When he heard those words, Xu Zhijie felt a chill rise in his heart. Still, he welcomed it—it was, in fact, a good sign for him. And honestly, he wasn’t worried that Xu Qiaomu was trying to test him.

Xu Qiaomu was extremely superstitious, especially when it came to anything said by Master Luo. He practically treated it as divine revelation.

And since Master Luo’s ancestors had once helped Emperor Kangxi choose a successor, that only added to his credibility in Xu Qiaomu’s eyes.

Since Xu Qiaomu had made up his mind, Xu Zhijie decided to go all in.

He also understood clearly that whether it was Xu Zhide, Xu Zhiqiang, or Xu Zhiming—they all held massive sway in the family company. Each of them managed significant affairs, with deeply rooted power and influence. As a younger member of the family with no real prestige, even with Xu Qiaomu’s support, he'd still be walking a tightrope.

But if he could stabilize the situation and turn things around quickly, it would prove his real capabilities.

“I’ll convene an immediate shareholders’ conference call and remove them from their company positions. Then I’ll promote you,” Xu Qiaomu said with his signature decisiveness. “Also, you’ll need people around you.”

As he spoke, he pointed at the wheelchair beside him.

The deaf-mute man, Xu Ba, seemed to understand the gesture. He pressed a button on the intercom on his chest, seemingly triggering an alert.

Soon after, the sound of footsteps approached.

They were remarkably uniform—military-like. A few dozen people gathered in the courtyard.

Xu Zhijie looked over and saw that these individuals exuded the aura of people who had seen combat. Some had deep scars on their faces, even visible bullet wounds. Every one of them looked deadly, as if there was nothing they wouldn’t do.

“These are the true elite security forces of our Xu family. They can help you get a lot of things done. Even in modern society, sometimes you need force. Especially during an internal power shift—people play dirty.” Xu Qiaomu said, “You’ll be in charge of them now. Show me your plan.”

“Yes, Grandfather.” Xu Zhijie was thrilled but quickly composed himself. He began issuing orders immediately: “Twenty of you, go watch Xu Jieren, Xu Jiahao, Xu Jiahong, Xu Zhiqiang, Xu Zhide, and Xu Zhiming. Confiscate all their communication devices. Confine them to their rooms and tell them it's a financial audit. The rest of you, come with me to company HQ. We’re convening a department heads meeting and sending out an all-staff email announcing the suspension of those six. Then we begin a full internal audit. Move fast. It’s only been a few dozen minutes—they won’t have had time to react. They’re probably huddled up nearby right now. We can catch them all in one net.”

“Yes, sir!”

The team responded instantly and sprang into action.

“Very good,” Xu Qiaomu laughed. “Master Luo said you were talented—I’d say you’re a genius. He told me to pick you, and it looks like I made the right call. You must have trusted subordinates of your own, right? Bring them out. I know you’ve been quietly building your own network.”

“Grandfather, you saw through me long ago,” Xu Zhijie felt a chill in his heart.

“I’m in a position to see everything clearly from above. Nobody’s sneaky moves escape me,” Xu Qiaomu said. “Now go—no time to waste.”

Swish, swish, swish!

Xu Zhijie led the team out the door.

Xu Qiaomu watched his back, a strange expression crossing his face.

A moment later, someone entered—it was Huang Dingyi.

Huang Dingyi sat down without ceremony. “Zhijie’s got real ability. I underestimated him before. Looks like he’s ambitious deep down.”

“You were the first one to make contact with my grandson Su Jie, and you’ve protected him ever since,” Xu Qiaomu said. “How do you think Zhijie compares to him? Why are Master Ma and Master Luo so high on Su Jie? I don’t see what’s so great about the kid. If it’s just that he can fight, then I don’t buy it. Sure, being good at martial arts is nice, but it’s not that useful in today’s world. What really matters is brains.”

“Zhijie is far inferior to him,” Huang Dingyi shook his head. “Of course, I only chatted with Su Jie briefly, so I don’t know him that well. I was worried he might be from the Typhon Training Camp—the kind that can kill without anyone knowing. On the surface, I was protecting him, but I was really protecting your younger family members. Still, his demeanor and temperament came across as sincere and steady—very easy to get along with. Zhijie, by contrast, appears mild but is full of ambition and constantly scheming. If I had to choose a partner, I’d pick Su Jie over Zhijie any day. That instinct—I trust it.”

“Your instincts have saved us from many attacks abroad,” Xu Qiaomu said. He and Huang Dingyi were longtime friends and spoke without pretense. “Dingyi, now that I’ve taken care of those people, what do you think about the future of the family company?”

“It’s not going to be that simple,” Huang said flatly.

