The Secret of Autumn Leaf Villa

"Sir, I know you want to beat up Qing Yi, but you can't do it because of your status," Li Ke said earnestly. "I, as your student, can do all of that."

"I didn't mean that," Qing Chen said with a smile.

"I understand," Li Ke said.

Qing Chen thought to himself, "This kid is indeed upright at heart, but he's not pedantic."

He thought to himself that perhaps the old man had also seen this, which was why he sent the other person to his side.

But does Li Ke know what kind of road that is?

That's a path with a slim chance of survival; don't embark on it if you're not prepared.

Qing Chen neither agreed nor refused Li Ke. He simply said, "What you want to do is your own business, and whether I'm willing to teach you or not is my business."

After saying that, he maintained a strange breathing rhythm and continued to lie on the recliner, immersed in his mysterious world.

The first lesson, on Breathing Technique, was conducted simultaneously with sniper rifle training. Qing Chen was growing rapidly and experiencing the joy of growth.

Qing Chen had never had the chance to play games like his classmates before, but now he felt that cultivation was like leveling up in a game—full of satisfaction.

Although it was winter, the knight's skin and blood circulation were different from ordinary people, so he did not feel cold.

Seeing that his teacher was ignoring him, Li Ke remained silent.

Not only that, he also took fresh winter peaches from the refrigerator, washed them, and placed them on the stone table next to Qing Chen.

Only then did he return to the kitchen to continue preparing vegetables and cooking.

The sound of skilled knife work came from the kitchen, and the speed at which the vegetables were being chopped indicated that the person was an expert.

Qing Chen ignored it, which wasn't surprising.

Soon, Li Ke prepared four dishes and a soup and brought them to the stone table, including the dragon Dragon Fish.

Just then, footsteps sounded again outside the door.

Qing Chen opened his eyes to unfamiliar footsteps.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone called from outside the courtyard gate, "Hello, is the instructor here?"

Li Ke glanced at Qing Chen: "Sir, shall I go open the door?"

"Go ahead," Qing Chen nodded.

Two servants were seen outside the door, each carrying a gift box in one hand and the other in the other, the contents of which were unknown.

The two servants were taken aback when they saw Li Ke. Then they looked at the apron and sleeves on Li Ke's body, and glanced at the food on the stone table. They immediately realized what was going on.

For the Li family, there were differences between servants; those without a keen eye could not enter the Banshan Manor.

The servants in the manor were treated as superior to the servants outside.

Although everyone signed the same labor contract.

They had realized that the food on the stone table was prepared by Li Ke himself!

But who is Li Ke? He is the most anticipated third-generation descendant of the Li family's First Branch, and also the favorite son of the head of the First Branch.

Every Lunar New Year's Eve, the Li family holds a ceremony to worship their ancestors in the ancestral hall. Last year, Li Ke represented the First Branch of the Li family in the ceremony.

The servants all knew that there was a reason why someone could represent a branch of the family in the ancestral hall.

And now, this very direct descendant, who is qualified to represent the family in the ancestral hall, has actually come to this remote courtyard to cook for a tutor.

The teachers in the school do have a high status, but not to this extent!

Li Ke glanced at the servants. "You're from the Second Branch, aren't you? I've seen you before. What brings you here to see the master?"

"Ah," the servant hurriedly said, "Our boss heard that the instructors at the Martial Lecture Hall have moved to a new house, so he sent us to deliver congratulatory gifts."

Li Ke pointed to a corner of the courtyard. "Put them there. I'll help the master tidy them up later. Wait, are there only four gifts? Go back and tell your side to send four more. Don't you understand etiquette?"

"Yes, yes, yes," the servant hurriedly said, "We'll go back and talk now."

Li Ke, who was respectful to Qing Chen, had a natural aura of authority when dealing with servants.

At that time Li Corporation had an innate sense of superiority; they were pampered from birth.

However, the 14-year-old boy was wearing sleeves and an apron, which Qing Chen felt was somewhat out of place with the aura of the person in a superior position.

The servants left, Qing Chen didn't say a word from beginning to end; Li Ke handled everything.

Not long after, when the servants returned, there were several people carrying twelve boxes of gifts, making a total of sixteen!

This is twice as many as the eight portions that Li Ke just requested.

