The Nine Cauldrons

Translator: Iamgt  Editor: Lucas

Chapter 12: "Millennium Chronicle"

An estate that catered solely for villas was located next to the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou City. Each villa would take a land area of at least five hundred square meters, and even the cheapest one would cost ten million.

In the center of the estate, there was a villa which took up the biggest land area and was just right next to a manmade lake in the estate. They even specially segregated one portion of the manmade lake to be part of their private pond. That villa had the best views and was naturally the most expensive one of them all.

This villa was the residence of Ming Shan Conglomerate's chairman, 'Li Mingshan'.

There was an open-air pool on the balcony situated at the third story of the villa.

Li Mingshan laid in the pool, relaxed, looking up at the stars in the sky.

Usually, when Li Mingshan was thinking about things, he enjoys soaking in the pool by himself. It relaxed his body and allowed his mind to better think through things.

"This order is worth a billion. I must find a way to get my hands on it."

Li Mingshan frowned.

"Hmmm?" Li Mingshan suddenly felt a gush of wind blowing and his upper body which was out of the water felt cold. He turned to have a look and his countenance changed immediately.

A young man wearing long black pants and a short-sleeved green shirt was seen standing on the balcony. It was Teng Qingshan.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" Li Mingshan remained calm and spoke in a deep voice.

At the same time, he walked out from the pool and got a bath towel from the side and tied it around his waist.

Teng Qingshan looked closely at him. Li Mingshan was a refined middle-aged man in his forties with an unusual elegance. "Those who don't know Li Mingshan would probably find it hard to see through him." In fact, even Teng Qingshan himself had to inquire information from 'Elena' before he came here.

Li Mingshan, forty-three-year-old this year.

When he was young, he had been a member of a gang of thieves. He eventually rose to become the leader of the gang and started running a business with the money he had gotten from stealing. This person had people working for him from both the legal and illegal paths of life. Moreover, there were also a large number of followers under him.

As such, his wealth grew rapidly.

Since then, twenty years have passed and Li Mingshan's Ming Shan Conglomerate was now worth close to ten billion.

"I'd advise you not to use the gun that's hidden in the bath towel." Teng Qingshan spoke with indifference.

Li Mingshan's countenance changed. The hand which was tying his bath towel now rapidly pulled out a gun from within. Working with people from both sides of the law, Li Mingshan's businesses had driven many families to ruins, and the illegal money lending services he operated had pushed many people to commit suicides. There were far too many people who held grudges against him.

Thus, most of the time, he would always be equipped with a gun.

The moment Li Mingshan pulled out the gun, Teng Qingshan, who was initially ten meters away, was already right in front of him.

"You..." Li Mingshan was taken aback by Teng Qingshan's speed and the gun he was holding ended up in Teng Qingshan's hand.

There was only the sound of the mechanical parts to the gun clashing together and the gun was taken apart into pieces. Teng Qingshan smiled as he gripped the steel part of the gun and twisted it into something that was like a braid. He then casually tossed it aside on the ground.

Li Mingshan was so frightened that his heartbeat got faster. However, he still forcefully calm himself down the corner of his mouth curved into a friendly smile before he said, "Brother, you have really good skills. To think that you're able to get to the third story without a sound. I'm really full of admiration for you!" What kind of skills did Teng Qingshan have to be able to reach the third story without alerting the bodyguards and surveillance system? To be able to grab steel and twist it into a braid... What kind of skills does he have?

"I'm going to ask you a few questions." There were no changes to Teng Qingshan's expression at all. Such protective means used by the ordinary wealthy people had no used against him. As someone who has traveled the whole world, unhindered, for so many years, Teng Qingshan has encountered countless of strict security precaution and procedures.

"Brother, please go ahead." Li Mingshan quickly said.

Teng Qingshan stared at Li Mingshan, "Tell me, why do you want to kill Qin Hong?"

"Kill Qin Hong?" Li Mingshan was astonished. There were not many people who knew about this. After all, Qin Hong was a member of the National Special Operations Organisation and even Li Mingshan did not dare to brazenly announce this matter to others.

"Brother, where did you hear this rumor from? It's definitely slander! They are framing me!" Li Mingshan quickly said, "I, Li Mingshan, may not be considered an honorable businessman as I have also resorted to violence and killings when I was young. But even if you were to give me plenty of courage, I still wouldn't dare to kill Qin Hong."

"Hu!"

Upon the sound of a gush of wind, Li Mingshan felt a tremendous pain in his left ear and on the left side of his face.

Teng Qingshan's slap had sent Li Mingshan flying and tumbling. He had even dropped his bath towel. Li Mingshan, in his pitiful state, was only wearing his swimming trunks.

"Brother, why did you..." Li Mingshan lifted his head and looked at Teng Qingshan somewhat furiously.

However, he was met with Teng Qingshan's cold gaze and calm voice, "You better not be trying anything funny in front of me. If you lie again, this day next year will be your death anniversary."

Li Mingshan's heart trembled.

He had his share of lawless days and had seen quite a number of murderers and ruthless people.

However, Li Mingshan felt that... when compared to this person before him, those malicious murderers were just like pets that were baring their fangs and claws.

Lowering his head to take a look at the gun's body which was now bent awkwardly, Li Mingshan completely sobered up. Then he lifted his head to look at Teng Qingshan, saying, "Brother, I, Li Mingshan, have no feud with Qin Hong at all. It's true that I hired a person to help me kill Qin Hong. However, this was because I received a request to do so from someone else."

