Chapter 96: My Son-in-law Is Not Ordinary

Jiang Island was a small isle situated on Dongping Lake, the largest lake in the central river region. North of River City, it lay at the intersection of three cities. Owing to its tranquil environment and breathtaking scenery, it had been developed into what was publicized as a paradise on the island but, in reality, was nothing more than a den of extravagance and vice.

Here, all manner of luxury amenities were available; beyond gourmet food and drink, there were saunas, steam rooms, artificial hot springs, and every conceivable service. Its facilities were in no way inferior to those found in the city, and the island frequently hosted thrilling events. Most importantly, one could indulge freely here without fear of anyone from home coming to look for them. Thus, men of status and family often favored this place for their amusements.

In one of the sauna rooms, a few corpulent older men lounged, each wrapped in a towel about their waists, eyes half-closed, engaged in idle, languid conversation.

Among them was Shen Chengde, Chen Yuyi’s father-in-law.

Beside him sat Bao Kui and his son.

The father and son were notable for their thick, dark chest hair, which was quite a sight, and their muscular frames exuded a wild, animalistic aura, making them seem almost lupine in nature.

The others present were likewise men of wealth and standing in River City—some about Shen Chengde’s age, others a bit younger. Young masters had their circles, and the elders had theirs; this was Shen Chengde’s usual social group.

“Master Shen, are you sure you’ll be able to pay back the five million I lend you by tomorrow?” It was Master Miao who spoke—himself from a prominent family in River City and an acquaintance of Shen Chengde since childhood. The Shen family had fallen on hard times, but the Miaos remained prosperous, so Shen often turned to his old friend for help in moments of financial urgency.

This time, Shen’s original intention in coming to Jiang Island had been to coax his wealthy son-in-law to join him, but the son-in-law had no interest. Shen had been prepared to give up, but when he contacted Bao Kui, Bao mentioned someone and promised to lend him several million. That was all Shen needed to hear—elated, he could not stay home a moment longer.

The person Bao Kui mentioned was a beauty Shen had been thinking about for some time. Unable to resist, he came without delay, planning to act first and explain later. After all, he believed that if there was ever any trouble, a single phone call to his wealthy son-in-law would solve it. With that assurance, his courage swelled, and he indulged himself with reckless abandon.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. He lost every bet at the fighting pit, quickly squandering all the millions Bao Kui had lent him. On top of that, a stunning young woman had joined his entourage, and her upkeep was costly. Thus, he decided to borrow from his old friend again, planning to call on his son-in-law for rescue once he’d thoroughly enjoyed himself.

As for the beautiful woman—she was perhaps the main reason for his visit. Introduced by Bao Kui, she was charming and attentive, skilled at pleasing men. Shen had met her once or twice before but had never taken action, though she had lingered in his thoughts. This time, Bao Kui, perceptive to his desires, arranged for her to serve Shen exclusively, granting him pleasures he’d never known before. He felt a renewed vigor and spent money like water.

“Five million? Even if it were a hundred million, my son-in-law could cover it!” Shen said with some pride, having seen with his own eyes Chen Yuyi’s bank card with a balance of two billion.

“Didn’t your family take in a poor son-in-law? When did he become wealthy? If that’s true, your family should soon regain its former glory!” Master Miao replied, smiling faintly, his eyes betraying a hint of mockery. He did not believe for a second that Shen’s son-in-law was so rich.

“Well, I can’t give you five million. But for the sake of our friendship, I’ll lend you three million. But you must pay it back within three days, or I’ll come to your house myself,” Miao continued.

Shen was momentarily taken aback. He glanced at Master Miao and thought, “Miao Muqiao always looks down on people, but three million is better than nothing.”

He shook his head and sighed, saying, “Master Miao, my son-in-law is no ordinary man. Even the Yan family of Shangdu—ah, forget it, you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you. Tomorrow I’ll find a way to bring him here, then you’ll see for yourselves just how extraordinary he is.”

