Chapter 125 - 124: Shaking You Down for Tens of Thousands of Taels of Silver

Chapter 125: Chapter 124: Shaking You Down for Tens of Thousands of Taels of Silver

Zhuang Bo recalled the scene from that day.

The first time Wu Chen came, he brought a blood-soaked sack full of mangled heads, scaring the disciples into shrieks of terror.

The second time, it wasn’t quite as gory.

But the quantity had multiplied several times over. In one go, he brought over forty—almost fifty—demon heads, which rolled and tumbled across the entire courtyard of the Hall of Rewards and Punishments!

This left a dark impression on the crowd of disciples who had gathered around the walls to watch the spectacle. In the days that followed, many of them couldn’t even keep their food down.

After witnessing such a shocking scene, who would dare ask about the heads?

"Oh, Third Senior Brother is back!"

Now that he understood the root of the problem, Zhuang Bo breathed a small sigh of relief.

He scurried over to his Third Senior Brother, took the horse’s reins, and began leading it into the valley, looking back with a smile to ask:

"Third Senior Brother, on this long trip of yours, I bet you collected at least ten demon heads, right?"

As expected, the question softened the big man’s expression. His lips curled into a smirk, and his face lit up with pride.

"I’ll give you another chance to guess!"

"Fifteen! It must be fifteen!"

"Guess again!"

"Twenty!"

"I’ll give you one last chance!"

"It must be twenty-six!" Zhuang Bo knew it was just about building up the atmosphere, so he simply threw out a number.

"Clever!"

"..."

Through this back-and-forth, with Zhuang Bo’s ever-increasing guesses culminating in the final answer, the tense atmosphere at the mountain gate visibly brightened.

After Zhuang Bo called out the correct number, the hulking figure on horseback couldn’t help but shake his head smugly.

Twenty-six demon heads!

Among them, one was at the Late Stage of the Jade Bone Realm, three were at the Mid Stage, and six were at the Early Stage. The rest were all at the Meridian Passage Realm!

This was the fruit of his labor after trekking hundreds of miles, traveling between cities, and expending a countless amount of energy to hunt for traces of demons. Each one was the result of a vicious battle!

’Surely no one else in the sect could produce such an absurd number!’

’And our voices weren’t exactly quiet just now. This shocking number is probably going to spread throughout all of Refining Valley soon.’

’Thousands of disciples will catch wind of this and flock over, surrounding the Hall of Rewards and Punishments until it’s packed to the gills.’

’All just to get a glimpse of these astonishing twenty-six demon heads!’

As he imagined the grand scene and the disciples’ gasps of amazement rang in his ears, Pang Lei felt like he was walking on air.

But Zhuang Bo, leading the horse from the front, secretly wiped a cold sweat from his brow and said nothing more.

He just prayed internally, ’Please, don’t let anyone stir up trouble right now. Just let me get this Third Senior Brother safely to the Hall of Rewards and Punishments to claim his prize!’

But unfortunately, things didn’t go as he’d hoped. After the group of disciples on duty heard the back-and-forth and the final answer, they immediately started muttering to each other.

"Only twenty-six? That’s pretty average, isn’t it?"

"Average? It’s not even half of what that other guy brought in..."

"Yeah, and that guy made his two trips with demon heads in less than ten days..."

"..."

The disciples’ voices were quiet, but how could they escape the keen hearing of someone at the Perfection stage of the Jade Bone Realm?

Pang Lei wasn’t about to make things difficult for a few gate-keeping disciples. He squeezed his legs, and the horse beneath him came to an immediate halt, not taking another step forward.

Zhuang Bo felt the reins go taut in his hands and a bone-chilling stare from the man on the horse behind him. ’This is bad,’ he thought.

He turned his head stiffly and forced a foolish grin.

"Third Senior Brother, these juniors don’t know what they’re talking about... They’re just messing around. There’s no one like that in our valley!"

Seeing Zhuang Bo’s evasive expression as he spoke, Pang Lei’s voice turned ice-cold from atop his horse:

"Who is this person these juniors are talking about? Is it my First Senior Sister or Second Senior Brother?"

"..."

Zhuang Bo screamed internally, ’I’m screwed!’ He knew he couldn’t hide it, so he could only say, "Neither of them!"

But knowing his Third Senior Brother’s personality, he was afraid that telling the truth would inevitably lead to a fight with Wu Chen. He hurriedly added:

"But he’s not in the valley anymore! He turned in the demon heads, exchanged them for rewards, and has already left!"

