"Yunlong, you were in poor health before, so I never dared to burden you. This ti I wanted to take advantage of my trip to Jiangnan Province to introduce Dongxu to you and have him take a look at you, but it seems we had the sa idea," with no outsiders present, Elder Feng spoke candidly to his forr beloved subordinate, Sang Yunlong, on the way to Changxi County, smiling as he spoke.
Ge Dongxu had already told Elder Feng about Sang Yunlong's situation on the way there.
"Thank you, Chief, for your concern!" Sang Yunlong's eyes reddened slightly.
"You need to be ntally prepared to take on heavy responsibilities," Elder Feng said with sincere gravity.
"Yes!" Upon hearing this, Sang Yunlong imdiately straightened up to stand at attention.
"Sit down, sit down, this is a car you're in!" Elder Feng laughed.
Sang Yunlong then scratched his head and sat back down.
The police car led the way, and soon their vehicle exited the highway at Ouzhou City.
At the exit, Ouzhou City's leaders were waiting, but Elder Feng, seeing them, not only showed no sign of happiness but rather frowned slightly and did not signal to stop the car.
As a result, under the escort of the police car, they drove straight on.
"Tell them not to bother coming to Changxi County. I won't et with them even if they do," Elder Feng told Sang Yunlong.
Sang Yunlong knew Elder Feng's temperant well and nodded. Then he personally made a phone call to the Ouzhou City Party Committee Secretary and conveyed Elder Feng's ssage to him.
...
Although Ge Dongxu always went to worship Ren Yao through the mountain road that passes Ge Family Village, in fact, taking the path from another village called Yunyang Village at the foot of Baiyun Mountain was closer and the road was better.
Hence, Ge Dongxu chose the route through Yunyang Village.
Of course, the main reason Ge Dongxu chose the route through Yunyang Village was that he didn't want to cause a stir in Ge Family Village and disturb his parents' peaceful and happy lives.
Elder Feng's route had been set before departure, so when he arrived at Yunyang Village, security asures were already well in place, and Changxi County's two top leaders had been anxiously waiting there for so ti.
The news that Elder Feng had declined to et with Ouzhou City leaders had already reached the ears of Changxi County's top two officials, Secretary Jia Kai and Mayor Peng Jin.
The provincial governnt's stance was also clear: Elder Feng was truly on a private visit this ti, and they should avoid disturbing him as much as possible.
But the problem was, Changxi County was their jurisdiction after all, and how could local officials like Peng Jin and Jia Kai honestly ignore his presence and calmly work in their offices?
In the end, with so trepidation, they still ca up to Baiyun Mountain, deciding that other county leaders were not permitted to join.
Elder Feng could understand the feelings of Peng Jin and Jia Kai. At the foot of the mountain, he still t them, shook their hands, offered a few words of encouragent, and then told them to return to their work and not to waste ti there.
The anxious hearts of Peng Jin and Jia Kai finally settled, but as they retreated, they saw Elder Feng walking up Baiyun Mountain, chatting leisurely with a young man. Sang Yunlong and Zheng Zijie were trailing behind, their minds filled with shock, unable to fathom the young man's identity.
If the young man was one of Elder Feng's grandsons, in such a situation Sang Yunlong, as a local senior official and landlord, should have been the one accompanying Elder Feng, with the young man following at the side.
But if he wasn't Elder Feng's grandson, then who was he? So young, yet able to walk alongside Elder Feng, casually talking with him?
Peng Jin and Jia Kai couldn't figure it out, and of course, soone of Elder Feng's level was far too out of their league. Since they couldn't make sense of it, they didn't ponder further and certainly never thought of inquiring or investigating the young man's identity.
Joking aside, how could they even consider probing into the affairs of soone close to Elder Feng?
Elder Feng's true purpose this ti, apart from those by his side, was probably only known to Ge Dongxu and Sang Yunlong in the entire Jiangnan Province, because Elder Feng and Ge Dongxu both harbored the sa intention: not wanting anyone to disturb Ren Yao's peace.
