Chapter 1071: Resolving Disputes

The city where Chen Yachong and He Wu resided was none other than Metemoric Iron City, a renowned metropolice within Yunzhou, ruled by a lord who had attained the formidable Integration Stage.

When Lu Yang and his companions finally tracked down Chen Yachong, chance would have it that He Wu arrived at that exact same moment.

"Let me tell you, Chen Yachong, do not think for a second that those two thrashings I gave you settle the score; you owe me the full million spirit stones of principal, plus another two hundred thousand in interest!"

Within the grand mansion, He Wu cornered Chen Yachong, a phalanx of sharp swords hovering in the air behind him, radiating a bone-chilling aura.

He Wu was, after all, a sword cultivator.

"If you two could wait a moment, might I interject?" Fang Jin descended into the courtyard, instantly raising the hackles of both He Wu and Chen Yachong.

"Who goes there!"

"Fang Jin, of the Mountain-Moving Sea-Filling Sect."

Upon hearing Fang Jin introduce himself, He Wu’s pupils shrank sharply; he was merely at the early Soul Formation Stage, so why on earth would the Mountain-Moving Sea-Filling Sect dispatch the Integration Stage master Fang Jin?!

Catching sight of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou trailing behind Fang Jin, he froze entirely in his tracks.

"You... you are the Prodigy Lu!" He Wu cried out with irrepressible excitement, "I saw you at the Sword Tower's Sword Inquiry Grand Ceremony!"

Lu Yang’s performance at that ceremony had instantly transformed him into the ultimate idol for all sword cultivators.

"Ah, so it is Fellow Daoist He Wu." Lu Yang feigned sudden recognition, though in truth, with thousands of sword cultivators attending the ceremony, there was no way he could actually remember him.

"Then you must be Fellow Daoist Chen Yachong?"

"I am."

Aware of the identities of Lu Yang’s party, the arrogance typical of Soul Formation experts melted away from both He Wu and Chen Yachong.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, I hear you borrowed money and failed to return it; is that indeed the case?" Lu Yang took a step forward to inquire, having already formulated a rough solution on his way there.

"It is indeed so, but I truly possess no funds at present."

Lu Yang nodded with a pleasant smile, showing his understanding, before turning back to He Wu: "Fellow Daoist He Wu, if Fellow Daoist Chen Yachong repays the debt, he won't have to suffer any more beatings, correct?"

"Naturally."

"Lacking funds is no issue. Fellow Daoist Chen should know that our Daoist Sect produces the Elixir of Love-Forgetfulness every year, and its sales are exceptional, always failing to meet the demand."

"The greatest bottleneck currently facing the elixir is its insufficient production."

"To be entirely frank, the Elixir of Love-Forgetfulness is refined from the blood of cultivators; it only requires Fellow Daoist Chen to return with me to the sect, take the prescribed medication, and undergo regular bloodletting. In less than a decade, you will have earned enough to cover the million spirit stones."

"Of course, the bloodletting might entail a modicum of pain, but with your fortitude, Fellow Daoist Chen, you should be able to endure it."

Fang Jin stared at Lu Yang in utter shock—was that truly how the Elixir of Love-Forgetfulness was manufactured? This sounded far from an orthodox path!

Glancing at Meng Jingzhou’s expression, the man looked completely unfazed, evidently finding absolutely nothing amiss with this method!

"Junior Brother Meng, is there perhaps a slight issue with your method of producing the Elixir of Love-Forgetfulness?" Fang Jin secretly transmitted his voice to Meng Jingzhou.

"There is no issue at all. Look, we have been using this method for several years now, and Senior Brother Fang hasn't heard of anyone running out to report our Daoist Sect for being inhumane, which proves everyone does it willingly."

Fang Jin's expression turned exceedingly bizarre; had these two always persuaded people in such a manner?

