This was definitely a win-win transaction. Not only did he find Hong Xing, thereby accomplishing the mission given by Jiang Xianbang, he had also safe kept the item. The hostility which had dragged on for two years had finally come to an end. For this reason, Qin Sheng felt the burden fell off his shoulder and the winter sun seemed to become much warmer all of a sudden.

Without delay, Zhang Zibang got up to leave for Kumbum Monastery in Xining, while Zhang Ziyu had been instructed to remain in Hangzhou to settle the miscellaneous matters. Right after Zhang Zibang left, Zhang Ziyu, who still could not totally trust Qin Sheng said, “I maintain my opinion that you are up to no good.”

It was indeed true that Qin Sheng was up to no good. In fact, he had planned to secretly inform the Song family that the situation between the Zhang family and the Song family had come back to square one, just as it was two years ago. Qin Sheng wanted to tell them to keep him out the matter between the two families and not implicate him any further.

“I am staying at Shilin Huayuan in Jing An, Shanghai. My phone will always be switched on. Given your capability, it’ll be easy for you to find me if you think I’ve deceived you,” said Qin Sheng as words of assurance to Zhang Ziyu.

“I hope everything goes smoothly, otherwise you better watch out!” said Zhang Ziyu coldly.

Qing Sheng could not be bothered about the ignorant Zhang Ziyu. After inquiring about the Zhao Song and Zhao Quan’s whereabouts, he went downstairs to settle these two troublemakers.

Zhao Song, who was in the room downstairs had gone hungry for two days. He kept thinking about how Mr. Jiang would deal with them given that Third Uncle had betrayed him. Would Mr. Jiang kill all of them?

Zhao Song was seen to be in a daze when the door to the room opened. He had entered society at a young age and had since been through the sophistication of the different strata in society. In this light, he was much more matured compared to his peers. Most of his contemporaries were still kids who were currently enjoying campus life as students, while he had followed his Uncle around, trying to survive making a living for himself. Perhaps he was more suitable for this kind of lifestyle, or a better one. However, life did not permit him to have a second chance. After making a choice, he had to continue down the path he chose.

“What’s on your mind?” Qin Sheng said softly and his voice brought Zhao Song back to reality. The room was filled with cigarette butts. It was dimly lit as all the curtains were drawn. It would seem that his life had gone into darkness.

When Zhao Song realized that Qin Sheng had entered the room, he perked up and said, “You’ve come, Brother Qin.”

“If I don’t come to you, I’m afraid you’ll do something silly,” said Qin Sheng, as he passed a cigarette to Zhao Song. He had planned to have a good chat with Zhao Song.

Zhao Song lit the stick of cigarette, as well as the cigarette in Qin Sheng’s hand. Zhao Song may be a quiet man, but he was a smart man who could read people’s mind. He might have picked up the skill from his Uncle.

“Brother Qin, what does Mr. Jiang plan to do to my Third Uncle?” asked Zhao Song, who could not hold back his anxiety and decided to be direct.

“What do you think?” asked Qin Sheng in return.

There was the look of anxiety in Zhao Song’s eyes and with a trembling voice, he answered, “He won’t kill my Third Uncle, will he?”

Qin Sheng burst out laughing as he thought that both Zhao Song and Zhao Quan must have thought so. When Qin Sheng asked Jiang Xianbang how he should deal with this pair of uncle and nephew, Jiang Xianbang had given him a rather unexpected answer after a moment of hesitation. It was not what Jiang Xianbang would usually do, however, Qin Sheng did not press him for a reason. He would simply follow Jiang Xianbang’s instructions.

“What are you laughing about?” asked Zhao Song, puzzled.

Qin Sheng went on to explain saying, “I’m laughing because you’re in luck. Mr. Jiang had decided to let you off since the matter wasn’t blown out of proportion. Nothing serious had happened to Brother Hong, and everything was in place. Your Uncle had been working for him for so many years; Mr. Jiang had decided to let him retire from this business to go home. Otherwise, if Mr. Jiang finds out that your uncle returns to this business, he won’t give a second chance.”

