"Of course, Mr. Rothenberg." With that said, Wei Chen stood up and followed Edmund outside.
Edmund led Wei Chen to his study on the third floor.
Edmund’s study was exactly what Wei Chen expected from a wealthy old-money businessman.
Dark wooden bookshelves covered most of the walls, filled with leather-bound books and old documents. A large antique desk stood near the windows, accomparevisnied by a comfortable leather chair. Several paintings, old maps which Wei Chen doesn’t know why it was there for, and family portraits decorated the walls, while a globe and a few expensive-looking antiques sat on side tables.
However, amid all that old-fashioned elegance was something distinctly modern.
A large computer monitor sat on one corner of the desk, displaying constantly updating stock prices, financial charts, and market information.
It was strangely fitting. He bet that this stock monitoring was where the old man’s money came from. Or maybe it was simply for monitoring his own stocks. Old-money families usually had someone else handling their investments for them.
There was also a section for guests, with three long sofas surrounding a Western-style, low tea table in the middle.
Edmund walked toward the sofa section and gestured toward the seat opposite him for Wei Chen. Before he sat down, he pressed a classic bell button to call for someone.
After a few pleasant rings from the old but well-maintained bell, an elegant and beautiful blonde maid in her early twenties walked into the room. Her demeanor and movements indicated that she had been rigorously trained in this line of work.
"Brew the tea for me, and as for this gentleman..." He gestured toward Wei Chen. "Use my stash of verified Da Hong Pao, brewed with a Yixing clay teapot, on the third or fourth infusion."
"Yes, Mr. Rothenberg."
The maid politely bowed to both him and Wei Chen before walking out of the study to carry out her instructions.
Edmund, seeing Wei Chen watching the maid appreciatively, could not help but let out a knowing smile.
"If you like her, Young Master Wei, I could transfer her to you. Her family has served my Rothenberg family since 1800. She would definitely appreciate the opportunity to explore a new environment. Also... she hasn’t married yet... if... you know what I mean..." Edmund’s smile grew a bit more suggestive as he conveyed the hidden meaning.
Wei Chen, of course, understood. This old crook wanted to bribe him with a "living breathing cultured" that he seemed to appreciate.
He quickly shook his head.
"No, thank you, Mr. Rothenberg. We don’t lack servants back in our world."
The two chatted for a bit before the same maid returned with a tray full of tea sets. She slowly placed two teapots on the table, one for Edmund and the other for Wei Chen, before pouring tea for both of them.
Edmund nodded in satisfaction and gestured for the maid to leave.
Wei Chen picked up the teacup, and the fragrance of the tea reached his nose, refreshing him. However, this tea was still a product of mortals, and there was no spiritual qi within it. As a result, it lacked the freshness and miraculous effects that could only be found in tea from the cultivation world.
Seeing Wei Chen sip the tea without any trace of awe or surprise, Edmund thought that perhaps even the best tea in his collection was still not to the young master’s liking.
"I’m sorry that the tea might not be to your liking. I really wanted to procure Da Hong Pao from the original Mother Tree, but there is none available on the market. The best I could do was find High-Grade Cloned Da Hong Pao as a substitute," Edmund said with regret.
(Author’s Note: Mother Tree Da Hong Pao (母树大红袍): The absolute origin of all Da Hong Pao. These are six ancient tea bushes growing on the cliffside of Jiulongke in Wuyi Mountain, Fujian. They are nearly 400 years old and are considered a national treasure. The original Da Hong Pao has been banned from commercial harvesting. As a result, ordinary people cannot purchase it, even with money. The tea leaves are reserved as gifts for diplomatic dignitaries and national honored guests.
High-Grade Cloned Da Hong Pao: This tea is produced from cuttings or cultivated descendants of the original trees. These plants preserve the lineage of the Mother Trees while allowing Da Hong Pao to be cultivated on a much larger scale. High-grade clones can still produce exceptionally fine and valuable tea, but they are distinct from tea harvested directly from the original Mother Trees. Even so, the price is still absurdly high.)
Hearing this, Wei Chen shook his head.
"Oh no, Mr. Rothenberg. It’s just that the tea we usually consume contains something that this world doesn’t have. The tea you brewed for me is good enough," Wei Chen said politely, wanting to keep the conversation harmonious.
