Using Greed

After saying this, Qin Fang could no longer hold on; his vision went black, and he fell into a coma.

The burly man with a face full of flab took two quick steps forward and snatched the Golden Chain from Qin Fang's hand.

He wiped it off carefully, then, not caring that the item had been gripped by Qin Fang's filth-covered hands, he bit directly into it.

Everyone crowded around, looking at Brother Dragon with anticipation.

Brother Dragon bit through the chain, took a close look, and a flash of wild joy appeared in the depths of his eyes.

"It's real!"

"Really?!"

The others immediately looked at Qin Fang, their eyes gleaming, and they swarmed him, patting him down all over.

One of them noticed the crutch, picked it up, and realized that a small hole had been hollowed out in the middle, wrapped in rags to create a hidden space.

Clearly, this Golden Chain had been hidden inside.

But at this moment, it was completely empty.

"Damn, it's so filthy... there's nothing else."

They searched him thoroughly, pulling out Qin Fang's identification tag and the dagger at his waist.

But they didn't find anything else of value.

The filthy Qin Fang made them curse and swear one after another.

One man whispered to Brother Dragon, "Brother Dragon, this guy just said there's more outside the city..."

He licked his lips, the greed in his eyes plain to see.

This was gold!

It was worth even more than silver!

Great Yu Currency was based on the Great Yu Currency as its base unit.

One currency unit was one wen, and one thousand units made one string, roughly equivalent to one tael of silver.

Ten taels of silver equaled one tael of gold.

But those were the official exchange rates.

In reality, during civilian transactions... it usually took twelve strings to exchange for one tael of silver.

And it took nearly twelve taels of silver to exchange for one tael of gold.

This depended on whether the currency was minted by the government or by civilians.

Privately minted silver generally had a lower silver content than official silver, so the ratios were not the same.

And the Golden Chain this refugee had produced, while not thick... still weighed a full tael or so!

Converted, that was over twelve taels of silver!

...For an ordinary peasant family, their total annual income was likely only that much!

The few men stared at the Golden Chain with burning eyes.

They all subconsciously swallowed their saliva.

"I didn't expect a refugee to be this rich..."

"Don't underestimate them. Who knows what their status was before they became refugees? Maybe he was some wealthy young master..."

They muttered to each other.

Brother Dragon looked down at Qin Fang, who had fallen into a coma, and made a prompt decision.

"Go find a cart!"

"Save him?" The men looked at Brother Dragon, their eyes shining.

"Save him, my ass!"

Brother Dragon sneered, "However, we need to wake him up first and find out from him where he hid the money!"

Clearly, this Brother Dragon had no intention of saving Qin Fang at all.

But he had to wake Qin Fang up first.

Greed flickered in his eyes as he suppressed his anticipation: "Damn, this Dayun, it's finally our turn... If this refugee can casually pull out a Golden Chain, he must have left more behind!"

"What about the patrol duty..." someone asked in a low voice.

"Patrol, my ass? Just pretend we're transporting a corpse later. Don't worry, nothing will happen; there are people from other families guarding this place anyway."

Brother Dragon was very decisive.

The group immediately nodded in agreement...

This was a job with gold involved!

Where else could they encounter such a thing?

Soon, someone brought over a small cart used for transporting corpses. Several men scrambled to lift Qin Fang onto the cart, and after ensuring no one nearby was paying attention, they left directly...

"Splash!"

In his daze, it felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head.

Qin Fang let out a muffled groan and opened his eyes, though his vision remained blurry and indistinct.

His head was still throbbing, and everything he saw was hazy and out of focus.

A layered voice rang out beside his ear: "Brother Dragon, he's awake, he's awake!"

Soon, he heard a flurry of footsteps, and a voice that sounded somewhat familiar spoke with a hint of urgency near his ear: "Kid, wake up! Where did you hide the rest of your money?"

After being asked several times, Qin Fang's consciousness remained chaotic and muddled; the man even shook him forcefully before his mind cleared just a fraction.

He struggled to open his eyes and immediately saw that face covered in rolls of fat.

As his senses began to return, he gradually realized his current situation.

A single glance at his surroundings sent a chill through his heart; he knew... these people had no intention of saving him.

They only wanted to extract the location of his hidden money from his lips.

But fortunately...

He had never gambled on their kindness.

What he was gambling on...

Was their greed!

Therefore, he kept his gaze unfocused and vacant, offering no reply.

Brother Dragon, his face full of fat, showed a look of anxiety: "Hey, don't you die on me yet! Speak, say something! Where did you hide your money?!"

He even slapped Qin Fang across the face a few times, trying to force him to wake up.

Qin Fang's cheeks immediately swelled red; he had no strength in his body, but he noted this grudge, all while maintaining his vacant expression.

Brother Dragon asked several more times, but received no answer.

Frustrated, he shoved Qin Fang aside and sat there, fuming.

Voices from the others drifted over.

"Looks like it's pretty serious... should we save him first?"

"Save him, my ass. With injuries like his, who knows how much money it would take to heal him? Wouldn't it be better to spend that money on a few rounds of drinks for us brothers? Why waste it on a refugee like this?" someone retorted.

Qin Fang's gaze was unfocused, but he struggled to catch a glimpse of the speaker's face with his peripheral vision...

He managed to make it out.

A shifty-eyed man in his thirties with a mole near his mouth.

After speaking, the man curled his lip: "Besides... honestly, I doubt he even has any money left..."

Hearing this, the others subconsciously looked at him, their eyes filled with contemplation and suspicion.

Qin Fang's weak voice drifted out: "Young master... I have... piles of... gold leaves..."

Everyone immediately turned to look at Qin Fang.

But they only saw his gaze remain unfocused and vacant, his words sounding as if they were uttered unconsciously.

Gold leaves...

Everyone swallowed hard.

"Where are the gold leaves?!"

Brother Dragon hurriedly pressed him, clearly wanting to seize the chance to extract a clue.

But immediately after, Qin Fang fell silent again, muttering nonsense, and soon his head drooped once more as he closed his eyes, appearing to have slipped back into a coma.

In reality, however, he was forcing himself to stay alert, listening to the movements around him.

After a long while, Qin Fang heard the people around him whispering: "He calls himself a young master... could he really be some wealthy heir?"

"Would a wealthy heir be a refugee?"

"Don't you know how long this drought has lasted? Plus the refugee riots... it's not necessarily impossible."

"So, what's the verdict? Are we saving him or not?"

They began to discuss in hushed tones.

Qin Fang's heart jumped into his throat.

In his current state, if no one treated him, he would surely die!

After a long time, Qin Fang heard a voice gritting its teeth.

"Kid, if you dare to play me for a fool, I'll make sure you learn what it means to wish for death but be unable to die!... Let's go, to Spring Return Hall!"

Hearing this, Qin Fang felt his spirit relax; he knew these people truly intended to save him.

Once his mind eased, his consciousness slipped back into the darkness of a coma...