“That’s natural, as long as you’re willing to help.”
Song Jian smiled.
Afterward, the two walked along a path paved with cobblestones until they arrived in front of a detached villa.
The villa was surrounded by tall, dense, verdant bamboo groves. As a gentle breeze blew, the bamboo leaves swayed, rustling as they brushed against each other.
Its architectural style blended modern simplicity with natural rustic charm, with white walls complementing dark wooden window frames, appearing exceptionally elegant.
The roofline was smooth, covered with dark gray tiles that shimmered with a unique luster under the sunlight.
At this moment, before the two even approached, they heard a series of bleating sounds coming from within the villa’s courtyard.
Upon pushing open the courtyard gate, the first thing Hu Qi saw was a goat tied up.
Its fur was pure white, with a few smudges on its body.
It restlessly stamped its hooves, tugging at the rope, trying to break free. Beneath it was a small pile of black, oval-shaped goat droppings.
However, unlike ordinary goats, its horns were not a single pair, but two pairs, and they were massive, resembling deer antlers with branches.
“It’s this goat!” Song Jian pointed.
“Excellent, excellent.”
Hu Qi’s eyes gleamed as he examined the goat, which was much larger than an average one.
He was overjoyed; a large size was great, more meat meant it could definitely provide him with more modification points.
Hmm, the tripe and brain could be made into stuffed tripe.
The ribs could be grilled directly.
As for the head, it could be braised directly and drizzled with chili oil, or the whole thing could be made into roasted whole lamb or hand-grabbed mutton.
Perhaps sensing Hu Qi’s peculiar gaze, the goat restlessly stamped its hooves.
As Hu Qi got closer, it lowered its head, suddenly kicked its hind legs, and charged towards Hu Qi.
Its horns were incredibly sharp; if an ordinary person were hit squarely by this, they would surely be left with several holes in their body.
But unfortunately, it was facing Hu Qi.
The next moment, its charging force abruptly stopped; it couldn’t move forward another step.
The goat’s horns were grasped in Hu Qi’s hand, and with a sudden exertion of force, it was directly pressed sideways to the ground by Hu Qi with one hand.
The next moment.
Feeling its legs being separated, the goat instantly let out terrified bleating sounds.
Hu Qi ignored its struggles and looked.
The goat’s rump was round and firm, covered with a layer of short, soft white downy fur. It looked plump and would undulate with its leg muscles when it walked.
Seeing this, Hu Qi couldn’t help but recall a news story he had seen in his previous life.
Some pirates and sailors, when going out to sea, would usually bring some goats to satisfy their physiological needs.
Of course, he had no interest in goats.
“Is this a female goat?”
Hu Qi’s expression subtly changed. As he spoke, he saw the pile of goat droppings below and couldn’t help but have a thought: would eating this also yield modification points?
However, this thought was dismissed the moment it appeared; there was no need.
Even if there were, the amount provided would be negligible.
He wasn’t in such urgent need of modification points right now.
“I hadn’t noticed that.”
Song Jian, who was beside him, was stunned upon hearing this.
“Keep this goat here for now and try to find a male goat to mate with it. It would be best if it can give birth to kids or produce goat milk.”
Hu Qi stood up and released the goat. Perhaps sensing Hu Qi’s terrifying nature, the goat, upon standing, retreated to the corner of the wall and did not attempt to attack Hu Qi again.
“Okay, no problem.”
Although Song Jian didn’t understand why Hu Qi made this request, it didn’t prevent him from agreeing.
Hu Qi’s purpose in suggesting this was naturally to see if it could breed more offspring.
Even if it couldn’t reproduce, if it could provide him with some goat milk, like the Zhangcha Duck, that would also be good.
However, both of these methods had a prerequisite: the goat needed to be pregnant.
Before this outcome was determined, he could only keep it for now.
Subsequently, the two chatted for a while. Song Jian gave Hu Qi his mother’s basic information and photos, and then transferred some money to Hu Qi—not much, just 100,000 yuan.
In Song Jian’s words, Hu Qi was helping him, and in some situations, cash payments would be unavoidable. This amount was to be considered his public expense.
Seeing the other party’s sincerity, Hu Qi politely declined twice, then accepted it smoothly.
And since Hu Qi was in a good mood after gaining benefits, he asked Song Jian to practice the Comprehensive Fighting Technique once.
Although Song Jian’s Aptitude was good, his Comprehensive Fighting Technique had at least reached the proficient level, even approaching Major Achievement.
But compared to Hu Qi, he was still far behind.
Just a few casual pointers greatly benefited Song Jian, and at the same time, he felt the gap between them even more clearly.
Soon, several hours passed imperceptibly, and it was now afternoon.
Song Jian wanted to keep Hu Qi for dinner, but he politely declined.
After watching Hu Qi get into a taxi and leave, Song Jian turned and returned to the villa.
At this moment, there was a sound from a staircase on one side, and a figure walked down.
This was a middle-aged man with graying temples and a somewhat plump physique. His face bore a three to four-tenths resemblance to Song Jian’s.
Song Jian seemed to have anticipated this person’s appearance. He turned to the man and called out in a low voice.
“Father, he has left.”
“Hmm, you did very well today.”
The middle-aged man nodded.
“What do you think, Father?” Song Jian thought for a moment and asked.
“This person can Cultivate Qi and Blood Power in such a short time; he is definitely a true Genius.
If this person doesn’t die prematurely, he will definitely become one of the top figures.
However, from my observation, this person appears gentle on the outside but is extremely cold-hearted. Such a person can only be enticed by benefits.
But no matter what, befriending such a person, as long as you don’t harbor ill intentions or provoke them, there is no harm.”
The middle-aged man’s expression was serious.
“As for whether we can find your mother, we can only say we’ve done our best and leave the rest to fate. At least it’s a hope.”
…
“Interesting.”
In the taxi.
The tree shadows on both sides of the glass rapidly receded.
Hu Qi took off the sword bag from his back and placed it horizontally on his lap.
Leaning against the slightly hard seat, his eyes were lowered, seemingly resting with his eyes closed.
In reality, his mind was replaying today’s events.
Everything today seemed reasonable, but there were always a few places that felt off.
Based on his understanding of Song Jian, that guy’s personality would never have said those words about giving him 100,000 yuan for expenses.
Those words were too sophisticated; the other party simply couldn’t have said them.
Besides that.
He also sensed that someone seemed to be observing him during this time.
There must have been a second person present in that villa.
However, this was not important to Hu Qi; what mattered was that the money was real, and that was enough. As for other things, he didn’t want to bother with them.
As long as it wasn’t a scheme or provocation directed at him, it was fine.