Chapter 686: Downhearted
An old saying says to not slap people who are smiling at you. Tang Xiu looked at the smiling Chu Yuan who approached him and felt somewhat helpless inside. It was especially because Xue Yu followed him to Shanghai and this Chu Yuan obviously had a crush on her, which was the very reason he did not want to see this guy. However, he also had no reason to drive this fella away.
“You seem to have fully investigated me, Mr. Chu.”
Tang Xiu did not show what was on his mind on his face and spoke indifferently.
Chu Yuan had been waiting for 10 minutes there, but those two big guys at the door were like Guardian Gods who forbid him from entering, so he could only stay outside. Now that Tang Xiu had finally arrived, he let out a smile and said, “You misunderstood me, Mr. Tang. I know that you are studying at Shanghai University, so I wanted to come and visit you. Besides, it’s kind of inappropriate if I go to your campus, so I told my men to find your address.”
Tang Xiu nodded and led Chu Yuan inside. He told Aunt Zhang to serve tea and then took a seat in the living room. After lighting up a cigarette, he then calmly asked, “I just returned to Shanghai yesterday. Is there any urgent matter for you to visit me today?”
Just as Chu Yuan was about to reply, the door was opened from the outside. As Mo Awu came in, he glanced at him first before he quickly walked towards Tang Xiu and whispered to his ear, “Boss, the power generator has been assembled. You can use it at any time.”
“Alright. I’ll see it later,” said Tang Xiu.
Mo Awu nodded and left.
“I’m sorry, there’s something my man needed to inform me. Please continue,” said Tang Xiu with a slight smile after some puffing.
With an unflinching expression, Chu Yuan said, “I know that we met each other only a few times, Mr. Tang. But, I’m really sincere in wanting to become your friend. My father has been teaching me since childhood that whoever gets in contact with vermillion will become red. Shortly put, one will be influenced by the people he is associated with. Being a friend with a capable person will put a lot of pressure on yourself and allow you to make continuous progress.”
With that said, he took out something wrapped in a yellow satin cloth from his pocket and put it on the tea table in front of Tang Xiu. “This is a small item I have collected years ago. It’s just a small gift I’m presenting to you, Mr. Tang.”
Tang Xiu squinted his eyes and said with a faint smile, “This small gift is surely not simple given your status. Isn’t that right, Mr. Chu? People say that one won’t obtain a reward without making a merit. If you still hide your real intentions, I feel that not only can we not become friends, what is going to happen is that we’ll be at odds with each other.”
Chu Yuan stared blankly and immediately replied with a bitter smile, “It seems that Mr. Tang is very thorough concerning what I have in mind. That’s right, I have three main reasons by coming here. Firstly, I do hope that I can be your friend. We are living in a society governed by favors and human relations. Having many friends is equivalent to possessing many ways out. Secondly, I heard that the Strange Doors have just met some accident, and this accident seems to be related to you, Mr. Tang. Thirdly, I want to guarantee a person. She once taught me for some time and could be considered my Half Master.”
“Who is she?” Asked Tang Xiu with raised brows.
“She’s the Elegant Chess Saintess,” said Chu Yuan.
Tang Xiu’s expression turned cold as he shook his head and said, “Taking care of the weeds without removing its roots will only leave endless troubles in the future. Though I was very curious as to why she left Kanas hunting grounds before, and that she did not die in my hands, she still is an enemy of mine nonetheless. Chu Yuan, now I’m asking you. If someone were to uproot the Imperial Garden and kill all your relatives, can you let go of this bloody vengeance?”
Staring blankly for a moment, Chu Yuan shook his head and sighed bitterly, “Now that you’ve already made it clear about that, I’d only be a man who doesn’t know what’s good for himself if I were still to involve myself in this matter. I’m not your opponent at all, and since she must die, I can only handle some other matters that I can deal with, such as taking care of the frail elderly and children of her family.”
Tang Xiu scrutinized Chu Yuan with a probing look and said indifferently, “You need to know which matter is important if you don’t want to induce calamities. I don’t give a damn about whether the Imperial Garden is the Ultimate Unity or the Divination Lineage among the Three Arts, but you had better not meddle in this matter. Of course, I’m not that unreasonable either, there are also very good ordinary people as well produced by those Eight families’ dregs.”
Chu Yuan shot Tang Xiu a deep look and said unflinchingly, “I understand.”
“Then tell me your third purpose!” Said Tang Xiu.
“I heard that Jade Beauty also came with you to Shanghai, Mr. Tang,” said Chu Yuan.
“Hehehe…” Tang Xiu suddenly grinned. He got up from the seat and spoke while walking toward the living room’s door, “The Imperial Garden has been rooted in Shanghai for so many years.... It does really have a deep foundation with tons of eyes and ears. Even this minor matter can’t escape your eyes. Since you’ve come here, you should know already that Xue Yu is no longer wearing a veil, shouldn’t you?”
Chu Yuan’s heart trembled, and a sense of depression grew inside him. Although he did see the photo of Tang Xiu and Xue Yu leaving the airport and was deeply attracted by the woman’s extremely beautiful face, he was not 100% sure that the woman was Xue Yu.
