xiu and exclaimed loudly, "Daoist Immortal… No, Boss. I'm willing to be work for you, and this Mouse's life is yours. If you order me East I will never go West, and if you command me to fly to the sky I'll never drill into the ground."

Tang Xiu just watched with a faint smile and did not say anything.

Seemingly afraid that Tang Xiu did not trust him, Mouse stretched out his finger and vowed, "This Mouse begs you to make me into an immortal cultivator, Boss. I swear that you'll have my absolute loyalty and devotion… for real…"

Chapter 718: Femme Fatale

Tang Xiu's ability in judging people was usually spot on. He also trusted the findings of his intelligence network on this fella. This type that was money-greedy, cherished life, was crafty and shrewd was absolutely a great candidate to be used for personal use as long as one had sufficient benefits to offer them. He also recruited a lot of this type when he was in the Immortal World.

Suddenly, Tang Xiu felt like he returned to the time when he was mingling in a certain country in the Immortal World. Scheming and planning everything to achieve his goals, frenziedly amassing wealth either by hook or crook and secretly recruiting manpower to raise a large army. His blood boiled as he recalled the feeling of placing himself as the man who pulled the strings behind the curtain back then.

"Umm, Boss?" cautiously asked Mouse in a low voice while looking at the distracted Tang Xiu.

Tang Xiu snapped back from his reverie and cast those away memories. He then smiled and said, "I give you three years to help me establish an intelligence network that covers the entire China just like the big net you control in Shanghai. I'll impart you a cultivation technique once you have accomplished this task, so you'll also have magical power. Until then, I'll provide you the money and manpower that you need, to aid you in laying out the net all over the world, and you must go beyond the Darkwind Organization in the future."

Mouse's eyes lit up and his heartbeat sped up. Though he was forced to come here, he found that he seemed to have seized a huge opportunity at this moment rather than being forced to help.

"I'll definitely achieve it!" Said Mouse with a resolute and decisive tone.

Tang Xiu nodded in response. With the twitch of his finger, an ancient rune instantly pressed on Mouse's glabella, as a fascinating red ancient rune seemed to have been printed on it.

"You must expend something to gain what you want. I need competent subordinates, but I what need more is their loyalty. I have imprinted a tracking rune on your glabella. Even if you run away from Earth, I can sense your aura, direction, and your current position from this ancient rune. I will remove this tracker and regard you as my trusted man completely as long as you have absolute loyalty and achieve what you've promised me."

Mouse's expression slightly changed and subconsciously raised his hand to touch the red ancient rune on his glabella. He secretly felt that there was a mysterious invisible line that connected him to Tang Xiu. He could not tell Tang Xiu's situation at the other end of the line, but was sure that Tang Xiu could track him wherever he was from this line.

"Anyways, is this tracker harmful to me, Boss? Are there any repercussions?" Asked Mouse cautiously as he was shocked by Tang Xiu's method.

"It won't harm you, and there are no repercussions either." Tang Xiu shook his head. "It's, in fact, the contrary, since I injected my Primal Chaos Force into the ancient rune implanted into your body. Over time, it will subtly change your body system and can make your mind clearer as well as improve your memorization ability in the long run."

Mouse was taken aback and gratefully said, "Thank you so much, Boss."

In the next morning.

"So, have you grasped everything?"

Asked Tang Xiu as he looked at Ji Mu, who looked fatigued yet full of spirit inside his eyes. He followed behind Mo Awu as he came out.

"All of them." Ji Mu nodded.

Tang Xiu nodded in response and then personally took him into a room. He then picked a good cultivation technique from the weasel's bristle brush and taught it to him, saying, "Cultivation is not something you can progress in a flash. Logically speaking, your age has passed the best period of time to cultivate, so it will take a long time for you to barely reach the threshold to become a cultivator without aid from external forces. However, given that you've gifted me that two thousand years old wild ginseng, I'll give you a great gift to improve your physique as well as your cultivation speed when you can feel the flow of spiritual qi inside your body."

Ji Mu's expression was joyful as he quickly asked, "How long does it take for me to achieve what you said, Brother Tang?"

"I can't tell." Tang Xiu shook his head. "Each person has a different physique and thus lead to different cultivation speeds. You only have an average aptitude, so if my guess is correct, it would probably take a year and a half for you to achieve it. But if during this time you can find some precious medicinal herbs and take them as a medicated diet, the rate will speed up a bit."

Ji Mu immediately nodded and said, "I got it, and thanks."

Soon after, Tang Xiu came to the living room with Ji Mu. Since he had other things to tend to, he did not let him stay there for long. After Ji Mu left, Mouse quietly walked to Tang Xiu's side like a thief and whispered, "I never thought that you were also acquainted with the scion of the Ji Family from Changxi City, Boss. This guy usually runs a shady business, but he has quite the skill and finesse. As far as I know, he has control over several secret channels that make a fortune."

The revelation piqued Tang Xiu's interest and he curiously asked, "Tell me about his money-making channels."

