Did I Say You Could Cross?

Did I Say You Could Cross?

Seeing that none of their methods worked, the five felt somewhat uneasy.

Ye Fan stepped forward and said to Su Mu, "Senior, I don't have any of the treasures you want for the time being."

"If you trust me, I can sign an IOU with you. Once I find the treasures, I'll repay you immediately."

Hearing this, Su Mu raised a brow, and his eyes lit up.

How sensible! Before he had even brought up signing an IOU or a Loan Contract, this guy had proposed it himself.

He looked the young man up and down. He was completely different from the other four—calm throughout the entire process, quick-witted, and clear-headed.

"What's your name?"

Su Mu asked.

"Ye Fan."

Hearing the surname "Ye," Su Mu understood. So this was the real protagonist. The other four were merely supporting cannon fodder.

However, these protagonists all had one flaw: they loved being clever for their own good.

How could Su Mu fail to see through Ye Fan's little schemes?

With his current cultivation, he could discern the other party's thoughts with a single thought. Thus, Ye Fan's seemingly rational and clever actions were nothing more than a child's tricks in his eyes.

In truth, a genuinely powerful villain only needed a little brains to casually suppress those protagonists who loved to jump around.

Back when he enjoyed reading novels, he had thought the protagonists were so smart and formidable, playing the villains like fiddles.

But now, he understood. Those authors had simply written the villains to be too brain-dead, too stupid as fuck.

If he wanted to erase Ye Fan, this protagonist, all it would take was a wave of his hand.

A truly powerful villain should be cautious and prudent, naturally suspicious, uproot the grass and remove the roots, plan every step, and strike without mercy. He should not disdain an opponent merely because they were weak—he should see things through to the bitter end.

But Su Mu did not want to be any kind of villainous enemy. From beginning to end, he had simply been collecting a River Crossing Fee.

Although Su Mu had initially planned to make them sign Loan Contracts, he did not like being led around by others.

If anyone was going to bring it up, it had to be Su Mu himself.

Showing off all those flashy little maneuvers right from the start, were you? So you're Ye Fan, huh? Fine, fine. I'll add a little more to your loan!!

Let this teach you a lesson. Let you eat one pitfall and gain one wisdom, so that when you meet a villain like me in the future, you won't get slapped to death!

Su Mu first ignored Ye Fan's request.

Instead, he took out four contract documents he had prepared in advance and handed them to the other four.

Although Ye Fan was the true protagonist, the River Crossing Fee was charged per person. Protagonist or supporting character, anyone who crossed here had to pay. Everyone was treated equally.

The other four took the contracts without the slightest hesitation and hurriedly signed their names.

"Bite your fingers and press a Blood Seal with your blood."

As soon as Su Mu spoke, the four immediately did as instructed.

Standing beside Pang Bo, Ye Fan glanced at the amount of debt listed on the contract.

Ten treasures. Ten Billion Spirit Stones.

Huh??

Although Ye Fan had no idea what Ten Billion Spirit Stones meant, Spirit Stones sounded like no ordinary thing. Even with a simple conversion—if one Spirit Stone were worth only one yuan on Blue Star—that would still be one billion yuan! And that was merely the most conservative estimate.

Was this River Warden really that black-hearted??? But why was this senior not making him sign?

He must have decided to let him off, right?

It seemed that talking more and appearing calmer really did have its benefits.

After they finished signing, Su Mu carefully inspected the contracts. Once he confirmed there were no problems, he put them away.

At that moment, Ye Fan asked, "Senior, can we leave now?"

"Wait. There's still you."

"This was prepared for you."

Su Mu took out another Loan Contract, one tailored specifically for him, and handed it to Ye Fan.

Taking the contract and seeing the most crucial line—"Loan Amount"—Ye Fan froze. He blinked, confirmed that he had not read it wrong, then looked up at Su Mu and asked, "Senior, did you take the wrong one?"

"Why is the one I'm signing different from theirs?"

Ye Fan was dumbfounded as well.

Why did they owe ten treasures, while he owed one thousand?

They owed Ten Billion Spirit Stones, while he owed Ten Trillion??

And this "one thousand treasures" was far too vague, wasn't it? What counted as a "treasure"? How was a treasure defined?

Moreover, there was a line at the end of the contract: "The final right of interpretation of this contract belongs to me."

Wasn't this blatantly a rigged contract?! What counted as a treasure was entirely up to him!

He could not understand why he was being singled out. What was more, he had been the one to propose signing a contract first. Though it was merely a temporary expedient and he had never intended to repay it, Su Mu did not know what he was thinking. Why target him?

Unfair! This was simply too unfair! "Is there a problem?"

Su Mu frowned as he asked. The faint aura leaking from him made Ye Fan feel as though the blood and qi throughout his body were about to freeze solid.

"N-No problem."

Ye Fan tried his best to remain calm, repeatedly warning himself that he had to stay composed and could not lose his bearings.

It was only a temporary expedient anyway. So what if he signed it? He had no intention of repaying it in the future. He would deal with this hurdle first.

With that, Ye Fan quickly signed his name. Like the other four, he bit his thumb and pressed a Blood Seal beside his name.

Su Mu took the contract and inspected it carefully. Once he confirmed there were no issues, he finally revealed a smile.

"Now that you've signed the contract, you can be considered to have prepaid the River Crossing Fee."

"Congratulations. I wish you all a pleasant journey."

"However, don't forget that this Loan Contract carries interest and has a time limit."

"Do not harbor any wishful thoughts. Do not delay. And do not even think about refusing to repay it."

"Go over there and develop yourselves properly. Once you've made it big, I'll come find you."

Su Mu wore his trademark polite smile and delivered his trademark stock phrases.

He said these words to every Transmigrator. They had already become a standardized assembly-line script.

As long as they signed the contract and paid the River Crossing Fee, everything was negotiable.

Seeing the terrifying man change his attitude, the other four finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yet Ye Fan still held a breath of anger inside him.

Su Mu made way for the boat and lifted the Stillness over the waters.

"I wish you all a pleasant journey."

Su Mu smiled and waved.

But though the path had opened, the nine Little Black Snakes pulling the boat seemed scared senseless, frozen in place and too afraid to move.

"Move."

"Keep pulling!"

"Otherwise, I'll call Little Mahi and Little Kong Yao over for a snack!"

As soon as he said this, he could sense Little Mahi and Kong Yao hurrying toward his waters, as though they were racing to rescue their lord.

The nine Little Black Snakes sensed something and were terrified out of their wits. Dragging the five people aboard, they fled madly forward.

Watching their retreating figures, Su Mu suddenly noticed some words written on the stern of the boat. His brows drew together.

The next second, he appeared before the Small Boat again and stopped it once more.

The five were dumbfounded.

What the hell? Again?!!

Ye Fan felt a surge of anger shoot straight to the Crown of the Head, nearly angering him into fainting.

"Senior, what is it this time?" Ye Fan asked, forcibly suppressing his rage.