“Not only in Weihaiwei, but also in the Far East, our Krupp company’s business is also expanding, and we are doing better than those emerging upstarts and the outdated old-fashioned capital groups. And all this is because of Mr. Krupp's personal leadership and outstanding skills. " Frank took the wine bottle, walked to Krupp himself, and poured wine into the transparent crystal wine glass. "This is sherry, Mr. Liu. When the wine is fermented in wooden barrels, we add brandy to it to enhance its taste and strength without making it as spicy as whiskey. So a great writer once called it [sunshine in a bottle].” Frank also poured a glass of wine for Yin Xiu, who was pretending to be Liu Banxian at this time. "We are the only three eating here today?" Yin Xiu said with a smile. "I never like overly complicated situations." Krupp spread his hands, "Although I often hold and attend banquets, I actually don't like to appear on these occasions. What I prefer are jungles, deserts and ice fields. These places are more interesting, much more interesting. " Yin Xiu nodded, "I feel the same way."
As he spoke, he raised his glass and said, "Awe and awe, the awe-inspiring nature!" Krupp raised his eyelids, as if he was surprised that the rustic-looking old-fashioned landowner in front of him could say such a thing, but he still raised his glass. "Honor the courage of mankind!" "cheers!" The three of them drank the wine in one gulp, and Yin Xiu and Krupp exhaled the smell of wine at the same time. This made Krupp more and more interested in the man in front of him. "I wonder how long you plan to stay in Weihaiwei, sir?" "At least a week." Yin Xiu stretched out a finger, "Because I still have some things to do here." "Is it because of the stock issue that you stayed?" Krupp got straight to the point. Not only Yin Xiu, but also Frank couldn't help but be shocked. Because it was a secret, although he occasionally told a few people to get them involved, this was not Krupp's instruction, but his own initiative. Now that his secret operations were known to Krupp, he couldn't help but take a breath. Because this man is not as amiable as he appears, otherwise he would not be able to own his own territory in Weihaiwei, a place that all countries are watching. If you want to gain a foothold here, whether it's money on the surface or shady means under the water, you have to have both, and both are indispensable. Thinking of this, Frank couldn't help but look at his secretary Jessica. The woman just stood indifferently, as if it had nothing to do with her. "It's really none of Miss Jessica's business." Krupp lowered his head to deal with the steak on the dinner plate, and blood poured into the dinner plate with one cut. "It doesn't matter if you do something once or twice. It may be that others don't notice it, or someone discovers it but doesn't care. But if you don't have the consciousness of being caught, you shouldn't do it again and again. And the third one does these things.”
"Mr. Krupp..." Frank stood up and almost knocked over the wine glass in front of him. "do not worry." Krupp waved to him and motioned for Frank to sit down. "What I really care about is not how much benefit you received from this, but that you used my name to defraud me. It was obviously you who defrauded the money, but in the end, people blamed me for it, so they hated me every day. He cursed me a dozen times and cursed my family and my personality behind my back. You know Mr. Frank, the last thing I can tolerate is the damage to the family’s reputation, so..." Frank didn't dare to sit down at this time. He just stood there, holding the tablecloth tightly with his hands and crumpling it into a ball. "Mr. Krupp..." "Needless to say, I know you can't explain anything, because you have indeed done it, and we don't have a lawyer here to defend you, but don't worry, there is a saying in the East that "family scandals should not be publicized". There is also a joke in Rakshasa that a rich man discovered that his butler had embezzled a lot of his money over the years and wanted to fire him. However, the steward said to him: Please don't fire me, because if you hire another steward, he will have to start from scratch again. Unlike me, I am already satisfied. " puff! Yin Xiu suddenly sprayed a mouthful of wine on the table. Krupp turned his head and stared at him doubtfully, "What I said is funny?" "Isn't this a joke?" Yin Xiu picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth, "Maybe I shouldn't smile?" Krupp was stunned for a moment, then said with relief: "Of course this is a joke, just laugh." Somehow, because of this episode, Krupp's original depressed mood was relieved a lot, and then he said to Frank, who was still standing: "Sit down, but you have to remember, there will be no next time." "I totally understand!" Frank quickly sat down, but he only took a third of the seat and did not dare to sit any further inside. Just when the atmosphere relaxed, Yin Xiu suddenly asked: "What about this time?" Frank's heart, which he had just put down, was brought up again with his question, and he felt uneasy. "This time?" "Yes, does this time still count? I only care about this at the moment. As for the rest, I pretend I haven't heard anything." Krupp stared at Yin Xiu, and after realizing that he was not joking, he nodded and said, "If you are willing to continue playing, no one will stop you." "I can rest assured that." Yin Xiu picked up the wine bottle and poured another glass into the glass, "I wish our cooperation goes smoothly!" Krupp raised his glass, and Frank could only raise his glass in a gregarious manner and drank with the two of them, his mouth full of the bitterness of the aftermath.
