Returning from the Immortal World

The plump middle-aged man suddenly realized why he felt that Tang Xiu was familiar when he first saw him. Before he was a 100% sure, however, he asked with a look of anticipation on his face, “There’s a young divine doctor named Tang Xiu in Star City Chinese Medical Hospital to my knowledge, are you… that young miracle-working doctor?”

“I never thought I would be that famous, to think that even you know name.” Tang Xiu smiled. “That’s right, it’s me.”

Excited, the fat middle-aged man rubbed his hands and said, “Turns out it’s really you, Divine Doctor Tang! Wow, I’m so lucky. I just came here and struck a huge business deal with you!”

With a playful smile, Tang Xiu asked, “Since you feel that lucky, can I have a bigger discount?”

“Ugh…” The smile on the fat middle-aged man’s face instantly froze. He let out a hollow laugh and awkwardly said, “I’ll pass this time. Next time, yes. I’ll give you a better price when we trade again later.”

“Deal.” Tang Xiu nodded with a smile.

“You won’t gamble anymore since you already bought so many jades, right, Tang Xiu?” Asked Long Zhengyu.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Tang Xiu chuckled. “Why not partake in the fun since the fun thing is there, right? Besides, maybe I’ll get lucky and earn back all that I spent today, no?”

His answer made Long Zhengyu at a loss whether he had to cry or laugh, and then said, “If you have such a good luck, then why do you need to do some business, then? I don’t think you need that since you can become super-rich by gambling on stones every day, no?”

“Anyways, would you like to help load them into the car while I stroll around?” Asked Tang Xiu with a smile.

Thinking for a while, Long Zhengyu then nodded and said, “Fine with me. But remember to give me some pieces of jade articles after you carve some jadeware, okay?”

“No problem!” Tang Xiu smiled and promised him before pulling Tang Xiaohan with him. With Long Zhengyu staying to help, he wasn’t afraid that the middle-aged man would pull some trick behind his back.

“Umm?” Half an hour later, Tang Xiu saw an acquaintance in a shed, someone who he did not expect to meet here… Miao Wentang.

Just as he was about to head towards Miao Wentang, however, Tang Xiaohan suddenly stopped his pace and pulled Tang Xiu’s hands with some effort.

“What’s up?” Asked Tang Xiu after turning around.

Tang Xiaohan’s brows were furrowed. He turned his head, pointed to a spot a few meters away and said, “There seems to be something there, Master. It’s like… a thumping heart or something like that.”

What?

Tang Xiu stared blankly and followed Tang Xiaohan’s finger. His eyes immediately landed on a rectangular two meters high and a meter-wide stone standing on the floor. The cuticle layer of the stone was a bit green. When his vision fell on the price tag on the stone below, however, his expression turned strange. It was written: 12 million yuan.

“Let’s go there and have a look!”

Pulling Tang Xiaohan to the front of that block of stone, Tang Xiu used his hand to touch it and released his spiritual sense. What shocked him was that he could feel something beating inside the stone. It was as Tang Xiaohan said, it was like the beating of a heart.

What exactly is this thing?

For a moment, Tang Xiu hesitated. Then, he instantly released his Primal Chaos Force to seep into the raw stone. After his energy seeped into the interior of the stone, however, he could feel a suction force from the inside. Though it was not strong, his Primal Chaos Force that had seeped into it was still siphoned away.

“There’s something unusual here!”

With a change in expression, Tang Xiu took his hand back and squatted in front of Tang Xiaohan. There was a complex expression on his face as he asked, “What exactly is it, Xiaohan? Can you elaborate as to how do you know clearly that something is beating inside?”

“I don’t know how, either.” Tang Xiaohan shook his head. “It’s just a feeling. I can feel that there’s no one there, but something is beating. Its beating rate is probably as fast as my heartbeat.”

Is it a kind of perceptive ability?

Tang Xiu had never seen a situation such as Tang Xiaohan’s at present. After contemplating for a while, he then called the staff and inquired, “How much is the base price for this raw stone?”

“All the raw stones we have here already have a base price tag on it, Sir.” Replied the staff with a smile. “If you want to buy this raw stone, you can have it for 12 million yuan.”

“Let the deal be concluded, then!” Tang Xiu nodded. “Give me your bank account number, I’ll transfer the money.”

The employee was taken aback as a surprised look immediately covered his face. After nodding in response, he smilingly said, “You really have a keen eye, Sir. Many people have set their eyes on this stone, but none of them made up their mind to buy it. Please follow me, we’ll settle the formalities for the purchase inside.”

“Wait!” A white-haired old man nearby suddenly came over from seven-plus meters away. There was a fiery look in his eyes as he gently caressed an ornamental thumb ring made of Nephrite in his hand.

Tang Xiu and the staff halted at the same time and looked at the old man.

The old man narrowed his eyes and smiled lightly as he said, “Little Brother, could you give this raw stone to this old man? You can rest assured that I will not let you suffer a loss. I’ll pay whatever stones you choose in this shed as long as it doesn’t exceed 500 thousand yuan.”

“I don’t need it. I’m not short on money.” Tang Xiu shook his head.

“1 million!” Said the old man again.

“Senior, please don’t think of using money to make me dizzy.” Tang Xiu smiled. “I will never give up on something I’ve set my eyes on even if you give me 100 million yuan.”

