บท 21: The Book Of Records
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
"Are you going to the Rising River Building, my benefactor?" Fei Qi asked the moment Tan Yueyue left.
"Is the Rising River Club located at the Rising River Building? Then I must go and take a look," Di Jiu replied unconsciously before he remembered that Shi Jinshan and Fei Qi must have been there to express their gratitude. Then, he added, "You guys should leave. You can't stay long in this place."
The injuries Fei Qi had sustained had been made by a gun, and the moment Di Jiu had saved him, he had been almost assassinated. It was evident that the people Fei Qi was involved with were powerful, so Di Jiu did not want to meddle in their business.
Fei Qi, who knew what Di Jiu meant, repeated himself. "I'm sorry, my benefactor. Even though I am unsure if I have gotten you into trouble, I know for sure that the people we have messed with are very powerful. Once they find out that you saved me, they will definitely not let you live."
Di Jiu sighed inwardly. He already knew that he had gotten himself into a big hot mess.
When he noticed Di Jiu's silence, Fei Qi said once again, "Unless it's absolutely necessary, I suggest that you do not go to the Rising River Building."
Fei Qi did not wait for Di Jiu to ask any questions before he voluntarily explained, "The person who shot me is the owner of the Rising River Building, Bi Zhengsheng. If Jinshan had not rushed over here in time, I might have lost my life in the Rising River Building. The club that you want to visit is located in that building…"
Di Jiu was too shocked to speak as he stared at Fei Qi. According to the memories he had obtained about his previous life, China was supposed to be a safe place with an exceptionally tight security system. Besides, if Tan Yueyue wanted him to go to the Rising River Club, that meant that the Rising River Building was a public place that everybody knew about. How could it be unsafe?
"What Brother Qi says is true," Shi Jinshan added. "The Rising River Building is where the boxing ring is located. If anyone finds out that you were the one who saved Brother Qi, it would be too dangerous for you to go there."
Di Jiu's heart felt heavy. Ever since his family had been destroyed, he had ceased being as carefree as he used to be. He had to be careful from now on and always seek confirmation that he was safe before he proceeded.
He thought about this before he told Shi Jinshan, "Please help me close the door, Big Sister Shi. Stop calling me benefactor, Brother Fei. Just call me Di Jiu. I would also like you to explain how you got injured."
Shi Jinshan had been wanting to close the front door for a long time, but she felt that it was not wise for her to act on her own while Di Jiu was still speaking. Now that Di Jiu had instructed her to do so, she immediately returned to the front door and shut it.
Fei Qi waited for her to close the door before he took out an ancient book and placed it in front of Di Jiu. Then, he said, "Bi Zhengsheng wanted to kill me because of the Major Conduit Internal Records…"
"Can I take a look?" Di Jiu asked Fei Qi.
Fei Qi nodded. "Go ahead, my benefactor."
Di Jiu flipped open the book and scanned it quickly. The words inside did not seem to be printed in ink, and the typesetting was vertical. The first page of the book had an introductory picture of acupuncture points and meridians. Then, it went on to explain in detail every blood vessel and acupuncture point complementary to the Qi Channeling method.
The book was not about martial arts techniques. It was actually similar to the Swirling Flaming Art book. Could this be a book about cultivation techniques, or a book that taught one how to become immortal?
Di Jiu immediately attempted to use the cultivation technique by looking at the picture of the First Minor Heavenly Cycle. His Baihui Meridian shivered as a clear, crisp feeling permeated it.
Di Jiu quickly curbed the urge to continue. He was sure that this was a book about the skills needed to reach immortality, not some book about plain martial arts skills. Just the thought that he could use this book to practise excited him.
He had to borrow this book no matter what. Di Jiu tried to keep his excitement at bay as he set the book aside. "Keep talking."
Fei Qi obeyed. "The Major Conduit Internal Records have been passed down many generations of the Fei Family. However, my son got drunk and blurted out our family secret before Bi Zhengsheng, the owner of the Rising River Building and host of the underground boxing matches that take place at the Morgue Ring."
"The Morgue Ring?" Di Jiu asked curiously.
Fei Qi nodded his head. "That's right, the Morgue Ring. The world's biggest boxing ring, which is located under the Rising River Building and managed by the Rising River Corporation and Bi Zhengsheng. The Rising River Building may appear to accommodate many commercial businesses, such as fitness centers and top-tier clubs, but it is actually trying to cover up the existence of its underground boxing arena."
