Chapter 20: The Swindler
Chapter 20: The Swindler
At around 8 PM, Lin Li arrived at the late-night food street in the western suburbs of Shanghai and went straight to a private room on the second floor of an old pigeon soup restaurant.
Inside the private room, an elderly man with a neatly trimmed beard was sipping pigeon soup, dressed in a Zhongshan suit.
"Teacher, I’m here," Lin Li bowed respectfully and stood beside the elderly man.
The elderly man smiled and nodded, gesturing to a seat nearby. "Sit down. Order yourself a bowl of soup."
Lin Li sat but didn’t order anything. Instead, he pulled out a small box from his pocket and handed it over. "Here’s the golden carp you asked for."
The elderly man opened the box, revealing two small golden carp. Satisfied, he put them away and nodded. "You’ve gone to some trouble."
"As long as it helps Teacher refine a Golden Elixir, it’s worth it," Lin Li said with a smile.
The elderly man chuckled. "Taking a Golden Elixir at my age would be a waste. I’ve spent fifty years gathering the Five Minerals and Nine Herbs, but now, as my time nears its end, consuming the elixir would do more harm than good."