Chapter 3

For a moment, Jiang Shihao felt increasingly that he couldn't read the young man in front of him. In his early twenties, he looked like a simple youth from a mountain village, with an innocent smile on his face, but his words were always surprising.

Curious, Jiang Shihao glanced at the young man laughing at the door of the adjacent private room, thinking of suggesting that Ning Yuan treat him to test Ning Yuan's skills. However, after some thought, he felt that he wasn't very familiar with the Qin family and had only just met Ning Yuan, so he decided against it. He pointed into the private room and said, "Mr. Ning, please."

Ning Yuan naturally didn't have the habit of offering treatment to people. Besides, from the look of the young man, it seemed he had just experienced a great joy. If Ning Yuan were to tell him at this moment that he was seriously ill and might not have long to live, the young man would likely beat him up. It was better not to meddle. He followed Jiang Shihao into the private room.

This was the first time Ning Yuan had been to such a high-end restaurant. It was indeed very luxurious, and the soundproofing in the private room was excellent. Once the door was closed, not a trace of the laughter outside could be heard.

The three of them entered the private room, and Jiang Shihao invited Ning Yuan to take the seat of honor. Ning Yuan declined, and the three of them sat down casually. After ordering the dishes, Jiang Shihao tentatively asked, "Mr. Ning, where are you from? This is your first time in Shangjiang City, right?"

"Yes, it's my first time. I'm from Pingyang," Ning Yuan nodded and smiled faintly.

"Pingyang!" Jiang Shihao was taken aback and laughed. "Pingyang is a place of famous mountains and rivers, a land of outstanding people and natural beauty. No wonder Mr. Ning is so remarkable at such a young age."

"Famous mountains and rivers!" Ning Yuan muttered to himself but didn't say more. Pingyang did have mountains, but they weren't famous. It was a small place in the north, with mountains but no water. The city had been trying to develop a scenic area for years but found no tourist value. It was precisely because of this that their small Taoist temple had been preserved and not demolished.

Thinking of the small temple on the mountain, Ning Yuan couldn't help but think of his master, who had passed away before the New Year. He remembered the old man with white hair and a youthful face, who had no trace of the typical Taoist demeanor.

He had been taken in by the old man as a disciple since he was a child. In fact, it all started with a fever. His family originally lived at the foot of a mountain in Pingyang City. When the villagers had a headache or a fever, they would seek the old man on the mountain for treatment.

The old man's Daoist name was Qingping, and he claimed to be a Taoist, though he was also a skilled doctor. When Ning Yuan was three years old and had a high fever, he was taken to the temple and fell into a coma. From that moment on, he became a member of the mountain community.

His parents were young people who had moved to the countryside. Later, they returned to the big city, but he stayed at the temple. Ning Yuan still didn't understand what the old Taoist had said to his parents that made them so willing to leave him at the temple.

His name was later changed by the old Taoist, taking the meaning of "calm and far-reaching." He couldn't remember his original name, and over the years, he had rarely seen his parents. Instead, he had a good relationship with the old Taoist.

To him, his parents were like mere acquaintances. They would call occasionally and visit a few times a year, but later, due to business, they came even less often.

Ning Yuan had always wondered if he was their biological child, but as he grew older and saw more of the world, he realized that many things were beyond one's control.

After following the old Taoist for over a decade, Ning Yuan had learned most of his skills. However, his favorite was treating people. Before coming to Shangjiang, he had wanted to pass the leadership of the temple to his second senior brother, but the latter refused, so he had to give up.

Ah, I'm getting off track.

Jiang Shihao was just trying to get Ning Yuan to talk. He felt increasingly that Ning Yuan was hard to read, not at all like a young man in his early twenties, but more like someone who had seen much of the world.

Ning Yuan, though young, was a seasoned veteran. He had seen things that Jiang Shihao might not have, and he naturally deflected the questions.

Jiang Shihao asked a few more questions but got no results, so he stopped. When the food arrived, they began to eat. During the meal, Jiang Shihao kept inviting Ning Yuan to visit his company after the meal.

At this point, Jiang Shihao no longer saw Ning Yuan as a young man. Even if Ning Yuan didn't understand feng shui, his ability to identify antiques was worth cultivating a relationship.

