Chapter 160: The Secret Coaxed Out
Chapter 160: The Secret Coaxed Out
The man in shorts had given him a brand-new mobile phone. It didn’t have a single contact saved inside.
Back home, Li Zian waited for the other side to call, but the phone remained silent. He tucked the mobile phone into his trouser pocket and went into the kitchen to make lunch.
He had to cook for the family.
By about eleven fifteen, Lin Shengnan had gone upstairs.
Li Zian picked up the two plates of stir-fried food he’d cooked and headed out, darting over to Taozi’s door in a flash.
He instinctively tried to push the door open with his knee. He gave it a shove, but the door didn’t budge. Instead, footsteps sounded from behind it.
The door opened, revealing Mu Chuntao. She smiled as soon as she saw Li Zian and quickly stepped aside to let him in.
Li Zian walked in, saying, “I made stir-fried beef with tomato and shredded pork with spicy garlic sauce for you. Hurry and get your plates; I need to take mine back.”
Mu Chuntao laughed. “You’re so stingy. You want the plates back even after bringing food in them?”
Even as she said it, she headed to the kitchen to fetch two plates and transferred the stir-fries. Better safe than sorry. If Yu Meilin ever came over for a meal and saw her own plates, wouldn’t things blow up?
Li Zian planted a kiss on her forehead. “I have to go back. I still need to make soup for the Old Matriarch. Oh, and before opening the door, check who’s outside. Don’t open it if you don’t know them.”
Mu Chuntao suddenly hugged him tightly. “I closed the door like you said. I’m that obedient. Shouldn’t you reward me?”
Li Zian felt a bit flustered. “What reward?”
Mu Chuntao didn’t answer, but pouted her cherry lips.
Kissing her forehead didn’t count.
This was the right spot.
Anxious to get back and cook, Li Zian instantly compromised. He pouted his lips and leaned in.
The distance went from zero to negative.
“So salty,” Mu Chuntao retracted her small, lilac-like tongue, wrinkling her nose distastefully. “How come it’s salty? And it tastes a bit spicy too.”
Li Zian chuckled. “I have to taste it while cooking, don’t I? Alright, I’m going back.”
Mu Chuntao shot him an alluring, teasing look. She walked him to the door and added, “Remember what I told you earlier. Whatever you do, don’t tell Yu Meilin… Yu Meilin about us, okay?”
Li Zian nodded. “I’ll listen to you.”
Mu Chuntao smiled, then suddenly reached out and lightly slapped Li Zian’s rear. “Hurry back.”
Li Zian walked back into his own home carrying the two plates. Lin Shengnan hadn’t come downstairs yet, and Tang Qing was still teaching Li Xiaomei. Perfect timing, seamless.
Back in the kitchen preparing the soup, Li Zian took out the burner phone again. Still no call from the other side.
That was strange.
He sends someone with a phone, but then doesn’t call? What was Huang Bo playing at?
Li Zian thought to himself, “Should I call Liu Jun? Even if I can’t get him to send protection for me, maybe he can protect Chuntao and Meilin.”
With that thought, he pulled out his own mobile phone.
Before he could dial, a call came through.
But it wasn’t his phone ringing. It was the burner phone.
Finally, the call had come.
Li Zian let it ring nine times before pressing the answer button. “Hello?”
A low, gravelly voice sounded from the mobile phone. “Li Zian.”
“Huang Bo,” Li Zian stated his name right back.
“Heh heh heh…”
What the hell are you laughing at!
Li Zian almost cursed it out loud. He held back, realizing yelling at Huang Bo wouldn’t make him lose even a hair to the wind.
“I searched for you for over ten years. And then you finally showed up. Don’t you think that’s Heaven’s Will?” Huang Bo’s voice asked.
Li Zian replied, “What do you mean by that?”
He vaguely felt it had something to do with the Great Sluggish Cauldron, but he wasn’t sure.
“Stop pretending. I’ve found out everything.”
“Why can’t you just say it? Will you die if you do?” Li Zian said impatiently.
“Before, you were just an ordinary mountain villager. Four years ago, you married a woman surnamed Yu, moved into the Yu family, and came with her to Shanghai. Before Shanghai, you were just a common villager. But after coming to Shanghai, you transformed into a Master overnight. Where did those superpowers come from?” Huang Bo’s tone dripped with condescension, like he had everything under control and knew every secret.
Li Zian paused for a second before saying calmly, “You want me to say it myself?”
“Say it.”
A strange smile touched the corner of Li Zian’s mouth. “I’ve never told anyone this. You’re the first. It truly is my secret.”
“Say it.”
“Four years ago, I met your mom. And then, I got superpowers from her,” Li Zian stated.
Huang Bo fell silent. The phone only transmitted the sound of him taking a long, deep breath.
He was clearly using deep breaths to suppress his rage.
Li Zian added, “You actually have no clue yourself. That’s why you’re spouting nonsense about four years ago and four years later. You’re trying to trick me into talking. Do you think your IQ is even up to the task?”
How the Great Sluggish Cauldron ended up in the Crescent Moon Spring, he didn’t know. But he knew Ji Da was a Fangshi from the Western Zhou Dynasty. How could a 21st-century person possibly know about something left behind by someone living two or three thousand years ago? Moreover, the Great Sluggish Cauldron was inside his mind; machines couldn’t find it, so how could a person possibly see it?
