Not of Our Kind, Their Hearts Must Differ

It was evening, and the sunset and the red sun were vibrant.

We left the Autumn Leaf Villa.

The area outside the door was deserted.

The sunlight stretched everyone's shadows long, and occasionally they would intersect.

Qing Chen lifted his foot and followed the servant toward the venue.

On the way, he asked Li Shu and the others, "Were there many family meetings like this before?"

"Not many," Li Shu shook his head. "It's usually held after the annual ancestral worship ceremony at the ancestral hall, once a year. Representatives from various factions within the family will report the most important settlement data to the family head, and then make personnel appointments for the new year."

"How long does it usually take?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

"We've had meetings that lasted three days and three nights," Li Shu laughed. "Many people who go to these meetings have to wear adult diapers."

Qing Chen had heard that some of the Outer World's largest companies held such long meetings, and the attendees wore adult diapers to avoid needing to use the restroom...

The atmosphere at the meeting was extremely serious; attendees didn't even dare to ask to go to the restroom.

In Qing Chen's memory, the old man was a very kind person. Would such a person presiding over a meeting make the family members fearful?

Perhaps this is what those in positions of power must do.

"Is the old man from the Li family usually very serious?" Qing Chen asked.

Li Shu explained, "Grandpa wasn't particularly serious, but he was decisive and thorough in his actions. Once he made a decision, it was very difficult to change it. The main reason everyone feared this meeting was because it was so important. A single meeting could reappoint or dismiss dozens or even hundreds of people, and it could even determine the fate of certain factions within the family for years to come. No one dared to take it lightly. Some people who lost power at the meeting might never be able to return to the center of power for decades."

At this moment, the servants led them to the meeting place.

But when everyone went inside, they suddenly found that the entire venue was empty.

The venue is not here!

Li Ke said, "There are two meeting places in the Banshan Manor, one called Shouzhen and the other called Mingli. The meeting will definitely be held in the other one."

Everyone turned to look at the servant, who said in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry, everyone, I don't know what happened. My orders were to lead you all to the 'Shouzhen' meeting place!"

Li Shu looked at Qing Chen: "Sir, it's possible that someone doesn't want you to attend the meeting."

Qing Chen smiled; it was obvious.

Some people did not want him to attend the meeting.

He knew it was an implication when the servant told him he had the right not to participate.

Qing Chen thought for a moment, "How far is the other venue from here?"

"It's a twenty-minute walk," Li Ke replied. "According to the schedule, the meeting should start in ten minutes."

"Interesting," Qing Chen said with a smile.

This was something he hadn't expected, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Qing Chen would find it rather strange if there wasn't some intrigue and backstabbing in a large mansion.

When the established power class discovers the emergence of a new elite, they will always spare no effort to suppress it, because everyone knows that the pie is only so big, and if there is one more person, there will be one more slice.

But... he's just a tutor, why are they targeting him?

Li Shu whispered, "Sir, everyone's saying you're the old man's illegitimate son. They say he wanted you to be recognized as his ancestors and have you worshipped in the ancestral hall before he passed away..."

Qing Chen was stunned. So that's how it is!

The old man was so kind to him that many people misunderstood something.

Yes, the tutor will naturally not affect the interests of others, but it's different for illegitimate children who are to be recognized as ancestors.

But the problem is... he's not an illegitimate child!

Look what a mess this has become!

Qing Chen said, "Let's go, let's go to the next venue."

Li Shu said, "Sir, they deliberately made you late, aren't you angry?"

Although he had not yet formally kowtowed to become a disciple, all the students were grateful for Qing Chen 'Qing Chen selfless teaching and the painstaking initiation he had given them.

Now that her husband has been tricked, he naturally feels very indignant.

"I'm angry, I'm quite vengeful, but there's no point in arguing with a servant here. He's just a gofer," Qing Chen said calmly. "However, there's nothing wrong with setting off immediately wherever you want to go."

Li Shu and the others exchanged glances and immediately followed.

The Mingli room was already filled with nearly a hundred people.

There was an empty long table in the middle, with only 11 people seated in total, while the rest of the people sat in the audience seats not far away.

These 11 people exuded an aura that was more powerful than the last, and those in the surrounding audience seats didn't even dare to casually look at them.

Whatever decisions these people make, they have the power to affect the fate of millions.

Beside the long table, a thin, middle-aged man asked, "How is the old man's health? Holding a family meeting at this time, won't it have some effect on his health? Brother, aren't you going to try to persuade him?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Yunshou, who was sitting in the first seat on the left.

Li Yunshou ignored him and just silently looked at the documents in his hand.

All attendees must bring paper documents to this meeting, and all electronic devices are prohibited.

If any member has mechanical limbs, then someone will be on-site to disassemble and store them.

