Thirty thousand Small Coin was naturally no small fortune to ordinary people, but to the Marquis Mansion's spendthrift scions, it was merely enough for a few visits to drink flower wine.
Everyone in the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion received a monthly allowance, and the amount varied according to status and cultivation.
Take Ning Han, for instance. His talent was average, but he was a direct descendant of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, so he received one hundred thousand in monthly allowance every month.
Ning Xiner's monthly allowance was naturally even higher—five hundred thousand each month. Yet her expenses were also enormous, all spent on cultivation and on buying Heart Nourishing Elixir, Blood Accumulation Elixir, Qi Condensation Powder, and so on.
These were all precious medicines essential for cultivation, refined by Heart Nourishers, and their prices were outrageously high. Although the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion distributed some of these precious medicines every month, the quantity was limited, and most had to be purchased personally.
Even so, Ning Xiner had saved quite a bit of money. Taking out thirty thousand Small Coin was no difficult matter. What concerned her was what her brother needed so much money for. Ning Xiaochuan had once received a monthly allowance as well, but because he could not cultivate martial arts, it had been meager. Moreover, he had spent all the allowance he had saved over the years at the brothel last time, leaving him no choice but to swallow his pride and borrow from Ning Xiner.
"I want to go out for a walk and buy some things. When a man goes out without money, he always feels unsafe." Ning Xiaochuan did not intend to tell her that he wanted to become a Heart Nourisher just yet. It would not be too late to tell her after he had truly become one.
Ning Xiner lightly bit her lower lip and stared at Ning Xiaochuan with an odd look. "Brother, are you going to the brothel again?"
"Ah! I..." Ning Xiaochuan looked exceedingly awkward, not knowing how to explain himself.
Disappointment showed in Ning Xiner's eyes, but she still went back and brought out three hundred Silver Coin. She carefully packed them into a bundle and handed it to Ning Xiaochuan. "You are my brother. No matter what path you choose in the future, I will never look down on you."
"Thank you. In a few days, perhaps I'll be able to pay all this money back to you."
Ning Xiaochuan accepted the three hundred Silver Coin. The bundle felt heavy in his hands, and his heart immediately settled. He hurried out of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, intending first to buy the precious medicinal essences needed to refine the Heart Nourishing Cauldron.
Watching Ning Xiaochuan leave so eagerly, Ning Xiner stood in the courtyard with her lips pressed tightly together. Tears fell from her large black eyes once more. "Father, Mother, I don't know whether this is right, but I know that only this can make Brother a little happier. Everyone in the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion looks down on him. He can never gain any dignity there. There... perhaps he can spend money to buy back a little dignity!"
The Yulan Empire's currency was all forged from precious metals. Small Coin was made from Red Copper, while large coins were made from silver. Thus, Small Coin was also called "copper coin," while large coins were called "Silver Coin."
Azure Gold was even more precious. It rarely appeared on the market, and only the descendants of kings and marquises occasionally used it to display their status and position.
Ning Xiaochuan now carried three hundred Silver Coin out of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. He had brought neither maids nor servants with him. In truth, few of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion's maids and servants were willing to follow him anyway. Not only would they receive no reward money, they could also easily be bullied by others.
The Yulan Empire was a fifth-rank empire on the Sky Void Continent. It had been founded for more than eight hundred years, with boundless territory stretching ninety-four thousand li from north to south and eighty thousand li from east to west. Its population exceeded ten billion. It was truly vast in land and abundant in resources, flourishing at the height of prosperity. (Note)
Around the Yulan Empire were quite a few Fourth-Rank Dynasties, third-rank kingdoms, second-rank federations, and first-rank remote tribes.
These tribes, federations, kingdoms, and dynasties all paid court to the Yulan Empire as their imperial overlord, presenting countless tributes, currency, and beauties to the Yulan Empire every year.
Moreover, powerful martial artists from those nations all chose to come to the Yulan Empire to cultivate. Some entered the estates of kings and marquises, while others joined sects and martial academies.
