My wife is the stand-in.

Each with their own thoughts, the two walked past the many gazes fixed on Amanosaki and stopped in front of the heavy, soundproof oak door.

Who is it?

The brass doorknob, carved with a relief resembling Yubaba, yawned and opened its bronze eyes. It first looked at Lin Zhonghe, who had the strongest presence, and scoffed, "The master has spoken. We'll only open the door after all the masters of these guys who are taking up seats have arrived."

Just as Copper Handle was about to close his eyes and continue sleeping, he caught a glimpse of Amanosaki standing inconspicuously beside him and immediately became alarmed.

"This, this! It's our fault for not finding you, sir! Open the door! Open the door!"

The left brass handle bit down on the right brass handle's chin, and amidst the right brass handle's snarling scream, the oak door was pushed open at lightning speed, revealing an extravagantly luxurious interior.

The velvet carpet was visibly soft, and the walls were adorned with Baroque tapestries known for their luxury. A life-sized cloisonné enamel vase stood on either side of the entrance, and the walls were covered with oil paintings from the Renaissance and other eras. The wall lamps burned softly, releasing the fragrance of the lamp oil, carrying a warm and comforting mysterious power.

"Looks like the old man is indebted to you," Lin Zhonghe said jokingly, narrowing one eye.

Amanosaki hurriedly said he dared not.

“Hey, the new generation always surpasses the old.” Lin Zhonghe and Amano Saki walked on the carpet that was so heavy it was hard to stand. “If you could put in a good word for the Yushan branch in front of your girlfriend, I would be extremely grateful. This old man of mine could finally get a good night’s sleep.”

"I made two trips back and forth between Yushan City and Sanjiang Hall today, and I'm really exhausted."

Amanosaki instinctively sensed something was wrong, frowned, and asked quietly, "You mean..."

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Who do you think you are, breaking the master's rules like this!"

With a loud bang, half of the door slammed shut under the control of the brass handle, giving the man in the suit who was trying to follow in a bruise on his forehead.

The man in the suit, whose entire suit looked like it was stuffed with bricks, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, making a creaking sound. The brass handle, which had just been servile to Amanosaki, was now completely unafraid of the burly man who was stronger than the master it had been talking about. Its brass teeth bit into the man's hand, and a lot of blood gushed out and fell to the ground.

Lin Zhonghe seemed completely unconcerned about these things, and simply said quietly, "The sudden appearance of such a large and magical place is truly a feat of concealment. You don't think the headquarters and the various branches would turn a blind eye, do you? Brother Nozaki, you've been hiding it well. If it weren't for Amber's insightful observation, our Yushan branch would have almost missed out on you."

Amanosaki quickly waved his hand, saying he dared not, thinking to himself that he only realized today how awesome his superpower was.

But in Lin Zhonghe's eyes, Amanosaki was just putting on an act.

But it doesn't matter, since the Lin family is already one step ahead of everyone else.

'Our granddaughter is genuinely pursuing him, do any of yours?'

Thinking of this, Lin Zhonghe quietly tugged at Amanosaki's hand: "Kid, let me ask you, did you see my granddaughter when you came up here?"

"Your granddaughter is... Lin Shuyu?" Amanosaki probed.

"Hmm." Lin Zhonghe nodded mysteriously, and said seemingly casually, "Little Lin heard that she was coming to Sanjiang Reservoir, so she specially brought a swimsuit. Let me tell you, it's a very beautiful swimsuit. She's taking a bath now, and she might be wearing it too."

Amanosaki's steps faltered slightly.

He couldn't help but imagine the alluring scene of Lin Shuyu in a swimsuit, especially when she arched her back and touched her toes, fully displaying her breasts, pert buttocks, and slender waist.

'It must be very beautiful, right?'

Such a thought flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

But the next moment, Amanosaki pinched his nose, which felt sore and seemed to be bleeding, shook his head, and gave Lin Zhonghe a rather disgusted look.

'No wonder he's called Lin Zhonghe! To describe his granddaughter in such a vulgar tone!'

Lin Zhonghe keenly noticed the change in Amanosaki's emotions. He remained outwardly silent, but nodded inwardly: 'He looks like a handsome, smooth-talking young man, but he's surprisingly innocent. Lin's taste in men really is inherited from my sister.'