"The name does sound a little weird." Di Jiu did not find this type of underground boxing arena weird. There had been similar establishments back in the Ji Nation as well. The only aspect that was different was that most of these boxing arenas had been out in the open. Very few of them had been underground and away from the public eye.
"The reason the Morgue Ring is so popular is that only one out of the two people on the ring can walk away alive. The place is like a morgue for the people who lose their lives there. Hence, its name," Fei Qi replied.
"Boxing can cause one to lose their life just like that?" Di Jiu was surprised as he thought about He Shan, whom he had just killed that morning. If he had not killed him, He Shan would have killed him instead. So what if people died at the Morgue Ring? This was an underground culture anyway.
"That's right," Fei Qi acknowledged. "Some feuds that cannot be resolved otherwise are brought secretly to the underground ring and take place at the Morgue Ring. That's why the revenue of the ring is the highest out of all the businesses in the Rising River Building. Ever since the Fairy Planet opened, martial arts have become prevalent. When Bi Zhengsheng discovered my family's record book, he set up a trap to get my son, Fei Shaoyan, to go to Las Vegas and gamble. Fei Shaoyan ended up getting into a huge debt and being locked up in the local prison."
"Did Bi Zhengsheng ask you to use the book in exchange for your son?" Di Jiu asked.
Fei Qi shook his head. "The Major Conduit Internal Records are the Fei Family's inheritance. I would never use them to get my son back. However, I promised his mother that I would nurture him and raise him properly, so all I could do was agree to Bi Zhengsheng's other condition. He wanted me to fight with one of his people at the Morgue Ring. If I lost, I would have to surrender the book. If I won, he would let my son go and forget about his debt."
"Did you win?" Di Jiu could tell by Fei Qi's family background that the man was not to be underestimated. Besides, if he had wagered the book, then he must have been confident that he would win.
Fei Qi laughed coldly. "So what if I won? I beat the opponent he sent, but the referee said that I had violated the rules."
"How so?"
"The Morgue Ring's rules dictated that there could only be one survivor. I did not kill my opponent, so everyone said that I had not obeyed the rules. I knew at that moment that something was wrong, so I turned to leave. I was shot twice before I could get away. If Jinshan had not come to my rescue and asked you to operate on me, I might have died there and then." Fei Qi bowed again before Di Jiu when he finished speaking.
"How are you going to save your son now?"
Fei Qi shook his head again. It took him a whole three minutes before he said, "I would raise him and sacrifice my life in exchange for his, but I still need to do my duty for the Fei Family."
Shi Jinshan, who could see that Di Jiu had some questions, said, "Zhiyan is actually not Brother Qi's real son, so the Major Conduit Internal Records cannot be passed down to him. We suspect that Zhiyan was not happy about this, so he revealed the secret on purpose…"
"Zhiyan must have revealed it by accident," Fei Qi said, interrupting her words.
Shi Jinshan turned around and continued speaking. "It is a miracle that Brother Qi survived. He practically lost his life on the Morgue Ring."
Di Jiu could understand even without asking that Fei Qi must have owed Zhiyan's mother a lot, but it seemed like his debt had been repaid completely.
Di Jiu did not ask anything. He just slapped Fei Qi on the back and said, "The Rising River Building's underground fighting ring must be very shady, but if those people have not found us yet, then I must be safe. You and Sister Shi can stay here until it's safe to leave at night. If I may be so bold as to ask for a favor… I would like to borrow the Major Conduit Internal Records."
Fei Qi placed the book in Di Jiu's hands as he replied, "You are my savior, Brother Di. If this book wasn't my family's inheritance, I would have given it to you. You can keep it for as long as you want, but you have to pass it down to my descendant."
Di Jiu knew what Fei Qi meant. He was lending him this book, so it was now his to keep. However, the book had been passed down to him from his ancestors, so Di Jiu could not gift it freely to someone else. If there came a day when Fei Qi had a descendant, he had to pass the book down to them.
Di Jiu, who felt moved to receive this book, told Fei Qi, "I just need to borrow it for one night, Brother Fei."
The book was not thick, so he believed that he could memorize it like the back of his hand in one night.
Fei Qi waved his hands. "I know that the cultivation technique in this book is not ordinary, Brother Di. However, nobody has managed to use it for many generations. That's why you can return the book to me at any time."
Di Jiu found the cultivation technique easy to cultivate. He had just tried it moments ago, yet he could already sense some success. Di Jiu quickly understood that immortal cultivation was definitely not an easy task, so the reason he could cultivate it so easily had to be the gray stone hanging over his chest.
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