Chapter 123: Chapter 117: Does the General Share My Sorrow?【Eleventh request for subscription】_1
The Dragon Girl was on the verge of tears.
She thought the destitute Juanlian, Great General for Folding the Curtain, was actually so wealthy, far beyond her imagination. Moreover, she hadn’t expected Ao Lie to have borrowed so much money from Sha Chen; now the lender was coming to her for repayment. The Dragon Girl suddenly felt that Ao Lie telling her Sha Chen’s whereabouts was probably to set her up, letting her take on the debt.
In her heart, she cursed Ao Lie countless times, "I even treated him like a brother, saved his life, but he set me up."
The Dragon Girl never doubted whether Ao Lie’s debt was real. She knew Ao Lie was that kind of person, living a life of debauchery everywhere; accumulating huge debts was very normal for him. And Sha Chen had the capacity to provide such huge loans, making Ao Lie’s indebtedness seem quite natural. She just assumed she had been tricked by Ao Lie.
Sha Chen, on the other hand, found it secretly amusing. He had said those things merely to deflate the Dragon Girl’s arrogance. She came to him for help yet dared to be so arrogant; teaching her a lesson was necessary. Secondly, he was essentially trying his luck, seeing if he could get something out of it; it wouldn’t matter if he failed. Seeing the Dragon Girl’s expression now, he thought there was a chance.
He said, "What, thinking of reneging on the debt?"
With a mournful face, the Dragon Girl said pitifully, "I’m already pitiful enough. I came to ask for your help, please don’t exploit me any further."
"Let Ao Lie repay his own debts. If you can’t help me, please let me go."
Sha Chen said, "Ao Lie told me to have you repay it. If you don’t, you cannot leave."
The Dragon Girl really wanted to cry. This act of playing pitiful was useless. This shouldn’t be; in the past, when she played the pitiful card, her Imperial Father, Imperial Mother, and the ministers would all pamper her. Instead of making her repay the debt, they might have indulged her with food and drink, giving her more to keep her from being heartbroken or depressed.
This minor deity, could he have a heart of stone, utterly ignorant of how to cherish women!
Sha Chen said, "Seeing your pitiful state..."
A gleam of joy shone in the Dragon Girl’s heart. At last, you have some conscience, knowing that I’m pitiful.
Sha Chen said, "I’ll give you a twenty percent discount. Eighty Gourd Immortal Pills will suffice."
The Dragon Girl felt like crying; that was still something she couldn’t afford.
Seeing this, Sha Chen said with displeasure, "What? You can’t pay? If that’s the case, you can only sell yourself to settle the debt."
He stroked his bearded chin, examining the Dragon Girl carefully.
The Dragon Girl was horrified, covering her head and stumbling backward in panic, shame, and fury.
"Impudence! What do you mean? If you dare lay a hand on me, my Imperial Father and Mother’s grand army will arrive in an instant and raze this place to the ground!"
Sha Chen said, "What are you thinking? With that scrawny figure of yours, I wouldn’t be interested even if you threw yourself at me."
"Since you can’t repay the debt, sell yourself here to work for me. Till and farm the land every day, then boil water, cook, make the beds, and fold the blankets. You can leave as soon as I’m satisfied."
The Dragon Girl heaved a sigh of relief and said, "If you let me go, does that mean the debt is cleared, no more dragging it out?"
Sha Chen replied, "Wishful thinking. Letting you go is so you can return and raise the money. Doing these chores is merely the interest."
The Dragon Girl cursed inwardly, "This despicable man, he doesn’t know how to cherish women at all."
Her heart couldn’t help but feel sorrow for herself. She had come to seek aid, only to end up forced to pay off debts and sell herself, losing her freedom.
She examined Sha Chen carefully and decided to take a dangerous risk: suppress him and then leave. Let Ao Lie settle his own debts.
