This celestial master cultivates both physical and magical arts; why did you provoke him?

The story begins three days ago.

Liu Ruyan introduced Xia En to a business deal.

Her cousin's neighbor was a real estate tycoon in Jiangzhou City. His surname was Qian, and his given name was Qian Youcai.

This person has a common name, but he has quite the airs.

He lives in the most expensive neighborhood in Jiangzhou, drives a three-million-yuan car, and is said to be worth over a billion yuan.

But his only son got into trouble.

Qian Youcai's son is named Qian Xiaobao, 23 years old, a typical rich second generation.

Three nights ago, Qian Xiaobao went to a bar with some friends. They drank until midnight, and one of them went to the restroom and never came out again.

The bar's security cameras captured Qian Xiaobao entering the restroom, but not capturing him coming out.

The police searched the bathroom thoroughly, even checking the ventilation ducts, but found no one, neither alive nor dead.

A perfectly healthy person just vanished into thin air.

Qian Youcai was frantic. He called the police, offered a reward, and hired a private investigator—he tried everything he could, but he couldn't find a single clue.

Finally, after hearing about Xia En from somewhere, he asked Liu Ruyan to help him come and see for himself.

The appointment was for this afternoon at Qian Youcai's villa.

When Xia En arrived, there were several cars parked at the entrance.

Mercedes-Maybach, Range Rover, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari—each one more expensive than the last.

Wow, the lives of the rich are unimaginable, yet I've witnessed them firsthand!

Fang Zijian followed behind, clicking his tongue in amazement: "Rich people are just different. Their cars alone are enough for me to buy ten houses."

Cuihua floated in the shade of the trees, curiously observing the three-story villa.

Xia En rang the doorbell.

The person who opened the door was a young man in a suit with a serious expression; he was clearly a bodyguard.

"Who should I look for?"

"Xia En, I made an appointment with Boss Qian."

The bodyguard looked him up and down.

He wore a gray hoodie, black sweatpants, canvas shoes, and his hair was a little messy.

"Wait a minute."

He turned and went inside, and came out two minutes later. His attitude was a little better than before, but he still looked scrutinizing.

"Please come in."

Walk through the front yard and into the living room.

The living room was large and decorated in a lavish style, with crystal chandeliers, genuine leather sofas, and solid wood floors, exuding the message "I'm rich."

Three people were sitting on the sofa.

In the middle was a man in his fifties, dressed in a suit and tie, with his hair neatly combed.

But his complexion was terrible, with dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating he hadn't slept well for several days.

Money brings wealth.

To his left sat a middle-aged woman with curly hair, dressed in designer clothes, but her eyes were red and swollen, she was clutching a tissue in her hand, and she would sob occasionally.

Qian Youcai's wife, Qian Xiaobao's mother.

Sitting to my right was a young man, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, dressed in a sharp suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, holding a tablet computer, and looking shrewd.

He saw Xia En and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Are you Master Xia?"

Qian Youcai stood up, looked Xia En up and down, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

He thought a wise and venerable old Taoist priest would come, but instead a young man wearing a hoodie and sucking on a lollipop appeared, looking even younger than his own son.

"it's me."

Xia En nodded and naturally sat down on the opposite sofa.

Fang Zijian stood behind him, not daring to sit down.

Qian Youcai's wife glanced at Xia En and muttered something under her breath:

"How can he be so young..."

What a remarkable young talent!

Xia En heard this but didn't say anything.

The young man with glasses spoke first:

"Mr. Qian, is this the... Taoist priest that Miss Liu introduced?"

Fang Zijian could even hear the distrust in her tone.

"right."

Qian Youcai nodded, then looked at Xia En, "Master Xia, this is my company's vice president, Xiao Liu, Liu Zhiyuan."

Liu Zhiyuan adjusted his glasses and smiled, "Master Xia, it's an honor to meet you. May I ask which famous mountain you cultivate on?"

These words sounded polite, but the disdain in them was exactly the same as that of the bodyguard from before.

Xia En took the lollipop out of her mouth and looked at him: "Longhu Mountain, Celestial Master's Mansion."

"The Celestial Master's Mansion?"

"Longhu Mountain?"

Liu Zhiyuan's smile deepened. "That's the ancestral home of Taoism, a very famous place. However..."

Then, he paused, "I've heard that the Taoist priests of the Celestial Master's Mansion are all highly respected seniors. This is the first time I've seen someone as young as you."

This translates to:

You're too young; you don't look like a real Taoist master.

Fang Zijian, listening from behind, frowned, thinking to himself that this guy really had a sharp tongue.

Xia En wasn't annoyed; he simply looked at Liu Zhiyuan and asked:

"Do you believe it or not?"

Liu Zhiyuan was taken aback: "Believe in what?"

"Trust me, I can find your boss's son."

Liu Zhiyuan chuckled twice:

"Well... of course I believe you. But Master Xia, as you know, Mr. Qian has already spent a lot of money hiring all sorts of experts in order to find Xiao Bao."

"Feng shui masters, fortune tellers, and even 'masters' brought in from Hong Kong—several of them came, and we spent a lot of money, but what was the result…?"

He shrugged, his meaning quite clear.

Xia En nodded, put the lollipop back in his mouth, and stood up.

"Alright, you can continue to invite more experts. I'll be going now."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Fang Zijian was taken aback, then quickly followed.

Qian Youcai panicked and quickly stood up: "Wait! Master Xia, don't misunderstand! Little Liu didn't mean that!!!"

"What he meant is not important."

Without turning his head, Shane said, "The important thing is that you don't believe me."

"If you don't believe me, there's no need to waste my time."

"I believe it! I believe it!"

Qian Youcai quickly caught up, "Master Xia, I sincerely invited you here! Xiaobao is my only son, he's been missing for three days, and his mother and I are going crazy with worry!"

"I'll pay any price as long as you can help me find him!"

Xia En stopped and turned to look at him.

Qian Youcai's eyes were red and his voice was trembling; it didn't seem like he was faking it.

Xia En was silent for two seconds, then walked back to the sofa and sat down.

"OK."

He said, "Then tell me what happened."

Qian Youcai breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sat back down.

Liu Zhiyuan opened his mouth as if to say something, but Qian Youcai glared at him and stopped him.

Over the next half hour, Qian Youcai recounted the entire incident in detail.

The bar where Qian Xiaobao disappeared is called "Nightfall," located on a commercial street in downtown Jiangzhou.

The police checked the surveillance footage, examined the scene, and even deployed police dogs, but found nothing.

"The strangest thing is..."

Qian Youcai lowered his voice, "After Xiaobao went missing, he received a message on his phone."

He handed the phone to Xia En.

Xia En took the message and saw a text message on the screen, sent at 3 a.m. the day after Xiao Bao went missing.

The content consists of only one sentence:

"Your son is in my hands. If you want him to live, exchange him for that piece of land belonging to your company."

"That piece of land?"

Xia En looked up.

Qian Youcai's face grew even uglier:

"It's a piece of land in the eastern suburbs. I bought it three years ago, but it hasn't been developed yet."