But Shen Lang had a strip of cloth tied over his mouth, so he could not shout. All that came out were muffled whimpers. The others could not make out what he was saying and paid no attention at all.
So Shen Lang stared straight at the leader.
The man was around thirty, with two scars on his face, a cold expression, cruel eyes, and soft armor beneath his clothes.
Shen Lang remembered this vicious man because he had seen him several times before.
His name was Tian Heng. He was the notorious leader of the Black Clothes Gang within a hundred-mile radius, commanding over a hundred desperadoes. He ran gambling dens, brokerages, and carriage firms. Ruthless and savage, he could make children stop crying at the mere mention of his name. No one knew how many wronged souls lay on his hands.
He also held an official position: Militia Leader of Xuanwu City.
The men pushed Shen Lang into the pit and began shoveling dirt over him.
An ordinary person would have been wailing and howling, scared out of their wits. Yet Shen Lang remained quiet. At first, he stared at Tian Heng's face; then he examined his entire body from top to bottom, his gaze incredibly strange.
He was looking with X-ray vision. That gaze was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
At last, Tian Heng could not suppress his curiosity. He raised a hand, and his four subordinates immediately stopped shoveling.
Tian Heng walked up to Shen Lang, tore away the cloth from his mouth, and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Shen Lang said, "There is a needle inside your body. If you do not remove it, your life will be in danger."
He was not lying. There really was a needle inside Tian Heng's body—an incredibly fine Silver Needle, currently lodged in his lung. Without his X-ray vision, it would have been impossible to spot.
Tian Heng was startled when he heard Shen Lang's words.
Shen Lang continued, "That needle is currently in a major blood vessel in your lung. It will travel with your blood. If you do not remove it, once it enters your brain, you will die."
Tian Heng was even more shocked. He asked in disbelief, "How do you know?"
This was a secret. Even Tian Heng's wife did not know it, yet this brain-damaged pretty boy before him knew. It was truly bizarre.
This was too uncanny!
Shen Lang said, "I can help you take it out."
Tian Heng looked at Shen Lang for a long while before saying, "They all say you're a fool. You don't look like one."
Shen Lang said, "That fine needle must be removed, or you will certainly die. Only I can help you remove it."
"But the condition is that I spare your life, right?" Tian Heng said. "Don't you want to know who hired me to kill you?"
Shen Lang shook his head. "I know who it is without asking."
Tian Heng narrowed his eyes. "You are definitely not stupid!"
Then he shook his head. "But I'm very sorry. I cannot agree."
Shen Lang's eyes narrowed. He had thought this deal was as solid as a rock. Even if someone had paid Tian Heng to kill him, how could money matter more than life? Shen Lang could save Tian Heng's life. There was no reason for Tian Heng to refuse, no reason not to let Shen Lang go.
That left only one explanation.
Tian Heng could not remove the Silver Needle in his body, because the person who had planted it there was someone he could not resist.
There was a story behind this.
But that made things troublesome. The other man could not remove the needle, so Shen Lang's damned medical skills were useless. This deal could not be made.
Tian Heng said, "Your younger brother owes us money."
His younger brother owed money?! "Three months ago, your father was injured. To save him, your younger brother borrowed five gold coins from one of my shops to hire a doctor. With the interest rolling upon interest, it has now become one hundred gold coins."
This was far more vicious than usury. In only three months, the principal and interest had multiplied twentyfold.
But Shen Lang was not concerned about the interest. His father had been injured!
Three months ago—that was when he had married into the Xu Family. His father had gone to the Xu Family to make trouble, intending to take Shen Lang home. He had been driven out by the Xu Family's servants and must have been beaten severely. At that time, Shen Lang had been a foolish idiot, so naturally he knew nothing of it.
The original Shen Lang had been beyond all cure. He had fallen for a woman like Xu Qianqian and had even abandoned his parents. Such a stupid piece of trash was utterly unworthy of his parents' love.