"A construction company, four KTVs, two amusement centers, and a car dealership. Nobody can link those establishments to him because they are not under his name, but under his most trusted person, whose name is also used in legal formalities. This young master Ji so often stays in Shanghai that he can be said as a half-local, so I sent someone to investigate him before. It took a lot of effort and energy to clearly find out his depths. And according to the investigation, he earns an annual net income of more than 100 million yuan."

Tang Xiu was slightly surprised, but after recalling the gifts Ji Mu sent to him, they were indeed things that could only be obtained if he had some channels to make money. However, since he had some spare time to set up these businesses, then why did he not take over the entire business of the Ji Family? With the Ji Family's status in Changxi City, the entire wealth of this family was definitely over 10 billion or even tens of billions of yuan, no?

Tang Xiu secretly shook his head. He did not want to ponder about it anymore. He then asked Mo Awu and learned that the man in charge of the intelligence for the Everlasting Feast Hall in Shanghai as well as the other ten in the surrounding ten cities had arrived, so he brought Mouse to see them. To Tang Xiu's surprise, the one in charge of the Shanghai area turned out to be a core member of the Everlasting Feast Hall. Furthermore, he also learned from Mo Awu that even though this man was adept in spying and prying information, his ability to control and manage the information network was subpar. He even sent many applications to resign from his current work and wanted to go to Resting Cemetery Island in the South China Sea to cultivate.

Hearing that this man was obsessed with cultivation made Tang Xiu quite satisfied. He gave his consent to his request and also introduced Mouse to the other men from the ten cities. It was to make Mouse integrate himself with the intelligence division of the Everlasting Feast Hall while also establishing a thorough information network in Shanghai and its ten neighboring cities.

Lulu had been accompanying Tang Xiu and watching him deal with each issue, and once in a while, an extraordinary splendor flashed in her eyes as she marveled at the deep heritage of the Everlasting Feast Hall as well as marveled at Tang Xiu's skills and his style in managing the issues.

"Honey, how about I go to Shanghai University and accompany you attending your class?" Asked Lulu while holding her chin and watching Tang Xiu eat his lunch.

Tang Xiu swallowed the food in his mouth and snappily said, "I can guarantee that I'll be in the campus headline tomorrow if you appear there. And if you appear in my classroom, I'm afraid those classmates of mine will have no intention to attend the afternoon classes at all."

"Huh?" Lulu was baffled and asked, "But why?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard the term of femme fatale?" Said Tang Xiu. "You have very good looks, and those boys will definitely stealthily steal glances at you, while the girls will look at you with envy and jealousy. Do you think they will have a mind to attend the classes? Lulu, we must become good people, disturbing others while they are studying is so wrong."

Puff… Hahaha.

Lulu could not help laughing, feeling sweet inside even though Tang Xiu indirectly refused her request. However, the sweetness only lasted for a few minutes as she was stirred up with Han Qingwu's arrival.Her intuition could naturally see that Han Qingwu had special feelings for Tang Xiu. All of them were young, and even though Han Qingwu was probably several years older than Tang Xiu, this particular feeling of hers was definitely love.

"Tang Xiu, I'll drive you back to campus," said Han Qingwu with a serious expression.

Tang Xiu put down the chopsticks, took a sheet of tissue and wiped his mouth. He then nodded and said, "I did not drive my car when I came here, so let's get back together!"

He then took a ride on Han Qingwu's car back to campus, and it was still more than half an hour left from the afternoon classes. When he was about to come out of the car, he then asked Han Qingwu about the place of the underground fighting she entered. It turned out to be in Changxi City.

Ring ring ring...

Just as Tang Xiu pushed the door open, his mobile phone suddenly sounded. He looked at the caller ID displayed on the screen and closed the door again, and then accepted the call.

"What's up?"

"I just got news of an accident, Boss. The culprit of those recent murders, Austin Cole from European SOE company and the dozens of men he brought with him, were attacked by the military. Austin Cole was severely injured and fled under the protection of his men. Also, some people from the military were killed in action." Mouse's voice was transmitted from the phone.

"About these guys from the military, are they the ones who bought the information from you?" Asked Tang Xiu.

"Yeah, I sold it to them," said Mouse.

"Continue tracking Austin's gang," said Tang Xiu. "If you locate him, do remember to find a way to inform the military. Also, keep an eye on that Brain Assembly Biotech's Xie Zhiqiang. They have been in contact repeatedly, meaning that there's something confidential that must not come to light. Do everything you can to dig out their secret."

"No problem!" Mouse quickly replied and then straightly hung up.

Tang Xiu did not hurry to get off the car after receiving the call. Instead, he took out a cigarette, lit it up, and then took two deep puffs in silence. What he knew about this Brain Assembly Biotech was minute. Everything he knew from Mouse was that Xie Zhiqiang had made a few calls this morning and met some of his acquaintances in a certain shopping mall in Shanghai all of a sudden.

Sly, ruthless, avaricious, and seeing wealth like it was his life. These were what best described Xie Zhiqian's character.

The Brain Assembly Biotech itself engaged in electronic products and biopharmaceutical business. While Xie Zhiqiang himself did not have a resounding name in Shanghai, he heard that this man had wealth worth several hundred million. The most important point was that this man apparently had several entertainment establishments in the city and also a security company.