That was because the Yulan Empire's martial standards far surpassed those Fourth-Rank Dynasties and third-rank kingdoms. Only in the Yulan Empire could one become a stronger martial artist! Walking through the Imperial City of the Yulan Empire, one could at any time see blue-haired beauties from the North Ice Kingdom, slaves from the Southern Wilderness Tribe, and noble young ladies racing through the center of White Stone Avenue in Azure Deer Carriages. There were also martial artists carrying battle swords, leading crimson lion-tiger mounts past them, their auras chilling people to the bone.
Martial artists walked with swords on their backs; beauties rode in fragrant carriages!
"What an enormous city. Looking out at it, I can't even see its end."
Ning Xiaochuan walked down the street, finding everything within the Imperial City novel and fresh. Yet after walking for a full half hour, he discovered that he had only traversed a single street.
"Eh! Those seem to be members of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion." Ning Xiaochuan stared toward a distant alley. Two servants of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion were dragging a rather beautiful woman out from inside. She cried, shouted, and struggled, but it was useless. Both servants were cultivators who had produced Martial Dao Profound Qi, and their strength was immense. They dragged her directly into a dark blue-green carriage.
Ning Han stood nearby with a cold, cruel smile on his face. After glancing around, he ordered, "Stuff this bitch into a Boar Skin Bag."
Many people around them saw the scene, but no one dared interfere. Who would dare provoke the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion? It was perfectly normal for those scions of kings and marquises to kill people in broad daylight, much less kidnap a woman.
Ning Han also boarded the Azure Deer Carriage, which then sped away at full speed.
Ning Xiaochuan possessed the mindset of a modern man and could not accept such a thing. Ning Han's actions filled him with rage. Kidnapping someone in broad daylight—this truly was lawless and unrestrained.
Others might not dare to interfere, but he would.
If he had merely disliked Ning Han before, feeling that the man was too arrogant and too incapable of respecting others, then now he felt that Ning Han was simply human scum.
Ning Xiaochuan hired an Azure Deer Carriage, snapped the whip, and gave chase. He pursued it all the way out of the Inner City and into a rather desolate district of the Outer City.
The Yulan Empire's Imperial City was divided into the Inner City, Outer City, and Bianji. The Inner City was naturally the most prosperous area, where princes, nobles, powerful martial artists, merchants, and wealthy people gathered. Though the Inner City occupied only one-thirtieth of the Imperial City's area, it held forty percent of its population. Every inch of land was worth an inch of gold.
The Outer City remained prosperous, but relatively speaking, it had both flourishing districts and desolate districts.
Ning Han's Azure Deer Carriage had stopped in one such desolate district. A great river rushed endlessly through this place, and willows had been planted along both banks amid dense grass and trees.
Ning Xiaochuan leaped down from the Azure Deer Carriage and chased after them. From afar, he saw the two servants tying stones onto a Boar Skin Bag.
The bag kept twitching, and muffled whimpering came from within.
"This chick is a Silver-Ranked Music Courtesan from the Jade Viewing Pavilion. It's really a pity to throw her into the river just like this." One servant let out a sinister laugh.
Ning Han stood by the great river, facing the wind, with a cold smile on his face. "Haven't you two played with enough women already? This woman must die. There can't be the slightest mishap. Follow this young master, and are you afraid there'll be no women for you?"
"Young Master Han is right. As long as Young Master Han says the word, whether she's a respectable girl or a wealthy family's daughter, wouldn't she be ours for the taking? Heh heh!"
The other servant said, "It's tied up. Shall we throw her into the river now?"
The woman inside the Boar Skin Bag whimpered and cried as she struggled without cease.
Ning Han gave a sinister grin. "Blame only yourself for knowing too much. Throw her into the river!"
Just as the two servants were about to lift the bag, a shout came from behind them. "What are you doing? In broad daylight, are you planning to murder someone and sink the body?"
Ning Xiaochuan stepped out, his fury already at its peak. These people treated human life as far too cheap. They tied a living person into a bag, then planned to sink her to the riverbed. How much terror would the person inside have to endure?
