At Mengyuan Mountain, there weren't many “mosquitoes” (Outer Sect Disciples) visible within the Outer Sect archway; they were probably hiding indoors, quietly “sucking blood.”
Qian Duoduo and Wang Dahei were not discouraged. They carried the treasure chest and wandered around, shining the glowing words into the houses.
Heaven helps those who help themselves. And indeed, in the Chenlong District, they truly did manage to lure out an Outer Sect Disciple.
Moreover, Qian Duoduo had met this person before—the fairy-like Senior Sister Yu Yixiang. Qian Duoduo had heard from his Senior Brother that her surname was Yu, a very rare surname.
“Hello, Senior Sister.” Qian Duoduo stepped forward and greeted her warmly.
Yu Yixiang gave Qian Duoduo a cold glance, completely indifferent to his change from orange robes to gray, but when she saw the treasure chest, the seal, and the words on the treasure chest, her eyebrows involuntarily raised.
“Are you depositing money, Senior Sister? Deposit early, profit early; deposit late, get bullied.” Qian Duoduo blurted out, mistakenly saying “deposit money” instead of “borrow money” in his haste.
Yu Yixiang’s eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Qian Duoduo and Wang Dahei.
“Senior Sister, the path of cultivation is full of hardships, and only money can turn danger into good fortune. When you need money, you can apply for a mortgage at the Gold Vault,” Wang Dahei quickly corrected Qian Duoduo, “The interest is only eight points a year.”
“—No need.” Yu Yixiang listened quietly for a moment, then suddenly said. She turned and entered the courtyard, and the gate closed.
Time was precious, so Qian Duoduo and Senior Brother didn't linger on the bitter taste of rejection. They picked up the treasure chest and left the mountain.
Walking south for a quarter of an hour, a spiritual plant as large as a hill came into view. On a lush green leaf in front of the melon, yellow flowers spelled out “spiritual plant Research Institute.”
“A melon this big, it must last for years, right?” Qian Duoduo put down the pole, stepped forward, and reached out to touch the spiritual plant, wanting to tap it to see if it was ripe.
“I’ve eaten and stolen cantaloupes, watermelons, and cucumbers from the village. To tell if a melon is ripe, you look, touch, and tap…”
“Who’s there? What are you doing?” A voice from inside the spiritual plant asked. The melon rind split open, revealing a door.
Figures moved inside the door, clearly indicating a good number of people.
“We’re from the Gold Vault. Anyone want to deposit money or borrow money?” Wang Dahei aimed the glowing words of the treasure chest towards the inside of the institute.
“No,” the voice from the spiritual plant replied impatiently.
The melon rind slowly closed, and Qian Duoduo and Senior Brother hoisted the treasure chest onto their shoulders.
“Wait—” A long, yellow hand reached out from the melon rind, opening the door again.
Qian Duoduo and Senior Brother exchanged glances, then quickly put down the treasure chest.
Senior Brother even coughed, clearing his throat.
However, a young man in gray robes, about twenty years old, dressed shabbily and looking malnourished, walked out.
Qian Duoduo could guarantee that his hair hadn't been washed for at least a month.
Because inside it, there was actually a green bean sprout. On the winding stem, three leaves had grown.
The gray-robed youth swayed as he walked to the treasure chest, flicked it with his index finger, “I want to borrow money, lend me ten thousand gold coins.”
Qian Duoduo looked at his impoverished appearance and thought, “He wants to borrow money? Lending him money would be like casting pearls before swine, wouldn’t it? But no matter how poor the customer, we must still show respect.”
“Senior Brother, borrowing money requires interest, eight points a year,” Qian Duoduo said with a smile.
It was best to make him retreat in the face of difficulty, so they could both save face.
“Eight points isn’t much. I’ll pay it.” The gray-robed youth lightly patted the treasure chest with his palm.
Elder Bi’s seal immediately bore several handprints.
Senior Brother’s face instantly darkened, “Borrowing money requires collateral. Without collateral, we can’t lend.”
The gray-robed youth was about to pat the treasure chest again, but Senior Brother’s plump hand intercepted him.
“Collateral? No problem,” the gray-robed youth replied, rubbing his hands.
Qian Duoduo pondered, “Such a quick reply, could it be that we misjudged him, and this young man is a low-key person?” He opened his mouth and asked, “What is your name, Senior Brother?”
The gray-robed youth shook his head slightly, “Huang Guiren. Huang from ‘gold,’ Gui from ‘wealth,’ Ren from ‘benevolence.’”
Wang Dahei suddenly thought of something, his face changed, “You’re that Huang Guiren from the institute who kills every flower he raises and every bean he plants?”
“Indeed. That would be me,” Huang Guiren replied frankly, “Flowers die because they are not in their season. Beans perish because they are not in their rightful soil.”
Wang Dahei gave a wry smile, “May I ask what you will use as collateral?”
“I’ve thought about it; I’ll mortgage myself to you,” Huang Guiren’s expression remained unchanged.