Amanosaki was indifferent to Lin Zhonghe's casual questions because he disliked Lin Zhonghe's attitude, and Lin Zhonghe didn't care at all.

Anyway, he's Lin Shuyu's maternal great-uncle, so it doesn't matter if he loses some face for his granddaughter's marriage.

'If I can really catch this guy, I'll have both face and substance sooner or later.' He felt smug, thinking he was one step ahead.

Following the ever-opening ornate oak doors and through the complex corridors, Amanosaki finally saw Yubaba in a study filled with patchwork floor-to-ceiling windows.

In this study, which rivals that of a European palace, a huge, simple birchwood table is placed horizontally in the middle of the room. Yubaba's slightly short figure is huddled in a soft chair, her shadow elongated by the dim table lamp. On the table are various jewelry, gold and banknotes, as well as a gold scale.

All of this came in tonight.

Three green heads rolled out from behind Yubaba, yelling and pushing two chairs that extended down from Yubaba's left side.

Lin Zhonghe smiled kindly at Tian Nozaki and sat down very properly in the chair further away.

Amanosaki glared at him, then walked to the table, leaned on it, and watched Yubaba diligently keeping accounts.

"Why can't we just have someone else do this? Tom, with so many people working for you, why do you still insist on doing everything yourself?"

His voice was gentle, and he didn't feel awkward because of Lin Zhonghe's presence. When Amanosaki and Yubaba were together, they had the naturalness of an old married couple, without any of the tension and awkwardness they would have when facing a beautiful girl.

'Perhaps it's because in my past life I never even touched a beautiful girl's hand, but instead volunteered at nursing homes many times? Those old ladies really liked me.'

Amanosaki thought to himself.

The two were standing very close, and unsurprisingly, Yubaba sensed this thought. She pressed down on her pen, put it down, and glared at Amanosaki: "What do you know? These workers are all reincarnated lazybones. They dare to take long vacations if I'm not around for a few days. Let alone handing over the ledgers to them. Tonight is going to be a big night."

Amanosaki nodded perfunctorily, not believing it at all.

No matter how big a business is, can it be bigger than giving a spa treatment to a deity? In the movie, just scrubbing the river god's back earned him countless gold coins!

Seeing this, Granny Tang didn't say much, but just sighed: "Don't stand there like that, sit next to me, and don't say a word no matter what happens later."

"So even if you sell me, I can't tell?"

Looking at Amanosaki's handsome face, half-lit and half-shadowed by the lamplight, Yubaba's stern expression broke down. She helplessly pinched Amanosaki's earlobe, pinching it affectionately: "How could I bear to... Go on, everyone's here."

The footsteps outside the door were absorbed by the velvet cushions and could not be heard clearly. If there hadn't been so many people, even Amanosaki, who had been taking a medicinal bath, wouldn't have been able to hear them.

Looking at the loving scene between the older wife and younger husband, Lin Zhonghe felt a mixture of disgust and envy.

The feeling of unease stems from the sheer size of the age gap, while the envy arises from a deep-seated admiration for Yubaba's ability to date such a young woman despite her advanced age.

As the saying goes, men are fickle, but Lin Zhonghe believes he has always been consistent. From childhood to old age, he has always liked beautiful women, young, mature, and old, and he accepts them all.

Unfortunately, I'm too old now, and no young, pretty girls genuinely like me anymore! They're all after my money and power.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.

As soon as Amanosaki sat down, people entered the study one after another. These people were dressed in different styles, some trendy and some retro.

The only thing that's certain is that they are all very strong.

He was stronger than the men in suits who were waiting at the elevator entrance, and about the same as Lin Zhonghe, who was left-handed by Amanosaki.

The ability to discern general strength and weakness is a new ability that Amanosaki gained after taking a medicinal bath. It seems that his sense of crisis has become more acute, and when facing a strong opponent, he has a feeling of unease, as if he has a thorn in his side.

At least in the past, he couldn't perceive the level of a knight-errant's strength without using his special abilities.

After these people entered the house, the three green-headed people pushed out chairs one by one. The people who entered first bowed to Granny Tang and Lin Zhonghe. Many of them looked at Lin Zhonghe with probing and questioning eyes, obviously because they knew each other.

