Chapter 1764 - 2066: Fortune Telling (2)
Noticing Ling Chen’s change of expression, the old Taoist said indifferently: "If you’re asking me for a solution, it will definitely cost a bit more. However, what’s five million compared to your life? Don’t you agree?"
Ling Chen gave a bitter smile and said: "Elder, your so-called solution doesn’t really tell me anything. At least tell me where to find the noble person."
"Don’t worry, when the time is right, he will naturally appear."
"Ling Chen, don’t believe his nonsense, he’s clearly extorting us, let’s call and report him." Saying this, Su Lin took out her phone to make a call. However, before she could dial, Ling Chen stopped her.
"It’s okay, five million is nothing to me." Soon, the five million was transferred to the old Taoist’s bank card.
"This year’s business is done, it’s time for me to go. Young man, we’ll meet again if fate allows." With that, the old Taoist stood up, leaving his stall behind, and blended into the crowd, disappearing in an instant.
"I really don’t know how to even begin with you." Su Lin said angrily: "Can you believe a word from someone like him? Knowing that he’s deceiving you, yet you give him so much money, I think you’re a typical fool with too much money."
As she spoke, a sleazy-looking old man walked over and began to pack up the fortune-telling stall. Seeing this, Su Lin couldn’t help but speak up: "This is someone else’s stuff, who told you to take it?"
The old man glared and said: "Miss, this is clearly my livelihood, when did it become someone else’s, don’t talk nonsense."
"Just now, that old Taoist..."
Before Su Lin could finish her sentence, the man interjected: "You mean that old Taoist? He just spent a hundred bucks to rent my stall for a bit."
"What?" Su Lin was shocked and muttered: "This is bad, bad, con artists these days are just too skilled."
"What are you muttering about?" Ling Chen gently nudged Su Lin’s arm and said: "It’s time to go."
"A hundred bucks swindled over five million, don’t you think the con artists now are quite skillful?"
"Whether they are skillful or not, we’ll find out later." Ling Chen smiled and said: "Didn’t you hear him? I’ll face a life-and-death crisis soon; I might not even be able to keep my life. Let’s wait and see if what he said is true."
"Phooey, phooey, phooey! Can you not joke about dying, is it fun to curse yourself?" Su Lin glared at him unamused.
"Alright, let’s not talk about it. Come on, I’ll take you to grab some late-night snacks and then send you home."
It wasn’t until after eleven at night that Ling Chen drove back to Dragon Tiger Hall. At that time, Zhu Qing was still waiting for his return.
"Did that person leave an address?"
"Left it." Zhu Qing nodded and said: "He asked me to tell you he’d stay in East Sea City for two days." After a brief pause, she asked worriedly: "Isn’t it strange that this person suddenly came to find you?"
"How should I know? I’ll find some time to meet him tomorrow."
...
Early the next morning, Ling Chen made brief preparations and then drove alone to the destination. According to the address He Honggang left, he stayed at a hotel in East Sea City. Upon arriving at the hotel, he went straight up to the top floor and found the guest room where He Honggang was staying. After knocking on the door, the room door quickly opened from the inside.
Seeing the middle-aged man at the doorway, Ling Chen greeted him with a smile.
"Ling Chen." The middle-aged man stepped aside and made a ’please’ gesture, saying: "Come in and have a seat."
Ling Chen acknowledged and went into the guest room, selecting a seat by the window, he sized up the middle-aged man before him, saying: "Sorry, I was busy last night and couldn’t meet you on time."
"It’s okay." The middle-aged man slowly sat down and looked at Ling Chen: "Do you know who I am?"
"Leader of Dark Pavilion, He Honggang, am I correct?"
"You are indeed clever." He Honggang said with a smile: "You’ve never met me, so how do you know who I am?"
"On that day at Zhu Family, you told Chen Younian that Zhu Family was kind to you. I thought it over and over, and it seemed there couldn’t be anyone else but you." Pausing, Ling Chen asked: "Mr. He, what can I do for you?"
"You don’t seem surprised at all seeing me like this, which proves you’re quite insightful. If I’m not mistaken, you must have encountered people like me before. Is that right?"
"Well..." Ling Chen touched his nose, uncertain of how to respond. He’s still not clear about He Honggang’s intentions, so he didn’t dare say too much, fearing that too many words might lead to losses.
Seeing his hesitation, He Honggang laughed: "No need to be nervous, I don’t mean any harm. If I really intended to harm you, I would have done so long ago, why wait until now, right?" After a pause, he looked approvingly at Ling Chen: "Knowing who I am, yet you came alone to the meeting, you are indeed bold. Not bad, I appreciate people like you."
"Mr. He, after all that, can we get to the point now?"
"Alright, I won’t hide it from you; this time I’m looking for a few people to unravel a mystery together."
"A mystery?" Ling Chen asked curiously: "What kind of mystery?"
"I think you might know about people like us, don’t you want to know why we can retain youthful appearances and survive for so many years?"
"Could it be that Mr. He has made some discoveries?"
"Pretty much." He Honggang nodded: "But solving this mystery thoroughly requires more than just my capability; I must find enough help to manage it. To be honest, Chen Younian, who was at Zhu Family, has already accepted my invitation."
"Him?" Ling Chen was a bit surprised and confused: "You ruined his plans, yet he is willing to cooperate with you?"
"You know that interests are the greatest, right? As long as there are enough interests, everything else can be set aside. However, this time we need four people; relying solely on the strength of the two of us is far from enough. Initially, I considered looking for Su Cheng’en of Su Family, but then decided against it. Strictly speaking, Su Cheng’en is not like us, besides, someone like him is too scheming, and I don’t like working with him."
"Mr. He." Ling Chen began: "How do you know I associate with people like you?"
He Honggang laughed heartily: "There are no absolute secrets in this world; as long as one is observant enough, they can discover anything. When Zhu Family was in trouble, do you know why I showed up? Because I knew Chen Younian would be there. I’ve been secretly monitoring Chen Younian’s every move, including the time you accidentally intruded on his residence that night, I’ve known all about it." Saying that, he cast a meaningful smile at Ling Chen.