Beep! Beep! Beep!
The soldiers on patrol stopped He Chengling and the few burly men from the Green-shade Zhu family outside the area of the cultivation base. Almost at the same time, Fang Qiu, who was in his office at the cultivation base, heard his cellphone ring in his trouser pocket.
He saw that it was Li Ji calling.
“Hello?”
Fang Qiu answered immediately.
“A patrol squad just reported that a group of people tried to trespass your cultivation base. Do you remember you asked me to inquire about a He family member last night? Well, the driver seemed to be him. Some Wulin people were with him in the car. What do you think of this?”
Li Ji asked with a smile.
“Oh?”
Fang Qiu, slightly surprised, said, “They came so fast. Those Wulin people, do you have their details?”
“I’ve checked them out already.”
Li Ji replied, ” All those Wulin people are from a well-known Wulin family that occupied the Green-shade region, which is a vast piece of land outside the capital. The region hasn’t been developed for commercial use but rather, many trees were planted there, so it was named Green-shade. The Zhu family resides there, a prestige and medium-sized family in Wulin. The relationship between this family and the He family in the capital is a little complicated. In particular, the most critical connection between them is He Xue.”
All year round, He Xue had been staying in the cultivation base. Occasionally, Li Ji would come to the base because his troop was stationed nearby. So, he was quite familiar with He Xue.
“Oh, brilliant! I didn’t know you could find out so much info.”
……
Fang Qiu was delightedly surprised.
“Are you interested in listening?”
Li Ji asked with a smile.
“Say it.”
Fang Qiu nodded, waiting.
“An alliance by marriage.”
Li Ji did not hesitate and said directly, “According to the information I got, the He family in the capital has no influence in Wulin. Their good relationship with the Zhu family is their only connection to Wulin. In this era, Wulin is separate from the world of ordinary people. Nevertheless, Wulin is a great but secluded influence on the secular world, especially the aristocratic families in Wulin. With the support of merely one Wulin family, life would be much easier.”
“That is why the He family, who were doing well in business, had always wanted to ride on the prosperity of the Zhu family. Therefore, long ago, they set up a marriage alliance between He Xue and the son of the Zhu family. However, He Xue didn’t like him and fell out with her family. After that, she shifted out and fended for herself for a few years before finally ending up here.”
“In the past few years, the He family didn’t push her hard due to her young age. But now, both families think they are of marriageable age.”
Hearing this, Fang Qiu was suddenly enlightened.
This marriage was the distressing thing that had preyed on He Xue’s mind.
“Hey, the man from the He family tried to break into your cultivation base with those experts of the Zhu family. They couldn’t be here to take revenge on the rival in love who jeopardized the relationship, could they?”
After that, Li Ji asked, teasingly.
“Who?”
Fang Qiu was stunned and asked blankly, “Rival in love?”
“Who else could it be?”
Li Ji was speechless.
A group of people from the two families had come over to look for the man. In this base, who else could be the rival in the love of the young master of the Zhu family?
“Well…”
Fang Qiu paused and said, “About this matter, greet them properly for me. We’re not living in ancient times. Now, people believe in free love. But if they’d like to settle this matter in the old ways, then I will follow the Jianghu rules and compete with the so-called Green-shade Zhu family.”
“Okay, I’ll go and meet them.”
Hearing that, Li Ji immediately replied.
For him, it was just a piece of cake.
Of course, he could choose not to help Fang Qiu. However, he feared Fang Qiu might come up with some bad ideas.
After all, the Green-shade Zhu family was residing in the capital.
The capital was significantly different from other places. In the capital, he might have to put in a large amount of time and energy to clean up the mess.
…
After the patrolling soldiers drove them away, He Chengling took several experts of the Zhu family to a nearby town, planning to put up at a local hotel for some time.
…
As soon as they settled in the hotel, He Chengling immediately took out his mobile phone to call the old master.
In the quadrangle courtyard far away from him, the old master He had been waiting for a long time for the news.
“How is it going?”
He picked up the phone the moment it rang.
“Dad, we ran into some difficulties here.”
He Chengling continued, “I called the police in Beijiang, asking them to get her out of the cultivation base, but the police ignored us. They said that the cultivation base was not under their charge and even warned us not to make any trouble. You know what, that place is a military forbidden zone.”
“Later, the few experts of the Zhu Family and I were ready to break in to take her away. But, when I drove a short distance, some soldiers stopped us. They said we were prohibited from entering the restricted military zone.”
“Don’t you have a few old comrades-in-arms? Why don’t you contact them and ask them what on earth this cultivation base is? Ask them to do us a favor and let us in?”
Old master He was silent for a moment and said, “Did you hear wrongly? Is it really a restricted military zone?”
“I’m sure.”
He Chengling nodded affirmatively.
“Don’t act rashly. I’ll ask around first, so wait for my news.”
After that, he hung up the phone.
Without delay, the old master He went to search for a name in the phone book. A while later, he dialed a number.
He was soon connected.
“Yo, dude He?”
A surprised voice came from the other end of the phone.
“Commander Zhang, long time no see.”
