Make Money! Let the Show Begin

Hearing Tian Shisan's words, Shen Lang smiled. "Brother Thirteen, I'm going to sleep. Are you planning to keep watch over me?"

Tian Shisan said, "Two days left. No thousand gold coins, and your whole family dies."

Then he walked straight out.

Shen Lang lay comfortably on the bed. His home was very shabby, and parts of the roof already leaked, so his parents and Younger Brother shared one room while Shen Lang had a room to himself.

Not only that, his bed was large and soft, and even the thin cotton quilt was new.

The family was very poor, yet they had given him everything best.

Country families were poor. Many children did not even get new clothes for the New Year. Shen Lang's family was poorer still, but he received three new outfits a year. No matter how difficult things became at home, his parents would always buy them for him.

One set for summer, one for autumn, and one for the New Year.

Yet his younger brother, Shen Jian, had never had new clothes. He always wore Shen Lang's old ones.

He truly did not know why. Why did his parents favor him so much? There was not even any reason for it.

His younger brother Shen Jian was useless, spending every day loafing around outside, but compared to the former Shen Lang, he was already far better. Aside from his handsome face, Shen Lang had been utterly worthless. If Earth's Shen Lang had not transmigrated here, then with this fool, let alone supporting his parents in their old age, he could not even manage his own life. His parents would have had to care for him until they grew old, after which his younger brother would have had to support and look after him.

"Worthless Shen Lang, whatever you owed Father, Mother, and Younger Brother before, I'll repay it for you. I'll spend my whole life repaying it."

Shen Lang swore silently that he would give his parents a good life, that he would make sure his younger brother married a wife, built a family and career, and made something of himself.

But the urgent matter now was surviving this crisis! Tian Heng had given him three days to gather a thousand gold coins. Now, only two days remained.

Once the time was up, what would happen if Shen Lang could not produce a thousand gold coins?

Tian Heng would kill his entire family. He had always kept his word.

Could he earn a thousand gold coins within two days?...

Early the next morning, Shen Lang got up, brewed medicine for his father and younger brother, washed up, and ate breakfast.

Bang, bang, bang...

Knocking sounded from outside. Unease appeared on his mother's face, and she moved to answer the door.

"I'll get it," Shen Lang said.

When he opened the door, it was indeed Tian Heng's adopted sons, Thirteen and Fourteen.

"Time is tight. Go make money," Tian Shisan said directly, his tone still light as drifting clouds and gentle as the breeze.

"Da Lang, what's going on?" his mother asked.

"Mother, it's nothing. They're two of my friends," Shen Lang said.

His mother warmly said, "They're Da Lang's friends? Then come have some porridge with us."

Tian Shisan smiled. "No need. We've already eaten. Thank you, Auntie."

His smile was warm as well. He did not look like an assassin in the slightest, only like a fine young man.

Unhurried, Shen Lang finished the bowl of white rice porridge. His mother then stuffed an egg into his hand. "Hurry and eat it."

By instinct, he wanted to give the egg to his father.

"Eat it. Eat it right now," his mother said decisively. Then she peeled another egg and gave half each to his father and younger brother.

"All right, I'll eat it," Shen Lang said.

Only after watching him finish it did his mother beam with joy.

"Mother, I'm going into the city with my friends. A very impressive teacher came to the Academy today," Shen Lang said.

His mother immediately grew nervous. "Da Lang, will you come home for lunch?"

Shen Lang said, "I definitely won't make it back by noon. I'll try to come home for dinner tonight."

Tian Shisan warmly said, "Auntie, my home is in town. I won't let Shen Lang go hungry."

His mother said, "Then I'll trouble you. Come by our home sometime, and Auntie will boil eggs for you."

"Sure," Tian Shisan said, the smile on his face becoming even more honest and guileless.

Then Shen Lang left home to make money, with Tian Shisan and Tian Shisi following close behind without giving him an inch of space.

A thousand gold coins was an astronomical sum for his family.

Four hours later, Shen Lang had walked more than thirty li and was nearly at Xuanwu City.

At that moment, two men were walking up ahead, furious and cursing as they went. They appeared to be father and son: the father in his forties, the son in his twenties.

Tian Shisan stepped forward and warmly called out, "Uncle Li, Brother Da Lu, long time no see!"

The father and son stopped. When they saw Tian Shisan, their expressions became somewhat awkward, but they quickly put on smiles. "Oh, Thirteen. It has been a while."

Tian Shisan warmly said, "Uncle, why haven't you come by the house for a visit? My father misses you. Just yesterday, he was saying you hadn't come over for tea lately. You may owe our family a little money, but don't let that make us strangers. You and my father are closer than blood brothers."

