Extreme Almightiest Young Master

Chapter 397: Over Forty Years Ago…

Without realizing it, a lot of time had passed, and the crowd had gradually dispersed, leaving only Leng Mei who hadn’t left.

Leng Mei’s heart was unbearably heavy at the moment; she had witnessed everything that had just transpired, and even when Lin Feng was cutting the cake with Ding Wan’er, Leng Mei felt an indescribable stabbing pain in her heart. Today was Wan’er’s birthday, and no matter what, she couldn’t lose her composure. It was with these thoughts that Leng Mei managed to suppress her emotions and pretend as if nothing was wrong while attending the entire birthday party.

"Wan’er, Lin Feng, congratulations to both of you. I should be leaving now, see you tomorrow." Seeing that everyone else had left, Leng Mei said goodbye and prepared to leave. However, at that moment, seeing Lin Feng and Ding Wan’er still arm in arm, Leng Mei’s heart ached even more. She quickly turned and walked toward the parking lot, but she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, though Lin Feng and Ding Wan’er did not notice Leng Mei’s abnormal behavior.

Leng Mei barely made it to her car, then she floored the accelerator, driving rapidly away from Yingbo University. She found a corner to park, stopped the car, leaned on the steering wheel, and began to cry uncontrollably.

She had never imagined that Wan’er was actually Lin Feng’s fiancée. In other words, Wan’er had known all along that Lin Feng was her fiancé because she showed no surprise when she heard Lin Feng was her fiancé tonight. Yet, she had never mentioned it, just watching everything that happened to Lin Feng at school, which was probably disrupted by the marriage arrangement.

Thinking back on it now, no wonder Ding Wan’er acted so strangely whenever it involved Lin Feng. It seemed that this outcome had been predetermined, and only she had foolishly gotten involved. It was only after getting drunk that she’d gathered the courage to confess to Lin Feng, who treated it as drunken babble. Otherwise, how could Lin Feng have shown no reaction at all!

The more Leng Mei thought about it, the more distressed she became, and in the end, unable to bear the pain in her heart any longer, she drove to a liquor store, bought a lot of alcohol, and went straight home. Since she was in so much pain, Leng Mei chose to drown her sorrows completely in alcohol; because only when she was drunk would she not think too much and not feel so tormented...

"Let’s go back." Lin Feng watched Leng Mei’s retreating figure, vaguely sensing something, but given the circumstances, it was more important to deal with Ding Wan’er’s situation first. With this in mind, he led Ding Wan’er back to Ding Yi’s villa.

"Hmm, everyone’s finally gone; we should head back inside too." Ding Wan’er took a long breath, relieved to have sent all the guests away, and casually responded to Lin Feng’s words. The two of them returned to the villa together.

Once inside, Lin Feng saw Ding Yi and Wan’er’s parents sitting on the sofa in the living room, so he led Ding Wan’er to another sofa.

"Elder, please explain the details of this matter." Lin Feng looked at Ding Yi, who had a smiling face, wanting to understand the full situation, so he took the initiative to ask Ding Yi, who was the only one who could clarify what was going on.

"This all started over forty years ago when I was not yet married. During those times, everyone lived a tough life, and out of desperation, I chose to take a risk by going to the countryside to get some eggs and then trade them for other things in the city. This was illegal at that time. Later, I was reported and paraded through the streets as a capitalist; I ended up in a cowshed, sick and neglected until I was on my last breath."

"Just when I thought my life would end there, an old man appeared. He took me to the mountains and cured my illness. It’s fair to say that without him, I would have died long ago. Afterwards, the old man told me to go south and magically produced the most authoritative letter of introduction of that time. That’s how I arrived in Tianhai and, by a sheer coincidence, I met your Uncle Qian and Uncle Leng."

"Your Uncle Qian was a daredevil back in those days. Once, after a fierce fight, he was covered in wounds. I searched everywhere for doctors, but all shook their heads in decline. Just when he was about to lose his life, the old man appeared again. It took less than a week for him to heal all of Uncle Qian’s injuries and then he left a copy of ’The Iron Hand Strategy’ before disappearing once more."

"Later on, your Uncle Leng went to the frontline battlefield and made a name for himself. He became a renowned figure on the front, and the enemy sent ten times more troops to encircle him. When Uncle Leng was at death’s door due to a bomb blast, the old man appeared again, helping Uncle Leng escape the enemy’s encirclement and saving his life. When Uncle Leng returned to his unit, the old man disappeared again..."

