“Where is he?”
“In the Phoenix District’s Real Estate Agency. I sent his photo to all our employees and just received a call from one of them. Little Zhang said a kid matching his description just stepped into the agency.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Qin Zhen was excited. He searched for Li Mo so many times but it was all in vain. To the point he was convinced Li Mo was avoiding him. He finally found out his location and he wasn’t going to let this change go or he’d regret it for the short time he had left to live.
“Grandfather, relax, I sent for him.” Qin Menglu spoke with pride.
“Sent for him?”
“Yeah, I told Little Zhang to bring the little expert here. What, did I do something wrong again?”
“This place will have to do.”
As Qin Menglu was immersed in content over her decision, Li Mo’s voice traveled from the living room.
Qin Zhen ran out of the study to meet him.
A plain 15-16 year-old kid in school clothes graced his eyes.
Qin Zhen was floored.
Seeing was believing, no matter how many times he heard it. He finally figured out why Qin Menglu was acting weirdly every time the expert was mentioned.
Real Estate Agency’s manager, Zhang Lingling, was also looking oddly. It was strange enough for a kid coming to buy a mansion, but Qin Menglu’s request to bring him here took the cake.
All of Feng City knew who this place belonged to. The question was, why was he brought here?
Li Mo eyed Qin Zhen then Qin Menglu, his face slightly amazed, “You’re also looking to buy a house?”
Crash!
Zhang Lingling’s documents slipped from her grasp, rushing frantically to gather them from the floor.
“I…” Qin Menglu wanted to retort but Qin Zhen stopped her with a laugh, “Yeah, we are also looking over some houses.”
Li Mo gazed at Qin Zhen then turned around to leave.
Qin Zhen was a bit disappointed, ‘If it’s an expert, a glance should be enough to see my illness.’
Li Mo asked Zhang Lingling, “The design is nice, and so are the decorations. They aren’t imitations, right?”
“Imitations?” Zhang Lingling recovered the next second, “No, they’re of course authentic.”
Li Mo traced the sandalwood table, “Slightly old, but of good quality. You can leave them as is.”
Crash!
Zhang Lingling’s documents hit the floor just when she got them in order.
Li Mo scouted the place, nodding here and there. Qin Menglu’s face was dark. The decorations were Qin Zhen’s cherished items. The table alone cost millions.
‘What you are calling old is an antique. What do you know?’
If not for Qin Zhen stopping her, she would’ve flipped by now.
Qin Zhen was following behind Li Mo looking everywhere. He looked just like a normal customer inspecting a house.
Just that the irritated Qin Menglu and Qin Shen were meek as they followed behind him in silence.
Li Mo picked up a chinaware.
“You…” Qin Menglu was close to blowing a gasket. That chinaware was from Qing dynasty, in Kangxi Emperor’s era. It was the most cherished collector’s item of Qin Zhen, valued in the tens of millions.
‘How can you handle it so casually? What if it slips? A tens of millions slip!’
Qin Menglu watched with anxiety Li Mo waving the chinaware around one moment and knocking it the next.
Qin Zhen wasn’t worried. He was mortified. His cherished chinaware was handled with such barbarism that his heart was on edge in fear it might crash.
Qin Shen recalled with clarity how the Yang clan’s freakish wench came here once and wanted to take the same chinaware with her the moment she laid eyes on it. The showdown between a famous old man and a stubborn girl resulted in the chinaware staying here.
This item was no longer a collector item to Qin Zhen, but a personal treasure. And no one was allowed to touch it!
However…
Li Mo knocked it a few times, then peered down the mouth of the vase before putting it back.
Qin Zhen breathed easy.
While Qin Zhen was mulling over an excuse to get Li Mo to examine him, the youth in question entered the study.
“You can’t!” Qin Menglu’s voice slipped.
Li Mo asked, “What?”
Qin Zhen smiled, “Nothing, my granddaughter was meaning to say that it’s alright.”
“Oh.” Li Mo proceeded into the study.
Qin Menglu stomped her foot, “Grandfather!”
Qin Zhen shook his hand. “You two wait here.”
Qin Zhen also entered the study.
He found Li Mo appreciating his life’s greatest work, ‘Who in this world doesn’t know lord’. (T/N: poem by Gao Kuo of Tang dynasty.)
Qin Zhen smiled, “Young friend, what do you think of the penmanship?”
“Don’t know, I don’t study calligraphy.”
“Ha-ha.” Qin Zhen gave a strained laughter.
“Young friend, what do you think about this one?”
Qin Zhen pointed at a painting of horses.
Li Mo only spared it a glance, “Not bad.”
Qin Zhen said, “This Eight Galloping Horses(T/N: painted by Xu Beihong, a modern painter famous for his horse paintings) is what made Zhang Yan famous. Brother Zhang once said he made two such paintings, but one had vanished, leaving this one alone in the world.”
‘Zhang Yan is the most famous painter of the modern age. As famous as the long passed Zhang Daqian(T/N: famous modern painter) and Qi Baishi(T/N: another painter). I had to pay a steep favor for this painting back then.’
Li Mo only nodded.
“Young friend, what of your family?”
“I had no mother or father for as long as I can remember. My family isn’t anyone important.”
“Then what of your Master?”
“He is Pangu(T/N: creator of the universe in Chinese mythology).”
Qin Zhen was crestfallen.
On the path of cultivation, speaking of one’s Master was filled with respect, introduced with reverence. Lying was the same as shaming him. How quip and fastidious the kid was, the old man began to think he was wrong of his early assessment.
Li Mo said, “I like this place. Elder, can it be you do to?”
Qin Zhen was startled, then began coughing.
Li Mo waited for his fit to pass, “Here where the mountain is on one side, water on the other, and lush trees all around, it makes a marvelous view to the normal people that few can enjoy. But for you, elder, it is not a good place to be. This is why I recommend not fighting me over this house. “
“What does young friend mean by those words?” Qin Zhen’s heart jumped.
“With your cold yang illness, avoid damp places and avoid the cold. A dry and hot place like a desert is much more suited to you.”
Qin Zhen’s disappointment only grew. Of the countless doctors he saw, of the many experts he consulted, none of them said anything about some cold yang illness.
“Young friend, you’re saying I have the cold yang illness? What is that? My knowledge is poor on the subject, but after handling this illness for so long, I have learned a few things, yet never once have I heard of cold yang illness.”
Li Mo explained, “It’s quite natural that you haven’t.”
Qin Zhen was getting angry and started coughing. He had to drink a glass of water to calm down.
After taking a long time to recover, Qin Zhen spoke, “Young friend, do you know what is the source of this illness?”
“Forcefully cultivating a lowly and damaged cultivation method. Not comprehending it, you damaged your meridians, thus leading to cold yang forming. Over the years, it seeped into your organs and even medicine would be hard to remove it now.”
Crash!
The glass in Qin Zhen’s hand smashed on the floor.