The servants said, "We're so sorry, it was our mistake. We apologize."

Li Ke said, "Alright, put the things aside and don't disturb the master's peace and quiet."

"Understood," the servants replied and withdrew.

A little while later, the other branches of the Li family, having somehow received the news, all sent people over, each bringing sixteen gifts.

Not only that, the first batch was delivered by servants, the second batch was delivered by students themselves, and the third batch was delivered by parents bringing their children.

The etiquette became increasingly elaborate, and no one wanted to be inferior to the others.

All these gift-givers shared a common characteristic: upon entering Autumn Leaf Villa, their gazes would sweep back and forth between Qing Chen and Li Ke.

They were trying to determine the relationship between Qing Chen and Li Ke.

Looking at the mountain of gifts piled up in the corner, Qing Chen even felt that it was somewhat bizarre and surreal.

Is this the social dynamic within a conglomerate?

The world Qing Chen experienced outside the Banshan Manor was completely different from the world he experienced inside the Banshan Manor.

After everyone left, Autumn Leaf Villa returned to its daytime tranquility.

"Sir," Li Ke said, "I'm counting the gifts here. Please eat first, or the food will get cold."

"You should eat too," Qing Chen said calmly.

"No, I can't sit at the table while you're eating, sir," Li Ke said.

"Come here," Qing Chen said after thinking for a moment, "I have something to tell you."

"Okay," Li Ke wiped his hands, took off his sleeves and apron, and sat down at the stone table.

"You are the pride of the Li family's First Branch son, so why do you know how to cook?" Qing Chen asked.

Li Ke explained, "I'm curious about everything and want to try everything. Actually, I'd like to see the world outside the city, but my parents won't let me, saying it's dangerous outside. But Sister Yinuo promised me she'll take me out to play during the spring hunt next year."

Qing Chen didn't expect that in addition to the autumn hunt, there would also be a spring hunt.

While the native inhabitants of the Inner World were still struggling, the Tuanzi were already enjoying a life of walking dogs, playing with birds, and watching underground boxing matches.

Qing Chen asked, "I see you bossing around those servants, but you're very respectful to me. Why is that?"

Li Ke was taken aback. "It's always been like this, and so has my family. Servants are just tools."

"No, they are human beings too. Their status may differ, but their dignity is equal," Qing Chen said after thinking for a moment. "Today, I'll teach you a principle: true cultivation lies in being humble in the face of those who are inferior to you. The law of the jungle is the law of nature, but civilization is what makes it civilized by removing certain animalistic traits."

Li Ke pondered for a moment, "What you said makes a lot of sense, but I still need to get used to it and accept it gradually."

"Let's eat," Qing Chen nodded and said.

To be honest, the longer he spent in the Inner World, the more he could feel the difference in thinking Inner World, which was due to the fact that the conglomerates had controlled the world for too long.

During the meal, the Dragon Fish was placed on the table, but Li Ke didn't touch it at all.

After the meal, he went to wash the dishes, asking as he did so, "Sir, are you not going to school this week? Qing Yi skipped class this afternoon while you were away. It's mainly because he doesn't belong to the Li family, and the teachers don't really want to take care of him."

"You decide what to do," Qing Chen said calmly, lying back on the recliner. "I see there's a dishwasher in the kitchen, why don't you use it?"

Li Ke said, "The dishwasher takes several tens of minutes to wash these, but I can do it myself in just a few minutes."

"Do you really want to learn something?" Qing Chen asked.

"I want to," Li Ke nodded, standing by the pool.

"Starting tomorrow morning, you'll go door-to-door at 6 a. m. and wake up all the students. Then they'll run five kilometers before going to school," Qing Chen said.

He didn't say why, he just ran away.

Let's see if we can stick with it first.

Besides, not every student is willing to run laps in the morning, so whether Li Ke can get everyone out there depends on his own ability.

"By the way, whose residence was this Autumn Leaf Villa in the past?" Qing Chen asked.

Li Ke replied, "It was left to his mentor by my grandfather. It is said that his mentor taught him many life lessons. This Autumn Leaf Villa has been empty for many years. Every year, my grandfather would take a few days to stay overnight at the Autumn Leaf Villa to mourn his mentor."

