Volume Two: Anbei Corporation Chapter One: The Old Man Chen Chengde

Late at night, the wind disturbed the reflections of twin moons on the lake’s surface. Li Yu closed the window, then retrieved the puppet replica from the system.

“These next few days, just stay in the room and cultivate quietly,” Li Yu instructed in a low voice.

He had recently suffered serious injuries after the kidnapping, so leaving the puppet here posed no risk of arousing suspicion. Now, with Blue Star and the other world’s time ratio at 1:10, Li Yu had worried that spending even half a day on Blue Star might result in urgent matters requiring his presence in the other world. But with an ‘intelligent’ puppet at hand, he felt reassured.

The puppet replica replied, “Yes, Master.”

Li Yu gave a few more reminders, then relaxed, focusing his thoughts and returning to Blue Star.

“…Daytime,” Li Yu glanced outside, changed clothes back to Blue Star attire, and grabbed his power bank before heading out.

He sent messages to several auction houses—he still needed to confirm the proceeds from the recent sales.

Fortunately, he was an eighth-tier cultivator, so his need for sleep had diminished considerably.

“Master, please go to a nearby auction house,” Li Yu said as he stepped out and found a taxi.

“Alright, any particular one?” the driver asked.

Li Yu didn’t look up. “Any will do.” He’d consigned ginseng to several local auction houses, so whichever he visited would be fine.

His fingers moved swiftly over his phone. Huang Xiu had replied to his message last night, asking if he wanted to join a high school reunion.

“Tonight?” Li Yu sent a period in reply, prompting Huang Xiu to respond instantly.

“Yes, tonight. Some classmates might head abroad right after the exams,” Huang Xiu replied. “So everyone decided to gather tonight—afterward, we’ll all focus on our grades.”

A reunion… Rather troublesome.

Li Yu sighed, and as he was about to type out a refusal, Huang Xiu sent a crying emoji.

“We’re here, young man,” the taxi driver said.

“Thanks.”

Li Yu replied “Okay” to Huang Xiu, then scanned to pay with his phone.

Meanwhile, Huang Xiu, doing homework in the living room, received his reply and beamed, tapping on her screen. “Brother Yu is the best!”

She hadn’t wanted to attend such a meaningless event, but thought perhaps it might lift Li Yu’s spirits, so she agreed.

…

…

“Hello, over here!”

Upon entering the hall, a manager immediately greeted him—it was the same man who’d handled his ginseng consignments.

Li Yu paused, then recognized him.

“You truly are a busy man,” the manager laughed, leading Li Yu to a reception room for a brief rest. They quickly verified some documents, then transferred the remaining funds to Li Yu.

“Please check—does it look right?”

“It’s correct. I’ll be going now,” Li Yu nodded. He still had several places to collect payment, and was quite busy, so he didn’t linger.

Everything went smoothly, without any bullying from the shops. It made sense—even if Li Yu had been ‘penniless’ before, each auction house only handled one or two consignments, each worth around five million.

This income was enough to make Li Yu a millionaire—naturally, no one would give him trouble.

Arriving at the second auction house, Li Yu paused. “Ah, it’s this one?”

This was the fifth auction house he’d consigned ginseng to—the one managed by the elderly man in a blue robe whose avatar was his pretty granddaughter. Li Yu recalled that the elder had invited him to an internal auction a few days ago, but at that time, he couldn’t travel freely between worlds.

It was a pity he declined—he was quite curious about Blue Star’s auctions.

Shaking his head, Li Yu entered.

“Hello, I consigned ginseng here before. Is your manager available?” The hall was busy, so Li Yu approached a staff member.

“Yes, yes, but the manager is with someone right now. Would you care to rest here first?”

“Alright.” Li Yu agreed.

He hadn’t made an appointment, so waiting was reasonable. He wasn’t pressed for time.

Led by the staff, he walked to the reception room beside the manager’s office. As she opened the door, she found several people inside.

She paused, then apologized, “Sorry, I didn’t realize there were people here.”

There were no other guests scheduled today—the staff was puzzled. Normally, she’d have knocked. Would this mistake cost her a deduction in wages?

Many clients value privacy, and complaints could lead to penalties.

“We can go elsewhere. If need be, the sofas in the hall are fine,” Li Yu offered, noticing the staff’s hesitation and assuming there were no seats left.

“Is that you, young friend?” someone inside called out—a man in a blue robe stepped forward.

“It’s you?” Li Yu was surprised to see the elder here, but then realized this was his family’s business, so it was perfectly normal.

“Come in, come in, let me introduce you to a few people,” Chen Chengde said heartily, pulling Li Yu into the room without giving him a chance to resist.

Li Yu tried to pull away, but Chen Chengde’s grip was like iron, as strong as the robust youths of Stone Village.

At first, it seemed normal for an elder to be healthy, but the comparison was unusual. Though Stone Village had no divine cultivators or even ninth-tier martial artists, the villagers could toss boulders as easily as toys.

Yet here was an elderly man on Blue Star with similar strength—could this be the prototype for martial artists in wuxia novels?

Li Yu considered, then stopped resisting, letting the elder pull him inside. Clearly, Blue Star had its peculiarities—he was suddenly intrigued.

“This kid is no ordinary person!” Chen Chengde thought the same. When he reached out, he felt Li Yu’s instinctive resistance, like a bull struggling, but it soon ceased, letting himself be led. Considering the precious ginseng at auction, and the sudden spike in hundred-year ginseng sales in the city, he knew it was Li Yu’s doing.

“Which family does he belong to? Such wealth and generosity?” Chen Chengde sighed. He earned more than ten million a year, but couldn’t produce even three ginsengs for cultivation.

These treasures for qi and blood cultivation were monopolized by powerful families.

That’s why he was so focused on Li Yu—hoping to connect with the family behind him.

“We’ve met several times, but I’ve never properly introduced myself,” Chen Chengde said, seating Li Yu. “I am Chen Chengde.”

Such an introduction felt odd—reminding Li Yu of troublesome students in middle school who loved to declare their names, then say, “I run this place,” or “Ask around, see who I am.”

Noticing Li Yu’s lackluster response, Chen Chengde hesitated, then added, “I do have some reputation here in S City.”

“…”

Li Yu replied, “Li Yu.”