Returning from the Immortal World

“Lulu called me before the concert started,” said Zhang Xinya with a chuckle. “She said that there was an urgent matter she needed to deal with, so she couldn’t come to my concert. However, she promised to come see me after the concert. She also knows that I would be coming to your place, and would hurry back here.”

“She came to Shanghai without explaining her purpose, and god knows what she’s preparing in secret. Do you know what she’s doing?” Asked Tang Xiu.

“I dunno. She just said that I’ll surely be surprised a few days later,” said Zhang Xinya as she shook her head.

“Ah, let’s forget it, then,” said Tang Xiu with a smile. “Since she likes to act mysteriously, just let her be. Anyways, the night is still young, and we already talked about the things you wanted to talk about. What are you gonna do? Spend the night here, or leave with your manager?”

“Well, though the concert is over, we still need to finalize the agreement with our partners, so I won’t be staying here tonight. But, since Li Laoshan has booked you for lunch tomorrow, so let us have dinner together tomorrow night!”

“Well, I just realized that there have been a lot of special dinners recently. All right, then! If nothing unforeseen happens tomorrow night, we’ll dine at the Everlasting Feast Hall!”

As they came to the first floor, Tang Xiu was surprised to find that aside from Zhang Xinya’s manager, there was also Mu Wanying, who had not yet rested, and was instead sitting quietly while the two were reading fashion magazines. After seeing Zhang Xinya out, he then returned to the living room, looked at Mu Wanying and curiously asked, “Why are you not asleep yet?”

“I’m not sleepy,” said Mu Wanying with a faint smile.

Tang Xiu took a seat across from her and smilingly said, “Are you hungry? Do you want me to take you out to have a bite?”

“Haven’t you already eaten before?” Asked Mu Wanying back, surprised.

“I only got a few bites and drank two glasses of wine before you arrived. Then, you know what happened after. I simply haven’t eaten till now!” Tang Xiu forced a smile and answered.

“Alright, let’s go out and have a meal at the night market!” Mu Wanying smiled lightly. “There’s a night market nearby. The barbecue there is quite good, and I wanna have a beer tonight since I haven’t drank for a long time.”

“Was Zhang Xinya’s concert fun? I’ll ask Zhang Xinya to sing in a KTV with us to give you a separate concert if we have time later,” said Tang Xiu with a smile.

Mu Wanying shook her head, “On the contrary. Not only did I not enjoy it, it was a bit boring, to be honest. The reason why I want a drink is that I want to borrow the liquor to drown my worries.”

“Worries?” Tang Xiu curiously asked. “People say that the young never know what worry taste like. Why would you worry about something when you are still this young?”

“Let’s just go! Let’s chat while strolling in the night market,” said Mu Wanying.

Ten minutes later, Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying came to a nearby night market street. Though it already late, the street was still brightly lit and lively. Many men and women sat in open-air barbecue stalls on both sides of the road, merrily eating and drinking amidst chattering and laughter.

However, their arrival still garnered many people’s attention, and most of their attention was centered on Mu Wanying.

“Boss, give me twenty skewers of mutton, and roast them some more…” Mu Wanying greeted the owner of the stall, and then pulled Tang Xiu to a table in a remote corner.

With a strange expression, Tang Xiu asked, “You seem familiar with this place. Do you often visit this place?”

“I came here a few times already with my dorm sisters,” Mu Wanying shook her head. “It’s my first time coming here this late, though.”

Tang Xiu smiled and ordered more. He then opened the two bottles of beer sent by the owner of the barbecue stall. After pouring two glasses, he smiled and said, “All right, can you say what you’re worried about now?”

“There are two things I’m worried about,” said Mu Wanying.

“What are they, exactly?” Asked Tang Xiu curiously.

“Firstly, is to marry a man. Secondly, is to enter the business world,” answered Mu Wanying.

Tang Xiu looked at her with a strange expression; he was shocked. “Wanying, you are the first beauty in Beijing, and is also the first campus flower of Shanghai University. How could you be worrying about marrying? Are you joking with me? You only have to flick your fingers and a long line of men would line up for you.”

Mu Wanying looked at Tang Xiu with a very deep gaze. She lifted her glass and drank the beer inside. After dropping the glass, she said, “There has only been one man who made feel good so far, yet he has various beautiful women around him; one of them makes me feel pressure.”

“Who is this man?” Asked Tang Xiu, surprised.

Yet, after he finished saying that, he suddenly realized something, and immediately forced a smile inwardly.

To avoid looking awkward, he hurriedly shifted the subject, and smilingly said, “It’s not that urgent to look for a man, right? You’re still young, and there is still plenty of time to meet a lot of good men as well. Speaking about business, aren’t you doing a business yourself?”

Mu Wanying was able to sense Tang Xiu’s thoughts, and secretly sighed inside. Since Tang Xiu didn’t want to talk about it, she no longer continued on the topic, and replied, “Yeah! I had a small businesses since I was in high school. Though the income is not bad and I’ve been able to support myself, I was on the verge of bankruptcy when I met you in Tianjin City. I have also invested in other businesses during summer vacation, and like everything else that is very difficult in the beginning, this business is similarly the same.”