"I see."

In fact, Qing Chen himself did not know about the Autumn Leaf Villa, but most of the Li family did.

This is one of the reasons why his place was packed with customers tonight.

Qing Chen was wrong about this; Autumn Leaf Villa had nothing to do with Li Shutong.

"Sir, just a reminder, you can put your change of clothes in the laundry basket in the west wing. If there's nothing else here, I'll head back now," Li Ke said.

"Okay, let's go back," Qing Chen said.

Li Ke bowed to Qing Chen and then left.

At this moment, the news that Li Ke, the First Branch of the Li family, was working as a servant in the tutor's house had already spread throughout the entire Banshan Manor.

To outsiders, the Li family is a behemoth, capable of crushing the vast majority of things in the world.

However, the Banshan Manor was just a complex mansion with all sorts of people, and what everyone loved most was gossip.

The core issue in this gossip is why Li Ke willingly went to the Autumn Leaf Villa to do the things that only servants would do.

On what grounds?

However, everyone is not stupid; looking at things together makes them clearer.

First of all, the fact that the old man gave away the Dragon Fish is not simple, after all, everyone knows how precious Dragon Fish are.

Secondly, Li Ke is the old man's favorite grandson, so could the old man have been guiding Li Ke in doing this?

The connection is so strong that it's very convincing.

The question is, why does the old man favor this teacher from another family so much? What is so special about him?

Wait, Qing Chen lives in the Autumn Leaf Villa?

Over the years, the various villas have been continuously allocated to the sons of different families, but Autumn Leaf Villa has remained unchanged and has never been lived in.

Therefore, in some respects, the special status of the Autumn Leaf Villa is the same as that of the Dragon Fish.

When it was night and no one was around, Qing Chen glanced at the gift list compiled by Li Ke. He found that the Li family was quite generous, not sending any useless items, but all gold jewelry: bracelets, necklaces, rings, anklets, gold locks, pure gold peace pendants, gold Bodhisattvas, gold Buddhas...

There were also many statues of gods mixed in here that Qing Chen couldn't name, probably from the mixed beliefs of the Inner World.

This is a very pragmatic era; gifts should be things that can be converted into cash, rejecting anything that is flashy but impractical.

Looking at the gift list, Qing Chen even considered talking to the old man tomorrow to ask for another place to stay.

Another housewarming celebration.

Knock knock knock.

"Is anyone home?" The person outside the door asked with a smile; it was Li Changqing.

Qing Chen went to open the courtyard gate, only to see Li Changqing looking at him with a feigned resentment, saying, "Is it really necessary? I was the one who introduced you to the Martial Lecture Hall, and the old man arranged a new place for you to live, yet you moved out of my place on the very same day. You should have hesitated for a moment."

Qing Chen thought to himself, if the old man really misunderstood something, and he didn't move soon, something bad might happen...

He smiled and asked, "Are you done with your work?"

"No, it's not that easy to finish," Li Changqing said, shaking off his resentful look and smiling. "What, aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?"

Li Changqing came alone, carrying the black box used to store the gene serum.

She shoved the box into Qing Chen's hands. "I'm busy too, so I won't be able to accompany you to get the gene serum anymore. I'll leave everything to you."

"Thank you," Qing Chen said sincerely.

Speaking of which, Li Changqing is one of the few people in this Inner World who truly treats him with sincerity. You know, if this set of gene serums were sold for money, it would be enough for many people to squander their entire lives.

Moreover, this is something that cannot be measured in money.

It is enough to fully develop a B-Class expert. Even if Li Changqing were to make private arrangements, he would need to submit a written report to the Li family.

Qing Chen had already figured out its purpose; ultimately, he would give it to Liu Dezhu.

In the Battle of Xiancheng, although Liu Dezhu did not fight, the enemy's cooperation was almost 100%, perfectly executing his plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

Qing Chen knew very well that Liu Dezhu was terrified at that time. After all, even a C-Class expert is afraid of being shot in the dark.

However, Liu Dezhu still went.

For this reason alone, Qing Chen needs to improve the opponent's strength.

With his B-Class gene warrior and fire element awakening, Liu Dezhu is more than capable of playing the role of a protector in most situations, at least one of the protectors of the daytime.

