Chapter 124 (3): Mutual Satisfaction

The two men then turned expectantly to Jiang Wuwang, but he didn't have any silver vouchers of such a paltry value, or any silver vouchers at all, for that matter.

"I'm a messenger from the Church of the Self-Righteous!" he declared.

"Even Master Nine himself has to pay the fine if he breaks the rules! Also, why is someone from the Church of the Self-Righteous spitting on our Guardian headquarters? That's an act of blatant disrespect! Your fine has been increased to twenty taels of silver!"

Jiang Wuwang almost fainted from anger and exasperation.

I wouldn't have spat if he hadn't beaten me! How could I not spit with all this blood in my mouth?!

He gritted his teeth as he turned to Bing Qianshan and demanded, "Give me twenty taels of silver!"

"Why should I?!" Bing Qianshan exclaimed with a dumbstruck expression.

"I don't have the money, so you have to give it to me," Jiang Wuwang replied.

"Why do you sound so cocky? Is being broke a badge of pride for you?"

"I only spat because you beat me, so you're obligated to pay my fine!"

"Piss off! You're from the Church of the Self-Righteous! Of course I beat you on sight!"

Jiang Wuwang had no response for this.

"Fine, then lend me twenty taels of silver."

"Nope!" Bing Qianshan refused. "Take him away and lock him up for ten days! That's the rule, right?"

The two men nodded in response before pulling out a set of shackles.

"I'm a mesenger!" Jiang Wuwang wailed.

The two men were just about to step in when Jiang Wuwang yelled, "I'll repay you with interest! Just lend me the silver!"

"How much interest are you gonna pay me?"

"I'll give you ten times the principle in interest!"

"You think you can placate me with just two hundred taels of silver? Who do you think I am? I want ten times the sum in divine crystals, and I want monthly compounding interest!"

"That's bullshit! You..."

All of a sudden, an idea occurred to Jiang Wuwang, and he pulled out a spirit crystal before handing it to the two men.

"Keep the change."

The spirit crystal was worth at least several million taels of silver.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Bing Qianshan protested.

"We only take silver!" the two men declared.

Jiang Wuwang was quickly becoming suicidal.

He knew that there was no weaseling his way out of this way. Clearly, Bing Qianshan was extorting him, but he had no choice but to play along.

"Fine! Lend me the money!"

"Alright, lemme write up a contract real quick."

With the contract written and signed by both parties, Baing Qianshan handed Jiang Wuwang two silver vouchers.

"Just give them to those two," Jiang Wuwang said in a feeble voice.

"I can't do that! I'm lending the money to

you

! What if you deny your debt after I give the silver vouchers to them?"

Jiang Wuwang was completely defeated as he accepted the silver vouchers before paying off his fine, following which he pulled two hundred divine crystals out of his spatial ring before offering them to Bing Qianshan.

Bing Qianshan immediately shook his head as he pulled out the contract and said, "It's monthly interest! I can only accept your payment once a month has passed."

"What? Do you want me to come back in a month just to pay you?"

"That's fine, or I can go look for you."

"It's fine, I'll come find you," Jiang Wuwang hurriedly replied with a shake of his head.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

He did not want Bing Qianshan coming after him.

"Alright, you better make sure to keep your eyes peeled then! If you fail to make the payment in a timely fashion, then you'll have to pay another month's worth of compounding interest!"

Jiang Wuwang didn't know what to say anymore.

Clearly, Bing Qianshan's ploy was to have him owe compounding interest indefinitely. At a rate of tenfold compounding interest per month, it would only be a few months until he could no longer afford the repayment.

With that in mind, he wanted to insist on repaying his debt right away, but before he could do so, a voice rang out from within the Guardian headquarters.

"Master Nine will see you now."

Bing Qianshan instantly disappeared like a gust of wind, while Jiang Wuwang hurriedly dusted himself off to make himself appear more presentable.

However, as he instinctively drew upon his cultivation base to recover from his injuries, he discovered that Bing Qianshan hadn't unsealed his cultivation base.

What a piece of shit! I always heard Bing Qianshan is a nasty piece of work, but I didn't think it'd be to this extent!

After entering Dongfang Sansan's office, Jiang Wuwang reached into his pocket as he declared, "I have come here to deliver a letter from..."

His voice abruptly cut off here.

The letter had originally been stored in his spatial ring, but he had transferred it to his pocket after entering Rocky City.

However, the letter was missing.

Right at this moment, Bing Qianshan pulled a letter out of his pocket with a wide grin as he said, "Here's the letter from Yan Nan, Brother Sansan."

Jiang Wuwang: "......"

Clearly, the letter had been stolen from him during his beating.

Jiang Wuwang immediately flew into a rage, but he couldn't do anything with his cultivation base still sealed.

