Old Wu gave him a look reserved for idiots. "You really do have a wild imagination. What kind of divine beings are psychic masters? How many are there in all of Great Xia? People like them are born to stand at the top of the food chain. Status, fame, money-they can have whatever they want. Would a big shot like that really have nothing better to do than come to this slum and use his precious Psychic Power to steal two hundred grams of gold?"
"Heh, heh, heh..." Xiao Qian laughed sheepishly. "Right. Even if a big shot like that had eaten so much he had nothing better to do, he still wouldn't do something like this."
"All right, stop letting your imagination run wild. Check everything carefully again and see if we missed anything."
"Achoo! Achoo!" Jiang Fan had just finished dealing with the gold and was on his way home when he sneezed twice in a row.
He sniffed and thought, Chen Wenhua probably discovered that his gold had sprouted wings and flown away, so now he's cursing me.
"Woof, woof, woof!" Barking came from his family's little courtyard, distinctly unfriendly.
Jiang Fan used his Psychic Power and saw Chen Wenhua in the courtyard, bristling with aggression.
Chen Wenhua looked thoroughly sour. Those constables were completely useless. They had investigated for ages and hadn't found a single clue!
His two hundred grams of gold were just gone. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
So he had come running to the Tang family's home early that morning to take his anger out on them.
"Tang Lao'er! Tang Lao'er! Get out here! Hurry up and get your ass out here! Scar and his boys are waiting nearby. If you don't hand over the rent today, I'll smash this place up!"
Tang Fugui came out of the room, sighing heavily, while Wang Shuqin packed their things and wiped away her tears.
Yesterday, the couple had each gone out to borrow money. Who would have thought they wouldn't borrow a single cent and would even get a harsh scolding from their families?
They had said things like how the two deserved it and asked what they had been doing with their lives all these years.
"Mom, stop packing. I've already sorted out the money," Jiang Fan said as he walked over.
Wang Shuqin's eyes widened, and she stammered, "Y-you... what did you say?"
Jiang Fan smiled at Wang Shuqin to put her at ease, then walked over to Chen Wenhua with an expressionless face and held out a bulging envelope.
"There's ten thousand in Great Xia Currency here. After paying this month's two thousand, there's enough for another four months. Take the money and get lost. Don't come bothering my parents or the others during that time."
Chen Wenhua looked at the bulging envelope in front of him, then eyed Jiang Fan sideways. "Kid, you're not trying to fool me with wastepaper, are you? Ten thousand in Great Xia Currency? Are you sure you have that much?"
"Why not take a look?" Jiang Fan said evenly.
Chen Wenhua snatched it from him and pulled out the money, his eyes widening in obvious disbelief.
He moistened his fingers with saliva and counted the bills one by one. No more, no less-exactly one hundred.
"Now that you've finished counting, shouldn't you get lost?" Jiang Fan impatiently ordered him out.
"You-" Chen Wenhua felt stifled, but they had paid the money, and several months at once at that. He couldn't find any fault to pick.
"Woof, woof, woof!" The stray dog had been named Big Black by Chen Fan. Big Black bared his fangs and growled fiercely at Chen Wenhua, looking ready to pounce and bite him at any moment.
Chen Wenhua shuddered in fright and hurriedly backed toward the gate. Even then, he didn't forget to throw out a threat.
"I don't know how you got this money, but in another four months, rent will be due again. Let's see how smug you are then!"
Jiang Fan looked at Big Black. "Go bite him."
Big Black obeyed, lunging at him with a string of barks.
Chen Wenhua fled in a panic, scared shitless.
"Yes! Good job, Big Black! Bite him! Bite him!" Tang Guo clapped gleefully.
"All right, Guoguo. Go back inside," Tang Fugui said, looking at Tang Guo.
"Oh, okay." Tang Guo clearly hadn't had her fill yet. She stuck her tongue out in the direction Chen Wenhua had fled before turning and heading inside.
After watching Tang Guo go inside, Tang Fugui turned to Jiang Fan.
"Xiao Fan, tell me honestly. This money-where did you get it?"
Jiang Fan had long expected Tang Fugui to ask, so he had already prepared.
"Dad, I promise you, I earned this money through my own abilities."
Jiang Fan maintained that he hadn't told a single lie. He really had earned this money through his own abilities.
Tang Fugui, who considered himself observant, watched Jiang Fan. Only after seeing no trace of a lie on his face did he relax.
After a moment, Tang Fugui remembered another very important matter.
"Xiao Fan, the Jiang family hasn't given you much time. Are you really not planning to go back?"
Jiang Fan's gaze was resolute, his voice firm. "I'm not."
"But your college entrance exams are just over three months away. Although you're physically weak, your academic grades are very good. You might even get into the same university as your sister. Your dad... I'm not capable. Never mind tuition-you're in poor health, and we don't even have anything good at home to build up your strength. I..."
Tang Fugui wasn't saying this because he considered Jiang Fan a burden, and Jiang Fan certainly wouldn't think that either.
The Tang family's circumstances were simply what they were. Otherwise, the rent wouldn't have reduced them to this state.
"Dad, you don't need to worry about money. Back when I was with the Jiang family, I worked part-time outside and earned quite a bit of spending money. It's enough for us to live on for now. Once the martial arts entrance exam is over in three months, we'll buy a home of our own." Jiang Fan wasn't merely saying this for Tang Fugui to hear. It was also his resolve.
He was definitely going to take the martial arts entrance exam! Although his vitality value was pitifully low right now, with the system in hand, why worry about not being able to handle a mere martial arts entrance exam? Even if he didn't believe in himself, he had to believe in the system's eye for choosing its master.
Yet hearing these words left Tang Fugui looking utterly astonished.
"X-Xiao Fan, wh-what did you say? You're taking the martial arts entrance exam?!"
He was so shocked that he shouted loudly enough for Wang Shuqin and Tang Guo to hear him inside the house. Both their faces filled with disbelief.
"You don't have a fever, do you? Has it addled your brain?" Tang Fugui reached for Jiang Fan's forehead.
"Dad." Jiang Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I don't have a fever. My head is perfectly clear. I really am taking the martial arts entrance exam. And I'm not aiming for an ordinary martial arts university, but one of the five elite martial arts schools. Once I get into an elite martial arts school, the school and even the city will definitely award me plenty of prize money. Then we'll use it to buy an apartment in the city. There'll definitely be more than enough."
The more firmly Jiang Fan spoke, the more Tang Fugui wanted to take him to see a psychiatrist.
Honestly, if it weren't for the lack of money, he would have taken Jiang Fan to a doctor right then.
The boy must have been traumatized by being kicked out of the Jiang family.
No, he had to find a way to send Jiang Fan back to the Jiang family.
"All right, all right. I believe you. You don't have a fever, and your head is perfectly clear. Whatever you say, I'll believe you."