Unconventional [Rebirth] - Chapter 23.1

The implication… it was clearly that this esteemed man intended to take him under his command.

Jiang Rui felt a bit puzzled.

The Spirit-Confusing Formation at the Rong estate was beneath contempt in Miao Xuan’s eyes, and it also looked down upon the array setter. Yet, in the outside world, that array setter was likely a Master of Metaphysics, at least someone with a name in both feng shui and array formations.

Regardless of that person’s intentions, anyone who had the opportunity to arrange the residential feng shui for Rong Jingtang was definitely not a Master of an ordinary level.

Even if Rong Jingtang wanted to find someone to deal with the array setter, he would need to find a Master of the same rank. As an amateur who joined the path halfway, without the necessary skill, how could he dare to take on this difficult task?

But the problem was, Jiang Rui knew his own limits, while Master Rong did not. Seeing Jiang Rui’s subtle and overt attempts to decline, he immediately delivered the final word: “Jiang Rui, I only listen to the answers I want to hear.”

Jiang Rui: “…” Hehe, what if he insisted on saying what he did not want to hear?

…Forget it, better not try.

An arm cannot twist a thigh. Having lived all these years, Jiang Rui still understood this basic principle. He was not someone who lacked situational awareness, or else he would not have followed Wang Chenghui for so many years, wholeheartedly serving as the sharpest sword in Wang Chenghui’s hand.

Yet, even the most arrogant and intimidating sword needs a master. If not today, then tomorrow. If not Rong Jingtang, it would be someone else.

Jiang Rui was not someone who could be a ‘King.’ His personality and ambition were suited only for being the sharp sword in the King’s hand, capable of striking the enemy with an unexpected sharp edge.

Compared to others, Jiang Rui was privately more inclined towards Rong Jingtang. Even as a sword, he wished to find the most skillful master best suited to himself.

Jiang Rui was not normally indecisive, but at this moment, it was difficult for him to give Rong Jingtang an answer.

He had to wait a little longer.

He needed to see if Rong Jingtang was worthy of his allegiance.

After all, he had already encountered one Wang Chenghui and been abandoned once; he did not want to experience that feeling a second time.

Fortunately, Rong Jingtang did not immediately force him to make a decision. He simply said to wait until he had figured things out before discussing the matter.

To prevent any accident with the array formation, Jiang Rui stayed at the Rong estate for a few extra days just to be safe.

Rong Jingtang met with him again.

“Are you in a hurry to return to Qing City?” he asked.

Jiang Rui thought for a moment, shook his head, “My holiday still has over a month.” The implication was that returning to Qing City before school started would suffice.

Rong Jingtang’s expression softened slightly, and his tone, rarely, carried some warmth: “Then accompany me on a trip to the border of Yidian.” Jiang Rui looked at him with an inscrutable expression. His original plan was to travel to Yidian after leaving Xiang City. It was no big deal that this esteemed man controlled his whereabouts, but how was he suddenly able to read minds now?

Rong Jingtang was a man of great perception. Seeing the change in Jiang Rui’s expression, he quickly guessed the reason and said, “What? You were also planning to go to Yidian?”

Jiang Rui lowered his eyelids and said softly, “Yes, I heard the scenery there is quite good.”

This was an indirect refusal to answer. Rong Jingtang did not press him further.

“And you? What are you going to Yidian for? It shouldn’t be a major event, or why would you bring me along?” Jiang Rui asked.

As if he had been waiting for this question, Rong Jingtang’s eyes carried a hidden smile and he said, “You are going this time to be my eye, so how could I not bring you?”

Jiang Rui sharply looked up at him.

“Someone has agreed to challenge me to three rounds at the Yidian Grand Meet in August. Neither he nor I are proficient in jade betting, so naturally, we must find someone to be our expert eye. This competition is purely a test of luck and the ability to discern people.”

Jiang Rui chuckled in annoyance.

“Rong Jingtang, when did I ever tell you I knew how to bet on jade?” Since Jiang Rui had decided to consider following him, he no longer respectfully called him ‘Master Rong.’ Rong Jingtang did not seem displeased by this, either.

“You understand jade carving, so your eye for jade betting will naturally not be wrong,” Rong Jingtang said with an unflustered, composed expression.

Jiang Rui was a bit confused. Was his brain not working? How could he not see the connection between the first and second half of that sentence?

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Rui tried to temper his voice and said, “I’m very sorry, but I know absolutely nothing about jade betting. I only learned a little bit of jade carving out of interest; I don’t even qualify as a dabbler.”

Rong Jingtang: “The plane will arrive in the next two days. Prepare yourself. If you need anything, speak to Uncle Cheng.”