Old master He said in a hearty voice.
“Old man, say it. What can I do for you?” said Commander Zhang.
“Nothing serious. I want to ask you about something.”
Old master He chuckled and said, “Do you know anything about a cultivation base in Beijiang? It belongs to the Renyi Group. My granddaughter works there, and my second son wanted to go in to find her. But why couldn’t he go in?”
“That place?”
Commander Zhang paused briefly on the other side of the phone before saying, “Can’t you ask your granddaughter to come out? That place is a restricted military zone. Not to mention you, even I can’t get in without a proper reason.”
“Really?”
Old master He was shocked.
His old comrade-in-arms, Commander Zhang, could not enter either. How could it be true? Although Commander Zhang had retired, his prestige in the army remained high. All the major forces across the country would welcome him with open arms.
How could a cultivation base shut him out?
“Exactly!”
Commander Zhang smiled and said, “You may not know it. The higher-ups had ordered all of us, from the highest rankings to the lowest, to take special care of the Renyi Group. Whatever the group asks, we must give them the green light. No one can hinder its development!”
“What’s the background of the Renyi Group? Why does it have so much power?”
Old master He was greatly astonished.
As a businessman, he was very clear that if the company wanted to grow, it would have to go through various obstacles. In the past, he had wondered why the Renyi Group emerged so suddenly and soon experienced such explosive growth. It was only now that he learned it enjoyed so many special privileges and was under the protection of those from the top levels. How could such a group not achieve huge successes?
“It’s because of Fang Qiu.”
Commander Zhang said, “Although I don’t know their relationship, it couldn’t be that simple!”
“In the past two years, Fang Qiu has donated massive amounts of money and has done countless good deeds. The state couldn’t turn a blind eye to its tremendous contribution. It is the state’s responsibility to support such a group.”
“Besides, I heard that Fang Qiu also has a cooperation project with the army in Beijiang. I don’t know more about it, because it was highly confidential. Does your granddaughter work for the Renyi Group? It couldn’t be better. Don’t ask any more questions. If I reveal more information, it will be against the rules.”
Hearing all of this, the old master He was bewildered.
“Fang Qiu?
“The group’s information is regarded as strictly confidential. Even a commander like my friend knows little about it!”
After thinking deeply about it, the old master He freaked out!
“By the way, why are you asking all these questions?” Commander Zhang asked.
“Nothing, I’m just asking. I wanted to know if my granddaughter is safe in the group.”
After a brief chat, the old master He ended the call.
His face was gloomy.
“What should we do now?
“He Xue is under Fang Qiu’s protection and Fang Qiu is under the state’s protection!
“How could I get to her?
“So hard!”
…
The Green-shade region was 30 kilometers outside the capital. There was a lake surrounded by green and luxuriant trees.
Beside the lake was a new and extremely modern building complex. In addition to a few villas, there was also a two-story building with a minimalist design and glass walls.
In the glass room on the second floor, a middle-aged man was making tea while admiring the rich greenery of grass and trees around. He seemed to be in an amiable mood.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A phone rang.
“Master, someone is calling.”
A servant ran upstairs with a mobile phone.
“Who is it?”
The middle-aged man took the phone with a smile. When he saw the string of familiar numbers on his phone screen, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and then he quickly answered the phone.
He suddenly looked a little tense.
Something big or urgent was happening, and he knew it was related to him.
“Hello?”
He answered the phone, with a feeling of dread.
“I heard something about the Zhu family. Your family wanted to take in a woman by force, though there is a verbal engagement agreement between your families. But don’t you know we’re living in a new era of civilization? No civilized country should allow such terrible injustices. Now we value citizens’ freedom of choice in marriage and relationships. A forced marriage is not accepted and certainly not a good thing, especially for you.”
“This serves as a reminder. Forget the Jianghu rules. The Zhu family can’t afford to bear the consequences!”
Then the call was disconnected.
The middle-aged man was petrified.
“How, how could the top levels know about this matter?”
He knew the power of the phone call.
It represented the national will.
Then he remembered what the person said: “The Zhu family can’t afford to bear the consequences!”
The middle-aged man couldn’t help shivering all over in fear.
“This matter has become a grave crisis! But why am I still standing here and thinking about how to find the girl?
“Cancel the engagement! Right now!”
With this in mind, the middle-aged man took out his mobile phone to make a call. Meanwhile, his phone rang.
It was a call from the old master He.
“Elder He?”
The middle-aged man quickly answered the phone.
“Patriarch Zhu.”
Elder He’s words came from the other end. Before he could say anything, the middle-aged man immediately interrupted him.
“Elder He, listen to me first. Let’s cancel the engagement between our two families!”
The middle-aged man said hurriedly.
“Er?”
The old master He was taken by surprise.
He called for the same purpose but didn’t know how to say this. To his great surprise, Patriarch Zhu brought up the subject and canceled the engagement as soon as he picked up the call.
“Honestly, that was exactly why I called you. Since you have decided, then let’s cancel it.”
The old master He answered in a hurry, and then casually chatted with him for a little while. After that, he hung up the phone and called He Chengling.
