Spending Money Like Water

When Qin Dongcheng saved Dong Hongyan, seeing the girl with her picturesque features and pure, ethereal beauty, he couldn't help but recall the tropes from the martial arts novels of his past life, even though he had long since decided against marriage or starting a family.

The debt of saving my life is impossible to repay; this young woman is willing to serve as a slave or maid by your side, young master.

After all, he wasn't ugly, so he didn't have to worry about being rejected; if she had followed up with the classic "I will repay your kindness as a beast of burden in my next life," there was a high probability she would have been taken up on the offer.

Qin Dongcheng was still hesitating over whether to refuse and how to go about it, but he never expected that in the blink of an eye, the "young woman" had become a "big sister," and they seemed to have settled into a relationship like brothers—no, it should be sister and brother.

Yet, there was an inexplicable feeling of having sworn an oath to a big brother in his past life; he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

The picturesque big sister on his back quickly became familiar with him; after all, he was her savior, and she had a favorable impression of Qin Dongcheng.

"You're only sixteen this year? So young? I'm already twenty-one, and my sisters are all around twenty. None of them are younger than you; it doesn't seem like a good match."

"However, I have a sister named Dong Hongyu who is also sixteen this year. You two could get to know each other. If you find each other interesting, getting married wouldn't be a problem. Sixteen is the age to settle down and start a family, haha."

"I didn't expect you to look so steady yet be so shy. Could it be that you've never been to a pleasure house? Even if you haven't, surely you've had wives, concubines, or at least a few maids?"

"My goodness, you really haven't? No wonder you're so shy. Should Big Sister send you a few young, beautiful girls so you can learn a thing or two? That way, you won't be at a loss if you encounter this situation again, and you won't be easily bewitched by monsters like that Beauty Snake. Only by experiencing such things more often can you stop fearing those carnal traps."

"I was able to resist the Beauty Snake's bewitchment not because I've experienced much, but because I prefer fragrant young sisters over men; they're much better than those sweaty guys. But little brother, why do you smell so good? It seems to be the scent of medicine; it's quite pleasant."

Along the way, his newly recognized big sister kept chattering incessantly, even insisting on buying him some beautiful maids to send over, which made Qin Dongcheng break into a cold sweat as he hurriedly declined her kind offer.

Through their conversation, he gained a better understanding of Dong Hongyan's character: she was bold, generous, wealthy, and possessed excellent talent and aptitude. The Dong Family she belonged to even boasted terrifying experts at the seventh realm of martial arts.

Her personality was completely at odds with her appearance; they were two absolute extremes.

The slight romantic notions he had harbored earlier had long since vanished without a trace; such a heroic "big sister" figure simply didn't fit his ideal type.

It was better to just keep her as a big sister. After all, she was wealthy; during their conversation, she had given him several bottles of medicinal pills, including one bottle of intermediate-grade pills—the kind of high-quality goods used by experts above the fourth realm of martial arts.

Blood-Solidifying Pill!

It could consolidate a Martial Artist's cultivation foundation and help resolve hidden dangers if one had advanced too quickly in a short period. This meant Qin Dongcheng could now safely consume Blood-Replenishing Pills to increase his cultivation realm as quickly as possible.

Its value was high; a single pill was worth dozens of taels of silver, and a bottle of ten meant hundreds of taels.

Adding in the other pills, the total value was nearly a thousand taels of silver. She was truly worthy of being a big sister; her generosity was staggering.

However, when he was bandaging her wounds, he hadn't seen her carrying so many things. Where did she pull these pills from?

They soon arrived outside Dong Hongyan's home, located in the heart of the Osmanthus Garden, one of the largest estates in the area.

Inside lived Dong Hongyan's mother, her sister, and various maids and servants. As for her father, he lived in the old Dong Family residence, fooling around with other wives and concubines—at least, that was according to Dong Hongyan.

Her father was a terrifying existence at the sixth realm of martial arts; he could crush Qin Dongcheng with a flick of his finger, a level of power beyond his imagination.

He was already over seventy years old, and Dong Hongyan and Dong Hongyu were children born in his later years. It was said he had just married his nineteenth concubine.

Among his children, Dong Hongyan was considered quite outstanding in terms of talent and aptitude, so he took good care of her. If Dong Hongyan hadn't refused, she could have taken her mother and sister to live in the old Dong Family residence, where the cultivation conditions were even better.

Although she was only twenty-one, Dong Hongyan was already a first-class expert at the peak of the Flesh Phase, a standout among the Inner Sect Disciples. If she could advance to the Tendon Phase Realm within a few years, she would likely be ranked as a True Inheritance Disciple.

After knocking on the door, a maid quickly opened it. Seeing Dong Hongyan covered in blood, she couldn't help but shriek, "Ah... Eldest Miss, what happened to you? Quick, someone help the Eldest Miss! She's lost so much blood!"

The entire courtyard descended into chaos. A group of maids and servants rushed out, but there wasn't a single man among them, as Dong Hongyan, Dong Hongyu, and their mother were all women.

At the forefront was a dignified and beautiful woman, likely Dong Hongyan's mother, Zhao Li. Her eyes were red, and she looked at Dong Hongyan with extreme worry, which gave Dong Hongyan a headache. "Mother, stop crying. It's just some superficial wounds; I just lost a bit of blood. Little Brother Qin already bandaged me up. I'll recover quickly with some rest."

Only then did Zhao Li and the others notice Qin Dongcheng. They thanked him repeatedly. After settling Dong Hongyan in, he politely declined Zhao Li's invitation to stay for a meal and returned to his own residence.

Dong Hongyan's home was filled with women, and staying there felt a bit awkward; it was better to go back and cultivate.

For Qin Dongcheng, this incident was nothing more than a minor interlude.

That same day, Dong Hongyan reported the matter to the patrol team. Upon learning that a level-four demonic beast had appeared in the Bamboo Forest Valley, the Five Elements Sect was quite furious and dispatched multiple experts to patrol and search the area. Even the Dong Family sent many hands to assist.

In just a few days, several demonic beasts were dug out and killed. Qin Dongcheng hadn't expected that so many monsters were hiding in the vicinity, the strongest being a level-three Demonic Beast. It seemed that the Beauty Snake was the most powerful monster to have infiltrated the Bamboo Forest Valley, and it was just Dong Hongyan's bad luck—or perhaps good luck—that she had run into it.

It was hard to say whether her luck was poor or good.

After killing the Beauty Snake, Dong Hongyan received a generous reward and was almost guaranteed to become a True Inheritance Disciple, being fought over by multiple True Inheritance Elders.

After all, with only the strength of the Flesh Phase, she had managed to resist the bewitchment of a level-four Beauty Snake and even turned the tables to kill it; this showed just how formidable Dong Hongyan was.

Coupled with her talent and aptitude, which were already plain for all to see, she had long been recognized by many as the next True Inheritance Disciple; this had merely accelerated the process.

As for Qin Dongcheng, he had also gained quite a few benefits.