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墨書 Inktalez
Mu Xuanche's expression grew serious. "He hadn't needed to seek out medicine or alchemy for a long time, so he spent his days at home talking and drinking tea with me. I wanted to meet his son, but he politely refused my request. I am not someone who lacks manners, so I let it go and focused on reading and chatting. Later..."
"Later, he obtained a drawing from their family's close friends. They had no idea what the drawing was for, so when he asked for it, they simply gave it to him. After he returned, he became consumed by research day and night. But I never expected that this would lead to his demise."
Bai Qiling looked puzzled. "A drawing could lead to death? What happened?"
Mu Xuanche shook his head. "I don't know the details of the mystery. After he died, I investigated and found some materials tucked away in his books, but that was as far as I could go. After that, all leads went cold, and I left his family. Throughout it all, I never met his sick son. Without his father, the family likely wouldn't care much about him—a sickly child who could die at any moment. Despite my friendship with his father and my desire to help, there was nothing I could do. At that time, I thought the boy probably wouldn't survive long after his father's death."
At this point, Mu Xuanche rarely showed a hint of sadness.
Having not experienced such events myself, I didn't know how to comfort Mu Xuanche, so I simply hugged him and said, "It's okay; it's all in the past."
Mu Xuanche straightened up and said, "I've finished my story, but what I want to know now is whether my old friend's son is alive or dead."
Bai Qiling's eyes lit up as she exclaimed, "You mean Feng Yu is your old friend's son!"
Mu Xuanche nodded slowly and heavily before speaking again. "I can't be certain, but I believe there's a strong possibility because that drawing was in their home. They live in seclusion deep in the mountains with someone specifically tasked with procuring their daily necessities; it's nearly impossible for that drawing to have made its way into the outside world. Moreover, aside from the family friend who gave him that drawing, no one else knew of its existence."
The amount of information I had just received was overwhelming; I couldn't immediately sort out the implications.
A sickly child who wouldn't live long and a drawing capable of absorbing others' lifespans for personal use.
The connection between these two seemed to be emerging clearly, yet there was an elusive barrier between them that made it difficult to break through.
Mu Xuanche spoke again: "Let's not dwell on this for now; that's a matter for later. What’s urgent is to uncover what happened at the construction site."
I suggested, "Since the construction project is managed by Xiao Xuanxuan's family and her father reacts angrily whenever the site is mentioned, it seems likely that Xiao Xuanxuan's Father knows something. Otherwise, he wouldn't react that way. What do you think?"
Mu Xuanche agreed. "Yan Xi has a good point; we can start our investigation from here."
Bai Qiling chimed in, "So what should we do now? Should we go find Xiao Xuanxuan's Father at Xiao Group?"
Mu Xuanche nodded, then seemed to find his direction, speaking cheerfully, "Let's go! We'll first find her father."
Bai Qiling packed up the things he had taken out and then joined us as we headed downstairs.
We didn't want to disturb Xiao Xuanxuan again to ask where her father's company was located. Fortunately, Xiao Group is quite well-known in this city, and we found the map online.
Mu Xuanche drove us to the destination. The Xiao Group office building was impressive, soaring straight up into the clouds, with its glass and metal facade gleaming in the sunlight.
Two security guards stood at the entrance. They first asked us to show our identification and then inquired, "May I ask what brings you three here?"
I smiled and replied, "We're here to see Mr. Xiao. We have some business we would like to discuss with him."
The guards, unaware of our true identities, believed our pretense of coming for a business discussion. One of them said, "Please wait a moment."
Then he used his walkie-talkie: "There are a few people here to discuss cooperation; please send someone from the Secretary Department to escort them."
The response came back, "Received!"
The guard then said politely, "Please wait a moment; someone will be out to meet you shortly."
I returned his smile and quietly stood in place waiting.
True to its reputation, Xiao Group's efficiency was high. Within a few minutes, a woman in professional attire came out. She greeted us formally and led us into a lounge. "Which company are you from? What kind of cooperation do you wish to discuss with us?"
I casually fabricated an answer: "We are from S City Ocean Group. As for the specifics of our cooperation, we need to speak with your person in charge. I'm sorry I can't discuss that with you right now."
The woman smiled in understanding and brought over several cups of tea. "Please wait a moment; I'll call the general manager over."
As soon as I heard she was going to call the general manager, I quickly stopped her: "Wait! We're not negotiating with the general manager; we only want to speak with the highest authority at Xiao Group. Please ask him to come over."
The woman showed a troubled expression. "Well, I'm afraid that's not possible right now. Mr. Xiao needs to rest, and we can't just call him in without waiting for his break."
Rest? I suppose that makes sense, considering his age.
So I asked, "How long does Mr. Xiao need to rest?"
The woman quickly replied, "He should be fine by around three o'clock."
I glanced at the time; it was one forty-eight. If we waited, it wouldn't be too long.
I smiled at her and said, "How about this? You go ahead with your work, and we'll wait here for him. You just need to come back at the right time to bring him to us."
The woman hesitated for a moment, then said, "Ah, since you all are willing to wait, I'll get back to my tasks."
With that, she left.
The waiting room wasn't too large, but it was arranged quite reasonably and thoughtfully.
After a little over an hour, which really wasn't that long, I sat there sorting through everything that had happened. I thought for a long time until the time came.
It was still the same woman who walked in first and said to us, "The chairman has arrived."
When Xiao Xuanxuan's father entered and saw us, he told the woman, "You can step out now. Close the door behind you and don't let anyone else in."
He sighed and then took a seat at the main position. Looking at us, he said, "I knew you would come back. I sincerely advise you to stop investigating; it could cost you your lives."
We could lose our lives?!
It seemed he definitely knew something!
I quickly pressed on, "Mr. Xiao, what do you mean by that? Could you please explain?"
He glanced at me and said, "Since you want to know, I'll tell you. I've already committed enough sins; I don't want to continue down this path."
"About six months ago, a young man came to see me. At that time, I was overwhelmed with company issues, and my daughter was also giving me trouble. This young man claimed he could turn my company around and help it develop even better than before. Naturally, I didn't believe him, so I asked him how he could do that. He said he could borrow the power of the Demon God and even demonstrated it right then and there."
The young man? Feng Yu!
"I've lived most of my life, and while I'm not completely skeptical of science, I'm not superstitious either. However, what he showed me completely changed my perspective. There really is a Demon God in this world. I had no choice but to believe it, so I was tempted. I wanted to revive my career, so I asked him what I needed to do. He replied, 'You just need to follow my instructions; you don't need to worry about the details.' So I simply did as he said. But from that point on, everything he instructed me to do brought me benefits. Even though I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, I continued to obey his commands."
I interrupted him at this point, "What did he ask you to do?"
Xiao Xuanxuan's Father recalled, "First, he had me acquire several projects, and then we started developing them. It wasn't anything too complicated; just some matters related to the company that you might not fully understand."
(End of Chapter)
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