964 Disillusioned
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“Thank you.” Miao Chengtang expressed sincere gratitude from the bottom of his heart.
Without Xu Xinyuan’s help, he had no idea what would have happened to him, or how tragic his end would have been. Not only did the older man point him to a doctor, but he had also given him some money before he left for treatment.
“Are you still in Tianjin?” Miao Chengtang asked.
“Yeah, I’m getting to ready to leave tomorrow,” Xu Xinyuan said. “I’m going to Jing.”
“Could I meet up with you for a bit?” Miao Chengtang had finally made a decision. He was about to tell Xu Xinyuan some things of greater value regarding the Valley of Thousands of Medicine.
“Sure.” Xu Xinyuan, who was on the other side of the phone, immediately agreed to it.
I think I am about to learn something quite valuable from him, Xu Xinyuan thought.
He currently had little matters of importance to attend to on his schedule. Things in He County had been quiet and calm for some time, and the experts within the county had all returned to their respective locations. He thought it was best to focus his attention on the connections he had recently made. Miao Chengtang was one of those connections.
According to conventional reasoning, he did not need to pay so much attention and spend so much money on someone that he had just “bought over.” However, Xu Xinyuan felt the man definitely knew a lot of secrets, so that man was worth the price. That was why he did his best to help. He felt that he would once again tangle with those people from the valley.
Miao Chengtang slept well that night.
All the fear and pain from before had exhausted him. With the crisis over and his shackles broken, at least for the moment, he was able to let it all go. The pain and mental stress were gone. It was quite rare for him to sleep until dawn.
In the morning, he woke up and washed his face. He thought he looked rather pale.
“Miao Xihe!” A rare sinister look was seen on his face.
The two men met at a teahouse later that morning.
Miao Chengtang felt invigorated after a good night’s rest, and he had sorted out many things.
The first thing Miao Chengtang did when they met was to express his gratitude to Xu Xinyuan. “Thank you for all your help regarding the matter this time.”
“Please, you’re being too kind,” Xu Xinyuan said with a smile.
“I’m here today to talk about our village, Brother Xu, regarding all the secrets that few know.” Miao Chengtang did not bother beating around the bush. He wanted to be forthcoming.
“Alright, sure,” Xu Xinyuan said. “Speak. I’m listening.”
Miao Chengtang spoke about the sacred medicine of Miaojiang and the legend of immortality.
All of that was only legends and stories to most people, but Xu Xinyuan knew there were probably some truths hidden within.
“Is it really possible to become immortal and immune to all diseases in this world?” Xu Xinyuan asked.
“It’s hard to say about immortality, but I know there are some in our village immune to all diseases,” Miao Chengtang said. “There has been more than one person who lived for decades and had a hard life, but they still remained healthy at more than 90 years old. There were no hints of sickness seen in them.”
“Is it that real?” Xu Xinyuan asked.
“Indeed,” Miao Chengtang replied.
“Are you talking about the Blood Orchid?” Xu Xinyuan asked.
“It works on normal people,” Miao Chengtang said. “That is one of the sacred medicines of Miaojiang. Miao Tianchuan was someone whose days were numbered. It was a death wish that drove him to return to the village to see his hometown one last time before he bit the dust. Fate had it that he chanced upon the Blood Orchid. The flowers cured him of the poisons and saved his life. His body was even further enhanced after that.”
Xu Xinyuan nodded.
Anything regarded immortality was of little interest to him. He did not need to do more than humor the ones talking about it. He deemed that there could have been any immortals in the world. The Blood Orchid, however, was a very enticing story.
“Do you know where the Blood Orchids grow?” Xu Xinyuan asked.
“That place is very secluded,” Miao Chengtang replied. “Only a handful in the village know about it. I knew the rough location, but the area is probably guarded by Miao Xihe’s men now. Getting near that place will be tough.”
“A rough location would be good enough,” Xu Xinyuan sais.
The men chatted in the teahouse for almost two hours. Miao Chengtang divulged most of the secrets he knew to Xu Xinyuan. Most of those secrets revolved around Miao Xihe.
“This Miao Xihe guy sure has his grip on a lot of things,” Xu Xinyuan said.
While he looked calm on the surface, he was quite shaken deep down. According to Miao Chengtang, Miao Xihe was at least 80 years old, yet he looked like a man in his 40s. Furthermore, his body was as fit as a leopard. Not only had he been able to dodge bullets, but the man had also been able to survive an explosion from a grenade.
Miao Xihe was immune from all manner of diseases. He was also nearly invincible and immune to all poisons. That was someone one only read about in novels or saw in movies.
“Right, what I know is probably just things at the surface,” Miao Chengtang said. “I wasn’t able to learn many things back in the village. There are many key points and matters that I never got the chance to learn.”
“Are the ones who know of such secrets all his trusted ones?”
“Miao Xihe…” Xu Xinyuan had developed a new perspective regarding the chief who lived in some remote corner.
“Thank you for telling me all of that,” he said.
