Chapter 45: The Clown
"Yo, Hu Ke, got yourself some new clothes."
Under Lu You's control, Hu Ke had just returned to the large communal courtyard when the brand-new clothes on him immediately caught everyone's attention.
"Hehe, didn't a newcomer named Lu You just arrive? I took the opportunity to swap out that ragged set of clothes. That brat didn't even dare fart in protest."
Hu Ke's eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, but his speech and behavior were no different from a normal person. No one noticed anything unusual.
As he spoke, Lu You controlled Hu Ke to reach into his robe. He pulled out more than a dozen spirit stones and a communication talisman.
"That kid even dared glare at me. Back on the arena stage he couldn't beat someone at ninth level Qi Refining even while holding a treasured artifact. At best he's just at fifth level of Qi Refining. So I gave him a good beating, and he handed over his spirit stones and communication talisman."
"Damn, Old Hu, that's impressive. You even got extra loot."
Voices of envy rose from the courtyard. Every time newcomers arrived, it was considered a profitable opportunity. But earlier Lu You had been carrying a treasured artifact and had rented a private courtyard residence, so nobody knew his real strength and no one dared to provoke him.
Who would've thought that Lu You was actually just all show and no substance, and Hu Ke ended up picking up the bargain.
"Haha, everyone who sees it gets a share."
Hu Ke generously slapped the spirit stones onto the table.
The other outer sect disciples looked at each other and couldn't help gathering around.
"You're sharing with just these few stones? You must be hiding the real prize from us."
"Yeah, yeah! Hurry up and say it—was Lu You actually a big fish and you found something even better?"
There were more than twenty disciples living in the communal courtyard. A dozen spirit stones were nowhere near enough to divide among them. If they split it, Hu Ke would've done all that work for nothing.
Seeing how confident Hu Ke looked, none of them touched the spirit stones. Instead, they waited for him to continue. Someone even eagerly brought a chair for Hu Ke.
Hu Ke sat down grandly and squinted as he pointed at each of them one by one.
"You guys sure have sharp instincts. Heh... I really did discover something new."
"That Lu You is just a show-off. I'm guessing the rumor that he's Zeng Yan's boy toy is actually true. This communication talisman is probably how he contacts Zeng Yan. If we use her little pretty boy as leverage, then to keep him from getting beaten up, wouldn't she have to show some respect to us brothers?"
"But... isn't Zeng Yan an inner disciple?" someone hesitated.
In the next moment he was shoved aside by the other outer disciples who were already used to bullying people.
"Zeng Yan is only in the Qi Refining realm, what are you afraid of? Besides, our Deep Literary Pavilion and Myriad Sword Mountain aren't even the same system. No matter how strong she is, what does that have to do with us? If she dares come trouble us, that would mean Myriad Sword Mountain is disrespecting the Deep Literary Pavilion. Someone else would deal with her."
"Exactly. She could even take out a treasured artifact for a pretty boy. Big fat sheep like this are hard to find. We're only asking for a little money anyway. We might even be doing Lu You a favor. How could she refuse? Maybe she'll even reward us."
The disciples in the courtyard chattered endlessly, but after arguing for half the day they still hadn't reached a conclusion.
Hu Ke suddenly slammed the table in frustration.
Bang!
The loud noise drowned out the discussion and drew everyone's attention.
"Brothers, don't worry. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility. This fat sheep is definitely getting slaughtered. I'll contact Zeng Yan right now."
Looking full of bold righteousness, Hu Ke ripped open the communication talisman and recorded a message:
"I'm Hu Ke, an outer disciple of the Deep Literary Pavilion. Your little pretty boy Lu You owes a huge amount of money in the outer sect. If you don't want him to suffer, quickly find someone to pay off his debt. We brothers have spent a lot of effort taking care of him. If there's no money soon, we won't be able to hold back anymore."
After sending the message, Hu Ke sat there arrogantly waiting for Zeng Yan's reply.
More than a dozen pairs of eyes in the courtyard stared at him.
For a moment, everyone held their breath, silently waiting for the communication talisman to respond.
Suddenly, a strand of spiritual energy returned, and the communication talisman quickly received a reply.
"I'm Fang Ziming. What nonsense are you spouting, brat?! That's the communication talisman I gave to Lu You! Do you have any idea how many spirit stones I had to spend because you snatched it? Hu Ke, right? I'll remember you!"
After reading the reply, all the disciples in the communal courtyard looked at each other in shock.
"That's Inner Disciple Fang Ziming's communication talisman? This is bad. Fang Ziming, Gu Jintang, and Ruan Zhengnan are all in the same group. If they're Lu You's backers, then Hu Ke, your talisman work for the next few months probably won't pass inspection. You won't earn a single contribution point..."
"Yeah, those three are complete bastards. And they're greedy as hell. Once you offend them, even selling everything you own won't be enough to satisfy them."
The outer sect disciples who had just been calling each other brothers suddenly distanced themselves from Hu Ke. Their faces were full of schadenfreude. A few of them didn't even bother watching the drama anymore and went straight back to their rooms, afraid of getting dragged into trouble.
Hu Ke seemed stunned. After standing there blankly for a long time, he finally came back to his senses. Looking at the people who were now avoiding him like the plague, he swallowed nervously.
"Brothers... what should I do now? Should I go apologize to Boss Fang and the others?"
When Hu Ke's gaze turned toward them, the crowd stepped back again as if avoiding a contagious disease.
"How many spirit stones do you have that could possibly compensate them? If those three get their hands on you, they'll squeeze you dry until the day you die."
"We're not brothers with you. At most we're neighbors. Heh... and soon we probably won't even be neighbors anymore."
Listening to their words, Hu Ke flew into a rage. He grabbed all the spirit stones off the table and cursed angrily:
"Get lost, all of you! A bunch of ungrateful bastards! I'll figure it out myself. I don't believe those three can actually force me to death. I'm still a ninth level Qi Refining cultivator after all. If they push me too far, it won't end well for them either."
He glanced around again and suddenly pleaded:
"Brothers, could you lend me some spirit stones? I'll go apologize to Boss Fang and the others tonight. Once I get through this, I'll definitely pay you back."
The moment they heard he wanted to borrow money, even the onlookers disappeared. Everyone hurried back into their rooms and slam!—the doors shut tightly, leaving Hu Ke standing alone outside.
Seeing everyone's true colors, Hu Ke stomped around the courtyard and shouted angrily:
"You're all worthless cowards! You only know how to bully newcomers, but when you see someone in the Foundation Establishment realm you don't even dare fart! No wonder you're stuck living in this crappy communal courtyard. I'm going to see Boss Fang tonight. Once I get through this, I'll find a way to rise above you all. I'll never live with trash like you again!"
Inside the rooms, hearing Hu Ke's shouting, several ninth level Qi Refining cultivators frowned.
"What's wrong with Hu Ke? He's like a mad dog biting everyone."
"Forget it. Don't bother with him. He's about to lose everything he owns, his eyes have gone red with desperation."
"Could he bring trouble to our courtyard like this?"
"Heh, what trouble could he cause? It's not like he can kill someone at the Foundation Establishment realm. Once Fang Ziming and the others beat him up, he'll behave. He's nothing but a clown. Who told him to provoke Lu You without even figuring out his background first?"
"Yeah, Hu Ke's just unlucky. Lu You is probably Fang Ziming's fat sheep to fleece, and Hu Ke accidentally interfered. Heh~ looks like Lu You really is rich, otherwise Fang Ziming wouldn't care this much."
Inside the rooms, the disciples whispered among themselves.
Meanwhile, Hu Ke hugged a bundle to his chest and hurriedly left the communal courtyard.
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