Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 404: Chapter 404: Letting Go

Upon seeing the four Golden Armor Charms, Feng Wenhui and his wife exchanged a look before Feng Wenhui spoke up.

His expression solemn, he posed the question, “This thing… I mean, these Golden Armor Charms, how much does one cost?”

“Even if others have money, they can’t buy them,” Feng Jun replied proudly, “Dad, these are the only four left on Earth.”

Feng Wenhui’s brows furrowed even more tightly, “Stop beating around the bush… Only four left? There won’t be any more?”

“Of course, there can be more, definitely,” Feng Jun spoke earnestly, “but as I said… only I can get them.”

Feng Wenhui’s expression became even more grave, “Then, how much is one of these, these… these Golden Armor Charms worth?”

Feng Jun mentally calculated for a moment. One Golden Armor Charm, about the value of one hundred taels of gold?

One hundred taels is five kilograms. With gold at over three hundred per gram, five kilograms would be… “Over a million, I guess.”

“What?” Feng Wenhui and Zhang Junyi exclaimed in unison.

Feng Wenhui, pointing at his son with a look of outraged disbelief, sputtered, “You,you,you… Over a million, and you squandered it like that?”

“Dad!” Feng Jun spread his hands in exasperation, looking at him, “What is money? You can’t take it with you when you’re born and you can’t take it with you when you die. It’s most important that you can learn to use this stuff and are willing to use it; to me, your safety is more important than anything.”

Feng Wenhui fell silent, his son’s filial piety was not wrong, after all.

It was Zhang Junyi, the mother, who could come to grips with the reality faster. After a moment of shock, she scolded her husband, “Really, with our child willing to look out for us, how can that be a mistake? It’s just, it’s just… over a million, right?”

Feng Wenhui lifted the four talismans in his hand, his smile a grimace, “That’s over four million, though.”

“Worth over six million, nearly seven million,” Feng Jun corrected his perspective, “but don’t feel bad about using them. I’ll soon be able to produce something even better. These will become obsolete if you don’t use them.”

“Then we could sell them to…” Feng Wenhui started to say, but then he slapped his thigh hard, “Darn, can’t sell them to outsiders.”

“Exactly,” Feng Jun nodded with a smile, “You’re finally getting it. Lots of stuff can’t be sold. The Golden Armor Charms are like that, and so is this bamboo forest here.”

Zhang Junyi’s consideration was more detailed, “Son, did you make these Golden Armor Charms yourself? You mentioned you could make improvements?”

“Mhm,” Feng Jun nodded, his answer a bit vague, “Only I can make them… But the production is limited for now.”

“That’s fine,” Zhang Junyi nodded and spoke casually, “We’ll take these four charms, your dad and I.”

Then she changed the subject, “Your growth spurt at twenty-five, was that also because of… Daoist techniques?”

“Yes,” Feng Jun nodded with a smile, “I haven’t completely figured it out yet. Give it some time, and I might be able to get you to grow a bit too.”

“What nonsense are you talking about, you silly boy?” Zhang Junyi scolded with a beam of joy in her eyes. She wasn’t tall, standing only about one meter sixty, and at her age, she had no expectations of growing taller. Still, she was quite happy that her son would think so.

Just then, there was a rustling in the bamboo forest, as a squirrel over half a foot long scurried up and down the branches.

Instinctively, Feng Jun thought about taking it out, but in the end, he restrained the urge to act— his mother disliked killing, so it was best not to do such things in front of her.

“Eh, there’s a squirrel?” Feng Wenhui also noticed it.

But the mountains of Chaoyang were many, and to the people of the town, such creatures were nothing rare. Old Feng waxed rather saintly about it, “Ah, it’s such a nice place, one that common folks can’t enjoy, yet these wild creatures get to take advantage of it.”

After revealing his hand to his parents, Feng Jun repeatedly urged them to keep the secret— “Don’t even tell Gazi.”

Feng Wenhui was gradually getting back to normal thinking, “Of course this must be kept confidential, but I think Gazi also knows quite a bit, always acting all secretive.”

Hearing this, Feng Jun just laughed, “No matter how much he knows, can it be more than what you both know?”

Although his words seemed evasive, it was true that Gazi did not know about the Golden Armor Charms. However, he was practicing martial arts with Feng Jun, a detail that even old Feng and his wife were unaware of.

Feng Jun didn’t intend to deceive his parents deliberately; he was thinking that once he got the Cultivation techniques, he would have his parents start cultivating directly. Talking too much about it now would only give them expectations and potentially lead to unnecessary worrying.

Nodding upon hearing this, Feng Wenhui said, “We’re not trying to deceive him. When the time is right, it’s no big deal to help him… As for Dou Jiahui, don’t say too much either.”

Er Pang had come with them but after wandering around the manor for a day, borrowed a Passat from Feng Jun the next day to go hang out with friends. In his own words, “Hanging with the uncle and auntie makes me feel a bit restrained.”

However, Feng Jun heard from Gazi that the guy seemed to be… meeting an internet friend?

Anyway, having explained to his parents, Feng Jun spent the better part of the day before he finally found time in the afternoon to greet visitors Zhang Wei and Li Qiang.

These two had long heard that Feng Jun had purchased a large piece of mountain land and become a manor owner, though the manor had been under construction until now. Coach Wang had mentioned that it was now complete, which is why they had come to take a look.

