Chapter 4: Merchant

Cheap little brother? What was his name again...?

Yaoguang's brow furrowed as he went through his body's memories to find the information he needed.

Right...It's Su Xiangyang.

Although Su Huaifeng was a notorious playboy with six children, he only had one son, Su Xiangyang.

It looks like the previous owner of this body is afraid of that person...

As he pondered, Yaoguang discovered more things about the old Yaoguang.

By now, the two men across from him had already snapped out of the shock caused by the sudden upheaval. Both retreated sharply.

One of them instinctively pulled out a gun from his coat.

A thought rose in Yaoguang's mind.

Dayu enforces strict firearm regulations, yet he has a gun. As expected of professional assassins, I guess.

Almost at the instant the gun appeared, Yaoguang flicked his hand.

A formless sword shot out, piercing through the wrist of the man holding the gun with a faint, sharp whistle before burying itself in his forehead, hilt and all. Immediately after, Yaoguang moved.

A low, tearing sound burst beneath his feet. The sudden surge of jin nearly split his shoe soles, and a faint wisp of smoke curled up where his feet scraped the ground.

In an instant, he appeared beside the last short-haired man. Under the man’s terrified gaze, Yaoguang spread his fingers wide and clamped his entire face in one palm before pushing forward.

The jin blasted the man’s eighty-kilogram frame into the air. Yet the moment his toes rose half a meter off the floor, his flight abruptly ended, as the back of his skull had slammed brutally into the wall.

Bang!

The wall fractured and dust flew everywhere. Blood spattered around the room.

His natural reflexes made him twitch, as if he were still struggling, but Yaoguang’s right hand pinned him firmly in place. After a few seconds, all movement ceased. The moment Yaoguang let go, the short-haired man’s corpse slid to the floor.

Only then did Yaoguang seem to realize something. His brow furrowed as he looked at the cracked wall, the splattered blood, and the three corpses waiting to be cleaned up.

"I was reckless. Looks like finding a cleanup crew is a must," he said..

He immediately began searching the bodies. There was little cash, only a few thousand in total. But a certain black bank card stood out.

"A Terri Bank anonymous card," said Yaoguang, looking at the card. He quickly guessed why the man in a trench coat had it.

Yaoguang took the man’s phone, lifted his eyelids for facial recognition and, while the body was still warm, used the man’s fingerprints to unlock the device and transfer out all available funds.

Martial Dao cultivation required resources.

The ancient tree in his mind functioned like a multidimensional data search engine, allowing him to obtain all information related to any profession. But after receiving information, the actual cultivation still had to be done on his own.

Over the past year, while killing daemons who disguised themselves as martial masters, he had earned more than ten million in spoils. Yet everything had been poured into his cultivation, which was how he had managed to temper his physique to the human limit in just one year.

He was broke. Naturally, he would not let any money slip by.

"A bit over eight hundred thousand..." Yaoguang calculated the final number. He had gained a total of 810,000 from the three men.

His gaze briefly swept toward the trench-coat man’s broken neck. Although their "trading process" had been somewhat unorthodox, he had gained money, and that would certainly increase his Merchant experience.

He shifted his focus to the ancient tree in his mind.

[Financial profit of 810,000. The first-tier Merchant branch has received growth nutrients. Growth halted because the main trunk has absorbed all nutrients.]

Immediately after, the Martial Dao branch absorbed nutrients and began to grow.

After digesting the small amount of newly gained experience about the Organ Strengthening realm, Yaoguang examined the Terri Bank card in his hand. He had already found the card's PIN on the phone.

I wonder what my life is worth...

Financial trades did not provide nearly as much experience as daemon hunting, but as long as the amount was large enough, they could still serve as supplemental and unexpected bonuses.

He had also found a USB-like key, which served as an identity token of the underground world. There, they recognised the token, not the person.

Yaoguang was just planning to use the token to contact a professional cleanup team when hurried footsteps approached. After listening for a moment, he walked into the living room, intending to close the door.

Suddenly, voices echoed from the hallway corner.

"Yaoguang!" Two women hurried toward him.

One of them was exceptional in both looks and demeanor, and she appeared completely out of place in the dim apartment. Her name was Su Yaoyu, and she was Yaoguang’s older sister. She was also the only positive thing in the original owner's memories.

Considering their relationship, Yaoguang stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind him.

"I am heading out. Do you need anything?" asked Yaoguang.

"Are you alright?" asked Su Yaoyu, reaching for him to check.

Yaoguang sidestepped instantly. "Just say what you need to say. Don't touch me."

It was partly because she was too close, and partly because he was not accustomed to such intimacy.

"Now that you're all grown up, you don't like your older sister anymore, huh? Or did you start getting shy?" Su Yaoyu teased him with a smile.

