Chapter 158

Looking at Huang Boyuan, who had aged years in an instant, I suddenly realized that this titan of the business world—a man who had spent twenty years climbing from a lowly salesman to the executive director of a listed company—also had his fragile side.

He wasn't invincible, and his broad, sturdy shoulders were slowly bowing under the weight of his burdens.

After a long time, Huang Boyuan finally picked himself up from the floor. He carefully put the scroll away, gently wiped the corner of his eye with a finger, and looked at me. "How did you know the scroll was hidden here? Even I can barely remember what happened twenty years ago."

I didn't answer him directly. I merely said softly, "Your daughter, Huang Xue, told me. She had a dream last night about what happened twenty years ago."

"Huang Xue..." At the mention of that name, a hint of heartache flickered in Huang Boyuan's eyes.

"Spend more time with her when you can. You are her father, after all." I didn't know why Huang Boyuan had named his daughter Huang Xue, but the meaning behind it clearly wasn't what Huang Xue herself believed.

Seeing Huang Boyuan nod, I tried reasoning with him again. "If you trust me, I want to take this scroll for safekeeping. Two-Faced Buddha has been looking for it. Those people will stop at nothing, and their methods are beyond anything you could imagine."

He fell silent. A long time passed before he finally spoke. "What do you want? Money? Status? Real estate?"

He didn't say a single word about the scroll, deflecting to other matters instead.

"You've already paid me, so..."

"You won't turn it down. I'll pay you ten times the reward—one million! Track those people down, and find Two-Faced Buddha!" He was agitated, yet the hands clutching the scroll remained remarkably gentle.

"I only want the scroll." I could already read Huang Boyuan's intentions; he clearly wasn't willing to hand it over.

The room full of dilapidated furniture grew quiet. Huang Boyuan ran a hand over piece after piece. "I made some of these myself. Relatives and friends gave us the rest. They're just old junk, but I can't bear to throw them away. Seeing them makes me think of Wanjun."

"Maybe you should look forward. Protecting the living is what you need to focus on."

Huang Boyuan shook his head and tucked the scroll against his chest. "You don't understand this feeling. If you've never lost something, you'll never know how to cherish it. Leave. Tell Secretary Zhang whatever you want. Our agreement still stands, and I'll pay you ten times the fee once the commission is complete."

"You still don't get it." I knew full well how much this scroll meant to Huang Boyuan, but the people coveting it were vicious lunatics. He couldn't possibly defend against their methods. If he kept it, Lu Xing would likely just steal it in the end.

"You're the one who doesn't get it. You have no idea what Wanjun means to me." Huang Boyuan waved a hand, cutting me off. "Secretary Zhang, see him out. And cancel my schedule for the afternoon. I want to be alone for a while."

Secretary Zhang stepped in from outside with two bodyguards. "Mr. Gao, please."

"You'll regret this." I cast one last glance at Huang Boyuan, sitting all alone in the depths of the room, before sighing and leaving with Secretary Zhang.

Secretary Zhang drove Bai Qi and me straight back to Ting Tang Road. As I stepped out of the car, he called out to me, "Wait a moment, Mr. Gao!"

"What is it?"

I looked back to see Secretary Zhang taking two exquisitely packaged bottles of liquor out of the trunk. "The formula for your Child Immortal Wine has been cracked. However, because a few of the medicinal ingredients are quite precious, it hasn't entered mass production yet. These are from the trial batch. Director Huang specifically told me to save two bottles for you."

"Thanks."

As I took the bottles, Secretary Zhang grabbed my hand. He pulled his phone and a check from his pocket. "Director Huang sent a message on our way here. He specifically told me to give you this two hundred thousand as payment for helping him find that painting."

"I'll keep the liquor, but take the check back. That painting doesn't belong to him. He'll realize that soon enough." Clutching the bottles, I walked right into my small shop without looking back, leaving a stunned Secretary Zhang standing beside the luxury car.

He stared at my chipped advertising signboard, then at my rattling metal roller door, and finally lowered his gaze to the check in his hand. "But this is two hundred thousand."

Entering the shop, I set the bottles down and went straight for a shower. Once I was clean, I sat cross-legged on the second floor and circulated the Profound Truth Mental Method.

After a few Major Heavenly Cycles, I felt completely refreshed. My Governing Meridian was clear, and energy flowed smoothly through my meridian pathways. Even better, my mental focus had inexplicably strengthened. Drawing qi into my body felt entirely effortless, which was likely tied to my dream-walking experience.

