Creditor—a term Lu Yang knew all too well, considering he had a friend who fit that very description.
"What are you looking at me for? It's not like I borrowed any money!" Meng Jingzhou snapped, catching the look Lu Yang gave him.
"Do you know which faction the creditor belonged to? Was it the Meng Family, the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce, or someone else?"
In Lu Yang's mind, the two most famous money-lending powers were the fabulously wealthy Meng Family and the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce, whose merchants spanned the entire world.
Li Haoran shook his head. "I don't know which faction it was. The fragments in my dreams are always broken and disconnected. Just a few days ago, I happened to dream of a scene shortly before Qin Haoran was gravely injured. From their conversation, I learned the other party was a creditor, and Qin Haoran was broke.
"Then again, it might not have been Qin Haoran borrowing money personally. It could have been the entire Nine Nether Cult taking out a loan, and the creditor tracked down the cult's person in charge—the Cult Master."
"They knew Qin Haoran was the cult master of the Nine Nether Cult?" Lu Yang asked in shock. Did someone really have the guts to lend money to the Nine Nether Cult?
If the Great Xia Dynasty caught wind of that, anyone involved would be stripped of their skin, if not executed outright.
Li Haoran shook his head, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Through the repeated torment of Qin Haoran's memories, his reservoir of worldly knowledge had been expanding by leaps and bounds.
"They probably didn't know. From the memory fragments I've pieced together and my understanding of Qin Haoran, the most likely scenario is this: Qin Haoran first took a sum of spirit stones from the Nine Nether Cult's treasury and registered a small chamber of commerce, staffed by himself and a few dozen cult members.
"Then, using certain tricks—or rather, short-term schemes that bring in fast cash but carry lingering hazards—he made the small chamber of commerce look like a booming, wildly prosperous enterprise.
"The chamber of commerce then borrowed money from lenders a few times, repaying every loan strictly on time.
"That way, when the lenders evaluated this small chamber of commerce, they thought it had stellar credit, solid operations, and limitless prospects.
"Next, the chamber of commerce proposed borrowing a colossal sum to expand its business, and the lenders were very likely to approve it.
"Once the funds were secured, the chamber of commerce spent all the spirit stones under the pretext of conducting business. In truth, every single stone was secretly channeled into the Nine Nether Cult.
"Finally, the small chamber of commerce declared bankruptcy.
"Because Qin Haoran had registered it as a limited liability chamber of commerce, the entity's liability was limited to its registered capital, while its individual members bore no personal liability. As a result, the lenders couldn't legally demand repayment directly from Qin Haoran and the other top cult leaders."
Li Haoran concluded, "And just like that, Qin Haoran and the Nine Nether Cult borrowed the money without having to pay back a single cent. A flawless scheme."
After hearing the explanation, Lu Yang felt that the creditors hunting Qin Haoran down was entirely within reason.
Completely understandable.
"Good thing Qin Haoran is dead. You don't have to shoulder his debts," Meng Jingzhou remarked, feeling fortunate on Li Haoran's behalf. Otherwise, even if Li Haoran were sold off, he wouldn't be able to pay back the interest, let alone the principal.
"I hope so." Li Haoran hardly felt comforted; that was precisely one of the reasons he tossed and turned at night.
Legally speaking, he certainly wouldn't inherit debts from a past life. But whether those creditors gave a damn about the law was another question entirely.
That swindler Qin Haoran—he deserved to die!
Lu Yang patted Li Haoran on the shoulder. "It's no good holing up in your cave dwelling all the time. Why not head outside for a stroll? Got any ideas for your Core Formation yet?"
Li Haoran shook his head. "None."
In truth, his memories contained Qin Haoran's path to Core Formation, but he had no desire to copy Qin Haoran's footsteps.
"Then the timing couldn't be better. You're due to form your core anyway. Going outside and clearing your head might just lead you to your Core Formation opportunity."
"With the two of us Golden Core stage grand experts acting as your Dao protectors, this trip is guaranteed to go off without a hitch!" Meng Jingzhou gave a thumbs-up to himself, not forgetting that their initial purpose had been to show off their newly achieved Golden Cores.
