Chapter 588: Lao Deng, your daughter is in danger of bloodshed!
"Old man, your daughter is facing a bloody calamity!"
This sentence entered Director Zhang's ears, immediately infuriating him. He was one of the top ten richest people in Hangzhou, a prominent figure with a net worth of tens of billions. Now, someone was calling him an old man? That was not a pleasant term. Moreover, this person even had the audacity to jinx his beloved daughter, saying she would suffer a bloody calamity? Ever since her return, he had doted on his only daughter to the extreme, giving her whatever she wanted. He had meticulously nurtured her, hiring various top-tier renowned teachers to instruct her. In addition to regular subjects like language, math, and foreign languages, she also learned etiquette, piano, golf, and more. She was incredibly precious to him. Saying his daughter would suffer a bloody calamity angered him more than being called an old man.
"Oh, I misread it, it's not Old Deng," Shen Anyu said with a smile from outside the Bentley's window, his voice carrying a lazy, almost musical cadence that did nothing to soothe the simmering rage inside the luxury vehicle.
Chairman Zhang, whose mouth had already opened to unleash a torrent of rebukes, found his words caught in his throat. The sheer audacity of the young man was one thing, but the casual, almost bored correction was another. It was a dismissal. Since the other party had already claimed it was a mistake, a man of his stature and influence couldn't be seen bickering over a simple misnomer on the pristine streets of Jinxiu Mountain Villa. It would be beneath him. He clamped his jaw shut, the muscle twitching in irritation, and shot a withering glare at the impeccably dressed young man leaning against his own Rolls-Royce. With a cold snort, he prepared to order his driver, Old Jiang, to ignore the nuisance and drive on.
But just as the command formed on his lips, Shen Anyu spoke again, his voice slow and deliberate, each word dropping into the silent, air-conditioned interior of the Bentley like a stone into a still pond.
"However, it is true that your daughter will suffer a bloody calamity."
This time, there was no mistaking the intent. It wasn't a joke or a mistake. It was a declaration. Shen Anyu's gaze, sharp and penetrating, bypassed Chairman Zhang entirely. It was as if the billionaire magnate, a man who could make Hangzhou's markets tremble with a single phone call, was nothing more than a piece of furniture. His eyes locked onto the young woman in the right rear seat, a vision of tranquility and refined beauty. A faint, almost imperceptible golden light flashed deep within Shen Anyu's pupils as he took in her form, a girl so pure she seemed out of place in the mundane world, like an elven princess gracing the mortal coil.
Zhang Yaqian!
'So this is her,' Shen Anyu thought, a flicker of amusement dancing in his mind. She was the younger sister of Zhang Zhiyun, the designated Child of Destiny from the novel Celestial Master Descends the Mountain. Of course, the term 'sister' was a convenient fiction. Their actual relationship was a convoluted mess of family drama, perfectly engineered for a webnovel plot. She was the biological daughter of Zhang Zhiyun's stepmother, making them stepsiblings with absolutely no blood relation—a classic setup for a taboo romance within a blended family.
Why insist on such a detail? The reason was obvious to anyone familiar with the tropes. How else could Zhang Yaqian fulfill her role as Zhang Zhiyun's associated Destined Heroine? It was the perfect recipe for a 'sister becomes a lover' storyline.
Of course, with Shen Anyu now orchestrating events from the shadows, that particular chaotic and morally gray romance would never have the chance to blossom.
The history was tragic and dramatic. Twenty years ago, the Hangzhou Zhang Family—a different branch, the martial arts lineage—was annihilated in a brutal massacre by the Wan Fa Sect. By some miracle, the two children, Zhang Yaqian and Zhang Zhiyun, had been outside the estate and survived the slaughter. In the aftermath, Zhang Yaqian was found and raised by her biological father, the very man sitting beside her now: Chairman Zhang Yunhai, the titan behind the Yunhai Group and one of Hangzhou's ten wealthiest men. Meanwhile, Zhang Zhiyun was discovered and taken in by the reclusive Master of the Celestial Master Sect, raised on a remote mountain, ignorant of his past.
If Shen Anyu hadn't intervened in this timeline, their reunion two decades later would have ignited a powder keg of poignant drama, a classic melodramatic love triangle.
