I can only beat noobs.

Did you kill them in Chapter 34?

"Do you know that you almost ruined our Chunhetang? That was the result of my parents' life's work."

Chen Rui's face darkened, and he sneered, "Compensation? What are you going to offer as compensation?"

Chen Ming was quite pleased to see him get into character so quickly.

To be honest, he was initially quite worried that this man was too soft-hearted and wouldn't be suitable for running a shop. Now it seems that he underestimated this man.

Zhou Quan said with a bitter face, "Manager Chen, I was forced into this situation. Jin Yuansheng is such a powerful company, I really can't afford to offend them..."

Chen Rui slammed his hand on the table. "You can't afford to offend Jin Yuansheng, but you think you can afford to offend the Chen family?"

Zhou Quan glanced at Chen Ming, shuddered involuntarily, and gritted his teeth, "Jin Yuansheng gave me five hundred taels to frame you. I'll give you another five hundred taels of my savings as compensation..."

That's a total of one thousand taels.

Chen Rui remained unmoved. "Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

Zhou Quan was almost in tears. "In that case, I'll sell the house too. It should be worth three or four hundred taels, or about 1,500 taels."

Chen Rui just sneered.

Zhou Quan hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Fine, I'll sell the land I owned back home for two thousand taels. That's all I have left; I really can't come up with any more."

Chen Rui held up three fingers. "Three thousand taels. As long as we have that amount, this matter will be dropped."

Zhou Quan's expression changed upon hearing this, and he exclaimed, "Three thousand taels... I really can't come up with that!"

Chen Rui didn't waste any more words with him, picked up his teacup, and said, "Show him out."

Two strong female servants stepped forward and dragged him away.

Just as he was about to be dragged out of the hall, Zhou Quan let out a pig-like scream, "I'll...I'll...three thousand taels..."

Chen Rui raised his hand, signaling the two maids to release him, and said to him, "Manager Zhou, you said it yourself, three thousand taels."

"I said!"

As Zhou Quan spoke, tears streamed down his face, a deep sense of heartache washing over him.

Three thousand taels! All the money I've earned over the years has gone into that.

Chen Rui pressed, "When are you going to pay?"

"Give me some time..."

"Five days."

Five days is too short.

"Seven days then."

Chen Rui said in an irrefutable tone, "If I don't see the money after seven days, I don't know what my brother might do."

Zhou Quan's expression froze. "Definitely...definitely."

The reason he chose to go to the door to apologize was because he had heard a rumor.

Just over a month ago, Xiao Laogui from Wanli Casino plotted to swindle money from Chen Rui. When he came to collect the debt, he was beaten up by Chen Rui's younger brother.

That very evening, Xiao Laogui's men came to apologize and even paid compensation.

As a result, a few days later, Xiao Laogui died mysteriously.

Who would believe it was suicide?

It goes without saying who did it.

When Zhou Quan heard this rumor, he was terrified, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. What he had done was no different from what Old Ghost Xiao had done.
Given Chen Rui's younger brother's temperament, he might sneak into his house one night and kill him. It's not impossible that he might even kill his whole family.

These three thousand taels are the money to buy my life.

He had already decided that after losing money, he would never do business in Qingfeng City again.

……

After Zhou Quan left.

Chen Ming said, "This person is quite sensible."

Chen Rui thought to himself, "It's all because of Erlang's reputation."

After Xiao Laogui's death, everyone in the neighborhood now knows that Chen's second son is ruthless and takes people's lives at the drop of a hat.

Because of this infamous reputation, doing business has become much easier for him.

He looked at his younger brother with a look of shame on his face, "Erlang, you gave me the money, but I have failed your expectations. This deal has resulted in a loss of five hundred taels."

Chen Ming laughed, "Didn't we make it back? A full three thousand taels, a six-fold profit."

Chen Rui said with a wry smile, "He's afraid of your revenge."

"What do you mean by 'yours' and 'mine'? We brothers are one family. I practice martial arts to protect this family. You make money in business to provide me with the resources for martial arts."

Chen Rui's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head in shame. "I misunderstood, Erlang, please don't be angry. Actually, I was afraid of holding you back."

Chen Ming smiled slightly, "When I was imprisoned and you spent all your savings to bail me out, did you ever think that I was a burden to you?"