Teng Qingshan frowned. 'Received a request?'

"Who?" Teng Qingshan asked.

Li Mingshan looked at Teng Qingshan hesitantly and the latter's gaze turned sharper.

Li Mingshan was frightened and said, "It's Shen Yangming! Two Tigers of the Northeast's Shen Yangming!"

"Two Tigers of the Northeast's Shen Yangming?" Teng Qingshan's brows rose up. He had not expected it to be Shen Yangming.

In the underworld, Two Tigers of the Northeast were considered to be quite a powerful independent hitmen team. One of them was called 'Wang Qing' while the other was 'Shen Yangming'. Both of them were A-rank hitmen. The 'Two Tigers of the Northeast' was quite famous. However, one year ago, one of the Two Tigers of the Northeast, 'Wang Qing', died. Thus, this hitmen group was disbanded.

Amongst hitmen, there were those who came under certain major organizations, but there were also those who worked alone.

Two Tigers of the Northeast belonged to the latter and had purely joined this profession out of personal interest.

"That's right. You know Shen Yangming as well?" Li Mingshan smiled bitterly and said, "Brother? Since you know of him, you should know of my difficulties. In this sphere, Shen Yangming's name is well-established. No matter how tough I am, I still wouldn't dare to offend him. This time around, he asked me to kill Qin Hong. If I refuse, it would be considered a sign of disrespect. How could I not agree to do it?"

Teng Qingshan's bladelike gaze examined Li Mingshan.

"Shen Yangming, hmph." Teng Qingshan's gaze turned cold.

Upon hearing this, Li Mingshan was astonished. This mysterious young man did not seem to hold 'Shen Yangming' in any regard.

"It's a pity, but since you've sent someone to kill Qin Hong, I must punish you!" Teng Qingshan's voice stayed as cold as before.

"No, wait," Li Mingshan said, terrified. He was a clever man, so how could he not understand what Teng Qingshan was implying? "Don't kill me, you have nothing to gain from killing me. As long as you spare me… I can give you a lot of things. I can even give you the entire Mingshan Conglomerate."

Li Mingshan knew that if you often walked on a river bank, it would be impossible for your shoes to stay dry. Therefore, he had saved himself a large sum of money in a foreign account for when he encountered a crisis and needed to escape. Even if he were to give Mingshan Conglomerate to Teng Qingshan, he could still live a wealthy lifestyle.

"I don't care about money." Teng Qingshan said indifferently.

Hearing such a reply, Li Mingshan's mind started to spin quickly.

The other party did not care for money. What should he do?

"I, I have a secret manual!" Li Mingshan's eyes lit up and he shouted, "Brother, I know that you're very strong. Although I practice Internal Martial Arts as well, I have not been able to do well in it. However… I have a secret manual, one which will definitely ensure that you'll become a topnotch expert if you were to cultivate it."

At this moment, Teng Qingshan couldn't hold back the smile on his face as he replied, "Secret manual? Become a topnotch expert? You must have become too enthralled from watching martial arts television series."

Teng Qingshan had already attained the Grandmaster Realm and cultivated the "Godly Tiger Form Technique". He could be considered an expert at the highest peak in the human world. Thus, what secret manuals could win his attraction?

"No, it's a real secret manual." Li Mingshan quickly said. "When I was young, I was actually the disciple to a small sect by the name of 'Godly Thief Sect'. Sigh, to be honest, I was just a thief. However, our sect has been down in the gutter, and currently, there isn't a single person who is able to produce inner strength."

Teng Qingshan did not know whether he should laugh or cry.

Godly Thief Sect?

A sect which did not even have a single expert who was able to produce inner strength?

"However, our Godly Thief Sect has a long history and in the past, we also had experts who had attained the Grandmaster Realm." Li Mingshan continued on. He knew that when he was dealing with a great expert like this, the secret manual might be the only thing which can save his life. "That is a secret manual which held the legacy of the Godly Thief Sect of over two thousand years. It was handwritten by a Grandmaster expert during the period of the Republic of China.

Teng Qingshan raised his brows. A hint of curiosity grew in his heart.

"Where's the secret manual?" Teng Qingshan asked.

"In my study, on the third floor." Li Mingshan let out a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Follow me."

"I would advise you not to think of escaping. The few bodyguards you have in the villa make no difference to me." Teng Qingshan said.

The moment Li Mingshan recalled the scene where the other party had bent the body of the gun, he understood that those retired soldiers would probably really be of no use in this situation. "I won't dare to harbor other thoughts. Please follow me."

Teng Qingshan followed Li Mingshan to the study on the third floor. Li Mingshan's study was very big and there was a bookshelf which covered almost half the wall. Li Mingshan walked up to the bookshelf and pressed a button on the side of the bookshelf. The bookshelf opened up to a side as if it was a door.

A vault with a locked steel door was revealed.

"It's hidden quite well." Teng Qingshan laughed and said softly.

Li Mingshan smiled and said, "After all, it is a treasure passed down by our Godly Thief Sect." With that, he opened the steel door and took out an ancient book, which was bound by string, from inside.

"Take a look." Li Mingshan passed the book to Teng Qingshan.

Tenv Qingshan took it and had a look. There were four words on this ancient book which was bound by string—"Millennium Chronicle". There were two words in a corner—Liu Yan.