Learn to Be Human in the Next Life

Dusk.

Hoo hoo hoo.

After Chun Lan left, Xie An practiced the Five Animal Play for another afternoon, sweating profusely from exhaustion.

[Five Animal Play: Combination of Movement and Stillness (99/100)]

[Remaining Years: Fifteen Years]

Although the progress had only increased by two points, the feeling of gradual improvement brought Xie An joy.

"Just one more point of progress and I'll break through. No rush, it'll happen eventually."

With the Lifelong Legacy, he didn't need to worry about not breaking through.

It would just take more time.

Knock knock knock.

A knock on the door announced He Chunli, bringing dinner.

Xie An hadn't asked He Chunli to buy extra ingredients today, so he had to settle for the pawnshop's usual fare.

A bowl of plain white rice, a bowl of stir-fried tofu, and half a bowl of braised pork.

"Where's Zhang Bing?"

As He Chunli placed the food on the table, he replied, "Brother Zhang went to Li Manor to see the eldest son-in-law this afternoon and just got back. Oh, right... Brother Zhang also sneaked into the kitchen just now. I saw him looking quite flustered."

Xie An immediately suspected something upon hearing this.

He didn't touch his chopsticks to eat. Instead, he waited until the pawnshop closed after nightfall, then secretly took his meal to the back kitchen and found the wooden barrel for kitchen waste.

He saw three rats stealing leftovers from the barrel.

Xie An poured the food into the barrel. The three rats, after a moment of slight panic, began to devour the fresh food with gusto, emitting excited squeaks.

Xie An, meanwhile, stared intently at the rats' every move.

Three months ago, Xie An had keenly sensed Zhang Bing's restless and ill-intentioned behavior, and had specifically asked He Chunli to keep an eye on Zhang Bing's actions.

Today, Chun Lan's conversation with Zhang Bing in the pawnshop had also been relayed to Xie An by He Chunli.

Coupled with He Chunli's report that Zhang Bing had visited Li Manor to see the eldest son-in-law that afternoon and had then fled into the kitchen in a panic...

Synthesizing all the information, Xie An felt that Zhang Bing might be cornered.

Caution is the parent of safety.

As expected—

The three rats suddenly received a strong stimulus, becoming panicked and scurrying around, squeaking and screeching. Within moments, they kicked their legs, foamed at the mouth, and convulsed... dying.

Hiss!

Even though Xie An had been mentally prepared, witnessing the scene still sent a chill of horror and lingering fear through him.

Fortunately, he had been meticulous. Otherwise... it wouldn't have been the rats dying tonight, but himself.

"You are still you, Master!"

"My good disciple, may you learn to be a better person in your next life."

Xie An didn't fly into a rage. Instead, he went to the pawnshop late at night to examine the pawn tickets.

Although Xie An hadn't visited the pawnshop in the past three months, he knew through He Chunli, his informant, that Zhang Bing's possessions had become increasingly valuable, even enough to send gifts to the Li Manor's son-in-law.

Moreover, even if Zhang Bing wanted to advance, he wouldn't risk poisoning someone for the position of Appraisal Master, especially when he knew Xie An was healthy... It seemed more like an attempt to cover something up.

Xie An keenly suspected that Zhang Bing might have tampered with the pawn tickets.

The profession of Appraisal Master offered many opportunities for illicit gains. However, embezzlement always carried risks. Xie An had previously prioritized stability, only taking on private jobs outside.

As he flipped through the tickets, Xie An began to notice something amiss.

"Why is the fluctuation in pawn prices so large?"

In general, a pawnshop was somewhat similar to a combination of an antique shop and a bank from his previous life. Its income was mainly divided into four categories: lending with interest, disposal of items, service fees, and item appreciation.

Lending, like in his previous life, involved high interest rates, three percent monthly.

The so-called item disposal meant that if a borrower couldn't redeem their collateral within the agreed period, the pawnshop could dispose of it at its discretion for profit.

Some collateral would also appreciate over time. Even if the borrower redeemed it, they would have to pay the current market price. This part belonged to the appreciation business.

Additionally, pawnshops charged a certain service fee for handling pawn transactions.

It was evident that running a pawnshop was a risk-free business.

There were only a few pawnshops in Wuqiao Town, and most of them dealt with familiar customers, emphasizing honest business practices.

After all, they were all neighbors, and if they ruined their reputation, the pawnshop wouldn't be able to continue operating.

While Xie An was looking through the pawn tickets, he discovered that the prices of several antique collateral items were significantly higher than the market price.