Afterwards, a dedicated mechanical limb doctor will be responsible for reinstalling them.

This regulation resulted in several people in the audience seats being missing limbs, which looked quite strange.

"Hey, the meeting should have started long ago, why hasn't the old man arrived yet?" A middle-aged woman next to the long table said, "He used to be the most punctual person. I remember in the old days he would stand guard at the door, and anyone who was late would have to write a self-criticism."

Li Yunye looked at a servant. "Go and ask what happened."

The servant from Baopu Tower ran out quickly, then returned just as fast. "The old master said to hold the meeting once everyone is here."

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Are all the people here?

Of everyone present, only one group of people hadn't arrived, and everyone knew perfectly well why they hadn't.

However, they never expected that the usually punctual and magnanimous old man would suddenly become willful at such a time.

It was just that the instructor was tricked and went to the wrong venue.

For such a small matter, the old man actually postponed the meeting!

In the audience, everyone began to discuss what merits this teacher had that made the old man so fond of him.

The gaunt middle-aged man tapped on the long table in front of him and said to himself, "Have you heard that a bastard has appeared in our Li family recently? The old man made the Li family members take him as a disciple to elevate his status, and even gave him the Autumn Leaf Villa. What is he trying to do? Let me make this clear to you first, I will not acknowledge such a brother. Our Li family has had a rule for hundreds of years that bastards are not allowed to enter the ancestral hall."

Li Changqing sat in his seat staring at the ceiling, letting his older brother launch into a tirade, completely unconcerned.

This middle-aged man is named Li Yunye. He is extremely shrewd and capable in business, managing projects such as mining and electricity, many of which are pillar industries of the Li family. He is very aggressive in business.

Li Yunye usually treats his brothers and sisters well and doesn't have any arrogant or domineering tendencies.

There is one exception: this person has an extremely strong sense of territory, and no one else is allowed to touch his things.

"Ninth Brother," Li Changqing suddenly said, "No one says he's the old man's illegitimate son, so let's not believe or spread rumors. Besides, let's not bring up this kind of thing at family meetings."

Li Yunya said calmly, "I was just worried that while I was away, someone might have been saying some insinuating things to the old man."

Li Yunshou closed the documents in front of him and said calmly, "The old man has never been senile, so you don't need to worry about that."

At this moment, a group of people walked in Mingli outside the meeting room.

Everyone turned their attention to them, and there stood Qing Chen and Li Ke, who had arrived late.

Li Yunye didn't speak, but carefully examined Qing Chen.

However, Qing Chen didn't look at him, but instead looked at the long table in the middle.

All the extra chairs there had been removed; not a single one was left for him.

At this moment, many people were silently watching this scene, wondering what this instructor from the Martial Lecture Hall would do.

Should they go to the long table and ask for a chair, or quietly sit in the audience?

If he wanted a chair, no servant would dare to help him carry it, and carrying the chair himself would be too beneath his dignity.

If he were sitting in the audience, then there's no need to say anything more; there would be no place for him at the Li family's long table.

Within this conglomerate, everyone went through countless struggles before finally winning a chair at the long table.

That chair was ordinary, yet it was something countless people dreamed of.

However, in this delicate atmosphere, Li Ke, who was behind Qing Chen, suddenly stepped forward, carried a chair from the audience seats, and placed it neatly next to the long table. "Sir, please sit down."

As he spoke, Li Ke wiped the chair surface clean with his sleeve.

The chairs weren't dirty. If the chairs at the Li family meeting were dirty, some servants would probably be exiled.

Li Ke's actions were clearly setting an example for everyone: the heirs of the Li family's First Branch who were qualified to enter the ancestral hall were wiping the chairs for the master, and others should refrain from making any further underhanded moves.

The people in the audience were all stunned. They didn't expect Li Ke to be so humble at the family meeting.

Several people at the long table were stunned. Even Li Changqing was somewhat surprised. Her original plan was for her to ask for a chair, and no servant would dare to disobey her order.

However, it's clear now that she doesn't need to step in; Qing Chen can solve the problem himself.

At the long table, Li Yunye turned to look at his elder brother, Li Yunshou, somewhat puzzled. He wasn't sure if his elder brother had instructed his son to do this.

Li Yunshou's expression remained as calm as a still lake. He looked at Li Yunye, "Don't overthink it. He hasn't even moved a chair for me once."

The implication was that this matter had nothing to do with Li Yunshou.

Li Yunye, looking like a skinny tiger, stroked the stubble on his chin with interest. "Interesting."

Qing Chen sat down at the long table without greeting anyone. He simply sat there quietly, maintaining his Breathing Technique and closing his eyes to rest.

It's as if he doesn't care much about anything.

Li Ke, Li Shu, and others sat behind him, also remaining silent.

