Volume One, Chapter 11: A Chance Encounter

A single sentence was enough to stun Chu Jianguo.

It was true. This young man had dared to stir up trouble at the Jiang family banquet and humiliated the elder of the Jiang family—what was there that he wouldn't dare to do?

"The call came at just the right time."

"I have already married into the Jiang family; it is time for you to fulfill your promise."

"Tell me, what is my true origin?"

Chu Lingtian had been planning to ask Chu Jianguo about his background anyway, and the timing of the call was perfect.

"You have the nerve to ask me to fulfill a promise?"

"You betrayed the Jiang family, and not only have you brought no benefits to the Chu family..." Chu Jianguo was seething with rage.

"I will say this only once. I do not hold the Jiang family in any regard, and the same applies to the Chu family. I told you before: if you dare to deceive me, I will make the Chu family disappear from East Sea. Do you want to test me?" Chu Lingtian hummed coldly.

Chu Jianguo’s anger flared even more. After taking a few deep breaths, he said, "You are the son of Chu Ping."

"Chu Ping and I were childhood friends. We are both from the Chu family village."

"Later, the village was gone, so I went to East Sea to develop and put down roots. I didn't know where Chu Ping went."

"Over twenty years ago, she suddenly came to East Sea to find me. You were a newborn, and she begged me to adopt you. She seemed to be in some kind of trouble."

"After she handed you over to me, she disappeared. For the past twenty years, until now, I have had no news of her."

"That is the truth."

"I will send you a photo. If you have the ability, go find her yourself."

Not long after hanging up, Chu Lingtian received the photo from Chu Jianguo. The picture was yellowed—a blurry, twenty-year-old rubber-based film print where one could only vaguely discern a beautiful face.

"Is this my mother?"

Chu Lingtian felt a complex surge of emotions. After all these years without news, was she still alive? Regardless of whether she was dead or alive, Chu Lingtian intended to use the intelligence channels of the Heaven’s Secret Sect to track her down.

"If I remember correctly, Huang Yanchen, the one worth more than ten thousand gold, should be in Jiangnan."

When he was at the Fire Phoenix Prison, Chu Lingtian had already memorized the current whereabouts of the inner sect members. The so-called "worth more than ten thousand gold" referred to a woman whose value was beyond any amount of money.

The Heaven’s Secret Sect was divided into an outer sect and an inner sect, with three inner departments and eight outer halls. The outer sect comprised eight halls, while the inner sect comprised three departments: the Economic Department, which controlled the financial lifeline of the entire sect; the Information Department, which gathered first-hand intelligence from around the world with the fastest speed; and the Public Relations Department, which recruited all the people the sect required.

Huang Yanchen was the head of the Economic Department.

"Lingtian, what are you muttering about? Huang Yanchen?" Jiang Wan, standing beside him, had faintly caught the name.

"Yes. I have some business to attend to, and I need to find her," Chu Lingtian nodded.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Jiang Wan rolled her eyes. "The line of people waiting to see Miss Huang stretches all the way to the boundary marker of Jiangnan. Even the Jiang family, after all this time of trying, only managed to secure an appointment with Mr. Zhang Chao, a general manager under her."

"Is she that hard to book? What do you mean by that?" Chu Lingtian frowned.

"Huang Yanchen is the richest person in Jinling. Her Imperial Bank monopolizes all channels for overseas capital inflow and outflow. Just the processing fees alone amount to hundreds of billions a year."

"If it weren't for a government mandate, Miss Huang would never have come to a place like Jiangnan to invest."

...

"Is that so?" Chu Lingtian furrowed his brows. He knew who the members of the inner sect were, but he hadn't paid close attention to what businesses they were running in the outside world.

"No worries. I’ll find the address, and we’ll go try our luck." The inner sect personnel records should have her address on file.

"You don't need to look for the address. The Golden Star Building is where the authorities specially approved her to be." Just as Jiang Wan finished speaking, she suddenly frowned. "I don't feel well."

Chu Lingtian saw at a glance that Jiang Wan's cold affliction was flaring up again. He took her small hand, and a surge of pure yang energy radiated from his warm palm, making her feel slightly better.

"It's so strange. Holding your hand feels so comfortable," Jiang Wan said, blushing, finding it hard to put into words.

"Let's find a place to stay first. I'll get you a wheelchair later." Jiang Wan’s body was still very weak; he had to nurse her back to a normal constitution before they could consider intimacy.

"I'll take you to find a place to stay."

Jiang Wan led Chu Lingtian to a shantytown with very poor conditions.

"Let's find a guesthouse here to stay for now." Jiang Wan lowered her gaze and said, "We can't stay anywhere else. My mother just messaged me saying that Grandfather has spread the word in the circle to make sure we can't survive in Jiangnan. Most restaurants and hotels won't take us in."