The middle-aged man said, "I'll go tomorrow. Tomorrow."

Tian Shisan stepped forward, put an arm around each of the father and son, and led them deep into the rice fields at the roadside, then into the woods.

"Uncle, you haven't come to eat at our house in quite some time. The fine wine my father specially bought has gone sour. So he told me to bring some meat to your home, but who would have thought I'd run into you today by such happy coincidence?"

After Tian Shisan ushered the father and son into the woods, his tone grew even more affectionate, as though they were truly uncle and nephew.

"Oh, right, Uncle!" Tian Shisan said to the middle-aged man. "My father said you don't need to repay the money you owe our family."

The middle-aged man said, "That would be terribly embarrassing, terribly embarrassing..."

Tian Shisan said, "You and my father have known each other for more than ten years, as close as brothers. What does this little money amount to? When I was little, I used to eat at your house every other day."

The middle-aged man said, "Then... then tomorrow I'll chop off a pig's head and visit your father. We'll have some wine together."

"Wonderful..." Tian Shisan said.

Then he swiftly drew his dagger.

Pshk...

Like lightning, it plunged into the father and son's hearts, so fast that Shen Lang could barely see the movement.

There were no screams, no wails. The father and son died instantly. Only after a while did blood spurt from their wounds.

"Fourteen, go have the brothers come deal with these two corpses," Tian Shisan said.

Tian Shisi said, "Yes, Brother!"

Tian Shisan wiped the dagger clean with a silk handkerchief, then carefully tucked it into his robe. He scrutinized his clothes and sleeves to make sure no bloodstains had gotten on them, then said to Shen Lang, "Sorry about that. I ran into two old acquaintances and got delayed a little. Let's continue on our way."

"All right," Shen Lang said.

From beginning to end, Tian Shisan's expression had barely changed. He wore a smile throughout, including when he killed.

The two continued onward toward Xuanwu City.

Shen Lang suddenly asked, "Tian Shisan, was that middle-aged man your uncle?"

Tian Shisan nodded. "Yes. He fled here with my father. They'd known each other for more than ten years. He often held me when I was little."

Shen Lang asked, "How much did he owe?"

"Three gold coins. Since he was an acquaintance, the interest was lower. But after interest piled upon interest, it became twenty-five gold coins," Tian Shisan said. "He couldn't repay it. Yesterday, he and his son went to a gambling house and racked up several more gold coins in gambling debts."

For twenty-five gold coins, Tian Shisan had killed that father and son without hesitation, despite their more than ten years of friendship.

And Shen Lang owed a full thousand gold coins.

Tian Shisan said, "Shen Lang, I know you're only stalling for time. Earning a thousand gold coins in the remaining two days is nothing but a fool's dream. So tell me now that you can't do it, and I'll give you a quick death. Don't waste two days of my time. How about it?"

Then he took out the sharp little knife and wiped it again and again. If Shen Lang merely nodded, he would kill him at once with the greatest speed.

A thousand gold coins might have been the savings of a hundred households over several decades. It was an immense fortune. For a poor boy like Shen Lang to earn a thousand gold coins in two days was truly an impossible task.

Shen Lang looked at Tian Shisan and said seriously, "I won't need two days. Today will be enough!"

Tian Shisan asked in astonishment, "Truly?"

Shen Lang said, "Within three shichen, I'll earn those thousand gold coins."

Tian Shisan's eyes widened. "Three shichen?"

That was simply impossible to believe.

Shen Lang said, "Yes. Within three shichen."

Shen Lang and Tian Shisan entered Xuanwu City.

Xuanwu City was one of Nujiang Prefecture's eight cities. It governed twenty-five towns and had a total population of more than two hundred and fifty thousand, with over thirty thousand living inside the city alone.

Shen Lang noticed that Xuanwu City's walls were actually more than twelve meters high and nearly ten li in circumference.

Many provincial capitals in ancient China might not have possessed city walls twelve meters high. This proved only one thing: this world's martial strength far surpassed that of ancient China, which was why it needed taller walls for defense.

Most of the soldiers atop the city walls wore leather armor, while the officers wore metal armor. There were actually more than several hundred of them.

After entering the city, the streets bustled with people and shops stretched like clouds, making it even more prosperous than he had imagined.

Shen Lang stopped before a three-story pavilion. The sign above it read Brocade Pavilion.

Not only would he earn a fortune here, he would also take fierce revenge on the Xu Family.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Lang stepped into the magnificent Brocade Pavilion.

Let my performance begin!

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