Qian Duoduo felt he had a great advantage: his thick skin. He and Lei Jiashu were perfect opposites.
“Stop joking, we still have to go,” Wang Dahei winked at Qian Duoduo and picked up the treasure chest.
Huang Guiren shook his head, “I’m not joking. I’m very serious.”
“Senior Brother Huang, to borrow ten thousand, the collateral needs to be worth twenty thousand,” Qian Duoduo explained the rules of collateral, steadying the pole he was carrying.
“I’m not even worth twenty thousand?” Huang Guiren seemed very surprised, his mouth wide open, wide enough to fit a Spirit Chicken leg.
“Let’s go.” Senior Brother started walking, prompting Qian Duoduo to walk as well.
The two walked faster and faster, while Huang Guiren kept shouting from behind, “Why are you leaving? You’re not taking a business that’s delivered right to your door? Come back, I’m worth a lot!”
Wang Dahei acted as if a fierce beast was chasing them from behind, “Hurry up. Don’t look back. This Huang Guiren has a nickname: the Most Unlucky Person in the Sect. He fails at everything he tries. We can’t get involved with him.”
The Most Unlucky Person? Qian Duoduo was so scared he quickened his pace. As a newcomer to the Immortal Realm, he also knew that bad luck was the most potent poison.
After shaking off Huang Guiren, they arrived at Qilin Pavilion.
Qilin Pavilion was where the sect’s Cultivation Techniques were stored. It was a circular tower, surrounded by strict Formations, emanating a pressure far exceeding that of the Gold Vault.
Standing in front of the pavilion, Qian Duoduo and Senior Brother had just shouted when an invisible force pushed them far away, and both they and the treasure chest rolled on the ground.
Senior Brother picked up the treasure chest and quickly fled two zhang away.
A wise man knows when to retreat. Qian Duoduo and Wang Dahei discussed and decided to stay away from places guarded by Elders and focus on the training grounds of the Five Great Immortal Mountains.
South of Mengyuan Mountain was Xiongjin Mountain.
The training ground here had more spectators than Mengyuan Mountain.
This was the time and place to promote the money-lending business.
Qian Duoduo and Senior Brother ignored the disdainful looks of others and pushed their way to the high platform.
At that moment, a person was just knocked off the platform, his limbs twitching, blood flowing, already unconscious.
Wang Dahei dashed forward, picked up the person with his left hand, patted the treasure chest with his right, and burst into tears.
“Senior Brother, Senior Brother, if only you had borrowed money earlier and bought a handy Magical Artifact, wouldn’t you have won this match? But you just wouldn’t listen.”
He cried and patted the chest, cry and pat, his voice and the sound of his slapping echoing throughout the entire venue.
Qian Duoduo was dumbfounded, thinking, “Do we have another Senior Brother from the Gold Vault out here, and by such a coincidence, he got beaten up like this? Senior Brother is crying so sadly, how deep must his feelings be for this injured Senior Brother?”
Before he could figure it out, Senior Brother had already stood up, wiping away his tears.
“Senior Brother, you wait here, I’ll go borrow money right now. Only eight points interest a year, how suitable is that? It’s much cheaper than buying Medicinal Pills for healing.”
Dragging Qian Duoduo and the treasure chest, Senior Brother squeezed out of the crowd and ran eastward like a flash.
Once they were far from the crowd, Qian Duoduo cautiously asked, “Senior Brother, who was that just now?”
“He’s a nobody,” Senior Brother replied with a smile, his face full of brilliant smiles, with no trace of the immense sadness he had shown just moments before.
Qian Duoduo suddenly realized, “Senior Brother didn’t even know that injured Cultivator. Ha, Senior Brother isn’t just suppressing his cultivation; he’s also suppressing an extraordinary talent for acting.”
In the center of Refining Spirit Sect, there was a wide, golden Dao called Lingwu Great Dao.
To the east of the great Dao were two Immortal Mountains, Mengyuan Mountain and Xiongjin Mountain. To the west were three Immortal Mountains, Beast Tooth Peak, Jianjian Peak, and Wen'an Peak.
As they crossed Lingwu Great Dao, Qian Duoduo asked Senior Brother, “Why are the mountains to the east called ‘mountains’ and the ones to the west called ‘peaks’? Is it because the western mountains are more rugged?”
Senior Brother chuckled, “You’ll know when you get there.” What he said was true; Qian Duoduo understood even before they reached the training ground at the foot of Beast Tooth Peak.
<img alt="" img-height="g-width="1400" media-idx="1" src="http://p3-reading-sign.fqnovelpic.com/novel-pic-r/542b98e3176389d219577~tplv-noop.jpeg?lk3s=8dxpires=1844277ature=Xdq6%2FMJE%2BQavr5bJzYYZYCr6pbs%3D"/>
<p class="pictureDesc" group-id="1" idx="73">Huang Guiren</p>