Chapter 82: He Has Become a Grandfather

Tianhai, Du Family Manor.

Unlike the Liu Family Manor, the Du Family Manor was vast—immense, in fact. Spanning nearly seventy or eighty acres, more than a dozen villas were arranged in a concave formation, with a garden at the center as large as a soccer field, lush with medicinal herbs and fruit trees.

The Du family was prosperous, with over a thousand members when both direct and collateral branches were counted, though only direct descendants resided in the manor. The Du family was an old, prestigious clan in Tianhai, dedicating centuries to the medicinal herb trade, and had flourished greatly in recent years. In the martial world of China, none failed to recognize the renowned Du family of the Great Benevolence Hall, nor its formidable patriarch, Du Sancai.

Though Du Sancai was nearing eighty, his cultivation was profound; only half his hair had whitened, and he appeared no older than fifty or sixty. The family all knew that Du Sancai had recently acquired several miraculous prescriptions and had been sequestered in study, rarely attending to family affairs, seldom seen within the manor.

Today, however, things were unusual. It was not yet three o’clock when Du Sancai returned to the manor, striding briskly toward the central villa. Following closely behind him was his youngest son, Du Renzhi.

“Grandpa, Dad—”

As they passed through the garden, a clear, lively voice rang out.

Both Du Sancai and Du Renzhi halted, raising their heads.

From the distance, a graceful figure approached, her large sunglasses barely concealing her slightly parted cherry lips, and her long, elegant hair fluttered gently in the breeze.

It was Du Jingjing, Du Sancai’s beloved granddaughter.

“Jingjing, are you heading out?” Du Renzhi asked, puzzled.

“Yes, I’m going to visit a friend.” Du Jingjing dashed over, looping her arm through Du Sancai’s.

Du Renzhi frowned, displeased. “You’re not yet fully recovered. You should rest more at home, not run about.”

“Dad, don’t worry. I’m already healed.” Du Jingjing twisted coyly. “Grandpa said I shouldn’t spar with anyone these days, but he never said I couldn’t go out.”

Du Sancai’s eyes twinkled as he chuckled slyly, “Jingjing, are you off to see Chu Tianfeng?”

They all knew the story behind Du Jingjing’s injury, and that Chu Tianfeng’s so-called senior sister was actually Chu Tianfeng himself.

“No, I’m meeting a girlfriend,” Du Jingjing shook her head.

“Ah! That’s not right. He’s your savior, after all. Shouldn’t you at least go see him?” Du Sancai reproached lightly. “If you won’t, perhaps your father should go in your stead?”

Du Renzhi was baffled, unable to fathom what Du Sancai was trying to accomplish.

“Grandpa—” Du Jingjing rolled her eyes dramatically. “Be honest, are you after his medicine?”

“Heh heh!” Du Sancai grinned cunningly. “You’re sharp, Jingjing. You see right through me.”

Du Renzhi suddenly understood.

That medicine was truly miraculous; it could revive the gravely wounded and near death. Despite the Du family’s centuries of expertise in herbal remedies, they had never encountered such a wondrous elixir. If that medicine hadn’t been applied to his precious daughter, he would have snatched it away for research long ago.

“Grandpa, honestly! You’ve already taken so many prescriptions from him. Isn’t that enough?” Du Jingjing shook Du Sancai’s arm.

“Jingjing, this prescription is different.” Du Sancai’s expression grew solemn. “A remedy that brings the dead back to life—think what that means.”

He knew better than anyone.

His granddaughter was living proof: a single dose, and she gained a second life!

If they had ten, eight, or even hundreds, thousands—what would that mean?

He was certain Chu Tianfeng possessed more than one of such pills; otherwise, he would never have given Du Jingjing such a precious medicine so easily.

Unless—

“Fine.” Du Jingjing’s voice interrupted Du Sancai’s train of thought. “Even if I wanted to find him, I don’t know where he is. Where do you expect me to look?”

Du Sancai was unconvinced. He patted Du Jingjing’s hand. “Jingjing, Grandpa isn’t trying to snatch his medicine. No matter what, he’s your savior. Of all people, Grandpa wouldn’t take from him, would he?”

“Really?” Du Jingjing stared intently at Du Sancai with her big eyes.

“Of course. Grandpa won’t take his medicine or his treasures. In fact, I want to give him a grand gift. If he hands over the prescription, I’ll transfer one percent of the Great Benevolence Hall’s shares to him. How about it? That’s a pretty good deal, isn’t it?”

One percent! Du Renzhi gasped.

The Great Benevolence Hall’s assets must total nearly a hundred billion, if not at least eighty. That meant handing over eight to ten billion!

“Dad, are you…” Du Renzhi meant to caution Du Sancai, but his words were cut short by a dismissive wave.

Du Jingjing pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, if I see him, I’ll pass your message along. But don’t get your hopes up—I truly don’t know where he is.”

“The Salt Merchants’ Hall was in chaos last night—surely that was his doing. He might still be in Tianhai,” Du Sancai eyed Du Jingjing suspiciously, not believing a word.

Du Jingjing certainly knew about the bloodshed at the Salt Merchants Building last night.

“No, he should still be at Thousand Birds Lake,” she turned away. “The trouble at the Salt Merchants was caused by the Mount Huang faction. Our team leader is preparing to speak with Master Mu.”