As Sha Chen turned to pour water, she suddenly transformed into an Azure Dragon, claws outstretched, ready to pin Sha Chen’s shoulders and suppress him.
"A mere demoted general, and you think you can trap me, Your Highness? Dream on! I’ll suppress you right now and leave right before your eyes!"
The Dragon Girl bellowed, her claws pushing down with a cold snort.
But she suddenly thought, "This is bad. My true dragon form is too powerful. If I crush him to death, wouldn’t that be a grave sin?"
However, it was already too late. Her claws had grabbed onto Sha Chen’s shoulders, intending to push down and bury him in the ground. But Sha Chen remained unmoved, even turning his head to give her a look, frowning slightly.
"What are you doing? Trying to give me a shoulder massage to curry favor?" Sha Chen asked with a frown.
The Dragon Girl was stunned.
How could he be unharmed?
Then, she exerted more strength into her hands, trying to crush Sha Chen’s shoulders.
"AHHH," Sha Chen cried out in comfort, stretching lazily and shaking his neck. "Not bad, that’s just the right amount of pressure. It would be even better if you pressed a little harder."
The Dragon Girl was on the verge of tears again. She had used all her strength, yet she couldn’t overcome this demoted general. Ao Lie had not lied to her; this man had real skills.
The Dragon Girl immediately reverted to her human form, her initial defiance gone, replaced by extreme humility and respect.
She knelt on the ground. "General, this humble one meant no offense earlier. Please forgive me."
Sha Chen just watched her, not saying a word.
He thought to himself, "Playing pitiful didn’t work, so now you’re admitting your mistake proactively? What took you so long."
The Dragon Girl continued to kneel before Sha Chen. "This humble one has been very offensive, please forgive me, General. If the General can help this humble one, there will surely be a generous reward."
Sha Chen hadn’t heard anything else; only the words "generous reward" caught his attention. His eyes lit up; he was nearly broke.
He asked, "What kind of generous reward?"
The Dragon Girl said, "This humble one knows many immortal maidens, and there are also many beautiful palace maids and ladies in the Dragon Palace. If you help me, General, I can provide a hundred or so beauties to keep you company and add luster to your life."
She thought that since Sha Chen previously wanted her to sell herself, he must have been somewhat attracted to her beauty. And how could a boorish man like him not covet beautiful women? Accordingly, she outright tempted him with this offer.
Who would have thought that Sha Chen would simply roll his eyes? He even looked at her with disgust. "She wants my help, and she expects me to feed over a hundred people until I’m bankrupt?"
He firmly refused, "Enough, say no more. I refuse."
The Dragon Girl became anxious. "A hundred isn’t enough? A thousand will do! If you want more, we can negotiate!"
Sha Chen said, "Enough."
The Dragon Girl breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it’s enough.
Sha Chen said, "You may go. Leave the debt unpaid for now; I won’t help you. You ask for my help, yet you’re trying to harm me?"
The Dragon Girl was stunned and quickly said, "General, didn’t you say it was enough? What’s wrong? Those beauties are truly stunning, no less than this humble one in appearance."
Sha Chen said, "Skeletons draped in silk, are you trying to disturb my Dao heart?"
"I am not moved by feminine allure. If you want to please me, bring something substantial."
He made his point very clear.
The Dragon Girl was dumbfounded.
Not moved by feminine allure? Are there really men in this world immune to feminine charms!? Her Imperial Father is quite lecherous.
She probed tentatively, "General, could it be that you... have no fondness for women?"
Sha Chen retorted, "You’re the one with no fondness for women! Your whole family has no fondness for women! Your Imperial Father probably picked you up from somewhere!"
The Dragon Girl tried again, "Then, General, do you like... fencing?"
Sha Chen felt like beating her to death; that would solve her problem, wouldn’t it!?
After more questioning, the Dragon Girl finally confirmed that Sha Chen truly was not moved by feminine allure; he purely sought solitude for cultivation, and it wasn’t due to any other issues.
