Xiao Yan Borrows Money (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

Inside the dimly lit cave, the bare-bodied youth sat cross-legged in a bathtub, his eyes closed and his hands forming seals. Even his breathing seemed perfectly natural.

The rootless water in the tub had turned blood-red and was boiling fiercely, its sounds deeply unsettling enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Xiao Meng's chest rose and fell slightly, his breaths following a steady rhythm. Within his body, immense medicinal power surged everywhere like an ox plowing a field, ravaging his flesh beyond recognition. Yet Xiao Meng felt no discomfort.

The boiling rootless water in the tub melted away his flesh and vital essence, while the immense medicinal power within him was like a wisp of primordial energy that nurtured all things, restoring vitality to his body.

The scorching heat tempered every cell in his body until his life force nearly faded away. Once it reached its limit, the medicinal power would cleanse him and bring his vitality back to life, like the withering and flourishing of trees, the life and death of all things, repeating in an endless cycle.

And so the cycle continued without pause.

Yet with every cycle, his flesh and vital essence grew a little stronger. His body became as pure as glazed crystal, gleaming with a crystalline radiance that carried a trace of eternity and indestructibility.

Over the past few days, Xiao Meng had constantly been tempering his physique, his origin power, and the vital essence and blood within him. In his chaotic Heavenly Palace, vital essence flowed endlessly, hazy yet vast and majestic, carrying an ancient primordial aura.

At the center of the Heavenly Palace, above the Chaos Green Lotus, origin power stretched like a boundless ocean. Deep vortices churned beneath its surface, while storms formed from origin power raised towering waves that crashed into the sky.

At that moment, strange phenomena continuously arose within his body, like signs before the end of the world. Violent winds swept through, lightning flashed, heavenly fire descended, and the powers of yin and yang submerged everything...

Xiao Meng was inwardly shocked and found it difficult to remain calm.

Next, he circulated the incantation recorded in the Eternal Undying Art, intending to condense an origin core and break through his current realm. Yet every attempt ended in failure. He felt that something was still missing.

He made another attempt, but it still ended in failure. Thus, he gave up on continuing to force a breakthrough and ended several days of arduous cultivation.

"Body cultivation really isn't something that can advance quickly. Every breakthrough is fraught with difficulties..." Xiao Meng felt somewhat regretful. He had tried more than ten times, yet still could not condense an origin core.

After tidying himself up, he rose and left the cave, returning to his side hall. He had been gone for four or five days, so he ought to head back and let everyone know he was fine.

"Hm? What's Fourth Brother doing sitting in front of my door?" Just as Xiao Meng was about to turn toward his side hall, he spotted Xiao Yan sitting on the stone steps before the building, propping up his head with one hand.

He seemed to be waiting for him.

Don't tell me he's here to borrow money? Xiao Meng instinctively recalled the plot. By now, Yao Lao had awakened, and Xiao Yan's cultivation would get on track. But if he wanted to increase his cultivation speed, he would still need Yao Lao to refine Foundation Establishment Elixir or something similar for him.

But refining medicinal liquid required herbs, and herbs cost money. Not a small amount, either. So that bastard had thought of... him?

Xiao Meng immediately felt as though he had been struck by five bolts of lightning. His whole body felt terrible.

"Motherfucker... this is infuriating."

Xiao Meng turned around and left. With such a lord waiting at his door, why the hell would he go back? He might as well return to the back mountain. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Third Brother... where are you going now?"

However, before he had taken more than a few steps, Xiao Yan's delighted voice came from behind him.

Xiao Meng nearly stumbled and fell to the ground, his entire body trembling.

I left so carefully. How did Fourth Brother still notice me? Xiao Meng's expression darkened as he thought of Yao Chen.

"Fourth Brother, did you need something from me?" Xiao Meng turned around, looking at the approaching Xiao Yan as he forcibly squeezed out a smile.

"Third Brother, where have you been these past few days?" Xiao Yan asked.

Xiao Meng coughed twice and spouted nonsense with a straight face. "I played a game of chess with a Dou Saint, fought a Dou Emperor, and took a trip around the heavens while I was at it."

Xiao Yan: "????"

"Kid, your Third Brother is treating you like an idiot. He obviously doesn't want to lend you money," Yao Lao's teasing voice sounded in Xiao Yan's mind.

"How does he know I want to borrow money from him?" Xiao Yan replied without thinking.

Yao Lao: "..."

"Fourth Brother, there are still more than a dozen Dou Emperors outside waiting to discuss the Dao with me. I'm a little pressed for time, so I'm off! Bye!" As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Meng turned and left. Damn it, Xiao Yan said he was borrowing money, but it would definitely be a loan never repaid. After all, this had happened many times before.

Back when the clan distributed monthly allowances to its disciples, Xiao Meng was often absent, so Xiao Yan had almost always collected his share for him. Yet after all these years, Xiao Meng had barely seen a single coin. Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er had pocketed it all.

Xiao Yan finally could not hold back any longer and hurriedly called out, "Third Brother, don't go yet, don't go! I need to ask you something, just a small favor!"

Without another word, Xiao Meng quickened his pace, eager to get farther away from Xiao Yan. He did not want to see this guy.

But the next second, he stopped, because Xiao Yan shamelessly grabbed his clothes and tugged hard, refusing to let him leave.

Xiao Meng turned his head, his face dark.

"Third Brother, make those Dou Emperors outside wait. Help me with a little favor first," Xiao Yan said with an awkward smile.

Xiao Meng said expressionlessly, "If I don't help, are you refusing to let me leave?"