“Ha ha!” Du Sancai laughed. “I don’t understand. If someone destroyed the Salt Merchants or killed Sima Lin, what good would it do Mu Xiangdong?”

Du Sancai had spent decades in business and understood: profit is the ultimate measure of truth.

The Salt Merchants are valuable while alive; their wealth could be tapped often, and the Mount Huang faction could grow rich quickly.

Conversely, if the Salt Merchants were wiped out and Sima Lin killed, what could the Mount Huang faction gain?

Not only would they gain nothing, they’d likely provoke the ire of their peers in the martial world.

In his view, unless Mu Xiangdong was a fool, he would never do such a thing.

“Then why did several elders of the Mount Huang faction come to Tianhai?” Du Jingjing retorted, pursing her lips. “And it’s awfully coincidental—they arrived in the afternoon, and that very night the Salt Merchants’ Hall was destroyed.”

“Uh…” Du Sancai was stumped.

He could never have imagined such a coincidence.

Mu Xiangdong was truly unlucky. He didn’t want trouble during the national holiday, so he sent his elite extortion team to Tianhai only after the vacation.

To make their intentions clear, Mu Xiangdong had all the elders fly in together and make a high-profile appearance at Tianhai International Airport, flaunting the Mount Huang faction’s strength—essentially to demand more compensation from the Salt Merchants.

But fate intervened; Chu Tianfeng struck that night, raiding the Salt Merchants’ Hall.

Poor Mu Xiangdong was more wronged than Dou E; he’d barely extended his hand, gained nothing, and ended up in trouble.

“Alright, enough chatter—I have to go.” Du Jingjing released Du Sancai, waving her hand. “Grandpa, Dad, goodbye!”

“Drive carefully,” Du Renzhi reminded her.

Du Sancai silently watched her graceful figure fade into the distance, deep in thought.

“Renzhi, send someone to follow Jingjing,” Du Sancai said to his son.

“Dad, this is Tianhai. If Cao Zhengming dared stir up trouble here, he’d have to be out of his mind,” Du Renzhi protested. “Besides, Senior Fang has gone to Luoshi. Cao Zhengming would rather curry favor than offend us again.”

“I’m not worried about Jingjing’s safety. I’d bet she’s off to see Chu Tianfeng,” Du Sancai smiled subtly.

“No way. Isn’t Chu Tianfeng at Thousand Birds Lake?” Du Renzhi was baffled.

“Ahem!” Du Sancai sighed. “Seems you don’t know your precious daughter as well as this old man does. You actually believe what she says?”

“…” Du Renzhi was embarrassed, but nevertheless took out his phone to arrange for someone to follow Du Jingjing.

“That boy is quite the troublemaker. His ‘senior sister’ is himself, and perhaps his ‘master’ and ‘senior brother’ are too. The havoc at the Salt Merchants last night, the deaths of Chen Yue and the Four Vajra—most likely all his doing.” Du Sancai looked into the distance.

“Dad, Chu Tianfeng’s cultivation is only at the early Transforming Energy stage. Even if Chen Yue and the others were tied up, he might not be able to kill them,” Du Renzhi said as he hung up, his gaze following Du Sancai’s.

In the distance, a white car slowly drove out of the Du Family Manor and onto the main road.

“I used to be puzzled, but after seeing that prescription again, I understood,” Du Sancai withdrew his gaze. “The boy must have the right formula. His cultivation has advanced rapidly—about two and a half months ago, when I first met him, he had only just begun gathering energy. Soon after, reports said he’d reached the Dark Energy stage, then the Transforming Energy stage.”

“Dad, are you saying he’s now at the Innate stage?” Du Renzhi was shocked. “In just a few months, he went from beginning energy cultivation to achieving the Innate stage?!”

“Exactly.” Du Sancai’s face showed that cunning smile once more. “Luckily, only we know this. Heh heh.”

“But we still have no clue about the prescription,” Du Renzhi said, frustrated.

Not just them—Bai Yunfei’s side had invested heavily in manpower and resources, but so far, all efforts were in vain. They had made no progress.

“Heh heh, don’t worry. I believe a breakthrough is imminent,” Du Sancai’s smile deepened.

“…” Again, Du Renzhi was confused.

“The answer lies with Jingjing,” Du Sancai gestured toward the manor gate. “Heh, you’d best prepare yourself. Soon, you may have to propose marriage to the Liu family.”

“No way. Chu Tianfeng is just a discarded son of the Liu family. He’s not worthy of our Jingjing,” Du Renzhi protested, suddenly realizing Du Sancai’s intentions.

Du Sancai glared at him. “You know nothing! Your daughter lived with Chu Tianfeng in Mount Huang. Who knows, you might already be a grandfather.”

“What?” Du Renzhi’s heart skipped a beat.

Just now, when Du Sancai talked of transferring billions to Chu Tianfeng, he’d felt his pride sliced away. Now, it felt as though his heart had been gouged out.

“Think about it. That medicine is incredibly precious. If you were just ordinary friends, would you easily give it away to save someone? If it were you, would you do the same?” Du Sancai scoffed.

His answer came in the form of a long, piercing cry: “Chu Tianfeng—”