Brother Meng, you and I will continue to be poor
At that moment, Mo Li was unsure whether it was his bad luck or if the Golden Phoenix Young Master was having a stroke of bad luck.
Why was he being fixated upon among all the people present? Could it be a matter of incompatibility between them?
The people from the Golden Phoenix Manor followed orders and moved forward, attempting to apprehend him.
The person who came forward practiced a tricky style of grappling technique, capable of dislocating joints with a little extra force. However, at this moment, whether it was a test or caution, he left some room for maneuver.
Mo Li effortlessly countered the technique, and the man quickly retreated.
His movements seemed slow to Mo Li, but since the other party had left some room, Mo Li naturally did the same. The Golden Phoenix Young Master indeed had a domineering presence, but the people from the Golden Phoenix Manor were just following orders.
Ever since the last encounter with the Golden Phoenix Young Master during the clash with the Yu Dong Eight Tigers in the abandoned village shrine, Mo Li had faintly perceived the young master’s temperament.
He enjoyed putting on airs, had a bad temper, and loved to create trouble, but he couldn’t be classified as a wicked person.
Therefore, Mo Li had only taught him a lesson during their last encounter and then left with the sand rat. As for this current situation –
Seeing his subordinate quickly being forced to retreat, the Golden Phoenix Young Master became even more furious. He opened his folding fan, rapidly approached, and with a quick flick, the fan’s steel ribs extended a sharp blade of about an inch.
The folding fan was the Young Master’s renowned weapon, a peculiar concealed weapon in the martial world. It could be used as a short weapon and also for targeting acupoints, with different techniques when opened or closed.
Mo Li was immediately interested.
Though dealing with people in the jianghu was troublesome, he still enjoyed martial arts.
In Zhushan County, there were only three and a half martial arts experts, including himself. He lacked experience in sparring with others and had limited exposure to different martial arts styles.
While Mo Li was not a martial fanatic, novel martial arts and weaponry were like unread books to him.
Now that the books were delivered right in front of him, how could Mo Li refuse?
“Disguised and acting so suspiciously, speak! Which faction do you belong to?” The Golden Phoenix Young Master questioned while attacking. He was proud of his martial skills and seeing Mo Li being defensive but not retaliating, he had the illusion that the opponent was inferior to him.
The onlookers of the jianghu, who hadn’t dispersed yet, were all amazed.
They could see shadowy figures appearing and disappearing, even witnessing several afterimages at the same time.
– The sand rat was awakened.
Meng Qi opened his eyes groggily, not understanding what had happened.
The sand rat extended its claws and opened a slit in Mo Li’s clothes, sticking its head out to take a look
A gust of strong wind whistled by, immediately blowing the fur on the chubby rat’s head toward the right side.
“…”
Why was it this Golden Phoenix Young Master again? The sand rat felt like this scene was somehow familiar.
When high-level experts clashed, they couldn’t afford to miss any movements of the enemy, otherwise, they would be defeated due to carelessness. The Golden Phoenix Young Master had been wandering in the jianghu for many years, and apart from other things, he was also cautious of any hidden weapons Mo Li might possess.
Suddenly, a small tuft of furry thing popped out of Mo Li’s clothes, and the Golden Phoenix Young Master instinctively adopted a defensive posture. Soon, he realized that this tuft of fur seemed somewhat familiar.
Mo Li timely caught the chubby rat to prevent it from falling.
The Golden Phoenix Young Master’s gaze went blank for a moment, and then he recognized something familiar about the action of the wandering physician protecting the small creature. It resembled a certain figure from his memory.
“It’s you!”
The Golden Phoenix Young Master exclaimed.
At this moment, the chubby rat extended its claws and, in the split second of passing by the two, hooked onto a jade pendant hanging from the Golden Phoenix Young Master’s waist.
Mo Li protected the sand rat while the Golden Phoenix Young Master urgently retreated. Both exerted force, causing the ribbon holding the jade pendant to break off.
The Golden Phoenix Young Master staggered backward a few steps, and his subordinates rushed to support him.
Seeing the familiar tassel in Mo Li’s fingers, the Golden Phoenix Young Master reached out and realized that his jade pendant was gone. He was both shocked and enraged, but he couldn’t act out at the moment, causing his face to turn pale.
Mo Li looked helplessly at the chubby rat in his palm, along with the spoils it had retrieved for him.
It was a piece of sheep fat jade, exquisitely carved into the shape of a phoenix, and there was a natural flaw on the jade that perfectly formed the phoenix’s eye. Both the craftsmanship and the quality of the jade were top-notch, worth several hundred taels of silver at least.
