The Omniscient

Chapter 20: The Swindler

At around 8 PM, Lin Li arrived at the late-night food street in the western suburbs of Shanghai and went straight to a private room on the second floor of an old pigeon soup restaurant.

Inside the private room, an elderly man with a neatly trimmed beard was sipping pigeon soup, dressed in a Zhongshan suit.

"Teacher, I’m here," Lin Li bowed respectfully and stood beside the elderly man.

The elderly man smiled and nodded, gesturing to a seat nearby. "Sit down. Order yourself a bowl of soup."

Lin Li sat but didn’t order anything. Instead, he pulled out a small box from his pocket and handed it over. "Here’s the golden carp you asked for."

The elderly man opened the box, revealing two small golden carp. Satisfied, he put them away and nodded. "You’ve gone to some trouble."

"As long as it helps Teacher refine a Golden Elixir, it’s worth it," Lin Li said with a smile.

The elderly man chuckled. "Taking a Golden Elixir at my age would be a waste. I’ve spent fifty years gathering the Five Minerals and Nine Herbs, but now, as my time nears its end, consuming the elixir would do more harm than good."

Lin Li clenched his fists under the table, unable to suppress his excitement.

"Calm yourself!" The elderly man suddenly barked.

Lin Li snapped back and quickly apologized. "I’m sorry, Teacher. I got carried away."

The elderly man frowned. "No wonder you’ve yet to sense Qi. Your mind is too preoccupied with personal gain! If it weren’t for your exceptional talent—something rarely seen—you wouldn’t get far with this attitude!"

"I’m sorry, Teacher…" Lin Li said, dejected.

The elderly man sighed. "Go home and meditate for three days. Once your heart is steady, come back to me for the Golden Elixir."

"Understood…" Lin Li stood, pulling out his wallet to pay before leaving.

The elderly man waved him off and handed him a 100-yuan note. "Go, go. How many times have I told you? You provide one material and call me Teacher, and I’ll grant you the Golden Elixir. No other debts or entanglements. The best repayment is for you to sense Qi."

Reluctantly, Lin Li put his wallet away, looking respectfully at the elderly man.

In the month he’d known this man, he realized the elder never let anyone pay for him. The man often said, “No debts owed. If I won’t give, I won’t take.”

Even when the materials for the Golden Elixir were incomplete, the man never asked Lin Li for money—only requesting him to prepare a single material: a golden carp made of gold. This fish was to be used in refining the Golden Elixir, which would ultimately be bestowed upon Lin Li himself. In other words, he was merely preparing a material for his own benefit. R𝘈ꞐО𝐁Ëꞩ

"Teacher, I’ll go meditate now!" Lin Li said, about to leave.

Suddenly, a group of people stormed upstairs and squeezed into the private room.

There were six of them, all burly and muscular, radiating anger.

"You old fart, I finally found you! Damn swindler, give me back my money!" the crew-cut man in the lead shouted furiously.

Lin Li froze. The weight of those words hit him like a ton of bricks, leaving him rooted in place.

Swindler…?

Lin Li quickly turned to look at the elderly man. The old man took a sip of soup, calmly set down his bowl, and wore a composed smile, unbothered by the situation.

This serenity reassured Lin Li.

He thought, This must be a misunderstanding. Teacher can’t possibly be a swindler.

He kept telling himself this, eager to see how the elderly man would handle the situation.

"Li Quan, I see your boss beat you up," the elderly man said, still calm.

The crew-cut man, Li Quan, froze for a moment before bursting into anger. "Of course! You scammed me out of 100,000 yuan! That was my boss’s money. He wants to skin me alive! Give it back now, or I’ll break your bones!"

The elderly man shook his head. "That’s right. I did scam you, because you’re steeped in sin. That money? I donated it for you."

"What!" Li Quan was stunned and enraged.

Hearing this, Lin Li couldn’t help but feel enlightened.

It turned out Teacher wasn’t a swindler but had cleverly deceived Li Quan to punish him! The money had been donated.

"F***ing old man! Get him! Grab him!" Li Quan ordered.

As the group surged forward, the elderly man abruptly stood, his head held high, and burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

His voice was robust and commanding, enough to give them pause.