Seeing that he was walking and jumping around just fine, she finally relaxed.

It was the woman behind her, standing at one-seventy-five with a valiant bearing, who looked startled.

I could not see Yaoguang's dodge clearly just now... Was it because my attention was on Su Yaoyu and I missed it?

By now, Su Yaoyu had finished joking around and spoke gravely, "Yaoguang, you cannot stay here anymore. Fourth Brother has gone mad. He dared to hire people to deal with one of his own. The bounty order he has issued in the underground world has already been accepted. It's too late to withdraw it. As things stand, the only way for you to avoid danger is to return to the Su family with me as soon as possible."

"Su Xiangyang? Has he gone insane?" Yaoguang felt slightly surprised.

"I wouldn’t call him insane, but what he did might as well be. In short, he's finished. Once you go back, you will no longer have to worry about being bullied." Su Yaoyu did not elaborate.

There was no gossip to hear, so Yaoguang did not ask further. He simply said, "I am not going back to the Su family. I am doing fine here."

The woman behind Su Yaoyu spoke up. "Third Young master, you still do not understand the situation you are in. If you do not go back, you are in great danger."

Yaoguang glanced at her. Her name was Caiyun, one of the orphans adopted by the Su family.

Dayu had a 430-year history, and some families had been around for about that long. These old families often adopted orphans to train them. Even if the Su family was not as old as those families, they had been rooted in Tiannan for over a century, and they had adopted several people like Caiyun.

"We have already identified the group that accepted the bounty put on you. They call themselves Black Triangulum, and there are four members. They committed numerous crimes across Tiannan and are utterly brazen. They'll take any job, and they're willing to do anything," said Caiyun in a low voice. "Based on our intel, their vehicle has already entered Yunmeng City. They will likely make a move on you very soon."

"They are called Black Triangulum, but there are four members?" Yaoguang asked.

"Yes. Three out in the open, one in the shadows." Caiyun nodded.

Yaoguang felt that the money in that anonymous bank card was probably a lost cause.

"I got it. Then tell me, what will the Su family do about Su Xiangyang hiring killers to deal with me?" he asked.

Caiyun could not answer that. Su Yaoyu also looked hesitant.

Since Yaoguang is unharmed, it's likely that the punishment won't be too severe.

After a moment, she seemed to recall something and spoke firmly. "Do not worry. I believe the Family Laws Hall will give you a satisfactory answer."

"Alright." Yaoguang nodded slightly.

Originally, he had been tempted to answer differently.

If the Su family does not give me a satisfactory answer, I will give the Su family one myself.

However, after thinking it over, he felt that it was pointless to say that.

In the end, he only said, "I will be present when the Su family carries out the judgment."

Seeing that Yaoguang finally appeared willing to go home, Su Yaoyu’s eyes brightened. But before she could speak, Yaoguang said, "I have something to do. I am leaving."

"Your sister drove three hundred kilometers from the capital just to find you, and this is how you treat her? You are breaking my heart," Su Yaoyu said, putting on an exaggeratedly wronged expression. Yaoguang just stared at her, speechless.

As he stayed silent, Su Yaoyu grew worried. She quickly changed the subject. "Yaoguang, if you really feel repressed staying at home, you can go live with Mom for a while. Once the Black Triangulum is caught, you can come back—"

Yaoguang shook his head. "No need. I will take you to get a hotel room."

"You are not staying here? I can sleep on the sofa," said Su Yaoyu

"It's inconvenient," replied Yaoguang.

There were three corpses inside, and explaining that would be troublesome. It was better to book her a room and be done with it.

"Oh, I see how it is. My little brother is all grown up..." Su Yaoyu smiled mysteriously.

"Let's go," he said as he turned to leave without explaining anything.

Seeing him like this, Su Yaoyu felt worried, though the feeling of helplessness weighed even heavier on her. Considering his past, she couldn't bear to force him to do something.

She could only turn to Caiyun and say, "Sister Caiyun, I will have to trouble you these next few days. The family has already contacted local authorities. They are conducting a strict investigation into criminals and the likes, so they will uncover the Black Triangulum soon."

"Don't worry. I will not let the third young master come to harm," Caiyun said solemnly.

After a short pause, she added, "But Miss, the young master cannot continue like this either..."

"I know." Su Yaoyu sighed softly. Her expression carried deep helplessness.

The relationships between her, her parents, Su Yaoguang, and Su Anping were extremely complicated.

In the last few years, she had worked hard to mend the family, but her only younger brother still drifted further and further away from her.

It had been fine before, but during the last year they’d barely even talked on the phone.

She did not know if she had said or done something that touched a nerve or something of the kind. The only thing she could do was behave naturally, stay close, and let him feel a little family warmth.