Chapter 1262: With Manual Labor
Li Qianlin rolled her eyes. "Shameless!"
Zhang Lie bragged about himself in front of the gathered crowd as they toasted the grandmaster.
The imperial guard stared at Zhang Lie with furrowed brows.
Zhang Lie noticed his stare.
"What's the matter?"
The guard asked, "Have I met you before?"
"Is that so?" Zhang Lie replied. "I don't have any memory of that."
The imperial guard murmured, "Likely within the capital..."
It was clear that the guard had only caught a passing glimpse of Zhang Lie from afar, or he would surely have had his face imprinted in his memory.
The other patrons of the tavern were rather upset at the hubbub that Zhang Lie's group had caused.
"You're all being too noisy! Can't you let us drink our alcohol in peace?"
The imperial guard shouted back, "If you want to drink in peace, bring your alcohol back home with you!"
"Don't you know who the grandmaster is? And who are you, and who's that drunk over there, to comment on him?" Another alien spat a mouthful of saliva on the ground. "The grandmaster's just a petty coward."
The guests scowled at the alien who had just spoken. "Without the grandmaster, none of us would be here today! Our world would have been destroyed by the black spirits—there wouldn't have been a superior world, nor the Lie kingdom of the present."
The imperial guard also frowned. "The scar on my face was, in some sense, caused by the grandmaster himself, but I've never hated him. Without the grandmaster, there would have been no future for us.
Without the grandmaster, you all would be nothing more than corpses buried under the ground. You certainly wouldn't be able to keep drinking here as leisurely as you are now!"
The alien retorted, "So what if I criticized the grandmaster? Who is he to you, your father?"
"Are we wrong, then? We've said nothing but the truth!"
The two sides looked as though they were about to start a brawl.
Mu hurriedly stepped between them. "Calm down, calm down, everyone! We all came here to drink, not to fight. How about I send all of you some drinks on the house?
Brothers from the Door tribe, I apologize for the disturbance. Have the alcohol on the house."
The two aliens from the Door tribe smirked at each other. "When have we ever had to pay for our alcohol?
Bring two more casks of alcohol out. We'll be taking them with us."
Mu frowned. "You've already taken twenty casks this month, and you've never paid for any of them. I'm just a small businessman, and I can't afford such an expense."
The aliens from the Door tribe were so arrogant that a guest might well think that the aliens, rather than Mu, owned the tavern.
"As countrymen from the same world, from the same village, you aren't willing to do us even this small favor?"
"Do you really think we care about your alcohol? We're just here to show you face and bolster your reputation."
Zhang Lie asked curiously, "Who are they?"
Mu whispered back, "They're from the Door tribe. Do you remember the tribe that was responsible for guarding the dimensional wormhole?"
"Somewhat."
Mu continued, "After His Majesty took the throne, he sent men to visit our world. The Door tribe was still responsible for guarding the wormhole at that time, but how could a small tribe from a medium-sized world stand up to imperial troops from a large world? The Door tribe lost handily, and the Lie king's troops entered the alcohol tribe's world.
"The Door tribe lost many of its strongest hunters that day. Faced with a foe from a large world, the tribe could only flee in panic, giving up their hold on the entrance to the wormhole that was their livelihood. Furthermore, as a result of their sudden weakness, they were quickly oppressed by the other tribes around.
"On the other hand, the alcohol tribe's status grew day by day, thanks to the trade that the Lie king wanted to set up."
Mu began to frown. "Subsequently, when the worlds merged, all of us from the alcohol tribe came to the Lie kingdom with fat purses. Those members of the Door tribe then began to badger all of us, jealous about our sudden rise and thinking that we don't deserve our good fortune. It's the same reason they loathe His Majesty and the grandmaster—the Door tribe thinks that they're the cause of all their problems."
Zhang Lie patted himself on the chest. "Don't worry. I'll get back whatever these men owe you."
Mu waved his hands urgently. "No, no! Zhang Lie, I know how strong you are, but let's not cause a fuss."
Zhang Lie shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't cause a ruckus. Just you watch."
Mu seemed perplexed. "The people of the Door tribe aren't the type to respond to words alone..."
"I have a special trick."
Zhang Lie walked up to the two aliens from the Door tribe, who stared at him.
"What, you want to fight? Don't think you're impressive just because you've seen the grandmaster. Once we make our move, you'll be begging for mercy!"
Zhang Lie didn't say a word. He continued staring at the two men, rainbow light gleaming in his eyes. He had activated his disaster-grade mistmeld clam soulshard.
The two members of the Door tribe found their eyes glazing over.
Zhang Lie commanded, "Hand Mu all the money you owe him."
The two members of the Door tribe gave Mu all their money as though they were puppets.
Mu, shocked at the unbelievable sight, didn't know what to do.
"Keep it. This is the money they owe you, isn't it?"
Upon hearing Zhang Lie's reminder, Mu hurriedly claimed the money from the two tribesmen.
After that, the two tribesmen took off their clothes.
Li Qianlin hurriedly covered her face while Zhang Lie frowned. "What's the matter with you?"
The tribesmen replied, "We didn't have enough money, so we're covering the rest with our clothes."
Once they were stark naked, Zhang Lie turned to Mu.
"Is that enough?"
Mu nodded firmly in thanks. "More or less."
"That means it's not enough, then?" Zhang Lie asked.
The two tribesmen from the Door tribe made a stiff about-turn and headed out of the tribe. "We'll bring the money back."
"Let's go." Zhang Lie stood up, and Li Qianlin hurriedly followed suit. "What's the matter?"
"We're headed to the Door tribe to get money."
They followed the two naked tribesmen toward the Door tribe's land.
The Door tribe was located in what seemed like the slums of the city, with dilapidated houses and the stench of sewage. Many of the tribespeople were emaciated.
As Zhang Lie and Li Qianlin walked over, many hostile stares swept over them—over Li Qianlin's body and on her clothes.
"Lad, leave the woman and all your money behind."
Li Qianlin frowned as Zhang Lie activated his disaster-grade soulshard once more.
"Return all the money owed to the alcohol tribe."
Unexpectedly, however, the Door tribe's total wealth was less than the debt they had accrued.
"In that case, you'll pay it off with hard labor."
Given what they had witnessed of the Door tribe, Zhang Lie did realize that it would be implausible for them to be able to pay off their debt immediately. If the Door tribespeople were willing to perform manual labor, their lives would surely improve.
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