Chapter 69

A price of fifty million is something that most people find hard to bear. So when Liu Mengxun bid up to fifty million, the woman was stunned. In the end, she gritted her teeth, glared at Liu Mengxun fiercely, and sat down.

The calligraphy finally ended up in Liu Mengxun's hands for fifty million. As for its connection to Zhao Danfeng's parents, that would require further research. However, to be honest, Zhang Tianyuan was quite pleased that he had managed to anger the woman so much that she didn't dare to bid anymore. He wasn't a timid person; if he hated someone, he would do so without fear. It was that woman who had abandoned him, so he had no reason to feel guilty.

"Thank you, Mengxun!" Zhang Tianyuan was genuinely grateful to Liu Mengxun for helping him vent his anger. He felt very relieved.

"Don't mention it. I just did it casually. Anyway, we were going to bid for it. Was it too expensive?" Liu Mengxun asked.

"No, not at all. This calligraphy will be even more valuable in the future. As I said, money might depreciate, but these things become more valuable over time." Zhang Tianyuan shook his head.

As they talked, they walked out of the auction house. They had gotten what they wanted and vented their anger, so it was time to return to Shangpu.

However, just as they reached the entrance, someone suddenly rushed out from behind and collided with Liu Mengxun. The calligraphy flew out of his hands, and Liu Mengxun was pushed onto the road.

The place was only about a meter from the road, with no fence to protect it. Liu Mengxun couldn't stop himself from being pushed into the middle of the road, where there was a constant flow of traffic. If he had really run into the road, he would have been either killed or seriously injured.

Zhang Tianyuan didn't care about the calligraphy. Between money and a person, he chose the person. He rushed over and grabbed Liu Mengxun, while the calligraphy fell to the side of the road and was run over by a passing car. It was unclear whether it was damaged or not.

"Who the hell walks without looking?" Zhang Tianyuan was furious. It was one thing for the calligraphy to be damaged, but if he hadn't saved Liu Mengxun in time and he had been hit by a car, that would have been a serious problem.

Turning around, he saw that the culprit had been caught by Lan Fenghuang. It was none other than the woman who had competed with Liu Mengxun for the auction item, Zhang Tianyuan's college-era lover, Zhang Suya.

"It's you!"

Both of them shouted in unison, their faces filled with surprise and anger.

Zhang Tianyuan was angry because Zhang Suya had used such despicable means to retaliate against Liu Mengxun. It was too much. He hadn't seen her in years, and he never imagined she would become so vicious. She used to be just vain, but now she had changed so much.

Zhang Suya was angry because she thought Zhang Tianyuan had arranged for someone to retaliate against her. She believed Liu Mengxun was working for Zhang Tianyuan.

"Slap!" Zhang Tianyuan slapped her. He had wanted to do this for a long time. In the past, he had only blamed himself and society, so he felt inferior even if he met Zhang Suya. But today was different. He was confident and full of hope. He no longer felt inferior, and his anger gave him the right to slap her, to let her know how angry he was.

Zhang Suya, after being slapped, was stunned for a moment, then fell to the ground, screaming like a hooligan, "Someone's hitting me! A bunch of men are bullying a woman!"

Her scream drew a crowd, including people from the auction and passersby.

"Hit you? I'll hit you again! Forget the past, but do you know you almost caused a death just now? And the calligraphy we just bought was run over and split in half. How are you going to compensate us?"

Xu Gang had already picked up the calligraphy, but it was completely ruined. It was worth fifty million.

If it weren't for Zhang Tianyuan's ability to repair calligraphy, he would have been even more furious.

He didn't like to cause trouble, but if someone insisted on making trouble, he wouldn't hold back. He didn't care if it was a woman or a man; if they provoked him, they would suffer.

As he spoke, Zhang Tianyuan slapped Zhang Suya again. "I treated you like a woman and didn't want to argue, but you dare to act like this. We dated for three years. Don't you know my temper? You're asking for it!"

"Enough, Tianyuan, let it go. Let's handle this through legal means. There's no need to get angry with such people." Liu Mengxun tried to calm him down, not out of sympathy for Zhang Suya, but to prevent Zhang Tianyuan from getting into trouble with his fiery temper.

