Tang Xiu just smiled at Yang s.h.i.+"s contradicting words. This old lady was at least a hundred years old, yet she still wanted to go further. It was truly rare. However, he didn"t hurry to refuse her, but lightly replied instead, "If my guess is correct, you should have a big family behind you, right?"

"Give me three days," said Yang s.h.i.+ immediately after hearing it. "I"ll be on my own three days later without being concerned with anything."

Tang Xiu fell into silence. Yang s.h.i.+"s persistence and her determination touched his heart. Back when he was in the Immortal World, he had met countless cultivators and immortals who abandoned their families and jobs just to cultivate and become stronger.

The Great Dao is indeed ruthless and merciless. Of those who had been able to blaze their way through the brambles and thistles to reach the summit of Supremacy in the Immortal World, each of them was someone who always struggled and fought against other beings and Heaven alike before they finally stood above the myriads of races.

Tang Xiu then looked at Xue Yu and asked, "Do you accept her, or not?"

Xue Yue didn"t answer Tang Xiu immediately but asked Yang s.h.i.+ instead, "Can you tell me what you excel at?"

"I know Chinese medicine and am quite knowledgeable in medicinal herbs as well," said Yang s.h.i.+ as she continued, "I also understand Feng Shui, am an expert in finding Dragon Vein, have deep knowledge old objects and antiquities, and I also know a lot of things in other aspects, even some superficial knowledge about the divination technique of Heavenly Secrets from your clan."

"Do you perhaps know my old ancestress?" asked Xue Yu.

Yang s.h.i.+ nodded and said, "You should have heard about the Four Imperfect of China: Old Blind, Old Cripple, Old Deaf, and Old Mute. Your ancestress is called Old Blind, whereas I"m called Old Cripple."

Xue Yu shook and she bitterly smiled, "Senior, you"re from the generation of my ancestress, how would I dare to…"

"No. I finally understand now why Old Blind crossed paths with Divine Doctor Tang," interrupted Yang s.h.i.+ with all seriousness. "She now has a deep origin with him because of you. She truly has played her cards well. It"s a pity that I don"t have such outstanding descendants as you. The Great Dao is a ruthless path to take that depends on one"s own struggles. I can go further and soar higher in the future as long as I can seize the opportunity at hand."

Xue Yu didn"t speak anymore and simply turned her head to nod to Tang Xiu.

"That being the case, then you"ll help Elderly Chang and Elderly Bao to take care of Xue Yu"s business!" said Tang Xiu with a smile. "If you can sever everything from the mundane world that concerns and shackles you, your achievement in the future won"t be worse than Old Blind, regardless of how high she achieved."

"Great, great, just great."

Yang s.h.i.+ said three great words in a row with an excited expression on her aged face.

The handsome young man, Liu Meng, was now incomparably shocked. He never dreamed that his grandmother would actually bow down so humbly just to work for someone else. It must be noted that his Grandma was revered as the Ancestress of the Liu Family, one who held the highest status in his family; even his father, the Liu Family Patriarch, was very obedient in front of her.

It could be said that Grandma Yang was the most important pillar that supported the Liu Family. His family would be losing its backbone with her leaving.

"Grandma! Please think about it again!" Liu Meng sprinted to the front of the sofa and pleaded.

Yang s.h.i.+ fondly looked at him. But she shook her head and said, "I"ve been married into the Liu Family for eighty years already, helping the family to have many children and grandchildren. It"s been sixty years since I"ve been in charge of the Liu Family, and I"ve brought it up from a small family in the past to a big family today. I"ve already done what should be done. And now, the Liu Family will need to rely on its coming generations like you in the future, whereas I too will pursue my own dream and take the road that belongs to me."

"Grandmother!" Liu Meng"s heart sank deep into the bottom of the valley.

Yang s.h.i.+ shook her head and looked at Tang Xiu and Xue Yu, "Divine Doctor Tang, Proprietress Xue, I"m going to the Liu Family to bid my last farewell first. I"ll find Little Chang and Little Bao three days from now."

"Alright!"

Tang Xiu, Xue Yu, and the rest got up as they watched Yang s.h.i.+ and Liu Meng leave. Tang Xiu then looked at Chang Pinggui and Bao Anle, "Anyway, I can"t accompany you both for dinner. But Xue Yu perhaps has something to discuss with you, so she"s going to stay."

"Okay!" Chang Pinggui and Bao Anle nodded with a smile.

A few minutes later, Tang Xiu took Li Qiang out of the restaurant and came to the street outside. He didn"t call Mo Awu to pick him up, but instead took out a cigarette and lit it. He then threw the rest to Li Qiang and said, "You"re the local snake here, so why don"t you take me to stroll around and taste some good food that"s offered by Chang City?"

Li Qiang rolled his eyes and said in a low voice, "I do know quite a good agritourism venue. The venison there is absolutely delicious, but the price… it"s pretty expensive too."

"Is it far from here?" asked Tang Xiu with a smile.

"More than half an hour of driving," answered Li Qiang.

After smoking up the cigarette, Tang Xiu then called Mo Awu to drive the car over and said, "You are to point the direction to Awu, Li Qiang. Let"s go to that agritourism venue you told me about."

Green Lake Agricola.

