Forced to Cut the Chapter Short by a Power Outage

Murong Qing chimed in, "I've read the intelligence on the Tiger and Wolf Death School. They're never going to do anything without a profit. I never believed their excuse about saving face. The Tiger and Wolf Death School isn't a small team that strives for 100% mission completion. They're a large international organization with thousands of members, and their members are a mixed bag. Mission failures are normal. If they had to recover every time they lost face, they wouldn't be able to do any missions."

Si Ming then recalled that when he saved Yuezheng Qiong and thwarted Tiger and Wolf Death School's plan, he thought it would be like the protagonist in the novels he had read in his previous life, where the younger ones would be defeated and the older ones would come out, and the old ones would come out, until the enemy was completely wiped out. But unexpectedly, there was no news of them after that, and the enemy did not take any retaliatory action at all.

Come to think of it, which leader of such a large organization isn't skilled in "patience"? Even if their own son dies, they might just howl a few times and then have another one in a few years. If they were to forcefully stand up for their subordinates just because they were humiliated, those Tiger and Wolf Death School and powerful figures would have been wiped out by some Long Aotian -like figure long ago. How could they have survived until now?

Presumably, he was wary of being Yan Jinghong's disciple and dared not provoke a Spirit Transformation expert, so he simply held back and pretended nothing had happened.

Si Ming asked Murong Qing, "You advocate a strong attack because you've sensed their ulterior motives?"

"Hmm, I initially thought they were using the reclaiming of the treasure as an excuse, their real goal still being to kill and rob the victim. Rather than waiting to be killed, I thought it would be better to take the initiative and disrupt their plans. But judging from their final reaction, it seems I was wrong. Perhaps, as you said, their mission was to cause Miss Zu's escort to fail... Of course, there's another possibility: they realized the true value of the High Antiquity artifact and wanted to take it back."

"No need to guess, there must be a traitor among us!" Zu Jiangchun on the table, angrily saying, "For this operation, considering the small size and ease of carrying of the goods, I deliberately chose to travel light and operate discreetly, concealing the departure date. Outsiders have no way of knowing; only Lineage members can find out when I'm not home."

Si Ming was unsurprised by this. In this day and age, a large Lineage would be unworthy of its status if it didn't engage in internal strife. The more intense the infighting, the more it proved that the family was large and powerful. If the family were poor, no one would be willing to fight each other; they would have gone their separate ways long ago.

The head of Yaozu Jewelry Store is Zu Jiangchun's father, who is the fourth in his generation. He has older brothers and younger brothers. He was chosen because he has the highest education among his brothers, and his performance has lived up to the previous head of the family's appointment. Yaozu Jewelry Store thriving under his leadership, with chain stores all over the country. In contrast, he only has one daughter Zu Jiangchun.

"There are several suspects, with my second uncle, third aunt, and sixth uncle being the most likely. They've been trying to find me a partner lately... This isn't over yet. When I get back, I'll definitely find the traitor and make them pay tenfold. Don't think I'm easy to bully!" Zu Jiangchun fiercely.

Si Ming cautioned, "You've got the wrong character attributes. If you want to turn things around, don't be cunning or calculating. You have to give off a naive and innocent impression. Try to avoid going out and exercising as much as possible, keep your skin fair and smooth, and always maintain a sweet smile. Even if someone wants to harm you, always think the best of them. Even if they are the most heinous villains, choose to forgive them. In the end, God will punish them. You don't need to dirty your hands, and don't even think about retaliating. That's something only do do female villains who are destined to fail. In short, be a pure, harmless, cute, and innocent little rabbit."

"Huh? If this kind of person were born into a wealthy Lineage, they'd probably be mentally disabled by now, right? To deal with a woman like this, just throw a cup of concentrated sulfuric acid in her face, and her life would be over. Once she's disfigured, unless a man has a particularly morbid taste, who would fall in love at first sight? Low cost, significant results, much more effective than hiring a hitman."

Zu Jiangchun looked at Si Ming with an expression that said, "Are you out of your mind?" The scheme she casually uttered was both vicious and wicked, making her a perfect villain from a female-oriented novel.

Si Ming said embarrassedly, "But she's lucky. She always manages to escape danger and be rescued when she's framed. You know, men like women who aren't scheming... Hmm, women seem to like best friends who aren't scheming either."

"With luck this good, is God his father? Everyone hopes others are fools and they are the only smart ones, but who willingly chooses to be a fool? If this kind of character doesn't have divine favor, he'll be gone within three episodes."

Si Ming also felt that the explanation didn't make sense, so he decided to keep quiet. It was just a casual remark, a joke, and there was no point in taking it seriously.

Zu Jiangchun took a sip of tea, cleared her throat, and said, "Anyway, thank you for your help this time. According to the rules of the competition, the item now belongs to you. I'll offer you 300,000 to buy it."

