Chapter 217: Tenfold Compensation

"Oh no... Lin Boss has really kicked an iron plate this time!"

"This isn't just an iron plate; it's an entire iron mountain!"

"The Ridge Master is only at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm, right? I wonder how he'll handle this."

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Whispers came from outside the store door. Even the shop owners who had just joined in the conversation were now hiding their heads, afraid of Fang Chen noticing them.

Lin Yue and Lu Ping's frames had stiffened. They felt stifled and almost choked on their own saliva. To them, this moment embodied the extreme epitome of terror. They had never been this scared in their entire lives.

Fang Chen looked at Manager Li with half a smile. "You asked who I am? Didn't I tell you earlier? My surname is Fang."

Manager Li quickly changed his tone. "Brother Fang, this is all a big misunderstanding. I'll thoroughly investigate this matter again. If it's confirmed that they were colluding to scam you, we'll handle it according to Dragon Ridge's rules!"

"If the beam is crooked, the pillars will be crooked too. You're going to investigate the matter?" Fang Chen's smile widened a little. He walked up to Manager Li and lightly patted his cheek. "Do you think I'll believe you? Later, you'll find some excuse to let them off secretly. At that time, who am I supposed to go to? Tell me, am I supposed to endure and swallow this resentment?"

Manager Li went rigid. Although he felt angry at Fang Chen's actions, he didn't dare to retaliate. The hierarchy among cultivators was strict, and the difference between the seventh and eighth levels of the Qi Refining Realm was not trivial. Moreover, he hadn't figured out Fang Chen's background yet. He didn’t dare act recklessly.

After a few breaths of silence, Manager Li cautiously asked, "Brother Fang, then how do you suggest we handle this?"

"Tenfold compensation. He wanted to extort fifty low-grade spirit stones from me, right? I demand five hundred low-grade spirit stones as compensation. If they don't have it, you'll cover the rest." Fang Chen smiled. "Who asked you to collude with them, planning to scheme against me?"

Manager Li's face fell.

Five hundred low-grade spirit stones?

The surrounding people all gasped in unison.

Such a large sum was beyond their imagination. Most people had only seven or eight spirit stones in their pockets, some even had none. If one had ten or twenty spirit stones, one would be considered wealthy.

Lu Ping's legs went weak, and his knees thudded on the shop’s floor. His face was full of regret. "I, I only have eight low-grade spirit stones on me...."

Lin Yue was terrified, and he subconsciously looked at Manager Li, perhaps hoping he'd try harder to negotiate and reduce the compensation. Even after his many years of doing business, he had barely been able to accumulate just a little over a hundred low-grade spirit stones. If he had to pay them all, that would be a devastating loss!

"Brother Fang, five hundred low-grade spirit stones... that's too much. How about this, I'll make them compensate twofold. A hundred low-grade spirit stones, and we can consider the matter settled, how about it?" proposed Manager Li cautiously. He was well aware of Lin Yue's financial situation.

Fang Chen chuckled, then said, "Do you think I’ll haggle with you? If you don’t take out ten times the amount as compensation, I'll take your lives as compensation."

The three of them shivered, drenched in cold sweat.

At that moment, the crowd outside suddenly cleared a path, revealing an old man who walked slowly toward them. He looked quite ordinary, without any distinctive features.

Upon seeing the old man, the cultivators from Dragon Ridge immediately showed signs of respect, not daring to be neglectful.

"Ridge Master!" Manager Li seemed to have found his savior. He wanted to rush ahead and go to the old man’s side, but Fang Chen blocked his way.

The old man smiled at Manager Li. "Manager Li, I always tell you to manage things properly when you’re down the street and not to mess around. Is it because you think I am an old man at the end of my lifespan that you no longer respect me?"

Upon hearing this, Manager Li's heart sank, feeling like a rat trapped at a dead end.

"Young friend, I am Song Yu. Due to my age and longer cultivation time, I have been chosen as the Ridge Master of Dragon Ridge Lane. This place was initially established by a group of like-minded wandering practitioners. Unfortunately, most of those brothers either died or left, and I am the only one left." Song Yu sighed lightly. "We had initially wanted to establish a place where wandering cultivators could cooperate and thrive together. Unfortunately, I, as the leader, failed to manage things properly, allowing some parasites to fester here."

"So, how do you intend to handle this matter?" asked Fang Chen calmly, not letting up just because of a few self-reflective words from Song Yu.

"I’ll handle it according to your suggestions, young friend. They will compensate you with five hundred low-grade spirit stones, not one spirit stone less," said Song Yu. "I will have someone determine the value of their assets and exchange them all into spirit stones. If it's still not enough, I'll make up the difference myself. Will that satisfy you, young friend?”

Fang Chen nodded with a smile. "If that's how it will be, then I am naturally satisfied."

Song Yu showed a smile, too. "Then, let's wait here for a moment. Determining the value of their possessions will take a bit of time. I hope you don’t mind, young friend."

"No problem."

Before long, Song Yu's subordinates immediately began to assess the value of the possessions of the two.

Lu Ping had claimed that he had only eight low-grade spirit stones, yet ultimately, it was revealed that he actually had a stash of forty low-grade spirit stones. On the contrary, Lin Yue had one hundred and thirty, and Manager Li was the wealthiest among them, with a whopping three hundred low-grade spirit stones. Upon learning of this, the onlookers gasped. Their eyes were filled with envy and discontent as they glanced at Manager Li.

A total of four hundred and seventy spirit stones. Without hesitation, Song Yu took out thirty spirit stones from his own pocket to make up the difference.

In just about an hour, five hundred low-grade spirit stones were now in Fang Chen's pocket. Manager Li and his companions stood as if their whole families were slain as they cried and stood in place with lowered heads. Their frames occasionally trembled. They weren't afraid of death now; they were grieving over their fortunes being wiped out. Their fortune had been their lifeline!

"You three can leave Dragon Ridge now. You are not allowed to set foot here ever again in the future," stated Song Yu calmly.

Manager Li was shocked. He immediately fell to his knees, crying, "Ridge Master, I know I was wrong. Please don't drive me away!"

Lin Yue and the others followed suit, kneeling and pleading.

To them, stumbling upon Dragon Ride had been their fortune as wandering cultivators. If they were barred from entering, they could search and search for decades and yet still not find another such marketplace for cultivators, and losing access to a marketplace meant they couldn't buy spiritual materials nor earn spirit stones. It was tantamount to a death sentence.

Song Yu waved his hand dismissively. "Leave now while I’m still holding my hand."

Realizing that Song Yu was determined to drive him away, Manager Li had no choice but to wipe away his tears and silently stand up and leave. The other two, seeing the situation, didn't dare to plead any longer. They got up and left, too. They didn’t dare even to look at Fang Chen.

Song Yu looked at Fang Chen and smiled. "Young friend, do you plan to buy something in Dragon Ridge? I'll personally accompany you to pick something out. How about it?"