However, Zhang Suya wasn't willing to let it go. She had actually brought two bodyguards, both former soldiers, tall and muscular. One had gone to get the car, and the other was on the phone reporting the situation. They hadn't expected Zhang Suya to be hit, so they came over.

"What are you looking at? You're paid to protect me. Now I've been hit, so help me! Beat that guy with glasses to death!" Zhang Suya screamed like a madwoman.

The two bodyguards frowned, reluctant to act, but they had no choice since they were being paid. Since Zhang Suya had given the order, they had to act.

Zhang Suya was even more vicious. She took out a dagger from her bag and lunged at Zhang Tianyuan's abdomen. She had changed so much, from a girl who was just a bit vain to a woman who was now incomprehensibly fierce. What had happened to her?

"Slap!" The dagger was knocked out of Zhang Suya's hand by a young man who emerged from the crowd.

"Enough, stop making a scene." The young man said calmly.

Zhang Suya was about to curse, but when she saw the young man, she suddenly shut up. The two bodyguards also stopped and respectfully called him "Young Master."

"Who is this guy? He has such an air of authority. Zhang Suya was so aggressive just now, but now she's as docile as a cat." Xu Gang whispered to Zhang Tianyuan, "Could he be the rival who stole your girlfriend?"

"Probably not. He's too young, maybe only seventeen or eighteen." Zhang Tianyuan shook his head.

The young man looked at Zhang Tianyuan and bowed. "Sir, the calligraphy is damaged, but we can buy it for fifty million, not a penny less. Since nothing serious happened, let's all take a step back and call it a day."

Zhang Tianyuan smiled. "Money? If we cared about fifty million, we wouldn't have bought it. You make it sound so easy. Nothing serious? If someone had died, would that be serious?"

The young man frowned slightly, about to speak, but then he suddenly noticed the bodhi seed bracelet on Zhang Tianyuan's wrist.

"Did you help two young girls on Fengluan Mountain?" The young man asked suddenly.

"Yes, so what?"

"Great! Father has been looking for you. I've almost turned Nandu upside down, but I couldn't find you. I never thought it would be so easy to find you." The young man said excitedly. "I am Zhao Liangde. One of the girls you saved is my sister, and the bracelet is hers."

"Oh, I see." Zhang Tianyuan couldn't stay angry. He sighed. "Alright, let's consider this a bad day. The calligraphy is damaged, and Miss Liu was scared. You should give us some compensation."

"Compensation is no problem, but I hope you can come with me to meet my father. He has been wanting to meet you." Zhao Liangde said.

"Really? I just helped out casually. It's not that big a deal."

"No, you must come. My father said he won't rest in peace until he meets you." Zhao Liangde said seriously.

Zhang Tianyuan thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll go."

He wasn't afraid of retaliation. With his new abilities, he could sense any hostile intent. He didn't feel any hatred from the young man, so he wasn't worried.

"Mengxun, go back to the hotel with the others. I'll be back soon." Zhang Tianyuan said to Liu Mengxun, who was still shaken. Then he looked at Xu Gang and the others. "Don't worry about me."

"Call if anything happens. If anyone tries to harm you, I'll bring people to deal with them." Xu Gang said firmly.

"Ha, it's not that serious."

With that, Zhang Tianyuan followed Zhao Liangde to a Rolls-Royce and drove out of the city towards the suburbs.

The car left Nandu and arrived at a beautiful area in the suburbs.

"Is this some kind of cultivation resort?" Zhang Tianyuan asked, surprised by the people in Taoist clothing in the village.

"No, this village is home to my family. The others are workers. The clothing is their work uniform. Didn't you see the gate at the entrance? It says 'Wudao Village'." Zhao Liangde explained.

"Wudao Village? May I ask, is your father's surname Zhao, and your mother's surname Murong? Is the village your father came from called Shenluo Village?" Zhang Tianyuan asked, half-jokingly.

"Actually, you could say that. My father's original home was a place based on Daoist principles. They still live that way, so you could say he's a穿越者 (穿越者 means '穿越者' in Chinese, which can be translated as 'time traveler' or '穿越者' in this context)."

"Wait, let me ask one more thing. Your father's surname is Zhao, and your mother's surname is Murong, right? And the village your father came from is called Shenluo Village?" Zhang Tianyuan, though skeptical, suddenly realized that the person he was looking for might not be far away, but right here in this village.