Going All Out Is the Greatest Respect for a Gold Digger

"Lu Yuan, how can a grown man like you be so petty?"

"I'm just asking you to give the direct admission spot to my younger brother; why are you acting like I'm taking advantage of you?"

Inside the room, Lin Man'er wore a light gauze dress, her gentle eyes filled with grievance.

Lu Yuan looked at the young woman before him, his expression dazed as two sets of memories gradually overlapped in his mind.

In the Great Gan Dynasty, demons and monsters ran rampant, and evil spirits were everywhere.

His predecessor was a minor soldier in Yun'an County who lost his mother at a young age, while his father was a bailiff at the County Office.

When he was seven, a Bat Demon slaughtered its way into the county seat, and his father was sucked dry into a withered corpse while trying to protect the townspeople.

Later, people from the Demon Suppression Bureau arrived, killed the demon, and collected the remains, bringing the matter to an end.

The county magistrate, seeing him orphaned and destitute and remembering his father's long service at the office, allowed him to inherit his father's position at fifteen, making him a Yamen Runner who stood guard in the hall.

He had been standing there for five years.

Over those five years, his yearning for the Demon Suppression Bureau had only grown.

Working at the County Office, the monthly salary was only two taels of silver.

But if one could be selected for the Demon Suppression Bureau, the base pay was at least five taels.

The bailiffs of the Demon Suppression Bureau wore Ink-Black Brocade Robes that were impervious to blades, practiced the Life-Slaying Method to purge demons, and the Horizontal Saber at their waists was a magical artifact that ordinary people would never touch in their entire lives.

Walking on the streets of the county, merchants would take the initiative to greet them, and even when eating a bowl of plain noodles by the roadside, the stall owner would add an extra two taels of minced meat.

Fear was one aspect, but more importantly, the Demon Suppression Bureau could truly save lives.

When demons caused trouble, they were the ones who dared to kill.

Even if injured, there were specialized medical wards that used ointments mixed with spiritual herbs.

Even if killed by a demon, the family could collect one hundred taels of compensation.

One hundred taels!

That was worth several years of food and clothing for an ordinary family!

In the past, his predecessor never dared to think about such things.

After all, his aptitude was mediocre, and just being able to scrape by in this chaotic world of demons was good enough.

But this spring, the Demon Suppression Bureau began selecting new blood across all prefectures and counties and added a new rule.

All descendants of loyal martyrs could bypass the selection process and be directly admitted to the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Since his predecessor's father had served at the County Office and been killed by a demon, he naturally had a claim to this direct admission spot.

Once the news spread, Lin Man'er was the first to visit, but she hadn't come to offer congratulations.

"Lu Yuan, could you... give the direct admission spot for the Demon Suppression Bureau to Lin Chen?"

"You know that my brother has excellent talent; if he can enter the Demon Suppression Bureau, he will surely make something of himself in the future!"

Lu Yuan remained silent, the daze in his expression gradually clearing.

He looked at the young woman before him; she had an oval face and almond-shaped eyes filled with moisture, clearly a natural beauty.

Looking at her like this, it was no wonder she had his predecessor wrapped around her finger.

Five years!

Five whole years!

The meager salary the County Office paid his predecessor had been completely scraped clean by this woman.

At first, it was just small things.

"Brother Lu Yuan, the embroidery workshop deducted my wages; could you lend me fifty wen? Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you back when I get my wages next month!"

His predecessor lent it to her.

His monthly salary was two taels of silver, so those fifty wen meant nothing to him.

Lin Man'er took the money, thanked him, and smiled at him.

With that one smile, his predecessor felt it was worth it.

By the next month, she hadn't paid him back, and the month after that, she still hadn't.

By the following month, his predecessor didn't even think about it anymore, only hoping she would smile at him more often.

Later, the small things turned into big things.

Her younger brother, Lin Chen, wanted to apprentice under a retired old head constable and needed ten taels of silver for the tuition.

