Paladins Need to Make Money Too

After leaving Angel Baby Childcare Center, Zuo Yi wandered aimlessly along the sidewalk for a while.

In the end, he sat down on a bench outside a roadside park.

He needed to seriously consider how he would live from now on.

Having returned to his own world against all odds, Zuo Yi had originally planned to rest properly for a few years before deciding what to do next.

In Sadea World, he had constantly traveled, ventured into danger, fought and killed across different planes, struggling with all his strength just to survive. Although his power had steadily grown, he had never stopped moving forward.

Zuo Yi was already exhausted.

It was not physical exhaustion, but a weariness that had seeped into his soul.

To him now, the low-dimensional Blue Star World was not merely his familiar homeland, but also a place of safety.

A paradise for leisure, a harbor for the soul!

Here, he could live without worries and slowly ease the fatigue in his heart.

But Zuo Yi had never imagined that he had a daughter. His plans for the future would have to change.

The first problem was money.

It sounded absurd. A dignified Saint-rank knight actually had to worry about money. It was simply unbelievable.

In Sadea World, the spoils from a single planar campaign were enough to support a family in wealth for three generations. The Spatial Ring on the ring finger of his right hand alone was valuable enough to buy an entire kingdom!

He had obtained that Spatial Ring as loot after slaying an undead archmage. Though it only had a storage capacity of several dozen cubic meters, it was still an incomparably precious legendary Law Creation in the high-dimensional Sadea World.

Law Creations were divided into five grades: ordinary, fine, exceptional, legendary, and mythical. Legendary-grade items were exceedingly rare.

Besides the Spatial Ring itself, it also held quite a few high-grade Law Creations, including equipment, accessories, potions, gold coins, materials, and more. They were all the wealth Zuo Yi had accumulated in Sadea World.

However, unless he had no other choice, he would never take those rare treasures out to sell. Like the Law gold coin he had sold yesterday, exchanging it for a few thousand yuan had undoubtedly been a massive loss.

As for using the Spatial Ring's abilities for reselling goods or smuggling, Zuo Yi would not even consider it.

Because he was an Eight Virtues Knight of the lawful good alignment, a guardian of order and a defender of light and justice!

If Zuo Yi, as a paladin, did things that disrupted order and violated his own faith, his knight's heart would collapse, and he would lose all his power before falling forever into the abyss.

Thus, alignment and faith determined Zuo Yi's daily conduct. They were both restrictions and restraints upon him, as well as the source and driving force that allowed him to continually advance to higher orders of life!

In truth, after returning to reality, Zuo Yi was not entirely without assets. In fact, the wealth he possessed far surpassed that of ordinary people.

But all of it was real estate.

Zuo Yi had inherited all the property his mother left behind, mainly the villa in Riverside Town and several hundred mu of surrounding woodland and farmland. About two hundred mu of that farmland had been leased out, bringing in more than a hundred thousand yuan in rent each year. It had once been his most important source of income.

After graduating from college, Zuo Yi had no steady job and often went traveling. He had relied on that income.

The problem was that more than four years ago, he had collected six years' worth of rent in one lump sum. He had taken several hundred thousand yuan and squandered it in a life of indulgence, even traveling to South America to have fun. By the time he had been transported away, he had nearly spent it all, and only a few thousand yuan remained in his bank account.

There was still more than a year until the lease expired!

The land in Riverside Town was quite valuable, since Hang City's urban area was expanding toward the south bank of the Qiantang River. Zuo Yi's land was freehold, so selling just a few mu would give him enough money to spend for a long time.

However, Zuo Yi had promised his mother that he would protect this ancestral property, so selling land was likewise out of the question.

Keeping promises was also part of his faith.

Zuo Yi could get by no matter how he lived on his own, but having a daughter now made things entirely different.

With an added responsibility, he needed a legal and stable income to support his family.

Then he would find a job!

Zuo Yi quickly made a decision that was not particularly difficult.

It was rather amusing, really. Three years ago, when he had been caught in a thunderstorm on a South American plateau and faced a life-or-death ordeal, he had thought that if he survived, he would definitely find a job after returning home and live a steady life. He would never run around recklessly again.

Did this count as keeping that promise?

Unfortunately, Zuo Yi felt no response from his chest—the Promise-Keeping Brand remained completely still.

The power of faith was not so easily fooled.

But Zuo Yi had long since grown used to it. He shrugged, stood up, and prepared to leave.

