At that moment, another knock sounded from outside. "Chen, if you don't open this door again, I'll tear this rotten door right off!"
Hearing that, Chen Ze hurriedly climbed out of bed and rushed over to open the door.
The instant the door opened, Chen Ze saw a huge hand nearly slap him across the face.
Fortunately, Chen Ze reacted in time and stepped back, narrowly avoiding the slap.
The man who had swung at the door suddenly missed, causing his body to stagger. Luckily, he was also an immortal cultivator and reacted quickly, immediately steadying himself.
Chen Ze looked suspiciously at the burly man before him. He could sense fluctuations of Spiritual Energy—there was no doubt the man was an immortal cultivator. Yet he could not discern his cultivation, which meant the man was at least three levels above him.
However, Chen Ze had no impression of this burly man at all. He could not find any information about him in his memories either.
Chen Ze asked weakly, "And you are?"
The burly man glanced at Chen Ze but ignored him. He stepped aside and vacated the doorway, retreating behind a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious robes.
Only then did Chen Ze see clearly that the burly man was not alone. There were two others outside, both immortal cultivators whose cultivation he likewise could not discern.
Chen Ze sized them up. The middle-aged man in fine robes was probably the one in charge, while the two men behind him were likely his underlings.
Chen Ze felt that the middle-aged man looked somewhat familiar, but for the moment, he could not recall where he had seen him before.
That was all the original owner's fault. He had drunk far too much in the past, spending every day in a drunken haze. With his head muddled all the time, how could he remember anything?
Chen Ze knew these three would not have come knocking for no reason. They were all immortal cultivators, and their cultivation was higher than his. There was no need for them to trouble a poor wretch like him.
It seemed that what they had said about collecting a debt was true.
He just did not know how much the original owner owed them. If it was some usurious loan he could not repay, then he would have to start planning his escape.
He definitely could not beat them. A wise man did not fight when the odds were against him; he had better get the facts straight first.
Chen Ze felt miserable inside. The original owner's debt—why should he be the one to repay it?
Chen Ze probed cautiously, "My apologies. I just sobered up, and I can't remember many things at the moment. May I ask how much I owe you?"
The middle-aged man shot Chen Ze a glance. "Playing dumb? Trying to dodge the debt?"
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, the two burly men behind him moved to step forward and teach Chen Ze a lesson about the consequences of refusing to repay a debt.
Chen Ze hurriedly forced a smile. "No, absolutely not. I just sobered up, and my head is still a little muddled. I couldn't remember for the moment. I absolutely have no intention of dodging the debt."
Hearing that, the middle-aged man looked Chen Ze over again. He felt that Chen Ze seemed different somehow.
Seeing the sincerity on Chen Ze's face, the middle-aged man did not think he was lying and waved a hand to stop the two burly men.
This kid seems a little different.
The middle-aged man still spoke. "When will you repay the wine money you owe our Tongfu Restaurant?"
Hearing that it was wine money, Chen Ze relaxed a little. At least it was not a usurious loan. How much could drinking wine possibly cost?
Chen Ze asked, "How much is it? Name your price."
The middle-aged man smiled. "Not much. Just ten Spirit Stones."
"What? Ten Spirit Stones? Was I drinking immortal brew or something?" Chen Ze was startled.
Chen Ze glanced again at the middle-aged man and his underlings. He could not afford to speak carelessly right now, or he might get beaten.
"Ten Spirit Stones is a little much. Could you give me a few more days? As you can see, there's nothing valuable in my home. I can't come up with it all at once."
After saying that, Chen Ze stepped aside so the middle-aged man could clearly see the state of the room.
The middle-aged man peered inside. "Heh. That's not what you said when you wanted wine to drink."
Then the middle-aged man pretended to be kind-hearted. "Perfect. I know of a Mine that needs workers. Go there, and you'll get ten Spirit Stones. You'll also earn three Spirit Stones a month."
"Mining?"
Chen Ze understood at once. It seemed this middle-aged man had known all along that he could not repay the debt and had been waiting to send him off to mine.
From the memories he had inherited, Chen Ze knew that ordinary mortals could not mine those ores at all. Only immortal cultivators with spiritual power like him could do it.
But immortal cultivators only chose to mine when they had truly reached the end of the road.
And once one entered the Mine, one would truly no longer be master of one's own fate.
Every day would be filled with endless mining, leaving no time at all for cultivation.
Once one entered the Mine, one could only remain there for the rest of one's life, enduring endless exploitation until death.
The Mines were all outside the city, far less safe than within the city walls. Inside the city, the City Lord's Mansion had guards, so there was at least some measure of security.
"Shopkeeper, could you give me a few more days? I'll definitely gather the Spirit Stones and repay you. If I can't, I'll go mine and work off the debt." Chen Ze pleaded.
Mining was impossible. It would be impossible in this lifetime.
The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then smiled. "Fine. I'll give you another five days. If you still can't repay the debt by then, don't blame us for what happens next."
The middle-aged man could afford to wait five days. He did not want to casually make a move in Wannan City. If he alerted the Patrol Team, the losses would outweigh the gains.
That Mine was actually an illegal mine he had opened with others. If it was exposed, the people from the City Lord's Mansion would inevitably extort a hefty sum from him.
Moreover, if more people discovered the Mine, he would be the one to suffer the greatest loss.
The reason he had chosen someone like Chen Ze was because he knew people like him had neither strength nor backing. Sending such people to the Mine made them easiest to control.
Five days?
Chen Ze gritted his teeth. "Fine. Five days it is."
Chen Ze had already made up his mind. If he could not repay the debt, he would run.
"Don't even think about running. I'll have someone keep an eye on you." It was as though the middle-aged man had seen through Chen Ze. He tossed out those words before turning and leaving with the two burly men.
It was as though Chen Ze could never escape his grasp. The man had not taken Chen Ze seriously at all.
After the middle-aged man left, Chen Ze quickly shut the door and began thinking about how to escape.
Ten Spirit Stones in five days was something he could never produce. Right now, he did not even have a single hair to his name.
As he pondered, Chen Ze did not forget to keep using Ignition Art. Even if he had to flee, he still needed to make himself stronger.
After racking his brains for a long time, Chen Ze still could not come up with a complete way to break the deadlock.
Although Wannan City was merely a small city near the Qingyun Sect, immortal cultivation Lineages stood shoulder to shoulder here, and there was also the City Lord's Mansion.
The Wannan City Lord was the strongest among those Lineages. It was said that he was already a mighty expert in the Foundation Establishment Realm, and breaking through to the Golden Core Realm was only a matter of time.
Moreover, anyone who could thrive in Wannan City surely had countless hidden ties to the City Lord's Mansion and the immortal cultivation Lineages.
Since that middle-aged man had connections to a Mine, Chen Ze did not believe he had no ties to those powerful figures.
Trying to flee Wannan City would be a task of a thousand difficulties and ten thousand hardships.
After thinking for half the day, Chen Ze used Ignition Art another twenty times. Just as he prepared to sit cross-legged and recover his Spiritual Energy, he suddenly felt that there was still Spiritual Energy in his dantian.
"It seems that raising proficiency not only makes Ignition Art more powerful, but also reduces its spiritual power consumption."
Chen Ze continued using Ignition Art until both his physical strength and Spiritual Energy were completely depleted.
"Once proficiency reaches mastery, I can use Ignition Art five more times. If I train it to the end, wouldn't I be able to cast Ignition Art over a hundred times in a row?"
Just imagining that scene filled Chen Ze with longing. More than a hundred Fireballs flying out at once—the sight would definitely be spectacular.
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