113: Chapter 113 Only Money? A Needle? Flipping the Wok?

From the side, a giant eagle with a wingspan of ten meters dove down like a bolt of reddish-gold lightning. Its claws, like iron hooks glinting with a cold light, accurately seized the giant shark's back!

"Boom—!"

Claws sank into flesh, and stone fragments flew. The ten-meter wingspan A-Diao and the five-meter-long giant shark wrestled violently in mid-air. The resulting shockwave pressed a crater dozens of meters wide into the grass below. A-Diao flapped its wings frantically, the gale howling as it forcibly uprooted the desperately struggling giant shark from the mud and dragged it into the sky!

The shark thrashed its tail wildly, its massive jaws snapping with a terrifying "clack-clack" sound, but A-Diao's claws held its spine in a death grip, unmoving. Reddish-gold flames erupted from between A-Diao's feathers, scorching the shark's flesh until it was charred black, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of burning.

"Off you go—!"

A-Diao's wings suddenly unfurled, its ten-meter wingspan blotting out the sun as it carried the five-meter shark straight into the clouds, soaring into the sky!

On the ground, the fat man craned his neck, his mouth hanging open wide enough to swallow his own fist. He even forgot to shed tears as he stared at the majestic giant eagle in the sky, with only one thought in his mind—

That’s no eagle; that’s clearly Lord Eagle!

Xiao Ye hung in mid-air, patted his robes, and drifted back to the ground with an air of effortless grace. With his hands behind his back and the corners of his mouth curling slightly, he said, "Done."

In the distance, Xiao Yan stood on A-Diao's back, looking down at the giant shark being held in mid-air, twisting desperately but unable to break free. Then he looked at his smiling father on the ground and took a deep breath.

"Dad, did you just say—manifesting divinity before others?"

"That's right." Xiao Ye looked up and gave his son a thumbs-up. "So, was it divine enough?"

Xiao Yan's mouth twitched, and after a long pause, he squeezed out: "...Plenty."

A-Diao let out a "cheep" from the sky, meaning: Don't just focus on bragging; this fish is pretty heavy, can you give me a hand?

The three rescued people finally snapped out of it and fell to their knees with a "thud," tears streaming down their faces. "Senior! Your great kindness is beyond repayment! I—"

"Alright, alright," Xiao Ye waved his hand, looking at them with a smile. "We'll talk about repayment later. First, let me handle this fish."

Xiao Ye landed back on the ground and drew his sword from its scabbard, posing as if he were filming a Wuxia blockbuster. He looked up at the five-meter giant shark still struggling in A-Diao's claws, took a deep breath, and his chuunibyou soul burned brightly:

"Heaven—Slaying—Draw—Sword—Technique—!"

"Swish, swish, swish—"

Sword Qi crisscrossed, and cold light flashed like silk. Under the shocked, almost dull gazes of the four people and the eagle, the giant shark was sliced into pieces by an invisible sword net in mid-air... each piece uniform in thickness and crystal clear.

"Shua—" The fish slices drifted down like snowflakes, covering the ground.

A-Diao's claws suddenly felt empty, and it froze in mid-air. It let out a "cheep," its face full of shock: Big Daddy's knife skills are even sharper than my claws?

—

Half an hour later, a large cauldron was set up on the ground, with red oil bubbling inside, spicy and fragrant.

The five of them sat in a circle. Xiao Ye picked up a snow-white fish slice, swished it in the pot, rolled it three times in the red oil, fished it out, and popped it into his mouth. He narrowed his eyes in pure enjoyment:

"Mmm—making spicy fish slices out of this big fish is indeed delicious! The meat is bouncy and melts in your mouth; it's better than any Spirit Beast meat!"

Xiao Yan silently picked up a slice with his chopsticks, his eyes lighting up, and then silently went for a second slice.

The fat man swallowed his saliva and couldn't help but start using his chopsticks as well.

