Seeing that Fu Ying wasn't having enough fun, Zhou Xuan had an idea and asked Zhou Tao, "Little brother, is the old Taoist priest in the thatched hut in the back mountain that I used to visit often when I was a child still there?"
Zhou Tao shook his head and said, "You left the year after you left, and I don't know where you went. I haven't seen you for so many years. The thatched house was demolished by the village a long time ago. At the intersection of the road along the mountain and the road to Wudang Mountain, my second uncle's youngest son opened a small shop there, selling cigarettes, alcohol, beverages and trinkets. He can earn fifty or sixty thousand a year."
Zhou Xuan knew that the second uncle his younger brother was talking about was not his own cousin from the Zhou family, but Liu Ershu, the younger brother of Liu Dagui, the village chief. Of course, opening a shop there required the village's approval, and since Liu Ershu could open it, there was nothing more to say.
Looking back now, Zhou Xuan felt a pang of regret. Perhaps the internal martial arts practitioner who taught him breathing and meditation back then was a true master. If he were still here, Fu Ying might be happy.
To be honest, Zhou Xuan did indeed benefit greatly from the internal energy cultivation taught to him by the old Taoist. If his internal energy hadn't fused with the supernatural ice energy in the stone, he wouldn't have been able to absorb more and stronger ice energy later on, nor would he have been able to absorb the enormous energy in the boulder in the water cave. He wouldn't have been able to escape, nor would he have been able to save Fu Ying, and naturally, he wouldn't be where he is today.
While the icy aura was important, it all depended on the breathing techniques the old Taoist priest had taught him. Unfortunately, today he returned home in glory, but the old Taoist priest was nowhere to be found. Even if he wanted to treat him to dog meat and rice wine, it was too late.
With Zhou Xuan driving in front and A-Chang's car behind, they wound their way down the mountain road to the entrance to Qianjin Village. Looking at the small shops along the roadside, Zhou Xuan suddenly shouted, "Boss, stop! Stop the car!"
**He quickly slammed on the brakes, and the Hummer screeched to a halt. Achang, who was behind it, also quickly stopped his car.
Zhou Xuan opened the car door and jumped out. Inside the small shop, Liu Ershu's youngest son, Liu Yang, was guarding the shop. Upon seeing Zhou Xuan, Liu Yang quickly dropped his smirking expression. He had originally looked down on the Zhou family, but after his uncle Liu Dagui and second brother Liu De were arrested yesterday, his aunt and sister-in-law had been trying to pull any strings since yesterday. They had heard that the county party secretary had spoken up for them, and anyone who pleaded on their behalf would be punished. So, his aunt tried to contact her old connections, but no one was willing to help. Some wouldn't even see her.
Liu Yang then realized that Zhou Xuan was no longer the same Zhou Xuan as before, and the Zhou family was no longer someone who could be bullied.
As soon as Zhou Xuan reached the counter at the shop entrance, Liu Yang quickly and enthusiastically called out, "Big brother, you went to Wudang Mountain for fun?"
Zhou Xuan nodded, and Liu Yang quickly took out drinks from the freezer inside, smiling broadly as he said, "Big brother, Taowa, come and have some drinks."
Zhou Xuan turned around and beckoned everyone to come and get their drinks. Then he took out a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and threw it on the counter.
Liu Yang quickly pushed it back, smiling and saying, "Brother, we're all from the same village, it's just a few cans of drinks, it's nothing, please have a drink!"
Zhou Xuan said calmly: They're gone too.
Achang and the others got out of the car to have drinks. Fu Ying noticed that Zhou Xuan was staring blankly at the hillside in front of him, so she walked over and gently asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just remembered something from the past!" Zhou Xuan sighed as he answered. Just then, the icy energy in the pill in his left hand suddenly flickered! This was the first time that the icy energy had reacted on its own without Zhou Xuan exerting his energy!
Zhou Xuan sensed something was amiss and immediately activated his icy energy. He scanned his surroundings, and instantly, the area within ten meters around him became clearly visible in his mind.
Liu Yang, the goods, the freezer, the house, Achang and Ade in front of the counter, **, Wei Xiaoqing, Zhou Tao, Zhou Ying, and Fu Ying beside him—although he didn't see them with his eyes, their expressions and actions were all reflected in his mind like a mirror.
Zhou Xuan focused his mind slightly, and the icy energy immediately stopped on a stone lion leaning against a parasol pole on the left side of the shop!
The stone lion was old and dirty, its surface covered in black mud and dust, a dark, unsightly color. While its exterior appeared filthy, Zhou Xuan's icy aura wasn't just visible on the surface. Deep inside the stone lion, about five-tenths of an inch below the surface, the interior was entirely golden, pure and pristine.
Zhou Xuan was certain because the icy energy in his left hand was particularly sensitive to gold. After being converted into molecules, it was gold and could not be converted into any other type. He was extremely familiar with the molecular structure of gold, so as soon as the icy energy came into contact with the stone lion, he knew that it was pure gold of extremely high purity.
Zhou Xuan was actually quite familiar with this stone lion. When he was young, the old Taoist priest who taught him breathing techniques would carry this stone lion around the mountain twice a day. He admired the old Taoist's amazing skills and wanted to learn martial arts from him, but the old Taoist didn't teach him any martial arts secrets, he only passed on this breathing technique.