"No, no, no! I only lack funds temporarily!" Hearing Lu Yang’s words, a cold sweat broke out across Chen Yachong’s forehead as he hurriedly protested that he did have money.

"Where is it then?"

"Uh, it was invested with Zhao Tianyi. He claimed to have a lucrative venture yielding a thirty percent annual return. It hasn't matured yet, so the funds cannot be withdrawn. Once the money returns, I can repay He Wu both principal and interest."

Zhao Tianyi, a cultivator of the Soul Formation Stage, was the master and founder of the third-grade Tianyi Sect within Meteoric Iron City.

"How about this, I shall pledge this map to you, and I guarantee I will repay the debt!" Chen Yachong pulled out a piece of jade-silk adorned with several cryptic symbols.

He Wu scoffed disdainfully, "Who wants that useless map? Do you take me for a fool? I know you bought that piece of junk at an auction centuries ago, and to this day, you haven't found the other two pieces."

"What if your luck turns around?" Chen Yachong muttered sheepishly.

"Might I have a look at it?"

Driven by curiosity, Lu Yang took the jade-silk map; it was remarkably simple, offering no clues as to what location it depicted.

Fang Jin, possessing quite an expertise in cartography, craned his neck to study it before offering his judgment: "It resembles a map from the early Great Qian Dynasty. There should be three pieces in total, and only when they are overlaid will the true map be revealed."

"How many spirit stones for this map? I shall purchase it." Fang Jin harbored a deep fondness for ancient maps, particularly one from the early Great Qian Dynasty, which was exceedingly rare.

"If you fancy it, it is yours as a gift." Chen Yachong held no attachment to the map; centuries ago, he had been a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, and items obtained from auctions of that tier were worth very few spirit stones, so it was better to use it to curry favor.

Fang Jin carefully stowed the jade-silk map away, resolving that he would resolve Chen Yachong’s predicament this time no matter what.

At the very least, if Chen Yachong were to be sent to the Daoist Sect for bloodletting, he would have to ask Junior Brother Lu to be a bit gentler so Chen Yachong wouldn't feel the pain.

"Zhao Tianyi? Then let us go demand the money from him."

When the five of them arrived in a grand, imposing procession to find Zhao Tianyi, they gave him quite a fright, particularly when he laid eyes on Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

In popular storytelling, these two were famous for punishing evil and eradicating vice, striking terror into the hearts of villains.

Once the purpose of their visit was clarified, Zhao Tianyi breathed a sigh of relief—so they were merely here for money... wait a moment, coming to collect a debt was hardly a pleasant matter either.

"Brother Chen, it is not that I am unwilling to return your spirit stones, but they have all been invested! The spirit stones currently in my possession are barely enough to sustain the daily expenses of my sect; surely you wouldn't have my sect go bankrupt?"

"If you are not in a hurry, just wait a while. The spirit stones can be withdrawn in due time, and that will be a twenty percent return."

Chen Yachong cut through Zhao Tianyi's empty promises: "Hold on, what you promised me before was a thirty percent return!"

Realizing he had slipped up, Zhao Tianyi smiled apologetically, "Was I not afraid that if I quoted too low a return, you wouldn't invest? Regardless, a twenty percent return still means you profit, does it not?"

Seeing that Chen Yachong’s face remained dark, Zhao Tianyi hastily added, "Right, right! This is a wooden box I brought back from the Extreme North. It should contain something precious, though it lacks a key. Consider it a gift of apology."

Chen Yachong rolled his eyes; what use did he have for a useless wooden box?

Seeing the impasse, Lu Yang stepped in to smooth things over: "Very well, Fellow Daoist Zhao meant well, so let us let the matter rest, Fellow Daoist Chen."

Out of respect for Lu Yang, Chen Yachong grumbled a few times and let it pass.

Overjoyed by the outcome, Zhao Tianyi presented the wooden box to Lu Yang.

"To whom did you invest the money?"

"Duan Qinghe. That fellow has numerous ways to turn a profit."