“Really? Did Mr. Jiang really say so?” asked a thrilled Zhao Song, who could hardly believe what he heard. This was out of his expectation. If this was true, it would be such good news. A look of joy and excitement spread across the face of the man of few words.

Qin Sheng forced a smile and said, “Why should I lie to you? Let me just clarify a few things with him in a while, and he can leave after that, on condition that he leaves Hangzhou within three days.”

“That’s great! Thank you, Brother Qin. Thank you, Mr. Jiang,” said Zhao Song, who was starting to talk gibberish. He had been in a state of anxiety and paranoia since last night. He knew he would be lost if he were to lose his Uncle.

Sighing, Qin Sheng said, “The only problem is where do you go from here once your uncle goes home?”

Having spent the last few days with Zhao Song, Qin Sheng had grown to have a soft spot for this young man. For this reason, Qin Sheng was concerned about his future.

“Me?” asked Zhao Song, who instantly fell into deep thoughts.

Qin Sheng called to mind the conversation he had with Zhao Song on the day they first met and smiling he said, “Didn’t you tell me in the past that your Uncle would work for another three years before he would retire and go back to your hometown to set up some small business, get married and have children?”

“I don’t want to go back home, Brother Qin,” said Zhao Song with earnestness when he suddenly lifted his eyes to look at Qin Sheng.

Puzzled, Qin Sheng asked, “But why?”

“Having come from a small town, we would not want to return to it. I was joking with you last time. Although Uncle indeed wanted to retire, I would like to remain in the big city. I want to make a name for myself here,” Zhao Song said determinedly.

“But how are you going to make a name for yourself after your Uncle leaves?” said Qin Sheng with a chuckle.

In a state of being lost in his direction, Zhao Song grabbed hold of the opportunity, with his mind fixed on Qin Sheng, he gritted his teeth and said, “Brother Qin, I’ll follow you. I believe you will make it big.”

“Me?” Qin Sheng burst out laughing and continued, “Zhao Song, Zhao Song, I don’t even know where I’m headed. How would I be able to help you? You’re really desperate, aren’t you?”

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Zhao Song said, shaking his head. “Mr. Jiang trusts you for one, and I really admire the way you handle things. I feel that I can trust you. Moreover, there’s no other way for me to go, it doesn’t matter if I’ve taken a wrong path, I’m just going to take the gamble.

“At least you’re honest about this,” Qin Sheng chuckled.

Zhao Song continued to insist on his decision, saying, “Just let me follow you, Brother Qin.”

Qin Sheng did not give Zhao Song an answer immediately but went into deep thoughts. He thought about how Jiang Xianbang’s plan to nurture him to be his successor. He would indeed need some sidekicks. Given that Zhao Song and Zhao Quan had been in this business for so many years, they would be well versed with a lot of things in this area. Zhao Song would definitely be of use to him.

After a long pause, Qin Sheng finally lifted his gaze to Zhao Song and said, “Alright if you want to follow me. However, I don’t have the resource and capability to make you successful now. It would time and experience. In addition, I have a request.”

“What request?” Zhao Song asked, looking attentive.

Qin Sheng said in a low voice, “I want absolute faithfulness from you. If you emulate your Uncle, I would kill you with my own hands.”

“Alright,” Zhao Song responded without any hesitation.

Qin Sheng was not going to be taken in so quickly by such a casual promise of loyalty, but he agreed to his proposal because Zhao Song was of use to him for now, so he said, “After your Uncle leaves, you will remain in the hospital to watch over Brother Hong. Meanwhile, you wait for my arrangements.”

Qin Sheng got up to leave after he finished fiving Zhao Song instructions. Qin Sheng thought that since Zhao Song had the brains as well as the physical skills and some money, it was a good and useful thing he kept him by his side.

Leaving Zhao Song behind, Qin Sheng went to Zhao Quan thereafter.