This secret was safe as long as he didn’t tell it. Huang Bo wasn’t a Divine Immortal; how could he possibly know Li Zian’s secret? This was pure nonsense, and not just a little bit.
“Celestial Incense,” Huang Bo suddenly said.
Li Zian froze right there.
He thought Huang Bo was trying to trick him into revealing his secret, aiming for the Great Sluggish Cauldron. He never expected Huang Bo to mention “Celestial Incense.”
He knew Huang Bo had been searching for something all along, and he’d assumed it was the Great Sluggish Cauldron. Now, Huang Bo hadn’t managed to trick out his secret, but Li Zian had unwittingly tricked out Huang Bo’s secret.
This was an unexpected surprise!
Celestial Incense! Could it be the specific incense meant to be burnt within the Great Sluggish Cauldron?
The whole point of an incense burner was to burn incense. But the Great Sluggish Cauldron wasn’t an ordinary incense burner; it should have its own matching incense. And that incense seemed to be the “Celestial Incense.” Ordinary sandalwood incense had extraordinary effects within it. What effects would burning the Celestial Incense create?
Li Zian’s heart surged with excitement, but he kept his expression neutral. “You think it was the Celestial Incense that turned me into a Master?”
“You still want to play dumb?” A trace of anger seeped into Huang Bo’s voice.
Li Zian probed cautiously, “Are you talking about the kind of incense burned for Buddha in temples?”
Huang Bo drew another deep breath. “I know the Celestial Incense is in your hand. So, stop playing the fool in front of me. I’m giving you one last chance. Give it to me. Otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?”
Huang Bo sneered coldly. “I’ll kill everyone connected to you, starting with them and ending with you. Your wife is very beautiful. Your daughter is very cute, isn’t she?”
A furious rage ignited in Li Zian’s chest. Targeting him was one thing; he could handle it. But targeting his family and friends? That was utterly unacceptable. But he knew men like Huang Bo, desperadoes, meant what they said. He had to stay calm.
Li Zian also took a deep, deep breath. Only after forcibly suppressing the fury inside him did he speak. “You really are something. Alright, you’re right. The Celestial Incense is indeed in my possession. It’s also what made me a Master. Name a time and place; I’ll bring it to you. But I have one condition.”
“Hmph!” Huang Bo grunted coldly. “You dare set conditions for me?”
“Do you think I’ll just hand over the Celestial Incense for free? Don’t push it!” Li Zian feigned anger.
Huang Bo was silent for a moment. “What condition?”
Li Zian said, “You need to prepare ten million yuan. Also, you need to promise me that once you have the Celestial Incense, you will never touch my family or friends, and you never come after me again. After the deal is done, we go our separate ways.”
“Deal. I agree. Tonight at 1 a.m., at the villa on the Bund. You know the place.” Huang Bo stated.
Li Zian replied, “Alright. I’ll come alone then, and you come alone too. If I see you brought anyone else, I leave immediately.”
“I warn you, don’t try any tricks. If you don’t show up, if I don’t get the Celestial Incense, your friends die.” Huang Bo threatened.
“What do you mean?”
“Kang Haichuan and his daughter are in my hands. You’ll see them tonight,” Huang Bo said.
“You motherfu—” Before Li Zian could finish cursing, Huang Bo had already hung up.
He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Kang Xin’s number. Kang Xin was turned off.
He tried Kang Haichuan’s number. Kang Haichuan’s mobile phone was turned off too.
Kang Haichuan and Kang Xin had fallen into Huang Bo’s hands.
Li Zian felt a wave of panic.
He’d demanded ten million yuan from Huang Bo not because he wanted the money, but to make Huang Bo believe he was sincere about the trade by adding a condition.
He never expected Huang Bo to have already arranged leverage to force his hand.
Huang Bo’s plan was obvious.
Take hostages to force compliance. Get the so-called Celestial Incense. Then kill everyone involved.
Everyone who knew Huang Bo’s secrets had to die. Ma Fuquan was the first. How could he possibly spare Kang Haichuan and Kang Xin?
Glug-glug…
The sound of boiling came from the soup pot.
The noise snapped Li Zian’s thoughts back. He hurriedly moved the soup pot off the heat.
Just then, footsteps sounded, alongside Lin Shengnan’s voice: “Zian, is my Great Benefit Phoenix Claw Soup ready?”
Li Zian answered, “It’s ready. Time to eat.”
Thump-thump-thump…
That was the sound of his little cotton-padded jacket coming down the stairs.
“Here I come!” Li Xiaomei dashed into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Li Zian’s leg. “Daddy! Teacher Tang praised me again today! Isn’t your daughter so great? Aren’t you proud?”
Li Zian: “…”
Compared to Li Xiaomei, even the gravest matters seemed insignificant.
“So, don’t you want to praise me?” Li Xiaomei looked at Li Zian with hopeful eyes.
Li Zian wanted to smile, but his mood was too heavy. Even a fake smile was beyond him. Still, he managed, “After lunch, Daddy will buy you an ice cream. But only one!”
“Mm-hmm! Daddy is the best!” Li Xiaomei hugged Li Zian’s calf tightly, clinging like a little ornament on his leg.
Tang Qing walked into the kitchen. “Xiaomei, go out first and don’t disturb Daddy.”
“Okay!” Only then did Li Xiaomei let go, skipping happily out of the kitchen.
“Brother Zian, let me help,” Tang Qing said.
“Hmm,” Li Zian nodded absently, his mind clearly elsewhere.
This plan…
How to break it?