#14 - Pay to be beaten

In all fairness, Wei Changtian's words were somewhat impulsive.

But he knew he had to do it this way.

Otherwise, he was afraid that no one would ever be willing to fight him, and even if there were, they would probably be sycophants like Fan Hong.

Furthermore, it was also a way to push himself.

Xiao Feng was not dead, and the threat remained.

He wanted to improve his strength as quickly as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Although his ultimate goal was to live a comfortable and extravagant life in this world, people still had to have some ambition.

Thinking of this, Wei Changtian paused, his gaze sweeping over the silent crowd below the stage, and asked once again:

"Now, is there anyone willing to come on stage?"

...

"Is Young Master Wei really going to play for real?"

"Give it a rest, I think this matter is probably going to become the biggest joke of the Suspended Mirror Division."

"Fifty taels of silver, like earning a merit. If it's true, then it would be too easy to earn!"

"Brother, why don't you go up and try first?"

"I'm not going up, you go first."

"Heh heh, I'm not stupid."

"Then you think I'm stupid?"

"I didn't mean that."

"I think you did! Arena C-4 is empty now, dare to fight me!"

"..."

Obviously, most people did not believe Wei Changtian's promise.

The monthly salary of an ordinary constable in the Suspended Mirror Division was one tael of silver, plus some gray income, which was estimated to be another tael or so.

Two taels of silver per month, even in the capital, was definitely considered a high income.

It could basically guarantee that they would have no worries about food and clothing, have meat every day, and occasionally go to Pingchang Lane for some fun with the ladies.

Except for the difficulty of buying a house, this life was already comfortable enough.

But now Wei Changtian was offering two years of their income, so it was no wonder that no one dared to believe it.

However, as the saying goes, heavy rewards bring forth brave men.

Under the huge temptation, there were always people who dared to take the risk and try.

"That, Lord Wei..."

A somewhat thin man in cloth suddenly raised his hand in the crowd, his expression a little uneasy.

"This lowly one, Shi Yue from the Sticky Rod Office, wonders if I can go on stage and try?"

Wei Changtian nodded to him: "Of course!"

"Thank you, Lord..."

It could be seen that the thin man was very nervous. After going on stage, he didn't know what to say, and finally gritted his teeth and directly adopted a fighting stance.

"Eighth rank, Shi Yue, dares to ask for your guidance, Lord."

"Seventh rank, Wei Changtian."

Wei Changtian seriously reported his rank and name, and also raised his fists again.

"Swish!"

"Bang! Bang bang!"

Soon, the two were entangled in a fight. Compared to the previous "one move to determine the winner", this time it was quite evenly matched.

However, this was not because Wei Changtian had suddenly improved, but because Shi Yue's level was really not that good.

The Sticky Rod Office was a department under the Suspended Mirror Division responsible for collecting intelligence, and the constables in it were not good at direct combat.

What's more, Shi Yue was only at the eighth rank, one realm lower than Wei Changtian.

So the fact that the two could fight back and forth only highlighted Wei Changtian's incompetence even more.

And from the scene, he was even close to losing.

"Thump!"

Forcibly blocking Shi Yue's elbow, Wei Changtian staggered back two steps, his forearm numb.

If it weren't for the fact that he was one realm higher than Shi Yue in internal force, he would not have been able to block this elbow no matter what.

With lingering fear, he sighed inwardly, "How dangerous", but before he could stand firm, a fist suddenly appeared in front of him.

Wei Changtian didn't expect this fist to come so quickly, and coupled with the half-instant delay caused by being distracted just now, he finally couldn't dodge it and was hit by Shi Yue for the first time.

And this one blow directly determined the outcome.

There was no reversal, Wei Changtian was the one who fell to the ground.

"Lord Wei!"

There was no joy of victory on Shi Yue's face. He immediately put away his fighting stance and ran over in a panic to carefully help Wei Changtian up from the ground: "Are you alright?"

"Cough! Spit!"

Wei Changtian put one hand on Shi Yue's shoulder, and rubbed the spot where he was hit with the other hand, frowning as he spat out a mouthful of blood: "I'm not..."

"Young Master!"

A shout interrupted his words.

Wang Er rushed onto the stage, his eyes very unkind as he looked at Shi Yue.