This stone lion was carried out by an old Taoist priest from the palace in Wudang Mountain. At that time, Taoists and Buddhists were often associated with demons and monsters, which led to the decline of Taoist temples in Wudang Mountain, a significant decrease in incense offerings, and the lack of dedicated management. When the old Taoist priest carried the stone lion away, no one paid him any attention.
Now the old Taoist priest is gone, the thatched hut has been dismantled, but the stone lion remains.
It seems the old Taoist priest was unaware of the secret within the stone lion, otherwise he wouldn't have left it lying around here.
The stone lion weighs at least two or three hundred pounds, which gives you an idea of how strong the old Taoist priest must have been.
The stone lion had a hole drilled in its abdomen, and gold was poured in. The abdomen was then filled with a special adhesive and lime, so that no flaws could be seen from the outside. Moreover, since the filling was in the abdomen, and the stone lion was so heavy that ordinary people could not move or overturn it, who would have the chance to carefully examine the abdomen?
Zhou Xuan carefully measured the weight of the gold and made a rough estimate. The gold weighed at least one-third of the stone lion. The stone lion probably weighed more than 300 jin, and the gold weighed at least 100 jin!
This is not an antique. The current price of gold is about 100 yuan per gram, so this 100-plus kilograms of gold would be worth about 2 million yuan.
Fu Ying then asked softly, "Zhou Xuan, what's wrong? Are you tired?" She put her hand on Zhou Xuan's forehead to check his temperature, worried that he might have caught a cold after sweating from climbing the mountain.
Zhou Xuan held her soft little hand, chuckled, and said, "I'm fine, I was just thinking about something." Then he pulled her to the counter and asked Liu Yang, "Liu Yang, where did that old Taoist priest go?"
Liu Yang shook his head: "He left five or six years ago and hasn't been back since. The thatched hut has also been demolished. Look, all that's left on the mountain is that old Taoist priest's stone lion where he used to practice his strength. After my family opened this shop, the sun umbrella we used was always blown over by the wind. Even the cement block we made wasn't strong enough. Later, my dad hired a few people to carry the stone lion down from the mountain. It took four big men to lift it. The old Taoist priest was really strong!"
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Liu Yang, I bought a house while working away from home, and I'm missing something at the front gate. I think this stone lion is quite nice. Why don't you sell it to me?"
Liu Yang was taken aback, then laughed, "Brother, you really want to buy such a broken piece of iodine? If you want it, just take it, haha, I'm just afraid it's too heavy to move!"
Zhou Xuan smiled and shook his head, took out a wad of banknotes from his pocket, counted out eight bills, and placed them on the counter, saying, "Liu Yang, take these. There's a rule in the locals that you have to pay for things from the town. It's all about good fortune. If they don't pay, they won't take them!"
Although Liu Yang wanted to curry favor with Zhou Xuan, it would still hurt to spend several hundred yuan at once. He didn't expect that Zhou Xuan wanted to find a broken stone lion to guard the gate, and this stone lion was old and dilapidated. He was actually willing to spend eight hundred yuan.
Although he was thinking about his uncle's matter, Zhou Xuan clearly wanted the stone lion. He had just said he would give it to him. He didn't really want the eight hundred yuan, but since he had said that, people outside who were wealthy believed in omens. It would be bad if he didn't take the money. Seeing the red banknotes was indeed tempting.
Zhou Xuan knew exactly what he was thinking, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile, saying, "Take it, consider it your big brother buying you cigarettes!"
Liu Yang awkwardly accepted the money, half-heartedly.
Zhou Xuan waved to Achang and Ade, "Achang, Ade, hehe, come over and help me out."
Liu Yang also quickly ran out from the side door, took Tai Liao's umbrella, and put it away.
Achang squatted down, grabbed the stone lion with both hands, and tried to hug it tightly. The stone lion only swayed slightly; he couldn't lift it. He chuckled and said, "Little Zhou, this stone lion weighs at least four hundred pounds. I can lift a three-hundred-pound one!"
Zhou Tao and Zhou Ying felt a pang of heartache at the loss of eight hundred yuan. They thought to themselves, "I don't know what my brother was thinking, spending eight hundred yuan on a broken stone lion. This thing can't be eaten or used, and it's so heavy!"
Despite his thoughts, Zhou Tao went to help. Ade and ** also came over, Liu Yang joined in, and with Zhou Xuan himself, the six men worked together to move the stone lion. Achang yelled "Hey!" and with a pull, the combined strength of the six men finally lifted the stone lion!
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Volume One: The Lotus Buds Just Begin to Emerge, Chapter Eighty-Two: The Old Taoist Priest Died
The six men drove a powerful and heavy Hummer. After they put Shi Qingdian in the trunk, the tires noticeably sank down!
Everyone was puzzled by Zhou Xuan's purchase of the stone lion, especially Achang and Ade. They knew that Zhou Xuan had bought a multi-million dollar mansion in Hongcheng Garden. If he wanted a gate lion, there were plenty of stone carving factories in Beijing that could produce any kind he wanted. Why go through all the trouble of transporting such a broken stone lion back from so far away? Moreover, such a dilapidated stone lion would look bad in front of such a nice villa. And there's only one stone lion; shouldn't you have a pair to guard the gate?
However, while he may have thought about it and made some guesses, Zhou Xuan was the one who made the decision. No one would say anything to him, not even Wei Haihong. As long as Zhou Xuan liked something, Wei Haihong would probably help him get it.