Chapter 32: The Easiest Way to Earn Money

Chapter 32: The Easiest Way to Earn Money

That man sneered coldly. “You sure are forgetful! I am Plum Blossom Thirteen, remember? I even went gambling with you once. Have you forgotten about me so quickly?”

“Plum Blossom Thirteen!” Zu An remembered Plum Blossom Twelve mentioning him, saying that he was the strongest amongst Mei Chaofeng’s 13 godsons, having reached the third rank in his cultivation.

Zu An felt a little exasperated. Why is it that all of the enemies I encounter have to be stronger than me? At the same time, he couldn’t help but marvel at how the previous owner of his body was so talented at diving headfirst into danger. To think that he actually gambled together with people like this!

“Where’s Twelve?” Plum Blossom Thirteen asked.

“What Twelve? Why are you asking me?” Zu An feigned ignorance. At the same time, he was surprised how quickly Plum Blossom Thirteen came to him.

“Stop feigning ignorance. Someone saw you leaving the city together with him, and he’s nowhere to be found ever since then!” Plum Blossom Thirteen said with a chilling voice.

“Ah, I remember it now! You’re referring to Plum Blossom Twelve!” Zu An clapped his hands together in realization. “Shortly after the two of us left the city, we bumped into a person who went by the surname of Tan. He immediately began chasing after that Tan guy, so we ended up parting with one another. I’ve no idea what happened to him afterward.”

“A person who went by the surname of Tan… Could it be that traitor, Tan Wei?” Plum Blossom Thirteen asked.

Zu An said, “It seems like you have an idea of what happened. Alright, since this misunderstanding is clarified, I’ll be taking my leave now.” If the other party was a beautiful female assassin, he could have considered chatting a little longer. However, he wasn’t interested in accompanying a fierce-looking man with a scar on his face.

“Wait a moment!” Plum Blossom Thirteen reached out to grab Zu An’s shoulder.

The force on his shoulder made Zu An realize that Plum Blossom Thirteen’s strength far exceeded his. So, he suppressed his urge to attack him. “What else do you need from me?”

Plum Blossom Thirteen took out a paper from his robe. “It’s about time. Shouldn’t you return the debt you owe me?”

“Huh? What debt?” Zu An was dumbstruck.

“You aren’t thinking of shirking on your debt, are you? It’s written clearly on paper, and I have your fingerprint here too!” Plum Blossom Thirteen sneered coldly.

Zu An quickly leaned forward to take a closer look. It was stated on it that he owed Plum Blossom Thirteen 1000 silver taels, and there was a red fingerprint at the bottom of the paper too. Seeing this, memories began surfacing in his mind.

It appeared that he had visited a gambling den together with Plum Blossom Thirteen, but he ended up losing all of his money. Desperate to recoup his losses, he turned to Plum Blossom Thirteen to borrow his money, only to end up losing yet another 1000 silver taels.

Shit! This fellow really is a useless trash. It’s no wonder why everyone looks down on him so much, such that even a maid dares to lecture him to his face!

Zu An was starting to look down on the previous owner of his body. His existence was really a waste of space in this world. One must know that 1000 silver taels equated to 1,800,000 RMB!

“You said that you’ll return my money once you get into the Chu Estate. Where’s my money?” Plum Blossom Thirteen stretched out his hand as he demanded the repayment of the debt. “If you don’t have money, I'll follow the terms of the contract and sever your hands.”

“I’m the young master of the Chu clan! You dare to touch me?” Zu An bucked up his courage and stood up. Even though he had earned a bit of money from Ji Xiaoxi and Plum Blossom Twelve, he wasn’t even close to having 1000 silver taels under his name.

Besides, even if he had the money, he wasn’t willing to waste it on repaying the debt of that darned useless trash! Why should he use his hard-earned money to repay the debt owed by another man? Not to mention, he had the Chu clan behind his back now!

“If you really owe him money, I advise you to honestly return his money to him. Vows and contracts hold great power in this world, and anyone who dares to violate them will suffer heavenly retribution. Even the Brightmoon Duke wouldn’t be able to protect you if you go against your promise,” a cold voice sounded from the gazebo.

