Returning after 10000 Years Cultivation - Chapter 163

At that moment, Li Huiyan and Liu Yating were both looking at Jiang Tian with utter confusion, completely unable to make sense of the situation.

Leaving Li Huiyan aside for now, she hadn’t seen Jiang Tian for two or three years and had no idea what he had been through during that time.

Even though Liu Yating knew Jiang Tian was on good terms with Zhou Zhenghao, she didn’t believe that relying on Zhou Zhenghao alone would be enough for Jiang Tian to suppress Bai Choufei. After all, this was a young master from the Guangzhou scene; he was definitely not an ordinary person.

“Grandmaster Jiang, Hei San and Guo Mengjia have offended you. How should they be dealt with? Please give the order…”

After a long silence, Bai Choufei, his face full of fear, finally bowed respectfully with a clasped fist and spoke in a trembling voice.

“As for Hei San… I don’t want to see him again.”

Jiang Tian’s face, shrouded in the grainy haze of cigarette smoke, appeared even more detached and cold.

“Don’t worry, leave everything to me!”

Bai Choufei let out a long sigh of relief and hurriedly gave his assurance.

Guo Mengjia was so frightened her face turned pale; she could barely stand steady and looked at Jiang Tian with pleading eyes.

Even though she didn’t know exactly how Bai Choufei would handle it, she understood perfectly well that once Bai Choufei said those words, Hei San was certainly not going to survive.

But to her surprise, Jiang Tian didn’t even glance at her from start to finish, as if she were nothing but a filth wisp of air.

“This isn’t mercy… It’s because he doesn’t even consider me worth his effort…”

“Just like a lion or a tiger wouldn’t bother with an ant that bit it!”

Once Guo Mengjia realized this, a wave of relief washed over her, followed immediately by an even greater surge of sorrow and regret.

By now, even if she were an idiot, she could see that Bai Choufei treated Jiang Tian with the reverence of a deity. Jiang Tian was no longer the Jiang Tian from years ago.

If she had treated Jiang Tian with courtesy and respect earlier, the outcome would have been completely different.

She would have gained Bai Choufei’s favor and strong support. All the fame, money, and status she hadn’t dared to hope for before would have fallen into her lap.

Frankly, she had missed an opportunity that could have saved her ten or twenty years of hard work.

“Old classmate, it’s not very convenient to talk here. How about we go to the hotel to chat for a while?”

Li Huiyan, suppressing the shock in her heart, slowly spoke up.

“I did have serious business to discuss with you… but let’s talk here. I’m really quite busy!”

Jiang Tian shook his head, then gave Liu Yating a meaningful look.

Zhou Zhenghao promptly introduced, “Xiao Bai, this is Ms. Liu Yating, the owner of Beauty Natural. She’s also Jiang Tian’s university classmate, and they are very close!”

“Ms. Liu, my apologies for not recognizing you earlier! If there’s anything you need, just say the word. If it’s within my power, I, Xiao Bai, will go through fire and water without hesitation!”

Bai Choufei repeatedly bowed to Liu Yating, his face full of ingratiation and a pleading expression.

Liu Yating was both flustered and surprised, hardly able to believe it.

This was a classic case of ‘when a man attains the Dao, even his pets ascend to heaven’!

Just what kind of status did Jiang Tian hold, to make the famous Bai Choufei show such respect to a small business owner like her running a beauty shop?

However, she quickly composed herself, took out the proposal, and outlined her ideas and requirements.

“Beauty Natural… I must say, I’ve heard great things about it for a long time!”

Listening to the introduction, Bai Choufei nodded frequently, smiling obsequiously, and said with feigned seriousness, “To be able to cooperate with your company is something I, Bai, have been looking forward to for a long time! It’s truly an honor for Tiange Entertainment!”

Liu Yating found the situation both amusing and exasperating.

Although Beauty Natural had good momentum, it was still just starting out. Currently, it was only concentrated in Jiangbei with just a few branches and assets of a few tens of millions. When could it have possibly attracted Bai Choufei’s attention enough for him to have ‘heard great things for a long time’?

