Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Not just the Li Family. The Zhou and Qi Families would be delighted as well.
No one likes to have a knife hanging above their heads forever.
Now, only Su Jingxing knew that the “knife” might have disappeared.
In order to verify that the “knife” had completely disappeared, Su Jingxing snapped a shot of He Guren’s photo in the file.
Then, he contacted Li Lilou and arranged to meet him at the southern bank of the Sky Water River.
Last time, they had worked together to deal with Shi Zhinie. After that, they had exchanged contact details.
If there was anyone in the entire Qinghe City who knew the exact details of the He Family best, it would definitely be the Li Family.
Su Jingxing contacted Li Lilou because he wanted to use the Li Family to confirm He Guren’s identity.
Regardless of whether his identity was real or fake, the Li Family should be very interested.
If it was fake, there was no loss.
However, if it was real, Su Jingxing would be able to strike a deal with the Li Family with this piece of information.
A deal for Energy Gathering Stones!
…
Beep beep…
The southern bank of the Sky Water River.
Beside the road.
A car honked and stopped at the edge of a platform.
Click, thump!
Li Lilou opened the door and got out of the car. He waved at the driver to drive the car away.
He then strode to the end of the platform, his gaze landing on Su Jingxing, who was wearing a cloak and a mask.
“Guest Elder Lin, long time no see.”
Li Lilou laughed heartily as he walked.
“Fourth Master Li.”
Su Jingxing turned around and looked at Li Lilou. He lowered his voice and said, “I asked Fourth Master here today because I have something I would like to consult you about.”
“There’s no need to be so polite. Guest Elder Lin, just call me Fourth Li.”
Li Lilou smiled and said, “I don’t know what you want to know. But as long as I have the information, I will tell you everything.”
“He Family, Scholar Restaurant!”
Su Jingxing spoke calmly, his eyes fixed on Li Lilou.
As expected, the moment he said the words “He Family, Scholar Restaurant”, Li Lilou’s expression changed slightly and a strange look flashed through his eyes.
“He Family? What He Family?”
Li Lilou looked confused. “Is Guest Elder Lin talking about the martial arts family in the Southern District founded by He Xiaofeng?”
“Heh, Fourth Master clearly knows which He Family I’m referring to, so why ask even though you already know the answer?” Su Jingxing was indifferent. “The He Family that has been around for 400 years. They’re so low-key that few know of their existence. Fourth Master, don’t tell me that even the Li Family hasn’t heard of them either?”
Li Lilou was silent.
After a while, he sighed and said, “I’m sorry, I’m eating my own words. Guest Elder Lin is right, we do know of the He Family’s existence. The He Family that has existed for 400 years, tsk tsk.”
“Everyone in Qinghe City says that the Li Family is the number one martial arts family in Qinghe. However, the true number one martial arts family is the He Family! The He Family that has been staying behind the scenes for 400 years and is rarely known by outsiders!”
“Because the He Family has a third-grade expert?” Su Jingxing asked.
“Yes and no.” Li Lilou, who had opened up, looked at the surface of the Sky Water River and said in a low voice, “Although the He Family produces third-grade martial artists every few decades, what we are truly wary of is the secret of the He Family.”
“What secret?” Su Jingxing was curious. “If it’s difficult to share, you don’t have to say it.”
“There’s nothing difficult, because we don’t know either.” Li Lilou smiled. “No one knows the secret of the He Family, not even their own people. Only the patriarch of each generation does. Before the previous patriarch passes on, he or she will pass the secret on to the next patriarch. Clearing the room and passing it on verbally, they have handed down the secret for 400 years.
“This secret is the key to the longevity of the He Family. It’s also the key to their birth of top ranked experts.
“The Li Family has been trying to find out more about them, but we never dared to confront them openly and cause conflict.
“Guest Elder Lin, you’ve experienced just how terrifying a powerhouse in the top ranks is. Shi Zhinie merely cultivated a heretic art and forcefully advanced to pseudo third-grade. Yet he nearly suppressed all of us.
“The He Family, however, has a true third-grade expert!
“The Li Family has a ban. We must not disturb the He Family before we have a third-grade expert.”
“So, the Li Family should know a lot about the He Family, right? Except for that secret,” Su Jingxing interrupted.
“Yes, we do know most of their situation.” Li Lilou nodded his head. “What about the He Family do you want to find out from me?”
“The previous patriarch,” Su Jingxing said in a low voice. “The previous patriarch of the He Family. Does Fourth Master know his name and what he looks like? Do you have a photo?”
“He Rengu. The previous patriarch of the He family is called He Rengu.”
Li Lilou replied, “I’ve forgotten what he looks like, but there are photos of him at 50 years old.”
“Can I have a look?” Su Jingxing held back his excitement.