Zhao Quan was in a dimly lit room without any windows. On a table in that room was a bottle of Niulanshan Erguotou Spirit, which had been emptied, and some leftover food. He appeared to be much more relaxed than Zhao Song.

“Are you here to bid me farewell?” said Zhao Quan casually as he leaned back on the bed.

Qin Sheng did not deny but nodded and replied, “Yes, here to bid you goodbye on behalf of Mr. Jiang.”

“Go ahead. I will take responsibility for what I’ve done. I’ve chosen my path and lost. I’ll shoulder the blame. However, this had nothing to do with Zhao Song, I hope you will not hold him responsible,” said Zhao Quan. He was a bold man with dignity and was ready to take responsibility for his actions, yet he was worried for Zhao Song, whom he feared would be implicated.

“Naturally I won’t hold him responsible, rest assured,” said Qin Sheng, smiling, then pulled a chair over and sat down, ignoring the dust on the surface of the chair. He continued, “But before we come to that, I want to clarify something with you, things which Mr. Jiang wants to know.”

“Go ahead,” Zhao Quan said casually without looking up.

Taking his time, Qin Sheng finally opened his mouth and said, “Why did you betray Mr. Jiang? He had treated you well all these years!”

“The reason is simple. Jiang Xianbang is going to be finished. I don’t want to go down with him. I was planning to return to my hometown after one last shot, bringing Zhao Song with me, and live a quiet life thereafter,” by this time, there was no reason for Zhao Quan to try to hide anything, so he was upfront about his reasons.

Qin Sheng was greatly taken aback by what Zhao Quan said. Why would he say that Jiang Xianbang was going to be finished?

“You don’t understand, do you? These men were not after the Ancient Bronze Sword from the period of the warring states. They were after Hong Xing, who knows too much about Jiang Xianbang. I was just riding on them to lay hold of the Ancient Bronze Swords from the period of the warring states, which would be sufficient to sustain my livelihood,” Zhao Quan explained.

This made Qin Sheng go into deep thoughts. Now he finally understood why Jiang Xianbang wanted Hong Xing, dead or alive. If he betrayed Jiang Xianbang, it had been instructed to simply kill him.

It seemed as if Jiang Xianbang had sensed the danger.

When Qin Sheng regains his composure, he continued to ask by saying, “So were you the one who set everything up the other night?”

“It was I.”

“Why did you pretend to be dead?”

“This is to cover up so people don’t see it. Only through so doing could I clear my name. I had wanted to wait until the entire episode is over to contact Zhao Song, then leave with him and disappear from then on.”

“Why didn’t you kill me but let me go?” Qin Sheng continued to press him.

Shaking his head, Zhao Quan said, “The thought did cross my mind. However, I figured that you didn’t know where the Ancient Bronze Sword was back in the car. It was useless to kill you. In fact, I would provoke Jiang Xianbang to fight back even more violently if I did. By that time, I would have invited big trouble. Secondly, there was still hope of finding the item if I kept you alive.”

“I get it now,” said Qin Sheng thoughtfully. To Qin Sheng, Zhao Quan was indeed a wily man. He had underestimated him.

“What else do you want to know? Just go ahead and ask,” Zhao Quan snorted.

“That’s all,” Qin Sheng had asked all the questions he had in his mind and gotten his answers.

Zhao Quan got up and said, “Do what you want to do already!”

He had prepared himself for death. When he made that choice earlier on, he was prepared for the worst. He was just taking a gamble since the transaction promised good returns.

However, Qin Sheng suddenly said, “You may go. Mr. Jiang had forgiven you. Leave Hangzhou and come clean, otherwise, you have to bear the consequences on your own later on.”

“What?” Zhao Quan had shock written all over his face when he heard Qin Sheng’s words. He was frozen in place, unable to react. Little did he expect the outcome to come to this. Jiang Xianbang had forgiven him. This was such a twist of events for him.

Qin Sheng left Zhao Quan alone so he could gradually digest the outcome. Right now, Qin Sheng had to return to Shanghai to look for Jiang Xianbang. He wanted to talk to him to find out if he was in any kind of trouble.