Transcending Dreams - D2 - Chapter 38

Wang Xiaoling chuckled, not with amusement, but with disbelief.

“If you tell me that was a poor joke right now, I’ll let this go.”

William stayed silent, wondering if it was possible to get a hold of Elder Yu before the bracelets were put on stage.

“So all this talk about helping was false?” Wang Xiaoling clenched her fist.

He eyed her warily. If she could casually put him in a headlock, it wasn’t a stretch that she would be able to cause serious damage if she grew angry enough to throw a punch.

“Of course not!” William shook his head emphatically. “I have every intention of helping you, Sister Xiaoling. I just put myself in a tough spot by winning the marital skill.”

“How did you even get the Spirit Stones to bid that much?!” Wang Xiaoling froze before her shoulders slumped, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. “… Did you somehow manage to borrow that much?“

William grimaced, giving her a slight nod. Technically, that was true, though it was more accurate to say he took Lan Yang’s borrowed Spirit Stones… without permission. So stolen, really.

“Wei Liang, remember what happened when you tried to punch me? I feel that you deserve the same response right now.”

He took a large step back in fear. How could he forget? That was practically his greeting to this world.

It was a foolish action done due to an overload of stress and frustration, and it had ended with his ribs greeting Wang Xiaoling’s foot before he was launched by her kick.

She had nearly ended his life by accident.

“Oh, relax,” Wang Xiaoling scoffed. “I’m not going to hurt you, though I should. You somehow chose to bid on the only thing given to me on consignment. I can’t magically waive off the money you gave me since half it owed to the man that used to own the martial skill.”

He hadn’t thought of the possibility that she didn’t own the martial skill outright. With the sect taking one thousand four hundred Spirit Stones as the fee, it left around a thousand Spirit Stones to be split between Wang Xiaoling and the original owner of the [Heavenly Thunder Scripture].

“I get it,” William sighed. “You not in a position to help me.”

“I didn’t say that,” she corrected, bringing his hopes back from the depths it had sunk. “I have conditions that must be agreed to before I give you that amount of Spirit Stones. This would be the money I had planned to use to expand into Qingyun City, but you can be the replacement for it.”

He wanted to say yes immediately, but there was an issue. “… I’m not sure how I could help with the expansion, Sister Xiaoling. I never visited Qingyun City.”

“You’re part of the Jade Healing Sect, brat,” Wang Xiaoling rolled her eyes. “They are deeply tied to the city. I’m sure you can figure out a way since you claim to be favored.”

William never claimed that verbatim, but it wasn’t far off. “I’ll try my best.”

“There is no try,” Wang Xiaoling narrowed her eyes. “You will do it, and it has to be within the next year, or the Rising Merchant House will be set back until I can build up the funds again.”

[Quest: Help Rising Merchant House gain a foothold in Qingyun City]

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[Information: In return for giving you the Spirit Stones you need, Wang Xiaoling needs you to help her expand the merchant house into Qingyun City in the next year.]

[Reward: ?]

[Penalty: Rising Merchant House will fall into financial hardship | Loss of reputation with Wang Xiaoling]

[Accept: Y/N]

This had to be one of the more vaguely worded quests he had received. In all honesty, he would have done this even without the quest being offered to him. The unknown reward didn’t annoy him either, especially since having the merchant house grow was enough of a benefit by itself.

“I’ll do it,” William nodded firmly. “Thank you, Sister Xiaoling. You don’t know how much you helped by doing this.”

[Quest Accepted | Help Rising Merchant House gain a foothold in Qingyun City]

He yelped when she pulled him toward her, angrily ruffling his hair. “I didn’t have a choice! You don’t make stupid financial decisions and live happily, brat! The people that offer this amount of Spirit Stones will literally take apart your body to recover their funds if necessary!”

William let himself be manhandled again, by choice, of course. It had nothing to do with the uncomfortable fact that he couldn’t free himself even if he tried.

He should correct her assumption that he had borrowed from some loanshark-types, but maybe being too truthful wasn’t the best idea. Instead, he focused on what her offer meant.

“Sister Xiaoling,” William said when he was freed, smirking, “does that mean you care for my well-being?”

“Obviously!” Wang Xiaoling admitted instantly, making his smirk turn in a warm smile. “You’re like a younger brother to me! One that’s a country bumpkin and knows nothing about basic financial knowledge, but still, an annoying younger brother.”

William was about to return the sentiment that Wang Xiaoling would be his honorary older sibling from now on. But then she kept going.

“It reminds me of a couple years ago when I adopted a stray cat out of pity,” Wang Xiaoling tapped her chin. “It slowly learned to be useful by attracting more customers to my stall, so my care wasn’t a complete loss when I had it. Of course, I sold that cat to a young child from some rich clan, so it turned out to be great for me.”

“… Did you just compare me to a feral cat?” William asked incredulously.

“Of course not!” Wang Xiaoling looked shocked at his accusation, “You’re far more important than some cheap cat, Wei Liang. You’re a member of the Jade Healing Sect! You’re a hundred, no, a thousand times more important!”

He suspected that her measure of importance was calculated by how much she sold this feral cat to some poor child. It was best to accept this and move on before she said something worse about him.

“I see. Thank you, Sister Xiaoling,” William said after clearing his throat.

“Hm, I am pretty great, aren’t I?” She smiled before touching the small bag hanging off her hip. Four notes appeared in her hand.

“Here you go, that’s what you spent. Go pay the debt immediately to avoid more interest.”

William stared at the large denomination bank notes to was given. Three were worth a thousand Spirit Stones each, and one worth five hundred.

He had seen bank notes representing Gold coins and Qi Stones, but with Xu Feng lugging around actual Spirit Stones, he assumed that notes didn’t exist for them.

“These are from the sect, right?” The design was similar to the Qi Stone notes that Wang Mei gave him.

… Speaking of, he had forgotten entirely that the Jade Healing Sect gave him an allowance that he needed to redeem every month or lose. Not that five Qi Stones a month was much to him these days. Still, he made a mental reminder to speak to someone about it. Money was money, no matter how little.

“They are,” Wang Xiaoling nodded. “Redeem them if you borrowed from outside the sect. Remember, this isn’t a gift. These are operating funds have been taken out from our merchant house. Keep your word, Wei Liang.”

“I will,” William said seriously, matching her change in tone. “Thank you again.”

Wang Xiaoling waved him off. “So this mentor you told me about. Is he real, or was that a lie to get me alone and ask for money?”

“Er, he’s real.”

“Good! Introduce me! It may be of help to us.”

“Give me a few minutes, Sister Xiaoling. I’ll go get him,” William said, happy to do so. He made to leave but was stopped just as he opened the door.

“What’s with all of this?”

He turned to see Wang Xiaoling staring at the pile of Spirit Stones sitting on the seat. It was almost comforting to see the greed in her eyes. It had been disconcerting to have her be so generous.

“That’s the fee a guest paid to get on the Red Floor. And a little for using the Qi Refining room.”

“And it’s just sitting there?” Wang Xiaoling waved her hand at the Spirit Stones. “Your mentor must be wealthy.”

“Er, yes. Somewhat.” If being in debt for thousands of Spirit Stones was wealthy.

“I look forward to meeting him.”