29: Chapter 29 Sense of Security

After speaking, City Lord Guan Lin extended a finger and poked over.

Su Jiuchuan hurriedly circulated his True Qi, but his entire body felt as if it were pinned down by an invisible force. Unable to move at all, he could only watch helplessly as the finger poked toward the center of his forehead.

He felt regret. This excuse that had seemed so perfect—how could it have been seen through?

What was most infuriating was that Su Jiuchuan hadn't used the simulator to simulate the scenario beforehand. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he simply had no money left.

So, it turned out that a person really could be poor enough to die!

"Huh!"

Just as Su Jiuchuan was about to be poked to death, City Lord Guan Lin suddenly stopped. He changed the poke into a grab and snatched an object from Su Jiuchuan's bosom.

It was the very token that Xue Mingcai had left for him before she was taken away by that passing woman.

It turned out that just now, when Su Jiuchuan took the Dragon Jade Pendant from his bosom, a corner of this token had been pulled out, and City Lord Guan Lin happened to see it.

"This... where did you get this token?" A look of distinct apprehension appeared in City Lord Guan Lin's eyes.

Having just experienced the incident with the Dragon Jade Pendant, Su Jiuchuan did not dare to spout nonsense. However, he knew very little about this matter, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "A passing Senior gave it to me and told me to go to Xuande Temple if I had any matters to attend to."

"Oh? Xuande Temple?" City Lord Guan Lin's expression shifted uncertainly, but in the end, he suddenly laughed. "So you have a connection with Xuande Temple."

"Then it seems today's incident was a misunderstanding."

Su Jiuchuan's jaw almost dropped. This City Lord Guan Lin was moody; he didn't even care about the royal jade pendant, yet he was so apprehensive upon hearing about Xuande Temple.

What was going on?

Next, City Lord Guan Lin invited the two of them into the study to begin a detailed discussion.

This time, Su Jiuchuan did not dare to hide anything. He roughly explained the situation regarding the Third Prince. As for the jade pendant, he only said that the Third Prince wanted to thank him for saving his life.

He had given him the jade pendant and told him to go to the Western Prince's Mansion to exchange it for ten thousand taels of silver as a reward.

"Nephew Su," City Lord Guan Lin said warmly, not feeling any awkwardness due to his earlier flip-flopping, "Since you are only using this jade pendant as a voucher to exchange for ten thousand taels of silver, why not sell it to me?"

Su Jiuchuan was instantly overjoyed. He was truly desperate for money right now; he had nearly died this time just because he didn't have money for the simulator.

Although it was said that the Dragon Jade Pendant could be exchanged for ten thousand taels of silver, in one of his simulated lives, the Western Prince's Mansion was not easy to deal with, and withdrawing the money had not been smooth at all.

Now that someone was taking the initiative to trade money for it, this was exactly what he wanted.

"Fine!" He agreed almost without hesitation.

City Lord Guan Lin was decisive in his actions and immediately had someone prepare the silver notes.

Su Jiuchuan had wanted to say that he only wanted hard cash, but thinking that ten thousand taels of silver would be truly inconvenient to carry, he nodded and agreed.

Of course, for City Lord Guan Lin, this transaction was not a loss.

The Dragon Jade Pendant was actually of no great use to him. However, this kind of royal treasure had been lost from the hands of the Third Prince, so in order to prevent others from finding out, he would likely be willing to pay a significant price to get it back.

Thinking of this, City Lord Guan Lin couldn't help but feel very happy.

Seeing that City Lord Guan Lin was in high spirits, Su Jiuchuan cautiously asked, "City Lord Guan Lin, I did indeed see that Guo Fan consolidating bandit forces outside the city. With Xuzhou City's strength being so great, why don't you go and wipe them out?"

City Lord Guan Lin was in a good mood now and did not avoid the topic. He smiled and said, "It's just children playing house, nothing more than a show. His old man, Guo Kui, definitely doesn't know about this."

