CHAPTER 274: CHAPTER 126: CRISIS IN THE OUTER COURT

"You must be guests from Yunhu Commerce Guild. I am Qiu Chuzi, the dean of the Outer Court of the Royal Xuanji Academy," said Qiu Chuzi, putting on a granny-like grimace, as he nodded and bowed to the willful young girl and Teng Wu, all obsequious.

As expected, Teng Wu detailed the matter of the Dark Beast Eggs, hoping that Qiu Chuzi could swiftly find Xue Lingshang.

"There is a total of fifty Dark Beast Eggs, and aside from this batch of twelve, the rest have already been safely transported to various locations within the Dragon War Empire. This time it was our oversight for hiring an undeserving Mercenary Squad, leading to an irreversible loss. The Family Head hopes that through the assistance of your academy’s vice dean, we can find some clues, at the very least to give an explanation to the Royal Family." Teng Wu was not only skilled but also a Senior Steward of Yunhu Commerce Guild.

"Rest assured, leave this matter to me. The vice dean is elusive and cannot be found at a moment’s notice. However, fear not, I will recommend two people who will definitely be able to assist," Qiu Chuzi pinched his newly grown goatee, boasting shamelessly, "These two are the most outstanding students of the Outer Court of our Xuanji Academy, Yue Jinghua and Shalman,"

(They are the only two students available at the moment.)

"Don’t judge them by their young age, they’ve both received the real teachings of myself and the vice dean," Qiu Chuzi promoted with effort.

(In fact, they haven’t learned anything, just schemes and trickery with a mix of cunning and malice.)

"With the two of them here, we’ll surely find the reason for the mysterious damage of the Dark Beast Eggs. I stake my personal integrity on it," Qiu Chuzi professed with devoted eyes, swearing to the heavens with his right hand.

(Personal integrity? There’s no one in the world with less integrity than the dean of the Outer Court. Every time there’s a crunch in the Outer Court, the dean always uses the same spiel to swindle money and food from Madam She Xiang.)

"I refuse," before the shocked willful girl and Teng Wu could react, Yue Jinghua lifted her lips in front of Yunhu Commerce Guild’s members and Qiu Chuzi without sparing any room for negotiation and rejected Qiu Chuzi’s suggestion.

"If Jinghua won’t go, I won’t go either," Shalman immediately followed suit, shaking his head like a rattle-drum.

"You two, come here," Qiu Chuzi, with a huff and a puff, pulled the two aside into a corner, admonishing, "The Outer Court is in a dire situation now. As students of the Outer Court, shouldn’t you contribute?"

The old face of Qiu Chuzi crumpled into a bitter melon, "You think I want to send you out to be bossed around? I have no other choice. If you refuse Yunhu Commerce Guild’s request, there’ll be no more Outer Court at Xuanji Academy."

"Dean, why is this happening?" Shalman deeply cared for the Outer Court, and the mention of its potential closure deeply distressed him.

"Ah, it’s a long story. Many years ago when I was a mercenary, I met Yun Shangjun from Yunhu Commerce, back when he wasn’t the Family Head, he journeyed with us across the continent. Later, I left that life behind, returned to Shang Kingdom, and established Xuanji Academy, and then became the dean of the Outer Court. After becoming the dean of the Outer Court, I have devoted myself to being a good dean. But, the Outer Court has been poorly managed over the years, lacking in money, students, and teachers. I thought that this couldn’t go on and decided to try making some money like others, but I had no capital. Fortunately, Yun Shangjun inherited Yunhu Commerce, so I went to congratulate him and took the opportunity to borrow some money to tide things over," said Qiu Chuzi as he recounted the past, animatedly using a string of adjectives, not the least bit embarrassed about asking for money.

"Dean, how much money did you borrow?" Yue Jinghua grew increasingly concerned. Considering the current state of the Outer Court—with just a few crumbling buildings and a small forest—it seemed Qiu Chuzi’s money had gone down the drain.

"Not much, just a hundred thousand Fourth-level Dark Pills," Qiu Chuzi touched his head, seemingly naively laughed.