…… After the banquet, when several people were drunk and their faces were flushed, Krupp suddenly proposed to visit his private gallery. This made Yin Xiu and Ren Qi's eyes shine. This time, Yin Xiu only came to replace Liu Banxian at the banquet and drink. Unexpectedly, she suddenly had the opportunity to contact more information. Entering Krupp's gallery means that he will have the opportunity to see the "Fenghua Continent" that Liu Banxian has been thinking about for a long time. It is an important basis for their trip to Changbai Mountain. Yin Xiu immediately agreed without hesitation and followed Krupp to his private gallery. "I collect all of America, Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, and Kyushu, because I like art." Perhaps because of excitement, or perhaps because of drinking, Krupp raised his voice a little higher, which suddenly brought Yin Xiu back from being dazzled by the dazzling array of artworks. He adjusted his sunglasses and said, "From Kyushu? I'm superficial and don't understand impressionism or abstraction. I just have a special liking for landscape paintings." "That's just right." Krupp stretched out his hand and said, "I happen to have a lot of landscape paintings hidden in my gallery. There are bamboos by Zheng Kerou, water by Li Sixun, and flowers and birds by Shi Tao. They are all exquisite and precious works of art that should be placed in the collection of the British Museum. " Yin Xiu interrupted him and pretended to be impatient, "Then let's go take a look quickly?" "this way please!" Krupp couldn't wait, and walked into the inner room with Yin Xiu who was also in a happy mood. As soon as he entered the inner room, Yin Xiu immediately spotted the "Fenghua Continent" among the many antique calligraphy and paintings. Although the painting was hanging in the corner, there was no name on the bottom, and Liu Banxian never described the content to him. But from the yellowed drawings, Yin Xiu felt some mysterious and familiar atmosphere. Just like those magical instruments and talisman papers in the past, they carry the flavor and magic power of ancient times, and are obviously of extraordinary quality. The picture depicts green mountains and green waters, with mountain flowers blooming on the branches, as if they are about to emerge from the scroll and reach under other people's noses, becoming vividly alive. Somehow, when Yin Xiu was looking at the painting intentionally or unintentionally, Krupp suddenly turned his head. "Sir, are you interested in this painting?" "A little research, but not much." Yin Xiu pretended to be indifferent. But in Krupp's eyes, it seemed to be another story. This ghost guy had a pair of blue eyes that seemed to have grown out of the face of a falcon. He kept staring at Yin Xiu, but he didn't make people feel awkward or nervous, but it couldn't be said to be at ease. "I thought you had done a lot of research, Mr. Liu Banxian." "Huh?" Yin Xiu's heart tightened. Liu Banxian is actually a nickname, or "stage name", which is only mentioned during fortune telling. On a normal day, Liu Banxian's real name is written on bank accounts and various documents, or his English name - Lewis.