“Oh? There’s actually such a beautiful woman hiding here?” Wonderment flashed across Plum Blossom Thirteen’s eyes upon seeing the woman in the gazebo.

“Are you thinking of flirting with me?” The woman tilted her head slightly as she asked curiously..

Plum Blossom Thirteen burst into laughter and said, “So what if I…” However, when his gaze finally fell on the green wine gourd she was swirling with her fingers, he suddenly remembered something and laughed awkwardly. “Miss, you’re misunderstanding me. Our Plum Blossom Sect is an upright sect, so there’s no way I would do something like that.”

Zu An’s curiosity about the woman’s identity further deepened. If even the arrogant Plum Blossom Thirteen didn’t dare to provoke her, she must be quite a formidable figure indeed. He made use of this opportunity to snatch the debt note over so as to examine it closely.

Plum Blossom Thirteen scoffed coldly. “Are you thinking of ripping the debt note? It’s no use. I have spare copies with me. It won’t change a thing at all.”

Zu An didn’t pay him any heed. He quickly read through the terms, and soon, his eyes lit up. “According to the contract, the loan period is till three days later. There’s still time, so what are you in such a rush for? I’ll repay your money in three days’ time, so you need not worry!”

Plum Blossom Thirteen frowned upon hearing those words. He didn’t want to let Zu An off the hook so easily, but the woman in the gazebo… In the end, he eventually chose to go along with it. “Fine. If you can’t return my money three days later, you can be certain that not even the Jade Emperor will be able to save you!”

He snatched his debt note back from Zu An’s hands before taking his leave. He was going to head to their sect’s headquarters and inform the sect master about what he had seen today so that the latter could take precautions accordingly.

Meanwhile, Zu An shot a glance at the woman in the gazebo and asked, “He seems to be quite afraid of you?”

The woman in the gazebo smiled at him. “He’s not afraid of me; he just doesn’t want to bring trouble to his sect. I must say, I am quite curious how you’re going to raise 1000 silver taels within three days.”

Zu An returned back to the gazebo and said with a mischievous smile, “If you’re willing to lend it to me, I can chase him and return him his money right away.”

The woman was stunned for a moment before remarking deeply, “You are really thick-skinned.”

Zu An sighed. “What else can I do? Honest men are disadvantaged no matter which world you are in. Having thick skin goes a long way.”

The woman shook her head before taking another sip of wine. “I don’t know you well, so why should I lend my money to you? Besides, I don’t have that much money either.”

Zu An had predicted that she would respond in this manner, and he chuckled cheekily and said, “On the account that we once shared a gourd of wine with one another, why don’t you tell me what are the most lucrative sectors in the city? I’ll try my luck.”

The woman put down her wine gourd to assess him once more. “You’re quite an interesting person. The two most lucrative sectors in Brightmoon City are salt and metal. Most people in this world are ordinary mortals; they need to eat and farm. Life in this world revolves around those two.

“Other than that, there’s also the Yu clan’s ki stones. That’s a highly profitable business. Ki stones are rare and valuable, and the demand for them far surpasses the supply.

“Of course, most of what I’ve stated is the commercial aspects of the city. If you’re sufficiently strong as a cultivator, there are far more means for you to earn money.”

Zu An rolled his eyes at the last few words and said, “If I’m strong enough, I wouldn’t have been threatened by those from the Plum Blossom Sect.”

“Then it can’t be helped then.” The woman chuckled casually.

Zu An continued asking, “Actually, there’s a far easier, more convenient way to earn a lot of money at once.”

“Oh? What is it?” The woman’s interest was piqued.

“I once heard of a theory from a handsome guy. He said that there are countless women in this world, but our energy is limited. If we use our limited energy to flirt with every woman we come across, we’re just wasting our energy for nothing. So, he decided to devote his energy to flirt with only rich women instead. Now that I’m thinking about it, I feel like what he said makes a lot of sense. I should learn from his example,” Zu An replied seriously.

“What a refreshing way of describing a mooch. You’re really one-of-a-kind in the world,” the woman replied speechlessly.

“Miss, won’t you consider me? A suave, considerate, and dashing man like me would be perfect for you.” Zu An marketed himself.