The other gentlemen merely shook their heads, thinking, “Not only has Shen Chengde taken to chasing women in his old age, now he’s become a braggart as well.”

Bao Kui, intrigued, couldn’t help but ask, “Master Shen, what connection does your son-in-law have with the Yan family in Shangdu?”

Shen glanced at Bao Kui, then swept his gaze over the group. Since they were all old acquaintances, he spoke freely, “I don’t know what connection they have, but the other day Yan Shouzhong himself came to our house to meet my son-in-law, and personally handed him a bank card with two billion on it!”

Laughter erupted at once.

“Master Shen, when did your jokes become so outrageous? You’ll have us laughing ourselves to death!” a few of the men cried, nearly choking with mirth.

Master Miao shook his head, “Brother Shen, I’ve already agreed to lend you money—why keep up the act? Are you dissatisfied with the amount? Fine, I’ll add another two million, just stop with the tall tales, or even I’ll be embarrassed for you.”

“What, none of you believe me?” Shen looked about, sighing again, now all the more determined to bring his wealthy son-in-law here so they could see for themselves.

“Why would Yan Shouzhong give your son-in-law two billion?” Bao Kui was skeptical, but he had indeed seen Yan visit the Shen family that day, so he couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

His son Bao Wu sneered from the side, “You think the Yan family would just give that penniless son-in-law two billion for no reason? Master Shen, you must be dreaming.”

Bao Kui quickly shot his son a look, signaling him to hold his tongue.

If not for the fact that this father and son had treated him well—often lending him money and introducing him to beautiful women—Shen would have been offended. Before, when he hadn’t known his son-in-law was so wealthy, he wouldn’t have cared about such remarks. But now, even he needed to curry favor with his rich son-in-law, so he was in no mood to tolerate disparagement.

“Believe it or not, it’s the truth!”

“Alright, let’s drop the subject,” Master Miao interjected, seeing the atmosphere grow tense.

“I heard something big happened yesterday!” At that moment, a slightly younger newcomer to their group spoke up, steering the conversation in a new direction.

“What big news could there be in River City?” Master Miao leaned back, unmoved by so-called major events.

“I’ve heard about it too—you mean the Zhenren, right?” another man chimed in.

At the mention of the Zhenren, some of the men grew genuinely interested, for they had all heard of Master Zhong’s reputation.

Having been cloistered on the island for several days, indulging themselves, they hadn’t paid any attention to the news outside. If the newcomer hadn’t mentioned it, they wouldn’t have bothered to ask.

“I had planned to visit the Zhenren, but in the end the temptations of Jiang Island won out, so here I am. What could possibly have happened?”

“Lucky for you! You might have lost your life if you’d gone!” the younger man replied, half jesting.

“What happened? Was there trouble on the Zhenren?” Master Miao was now curious.

Bao Kui’s expression flickered slightly, as if he’d known about the incident on the Zhenren for some time, but had kept silent.

“You’d never guess—even in your wildest dreams—that Master Zhong turned out to be a charlatan, a fiend who harmed many!”

“What exactly happened, Brother Zhu? Stop keeping us in suspense!” some began to protest impatiently.

“Fortunately we never believed in such things—otherwise we’d have been gravely ill. I hear that anyone who wore those so-called talismans of Master Zhong’s is now either comatose or seriously sick. It turns out those ‘talismans’ were cursed objects, bringing disaster to all who used them!”

“Is that possible?” More than one man stood up in shock, for those talismans had once fetched astronomical prices.

“That’s not all. Do you know—a whole boatload of people died on the Zhenren. The authorities have already suppressed the news. I only know because I have a relative who was on board,” Zhu said smugly, as if such insider information was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

“What actually happened?”

“To put it simply, Master Zhong was a villain, using everyone on the ship in his wicked rituals. Luckily, some people from River City were saved by the intervention of an immortal master, but those who spent too long aboard were not so fortunate—they all perished at Zhong’s hands.”

“An immortal master?”