Chapter 8: Extortion (Vote for Me, Collect for Me)

  The battle ended quickly, ending somewhat easily and unexpectedly. Except for some superficial wounds on their bodies, the crowd had almost no major damage, while the hijackers were annihilated. I was already prepared to die with the fish, but the result was satisfactory, and in the end, it was Shen Cong's credit.

  Killing the most powerful leader of the bandits is equivalent to directly cutting off half of their strength, and more importantly, Shen himself did not suffer much loss. As a result, the two sides' strengths suddenly became uneven, making the subsequent battles end very easily.

  "Shen brothers, I Yang Tong owe you..."

  Yang Tong was about to speak, but was stopped by Shen Cong, "One team's, doing these things is also right, no need to be like this!"

  The people around him had a serious expression, and they didn't mention the matter again. However, although they didn't say it out loud, in their hearts, they remembered Shen Cong's kindness, his strong fighting skills, and his good temper. Such a person was naturally worth befriending.

  They took all the valuables off the bandits, not a lot, but still a considerable income. The leader had over a thousand taels of silver notes on him, almost equal to what everyone got from hunting in the mountains this time. After dividing it among themselves, everyone's face showed a hint of a smile.

  "Let's go back to town now and celebrate!" Yang Tong shouted loudly, the others responded in unison, but Shen Cong politely declined. Shen Cong wanted to continue hunting some more monsters here. Now that he had enough money, Shen Cong's main purpose for coming here this time was to hone his actual combat skills.

  Although the leader of the bandits was killed just now, Shen Cong could still feel some of his own inadequacies. Since he can feel the inadequacy, it means there is room for improvement, and Shen Cong will not slack off naturally.

  Yang Tong and the others wanted to persuade him again, because they wanted to deepen their feelings with Shen Cong further. Such a young man with a good temper and strong fighting skills was naturally worth getting along well with. However, Shen Cong's attitude was firm, and Yang Tong and the others couldn't find a good reason, after all, Shen Cong wasn't injured here, and even the excuse to return to the city to recover from injuries couldn't be found.

  "Shen Shidi, after returning to the sect, remember to come find sister. Sister still has a lot of things she wants to talk to you about!" Qian Min twisted her slender waist, throwing a flirtatious glance at Shen Cong, causing him to be taken aback for a moment. That group of bandits were able to take a liking to Qian Min, and naturally, her appearance was not bad, it could even be said that it was very good. Even Shen Cong, who had never been involved with women in this life, couldn't help but feel some stirring emotions.

  Mu Liqing gave Shen Cong, agreed to distribute according to labor, originally wanted to calculate after entering the town, since Shen Cong did not return to the city, naturally gave the most valuable medicinal herbs to Shen Cong, this single herb far exceeded their previous gains.

  He put away the items on his body, and after a brief rest, Shen Cong continued on his journey. The mountains were home to many ferocious beasts, especially low-level ones, which didn't roam the land in droves but still existed in large numbers. Shen Cong was delighted to see this situation, as he needed constant battles at this point.

  Shen Cong indeed did so, advancing into the depths of the Luoshan Mountains. Along the way, first-class demonic beasts began to disappear one after another, and the density of second-class demonic beasts increased. Whether it was a first-class or second-class demonic beast, Shen Cong welcomed them all. As long as there was still power left in his body for self-preservation, Shen Cong did not stop his footsteps.

  "We can't move forward anymore, there are already signs of third-level demonic beasts!" Looking into the distance, Shen Cong stopped in his tracks. Compared to a few days ago, Shen Cong, who had been constantly killing, had a more solemn and murderous aura about him. Although it wasn't yet at a level that inspired fear, at least compared to before, he wouldn't be considered a novice who had just come out of the woods anymore.

  The greatest power that Shen Cong can deal with now is the second-level top-notch demon beast, and he needs to be careful in dealing with it, because this level of demon beast will have all sorts of strange abilities, and many of Shen Cong's injuries are caused by this. And if he encounters a third-level demon beast, then Shen Cong can only flee in defeat, and the probability of not being able to escape is even greater.

  Lai Luo Shan mountain range is for training, not seeking death. These two points Shen Cong still distinguishes clearly. Therefore, Shen Cong does not delve deeper, but starts to cut in horizontally, within this range the second-level demonic beasts are the most numerous, and naturally also the best for Shen Cong.

  After staying in the desolate land for seven days, Shen Cong decided to end his hunting trip when he had packed all the packages on his back. After determining the direction, Shen Cong rushed forward quickly, not intending to continue hunting monsters, but rather letting the monsters along the way escape unscathed.

  It took a full five hours for Shen Cong to return to the town, his clothes somewhat tattered. After all, it was impossible to maintain a perfect appearance after fighting with a demon beast. However, people along the way seemed to have already gotten used to Shen Cong's warrior-like demeanor and even cast admiring glances at him.

  "Boss, will you accept these things?" Arriving at the largest pharmacy in town, Shen Cong placed the package on the counter, and the heavy weight made the counter emit a dull thud.

  "Good grief, so many rare beast materials, did you rob a merchant caravan?" The shopkeeper opened the package and looked at Shen Cong in surprise.

  "How much can I exchange?"

