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Lu De’s frown furrowed even more tightly. His gut feeling was telling him that something was amiss here.
“Taking a thousand steps back, even if I did owe you money from gambling, where’s the debt note then? Why don’t you bring out the debt note and show everyone?” said Zu An.
Plum Blossom Thirteen shouted back in agitation, “I’ve already given you the debt note!”
Zu An raised his hands up high and said innocently, “Teacher, so as to prove my innocence, I ask you to search my body to see if I have the debt note he speaks of!”
“You tore the debt note up earlier!” Plum Blossom Thirteen finally understood why Zu An did what he did earlier on. From the very start, the latter was already scheming to do him in!
Zu An sighed helplessly before answering, “Even if I tore the debt note, there should still be traces of it around, right?”
“You crushed it so thoroughly that they scattered with the wind earlier!” Plum Blossom Thirteen exclaimed insistently.
Zu An shook his head. “You’re really forcing your point over here. Who in the Brightmoon City doesn’t know that I’m a renowned wastrel? If I do have the ability to crush a piece of paper to that extent, would I have been assigned to the Yellow class in the first place?”
“But he really
” Plum Blossom Thirteen felt a chill running down his spine. He anxiously turned to Lu De to explain the matter, only to be cut off.
“Enough!” Lu De roared furiously. “I don’t care about the misdeeds your Plum Blossom Sect does out there, but I won’t stand for you bullying our students! Today, I’ll break two of your legs. Go back and tell Mei Chaofeng that if his subordinate dares to mess with the academy once more, I won’t be showing any mercy anymore.”
Lu De flicked his sleeves, and the ruler shot straight for Plum Blossom Thirteen’s knee joints. There were two resounding ‘thwacks’, and the latter suddenly fell over with a yelp of agony.
Judging by how Plum Blossom Thirteen’s legs were struck out of place, Zu An could tell that it was a complete fracture, and he gasped in astonishment. He had heard from Wei Suo just how excruciating Lu De’s ruler was, but compared to what Plum Blossom Thirteen went through, it was apparent that Lu De had really been going easy on them.
But what was even more shocking was how Lu De used his ruler earlier. He wasn’t even holding his ruler earlier on—the ruler struck down on Plum Blossom Thirteen legs on its own accord before flying back into Lu De’s hand.
“That thing is actually an artifact!” Zu An reminded himself to never allow himself to fall into Lu De’s hands, or else he could very well suffer the same fate!
You have successfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for +567 Rage!
The groaning Plum Blossom Thirteen shot a venomous glare at Zu An.
This was simply how humans were like. Plum Blossom Thirteen dared not to blame Lu De, who was far stronger than him, so he could only vent his emotions on the weaker Zu An instead.
He told himself that he would surely snap off that scoundrel’s four limbs—no, five limbs!—once he recovered from his injuries. Then, he would slice off his meat slice by slice and toss it into Wolf Valley!
Lu De passed the ki stones back to Zu An and said deeply, “Take care of it well. You’re too weak at the moment, so it’s even more important for you to learn how to conceal your own wealth.”
Zu An hurriedly nodded his head and replied, “You’re right, teacher. However, that fellow also stole my taels as well. I need you to help me get it back as well
 Ahahahaha
”
This fellow sure is trouble, Lu De thought to himself. However, in view that Zu An was indeed a student of the academy, he directed his hand toward Plum Blossom Thirteen, and with a beckoning gesture, the latter’s money pouch immediately flew out and landed in his hand.
“How much money did he take from you?” asked Lu De.
Zu An took the entire money pouch and said, “This is all mine. Thank you, teacher. Thank you, teacher.”
Lu De’s frown further tightened. It was not that he wasn’t suspicious of Zu An, but he was aware that Plum Blossom Thirteen’s hands weren’t clean, so his money probably came through dirty means. Due to that, he decided not to think too much into it and allowed Zu An to do as he pleased.
On the other hand, Plum Blossom Thirteen immediately cried in indignation, “Those taels are mine!”
You only gave me 100 silver taels earlier on! The remaining 800 silver taels are money which I have painstakingly saved up over the last few years!
Plum Blossom Thirteen didn’t expect Zu An to actually be this shameless as to actually steal his money as well! He never trusted anyone except for himself, so he always chose to bring his money around with him no matter where he went. Yet, who could have thought that his many years of savings would be stolen from him just like that?
You have successfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for +1000 Rage!
“You’re saying that this is your money?” Hearing those words, Zu An dangled the money pouch before the incapacitated Plum Blossom Thirteen leisurely. “Try calling for them then. Let’s see if they’ll respond to your call?”
And that was the final blow.
Unable to take it anymore, Plum Blossom Thirteen felt a rush of blood assaulting his heart, and fresh blood spurted out from his mouth.
What the hell! Who in the world is the antagonist here?
You have successfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for +1000 Rage!
Lu De shot a glance at Plum Blossom Thirteen and Zu An, but he decided not to interfere in the end. He waved his hand toward the crowd and said, “Alright, show’s over. Stop loitering around and go home!”
Zu An waved Plum Blossom Thirteen goodbye before leaving with Chu Huanzhao and the others.
“Just you wait, Zu scoundrel! Our Plum Blossom Sect definitely won’t be letting you off that easily!” The echoes of Plum Blossom Thirteen’s vile curses could be heard even from a distance away.
You have successfully trolled Plum Blossom Thirteen for +1000 Rage!
Zu An shook his head. This wasn’t the first time the Plum Blossom Sect tried to deal with him, and it would be naive of him to think that he would be able to survive their assassination attempts every single time. He would have to find a way to deal with them soon.