Indeed, the Grand Master never took action without reaping rewards.
The chubby rat lazily unraveled the tassel from its claws and then snuggled back into Mo Li’s embrace.
“…. Misunderstanding!” The Golden Phoenix Young Master squeezed out these two words from between his teeth, looking more unsightly than crying. “It’s all a misunderstanding. This junior mistakenly thought you were a suspicious follower. Please forgive me, Senior.”
As he spoke, he even lowered his head and performed a bow of respect.
The onlookers from the jianghu were in an uproar, immediately speculating about Mo Li’s identity.
In the martial world, there were many arrogant individuals, and the Golden Phoenix Young Master was among the worst. Ordinary people couldn’t even get a glance from him, and he wouldn’t even give face to the elders of small sects and clans, only offering a half-hearted greeting to renowned martial experts.
So, what was happening now?
In his heart, the Golden Phoenix Young Master cursed himself for not showing enough gratitude for sparing his life.
He had offended this senior twice, and now he was perfectly fine without any trouble. If he didn’t show gratitude or make any gestures, wouldn’t he be a fool? He still hadn’t had enough of living!
“This jade pendant was bestowed upon me by my master, and I dare not lose it.”
The Golden Phoenix Young Master forced himself to say, his eyes glancing to his subordinates who all bowed their heads, unable to handle the situation. Filled with anger, he couldn’t help but lightly kick one of his trusted subordinates.
“I have offended Senior today in many ways.”
The Golden Phoenix Young Master’s subordinates suddenly realized and hurriedly took out a name card.
The name card was made of golden paper and extravagantly decorated, with the name of the Golden Phoenix Mountain Villa written on it.
Mo Li hesitantly accepted the name card handed over by the Golden Phoenix Young Master, who immediately breathed a sigh of relief. In the eyes of the Golden Phoenix Young Master, Mo Li accepting the name card meant that he wasn’t angry, which was akin to saving his life.
In reality, to Mo Li, accepting a name card was a matter of courtesy.
Unless there was a deep-seated grudge, he couldn’t simply ignore it.
Mo Li unfolded the name card and saw not the Golden Phoenix Young Master’s name, but a promissory note from the Taijing Ruifeng Money House, with a value of one thousand taels of silver.
Name cards paired with promissory notes were not uncommon, especially in official circles.
Mo Li couldn’t help but wonder, who was the Golden Phoenix Young Master intending to visit with this name card? Could it be a prepared bribe? It couldn’t be true!
In his arms, the chubby rat once again poked its head out.
The sight of “one thousand taels” pained its eyes, and it couldn’t help but want to rub them, but its short arms couldn’t reach.
Meng Qi quickly regained his composure. He had seen so much money before—tens of thousands of military funds and boxes filled with gold in the mansions of high-ranking officials during the overthrow of the Chen Dynasty.
That was obvious, sparkling gold, box after box, far more substantial than this flimsy piece of paper.
Meng Qi felt that the issue was the excessive amount of money. It was as good as worthless until it reached Taijing and was exchanged for silver at the money house. In the meantime, it was no different from a piece of waste paper.
Mo Li was in a dilemma.
The Golden Phoenix Young Master was getting anxious as Mo Li remained silent. He wondered if Mo Li found the amount too little.
People in the martial world were generally poor, especially in the current economic downturn. Even big sects were facing financial difficulties. Some might not even have enough money to cover their expenses, let alone one thousand taels.
In the end, Mo Li threw the name card and the jade pendant back to the Golden Phoenix Young Master, grabbed his banner, turned around, and left.
Meng Qi felt regretful in his heart, but he also knew that according to physician Mo’s temperament, he probably wouldn’t ask for the money.
Different from Liu Dan, the Golden Phoenix Young Master hadn’t received any rewards from Emperor Qi, but Meng Qi robbed Liu Dan because the general was rewarded with his stolen elixir. One could say that Liu Dan indeed owed Meng Qi a significant debt.
One money bag was clearly not enough for repayment.
The silver note presented by the Golden Phoenix Young Master was meant as a gesture of apology. In truth, Mo Li could have accepted it without much fuss. However, he had been trained too well by Master Qin. The concept of “no merit, no reward” was ingrained in him, and the offense caused by the Golden Phoenix Young Master didn’t bother him much.
Or one could say that it simply wasn’t enough to accept one thousand taels so easily.
A gentleman loves wealth, but only through proper means.
Mo Li left decisively, but others who didn’t know the whole story perceived it differently. In their eyes, the Golden Phoenix Young Master offered his name card, and this mysterious figure wearing a bamboo hat disdainfully tossed it back.