Lin Man'er came to find Lu Yuan with red-rimmed eyes, saying she truly had no other choice, that her family couldn't scrape it together, and that if Lin Chen missed this opportunity, his life would be ruined.

His predecessor took out all his family savings, scraped together eight taels, and went to the pawnshop to pawn the Horizontal Saber his father had used during his lifetime to make up the ten taels.

When he handed the ten taels of silver to Lin Man'er, her hand lingered on his palm for a moment longer.

For that one moment, his predecessor felt that pawning the saber was worth it.

Lin Chen's apprenticeship was for learning martial arts, and from then on, the expenses became even greater.

Buying medicinal herbs costs money, tempering the bones and muscles costs money, and showing filial piety to a master costs even more money...

Later, Lin Man'er claimed that Lin Chen was practicing legitimate martial arts, and since eating only vegetables wouldn't provide enough strength, he had to eat meat to master his skills.

From that moment on, the silver belonging to the original owner flowed into Lin Man'er's pockets like water.

Lin Man'er always had a way to make him pay up.

Sometimes it was to buy herbs for Lin Chen, sometimes it was because Lin Chen had been injured during training, and sometimes it was for Lin Chen to treat his senior brothers to drinks...

Sometimes she wouldn't say a word, just sighing with reddened eyes in front of him, and the original owner would obediently hand over the silver.

Lin Man'er didn't spend a single copper of this money on herself; she spent it all on her younger brother, Lin Chen.

The last words Lin Chen's father spoke before he passed away were to entrust Lin Man'er with taking good care of her younger brother.

From that moment on, she knew that her brother was the only hope for the Lin family.

That was why she desperately squeezed money out of the original owner.

Until today, when she learned that Lu Yuan could be promoted directly to the Demon Suppression Bureau as the descendant of a loyal martyr.

At this moment, she finally saw an opportunity for her brother to get ahead.

"Lu Yuan, didn't you say you liked me? Then give the direct promotion quota to my brother!"

"I've never asked you for anything before; this time, just consider it a favor, okay?"

"You're a good person, I'll remember you for the rest of my life!"

Lu Yuan frowned slightly, his eyes revealing undisguised disgust.

He had transmigrated, yet he still ran into a gold-digger?

Scamming him out of money and affection was one thing, but this quota was something the original owner's father, a bailiff, had traded his life for!

She was trying to bleed him dry!

"Impossible."

Lu Yuan refused flatly; he was no longer the simp the original owner had been.

"What?"

Lin Man'er exclaimed, a look of confusion appearing on her face.

What was going on?

In the past, as long as she said a word, Lu Yuan would have been eager to rip his heart out to show her.

Why was he acting contrary today?

"Lu Yuan, let me tell you the truth: your aptitude is mediocre. Even if you enter the Demon Suppression Bureau, you're just going to your death."

"But Lin Chen is different. He has excellent aptitude. If he can secure the position of a captain in the Demon Suppression Bureau in the future, he'll be able to look after you a bit!"

Look after me a bit?

My aptitude is mediocre?

A sense of absurdity rose in Lu Yuan's heart, and he was so angry he laughed.

Lin Man'er let out a delicate huff, her tone turning even colder.

"Lu Yuan, didn't you say you liked me? Is this how you show your affection?"

"It's just a quota. I'm truly disappointed in you. So, your so-called love is this selfish!"

She stepped forward, feeling completely secure in her position.

"Lu Yuan, if you really like me, give the quota to my brother, and I might consider giving you a chance."

"Otherwise, don't even think about seeing me again."

"Go to hell!"

Lu Yuan didn't indulge her at all and slapped her across the face.

The original owner might have been a simp, but he certainly wasn't.

He didn't hold back his strength, and Lin Man'er was sent flying.

Going all out was the greatest respect one could show a gold-digger.

The next second, a translucent light screen appeared before Lu Yuan's eyes.

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