5: Chapter 5: If you die, I'll give you a solid gold coffin!
Lin Fan took a deep breath and glanced again at the line of text on the back of his hand.
[Green-Scaled Snake. Current Status: Feigned Death. Detoxification Method: Moonlight Grass x1, combined with Armor Beast Master Origin spiritual power catalysis.]
Moonlight Grass.
He pulled out his phone and searched for it.
Armor Beast Supplies Shop, Moonlight Grass, 6,800 per stalk.
Lin Fan fell silent.
6,800.
Well, he currently had thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents left on him.
"Fine."
He looked at the snake in the cage, "Wait here, I'll go find a way."
In the evening, Lin Fan returned home, hid the cage under the bed, and then went out to find Old Mo.
Old Mo was in a small repair shop in the east of the city repairing Armor Beasts; it was a palm-sized storefront crammed with various parts and tools.
When Lin Fan arrived, he was squatting on the ground, fiddling with something unknown.
"Old Mo."
Old Mo didn't even look up: "What is it?"
"Lend me some money."
"Don't have any."
Lin Fan choked for a second.
"No, I haven't even said how much I'm borrowing yet."
"Doesn't matter how much, I don't have it."
Old Mo finally raised his head and glanced at him.
"Last month you borrowed two hundred for shoes, did you pay it back? The month before last you borrowed one hundred and fifty for game top-ups, did you pay it back? Last year you borrowed three hundred saying you were treating a female classmate to milk tea, and the result? Where's the milk tea? Where's the female classmate?"
Lin Fan: "..."
"Well, that just didn't work out."
He gave a dry laugh, "This time is different, this time it's serious business."
"When is it ever NOT serious business?"
Old Mo continued to lower his head and fiddle with the pile of parts.
"Last time you said you were buying reference materials, but you bought a box of spicy strips instead. The time before that you said you were paying class fees, but you bought a game skin. The time before that..."
"Enough, enough!"
Lin Fan interrupted him, "How is your memory so good?"
"If my memory wasn't good, how would I remember how much money you owe me?"
Old Mo didn't even look up.
"A total of one thousand six hundred and fifty. Clear this debt first before we talk."
Lin Fan squatted down, leaning in close to Old Mo, a fawning smile plastered on his face.
"Old Mo, talking about money between us hurts our feelings."
"Talking about feelings hurts my money."
"..."
Lin Fan took a deep breath and changed his strategy.
"Uncle Mo, Great Uncle Mo, Ancestor Mo... just lend me a bit, this time it's really serious business, incredibly serious."
Old Mo finally stopped what he was doing and looked at him sideways.
"What serious business? Tell me, I'm listening."
Lin Fan looked left and right, then lowered his voice.
"I got my hands on an Armor Spirit."
Old Mo's hand jerked, the screwdriver nearly stabbing into his own palm.
"What?"
"An Armor Spirit."
Lin Fan repeated, "A live one, it's just got some problems and needs money for medicine."
Old Mo stared at him for three seconds, then reached out to feel his forehead.
"No fever," he muttered. "Why are you talking nonsense?"
Lin Fan brushed his hand away: "It's true! It's hidden under the bed at home!"
Old Mo fell silent.
He sized Lin Fan up, his gaze complex, as if looking at an idiot with a hole in his brain.
"Do you know how much one Armor Spirit costs?"
"I know, hundreds of thousands, even millions."
"Then how did you get it?"
"Picked it up as a bargain," Lin Fan said righteously. "Bought it for two thousand five hundred."
The screwdriver in Old Mo's hand dropped to the floor.
"How much?"
"Two thousand five hundred."
Lin Fan made a gesture, "The price for a dead one, but it's not fully dead yet, it can still be saved."
Old Mo opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. After a long while, he squeezed out a sentence.
"Where did you get two thousand five hundred?"
"Saved it up, plus the few hundred I took from your drawer."
"..."
Old Mo slowly stood up, staring at Lin Fan.