While swishing a fish slice, Xiao Ye looked up at the fat man. "By the way, did you say your father is the Alliance Leader of the Zitian Merchant Alliance? What's your name?"

"Senior," the fat man put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and said solemnly, "I am the second Young Master of the Zitian Merchant Alliance—Zi Youqian."

"Pfft—" Xiao Yan almost spat out his fish.

"What was that?" Xiao Ye's mouth twitched. "Only Money?"

"The 'Zi' as in purple," Zi Youqian said without changing his expression, clearly used to being mocked. "I thought the name was tacky when I was a kid, but after I grew up, everyone started envying my name."

Xiao Ye gave a thumbs-up. "As expected of the second Young Master of the Zitian Merchant Alliance. This name is very... down-to-earth."

He turned to look at the other two—a little girl carrying a long cloth bundle and a young man with a large pot on his back.

"What about you two? What are your identities and where do you come from?" Xiao Ye narrowed his eyes. Once he knew their identities, he would know how much reward would be appropriate.

The little girl cupped her fists. "Senior, I am from the Medicine King Hall—Tong Yizhen."

The young man with the pot also cupped his hands. "Senior, I am from the Danxia Sect—Dian Shao."

Xiao Ye froze for a moment, his mouth twitching wildly. "Good grief... do young people nowadays all have such unique names? Only Money? Poke a Needle? Tossing a Ladle?"

He looked down at his own son and suddenly felt that the name "Xiao Yan" was conservative—too conservative.

"It seems I was still too traditional when naming my kid; I can't keep up with the times..." Xiao Ye lamented.

Xiao Yan added expressionlessly, "Dad, if you dare rename me to 'Xiao Spatula' or 'Xiao Pop-It,' I'll cut off our father-son relationship."

"Don't worry, you'll always be Daddy's precious." Xiao Ye patted his shoulder, then changed the subject. "By the way, how many of you were there at the start? The bloodstains here don't look good."

Zi Youqian, Tong Yizhen, and Dian Shao looked at each other, their faces darkening.

Zi Youqian held out one hand, spread five fingers, then folded four, leaving only one standing alone.

"Seven people, and four were eaten by the fish?" Xiao Ye did the math. "Then there's just the three of you left?" He glanced at the trio.

"It's fate." Xiao Ye picked up a piece of fish and remarked, "Come, come, eat more. Avenge those four brothers."

The four of them were silent for a moment, then they all reached out with their chopsticks and began frantically swishing fish slices.

After eating and drinking their fill, Xiao Ye finally started talking business. He leaned against the cauldron, crossed his legs, and lightly tapped his knee with his finger, looking at the three in front of him with a smile. "Tell me, I saved your lives. How do you plan to repay me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zi Youqian was the first to stand up. He pulled a purple-gold card from his robe and handed it to Xiao Ye with both hands respectfully. "Senior, this is a gold card from my Zitian Merchant Alliance. It contains five hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Thank you for saving my life, Senior!"

Tong Yizhen and Dian Shao were both stunned, their eyes wide and round—No, fatty, you're giving five hundred thousand right off the bat? Did you even consider our feelings? If you give this much, what are we supposed to do? Aren't you putting us on the spot?

Xiao Ye took the gold card, rubbed it slightly with his finger, and casually tucked it into his robe. His face remained calm and indifferent as he nodded. "Mhm, you're very thoughtful." In reality, fireworks were going off in his heart—Holy crap, a big fish! As expected of the second Young Master of the Zitian Merchant Alliance, he gives five hundred thousand Spirit Stones just like that! This trip was worth it, a massive profit!

Tong Yizhen paced around anxiously, then her eyes suddenly lit up. She pulled the long cloth bundle from her back and thudded it onto the ground. "Senior, I see that the Young Master is injured. It just so happens that I know some medical skills. Let me treat him as a way to repay your life-saving grace!"

Before Xiao Ye could speak, Tong Yizhen had already impatiently unwrapped the bundle and pulled something out—