Chapter 1678 — Yu Xiaoke's Troubles, Part One

"Three hundred million?" Zhao Qibing drew in a sharp breath of cold air. How much had they actually made lately? And now, all at once, they were to hand over three hundred million—was this some kind of joke?

"That's right. You'll accept this price whether you like it or not—I'm merely informing you," the man in black said. "Remember: half a year from now, I'll come to collect. Don't entertain any notion of running. Run to the ends of the earth, and you still won't escape the Blood Robe Yellow Springs Sect's pursuit."

The Blood Robe Yellow Springs Sect knew well enough that Zhao Qibing could not produce three hundred million on the spot, which was why they had granted him half a year. And the Blood Robe Yellow Springs Sect was, after all, practically the equal of an ancient sect—it held no fear even of the hidden Zhao family.

They were a nest of killers; where their headquarters lay, no one knew. A sect like that was one no ordinary man dared provoke lightly. Otherwise, wherever you fled, day after day skilled blades would hunt you down—how would you ever get anything else done?

With that, the man in black departed, leaving only Zhao Qibing behind, grinding his teeth in fury.

"Damnation! What sort of business is this? They couldn't best their man, got him killed, and now they come demanding money?" Fury burned in Zhao Qibing's heart. Had Wei Zhao truly been killed, then fine—let them ask for three hundred million, and he would sell his pots and pans to scrape it together. But as things stood... this three hundred million was far too unjust. Funeral expenses?

"Young Master Bing... we must pay the Blood Robe Yellow Springs Sect, and we can't default on it either. Otherwise, I fear there'll be great trouble later," Leader Zhu said, somewhat bitterly. "Young Master Bing, I truly am sorry about this. I never imagined the Blood Robe Yellow Springs Sect would fail. Their reputation in the trade was rather good—who could have known that this time..."

"Forget it, Leader Zhu. Money is a thing outside the body. Within half a year, gathering three hundred million won't be a problem—only... ah, all that work for nothing!" Zhao Qibing waved a hand. To him, the loss of three hundred million was merely a sting of regret; but Leader Zhu, an Earth-rank expert, was someone he valued greatly.

"It's no matter, Young Master Bing. I've saved quite a bit over the years—three hundred million is still within reach. This three hundred million, I'll put up myself. To hear those words from you, Young Master Bing, is happiness enough for this Zhu!" Seeing that Young Master Bing did not blame him but instead consoled him, Leader Zhu was moved to the depths of his heart, and resolved to pay the sum himself.

Leader Zhu was, after all, an Earth-rank expert, and over the years he had taken on plenty of private work and earned no small amount on the side—three hundred million was still within his means. He had few expenses in ordinary times, unlike the hidden Zhao family, whose income was great but whose outlays were greater still, leaving scarcely a coin to spare each year.

"Good! Then consider this three hundred million a loan from me. When the day comes that I hold the Zhao family in my hand, I'll record your service as foremost!" Zhao Qibing did not decline. He was short of money now, and whatever he earned he still had to claim credit for before the family; if it all went to the Blood Robe Yellow Springs Sect, the family would surely look down on him.

"With those words from you, Young Master Bing, I'd gladly dash out my brains and smear the ground with them!" said Leader Zhu.

"Don't bring this matter up in the family again. Let bygones be bygones—count it as money spent buying a lesson. Damn it, if only I'd said outright that Wei Zhao was an Earth-rank expert, and had them send Heaven-rank killers after him—it wouldn't have cost more than three hundred million, no matter how dear! The money spent this time is truly wasted!" Zhao Qibing said with some helplessness.

"True enough, but no one expected Wei Zhao to have advanced again. Weren't we thinking of saving money at the time? Killing a Yellow-rank expert costs only ten million, but to kill an Earth-rank expert, I'm afraid the quoted price would exceed two hundred million!" Leader Zhu smiled bitterly. "Sometimes, indeed, a small saving is a great loss."

"Never mind. Cihua, go look into the demolition matter. Earn as much as you can, and win back this three-hundred-million loss!" Zhao Qibing ordered.

"Yes!" Li Cihua said. "Then in the next few days I'll make contact with the orphanage people again. If they're still so blind to reason, don't blame us for not being polite!"

At the orphanage, the old director and Yu Xiaoke had been worrying over the demolition, but so long had passed with no word from the Qibing Real Estate Company that the two assumed the other side had given up on developing the orphanage's land, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Money flows away like water. It seems I'll have to find something to do before long—I can't just sit here and eat my way through the mountain, can I?" Watching the gold and silver treasures she had brought back from the ancient tomb dwindle rapidly, Yu Xiaoke said to the old director with a worried frown.

"It's not eating through the mountain, Xiaoke. The gold and silver you brought back, converted into money and placed in the bank—the yearly interest alone is basically enough to maintain the orphanage's expenses. So long as no great enormous outlay comes up, there should be no problem!" the old director said. "And you—don't do that line of work anymore. It's too dangerous! When you came back from the tomb robbing and I heard you tell of it, my heart trembled in my chest. And that was only hearing about it—at the time it must have been far worse!"

"True. But if I don't do that work, what can I do?" Yu Xiaoke had been idling at home of late, unable to find any way to earn money. The thief's trade had grown even harder: because of the bank robbery in Songshan City, patrol cars now filled the streets everywhere, so how would Yu Xiaoke dare go out and ply her trade against the wind?

And tomb robbing—that she truly dared not attempt again. After that one trip, Yu Xiaoke had learned just how vicious and perilous the trade of tomb robbing was. If not for the Male Thief always shielding her, she would long since have died with no place to be buried...

The Male Thief... At the thought of him, Yu Xiaoke's face flushed faintly. This man, the first to stir her heart, cared for her and protected her at every turn, never letting her suffer the slightest hurt! In Yu Xiaoke's heart, the image of the Male Thief had already been branded deep...

She did not know what he looked like, did not know whether he was handsome—but none of that mattered to Yu Xiaoke. What she liked was simply that masked Male Thief who stood before her, blocking every danger!

"Xiaoke, you've worried over this orphanage for so many years and poured so much of your heart's blood into it. Now that the orphanage has no worries behind it, it's time you found a man and married. You can't cling to the orphanage your whole life, can you? This isn't a place for a young girl to stay forever!" Looking at Yu Xiaoke's faintly crimson cheeks, how could the old director fail to guess what was in her heart?

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