Chapter 844: This Is Much Faster Than Robbing Money

mayiwsk

“Interest?” Shihuagu trembled at the words.

It was hard to imagine a great master of the Body Integration Stage losing control of his physical form.

“Of course. Loans naturally come with interest, otherwise why would we lend you the money?” Meng Potian replied as if stating the obvious, utterly baffled as to why Shihuagu was having such a massive reaction.

The Meng family was not a charity, and they could not just hand out money to anyone and call it a day so long as the principal was returned; if that were the case, the family would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Shihuagu forced a smile that looked far more miserable than weeping.

Damn it all, how could I have completely overlooked the existence of interest?

Beside him, Mu Baiyi, who had been busy comforting his subordinate, experienced a slight shift in expression and lost his composure as well.

He, too, had forgotten about the interest.

Shihuagu was not the only one who owed money; he owed money as well.

It was just that he had disguised himself as a common cultist when he went to the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce to borrow the funds.

He had been thinking that once the barbecue shop turned enough profit, he would clear the debt as quickly as possible to prevent the truth from coming to light.

If this matter ever leaked out, he would not survive it even if he was at the half-step Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

“Ho-how much is the interest?” Shihuagu was so terrified that his speech faltered, wishing he could dig up Qin Haoran’s corpse just to whip it.

Meng Potian was exceedingly warm toward a major client like Shihuagu, and moreover, he deeply admired Shihuagu for being so honorable as to take on such a debt.

Admirable as it was, however, the accounts had to be settled clearly.

“Look here, it was stated very clearly when the loan was taken out that this was a ‘Safe Tribulation Ascension Insurance’. If one successfully ascends to the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, interest ceases to accumulate, and only the principal needs to be repaid. If the tribulation fails, interest is calculated at twelve percent annually.”

Meng Potian wrote out the calculation process in the air to make it easier for Shihuagu to comprehend.

“Forty years have passed since the initial loan. The terms specified repayment via ‘equal principal and interest’. With a loan of one billion, the average monthly payment breaks down to eleven million... and subtracting the one billion you already paid back, there are still four and a half billion remaining.”

The air was filled with a dense, sprawling mass of calculations, making Shihuagu’s heart shake with terror.

As an expert of the Body Integration Stage, he possessed the requisite mental acuity for such simple arithmetic; he was merely unable to accept the reality of it.

Mu Baiyi’s eye twitched at the side; if they had that many spirit stones, Fengdu would have been fully constructed by now.

And this was only the amount Shihuagu owed; he himself owed far more.

He had originally thought to pay it off early to free himself and accelerate the construction of Fengdu, but looking at it now, he decided to forget it; they would build Fengdu slowly, for there was no need to rush.

Currently, the Nine Serenities Cult and the Radiant Cult were flourishing under the leadership of the Heavenly Court Cult. After receiving guidance from Young Sect Master Lu, the Radiant Cult had swiftly shifted its research direction, and solar-powered candles and other items were about to hit the market. Surely, the speed of earning spirit stones from those would be faster than running a barbecue shop.

Mu Baiyi tried his best to look on the bright side.

Within the spiritual space, Lu Yang thought to himself that it was no wonder the Meng family remained law-abiding; being law-abiding brought in money far faster than breaking the law ever could.

Even if you sent Shihuagu out to rob people, he could never rob this much.

The Immortal Fairy, on the other hand, felt a profound sense of regret: “What a pity! This Immortal has suffered a terrible loss. I should have found a bank to deposit some spirit stones back then. After three hundred thousand years—no, four hundred thousand years—how many spirit stones would this Immortal have earned!”

“...Uh, if I may ask, are you certain there is any bank that could remain open from ancient times until now, Fairy?”

The Immortal Fairy gave it some thought and realized that Little Yang was right.

And so, the Immortal Fairy returned to her usual cheerful self.

Shihuagu and Mu Baiyi left the Meng estate, both thoroughly dejected.

