Chapter 89

“Junior Brother, is it... money you’re lacking?” Han Qi hesitated before asking.

“Why do you say that...” Zheng Fa glanced at him. “Is Senior Brother not in need?”

He still remembered how this guy had taken advantage of new disciples on the boat.

Han Qi seemed to recall this too, giving a dry laugh, but then he looked a bit conflicted.

The group wandered around the market again before heading out. A small building with a slightly ajar door caught Zheng Fa’s attention.

The location of this small building was excellent, right at an exit of the market. If a shop were to open here, business would likely thrive.

However, the door was only partially open, and two men stood guard outside, showing no intention of welcoming visitors, as if they were preventing anyone from entering by accident.

“That’s the office of the market manager,” Han Qi followed Zheng Fa’s gaze, seemingly aware of his confusion. “If there’s a dispute in the market, they send someone from here to handle it. I’ve heard the inside is where the market’s accounts are kept, and ordinary people can’t go in. You should be careful—Junior Brother Zheng, don’t underestimate the market manager; it’s the foundation of our Jiu Shan Sect.”

Zheng Fa nodded, understanding Han Qi’s point.

Now that the Hundred Immortals Alliance had enjoyed peace for a thousand years, commerce had flourished remarkably.

Just by observing the flow of people in the market, it was clear that most of the Jiu Shan Sect’s income likely came from here.

The position of market manager held a sense of being lowly yet powerful.

“Senior Brother, have you never seen the market manager?”

“No,” Han Qi replied. “But I’ve heard that the manager is often absent; he’s a hands-off type.”

As they passed by the small building, Zheng Fa suddenly heard someone call out to him, “Zheng Fa?”

“?”

He looked up to see a familiar face peering out from a second-floor window—Yuan Shijie was waving at him. “Come up!”

“…” Zheng Fa turned to glance at Han Qi.

“Yuan Shijie?” he asked hesitantly. “Can I go in there?”

“What do you mean, can you go in? This place is under my jurisdiction!” Yuan Shijie said, a hint of impatience in her voice. “I need to talk to you!”

The two disciples at the door exchanged glances, then stepped aside, signaling for Zheng Fa to enter.

After a moment’s hesitation, he walked into the small building.

Han Qi, who had initially been too timid to enter, found himself being watched by the two disciples, who seemed to think they were in cahoots. They urged him impatiently, “Get in!”

Reluctantly, Han Qi followed Zheng Fa inside.

The second floor of the small building appeared to be an office, furnished with a large desk cluttered with various account books.

Yuan Shijie’s gaze was ablaze as she stared at the ledgers.

“Yuan Shijie?”

Zheng Fa was puzzled about why she had called him, only to see her suddenly look up, her eyes filled with resentment.

“?”

“Is it you who gave those questions to Zhang Shijie?” she asked, her tone heavy.

“...Yes.”

Smack!

“So now she thinks my account books are beneath her! Look at all this! I have to calculate everything!” Yuan Shijie slammed her hand on the ledgers. “She said it’s too simple! Where is it simple?!”

“…”

Zheng Fa understood now; because of those questions, Zhang Shijie’s threshold for enjoyment had risen.

So Yuan Shijie’s trusty calculator—had gone on strike!

In the past, the hands-off manager Yuan Shijie had to sit here and do the math herself.

Yuan Shijie glared at Zheng Fa for a moment, then suddenly turned her attention to Han Qi, as if she had just thought of something, and her expression grew even angrier.

“Han Qi?”

“Yuan Shijie?”

Han Qi looked a bit surprised; after all, the market manager was a big deal in his eyes. Did she actually recognize him?

“You and Zheng Fa seem pretty close?”

Han Qi’s eyes darted around.

Zheng Fa seemed quite familiar with this Shijie...

That deserved some praise!

“The first time I met Junior Brother Zheng, I thought he was a dragon among men, truly admirable!”

“So Zheng Fa is better than me, huh?”

“?”

“Didn’t you hear what Zheng Fa called me?” Yuan Shijie’s gaze turned dangerous. “My surname is Yuan.”

“Yuan Shijie...?”

Han Qi’s body trembled as he recalled how he and Zheng Fa had been chatting and laughing downstairs, and now this Shijie had seen it all.

He suddenly felt a panic akin to being caught in the act.

“Zheng Fa, those three were originally mine! You stole them…”

Han Qi and the others turned pale as they listened.

“Just a little theft.”

