Chapter 128: The Mystery of Heritage

“Got it!”

Huang Ying quickly sent a reply.

After putting her phone away, she began speculating inwardly.

What kind of major move could it be?

Should she help Gu Xiangnan?

Early the next morning, Gu Xiangnan unexpectedly received a phone call.

The caller was Uncle Fu—the old man he had saved from poisoning at Jiangning Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

“Divine Doctor Gu, how have you been?” Uncle Fu’s voice came through, full of vigor.

It seemed he had recovered quite well.

“How have you been lately, Uncle Fu?”

“Thanks to you, Divine Doctor Gu, I can eat two bowls of rice now.”

Uncle Fu laughed heartily, then abruptly changed the subject. “Divine Doctor Gu, do you want to know about your origins?”

Gu Xiangnan grew excited at once.

The last time, Uncle Fu had still been in poor health, and there had been so many outsiders around. The two of them had exchanged only a few words.

But now he had taken the initiative to call. Perhaps he had remembered something.

“Divine Doctor Gu, if it is convenient, please come and speak with me in person.”

The request was not unreasonable. Someone who had only just recovered from a serious illness should not travel far.

“Wait for me, Uncle Fu. I’ll be there right away.”

After asking for the exact address, Gu Xiangnan hurried over.

He arrived about forty minutes later.

The area lay in the eastern suburbs, and this was Gu Xiangnan’s first time there.

The surroundings were filled with modest, self-built country villas. Though it was not the bustling city center, the area was encircled by verdant trees and filled with fresh air. With each household keeping a few cats and dogs, it was actually more comfortable than living in the city.

Gu Xiangnan thought to himself that the environment was perfect for recuperation.

From the outside, Uncle Fu’s villa was hardly imposing. Fortunately, the courtyard was planted with numerous flowers and grasses, and there was even a pond filled with koi.

It had a warm, lived-in charm.

Perhaps Uncle Fu had been waiting specifically for him. At that moment, he was reclining beside the pond, basking in the sunlight.

“Oh, Divine Doctor Gu, you’re here!” Uncle Fu made as though to stand, muttering, “Welcome! Welcome!”

Gu Xiangnan hurriedly pressed him back down.

“Uncle Fu, you haven’t fully recovered yet. Don’t worry about me.”

Once they were seated, Gu Xiangnan asked directly, “Uncle Fu, please tell me everything you know about my origins.”

Uncle Fu pondered for quite some time before speaking.

“Let me make one thing clear first. The moment I saw you, I felt that you looked remarkably like an old friend of mine.”

“But I cannot be certain whether the two of you are related by blood.”

Gu Xiangnan nodded repeatedly.

“I understand. But he shares my surname, Gu, so the possibility that he is a relative is much greater.”

Uncle Fu nodded, then slowly began.

“My old friend was named Gu Zhengtian. He was the eldest son of the Gu family of the Imperial Capital.”

“I met him through the Huawu Association.”

“The Huawu Association?” Gu Xiangnan was unfamiliar with the name.

Seeing his puzzled expression, Uncle Fu quickly explained, “The Huawu Association is the organization that oversees martial artists in China.”

Gu Xiangnan nodded in understanding.

Uncle Fu continued, “Gu Zhengtian and I were both martial artists. We often sparred together, and over time, we grew close.”

“He was modest and easygoing. At first, I had no idea he belonged to the Gu family of the Imperial Capital. I only learned the truth gradually, after we had spent more time together.”

“The Gu family is an old and prestigious clan. Over the course of several generations, its branches have multiplied and its descendants have spread throughout both the political and business worlds. The Gu family is not only enormously wealthy; in the Imperial Capital, it possesses unquestioned influence.”

“As the eldest son of the Gu family, Gu Zhengtian was expected to become the future head of the clan. His prospects were limitless. But then he fell in love with a female university student.”

“For a powerful family like that, the stability of the family fortune usually takes precedence. They tend to arrange marriages with families of equal standing.”

“He knew his family might never approve, but he could not bring himself to abandon the girl. The two of them secretly became intimate, and only after she became pregnant did they dare inform his family.”

“The entire clan vehemently opposed their marriage. At the time, the head of the Gu family was Gu Zhengtian’s father. He immediately ordered the girl to be driven away.”

Gu Xiangnan asked anxiously, “Uncle Fu, do you know whether Gu Zhengtian’s girlfriend later gave birth to a boy or a girl?”

“I do not know what happened after that.” Uncle Fu shook his head regretfully. “That is why I have been unable to contact him either.”

“Uncle Fu, do you have a photograph of Gu Zhengtian?”

“I do. Wait a moment.”

Uncle Fu called toward the house several times, and a young man soon brought out a photo album.

“Divine Doctor Gu, look at this one. Doesn’t he resemble you?”

Uncle Fu turned to a certain page and pointed out one of the photographs.

It showed a young man.

Judging from the photograph’s blurred pixels, it had probably been taken decades ago. The features were far from clear, but based on the structure of the man’s face, he truly bore an uncanny resemblance to Gu Xiangnan—at least eight parts out of ten.

Gu Xiangnan was stunned when he saw it.

For an instant, he nearly thought he had somehow taken the photograph himself.

He grew agitated.

“Uncle Fu, I have a feeling that he may really be my father. Thank you for telling me all this.”

Uncle Fu smiled and nodded.

“What do you intend to do next?”

Gu Xiangnan shook his head with a bitter smile.

“I don’t know. But at least now I know there is a Gu family in the Imperial Capital that may be my family.”

“If I go there directly and find any direct descendant of the Gu family to take a DNA test, won’t I have my answer?”

“It may not be as simple as you think.” Uncle Fu shook his head. “At best, one might say that these great families have many branches and descendants. Put another way, competition within them is extremely fierce.”

“There was once a prominent family whose head had nine sons.”

“To fight for the position of family patriarch, all nine sons resorted to every possible scheme and turned against one another.”

Gu Xiangnan felt that story sounded strangely familiar.

Uncle Fu continued, “Now that I have no news of Gu Zhengtian, I imagine he was never the head of the Gu family in the Imperial Capital.”

“By rights, you are the eldest son’s eldest son, with the purest lineage. You should inherit the family fortune and become its patriarch.”

“So if you go searching for your roots, wouldn’t that make you a threat to the current family head?”

Gu Xiangnan gave a faint laugh.

“I may not care for the position of head of the Gu family. If I go there, it will be to trace my roots and learn what became of my parents.”

“If you can truly think that way, then it is naturally a good thing. Just do not place your hopes too high.”

Uncle Fu let out a long sigh of relief.

After Gu Xiangnan left, Uncle Fu took a letter from his bag.

Two conspicuous words were written on its cover: “Confidential.”

He murmured, “Brother Gu, I have done what you asked. The rest depends on him now.”

Several days earlier, at dawn, Uncle Fu had been preparing to go out for a walk.

When he reached the door, he found a confidential letter lying on the ground.

The writer claimed to be Gu Zhengtian.

He had asked Uncle Fu to make contact with a young man named Gu Xiangnan and tell him everything he had just said.

At first, Uncle Fu had doubted the writer’s identity.

The writer had anticipated that reaction. In the letter, he mentioned several incidents from the past that only the two of them could have known about.

He also promised Uncle Fu that, once the task was completed, he would grant him any one request.

Uncle Fu had come up with a risky plan.

He had taken poison at the risk of his own life, and that was how he had managed to come into contact with Gu Xiangnan.

On his way home, Gu Xiangnan received another phone call.

“What did you say?”

Gu Xiangnan could not help but turn pale with shock.