Was this something a human could do? The two servants were startled as well. They set the bag back down and turned to look, only to freeze in shock. Why was it this useless trash?
Ning Xiaochuan strode forward quickly, untied the sinew rope binding the Boar Skin Bag, and rescued a girl of fifteen or sixteen from within.
The girl had fair skin, bright eyes, and long, curled eyelashes. She was quite beautiful, but now her lovely face had lost all color, pale as paper, while her petite body trembled without stop.
"Young Master Ning, why is it you? Don't worry about me—run! They'll kill you!" Yu Yan had personally seen Ning Xiaochuan beaten to death in the brothel two days earlier. Though she did not know how he had come back to life, she still worried deeply for him, because she knew just how ruthless Ning Han was.
Ning Han had also been slightly startled at first, but upon seeing Ning Xiaochuan emerge, the surprise on his face immediately melted into a mocking smile. "Sickly Ning, I never expected you to appear here. Haha! There is a road to heaven, yet you refuse to walk it; the Gate to Hell has no door, yet you charge right in. Ning Hai, go butcher him for this young master. Today, eliminate this source of trouble once and for all."
The servant named Ning Hai hesitated somewhat. Ning Xiaochuan might be a sickly invalid, but he was still a direct descendant of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, a true scion of kings and marquises! "What are you afraid of? This young master and Fourth Master will take responsibility for it," Ning Han said.
Ning Hai was at the Profound Qi Fourth Level. Hearing Ning Han's words, his heart immediately settled. A vicious gleam appeared in his eyes, and he bared his teeth in a grin. "Sickly Ning, you actually want to play the hero and save the beauty? Too bad you're no hero. Today, you can only be a cowardly bear. You never could have dreamed that today would be your death day, could you? Haha!"
Ning Hai stomped violently against the ground, his body shooting forward as he hurled a punch at Ning Xiaochuan. A faint layer of red profound light emerged around his fist, tearing the air apart with crackling sounds.
Once one cultivated to the Profound Qi Fourth Level, one could release profound qi outward and injure people with qi. A single punch carried two thousand jin of force. Coupled with the destructive power of profound qi, one punch was enough to kill even an ironhide bull.
Although Ning Xiaochuan was now at the Profound Qi Third Level, the gap between him and a cultivator at the Profound Qi Fourth Level was far from insignificant. The reason he had dared to step forward and denounce Ning Han and the others was because he believed Ning Han would not dare kill him.
Only today did he truly understand what it meant for human life to be cheaper than grass. In this world, if one was not strong enough, one could only wait for death.
Ning Han seemed already to see Ning Xiaochuan's head being smashed apart, and a cruel smile spread across his face.
Yu Yan shut her eyes tightly, unable to bear watching such a brutal scene.
Ning Xiaochuan watched the massive fist draw ever closer. He took a slight step back, planted his feet, rapidly circulated the blood within his body, and struck out with his palm, blocking Ning Hai's fist.
Clang!
The little sword inside Ning Xiaochuan's heart suddenly let out a joyful cry. A blood-red current surged from his heart, passed through his veins, and flowed into the center of Ning Xiaochuan's palm.
At that moment, Ning Hai's fist struck Ning Xiaochuan's palm print with a bang, yet the punch had failed to knock Sickly Ning down? Terror soon seized him as he discovered that the blood within his body was flowing more than ten times faster. It was completely beyond his control, surging toward his fist, then flowing into Ning Xiaochuan's palm and being absorbed into Ning Xiaochuan's body.
Note: The Yulan Empire stretched ninety-four thousand li from north to south and eighty thousand li from east to west. Converted into kilometers, that was forty-seven thousand kilometers and forty thousand kilometers, for an area of—1.88 billion square kilometers. Asia's area was approximately 44 million square kilometers. In other words, the Yulan Empire's territory was more than forty times the size of Asia. Thus, its population of ten billion, living within an empire the size of more than forty Asias, was not crowded at all; rather, the land was vast and the population sparse!
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