Chapter 6: This Doesn't Follow the Script

However, because Shen Lang's mouth was gagged with a cloth, he could only make muffled sounds. The other party couldn't understand what he was shouting and paid no attention.

Thus, Shen Lang stared straight at the leader of the group.

The man was in his thirties, with two scars on his face, a cold and cruel expression, and a ruthless gaze. He wore a soft armor.

Shen Lang remembered this brutal man, as he had seen him several times.

His name was Tian Heng, a notorious gang leader within a hundred miles, with over a hundred henchmen. He ran gambling dens, brothels, and black markets, and was known for his cruelty and ruthlessness, having killed countless people.

He also had an official identity as the leader of the civilian army in Xuanwu City.

The men pushed Shen Lang into a pit and started to bury him.

An ordinary person would have cried and screamed, their soul shattered, but Shen Lang remained very calm. At first, he stared at Tian Heng's face, then at his entire body, with a very strange gaze.

He was using X-ray vision, a gaze that made anyone shudder.

Tian Heng finally couldn't contain his curiosity and raised his hand. Immediately, his four henchmen stopped shoveling.

Tian Heng came to Shen Lang's face, tore the cloth from his mouth, and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Shen Lang said, "There's a needle inside your body. If it's not removed, it will be life-threatening."

He wasn't lying; there was indeed a very fine silver needle inside Tian Heng's body, currently in his lungs. If not for his X-ray vision, it would have been impossible to detect.

Hearing Shen Lang's words, Tian Heng was taken aback.

Shen Lang continued, "The needle is currently in a major blood vessel in your lungs. It will move with the blood flow. If it enters your brain, you will die."

Tian Heng was even more shocked and asked in disbelief, "How do you know?"

It was a secret, even his wife didn't know. This brain-damaged young man in front of him knowing it was truly bizarre.

This is too eerie!

Shen Lang said, "I can help you remove it."

Tian Heng looked at Shen Lang for a long time and said, "They say you're a fool, but you don't seem like one."

Shen Lang said, "This fine needle must be removed, or you will die. Only I can help you remove it."

"But the condition is that you spare my life, right?" Tian Heng said, "Don't you want to know who hired me to kill you?"

Shen Lang shook his head and said, "I don't need to ask; I already know who it is."

Tian Heng narrowed his eyes and said, "You're definitely not stupid!"

Then he shook his head and said, "But I'm very sorry, I can't agree to your terms."

Shen Lang's eyes narrowed. He had thought this deal was very safe. Even if someone paid Tian Heng to kill him, money was not as important as life. Shen Lang could save Tian Heng's life, so there was no reason for him not to agree and spare Shen Lang.

Thus, there was only one reason.

Tian Heng couldn't remove the silver needle from his body because the person who implanted it was someone he couldn't resist.

There was a story behind this.

But this was troublesome. Since the other party couldn't remove the needle, Shen Lang's amazing medical skills would be useless, and the deal couldn't be made.

Tian Heng said, "Your brother owes us money."

Brother owes money?!

"Three months ago, your father was injured. To save him, your brother borrowed five gold coins from my shop to hire a doctor. Now, with interest, it has become one hundred gold coins."

This was even more ruthless than a loan shark. In just three months, the principal and interest had multiplied twenty times.

But what Shen Lang was concerned about was not the interest, but his father's injury!

Three months ago, when he had married into the Xu family, his father had come to the Xu family to cause a scene, trying to take Shen Lang back home. He was driven out by the Xu family's servants and was severely beaten. At that time, Shen Lang was a foolish and ignorant person and didn't know about this.

The original Shen Lang was truly beyond redemption, falling for a woman like Xu Qianqian and neglecting his parents. Such a foolish and useless person didn't deserve the love of his parents.

"Because your family couldn't pay back the money, I decided to bury you alive. It has nothing to do with anyone else, understand?" Tian Heng said, "Of course, to make it look real, we will demolish your house and deal with your brother and parents as well."

Shen Lang understood. Someone had already paid Tian Heng to do these things but wanted a legitimate reason. So, the debt and the destruction of the family were a good excuse.

"You and I have no grudges, and you don't seem as stupid as they say." Tian Heng said, "But I still have to kill you. I'm sorry."

Then he stood up and said, "Give him a quick death. Kill him first, then bury him."

"Yes." A warrior stepped forward, drew his sword, and aimed it at Shen Lang's neck, ready to end his life.

"Wait!" Shen Lang shouted, "How much did they pay you to kill me? I'll give you ten times that amount, one thousand gold coins."

At these words, the warrior's sword stopped three inches above Shen Lang's neck.

Tian Heng was taken aback. Shen Lang was not at all stupid; he was incredibly smart. From their brief conversation, he had deduced that the price they had offered was one hundred gold coins.

"I'm very tempted." Tian Heng said, "Really, very tempted. But... your family is so poor that you can't even afford a meal. Your father is still bedridden, and your brother has had both legs broken. You can't even come up with one gold coin, let alone one thousand."

All of this was due to the original Shen Lang's foolishness and the Xu family's cruelty, which had left his father and brother severely injured, even in danger of their lives.

In this world, how much is one thousand gold coins worth?

An ordinary family would struggle to save two gold coins in a year. By the roughest estimate, one thousand gold coins would be equivalent to about three million RMB in modern Earth.

"This is a huge sum of money, and you can't possibly come up with it." Tian Heng continued.

Shen Lang said, "But you can take a bet. If you win, you'll earn a huge sum. Even if you lose, you'll only delay killing me for a few days, which won't stop you from getting the one hundred gold coins from the Xu family."

Tian Heng hesitated. For Shen Lang to come up with one thousand gold coins in ten days seemed impossible. But the fact that he could see the silver needle in his lungs was quite remarkable.

Shen Lang said, "Ten days, one thousand gold coins."

Tian Heng stared at Shen Lang's handsome face, hesitated for a while, and finally said, "Three days, I can only give you three days!"

Shen Lang understood. Tian Heng had also agreed to three days with the other party. If he killed Shen Lang within three days, he would get one hundred gold coins.

"Alright, it's a deal." Shen Lang said.

Tian Heng said, "Dig him out."

The four warriors dug Shen Lang out of the pit. However, they had no paper or pen.

Shen Lang tore a piece of his white silk underwear, bit his finger to draw blood, and wrote a promissory note for one thousand gold coins owed to Tian Heng, then signed it with his name.

As he wrote, he thought to himself, what a load of nonsense, this so-called "golden finger" is useless compared to gold coins. In the end, it was the gold coins that saved his life.

Tian Heng took the blood-written promissory note and looked at Shen Lang for a while.

This was the supposedly intellectually deficient Shen Lang? Too absurd.

"Deliver one thousand gold coins within three days, or I'll kill your entire family." Tian Heng said, "Thirteen, Fourteen, you two will escort Master Shen Lang home and stay with him for the next three days."

"Yes!" the two warriors said.

Then, Tian Heng left with the other three warriors.

"Shen Lang, remember, one thousand gold coins within three days, or I'll kill your entire family."

His figure was already out of sight, but his cold voice still drifted to Shen Lang's ears.

"No problem." Shen Lang's mind raced.

He quickly came up with a plan that would not only earn him a large sum of money but also protect his family and take revenge on the Xu family!

Three birds with one stone!

...

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