762: Chapter 757 Don't Let Me Down

"Since you know your stuff..."

Shen Yan leaned forward slightly, his fingers lightly tapping on the table.

"...then we have something to talk about."

He Jingzhong carefully set the wood down, as if he were putting down his own lifeblood.

He re-examined the young man before him.

His gaze was no longer that of someone looking at a nouveau riche.

"Young man, since you understand incense, you should know that what I grow in that garden aren't just trees."

"They are lives."

He Jingzhong gave a bitter laugh and slumped back into his chair.

"Those people only want to cut down the trees to build villas and a resort."

"They can't smell the soul within the wood."

Shen Yan didn't respond to his words.

Instead, he suddenly changed the subject.

"I heard that thirty years ago, you smelled the immortal incense?"

He Jingzhong's body jolted violently.

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his fur bristled instantly.

"Are you here to mock me too?"

"Do you also think I'm a madman?"

"Everyone says it was swamp gas! An illusion! That I've lost my mind!"

The old man was so agitated that the veins on his neck bulged.

Shen Yan shook his head.

He pulled a pre-prepared small bottle from his pocket.

It was a crystal bottle only the size of a thumb.

Inside was not perfume.

But a single drop of pale gold liquid.

This was a small reward that had randomly dropped from the system earlier—'Deep Sea Ambergris Essence'.

Although it wasn't 'floating dawn', in this world, it was already the top of the top.

"Open it and take a sniff."

Shen Yan pushed the bottle over.

He Jingzhong looked at him suspiciously.

But curiosity drove him to pull out the stopper.

Pop.

A very soft sound.

Immediately following.

An indescribable scent began to permeate the air.

It wasn't as intense as floral scents, nor as heavy as agarwood.

It carried the vastness of the ocean, the salty freshness of seaweed dried in the sun, and an ethereal quality that seemed to pierce the soul.

He Jingzhong's expression froze instantly.

His pupils dilated, and his mouth hung slightly open.

His entire being seemed frozen in time.

One second.

Two seconds.

Old tears began to flow.

Tears streamed down from those cloudy old eyes without warning, sliding along the deep furrows of his face.

"The scent of the sea..."

"No, this is... this is the scent of time."

He Jingzhong tremblingly replaced the stopper, as if afraid a single trace of the scent would escape.

He looked at Shen Yan, his gaze completely transformed.

It was reverence.

"This is top-grade White Ambergris... specially refined..."

"How could there be something so pure in this world?"

Shen Yan took back the bottle and casually slipped it into his pocket.

The movement was as nonchalant as putting away a lighter.

"I have plenty of this stuff."

Shen Yan looked at He Jingzhong and threw out the bait.

"But I'm lacking a more special scent."

"A scent that only you can find."

He Jingzhong wiped the tears from his face, his drunkenness completely gone.

He sat up straight, hands on his knees, adopting the respectful posture of an apprentice.

"Sir, please speak."

"As long as it truly exists in this world, even if I have to risk my old life, I will get it for you."

Shen Yan was very satisfied with his change in attitude.

This was the crushing weight of absolute strength.

In this field, whoever holds the top-tier goods is the master.

"I want that mutated Ambergris Vine."

Shen Yan's voice was very soft, audible only to the two of them.

"The one you smelled thirty years ago, the so-called 'immortal incense'."

He Jingzhong's pupils contracted violently.

He looked at Shen Yan as if he had seen a ghost.

"You... how do you know about the Ambergris Vine?"

"That's... that's something only found in books, and... and in my garden..."

He stopped abruptly halfway through.

His eyes flickered.

That was the secret he had kept his entire life.

Even to those closest to him, he only said he had smelled a fragrance; he never mentioned it was because of that strange vine.

How could this young man know?

Shen Yan didn't need to explain.

Maintaining mystery was a form of deterrence in itself.

"I know it's right there in Rosemary Dell."

"I also know it's not dead, only dormant."

"It's waiting for someone who understands it to wake it up."

Shen Yan stared into He Jingzhong's eyes.

"That person can only be you."

He Jingzhong's breathing became rapid.

The ecstasy of being understood, the emotion of being trusted, and the terror of having his secret exposed were all mixed together.

It made his aged heart pound wildly.

"But... but that garden..."

He Jingzhong's voice dropped, filled with a deep sense of helplessness.

"It's being mortgaged to the Bank next week."

"My wife is still lying in the ICU, burning through tens of thousands of yuan every day."

"I have no more money."

"And I have no more time."

This was a man at his wit's end.

Even if he was a master, he had to kneel before money.

Shen Yan took out his phone.

"Bank card number."

He Jingzhong dithered for a moment.

"What?"

"Card number."

Shen Yan repeated, his tone brook no argument.

He Jingzhong subconsciously recited a string of numbers.

It was the payroll card that had long since been emptied.

Shen Yan tapped a few times on the screen.

Ding.

The old phone He Jingzhong had placed on the table vibrated.

It was the notification sound for a Bank SMS.

He Jingzhong tremblingly picked up the phone.

The faint light of the screen illuminated his wrinkled face.

He counted the zeros after the number.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands...

Three million.

A full three million.

He Jingzhong's hand shook, and the phone clattered onto the table.

He looked at Shen Yan in terror.

As if looking at a demon, yet also as if looking at a god.

"This... this is..."

"A deposit."

Shen Yan stood up and adjusted his collar.

He looked down at the old man, who was now completely won over.

"Take one million to treat your wife."

"Use the remaining two million to clear the debts of Rosemary Dell."

"I'm not buying your land."

"That garden still belongs to the He family."

"But I have one condition."

He Jingzhong stood up abruptly, not even noticing his chair had toppled over.

His lips trembled; he wanted to kneel, but was stopped by Shen Yan's gaze.

"Please say it! I'll agree to anything you say!"

At this moment, even if Shen Yan wanted his life, He Jingzhong would hand over the knife without hesitation.

This wasn't just money.

This was redemption.

It was the redemption of having the thing he had spent his life adhering to finally be recognized.

Shen Yan looked at the night sky outside the window.

"Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, I'll wait for you at the entrance of Rosemary Dell."

"Bring all your tools."

"I want you to personally dig up that Ambergris Vine."

"Then, use your ancient methods to craft 'floating dawn' for me."

Shen Yan turned and walked toward the door.

His back was straight, looking quite out of place in this small, bustling eatery.

"Don't disappoint me, Master He."

Until Shen Yan's figure disappeared into the night.

He Jingzhong remained standing where he was, like a statue.

A Hai cautiously approached.

"Uncle He... that person... who was that?"