You Gotta Pay More

Hearing the other party say this, Yu Xiaogang was instantly thrown into a panic.

Could it be that he was expected to just hunt any random century-level soul beast?

After going through so much trouble and spending so much money, he could not accept such an outcome no matter what.

He had to keep in mind that he had already refused the help of the sect's soul-hunting team, and the money on his person was all spent.

His father's current seclusion seemed to be for breaking through a bottleneck.

For an existence at the Title Douluo realm, a single seclusion could last several months, and breaking through a bottleneck took even longer.

He had no idea how much time would pass before his father emerged.

Was he really expected to wait another half a year?

He had finally reached his current realm and was finally able to obtain a soul ring.

Yu Xiaogang had long since been unable to contain his impatience.

Yet, he did not want to settle for just any random century-level soul ring.

"Captain, what would it take to head to the territory of Sub-Dragon soul beasts to hunt?"

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Xiaogang looked at the captain of the soul-hunting team and asked, still unwilling to give up.

"They are all my brothers-in-arms; to lead them into life-threatening danger, I truly don't know how to bring it up."

"It's not that I can't be persuaded to convince my brothers."

"You have to pay more!"

After beating around the bush, the captain of the soul-hunting team finally revealed his true intentions.

It was that going to dangerous places to hunt was possible, provided there was more money.

"This..."

Hearing that he had to pay more again, Yu Xiaogang could no longer remain calm.

Throughout these days of entering Thunder Canyon, these people had been constantly squeezing money out of him.

Under all sorts of names and in all sorts of ways.

At first, he had thought this soul-hunting team was different from the others.

Now it seemed they were all cut from the same cloth.

They were just looking to swindle his money.

The problem was, given the current situation, he really dared not say much.

After all, whether it was his own safety or the hunting of the soul ring, he needed their help.

But he was truly unwilling to accept this.

Thousands of Gold Soul Coins had already been spent, and yet his first soul ring was still not in his hands.

No matter how foolish Yu Xiaogang was, he had realized by now that something was wrong.

"Captain, can't you just help me out?"

"I really don't have any money left."

"My father is the Sect Master; just consider this money as a debt I owe you, and I will definitely pay you back once we return to the sect."

Yu Xiaogang lowered his posture and looked at the captain of the soul-hunting team with a slightly pleading tone.

"Xiaogang, I want to help you, but I really have no choice, brother."

"We small-timers are all living with our heads on the line, and we might lose our lives tomorrow."

"We risk our lives to earn money, isn't it just to give our families a better life?"

"We know you are the Sect Master's son, and we believe in your credit. I personally wouldn't mind, but my brothers—they won't work if they don't see the money."

"What do you want me to do? I am also very helpless."

"Don't say I'm not looking out for you. How about this: I will take you to a dangerous place to hunt, but there is one thing I cannot guarantee, and that is your safety."

"If we encounter a powerful soul beast and I can protect you, I naturally won't say anything more, but if I can't even protect my own life, I will leave without hesitation."

"As long as you agree, I will have my brothers head out first."

The captain of the soul-hunting team looked at Yu Xiaogang with a sincere and earnest expression as he spoke.

In short, it boiled down to one sentence: don't expect help if you don't have the money.

"This..."

At this moment, Yu Xiaogang was torn with conflict.

Naturally, he was unwilling to leave just like this.

If he returned to the sect in such a dejected state, who knew what kind of ridicule and insults he would have to endure?

Besides, he had already spent so much money and gained nothing; he could not accept returning like this no matter what.

But, he truly did not dare to enter the depths of Thunder Canyon without any guarantee of his own safety.

"I have no more Gold Soul Coins, but I still have two portions of medicinal baths provided by the sect. See if you can accept those as payment."

Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and retrieved two portions of medicinal baths from his Storage Soul Tool.

These were the cultivation resources he had painstakingly saved up.

They were also among the few valuable items he had left on his person.

As for his other belongings, they had long since been extorted by these people under various pretexts and excuses.

He had finally seen them for what they were; this soul-hunting squad was hardly composed of good people. Every one of them was a gluttonous beast that would devour a person without even spitting out the bones.

If he wanted them to help him hunt a soul beast, he had to pay.

At this moment, Yu Xiaogang only wanted to finish the hunt as quickly as possible and leave this place.

He feared that if he stayed with these people any longer, he wouldn't even have the clothes on his back left.

Although they didn't resort to direct robbery, they used all sorts of underhanded methods to fleece him.

Furthermore, he didn't dare to refuse them.

Given his current predicament, if they found any excuse to abandon him here, he truly wouldn't be able to leave alive.

For Yu Xiaogang, neither outcome was something he could bear.

"Two portions of medicinal baths are indeed worth some money, but two portions aren't enough for all of us here to split."

The captain took the medicinal baths, passed them to the others behind him, and continued to look at Yu Xiaogang with a beaming smile.

His stance was clear: it wasn't enough; he needed more money.

And judging by his posture, if he didn't pay more, they wouldn't even return the two portions of medicinal baths.

"I... I really don't have any more money."

For a moment, Yu Xiaogang was so anxious he was on the verge of tears.

After all, he was only a twelve-year-old child.

How could he have ever experienced such a situation?

"Young Master Xiaogang, how can you say that?"

"Your father is the Sect Master; anything he gives you casually is something we commoners couldn't obtain in a lifetime."

"We are risking our lives to take you hunting for soul beasts and helping you conduct all sorts of research and investigations. We are merely charging reasonable fees, so why are you crying?"

"If outsiders saw this, they would think we were bullying you."

"If you hadn't insisted on researching and investigating soul beasts from the start, the hunt would have been over long ago. We even took the risk to help you obtain a Sub-Dragon attribute soul beast."

"Have you ever heard of anyone taking five or six days just to hunt their first soul ring?"

"What, do you think your time is precious, while the time of us ordinary disciples is worthless?"

"If that's how you feel, I think our transaction can end right here."

The captain looked at Yu Xiaogang, who wore an expression of utter innocence.

Judging by his attitude, he was truly prepared to walk away on the spot.

At this moment, Yu Xiaogang felt so aggrieved he almost wanted to kill someone.

What was even going on?

Although what these people said was true, it wasn't as if they hadn't been the ones to guide and introduce the soul beasts in the first place.

Who knew that this service would also incur extra fees?

Moreover, looking at the current situation, it was clear that they were ready to break off the deal at the slightest disagreement and abandon him directly in this Soul Beast Forest.

With his strength, how could he possibly make it out?