The three exchanged glances and had no objections. Even Murong Qing, who seemed the most upright, did not refuse, because this High Antiquity relic was originally seized by Yaozu Jewelry Store from someone else, rather than being the natural owner, so he had no qualms about accepting the money.

Zu Jiangchun had her subordinates bring over three checks, wrote down the amounts, signed them, and handed them to three different people.

Si Ming and Murong Qing casually stuffed the checks into their pockets without paying much attention, but He Qichang seemed a little excited and carefully kept the checks safe.

"Let me do one last check before I give it to you."

Si Ming grasped the six-sided crystal, infused it with his True Qi, and used the True Qi to observe its internal structure.

The medical skills of the Sea Continent are superior to those of Earth at the same technological level because martial artists can use their True Qi to observe the internal condition of the human body without the need for instruments. No injury or cellular mutation can be hidden from their observation, which is known as internal vision.

Many people on Earth are only diagnosed with cancer in its late stages, when the symptoms become obvious, and by then it is too late to save them. However, in the Sea Continent, cancer and other tumors are often detected very early because people observe their bodies while meditating and practicing Internal Cultivation, making it easy for them to notice abnormalities.

However, the penetrating True Qi quickly struck an invisible wall, causing Si Ming to return empty-handed.

What is this?

Zu Jiangchun said, "I don't know either. Those appraisers thought it was a kind of runic seal, specifically used to prevent external spying. However, according to common sense, no matter what kind of seal it is, it's impossible for it to still be effective after 600 million years. In short, there are too many contradictions and doubts surrounding this treasure. My father felt that this thing might be a hot potato, easily attracting trouble, so it would be best to give it away as soon as possible. At this time, someone happened to express their intention to buy it, and we were happy to go with the flow."

Murong Qing suddenly asked, "May I ask, what is the buyer's name?"

Zu Jiangchun hesitated for a moment, as if debating whether to reveal the buyer's information. After a while, she made her decision and said, "His name is Shi Kelang. That's all I can reveal."

That's enough.

Murong Qing and Si Ming exchanged glances, both thinking, "I knew it!" Behind the coincidence lay inevitability—the leader of the Primordial Ancestor Divine Cult happened to be named Shi Kelang.

Si Ming asked Zu Jiangchun, "Can you let us pretend to be your bodyguards?"

"Alright, but you must promise me you won't interfere until I've reached a deal with them." Zu Jiangchun had clearly guessed the purpose of Si Ming and the others' trip from their previous conversation. "Once the deal is done, you can do whatever you want. I know nothing about anything else, and it has nothing to do with Yaozu Jewelry Store."

Si Ming, "Thanks."

"Don't thank me. If I say thank you, the favor will be settled. I don't want to waste this precious favor. I might need your help in the future, so please don't refuse then," Zu Jiangchun said in a businessman's tone.

"From a business perspective, this isn't a bad idea."

After half a day's voyage, the passenger ship finally arrived at Thousand Leaves Island.

Si Ming disembarked at the dock and brought his self-propelled suitcase, which couldn't be moved by ladder, down with him.

He had barely steadied himself when he encountered a ragged old woman shaking a broken bowl, saying in a hoarse voice, "Young man, please have mercy and give this old woman a bite to eat."

"There are beggars here?"

Si Ming was astonished because he had never seen a single beggar since he transmigrated, not even at the train station where beggars were most likely to appear. This led him to conclude that there were no beggars in the Su State.

The profession of begging involves sacrificing one's dignity to gain sympathy and obtain money without labor. This process does not increase any productive value, therefore, the profession of begging has no effect on the development of productivity.

In Su State, you won't see beggars because even if a citizen is incompetent, useless, and has no job, they can use their True Qi to earn basic living expenses and won't fall to the point where they can't even afford to eat.

In his previous life, Si Ming saw mainly elderly and disabled beggars. Most of these people were unable to support themselves through labor, so they had to give passersby that impression. That's why they committed the heinous act of deliberately mutilating children's limbs.

In the Sea Continent, this approach won't garner sympathy. The elderly are a given; even if their skills begin to decline, they are still more profound than those of young people. Disabled people can also cultivate Internal Cultivation. The state has organized Grandmaster to create specialized internal energy cultivation Internal Cultivation for disabled people. Even if you have lost your hands or feet, are paralyzed, or are half-paralyzed, you can still cultivate Internal Cultivation, at most with lower efficiency than ordinary people.

Therefore, the elderly and disabled still have the ability to support themselves; their only reason for begging is laziness!

Those who are willing to give alms even when they know the other party wants something for nothing are always a very small minority, and they cannot gain the sympathy of others. Naturally, the profession of beggar could not survive. After the martial arts revolution was implemented in Su State, beggars quickly disappeared.

Chapter 167: Forced to End Due to Power Outage

Although he received a sum of 100,000 yuan, Si Ming did not generously give it away and stopped Murong Qing when she was about to take out her money.