Knowing he was saying this for Jiang Tian’s benefit, Liu Yating didn’t expose him. She specifically emphasized that the formula for the Beauty Cream was invented by Jiang Tian.

“So that’s how it is!”

Bai Choufei immediately thumped his chest in assurance. “Leave this matter to me! The endorsement fee? Not a single cent! Consider it a small token of my respect and devotion to Grandmaster Jiang and Ms. Li!”

“Young Master Bai, thank you for your high regard, but isn’t that inappropriate? Ms. Li shouldn’t have to work for free either. Let’s set the endorsement fee according to the market rate!”

Liu Yating was a smart person. She knew she couldn’t take advantage under Jiang Tian’s name, as any favors owed would ultimately have to be repaid by Jiang Tian.

Actually, if this matter only involved Bai Choufei, it wouldn’t matter much. But Li Huiyan was supposed to receive a share of the endorsement fee. And Li Huiyan was Jiang Tian’s high school classmate, sharing the same level of closeness as herself.

“It’s no trouble, no trouble at all. This is small change. I’ll still pay Huiyan her share of the endorsement fee!”

At this point, Bai Choufei looked at Li Huiyan differently, his gaze filled with flattery and respect.

Previously, he had seen Li Huiyan as a bargaining chip for deals with wealthy tycoons and high officials. But now that she was Jiang Tian’s old classmate and could speak with him, how dare he entertain such thoughts?

As for the endorsement fee of a few million, he didn’t care in the slightest.

Never mind a few million; even tens of millions or hundreds of millions would be worth it if it meant currying favor with Grandmaster Jiang.

During this discussion, Jiang Tian suddenly stood up and made a grasping motion above Li Huiyan’s head.

“Ah! My headache is gone!”

In that instant, Li Huiyan felt as if she had been enlightened—her mind clear and bright.

The feeling was incredibly comfortable, like a clear spring flowing through and cleansing a murky mind.

“Someone placed a Cold Silkworm Gu on you. You need to be careful.”

Just as everyone was bewildered, Jiang Tian opened his palm.

Lying there was a white, thread-like Gu worm, still squirming. More frighteningly, it emitted a chilling coldness, causing frost to form around it.

“Alright, goodbye for now, old classmate. I should head back. If I get home too late, my wife will be angry with me.”

The next moment, Jiang Tian gave a faint smile, took Zhao Qianru’s hand, turned, and walked towards the door.

“We respectfully see Grandmaster Jiang off!”

Zhou Zhenghao, Bai Choufei, and the numerous wealthy tycoons and big shots bowed in unison. They didn’t dare straighten up until Jiang Tian was long gone.

It was only then that Guo Mengjia noticed the backs of their clothes were already soaked through with sweat.

“Jiang Tian…”

Staring at Jiang Tian’s retreating figure, Li Huiyan stood there in a daze, her heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.

Liu Yating quickly followed Jiang Tian outside, wanting to see him home.

But Jiang Tian declined, saying it was too late and she should head back early. He then left in the brand-new Maserati sports car that Zhao Qianru had acquired in Guangzhou.

“Sigh, his capabilities are truly beyond my imagination. I thought if I could just build Beauty Natural successfully, I might become worthy of him…”

Watching Jiang Tian depart, Liu Yating’s eyes grew misty, glistening with tears, filled with regret and a sense of loss. She muttered to herself self-deprecatingly:

“And besides, it’s clear he’s very devoted and doting towards his wife, Zhao Xueqing. Even a big star like Li Huiyan seems to have deep feelings for him, yet he keeps her at a distance. How could a small-time beauty shop owner like me ever capture his heart…”

The slightly cool night breeze over Xiu Lake blew towards her, leaving her heart feeling desolate and bleak.

“Perhaps I can only bury these feelings forever in the depths of my heart. Just knowing that he and I are living in the same world, under the same starry sky, feeling the same evening breeze… that alone makes me feel grateful, very comforted, and very content.”

