BXBX NOVEL Chapter 255 - Making Choices (3)
"...You\'ve only been in the cultivation scene for a year."
"I\'m not trying to make an organization," Li Yang said with a flat tone. He was making a harem—but how would this shopkeeper even react to that kind of statement? Would this guy laugh or be impressed with the fact that was what he was doing?
This shopkeeper eventually just told him that he found Ying Yue He as he checked his phone. Everything was on the internet nowadays it seemed, even old cultivation organizations learned to adjust to the new technological advancements.
"How is Miss He?" Li Yang interrupted him with a frown.
The thought of her being with other cultivators and all by herself at the same time made him grow concerned. While she was dependable as his secretary, he had no idea how she would fare as a cultivator.
Special constitution or not.
"Is she doing fine and alright—I haven\'t been in contact with her for the past few months so…"
It was one of those moments again where he realized how he neglected the people that were at his side.
This didn\'t bother him at all before.
In a sense, while it was possible that there were individuals in his company that were a good fit in serving the Olympian Corp… there were a lot of possible individuals to replace them. That was how the market worked, with new technological advancements and people becoming more suitable and replacing the previous ones.
Although training new employees was always costly—if that was needed to make a better company… then it was a price worth taking. Ying Yue He leaving the company wasn\'t exactly bad if she really did pursue to be a cultivator—but not being able to explain why he left was the problem.
It was only by chance that Taiga, Narissa and Luo Ju Di were still able to reconnect with him immediately after his return.
Mitsuko\'s sentiment of time continually moving forward was true and now it seemed more apparent than before in Ying Yue He\'s case.
But thinking about Mitsuko now as well—
His thoughts flickered to Setsuko and what she and Mitsuko may have thought when he left. He didn\'t exactly expect that trying to kill a goddess led to his return back to earth.
Setsuko should have been aware back then that he needed the Kaeli\'s stone to leave and yet swallowed it. Despite their energy bonding, he may have failed to properly notice how she didn\'t want him to leave.
Things weren\'t over there, but he needed to focus on patching up his relations here. Overall, iIt seemed like he was doing a great job at keeping people close with him—fantastically great at letting these people know what he felt about them.
Li Yang sighed inwardly.
One way or another, he needed to find a way to keep everyone he cared about with him in one place. And yet that was still another plan for the future until he reclaimed his freedom.
He wanted to be with them and yet not involve them in his mess.
It was a constant struggle.
The shopkeeper probably didn\'t notice his internal turmoil at all and simply spoke up after checking his phone. "She\'s pretty new but it seems like she\'s doing fine." Yuan Gen leaned on the counter and waved his phone. "We\'re not some bad organization that treats our assets terribly—"
"Ying Yue He is not just an asset—she\'s a person that I have to meet tonight." Li Yang placed his hands on the counter. It may seem like a rush, but he was gone for too long and he couldn\'t let another moment slip by if he could make things happen.
"Come on—like right now?" Yuan Gen rubbed his face.
"Yes, right now. If there are cultivation swords that can be used to fly over where she is right now then give me one with the coordinates available—I\'ll purchase one here or get it somewhere else."
Li Yang was kind of saving his points to increase his own power, but purchasing a way to get around faster didn\'t seem like a terrible idea right now.
Still, the shopkeeper scratched his head and eventually nodded. "Fine, let\'s do this. It\'s a short trip… and you\'re the only one going with us, right? We don\'t need any of the folks from Shen Society crawling up in our territory."
It was a good idea that he came here rather than there. It wasn\'t obvious when they first met, but this shopkeeper seemed to be up in the hierarchy of the Liu Group to be able to pull the strings immediately.
At most, he was still expecting some kind of assessment and this guy just agreed.
This shopkeeper probably thought Li Yang was harmless and that he was outmatched… which probably wasn\'t a lie considering numbers alone.
But Li Yang nodded. "I\'d appreciate that."