“Leader, what now? Are we heading back to headquarters?”

Mu Baiyi shook his head. “Have you noticed that the living standards of the citizens in the Imperial City are higher than in other cities? This means their capacity to accept novelties is higher. Previously, when we opened the barbecue shops, we started from small places and gradually spread to the surrounding cities.”

“Barbecue shops are common; our advantage lay in the taste, which anyone could accept, so it wasn’t considered a novelty.”

“But the things invented by the Radiant Cult might not be accepted by just anyone who sees them. I believe that if we want to open up the solar market, we must start from the Imperial City.”

“Go and contact the people of the Radiant Cult, and we shall all come to the Imperial City to conduct a survey together.”

Shihuagu felt that it was no wonder the man was the Cult Leader; this capacity for observation and reflection was far superior to his own.

“Father, your subject and son has returned.”

Within the imperial palace, the dignified eldest prince bowed before the Emperor of Xia.

Three months ago, someone had reported that officials in Jizhou were corrupt, breaking the law, and deceiving their superiors while hiding things from those below. Jiang Qun had journeyed to Jizhou to investigate and punish the corrupt officials, traveling in disguise, visiting the common folk, and seeking clues. When obstructed by officials, he revealed his identity to awe the crowd, and along the way, he had met a beautiful confidante and gained a fine match, only just returning to the Imperial City now.

He had not expected that after three months of absence, his father would have aged to such an extent.

The high-spirited Emperor of Xia was nowhere to be seen; the current Emperor resembled an old man on the verge of turning to withered wood, his face covered in deep wrinkles, his eyelids drooping down to obscure his eyes.

It had been agreed back then that he still had ten years of lifespan remaining, yet less than half of that time had passed and he was already near his end!

The Emperor of Xia favored his eldest son above all. Seeing Jiang Qun’s return, a smile appeared on his face, and he set down the imperial memorial in his hand, gesturing for him to come closer.

“Father, your health...”

A wave of sorrow rose within Jiang Qun’s heart.

He knelt before the imperial throne, allowing his father to stroke his head, feeling for a moment as though he had returned to his childhood, back when his father sat upon the throne and he sat upon his father’s lap.

“Cough, cough... it matters not. We know Our own body; We can still live a while longer.” The Emperor of Xia’s eyes were cloudy, his vision severely deteriorated, and his speech carried a sputtering quality, his words slurred.

“The Heavens wish to take Our life, but they are still a bit short.”

“We know you desire a life of freedom and have no intention of inheriting the throne. As a parent, We shall not force you.”

“It is just that if the crown prince is not settled early, and if one day We can hold on no longer and pass away, the power of the National Destiny attached to Our body will be left without a master. It will likely throw a tantrum, and a period of turmoil will be unavoidable then, requiring the Ancestor to step forth and suppress it.”

“This National Destiny is the very foundation of our Great Xia; no accidents can be permitted.”

“The second prince is too calculating, prone to being clever to his own detriment. The third prince knows he lacks the talent to govern a state and pours his entire heart into literature... Your eight younger brothers all possess various flaws and are ill-suited for great responsibilities. Leaving the empire to them does not bring Us peace of mind, and as for your seven younger sisters, you know them well...”

“Father, say no more. I shall be the Emperor!” Brokenhearted and weeping uncontrollably, Jiang Qun nodded and gave his assent.

He knew his father had always regarded him highly; otherwise, he would not have entrusted the matter of handling the Jizhou officials to him, which was meant to establish his prestige.

“Ah, you said it yourself, you cannot back out now!” The Emperor of Xia suddenly straightened his back, his eyes sharp and bright with a clear distinction between black and white as he stared intently at Jiang Qun, bearing absolutely no resemblance to the man on the brink of death from a moment ago.

Jiang Qun: “...”

Father, if you are perfectly fine, could you please stop acting?

Second Brother said there are no true words spoken within the imperial family and that every corner is filled with intrigue; he was not wrong in the slightest.