"That’s not a lot, a hundred thousand Fourth-level Dark Pills, but, the dean later borrowed another nine times. Out of respect for their life-and-death brotherhood, my grandfather didn’t count the interest for these past years, so altogether, a million Fourth-level Dark Pills are owed," the willful girl interjected, suddenly spilling Qiu Chuzi’s secret.

"A million Fourth-level Dark Pills?" The staggering amount left Shalman dumbfounded.

"Hey, Old Man Yun’s granddaughter, watch what you say. Borrowing and repaying only to borrow again isn’t difficult, and I do repay," Qiu Chuzi expressed dissatisfaction, as if he was being labeled as some sort of swindler.

"Yes, you have repaid indeed, but what you repaid with was the land deed of Xuanji Academy," the sassy girl came prepared, suddenly brandishing a piece of paper in her hand. It appeared from nowhere, which indicated that she must have had some kind of storage-type Spiritual Treasure on her.

"Isn’t this the land deed of Xuanji Academy?" Yue Jinghua, with her sharp eyes, instantly spotted Qiu Chuzi’s signature alongside the large black characters on a white background that read "Land Deed."

"Exactly, the land deed of Royal Xuanji Academy, encompassing over two hundred li including both the Inner and Outer Courts. Should Dean Qiu be unable to repay the debt, all of it will belong to Yunhu Commerce," the brash girl truly hailed from Yunhu Commerce. Despite her young age, when it came down to reckoning accounts, she was extremely astute.

"Dean, does Madam She Xiang know about this?" Shalman couldn’t believe that Madam She Xiang would agree to sell Xuanji Academy at such a low price.

"No need to ask, that land deed must have been swiped by him using some underhanded means," Yue Jinghua verbally chastised, but in her mind, she was concocting another plan.

The Inner Court wasn’t much of a concern, but if the Outer Court fell into Yunhu Commerce’s hands, to say nothing of the Senluo Sea, should it enter the public eye, it would spell trouble.

In both sentiment and principle, Yue Jinghua had no desire to see the Outer Court sold off.

"Miss, do not be unreasonable. The Family Head has instructed us to treat Dean Qiu with the utmost respect. Dean Qiu, as long as you or your students can help us find any clues about the damage done to this batch of Dark Beast Eggs, even if it’s just an important clue, the Family Head can extend the debt repayment for this batch by ten years," Teng Wu was formidable indeed. He first had the brash girl come out and intimidate, then swiftly followed it up with a compromise proposal.

In the past, Qiu Chuzi, along with Xue Ling and Madam She Xiang, formed a Mercenary Team whose reputation for tracking and searching was widely known. This was precisely why the President of Yunhu Commerce had sent someone specially to seek out Qiu Chuzi.

Qiu Chuzi looked pitifully at Yue Jinghua and Shalman.

"Jinghua, let’s go take a look," Shalman was the first to give in; she did not wish to see the Outer Court reduced to such an embarrassing state either.

"Fine, but before that, I have one more condition," Yue Jinghua pondered for a moment, quickly coming to a decision, "I need to find a few more helpers."

"No problem, as long as you can find the clues, the expenses for the helpers will all be covered by Yunhu Commerce," Teng Wu readily agreed.

Therefore, Teng Wu took out the route of this transportation mission, as well as the remaining eggshells of the Dark Beast Eggs, and started to discuss with Yue Jinghua and the others.

Seeing this, Qiu Chuzi happily ran out.

Outside the house, Madam She Xiang stood in the shadows, "Will this method really work? Will they truly be able to represent Xuanji Academy in the Xuyang Martial Arts Competition a year from now?"

"Absolutely, there’s nothing like mercenary work to cultivate one’s skills. We old folks just need to wait," Qiu Chuzi wore a cunning, triumphant expression.

"I hope so. Otherwise, a year from now, Shang Kingdom will probably not even have a single Dark Practitioner who makes it into the top hundred of the Xuyang Trial," Madam She Xiang sighed. Suddenly, her demeanor changed, and she twisted Qiu Chuzi’s ear with her right hand, "You old thing, you actually dared to pledge the land deed to Yunhu Commerce, let’s see how I deal with you!"