Time flew by into autumn. No need to mention how much happier Ao Qian was getting in Tonglin County. Meanwhile, the special auction for the treasures of the San Miguel in modern times was about to begin.
To be fair, it was one of the world’s top treasures, so the public opinion was buzzing quite lively. Even on Huaguo’s internet, there were articles everywhere explaining this treasure.
“Riding this wave, Spain started making trouble again. They demand that these treasures be returned to the Spanish royal family.”
Lu Zheng said with disdain, “Tch, they have the nerve to say that? Strictly speaking, these things were all looted from the indigenous people of South America by them. How come we never see them returning those?”
“That’s the key point. Several Latin American countries have banded together. They claim to be the heirs of the Inca Empire, so they should rightfully inherit this treasure too. They’ve already sued the International Court, demanding its return,” Lin Wan said.
“Good grief, they can jump in on this?” Lu Zheng was startled.
Lin Wan shrugged, “After all, this treasure has such a huge reputation. And Spain was a pioneer in the Age of Discovery, with a stellar reputation. Joining the fight for this treasure can boost their political prestige.
If others speak up and you stay silent, that would be too cowardly. It would ruin your credibility. And if you speak up but don’t get it, no big deal, right? After all, no one else gets it either.
Because every country has different definitions for the ownership of underwater treasures. Grant is a capitalist from the Lighthouse Country, so even though this is making a big noise, it is actually pointless.”
“And not only that,” Lin Wan smiled, “The bigger the fuss, the higher the added value of these treasures. Now experts have raised the expected transaction amount for this auction from eight hundred million US dollars to one billion to one point two billion.”
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, “Not bad. This is no harm to us.”
Lin Wan asked with interest, “Are you sure you can get the money in hand?”
“Piece of cake.” Lu Zheng snapped his fingers, “The accounts I transferred the money to are linked to all sorts of big shots. Not to mention just the auction proceeds from a fallen nation’s treasure. Even the fee for assassinating the Lighthouse Country’s president could not be traced back.”
“That impressive?” Lin Wan widened her eyes.
Lu Zheng nodded, “Involving private accounts from major global banks, consortia, and politicians. You do not think they are all innocent little white flowers or little white rabbits, do you?”
Lin Wan beamed with delight, “You are too naughty. How did you find them?”
“Have you forgotten my major?”
“Right, right! You are amazing!” Lin Wan could not help but chuckle, “If every computer science undergraduate had half your skills, the whole world would be in chaos by now.”
Lu Zheng got anxious, “Defamation! This is defamation! I am a pacifist. I have no dealings with gambling or drugs!”
“Tsk tsk, I believe you, my foot. Have you forgotten our first trip to Southeast Asia? Where did the travel money come from?” Lin Wan laughed.
Lu Zheng blinked. Fine, it came from winning at some entertainment venue in Singapore. He had almost forgotten if she did not mention it.
“So, where is the travel expense for this trip?”
Lin Wan could not help but pat Lu Zheng, “This is going home. What travel expense?”
At this time, it was September in modern times, right on the Mid-Autumn Festival by the lunar calendar. Lin Wan had nothing to do, so she flew back to Shandong with Lu Zheng to visit her mother.
Lin Wan’s hometown was in the central area of the Jiaodong Peninsula in Lu Province, not too far from Yantai in the north or Qingdao in the south.
The two arrived at Lin Wan’s hometown, spent a day with her mother, then took her south to Qingdao for a holiday.
They had just sent her mother back to her room. The two stayed in a sea-view hotel in Qingdao, admiring the sea view while having the above conversation.
“How is this going home? Are we not here in Qingdao for tourism?” Lu Zheng argued.
“Fine!” Lin Wan gave a half-smile, “My mum is right here with us. I would like to see how you earn that money.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
You are making things hard for me, Fat Tiger. With my mother-in-law around, I cannot use extreme methods.
Since he could not win with words, he went straight to action.
“Woo,”
Lin Wan struggled quickly, “No, we just came back to freshen up and change clothes. We still have to go to the night market for snacks tonight!”
“No, no, no, I was wrong!”
“Mm,”
…
After two days in Qingdao, her mother returned home. Lin Wan had a day off due to shift change.
“Where to today?” Lin Wan asked, “Still playing in Qingdao?”
“We have seen most of the city. The rest feels much like Haicheng actually,” Lu Zheng said, “Just the beer is really good.”
“I will bring some back for you.”
“A few… forget it, a few it is. Fresh beer is still the best. If I really want some, I can come buy more,” Lu Zheng said.
To be honest, fresh beer really was different. That malt aroma was much better than the bottled stuff sold elsewhere.
“All up to you.” Lin Wan smiled.
“How about renting a yacht and going out to sea?”
“Boring.” Lin Wan flipped through the travel guide on her phone and her eyes lit up, “How about Laoshan instead!”
“Laoshan?”
“The Taiyuan Xuanshu you gave me, is it not a Taoist cultivation method? Laoshan is a famous Taoist immortal mountain. Since we are here, how can we not visit?”
At this point, Lin Wan suddenly got a bit excited yet a bit timid. She gave Lu Zheng a look that said you know what I mean, “That, do you think we might run into those… um?”
Lin Wan was no fool. Cultivating the Taiyuan Xuanshu, she could clearly see it was a Daoist method.
If so, what about others if she could cultivate it?
Though she felt no heaven and earth spiritual energy in modern times, could there be blessed lands or heavenly treasures?
Were the Laoshan Taoists in Liaozhai Zhiyi real?
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, “What do you think?”
Lin Wan said helplessly, “How would I know?”
Lu Zheng smiled. He had wanted to tease her a bit more, but then he said, “Do you think if there were more people like us in the world, the authorities would not know?”
“Oh? Right!” Lin Wan nodded, catching on at once.
So the truth was simple. The only truly extraordinary one was Lu Zheng.
Lin Wan’s eyes sparkled. She almost wanted to pounce on him again.
“Ahem.”
Though Lu Zheng wanted to too, they only had one day left on holiday, so he changed the subject, “By the way, last time we went to Sichuan for tourism, Qingshan was right nearby. Why did you not think of going then?”
Lin Wan felt a bit embarrassed, “At the time, my head was full of wanting to see the pandas. How could I think of Qingshan?”
An old Taoist where compared to cute pandas?
Lu Zheng gave a thumbs up. You are right!
“So, are we going or not?” Lin Wan got annoyed and embarrassed, her momentum surging.
“Going!”
So they booked tickets online and set off right away. Destination, the sacred Taoist land, the immortal mountain of sea and sky.