Sure enough, Xu Zhijie returned shortly afterward. “Grandfather, Xu Jiahong is missing—left the family estate and his whereabouts are unknown. The others were indeed holed up in a room talking. They’ve been placed under house arrest.”

“Only Jiahong got away? That’s no big deal—he won’t make any waves,” Xu Qiaomu said indifferently. “Go back to HQ. Audit everything. If we find holes, press charges and send them to prison. If we don’t, fire them. We’ll deal with the rest later.”

“Yes.” Xu Zhijie left again.

*****

"Whew.." Xu Jiahong was gasping for breath.

He was in a car speeding down the road. Beside him sat Ah Ding, an instructor from the Honey Badger Training Camp.

“That was close,” Xu Jiahong looked pale. Then he gritted his teeth. “Can’t believe the old man went that far—put us under house arrest and started auditing the books just because of some fortune-teller’s words. He’s ready to destroy his own sons and grandsons. He must’ve gone off the deep end thinking he’s Emperor Kangxi or something.”

“The Xu family’s total assets are huge—practically a business empire. Sure, it’s not one of those trillion-dollar behemoths, but it’s still a mini-kingdom,” Ah Ding replied. “You still have a shot at turning things around—it depends on how you use what you’ve got.”

“Turn things around? How?” Xu Jiahong had no confidence.

“Relax. I’ll help you. After all, you’ve been running things for a while and have access to sensitive info. That alone will make Xu Qiaomu hesitate. We’re in a society governed by law now—not the clan-based rule of the past. Even if they want to take you down, it starts with removing you from your post, then auditing you, then accusing you of embezzlement or breach of trust. After that, they call the cops and you’re looking at jail. That process is full of loopholes we can exploit. So don’t panic.”

*****

Meanwhile, as the Xu family erupted into chaos, Su Jie had no idea—and he didn’t care.

Though the Xu family was his mother’s side, he felt like a stranger to them, with no sense of belonging or affection. His mother had originally wanted to help the family a little, hoping to get some money to help his sister, Su Muchen, out of her troubles. But after seeing the internal strife, she felt disillusioned and finally made up her mind to stay out of the muck.

That put Su Jie at ease.

He went back to studying with Masters Luo and Ma in peace.

This was a rare learning opportunity.

After a brief chat, he followed Master Luo into the basement.

Unexpectedly, the basement of this courtyard was a research lab. It had medical equipment and computers—looked very expensive. Su Jie even saw robotic surgical arms, the kind used in high-end hospitals for precision operations.

He had no idea why Master Luo had all this gear.

“This machine wasn’t cheap. It’s used for nerve repair surgery,” Master Ma nodded after inspecting it. “Are you researching neuroscience?”

“This machine isn’t even the precise one. The truly advanced ones can do head transplants,” Master Luo replied. “Head transplants—that’s the true boundary between soul and flesh. I haven’t done it myself, but I’ve studied it. This robotic arm was actually repurposed for massage and acupuncture. Right now, the best massage therapist in the country is probably that blind guy from Minglun Martial Arts Academy. But even he isn’t as precise as this machine.”

“Massage?” Su Jie was confused.

His body conditioning had started with Odell’s impact training, which evenly distributed force across every muscle and inch of skin—something only top-tier coaches could do. Later, Uncle Mang had massaged him.

But he never expected Master Luo to use robotic surgical arms for massage.

Truthfully, in certain surgeries, even the best lead surgeons can’t compete with robotic arms. They don’t get tired, they’re ultra-precise, and they avoid even the tiniest nerves and blood vessels.

“Head transplants were hyped up years ago. They say they’ve already succeeded. I still find it hard to believe,” said Zhang Manman. “Sounds like something only underworld judges in old Chinese ghost stories could pull off. Who knows what kind of crazy tech we’ll see in a few decades.”

“The hardest part of a head transplant is connecting spinal nerves and preventing rejection. That takes extreme precision,” said Master Ma. “It really is mind-blowing. In ancient times, this would be considered divine magic. Anyway, let’s focus—Lao Luo, turning a surgical robot into an acupuncture masseur is basically like carrying a master therapist around. Let me take a look at your research.”

“Actually, I wanted to exchange some findings with you today,” said Master Luo. “I’ve been researching how to return the human psyche to a state like that of an unborn infant in the womb.”

“That’s a topic worth pursuing,” Master Ma’s eyes lit up. “In Daoist practice, returning to the prenatal state is a major concept. The Classic of the Way and its Power says, ‘Can you become as soft and yielding as an infant?’ That’s the essence of cultivation. I’ve been exploring that too. Looks like we’re on the same path.”

“How do you even research that?” Su Jie had always dreamed of studying life sciences. He thought topics like these were something he'd only encounter in grad school or during a PhD under a mentor—never did he imagine he’d get to explore them now.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay