Borrowing Money

"I don't have any money right now."

Guo Jinchuan's face darkened. A pleading note crept into his voice. "Give me another half a month, and I'll have the money. I'll repay you with interest, every last bit!"

"Just give me a few more days."

"Heh, half a month?"

Tu Chuan gave a mocking laugh. "Guo Jinchuan, do you really take us for three-year-olds?"

"It took us plenty of effort just to get into Emerald Cloud Valley."

"We finally found you, and now you want us to give you more time?"

"Either we see the money today, or we break one of your legs!"

As he spoke, the two men glanced at Shen Mu, their eyes full of menace, as if warning him not to meddle.

Shen Mu said nothing. He merely took an unobtrusive step back to show he had no intention of getting involved.

Guo Jinchuan's face went deathly pale. He stammered, "Even if you break my leg, I still won't have any money to pay you back."

"I told you, I'll have the money in another half a month. You could beat me to death right now, and I still wouldn't have it."

Tu Chuan gave a cold, mocking laugh. "When you borrowed the money, you swore you'd pay it back within a month."

"And now you're telling us you wouldn't have the money even if we beat you to death?"

"Do you think the Money Gang is some charity? You borrow whenever you want, and never pay it back if you don't feel like it?"

The Money Gang?

Shen Mu couldn't help but pause. So these two men were from the Money Gang.

As far as he knew, lending money was one of the Money Gang's businesses. They had even specially trained a group of martial artists to collect debts.

These two were probably among the gang's dedicated debt collectors.

Cao Xingyang sneered. "Guo Jinchuan, we've already been to your home. Your younger sister's quite a beauty. Since you can't pay us back, why not have her work at Fragrant Shadow Pavilion for a while? I doubt it'd take even half a month for her to earn enough to repay the principal and interest. How about it?"

Guo Jinchuan's expression changed dramatically. He said in a low voice, "I'm the one who borrowed the money. What does my sister have to do with it? If you dare lay a hand on her, I, Guo Jinchuan, will fight the Money Gang to the death."

"Fight us?"

Tu Chuan gave him a contemptuous look and shook his head. "Guo Jinchuan, you're nothing but an ordinary member of the Firewood Gang. Even Chai Song, its gang leader, wouldn't dare claim he could do anything to the Money Gang. What do you think you are?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tu Chuan suddenly sprang forward. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Guo Jinchuan, throwing a punch.

Guo Jinchuan seemed not to have expected Tu Chuan to attack without warning. His expression changed sharply.

But by the time he tried to retreat, it was already too late. He could only throw out a hasty punch to meet the blow.

"Bang!"

Their fists collided with a dull thud.

"Crack!"

A sharp, crisp sound of bone breaking rang out.

"Ah!"

Guo Jinchuan's right arm couldn't withstand the immense force of the punch. It broke on the spot. He let out a shrill scream of pain as he was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

Before Guo Jinchuan could even get up, Tu Chuan stepped forward again and stamped his head firmly into the mud, grinding it back and forth.

"Ah! Spare me, spare me! I'll pay you back, I'll pay you back!"

Guo Jinchuan's face was smeared with blood as he struggled to beg for mercy.

"Hmph, you're only at the Third Stage of Boiling Blood, and you still dared to trade punches with me? You really don't know when you're outmatched."

Tu Chuan looked down at him and said coldly, "Next time, think before you speak. Otherwise, I might really lose my temper and kill you."

"Three days. I'm giving you three days. If we don't see the silver by then, your sister will work at Fragrant Shadow Pavilion until your debt is paid off!"

"Let's go!"

Tu Chuan lifted his foot and turned with Cao Xingyang toward the valley entrance.

"Brother Guo, are you all right?"

Only after the two men had gone far did Shen Mu step forward and help him up.

Guo Jinchuan was in a wretched state. His right arm was broken, a muddy shoe print had scraped the skin off his face, and there was dirt in his mouth.

"I'm fine."

Guo Jinchuan shook his head, spat out the dirt, and glared venomously after Tu Chuan and Cao Xingyang.

"Brother Shen, do you have any silver on you? Could you lend me some?"

Guo Jinchuan looked away and continued, "Don't worry. I'll have the silver in half a month, and I'll repay you with interest."

At that, Shen Mu's face twitched.

Had this guy been coming by every day, trying so hard to build up their friendship, all just to ask him for a loan?

"Brother Guo, it's not that I don't want to help you. I just don't have any money myself."

Shen Mu politely turned him down. He didn't even say how much money he had, choosing instead to refuse outright.

He knew that once someone asking for a loan got started, they'd seize on anything you said. If you told them how much you had, they'd say, "Then I'll borrow just that much first and see if I can get the rest from someone else."

What would he do then? Lend it or not?

Rather than put himself in a difficult position, it was best to simply say he had no money.

Guo Jinchuan was clearly unwilling to give up. "Brother Shen, when we caught the Origin Cicada, everyone got seventy taels of silver. It's only been two months. Have you already spent it all?"

Shen Mu seemed to have expected the question. He explained, "Brother Guo, you don't know the whole story. The main reason I managed to advance to the Second Stage of Boiling Blood in just two months was that I bought fifteen Blood Qi Pills to build up my blood qi..."

Hearing this, Guo Jinchuan gave him a long look.

He knew that Shen Mu was just making excuses because he didn't want to lend him money.

How could Shen Mu, who came from an ordinary background, possibly afford to buy Blood Qi Pills to build up his blood qi?

If he could afford to buy Blood Qi Pills, why would he need to train so hard every day?

Before this, he'd had the same idea as Zhou Xuan: secretly attack Shen Mu and steal the silver he had on him.

He'd even planned to do it tonight.

With his Third Stage of Boiling Blood cultivation, dealing with Shen Mu, who was only at the Second Stage, would have been a piece of cake.

Especially now, with most of the Guardians away from the valley. Even if Shen Mu wanted to call for help, there'd be no one to come to his aid. As for Luo Tao, who was only at the First Stage of Boiling Blood, he'd simply ignored him.

What he hadn't expected was that Tu Chuan and Cao Xingyang would show up and ruin his plans.

Now, with his right arm broken, it would take at least a month to recover.

Yet Tu Chuan had given him only three days to raise the silver...

Under Guo Jinchuan's meaningful gaze, Shen Mu's heart gave a sudden jolt. A bad thought rose in his mind.

Had this guy deliberately gotten close to him because he planned to steal his silver?

Thinking it over, Shen Mu kept his expression calm, but inside, he was certain.

Guo Jinchuan had been after his money all along!

He'd been watching Shen Mu train these past few days to figure out his current strength.

With only the Second Stage of Boiling Blood that he'd shown on the surface, Shen Mu couldn't possibly be his match...

What other way of making money could be faster than robbery?

At that thought, Shen Mu couldn't help feeling relieved.

Tu Chuan and Cao Xingyang had come looking for Guo Jinchuan at just the right time. They'd helped him avert a crisis.

Otherwise, if Guo Jinchuan had attacked him, even if Shen Mu had killed him in self-defense, it would still have brought him a heap of trouble.

There were hardly any Guardians in Emerald Cloud Valley now. If Guo Jinchuan disappeared there, everyone would point the finger at Shen Mu without even needing an investigation...

Especially since the man was dirt-poor and buried in debt. Even if Shen Mu killed him, he'd gain nothing from it.

"Brother Shen, it's getting late. My right arm is broken. Could you come with me to a clinic in Cloud Dragon County?"

Guo Jinchuan asked.