“What business is it?” Asked Tang Xiu.

“It’s an apparel business,” answered Mu Wanying.

“I don’t know much about the clothing business,” Tang Xiu nodded and said with a forced smile. “I’m afraid I can’t help you much with it. Nevertheless, if you are short on funds, you can tell me, though. I may not have much money in hands right now, but it should be no problem helping you with this issue.”

“Though I’m facing bankruptcy, it’s not like I don’t have enough funds to invest,” Mu Wanying shook her head. “It’s just that someone has been giving me too much pressure. If I don’t desperately make money, the chasm between me and him will get bigger and bigger. It’s a situation that I very much hate to face.”

“Who is it?” Asked Tang Xiu.

“It’s you!” Answered Mu Wanying.

Tang Xiu stared blankly, stunned. He couldn’t help laughing, “Don’t compare yourself with me There are some issues with the origins of a lot of the money I got. Of course, they are not illegally obtained. It’s just like the horses that got fat after being fed grasses at night; someone would never become rich due to undeserved fortune. I have a lot of sources from whence my fortune comes.”

A smile outlined on the corner of Mu Wanying’s mouth. She chuckled and said, “So, can I ride and earn a fortune with you?”

“Actually, I never really wanted it, either,” Tang Xiu waved his hand. “It’s just because a few gifted them to me, so I had no reason to refuse it. Anyways, we are all honest and sincere people, so I have always been thinking about how to make money safely and smoothly.”

“Since you don’t want to, then forget about it. Anyway, care to answer one my next question?” Mu Wanying said, and asked with a smile.

“Please!” Replied Tang Xiu with a smile.

“I know that your accomplishment in calligraphy and painting have reached the point where you have reached the apex. I also know what you’ve accomplished in the musical field also far exceed maestros. I once heard you say that you’re skillful in the lyre, chess, calligraphy, and painting; as well as equally great in verses, ditties, odes, and songs. Are you as good as you’re in the zither, calligraphy and painting?”

Tang Xiu confidently said, “Though knowledge is infinite and there will always be someone better, I’m confident that I will never meet my match.”

Mu Wanying’s eyes lit up, as she asked with a smile, “What else are you skilled with aside from these?”

“I have many of them; other skills, I mean,” Tang Xiu chuckled. “You will naturally know them as time passes. Anyhow, let’s have another glass, the roasted skewer should be served. Let’s moisten our throat first.”

“Pfft… Hehehe,” Mu Wanying couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Afterward, the duo ate the barbecue and chatted about various topics, drinking beer from time to time. More than an hour later, the duo had drunk six bottles of beer and had eaten all the barbecue. However, several interludes took place during this time, as a lot of men who got drunk approached Mu Wanying and were sent off by Tang Xiu.

In the way back, admiration grew inside Tang Xiu’s heart toward Mu Wanying. This girl drank three bottles of beer like it was nothing, even her beautiful face didn’t turn pale or flushed. Only a reek of liquor came out of her mouth as she spoke once in a while.

***

The next day Tang Xiu got up at 4 AM and waked Tang Xiaojin and the others. He instructed them to work out in the courtyard to find out the martial arts they had practiced before.

“Your foundation is good. It seems that the Elderly who had adopted you has trained you very well. Today I will teach you a set of body tempering techniques. It’s a very simple body tempering technique which only has a total of three moves and 27 forms. All the five of you are forbidden to teach it to anyone else in secret, and you must practice these three moves every morning and evening. Look at it carefully.”

Tang Xiu imparted the five children a very ordinary body tempering technique from the Immortal World. Due to them studying it very slowly, Tang Xiu drilled more than ten times, and seriously pointed out their errors for nearly two hours. When the twilight dawn from the East horizon appeared, they finally mastered the tempering technique completely.

“Wanying, are you done stealing my teaching? If you don’t want to continue sleeping, wake up the other three. Wait for me to buy breakfast, and then we’ll have breakfast and go to campus afterward,” Tang Xiu called out to the window of the bedroom on the second floor.

Before the window on the second floor, Mu Wanying’s beautiful face was blushed. Due to her light sleep, she got awakened by Tang Xiu and Tang Xiaojun’s voices. She then put on her clothes and leaned in the window, as she saw Tang Xiu teaching Tang Xiaojin’s group. She just watched them amusedly at first, but the more she looked, the more she couldn’t bear but want to learn it, too.

In fact, she had already memorized the three moves and twenty-seven forms Tang Xiu had imparted them an hour ago, and then began to quietly practice them in front of the window.

“Wait for me! I’ll wake them up, and then go with you,” Mu Wanying answered with a blushing face, and immediately disappeared from the window.

****

Breakfast was quite rich since Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying bought quite a lot. Tang Xiu even bought some freshly-cooked beef gruel since Tang Xiaojin’s group of five was still growing.

After having breakfast, he told Tang Xiaojin and the four others to stay at home. After telling them that he would come back and take them to buy clothes, books, and daily necessities after attending his classes, he then rushed to campus with Mu Wanying’s group of four. Because he abandoned his Range Rover car on a road not far from the airport yesterday, and due to not wanting garner attention, he then caught a taxi after leaving the villa complex and directly headed to campus.