  "There are a lot of them, but the goods are also quite miscellaneous. Sir, please wait for a moment, I'll take a closer look!" The shopkeeper didn't quote a price immediately, but instead looked at them seriously. For the same second-level demon beast, the prices can sometimes differ greatly, and it's not uncommon for some first-level demon beasts to be priced higher than second-level ones.

  The commotion on this side of the counter aroused the curiosity of the surrounding customers, but due to etiquette, others cannot go up when someone is selling something, so they just looked from a distance.

  "That person looks somewhat familiar, seems to be from our sect too!" Yan Qing turned his head to look at Shen Cong, and a hint of doubt arose in his heart, because he felt that he had seen that person somewhere before, but couldn't quite confirm it.

  "The price has been roughly estimated, and there are some things we don't need. However, since it's a package deal, we'll take them too. The total comes to 2,300 taels. I wonder if this price is satisfactory to you, young master?" said the shopkeeper after some deliberation.

  "Alright, let's go with this price!" Shen Cong nodded slightly. The price was neither high nor low, but rather normal. If he had a bit more patience to sell it, the price could naturally be increased by one or two percent, but Shen Cong didn't have that kind of time, so he accepted the price.

  "Alright, young master, wait a moment, I'll go get the silver ticket!" The deal was made, and the shopkeeper was also happy in his heart. If this package of goods is sold carefully, there will still be some profit to be made.

  "Wait a minute, there's another herb here, take a look!" Shen Cong took out the jade box containing Mu Li Qing. The price was still reasonable, so Shen Cong decided to sell everything.

  Listening is a medicinal herb, the shopkeeper didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it was just an ordinary medicinal herb. But as soon as the jade box was opened and saw Mu Li Qing, the shopkeeper's face was full of surprise, and then immediately covered the jade box again.

  "Let's go inside and discuss further, young hero." With many people chattering, the shopkeeper invited Shen Cong into the pharmacy, and Shen Cong naturally had no objections.

  The people around looked at this scene with some curiosity, and to go inside to discuss it, the price of the medicinal herbs might even exceed that package of demon beast materials. This was indeed a huge sum of money. Some people's eyes couldn't help but reveal a hint of greed. However, thinking about the faint aura of death on Shen Cong's body, as well as that entire package of demon beast materials, they immediately wiped away this greedy thought.

  Want to reach out, but also look at who the object is. Being able to kill so many monsters without dying, although not a top-notch master, is not something that these small fries can handle. Wanting what one shouldn't want will only end up costing them their own life.

  Yan Qing gazed at Shen Cong's back, thinking about the several thousand taels of silver, his expression suddenly paused, followed by extreme joy. "It was that always unremarkable Shen Cong, yes, he's called Shen Cong. When he first joined, his skills were extremely low, but with his cultivation, how could he possibly hunt so many demonic beasts? Could it be that he was following others, and previously had been entrusted to sell things?"

  Yan Qing's eyes rolled a few times, and he still hadn't made up his mind. Shen Cong and the shopkeeper had already come out, both with satisfied smiles on their faces. No one knew what kind of herb that was or how much it had sold for, but it must have been quite expensive.

  "Next time if you have any other good stuff, feel free to bring it to the store and I'll definitely give you a satisfying price!"

  Shen nodded and turned to walk out of the store. The people inside were hesitating whether to follow him, but a figure had already taken the lead and disappeared into the house in the blink of an eye.

  "Brother, brother, wait for me!" The shout came, but Shen Cong's footsteps didn't stop. Yan Qing behind him furrowed his brow slightly, but still caught up with him.

  "Are you calling me?" He stopped in his tracks as he was chased right up to his face.

  "Junior brother doesn't recognize me? My name is Yan Qing, and I'm also a disciple of the Luo Shui Sect. We're fellow disciples and brothers under the same master. I just happened to see you at the pharmacy earlier." A faint smile appeared on Yan Qing's face.

  Shen Cong looked at Yan Qing, especially the greedy color in his eyes, and couldn't help but sneer: "I don't know you, I have urgent business on my body, let's talk next time!" After Shen Cong finished speaking, he walked away from the side.

  Yan Qing involuntarily let out a sob, and the words she wanted to say were suddenly unclear. Shen's completely irrational behavior disrupted all of Yan Qing's plans, making her even more displeased in her heart.

  "Wait, brother! I've come to see you on a matter of importance!" Yan Qing reached out with one hand and grabbed Shen Cong's shoulder, his grip tight but not crushing, as he sought to give Shen Cong a warning shot across the bow, setting the tone for what was to follow.

  "Shixiong, if you want to borrow money, Shen Cong never has any extra wealth." Shen Cong subtly avoided Yan Qing's grasp.

  "You just sold so many things, how could you not have..." Upon hearing this, Yan Qing directly forgot how Shen Cong had avoided his grasp and started shouting, but upon seeing Shen Cong's seemingly smiling yet not quite smiling face, he swallowed back the rest of his words. Shen Cong was setting him up, directly stating his purpose, and he actually foolishly admitted it.

  "Junior brother, I'll go first!"

  Shen Cong laughed and walked away, leaving Yan Qing stunned. Yan Qing looked at Shen Cong's back, his stunned expression slowly disappearing, replaced by a look of anger, "How dare he tease me like this? He's only been in the door for half a year, got a windfall and dared to do this, is there such a reason!"

  PS: The first Robell Award was born!