Wei Changtian glanced at him and ordered: "Bring out the silver."

Wang Er was stunned for a moment, but he still fumbled out a silver note from his arms: "Young Master, here..."

"Mm."

Wei Changtian took the silver note and put it into Shi Yue's unbelievable hand, heavily patting him on the shoulder.

"Shi Yue from the Sticky Rod Office, right? I've written down your name, I'll explain the situation to my father tonight and give you a merit!"

"Lord, Lord Wei, this..."

Shi Yue held the genuine "Shunchang Bank" fifty tael silver note, only feeling like he was dreaming, and even forgot when he stepped down from the stage.

Several colleagues instantly surrounded him, some wanting him to treat them to drinks, some wanting him to treat them to brothels... Even other people who didn't know him were now looking over with envy, only regretting that they weren't decisive enough just now.

And at this moment, Wei Changtian, realizing that he was not seriously injured, had already straightened up again and asked loudly: "Second match, who's coming?"

"..."

The crowd was silent for two seconds, and then it boiled over.

"I'll come!"

"Young Master Wei! Look at me!!"

"Choose me, choose me!!"

"The money doesn't matter, I mainly want to exchange a few moves with you, Lord Wei!"

"..."

...

"Hiss!"

The Wei residence was peaceful and quiet in the night, except for the room where the candles were brightly lit, which occasionally emitted bursts of grimaces and strange cries.

"Young Master, does it hurt a lot..."

Qiu Yun held the ointment with a distressed expression, not knowing where her young master had gone to provoke this body of injuries.

She had asked Yan'er several times, but Wei Changtian only said that he had gone to compete with someone.

She didn't know which family was so bold as to beat the young master like this.

"Pa ta ~"

A teardrop fell, and Wei Changtian, who was lying on the bed, immediately let out another wail.

"Damn! That, Qiu Yun... Can you not cry when you're applying the medicine?"

"It didn't hurt that much at first, but your tears all fell on my wound..."

"Ah?"

Qiu Yun was stunned when she heard this, and hurriedly wiped away her tears with a red face: "I'm, I'm sorry, Young Master, it's all this servant's fault..."

Wei Changtian smiled helplessly: "It's okay, hurry up and continue applying the medicine."

"Yes... Ah, Madam!"

Qiu Yun suddenly whispered, and then Lu Jingyao's voice came from her ear.

"Qiu Yun, you can go down first, I'll apply the medicine for... Husband."

"Yes, Madam."

"..."

Soon, the soft touch came from his back again. Although Wei Changtian had been lying on the bed and hadn't turned his head to look, he knew that the person applying the medicine had been replaced by Lu Jingyao.

He closed his eyes and casually asked: "Why did you come?"

Lu Jingyao's hand trembled slightly, and after a long while, she said hesitantly: "You, you are my husband..."

"Aren't we fake?"

Wei Changtian interrupted mercilessly: "What? Have you figured it out now?"

"I..."

Lu Jingyao didn't know how to answer this question for a while.

She also didn't know why her heart was now full of Wei Changtian, and she would even take the initiative to come and apply medicine to heal the wounds of this man whom she once hated so much.

Am I trying to please him...?

Although she didn't want to admit it, the fact seemed to be so.

Just when Lu Jingyao was extremely tangled, Wei Changtian, who had been waiting for a reply for a long time, seemed to have lost interest in this topic. After thinking for a while, he suddenly opened his mouth and asked again: "By the way, do you want to hear a story?"

Lu Jingyao was stunned: "Hear, hear a story?"

Wei Changtian replied in a serious manner: "Yes, I see that you have nothing to do at home, why don't I tell you a long story? If you think it's okay, write it down, and we can take it to the bookstore to print it and make money."

Lu Jingyao hesitated in a daze: "Can this work..."

"You can listen to it first to see if it works. At worst, just treat it as a way to relieve boredom."

"Okay, then I'll listen..."

Although Lu Jingyao didn't know why the topic had changed so quickly, she still nodded.

Then she heard Wei Changtian clear his throat and slowly say:

"It is said that long ago there was a proud Lai Kingdom, and on the coast there was a Flower and Fruit Mountain, and on the top of the mountain there was a fairy stone..."