Chapter 507: Debt Collection Encounter, Suddenly Rich!

Chapter 507: The Debt Collection Sect, Suddenly Rich!

Qi Yuan looked at the information above and began to read it carefully.

"Liu Ping, Princess Changyang, currently located at Fuyun Tower in the capital of Ning Kingdom..."

"Wang Xiaochuan, richest man in Antan City, Jiangzhou, Ning Kingdom, resides in Anle Garden..."

...

"Tu Jingshi, third son of the Tu family in Fengshan County, Jinan Prefecture, Ning Kingdom..."

Qi Yuan paused: "Isn't this the guy who bought my light sword?"

He had met the Third Young Master Tu twice and glimpsed many of his hidden details, knowing his name.

"It seems he really is a rich man."

"But I don't want to let the richest man of Antan go either—that's the richest man!"

"It's too far away!"

Qi Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

He felt as if those silver taels were slipping through his fingers.

"Alas, I haven't recovered yet, so I can't just wander out."

"Master, let this old servant go in your stead!" Chen Kangbao interjected at the right moment.

"You have a point." Qi Yuan's eyes lit up.

Since he couldn't go out now, he could send someone else in his place.

"It seems I need to forge some backup hidden energy!"

Qi Yuan pondered and began crafting artifacts again.

About a day passed, and Qi Yuan felt everything was ready.

He looked at the one hundred and seven drones before him and installed hidden energy sources on each of them.

"All done. They'll go collect the money for me!"

Seeing this, Chen Kangbao's heart sank.

Was he about to lose his job?

Replaced by these iron contraptions?

He hurried forward, his voice trembling: "Master, they don't know the way."

"I know that. Originally, I thought about forging a satellite and launching it into orbit.

But here... this isn't a planet, and besides, I have no money—too troublesome."

Back on Blue Star, Qi Yuan's knowledge had been average.

But after arriving at Arch Star, Zero-One had transmitted the information of the Ten Thousand Paths to Qi Yuan.

The information of the Ten Thousand Paths was vast, naturally including all kinds of technological creations.

Even airships and the Eye of the Sky.

So crafting drones with superior endurance was no trouble for Qi Yuan.

"Don't worry, the backup hidden energy isn't just for endurance—I've added smart chips. They can ask for directions themselves.

That's right, they're the latest drone smart robots!" Qi Yuan explained earnestly.

To create the smart chips, Qi Yuan had imitated Zero-One's original design.

The resulting chips were even cruder than the old Zero-One's.

But for simply asking directions and collecting debts, they were more than sufficient.

Chen Kangbao felt his sense of crisis growing: "Master, aren't they drones? How are they robots?"

"..." Qi Yuan shot Chen Kangbao a glare. "I need to give them names."

Qi Yuan thought for a moment, then an idea came to him.

"From now on, you are the Debt Collection Sect. You, call yourself Brother Crow, and go find Wang Xiaochuan; you, call yourself Black Cat, and go find Huang Kan; you, call yourself Chicken..."

After giving these drones special titles, Qi Yuan used the Thousand Changes and Ten Thousand Transformations to morph them into all sorts of bizarre forms according to their names.

Seeing this, Chen Kangbao was deeply worried.

His competition was growing.

What if the master no longer needed him?

But then he thought of something and breathed a sigh of relief: "At least I have a clever brain. I can be the master's advisor. Relying on my wits, I won't be eliminated, right?"

He thought this to himself.

"Aren't you relying on your nose?" Qi Yuan's words fell into Chen Kangbao's ears.

Chen Kangbao's eyes widened.

Could the master hear his inner thoughts?

A god is a god!

The master is truly handsome!

...

In the Ghost Market, Fourth Uncle Tu and Zhan Lei had been lurking for several days, both looking disappointed.

"So many days, and we still haven't seen those two mysterious figures. It seems that kind of master was just passing through."

"Such masters are rare and hard to come by. Who has luck like Tu Jingshi?"

"His luck is indeed good. To obtain such a treasure for just ten thousand taels—truly enviable."

While the two were discussing the Third Young Master Tu's good fortune,

Tu Jingshi himself didn't think so.

At this moment, he was trembling all over, staring at the terrifying figure before him.

It looked like a green snake, with human-like emotions faintly visible in its serpentine pupils.

Tu Jingshi's hand inside his sleeve gripped the light sword tightly, his mind in chaos.

Damn it, the light sword was still in cooldown!

This must be someone from Thorn Blood, here to claim his life for killing the two elders, Black Crow and Wing Snake!

He shouldn't have gone out to the pleasure house tonight!

"Divine heart lost, thorns stained with blood. I am Green Snake of the Debt Collection Sect." The snake spoke, its voice somewhat mechanical.

This startled Tu Jingshi, but then a flicker of confusion arose.

Shouldn't they be here to kill him? Why the secret code?

"Tu Jingshi greets... the envoy!" Regardless, he knelt directly.

"I need banknotes, all your banknotes, the more the better," the Green Snake spoke.

