Chapter 1: The Gujing Temple at the Foot of Mount Zhongnan (2/2)

The middle-aged man with the rusted sword got up, took the wooden bucket, and placed it at the temple’s outer door. He then turned around and returned to the Sanqing Hall. After a moment, a sharp sound came from the hall. The man returned and handed the young man a 20 cm long, rusted iron shard.

The young man stared at the half-sword in his arms and said, “Shixu, what’s the point of this?”

The middle-aged man said淡淡ly, “You’re leaving the temple, and I’ve got nothing else to give you. Besides, for me, whether the sword has a tip or not doesn’t matter.”

The old Daoist, who had been staring to the northwest, picked up the three copper coins in front of him and handed them to the young man, without saying a word. This time, the young man didn’t hesitate and accepted them. He then sat back down next to the old Daoist under the locust tree.

This time, the three didn’t return to their respective places; they sat together under the old tree.

…Two days ago, northwest of Mount Zhongnan.

Three off-road vehicles with the JiB license plates kicked up dust as they reached the foot of Mount Zhongnan. They had driven as far as they could go; to go further into the mountain, they had to walk. After the vehicles stopped, several people got out of the first two cars and stood by, bowing slightly. The last car saw a man in his fifties get out, dressed in a black, tight woolen coat, his brows furrowed, looking incredibly tired.

The middle-aged man looked at Mount Zhongnan and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He turned to the man beside him, who was about thirty, and said, “Jin Zhong, you come with me up the mountain. The others stay here.”

Jin Zhong hesitated and asked, “Boss… we should bring more people for help, the mountains…”

The boss waved his hand indifferently and said, “Just you and me. The more people, the more trouble.”

Jin Zhong knew that once his boss made a decision, there was no changing it. So, he didn’t argue. He grabbed a large travel bag from the car, slung it over his shoulder, and followed the middle-aged man up the mountain.

The two city-bred men walked for two days on the mountain paths, which were about as difficult as the Long March. Their bones felt like they were falling apart, and the exhaustion was unbearable, but neither of them uttered a word.

The more they walked towards their destination, the more relaxed the middle-aged man’s haggard expression became. As for Jin Zhong, seeing his boss suffer silently, he knew better than to complain.

Two days later, as night fell, Jin Zhong and the boss reached a mountain peak. Both of them were holding binoculars and looking northwest. Through the lenses, they could barely make out the outline of a small village. The boss exhaled deeply, and for the first time, his tense demeanor loosened. He sat down heavily on the ground, breathing heavily.

“Boss, that should be the place we’re heading to,” Jin Zhong said.

“Mount Zhongnan… people only know that Mount Zhongnan is home to hermits and the Daoist sect Quanzhen, hehe, but few know about the Gujing Temple,” the boss said as he got up, hands behind his back, walking toward the foot of the mountain. “From now on, whatever you see and hear, keep it to yourself. Don’t say a word.”

Jin Zhong was startled and paused. Even though his relationship with the boss had grown closer, his expression turned serious. He couldn’t remember the last time his boss had given anyone such a warning.

Since following his boss, no one had ever had the nerve to be warned by him.

Three and a half hours later, it was dark, but the two had quickened their pace and finally reached Gujing Village. By then, the lights in the village had all but gone out, and most families had already retired for the night. Jin Zhong and the boss didn’t stop; they headed straight for the Gujing Temple on the hill in the center of the village.

At the foot of the hill, the boss told Jin Zhong to wait below while he climbed alone to the temple. The dilapidated temple made the boss pause for a moment in doubt. Then, he resumed his normal demeanor and knocked on the crooked gate of the temple.

After a moment, a young man appeared in front of the boss. The boss didn’t hesitate and said, “Descendants of Chen Liang, your ancestors instructed that if the Chen family encounters a crisis, they should come to the Gujing Temple on Mount Zhongnan for shelter.”

The young man nodded and said, “You can find somewhere to rest. We’ll head down the mountain after dawn.”

In Hebei Tangshan, there’s a massive business empire called the Baoxin Group.

Half of the energy resources, mines, and real estate in Hebei are somehow tied to Baoxin, and it dominates the business landscape in the Jingjinji area. In recent decades, Baoxin has even expanded outside the region, but it remains a hidden presence.

Most ordinary people in China have never heard of Baoxin, nor have most businesspeople.

Baoxin is a name that stands for a conglomerate controlling dozens of companies, but fewer know that the head of Baoxin is from the Chen family. Every time the domestic rich list is released, the direct descendants of the Chen family glance at it with indifference, even with a bit of disdain.

In China, there are people whom no amount of money can get on the list, and it seems the Chen family belongs to that category.

The Chen family’s rise is little known, but some say the ancestors of the Chen family once had dealings with a Daoist during a time of war, and from that point on, the family began to show signs of rising.

As for the rest of the family, they don’t comment, neither denying nor admitting it, because most of them don’t even know how the empire was built. Only the leader of the family knows the hidden secrets.

The current head of the Chen family is named Chen Sanjin.

Standing at the foot of Mount Zhongnan, in front of the Gujing Temple!