Chapter 3: Usury?

Jiang Yan and An Yi were lying on a rooftop not far from the entrance of the alley, taking in the lively scene below. The comedic spectacle ended with the two chatterboxes limping away, supporting each other.

“Hahahaha, that round-faced little girl is truly amusing. How does she manage to talk like that?” Jiang Yan doubled over with laughter at the thought of the girl.

“Master... Master, don’t you think that girl looks familiar? She’s your cousin,” An Yi said, rubbing his sore waist. He never wanted to experience being used as a stepping stone by his master to climb rooftops again—it had nearly cost him his life. He hadn’t married yet; he didn’t want to die young!

“Is that so? My cousin? Oh, my memory… I do recall her vaguely. But my recollection hasn’t fully recovered. An Yi, why don’t you tell me about her background?” Jiang Yan feigned rubbing his temples, coaxing An Yi into revealing more.

An Yi had certainly noticed the changes in his master. Previously, Jiang Yan had been a taciturn, unsmiling man—like a puppet on strings. Now, he was open and expressive, his face animated with emotion. An Yi preferred this version of his master. He suspected Jiang Yan had suffered a total loss of memory but didn’t wish others to know. An Yi silently resolved to keep his master’s secret.

“Master, the girl’s name is Mo Shiyu, thirteen years old. She’s your uncle’s daughter, the second young lady of the Mo family…” An Yi proceeded to introduce the Mo family and its important members.

The Jiang Kingdom had four great families, and the Mo family was one of them. Jiang Yan’s mother, Lady Yu, was born Mo Zixuan, the eldest daughter of the main branch. The current Mo family head, Mo Beiting, was Lady Yu’s younger brother. The family head had two daughters: Mo Shiqing, the elder, and Mo Shiyu, the younger.

Among the younger generation of the Mo family, there were three cultivators. Two of them were Mo Shiqing and Mo Shiyu. Mo Shiqing practiced sword cultivation, Mo Shiyu focused on alchemy; both sisters were inner disciples of the Lingxu Sect. The Lingxu Sect was one of the eight great sects, rich in cultivation resources.

“Cousin, long time no see!”

Mo Shiyu appeared beside Jiang Yan as if out of nowhere and gave him a hearty slap on the back.

“Ah…” Jiang Yan, still processing An Yi’s information, jumped at the sudden sound. He patted his thumping chest and said, “Shiyu, scaring people could be fatal, you know.”

The girl blinked her large, watery eyes, her youthful cheeks tinged pink. She scratched her head, embarrassed. “Sorry, cousin. I was just so happy to see you. It took me ages to get down from the mountain. I went to your residence, but the steward said you’d gone out.”

“How did you know we were here?” Jiang Yan asked curiously. He wondered if they had hidden too conspicuously.

“Hehe, I actually spotted you both long ago. Those two men you beat up? I saw everything. Don’t underestimate me—my master says I’ll reach Foundation Establishment soon,” Mo Shiyu boasted.

“Hahaha, so it was all an act earlier! You’re quite the character! By the way, what brings you to see me?”

“Cousin, I came bearing good news. I’ve concocted several bottles of low-grade pills and thought I’d gift you some,” she said, pulling out three small porcelain bottles from a pouch that resembled a lotus seed bag. Each bottle was labeled with the name of the pill inside.

She beamed as she introduced them: “Cousin, look, there are three bottles—Veracity Pill, Beauty Pill, and Marrow Cleansing Pill.”

Wow, Marrow Cleansing Pill!

Jiang Yan’s smile nearly reached his ears. This was a treasure! From his extensive reading of novels, the Marrow Cleansing Pill was essential for transforming a useless character into a formidable one. It was like finding a treasure in the beginner’s village!

Just as Jiang Yan eagerly reached for the bottles, Mo Shiyu deftly sidestepped out of reach.

“Didn’t you say you were giving them to me? Are you changing your mind?” Jiang Yan asked, puzzled.

“Don’t rush, cousin. I did say I’d give you the pills I made,” she paused, then continued, “But the Marrow Cleansing Pill isn’t my own creation. You know, it’s a high-grade pill, rare and priceless. My master gave it to me as a gift when I became his disciple—there’s only one.”

She wiped at imaginary tears and went on, “I’m almost at Foundation Establishment now, so I don’t need it. Aunt told me your spiritual root hasn’t awakened yet, and people call you a waste. It made me feel so bad…”

“Alright, alright, stop. Enough with the theatrics. What do you want?” Jiang Yan twitched his mouth, unwilling to watch her exaggerated performance any longer.

“Hehe, cousin, you’re quick on the uptake! I want to buy high-grade medicinal herbs for alchemy, but they cost a lot of spirit stones,” she said, patting Jiang Yan’s shoulder in a brotherly way, grinning. “Since you’re my cousin, I’ll give you a hefty discount!”

She waved the bottle containing the Marrow Cleansing Pill before his eyes. “This Marrow Cleansing Pill—just twenty mid-grade spirit stones and it’s yours. At auction, it starts at a thousand mid-grade spirit stones. I’m losing out big time here!” Mo Shiyu wore an innocent expression, as if she were suffering a huge loss.

“But…I don’t have any spirit stones,” Jiang Yan said, gazing longingly at the porcelain bottle. He didn’t even know what spirit stones looked like…

To think he had transmigrated into a second prince and was still so poor! (T＿T)

Suddenly, a pale yellow sheet of rice paper appeared before him. Jiang Yan glanced at the squiggly traditional characters, barely recognizing the first word: “IOU.”

“Hehe, cousin, I prepared an IOU in advance. Just sign your name and it’ll be settled,” Mo Shiyu said, handing him ink, looking like a loyal sidekick.

Jiang Yan saw her eyes sparkling, silently urging him: Sign it, sign it! If she had a tail, it would have been wagging wildly.

Twenty mid-grade spirit stones…shouldn’t be too bad, he thought. And with the Marrow Cleansing Pill, plus the Veracity and Beauty Pills thrown in, it was a bargain!

With both parties satisfied, the transaction was quickly concluded: one IOU for the goods.

“Cousin, don’t forget to pay me back soon! I’m off!” Mo Shiyu called out as she nimbly soared away.

Damn! (☉｡☉)

Jiang Yan suddenly realized he hadn’t fully understood the characters on the IOU. Could his cousin really trick him?

“An Yi, read out the terms of the IOU for me. The handwriting is so ugly, it hurts my eyes!”

“Yes, Master.” An Yi took the IOU, scanned it, and his mouth twitched violently. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then dutifully relayed the terms to Jiang Yan…

(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) What?!

The debt had to be repaid within a month; for every ten days overdue, another low-grade spirit stone would be added!

Could it be…his cousin understood the art of high-interest loans?!

Was there no hope for the poor anymore?!