He Rengu, He Guren.
Su Jingxing would never believe that these two names were not related.
“Well…” Li Lilou muttered.
“I have news about He Renhu.” Seeing this, Su Jingxing maintained his composure and said, “I’m sure Fourth Master knows that He Rengu is a third-grade expert. Now, I have news about him. Are you interested?”
“…Yes!”
Li Lilou gritted his teeth. “Please wait a moment, Guest Elder Lin. I’ll call the patriarch now and have him get some to find a photo of He Rengu and send it to me.”
With that, he took out his phone and walked to the other side to dial the number of the current patriarch of the Li Family.
Su Jingxing stood where he was and did not activate the secret ability, Advanced Hearing, to listen in on Li Lilou’s whispered report.
A few minutes later, Li Lilou finished his call and waited for a while.
With a strange ring, he received an image on his phone.
Li Lilou tapped on the picture and walked back to Su Jingxing with his phone, handing it to him.
“This is He Rengu. Taken when he was 50 years old.”
Li Lilou pointed at the enlarged picture on the phone and said, “At that time, he wasn’t in the third-grade yet and was still moving around outside. This picture was taken when he was traveling with his wife. At that time, cameras couldn’t print photos automatically. After he took the photo, he went to a roadside photo studio to develop it. We took advantage of the situation and kept the photo.”
Su Jingxing didn’t say anything. He took the phone and looked at the middle-aged version of He Rengu.
In his brain, it slowly deduced to become He Rengu’s aged appearance.
He then compared it to the photo of “He Guren” taken from the crematorium file.
When compared, it was confirmed!
He Guren and He Rengu were the same person!
The previous patriarch of the He Family, a third-grade expert, had died of old age yesterday.
Without comparing his appearances at 50 years old and 118 years old, no one could tell.
The deduction of this aged appearance was very simple.
With Su Jingxing’s current soul power, he could easily handle it.
After comparing, it was verified.
He Rengu had used the alias “He Guren” and died with the He surname. In order to keep a low profile, the He Family had done a lot.
…
“How is it, Guest Elder Lin? Did you discover anything?”
Li Lilou waited for a while, but when Su Jingxing didn’t say anything, he couldn’t help asking.
“I’m done.”
Su Jingxing retracted his gaze and returned the phone to Li Lilou. He then changed the topic and asked, “May I ask Fourth Master if the Li Family has any extra Energy Gathering Stones?”
“Ah…”
Li Lilou was stunned for a moment. Then, he thought of something and asked, “Is Guest Elder Lin the big client who is spending a lot of money to buy Energy Gathering Stones?”
“If you’re talking about the person who recently offered five million dollars per kilogram to purchase the Energy Gathering Stones, yes, that’s me.”
Su Jingxing replied frankly, “I’m currently short on Energy Gathering Stones. If the Li Family has extra, I’ll buy them from you. I can even offer a higher price from before.”
“This isn’t a matter of price, although the price offered by Guest Elder Lin is very high.”
Li Lilou smiled. “If you want the Energy Gathering Stones, we have no lack of them. If you want to trade the information about He Rengu for the right to purchase the Energy Gathering Stones, you don’t have to. As long as the information you provide is true, the Li Family is willing to give 500 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones!”
As expected of the number one martial arts family in Qinghe City.
300 years of history, who knew how many Energy Gathering Stones they had accumulated.
The Shi Family also had 100 years of history, but they only left behind about a hundred kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones.
Of course, the Li Family wariness towards the He Family was also beyond Su Jingxing’s expectations.
One piece of information for 500 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones.
The Li Family was indeed wealthy!
“Fourth Master, take a look at this first.”
Su Jingxing didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he took out his phone and opened the photo he had taken in the morning of He Guren and his relevant information for Li Lilou to see.
The latter took it and enlarged the photo. As he studied it, he asked doubtfully, “Is there a problem with this person? He Guren, 98 years old, died of old age, very…”
“Hold on!”
Suddenly, Li Lilou’s expression changed. His eyes widened as he stared at He Guren’s aged face.
As he read, he quickly unlocked his phone and tapped on the photo of He Rengu that he had just received.
The two phones and the two photos were placed side by side and compared carefully.
The next moment——
“This… this…”
Li Lilou’s entire body was trembling. Surprise, astonishment and disbelief appeared on his face.
“He… he…”
After comparing, he looked up at Su Jingxing, his eyes filled with excitement.
“That’s right. It’s exactly what you think.”
Su Jingxing said calmly, “He Guren is He Rengu. He died yesterday and was cremated this morning.”
“Good!”
Li Lilou roared and looked up at the sky, unable to contain his excitement and ecstasy.
“Good, good, wonderful! Hahaha!”
Amidst the laughter, Li Lilou walked around in circles several times.