Qing Chen looked at Li Changqing and said sincerely again, "Thank you. It seems like I've never really said thank you properly before, but you've been really good to me."

Li Changqing glanced at him. "At least you have a conscience. Alright, enough said. I have to go out again; there's a meeting I need to attend. Also, let me remind you, this Autumn Leaf Villa is very important to the old man, so keep an eye on it. By the way, although the old man values you now, you're still nominally my bodyguard. If anything happens to me, you'll have to come to my rescue."

"Okay," Qing Chen replied earnestly.

"Let's go," Li Changqing said and left immediately.

As Qing Chen watched the woman turn and leave with a flourish, he suddenly seemed to be deep in thought.

After closing the courtyard gate, Qing Chen began to stroll around the courtyard.

After confirming that there was nothing unusual, they began searching each room one by one.

There was nothing unusual about the east wing.

There was nothing unusual about the west wing.

Until... he finally pulled out a book from the bookshelf.

With a loud crack, a floor tile that had been perfectly fitted suddenly sank into the ground, and the sound of a mechanism echoed throughout the room.

After that paving stone sank in, it became part of a long staircase.

The long and deep corridor lay before Qing Chen.

The ever-burning tritium lamps hanging on both sides of the corridor resemble torches in the passageway.

Qing Chen stared blankly at this scene, finally realizing why the old man had left Autumn Leaf Villa to him.

It turns out there are other secrets hidden in this Autumn Leaf Villa.

He was somewhat amused and exasperated. Back then, Li Shutong left Prison No. 18 through a tunnel, and both the prison and the tunnel were built by the Li family.

How much did the ancestor of the Li family like building tunnels?

Qing Chen walked down the long tunnel, which seemed to have no end. He could feel the wind whistling and occasionally see thin ventilation shafts above the tunnel.

Where does this passageway lead?

The Li family's secret treasure trove?

Or is it the Li family's secret prison?

Qing Chen calculated that he had walked about three kilometers before a staircase leading upwards suddenly appeared in the passageway.

He remained silent for a moment before finally walking up.

Suddenly see the light.

Surprisingly, at the end of the passage was just an old house, which was unusually spacious but otherwise unremarkable.

There was no treasure, nor a secret prison.

Qing Chen walked to the window and looked out, only to find that he had already left the Banshan Manor!

The Autumn Leaf Villa was located on the edge of the manor, and this tunnel led directly to the outside world!

"Wait a minute," Qing Chen said in surprise, "No wonder the old man often goes to the Autumn Leaf Villa to mourn his mentor. Perhaps he uses this opportunity to sneak out and run errands every time."

What talk of a mentor imparting life lessons, what talk of mourning a mentor—in reality, that Autumn Leaf Villa was just a secret passage the old man left for himself.

For decades, the other party had used that route to leave the Banshan Manor, the place that "imprisoned" him.

Just like in popular folk tales, the emperor also wanted to travel incognito. For the wasteland, wasn't the palace just a prison?

Qing Chen felt that every time the old man stayed overnight at the Autumn Leaf Villa, he was actually sneaking out to play!

They might even sneak out to buy alcohol, eat twice-cooked pork, and enjoy the boundless nightlife of City No. 18.

As expected, the bigwigs in the conglomerates are all very cunning!

The old man has been telling this lie for decades, and everyone has believed it—amazing! He's incredibly cunning!

But for some reason, the old man's image in Qing Chen's eyes suddenly became unserious.

After all, what decent person needs a tunnel to escape from their own home?

However, the old man left Autumn Leaf Villa to himself, perhaps waiting for him to discover its secrets and then have the convenience of freely entering and leaving the Banshan Manor.

Even if Qing Chen caused trouble in City No. 18 later, who would have thought that it was him who should have been in the Banshan Manor?

"You're quite generous, passing on such a precious secret to me," Qing Chen chuckled. He searched the room and found seven car keys. "The old man certainly knows how to have fun!"

The chapter is 5,000 words long, and 10,000 words have been updated today. This is an extra chapter for single people, since your friends are all celebrating the holiday.

Only I am still sincerely accompanying you all! You may not have love, but you have me!

Thank you Lin Xiaobai for becoming a new ally of this book! Thank you boss, may you and your loved one be together forever!

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