It was located at a lakeside, surrounded by lush hills with pavilions that gave off an antique flavor. Quaint red lanterns hung high on the building, beautifying the night scenery here. Many patrons were walking in the long corridor, while waiters carrying trays shuttled back and forth from private rooms, leaving behind the appetizing fragrance of delicious meals.

"There"s something strange here."

The Mercedes-Benz SUV stopped at the Green Lake Agricola parking lot, but Tang Xiu looked slightly surprised just as he got off from the car. He faintly sensed something amiss in the environment—this seemingly picturesque place seemed to conceal killing intent.

"What"s strange, cousin?" asked Li Qiang, confused.

Tang Xiu took back his gaze towards the distance. He shook his head and said, "It"s nothing. Alright, lead the way!"

Li Qiang disregarded his confusion and brought Tang Xiu to pace several meters forward as he suddenly asked, "Hey, cousin, will that big bro who drives the car not eat?"

"They can deal with their food and drink by themselves, mind you," said Tang Xiu with a faint smile.

They?

Li Qiang blanked out. He keenly captured the meaning of these words and instantly gazed toward the distant road. He found that another car was slowly approaching at this moment. He may not be a great personage, but he heard that many bodyguards wouldn"t appear near the person they were protecting but stayed hidden nearby. If that is so, those inside that car that should be bodyguards then?

"He truly deserves to be the Big Boss of the Magnificent Tang Corporation!"

Li Qiang sighed inwardly and continued leading Tang Xiu into the antique pavilion.

As they came to the reception desk, there was an awkward and embarra.s.sed look on his face when he looked at the expressionless middle-aged woman in front of him and said, "Manager w.a.n.g, could you please think of something to arrange a place for us to have a meal here? Besides, we"re already here."

Manager w.a.n.g shook her head and said, "I really can"t. Except for those two boxes that are not yet reserved, the rest are booked and the other boxes are already full. You can either wait or go to another restaurant to have your meal."

Li Qiang turned to look at Tang Xiu and helplessly said, "Brother Tang, you see…"

Tang Xiu just smiled at his words and said, "Manager w.a.n.g, right? My family also runs a restaurant business, so I know quite a lot about the situation of each restaurant. If my guess is correct, you should have some reserved boxes in case some big personages come to patronize and have nowhere else to go, right? Well, you should even have at least two reserved boxes here, no?"

Amazement flashed in Manager w.a.n.g"s eyes. She stared at Tang Xiu as though she wanted to discern something extraordinary from him.

Tang Xiu spoke again, "I just want to have dinner in peace in a quiet place, to taste the most famous delicacy of the Green Lake Agricola of Chang City, so I hope you can give us a box. Of course, please don"t rush to say that you don"t have it, because I have ways to even make your Boss come out to arrange it if I really insist on dining here."

Manager w.a.n.g"s expression changed and she asked, "May I know your name, Sir?"

"I"m surnamed Tang," answered Tang Xiu.

"You"re right, Mr. Tang." Manager w.a.n.g nodded and said, "We do have two boxes usually reserved here, but I don"t have the rights to arrange the guests there. Please wait a moment, I"m going to inform my Boss first."

"What for? Isn"t it just a box?" asked Tang Xiu.

"It"s because the two boxes we have left are very special," answered Manager w.a.n.g.

"Alright, then. Please be quick" said Tang Xiu.

Inside a VIP room at the deepest part of the Green Lake Agricola, its owner, Song Donglai, was accompanying two guests who were his sworn life-and-death brothers. They were also very powerful people in China.

"Brother Ao, you called me before you came here and said that you"d bring the Cruor Python here to arrange the Blood Python Array. Is this true?" Song Donglai looked a bit solemn as he asked the two people.

The man who looked to be in his 40s and gave a calm vibe was named Ao Wei. He nodded and said, "That"s right. We"ve brought the Cruor Blood and put it in the lake outside. We can start arranging the Blood Python Array tomorrow night as long as you agree with it."

"A truck containing a s.h.i.+pment of jade will also arrive early in the morning tomorrow," added Gong Quan.

Song Donglai touched his chin as he fell into thought with gleaming eyes. After a long time, he then said slowly, "Arranging the Blood Python Array with just the Cruor Python and jade stone won"t be enough. We still need to sacrifice the blood of 18 living people. But where do we go to find 18 people?"

"We a.s.signed some men to spread some rumors before we came over," said Ao Wei in a deep voice, "The Lian Family"s people should have caught the news and they probably have sent some people to catch up with us. Us three brothers have killed many of their people in order to prevent their shameless scheme to harm people with their plague virus back in the past, and the Lians have been tracking down the three of us to seek revenge over the years. I"m sure they won"t let this opportunity go."

Song Donglai was shaken inwardly and he hurriedly said, "Our three families" combined forces are indeed able to face the Lian Family, but don"t forget that you cannot bring all the forces of your two families. Just look what happened to me last year—I was punished by my own family. The forces left in my family are now only those men we"ve been training in recent years. If the Lians were to launch a large-scale attack, how can we stop them?"

"I"ve considered this issue as well, so I invited a friend of mine," said Ao Wei, "Our chances of winning will increase as long as he catches up in time tomorrow."

"Who"s he?" asked Song Donglai hurriedly.

"Han Sen," answered Ao Wei.

"That traitor of the Han Family—the martial arts lunatic who got possessed by a mental demon?" cried out Song Donglai in alarm, "You actually dare to invite him… Did you just eat some tiger b.a.l.l.s or something?"