"The effects of the drugs will last about half an hour. He'll wake up after that. The first time he takes the drugs, they'll leave him weak and helpless. I've increased the dosage, so he'll need them again in an hour. Hehehe, even if he has superhuman strength and martial arts skills, he'll still have to obediently submit to me and do my bidding."
Yang Tiancheng chuckled, glancing smugly at Zhou Xuan as he spoke. His men also flattered him, saying he had indeed done a brilliant job this time. They had all witnessed Zhou Xuan's astonishing skills at the casino. He had killed a lion alive, even splitting its hard head in two, causing its brains to splatter. Finally, he had broken the thick steel cage bars with a single punch. Such terrifying strength was something these bodyguards knew they were far from being able to match. So, if they wanted to fight Zhou Xuan head-on, they would definitely be no match for him.
"Get them away from me," Yang Tiancheng ordered, frowning as he pointed at the five women. Normally, he enjoyed doing this with them, but now his mind was on Zhou Xuan, and his interest in women had waned.
Several bodyguards carried the five women to their rooms upstairs. In the hall, Yang Tiancheng faced Zhou Xuan alone. Yang Tiancheng held a glass of red wine, looked at the unconscious Zhou Xuan and smiled smugly. He took a small sip of the wine and slowly savored the taste while quietly waiting for Zhou Xuan to wake up.
Nearly half an hour later, Zhou Xuan let out a long sigh of relief, slowly woke up, looked at Yang Tiancheng, and forced an embarrassed smile, saying, "Mr. Yang, I'm really sorry, I don't know what happened, I just fell asleep. Maybe I drank too much."
"It's alright, I was drunk too, just woke up. But I'm a natural drinker, I drink whenever I have a spare moment," Yang Tiancheng said, gesturing with his glass, then asked, "Brother Zhou, would you like another drink?"
Zhou Xuan waved his hand and said, "No need, no need. I'm not used to drinking after I'm already drunk... Mr. Yang, I'm sorry, I had a phone call to make, I forgot."
Yang Tiancheng chuckled and waved his hand, "Please, please."
Zhou Xuan took out his phone, then stood up and walked to the corner of the wall, four or five meters away from Yang Tiancheng. This was intentional, as he used his supernatural ability to scan Yang Tiancheng's entire villa. He then pulled up the phone number of the drug supplier, hesitated for a moment, and then pressed the dial button.
This time, the phone rang with a dial tone. Zhou Xuan was overjoyed and intensified his use of his supernatural abilities to scan the villa, carefully checking if any phones were ringing.
The dial tone on his phone kept ringing, but no one answered. To Zhou Xuan's disappointment, there wasn't a single phone ringing anywhere in the villa. Zhou Xuan was certain that the number he was dialing didn't exist in the villa.
Zhou Xuan's heart sank, and his interest waned considerably. All the pretense he'd put on for Yang Tiancheng, all that effort, had been for nothing—a complete waste of time and energy.
Since Yang Tiancheng had no connection to the person he was looking for, Zhou Xuan had no intention of wasting any more time with him. The phone on the other end wasn't being answered, so Zhou Xuan put down his phone, turned to Yang Tiancheng, and said, "Mr. Yang, I'm sorry, I have to go back and take care of some personal matters. Goodbye."
Yang Tiancheng was taken aback, not expecting Zhou Xuan to suddenly suggest leaving. He had planned to give Zhou Xuan another injection of drugs, because if a second injection was given within an hour of the first, it would guarantee that the person being injected would never be able to break free from the addiction.
Generally speaking, it is possible to quit smoking drugs, but it is not easy to quit injecting drugs, and it is impossible to quit drugs with higher doses. This is because the toxins of drugs that are inhaled only enter the body through the outer layer of the organs, while drugs injected directly enter the bloodstream and become entangled with the body from the very core, making it impossible to quit.
Seeing Zhou Xuan's resolute expression, Yang Tiancheng was somewhat disappointed. However, he was glad that this time he had managed to accomplish something significant. Even if Zhou Xuan left now, his addiction would likely remain. After thinking for a moment, he immediately took a business card from the business card box on the table and handed it to Zhou Xuan.
"Brother Zhou, this is my business card. If you're free and have some free time, give me a call, and we can hang out, chat, or come over for a drink. I have quite a few bottles of my own wine, hehe."
