Chapter 127: Hiring the Bodyguards, Entering Tianyi City

Hearing that Qin Xiao had not reduced the price but actually doubled it, both Zhang Zuo and Li You wondered if they had misheard.

“Young friend Qin, what did you say?”

Zhang Zuo asked directly.

“I said I’d pay you two ten million Spirit Stones a month in total, and you have to protect me with your lives. Clear now?”

Qin Xiao had no choice but to repeat himself.

“Xiao’er, what are you doing? They offered to lower the price themselves, so why are you doubling it instead?”

Ye Qiuyue was baffled too. She knew Qin Xiao had plenty of Spirit Stones, but he couldn’t throw them away like this.

“Master’s Wife, this is just small change. Compared to my life, this price is still cheap. By the way, I’ll hand the Spirit Stones over to you shortly. From now on, you’ll be the one paying their wages. We can’t let them know I’m the wealthy one; they need to think the money is coming from you so they don’t start having wild ideas.”

Since his master’s wife had doubts as well, Qin Xiao explained his reasoning to her.

“Fine, but this is still far too much.”

Naturally, Ye Qiuyue would not refuse Qin Xiao’s request, but it still pained her to see him spend so many Spirit Stones.

“Master’s Wife, here are some Spirit Stones, Spirit Liquid, and a few fruits. Use the Spirit Stones for their wages, and the rest is all yours.”

With that, Qin Xiao produced a Storage Bag and handed it to Ye Qiuyue.

Without thinking twice, Ye Qiuyue took the Storage Bag.

“So much? Did you rob the Tianyuan Sect’s treasury? Even the Tianyuan Sect wouldn’t have this much, would they?”

When Ye Qiuyue saw what was inside, she was completely stunned.

Inside the Storage Bag were three hundred thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones, ten Saint Origin Spirit Fruits, and ten jin of Spirit Liquid. That was right-not ten drops, but ten jin.

One jin was roughly five hundred drops, meaning there were a full five thousand drops of Spirit Liquid. This was Spirit Liquid, not water!

Three days had passed since Qin Xiao took on his disciples: one day on the journey back and two days of cultivation. At six thousand Spirit Stones per second, his stockpile had grown to some 1.6 billion over those three days.

With Spirit Liquid accumulating at five hundred drops per minute, he had amassed over two million drops. A mere five thousand drops was barely ten minutes’ worth to him.

It was precisely because of such deep reserves that Qin Xiao felt spending ten million a month to hire two Soul Formation bodyguards was dirt cheap.

Having received Qin Xiao’s confirmation, Zhang Zuo and Li You were in no rush to answer. Instead, they quietly conferred with each other. Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.

“Second Brother, this kid seems completely unreliable. Could he be making a fool out of the two of us?”

This was the first time Zhang Zuo had ever encountered someone who bargained in reverse, and he immediately felt something was off.

“Big Brother, he’s confused me too. But don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

Li You was equally bewildered, but he still had a way forward.

“Young friend Qin, if you can really pay that much, we’ll put our lives at your disposal. But talk is cheap. How do we know you can afford it?”

Li You asked directly. His meaning was simple: money talks.

“Easy. At the start of each month, you get twenty percent in advance. At the end, you get the remaining eighty percent. If we can’t pay, take goods instead. My master’s wife is the Great Elder of the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion. You doubt she can afford your wages?”

Qin Xiao knew Soul Formation cultivators weren’t easy to fool. They had lived for many years and were shrewd.

“Yes. I stand by what Xiao’er said. I’m the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion’s Great Elder. Come to me for your wages. If I can’t pay, you can take goods.”

Seeing Qin Xiao use her as a shield, Ye Qiuyue smoothly played along and backed him up.

“So, young friend Qin, once we sign the employment contract, we get two million right away?”

Li You spotted an opening in Qin Xiao’s words and asked further.

“Correct. Once signed, you receive two million upfront, and the remaining eight million thirty days later. On the thirty-first day, you receive another two million advance. In essence, those two million are almost a gift, since in just two days around the end of the month, you will have received ten million total.”

Qin Xiao was not worried about incurring a loss. As long as these two remained truly loyal, the future benefits would be worth far more than tens of millions of Spirit Stones.