As they neared the small Taoist temple and graveyard where Ren Yao once lived, everyone stopped in their tracks, and the security detail dispersed, leaving only Elder Feng and Ge Dongxu to continue forward.
This was because Elder Feng's head of security had seen Ge Dongxu's capabilities during a reunion dinner last ti and knew he was very skilled; otherwise, they definitely wouldn't have allowed only Ge Dongxu to accompany Elder Feng forward.
"Actually, with you here, there's no need for all this trouble. Sotis, being in a high position also ans you have no control over your life! Your way of living is better," Elder Feng said, glancing back at the guards who were looking around vigilantly, and then spoke to Ge Dongxu.
"No matter how capable I am, I'm just an individual, whereas you are involved with the state itself; that's different," Ge Dongxu said.
"If you said that to Yunlong and the others, they would certainly agree because they don't understand you. But I know that sooner or later your abilities, even your wealth, will be sufficient to influence the state. It's fortunate that you're a simple and kind child, so your senior brother is very reassured," Elder Feng said.
"That's still limited, after all," Ge Dongxu said modestly.
"Really?" Elder Feng looked at Ge Dongxu, his cloudy old eyes shining with penetrating insight and wisdom.
Facing Elder Feng's gaze, Ge Dongxu awkwardly smiled and didn't answer.
Ge Dongxu didn't know how powerful a cultivator of the Dragon Tiger Realm was, but based on his current strength, he deduced that once he stepped into the Dragon Tiger Realm, it would probably take a powerful army to eliminate him.
Yet, the Dragon Tiger Realm was legend for the current Qin; no one believed that in this world, there were still cultivators existing in the Dragon Tiger Realm, nor that anyone in this Dharma Ending Age could step into it.
But Ge Dongxu was certain that he would definitely be able to step into the Dragon Tiger Realm.
This wasn't blind confidence, but born from Ge Hong's heritage, his re-understanding of natural sciences, his innate talent in cultivation, and his practice progress over these three years, all of which provided Ge Dongxu with imnse confidence in reaching the Dragon Tiger Realm!
The only uncertainty for Ge Dongxu was how long it would take to step into the Dragon Tiger Realm—whether it would be three to five years, more than a decade, or even longer.
Once he stepped into the Dragon Tiger Realm, the next stage would be the Golden Core Stage.
That was the legendary land immortal; once soone reached the Golden Core Stage, it might require nuclear weapons just to eliminate them.
But the Golden Core Stage was still too far off for the current Ge Dongxu; however, it wasn't intangible.
So, even though Ge Dongxu had no hopes for the Golden Core Stage, what Elder Feng had said wasn't wrong at all.
In the not-too-distant future, he was destined to be a figure capable of influencing the safety and security of the state!
Seeing Ge Dongxu not answering him, Elder Feng's slightly hunched thin body shook a little, and after a long silence, he said, "You should have continued to firmly disagree."
"I am a law-abiding good citizen! I am also a patriotic good citizen!" Ge Dongxu said, seemingly off-topic but with a candid look in his eyes.
"Regarding what was said just now, it's enough that I, your senior brother, know it," Elder Feng said after looking at Ge Dongxu for a long ti and then smiling.
"I know," Ge Dongxu replied.
Apart from himself, no one could truly know that he was close to and definitely able to step into the Dragon Tiger Realm, even Elder Feng could only guess that Ge Dongxu might grow into a very powerful figure in the future, but as to how powerful, it's probable that even Elder Feng wouldn't envisage it to be the Dragon Tiger Realm, and likely within these next few years.
"Is this the place where the old man rests?" As soon as Ge Dongxu's words fell, the scenery ahead suddenly changed; the path was gone, replaced by a small Taoist temple, and there was a grave. Elder Feng's body shook violently, and he spoke with a trembling voice.
PS: Three updates today; the next two chapters are likely coming in the evening.
Reviews
All reviews (0)