Yang Tiancheng deliberately emphasized the "drinking" part, intentionally reminding Zhou Xuan so that when Zhou Xuan experienced withdrawal symptoms, he would think of him and come to him. Otherwise, if Zhou Xuan bought drugs from someone else to satisfy his needs, all of Yang Tiancheng's efforts would be in vain.
Yang Tiancheng didn't intend to make money by selling drugs to Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan's drug use wouldn't cost much; with his wealth, his drug expenses would be at most a few million.
Yang Tiancheng wanted to control Zhou Xuan with drugs. The two would cooperate and use Zhou Xuan's abilities to participate in the gambling games he arranged for the wealthy, competing against those super-rich people. Each game involved tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars, which was a faster way to make money than anything else. The key was to have the ability to win.
Super-rich people aren't usually fools. Because they have money, they're very familiar with all sorts of high-tech cheating methods. So, to play with them, you have to rely on your own abilities. Yang Tiancheng felt that Zhou Xuan had that ability. In casinos, the surveillance equipment used to monitor cheating is the most advanced in the world, and the casino managers are all very experienced people, many of whom are experts who work in the gambling industry. If even they can't see through it, then it means that Zhou Xuan is no ordinary person.
Moreover, Yang Tiancheng himself was an expert in this field. He couldn't figure out how Zhou Xuan had done it from beginning to end, but he could explain the last round by Zhou Xuan's personal force.
"Alright then, I'll arrange for my bodyguard to drive you, Brother Zhou. Since you have important business to attend to, I can't delay your important matters."
Zhou Xuan chuckled and said, "Thank you." At this time and in this place, he wouldn't refuse. Otherwise, in such a remote place with no cars and no people, refusing Yang Tiancheng's car would be the same as having to walk back. There was no need to do something so foolish.
One of Yang Tiancheng's bodyguards drove out in a dark Mercedes, not particularly eye-catching, invited Zhou Xuan into the car, and then drove off.
When Zhou Xuan got into the car, he told the bodyguard the name of his hotel. The bodyguard nodded to indicate that he understood. It wasn't until they were on the highway and far from the residential area that the bodyguard asked, "Mr. Zhou, may I ask you something?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and replied, "Go ahead, of course."
The bodyguard chuckled and said, "I'm just curious, Mr. Zhou, how did you master such amazing kung fu? I've only ever heard of pressure point techniques. As for hard kung fu, I've heard of splitting wood and bricks, but I've never heard of someone being able to punch a lion's head in half. And as for pressure point techniques, I've only heard of them, but I've never seen them. Even if I had heard of them, none of them were as amazing as the ones you used, Mr. Zhou. I just want to ask, how did you learn them? Who taught you? Are there really such amazing masters in the world?"
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "Chinese martial arts are profound and extensive. There are many martial arts that are even more magical and powerful than mine. It's not that I can't tell you. To be honest, I was taught by an old Taoist priest from Wudang Mountain when I was a child. As for my master, he never wanted anyone to know. Even if I told you, no one would know. He was just a low-key old Taoist priest. He disappeared a couple of years ago. Before he left, he told me that he was going to travel the world."
The bodyguard was filled with longing. As a profession and a position, what he liked most was to develop superb martial arts skills. When he trained with his colleagues, they were all about the same level, and he felt pretty good about himself. He thought he could easily take on three or four ordinary people. But now, Zhou Xuan had shattered that confidence.
At the hotel entrance, Zhou Xuan asked the bodyguard to stop the car and drop him off, then said goodbye. The bodyguard didn't bother with formalities and turned around to go back.
As Zhou Xuan walked, he kept checking for the bodyguard's whereabouts. Seeing that the bodyguard wasn't monitoring his actions, he let him be and stopped paying attention. He then took the elevator upstairs and returned to his room.
It was already late at night. I had originally planned to visit Gao Mingyuan, but it was too late. I thought I'd go tomorrow instead. It was too late for either of us, and besides, Gao Mingyuan was drunk, so there was no point in him going. I'd rest for the night and visit Gao Mingyuan tomorrow. I couldn't contact the drug dealer, so I might as well take the opportunity to go to a few more places and buy some more stones to take back. They would still be useful.
