The next day, the sky was overcast. Lead-gray clouds hung low over Gaoye City's Outer City, making even the air in Bluestone Alley feel stagnant and oppressive.
Wang Gui carried the bundle of copper coins the family had scrimped and saved, originally meant for Wang Yuan's apprenticeship fees, and left the house with heavy steps.
The money was wrapped in an old cloth washed pale from use. It felt heavy in his arms, and heavier still upon his bent back.
Wang Yuan sat on a small stool by the window. He appeared to be recuperating quietly, but all his attention was focused on sensing the mark on his chest.
The progress of [Energy Absorption in Progress... Current Energy: (24/100)] crawled along like a snail, leaving him anxious yet forced to endure.
Time passed bit by bit. It was not until the sun slanted westward that Wang Gui dragged himself home.
Bang!
He practically crashed the door open. His face was livid, his lips trembled, and his chest heaved violently.
Those callused hands were clenched tight, yet empty.
"Dear, what happened? Did you... pay the money?"
Madam Zhou's heart leaped into her throat at the sight. She asked in a trembling voice.
Wang Gui suddenly smashed a fist into the doorframe with a dull thud, shaking several wisps of dust from the ceiling.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his hoarse voice carried towering rage and humiliation.
"Those black-hearted beasts."
"They said... the old price was the old price! The rules have changed now. The protection money... has gone up by fifty percent!"
"Fifty percent?"
Madam Zhou's vision went dark, and she nearly fainted.
Wang Yu hurriedly supported her mother, her own face turning deathly pale.
"The money I brought... wasn't even enough to cover the fraction."
"They... they took the money outright, saying it counted toward this month's payment. We have three days to make up the rest."
"Otherwise..."
Wang Gui could not continue.
Yet the threat in those unfinished words coiled around the family's hearts like an icy viper.
The brief peace they had thought they could buy by swallowing their anger vanished like a bubble.
The Black Tiger Gang's greed had no bottom line at all!
Wang Yuan sat there with lowered eyes, the hand on his knee slowly tightening as his heart turned cold.
He needed time. He needed a stable environment to build up his initial capital.
But the Black Tiger Gang would not even grant him this most basic chance to catch his breath.
It seemed the path of quietly building strength had been blocked off.
They were forcing him to take a desperate gamble.
He raised his head. His face was expressionless, but a cold determination flashed deep within his eyes.
"Father, Mother, Sister, I've been lying down too long and feel stifled. I want to go out and get some air."
Wang Yuan rose to his feet, his voice unnaturally calm.
"Yuan'er, you haven't fully recovered yet..."
Madam Zhou grabbed his arm worriedly.
"It's fine. I'll just walk around nearby. It won't matter."
Wang Yuan gently freed himself from his mother's hand and gave her a reassuring look.
But if one looked closely into his eyes, there was only ice within them.
I only wanted a peaceful life.
Why do you have to force me?
He said no more and walked straight out of the house.
The alley remained filthy and dilapidated. Several idle thugs leaned against the walls, sizing up passersby with unfriendly eyes.
Wang Yuan ignored them. His pace was unhurried, as though he truly were merely taking a stroll.
Yet he headed with clear purpose toward a narrower, more chaotic alley in the direction opposite the Outer City market.
That was the territory of the "Interest Upon Interest" moneylender, a den for usurious loans.
Memories from his previous life and the original owner's experiences had told him about this place.
When he entered the dimly lit room reeking of smoke and sweat, several broad-shouldered, fierce-looking men were gathered around a battered table, gambling.
Seeing Wang Yuan enter, Scarface looked up and narrowed his eyes at him. "Kid, what are you here for?"
Wang Yuan squeezed a trace of embarrassment and panic onto his face. Rubbing his hands together, he deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound difficult to say. "Big brothers, I... I want to borrow some money."
"Borrow money?"
Scarface gave a scornful laugh.
"Look at you, poor as a beggar. What can you put up as collateral? That broken house of yours?"
He knew everyone in the area inside out, so naturally he knew this was the Wang Family boy from Bluestone Alley.
The others nearby burst into laughter as well.
Wang Yuan's face reddened, as though the words had struck a sore spot. He stiffened his neck and said:
"I... I had terrible luck at the gambling house two days ago. I lost... lost a lot and ended up in debt. I don't dare tell my family."
"Don't worry, I have a way to repay it!"
"My family... my family has a house in Bluestone Alley, at least!"
He deliberately revealed two pieces of information: that he had lost money gambling, and that he owned property.
A young man ruined by gambling and driven into a corner was practically a fat sheep delivered right to a usurer's door.