For example, a bronze pot was pawned for an astonishing twenty taels. This bronze pot was displayed on the counter, and Xie An had seen it... Although the imitation technique was extremely skillful, it was artificially aged and worthless.

The shopkeeper, Chen Yuan, was not skilled in appraisal and naturally couldn't discern the intricacies.

Despite possessing the unique skill of appraising items, Xie An still saw through it.

These various irregular pawn tickets, when added up, amounted to over two hundred taels!

Based on the above, one fact emerged in Xie An's mind:

Zhang Bing had embezzled.

The amount was staggering!

It would take Xie An ten years of not eating or drinking to earn that much. As for Zhang Bing... he might never earn that much in his entire life.

If this were reported to Master Li, given Zhang Bing's status as a slave, he would most likely not escape being beaten to death by Master Li.

Thinking of this, Xie An couldn't help but shake his head.

"No wonder you resorted to poisoning, you were afraid I'd discover your embezzlement once I took over the shop again..."

A person walked away, alone.

Perhaps Zhang Bing truly believed Xie An was dead, and coupled with his flattery of the Li Manor's son-in-law, he had convinced himself he was the future Appraisal Master.

He never expected that Xie An... had returned!

But Zhang Bing's boldness in embezzling two hundred taels right off the bat was too much. Something felt off...

Xie An put away the pawn tickets, extinguished the oil lamp, and left the pawnshop. However, he didn't return to the back room to sleep. Instead, he went out again under the cover of night...

Two days later.

"Master, Brother Zhang is about to be beaten to death by Master Li."

He Chunli rushed to knock on Xie An's door early in the morning.

Xie An followed He Chunli to the backyard of the Li Manor. As soon as they entered, he heard Master Li's furious roars and Zhang Bing's miserable wails.

Many maids and servants from the Li Manor had gathered around, and even the pawnshop owner, Chen Yuan, was among them.

Xie An walked up to Chen Yuan. "Old Chen, what happened?"

Chen Yuan sighed, "Alas, yesterday Chen He brought Liu Jiang, the Appraiser, to the pawnshop to buy a bronze pot at a high price. But Liu Jiang discovered it was a fake. After a little investigation, I found out it was this scoundrel Zhang Bing who had been embezzling. He embezzled a total of two hundred taels. Then I told Master Li... I never expected a slave like Zhang Bing would dare to betray us. He deserves to be beaten to death..."

As he spoke, Chen Yuan became indignant, "It even caused Master Li to reprimand me. Fortunately, Old Xie, you've been recuperating recently, otherwise, you wouldn't have escaped a beating and scolding."

Xie An put on a sorrowful expression. Through the crowd, he saw Zhang Bing's skin torn and bloody from the beatings, his flesh peeling back, a horrifying sight. He tried to speak several times, but a dirty rag was stuffed into his mouth, making it impossible to utter a sound.

Master Li of the Li Manor would naturally not do the beating himself. Instead, he handed it over to his son-in-law... that is, the eldest son-in-law Lu Wei, whom Chunlan mentioned.

"You ungrateful dog! My Li Manor kindly took you in, yet you embezzled my Li Manor's money. You're a lowly slave, and you deserve to be beaten to death."

Son-in-law Lu Wei raised his wooden stick high and brought it down hard on Zhang Bing's back.

Crack!

The crisp sound of bone breaking made everyone around tremble.

In the end, Zhang Bing was beaten to death by the Li Manor's son-in-law, and then rolled up in a straw mat by two housekeepers and carried away.

Many housekeepers and maids turned pale with fright. Especially He Chunli, who had lived with Zhang Bing for ten years and shared the same dormitory. Seeing Zhang Bing's fate, he became even more aware of the insignificance and cheapness of a slave's life.

Clearly, Master Li had deliberately called everyone over with the intention of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.

Xie An was undoubtedly the most composed among them.

How this matter came to be... only Xie An knew best.

As he was leaving, Xie An seemed to recall something and asked Chen Yuan, "Old Chen, who stuffed the rag into Zhang Bing's mouth?"

Xie An had sharp eyes and knew the inside story. He could tell that Zhang Bing had wanted to say something before he died, but his mouth was gagged.

Chen Yuan replied, "The eldest son-in-law came to the pawnshop early this morning with two guards and tied up Zhang Bing. They stuffed a rag into Zhang Bing's mouth right then..."

Xie An's heart tightened.

The eldest son-in-law... Lu Wei.