“Who is this person? Isn’t he afraid of the power of the Golden Phoenix Mountain Villa?”
They discussed among themselves, instinctively making way for Mo Li as he passed by.
No one dared to stop him or follow him.
The Golden Phoenix Young Master stared at the jade pendant and the name card in his hand, looking dazed for a while.
“Young Master?” a person from the Golden Phoenix Mountain Villa called out softly.
“Is there anyone in this world who doesn’t love money?” the Golden Phoenix Young Master asked in confusion.
“Well, probably not? Even if there is, they must be born wealthy and have no idea how important money is.”
The person from the Golden Phoenix Mountain Villa contemplated and replied, “Maybe this person is not a senior of any sect and doesn’t have any disciples. Otherwise, why would they refuse the money? But it’s a good thing; it means we haven’t offended any troublesome forces.”
The Golden Phoenix Young Master snorted, “What troublesome forces could there be? The Green City Sect or the Hidden Wind Observatory? Those so-called prestigious sects, every one of them holds plenty of land deeds. They don’t even know how to do business, just exploiting the tenant farmers. What’s the difference between them and those landlord gentry? Now, with the natural disasters looming, the common people have all fled, and they are all in dire straits. As long as you offer some silver, you can become a guest of honor in those prestigious sects.”
He rubbed his chin and instructed, “Investigate this person’s background; they must be extraordinary… Never mind, I don’t want you to throw your lives away. I have a strong intuition that there’s a massive secret behind this.”
“Master, we came here for the treasure of Emperor Li’s Tomb, and this person should be after it too.”
“If he can’t even be tempted by money, he probably doesn’t want the treasure to exchange for money but is interested in something inside it. Hmph, this gets interesting.” The Golden Phoenix Young Master shook his head and said, “Oh well, either way, when we reach Taijing, we are bound to run into them!”
Mo Li had already walked quite far when suddenly, his nose tickled, nearly causing him to sneeze.
He reached out and gently touched the sand rat, ensuring that it hadn’t shed any fur.
“Brother Meng, it seems you and I will continue to endure poverty,”
The sand rat nestled comfortably in Mo Li’s arms, thinking to itself, “Mountain spirits can survive without eating or drinking, so what’s the big deal if we don’t have money?”
Brother Meng, you and I will continue to be poor
At that moment, Mo Li was unsure whether it was his bad luck or if the Golden Phoenix Young Master was having a stroke of bad luck.
Why was he being fixated upon among all the people present? Could it be a matter of incompatibility between them?
The people from the Golden Phoenix Manor followed orders and moved forward, attempting to apprehend him.
The person who came forward practiced a tricky style of grappling technique, capable of dislocating joints with a little extra force. However, at this moment, whether it was a test or caution, he left some room for maneuver.
Mo Li effortlessly countered the technique, and the man quickly retreated.
His movements seemed slow to Mo Li, but since the other party had left some room, Mo Li naturally did the same. The Golden Phoenix Young Master indeed had a domineering presence, but the people from the Golden Phoenix Manor were just following orders.
Ever since the last encounter with the Golden Phoenix Young Master during the clash with the Yu Dong Eight Tigers in the abandoned village shrine, Mo Li had faintly perceived the young master’s temperament.
He enjoyed putting on airs, had a bad temper, and loved to create trouble, but he couldn’t be classified as a wicked person.
Therefore, Mo Li had only taught him a lesson during their last encounter and then left with the sand rat. As for this current situation –
Seeing his subordinate quickly being forced to retreat, the Golden Phoenix Young Master became even more furious. He opened his folding fan, rapidly approached, and with a quick flick, the fan’s steel ribs extended a sharp blade of about an inch.
The folding fan was the Young Master’s renowned weapon, a peculiar concealed weapon in the martial world. It could be used as a short weapon and also for targeting acupoints, with different techniques when opened or closed.
Mo Li was immediately interested.
Though dealing with people in the jianghu was troublesome, he still enjoyed martial arts.
In Zhushan County, there were only three and a half martial arts experts, including himself. He lacked experience in sparring with others and had limited exposure to different martial arts styles.
While Mo Li was not a martial fanatic, novel martial arts and weaponry were like unread books to him.
Now that the books were delivered right in front of him, how could Mo Li refuse?
“Disguised and acting so suspiciously, speak! Which faction do you belong to?” The Golden Phoenix Young Master questioned while attacking. He was proud of his martial skills and seeing Mo Li being defensive but not retaliating, he had the illusion that the opponent was inferior to him.