Back in his room, Zhou Xuan took another shower. Feeling refreshed, he went back to bed and first called home. Because it was late, the call was only for Fu Ying. He had originally wanted to hear Xiao Si Zhou's voice, but Fu Ying said he was already asleep and would cry if he was woken up, so Zhou Xuan let it go and just told Fu Ying, "Yingying, I miss you so much."
Fu Ying paused for a moment before replying, "Me too, Zhou Xuan. I feel like the baby's been moving a lot these past few days, kicking me constantly. Come back as soon as you're done with your business."
"Yes, I'll be back in a week at most. I contacted a factory manager in Ruili, and through his connections, I've already purchased hundreds of tons of raw stones. They've already been shipped. Once they arrive in Beijing, have your brother pay the other half of the fare, and then deliver the raw stones to our own stone-cutting factory. Be extra careful with safety. This batch of stones is much larger than last year's, and they're very valuable. I'm thinking of purchasing a little more in the next few days so that our jewelry company can be more competitive and last longer."
Fu Ying sensed that Zhou Xuan wasn't nervous, so it seemed there was really no danger. She only said some sweet words reluctantly, and in the end, Zhou Xuan took the initiative to hang up the phone. Otherwise, Fu Ying would have been reluctant to let him go. Zhou Xuan felt sorry for her, as she was pregnant and it was late at night.
After resting in bed for a while and sorting out his thoughts, he realized that the drug dealer's supplier was too cautious and patient. Since he arrived here, the supplier had kept his phone off and had not contacted him. Today, the supplier turned on his phone, but did not answer the phone, leaving him helpless.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and dialed again. Annoyingly, this time, the phone again played the operator's message: "The number you dialed is currently switched off..."
Zhou Xuan angrily threw his phone onto the bedside, then held his head and thought to himself, "I'll wait another week. If this drug dealer's supplier doesn't turn on his phone and contact me within that week, then I'll return to Beijing. That way, I'll have fulfilled my duty to Fu Yuanshan. I'm sure Fu Yuanshan won't blame me for not solving the case; I've done my best."
Lying in bed, she neither practiced her supernatural abilities nor had the mind to read books about antiques. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Fu Ying and Xiao Sizhou, and her heart was filled with tenderness as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
Zhou Xuan was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door. He used his special ability to detect that it was Gao Mingyuan outside. After getting up and opening the door for him, Gao Mingyuan rushed into the room, pulled Zhou Xuan aside, looked him over carefully, and then asked, "Brother, so... did you go back with Mr. Yang last night?"
Zhou Xuan nodded and replied, "Yes, you were drunk and unconscious at the time, so I couldn't have you come with me. After I went to Mr. Yang's villa, I only had a few glasses of red wine, and then I felt a little unwell and came back."
Gao Mingyuan frowned and asked, "Did...did they...do anything to you?"
Zhou Xuan's heart skipped a beat. It seemed that Gao Mingyuan really cared about him. He probably knew something about Yang Tiancheng. Although he couldn't say he knew a lot, he probably knew that Yang Tiancheng's methods were very ruthless. Otherwise, why would he be so afraid of him?
With a smile, Zhou Xuan patted Gao Mingyuan on the shoulder and reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just had some red wine at his place and came back."
Gao Mingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "Brother, what do you want to do today? Hehe, but there's no casino today. They've already notified me that our compensation will be paid in two days because the amount is huge and they need to raise the cash. The casino is also closed for the next two days and will reopen in two days, so we'll have to do something else today."
"I don't need to do anything else. I don't like sightseeing. Lao Gao, why don't you take me to visit some other stone factories? I want to buy some more raw stones."
"Oh..." Gao Mingyuan was taken aback. He didn't expect Zhou Xuan to still want to buy stone. Last time, he got millions of tons of stone from the wholesale market. Wasn't that enough? Even if he wanted more of the waste, would it be worth it to bring it back?
However, Gao Mingyuan also knew that with Zhou Xuan's financial resources, these things were not a problem at all. Not to mention how much money he himself had, from the start of this jade gambling until yesterday, he had won a huge sum of 250 million yuan in cash, and Zhou Xuan had also received 20 million yuan. If the casino would cash out that cash in two days, then Zhou Xuan would still have 500 million yuan in cash, and Gao Mingyuan himself would have more than 200 million yuan in income.