Chapter 3. Scamming Zhu Yan
Lin Lu was shocked by Lin Yang's words. She would never expect her brother to actually consider Zhu Yan's offer! Lin Yang would actually give up on his martial path in exchange for two thousand gold taels? She felt that something was wrong.
Meanwhile Lin Xiaodong was taken aback and stared in disbelief, feeling words stuck in his throat.
The people in the queue were also stunned, but for another reason. They were stunned by Lin Yang's excessive demand. Two thousand gold taels! This kid was really a high-maintenance type!
Zhu Yan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lin Yang. He sneered. "Two thousand gold taels? Do you think it's worth me to spend two thousand just to get rid of you?"
Zhu Yan's thorny words contained a concealed threat. He had other ways to deal with Lin Xiang, and he did not need to spend so much money.
Lin Yang faintly smiled and said in a sarcastic tone, "Well, you are a noble, so you can simply kill me here on the spot. I'm sure that once Lan Yunyue finds out that something happened to me, she will have a very favorable impression of you."
Lin Yang's words caused Zhu Yan's eyes to dim. He was a noble, while Lin Yang was only a commoner. The lives of nobles and commoners are not equal in Sky Fortune Kingdom.
Truth be told, even if Zhu Yan killed Lin Yang in public, he would only need to pay a fee of 200 gold taels and then would be released. However, if he really killed Lin Yang for such a petty reason, Lan Yunyue's opinion of him would sink to the bottom of a lake while his reputation in Sky Fortune City would be forever stained.
Thus, he had to handle Lin Yang in a more subtle manner. With this in mind, two thousand gold taels, in order to get rid of Lin Yang for good, was not a price that Zhu Yan couldn't pay.
A sneer formed on Zhu Yan's lips as he suddenly thought of something else. A moment ago Lin Yang talked about pursuing Martial Arts, but now he offered to give up on it for a mere two thousand gold taels! Truly pitiful!
After considering the matter, Zhu Yan said, "Fine! I can give you two thousand gold taels, but I want you to give a vow on your heart of martial arts that you'll leave Sky Fortune City immediately! Understood?"
Zhu Yan took out several more banknotes from his chest pocket. He coldly stared at Lin Yang, watching his reaction.
"Big Brother, you can't… How can you give up on martial arts for just two thousand gold taels?" Lin Lu persuaded as she grabbed Lin Yang's hand, staring at him with large unblinking eyes.
Lin Yang looked at Lin Lu and appeared to hesitate.
Lin Lu continued, "Big brother, I know that our family's situation is not good, but joining the Seven Profound Martial House is the most important for you."
Lin Lu had doubts that Lin Yang would be enticed by two thousand and agree to abandon martial arts cultivation. He probably wanted to take this money to purchase cultivation pills, but being a disciple of the Seven Profound Martial House is more important than some pills!
Zhu Yan frowned after seeing Lin Yang's hesitant expression. He sent Lin Lu a cold stare that seemed to emit a chilling killing intent, but she bravely snorted and ignored him, continuing to persuade Lin Yang.
After a while, Lin Yang sighed. He looked at Zhu Yan and said, "Zhu Yan, I have considered it. Two thousand gold taels is not enough, but if you give me two and a half thousand, I can promise you that I will not join the Seven Profound Martial House."
"What?" Zhu Yan barked out. Although he was rich, it wasn't like he would allow himself to be scammed by Lin Yang however he wished!
Lin Yang crossed his arms in front of his chest and said, "I'm confident that I can pass the entrance exam in three months from now. Two thousand gold taels cannot compare to being admitted into the Seven Profound Martial House, but I don't want to get in conflict with you, so if you offer me two and half thousand gold taels, we can resolve our conflict this way."
"You…" Zhu Yan grinded his teeth. He wanted to give Lin Yang a solid smack for trying to play with him.
"Brother…" At that time Lin Lu squeezed Lin Yang's hands even harder.
Lin Yang looked at Lin Lu and gently smiled. He said, "Lin Lu, just trust your Big Brother. There are also other good Martial Houses in this world, for example in the Houlou Nation. I know what I'm doing."
"Brother…" Lin Lu stared at his brother and hesitated for a while. She then noticed a sly glint in his eyes as he sent her a deep look. She timidly said, "Then Lin Lu will trust Big brother…"
At that time Lin Yang's words caused Zhu Yan to have a higher level of understanding toward Lin Yang's proposal.
Lin Yang was poor and needed medicinal herbs to progress his cultivation. He also needed to join a good Martial House, but he knew that getting in conflict with Zhu Yan would be problematic for him.
As for Zhu Yan, he didn't want Lin Yang to join the Seven Profound Martial House in Sky Fortune City.
If they resolved their conflict this way, it really was a well-thought through compromise.
At that moment Zhu Yan sneered, "Lin Yang, you really are shameless! Hmph! Fine, since you are so poor, I can give you two and a half thousand gold taels. Just to be clear, I don't want you to ever apply for the Seven Profound Martial House, now or in the future!"
Giving this money to Lin Yang could also be seen as severing Lan Yunyue's ties with him and allowing him to start a new life somewhere else, so Zhu Yan wasn't completely against it. It might even make him look good in Lan Yunyue's eyes!
Lin Yang nodded and accepted the stack of bills from Zhu Yan. He placed a hand on his heart and said, "Zhu Yan, I promise on my heart of martial arts that I won't register myself for the Seven Profound Martial House in Sky Fortune City. If I go back on my word, then may my cultivation never take another step."