Seeing Su Jiuchuan's puzzled expression, he continued, "The world looks chaotic, but in reality, it is just operating according to its original rules."

"Whether it is the Lu Family or the Lan Family of Hechuan City, they are merely aristocratic families that have risen in the last hundred years. Lacking a deep foundation, they fundamentally do not understand the essence of the Dynasty's succession. Don't look at how actively they are jumping around now; I fear it will be difficult for them to have a good ending."

"That Guo Kui looks aggressive, but he only dares to harass the surrounding areas on a small scale. He is waiting! I am firmly defending Xuzhou, letting these clowns jump around, but I am also just waiting."

"If that person of the current Great Wei Dynasty... were to have an accident, the world would collapse in the blink of an eye. Hehe! Therefore, the great aristocratic families and major forces of the world are merely waiting quietly."

After speaking, City Lord Guan Lin smiled, not caring whether Su Jiuchuan understood or not, and did not mention it again.

...

Upon coming out of the City Lord's Mansion, Su Jiuchuan immediately saw Gu Liangcai waiting outside. He must have been anxious, not knowing what the consequences would be, and was nearby gathering information.

There were many other people around; it was likely that the Lu Family were also watching this place.

Su Jiuchuan ignored the people from the Lu Family and walked straight up to Gu Liangcai, saying, "Hehe, you actually dared to falsely accuse me? I am now formally challenging Hefeng Martial Arts Hall."

There was an unwritten rule for those who ran martial arts halls: if someone issued a challenge, commonly known as 'kicking the hall,' it could not be avoided. Once a challenge was avoided, it meant giving up, and the martial arts hall had to be closed; otherwise, they would be ridiculed by their peers.

Gu Liangcai looked dejected, knowing that even finding Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe this time hadn't settled the matter, and he didn't know if he could even save his life this time.

"There is no need to fight. This villain was blinded by greed to dare to slander you, my lord. I will return immediately to close the martial arts hall; I only beg for you to spare my daughter and me."

Su Jiuchuan thought about it. Although this Gu Liangcai was detestable, killing him didn't seem to be of any use, so he said, "Closing the martial arts hall, forget it. Since you have offended me, then bring out another five thousand taels to pay for your apology!"

"Five thousand taels?" Gu Liangcai felt another pang of heartache. He had already given five thousand taels before, and later, to take revenge on Su Jiuchuan, he had given another two thousand taels to Vice City Lord Cao Xinghe. He had truly suffered a major blow to his Origin Qi.

Now, to have to take out another five thousand taels, he would really have to smash his pots and sell his iron. However, Xuzhou was a big city after all, and he had been operating here for decades; he was really reluctant to give it up.

Now that the world was in chaos, with his martial arts skills, it would not be easy to find another big city similar to Xuzhou to settle down in and open a martial arts hall. But as long as he could survive this crisis, there would always be a day to earn back the silver he had given away.

Thinking of this, Gu Liangcai couldn't help but grit his teeth and agree, "Fine, I will deliver it to your residence tomorrow."

Su Jiuchuan nodded; he was not afraid of Gu Liangcai running away.

Next, he took Zheng Xinyue to a money shop in Xuzhou City to withdraw the silver. After all, he was this old, and this was his first time using silver notes.

In this regard, Zheng Xinyue was quite knowledgeable. The two arrived at Tongyuan Money Shop, which was the largest money shop in Great Wei.

Fortunately, although ten thousand taels of silver was not a small amount, it could still be gathered in Xuzhou City. Soon, two boxes of silver were packed and delivered. Su Jiuchuan carried one in each hand and brought them back to Fuyuan Escort Agency.

After sending Zheng Xinyue away, Su Jiuchuan opened the System directly and chose to top up.

[Top-up successful. Current balance: 10866 points.]

Seeing this number, Su Jiuchuan finally felt a long-lost sense of security.