Ye Qiu suddenly spoke up.
“Zhang Zihao, wait a moment!”
Zhang Zihao paused, his gaze settling on Ye Qiu’s face, and asked, “Who are you?”
“He’s my granddaughter’s husband,” Old Xu interjected promptly.
Ye Qiu was speechless. Since when did I become your granddaughter’s husband? How am I unaware of this?
Xu Changjin’s face flushed with embarrassment.
Zhang Zihao glanced at Xu Changjin, then smiled and asked Ye Qiu, “May I ask what advice this gentleman has?”
“My name is Ye Qiu, from Jiangzhou, China,” Ye Qiu introduced himself first, then approached Zhang Zihao and whispered, “There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“What would Mr. Ye like to know?”
Ye Qiu said, “Do you know Li Zhengxi?”
Zhang Zihao’s eyes flickered briefly before he countered, “Why is Dr. Ye asking about Li Zhengxi?”
“It seems you do know him,” Ye Qiu said. “The batch of ancient paintings Li Zhengxi has, did he buy them from you?”
A trace of caution appeared in Zhang Zihao’s eyes.
Ye Qiu smiled, “To be honest, I enjoy dabbling in ancient painting collections in my spare time. Do you have any more ancient paintings? If you do, I’ll take them all, no matter how many, and I guarantee you’ll be satisfied with the price.”
So this guy’s after ancient paintings!
“I sold all those paintings to Li Zhengxi,” Zhang Zihao said.
“What a pity…”
Ye Qiu looked disappointed and asked, “Mr. Zhang, do you have any other good items?”
He had heard from the War God that this guy had recently looted an ancient Korean royal tomb.
Zhang Zihao shook his head, saying, “I did get my hands on quite a few good things before, but unfortunately, they’re all sold.”
Damn it!
Ye Qiu cursed inwardly at Zhang Zihao’s greed. You’ve already looted an ancient tomb, and now you’ve kidnapped Old Xu’s illegitimate son? Truly insatiable.
Zhang Zihao changed the subject, “Mr. Ye, since you’re fond of antiques, I’ll contact you first if I come across anything good in the future.”
“Then it’s a deal, Mr. Zhang. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation in the future.” Ye Qiu extended his right hand.
Without much thought, Zhang Zihao smiled and shook hands with Ye Qiu.
Afterwards, Zhang Zihao got into his car and left.
As soon as he was gone, Xu Zhiming said with confusion, “Ye Qiu, earlier in the treasure room, you didn’t want any of the treasures my father offered you. Why are you now asking Zhang Zihao to buy ancient paintings?”
Ye Qiu replied, “I just wanted to confirm whether the head of the tomb-robbing gang Li Zhengxi mentioned was Zhang Zihao.”
“It seems now that the batch of ancient paintings Li Zhengxi gave to Old Xu was indeed bought from Zhang Zihao.”
Xu Zhiming cursed, “That Zhang Zihao, not only involved in kidnapping but also tomb-robbing. He deserves to die.”
Ye Qiu nodded in agreement, “He does deserve it.”
At this moment, Xu Zhiming said to Old Xu, “Father, Zhang Zihao is nothing but a bandit. Aren’t you being too polite to him?”
Old Xu smiled, “I’m doing this to ensure he doesn’t harm Changxu.”
“Father, are you really going to give Zhang Zihao those five billion?”
“Credibility is a businessman’s first principle. Since I’ve promised, I’ll naturally deliver.”
“Father, have you considered what happens if this gets out? If other bandits follow Zhang Zihao’s example and kidnap me, or Huixian and Changjin, what will you do?”
“I’ll pay the ransom just the same.”
Xu Zhiming shook his head, saying, “Father, what I mean is, we can’t be soft in these situations. We must be tough, report to the police immediately, and have them arrest Zhang Zihao to prevent this from happening again.”
Old Xu sighed, “Zhiming, you’re still underestimating Zhang Zihao.”
“He’s committed countless shocking crimes, and the Hong Kong police have been after him for years without catching him. Do you think our Korean police are more capable than Hong Kong’s?”
“Zhang Zihao may be a bandit, but he’s no ordinary one.”
“Have you ever seen a bandit who can sit and talk with me so calmly?”
“Do you think Zhang Zihao doesn’t know we have plenty of bodyguards at home? If he dares to come so boldly, he must have his precautions. For a desperado like him, if provoked, the consequences would be unthinkable.”
“He seeks wealth, we seek safety.”
“As long as Changxu is safe and sound, what’s five billion?”
Xu Zhiming thought it over and felt Old Xu’s reasoning made sense.
After all, for people of their status, money was just a number.
Old Xu added, “However, this incident has served as a wake-up call. We need to strengthen security at home from now on, and you all should bring more bodyguards when you go out to prevent criminals from taking advantage.”
“Understood,” Xu Zhiming nodded.
Old Xu looked at Ye Qiu with a smile, “Ye Qiu, I’m a bit tired today and will rest for a while. I won’t keep you company, so let Changjin show you around!”
“Alright,” Ye Qiu agreed readily.
That evening, after dinner at the Xu household, Ye Qiu took the Qiankun Cauldron from the treasure room and stayed in his room to study it.
Master Zhang had said the Qiankun Cauldron would be of great use to Ye Qiu, but he still hadn’t figured out how.
“I thought there was only one Qiankun Cauldron, but I saw another one today.”
“Does this mean there are more than two, perhaps several?”
“What exactly is its use to me?”
Ye Qiu examined the Qiankun Cauldron repeatedly but still found nothing.
“Forget it, I’ll focus on cultivation instead!”
Ye Qiu put down the cauldron, sat cross-legged on the floor, and began cultivating.
Soon, a faint golden light emanated from his body.
As Ye Qiu practised the Nine-Turn Dragon Art, two streams of innate true qi surged through his meridians.
Gradually, his body lifted off the ground, spinning in the air.
At first, the rotation was slow, but as time passed, it grew faster until Ye Qiu’s body became a blurred shadow, barely discernible to the naked eye.
At the same time, the golden light on his body shifted from faint to a brilliant gold, making him resemble a Buddha statue.
After two hours of cultivation, Ye Qiu stopped.
The moment he opened his eyes, a flash of golden light gleamed in his pupils, like fiery golden eyes, then vanished.
“After the trip to Dadong, I cultivated a second stream of innate true qi, but I’ve made no progress with the Nine-Turn Dragon Art. I wonder when I’ll break through to the fourth turn.”
“While the Six Meridians Divine Sword and the Killing Technique are powerful, they’re still lacking against top-tier experts, mainly because my cultivation is too weak.”
“I need to find a way to boost my cultivation quickly.”
“The stronger my cultivation, the more powerful my ultimate moves will be. When facing those old monsters in the Forbidden City, I’ll have a better chance of survival.”
“If I could cultivate seven more streams of innate true qi in a short time, I might even be able to take down Long Yi.”
Ye Qiu chuckled at the thought.
For now, such an idea was pure fantasy, far too unrealistic.
Then, Ye Qiu walked to the window, glanced at the pitch-black night, a glint of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
“It’s time to deal with Zhang Zihao!”