“That’s the least I could do,” Miao Chengtang said. “I was holding some things back a while ago, hoping to be able to sell any pieces of information down the line. After what happened, well, forget it.” He waved his hand.
“Now, I’m having some other thoughts.”
He did not think Miao Xihe would be able to find him, at least not at a time when the festivities were so close. His men went to painstaking lengths to find him and pulled what they pulled. Worse still, they had almost succeeded. Anything regarding a stable life from then on out was little more than a pipe dream. He now realized that the relationship between him and Miao Xihe was one that needed one of them dead. He and Miao Tianchuan were similar in that regard.
“You’ll be in danger getting in touch with me,” Miao Chengtang said to Xu Xinyuan.
He had no idea if those people from the village were still in the city watching him and finding out who he was having contact with.
“If that’s what you’re worried about, I can tell you that no one is watching us now,” Xu Xinyuan said.
Be it medicines, poisons, or bug curses, he paled in comparison to the likes of Miao Chengtang. When it came to observing and tracking targets, scouting, and assassinations, he was the expert. While there were people able to spy on him, it definitely was not happening at the moment. He was confident of that much.
“Right.” Miao Chengtang nodded. He was still rather worried. First, he was not all that familiar with Xu Xinyuan. He did not know what the other man had done in the past or what he was capable of. Second, he knew what people from the village were capable of. He knew how terrifying they were. He was worried about himself, and he was worried about Miao Qingyuan’s family.
“Do you have anything else to talk about?” Xu Xinyuan asked.
“That is all,” Miao Chengtang said. “Thank you.”
“Alright, it’s about time I leave as well. Happy Lunar New Year in advance.”
“Thank you, Happy Lunar New Year to you and your family.”
After he left the teahouse, Xu Xinyuan went to his place in Tianjin. He compiled everything he had gotten from Miao Chengtang before calling Guo Zhenghe in He County to brief the young man about things in Tianjin.
“Uncle Xu, do you think you can trust what he says?” Guo Zhenghe asked.
“I had my doubts a while ago. Now, I’m 80 percent into believing him wholeheartedly,” Xu Xinyuan replied. It was obvious that he did not completely trust the other man.
“Right, acknowledged,” Guo Zhenghe said. “The festivities are around the corner. When will you be coming back to Jing?”
“I’m planning to head back there today,” Xu Xinyuan said. “What about you, Sir? Are you spending the Lunar New Year in He County?”
“I need to stick around these parts. With so much happening during the past year, it just feels wrong being elsewhere.” Guo Zhenghe sighed. He felt exasperated. He wanted to return to Jing and spend time with his parents. However, it was impossible for him to do so at the moment. He was still the person-in-charge in He County. Furthermore, it was still his first year working there. Even if there were no more incidents, he needed to stay around regardless, especially given how so much had already happened in He County. If he returned at such a moment, one could easily imagine what his superiors would think of him. Besides, his father needed to remain back in Qi Province during the festivities all the same.
“How about I head over and keep you company?” Xu Xinyuan asked.
“There’s no need for that,” Guo Zhenghe quickly replied. “Just stay back in Jing and be around your family.”
It was a holiday that needed to be celebrated with one’s family. Furthermore, it would have looked weird for a grown old man like Xu Xinyuan to keep him company.
“I’ll be fine on my own here,” Guo Zhenghe said.
“Good to hear. Happy Lunar New Year.”
“I wish you a Happy Lunar New Year with your family,” Guo Zhenghe said with a smile.
Xu Xinyuan was a capable agent and a rare talent. Guo Zhenghe paid close attention to keeping such people close.
Guo Zhenghe looked outside and said, “It looks like I’ll be spending the new year alone.”
“I guess there’s a first for everything.”
He lit a cigarette and watched the small, quiet county town outside. He thought about the conversation he had with Xu Xinyuan moments ago.
That place sure is interesting.
He had quite a lasting impression about the Valley of Thousands of Medicine, and it was quite a bad one. One way or another, Miao Tianchuan emerged from the valley, and outsiders were brought into their infighting because they were unable to settle their internal disputes effectively. He County was immersed in due to the harrowing cases that were caused by the fighting. One way or another, it all came from the valley. The incidents soiled his political career. They made him look less than perfect, which was why he was rather pissed about it.
“I sure hope nothing happens during the Lunar New Year,” Guo Zhenghe said.
When there was a first, there was bound to be a second, a third, and more coming after that.
There were people who would not hesitate to cross any line.
Two men were at an abandoned house in the rural parts of He County.
“New year, eh.” Miao Qingshan sighed.
“Yeah, new year.”
It was the most important holiday in the country. After toiling for one whole year, that holiday marked the end of the past year and the beginning of the new year.
Families gathered. Joy and happiness were everywhere.
“Do you want to get something to eat?”
“Eat?” Miao Qingshan was dumbfounded.
“He-he, whatever.” He chuckled.
At such moments, what he wanted to eat most was food from the village. Those had been the things he had grown up eating.
…