“Aren’t you already the young master of the Chu clan? Yet, you still want to flirt with me?” The woman spat on the floor. “Scumbag.”

Zu An was stunned. “You know me?”

“Not at the start. It’s not that hard for me to guess after hearing the conversation between you and Plum Blossom Thirteen.” The woman pointed out with a smile. “The news has already gotten all around town. The princess of Brightmoon City, the First Miss of the Chu clan, has just gotten married, and her spouse isn’t any distinguished young master but a useless trash.

“To be honest, I was quite curious why someone as outstanding as Chu Chuyan would choose a person like you as her husband. However, now that I’ve met you in person, I think I can understand it now.”

Zu An puffed out his chest and asked, “Because I’m good-looking?”

“No, it’s because you’re shameless.” The woman stretched her back, displaying a beautiful arc with her body. “I’ve been out for a while, so I should be heading back now. If fate permits, we’ll meet again.”

After saying her piece, the woman began heading toward the bamboo forest behind the gazebo.

Somehow, her departing silhouette looked a little forlorn to Zu An. Despite her occasional smiles and chuckles, she gave off a sorrowful air that simply wouldn’t dissipate.

“I wonder what’s pulling down her mood.” Zu An thought for a moment before suddenly freezing up. Hm? Why am I acting deep all of a sudden?

Zu An quickly reined in his thoughts and headed off to look for Yu Yanluo.

Meanwhile, Plum Blossom Thirteen sprinted all the way to the headquarters of the Plum Blossom Sect, located at the south of the city. He headed straight for the sect master’s study room.

Bam!

“Bad news, sect master…” As soon as he barged in, he heard a shriek of horror. A naked woman quickly darted to the side as she scrambled to find something to cover her body.

“If you can’t give me an appropriate explanation for this, you better prepare to head over to the Enforcement Hall to receive 20 whip lashes.” A one-eyed man sitting before the study room grabbed the hair of the panicking woman and pressed her down beneath the table.

Wuuuuu…

All that was left was indistinguishable mumblings from the woman.

Plum Blossom Thirteen gulped down a mouthful of saliva. Tan Wei’s wife sure has fair skin. However, he quickly snapped out of his thoughts and said, “I just met Zu An.”

Needless to say, the one-eyed man was the sect master of the Plum Blossom Sect, Mei Chaofeng.

“Who is Zu An?” Mei Chaofeng leaned against the chair as a hint of pleasure rippled across his face.

“It’s the man whom you ordered Twelve to eliminate a while ago,” Plum Blossom Thirteen hurriedly replied.

“Ah, the young master of the Chu Clan?” Mei Chaofeng straightened his body as a hint of rage surfaced in his eye.

Cough cough… The woman beneath the table dry heaved.

Mei Chaofeng shot a glance below before raising his gaze to face Plum Blossom Thirteen. “Twelve messed things up the last time, so I gave him another chance to make up for his mistakes. What’s wrong? Did he fail his mission again?”

Plum Blossom Thirteen replied, “I heard from our brothers in the sect that they spotted Twelve leaving the city together with Zu An. I thought that the matter would be settled with that. Yet, Zu An actually appeared in the city once more even though Twelve hasn’t returned.”

“What’s going on?” Mei Chaofeng frowned as he noticed that something was amiss here.

Plum Blossom Thirteen replied, “I asked him about it. He said that the two of them bumped into Tan Wei not too long after leaving the city. Twelve went to chase after Tan Wei, and the two of them ended up parting from one another.”

“Wuuuuu~” Hearing the words ‘Tan Wei’, the woman under the table got a little agitated and struggled to rise to her feet. However, Mei Chaofeng pressed her firmly down, not allowing her to move in the least.

Plum Blossom Thirteen felt dryness in his throat. “Godfather, is it possible for Twelve to have been…”

“Impossible!” Mei Chaofeng waved his hand. “Be it in terms of cultivation level or wits, Tan Wei is far from a match for Twelve. There’s no way he’d have been able to pose a threat to Twelve.”

“Report!” A sect member suddenly arrived at the doorway of the study room at this moment. “We have found Tan Wei’s corpse outside the city.”

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