After the meal, Ning Yuan couldn't refuse and went with Jiang Shihao to the Jiang Group's branch office. As soon as they arrived at the building, Ning Yuan took a casual look and immediately saw that the place was well-designed. The layout at the entrance was very meticulous, likely the work of Gu Fenglin. He patted Gu Fenglin on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Xiao Feng, not bad. It looks like you've learned most of your second senior brother's skills."

"Little Uncle, don't make fun of me. My skills are nothing compared to yours," Gu Fenglin laughed, speaking to Ning Yuan without his usual effeminate tone.

Ning Yuan and Gu Fenglin had a good relationship. Gu Fenglin had lived on the mountain for over a decade and was the youngest there. He had always protected Ning Yuan, and though Ning Yuan was his junior uncle by seniority, he always treated Gu Fenglin like an uncle and wasn't used to the formal address.

However, Ning Yuan knew that Gu Fenglin was afraid of his second senior brother, who was very strict and serious, and Gu Fenglin himself was also a bit afraid.

"Mr. Ning, what do you think of this place?" Hearing Ning Yuan and Gu Fenglin chatting, Jiang Shihao interjected.

Ning Yuan smiled faintly. "Very good. Xiao Feng's layout is very meticulous."

Jiang Shihao was waiting for Ning Yuan to elaborate, but he only said this vague sentence and then stopped, leaving Jiang Shihao a bit frustrated. He laughed awkwardly and said, "Mr. Ning, let's go up and take a look."

As they were about to go in, three people came out of the company entrance. The leader was a man in his fifties, wearing a Tang suit, looking refined and elegant, accompanied by two middle-aged men in their forties.

Seeing these three people, both Gu Fenglin and Jiang Shihao's expressions changed, and they stopped. Ning Yuan stood silently to the side, observing coldly. He was surprised to encounter a fellow practitioner of secret techniques on his first visit to Shangjiang City.

The man in the Tang suit looked ordinary, even a bit pretentious, but Ning Yuan could sense a faint aura from him, a sign of someone who had just entered the realm of secret techniques.

The "aura" here does not refer to "air" but to a special kind of energy. Chinese civilization has a history of five thousand years, with many mysterious and unexplained elements. This "aura" in mystical culture refers to a subtle substance not yet recognized by modern science, something intangible but real.

In ancient China, there were practitioners of qi, also known as fangshi. These were considered myths or superstitions by ordinary people, but not by Ning Yuan, as he himself was a half-practitioner of fangshi.

Of course, fangshi were not as magical as legends suggested, but they were much more mysterious than ordinary people. Ning Yuan had once asked the old Taoist if there were really immortals, and the old Taoist had smiled and said casually, "Immortals were once people, but where can we find their traces?"

Ning Yuan had always thought the old Taoist was being pretentious, but after seeing many mysterious things and entering the realm himself, he no longer thought so. He didn't know if there were immortals, but there were definitely things in the world that modern science couldn't explain.

Chinese culture began with a naive understanding of nature. The universe is the most mysterious, and the more one knows, the more one realizes how ignorant one is.

Ning Yuan learned from the old Taoist that the number of people who could practice secret techniques was decreasing, almost to the point of extinction. He never expected to encounter one on his first visit to Shangjiang City.

Although the man in front of him was only at the entry level of secret techniques, it was enough to surprise Ning Yuan. Practicing secret techniques was different from martial arts; it required not only hard work but also destiny, a resonance with nature. Ning Yuan himself had only entered this realm by chance two years ago, and Gu Fenglin had not even reached the entry level.

As Ning Yuan was surprised, the three men approached Jiang Shihao. One of the middle-aged men in a suit smiled at Jiang Shihao and said, "Brother Three, I heard you were setting up the branch office. I came to take a look. I hope you don't mind."

"Brother Four, I'm delighted you came. How could I mind?" Jiang Shihao said with a forced smile, then looked at the man in the Tang suit and said politely, "Master Li, it's an honor to have you here."

It was clear that the relationship between the two brothers was not harmonious.

"Mr. Jiang, you're too kind. I owe Brother Four a favor, so I came at his invitation," the middle-aged man nodded slightly, speaking with arrogance.

Hearing this, Gu Fenglin's face changed. There were rules for everything. Since he had taken charge of Jiang Shihao's branch office, this area was his responsibility. The middle-aged man's casual visit was a challenge and an insult. If he criticized Gu Fenglin's layout, it would be a huge loss of face for him in Shangjiang City.