Chapter 7 - Robbery!
Jiaang Ren and his companions were left completely stunned, frozen in place.
If Jiaang Lin had managed to handle them effortlessly, they might have rationalized that he had recently come into some sort of skill.
But seeing Jiaang Lin knock down and effortlessly subdue Jiaang Lang with a single kick was beyond their comprehension!
Who was Jiaang Lang?
A cultivator at Body Refining Level Three, capable of taking on over a dozen ordinary adults single-handedly.
How could Jiaang Lin, deemed worthless, possibly kick Jiaang Lang to the ground and overpower him?
Were it not for the excruciating pain coursing through their bodies, Jiaang Ren and the others might have believed they were dreaming!
“How can this be? When did that good-for-nothing become so formidable?”
It took a while for Jiaang Ren to snap out of his stupor, his face etched with horror as he gazed at Jiaang Lin, filled with deep fear.
The gazes of the other Jiaang family disciples towards Jiaang Lin shifted as well, now mixed with shock, surprise, and sheer disbelief.
“Cough, cough…”
Jiaang Lang's face was ashen as he coughed up blood.
His eyes, wide with astonishment and fear, were fixed on Jiaang Lin.
Was Jiaang Lin really trash?
Could a nobody really kick him down and break several of his ribs in one go?
Jiaang Lang couldn't fathom how Jiaang Lin, known as the trash of Clear Water Town, had suddenly become so formidable.
Could it be that Jiaang Lin had been feigning weakness all these years?
But that thought didn't quite add up.
Who in their right mind would pretend to be useless, enduring years of mockery, insults, and beatings from their own family?
“Come now, let's tally up the damage. Your kick demolished my gold-painted gate, that's five hundred silver coins.
Then there's the ruined golden rosewood tables, white rosewood chairs, sandalwood screens, and various other antiques!
All in all, that comes to fifteen thousand silver coins!
But since we're all Jiaang family disciples, I'll give you a discount. Just ten thousand silver coins will do.”
Jiaang Lin kept his foot firmly on Jiaang Lang's chest, pinning him down.
Jiaang Ren and the other Jiaang family disciples were utterly oblivious to the astonished stares directed at them, as well as Jiaang Lang's face, which was etched with surprise. Jiaang Lin spoke with a grave seriousness, fully intending to extort Jiaang Lang and the rest.
”You… You're basically committing robbery!”
Jiaang Ren bellowed in reluctant fury upon hearing Jiaang Lin's declaration.
Golden doors? Golden rosewood tables, white rosewood chairs, sandalwood screens, and antiques?
All fabrications from Jiaang Lin. The items they had destroyed were barely worth five taels of silver.
Yet, Jiaang Lin had the audacity to claim fifteen thousand taels of silver as compensation from them!
Fifteen thousand!
Where would these Jiaang family disciples find such an amount?
It's worth noting that ten thousand taels of silver represented the Jiaang family's monthly earnings!
Even if they sold everything they owned, they couldn't come up with fifteen thousand taels of silver!
No wonder Jiaang Ren was so incensed, accusing Jiaang Lin of robbery.
“Who would have thought, Jiaang Ren, usually as dim as a pig, you're quite sharp today.
You got it right; today, I am indeed robbing you!
What's the matter? Can't accept it?”
Jiaang Lin stated with bold righteousness.
His statement left Jiaang Ren utterly without retort.
How could Jiaang Ren dare to object?
Even his elder brother, Jiaang Lang, had been floored by a single kick from Jiaang Lin, sustaining serious injuries.
If Jiaang Ren protested, who knows how Jiaang Lin might deal with him!
Consequently, Jiaang Ren had no option but to keep his mouth shut.
“However, looking at your destitute expressions, I doubt you have much money on you.
So here's the deal, I'll show some compassion. If you want me to let you off the hook, hand over whatever money you have!
Otherwise, don't blame me for breaking your legs!”
After a pause, Jiaang Lin spoke up.
At once, the Jiaang family disciples hurriedly dug into their pockets, giving Jiaang Lin all their savings to avoid his wrath.
Jiaang Ren, equally without recourse, reluctantly handed over all the money he had scrimped and saved over the past two years.
At that moment, his heart was bleeding. He had been saving up to purchase medicinal liquids for his Body Tempering practice. But now, Jiaang Lin, that bastard, had stolen all his savings!
”What about you? As one of the Jiaang family's talented disciples, the family must give you a decent monthly stipend, right? If you're smart, you'll hand it all over. Otherwise, I might just break a few more of your ribs and leave you bedridden for ten days or even half a month!”