"Because your family cannot repay this debt, I am burying you alive. It has nothing to do with anyone else, understand?" Tian Heng said. "Of course, to make it look real, we will tear down your house and deal with your younger brother and your parents as well."
Shen Lang understood. Someone had long ago paid Tian Heng to do these things, but they needed a legitimate excuse. Debt collection, with the threat of exterminating his whole family, was a fine pretext.
"You and I bear neither grudge nor grievance, and you are not as foolish as the rumors say." Tian Heng said, "But I still have to kill you. Sorry."
Then he rose and said, "Give him a quick death. Kill him first, then bury him."
"Yes." A warrior stepped forward, drew his blade, and slashed it toward Shen Lang's neck, ready to take his life.
"Wait!" Shen Lang shouted. "How much did someone pay you to kill me? I will give you ten times that amount. I will give you a thousand gold coins."
At those words, the warrior's blade froze three inches above Shen Lang's neck.
Tian Heng could not help but stare. How was Shen Lang not stupid? He was simply brilliant. From their brief exchange just now, he had actually deduced that the other party had offered Tian Heng one hundred gold coins.
"I am very tempted," Tian Heng said. "Truly, very tempted. But... your family is so poor you can barely keep the pot boiling. Your father is still bedridden, and your younger brother has had both legs broken. You cannot produce even one gold coin, let alone a thousand."
All of this was the sin wrought by the former Shen Lang. Because of his stupidity and the Xu Family's cruelty, both his father and younger brother had suffered grievous injuries, their lives even hanging by a thread.
In this world, how much were one thousand gold coins worth?
An ordinary family could not save even two gold coins after working themselves to the bone for an entire year. By the roughest calculation, one thousand gold coins were equivalent to roughly three million yuan on Modern Earth.
"It is an enormous sum. You cannot possibly produce it," Tian Heng continued.
Shen Lang said, "But you can gamble on it. If you win, you will earn a huge fortune. Even if you lose, you only need to delay killing me for a few days. It will not prevent you from collecting the Xu Family's one hundred gold coins."
Tian Heng hesitated slightly. Shen Lang producing a thousand gold coins within ten days seemed utterly impossible. But Shen Lang had just seen the Silver Needle inside his body, even locating it in his lung. That was somewhat miraculous.
Shen Lang said, "Ten days. One thousand gold coins."
Tian Heng stared at Shen Lang's handsome face, hesitating for quite some time before finally saying, "Three days. I can only give you three days!"
Shen Lang understood. Tian Heng and the other party had also agreed on three days. If he killed Shen Lang within three days, he would receive one hundred gold coins.
"Fine. A gentleman's word is as good as a thousand pieces of gold," Shen Lang said.
Tian Heng said, "Dig him out."
The four warriors got to work and dug Shen Lang out of the pit, but none of them carried paper or ink.
Shen Lang directly tore off a piece of his white Silk robe, bit his finger, and used his blood to write an IOU—a note promising Tian Heng one thousand gold coins. Then he signed his name.
As he wrote, he inwardly cursed, What kind of shitty golden finger is this? It is nowhere near as useful as money. In the end, gold coins are what save lives.
Tian Heng took the Blood Letter IOU and looked at Shen Lang for a while longer.
This was the Shen Lang rumored to be intellectually deficient? What utter absurdity.
"Hand over one thousand gold coins within three days, or I will kill your entire family," Tian Heng said. "Thirteen, Fourteen, the two of you will escort Young Master Shen Lang home. For these three days, stay with him at all times."
"Yes!" the two warriors replied.
Then Tian Heng left directly with the other three warriors.
"Remember this, Shen Lang. Three days. One thousand gold coins. Otherwise, your whole family dies."
His figure had already disappeared from sight, yet his cold voice still bored into Shen Lang's ears on the wind.
"No problem." Shen Lang's mind spun rapidly.
Before long, he came up with a method that would not only earn him a great deal of money, but also protect his family. Most importantly, it would let him take revenge on the Xu Family!
It would kill three birds with one stone!...
Note: Bosses, I desperately need recommendation votes. Please, please!
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