After walking a distance away, Cheng Shouping finally couldn’t endure it anymore and ran up to him with a fawning smile, “Young master! My respect for you flourishes like the relentless tides of a river
”
“Flourishes your head!” Zu An shoved Cheng Shouping’s head aside. Then, he reached into Plum Blossom Thirteen’s money pouch, took out a silver ingot, and threw it to Cheng Shouping. “Here, your reward. You did well earlier.”
“Thanks, young master~” Cheng Shouping fondled the silver ingot delightfully.
“Where’s mine?” Chu Huanzhao stretched her fair hands, which were as smooth as jade, and demanded.
Zu An also tossed a silver ingot to her, only to have Chu Huanzhao raise her eyebrows at him. “So little? Are you trying to wave off a beggar over here?”
The smile on Cheng Shouping’s face immediately froze. He felt that he had just been offended.
Zu An also felt a headache setting in. “How much do you want then?”
“At least half of it!” Chu Huanzhao exclaimed excitedly. She had never felt such a strong feeling of accomplishment before. She did get her way in the Chu Estate, but it never felt satisfying because no one dared to stand in her way anyway due to her standing.
“Half of it? This is daylight robbery!” Zu An exclaimed in horror.
“Hmph! If I hadn’t backed you up there, do you think that Baldhead would have believed you so easily?” Chu Huanzhao stuck her small chests out proudly. “I put the reputation of our Chu clan on the line in order to help you! Don’t you think that this is at least worth half of the loot?”
“The highest I can go is a third,” Zu An replied sharply as he shoved a few banknotes over.
It was only then that Chu Huanzhao finally let the matter slip. She counted the few notes she had in her hands again and again with an excited gleam in her eyes.
“Say, do you really need to act like this? No matter what, you’re still the Second Miss of the Chu clan! Do you need to get so excited over just a few hundred silver taels?” Zu An eyed her in disdain.
“That’s different. This is money that I didn’t receive from my parents; money that I earned with my own hands. Isn’t that a cause for celebration?” Chu Huanzhao replied with a sweet smile.
Does this lass have some kind of misunderstanding as to what ‘earning money’ means? If her parents were to learn that I have led her astray, wouldn’t they skin me alive?!
Just thinking about the tigress Qin Wanru was more than enough to make Zu An shudder in fear. He quickly grabbed Chu Huanzhao’s arm and told her gravely, “Make sure not to speak a word of this matter to your parents.”
“Why? This is the first time I’m earning money; they would be happy about it!” Chu Huanzhao blinked her eyes in confusion.
“Errr
” Zu An pondered for a moment before explaining the matter to her from another perspective. “Given your understanding of them, do you think that they’ll allow you to continue earning money through such a method?”
“Hmmm. Well, I guess what you said makes sense too. Fine, I won’t tell them then.” Chu Huanzhao carefully slotted the banknotes into her robe before patting Zu An’s shoulders. “Make sure to call me the next time you have a good deal like this!”
Zu An was amused. Isn’t this lass a born tyrant?
Once they arrived at the Chu Estate, the two of them parted ways. After all, their residences were not located in the same direction.
Zu An returned to his little house and pulled Cheng Shouping over to one side. “Little Pingping, do you know how much it costs to buy a small residence in the city?”
To be honest, he wasn’t really enjoying the disdain he was receiving in the Chu Estate, not to mention that there was someone in the Chu clan who was out for his life. It would be much more comfortable and safer to get his own house instead.
It was one thing if he had no way around it, but since he had hundreds of silver taels and 7 ki stones that he could trade for money, he could be considered as a thousandaire now.
Back in his previous world, there were no men who didn’t dream of traveling back to the ancient era and being surrounded by gorgeous wives and beautiful maids, living an easy and decadent life
 And now that he was in this world, he finally had a chance to fulfill his dreams!
‘Gorgeous wives’ was probably impossible for the current him, but at the very least, he could aim for ‘beautiful maids’, right?
Cheng Shouping’s face immediately drooped in sorrow as he asked, “Young master, are you going to abandon me?”
“Cut that out! Stop portraying me out to be a heartless man trying to dump you!” Zu An snapped angrily. “I just want to get a small residence so that I’ll have somewhere to go to when things aren’t going well. If you wish to continue following me then, you’re more than welcome to. Also, do you know how much do beautiful maids cost?”
The mention of ‘beautiful maids’ immediately sparked a gleam in Cheng Shouping’s eyes. He immediately began analyzing the costs for Zu An, “Well, a small residence costs around several hundred silver taels, though some of the more rundown ones can probably be acquired at a hundred silver taels. As for beautiful maids though, they can get pretty pricey. Over at the market, their prices range from tens to over a thousand silver taels.”
Zu An felt relieved that the housing prices here weren’t as ridiculous as his previous world. Otherwise, 1000 silver taels was around 180,000 RMB, which was only enough for him to buy a toilet in the city.
“There’s such a huge price difference amongst different maids?” Zu An was surprised. “How is it that some of them cost over a thousand silver taels?”
“I heard that those are skilled in the four arts, be it zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting. On top of that, they are also as beautiful as fairies from heaven
”
Before Cheng Shouping could finish his description, Zu An waved his hand and said, “Enough enough, I’m not planning to open a brothel here. Why would I need my maids to be so multi talented? We’ll just look for some of the more decent looking ones with a gentle disposition. As for skills, those aren’t important at all.”
Cheng Shouping nodded quietly in agreement, but he shared very different thoughts on the inside. Just say so if you can’t afford it. There’s no need to insist that you don’t need them.