Jiang Rui’s face stiffened: “Rong Jingtang! Are you even listening to me?”

“I am listening. In this Grand Meet competition, we are only permitted to win; we cannot lose.” Rong Jingtang stood up, looking down at the gentle, delicate young man before him.

Even with Jiang Rui’s good temper, he was irritated by Rong Jingtang’s impenetrable attitude, “It seems Master Rong is not going to listen to anything I say.”

Rong Jingtang seemed completely unfazed by Jiang Rui’s anger, merely saying, “You wanted to go to Yidian earlier. What for? Aside from jade, there’s nothing else valuable there… No, I forgot about narcotics. That is also a business of tenfold profit.”

“You aren’t going to bet on jade, so could you possibly be trafficking drugs? The latter is unlikely. Besides that, only one other type of activity can still make you money: smuggling and reselling.”

“With your personality, you wouldn’t touch narcotics. It seems only the other two could possibly catch your eye.”

“Jiang Rui, do you know whose territory the Yidian region is?”

“To steal food from a tiger’s mouth, your audacity is quite something.”

The tone was as calm as an idle chat, devoid of any sharp pressure, yet it caused cold, clammy sweat to break out on Jiang Rui’s back.

In front of Rong Jingtang, Jiang Rui was like a blank sheet of paper from beginning to end; every thought he had was clearly written on it.

He did want to take advantage of opportunities in Yidian to make some money, but he had never intended to challenge the local kingpins and risk utter defeat—at least, absolutely not right now.

Jiang Rui knew this was a kind warning from Rong Jingtang. Otherwise, given his temperament, he could have simply ignored it and let Jiang Rui manage as he saw fit.

Stealing food from a tiger’s mouth certainly carried risk. But with Rong Jingtang there to escort him, that was a different matter entirely.

He just wanted him to understand this point, did he not?

Once he understood, Jiang Rui’s earlier reluctance vanished. He smiled gently and said, “Since Master Rong thinks so highly of me, I will definitely give it my all this time.”

During the few hours spent on the private plane, Jiang Rui witnessed Master Rong’s various eccentric and fastidious habits. For instance, the water for drinking and washing hands had to be specially treated purified water. He would not eat food whose source he could not see, nor would he eat food that tasted bad, and he certainly would not eat food that was badly presented… Most importantly, Uncle Cheng had told him that Master Rong did not eat meat! No matter if it flew in the sky, ran on the ground, or swam in the water—any kind of meat was completely off-limits!

Jiang Rui was stunned when he heard this! He had shared two meals with Rong Jingtang, and the table had been full of meat dishes. He had even… even helped the man serve some fish once!

Jiang Rui tried to console himself at the time, thinking perhaps Master Rong just happened to like eating that one dish of fish?

But Uncle Cheng immediately shattered his self-consolation, saying, “Other meats are fine, but the Master most detests the smell of fish. It cannot even be placed on the dining table. Sometimes, he frowns just by seeing the word ‘fish’.”

Jiang Rui: “…”

Jiang Rui, who was a meat-lover and especially loved fish, fell silent.

Rong Jingtang’s meals were always prepared separately by Uncle Cheng, so the two of them did not have the opportunity to share a meal again on the journey. However, Rong Jingtang did have someone invite him once, which scared Jiang Rui into immediately declining.

Regarding jade betting, Jiang Rui did not have a deep understanding of its techniques, but in his previous life, he had extremely good luck in it, winning almost every time he gambled.

Miao Xuan had said that the jade and emerald of the mortal realm were merely common objects, only containing a little spiritual energy. Possessing a spiritual bone, he was naturally sensitive to spiritual energy, giving him a distinct advantage in jade betting.

But having an advantage did not mean he could not lose.

Jiang Rui was not overly confident about this competition. The opponent was someone who could challenge Rong Jingtang; he was not one of the ordinary wealthy or powerful figures he had encountered in his previous life.

While he might not be a match for Rong Jingtang, he was surely a powerful figure dominating a region. The jade betting expert such a person found would certainly be one in ten thousand. Wouldn’t crushing him be a matter of mere minutes?

In his previous life, he could only sense the quantity and density of spiritual energy inside the raw stone; he did not have x-ray vision and could not see whether the emerald had good selling characteristics.

No matter how much Jiang Rui worried internally about the upcoming competition, the plane still arrived in Yidian. At the same time, the team sent by the Rong Clan to protect Rong Jingtang also followed them all the way to Yidian.

Rong Jingtang’s emotions were usually hard to read, but he held a great aversion towards the people sent by the Rong Clan, not even bothering with superficial courtesy.

