Lianshan Jingcheng could barely stand to listen anymore and shot his son a fierce glare.
What a gift for comforting people.
Huang Jingji wanted to glare at Lianshan Xin too, but he did not dare.
Fortunately, Lianshan Xin only acted like a dog occasionally. Most of the time, he was human.
"Father, can you treat him?"
Lianshan Jingcheng nodded. "It's possible, but difficult."
After a pause, Lianshan Jingcheng added, "Extremely difficult. You both practice martial arts, so you surely understand that some things are easy to destroy but hard to restore."
Upon hearing this, Huang Jingji dropped straight to his knees before Lianshan Jingcheng.
When he had kowtowed to Lianshan Xin, Huang Jingji had been utterly unwilling.
When he kowtowed to Lianshan Jingcheng, Huang Jingji wept with gratitude.
"Doctor Lianshan, save me! Our Huang Family has had only one male heir in each generation. The bloodline can't end with me."
For people in ancient times, this was indeed an extremely serious problem.
Lianshan Jingcheng hurriedly helped Huang Jingji up and said helplessly, "Gang Leader Huang, this isn't an illness. It's a problem with your cultivation technique. The technique you practice damages your kidney essence too severely. To recover, you must first switch techniques, and the replacement must replenish primordial yang. Its grade can't be too low, either. At the very least, it must be no lower than your current technique."
Lianshan Jingcheng's explanation was plain and clear, and Huang Jingji understood it perfectly.
Then he murmured to himself, "I started out as a beggar on the streets. Martial Dao manuals are far too profound. I know nothing of their mysteries. Whatever that man Luo gave me, I practiced."
This time, Lianshan Xin genuinely felt a measure of respect.
He actually started out as a street beggar.
Starting with nothing but a bowl-that was a beginning worthy of Zhu Yuanzhang.
Although he had not achieved what Zhu Yuanzhang had, making it this far was already impressive.
His limited knowledge could not be helped.
Lianshan Xin's knowledge was limited now, too.
How could someone who had never tasted or seen much of the world have a wealth of experience?
Being swindled was a stage that was difficult to avoid.
"Gang Leader Huang, don't you suspect my father might be deceiving you?" Lianshan Xin asked.
Huang Jingji shook his head. "Young Master Xin has no reason to deceive me. I'm not worth the trouble. The Golden Scale Alliance and the Kong Family, on the other hand, look down on me, yet still need me for certain things. They have every reason to deceive me, and the means to do it."
Admiration showed in Lianshan Xin's eyes. "You're a clever man, Gang Leader Huang."
Someone who could rise from a little beggar to the leader of a small gang certainly had no shortage of survival wisdom from the bottom rungs.
Huang Jingji smiled bitterly. "What good is being clever? If not for Doctor Lianshan, I'd still be in the dark, helping them count the money after they sold me off."
At this point, Huang Jingji's bitter smile turned venomous. "The Golden Scale Alliance, the Kong Family-they've gone too far in humiliating me."
If even one of the children had been his, he would not have hated them this much.
Now, all three children had turned out not to be his.
This was an unbearable, monstrous humiliation.
Any normal person would have to take revenge.
"I've never wronged them. If they need me to be their dog, couldn't they at least give me enough dog food?" Huang Jingji said hatefully. "Why did they have to go this far?"
Lianshan Xin shrugged. "Simple. They look down on you, but they need you. So they find ways to make money off you while sticking a knife in your pride. If they really fed you well, the others in their circle would despise them. Eating your food while smashing your cooking pot-that's how these people usually operate."
Limited by his experience, Huang Jingji had no idea how vile these meat-eaters could be.
But Lianshan Xin had seen far too many similar things.
In essence, this was no different from celebrities who made money in China's entertainment industry while spewing hatred for their country on foreign websites.
It was also no different from multinational corporations making money in China while insulting China on foreign websites.
There was nothing new under the sun.
"These people... do they really think they can control everything?"
Huang Jingji slammed a fist into the ground.
"Gang Leader Huang, taking your anger out on the ground won't help. Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor. Your enemies aren't dead. You should be glad."
"That's right. Luckily, they're all still alive."
Huang Jingji drew a deep breath.
Then he solemnly kowtowed to Lianshan Xin, his forehead striking the ground with a resounding thud.
"Young Master Xin, could you grant me a suitable cultivation technique? From now on, this life of mine will be yours."
He knew he could not exact full revenge by relying on himself alone.
The admiration in Lianshan Xin's gaze deepened.
He was a ruthless man with fire in his blood.
And not one who possessed only a brute's courage.
"I don't have a technique like that."
The light in Huang Jingji's eyes dimmed.
"But Nine Heavens certainly does. I can try to exchange for one. The question is, can you provide something worth more than that technique, Gang Leader Huang?"
Lianshan Xin put it very bluntly.
The blunter he was, the more reassured Huang Jingji felt.
If Lianshan Xin had helped him without asking for anything in return, he would have felt uneasy instead.
"Young Master Xin, whatever I have, whatever you want, I'll spare no cost. I want both the Golden Scale Alliance and Kong Sanlang to pay. I want them to know that even a nobody like me isn't theirs to humiliate like this," Huang Jingji said through gritted teeth.
Lianshan Jingcheng remained silent.
Lianshan Xin pulled Huang Jingji to his feet and said admiringly, "Well said. Who says the insignificant have no dignity? If little people like us lie low patiently, we may yet topple those mighty figures perched above the clouds. Gang Leader Huang, keep things as they are for now and focus on playing your role as a Golden Scale. I'll help you find a technique. We'll wait for our moment, and when wind and cloud converge, we'll ride the momentum and rise."
Lianshan Xin did not yet know how useful Huang Jingji might prove in the future, but since the Golden Scale Alliance and Kong Sanlang looked down on him so much yet still took the trouble to win him over, he must have value of his own.
That was enough.
"Young Master Xin, I have only one request."
"Speak."
"If the opportunity comes someday, please leave those two wretched women, Old Thief Luo, and Kong Sanlang to me. Let me finish them with my own hands."
"If the opportunity comes, I'll leave them to you." Lianshan Xin nodded.
Those people were not his targets.
"Gang Leader Huang, endure for now. Trust me, you won't have to wait too long. Nine Heavens came to Jiangzhou this time to accomplish something big," Lianshan Xin hinted.
Huang Jingji's eyes brightened slightly.
He understood Lianshan Xin's hint.
"I'm willing to serve as a humble foot soldier under your command, Young Master Xin. I'll advance, never retreat."
Lianshan Xin patted Huang Jingji on the shoulder.
"Father, aside from a cultivation technique, what else does Gang Leader Huang need?"
Lianshan Jingcheng said, "He needs to come here regularly so I can nurse his body back to health. And there's one thing that matters most-a Returning Essence Pill personally refined by the Celestial Master."
Hearing this, Huang Jingji could only turn his pleading gaze back to Lianshan Xin.
Pills made by the Celestial Master rarely circulated on the market, and he had no channels to obtain them.
He could only rely on Lianshan Xin, who had already joined Nine Heavens.
Lianshan Xin looked at his father, and something stirred in his heart.
According to Lianshan Jingcheng, every part of Huang Jingji's cure depended on him to resolve it.
A father's love... was always so understated and efficient.
Before you continue