Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Hearing Thirteen's words, Shen Lang smiled and said.
"Brother Thirteen, are you planning to sleep in the same bed as me?"
"You have two days. You must produce one thousand gold coins within that time."
After saying that, Thirteen left immediately.
Shen Lang lay comfortably on the bed.
His family was very poor, but they gave him the best of everything they had. It was common for children in the countryside from poor families to go years without new clothes. Shen Lang's family was also poor, but his parents never skimped on buying him clothes. No matter how difficult things were at home, his parents did their best for him.
His younger brother, Shen Jian, on the other hand, had never worn new clothes.
He only wore Shen Lang's hand-me-downs.
Did Shen Jian truly not mind that his parents favored Shen Lang for no apparent reason? Though his brother was hot-tempered and lived recklessly, he was still a far better person than the old Shen Lang, who had no redeeming qualities aside from his looks.
"Shen Lang, you useless fool. I will repay all the debts you owe your parents and brother. I will spend my entire life repaying them, so don't you worry."
Shen Lang vowed.
He would ensure his parents lived a life of comfort, help his brother find a wife, and let him start his own family. But to do that, the most urgent task was to escape the current crisis.
* * *
The next morning, as soon as Shen Lang woke up, he brewed medicine for his father and brother, washed up, and then ate breakfast.
*Bang, bang, bang.*
Hearing the knocking, his mother went to open the door with an anxious look on her face.
Shen Lang said.
"I'll get it."
When he opened the door, he saw Tian Heng's subordinates and adopted sons, Thirteen and Fourteen.
"Time is running out. Let's go make some money."
Thirteen stated his purpose in his usual calm tone.
"My son, what's going on?"
"It's nothing, Mother. These two are my friends."
"Your friends? Then come in and have some porridge."
"It's alright, we already ate on the way. Thank you for the offer, Mother."
Thirteen said with a smile.
His smile was so gentle that he didn't look like an assassin at all, but rather an ordinary young man.
As Shen Lang calmly finished the white porridge in his bowl, his mother placed an egg in it and said.
"Hurry up and eat."
He tried to give the egg to his father.
"Eat it. Just eat."
His mother said firmly, before peeling another egg and giving half to his father and the other half to his brother.
"Yes, I'll eat."
Shen Lang popped the egg his mother had placed in his bowl into his mouth.
Only after seeing him finish it did his mother smile brightly.
"Mother, I'm going to the city with my friends. I heard a really great teacher is coming to the academy today."
His mother looked momentarily surprised and asked.
"My son, will you be back for lunch?"
"I won't be back by lunchtime. I'll try my best to be home for dinner."
Thirteen said kindly.
"Mother, our home is near the town, so you don't have to worry about Shen Lang going hungry."
"Then I'll leave him in your care. Next time you visit, I'll treat you to some boiled eggs."
"That sounds wonderful."
Thirteen smiled an even more innocent smile.
After that, Shen Lang left home to earn money, with Thirteen and Fourteen following closely behind him.
To earn one thousand gold coins—an astronomical sum that ordinary people could never hope to touch.
* * *
Four hours later, after walking more than ten miles, Shen Lang and his companions were about to arrive at Xuanwu City. At that moment, they saw two people ahead who appeared to be arguing.
One was a middle-aged man, the other a young man; they looked like father and son.
Thirteen stepped forward and called out amicably.
"Uncle Li, Brother Dali, long time no see!"
The father and son stopped at the sound of their names.
When they realized it was Thirteen calling them, a look of unease crossed their faces, but they quickly put on smiles and replied.
"Oh, it's you, Thirteen. It's been a while."
"Uncle, why haven't you stopped by? My father misses you. Just yesterday, he was grumbling that you haven't come over for tea. I know you have a small debt with our family, but I hope it doesn't make things awkward between us. You and my father are like brothers, after all."
The middle-aged man said.
"I'll go tomorrow, I'll go tomorrow."
Thirteen put his arms around the father and son, leading them off the path and into a dense thicket of bushes.