Those people were clearly in awe of him. Knowing his dislike, they did not dare show their faces in front of him even after arriving in Yidian, only contacting Uncle Cheng.

The Grand Meet was still four or five days away.

Jiang Rui, along with the accompanying Uncle Cheng and Sui Ming, stayed with Rong Jingtang at a mountain villa he owned in Heng City, Yidian.

This villa even had a name. It was reportedly named by Rong Jingtang himself, and the characters on the plaque were also in his hand.

Wumian.

Meaning the Uncrowned King.

Jiang Rui scoffed internally: Rong Jingtang had just lectured him about stealing food from a tiger’s mouth, yet daring to call himself the Uncrowned King on someone else’s turf—wasn’t this the real provocation?

What caught Jiang Rui off guard was that before the Grand Meet even began, Rong Jingtang fell ill.

Jiang Rui had previously wondered why Rong Jingtang, being sickly, did not have a doctor follow him when he traveled. As it turned out, Uncle Cheng was the Rong family’s private physician.

Uncle Cheng took his pulse and confirmed it was a persistent high fever caused by acclimatisation sickness. He did not prescribe medicine but personally prepared a medicinal diet, adding a few medicinal herbs and some dried petals of the flowers Jiang Rui had given him, along with a spoonful of flower honey.

Rong Jingtang had been a perpetual invalid, practically eating medicine like food, but after his health improved, he stopped taking the previous medicines as much, as all medicines are somewhat toxic. When he was fine, he would drink flower tea or honey tea made from Jiang Rui’s flowers and honey, which had a much better effect than taking medicine.

Uncle Cheng treated Jiang Rui’s items as treasures and had even asked Jiang Rui for more honey a few days ago. It had been over two months since Jiang Rui last provided the honey, and even with careful use, not much was left.

Uncle Cheng knew Jiang Rui had stopped supplying flowers. He did not dare inquire too much about the business matters for fear of displeasing Jiang Rui, so he had to swallow his pride and appeal to Jiang Rui for a favour.

Jiang Rui knew right away that Rong Jingtang had not yet informed Uncle Cheng about their prior agreement, so he offered an explanation. Since he had gained clarity and considered Rong Jingtang a friend, he no longer intended to make money from the flowers and honey. These were not rare items to him, and it was no problem to give them directly to Rong Jingtang.

After two servings of the medicinal diet, Rong Jingtang’s fever subsided. However, having lived in the Spirit-Confusing Formation at the Rong estate for so many days and then falling ill, he was rather drained of spirit.

His already pale face was even whiter than paper, and his lips had no color.

Seeing him in this state, Jiang Rui frowned and said, “Perhaps you should skip the Grand Meet in a couple of days. Look at you—walking is practically a problem. You’ll probably faint several times before you even get there. You should stay in the villa and rest properly.”

The scorned Rong Jingtang: “…”

“I know my own body; it’s fine,” the stubborn man said. “Besides, if I don’t show up, he won’t take you seriously and will think I’m afraid of him.”

Jiang Rui was curious: “Who is ‘he’?”

Rong Jingtang was surprised: “Didn’t I tell you?”

“…” Master Rong, is this the rhythm of your intelligence declining after being sick for three years? If you don’t want to tell me, just say so; playing this trick is beneath you.

Seeing that he refused to say, Jiang Rui was not worried. He would see him eventually, it was just a matter of a couple of days. At that point, could Rong Jingtang cover his eyes and prevent him from seeing?

The Grand Meet rules stipulated that each eligible VIP could only bring two people into the venue, so Uncle Cheng stayed at the villa that day. Rong Jingtang only brought Jiang Rui and Sui Ming.

Jiang Rui considered himself someone who had seen large-scale events, having attended many underground galas in his later life. However, he had not expected to see such an impressive underground Grand Meet at this time.

He had been to Yidian countless times in his previous life, attending all sorts of Grand Meets, big and small, but he had never heard of this underground Grand Meet.

Jiang Rui swept his eyes over the participants and was instantly shocked by some familiar faces!

Some were figures frequently seen in domestic and international news, and in major newspapers and magazines. Others he had seen in photos Wang Chenghui had shown him—all were old-generation magnates of the underworld, whose names were only whispered about.

There were also some who looked low-key and unfamiliar, but the imposing aura about them was absolutely not something ordinary people could possess.

No wonder he had never heard of this Grand Meet in his previous life. Never mind him, perhaps even Wang Chenghui might not have known about it. Their abilities were not even minor skirmishes compared to these people; they were barely better than ants.

This was the first time Jiang Rui had witnessed the world belonging to Rong Jingtang’s social stratum.