A Huge Sum

Qin Xue heard Zhang Yu demand that Jiang Luohan return the gifts. Disdain and scorn filled her face. "You wretch, even at a time like this, you're still thinking about money and possessions."

Zhang Wanning immediately chimed in, her words sharp and vicious:

"Exactly. Eldest Brother, you're truly vulgar.

You've read the sages' books for nothing. All you care about is money.

Sister Luohan was terribly unlucky to have ended up with you.

Breaking off the engagement is one thing, but you even have the nerve to demand the gifts back?

How could you say such a thing!"

Jiang Luohan now seemed to have found a straw to grasp at, trying to salvage her pride. Her tone was contemptuous, as though she were granting him a favor. "They're just a few gifts. I'll return them, so you won't think I, Jiang Luohan, covet anything of yours."

She truly felt relieved.

The Jiang Family was an official household, and her father was the Minister of Rites. He had plenty of former students and old associates, so they were hardly short of money.

As long as she could immediately rid herself of Zhang Yu and cut all ties with him, she was willing to pay this price.

"Fine."

Zhang Yu nodded. He no longer looked at Jiang Luohan, instead turning toward the small table nearby, where brush and ink had already been prepared. He picked up the brush and began to write.

"Three years ago, twelve 'Mermaid's Tears' pearls from the South Sea. These were no ordinary mermaid pearls, but had been nurtured by a thousand-year-old clam spirit in the deep sea. They glowed at night, calmed the mind, and aided cultivation. Valued at thirty thousand taels."

Jiang Luohan's eyelid twitched. She really did like those pearls. At night, they shone in her room like the moon, but... thirty thousand taels?

"Two years ago, an authentic River Sail Pavilion Painting by Li Sixun, the great painter of the previous dynasty. This was the pinnacle of his later years, containing a trace of Mountain-Water Dao Rhyme. It benefited Painting Dao Cultivators and even helped martial artists grasp the world around them. Valued at twenty-five thousand taels."

Qin Xuehua knitted her brows. Li Sixun's painting truly was precious.

"Last year, the Autumn Water Sword was forged primarily from Celestial Mystic Iron, with three taels of Star Sand and two qian of Millennium Cold Iron Essence added. It took the painstaking work of Ou Yezi's seventh-generation direct descendant, a reclusive master swordsmith, eighty-one days to complete.

"The sword has already developed a touch of sentience. Its edge is unmatched, and it can amplify the power of water- and ice-based techniques. Materials, labor, and favors: valued at fifty thousand taels."

Zhang Heng drew in a sharp breath. Fifty thousand taels for a sword?

That was practically highway robbery!

"Also, a three-foot-tall Blood Jade Coral from the Eye of the Eastern Sea. This coral grew one cun every hundred years and contained pure vital blood. It could be used as medicine or displayed as an ornament. Valued at eight thousand taels."

"A pair of Moonlight Luminous Cups, treasures from the Ancient Loulan Kingdom in the Western Regions. Carved from moonstone, they glowed softly at night, and any wine poured into them became sweet and refreshing. Valued at five thousand taels."

As Zhang Yu listed each item, Jiang Luohan's haughty expression gradually paled. Qin Xuehua and the others furrowed their brows more and more deeply, while the surrounding murmurs grew louder.

This was no longer "a few gifts." It was a vast fortune, enough to ruin an ordinary wealthy household!

And yet, this was only the beginning.

Zhang Yu dipped his brush in the ink and continued writing, his tone still calm:

"In addition, the following Pills were given to Miss Jiang to aid her cultivation:"

"Three bottles of Top-grade Heart-Cleansing Jade Dew Pills, three pills per bottle. Made primarily from thousand-year snow lotus hearts and mind-calming herbs, these Pills could ward off inner demons and stabilize one's cultivation. The market price was fifteen hundred taels per pill, for a total of thirteen thousand five hundred taels."

"Five bottles of Top-grade Foundation-Consolidating Pills, five pills per bottle. Made with rare medicinal ingredients, including mountain ginseng over three hundred years old and solidifying fruits, these Pills were highly effective at strengthening one's foundation and healing hidden injuries. They were especially suitable for stabilizing one's cultivation after a breakthrough. The market price was two thousand taels per pill, for a total of fifty thousand taels."

"Ten boxes of Nourishing Paste made from Millennium Snow Ginseng. This paste not only enhanced one's appearance, but also nourished the meridians and replenished the toll of cultivation. Each box was worth eight hundred taels, for a total of eight thousand taels."

The value of these Pills already far exceeded that of the jewelry and artifacts listed before!

Zhang Yu paused and glanced at Jiang Luohan. In his still-calm voice, he named the final item—the real hammer blow:

"One Bodhi Pill."

The moment those three words were spoken, the entire prison fell utterly silent.

The Heir of Prince Jing sprang upright from his soft couch. His wine gourd clattered to the ground. He stared fixedly at Zhang Yu, disbelief and shock written all over his face, as if he were seeing the man for the first time.

A Bodhi Pill?

It was a legendary holy treasure, its effects practically defying heaven. It could not only cleanse the marrow and reshape one's foundation, greatly improving one's aptitude, but also increase one's chances of successfully breaking through a major cultivation realm by at least thirty percent.

Its value simply couldn't be measured in ordinary gold and silver.

It could be said that Jiang Luohan owed her current cultivation entirely to the effects of this Bodhi Pill.

As if he hadn't noticed everyone's shock, Zhang Yu continued in an even tone, "One Bodhi Pill, valued at... five hundred thousand taels."

"F... five hundred thousand taels?"

Zhang Heng shrieked, his voice going shrill, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

Jiang Luohan stood frozen, her mind a blank. She felt ice-cold, as though she had fallen into an icy abyss.

Five hundred thousand taels... for a single Pill?

How could that be possible?

When she had taken it back then, she had only felt its pure, surging medicinal power help her break through a bottleneck in one go and rapidly improve her cultivation. She had thought it was merely a top-grade Spirit Pill; she had never dared imagine it was the legendary Bodhi Pill!

How could Zhang Yu possibly have something like that?

And... he had even given it to her?

The Heir of Prince Jing muttered, his voice full of shock and disbelief. "Five hundred thousand taels... a Bodhi Pill... This kid... he was willing to give something like that away?"