Sucker Gathering Place

"Alright, goodbye, Teacher."

After Qian Chaoguang and Huo Yutong left, Zhou Yi shed her outer disguise and sat in her chair in a huff, pounding the desk with loud smacks.

No matter how low Zhou Yi's emotional intelligence was, she knew better than to poach someone else's disciple. That had been an unwritten rule on Douluo Continent for tens of thousands of years.

"I'm so furious!"

On the way to the cafeteria, Huo Yutong asked, "Brother, are we going to find that amazing teacher tonight?"

Qian Chaoguang fondly patted her head. "No, there's no rush today. For the first three months, it'll be hard for us to find time to study Soul Tool knowledge."

Huo Yutong pouted. "Oh... then I'll cultivate on my own after school as usual. What a pity. The Purple Demon Eye Teacher Xiaoya taught me can only be practiced in the morning, and that Cultivation Method is especially helpful for improving my martial soul."

"Put cultivation off for a bit. Did you forget what I told you yesterday? We're going to make a fortune after school today."

"Huh? Brother, you mean selling Grilled Fish? But... are we short on money right now?"

Huo Yutong suddenly remembered what Qian Chaoguang had told her over dinner the night before, her large eyes full of confusion.

Although the Old Butler had passed away when the two of them were young, they had not exactly lived in poverty before coming to Shrek.

With Qian Chaoguang, a beast-like humanoid mobile forging machine, around, their lives could even be considered somewhat well-off.

Of course, that was among commoners.

Ever since Huo Yutong had started learning forging three years ago, they had had enough money to buy some Heavenly Treasures that could assist cultivation—fairly ordinary ones, at least.

"Even if we sell each Grilled Fish for one Silver Coin and sell a hundred in one night, that's only ten Gold Soul Coins. We might as well forge together instead. I feel like I'm almost able to complete Thousand Forging. Didn't you say that teacher was very interested in our forging?"

Qian Chaoguang smiled faintly.

"One Silver Coin? Too little. Your perspective is too narrow, Xiao Tong. Broaden your horizons. We need to save up one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins before next year, and we're still short more than ninety thousand."

"Ah? One Silver Coin is still too little? Then how much are you planning to sell them for?"

"One hundred Gold Soul Coins."

"Wow! Brother, are you serious!? That's enough to cover half a year of food expenses for the two of us!" Huo Yutong cried out.

If anyone other than her brother had said that, she would definitely have used Confusion on them to make them calm down and stop daydreaming.

"Of course. Other than the two of us and a few exceptions, anyone who can enter Shrek is either rich or noble. They don't care about spending their family fortunes. To them, one hundred Gold Soul Coins isn't an astronomical sum, nor is it a huge expense. Do you think recommendations from a City Lord or higher are that easy to obtain?"

A cold smile curled across Qian Chaoguang's lips.

In the Original Work, plenty of new students wagered dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of Gold Soul Coins when opening their own betting pools. That was merely the average level; even losing over twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins only meant they would be short on pocket money for a while.

That was all.

To the wealthy children of Shrek, that amount was nothing at all.

Besides, at Shrek Academy's best cafeteria, the Eighth Stall, even the cheapest dish cost over thirty Gold Soul Coins, and people lined up endlessly every day. That alone was enough to prove just how deep their pockets were.

"If we erased the names from the two letters Grandpa left us and put them up for auction on the black market, they'd be worth at least five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. They might even fetch an average-quality Soul Bone, and they'd be priceless on the market."

Huo Yutong shrank her neck and cautiously glanced around.

Only after seeing that no one was nearby did she whisper, "Brother, would there really be some big fool... Sucker... willing to buy them...?"

"Just listen to me. One hundred Gold Soul Coins is only the minimum. When the time comes, we'll do this..."

After dinner, when they returned to the dormitory, Wang Dong was sprawled lifelessly on her bed as usual.

The moment she saw Qian Chaoguang return, she sprang up from the bed.

"Qian Chaoguang, I have something to tell you."

Qian Chaoguang let out a deep Sighed.

After making sufficient mental preparations, he sat down on his own bed with helpless resignation, facing Wang Dong. He casually froze a cup of ice water and took huge gulps to stabilize his potentially rising blood pressure.

"My little princess, what new idea do you have this time?"

"Don't call me little princess!"

Wang Dong's face instantly flushed bright red, and she slammed the bed hard.

"You said before that because I hadn't given you any money, you wouldn't agree to my rules. I've thought it over carefully these past few days."

"Oh? And?"

"Twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins per rule. What do you think?"

"Pfft!"

Luckily, Qian Chaoguang reacted quickly and turned his head before the mouthful of water could spray Wang Dong's face. Otherwise, this proud little princess with Germophobia would have hounded him endlessly again.

"You're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious!"

Wang Dong looked utterly solemn and even took two handwritten contracts from her Storage Soul Tool.

"Here. I've even written the contracts. Take a look."

With an incredibly strange feeling, Qian Chaoguang looked down at the paper.

First, you are not allowed to bring people back to the dormitory whenever you please.

Second, you are not allowed to come in while I'm changing clothes.

Third, you are not allowed to snore at night.

Fourth, do not disturb me whenever you please.

Fifth, clean the dormitory.

Qian Chaoguang: "..."

Wasn't this the reason she had clashed with Huo Gua at the beginning of the Original Work?

Wang Dong'er still hadn't given up?

I thought she'd make some clause forbidding me from rebuffing her.

Wait, I'm not allowed to come in while she's changing clothes?

So she'd finally given up on making me change in the hallway...

And this "do not disturb me"...

You're clearly the one who keeps disturbing me, aren't you?

I don't even want to talk to you!

Qian Chaoguang felt that he had countless complaints in his heart, yet he had no idea where to begin.

"Hey! Are you agreeing or not? Say something already!"

Seeing Qian Chaoguang stare silently at the contract for so long, Wang Dong slapped the bed hard, producing dull thumps.

Judging by that force and the creaking sounds, if this went on much longer, the little princess would soon have to pay another fine.

Shrek's iron-frame beds were not cheap.

Qian Chaoguang narrowed his eyes and looked towards the anxious Wang Dong without immediately speaking.

In theory, exchanging one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins for his compliance with those five rules meant he was making an absolute killing.

Other than cleaning, the other four rules could be completely ignored.

Besides, he cleaned regularly anyway.

But...

If he did not take a bigger bite out of the biggest rich kid on all Douluo Continent, it would feel like he was betraying both his conscience and his wallet.

Wang Dong was now equivalent to Tang San in his eyes.

Stupid, loaded, come quick.

"...What exactly are you trying to do?"

Seeing that Qian Chaoguang had remained silent, Wang Dong began to feel uneasy.

She understood now that if she pushed this guy too far, there was nothing he would not do.

Author's Note

Thanks to Bottle of 1982 Mineral Water for the tip.