The onlookers of the jianghu, who hadn’t dispersed yet, were all amazed.
They could see shadowy figures appearing and disappearing, even witnessing several afterimages at the same time.
– The sand rat was awakened.
Meng Qi opened his eyes groggily, not understanding what had happened.
The sand rat extended its claws and opened a slit in Mo Li’s clothes, sticking its head out to take a look
A gust of strong wind whistled by, immediately blowing the fur on the chubby rat’s head toward the right side.
“…”
Why was it this Golden Phoenix Young Master again? The sand rat felt like this scene was somehow familiar.
When high-level experts clashed, they couldn’t afford to miss any movements of the enemy, otherwise, they would be defeated due to carelessness. The Golden Phoenix Young Master had been wandering in the jianghu for many years, and apart from other things, he was also cautious of any hidden weapons Mo Li might possess.
Suddenly, a small tuft of furry thing popped out of Mo Li’s clothes, and the Golden Phoenix Young Master instinctively adopted a defensive posture. Soon, he realized that this tuft of fur seemed somewhat familiar.
Mo Li timely caught the chubby rat to prevent it from falling.
The Golden Phoenix Young Master’s gaze went blank for a moment, and then he recognized something familiar about the action of the wandering physician protecting the small creature. It resembled a certain figure from his memory.
“It’s you!”
The Golden Phoenix Young Master exclaimed.
At this moment, the chubby rat extended its claws and, in the split second of passing by the two, hooked onto a jade pendant hanging from the Golden Phoenix Young Master’s waist.
Mo Li protected the sand rat while the Golden Phoenix Young Master urgently retreated. Both exerted force, causing the ribbon holding the jade pendant to break off.
The Golden Phoenix Young Master staggered backward a few steps, and his subordinates rushed to support him.
Seeing the familiar tassel in Mo Li’s fingers, the Golden Phoenix Young Master reached out and realized that his jade pendant was gone. He was both shocked and enraged, but he couldn’t act out at the moment, causing his face to turn pale.
Mo Li looked helplessly at the chubby rat in his palm, along with the spoils it had retrieved for him.
It was a piece of sheep fat jade, exquisitely carved into the shape of a phoenix, and there was a natural flaw on the jade that perfectly formed the phoenix’s eye. Both the craftsmanship and the quality of the jade were top-notch, worth several hundred taels of silver at least.
Indeed, the Grand Master never took action without reaping rewards.
The chubby rat lazily unraveled the tassel from its claws and then snuggled back into Mo Li’s embrace.
“…. Misunderstanding!” The Golden Phoenix Young Master squeezed out these two words from between his teeth, looking more unsightly than crying. “It’s all a misunderstanding. This junior mistakenly thought you were a suspicious follower. Please forgive me, Senior.”
As he spoke, he even lowered his head and performed a bow of respect.
The onlookers from the jianghu were in an uproar, immediately speculating about Mo Li’s identity.
In the martial world, there were many arrogant individuals, and the Golden Phoenix Young Master was among the worst. Ordinary people couldn’t even get a glance from him, and he wouldn’t even give face to the elders of small sects and clans, only offering a half-hearted greeting to renowned martial experts.
So, what was happening now?
In his heart, the Golden Phoenix Young Master cursed himself for not showing enough gratitude for sparing his life.
He had offended this senior twice, and now he was perfectly fine without any trouble. If he didn’t show gratitude or make any gestures, wouldn’t he be a fool? He still hadn’t had enough of living!
“This jade pendant was bestowed upon me by my master, and I dare not lose it.”
The Golden Phoenix Young Master forced himself to say, his eyes glancing to his subordinates who all bowed their heads, unable to handle the situation. Filled with anger, he couldn’t help but lightly kick one of his trusted subordinates.
“I have offended Senior today in many ways.”
The Golden Phoenix Young Master’s subordinates suddenly realized and hurriedly took out a name card.
The name card was made of golden paper and extravagantly decorated, with the name of the Golden Phoenix Mountain Villa written on it.
Mo Li hesitantly accepted the name card handed over by the Golden Phoenix Young Master, who immediately breathed a sigh of relief. In the eyes of the Golden Phoenix Young Master, Mo Li accepting the name card meant that he wasn’t angry, which was akin to saving his life.
In reality, to Mo Li, accepting a name card was a matter of courtesy.
Unless there was a deep-seated grudge, he couldn’t simply ignore it.
Mo Li unfolded the name card and saw not the Golden Phoenix Young Master’s name, but a promissory note from the Taijing Ruifeng Money House, with a value of one thousand taels of silver.
Name cards paired with promissory notes were not uncommon, especially in official circles.
