Old Man, I Want to Eat Braised Pork

Everyone around them was curious about the dragon vein. Even Jiang Chengshan had not said much.

After thinking it over, Liu Zheng said, “In that case, I’ll contact the feng shui master who helped suppress the dragon vein last time. With him around, he might be able to help.”

It was obvious from those words that Liu Zheng didn’t trust Lin Mo.

Seeing the look on Lin Mo’s face, Liu Zheng quickly raised a hand and said, “Don’t look at me like that. I have to prepare for every possibility. If something goes wrong, the entire city of Yangcheng will suffer. As a member of Yanhuang Awakening, I have to take responsibility for the people of Yangcheng.”

Fine.

Lin Mo wasn’t unreasonable. Having confidence was his business, but Liu Zheng was a member of Yanhuang Awakening, whose first priority had always been putting the people first.

There was nothing wrong with taking such precautions.

So Lin Mo didn’t insist. He merely waved his hand, indicating that Liu Zheng could handle it himself.

Liu Zheng nodded and went back to the bureau to make the arrangements.

On his way out, he casually dragged Jiang Yeqiu along with him.

After Liu Zheng left, Jiang Chengshan picked up the file folder on the table and began flipping through the documents.

He was simply curious.

Lin Mo didn’t stop him, letting the Old Geezer study the records at his leisure.

By contrast, Xie Yuling took the initiative to ask, “What will happen if we leave this dragon vein alone?”

“A dragon vein is actually a type of earth vein. According to feng shui theory, dragon veins also gather a nation’s fortune. The dragon vein beneath Yangcheng is only one of the many branch veins within China. But if we allow the contamination to continue, Yangcheng’s fortune will keep declining.”

Lin Mo held his hands a short distance apart, his tone turning solemn. “The decline in fortune is calculated over the years. At first, it won’t be obvious. At most, there’ll be more strange incidents among the people, businesses will become harder to run, and everyone will grow more restless. But after another ten or twenty years, the effects will begin to show.

“By then, Yangcheng will suffer an exodus of talented people, its commerce will wither, and the entire city will fall into decline.”

Although it sounded somewhat fanciful, Lin Mo knew the truth very well.

Just because something couldn’t be detected by divine sense didn’t mean it didn’t exist.

There were things divine sense simply couldn’t perceive. Ever since he entered Liyin Plaza, he had sensed quite a lot.

Especially when he entered the inner world while rescuing Fang Jun and Luo Ruiyu.

Most importantly, he had found some relevant information in Vina’s memories.

That was why he needed to make some preparations before purifying the dragon vein.

Jiang Chengshan finished reading the stack of files on the table, his brows furrowing as he asked, “What if it can’t be purified? That would cause some serious problems, wouldn’t it?”

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. “That definitely won’t happen. If I can’t purify it, I’ll seal it away and come back to purify it once I’m stronger.”

“So you absolutely have to purify this dragon vein?” Jiang Chengshan’s expression was grim. He was genuinely worried.

Lin Mo nodded. “I have to purify it.”

Lin Mo didn’t explain the reason behind that word—have to.

The ancestral dragon buff’s reaction to damage to the branch vein was far more intense than he had expected.

The pain wasn’t like being cut on the skin. It was a dull ache seeping outward from deep within the marrow, as if someone were slowly scraping at his nerves with a blunt knife—and doing it exceptionally slowly.

The moment he stepped through the entrance to Liyin Plaza, the ancestral dragon buff had released a fluctuation that was almost a whimper.

It wasn’t anger. It was more like a plea for help.

The contamination of the branch vein was equivalent to a part of the body rotting and festering. Although the main vein had temporarily been sealed off from it, cutting off the sensation of pain was merely drinking poison to quench one’s thirst.

The seal had forced the suffering onto the branch vein. That was why the impact on the main vein wasn’t especially severe.

At the time, Lin Mo could feel the ancestral dragon buff begging him to help remove the poison.

Besides, Lin Mo strongly suspected that this contaminated dragon vein had been caused by the Neonese.

That made it even more necessary for him to act.

Seeing that the atmosphere had grown somewhat heavy, Situ Yunshu casually asked, “Which is more difficult: purifying the dragon vein or dealing with the Old Ancestor?”

The question sounded a bit like a cyberpunk cockfight.

Still, Lin Mo answered, “They’re both pretty easy, actually. It’s just that purifying the dragon vein requires a few things.”

Jiang Chengshan immediately spoke up. “What do you need? Tell me. I’ll use every resource at my disposal to gather them.”

Lin Mo waved him off. “There’s no need. Yanhuang Awakening can prepare the materials. They’re more professional, and their supplies are of better quality. More importantly, though, there are some people I need. But…”

But what?!

Everyone turned to look at Lin Mo.

“There is one thing Uncle Jiang can certainly do for me. I’m having dinner here tonight. That shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”

Old Geezer! I’m going to eat the food you cook at your house. Got a problem with that?!

The corner of Jiang Chengshan’s mouth twitched. He clearly didn’t want to agree.

But Situ Yunshu accepted immediately.

“Oh, what’s the problem? Little Chengshan, hurry up and go cook!”

The moment those three words—Little Chengshan—were spoken, the air froze for half a second.

Xie Yuling’s hand trembled as she held her cup. Chu Miaomiao immediately turned her head away, her shoulders shaking as she struggled to hold back her laughter.

Pfft!

That was even harder to suppress than an AK!

Jiang Chengshan was usually an imposing, serious figure. But now someone was calling him Little Chengshan.

You can’t even make it past the second round, can you?

And he couldn’t even argue, because Situ Yunshu really was older than him.

Little Chengshan had been his nickname back in the day.

Jiang Chengshan drew a deep breath and decided to say nothing, pretending that nothing had happened.

He stood up and rolled up his sleeves.

“What do you want to eat?”

Lin Mo listed off a string of dishes without the slightest bit of restraint, then added at the end, “Honestly, I’m fine with anything. I’m not picky.”

Jiang Chengshan paused and looked back at him for two seconds.

“Hmph!”

Old Geezer, you’re being a little tsundere.

In the end, he still turned around and walked toward the kitchen.

When he reached the doorway, he vaguely heard the muffled laughter of several young people behind him.

Leaning against the sofa, Lin Mo toyed with the teacup in his hand. The smile on his face slowly faded.

The armored warrior that had appeared in the inner world was definitely not some random projection.

Rather, something existed there, and its presence had caused that figure to manifest in the inner world.

Unfortunately, the information he had was still fragmented. Although Vina had been an agent from the Neonese side, she knew only bits and pieces.

For example, the Neonese military had once been stationed in this area.

“What are you thinking about?”

He didn’t know when Jiang Yunlu had sat down across from him. She held a cup of tea, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Lin Mo pulled his thoughts back. “I’m wondering whether I’ll get to eat braised pork tonight.”

“Do you think I became stupid after learning martial arts? You’re thinking about what happened at Liyin Plaza, aren’t you?”

Lin Mo smiled but didn’t answer.

Seeing that Lin Mo remained silent, Jiang Yunlu grabbed his hand and swung it back and forth.

“I’m going too.”

“Mm. I was planning to bring you all along anyway.”