The old man took a business card from his pocket, handed it over to Tang Xiu and said, “Young man, let me introduce myself. My name is Tian Jingnan, The Vice-Chairman of the China Jade Association. I’m also a jade sculptor. If you are willing let me have this raw stone, I can introduce you to our country’s Jade Association, and I can also help you to carve an article for free later. How about it?”

“It turns out that you’re Chairman Tian.” Tang Xiu smiled. “May I ask, is your carving skills really good?”

With a confident expression, Tian Jingnan replied with a self-assured tone, “Though I dare not say that I’m one of the best, there are not many people in China who are more skilled than me. Someone once offered me 5 million yuan, hoping that I could help him sculpt an article, but I refused him. As a matter of fact, I have set my eyes on this raw stone previously. But because I already purchased a lot of raw stones before, the funds I have with me here are not enough, so I called my son to send me more money. I just did not expect that shortly after, Little Brother took a fancy to it as well.”

“I’m really sorry. I’m sympathetic with you but unable to comply with your request,” said Tang Xiu with a smile.

Tian Jingnan furrowed his brows. Little did he expect that he would receive such a reply after the narration, and yet this young man was still unwilling to give it to him. This situation made him feel a bit angry. However, as someone who had good self-control, he did not immediately blast it out though he was angry, and instead spoke again, “Little Brother, you can name your condition. I’ll definitely have it done as long as I can accept it.”

“I don’t have any condition to offer, either.” Tang Xiu shook his head.

Finally, Tian Jingnan was unable to bear it anymore and said, “Young man, you are buying this raw stone with the thought of gambling on it, aren’t you? Then how about I give you 5 million here and now and you give me this rough stone?”

Tang Xiu did not respond to him anymore as he called the staff and walked to the rear.

“What’s the matter, Chairman Tian?”

Two middle-aged men came over and one of them immediately asked upon seeing Tian Jingnan’s angry expression.

“I had set my eyes on a piece of raw stone, but someone else unexpectedly beat me to it.” Tian Jingnan smiled wryly. “I offered him 5 million to give it up, but he simply ignored me.”

“Who could be so arrogant that he even did not give you face, Chairman Tian?” Asked the man, astounded.

“Nevermind it, sigh,” Tian Jingnan sighed with a helpless expression. “Since he doesn’t want to give it to me, then I give up and that’s it. As a matter of fact, I myself am not sure whether there are many jade materials inside that raw stone or not. Maybe its cuticle layer outside is a bit green, but there’s nothing else inside it.”

“True that!” The two men nodded simultaneously, showing that they also agreed with him.

Ten minutes later, Tang Xiu and Tang Xiaohan walked out from the inside. He then saw Tian Jingnan who had not left yet, and secretly forced a smile inwardly. However, since the old man neither did nor spoke anything excessive, he did not have any bad feelings for him either.

With the help of the staff, several workers in the exhibition hall who were responsible for delivering the raw stones drove the flatbed cart and helped Tang Xiu put the raw stone on it, as Tang Xiu then led them to the shed where he bought the jade materials.

“Well, you just bought a piece of raw stone block, Divine Doctor Tang? This block of stone looks good and it has green traces on its outer cuticle layers. There should be… jade inside it, shouldn’t it?” The fat middle-aged man greeted and commented with a smile after observing the block of raw stone on the flatbed cart.

“Who knows?!” Replied Tang Xiu. “I just thought that it’s very likely that this block of stone would have jade or Nephrite inside, so I just bought it.”

“How much did you spend on it?” Asked the fat middle-aged man with a curious expression.

“12 million,” said Tang Xiu with a smile.

“You’re really a rich man, Divine Doctor Tang,” said the plump middle-aged man while raising his thumb up. “You wasted more than 10 million casually just to bet on this block of stone. That boldness of yours is really admirable!”

“I just play at random, though, and I won’t buy too much.” Tang Xiu smiled. “Anyways, I still need to trouble you, Old Brother, to help me deliver this thing to my place.”

“Got it, no problem,” said the middle-aged man with a smile.

Suddenly, a shout came from outside the shed:

“RISE! RISE THE BET!”

Immediately, the guests inside the shacks, as well as many people outside rushed toward the source of the voice. One could only gamble on a stone and place a bet before the stone was cut. For the convenience of many buyers, the guests may cut the raw stones after purchasing them and see the results of their gambling methods on the spot.

Long Zhengyu seemed to be interested and said, “How about having a look at it?”

Tang Xiu pondered for a moment, and then nodded and said, “Let’s have look, then! I have seen some guests gambling on it, but none of them caused such a stir.”

The fat middle-aged man hesitated for a short while. He then gave orders to his staff and followed them out, saying, “Divine Doctor Tang, do you know how I made my family’s fortune? It was exactly through this gambling on stones. About more than 10 years ago I went to some place in the Southern region and brought 20 thousand yuan with me, but little did I expect that I would accidentally find this gambling on stone event back then, and even joined in the fun. I spent more than 1 thousand yuan to buy blocks of stones, but to my surprise, the gains I made back then were thousands of times more. Long story short, it can be said that I got rich overnight back then, with tens of millions of yuan.”

Notes:

Gambling on stones is China’s oldest form of gambling, and here is an article about gambling on stones if you would like to know more.