Chapter 98

"Money?"

Even with three hundred years of experience, the Demon Sword Saint was taken aback by Gu Yang's request.

He didn't ask for divine techniques, magical weapons, or miraculous elixirs.

Even if he had asked for beauty, she could have understood, but he asked for money.

With his strength, wasn't money something he could easily obtain?

However, she was only taken aback for a moment before saying to the outside, "Bingyao, bring all the land deeds."

"Yes." A voice responded from outside.

By the sound of it, it was the woman in white from earlier, who was named Bingyao.

After a while, the woman in white came over, holding a delicate red wooden box, which she presented to the old woman before leaving.

The old woman said, "Inside this box are the land deeds for Yan Dong Lake, as well as some stocks and silver bills. Take a look and see if it's enough."

Gu Yang didn't hesitate, opened the box, and took out the contents. They were all large-denomination silver bills, each worth 100,000 taels, totaling seven bills, which amounted to 700,000 taels.

There were also land deeds for the land around Yan Dong Lake and stock certificates for several businesses.

The old woman said, "How much money you can get from the land deeds and stock certificates depends on your ability."

"Deal!"

Gu Yang readily agreed.

He was a practical person; at this moment, if he had said no, he might not have been able to leave the room today.

Don't underestimate a Sword Saint, even if they are on their last breath.

Since he had to agree anyway, getting some benefits was a pleasant surprise.

Suddenly, the old woman coughed a few times and visibly weakened. She took out a jade slip and said weakly, "This is the inheritance of the Demon Sword Technique. I'll give it to you as well. Wait outside; I have a few things to tell Mengling..."

Gu Yang took the jade slip, bowed, and left the room filled with the scent of decay.

Outside, he felt a heavy heart.

No matter how powerful a person is, even a Sword Saint who is invincible, they cannot escape the erosion of time and will eventually grow old and weak.

"Unless, one can reach the Non-Leaking Realm."

At the Non-Leaking Realm, one has a thousand years of life.

Even higher is the Celestial Realm, with an even longer lifespan.

Of course, with his own talent, reaching the Celestial Realm was impossible; he would have to rely on the system.

So, he still needed to find a way to get money.

After a while, Gu Yang left the island and returned to his original position, where he met Qian Xiyun. He took out the land deeds and stock certificates and asked, "Miss Qian, can you help me estimate how much these are worth?"

Qian Xiyun took the land deeds and stock certificates, her eyes flashing with surprise, but she didn't dare to ask, only saying, "Yan Dong Lake was given to the Sword Saint by the government years ago. I doubt anyone would dare to buy it."

Gu Yang thought for a moment but didn't tell her that the Demon Sword Saint was about to die. He just nodded.

Qian Xiyun continued, "These five stock certificates are from a long time ago. Three of the businesses have already gone bankrupt. Only these two are still operating and are quite prosperous, each worth no less than one million taels."

Gu Yang was quite satisfied to hear that the stock certificates were so valuable.

This deal was profitable; he had 2.7 million taels in hand. The cost was just helping to take care of the Demon Sword Saint's disciple. Anyway, he already had several burdens, so one more wouldn't matter.

He said, "It seems I'll have to stay in Zhongzhou for a few more days."

...

After about half an hour, the Demon Sword Saint's two disciples finally appeared, both dressed in white.

The eldest disciple, Bingyao, was cold and distant, while the younger disciple, Mengling, looked innocent and lively.

She was about twelve or thirteen years old, still somewhat childish, with very lively eyes. Her gaze swept over the three of them and finally stopped on Gu Yang. "You must be Gu Yang. My master asked me to follow you. I'm Han Mengling, you can call me Ling'er."

Gu Yang's first impression of her was good; she didn't seem difficult to get along with. He smiled kindly, "Hello."

Han Mengling sized him up for a moment and then asked, "Do you not use a weapon?"

"I use a saber."

Gu Yang's saber had been destroyed in the battle, unable to withstand his immense true essence.

Han Mengling, eager to try, said, "How is your saber technique? Let's spar."

"What is that, a horse? I've never seen one before."

"Why does that woman have blue eyes? She looks so strange."

"There are so many people, look, that person is so fat..."

Gu Yang didn't expect her to be such a chatterbox, curious about everything, and talking non-stop.

In contrast, her senior sister remained cold and silent throughout the journey.

The two sisters had completely opposite personalities.

...

When Gu Yang and the others arrived at the Qian family residence, a tall and handsome man was already waiting there. He was Qian Xiayang, the Qian family's illegitimate son who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Little sister, you must have had a tough journey. I heard you encountered danger at the city gate. Are you okay?"

"Thank you for your concern..."

The two "siblings," who had never met before, put on a show of sibling recognition.

Qian Xiayang bowed to Bingyao, "Greetings, Miss Yu."

Yu Bingyao nodded slightly, acknowledging the greeting.

Qian Xiayang then turned to Gu Yang and said politely, "Greetings, Master Gu. It's a great honor to have you as a guest."

"Thank you, Master Qian." Gu Yang responded politely.

Han Mengling, standing behind him, whispered, "He's really handsome."

Qian Xiayang looked at her and asked, "Who is this?"

Han Mengling rolled her eyes, "What's it to you?"

Qian Xiayang was taken aback.

She whispered, "Master said that handsome men are usually untrustworthy."

Gu Yang couldn't help but laugh, but after laughing, he felt a bit uncomfortable, sensing a hidden meaning.

...

They stayed at the Qian family residence. Qian Xiyun and Yu Bingyao lived in one courtyard.

Gu Yang, Lily, and Han Mengling lived together in another courtyard, not far from the first, so they could look out for each other.

Over the next few days, with Qian Xiyun's help, Gu Yang contacted the shareholders of the two businesses, trying to sell his shares.

However, the progress was not smooth. Many people avoided meeting him.

It was clear that most people did not have high hopes for Qian Xiyun or were unwilling to get involved in the Qian family's internal struggles.

This was a bit troublesome. If he couldn't sell the shares, they would be worthless.

Gu Yang didn't want to waste too much time on this.

Zhongzhou was a vortex, and the Qian family was at the center of it. The longer he stayed, the more likely he would be drawn into the conflict, which was not his intention.

Just as he was considering whether to give up the 2 million taels, a servant from the Qian family came to report that someone wanted to see him.

In recent days, many people had wanted to meet him, all admiring his strength.

It seemed that overnight, he had become an idol in the hearts of countless young martial artists in Zhongzhou.

The battle at the city gate had spread, and the story of Gu Yang cutting down a first-rank martial artist with one saber stroke was so legendary that he was adored by many.

However, none of those people had been able to get the Qian family to relay their requests.

Out of curiosity, Gu Yang took the visiting card and was even more curious when he saw it.

The visitor was a famous courtesan, the most popular courtesan in Zhongzhou, Yuan Zhenzhen.

Zhongzhou was the most commercially vibrant state in the Great Zhou Dynasty, giving birth to countless wealthy merchants. The prosperity of commerce had also led to a thriving entertainment industry.

Its status was similar to the Qinhuai River in the previous life.

The selection of the courtesan was an annual event in Zhongzhou, attracting many young nobles and wealthy merchants to spend large sums of money.

The courtesan selected each year was highly sought after, and many people could not even get a glimpse of her.

Now, such a courtesan was coming to see Gu Yang on her own.

This seemed strange no matter how he looked at it.

Gu Yang said, "Please bring Miss Yuan here."

PS: The next chapter will be before 12:00. Then, I'll continue to ask for monthly votes.