A small chuckle finally escaped from the shopkeeper, the tension seeming to have left the shop now that they\'ve come to an agreement.
"You\'re still pretty formal to me—but if I read the profile correctly, she\'s in one of our remote islands. So let me call for a ship and we can take a small cruise. I\'m sure guys like you enjoy this kind of thing, right?"
"She\'s out of the country right now?"
"You know those kinds of islands that can\'t be seen by ordinary people though? It\'s a natural way to keep everyone out and simply concentrate on training. We can\'t have tribulation lightning hitting cities so we go off the grid."
"... That makes sense," Li Yang acknowledged with a sigh.
"So yeah, I\'m texting one of our men to get us a ride in at least half an hour—thankfully we\'re in a city with a port. Still, what\'s your goal by having this Ying Yue He with you if you\'re not exactly part of Shen Society or making an organization? Is she your girlfriend? Wife? A cultivation partner—"
Li Yang was pretty aware that this was the guy trying to think of a way to benefit from this sudden turn of events.
Even if his fighting prowess wasn\'t at the peak of existence, they denied that being a wealthy ex-CEO was immaterial to cultivators… there was still some use in having someone like him as an ally.
If that was what they deemed of him.
However, at this point—he preferred not to get involved. He wasn\'t at Taiga\'s sect destroying level, but he also still disliked whatever this organization was doing. Logically he could understand from what standing they were, but he still couldn\'t accept that there were organizations like them that actually used their fellow humans for experiments.
He wouldn\'t stop them, but it was best to not get involved.
Li Yang looked out of the door and wondered if he actually lost Mou Gu on his way here. It was a little doubtful, unless he surpassed the guy, but this shopkeeper didn\'t seem to have a clue. "Would you believe me if I tell you that I\'m forming a harem?"
"Are you interested in buying some alchemical pills that are good for sex and libido? Some jade flowers to increase yin capacity? There\'s some bodyshaping cultivation arts." Yuan Gen replied. "
"You\'re not ill-disposed to it?"
"I\'ve worked in this line of business ever since I was a kid—there are far more wrinkly and slimy old men that attempted to have a harem and succeeded. The women in your harem will infinitely be at a better place than them." Yuan Gen shrugged and gave him a dry smile.
"Of course, it shouldn\'t have been a surprise that this is a common thing."
"If you live more than a hundred years—it\'s easy to get bored with your current partners. So they tend to switch it off for the fresh cream of the crop." Yuan Gen looked at his phone without batting an eye.
"Do you actually agree with that kind of mindset?" Li Yang asked.
"Business is business, you know? So as long as they buy stuff and don\'t interfere with Liu\'s main operations, there\'s no need to get worked up and I just deliver what they need. The same thing I\'m doing for you."
"..." Li Yang stared blankly at him.
"Hah! I bet you won\'t need mind-altering substances, right? Women are most likely to flock to you."
"You are aware that saying all of these things makes it less likely for me to think highly of the organization, right?" Li Yang said. "I\'m considering punching you right now if I were to simply give in to my annoyance."
The shopkeeper raised his hand. "But… we have the person that you need, so you don\'t do that."
"I can do it after I assure Ying Yue He is safe."
The shopkeeper managed a laugh. "I like your humor. Having people like you in the group would give it a little more class compared to the old farts that are still hanging around their temples and acting like gods on earth. Don\'t tell others I said that."
"I wasn\'t lying, it\'s a warning."
"But by telling me this, doesn\'t it mean that you want me to avoid it?" The shopkeeper cleared his throat and shrugged. "This is like giving me a chance to prepare for the punch. Which is also kind of irrational at some point, knowing that there are worse people than me."
"It means that whether you\'re aware of what I intend to do or not, I will still do it." Li Yang replied. "And it\'s true that you\'re not as scummy as the people you\'re describing, but you still work with them and do I need to have any other reason to express my distaste?"
"Not really?"