Lin Zhonghe kept his eyes straight ahead, seemingly ignoring him.

These people did not seem to be assigned seats; they simply sat down smoothly in a certain order.

Greed, anger, and ignorance.

After waiting for a while and seeing that no one else was taking the elevator upstairs, Granny Yu called out the names of the three green heads, "Give the forms to everyone."

She waved her hand gently, and the sound of the door closing came from afar like a tide, sealing off the entire roof of the soup house.

The last sound of the door closing came from the study. As the door closed, the crystal chandelier lit up amidst the clanging of the metal lock, the curtains closed by themselves, and everyone's attention turned to the center of the study—Grandma Yu.

She rested her hands on her aquiline nose, her large eyes fixed on the table, not looking at anyone, but everyone present had the illusion that they were being watched by something.

Amanosaki shifted his position slightly, shrinking himself further into the chair.

He felt a bit thirsty after drinking several jugs of sake downstairs.

"Cuck!"

The green man, with a tray of tea on his head, hopped to his feet, looking at Amanosaki with a face that always wore an expression of resentment.

Upon being stared at by those eyes, Amanosaki's strange feeling of being weak and unworthy to sit with such powerful people instantly vanished.

He smiled, raised his cup, and drank the tea heartily, muttering to himself:

"Even ancient emperors ruled from behind a curtain; what's wrong with me, the husband, listening in on my wife's business?"

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Agreement

Sanjiangtangkou Site.

The sound of the helicopter rotors echoed throughout the valley, subtly drowning out the sound of the rain.

A dozen or so helicopters hovered low over the valley, patrolling despite the bad weather.

Summer weather in Chongqing is always unpredictable, with bright sunshine during the day and light drizzle or torrential downpours at night.

Interestingly, no matter how strong the wind and rain or how fierce the thunder and lightning were the night before, people indoors would always be awakened by the glaring sunlight and stuffy air when the sun rose the next day.

It is nighttime, and the Sanjiangtangkou site is naturally experiencing torrential rain. The Yin water of the daytime, which was dried up by the karmic fire of the Bhikkhuni and carried with it groundwater, makes the rain tonight seem particularly heavy.

It almost makes you wonder if the Dragon King, who controls water, suddenly urinated.

The swordsman on guard duty in the helicopter touched his face and cursed at the old Dragon King. Meanwhile, the various military vehicles and troops surrounding the area on the ground indicated that it wasn't just the Heroes Mountain that had been mobilized, but also the army of the Yushan Provincial Government.

A quasi-military stronghold was destroyed, hundreds of people died on the spot, and even the Sanjiang Dam was threatened, with the safety of millions of people downstream hanging by a thread.

Even if one thinks about it carefully, one knows that the worst-case scenario is unlikely to happen, but any government with a modicum of responsibility would not turn a blind eye. As for pushing the matter to a group of people and adopting an indifferent attitude, such behavior is even less likely to occur in the face of a major issue involving millions of people.

Thousands of people outside braved the rain to be on guard, including the bathhouse that had appeared out of nowhere. Many of them would catch a cold or fever tomorrow, but inside the bathhouse, it was still bustling with activity.

After drinking, the heroes inevitably started singing loudly or even engaging in duels.

Compared to these drunken bastards, the important figures sitting in Yubaba's study appeared much calmer.

Granny Yu played with the ring at the table. Waking up, she figured everyone had seen enough, then coughed softly. Her husky voice, a little high-pitched with age, was deliberately slowed down, creating a melodious and elegant effect.

"Everyone knows what projects I can offer, so I'll just talk about my terms."

Everyone put down their orders, while Amanosaki idly rubbed his hands together.

He is outside of 'everyone'.

He is not human, at least not in this room for the time being.

Grandma Yu held up three fingers: "I built the bathhouse for three reasons."

"My man, my man, still my man."

So everyone's eyes turned to Amanosaki without prior arrangement, the complex meaning of which was self-evident.

Amanosaki felt numb from being stared at, so he simply mustered his courage and glared back at them.

"Why are you looking at me? Never seen a handsome guy before? There are hundreds of millions of people as handsome as me on Earth, all of them online novel readers."