After collecting the silver from Jiaang Ren and the others, Jiaang Lin counted roughly a hundred taels. He then looked down at Jiaang Lang beneath his feet and issued a chilling threat. Jiaang Lang's face contorted with anger and humiliation. When had he ever been subjected to such disgrace? Not only had he been kicked and had several ribs broken by the likes of Jiaang Lin, but now he was being openly extorted!
“What's the matter? You want to defy me?” Jiaang Lin taunted, pressing his foot down harder. Jiaang Lang's face twisted in pain, and he let out a wrenching cry. With no other choice, he handed over all his silver—two hundred taels, the accumulation of more than a year's savings.
“As I thought, a talent disciple of our family does have a generous monthly allowance. Now, all of you, get out!” Jiaang Lin said with a smirk, kicking Jiaang Lang out the door and then booting Jiaang Ren and the others out after him.
“Brother!” Jiaang Ren got up shakily and hurried to support his brother. Jiaang Lang was pale as a ghost, with blood trickling from his mouth, looking utterly defeated.
”Let's get one thing straight—no one breathes a word about today's events, understood?” Jiaang Lang said icily once he had caught his breath. He had originally come to stand up for his younger brother, Jiaang Ren. Instead, he found himself swallowing a bitter pill of humiliation at the hands of Jiaang Lin.
If the other disciples of the Jiaang family found out that Jiaang Lang, whom they considered worthless, was overpowered by Jiaang Lin, resulting in several broken ribs, and was even openly threatened and robbed of over a year's savings, they would be incensed.
He feared becoming the laughingstock among all the Jiaang family disciples.
Therefore, Jiaang Lang was adamant about not letting Jiaang Ren and the others spread word of today's events, to avoid complete humiliation.
Upon hearing his command, Jiaang Ren and the rest nodded in agreement. They had already suffered enough embarrassment for one day; why would they want to broadcast their defeat?
“Let's leave. We'll find another way to get back at that bastard Jiaang Lin!”
Jiaang Lang brooded for a while before speaking with a dark expression.
He had etched today's events into his memory, vowing to avenge his humiliation in the future.
“Two hundred silver coins might not be enough to buy the necessary spirit medicines and craft the Body Tempering Pills.”
After Jiaang Lang and his cohorts had left, Jiaang Lin sat on his bed, counting the pilfered silver with a furrowed brow.
Finally, he glanced over at the remaining Spirit Promoting Liquid in the bathtub.
“This is a treasure. Even though the materials are subpar, if I neutralize them with Purple Net Grass, I could still make some Qi Replenishing Pills. Selling those should bring in a decent amount of silver to purchase the spirit medicines needed for the Body Tempering Pills.”
Jiaang Lin looked at the murky, foul-smelling water in the bathtub with a sly grin. To others, this water, infused with Spirit Promoting Liquid, was useless, but to him, with his past life's knowledge of alchemy, it was still a valuable ingredient.
He rose and stepped into the garden outside, casually plucking a handful of Purple Net Grass.
Purple Net Grass wasn't a spirit medicine; it was merely a common weed, ubiquitous in Clear Water Town and the preferred fodder for livestock due to its robust vitality. It was a plant that could easily spring back to life with just a touch of the spring breeze.
Although it was far from matching the efficacy of low-tier spiritual herbs, to a Pill Refining Master, it held no value at all. Yet, through the eyes of Jiaang Lin, the Purple Net Grass was a key ingredient capable of neutralizing the Spirit Promoting Liquid to refine it into Qi Replenishing Pills.
Qi Replenishing Pills were not purely medicinal pills. However, for martial artists at the Body Refining Stage, these pills were quite beneficial. After depleting their Genuine Qi, consuming one could restore 10% of their energy almost instantly—a rather impressive feat.
Having harvested the Purple Net Grass, Jiaang Lin proceeded to filter out all the water from his bath and collected the residual sediment from the Spirit Promoting Liquid. He then utilized his usual medicinal furnace, typically reserved for brewing medicines, to start the pill refinement process.
Over the course of the night, Jiaang Lin managed to craft a total of fifty Qi Replenishing Pills. His resources were limited, after all. Despite his unparalleled Pill Refining Arts, the lack of proper pill refining equipment and an insufficient Cultivation Level meant that his Flame Battle Soul was not at its full potential. Consequently, he could only produce fifty pills using the leftover residue from the Spirit Promoting Liquid.
Nevertheless, if word of Jiaang Lin's achievement were to spread, it would surely astonish everyone in Clear Water Town and throughout the Dragon Abyss Empire. A youth, using nothing more than common Purple Net Grass, the remnants of Spirit Promoting Liquid, and a simple medicinal furnace, was able to refine fifty Qi Replenishing Pills—such a feat was beyond imagination. Indeed, no one else could accomplish this; in this era, there was no one other than Jiaang Lin capable of such a marvel.
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