Han Qi and the others: “?”

“But stealing Zhang Shijie from me... that’s a bit much!”

Yuan Shijie looked at Zheng Fa as if he were a greedy little thief trying to dig a pit under her.

(End of this chapter)

---

Chapter 101: Hard Work Leads to Wealth

“I don’t want to either. There’s no one left at home.”

The other two nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. I thought Zheng Fa would take some time to grow, but I didn’t expect him to become a Xuan-level talisman master right after joining and even cultivate the Five Thunder Body,” Han Qi shared his thoughts. “Now is the perfect time for him to need money; if we don’t seize this opportunity, it’ll be too late.”

The tall, thin guy nodded slightly, convinced by his words.

But his gaze lingered on the box with reluctance.

“We’ve saved up all these years for this,” he said with a long face. “Senior Brother, just open it and let me take one last look, just one glance!”

Han Qi sighed and opened the box.

Inside was nearly a whole box of gold.

On top lay a dozen spirit stones.

The tall, thin guy reluctantly touched each of the spirit stones, as if bidding them farewell.

“Let’s go; you can’t catch a wolf without letting go of the kid!” Han Qi steeled himself and closed the box.

As the three of them reached the entrance of Zheng Fa’s courtyard, they spotted someone they weren’t too keen on encountering knocking at the door.

Zhou Qianyuan!

The three exchanged glances, each feeling a sense of foreboding.

“Is Senior Brother Zheng in?” Zhou Qianyuan called out while knocking.

Zheng Fa opened the door, first seeing Zhou Qianyuan at the entrance, then noticing Han Qi and the others a bit further away.

“What do you want?”

“I heard that Senior Brother Zheng is a bit tight on funds these days. I happen to have some spare money and was worried I wouldn’t be able to use it,” Zhou Qianyuan said with a smile, pulling out a finely crafted black storage bag from his waist.

As he opened the bag, a small box appeared in his hand.

“Here are forty spirit stones; I hope you won’t refuse, Senior Brother Zheng.”

Seeing Zhou Qianyuan’s earnest expression, Zheng Fa was momentarily taken aback.

Is this the worth of a favored disciple of the Nascent Soul stage?

Spirit stones that he couldn’t even spend?

The tall, thin guy behind Han Qi whispered, “Senior Brother, that kid is made of spirit stones.”

Upon hearing this, Han Qi instinctively hid the box containing their life savings behind him, feeling a bit inferior.

“You three…”

Zheng Fa glanced at the box that Han Qi’s slightly plump body couldn’t fully conceal and at his awkward expression, and he understood their intentions.

Wait, we’re trying hard to earn money and become self-sufficient here.

And you’re trying to bribe me with spirit stones?

He looked between the two groups, furrowing his brow. “Please, come in.”

The four of them entered the room.

Zheng Fa first looked at Han Qi and the others. “What’s in that box?”

Han Qi gritted his teeth and opened the box. “This is our life savings…”

Zheng Fa glanced inside; regardless of the spirit stones, the gold was indeed a mix of sizes, scattered here and there.

Clearly, it had been accumulated bit by bit.

“Han Shixiong, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can’t accept this.”

He shook his head at Han Qi and the others.

The three’s expressions darkened, and they glanced at Zhou Qianyuan.

From their expressions, it seemed they thought their box was too meager compared to Zhou Qianyuan’s forty spirit stones, and that’s why Zheng Fa didn’t find it appealing.

“As for you, Zhou Shidi…” Zheng Fa turned to Zhou Qianyuan. “No free lunch; you should take your spirit stones back.”

“Senior Brother Zheng?” Zhou Qianyuan exclaimed anxiously.

But Zheng Fa’s expression was resolute.

Of course, he wanted the spirit stones.

But he felt he couldn’t accept what these four had brought.

There’s always a catch when someone gives you something.

Han Qi and the others had saved up their entire lives for this.

Though Zhou Qianyuan was wealthy, Zheng Fa had never quite understood why this person was subtly trying to curry favor with him.

Given his status and talent, such flattery couldn’t be simple.

Seeing Zheng Fa reject even Zhou Qianyuan’s spirit stones, Han Qi and the others’ eyes lit up—they at least knew that Zheng Fa didn’t think their spirit stones were insufficient.

Han Qi glanced at the two beside him, then stood up decisively. “Junior Brother Zheng, we came this time to seek some support…”

Zheng Fa was taken aback, looking at the three.

Table of Contents