They knew his background, there were "assets" to seize, and he had already ruined his own reputation, making him even easier to control.
Sure enough, Scarface exchanged a glance with a tall, thin man beside him who seemed to be the leader.
The thin man set down his dice and walked over to Wang Yuan. With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said, "The Wang Family boy from Bluestone Alley?"
"Fine. I know you."
"How much do you want to borrow?"
"Interest is nine out, thirteen back, with interest upon interest. Three months to repay. If you can't pay, the house settles the debt. Black and white, sealed with your handprint. Dare to borrow?"
The terms were brutally harsh, practically open robbery.
Wang Yuan showed just the right amount of struggle and fear, but in the end, he gritted his teeth.
"I'll borrow! Five taels of silver!"
Five taels of silver was an enormous sum for an ordinary Outer City household.
It was enough to cover even the Black Tiger Gang's increased protection fee, with plenty left over.
But Wang Yuan naturally had no intention of giving it to the Black Tiger Gang.
Otherwise, not a single bit of those five taels would remain.
The thin man chuckled and wasted no words, quickly writing up the loan contract.
"If you can't repay it, you know the consequences yourself." A vicious glint flashed through Scarface's eyes.
Wang Yuan did not even inspect the contract closely. Or rather, he did not care. He pressed down his handprint at once.
As he accepted the weighty five taels of silver, he drew a deep breath. The startup capital is secured.
With the money in hand, Wang Yuan did not delay in the slightest.
He headed straight for the Outer City market.
He did not buy rice or flour. Instead, he went straight to a butcher's stall.
He bought the thickest, glossiest slabs of beef suet.
He also bought large chunks of air-dried beef jerky, hard as rocks but said to be highly filling.
Then he turned into a small clinic.
"Shopkeeper, do you have... medicinal herbs that replenish Vital Blood and help recovery?"
Wang Yuan asked, deliberately making himself seem weak and drained.
The shopkeeper looked him over and recommended a cheap medicinal powder called Qi-Boosting Powder. It was ground from several ordinary herbs and had a slight effect on post-injury weakness. The price was not too high.
Wang Yuan bought several packets without hesitation.
When he returned home, his parents and sister looked at him with uncertainty and shock. He merely said:
"I ran into an old classmate and borrowed some money. We'll get through this immediate hurdle first."
Before they could question him further, he left behind a large chunk of meat for the family.
Then Wang Yuan took his purchases and slipped back into his small room.
He shut the door, sealing off the outside world.
He lit a small charcoal stove, cut the beef suet into chunks, and rendered it. Amid the sizzling sounds, a rich greasy fragrance spread through the room.
He soaked the hard beef jerky in hot water until it softened.
Then came a near-mad frenzy of eating.
Wang Yuan tore into the softened jerky, swallowing large mouthfuls of rendered cracklings and stuffing those coarse, greasy foods into his stomach without pause.
At the same time, he poured the Qi-Boosting Powder directly into his mouth and washed it down with warm water.
The medicinal powder carried the bitterness of herbs and a strange warm current that instantly dissolved within his body.
At first, his stomach swelled with discomfort.
Having gone so long without meat, Wang Yuan's stomach could barely endure such a sudden feast.
But he endured it forcefully, his mind locked tightly onto the mark on his chest.
Here it comes!
A current of heat ten, even a hundred times stronger than when he had eaten eggs and drunk porridge burst from his stomach like floodwaters breaching a dam, surging madly toward his chest.
The Talent Bead trembled at an unprecedented frequency.
The chaotic black mark seemed to come alive. A faint glow flowed through its surface patterns as it greedily devoured the surging energy.
[Energy Absorption in Progress... Current Energy: 35/100... 52/100... 78/100... 91/100...]
The progress bar leaped wildly at a speed never seen before.
Wang Yuan's eyes shone with a frightening light. He ignored everything and kept stuffing jerky and cracklings into his mouth, gulping them down whole before consuming all the remaining Qi-Boosting Powder.
A tearing pain came from his stomach, but he paid it no mind.
"Just a little more... just a little more..."
When the final scorching torrent surged into his chest,
a soft buzz sounded in his mind.
[Energy Absorption in Progress... Current Energy: 100/100] [Energy has reached the initial awakening requirement! Awaken Innate Divine Ability immediately?]
It worked! Wang Yuan panted heavily, his hands slick with grease and meat scraps still clinging to the corner of his mouth.
But for the first time since crossing over, a true smile appeared on his face.
Without the slightest hesitation, he silently said in his heart:
"Awaken!"
Before you continue