"So, without that old man, the three of us old fellows would have long since left this world..."

Ding Yi finished recounting everything in one breath. As for the mysterious elder, the three old men no longer knew how to describe their feelings. Now, when they think of that enigmatic figure, they are filled with deep emotion, their hearts stir wildly with excitement, truly longing to see that mysterious elder again. If it hadn’t been for the elder’s appearance back then, he would have been dead, with no subsequent events to speak of.

It’s no exaggeration to say that everything they have now was given to them by the elder—it was an ironclad fact. Ding Yi constantly felt grateful for all that the elder had done and had been waiting all his life for the mysterious elder to reappear. He caught only a glimpse of the elder when Wan’er was born, and then the old man completely vanished, leaving Ding Yi deeply saddened.

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng realized that it must have been the doing of his nominal master. He hadn’t anticipated how astonishingly coincidental it all was—that the three elderly men had all been favored and saved by his master. No! That’s not right! His master never did anything meaningless. If his guess was correct, it was all a game of chess laid out by his master decades ago, with every piece moving according to his master’s expectations.

It must be so, thought Lin Feng as the idea surfaced in his mind, growing increasingly certain of its likelihood. His master’s innate understanding of the I Ching had indeed reached an unbelievably profound level. It was the only skill he hadn’t mastered, because his master told him that it couldn’t just be learned—you had to engage with the world. Otherwise, everything would be baseless. At the time, he hadn’t grasped the full meaning, simply following his master’s instructions to first interact with the world and then gradually understand and master the I Ching.

Now, Lin Feng felt that all of this had likely been an intentional arrangement by his master, to have the three elderly men together, supporting each other, and then, with his arrival, he was tied to these three old men...

Ding Bo and Zhou Ping listened on, dumbfounded. They had never heard Ding Yi mention such a story before. This was all news to them, and both were astounded by the sudden mention of the mysterious elder, who had saved not only their father’s life but also the lives of Uncle Qian and Uncle Leng.

This was too miraculous. How had he known that Uncle Qian and Uncle Leng would be in danger, and appeared just in time to save them? This defied belief! Such things don’t normally happen, and yet Uncle Qian and Uncle Leng are very much alive, which means that what dad said was true. That mysterious old man has done some truly incredible things—it’s simply inconceivable!

Listening to her grandfather’s words, Ding Wan’er also felt it was very magical. She hadn’t expected someone to be so powerful as to be able to save Grandpa Leng, Grandpa Qian, and her own grandfather’s lives. This... this was indeed impressive. Although she hadn’t lived through that era, she had learned something of it through television. There were hardly any medicines back then, so his medical skills must have been extremely formidable...

"That old man truly was like an immortal," Qian Rong chimed in from the side. To tell the truth, even after so many years, he still longed to see that elder once more and to offer a word of thanks. Without him, there would be no Qian Rong today.

If the elder hadn’t treated his wounds back then, Qian Rong knew he too would not have seen the days that followed. The elder not only saved his life but also gave him a copy of The Iron Hand Strategy, which led to the later renown of Iron Palm Qian Rong and the rise of the Great South Gang. So it was clear, without the elder’s intervention, there would be no Qian Rong today. He eternally remembered this debt of gratitude, uncertain of how he could ever repay it.

"Then, many years flew by and when Wan’er was born, we three old fellows were joyfully chatting and laughing while holding her, when that old man reappeared out of nowhere. We didn’t even see how he came in. The gracefully dignified elder held Wan’er and said, ’This child is not bad, I’ll take care of her future marriage.’ Then he burst into hearty laughter, his fondness for Wan’er obvious."

"At that moment, we three old fellows were stunned. No one expected the old man we yearned for to appear so suddenly and to speak of arranging Wan’er’s marriage. Given that the elder was akin to an immortal, how could the marriage he arranged for Wan’er be anything but extraordinary? So, without hesitation, we immediately agreed to the marriage arrangement, simply standing there watching the elder making Wan’er laugh."

"Then the elder took out a small bottle of elixir and said it was good for the child. ’One drop every day until the bottle is empty,’ he instructed. After these words, he handed Wan’er back into my arms and vanished into thin air. But his words kept echoing in my ears, ’In the future, someone will come bearing my letter to seek out Wan’er, and that person will be her betrothed.’

"Once the elder had disappeared, we three old fellows with the elixir in our hands realized that we were not dreaming. From the elder’s appearance to his departure, not even a minute had passed, and none of us knew how he came or went."