Li Haoran was speechless.
*What's so great about Core Formation?! With the cultivation insights of a peak Body Integration grand expert backing me, I'll overtake you two sooner or later!*
Eldest Senior Sister had expressly forbidden Li Haoran from leaving the Dao Seeking Sect; otherwise, he would have gone to the dense forest to search for Core Formation opportunities long ago.
There was only one circumstance under which Li Haoran was permitted to leave the sect: when led by Lu Yang.
Going under Lu Yang's lead was safer than being accompanied by the Fifth Elder; they wouldn't have to fear running into an immortal.
"Before we head out, I should let my master know."
"Let's go."
The three of them found the Fifth Elder in the middle of weapon refinement. Wielding a massive iron hammer, the elder pounded away at a piece of armament amid showering sparks. Every strike landed with the force of colliding mountains and subterranean dragons churning the earth, shaking the ground to its core.
"Ah, Haoran. What is it?" Seeing Lu Yang and the others approaching, the Fifth Elder stopped forging, shrank the hammerhead down, and used it to thump his stiff back.
"It's like this, Master. I'd like to go outside with Senior Brother Lu and Senior Brother Meng..."
Li Haoran concisely explained his situation. The Fifth Elder nodded repeatedly in sympathy with Li Haoran's plight. Having to process the daily affairs of a great sect inside one's head every day was a dreadful headache.
If it weren't so exhausting, Daoist Buyu wouldn't have been made Sect Master in the first place.
"Martial Niece Yun Zhi mentioned before that as long as you're traveling with Lu Yang, nothing will go wrong. Go on, then."
"Should we inform Eldest Senior Sister?" Li Haoran asked, feeling an instinctive twinge of guilt about leaving the sect.
"Eldest Senior Sister had business outside and won't be back anytime soon," Lu Yang said. In all likelihood, he was the only one in the entire Dao Seeking Sect who knew what she had gone off to do.
Emperor Xia had sent a reply consenting to the relocation of the immortal's cave dwelling, so Eldest Senior Sister had gone to move the Immortal Fairy's kitchen from the Immortal Ruins.
Uprooting an immortal's cave dwelling without compromising the structural integrity of the Immortal Ruins was an immensely difficult task that required Eldest Senior Sister's personal touch.
The Immortal Fairy had been grinning from ear to ear for half the day over the news, proclaiming that once her kitchen was moved back, she would definitely whip up something to show off her culinary skills to Lu Yang.
Lu Yang had been so terrified he hadn't dared utter a peep.
After reporting to the Fifth Elder, just as the three of them were preparing to board a flying boat to depart the Dao Seeking Sect, Lu Yang suddenly asked, "By the way, where are we actually headed?"
Without knowing where they were going, how were they supposed to buy tickets?
The three exchanged glances. In their eagerness to leave the sect, none of them had given a thought to their destination.
They couldn't very well return to the dense forest.
"How about this: why don't we go to the Mission Hall, pick a mission, and head wherever it takes us?" Li Haoran suggested. He happened to be running low on contribution points anyway.
"Sounds good." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou nodded in agreement, treating it as an excursion to help Li Haoran earn some points.
Out of the three, only Li Haoran lacked contribution points. Lu Yang had plenty of his own and could dip into the Immortal Fairy's points whenever he pleased.
As for Meng Jingzhou, he could simply exchange spirit stones for contribution points whenever he wanted.
The three arrived at the Mission Hall, and Meng Jingzhou's eyes lit up the moment he spotted an appealing task.
"'Southern Jizhou, Shoutian Commandery, Guhuai Town. Outside town lies an abandoned temple where travelers frequently stop to rest. A female ghost suspected of devouring men's yang energy haunts the grounds. Upon learning of this, travelers have been arriving in an endless stream...'
"This is the one!" Meng Jingzhou slapped his thigh in excitement, convinced this mission was his destined calling.
It was the perfect chance to test whether his Double Bachelor Spiritual Root really worked!
Li Haoran rubbed his chin. Guhuai Town... why did that name sound so familiar?
Chapter 294