Chapter 1755 — Night Market Encounters, Part One

"All right... congratulations, then..." Gu Mengyao did not really understand how the company operated, but making money was always a good thing.

"All right, Yaoyao. You kids have fun. Daddy has work to do—something's come up here..." Gu Pengzhan said.

"Okay. Bye, Daddy." Gu Mengyao hung up, shook her head, and said to Wei Zhao, "Let's go. Daddy's too busy. He doesn't have time."

Wei Zhao wanted to say something, but after a moment's hesitation he kept silent. He knew little about business, though standing nearby he had caught the gist of Gu Mengyao's call. It struck him as highly irregular that a company like Gu Pengzhan's, rooted mainly in real industry, could double its working capital in such a short time.

The Gu Group was no tech company; it produced no inventions or innovations, so its assets could not possibly double overnight. Still, Gu Pengzhan was a veteran of the business world and was unlikely to make such a basic mistake.

No sooner had Gu Pengzhan hung up than he received a call from An Mingyue.

"Brother An, how are things now?" Gu Pengzhan asked.

"Haha, congratulations! Our investment has gained another ten percent..." An Mingyue said smugly.

"You're kidding. Another gain that big?" Gu Pengzhan said in surprise.

"Of course. This trader is a real expert Jianwen met while studying abroad—he knows the futures market inside out!" An Mingyue said. "If he hadn't offended someone overseas while trading, he would never have come to work for me..."

"Then... why don't we put in a little more?" Gu Pengzhan asked, clearly tempted.

"More? I'd rather not. This was just a bit of fun—we both have our own businesses, and a small profit is enough," An Mingyue said. "Besides, Brother Gu, do you even have the cash? Your holdings are all real estate, aren't they?"

"That's true... I'll think it over..." Gu Pengzhan said with some regret.

"All right, we'll leave it there for now. I'll let you know the moment there's news," An Mingyue said.

"Good. Sorry to trouble you, Brother An," Gu Pengzhan said quickly.

After hanging up, An Mingyue gave An Jianwen a thumbs-up. "Jianwen, that idea of yours was really something. Step by step, you've reeled Gu Pengzhan in. Just as you predicted, he wants to invest more..."

"Naturally. With profits that big, who wouldn't be tempted?" An Jianwen said. "Wait a few more days, give him another nudge or two, and he'll soon be reckless enough."

"Yes... but what if he decides to quit while he's ahead? Wouldn't we end up losing money?" An Mingyue was somewhat worried. After all, all that talk about futures profits was pure fabrication on his part—no trading had ever been done. The money Gu Pengzhan handed over was still sitting in his company's account. He had merely watched which futures were making money and then dressed up the numbers to tell Gu Pengzhan.

"Don't worry, Father. The hypnotist has already planted the suggestion. He's bound to go wild," An Jianwen said without a trace of concern. "And when that happens, the entire Gu Group will be ours!"

"Good. Hearing that puts my mind at ease!" An Mingyue nodded.

That day, Wei Zhao and the others arrived at a small town near the highway, planning to grab a bite and find lodging for the night.

They were drawing closer to West Star Village with every passing day. Wei Zhao had not pushed on day and night. As a cultivator, he could endure it, but Tang Yun and the others could not—resting poorly in the car would leave them drained the next day. Besides, stopping at all those little towns along the way, spending the evenings wandering their markets, had its own charm.

This was also the first road trip Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had ever taken. They had traveled often before, but never driven themselves, so they had never experienced this stop-and-go way of journeying.

In the evening, after eating near the express hotel, they followed their usual habit and headed to the town's night market.

The town had few proper shops, only one large market where all sorts of goods could be bought. This was what people called going to market. Gu Mengyao and the others, raised in big cities, had never seen anything like it, though in truth it was not so different from a night market.

Of course, the stalls mostly sold local specialties and household goods, unlike city night markets with their snacks and trinkets.

As for local specialties, no one had any desire to buy more. The trunk was already crammed full. They had meant to pick up a little something from each place, but one purchase had led to another until the pile had grown, and there was no room left.

So here they merely looked.

"I hear Wang Laoba went hunting today and killed a legendary black phoenix?"

"Black phoenix? More like a wild chicken, I'd say."

"Who knows? But at that price, only a fool would buy it."

"True enough. Even if it were a phoenix, eating it won't make you fly!"

"Eating is all you ever think about!"

"It's dead already. What else is there to do but eat it?"

"Fair point!"

Wei Zhao and the others were wandering through the market, looking over the local goods, when they overheard two stallholders talking nearby. Curious, Wei Zhao asked casually, "What is a black phoenix?"

"Who knows? They say it's a black phoenix, a kind of spirit beast from Dark Night Mountain back there. Of course, it's all legend. To me it's just a black silkie chicken!" the stallholder answered offhandedly.

"Oh?" Wei Zhao had asked only in passing, but the mention of a spirit beast stirred something in him. He pressed on: "A spirit beast? What is that? Is it like those animals in novels that can cultivate?"

"Spirit beast? I've no idea what sort of thing that is. The old folks say there are spirit beasts on the mountain, but they're exceedingly rare. They say drinking a spirit beast's blood can prolong your life," the stallholder said. "As for this 'cultivation' you mention, never heard of it."

"All right. Thank you!" Wei Zhao nodded.

"Brother Arrow, are you going to check out that black phoenix spirit beast?" Shen Yushu had guessed his intention the moment Wei Zhao stood up.

"Yeah. Thought I'd go see what all the fuss is about," Wei Zhao said, without confirming anything outright.

"It's over that way. You can go take a look, but that thing—heh—only a fool would buy it!" The stallholder pointed toward one side of the market.

Wei Zhao said nothing more. He simply led Tang Yun and the others in the direction the stallholder had indicated...

Fastest updates. For pop-up-free reading, please.