Banknotes?

Tu San Gongzi was stunned.

He wasn't here to kill him, but to demand banknotes?

This was too bizarre.

"Your Excellency, wait a moment, I'll go fetch the banknotes now," he said, feeling only that his luck had been terrible lately.

Before leaving, Black Crow Elder had extorted him, and now here came another elder from Thorn of Blood, asking for money again?

Had his reputation for wealth spread so far that even the Thorn of Blood elders knew of it? Otherwise, why would they keep coming to him for money?

The Green Snake looked at Tu San Gongzi, its eyes seeming almost sentient.

"Open your trousers."

"Huh?" Tu San Gongzi was taken aback, but under the icy serpent's gaze, he still unfastened his pants.

With a whoosh, the Green Snake turned into a blur and slithered into his trousers.

Tu San Gongzi immediately felt something hard inside his pants.

He was terrified.

This elder from Thorn of Blood had no decency at all, not even caring about face.

"Elder, I am utterly loyal, with no second thoughts. I'll get the money right away. You... don't bite recklessly!"

It concerned his future happiness; he submitted, not daring to act rashly.

"Hmph," the Green Snake snorted coldly, saying nothing.

"I'll return to the mansion for the money now!"

Meanwhile, across Ning Country, in every corner, if anyone were observant, they might notice strange creatures flying across the sky.

"Mother, there's a black cat flying in the sky!"

"You must be seeing things. Our cat is afraid of even a fluttering moth. If it could fly..."

"It's not ours!"

...

"I suddenly had an idea: if I installed a storage artifact on each of these drones, I could start a courier company, and even deliver takeout... How much money would that make?" In the Shen residence, Qi Yuan had a sudden inspiration.

These days, the drones had been returning one after another.

The amount of banknotes on him was growing.

Every member of Thorn of Blood, each one timid, upon hearing the secret code from Qi Yuan's drones, handed over their banknotes.

Since the drones had limited space, Qi Yuan only took banknotes.

This pained him, feeling like he'd lost a million taels.

But Qi Yuan smiled and temporarily abandoned the idea.

He wasn't short of money now.

Most of the Thorn of Blood members, except for a few who were relatively poor, were immensely wealthy.

After all, who but the wealthy would join such an eccentric organization as Thorn of Blood?

"Brother Cleaver, I'm curious—how many people are in your Debt Collection Sect? Could it be that, like my Thorn of Blood, you're conducting experiments on human modification?"

From the Divine Wood Token, a Thorn of Blood staff member sent a message.

The addresses he'd given to Qi Yuan's people were, of course, ill-intentioned—he wanted to track Qi Yuan's movements.

But he hadn't expected Qi Yuan to send drones to collect debts, transforming them into animal shapes.

Some Thorn of Blood members had access to secret channels and could report this.

The Thorn of Blood staff member, upon receiving the news, was somewhat surprised.

"Our Debt Collection Sect's brothers and sisters are spread across all realms. As long as someone has money—no, as long as someone owes me money—they'll go collect on my behalf," Qi Yuan blathered nonsense.

There was no Debt Collection Sect; it was just a bunch of scrap metal.

"Brother Cleaver, you hide your depths well. At the Divine Wood Abyss, you could bring all the Debt Collection Sect's brothers and sisters..."

"What, does your Thorn of Blood owe me money?" Qi Yuan couldn't help asking.

"If you bring the Divine Wood Token, what harm is there in Thorn of Blood owing you money?"

"You're truly good people—I've earned over a million taels of silver!" Qi Yuan couldn't help exclaiming. "Why not give me the information on Thorn of Blood members outside Ning Country, in other nations, so I can send them to collect money?"

"Brother Cleaver, your appetite is a bit large."

"Hey, why don't you tell Brother Cleaver your headquarters' address, so he can go collect money?" Ji Wuyun chimed in at the right moment.

"Heh heh..."

Thorn of Blood's headquarters, naturally, could not be exposed.

...

Time flowed on, and half a month passed in a flash.

The drones returned one by one.

Only one drone, while flying in the air, collided with a spirit entity, was damaged, and went missing without returning.

Qi Yuan gradually received banknotes, totaling two million taels.

"A pity my strength hasn't fully recovered yet. I can't use 'As If I Descend' recklessly now."

Qi Yuan reflected.

When he had used "As If I Descend" before, it was impressive, but the toll on his body was too great.

A full twenty days, and he still hadn't recovered.

"Still, it was probably because I was too weak then. If I used it now with my recovered strength, it shouldn't consume so much."

Since his strength was still recovering, Qi Yuan kept a low profile, barely leaving the Shen residence.

Even when buying materials at the ghost market, he sent drones to do it.

Just then, Shen Lingfeng walked over.

"Brother-in-law, are you going to Ye Mountain Lake?"

Shen Lingfeng's words carried a hint of reluctance.

"Yes, I'll watch Master Chen's test. If it's suitable, I'll go to Ye Mountain Lake. It's time I met your sister," Qi Yuan replied calmly.

