Chapter Ten: Brutal Borrowing

  "Great cake, come and take a look, guaranteed delicious..."

  Candied hawthorn, sweet candied hawthorn...

  Relying on the position by the window of the wine building, Shen Cong listened to the peddlers' calls below and couldn't help but reveal a smile on his face. Before the small village had an accident, Shen's father had taken Shen Cong to the town. That day, Shen Cong, who entered the town for the first time, looked at the surrounding scene with a surprised expression.

  Shen's father thought Shen Cong was amazed by the prosperity of the town, but what Shen Cong found astonishing was not that. Having been reborn once, Shen Cong had seen all sorts of prosperous scenes before, so how could he be amazed by these? What Shen Cong was initially astonished by was candied hawthorns - this world actually had candied hawthorns too, which for a moment made Shen Cong think he had traveled to some dynasty in ancient China.

  That day, Shen's father bought a candied hawthorn for Shen Cong, with the same sweetness. Shen Cong seemed to still be able to savor that sweet and greasy taste until now. Unfortunately, everything was destroyed, and that kind of sweetness would never exist again.

  The smile on Shen's face gradually disappeared, and he frowned slightly in pain. He came to the wine tower, originally to relax a bit, after all, he had been killing continuously for several days in the desolate mountains, and both his spirit and body were somewhat exhausted. But now, instead of relaxing, he found himself trapped in memories.

  Memories are beautiful, but when one can no longer live the life in those memories, such recollections become a pain, and for Shen Cong, it's an agony that cuts to the bone. A thread of dark energy spread out from Shen Cong's heart, rushing straight to his brain, only to be blocked by the true qi of the Nurturing Life Scripture.

  No one paid attention to Shen's movements from this side, although Shen's knife was a bit exaggerated, but they had seen even more exaggerated weapons, so naturally no one paid attention again. They just felt that the surroundings had become a bit chilly, and people wrapped their clothes tightly, then excitedly continued to chat freely.

  "With one slash of the sword, that notorious pirate was killed instantly. What a magnificent scene!" The storyteller exclaimed enthusiastically, spitting out saliva everywhere, but it didn't affect the interest of the surrounding customers.

  "It's true, that notorious thief has been on the loose for many years, and many heroes have tried to capture him but failed. Many people have even lost their lives because of him, which only made him more arrogant."

  "You don't even see who's taking action this time, it's the eldest disciple of Huaiyue Mountain Villa himself, how can there be a possibility of failure? Practicing martial arts at three years old, achieving three levels of Tongli at fourteen, and now another three years have passed, I don't know what level his skills have reached. Even if that notorious thief is formidable, he won't be able to escape."

  "That makes sense, the eldest disciple of Huoyue Mountain Villa has always been known as a genius and can't be judged by ordinary standards. Now, the only one who can be mentioned in the same breath is the eldest disciple of the Cold Ice Sect, others..."

  The voices behind him had already faded away, and this world was full of geniuses. Since Shen Cong entered the Luo Shui Sect, he could hear his fellow disciples talking about those talented people every day. Their tone was filled with envy, as if they wanted to replace them. At first, Shen Cong listened with some interest, after all, he could learn something about this world.

  But after listening for a long time, it's no longer listened to. Those geniuses' experiences are brilliant, and people are envious. Shen Cong is also envious, but Shen Cong knows better what he needs. Sometimes just listening is useless, being envious is useless, the only useful thing is effort, making an effort to become someone who is envied by others.

  The large Dragon Bird Knife looks a bit showy, not quite fitting Shen Cong's usual demeanor, but there isn't a Qian Kun Bag or any other spatial item on him, so Shen Cong can only be showy like this for now.

  "Give me a bottle of Cuiling Dan." The Luoshui Sect had its own pharmacy and armory, with prices similar to those in the city. Previously, Shen hadn't exchanged those herbs for goods within the sect, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't want others to know about his family background. After all, it was a crime to be wealthy, and many things didn't need to be known by others.

  As he walked out of the pharmacy, Shen Cong was about to return to his residence when he suddenly saw three people walking towards him. Seeing the leader, Shen Cong's eyebrows furrowed slightly, wanting to change direction, but the three were clearly coming for him, and even if he could avoid them this time, they would still find him eventually.

  "Shen Shidi, long time no see, how have you been lately?" Sun Lin called out loudly from a distance, seemingly by chance, but in reality, he knew the situation all too well.

  "Look at Shen Cong!" Shen Cong's appearance was very ordinary, his height was not outstanding, and even because of the cultivation method he practiced, "Nourishing Life Classics", the aura emitted was not strong, compared to Sun Lin who walked towards him, they were not on the same level.

  Sun Lin looked at Shen Cong, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. If it weren't for the silver on Shen Cong's body, Sun Lin wouldn't even have been interested in talking to him. Without any pleasantries, Sun Lin said directly, "This time I've come to find you, Shen Shidi, is because I have something to ask of you. I hope you won't refuse."

  "Brother Sun, please go ahead and speak, if I can help, I will definitely try my best." Shen Cong smiled slightly and did not decline.

  Upon hearing Shen Cong's words, Sun Lin felt a bit relieved in his heart. "Junior brother also knows that the outer gate competition is approaching, and many things need to be prepared. Now, senior brother I am short of money and want to ask junior brother to help me out for a while."

