Chapter 0008: Wanting Money

Chapter 0008: I Need Money

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Qi Tian took the silver notes from Xiao Wen, put them safely in his bosom, and all this while, he consistently held tight to Xiao Wen's arm.

Xiao Wen carefully asked, "Master Tian, I've already returned your silver notes. Can you let go of me now?"

A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Qi Tian's mouth, and he retorted, "Don't you think your request is ridiculous? Just because you returned what is mine, does it mean you never stole it from me? With your skilled thievery, it goes without saying that you must have stolen from countless people before me, right?"

"No, absolutely not. I swear to the gods that this was absolutely my first time." Xiao Wen hastily denied, sensing the ominous tone in Qi Tian's voice.

Qi Tian didn't pay any attention to Xiao Wen's explanations. He continued, "Do you know the silver notes that you almost stole from me has great importance to me? Do you know that the money you steal from others' homes might be their lifeline, their hope for an entire year, only for you to thoughtlessly spend it on wine and women?"

"You are a National Master of the National Master's Manor, why do you bother with a shrimp like me who is just trying to make ends meet?" Xiao Wen pleaded.

"Exactly, well said. Just like a mosquito annoy people, I wouldn't actively swat them. But if they persist in biting me, draining my blood, I do not hesitate to kill them." Qi Tian spoke indifferently.

Xiao Wen recoiled in fear, and immediately turned to Kuang Zhiliang, pleading, "Save me, maste..."

Qi Tian had no interest in listening to Xiao Wen's appeal. He raised his other hand and hit Xiao Wen square on the head. Xiao Wen's skull cracked and began to bleed from his orifices. Qi Tian let go and Xiao Wen's lifeless body collapsed onto the ground like a pile of mud.

Kuang Zhiliang angrily yelled, "Qi Tian, you've gone too far. He's just an ordinary person, who has already returned the money to you, why did you still have to kill him? How can you not have a shred of compassion?"

Qi Tian glanced at Kuang Zhiliang, saying, "Senior Kuang, our National Master's Manor must maintain its dignity. His theft was an offence against the authority of the National Master's Manor, it is an unacceptable violation. Our National Master Manor's disciples should always uphold its dignity and honor. This is the rule of the National Master's Manor. As an outer disciple of the manor, you didn't forget about that, did you?"

"You...you..., but that doesn't give you the right to murder so casually!" Kuang Zhiliang was in extreme anguish. He painstakingly found Xiao Wen, a thief with superb skills, only to have him killed by Qi Tian, who was going to help him steal money in the future? With no money, how would he acquire resources for cultivation?

"A thief who steals from others hard work and sweat, it's no loss if they're killed. I believe everyone here can see that clearly. Why don't you ask the people around here if they approve of my killing this thief?" Qi Tian gestured towards the crowd.

Before Kuang Zhiliang could ask anything, someone in the crowd cheered him on.

"Good job, Master. You are a hero. These thieves deserve to die. My wife fell seriously ill last time, and I barely managed to borrow two taels of silver to hire a doctor. But a thief stole it and my wife couldn't afford the doctor and died. These thieves deserve a thousand cuts."

…

Kuang Zhiliang's face turned ashen. He looked at Xiao Wen's lifeless body on the ground and then glared at Qi Tian. He stepped away infuriated.

Watching Kuang Zhiliang walk away, the smile on Qi Tian's face slowly faded. This interaction with Kuang Zhiliang had created a lifelong enemy. Given the opportunity, Kuang Zhiliang would surely try to avenge double of his loss. Even if it meant planning Qi Tian's murder, it wouldn't surprise him. His month-long stay in National Master's Manor opened his eyes to many things, and he understood that he couldn't just ignore today's incident. But he didn't mind it. He could always settle the dispute with his fists.

Qi Tian waved a servant over, gave him ten taels of silver, and instructed him to report Xiao Wen's death to the authorities, and then find a place to bury him. Xiao Wen was an ordinary person, without any special energy to be of use as fuel for the Heavenly Dao Engine. Moreover, with so many witnesses, he couldn't risk heavily his secret.

After settling Xiao Wen's affairs, Qi Tian proceeded towards Zhangshui City. The National Master's Manor was located in the north of Zhangshui City, while not far from the city gate, it covered a vast area almost as big as the university campus of Qi Tian's former life. Inside, it had lakes, towers, several standalone courtyards as well as grand halls.

The National Master's Manor also had an outer courtyard, which spread across hundreds of acres and had many major halls and buildings. Besides being accessible to the disciples of the manor, these buildings were also open to outsiders.

However, there is a main hall here that is not often open to the public, and that is the Huangque Hall, which is specifically responsible for managing outer sect disciples. Many of the early built halls of the Imperial Master Mansion were named after birds, but the later ones did not follow this principle, the naming becomes more arbitrary. Among the halls named after birds, the lowest-ranking is the Huangque Hall. There is also the Swallow's Hall, and the highest-ranking hall is called the Kunpeng Hall. Qi Tian currently only has access to the Huangque Hall, and is not qualified to enter other halls.