She looked up at the deep night sky, standing alone in the empty square. A faint smile gradually appeared on her pretty face as she murmured to herself, “Jiang Tian, thank you for letting me meet you in this lifetime.”

…

Back at the hotel, Li Huiyan was as happy as a child, bouncing and jumping on the bed.

“Jiajia, do you know? On the way back, Young Master Bai told me he’s going to focus the company’s entire resources on promoting me! You know that action movie with the 100 million investment? I’m going to be the lead actress!” Li Huiyan said excitedly.

Guo Mengjia lay listlessly on the bed, stunned and drained.

After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice full of remorse. “Huiyan, do you realize? We missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

“Alright, Jiajia, don’t be so upset. Isn’t Young Master Bai focusing on promoting me now?”

Li Huiyan tried to console her. “Besides, Jiang Tian didn’t hold it against you. Your job won’t be affected.”

“Huiyan, have you forgotten what happened years ago? You’re not just Jiang Tian’s old classmate; you’re his old flame!”

Guo Mengjia sat up, lit a slender lady’s More menthol cigarette, and sighed. “If you had acted a little better today, maybe you could have rekindled that old spark…”

“Do you know what it means to make Bai Choufei bow and kneel? With Jiang Tian’s level of power, even the scions of those top families in Yanjing couldn’t achieve that!”

“Sigh, I didn’t think of it… but you didn’t either!”

Mentioning this, Li Huiyan was also filled with regret and a sense of loss.

Her behavior today had been generally appropriate, but the problem lay in being too appropriate and rational.

She couldn’t stand Jiang Tian’s seemingly ‘reckless’ attitude and had ultimately given up trying to persuade him, leaving his fate to chance.

When Bai Choufei arrived, she hadn’t spoken up for Jiang Tian either, but had stood by, wanting him to learn a lesson and change his arrogant and domineering nature.

If it were anyone else, it might not have mattered. But for someone of Jiang Tian’s stature, how could he not notice?

It could be said that today’s meeting didn’t bring their relationship closer; instead, it took a step back, reverting to the starting point.

“But then again, who could have imagined that the discarded son of a declining family could rise to such heights, even above the esteemed Bai Choufei?”

After lamenting this regret for a while, Li Huiyan and Guo Mengjia could only let the matter rest.

Suddenly, Li Huiyan shuddered, remembering the Cold Silkworm Gu Jiang Tian had extracted. A chill ran down her spine.

“Who on earth placed that Gu worm on me?”

Faces flashed through Li Huiyan’s mind one after another, until finally, she settled on one with delicate, charming features. Her heart skipped a beat. “It couldn’t be her, could it?”

…

The Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array was indeed remarkable. After cultivating for two more days, Jiang Tian had already broken through to the peak of the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Xueqing had also been cultivating for over a month now. The spiritual energy within her body was growing thicker. However, her Immaculate Phoenix Princess Body was like a sponge with no external input—unable to utilize even a shred of the spiritual energy.

She spent her days plucking at the White Ape Bone Lute, even to the point where her fingers bled. But not a single sound emerged, causing her to frown with worry.

“Jiang Tian, am I just incapable of cultivating? Will I never be able to play this White Ape Ancient Lute?”

Zhao Xueqing’s face was full of sorrow, her eyes slightly red.

She didn’t want to be a burden to Jiang Tian; she wanted to stand side-by-side with him.

“Don’t worry, I will definitely find the Princess Flower to help you embark on the path of cultivation as soon as possible!” Jiang Tian comforted her with a smile.

“It seems I still need to utilize my subordinates in Lingnan to help me search…”

His mind made up, Jiang Tian immediately summoned all his key people to the Villa No. 1 meeting: the magic experts like Hongye Zhenren, Tao Fangshi, and Xu Wenjie; the martial arts figures like Li Zhenwei and Qiu Gong; and the various influential figures from across Lingnan.

“I need a specific medicinal herb called the Princess Flower. I wonder if any of you have heard of it?”

After the initial greetings, Jiang Tian asked with a furrowed brow.