"Only this area, filled mostly with migrant workers and low-income individuals, has no profit for them, so the Jiang family's reach doesn't extend here."

"They're that overbearing?" Chu Lingtian frowned. "Do they take my words as mere wind?"

"Forget it. Let them do what they want. As long as I'm by your side, even without villas or delicacies, it's fine," Jiang Wan said, holding Chu Lingtian's hand with a sweet smile.

"Silly girl." Chu Lingtian felt a slight tremor in his heart. He said, "Once I finish my business, I will provide you with a home. For now, I'm sorry you have to suffer."

They found a dilapidated guesthouse.

"Chu Lingtian?"

Before they had even settled in for long, an ethereal voice rang out from behind them. Chu Lingtian turned around and was greeted by a beautiful face. The woman was not yet thirty, with snow-white, delicate skin, bright and spirited eyes, and a graceful figure—a beauty by any standard.

"Hmm?" Chu Lingtian was a bit suspicious. Someone who could call his name? Was it someone he knew?

In a daze, sealed memories flashed through his mind like a tide.

"Are you Wang Shiyan?" Chu Lingtian called out tentatively.

"Ah? You really remember me?" Wang Shiyan was surprised, smiling with her eyes narrowed. "I'm so honored."

Wang Shiyan had been Chu Lingtian's classmate in junior high at East Sea No. 1 Middle School. He vaguely remembered a girl with bangs who sat in the corner, buried in her textbooks every day. At the time, she was bullied by some school girls, and he seemed to have stepped in to help. They had even sat together as desk-mates for a year. It must have been after they moved up a grade that her family couldn't afford school, and she went to a vocational secondary school.

"It must have been sixteen or seventeen years since we last saw each other, right?" Chu Lingtian said.

"That's right! It's rare that you still remember me." Wang Shiyan's cheeks flushed slightly. She noticed the stunning beauty beside Chu Lingtian and asked out of curiosity, "Is this your friend?"

"My fiancée."

"Oh? You have a fiancée? Congratulations, congratulations." Wang Shiyan was stunned for a long moment, a hint of loss flashing in her eyes before it vanished. She quickly added, "Are you looking for a room? My mother runs this place. My tutor gave me some time off, so I'm here helping out. I'll let you stay for free!"

"Free? Why? It's not easy to earn money." Wang Lianhua walked out from the inner room, glanced at Chu Lingtian, and laughed, "You are a young master of the Chu family; if I let you stay for free, it would be a slight to your dignity. Let's just give you a twenty percent discount."

"No need, Auntie. Just the regular price is fine," Chu Lingtian waved his hand.

"Mom, why are you like this?" Wang Shiyan said with dissatisfaction.

"Does Young Master Chu need your discount?" Wang Lianhua spat, "Silly girl, you know nothing."

*Crash!*

The words had barely left her mouth when the plaque at the entrance was suddenly kicked away.

Wang Shiyan's pretty face changed, and she immediately shouted, "Why are you here again? I'm calling the police!"

"Yo, the sister-in-law is here." The leader, a man with yellow hair, grinned.

"Who is your sister-in-law?" Wang Shiyan said, furious.

"Dog Brother said that as long as you agree to be with him, he'll waive your fees for a year... no, from now on, you won't have to pay any protection... I mean, security fees." The yellow-haired man stepped on the fallen plaque, tilting his head and looking at Wang Shiyan with a smirk. "How about it, sister-in-law?"

"Listen, gentlemen, this is just a small business. Can you please stop coming every day? And my Yanyan is still in school; we aren't talking about relationships yet." Wang Lianhua hurriedly stepped forward, obsequiously trying to stuff red envelopes into the man's hand.

"Get lost! Do you think I care about your pocket change?" The yellow-haired man pushed Wang Lianhua to the ground and waved his hand, ordering, "Go, clear everyone out."

He then looked at Wang Shiyan with a smirk. "Sister-in-law, as long as you don't come with me, you won't be able to run this business for a single day."

"Clear the place! Get out now!"

Several lackeys had already rushed inside, kicking doors and driving people out. Seeing this, Wang Shiyan trembled, her eyes turning red. She subconsciously glanced at Chu Lingtian; back when she was being bullied, it was Chu Lingtian who told her to hide behind him. But she quickly discarded that unrealistic thought—he was getting married. Why drag him into her troubles?

"Kid, are you blind? Didn't you hear us say get out?"

"Why are you still standing there?"

Seeing that Chu Lingtian was unmoved, the lackeys started cursing.

"Hey, Brother Yellow, this babe is really hot. Even better than the one Dog Brother has his eyes on."

The yellow-haired man looked at Jiang Wan, drool almost falling from his mouth. He subconsciously reached toward Jiang Wan's chest. "Little lady... Ahhh!!!... *Crack!*"

A scream erupted instantly. The man's arm had been bent at a direct ninety-degree angle.