Chapter 21: Make Her Go Bankrupt

"Wait." Sheng Yuan’s face was grim, but he stopped Chang Le’an nonetheless.

"Senior Brother, are you just going to stand by and watch Second Brother get bullied like this?" Chang Le’an demanded.

Sheng Yuan looked at Ye Zhaozhao. "Zhaozhao, what exactly happened? Tell me everything, from beginning to end. Where was Second Brother bullied? If the people from Heartless Peak were really that outrageous, did no one try to stop them?"

’This is happening inside the sect!’

Ye Zhaozhao’s tearful accusations had made him flare up in anger at first, but after a moment’s thought, Sheng Yuan sensed something was off.

A flicker of unease crossed Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes before she reluctantly recounted the duel between Shen Yue and Li Shuang.

"Senior Sister Li took all of Second Brother’s possessions, and he got so angry that he coughed up blood and fainted," Ye Zhaozhao said, wiping her tears.

"This is outrageous, completely outrageous! Senior Brother, what are you going to do about this?" Chang Le’an said indignantly. "We can’t let Second Brother be bullied like this and do nothing!"

Sheng Yuan’s gaze turned cold.

’What had he been hoping for just now?’

’Hoping this was all just a misunderstanding?’

’Hoping that Li Shuang wasn’t actually that kind of person?’

’From the moment she abandoned Little Junior Sister to flee alone, from the moment she betrayed our master and sect to join Heartless Peak, shouldn’t I have known exactly what kind of person she was?’

Sheng Yuan looked at Shen Yue’s wretched state, his expression growing increasingly grim. He said coldly, "I’m going to find those people from Heartless Peak and have a little ’talk’ with them. Third Brother, go find Master and ask him to intervene. Little Junior Sister, you stay here and take care of Second Brother."

Ye Zhaozhao quickly agreed.

After Sheng Yuan and Chang Le’an left, a flicker of light shone in Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes.

’She had a vague guess that Li Shuang had gone to the workshop, so Sheng Yuan probably wouldn’t run into her.’

’But that didn’t matter.’

’Let Sheng Yuan cause a scene for now. As for the workshop, it was the perfect opportunity for her to give Li Shuang a little ’stimulus’ of her own.’

"Senior Sister..." Shen Yue, deep in his unconscious slumber, suddenly murmured.

Ye Zhaozhao shot him a cold glare.

’Just one duel.’

’And this Shen Yue was already obsessing over his ’Senior Sister’?’

’All those years she spent trying to please him—was it all just fed to the dogs?’

A flush appeared on Shen Yue’s face, and his forehead was instantly beaded with sweat.

He began muttering nonsensical gibberish.

One look at Shen Yue’s condition and it was clear something was very wrong.

But Ye Zhaozhao didn’t care.

’In this situation, even if Shen Yue died, it would be Li Shuang’s fault. What did it have to do with her?’

’She had more important things to do.’

As if she hadn’t seen the pained expression on Shen Yue’s face, Ye Zhaozhao simply shut him in the room and left.

’With everyone gone, it was the perfect time for her to make a trip to the workshop!’

A sinister light glinted in Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes.

’That Li Shuang used to put on such an act, pretending she didn’t care about resources at all.’

’Now, she finally couldn’t keep up the pretense.’

In Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes, Li Shuang’s actions today meant only one thing: she was desperate for Spirit Stones!

It made sense.

’All these years, to maintain her ’good person’ persona, she had given away all her resources, leaving herself destitute.’

’Now that she’d dropped the act, Spirit Stones had become especially important to her.’

’Whatever Li Shuang valued, she would destroy. That was the only way to make Li Shuang’s Negative Emotion Value spike!’

A venomous look flashed in the depths of Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes. ’She would make Li Shuang immediately pay back that sliver of Cultivation she had just lost!’

Ye Zhaozhao donned a veiled hat to conceal her face and slipped away to the workshop.