“Agreed! Keep your word, young friend Qin, and we’ll protect you with our lives. Nothing will get past us.”

Seeing that he could receive two million upfront, Li You instantly lost his composure. That was two million Spirit Stones!

“Master’s Wife, prepare the contract for them. Once signed, give them two thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones first.”

Qin Xiao now converted his Spirit Stones to Middle Grade as soon as he got them. His disciples needed Middle Grade stones to cultivate, so he had set the exchange to automatic. If they wanted two million Low Grade stones, he would have to convert them back. He simply paid in Middle Grade stones instead.

Ye Qiuyue promptly took out a special cloth that would last a long time and resist damage. Ordinary contracts used paper, but bodyguards costing ten million a month deserved good material. She couldn’t let them deny the agreement if something went wrong.

The contract was made in duplicate. Ye Qiuyue signed it and infused a trace of Soul Power, then handed it to Zhang Zuo and Li You. They read it, found no significant problems, signed and added their own traces of Soul Power. The agreement was complete.

Infusing Soul Power did not grant the contract any special binding restriction, but served as an anti-counterfeiting measure. Only when the Soul Power of both parties matched was the contract verified as authentic, preventing either side from tampering with its contents.

“Boss, the contract is signed. Can we receive our twenty percent advance wages now?”

Li You asked impatiently. He no longer called him “Little Friend Qin,” addressing him directly as “Boss.”

“Master’s Wife, give it to them.” This story is hosted at nоvelping.com.

Qin Xiao glanced over the contract terms before telling Ye Qiuyue to hand over the money.

The terms weren’t harsh. Whatever happened, both men had to make Qin Xiao’s protection their responsibility. Even if a special situation required one of them to sacrifice his life, they couldn’t stop protecting him. But there was no clause for compensation if they died. It seemed this world had no death benefits. The salary covered everything.

Ye Qiuyue directly retrieved two small Storage Bags and handed them to Zhang Zuo and Li You respectively.

Receiving them, the two hurriedly opened the bags to inspect the contents.

“Thank you, Boss! Don’t worry. You’re my benefactor now. If anyone dares touch a hair on your head, I’ll cripple his hand!”

Li You had expected one million Low Grade Spirit Stones, but received Middle Grade Spirit Stones instead. Exchanging them himself would have cost him quite a bit. This way, he had gained an extra twenty percent.

“Many thanks, Boss. Second Brother and I will definitely protect you.”

Zhang Zuo added hastily. A boss who paid directly with Middle Grade Spirit Stones was exceedingly rare. This was a living God of Wealth who had to be guarded well.

“Since you are my bodyguards now, follow us into Tianyi City. Oh, right-conceal your cultivation. Your boss wants to do some fishing.”

Mid-sentence, Qin Xiao realized that he could not reveal his bodyguards’ true strength yet, or it would be hard to bait his targets.

“Don’t worry, Boss. We’ll suppress our cultivation and show only late Nascent Soul. No one can see through it unless their cultivation is higher than ours.”

Li You replied promptly. As long as the money was good, whatever the boss said was law.

Soon, the party of five arrived at Tianyi City. This time, Ye Qiuyue paid the entrance fee, unlike their informal entry previously.

But shortly after entering the city, they noticed a large crowd gathered outside a Heavenly Clothes Shop, as though something had happened.

Seeing this, Ye Qiuyue naturally hurried forward to investigate.

Qin Xiao and the others followed close behind.

“I have received complaints that the clothes your Heavenly Clothes Shop sells cause unbearable itching and even poisonous sores. I suspect you’re using toxic materials, so I’ve come to seal the shop. Bring out the person in charge!”

The speaker was not Chen Lou, but the Acting Deputy City Lord, Fang Xiuxian.

His master had instructed him to find ways to target the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion, but lacking a legitimate pretext, he could not easily cause trouble at the main pavilion. Thus, he had targeted one of their subsidiary Heavenly Clothes Shops instead.

One look was all it took for Ye Qiuyue to understand what was happening; he was here to pick a fight. She stepped forward and called out:

“I’m in charge. What do you want? Even Chen Shunyi couldn’t do anything, let alone you!”