Because Zhang Yaqian wasn't just linked to Zhang Zhiyun. Her destiny was also entangled with another Child of Destiny: Zhao Tao, the transmigrator who built his fame by plagiarizing songs from another world. In the past few days, Zhao Tao had been making waves, releasing one hit after another—songs like "Blue and White Porcelain," "Jiangnan," and "Wanjang"—which had thrown the Yanxia music scene into a frenzy and made him an overnight superstar.
Conveniently, Zhao Tao hailed from an equally powerful family, also ranking among Hangzhou's top ten richest. And, in a classic move of intertwined fates, he had a long-standing engagement with Zhang Yaqian. The original plot was clear: if Zhao Tao's music career failed, he would be 'forced' to return home, inherit a multi-billion-dollar empire, and marry the stunningly beautiful and equally wealthy Zhang Yaqian. A true tragedy, indeed.
Shen Anyu, being the benevolent villain he was, felt a natural obligation to help poor Zhao Tao avoid such a terrible fate.
"You said my daughter will suffer a bloody calamity?"
The question rumbled from Zhang Yunhai's chest, laced with ice. His face had become a thunderous mask of displeasure. All pretense of polite society was gone. If this arrogant young man couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation, Chairman Zhang would ensure he learned a harsh lesson about respect. While he lived by the mantra 'harmony brings wealth', his protective instinct for Zhang Yaqian overrode all other considerations. She was the daughter he had nearly lost forever in the massacre of the other Zhang family, the precious gem he had miraculously recovered. He would burn the world down to keep her safe.
Beside him, Zhang Yaqian, the picture of serenity, blinked. Her long, dark eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. A spark of curiosity lit her eyes as she looked past her father at Shen Anyu, her head tilting slightly. She wasn't afraid or angry, merely intrigued. Why would this impossibly handsome man say such a strange and ominous thing?
"Of course."
Shen Anyu's tone was matter-of-fact, as if he were commenting on the weather. A golden shimmer, invisible to the mortal eye, pulsed in his irises. He had activated his Heavenly Secret Qi Observation Technique, his gaze piercing through the veil of the physical world to perceive the flow of fate itself. He looked at the crown of Zhang Yaqian's head and saw a magnificent aura, a swirling corona of destiny. Vibrant blue, representing nobility, intertwined with the deep, molten gold of immense wealth. A serene purple, the color of longevity, formed a stable, calming base. It was an ethereal phoenix crown, a sign of a truly blessed life.
Yet, coiled around this magnificent display was something ugly. A thin, vicious thread of crimson—a bloody aura, sharp and menacing. It clung to her fate like a venomous snake, a clear omen of an impending bloody calamity.
It wasn't a life-threatening disaster. At most, it signified a minor accident, some flesh wound or injury that would leave a scar. The overall impact on her grand destiny was negligible.
But how could the great and benevolent Shen Anyu allow such a pristine, flawless beauty to suffer even a minor injury? How could he permit her perfect skin to be marred by a single drop of blood?
'No, that won't do at all,' he mused. 'If she is to suffer a bloody calamity, if her skin is to be broken, then I will have to be the one to inflict it personally.'
With that thought solidified, his charming smile returned, masking the possessive chill beneath. "I have a Peace Talisman here to sell you. It can protect you and keep you safe in the near future."
With a motion as casual as breathing, Shen Anyu reached through the open window of the Bentley, plucked a single napkin from the dispenser inside, and then, with breathtaking audacity, smoothly lifted the Montblanc fountain pen from Zhang Yunhai's own breast pocket. As if he were merely doodling, his hand moved with an impossible speed, tracing a series of complex, angular characters onto the flimsy paper. They looked like gibberish, yet each stroke seemed to carry an invisible weight. Before anyone could protest, he folded the napkin with a few deft flicks of his wrist into the traditional shape of a Daoist talisman and presented it to Zhang Yaqian.
Zhang Yaqian's long, thick eyelashes fluttered again. She sat perfectly poised, a model of high-society etiquette, but an expression of profound amusement flashed in her star-like eyes. It was the most ridiculous thing she had ever seen.
"Daddy, can I take it?" A voice as sweet and clear as a silver bell emerged from her cherry-red lips. She turned a pair of hopeful, sparkling eyes toward her father.
