Chapter 119: Qin San’Er

After parting ways with Dongfang Wan and Zhang Weihong, Lin Jian hired a designated driver from the hotel to take him to Ruyi Company.

Xu Xiaohui, Wang Chuang, and Tan Jian were living at the company, so they were all there when he headed upstairs. Huang Mao and Wang Qinglong, however, had already gone home.

Seeing Lin Jian come up, Tan Jian was the first to speak. "Boss, you’re amazing! The company assigned us such a sweet ride?"

Wang Chuang’s eyes gleamed as he chimed in. "Boss, does this mean the three of us get to drive this car when we go on our business trip in a few days?"

Lin Jian smiled and nodded. "Yes. Driving there will be much more convenient. How are your preparations coming along?"

"We’re all set and ready to head out at a moment’s notice. We were just waiting for your orders." Xu Xiaohui tossed Lin Jian a cigarette. The guy used to smoke ten-yuan packs, but now he had upgraded to twenty-yuan ones.

Lin Jian also noticed that all three of them had changed their attire. They were no longer wearing the cheap knock-offs they used to sport.

"Listen to me, you three. The person you’re investigating is a desperate outlaw. If he spots you, it could cost you your lives," Lin Jian warned them. "Don’t let your military backgrounds and combat skills give you blind confidence. I’ll be honest with you—Old Cat has martial arts skills of his own, and his anti-tracking awareness is exceptionally sharp!

"Once you arrive in Lantian County, you need to be on high alert. You must keep your guard up even when you’re eating or using the restroom. I’m not trying to scare you. Old Cat is a murderer. If he realizes you’re tracking him or looking for him, he’ll likely strike first and kill you!

"This mission is incredibly dangerous, and you need to fully grasp that. I don’t want to see you guys meet your end in the Northwest!"

"We understand the risks," Xu Xiaohui replied with a solemn nod.

Lin Jian didn’t press the issue further. He had repeatedly explained the stakes to them, and he trusted them to know what to do.

"One more thing. Once you locate Old Cat, do not alert him. If he doesn’t spot you, notify me immediately. If he does spot you, secure your own safety first and call the police right away."

"Understood. We know how to handle it," the three of them nodded again.

Lin Jian stood up. "Then pick a time to head out. You can leave whenever you’re ready. We need to stay in touch daily—you must call me every night at seven o’clock."

"Copy that."

The trio walked Lin Jian downstairs, then headed back up to pack their gear, ready to set off overnight.

Meanwhile, after getting into his car, Lin Jian called Ye Ziqiu, but her phone was turned off.

Just as he tossed his phone aside and prepared to drive home, it suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number.

"Hello? Who is this?" he answered.

"Is this Lin Jian? I’m Xu Hang, Xu Donglai’s young uncle." The voice of the martial arts gym owner came through the receiver.

"Oh, Boss Xu? What can I do for you?"

"It’s like this. I have a friend who wants to fight you tomorrow. There’s a wager. If you lose, you return that five hundred thousand to me. If you win, we’ll give you a million. What do you say?"

"Not interested. Don’t call me again."

CLICK.

Lin Jian hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking and immediately added Xu Hang’s number to his blocklist!

Was it a joke? He was a billionaire now. Why would he step into a fighting ring for a measly million?

More importantly, these arena fights would never end. If he won another million from Xu Hang tomorrow, the man would just find someone else to challenge him again! By the time Xu Hang lost his temper from repeatedly losing, there was no telling what he might do.

Therefore, enough was enough. This was where it ended. He wanted nothing more to do with them.

On the other end, Xu Hang was clearly unwilling to give up, but when he tried calling Lin Jian again, he received an automated message that the number was out of service.

At that same moment, Lin Jian received a text message. It read: "What are your conditions for giving me the rest of the pills?"

It was from the man named Qin San’Er.

Lin Jian wasn’t in a hurry to drive away. Since the alcohol in his system hadn’t fully worn off anyway, he reclined his seat, lay back, and replied, "Want to come out for a couple of drinks?"

"Name your terms. Do you want money? Or do you need some valuable information?"

The other party had obviously guessed that Lin Jian wanted to extract more details from him.

But Lin Jian simply replied, "I want to drink."

The other party clearly hadn’t expected this response. After a two- or three-minute silence, he finally replied, "Broken Bridge on Baoshu Road. Queen’s Bar."

Lin Jian smiled, started his car, and followed the navigation there.

Fortunately, he didn’t run into any police patrols along the way, making the drive a close call but ultimately uneventful.

Queen’s Bar was one of the more famous nightclubs in Jiang City. Lin Jian had heard of it before but had never actually been there. However, the moment he parked his car in the bar’s lot, a figure emerged from the darkness and stood staring at him from ten meters away!

Lin Jian recognized him. It was Qin San’Er.

Qin San jerked his head, signaling Lin Jian to follow him.

Wearing a strange expression, Lin Jian complied.

Qin San’Er turned a corner and ducked into a very inconspicuous little bar along the street. Feeling helpless, Lin Jian followed him inside.

The bar was small, with soft music playing in the background. Qin San’Er ordered two cocktails at the counter and handed one to Lin Jian.

Lin Jian took it and said, "I haven’t even been inside Queen’s Bar yet. If we’re not going there, why did you bring me here?"

"What do you want to know?" Qin San’Er clearly had no interest in wasting time with idle chatter and cut straight to the point.

"What are those pills used for?" Lin Jian shot back with a question of his own.

Qin San’Er thought for a moment. "You must know about Inner Boxing, right? So you should also know about True Qi and the concept of the Dantian?"

"I know about them. Have you heard of Xu Fengbin? He has a Dantian. He’s an Inner Boxing expert. I know him!"

"What? You even know Xu Fengbin?" Qin San’Er exclaimed in shock.

"Is it that big of a deal to know him?" Lin Jian was tempted to mention that Xu Fengbin was actually one of his defeated opponents!

Taking a deep breath, Qin San’Er said, "Word on the street recently is that Xu Fengbin has been conferred as a god!"

"What the hell is that?" Lin Jian’s eyes widened. Conferred as a god? Did he become an immortal or a Buddha?

"He was conferred as a god!" Qin San’Er chuckled. "You said you know him, right? How come you don’t know about this?"

"What does it mean to be conferred as a god? He didn’t mention it to me," Lin Jian asked, his expression odd.

"It’s jargon in the Inner Boxing world. It means he has transcended the Extraordinary Realm and entered the legendary Grandmaster Realm!

"You don’t need to know the specifics of the Grandmaster Realm. All you need to know is that across the several provinces of the Jiangnan region, out of hundreds of millions of people, there are only a handful of Grandmaster Realm experts!"

"But I want to know what the Grandmaster Realm is," Lin Jian said, blinking.

Qin San sneered. "You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. The Grandmaster Realm is just one step away from the Dao Realm.

"Once someone transcends the Grandmaster Realm, they enter the Dao Realm. From then on, they no longer consume the five grains or partake in mortal sustenance!"

"Now you’re just talking nonsense!" Lin Jian scoffed. "Even if he became an immortal, he’d still have to eat. I don’t believe he can survive by just taking two gulps of air!"

Hearing Lin Jian’s words, Qin San’Er choked on his words and rolled his eyes in exasperation. It was a metaphor—did this guy not understand what a metaphor was?

However, Qin San’Er managed to suppress his irritation and returned to their previous topic. "The pills in your possession can give me a chance to become an Internal Martial Artist. They can give me a chance to possess Inner Strength!"