"Return the letter to him and unseal his cultivation base," Dongfang Sansan instructed with an exasperated roll of his eyes. "This is no way to be treating a messenger. Please bear with Qianshan, Enforcer Jiang. He always likes to get up to these little pranks, but he means you no harm."

Jiang Wuwang was fuming!

You call this a little prank?!

Even with the letter returned to him, Jiang Wuwang was completely deflated, and he offered it up to Dongfang Sansan with a glum expression.

After reading through the letter, Dongfang Sansan smiled and said, "Please inform Deputy Pope Yan that I'm happy to follow his lead."

"I will. Our deputy pope has invited you to come and spectate the matches with him if you're interested," Jiang Wuwang said.

"Oh? I didn't think Deputy Pope Yan would have any interest in the matches. Sure, we can discuss that when the time comes. It's not every day that you get to come here, so make sure to buy some specialty local products from the city to take back with you."

"I'll pass. I have to get back right away," Jiang Wuwang replied with a dark expression, not wanting to remain in this city even a second longer.

"Alright, in that case, I won't keep you any longer," Dongfang Sansan said in a friendly voice. "Qianshan, escort Enforcer Jiang out of the city."

Bing Qianshan was more than happy to accept this task.

The last person Jiang Wuwang wanted to escort him out of the city was Bing Qianshan, but he hardly had a choice in the matter.

At the city gates, Bing Qianshan smiled as he reminded, "Don't forget about your debt, Brother Jiang."

"Will I be able to find you in a month?" Jiang Wuwang asked in a disgruntled manner.

"Of course! It's not like I'm dead, so why wouldn't you be able to find me?"

"Isn't your plan to intentionally avoid me so I keep racking up compound interest?"

Jiang Wuwang was laying everything out on the table to put a wrench in Bing Qianshan's ploy.

"I wouldn't do that!" Bing Qianshan promised. "I assure you I'll be around to accept your debt repayment!"

Jiang Wuwang still wasn't convinced, but he didn't dare to press the issue any further, given that Bing Qianshan could beat him up anytime.

At this point, his only wish was to leave this place without suffering further humiliation.

Shortly after Jiang Wuwang's departure, Yang Luoyu arrived by Bing Qianshan's side.

"Is he gone?"

"Yes, he just left."

"There's something that I need you to do with me."

"What is it?"

"Deputy Pope Yan Nan asked me to pass on a very... interesting message to Master Xue."

Intrigued by the excited look on Yang Luoyu's face, Bing Qianshan slung an arm across his shoulder as he asked, "What's the message?"

Yang Luoyu relayed the message to Bing Qianshan, and the latter instantly erupted into laughter.

He was brimming with excitement as he urged, "Let's go! I can't wait to see his reaction!"

Shortly thereafter, a resounding boom rang out as Yang Luoyu and Bing Qianshan split up and fled for their lives while yelling, "I'm sorry, Boss! I'll never do it again..."

A furious Xue Fuxiao came charging out behind them with murder in his eyes.

***

Inside his office, Dongfang Sansan was carefully reading through Yan Nan's letter a second time with a contemplative look in his eyes.

Yan Nan must be convinced that he's seen through my plans this time. I bet he's very pleased with himself.

A satisfied smile appeared on Dongfang Sansan's face at the thought of Yan Nan's ill-founded satisfaction.

Looks like it's about time I reveal to Yan Nan that Fang Che and Night Demon and one and the same. Given that he thinks he's completely seen through my plans, he won't suspect anything, at least in the near future, and he'll be sure to regard Night Demon as a bright prospect, given that he's already managed to infiltrate the Protectionists.

Dongfang Sansan laid out a map on his desk, then drew a circle around a certain location in the southeast.

The next step of my plan will start from here.

***

In the Hall of Protectionists, Fang Che had firmly established himself in his new role of chief administrator.

Under his disciplinary methods, the thirty Frost Sword Sect disciples had become very obedient to him, and the more he beat and abused them, the more subservient they became.

Fang Che's constant assessments kept the entire hall of administrators constantly on their toes.

There were cultivation base assessments, combat prowess assessments, merit point assessments...

Ever since he was promoted to chief administrator, everyone was subjected to an endless string of assessments, forcing them to give their full effort and dedication every single day.

It was a painful yet blissful experience as Fang Che's demanding style of leadership had everyone improving at a rapid rate.

Meanwhile, everyone at the Unmatched Escort Agency was working just as hard, with everyone doing their utmost to prepare for the impending arrival of the main church's assessment team.

Every day, they walked around with eyes like those of a hawk. Every single weed was plucked out, every floor tile was kept spotless at all times, and the plaque hanging above the front entrance was wiped down thrice a day.

Yin Shengong's visit had alerted everyone to the fact that an anonymous visit from important people could take place at any time, so they could never afford to grow complacent.