He didn’t tell Edmund that the quality of this tea was roughly equal to the average high-grade tea that wealthy mortals could easily procure back in his world.
It was certainly better than the average tea that mortals usually drank, but the fact remained that even ordinary wealthy mortals could procure it in large quantities.
It wasn’t that the tea was equal to the kind of tea that the big shots of sects would prepare for their distinguished guests. It was simply good enough.
"The tea in your world has something we don’t have? Now I’m curious about what it is. If I have the opportunity, I would like to taste it," Edmund said with a pleasant smile.
After a brief chat, Wei Chen started to wonder when this old crook would finally speak his mind. He was beginning to lose patience.
Edmund finally spoke.
"The reason I called you here is because I’d like to ask you for a favor."
Here it is... Wei Chen thought.
"That depends on what kind of favor you need. If it’s within my power, I’d definitely help you," Wei Chen replied.
Edmund looked solemn. He glanced at Wei Chen for a moment before opening his mouth, only to close it again, as if trying to weigh his words or deciding whether he should say what was on his mind.
"Young Master Wei, I heard that... cultivators live longer than mortals. Some even say that you can become immortal. Do you know how I can become one? Do I need to go to your world, or is there any kind of body modification required before I can become one?" Edmund asked.
Hearing this, Wei Chen finally understood. This old crook seemed to want something that many people who possessed wealth and power desired.
Immortality...
Or at the very least, a longer life so they could enjoy their wealth and power for longer than the average person. A longer lifespan would also give them more leverage in the world, as their longevity would allow them to maintain their influence for far longer.
So... this was the reason this old man had helped them during the negotiation, huh? And here Wei Chen had been wondering why the president had suddenly become so sincere instead of continuing to play games during the negotiation.
Wei Chen looked at the old man as if trying to discern something, then gave him a polite smile.
"Mr. Rothenberg, if you want to become a cultivator, it’s too late for you to start. But... if you simply want a longer lifespan, we could certainly help you."
The moment Wei Chen said this, Rothenberg’s eyes opened wide. It was as if he had finally found something he had longed for.
"Then... then how long could I live without being a cultivator?"
That question was very important to Edmund. He simply didn’t want to extend his life by ten or twenty years. That was already achievable by modern medical standards. He wanted something more.
"From what I know, the minimum lifespan extension provided by pills made for mortals is around 300 years, while the maximum is around 1,500 years or so, depending on the mortal’s state of health and how they live," Wei Chen replied.
These were the numbers he knew. Perhaps somewhere unknown, or inside some secret realm, there might be a recipe for an even more powerful lifespan-extending pill. However, that was something Wei Chen was unaware of.
Of course, these lifespan-extending pills were meant for mortals only. Anyone who consumed this kind of pill could forget about becoming a cultivator, because its inner workings fundamentally conflicted with the principles of cultivation.
Cultivation was meant to turn the dantian into an elixir of immortality. This was why cultivators cultivated, nurturing this "elixir" or "pill" within their bodies and gradually making it more powerful, which was also the reason cultivators often had much longer lifespans than mortals.
As the pill within the dantian grew stronger, so too did the cultivator’s lifespan and power.
But the pill Wei Chen was telling Edmund about was the opposite.
Once you took this pill, your body would be nurtured by its effects, allowing you to live longer without changing the fundamental nature of your mortality. You would remain a mortal.
The result was that you could live much longer, but you would lose the possibility of becoming an "elixir of immortality" yourself, because you had already chosen to remain a mortal.
As for pills that could help cultivators extend their lifespans, such pills did exist. However, their effectiveness varied greatly, and most of them worked by nurturing the "pill" within the cultivator’s dantian rather than being designed for mortals to consume.
Furthermore, such pills were rare and extremely difficult to concoct. As a result, many cultivators were unable to procure them and could do nothing but die once they reached the end of their natural lifespan and failed to break through during their cultivation seclusion.
"1,500 years!?" Edmund blurted out in disbelief.
That was even longer than the entire history of the United States!
It was as if a bomb had exploded within his heart.
This was it!
This was what he had been looking for!
Edmund Rothenberg wasn’t looking to live forever. He simply wanted more time to enjoy his power and wealth, to accomplish more in his life, and to maintain his youth for as long as possible.