"You haven't come over for a meal in a while, Uncle, and the wine my father painstakingly brewed has started to turn sour. He told me to send some meat over to your house, and what a coincidence that I ran into you here today!"
After guiding the pair into the bushes, Thirteen's tone became even more affectionate, as if they were truly uncle and nephew.
Thirteen said to the middle-aged man.
"Oh, by the way, Uncle! My father said you don't have to pay back the money you owe us anymore."
"That would be too shameless, far too shameless."
"You and my father have known each other for over a decade, you're like brothers. What's a little money between you? When I was a kid, I used to go to your house for meals every few days."
"W-well, then I'll bring a pig's head over tomorrow to see your father. We can have a drink together."
"Sounds great."
After saying that, Thirteen swiftly drew a sharp knife and plunged it into the father and son's hearts like a flash of lightning.
His movements were so fast that Shen Lang could barely see them.
The father and son died without a single scream or cry.
A moment later, crimson blood spurted from their wounds.
"Fourteen, call our brothers to take care of these two bodies."
"Yes, brother!"
Thirteen wiped the knife clean with a silk handkerchief before carefully tucking it back into his robes.
He meticulously checked his body and sleeves, and after confirming there were no bloodstains, he looked at Shen Lang and said.
"Sorry about that, running into acquaintances delayed us. Let's get going now."
"Alright."
From beginning to end, even while committing murder, Thirteen wore a smile, his expression unchanging.
The two of them continued on their way toward Xuanwu City.
Shen Lang suddenly asked.
"Brother Thirteen, was that middle-aged man your uncle?"
Thirteen nodded and said.
"That's right. He fled here with my father. They knew each other for over ten years, and he used to hold me often when I was a child."
"How much did he owe?"
"Three gold coins. Since he was an acquaintance, we gave him a low interest rate. The interest later grew to twenty-five gold coins, but not only could they not pay it back, the two of them went to a gambling den yesterday and racked up a few more gold coins in debt."
For twenty-five gold coins, Thirteen had killed a father and son he had known for over a decade without hesitation.
And it was to people like this that Shen Lang had to repay a thousand gold coins within two days.
"Shen Lang, honestly, I know you're just stalling for time to be with your family. Earning a thousand gold coins in two days is absurd. If you tell me right now that you can't pay, I'll give you a clean death. Don't make me waste two days of my precious time. How about it?"
After saying that, he wiped his sharp dagger once more.
If Shen Lang so much as nodded, he would kill him instantly.
Indeed, a thousand gold coins was a huge sum of money that would take hundreds of people decades to save.
For a poor man like Shen Lang to claim he could earn a thousand gold coins in two days was, quite literally, a pipe dream.
Shen Lang looked at Thirteen and said seriously.
"I don't need two days. I can get it done today!"
Thirteen frowned, his expression turning grim.
"Are you mocking me?"
"Of course not. I can earn a thousand gold coins within three *shichen*."
Thirteen looked slightly surprised, his eyes widening.
"Three *shichen*?"
It was an utterly unbelievable claim.
"That's right, three *shichen*."
* * *
Shen Lang and Thirteen entered Xuanwu City.
Xuanwu City was one of the eight cities in Raging River Commandery, governing twenty-five towns. Its total population exceeded two hundred fifty thousand, with over thirty thousand residing within the city walls.
Shen Lang noted that the walls of Xuanwu City were over twelve meters high and stretched for nearly ten *li*, or five kilometers.
The walls of many provincial and capital cities in ancient China were not even twelve meters high.
This proved that the martial arts of this world were far more advanced than those of ancient China, necessitating taller walls for defense.
Most of the private soldiers on the city walls wore leather armor, while the official troops, several hundred strong, were clad in metal armor.
Upon entering the city, they found the streets overflowing with people and shops clustered together like clouds. It was even more bustling than he had imagined.
Shen Lang stopped in front of a three-story pavilion with a sign that read "Brocade Pavilion."
It was here that he planned to make a fortune and, at the same time, exact his harsh revenge on the Xu Clan.
He took a deep breath and walked into the magnificent Brocade Pavilion.
*'Let the show begin!'*