Upon arriving at the workshop, she secretly went to meet Manager Qiu of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

"Miss Ye, what brings you here?" Manager Qiu’s attitude was exceptionally warm.

’He had no idea where this young disciple from Lingxu Peak came up with so many business ideas. For years, she had been providing the concepts, and he had been handling the execution. Together, they had made a considerable fortune.’

’Manager Qiu would naturally never neglect his personal God of Wealth.’

Ye Zhaozhao said coldly, "I need your help dealing with someone."

Manager Qiu’s eyes flickered. "I’m just a businessman. Fighting and killing... that’s not my forte."

Ye Zhaozhao said impatiently, "I don’t need you to fight or kill. This will be done through business means! Today, I’ll teach you another surefire, can’t-lose business method. I won’t even take a cut. My only condition is that the person I designate is left completely bankrupt."

Ye Zhaozhao’s methods had always been excellent. Manager Qiu was instantly intrigued. "Miss Ye, please, go on."

With a haughty expression, Ye Zhaozhao slowly laid out her plan.

’That damn bullshit system was always calling her useless, saying she could only rely on it.’

’As far as Ye Zhaozhao was concerned, the system was just trying to PUA her.’

’She, Ye Zhaozhao, was a transmigrator, after all!’

’She had plenty of ways to earn Spirit Stones!’

However.

’Making Li Shuang suffer was more important than Spirit Stones.’

’She would rather forgo the profits. She had to force Li Shuang to burst with negative emotions.’

"Implement it like this, and I guarantee you’ll make a killing. That woman is desperate for Spirit Stones right now. Tempt her properly, and there’s no way she won’t take the bait. I only have one requirement: take her for everything she’s worth!" Ye Zhaozhao handed a portrait of Li Shuang to Manager Qiu.

Manager Qiu’s eyes flashed repeatedly. The method was indeed excellent. If used well, it could boost the Spirit Treasure Pavilion’s performance yet again.

"Alright, we have a deal." Manager Qiu memorized Li Shuang’s face, then agreed with a smile.

Ye Zhaozhao nodded. "She should be in the workshop right now. Please make the arrangements quickly, Manager Qiu. I’ll wait here for your good news."

To acquire Li Shuang’s negative emotions, one had to be within a hundred-meter radius of her. Naturally, Ye Zhaozhao wouldn’t be going far.

"Rest assured, Miss Ye." Manager Qiu went off cheerfully to make the arrangements.

Ye Zhaozhao slowly took a sip of tea, a sinister chill flickering in her eyes.

’Oh, Li Shuang, Li Shuang!’

’Even if you’ve left Lingxu Peak, you are still destined to be my, Ye Zhaozhao’s, stepping stone.’

’Everything you possess will, sooner or later, be destroyed by me.’

Ye Zhaozhao watched the situation below through the window.

’Manager Qiu was efficient. As long as Li Shuang was still in the workshop, he would definitely find a way to lure her over.’

「In the workshop.」

Luo Mingyue led Li Shuang around, muttering as they went, "We need to stock up on various talismans, and we should prepare some commonly used Elixir Pills too. Also, you have an Ice Spirit Root. The sect only provides two Frost Flowers for tempering your Spirit Root, but that’s far from enough. We’ll have to procure some more ourselves... For these things, we don’t always have to buy from the shops. There are many Cultivators with stalls on both sides of the street, and their prices can be more reasonable. However, there’s a risk of being swindled, so you need to keep your eyes peeled and learn to distinguish the genuine from the fake."

Seeing the fresh, curious look on Li Shuang’s face as she took in the workshop, Luo Mingyue wasn’t in a hurry to start shopping. Instead, she took the time to explain some of the basics of trading to her.

The two were walking and talking.

Suddenly.

An enthusiastic voice rang out.

"Blind boxes, blind boxes! The Spirit Treasure Pavilion’s newest blind box event! Don’t miss out, step right up!"