After escaping Lin Jiahuan's encirclement, Cheng Minglang and I galloped through the open wilderness like lightning.
After an unknown amount of time running...
Only when there was no longer any sound from behind us did we sneak back onto the main road via a small path beside the wilderness.
The advantage of being in a big city like Songhu is that no matter where you go, as long as there is a proper road, you can likely hail a taxi.
After getting into a taxi, I asked the driver to drive forward for a while to see.
After confirming that there were no tails following us, I then had the driver head towards our true destination.
On the way to our destination, I received a call from Helian Shan.
On the phone, Helian Shan told me that because Uncle Tuo had died in the hospital and had no family members with him, the hospital had directly issued a death certificate and asked him to hire a funeral vehicle to take the body directly to the crematorium for cremation.
Helian Shan said that he was now driving Uncle Tuo's ashes towards Anhai, planning to buy a burial plot for Uncle Tuo at Tianfu Garden in Anhai and bury the ashes there.
"Brother Shan, thank you for your trouble!"
"After I find out all my remaining enemies and settle scores with them one by one, I will return to pay respects to Uncle Tuo!" I said to Helian Shan on the other end of the phone, forcing myself to suppress my heavy heart.
Upon hearing this, Helian Shan fell into silent contemplation. After a long while, he finally spoke, "Xiangzi, I didn't stop you before because I was also angry at the time!"
"After you left, I regretted it! Fortunately, Minglang is with you, otherwise, I was really afraid..."
At this point, Helian Shan suddenly stopped and didn't continue.
I knew that Brother Shan was afraid I wouldn't return.
But he didn't know that the moment I walked out of the emergency room, I had already cast my own life aside.
Without Uncle Tuo, there would be no me today.
Therefore, even if the path ahead was a sea of knives and flames, I would never retreat!
After an unknown amount of time...
"The path to avenge Mingshui is a road of no return, fraught with thorns!"
"Once you embark on this path, there is no turning back!"
"Either you cut through the thorns and reach the end, or you fall halfway to the destination!"
"Xiangzi, have you... really thought it through?"
As he asked this, Helian Shan's tone suddenly became grave.
"When I came out, I had already prepared for the worst."
"Don't worry, Brother Shan! I won't force it!"
"To do what is known to be impossible is the act of a fool! I will find the truth of the matter in my own way and avenge Uncle Tuo!" I replied firmly.
Hearing my words, Helian Shan first let out a sigh of relief, then quickly said, "From now on, Minglang will follow you!"
"With him, I can be a little more at ease."
"I will take care of things here in Anhai. If there's anything you can't handle, I'll do it for you."
After thinking carefully, I replied, "Brother Shan, I don't have anything to do in Anhai for now. It's just..."
"Can you tell me about the Qianwang Ling and Uncle Tuo's nemesis?"
I thought that at this point, Helian Shan would definitely not hide anything, but unexpectedly, he directly said, "Who told you about the Qianwang Ling?"
Upon hearing this, I recounted everything that had happened when I went to Tianqi Tower.
After listening to me, Helian Shan remained silent for a long time.
It wasn't until I kept calling out "Hello, hello" that Helian Shan seemed to snap back to attention.
After coming to his senses, Helian Shan said in a deep voice, "Xiangzi, I haven't seen the Qianwang Ling you mentioned. And it... is not with me!"
"Mingshui said that I am not a member of the Qianmen, and if he entrusted this item to me for safekeeping, it would likely cause trouble."
"So, if you want to know more about the Qianwang Ling, go find Mingshui's old flame."
"There are not many people Mingshui confided in, and his old flame is definitely one of them!"
"And the other party was also a member of the Qianmen before."
"If I'm not mistaken, Mingshui's Qianwang Ling is most likely kept by his old flame."
"His old flame's name is Yun Jin, and she is from Xingjia City, Zhejiang Province. After leaving the Qianmen, she opened a Yun Jin Club there."
"As for the name of that nemesis..."
He paused, and after the sound of a lighter igniting a cigarette, Helian Shan spoke again, "To be honest, I don't know his surname or given name."
"You know how Mingshui talks."
"He'll tell you what you need to know, and if you ask about what you don't need to know, he'll consider you nosy! But..."
"Once, when we were eating supper and had too much to drink, he said this about that nemesis."
"'A heart that cannot be warmed by fire, a wild wolf that cannot be tamed! If I had known that guy was an ungrateful wolf, I would never have kept him by my side!'"
"Later, when I asked Mingshui who he was talking about, he just made up an excuse and brushed it off."
"Xiangzi, this is all I know."
"As for other matters, you'll have to investigate them yourself!"
After chatting with Helian Shan for a while longer, I hung up the phone.
Although I didn't know the true purpose of the Qianwang Ling, judging by Lin Zhenbei's eagerness for it, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Instead of me passively searching for them, it would be better to try to retrieve the Qianwang Ling from Uncle Tuo's old flame first, and then wait for them to come looking for me one by one.
In my opinion, since even the greedy but timid Lin Zhenbei was still thinking about the so-called Qianwang Ling, this item must be like the Heaven Reliant Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," a top-tier treasure.
Even if it couldn't command the world, it would at least drive the members of the Qianmen and Landao crazy!
With this in mind, I immediately told the taxi driver to change course for Xingjia City, Zhejiang Province.
Although the driver was eager to finish his shift and seemed quite reluctant, he eventually stepped on the gas and sped off after I added an extra 200 yuan...
Ten o'clock that night.
Upon arriving in Xingjia City, I didn't take Cheng Minglang directly to the Yun Jin Club. Instead, we first found a hotel to stay in.
As the saying goes: haste makes waste!
Since Uncle Tuo had entrusted the Qianwang Ling to his old flame Yun Jin for safekeeping during his lifetime, he must have intended to get it back someday.
But a dead person is like a extinguished lamp, and no one can guarantee that if Yun Jin hears about Uncle Tuo's death, she won't have other ideas.
Therefore, not only could I not approach Yun Jin as Uncle Tuo's disciple, but I also couldn't let her know my purpose.