However, having heard the confirmation from Tang Xiu himself at this time, he knew that he no longer had a chance. Even though Tang Xiu had no interest in Jade Beauty at all, it was impossible for him to be together with her given her character and the custom of her clan. He could feel pain in his heart, and yet he had no power to change this result.
He followed behind Tang Xiu with a complexion somewhat devoid of color and suddenly spoke, “You should be very clear about me, Mr. Tang. Xue Yu and I have known each other since childhood, and since she already made her decision, I will respect it. I only hope that you can treat her well in the future.”
Tang Xiu was about to enter the hall as his pace suddenly came to a halt and turned around to look at Chu Yuan’s unwilling expression. He then let out a light smile and said, “Xue Yu is nothing important in my eyes. I did try to drive her away so as to not pester me again, but I failed. If you can convince her to leave and never see me again in this lifetime, maybe I can accept your friendship.”
What?
Chu Yuan’s heart quaked, and a sense of shame was spontaneously born. The woman he wanted to pursue was unexpectedly unimportant in the eyes of the other party? He was a proud man and thought highly of himself, and yet, he was now a bit downhearted just because of a woman.
“I’m sorry. I don’t have the ability for that either,” said Chu Yuan after taking a deep breath. There was an expression of bitterness on his face.
Tang Xiu shook his head as he turned his back and continued walking while leaving his words, “There’s something I need to tend to, so I won’t see you off, Mr. Chu. I believe that you also know where Xue Yu lives. You may look for her at any time whenever you want to see her later.”
With that said, he passed through the living room and walked to opposite door in the corridor, opened it and looked around. The room had already been cleared up from everything else, and only the power generator was installed inside with two thick wires attached to it still being sealed with its plastic seal.
Chu Yuan did not leave though he heard Tang Xiu asking him to leave. He hesitated for a moment but still followed him.
“You are not leaving?” Tang Xiu took off his coat and turned his head to look at him.
Spreading his hands, Chu Yuan bitterly smiled and said, “You haven’t even seen the gift I presented you, Mr. Tang. I assure you that you’ll certainly like it.”
There was a surprised expression on Tang Xiu’s face, as he fell silent for a moment before saying, “Since it’s a good object, I’ll wait to see it. Anyhow, have you seen this gadget before? This is the most powerful power generator in the world that can generate electricity up to 1.2 million kilowatts. The core equipment boilers, steam turbines, and generators are of the best quality in the world. Do you want to know what I wanna do with it?”
“No, I don’t know,” said Chu Yuan with a confused expression.
“Though I may not look like a man who loves cleanliness, I do like to be clean nonetheless.” Tang Xiu smiled. “Bathing with water is way too boring, and I’m afraid washing with it won’t be able to leave myself clean as I want. Do you think it would be nice to take a shower with electricity?”
Taking… a shower with electricity?
Chu Yuan could not put on a smile anymore and said, “You’re joking me, Mr. Tang. Whoever can take a shower with electrical current simply has become an immortal.”
Tang Xiu shook his head and took his clothes off quickly, leaving only his underwear, and then nodded to Mo Awu who was also in the room. As the power generator started, the two thick wires on the floor slightly jolted, as he then grabbed the end of the wires, unsealed the plastic seals on them, and immediately felt the violent electrical current unleashed from it.
“It’s 10,000 volts, Boss. Started up to its heaviest current state,” said Mo Awu in a deep voice after looking at the number on the display.
Tang Xiu nodded and directly attached the two thick wires onto his chest. The violent current of electricity zapped his body in a flash at this moment. And yet, it only made Tang Xiu slightly furrow his brows, because 10 kilovolts, which was the heaviest current state, could only make him feel slightly numb. He did feel a slight pain in his fingers and toes like they were being bitten by ants, however.
Hiss…
Chu Yuan’s eyes stared so wide that they almost dropped from their sockets. He was quite knowledgeable regarding the subject of power and electrical currents. Such heaviest current state attached to a human body would definitely electrocute that person instantly, and yet, when the electric charge was attached to Tang Xiu… it turned out… to be… like nothing happened at all?
“Double it!” Said Tang Xiu with an unfazed expression.
Chu Yuan’s heart trembled, and a horrified expression instantly appeared on his face. Despite being very experienced, his legs became soft after hearing Tang Xiu’s order.
“20,000 volts, Boss. Starting to its heaviest current state too,” said Mo Awu who looked a bit calm after operating the power generator.
Tang Xiu did not remove the two wires from his body. He could feel that the violent electric current drilling into his body was more intense as it surged inside him. He even clearly felt that some hidden impurities in his body had been burnt out by the electricity without him being aware of it.
Following that, his heartbeat accelerated and the circulation speed of his blood also turned a bit faster than before. The numbing sensation was also more intense, and he could feel the cells inside his body splitting and intensifying. Yet, again, it was just a modicum of it.
“Double it again!” Said Tang Xiu in a deep voice.
Chu Yuan was unable to restrain his shivering body and cried out, “DON’T!”
Mo Awu completely ignored him and increased the power directly to 40,000. He felt some anticipation with the experiment his Boss was currently doing on his own body. It was because Tang Xiu told him that once his plan to use an electric current to temper the body turned out to be feasible, it would bring about great benefits to them as cultivators.