She secretly thought it was a pity, but at the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief. At least she didn’t have to worry about her own safety or being taken advantage of by Sha Chen.
Nonetheless, the Dragon Girl was puzzled. If Sha Chen was not moved by feminine allure, how could she satisfy him? She was helpless for the moment.
Sha Chen was furious. Was this woman’s brain addled? He had clearly indicated he wanted something practical, and yet she was still thinking, still pondering? We’re all respectable people here; does she really need me to spell it out so clearly? Some people just won’t get it unless you point it out directly.
He poked her forehead in exasperation. "Use your pig brain and think hard! What valuable things does your family have, preferably something that can increase cultivation and power? Bring that out, and I’ll help you."
The Dragon Girl suddenly realized he wanted cultivation resources.
Seeing her expression, Sha Chen heaved a sigh of relief. The rich girl finally understood that the poor need money, not women.
The Dragon Girl fretted, "General, my family is poor; I’m afraid we can’t provide many cultivation resources."
Sha Chen rolled his eyes inwardly. A rich girl crying poverty? He was the one who was truly poor. Ao Lie had casually produced a pile of resources, yet this Dragon Girl, who was even more pampered and talented, claimed to be poorer? He didn’t believe it.
The Dragon Girl said, "General, I can’t even repay the debt Ao Lie owes you, let alone bring out more cultivation resources."
Sha Chen was startled for a bit.
So that was it.
He had casually mentioned Ao Lie’s debt, exaggerating the value to intimidate the Dragon Girl. He himself was short of cultivation resources; how could he possibly give Ao Lie resources worth a hundred Gourd Supreme Immortal Elixirs? Moreover, he couldn’t even produce that much himself.
The Dragon Girl was simply bluffed by Sha Chen—by the multitude of Magical Tools, the exquisite wines, and the Elixirs in the fields. The Magical Tools were priceless. As for the fine wines, only a small portion was actually Osmanthus wine and Peach Nectar wine, but she mistakenly assumed all of it was these two exquisite varieties. As for the Elixirs in the field, it went without saying; he didn’t even have enough for himself, let alone give any to Ao Lie.
He hadn’t expected the Dragon Girl to be so gullible.
He coughed. "Enough. Let Ao Lie repay his own debts. If you want my help, just bring resources sufficient for a Greater Primordial Golden Immortal’s thousand years of cultivation."
The Dragon Girl herself was a Greater Primordial Golden Immortal, so of course, she knew the value of such a request. It was roughly a hundred First-class Immortal Elixirs.
(Note: Not all Greater Primordial Golden Immortals cultivate as quickly as Sha Chen; this figure is based on the resources required by an ordinary Greater Primordial Golden Immortal to cultivate for a thousand years.)
She exclaimed in shock, "But that’s still so much, General! Can it be less?"
Sha Chen hesitated repeatedly, then said, "A ten percent reduction is possible, but no less."
The Dragon Girl was extremely anxious, hesitating over and over. Ninety First-class Immortal Elixirs was still a lot!
Sha Chen was actually ready to concede several more steps; the best outcome he hoped for was to get ten percent. The ninety percent he proposed was to give the Dragon Girl room to haggle. After all, getting ten First-class Immortal Elixirs would suffice. He was now out of First-class Immortal Elixirs and had more growing in his fields, awaiting harvest in another hundred years. Moreover, about half of them were not even for cultivation but for healing or other uses. The previous crop had been stored away in his cellar. Therefore, ten First-class Immortal Elixirs would be fairly good, about as much as Lady Di Yong brought last time.
But then, after some hesitation, the Dragon Girl clenched her teeth. "Alright, ninety percent it is. Roughly ninety First-class Immortal Elixirs, is that acceptable?"
Sha Chen was taken aback for a moment. Not even trying to haggle? If you haggle, I can still make a profit. But with you like this, I’m tearfully making a ninety percent profit off you, and my conscience is troubled!!