Lin Fan felt creeped out by his gaze and took a step back.
"Don't look at me like that, it's eerie."
"The few hundred in my drawer..."
Old Mo said word by word, "...was what I saved to buy reading glasses."
Lin Fan: "..."
He gave a dry cough: "Well... at your age, you don't need reading glasses that are too fancy, just make do with—"
"I'll beat you to death, you little brat!"
Old Mo grabbed a nearby broom and began to give chase.
Lin Fan took off running, circling around the small, dilapidated shop.
"Old Mo! Uncle Mo! Great Uncle Mo! Calm down! Calm down!"
"Calm down my ass!"
"I'll pay you back! I'll pay you back double!"
"Pay me back the one thousand six hundred and fifty first before you talk about double!"
"That's not the same thing! This time I can really pay it back!"
Old Mo chased him for two laps, but he was old after all; he leaned on his knees, panting for breath.
Lin Fan hid behind a cabinet, poking half his head out.
"Can you just let me finish? If that Armor Spirit is healed, won't we have scored a huge bargain? If I become a Beast Armor Master in the future, never mind reading glasses, I can even get you a pair with gold-plated frames!"
Old Mo panted, looking up at him: "You think Armor Spirits are like common cabbage? You say it's healed and it's healed?"
"I'm certain." Lin Fan was rarely serious for once, "Really, trust me this one time."
Old Mo looked at him and didn't speak.
After a good while, he threw the broom on the ground and sat back down on his small stool.
"How much?"
Lin Fan's eyes lit up: "Six thousand eight hundred."
Old Mo almost threw the water cup he had just picked up.
"How much?!"
"Six thousand eight hundred."
Lin Fan counted on his fingers, "One stalk of Moonlight Grass is six thousand eight hundred, that's the price. I checked, it's a fair price for everyone."
Old Mo took a deep breath, then another, before slowly exhaling.
"Do you know how much I earn from repairing one Armor Beast?"
"How much?"
"Fifty for a common one, a hundred for a complex one," Old Mo said. "Six thousand eight hundred is enough for me to repair over a hundred of them."
Lin Fan fell silent.
He knew Old Mo didn't earn money easily, but this was the first time he had a concrete concept of it.
Over a hundred.
How long would that take to repair?
"How about..." He opened his mouth, "Never mind, I'll think of another way."
Old Mo looked at him and suddenly laughed.
"What way? Stealing or robbing?"
"No way, I'm a law-abiding citizen."
"Then what other way could you have?"
Old Mo stood up, walked to the inner room door, and looked back at him, "Wait here."
After a while, he came out with a cloth bundle in his hand and tossed it to Lin Fan.
Lin Fan caught it, opened it, and saw a thick stack of money.
"This is..."
"Five thousand."
Old Mo sat back on his small stool, "That's all I have. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself."
Lin Fan was stunned.
"You... where did you get so much money?"
"Saved it."
Old Mo didn't even look up.
"It was originally saved for your university tuition. Since you insist on taking this path, use it first. Just don't forget your old man when you've made it in the future."
Lin Fan held the cloth bundle, suddenly feeling it was quite heavy.
He looked at Old Mo's graying hair, then at the leg of his glasses wrapped in tape.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.
Finally, he squeezed out a sentence: "Aren't you afraid I'm lying to you?"
Old Mo raised his head and looked at him.
"How many times have you lied to me since you were a kid?" he said. "One more time won't make a difference."
Lin Fan: "..."
"Besides..."
Old Mo lowered his head and continued to fiddle with the pile of broken parts, "What if it's for real this time?"
Lin Fan's nose suddenly felt a bit sour.
He walked over and squatted down beside Old Mo.
"Old Mo."
"Yeah?"
"When you die in the future, I'll get you a solid gold coffin!"
Old Mo, who had been feeling a bit sentimental just now, turned his head and roared with overflowing Killing Intent.
"Get out! Get the hell out of here right now!"