His phone rang.

Zuo Yi took out his phone. When he saw the caller ID on the screen, he immediately answered. "Feng?"

"I'll fucking curse you to hell!"

A voice Zuo Yi had once found incomparably familiar came through the receiver. "You're actually still alive? I thought you'd disappeared off the face of the earth! Where the hell have you been these past few years? Damn it!"

Although he had been cursed bloody, Zuo Yi was still happy. "It's a long story. Where are you now?"

The person calling Zuo Yi was his best friend, Gao Feng. The two had been college classmates and shared the same dorm room for four years. They had skipped class together, played games together, fought together, and chased girls together. Their friendship was rock-solid.

Zuo Yi had only returned yesterday. The first person he had tried to contact after borrowing someone else's phone was Gao Feng, but the call had not gone through. After returning home and replacing his SIM card, he had called again, only to find Gao Feng's phone still switched off.

"I'm at home."

Gao Feng shouted, "I was running around outside yesterday, and my phone died. Then I got drunk with a client last night. I only saw your message when I turned it on just now. I thought I'd seen a ghost! Since when did the mobile company start offering service to the underworld?"

"Keep mocking me..."

Zuo Yi laughed. "Are you free? Let's meet and talk."

"Even if I wasn't, I'd make time!"

Gao Feng said, "What kind of relationship do we have? You disappeared for three years. You'd better give me an explanation!"

"Get lost. I'm not into guys!"

Gao Feng laughed loudly. "You don't get a choice! Meet at our old place. I'll be there within an hour at most. Get there early and save us a table. Don't you dare stand me up!"

After ending the call with Gao Feng, Zuo Yi could not help feeling much better.

He saw that it was still early and decided to walk there.

The old place Gao Feng mentioned was a restaurant near the university district. Its affordable prices and good food had made it popular with students, and even after graduating, the two of them often went there for a meal.

The restaurant was called Old Wu Tavern. It specialized in spicy Sichuan cuisine, and its homemade rice wine was superb. It was not yet mealtime when Zuo Yi arrived, but quite a few customers were already seated inside.

After finding a table and sitting down, Zuo Yi had barely picked up the menu when Gao Feng called again.

He asked whether Zuo Yi had arrived.

Zuo Yi put down his phone. Only two minutes later, Gao Feng charged into the tavern.

"You bastard!"

It was not appropriate to get too intimate in public. Seeing Zuo Yi, the excited Gao Feng gave him a heavy punch on the shoulder and complained, "How'd you get taller after not seeing each other for years? That's seriously unscientific!"

Gao Feng lived up to his name: he was thin and tall. He had originally been about the same height as Zuo Yi, but now Zuo Yi was more than half a head taller than him.

Zuo Yi smiled. "That's what you call being naturally gifted. You, on the other hand, got thinner again. Don't tell me Zhao Lili still squeezes you dry every day?"

Zhao Lili was Gao Feng's girlfriend. The two were a pair of happy enemies, constantly breaking up and getting back together.

Gao Feng's eyes dimmed. "Zhao Lili and I broke up."

"You broke up again?"

Zuo Yi was speechless. "How many times has it been now? Aren't you sick of it?"

"This time, it's for real."

As he spoke, Gao Feng grabbed a bottle of beer, opened it, poured Zuo Yi a glass first, then filled his own.

He said, "We broke up nearly two years ago. I have a new girlfriend now, and we're planning to get married next year."

Zuo Yi could tell that Gao Feng was not happy, but he did not know how to comfort him. He could only raise his glass. "Getting married is good. Congratulations."

Zuo Yi was not lying; he genuinely meant it. Gao Feng had a rather fiery temper and was prone to clashing with the equally hot-tempered Zhao Lili. It was normal that they had not made it to the end, and it might not have been a bad thing.

Though they had not met for years, Gao Feng's tongue was still as sharp as ever, but he seemed far more steady and mature. Perhaps his new girlfriend deserved some credit for that.

"Enough about me."

Gao Feng shook his head, clinked glasses with Zuo Yi, then drained his beer in one gulp. "What the hell happened to you? There was no news from you for three years. Everyone thought you died in South America!"

Zuo Yi sighed. "It's a long story. Very complicated."

Gao Feng glared at him. "Then give me the short version."

"The short version..."

Zuo Yi thought for three seconds, then said, "I was traveling in South America, got caught in a thunderstorm, traveled to another world, and then traveled back."

Votes, please.