Coach Wang was the one receiving the two of them, but as the host, it wouldn’t be proper for Feng Jun not to show up. After all, they had partied together at KTV and teamed up for PK battles.

Zhang Wei had been to Luohua Manor before, but that was in winter. Now it was high summer, with trees lush and providing abundant shade, far more beautiful than in winter.

Moreover, the costly wall surrounding Luohua Manor had gradually become a talking point in Zhengyang City, not significant yet not trivial. No one criticized Cao Weihua; everyone agreed that the wall was indeed impressive, grand, solid, yet not lacking natural beauty.

Such walls, aside from their defensive purpose, combined considerable aesthetic appeal and could already be considered works of art.

Having seen the wall and being immersed in the mountain’s verdure, Li Qiang took the initiative to say, “Such scenery, we from ‘Today in Zhengyang’ could film a segment and broadcast it on television as a promotion for Luohua Manor.”

This was a win-win. In addition to exposing certain issues, ‘Today in Zhengyang’ also had the task of praising and promoting the provincial capital—this belonged to positive energy, strongly advocated by Guo Jia.

However, such embellished promotion wasn’t necessarily mandatory for ‘Today in Zhengyang’ to report on. Typically, the businesses featured would sponsor the segment, culminating in true satisfaction for all parties involved.

Li Qiang didn’t bring up the matter of sponsor fees. Feng Jun had arranged a flight for Liu Hong as recompense for the latter being blindsided, which, to Li Qiang, was an effortless favor. How could he have the nerve to ask for money in this situation?

Moreover, he mentioned he intended to shoot some additional footage. The continuous rain recently had prevented him from arranging shots, and he anticipated filming the rain-soaked mountainscapes, promising to be exquisitely beautiful, when the rain returned.

Wang Haifeng dared not let him film the rainy scene. Now that he was beginning to understand the mysteries of the bamboo forest, he knew all too well that the ethereal white mist emitted by the bamboo in the rain was anything but ordinary beauty.

So he declined quite directly, saying that President Feng was accustomed to keeping a low profile and enjoyed the quiet, not wishing to be disturbed.

Li Qiang probed a little but realized that he was sincere, so he didn’t insist further.

However, Zhang Wei’s eyes lit up at this, “These past few days, the company has been planning a weekend outing. With the manor’s splendid scenery and the yacht, why don’t we come here for a visit and have a barbecue by the riverside… don’t worry, the company will pay for it.”

Feng Jun just smiled and shook his head. “I really didn’t want to make money from this. You know I don’t need to rely on it.”

“It’s precisely because you didn’t want to make that money that this place is so tranquil,” Zhang Wei said with his characteristic mischievous smile. “Master Feng, President Feng, Old Feng… do me a favor, will you? This is a private manor I’m asking about—doing me an honor.”

Feng Jun hesitated, glanced at Wang Haifeng and noticed that he was looking back at him.

“Then come on over,” Feng Jun decided not to fuss. Why do people struggle and fight so hard to improve themselves if not to, one day, be able to do as they wish?

Keeping a low profile was necessary, but to endlessly suppress one’s nature for the sake of low profile was just as undesirable. “However, for our picnic, we must prevent forest fires… Haifeng, you’ll need to guide them on that.”

Wang Haifeng nodded, “Alright, leave it to me. I’ll make sure it’s done well.”

After arranging this matter, Feng Jun asked Wang Haifeng to continue receiving Li Qiang and Zhang Wei, then he stood up and walked outside.

He drove away from the villa while it was still early, intending to visit Sister Hong.

At the mountain gate, he was surprised to see Xu Leigang standing there, talking to someone inside a car.

Wasn’t Lei Gang scheduled to be on guard in the bamboo forest today? Why had he come out?

He stopped his car and poked his head out, asking in a deep voice, “Lei Gang, what’s going on?”

“This…” Xu Leigang grimaced and shook his head. “The person in the car is my aunt, and she wants me to ask you when you’ll be returning to Peach Blossom Valley.”

“What?” Feng Jun blinked in confusion. “Did I say that I was going back to Peach Blossom Valley?”

With a wry smile, Xu Leigang replied, “My aunt said that, ever since you left, the square dance hasn’t been as effective, and even the crows have followed you away… Everyone is hoping you’ll return.”

“Are they out of their minds?” Feng Jun laughed in exasperation. “Wasn’t there someone who wanted to deal with the crows? Me going back… to be woken up early in the morning again, wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?”

Although he strongly disliked the idea, he didn’t hurry away as he still wanted to hear the details and find out how many people regretted their actions to the point of beating their chests and stamping their feet since he had left.

There was no help for it; Feng was really not one for broad-mindedness, especially fond of hearing others regret their past misjudgments.

“My aunt dances at the White Pagoda, not by our front door,” Xu Leigang replied with a bitter smile. “She just occasionally sits by it.”

He appeared especially helpless at that moment, “My aunt is my mother’s younger sister and has always taken good care of me.”

Xu Leigang also had no desire to interact much with the neighbors of Peach Blossom Valley, and he knew well the wondrous abilities of Master Feng.

But there were still some people he simply couldn’t refuse—the world of social engagement indeed left him without a say.