Li Quan and his men hesitated, puzzled, unsure of what was happening.

"Old man, what are you laughing about?"

The elderly man stopped laughing and lowered his head. "I’m laughing at your inability to recognize a true master!"

Seeing his teacher’s confidence, Lin Li’s spirits were bolstered. "Teacher! Show them your skills and teach them a lesson!"

The elderly man declared, "Disciple, you’ve struggled to sense Qi for too long. Today, I’ll pass you a stream of True Qi. Use it wisely, and with its power, teach these lowly thugs a lesson!"

Lin Li trembled with excitement. His teacher could transfer True Qi to him? Was there really such a shortcut?

Without hesitation, he responded, "Yes! Teacher, let’s see who dares take a step forward today!"

As he finished speaking, the elderly man raised his hand and delivered a heavy palm strike to Lin Li’s back.

The force propelled Lin Li several steps forward, sending him stumbling directly toward Li Quan and his six men.

A blow to the back usually causes chest tightness, a sense of heat, mild numbness, and pain radiating outward. Lin Li, struggling to breathe from the strike, assumed it was his teacher transferring True Qi into him.

"Ha!" Lin Li positioned himself in front of the group and threw a punch.

Bang!

To his shock, Li Quan smacked him down with a single slap, leaving Lin Li dizzy and slumped against the wall.

Then, a kick landed in his stomach, and Lin Li crumpled to the ground, clutching his abdomen and spitting out saliva.

One of the burly men grabbed him by the back of his collar and scolded, "What the hell is this?"

Lin Li was stunned. There was no True Qi—he had been easily beaten down.

But what made things worse was…

"The old man jumped out the window and ran!" one of the burly men cursed.

As it turned out, the elder had used the palm strike to shove Lin Li forward, causing him to block the group momentarily. In the cramped private room, with a large round table in the way, Li Quan and his men were delayed long enough for the elder to push open the window and nimbly escape.

Everything—the bravado, the posturing—had been to set up this moment.

"After him!" Li Quan ordered, sending three of his men downstairs to give chase.

Lin Li tried to get up, but Li Quan shoved him into a corner, growling, "Stay put!"

"Hah…" Lin Li crouched in the corner, his gaze blank, a self-mocking smile on his face.

Deep down, he already suspected that the old man might have been scamming him.

But he’d willingly fallen for the act. The old man never took small amounts of money, even letting him freeload meals at times.

The elder’s explanations during Qi refinement were steeped in classical texts and flawless logic. When he mentioned missing ingredients for the Golden Elixir, he never asked for money, only specifying the required materials and having Lin Li prepare them.

By contributing a single material, Lin Li was led to believe he had a share in the elixir. And by calling the man "Teacher," he would receive the elixir as a gift.

This reasoning had drawn him into the scheme without realizing it.

The old man had crafted an elaborate ruse! By dangling the allure of the Golden Elixir, he made Lin Li believe, "I’m only providing materials for my own elixir."

From start to finish, there was no direct monetary exchange. Lin Li acted entirely of his own accord.

In hindsight, those two golden carp had cost him 8,000 yuan. A month ago, he had also procured some rare herbs for the elder, costing another 4,000 yuan.

Altogether, he had lost 12,000 yuan. If the elder resold those materials, he could easily make 8,000 or 9,000 yuan in profit.

"Ultimately, it’s because of my greed," Lin Li laughed bitterly at himself.

Ever since he was young, he had been fascinated by the mystical and arcane. Anything peculiar or esoteric drew him in. He wholeheartedly believed in the legends of Qi refining, cultivation, and martial arts passed down through history.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Even if there was the faintest chance they were real, he would choose to believe. What if? What if he missed out on a true opportunity?

That was just how he was. Though he had considered the possibility that the old man was a fraud, in the end, he decided, I’ll wait until I’m truly scammed.

No warnings or advice from others could dissuade him.

Because he had not yet seen the evidence of being scammed.

Lin Li was willing to believe. To make him stop believing, someone would have to present the brutal, bloody truth right in front of him.

The elderly man clearly understood his nature all too well, manipulating him effortlessly.

"I’ve truly been played for a fool…"