Zhang Yunhai was utterly flabbergasted. He had braced himself for a confrontation, a provocation, perhaps even a threat. But this... a sales pitch? The young man who had blocked his car, insulted him, and spouted nonsense about bloody calamities was nothing more than a street peddler? A street peddler who drove a Rolls-Royce?
'Is this some rich brat from another family in Hangzhou?' he wondered, bewildered. 'Did he run out of pocket money and decide to pull this absurd prank?'
"Go ahead and take it. A Peace Talisman is a good omen too," Zhang Yunhai finally relented with a sigh. He was, at his core, a superstitious man. He frequently paid exorbitant sums to have 'masters' perform rituals for his business and had recently spent five million yuan on a 'money tree' for his corporate office. This was a common affliction among Hangzhou's super-rich; even the city's number one billionaire was famously obsessed with feng shui masters and spiritual consultants.
Zhang Yaqian's eyes curved into beautiful crescents, her smile lighting up the car's interior. She reached out with a delicate hand, her fingers brushing against Shen Anyu's as she accepted the folded napkin. "Thank you."
Shen Anyu chuckled, a low, magnetic sound. "Just thanking me isn't enough. I said it's for sale, not a gift."
Zhang Yaqian's starry eyes widened just a fraction, her surprise evident.
"How much are you selling it for?" Zhang Yunhai asked, a hint of dark amusement in his tone. He was now fully convinced this was some young master playing a game, trying to wheedle some cash out of him. If he knew the boy's parents, he would certainly have a word with them later about their son's bizarre behavior. Driving a Rolls-Royce, forcing a car to stop, peddling makeshift talismans, and talking about bloody calamities—the entire affair was beyond unreliable. But since they were all residents of the exclusive Jinxiu Mountain Villa, a gated community for the ultra-wealthy and powerful, he felt no sense of real danger.
Then, a clear, resonant male voice answered, uttering a number so astronomical it made Zhang Yunhai nearly leap out of his skin.
"One hundred million," Shen Anyu said with that same infuriatingly calm smile.
"One hundred million!" Both Zhang Yunhai and his driver, Old Jiang, exclaimed in unison, their voices cracking with shock.
"One hundred million?" Zhang Yaqian, the serene elven princess, also let out a small gasp, her perfectly shaped cherry lips parting in utter astonishment.
'Is this… extortion?'
She had watched him with her own eyes. That so-called 'Peace Talisman' was a napkin from their own car, inscribed with her father's Montblanc pen. The entire process had taken less than ten seconds. And he was demanding one hundred million for it? Even Master Wang, the most sought-after and popular spiritualist in all of Hangzhou, wouldn't dare charge such an outrageous price for a talisman!
"Yes, one hundred million. That's my price," Shen Anyu affirmed, his gaze locking onto Zhang Yaqian again. "And because your daughter is beautiful, I even gave you a huge discount."
A faint blush crept up Zhang Yaqian's cheeks, dusting her fair skin with a delicate pink hue.
Zhang Yunhai's expression turned black as thunder. He was on the verge of exploding. What kind of nonsense was this? Flirting with his precious daughter right in front of him while trying to extort him for a hundred million? This had crossed the line from a prank to a blatant shakedown!
However, Shen Anyu didn't give him the chance to erupt. He turned to leave, waving a hand nonchalantly behind him as he walked back towards his Rolls-Royce. His leisurely voice drifted back to them.
"I always operate on a 'goods first, payment later' basis. If the effect isn't good, you don't have to pay a single cent. If you're satisfied with the effect, remember to transfer the one hundred million. Overdue payments will incur interest."
Before his words faded, with a light snap of his fingers, a business card sailed through the air. It fluttered in a perfect arc, landing softly and precisely in Zhang Yaqian's open hand. Her starry eyes swept over it. On the pale golden cardstock, there were only two lonely lines of text: a phone number and a bank account number.
'What an interesting person.'
Zhang Yaqian's eyes flickered with a strange light as she watched Shen Anyu's retreating back. A seed of intense curiosity had been planted in her heart.
[Ding! Detected Destined Heroine Zhang Yaqian's favorability +20, plundered +60000 destiny value!]
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