  "I wonder how much Brother Sun wants?" Seeing Yan Qing's cold smile behind him, Shen Cong immediately understood why Sun Lin had come to find him.

  "Not much, just three thousand taels of gold." Sun Lin said it was three thousand taels, and the people around who didn't know the truth were shocked. This is not a small amount, let alone outer door disciples, even some inner door disciples may not have such a large sum of money, how could Sun Lin borrow so much from Shen Cong?

  Shen didn't say anything, he just slightly shook his head.

  "Not lending?" Sun Lin's eyebrows furrowed, his smile no longer as affable, and he felt somewhat uncomfortable in his heart. He had come to ask in person, with a gentle tone, yet this young man dared not to lend.

  "It's not that I won't lend it to you, but rather there isn't even such a large amount of 3,000 taels. Junior Brother can't take it out, and I'm afraid he won't be able to help Senior Brother." As for Sun Lin's change in attitude, Shen Cong didn't have the slightest concern, his previous words were neither warm nor cold.

  "Money can't buy happiness, Shen Cong, your heart shouldn't be that big. What needs to be spat out can't be swallowed." Yan Qing said in a strange tone, her arm still throbbing with pain. Since she wasn't feeling well herself, she naturally couldn't let Shen Cong get away easily.

  "I don't ask for much, and I won't waste your time." Sun Lin looked down at Shen Cong, "What do you think of my skills? And what will be the outcome of this big competition?"

  "Brother Sun's skills are naturally very high, this time in the big competition he will definitely become an inner disciple, and his future prospects will be boundless."

  "Then take out the two thousand yuan." Sun Lin stretched out his palm, staring coldly at Shen Cong.

  "I don't have it, I'm sorry."

  "How dare you, you clearly have two thousand taels on you, yet you still dare to lie! Believe it or not, I can slap you to death right here and no one will avenge you!" Huo Qi shouted. Sun Lin had already agreed, three thousand taels were handed over, and he gave him three hundred taels. Although the amount was not much, getting something for nothing was naturally comfortable. But Huo Qi did not expect that Shen Cong would be so uncooperative, it was simply unreasonable.

  "Even if the seniors kill me, junior brother doesn't have money, and that's still not going to change." Shen Cong's face was expressionless, neither fearful nor flattering, as if he were talking about a trivial matter, facing an ordinary person.

  Sun Lin stared straight at Shen Cong, "If you're willing to lend it, I'll guarantee your safety in this big competition and even help improve your ranking by a few places. In the future, no one will dare bully you among the outer sect disciples, how about that?"

  "It's great, of course, but my junior brother has no money. I'm ashamed to face my senior brother's kindness." His mouth was filled with shame, but Shen Cong's face showed no signs of shame, instead his eyes gleamed with a hint of smugness, though it was deeply hidden.

  "How much do you have?" Sun Lin's tone was already impatient, and the cold air around him made everyone watching shiver. But Yan Qing in the back had started to secretly rejoice, if he could really anger Sun Lin, maybe he would actually slap him down, best if it was even heavier than his own injury. No, it must be even heavier than his own injury, best if it could directly disable him, that would be perfect.

  Shen Cong searched his own pockets seriously and found a few silver coins, "Here are three or two silver coins, now give them to Shifu, hoping that Shifu will win the championship."

  A cold light flashed in Sun Lin's eyes, shooting straight into Shen Cong's eyes, but Shen Cong didn't dodge at all. "You're good!" Sun Lin said, and turned to leave directly. Yan Qing and Huo Qi gave Shen Cong a fierce glare, and followed behind Sun Lin. Since Sun Lin didn't make a move, they naturally couldn't either.

  "Brother, why didn't you just kill Shen Cong directly? Then all the silver on him would have been ours!" Yan Qing said discontentedly beside him, earlier it was just a little short, but unfortunately missed by a hair's breadth.

  "The silver is mine, not ours." Sun Lin glanced at Yan Qing with a cold gaze that made him shiver, "There are too many people on the street, and acting rashly may lead to punishment from the sect. The big competition is about to begin, I don't want anything like that to happen."

  "Are we just going to let Shen Congzi get away with it? He humiliated us right to our faces earlier, and if this gets out, it'll be bad for Sun Shixiong's reputation too." The three hundred taels that had been within his grasp were now gone, and Huo Qi couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment.

  "How can I let him off, in the future there will be opportunities to deal with that kid, dare to speak to me like that, then he must be mentally prepared, even if that kid has the guts to participate in the outer door competition, I will definitely make him understand some principles, the principles of being a human!"

  Watching Sun Lin and the others disappear, Shen Cong felt a bit helpless. Although he wasn't afraid, it was still a trouble, and Sun Lin's strength was indeed high, not like Yan Qing who was useless. If they really met, he would need to use some effort to deal with him.

  "I really admire you." Someone suddenly walked in front of Shen Cong, looked him up and down, but instead of admiration in his eyes, he seemed to be looking at a dead man. "If you're willing to give me 100 taels, I might buy you a grass mat so you won't have to lie exposed in the wilderness."

  Shen Cong was dumbfounded and lost his smile, glanced at the man, turned around and left.

  After resting in his thatched cottage for a day, Qin Wu saw Shen Cong return once again and was very surprised. When he heard that Shen Cong had made so much money, his mouth opened wide in astonishment.