If the occasion weren't so formal, Li Shu and the others would have even hoped that the teacher could guide them into meditation so that their practice wouldn't be interrupted during the meeting.

These soldiers were the most pragmatic; they knew very well how useful it would be on the battlefield if they could quickly cultivate themselves into extraordinary beings.

At this moment, someone pushed a wheelchair into the venue. The person pushing the wheelchair was the middle-aged man who had given Qing Chen the Zhunti Method, and in the wheelchair was an extremely weak old man.

The old man was pale and had bluish lips. More than a dozen doctors and nurses were waiting outside the venue, ready to provide emergency care at any time.

Qing Chen thought to himself, "You weren't like this when you were fishing by Longhu Lake."

How did this turn into an act?!

And I must say, the acting was quite superb; the feeling of not being able to breathe was extremely realistic.

Qing Chen looked around and found that the expressions of the others were not unusual.

Does he think he's the only one who knows the old man is acting?!

No, Li Yunshou must know this perfectly well, but the rest is really uncertain.

What Qing Chen didn't know was that the area around Longhu was not a place anyone could just go to. There were people specifically guarding it on a regular basis, and even Li Shu and Li Ke couldn't get close to it.

Banshan Manor wasn't truly a harmonious place; Qing Chen simply saw the most harmonious side of it.

The old man didn't look at Qing Chen. He just sat weakly in his wheelchair and said, "I'm not feeling well, so this meeting will be short. I'll finish first, and you can share your thoughts after I'm done. You can take these words as your last wishes or as a warning, but all I need is for you to listen."

The old man continued, "The first thing is that as long as the Li family still exists, eliminating the Kamishiro and Kashima families will be the Li family's goal and pursuit for generations to come."

"The second thing is that Li Yunyi's gene drug industry and intelligence industry will be handed over to Li Changqing. In the future, when the Federation is in turmoil, the intelligence agency must be in the hands of one person, and there can be no more disagreements."

This constitutes personnel appointments and removals, and it only states that Li Yunyi relinquishing power, without specifying any new responsibilities for him.

This indicates that the old man was very dissatisfied with Li Yunyi's past work, and that Li Yunyi's lineage would have little chance of gaining access to core power in the coming decades.

"The third thing is that the northern trade must not stop, no matter what."

"The fourth thing is that there can be no compromise on the fiscal and tax laws within the next thirty years. This is one of the foundations of the Lee family."

"The fifth item..."

The old man recounted more than ten things, and finally said, "The nineteenth thing is that the Li family values seniority and respect for teachers. Everyone should remember the traditions of the Old Li family."

Many people in the hall were stunned. This was clearly said specifically for Qing Chen, meaning that everyone should not question Qing Chen's status in the Li family!

Of these nineteen matters, the old man did not even mention the mobilization of the Federation Group Army, nor did he mention who would succeed him as the head of the family. Instead, he specifically mentioned respecting teachers and valuing the Way.

This is something that many people don't understand.

At this point, the old man said, "Alright, I've finished speaking. Do you have anything to say?"

Beside the long table, Li Yunyi suddenly stood up. "Dad, what did I do wrong? Why did you give all my power to Li Changqing? What does she have...?"

Before he could finish speaking, the old man suddenly fainted.

In an instant, the entire venue descended into chaos. Even the usually composed Li Yunshou roared, "Doctor! Nurses! Come in and save him!"

In the hall, the people in the audience were all at a loss. Li Yunyi stood there blankly, not expecting that he would not even have the chance to defend himself.

After the doctor rushed in, soldiers armed to the teeth entered the venue. "Please leave in an orderly manner."

Qing Chen followed the soldier's instructions and walked outside, completely bewildered. At one point, he even wondered if the old man's condition had suddenly worsened.

After all, the old man had been staying by Longhu Lake for some time, where it was cold and damp, which could have worsened his condition.

However, at that moment, Li Changqing, escorted by Old Nine, passed by him and said, "It's just night now. Wait for me at the Autumn Leaf Villa. I'll be there in a bit."

Qing Chen was both amused and exasperated. The old man was critically ill, yet this guy still had the mind to go out and have fun. The other party was clearly someone in the know, someone who knew the old man was faking it.

Thinking of this, he felt relieved.

After leaving the venue, Qing Chen didn't know where to go, and inexplicably headed towards Longhu.

But when he walked there, he was surprised to find that under the moonlight, the old man had changed into a straw raincoat and was sitting there making fish bait!

Qing Chen walked over, annoyed. "Your acting is so perfunctory! Just half an hour ago you were critically ill, and now you're fishing?"

The old man retorted irritably, "Aren't you worried about whether I'm alright? I'm critically ill and you come to Longhu Lake to touch my Dragon Fish?"

