Chapter 314 – An Old Acquaintance, Tang Ru

The once-chubby boy had grown into a tall young man. He wore fine robes with golden hems and mythical beasts embroidered across the fabric. His eyes shone with calm confidence, and he carried himself with the poise of a ruler. The cowardice and puffiness of his youth were long gone.

The day he awakened the abacus within his spirit void had left a deep mark on his memory.

When Tang Ru first opened a wager on Li Guanqi’s match, Li Guanqi hadn’t thought well of him. Later, when Ye Feng won the bet, Tang Ru paid out every single spirit stone without hesitation. Li Guanqi then realized Tang Ru was trustworthy, regardless of other opinions.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

And after the matter with little Sui’an, Li Guanqi had noticed the invisible scale inside Tang Ru’s heart. When he was offered something that he did not want, even if it was a place in a major faction of the Northern Territory, he would still walk away with no hesitation.

Li Guanqi thought wistfully and murmured, “I can’t believe it’s Tang Ru. Why is he here? Wait... could it be that his family owns this Hundred Treasures Pavilion?”

He smirked. He was curious to see how Tang Ru would handle the situation. Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones was no small sum; it was equal to ten million low-grade ones.

Even for an Illusory Refinement Realm cultivator, that amount was huge. And for a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, scraping together that much would make them filthy rich.

Li Guanqi had only gotten a few hundred high-grade spirit stones from the female Divine Transformation Realm cultivator he killed.

Tang Ru’s face was grave, lending him a mature air beyond his years. He stepped forward and said clearly, “I am Tang Ru, the owner of this Hundred Treasures Pavilion. From now on, you may bring any concerns directly to me.”

The old man facing him trembled under his composed authority and confidence. It took him a long while to gather his courage before he finally raised the paper in his hand. “This is the sum your pavilion borrowed from me sixty years ago. According to the interest rate written here, you owe me ten thousand high-grade spirit stones!”

Tang Ru didn’t argue. Instead, he reached out to take the paper.

The old man recoiled at once. “What are you doing? Trying to destroy the evidence?”

Tang Ru gave a brief snort. “Do you really think I’d tear it up in front of everyone? I just want to verify whether it’s genuine.”

Still wary, the old man handed it over.

The moment Tang Ru examined it, his expression darkened. The Hundred Treasures Pavilion’s stamp was genuine, but the interest rate was too absurd to be true.

He frowned. He didn’t doubt the stamp’s authenticity, yet the numbers made no sense. Since when did the Hundred Treasures Pavilion borrow money from individuals? And since when did they need to borrow at all?

Tang Ru started thinking. When did the Hundred Treasures Pavilion begin using handwritten loan documents? And the amount borrowed on the document seemed off too.

“What are you hesitating for?” someone in the crowd shouted. “You’re the owner, aren’t you? Are you planning to dodge the debt? Do you think we rogue cultivators are stupid?”

“Yeah! Pay up if you’re really the boss!” another jeered.

The crowd grew even more restless. A few even spat at him. Tang Ru glanced down at the spittle, calmly wiped it away, and turned to face them.

“I, Tang Ru, swear on the Hundred Treasures Pavilion’s name that we will repay this debt—if it truly belongs to us. Whether it’s ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or a million spirit stones, we’ll find a way to make it right. A business survives on trust. That’s something I, Tang Ru, take to heart.”

The crowd erupted in cheers. Even Li Guanqi applauded softly. Tang Ru really did have the makings of a natural businessman.

Li Guanqi murmured with amusement, “He made such big promises... There must be a catch somewhere.”

Indeed.

Tang Ru continued, “You all heard the figure—ten thousand high-grade spirit stones. That’s an enormous sum. Even for us, it would take a full year to earn that much. Besides... when has the Hundred Treasures Pavilion ever borrowed from a rogue cultivator? The document claims the original loan was only a few dozen high-grade spirit stones, and this document was written on plain paper, even though the stamp is real.”

A murmur swept through the crowd. Paper? For something that valuable? Even a fool would start to doubt it.

Tang Ru looked at the old man coldly and said, “As such, I question the document’s authenticity. If the debt is real, I’ll repay it even if it means shutting down my business. But if it’s fake...

hmph

. You’ll have to face the consequences.”

The old man turned pale. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

A black-robed figure suddenly appeared behind the old man. He stiffened, then followed the figure deeper into the pavilion without a word.

Tang Ru bowed slightly to the crowd. “Three days. Give me three days to investigate this matter. I’m not the kind who kills to keep people quiet, so you can rest easy.”

As he turned, his gaze met Li Guanqi’s. He froze for a moment, then broke into a barely contained smile. Composing himself, he looked back at the customers and grinned. “My apologies for spoiling the mood today. To make it up to you, all goods in my shop are five percent off! Today only. I hope you’ll find something you like.”

His announcement was met with cheers. Most of the onlookers had come just to watch the drama, but now they got to enjoy some benefits.

The customers who’d initially returned their goods asked hurriedly, “

Uh...

If I buy the returned items back, will I get a five percent discount too?”

The shopgirl grinned. “Of course, sir.”

“

Hahaha!

Really? Alright, alright! I’ll take another two pieces then!”

The bystanders swarmed into the shop.

Tang Ru hurried over to Li Guanqi and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. “Is that really you?”

Li Guanqi nodded, then gave him a thumbs-up. “That was impressive.”

Tang Ru felt a little shy when he heard the praise. He scratched his head and said, “Would you like to have a drink with me inside?”

Li Guanqi smiled. “Of course.”

Tang Ru grinned, then personally led him inside.

Many onlookers exchanged puzzled looks. They immediately started looking into who Li Guanqi was, considering the owner of Hundred Treasures Pavilion had personally greeted him.