Zhu Yan stared at Lin Yang for a while and then nodded. He said, "Good. Since you said this, you better disappear from my sight! And don't even think of going back on this promise, or I will personally find you and cut you down!"
Lin Yang faintly nodded with an expressionless face. He turned to Lin Lu and said, "You register yourself, I will be going back first."
"Brother… If Brother plans to go to Houlou nation, then Lin Lu will go with you," Lin Lu softly said without letting go of Lin Yang's hand.
Lin Yang shook his head. "Even if that's the case, register yourself first. Afterwards you can always skip the entrance exam."
"Alright." Lin Lu nodded after a while.
Lin Yang looked Lin Lu deeply in the eye and then turned away, beginning to leave with spear in hand.
Seeing Lin Yang's leaving figure, Zhu Yan sneered, ignored Lin Lu and resumed walking with the other young master.
…
Lin Yang, of course, did not plan to give up on martial arts just for 2500 gold taels. It is just that it would be a waste to not accept such a generous donation from Zhu Yan. With this money his rate of progress would skyrocket in the coming months.
In addition, if Lin Yang won't find the Magic Cube, then coming into conflict with Zhu Yan would really be too dangerous for him. Just like Lin Ming in one of the Samsaras of the Sorcerer Pagoda where he didn't find the Magic Cube, he would likely get hunted down by Zhu Yan and end up as a crippled man for the rest of his life; this was the result of the massive disparity in their strength, status and connections.
Lin Yang was not cowardly, but simply pragmatic; in this situation it would be better for him to use Zhu Yan's money to increase his strength and then travel for several months to join another nation's Martial House. Without the support of this money it was even uncertain if he would really be able to reach the Second Stage of Body Transformation within three months to have a chance of joining the Martial House in Sky Fortune City.
As for getting 'revenge' against Zhu Yan or Lan Yunyue, it was not even worth mentioning. Lin Yang was not a child, revenge was meaningless to him. Zhu Yan or Lan Yunyue, as long as they didn't stand in his way, they can both do whatever they want. He doesn't need to care about them, his goal is Eternal Life.
However, if Lin Yang did actually find the Magic Cube, then he would still join the Seven Profound Martial House in the Sky Fortune Kingdom and ignore the promise he made.
In truth, going back on one's word is indeed a huge deal for martial artists in this world. Martial artists deeply care about their face, reputation and integrity… They also care about honor and pride, and would not humble themselves in front of their rival.
But for Lin Yang, reputation, honor and pride is only an ornament in life, not its purpose. His main goal is cultivation, it is obvious which is more important!
For martial artists of this world, once they made a solemn vow on their heart of martial arts and then broke it, it would also cause them to develop a heart demon that would cause their future cultivation to suffer.
But for Lin Yang, breaking a silly promise is not something that could affect his resolve to pursue the peak!
Lin Yang even already had a scheme in mind on how he could get around his agreement with Zhu Yan once he got the Magic Cube. If he wanted to save his reputation, then he could even spin the story in a way that would hurt Zhu Yan instead.
As long as he had the Magic Cube, he would have many ways to deal with Zhu Yan, while thanks to Zhu Yan's money, he would be able to jump-start his cultivation with a bang. Thanks to this his strength and talent in three months from now would be so outstanding that the Seven Profound Martial House would welcome him with open arms and he would be able to do whatever he wants, shitting on Zhu Yan's words and opinions.
After receiving the stack of two and a half thousand gold taels bills, Lin Yang walked back directly toward the Sky Fortune City at a quick pace.
Soon after, he broke into a sprint. His cultivation was only at the 1st Stage, so after seeing him receive such a huge amount of money there could have been many people in that place that might have nefarious intentions.
Lin Yang ran at 80% of his maximum speed all the way until he reached Sky Fortune City. Then he walked along the main bustling road as he gasped for breath and eventually arrived at the Grand Clarity Pavilion.
The Grand Clarity Pavilion was a restaurant with the best business in Sky Fortune City. It was an establishment that welcomed the highest-class customers and had high prices. It was also the restaurant in which the original Protagonist found the Magic Cube cheat item.
After making a circle around the restaurant, Lin Yang entered through the back entrance for the employees.
The workers turned their heads toward the intruder, but upon seeing that it was Lin Yang, they turned away.
It has already been two months since Lin Yang arrived in Sky Fortune City, but instead of staying at a random house like Lin Ming, he had been working inside the Grand Clarity Pavilion as a deboner ever since he came to the city.
Every vicious beast in the restaurant went through him. It was all so he would not miss the Magic Cube.
As compensation, Lin Yang received a place to stay and free meals with vicious beast meat. The deboning work had also greatly increased his precision with a blade and anatomy knowledge of various vicious beasts, so it was not a waste of time either.
With Lin Yang's speed of deboning, after two months there simply weren't enough vicious beasts for him to take care of, so these days he didn't even have two hours of work time each day. After all, there was only so much vicious beast meat that the restaurant needed.
Lin Yang walked to his room and stored the 2500 gold taels that he received from Zhu Yan. Thanks to him staying in such a high-class restaurant, there would be no one who would dare to come, make trouble or steal from him.
Afterwards, he walked down to the kitchens again. He didn't speak with anyone and directly entered the store room where the vicious beast bodies are stored.
As he noticed, there were two vicious beast carcasses for him to take care of today. One was a first-level vicious beast, while the other was a second-level vicious beast. For Lin Yang deboning these two would be less than an hour of work.
However, surprisingly the second-level vicious beast was actually a Gold Back Pangolin.
Lin Yang's heart jumped upon seeing this.
Gold Back Pangolin!