Chapter 4: The Enormous Inheritance

Past experiences told him that something seemed amiss. He reached down and touched the small high-voltage stun gun hanging from his belt. The racing of his heart finally eased.

This compact stun gun had originally been a birthday gift for his ex-girlfriend, who was always anxious about her safety. Unfortunately, they broke up before her birthday, and the stun gun remained with him. Because it was so small and rectangular, it looked just like an ordinary car remote. Dangling from his belt, it didn’t attract any attention. With a sharp tug, the device would separate from its casing and be ready to use—very convenient.

It wasn’t even half past eight when Butler Lu called. “Have you thought it over? The master has already contacted Attorney Jin. They’ll be here soon, just waiting for your decision.”

In the face of a five-billion-dollar inheritance, who could possibly refuse such overwhelming temptation? Xiao Yao was an ordinary man—one who was, in fact, extremely short on money. Though his instincts warned him that this might not be a good thing, he still decided to accept.

They say people die for wealth and birds for food—how true that saying is. Even if his intuition had been absolutely certain, even if he was convinced to his core that trouble lay ahead, for a chance to inherit such a staggering fortune, he would still be willing to take the risk.

If he could successfully inherit this wealth, he would never have to worry about money for the rest of his long life. How many people have dreamed of such a thing?

He had always been bold—recklessly so. Even if it meant risking his life, he was willing to give it a try.

After a brief pause, Xiao Yao replied resolutely, “I agree.”

“That’s a very wise choice!” Butler Lu was overjoyed and immediately changed his tone. “Young master, where are you now? I’ll send a car for you at once.”

“There’s no need to send a car. I’ll walk over myself. It’ll take no more than ten minutes—I won’t delay anything.” Xiao Yao wanted to use the time on the road to carefully consider the details and figure out the cause of his unease.

He thought back over his recent meetings with Old Master Zhao but found nothing particularly suspicious. The only thing that struck him as odd was how urgently the old man seemed to be acting.

But then again, Old Master Zhao had said himself that he could meet his end at any time—it was understandable that he might be in a hurry.

When Xiao Yao entered the villa again, Attorney Jin and his two assistants had already arrived ahead of him. After Butler Lu introduced everyone, Xiao Yao greeted the lawyer.

He had thought Old Master Zhao would include specific conditions in the will—requirements that must be fulfilled before he could inherit. He had even imagined there might be additional restrictions: perhaps he would not have the right to dispose of the assets until the conditions were met.

But to his surprise, the old man made no demands of him whatsoever. In the will, Xiao Yao was named the sole heir, with no strings attached.

While Attorney Jin and his assistants prepared the will, Xiao Yao quietly asked, “You haven’t set any conditions for me in your will. Aren’t you worried I might go back on my word?”

“Even if you didn’t agree to my requests, I’d still leave you everything. Since I have already decided, what is there for me to worry about?” The old man’s expression was calm, his lips curved in a gentle, kindly smile.

“Rest assured, since I have given my word, I will keep my promise.” Even if the old man didn’t need such assurances, Xiao Yao still gave one.

“You’re a good child. I believe you,” the old man said, his eyes full of trust.

After signing and sealing the new will, the old man immediately urged Attorney Jin to begin the transfer of assets.

His entire estate included: four hundred million yuan in personal bank accounts, a villa in this city, a siheyuan courtyard house in the capital, one hundred sixty-seven pieces of antique art, and six automobiles.

Apart from the capital’s siheyuan and the six vehicles registered there, all the other assets were transferred to Xiao Yao’s name that day.

But compared to the fifty billion dollars Butler Lu had promised, these assets fell far short. Xiao Yao couldn’t ask directly, so he tried to find out indirectly.

The courtyard house in the capital was the largest single asset, said to be worth about one billion yuan; the villa in this city was worth around one hundred million; cash in various banks totaled four hundred million. Then there were the six cars and the one hundred sixty-seven pieces of antique art.

All together, aside from the unknown value of the antiques, the rest of the estate was worth only one and a half billion or so—paltry compared to the enormous sum of fifty billion dollars. Was it possible that the average value of those one hundred sixty-seven antiques could reach an astonishing thirty million dollars apiece?

That was clearly impossible.

For an ordinary man like Xiao Yao, even an inheritance of several hundred million was already an astronomical fortune. Butler Lu ought to have had no reason to deceive him. Yet the inheritance he received was vastly less than the figure he’d been told. It was hard not to feel disappointed when his expectations suddenly dropped so far.

The old man’s antique art collection was stored in safety deposit boxes at the bank—Xiao Yao hadn’t even seen them yet. Though he tried to steer the conversation toward the antiques, the old man simply said they were all masterpieces by famous artists, each one precious, and urged Xiao Yao to keep them as heirlooms, not to be sold unless faced with insurmountable hardship.

Antique art was always difficult to appraise precisely. Perhaps even the old man himself didn’t know their true value.

Even if the one hundred sixty-seven pieces were extremely valuable, it was impossible for them to be worth forty-seven or forty-eight billion dollars. Perhaps the old man had donated much of his fortune over the years. That was all Xiao Yao could guess.

Even though the inheritance he received was nowhere near the fifty billion dollars he had anticipated, even excluding the antiques’ uncertain value, there was still one and a half billion—a sum that set his heart racing with excitement.

After all the formalities were completed, Old Master Zhao said, “There’s no need for you to leave tonight. Stay for dinner with everyone. While my mind is still clear, I want to explain a few things to you.”

The old man’s request was reasonable, and Xiao Yao readily agreed. “Very well, I’ll keep you company tonight and we can have a good chat.”

After dinner, Xiao Yao supported the old man as they made their way to his bedroom.