Su Jingxing took this in and did not rush him. He waited quietly.
He didn’t know the Li Family’s attitudes towards the He Family, but judging from Li Lilou’s reaction, the Li Family had feared the He Family for a long time.
The entire Li Family wished for He Rengu to die!
After a while.
Li Lilou suppressed his joy, took a deep breath, and said excitedly, “Guest Elder Lin, this information has come at the perfect time. This is great, 500… no, 800 kilograms. For this news, we are willing to give you 800 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones! They’ll be sent to you immediately!”
Without waiting for Su Jingxing to say anything, he sent the photo of He Guren’s file to his phone.
Then, he returned the phone to Su Jingxing, took his own phone, and quickly walked to the side to report the situation to his patriarch.
Su Jingxing took the phone and was not anxious either. He listened to Li Lilou’s excited voice.
Ten minutes later, Li Lilou turned around and shouted at Su Jingxing, “Guest Elder Lin, the 800 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones have been packaged. They will be transported here in 15 minutes.”
“Thank you.” Su Jingxing smiled.
“No, no. We should be the ones thanking you.” Li Lilou sighed with emotion. “Although I don’t know where you got the information about the He Family and the death of He Rengu, it’s enough that the information is true. Our Li family has profited greatly. We will always remember your kindness.”
“There’s no need for this, Fourth Master. I was lucky to find He Guren’s information by chance and learn about the He Family,” Su Jingxing replied calmly without much change in his expression.
Li Lilou’s words sounded nice, but in reality, the 800 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones was the remuneration for the information Su Jingxing had provided.
Su Jingxing was well aware of this, and he had no complaints.
It was originally a transaction to begin with.
Furthermore, He Guren was He Rengu. The news of the death of the previous patriarch of the He Family, a third-grade expert, could be sold to the Zhou Family and the Qi Family!
Selling a piece of information to multiple parties.
Su Jingxing would make a killing.
…
When men from the Li Family transported the two heavy chests over in a truck, Li Lilou personally unloaded and brought them to Su Jingxing. He personally opened the chests and showed Su Jingxing the Energy Gathering Stones of uniform sizes inside.
After confirming that there were no mistakes, Li Lilou handed the two chests to Su Jingxing. He then got into the truck and left quickly, returning to the Li residence.
Su Jingxing looked around. After making sure that no one was watching, he put the two chests into his palm space.
Then, he contacted Zhou Wencen and arranged to meet on a platform on the southern bank of the next river section.
Su Jingxing rushed over first. After half an hour, Zhou Wencen arrived in a car.
Going straight to the point, Su Jingxing again probed Zhou Wencen to see if the Zhou Family knew about the He Family’s existence. After confirming, he took out his phone and opened He Guren’s photo to let Zhou Wencen compare it to the photos of a younger He Rengu.
The Zhou Family had also collected photos of He Rengu when he was young.
The Zhou Family had photos of him as a youth, a middle-aged man, and even at 70 years old.
Zhou Wencen was equally shocked when he compared the two photos.
The news of He Rengu’s death also shocked him.
Subsequently, as expected, when Su Jingxing proposed to purchase the Energy Gathering Stones from them, Zhou Wencen represented the Zhou Family to give Su Jingxing 300 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones for free.
Similar to the Li Family, the Zhou Family also quickly delivered 300 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones to Su Jingxing.
After accepting the 300 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones, Su Jingxing went on to contact Qi Xinjue.
He also asked to meet Qi Xinjue at a platform of a different section of a river. When Qi Xinjue arrived, he shared the news of He Rengu’s death.
The Qi Family also had photos of He Rengu. After Qi Xinjue compared and confirmed the information, she gave Su Jingxing 400 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones on behalf of the Qi Family.
800, 300, 400.
A total of 1,500 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones!
The news of He Rengu’s death was traded for so many Energy Gathering Stones.
I wonder if the He Family will be furious if they find out.
Su Jingxing chuckled to himself.
Of course, he didn’t care what would happen to the He family.
Although He Rengu had died, there must be many fourth-grade experts in the He Family.
It won’t be easy for the Li, Zhou and Qi families to deal with the He Family.
But how they fought had nothing to do with Su Jingxing.
Su Jingxing returned to the Tai Ming Mountain Reservoir with 1,500 kilograms of Energy Gathering Stones and entered the underground cave.
Surrounding the Concentration Fruit Tree, he put down all the Energy Gathering Stones according to the lines of a basic array formation and buried them underground.
With everything settled, the glow emitted by the Concentration Fruit Tree suddenly became brighter.
Based on the quantity of these Energy Gathering Stones, Su Jingxing estimated the time when the Concentration Fruit would ripen.
In the end, he got a rough gauge.
One and a half months, about 50 days!
