Bi Zhengxiang picked up a cup of tea and took a slow sip. After putting down the teacup, he spoke, "I didn't have much contact with Professor Zhao Chengyuan. We met a few times before because of your father. Since you already know many things, I won't hide anything from you..."
According to him, when he first contacted me, upon learning my name and origin, he had already guessed that my father was Xiang Tian.
The reason he didn't tell me about my father was mainly because he had promised my father not to speak of their acquaintance to anyone.
It was precisely because he knew I was Xiang Tian's son that he took such good care of me afterward and told me to find him if I needed anything.
Now that I think about it, my thoughts back then were truly too simple.
At that time, I thought I had helped Bi Zhengxiang, so he owed me a favor, which was why he took such good care of me later. I never expected there to be another layer of meaning to it.
"Old man, how did you know my father?" I asked.
"My father and I became acquainted through antiques, naturally. I've always enjoyed collecting; anything I liked, I would acquire at all costs. Because of this, I was fooled many times when I was young. At that time, I wished to find an appraisal expert to help me assess items. I scouted many people, and eventually, I found your father."
As he spoke, a trace of reminiscence appeared in his eyes. "I still remember, your father wasn't a very sociable person back then. He was quite arrogant, and his words were very impolite. But it was precisely this kind of personality that made me believe he must be a capable person... Later, it proved that I hadn't misjudged him at all. Every item that your father appraised was never a bad deal."
"And so, your father became my exclusive appraisal expert. We cooperated very happily, and gradually became friends. Until later, when he went with Zhao Chengyuan to find the Suihou Pearl and returned, he ran into trouble..."
"What trouble?" I asked.
Bi Zhengxiang sighed, "He was the first person to come into contact with the Suihou Pearl, according to him. The Suihou Pearl was definitely not from this world. The patterns on it and the traces of time left behind were incompatible with this world... He also discovered that he seemed to have contracted a disease. Initially, I even found acquaintances and arranged for him to have a full body check-up, but the final result was that he had contracted a mutated form of cancer..."
"Cancer?" I was stunned for a moment.
Bi Zhengxiang nodded. "Yes, cancer. After that, your father bid me farewell and returned to his hometown, and we