Qi Tian realized that it was getting late, so he didn't bother going back to the National Master Manor to change his clothes and rushed straight to the Huangque Hall.

The Huangque Hall stands on flat ground, about seven or eight meters tall and covers an area of thousands of square meters. It has only one floor, which is divided into several areas. There is also a notice board at the entrance of Huangque Hall, the notice about the selection of the county master is still attached to it, sun-bleached to a point of turning white. Qi Tian could recite every single word, every single punctuation, on the notice off by heart, even with his eyes closed.

Qi Tian stepped into the Huangque Hall. This place did not prohibit outsiders from entering but, once inside the hall, entering some of the small rooms required identification.

Qi Tian went straight to Room A No.10, which was in charge of the registration for this time's outer sect disciple enrollment, and discovered that many people were gathered here. Although the deadline for registration was soon, there were still quite a few outer disciples, like himself, trying to manage the registration fee using various means. Besides them, there were also many outsiders dressed in riches, most of whom had no cultivation on their bodies. The common trait amongst them was that they were not short of money. They hoped to attract a few outer disciples willing to work for them through the method of sponsorship.

Qi Tian's appearance was rather pitiful, and he did not carry the National Master Manor identity plaque on him. Many people thought a small beggar had intruded. As Qi Tian passed by, they covered their noses, fearing the stench coming off him.

The smell on Qi Tian was not pleasant. Now, in the chilly spring, the temperature was not too high. Were it to be one or two months later, when the weather heats up, the mixed smell of blood and sweat on Qi Tian's body would likely be enough to make a lot of people faint.

"Go, go, go, little beggar, this isn't a place for you to beg, hurry up and leave." Someone exclaimed.

Qi Tian took out his identity plaque of being an outer disciple of the National Master Manor, saying, "I am here to register, please make way."

Identity plaques of the National Master Manor cannot be faked. Nobody would have thought that such a little beggar would actually be an outer sect disciple of the National Master Manor, so they quickly made way for him. Despite Qi Tian's ragged clothing, just the plaque in his hand made him more respectable than those well-dressed wealthy people.

Qi Tian squeezed through the crowd to the entrance of Room A No.10. Just as he was about to go in, he suddenly heard someone call out, "Qi Tian."

The voice was soft and charming, a woman's voice. Turning his head, he saw the crowd, originally blocking the door, step aside as a young girl aged thirteen or fourteen gracefully approached. Judging by Qi Tian's past life experiences of having seen many celebrities, the young girl could be considered very pretty. She appeared to be a beauty in the making right now. As long as she didn't spoil her features in the future, a score of more than eighty wouldn't be a problem.

"Isn't that Yuan Dan?" Someone recognized the beauty-to-be and called out, taken aback.

"Yes, it's her. I've heard long ago that she's particularly beautiful, and she truly is as beautiful as a fairy. She deserves to be the second most beautiful woman in Huangque Hall."

As the Huangque Hall is responsible for all matters concerning outer sect disciples, it acts as a synonym for an outer sect disciple of the Imperial Master Mansion. By calling Yuan Dan the second most beautiful woman in Huangque Hall, it means she is the second most beautiful out of the over two hundred disciples from the National Master Manor.

"Why would she appear here? Has she come to register for the county master selection too?"

"Hehe, who knows? However, I did hear gossip that Qi Tian and Yuan Dan are from the same village. Qi Tian even fought with Zhou Kunlin for her."

"Zhou Kunlin? You mean the invincible Zhou Kunlin in the initial stage of Qi Refining, from Huangque Hall?"

"That's him. I don't know where Qi Tian got the courage to fight with Zhou Kunlin. Back then, Qi Tian was beaten miserably by Zhou Kunlin and spent many days bedridden. Afterward, he wasn't seen much for over a month. He claimed he was in closed-door cultivation, but I think he was just afraid of Zhou Kunlin, fearing another beating."

...

The whispers of the crowd reached Qi Tian's ears unobstructed. His eyebrow slightly rose; it seemed that these should be some matters regarding his predecessor. No wonder his predecessor was so eager to cultivate, insisting on it even at risk of deviation into demonization, and ended up with his soul shattered. It seems the root cause lay here.

Qi Tian glanced at Yuan Dan, who was standing a meter away from him. This was a distance Yuan Dan could maintain. It was also a safe distance for her, allowing her to ensure that her words could be heard by him, while also ensuring that outsiders wouldn't needlessly speculate about their relationship. She was a smart girl but felt nothing for Qi Tian.

If this were on Earth, Yuan Dan would just be a junior high school girl. But this is the Cultivation World. If he treats Yuan Dan with the mindset of dealing with a junior high school girl, Qi Tian can assure himself that he will be eaten alive, not even leaving bones behind.