Mo Li couldn’t help but wonder, who was the Golden Phoenix Young Master intending to visit with this name card? Could it be a prepared bribe? It couldn’t be true!
In his arms, the chubby rat once again poked its head out.
The sight of “one thousand taels” pained its eyes, and it couldn’t help but want to rub them, but its short arms couldn’t reach.
Meng Qi quickly regained his composure. He had seen so much money before—tens of thousands of military funds and boxes filled with gold in the mansions of high-ranking officials during the overthrow of the Chen Dynasty.
That was obvious, sparkling gold, box after box, far more substantial than this flimsy piece of paper.
Meng Qi felt that the issue was the excessive amount of money. It was as good as worthless until it reached Taijing and was exchanged for silver at the money house. In the meantime, it was no different from a piece of waste paper.
Mo Li was in a dilemma.
The Golden Phoenix Young Master was getting anxious as Mo Li remained silent. He wondered if Mo Li found the amount too little.
People in the martial world were generally poor, especially in the current economic downturn. Even big sects were facing financial difficulties. Some might not even have enough money to cover their expenses, let alone one thousand taels.
In the end, Mo Li threw the name card and the jade pendant back to the Golden Phoenix Young Master, grabbed his banner, turned around, and left.
Meng Qi felt regretful in his heart, but he also knew that according to physician Mo’s temperament, he probably wouldn’t ask for the money.
Different from Liu Dan, the Golden Phoenix Young Master hadn’t received any rewards from Emperor Qi, but Meng Qi robbed Liu Dan because the general was rewarded with his stolen elixir. One could say that Liu Dan indeed owed Meng Qi a significant debt.
One money bag was clearly not enough for repayment.
The silver note presented by the Golden Phoenix Young Master was meant as a gesture of apology. In truth, Mo Li could have accepted it without much fuss. However, he had been trained too well by Master Qin. The concept of “no merit, no reward” was ingrained in him, and the offense caused by the Golden Phoenix Young Master didn’t bother him much.
Or one could say that it simply wasn’t enough to accept one thousand taels so easily.
A gentleman loves wealth, but only through proper means.
Mo Li left decisively, but others who didn’t know the whole story perceived it differently. In their eyes, the Golden Phoenix Young Master offered his name card, and this mysterious figure wearing a bamboo hat disdainfully tossed it back.
“Who is this person? Isn’t he afraid of the power of the Golden Phoenix Mountain Villa?”
They discussed among themselves, instinctively making way for Mo Li as he passed by.
No one dared to stop him or follow him.
The Golden Phoenix Young Master stared at the jade pendant and the name card in his hand, looking dazed for a while.
“Young Master?” a person from the Golden Phoenix Mountain Villa called out softly.
“Is there anyone in this world who doesn’t love money?” the Golden Phoenix Young Master asked in confusion.
“Well, probably not? Even if there is, they must be born wealthy and have no idea how important money is.”
The person from the Golden Phoenix Mountain Villa contemplated and replied, “Maybe this person is not a senior of any sect and doesn’t have any disciples. Otherwise, why would they refuse the money? But it’s a good thing; it means we haven’t offended any troublesome forces.”
The Golden Phoenix Young Master snorted, “What troublesome forces could there be? The Green City Sect or the Hidden Wind Observatory? Those so-called prestigious sects, every one of them holds plenty of land deeds. They don’t even know how to do business, just exploiting the tenant farmers. What’s the difference between them and those landlord gentry? Now, with the natural disasters looming, the common people have all fled, and they are all in dire straits. As long as you offer some silver, you can become a guest of honor in those prestigious sects.”
He rubbed his chin and instructed, “Investigate this person’s background; they must be extraordinary… Never mind, I don’t want you to throw your lives away. I have a strong intuition that there’s a massive secret behind this.”
“Master, we came here for the treasure of Emperor Li’s Tomb, and this person should be after it too.”
“If he can’t even be tempted by money, he probably doesn’t want the treasure to exchange for money but is interested in something inside it. Hmph, this gets interesting.” The Golden Phoenix Young Master shook his head and said, “Oh well, either way, when we reach Taijing, we are bound to run into them!”
Mo Li had already walked quite far when suddenly, his nose tickled, nearly causing him to sneeze.
He reached out and gently touched the sand rat, ensuring that it hadn’t shed any fur.
“Brother Meng, it seems you and I will continue to endure poverty,”
The sand rat nestled comfortably in Mo Li’s arms, thinking to itself, “Mountain spirits can survive without eating or drinking, so what’s the big deal if we don’t have money?”