Xiao Yan smiled sheepishly. "How could that be? I'm not that kind of person."

"If you have something to say, say it. If you need to fart, fart. My time is precious," Xiao Meng said with an eye roll.

Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together and smiled. "Third Brother, I want to borrow some money from you."

Xiao Meng looked utterly blank. "What did you say? Speak louder, I didn't hear you."

"Eh! Fourth Brother, why can't I suddenly hear what you're saying? Is something wrong with my ears? No, I need to find a physician right away." As Xiao Meng spoke, he turned to leave, but Xiao Yan still had a death grip on his clothes.

His expression clearly said that if Xiao Meng did not lend him money, he could forget about leaving today.

"I don't have any money on me. Go borrow from someone else," Xiao Meng shouted irritably.

Xiao Yan curled his lips. "That day, you snatched Ge Ye's storage ring. Given his status, there must be at least a hundred thousand gold coins inside. Hurry up and lend me a few tens of thousands."

"Lend you tens of thousands? Fourth Brother, after not seeing you for a few days, your nerve has sure grown."

Xiao Meng was so angry he laughed, then suddenly roared, "Why don't you borrow a few tens of millions instead? Why don't you just go die, you bastard? All these years, haven't you and Xiao Xun'er spent enough of my money? Have you ever returned those monthly allowances to me?"

Xiao Yan hesitated for a long while before saying, "I didn't want to collect them. The elder handing out the money forced them on me..."

Xiao Meng's teeth immediately ached. He said bitterly, "Then why didn't you refuse to the end?"

When Xiao Yan heard Xiao Meng actually blaming him for not refusing to the end, he instantly felt wronged. "Every time, I refused sternly. I even ran away, but the elder still caught me and forcibly stuffed the money into my hands."

"Even if he stuffed it into your hands, didn't you know to return it to me? Just because he gave it to you means it was yours? Were you happy spending my money?" Xiao Meng said unhappily.

Xiao Yan was immediately rendered speechless.

Then his eyes lit up. Looking at Xiao Meng with a strange expression, he said, "Third Brother, do you know what the elder in charge of distributing the monthly allowances said about you?"

"What did he say?" Xiao Meng blurted out, completely failing to realize that Xiao Yan was changing the subject.

"He said... when it comes to shamelessness and thick skin, you, Xiao Meng, are number one under heaven," Xiao Yan said weakly. There had been several months when Xiao Meng had not collected his allowance. Later, not only did he demand that the elder return all his past allowances, he also came up with all sorts of excuses to demand that the elder pay half the interest.

Naturally, the elder in charge of distributing the monthly allowances did not give a damn about him, a useless good-for-nothing.

So Xiao Meng went to visit Elder Zhang's home every day. Calling it a visit would be putting it nicely. He was openly bullying the elder's grandson, either snatching his food or beating him black and blue.

Faced with Xiao Meng, who was only five or six years old, the elder was utterly exhausted in both body and mind, fearing him like a wolf. He could not beat him, since Xiao Meng was not only young but also the clan chief's son. And scolding someone without any shame was fucking useless.

From then on, whenever Xiao Meng failed to collect his monthly allowance, that elder would forcibly stuff the money into Xiao Yan's hands and make him bring it back to Xiao Meng.

"Damn it, that old bastard actually dared slander me like this. Let go of me..." Xiao Meng was furious, feeling as though he had been screwed over by a dog.

"What are you going to do?" Xiao Yan's heart jumped. Only then did he remember that Xiao Meng was quite capable, but not particularly broad-minded.

"I'm going to beat that old bastard up. Let go of me already," Xiao Meng said viciously.

Xiao Yan darkened his face. "Then lend me the money first."

"Fourth Brother, you only dare to bully me because I'm so good-tempered."

Xiao Meng took a deep breath and said, "How much are you planning to borrow?"

Xiao Yan shrank his neck and muttered, "Fifty thousand!"

"Take it!"

Xiao Meng suddenly and decisively took out a purple card, smiling as he handed it to Xiao Yan. "There are sixty thousand gold coins on this card. Take it and use it."

Xiao Meng's sudden change made Xiao Yan uncomfortable. For a long while, he did not dare reach out to take the card.

"If you don't want it, I'm leaving!" Xiao Meng said pleasantly.

Xiao Yan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

But in the end, he still took the purple card from Xiao Meng's hand with trembling fingers.

"Thank you, Third Brother." Unable to read Xiao Meng's thoughts, Xiao Yan forced a small smile.

Xiao Meng patted him on the shoulder. "No need to thank me. We're brothers!"

"Oh, right. As the saying goes, even brothers should settle accounts clearly. I'm lending you sixty thousand today, so remember to pay me back," Xiao Meng said with a smile.

"Of course," Xiao Yan said with a shudder and an awkward smile.

"Mm! That's more like it!"

Xiao Meng coughed a few times and said, "As for interest, five times will do. I won't ask for any more than that."

"Oh, and I'll come find you in ten days."

With that, Xiao Meng strode away, leaving Xiao Yan staring dumbfounded.

"Remember, before you can beat me, you'd better not think about defaulting on the debt. Otherwise, I'll show you just how fierce your brother really is." Xiao Meng suddenly stopped, turned around, and smiled faintly.

Xiao Yan: "@%@%￥..."

Creak!

Bang!

Wasn't he going to discuss the Dao with Dou Emperors? Why did he go back into the house instead? This thought suddenly surfaced in Xiao Yan's mind.

"Tsk tsk, kid, you're doomed," Yao Lao suddenly remarked.

Those words were like another handful of salt rubbed into Xiao Yan's wound.