Jiang Ke’er tilted her head, like a naive child asking for candy on Halloween.
The Donglai Sword Sect leader looked at her, his expression shifting from initial lofty disdain to uncontrollable trembling, then completely collapsing.
“A hundred million? Even if you stripped the Donglai Sword Sect bare, there wouldn’t be a hundred million Magic Crystals!”
The Donglai Sword Sect was merely a second-rate upper-tier sect, not much larger in scale than those enthusiastic donation officials of the previous dynasty.
Its total assets were at most two hundred million Magic Crystals, with liquid assets under fifty million Magic Crystals.
“No problem, you can pay in installments.”
Jiang Ke’er revealed a perfect smile and said considerately, “You can also use items to offset the debt. I know you can’t come up with that much cash all at once, but your sect’s bricks, tiles, the stone lions at the gate, the koi fish in the pond, the alchemy furnaces… all of them can be transported over to pay off the debt.”
‘Are you a devil?’
The Donglai Sword Sect leader felt as if he had fallen into a long-planned trap, with the other party even having thought of a way out for him.
Jiang Ke’er glanced at the ragged clothes of the surrounding villagers and added, “Half-new disciple robes are fine too. Us country folk aren’t picky.”
The Donglai Sword Sect leader suddenly understood that this girl was genuinely planning to strip the Donglai Sword Sect bare—no joke.
“Let me be clear from the start: this is a formal compensation for you breaking my heirloom jade, not extortion!” Jiang Ke’er stated seriously.
“If you agree to the above terms, you can immediately return to the sect to raise the money. Once you’ve paid off the debt in full, I’ll give you the recording crystal as a bonus, and I won’t keep any copies.”
The Donglai Sword Sect leader knew he couldn’t escape this calamity.
He had no choice but to accept the loss; otherwise, not only would the Donglai Sword Sect be disbanded, but his entire family would also likely be uprooted and destroyed.
Paying the price of the Donglai Sword Sect’s development being set back a hundred years in exchange for a safe life… Sigh, this calamity was unavoidable.
He could only blame himself for underestimating the countryside’s tricks.
‘But there’s a catch to having the money to spend—you also need to live long enough to use it.’ He sneered inwardly.
He would retaliate sooner or later.
Once the new emperor’s restless heart settled down and stopped caring about such trivial matters, then… he would personally take back everything he had lost!
And make all the lowlifes present pay the price!
“Stop daydreaming and go raise the money.”
Jiang Ke’er’s words were like a slap in the face, jolting the Donglai Sword Sect leader out of his revenge fantasy.
“…” The Donglai Sword Sect leader gave the disciple who caused the trouble a hard kick. “I’ll deal with you when I get back! Let’s go!”
The Donglai Sword Sect’s recruitment office suddenly became empty, leaving only Constable Wu, Pei Min, and the villagers.
“Constable Wu, thank you for your trouble. Once this matter is concluded, I will definitely visit the yamen with gifts and a banner to pay my respects!” Jiang Ke’er bowed sincerely to Constable Wu.
Constable Wu felt that he had neither authority nor presence, as if he had watched two immortals exchange a flurry of blows before him, but it had nothing to do with him.
However, upon hearing that Jiang Ke’er would give him gifts, he was secretly delighted.
‘Looks like I wasn’t a tool person for nothing. This wave of benefits won’t be small.’
“Thanks to you, Constable Wu, for standing on the side of the King’s Law and helping to keep things under control. I’ve decided to settle the heirloom jade matter privately with the Donglai Sword Sect. As for the issue of defying His Majesty’s orders… I haven’t gathered enough evidence yet. If I do, I’ll come to you immediately.”
Schrödinger’s evidence.
Constable Wu understood that whether Jiang Ke’er would gather enough evidence depended on whether the Donglai Sword Sect obediently paid off the debt.
Waving his hand, Constable Wu said, “You may have some cleverness and be audacious, but this is still too risky. It might even bring disaster to your fellow villagers. Having money is useless unless you have the strength to protect it.”
Jiang Ke’er also understood that the Donglai Sword Sect would definitely retaliate, if not openly, then covertly.
“It’s fine,” Jiang Ke’er grinned.
“I’ve already thought of a solution.”
“Then you’re on your own.” Constable Wu shook his head.
“I’m off. The yamen has new business.”
“Goodbye, Constable Wu~” Jiang Ke’er waved.
After Constable Wu left, the villagers surrounded her, chattering excitedly.
Although they didn’t resort to shouting abuse, every one of them looked terrified and furious.
How could this tiny fishing village afford to offend immortals? In their eyes, Jiang Ke’er was about to destroy their homes!
She was simply stopping at nothing for her own wealth and glory, dragging the whole village down with her!
“Everyone, don’t panic, don’t panic. Quiet down.” Jiang Ke’er quickly climbed onto the roof and raised her hand to calm the villagers.
Once everyone quieted down, she got straight to the point: “I won’t take a single coin for myself. All the money will be used to build up the village and improve our living standards, and I guarantee everyone’s safety!”
The scene fell silent.
After saying that, Jiang Ke’er didn’t explain further. She jumped off the house, grabbed Pei Min’s hand, and ran out of the village.
“Hey? Where are you taking me?”
Too many strange things had just happened, and Pei Min hadn’t recovered yet.
Jiang Ke’er looked at the sun’s position and said, “We’re in a hurry! Don’t ask! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Run!”
“…”
As she said this, Jiang Ke’er glanced at Pei Min, and her eyes almost sparkled with burning stars.
[Obtained 1000 Villain Points from Pei Min.]
‘What a rude look.’ Pei Min felt that when Jiang Ke’er looked at him, she wasn’t looking at a person but at a giant Magic Crystal.
This made him very uncomfortable. Coupled with her earlier skilled extortion tactics, his opinion of the little girl dropped sharply!
‘Sigh, why can’t I meet someone as great as Jiang Ke’er…’ Pei Min shook his head in disappointment.
While he was hesitating, Jiang Ke’er had already pulled him to the “Xiu Xiu Sword Flight Agency” outside the city and called for a sword cultivator with a very fast flying sword as transport.
“Master, to the Ritu Sect.”
“Alright,” the uncle cultivator nimbly summoned a large flying sword, the kind specifically used for carrying people, with the professional logo of “Xiu Xiu Sword Flight Agency” printed on it.
“You two, stand steady in the back and fasten your safety foot straps,” the uncle reminded routinely.
“Wait, why are we going to the Ritu Sect?” Pei Min finally realized something was wrong.
Jiang Ke’er suddenly smiled at him gently.
“Don’t you want to become a disciple and join a sect? As thanks for what just happened, I’m taking you to become a disciple. You’re not good at communicating, but if I’m there, they won’t dare to bully you.”
Pei Min felt a warmth in his heart.
Except for his mother, this was the first time someone had been so kind to him.
[Obtained 1000 Orthodox Points from Pei Min.]
“But I don’t want to join the Ritu Sect…” Pei Min said quietly.
“Then where do you want to go?”
“…I want to become a Sword Cultivator.” Pei Min said shyly.
“Great! Sword Cultivators are cool!” Jiang Ke’er slapped her thigh enthusiastically.
“Let’s go, we’ll go to the Tianyun Sword Sect! If they don’t take you, we’ll go to the Lingshang Sword Sect! If the Lingshang Sword Sect doesn’t take you, then we’ll go to the Yongshan Sword Sect, the Huangtu Sword Sect, the Dayuan Sword Sect… hehehehehehe…”