"I……"

Chen Rui felt a surge of emotion, his nose stung, as if something was stuck in his throat.

Chen Ming encouraged him, saying, "I had someone to teach me martial arts. But you can only learn business on your own, brother. Consider any small losses as tuition fees. I believe that in the near future, you will be the manager of the largest trading company in the entire Qingfeng County."

He truly meant what he said. Judging from his performance today, Brother Chen Rui is definitely a qualified businessman.

If he can become the strongest martial artist in Qingfeng County, then his elder brother will naturally become the manager of the largest merchant guild.

Chen Rui said excitedly, "Okay, Big Brother will never let Erlang down."

The two brothers held hands tightly.

……

…………

Seven days later, Zhou Quan delivered the three thousand taels of silver as agreed, in the form of silver notes exchangeable through the Sihai Money Exchange.

After receiving Chen Ming's promise to wipe the slate clean, he felt relieved, left the Chen family, and made up his mind never to set foot in Qingfeng City again.

That three thousand taels was enough to cripple him and take half his life.

Chen Rui divided the money into 1,000 taels for Chen Ming and put the remaining 2,000 taels into the pharmacy's public account.

This time, his family's pharmacy was able to preserve its reputation thanks to the help of a benefactor.

He later brought gifts to Chen Ming's door, thus establishing a connection with him. Now that he had the resources, he could leverage Chen Ming's reputation to build relationships with many people who had studied martial arts at the Huo family mansion.

The pharmacy's business finally started to pick up.

Although Jin Yuansheng's business is large, he cannot possibly control everything in Qingfeng City.

On Chen Ming's side, through the introduction of Hong Mingquan's wife, he also got to know several of Huo Chengkun's nominal disciples. These people all had the cultivation level of the ninth rank and had a good relationship with Hong Mingquan in the past.

After making several inquiries, they learned that the Huo family's funeral procession had indeed encountered an accident. When they were almost at Xiaoshui, they ran into a group of bandits, resulting in heavy casualties.

The few who survived are now recuperating at the Xiaoshui Sect.

Hong Mingquan was not among the survivors.

Upon hearing this news, Ms. Li fainted on the spot.

Chen Ming felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.

This matter is very strange. Hong Mingquan must know something, so he made arrangements in advance and entrusted his wife and children to him.

He suddenly remembered the "Sword Manual" that the old woman had mentioned.

Could it be because of this?
Chen Ming didn't know, and didn't want to know. He didn't want to get himself into trouble.

……

Two weeks later, Hong Mingquan's remains were brought back.

Li and Hong Zilin also moved out of the Chen family home. Hong Mingquan had his own property in the city. The mother and son transported the coffin home and held the funeral.

Chen Ming felt deeply saddened by Hong Mingquan's death.

Just two days after the funeral.

At night, a pebble broke through the window paper and landed on the table. A note was wrapped around the pebble.

He took it out and saw that it was the same girl in blue again.

Chen Ming drew his sword and went to the back alley, where he saw a graceful girl dressed in black. He said coldly, "I thought you wouldn't come again."

Zhong Shuyu snorted, "I will not be satisfied until I defeat you with my sword. Take this."

With that, he charged forward.

Well come!
Chen Ming was already burning with anger, and instead of retreating, he advanced in the face of this sword strike.

Two sharp cuts.

He has regained the initiative.

It's clear that Zhong Shuyu has made significant progress compared to a month ago.

However, Chen Ming has made even greater progress.

He held back, wielding his long sword with unstoppable force, his attacks as fierce as a storm.

Soon, Zhong Shuyu could no longer resist.

Thirty-odd people waved their hands, and then there was a loud clang.

Zhong Shuyu cried out in pain as the longsword slipped from her hand.

Chen Ming's long, pointed sword was positioned in front of her throat. She met the chilling coldness in his eyes, her body stiffened, and she dared not make a move.

"Did you ambush and kill the Huo family's funeral procession?"

So what if it is?

Zhong Shuyu wanted to say that, but in the end she didn't dare to say it. She had a premonition that if she admitted it, he might really kill her.

Her lips trembled slightly as she said, "No."

Chen Ming then put his longsword away.

Zhong Shuyu glared at him hatefully, not even bothering to pick up the sword on the ground, and leaped to the rooftop, quickly disappearing from sight.

Chen Ming watched her departing figure and sighed.

(End of this chapter)