During this time, the artifact masters of various families in Jining Prefecture were slowly making their way to Ye Mountain Lake for the Artifact Refining Assembly.

In the Shen residence, the artifact masters had also begun selecting those with suitable aptitude to go to Ye Mountain Lake.

In the past, Qi Yuan might not have gone to Ye Mountain Lake.

But soon, the Artifact Refining Assembly would commence there, and many artifact masters would attend.

Near Yueshan Lake, the grandest ghost market would also open, along with various trades and auctions for artificers to deal.

With two million in his pocket, shouldn't he buy more forging materials?

Qi Yuan even wondered whether he should forge something like an Armored Warrior.

After all, shouldn't a deity have some divine guards?

To forge such things, the ghost market materials of Fengshan County wouldn't suffice.

"Alas, Brother-in-law, if you're not around, what will I do? Those dozen or so women... I can't handle them." Shen Lingfeng stated his purpose.

"Brother-in-law, teach me another trick in love!" Shen Lingfeng looked up, his face full of expectation at Qi Yuan.

At that moment, Qi Yuan's face suddenly darkened.

"Apologize!"

"Huh? Brother-in-law, what did I do wrong?"

"Apologize!" Qi Yuan's tone grew heavier.

"I, Brother-in-law, I didn't do anything, did I? Is there a misunderstanding?"

"I told you to apologize, did you hear me?"

"Brother-in-law, I..."

"Apologize first!"

"I'm sorry, Brother-in-law. Now can you tell me what I did wrong?"

"Alright, you've now mastered the greatest skill in love: apologizing in all sorts of inexplicable situations." Qi Yuan stated his view. "You can graduate, but remember this: a boy must cherish himself out there, and not casually give his body to bad women."

"Ah..." Shen Lingfeng seemed half-understanding. "Brother-in-law, what you said is too profound. But there's one thing I don't get: why give my body to women? Do they want to eat it?"

Qi Yuan gave Shen Lingfeng a meaningful look and nodded. "Saying it that way... it's not wrong."

"When does your mother bathe?" Qi Yuan asked again.

"This..." Shen Lingfeng's face showed reluctance, even a hint of fear and dread.

The shadow of being hung from the beam last time still loomed large.

"I'll teach you a trick. Go persuade your parents that you want a little sister. That way, they'll surely, hehe..." Qi Yuan thought himself quite clever.

"Huh?" Shen Lingfeng still didn't get it.

"Do as I say!" Qi Yuan commanded directly.

With someone like Shen Lingfeng, there's no need to explain; just tell him what to do.

Seeing this, Shen Lingfeng quickly left.

Now, the progress of playing the son-in-law had also stalled.

Stuck at 56%, Qi Yuan felt that to break through, like last time, he needed to obtain the Forging Heart—either pour bathwater for his mother-in-law or ride Shen Lingxuan.

Unfortunately, last time he invited Shen Lingxuan, she didn't agree.

"What if... I ride her secretly?"

"Forget it, I'm a gentleman, not some dirty scoundrel!"

"Mother-in-law, take a bath!"

The night was pitch black.

Shen Lingfeng quietly knocked on Qi Yuan's door.

"Brother-in-law, I did as you said. I told my mother I wanted a little sister!" Shen Lingfeng said urgently.

"What was your mother's reaction?"

"She... seemed a bit flushed, and then..." Shen Lingfeng tried to recall, "she looked at my father, and my father gave a strange smile."

"It worked!" Qi Yuan slapped his thigh.

"Huh?" Shen Lingfeng was confused, not understanding.

"Look at the night now... Come on, let's go heat water in the kitchen!"

Qi Yuan was in a hurry.

Finally, he could pour bathwater for his mother-in-law.

"Brother-in-law, why do you want to pour bathwater for my mother? Is there some deep meaning?"

"In this world, so many things happen—does everything have to have meaning? Would you write an essay about a fart after you let one?"

Qi Yuan said casually.

About half an hour later,

Shen Lingfeng carried a large wooden tub, filled with steaming hot water and some flower petals inside.

"Come on, let's go find your mother."

The two headed toward the main courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, maids and servants saw them and quickly said, "Young master, son-in-law, what are you doing?"

"Ah, you can't enter!"

"Why are you blocking me? I'm carrying bathwater for my mother!"

"Don't block us—what if the water spills and hurts the young master?" Qi Yuan fanned the flames.

Sure enough, these people dared not stop them, letting Qi Yuan and Shen Lingfeng enter the courtyard.

However, Qi Yuan was tactful; he stopped at the entrance.

"Put the tub down, right here!" Qi Yuan ordered.

He couldn't ruin someone else's good time, could he?

The courtyard was large, and this spot was far away—probably his mother-in-law didn't know what was happening here yet.

Shen Lingfeng quickly set down the tub, sweating profusely, and said nervously, "My mother won't blame me, will she?"

"A devoted son like you, she'd dote on you, not blame you," Qi Yuan said casually.