Duan Qinghe was also a Soul Formation cultivator in Meteoric Iron City, but while Chen Yachong was unfamiliar with him, Zhao Tianyi knew him well.

Without a moment's delay, the group hurried off to find Duan Qinghe.

Duan Qinghe’s reaction was identical to Zhao Tianyi’s; seeing such an imposing lineup, he assumed he had committed some grave offense, even drawing the attention of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

"So you are here for the million spirit stones that Zhao Tianyi gave me? What is the emergency? Do you no longer want the ten percent return?"

"Ten percent? You told me there was a twenty percent return!" Zhao Tianyi bellowed.

Duan Qinghe scratched his head, "Was I not afraid that if I said too little, you wouldn't give me the money? Either way, a ten percent return still means you profit."

"Then to whom did you invest the money!"

Duan Qinghe pointed at He Wu, who stood at the very back of the group: "I gave it to He Wu! Is his lending interest not fifteen percent? I figured when the money returned, I would keep five percent and give you ten percent."

He Wu stood in stunned silence.

"Wait a moment, everyone, I still have the IOU here."

Duan Qinghe drew a piece of beasthide from his storage ring, which clearly recorded that he had lent the money to He Wu at an annual interest rate of fifteen percent.

"After all, a million spirit stones is no small sum; I specifically used an old beasthide procured from the Demon Realm to record it."

Fang Jin massaged his temples in sheer agony. "All of you, shut up. Let me straighten out this sequence."

"He Wu is a moneylender, charging an annual interest rate of twenty percent."

"To make a profit, Duan Qinghe told Zhao Tianyi to give him the money, promising a twenty percent return, when in reality it could only yield ten percent."

"Zhao Tianyi told Chen Yachong that he could net him a thirty percent return, when it could actually only yield twenty percent."

"To make money, Chen Yachong went to He Wu to borrow funds at an interest rate of twenty percent."

Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Fang Jin slammed his hand against the table in a fury. "Is there a single word of truth coming out of any of your mouths?!"

Lu Yang reflected on it; it seemed only He Wu and Chen Yachong had spoken the truth here, but with Senior Brother Fang in such a rage, there was no need to point that out.

Meng Jingzhou also summarized the situation. "So Chen Yachong only needs to repay He Wu a five percent interest difference, which means fifty thousand spirit stones is enough?"

Fang Jin pulled out fifty thousand spirit stones and handed them over to Chen Yachong, treating it as the payment for purchasing the map, eager to just put an end to this matter.

Over the years, the Move-Mountain Fill-Sea Sect had organized several major events, such as the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony and the Hanshui City affair, from which Fang Jin had earned quite a lot of spirit stones; fifty thousand was a mere drop in the bucket to him.

With the debts and personnel cleared, the beast-hide IOU was useless in Duan Qinghe's hands, so he simply gifted it to Fang Jin, the final financier.

With the business concluded, Fang Jin, Lu Yang, and Meng Jingzhou made their way back to the Move-Mountain Fill-Sea Sect, Fang Jin caught between tears and laughter, wondering what kind of absurd farce this was.

"Senior Brother Fang, sometimes luck can solve problems too," Lu Yang offered consolingly.

Fang Jin thought about it and conceded the point, and after all, the trip was not a complete loss; he took out the silk-jade map, treating it as reclaiming an old map, though he had no idea when he would ever find the remaining pieces.

Suddenly, the silk-jade map, the box, and the beast-hide all began to vibrate violently, as if a resonance had been triggered between them.

The box popped open, revealing another silk-jade map nestled inside.

The beast-hide tore apart, and out flew yet another silk-jade map.

The three silk-jade maps overlapped, manifesting the true and complete form of the map.

Fang Jin stared in stunned silence.

What on earth was going on? Hadn't they said Chen Yachong spent centuries and still failed to gather them all?

Since when had his own luck become this formidable?