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Chapter 599 - Face To Face
Lu Juren knew what the theater meant to his father. His father had been talking about the same thing over and over again to him ever since he was an infant.
It went so out of hand that rather than saying "Mother" and "Father" for his first word, the infant Lu Juren said "theater" instead.
Lu Zhuangyuan's lifelong goal was suddenly realized, and it was all thanks to someone gifting them a theater. At this point, Lu Zhuangyuan only had one thing he could do—fritter away time until his death.
Listening to his explanation, Luo Juanhua scowled and said, “Hah. I think your father is just being annoying. Who wouldn’t enjoy life if given a vast supply of money? How about you tell him to start traveling again? Maybe he'll feel better moving around.”
Lu Juren said nothing; he was too engrossed in his own thoughts, thinking about what he could make his father do. Otherwise, Lu Juren was afraid that his father would go crazy one day.
“Xiu’er, come here. Don't eat too much rice; here, eat some meat, too. It's going to fill you up as well,” Luo Juanhua said to her daughter.
Just then, someone familiar entered their house, and they were none other than Lu Xiucai.
Upon entering the dining hall, Lu Xiucai didn't even greet his brother and sister-in-law before snatching his own niece’s rice bowl.
“Xiucai? Why are you here? Did you not bring your wife with you to follow the Daoist to Cowheart Village for the sake of cultivating?” Lu Juren asked, surprised by Lu Xiucai's return. He could still remember how adamant Lu Xiucai was when it came to learning a few techniques from the Daoist when they were leaving Shangjing. He had tried his best to convince Lu Xiucai against it, but the latter hadn't listened to him at all.
Lu Xiucai drank a huge mouthful of the egg soup to wash down the meat in his mouth. Breathing in ragged pants, he turned to Lu Juren and explained, “Master was abducted by a group of people! I’ve come here to ask Simpleton to rescue him!”
“Huh? Who's strong enough to abduct the Daoist?” Lu Zhuangyuan asked, looking shocked while holding his smoke pipe. No one had any idea when he had returned, but it didn't matter at this point.
“Ah, you're not going to understand just how strong they were. The six of them formed an array, and one of them was even a half-Immortal! There must've been a mastermind behind it. They had treasures that I’d never seen before, and my Master was abducted just like that. I'm going to leave after this lunch! I have to find Gao Zhijian and ask him to send people to rescue Master!” Lu Xiucai exclaimed. He grabbed a few pieces of steamed chicken drenched in scallion oil and stuffed them directly into his mouth.
“No! You can’t go there!" Lu Zhuangyuan exclaimed, and he waved his smoke pipe so fast that afterimages seemed to appear in the air. "Even the Daoist couldn't deal with them, so wouldn't that mean that you'll be seeking your own death?!”
However, his words fell on deaf ears.
Lu Xiucai slammed his hand on the table and shouted, “What do you know?! I’m his disciple! I must help Master now that he's in danger! I'm sure he's going to teach me a technique or two as a gesture of gratitude toward me!
“Moreover, I'm his one and only disciple. Once he becomes an Immortal, he'll entrust everything to me! Anyway, stop belittling me as well! I’ve gotten way stronger after cultivating with Master!”
Just then, a loud commotion resembling hoofbeats echoed outside. Lu Xiucai smiled and immediately grabbed a braised goose plate before running out of the house. “I didn't expect Simpleton to organize a rescue team this quick!”
“Brat!" Lu Zhungyuan exclaimed anxiously. He jumped up to his feet and shouted, "Step outside that door, and you will no longer be family!”
Lu Xiucai ran out of the door without any hesitation.
“Hmph! Who cares about being a performer at the bottom of society? Once Master becomes an Immortal, you people better not be expecting that I'll bring all of you with me to the heights of success!”
*** “Li Huowang? Li Huowang?” someone asked repeatedly while snapping their fingers before Li Huowang.
Soon, Li Huowang woke up, and he immediately realized that he was being restrained with a straitjacket. However, Li Huowang was not surprised at all. He knew this would happen. To make matters worse, they had even attached a steel nuzzle to Li Huowang's mouth as if they were afraid of Li Huowang biting their necks apart.
“Have you calmed down? Can we finally talk?” Wu Cheng asked, standing in front of Li Huowang with a tablet in hand.
Li Huowang stared at Wu Cheng before saying, “I know you're working with Wang Wei, but who’s the person behind you two? Why does he need lifespan pills? Is he going to die soon and has decided to bet on me? Maybe he's testing me to see whether I can bring something even more dangerous from that side to this side.”
Wu Cheng didn't react to Li Huowang's words. Instead, he pressed one of his Bluetooth earphones and calmly said, “Director, this is brand-new. It’s different from Yi Donglai’s thesis. Yes, I understand. I will handle it.”
After talking to someone through the tablet in his hand, Wu Cheng finally stared at Li Huowang.
“Li Huowang, did you know that Yi Donglai was actually experimenting on you? At this rate, you'll inevitably become crazy.”
Wu Cheng pointed at himself and said, “Trust me. Do as I say, and you'll live a better life.”
“Hehe, so you've decided to show your true colors? Why should I trust you? How many times are you going to try and trick me? I shouldn’t trust Yi Donglai but trust you guys instead?” Li Huowang asked, chuckling.
“You have no choice but to listen to me. You are in our hands, and Yi Donglai is not here.”
The flickering red light coming from the camera abruptly disappeared. Wu Cheng then took out a taser and pressed it against Li Huowang.
Bzzt!
A buzzing noise echoed.
Li Huowang convulsed uncontrollably upon getting tased, but he was still smiling as he said, “Do you really think that you can force me to comply using that little thing? Are you looking down on me?”
The current became even stronger, but Li Huowang laughed even louder in response. He laughed and laughed until the taser ran out of battery.
“Come on, continue. Kill me if you dare, or I will skin you alive when I regain my freedom.”
Li Huowang knew that they wouldn’t dare kill him, as they needed him to receive lifespan pills.
Wu Cheng looked a bit angry, but he quickly calmed down. He tapped on the tablet, and a video was played in front of Li Huowang.
The video depicted a subway station. A tired-looking young woman was playing with her phone with a sling bag across her chest.
Li Huowang's pupils quivered upon seeing the young woman's jade earring. He could still remember that jade earring, as it was something he had given to her as a gift.
“Her name is Yang Na, am I right? I heard that she’s your childhood friend. I know you're a lunatic and that you're immune to pain. However, what if the pain that you're supposed to take was inflicted on her instead?"
Li Huowang was silent.
Wu Cheng smiled and continued, “Cooperate with us. This is going to be better than Yi Donglai’s crazed nonsense. You have an unprecedented ability, so it would be a shame to hide it. Also, you're not losing anything at all. In fact, you're going to earn a ton of profit. You won't be locked up here, and you can have money, including women, money, and fame."
Just then, Li Huowang looked up, and he sounded unnaturally calm as he said, “I don’t want to talk to a chess pawn. I want to talk to the person behind you.”