"Same here," Qing Chen, not having brought a small stool today, and simply sat cross-legged next to the old man. "Who are you putting on this show for? This venue is in complete chaos, it's practically a funeral parlor where people are wailing and mourning."

"It's not that I'm putting on a show for anyone," the old man sighed. "It's just that the meetings used to be too long. Every time I announced a decision, they would argue about it for ages. I had to spend several days balancing even the smallest things. This time is so much better. I just finished speaking and left. Let's see who dares to ask me anything. I'm almost dead already, do I still need to waste time dealing with them?"

Qing Chen was speechless. "You went to such lengths for this?"

The top leader of a conglomerate resorted to such a childish tactic just to stop everyone from arguing at the meeting.

This somewhat overturned his beliefs.

But if you think about it carefully, these people in positions of power are also human beings.

The old man glanced at the young man and said, "These are the last few days of my life. Aren't they precious? To make the most of these days, no amount of fanfare is too much. My time now is precious, even if it's measured in seconds."

"Alright, that makes some sense," Qing Chen remarked.

The old man cast his line, watching the bobber as he said, "When I was young, I always thought I had plenty of time. I always told myself that I could do the things I liked later. But alas, my life has been wasted on worldly fame and fortune. I had to balance this and that. Looking back, if I had pretended to be critically ill earlier, I probably could have let go and lived a carefree life much sooner."

Qing Chen thought to himself, "If you remain critically ill for decades, no one will believe it."

He asked, "However, I thought you would mention the successor or something during the meeting, but you didn't mention it at all."

The old man chuckled, "What do you know? Small matters are discussed in large meetings, big matters in small meetings, but the most important decisions can't be made in a meeting of hundreds of people. Everything has been discussed in advance."

"Those ten words are quite insightful," Qing Chen said. "I thought you were worried there was a traitor in the meeting, so you deliberately didn't mention the most important thing."

"Whether there's a traitor or not is too early to say," the old man said slowly, "But we'll have the results soon."

"Really?" Qing Chen asked curiously, "Why would a big figure in the Li Corporation betray his own family?"

The old man said, "Not everyone can hold power. Take Li Yunyi, for example, who was just stripped of his power. Do you think he might harbor resentment? Of course, I'm not saying Li Yunyi is a traitor. Over the centuries, there have been too many resentful people in the Li family. The benefits of this world have never been distributed fairly."

"Understood," Qing Chen nodded.

The old man suddenly said, "I probably won't be coming to Longhu for the next few days. You'll have to come and collect the fish yourself then, since you catch them faster than I do anyway."

Qing Chen suddenly asked, "Why are you so good to me? I mean, you really didn't need to do this."

The old man smiled and said, "There aren't so many whys. In this life, you can only be willful when you're a child or an old person. If a child misbehaves, you can say he's still young. If an old person is willful, you can say he's senile. But in the middle, you must be clear-headed and face your responsibilities. Before, I didn't dare to spoil any of my grandsons. I thought those little figures were so cute, but if I hugged any of them, the whole manor would gossip about which branch of the family I favored and what kind of signal I was sending."

"Now that I'm almost in my grave, who cares what they think?" the old man chuckled. "They all say you're my illegitimate son, and I find it amusing to watch them speculate like that. Didn't you see the look on their faces when I told them to respect their teachers today? It was priceless."

Qing Chen thought to himself, "So you said all that just to tease everyone?"

The old man continued, "Your master is quite interesting. He took in a disciple but didn't train him, then went to the north to cause trouble. Before he left, he entrusted you to me, saying that you weren't inherently cold-hearted, but no one had ever taught you that there is another kind of affection in this world. So, I'm letting you experience it."

Qing Chen fell silent. Before this transmigration, he had just faced the insignificant family ties in the Outer World, but here he was facing another extreme.

Sometimes, even though he knows he is from the Outer World, he feels a little closer to the Inner World for some reason.

The conflict between the Inner World is becoming increasingly severe. If some people knew his thoughts, they would probably criticize him.

"Why does the Li family so despise the Age of Gods and Kashima?" Qing Chen asked, changing the subject. " In the Outer World, it's because of ethnic hatred, but what about in the Inner World?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts."

"Just because of that?" Qing Chen asked.

The old man glanced at him. "If they are not your compatriots, then they will not even consider your compatriots as human beings. That is the natural barrier between races. If one day they take control of the Federation, then all the people of the Central Plains will be inferior, and only those who speak gibberish will be superior."

As he spoke, the old man raised his hand and handed the Dragon Fish that had taken the bait to Qing Chen: "I never expected that Li Ke would be so loyal to you. Remember to treat him well... Also, remember our agreement."

"I won't forget."

A 6,200-word chapter, with another chapter at 11 PM tonight.