Anyone facing the difficult choice between life and death would choose to live, yet there are also those who would bravely meet their end for certain causes. However, such individuals are either heroes or saints, and I am neither.
I am not a hero, nor am I a saint. I am merely an ordinary Yin-Yang practitioner, without grand ambitions. Therefore, I chose the path of "life." Even a humble ant strives to survive, let alone a passionate youth who has only lived eighteen years.
Amidst Zhang Dabiao's astonished gaze, I asked a question that nearly made his jaw drop.
"How much can you pay?"
"Haha... As expected, the young have high aspirations, they are wise men who understand the times."
Li Zuoquan glanced at Li Jian, who stood beside him, then picked up the phone and spoke a few words before hanging up.
Before long, five people walked in from the main entrance, each carrying a briefcase.
Li Zuoquan gestured with his hand, and then all five briefcases were opened one by one before me.
"Here is five million US dollars as a down payment. Once the job is done, the reward can be doubled. What do you say?"
Looking at the colorful US dollars before me, my eyes turned blue.
Five million? And in US dollars? If calculated, that would be tens of millions of Chinese Yuan!
I had only seen such vast sums of money in movies like "God of Gamblers," where stacks of cash were thrown onto tables. I always thought it was an exaggeration, who would carry so much cash to a casino?
But when five million dollars was truly placed before me, I realized that the temptation of money was something ordinary people could not resist. I, for one, could not resist. I had already started planning how to spend it and how to enjoy myself.
Although I had seen a lot of money at my master's house since childhood, it never belonged to me; it belonged to my master. Now, I finally had the chance to experience my master's feeling of getting cramps from counting money.
As long as I agreed to help Li Zuoquan with a favor, this money would be mine. Moreover, I would receive even more money afterward. With so much money, not only for a lifetime, but even for the next life, it would be more than enough to spend!
"Qingyun... Song Qingyun..."
As I was pondering how to spend the money, a thunderous, furious voice sounded in my ear.
I looked up with some confusion and saw Zhang Dabiao staring at me with a face full of anger, looking like he was disappointed that I hadn't lived up to his expectations.
"Hehe... It's the first time I've seen so much money, I got a little too excited." I wiped the saliva from the corner of my mouth, then looked at Li Zuoquan, "This is all for me, right?"
Li Zuoquan smiled and nodded.
"So, after I finish the job for you, will there be this much more?"
"Indeed!"
I put on my most amiable smile and said, "Deal. I'll do this favor for you."
"Haha... Good... good... It's too late today. I'll have someone pick you up tomorrow, and we'll discuss the action plan. Someone, escort the young master back." Seeing my agreement, Li Zuoquan's address for me changed from "kid" to "young master."
I thanked him heartily for his generosity, and then, along with the fuming Zhang Dabiao, returned to our lodging under the escort of bodyguards.
On the way back to our lodging, I was grinning like an idiot the entire time. People passing by consciously kept their distance, and I even heard someone muttering softly, "Has this kid gone mad?" Annoyed, Zhang Dabiao snorted and walked ahead, seemingly displeased with my behavior.
"Thank you for your trouble! Farewell, I won't see you off..."
After seeing Li Jian, who had escorted me back, off, the smile on my face instantly vanished. I didn't even glance at the money on the ground.
Inside the room, Zhang Dabiao was sitting on a chair, sulking, puffing on cigarettes one after another, as if he were about to chew them.
"Brother Zhang, do you feel I have no backbone?"
"Hmph!"
Zhang Dabiao didn't even look at me, turning his body to the side. It seemed he was quite angered.
I wasn't angry at all about his attitude; in fact, I thought he was right to be angry. If it were me in this situation, I probably would have grabbed a knife and fought him if it were someone else.
"Brother Zhang, listen to my explanation! I have my reasons."
Zhang Dabiao sneered and looked at me, "What reasons could you possibly have? As soon as you see money, all reasons disappear."
I gave a wry smile. It seemed if I didn't explain it clearly, I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
Then, regardless of whether Zhang Dabiao wanted to listen or not, I began to explain my judgments and some of my speculations.
Li Zuoquan, that old fox, clearly wasn't telling the truth. Back then, so many people came to Molu Village searching for the Fang Seal, but apart from him, almost everyone else perished. Although my father didn't die, he was barely alive. For me, these ten years were no different from being dead.
But in the situation just now, impulsiveness was not an option, because the price of impulsiveness was "death." I already knew that Li Zuoquan was the culprit behind my father's coma. How could I just go and throw my life away like that?
Although Li Zuoquan spoke casually about helping him with a small favor, this matter was probably not that simple. Moreover, in my opinion, given his selfish nature, even though he was agreeing nicely now and had given a large sum of money, after the matter was over, I might still fall into his clutches.
"My agreement with him was to keep him stable, to make him lower his guard against us. Otherwise, if we had shown even a hint of hostility just now, we would have no chance to avenge our elders! And there's another important reason that you might not have noticed..."
My words finally made Zhang Dabiao sit up straight and face me directly, though his brow was slightly furrowed with suspicion. "Are you saying it's not really about the money?"
"Haha... If I truly cared about money, do you think Li Rui would have given me four million, and I would have directly given you two million?"
Zhang Dabiao pondered for a moment and felt that it made sense. He looked at me awkwardly, "Brother, I misunderstood you, I..."
"Brother Zhang, I know what kind of person you are, so you don't need to blame yourself too much. Let's focus on how to deal with this old fox, Li Zuoquan, and prevent him from getting what he wants."
"What he wants? Why do I feel like you know quite a lot?"
I nodded, hesitating whether to tell Zhang Dabiao everything I knew.
He seemed to sense my difficulty. "Brother, if this matter is of great importance, you don't need to tell me. Some things are better known by fewer people."
Looking at Zhang Dabiao's sincere face, I wanted to slap myself. I could hide things from anyone, but who was Zhang Dabiao? He was my elder brother, my brother who came from afar to save me. In just these few days, he had saved my life countless times. What else was there to hide?
Then, I told him everything I knew, as well as some things I had inferred from the words of the Fifth Prince, the Fifth Princess, and Li Zuoquan.
After listening, Zhang Dabiao was clearly quite shaken. His hand, holding the lighter, trembled. After finally lighting a cigarette, he seemed to have calmed down a bit. He exhaled a smoke ring, and his voice sounded somewhat hoarse.
"You mean Li Zuoquan's goal is to possess the Half Yin alone?"
I nodded. "It's very possible. Before he fought with the Fifth Prince, he looked like he was only in his early sixties, vigorous for his age. But now he appears somewhat in his twilight years, giving the impression that he could collapse at any moment."
"But what's the benefit of that? You and I both know that although it can exist independently of the underworld, it's not a permanent place. It only exists due to certain special reasons, and after a period of time, it will slowly disappear, ultimately following the path of reincarnation."
I didn't agree with Zhang Dabiao's statement. "Doesn't he know what you're saying? He's also a Feng Shui master, how could he not know the problems involved? But he seems rather impatient, which indicates that his time is running out. Although he hasn't elaborated on why he's hiding in the Fifth Prince's mansion, based on the outcome for our fathers, he hasn't told us the truth..."
"Then what's your intention?"
I thought for a moment. "His request for us to help him with something probably doesn't have good intentions. Once the matter is handled for him, he probably won't let us leave easily. Therefore, we can only play along with his plan, seize the opportunity to destroy his affairs, and then use this chance to leave..."