Once my cultivation ended, I changed into a brand-new suit and awkwardly tied my tie. Looking at myself in the mirror, I rubbed the tip of my nose in mild embarrassment. "Why am I actually a little nervous?"

At six-fifty that evening, a Buick Regal parked outside. Tie Ningxiang, dressed in casual clothes, walked into the shop and immediately spotted me pacing restlessly around the room.

"Oh my, what's wrong today with the great detective known for remaining calm in the face of changes? Feeling shy?"

"Walking helps me think. You might assume my mind is a mess right now, but I'm actually perfectly calm." I found a decent-looking bag to pack one of the trial bottles of Child Immortal Wine into. "Are we heading out now?"

"Don't bother bringing anything. There's no need." Tie Ningxiang covered her mouth and giggled when she saw me holding a gift.

"How could I do that? Come on, let's go. Don't make your family wait."

I followed Tie Ningxiang out the door. Just as we were about to get in the car, she stopped me. "Gao Jian, you rarely wear suits, do you?"

"Why?"

"That's not how you tie a tie." Tie Ningxiang helplessly covered her face. She walked over to me, rested her delicate hands against my chest, and undid the tie before retying it properly. Her movements were incredibly gentle, making her look like a virtuous wife brimming with feminine charm. "Yeah, that looks much better."

We rode in silence. By the time we arrived at the residential complex where Tie Ningxiang's parents lived, I suddenly felt a twinge of regret.

I had always assumed Tie Ningxiang belonged to the working class, but seeing where her parents lived completely shattered that notion. This was one of the premier luxury residential communities in Jiangcheng—the same place where Jiang Chen and Ye Bing's new house was located.

"Senior, what does your family do?" I followed behind Tie Ningxiang as we walked through the empty underground parking garage.

"We've all been cops, though each generation is a little worse than the last." Tie Ningxiang smiled playfully. "My grandpa worked in the Provincial Public Security Department, and before my dad retired, he was the deputy chief of the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau. Then it got to me, and I'm just an ordinary captain in the Criminal Investigation Brigade."

"No wonder you became a Criminal Investigation Brigade captain in your twenties. Your background is a bit terrifying!"

"Gao Jian, what are you trying to say? Are you asking to spar with me?"

"Forget it..." Back when I was in the police academy, I'd heard stories about Tie Ningxiang. In unrestricted free sparring, she could drop an instructor in three minutes. Her mid-range shooting scored first in the entire academy, with a bullet-hole deviation of less than three millimeters.

"Born into a family of cops. No wonder your destiny carries the General Star Divine Fiends."

Tie Ningxiang and I walked through the complex for five or six minutes before arriving at her parents' door. Pushing it open, I immediately caught the aroma of a home-cooked meal drifting through the air, accompanied by the sound of Mother Tie nagging Deputy Bureau Chief Tie. "Hurry up! Ningxiang will be back with our guest soon. Dilly-dallying like this, you don't act like a man at all."

Deputy Bureau Chief Tie didn't have a single ounce of temper in front of his wife. He busied himself inside and out, occasionally carrying a dish or two out from the kitchen.

The dining table was already packed with food. Yi Yi was sitting off to the side, watching television.

"Mom, Dad, I'm back." As soon as Tie Ningxiang spoke, Mother Tie, Deputy Bureau Chief Tie, and Yi Yi all stopped what they were doing and hurried over.

"It's you! The young man who walked into the wrong room!"

"I knew the way you looked at our daughter back then wasn't quite right. So this is what was going on!"

"Uncle, come sit down! What do you want to drink?"

Surrounded by the three of them, my muscles locked up. I didn't even know which leg to step with first. "Hello, Uncle... Auntie..."

Tie Ningxiang's parents were incredibly hospitable. As soon as the meal began, they continuously piled food onto my plate. It seemed they had seriously misunderstood my relationship with Tie Ningxiang.

I gently nudged Tie Ningxiang a few times during the meal, but she completely ignored my cries for help. She simply watched me as if enjoying a good show, even letting slip a few stifled giggles when she couldn't hold it in.

"Gao Jian, you saved Yi Yi before, and this time you saved Ningxiang. That is a massive favor to our family. I'll drain my glass first."

"You're too kind." I quickly stood up to clink glasses with Deputy Bureau Chief Tie. However, having gotten used to drinking Child Immortal Wine, other liquors just didn't taste quite right anymore.

Seeing that Deputy Bureau Chief Tie was also a man who appreciated good liquor, I took the opportunity to bring out the trial bottle of Child Immortal Wine.