"You’re not being honest, kid. Haven’t seen you in a few months, and you’ve learned how to lie!" Pang Lei wasn’t buying it.

He reached out and snatched the young man, a fourth-level Jade Bone Realm cultivator, who was powerless to resist. Pang Lei lifted him up like a baby chick.

Then he spurred his horse into a gallop, racing toward the valley’s interior.

「...」

「Refining Valley, Casting Area.」

Scorching, clamorous.

The incessant CLANG CLANG CLANG of hammering iron filled the air.

Zhuang Yan’s coarse cloth shirt was soaked through with sweat. After being baked by the forge’s fire, it left behind winding, white salt stains.

Seeing Wu Chen, who had come to pick up his saber, she handed over the still-warm, ink-black blade she had just finished forging over the past two days.

"Try out the blade."

"Alright."

Wu Chen took the saber and hefted it in his hand, still in its scabbard.

"It feels much heavier."

The blade’s shape and size hadn’t changed, but it felt weightier in his grip.

’Is it because the weapon has advanced a level?’

But he had to admit, it had previously felt a bit too light, as if it would bend or snap with a little force.

Now, however, just holding the weapon gave him a feeling of perfect control.

SHIIING!

Wu Chen drew the saber. The straight blade was as black as ink, with intricate, gilded patterns of no small value along its spine.

Understated, yet luxurious.

He swung it twice, suddenly and without any specific technique.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Though they were just casual swings, they stirred up a considerable wind around him, causing the forge fire to flare up violently.

Seeing no major issues, Wu Chen sheathed the saber.

He turned to leave the shed, intending to find an Elder in the Casting Area to pay the Contribution Points and complete the transaction.

But just then, he heard the sound of urgent hoofbeats approaching.

"Wu Chen! Who is Wu Chen!"

"Where are you? Get out here!"

Before the hoofbeats even got close, a series of explosive shouts echoed first, ringing in the ears of everyone in the Casting Area.

Wu Chen raised an eyebrow.

’Did that young miss from the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall, or her brother, find another backer?’

’Other than them, he really couldn’t think of anyone else he had offended who would be shouting his name so loudly.’

He pushed aside the curtain and walked out of the smithing shed, only to see a burly man on a tall gray horse galloping from the entrance of the Casting Area.

’Judging by that build, he doesn’t look like he’s from another sect. He seems more like someone from Refining Valley.’

Wu Chen didn’t recognize the rider, but he did recognize Zhuang Bo, who was being dangled from the man’s hand.

"Hey, Third Senior Brother is back from his travels?"

Zhuang Yan also poked her head out, looking curiously at the approaching rider.

As a disciple of Refining Valley, she recognized the newcomer’s identity at a glance.

Then Zhuang Yan’s gaze shifted to Wu Chen, who stood tall and straight in the doorway.

"But what does he want with you?"

"No idea."

Wu Chen shook his head. "But he’s definitely not here to treat me to dinner."

"Pfft!"

Zhuang Yan burst out laughing, her impressive abs quivering. "Looks like he’s here for trouble. Want to slip away?"

"No need."

Wu Chen stepped forward and said lightly, "Since he’s a disciple of your Refining Valley, he should know the rules and won’t dare to act rashly. He’s just got a loud voice, makes him sound intimidating."

"You might be wrong about that."

Zhuang Yan chuckled. "Third Senior Brother’s father is the Sect Leader of Refining Valley. In a way, he *is* the rules!"

Wu Chen stopped in his tracks, his brow twitching sharply.

’He really hadn’t expected a situation like this, and he certainly hadn’t expected the man to have such a background.’

"Scared?"

Zhuang Yan crossed her arms, leaned against the doorframe, and watched his lean back with the air of someone who was thoroughly enjoying the unfolding drama.

"No," Wu Chen shook his head.

"Then why’d you stop walking?"

"I was just thinking, since his status is so high, maybe I should let your senior brother provoke me, pretend to get injured, and extort tens of thousands of silver from your Refining Valley."

"I imagine a Sect Leader would have no problem paying that much to protect the sect’s reputation, right?"

Wu Chen didn’t mention extorting Martial Arts directly. The intention would have been too obvious, and since this was just idle banter for now, he mentioned silver instead.

"Hiss! You’re pretty arrogant..." Zhuang Yan clicked her tongue in amazement.

When could you pretend to be injured? Only when you were stronger than your opponent and could toy with them!

In other words, this guy, facing this Third Senior Brother, this son of the Sect Leader, had never even considered the possibility of losing!