Here, Liu Banxian would never mention his stage name to anyone. "It's very interesting," Yin Xiu narrowed his eyes, "I just think this painting is interesting." Seeing that Yin Xiu was still pretending to be confused, Krupp got straight to the point: "I took this "Fenghua Continent" from Ding Jinqun. He must have told you to pay off the debt, but in fact I paid an extra sum. Give it to him, because I am a civilized person and only pay attention to fairness and justice in doing things. Every thing I want to buy, I have to ask clearly where it comes from to avoid buying stolen goods. Although most of them are indeed dirty things, flowing out from the palace, buried in the tomb of which prince, or even trophies from a massacre, how can these calligraphy and painting works of art not be stained with blood? But as long as I ask clearly, it will be regarded as interfering, and I won't be accused of being shady. Okay, I admit that this is indeed hypocritical, but it is also like the etiquette of shaking hands. It is not just between friends shaking hands with each other. It is the same, just to show off and go through the motions. Ding Jinqun, an alcoholic, had his brain so seriously damaged by alcohol that when I asked him the name of this painting, he couldn't answer it at all and just gave me a random name. Of course I didn't give up, so I found a few brokers in the antique art world. Of course, it would be more appropriate to call them "art hunters" now. I told them that this picture scroll would not be just a single one, but that there must be a series in it. This was my hunch. Later, they investigated for a long time and finally gave me a place name, which is Wollongong. Mr. Liu Banxian, you are the direct descendant of the Liu family in Wollongong. I also learned a lot more about it. In your hand, there are twelve volumes of Feng Shui diagrams, six Bagua for subduing demons, three Five Elements Flags, two Demon Suppressing Rulers, and one Immortal Killing Sword. These are treasures that cannot be copied and are of immeasurable value! " [It turns out that it was not Liu Banxian who plotted against them, but they plotted against Liu Banxian. 】 Thinking of the ins and outs of this series of events, Yin Xiu already understood that perhaps from the very beginning, Frank had become the matchmaker in this bureau, and he did not know it himself. "Why, Mr. Krupp turns out to be a mafia, specializing in kidnapping and extortion?" Yin Xiu sneered, "For a long time I thought it was really cooperation, but it turned out that I wanted to defraud my treasure." "To each other, to each other." Krupp's smile was gentle and elegant, with a kind of exquisite coldness, "I believe that Mr. Liu is actually not interested in money. What really attracts you is this "Fenghua Continent". That bastard obviously fell into your trap. He thought he was tricking people into the game, but in fact he was defeated by you. " "Then you brought me here because you were already prepared and had your men ambushed in the room to deal with me?" "I don't have the ability you think. I want to be a legitimate businessman." Krupp walked aside and knocked on a certain spot on the wall. A crack opened in that spot, and a small space appeared. Krupp reached in and took out a list and handed it to Yin Xiu to read. "This is a list I've collected in recent years, you can take a look." Krupp guided him one by one, "The Picture of the Flying Dragon on Mount Lu," "The Eight Diagrams of Ice and Fire," and "The Picture of the Stars in the Southern Sky." These are the two Feng Shui atlases I have in my hand. With the addition of the Eight Diagrams, they may be better than You have more treasures in your hands.” It turns out that in addition to Liu Banxian, there are also people collecting the treasures of the Liu family that were lost among the people.
"Why did you collect these?" Yin Xiu looked at him and said, "Except Liu Banxian, no, no one can use these things except me." "Maybe not?" Krupp smiled and said, "You must think that you are the only one left in the Liu family in Kyushu, but is there a possibility that there are some Liu family members like you who live incognito among the people?" "You mean, you have found it? The Liu family can use these treasures." "Not yet." Krupp spread his hands. "..." Yin Xiu glanced at him, "If not, what would you tell me?" Krupp still smiled, "I'm a ghost, and we don't care about Feng Shui. We talk about physics, geography, and chemical reactions. What's the use of setting up Feng Shui arrays? So in fact, I don't know how your magic weapons can play a role. not interested. My original intention of collecting these things was just because I wanted to collect them all, just like collecting stamps or various versions of a certain novel. But last month, everything changed after I heard news. " Krupp took the catalog back and held it in his hand. "I heard that you are going to Changbai Mountain?" "How did you know?" Yin Xiu frowned. "This is what a person from the White Lotus Sect told me. He said that they were looking for the emperor's dragon veins in Changbai Mountain. Of course I don't care about luck or anything like that. I only care about the treasures inside, a lot of treasures. However, Changbai Mountain is so big that it is impossible for me to conduct a blanket search there. I cannot afford to expend either manpower or material resources. Until your arrival, Liu Banxian, you are the one who can find the location of the dragon vein. " "Who told you this!?" "You yourself, you told my friend yourself." Krupp took out a photo of Liu Banxian and several wealthy businessmen. The location was obviously a nightclub. Liu Banxian's eyes were slightly squinted in the photo, and he was obviously drunk. "..." Yin Xiu sighed. "Actually, I heard from the White Lotus Sect that dragon veins may indeed exist in several locations. Whether you come or not, I am ready to organize an expedition team to set off." Krupp smiled and said, "But it's better if you come. This can save a lot of effort. How about we make a deal? When the deal is done, I will give you all the treasures in the catalog with both hands." "You want me to take you to find the dragon vein?" "Yes, this is the only condition of exchange." Krupp's eyes shone with a charming, cruel light. (End of chapter)