With the expansion of the School of Eternal Knowledge in mind, Yoze wasn't planning on letting his greed harm his future.
"Gaining an extra 20 silver does not compare to the cost of delaying my plan to spread the word of the School of Knowledge and gaining additional money to buy more expensive supplies."
Blood Stepper did not know Yoze's thoughts, so he assumed that Yoze didn't trust him enough. In his mind, everything could be resolved with enough money.
This was how he had escaped capture on numerous occasions, so he didn't plan on quitting now that his and his brother's lives were on the line. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he increased the amount he was offering.
"60 silver! If you let us go, I will pay you 60 silver!"
"Not interested," Yoze said slowly.
"80 silver then!"
"..."
"Fine, I will give you everything I have! 124 Silver, and I will hand it over to you in three hours. One second more, and you can cut off my hand!" Veins popped up on Blood Stepper's forehead as he made his last offer.
He refused to believe that Yoze wasn't at least tempted by more than 120 silver. This was an amount that most people would never be able to see this amount of money in their entire lives!
"More than eight months of my salary. An ordinary thief has more than eight months of my salary." Evi muttered to himself.
He was already tempted to accept Blood Stepper's offer when he offered them 40 silver. Now that the offer had been raised to more than eight months of his hard work as a scholar, he was beginning to doubt if he had gone into the wrong profession.
If it was him making the decision, he would have accepted Blood Stepper's offer immediately and made a huge profit. But he wasn't the one making the decision this time; Yoze was.
As someone who had a large amount of trust in his best friend, Evi wasn't going to try and convince Yoze to accept the offer. He knew that regardless of the decision, Yoze must have had something better planned.
"40, 60, more than 120 silver, you have been holding out on us." Yoze smiled as he glanced at Blood Stepper.
Seeing Yoze's smile, Blood Stepper breathed a sigh of relief as he thought that Yoze was tempted and ready to accept his offer.
"I'm gl-" Blood Stepper was about to speak when he was interrupted by Yoze.
"But what is silver worth when I can get gold just as easily? As an ordinary thief do you think Super Scholars like us are tempted by money?"
"If we wanted to, we could make money in our sleep. A few silver coins or gold coins aren't worth our time. The only reason why we are turning you two in is because it is just convenient to do so." Yoze stopped smiling as he stared at Blood Stepper with dead eyes.
Blood Stepper instantly felt his body scream in danger as his mind froze with panic. Something was screaming in his mind, telling him he could die at any moment.
Luckily for him, Yoze wasn't interested in teaching him a lesson, so he tied the rope around his mouth again and returned to his conversation with Evi.
"What do you think? Was that cool, or should I work on my speech to promote the morals of a Super Scholar?"
"It was great, but it was ruined when you said we only did this out of convenience. If we preach about the morals of being a Super Scholar, we should at least make it seem that we are working for the goodness of the people." After listening to Yoze's speech, Evi felt as if he was saying that Super Scholars were some kind of antiheroes or vigilantes.
"Well, I never had the thought of imposing certain morals on our students anyway. I mainly want people to join our school because it would benefit their future. But what do you suggest?"
"No matter how much schools or sects try not to interfere with their student's morals, at the end of the day, it can't be stopped since teachers and students are humans. Even if you don't try to teach the students to adopt your own morals, they will copy yours if they doubt their own."
"So, I think the whole world would prefer if we at least made an effort to teach our future students the importance of not injuring ordinary people and instead helping them. As well as the importance of freedom." Evi said after some thought.
It was nearly impossible not to shape the morals of the students who intended to become Super Scholars. Fact may be fact, but how one says it matters, as all facts can be twisted to fit any narrative.
Regardless of whether the higher authorities spreading the information intended to spread their ideals, hints of it will get past and influence the populace.
"I guess you are right. It is better to ensure that most Super Scholars don't become tumors of society. We can't stop one apple from turning bad, but we can stop most of the batch from rotting." Yoze mused.
As Evi and Yoze talked more, they somehow found themselves talking about the standards for toilets and what was the correct way to use one. Luckily, before they could get far in their discussion, they noticed a small family of seven approaching their direction.
From their attire, it was clear to Yoze that these people were moving as they had bought themselves a small wagon filled to the brim with clothes, books, food, and other necessities for traveling long distances. After asking this small family about the directions to Jelly Town, the already strange looks they gave them for carrying the two robbers became even stranger.
"You two, sorry, you four want to visit Jelly Town? Haven't you heard some coal mining company had recently bought the town?" The father of the family asked.
"We have been traveling from town to town and haven't had time to catch up with the latest news. Is the town now dead since it has been bought?" Evi waved his hand as he casually explained their circumstance.
"Not yet, but it is going to be. After the old mayor had been replaced with Mr. Light, no one is confident he will make good policies with the town folk in mind."
"So no one wants to start as they fear the prospects for their children. No one wants to discover years later that they developed a deathly sickness from the nearby mining." The father deeply frowned as his disdain for Mr. Light was clear.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel