Inside a small tavern, a patron was speaking loudly, catching the attention of many. "Have you heard? Our county has produced a righteous hero named Qin Yuanhao. Even the people from the five major sects admire him!" Lu Yang's eyes sparkled, and he wore a big smile, clearly excited to share some interesting news.
"Is that true? I’ve never heard of anyone like that from Yanjiang County."
"I think I've heard that name before, but he doesn't seem like a good person."
"Quiet down! Let this young man tell us what happened with Qin Yuanhao!"
Lu Yang paused for a moment before continuing, "This hero, Qin Yuanhao, has impressive skills; he’s at the Foundation Building stage. He’s known for his righteousness and has many friends. Those who know him like to call him 'big brother.'"
When the patrons heard that Qin Yuanhao was at the Foundation Building stage, their eyes lit up. This was indeed something new. Usually, they talked about martial arts legends, how powerful they were, and their thrilling experiences, but when they thought about it, the actual strength of those top fighters wasn’t that high.
Everyone agreed that top martial artists were usually at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining, which was the limit for martial artists. Now that there was news of a Foundation Building expert, they were all ears; it would be a good story to tell later.
"One day, Qin Yuanhao and a close friend went to an auction. His friend saw a treasure he wanted and borrowed over eight thousand low-grade spirit stones from Qin Yuanhao. Qin Yuanhao laughed and said, 'With our friendship, talking about money is too formal. Here, take the eight thousand spirit stones, no need to pay me back.' His friend was deeply moved."
"Eight thousand low-grade spirit stones?!" a bystander named Meng Jingzhou exclaimed. "Spirit stones are the currency of the cultivation world! Eight thousand of them is enough to buy a big house in the county center and hire beautiful servants for life!"
With Meng Jingzhou explaining, the patrons finally understood what eight thousand low-grade spirit stones meant. This Qin Yuanhao was quite generous, just giving away spirit stones like that!
"After his friend bought the treasure, he was targeted by a devilish cultivator who was also bidding. In a moment of carelessness, the devilish cultivator successfully ambushed both the friend and Qin Yuanhao. The friend, unwilling to give up the treasure, fought back fiercely and was killed by the devilish cultivator, who then took the treasure. Qin Yuanhao wanted to chase after him, but unfortunately, the devilish cultivator had already escaped."
At this point, Lu Yang cleared his throat, and the patrons, seeing this, offered to buy him a drink. Lu Yang ordered a cup of grain wine, took a sip to clear his throat, and continued.
"Before his friend died, he entrusted his wife and daughter to Qin Yuanhao. With tears in his eyes, Qin Yuanhao promised to take good care of them."
"That mother and daughter were exceptionally beautiful. The wife had a way of preserving her looks and was charming, while the daughter was lively and adorable. Faced with such stunning beauty, Qin Yuanhao remained unmoved."
"With no one to rely on, the mother and daughter felt that Qin Yuanhao was someone they could trust for life, so they tried to seduce him. But Qin Yuanhao firmly stated that he practiced a technique that required him to remain pure."
"Qin Yuanhao kept his promise, taking care of the mother and daughter without crossing any lines. Eventually, he found a good man to take care of them."
"What a righteous hero! He has money but doesn’t love wealth, and he isn’t swayed by beauty!" Meng Jingzhou’s admiration was echoed by those around him.
"Qin Yuanhao truly is a good person."
"Too bad I don’t know him; otherwise, I’d definitely borrow some spirit stones!"
"Who says heroes can’t resist beautiful women? Qin Yuanhao clearly did!"
In a corner, a man named Man Gu watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou entertain the crowd, amazed at their ability to create a story on the spot without any script. He wondered when he would have such talent.
The patrons loved to boast about things others didn’t know. They had drunk quite a bit while listening to Lu Yang’s story, and some details were hazy. When they realized this while boasting later, they didn’t want to admit they had forgotten, so they made up their own endings.
Each person forgot different parts and created different content, leading to various rumors about Qin Yuanhao.
...
"Have you heard about that great person named Qin Yuanhao?"
"Isn’t he the one who secretly discovered a spirit stone mine and became the richest cultivator in the area, lending money without expecting repayment?"
"That sounds right, but I heard he doesn’t like women and prefers men?"
"Yes, yes! I heard he practices a technique that favors young boys!"
"Is that true? Isn’t it said that to practice that technique, you have to eat young chickens?"
"You’re all wrong! I heard Qin Yuanhao accidentally got a legendary artifact called the Book of Merits. He became its true master by dripping blood on it. The more good deeds he does, the more merits he gains, which can be exchanged for rewards, spirit treasures, and even cultivation techniques!"
"I also heard he’s destined to be the Lord of the Nine Nether, controlling life and death. Don’t be fooled by his current low strength; he’s secretly building power, and once he gets the chance, he’ll soar to the heavens and become an immortal!"
"He even endured humiliation to join the devil sect, planning to infiltrate the upper ranks and take it down, seeing it as his opportunity for merit!"
"Seeing the devil sect as his own? What a bold ambition!"
...
At a regular meeting of the Yanjiang branch of the devil sect, the leaders stood respectfully in two rows. The branch leader sat on a chair made entirely of red agate, with dragon and tiger heads carved into the armrests, symbolizing his authority as the leader.
This chair was a gift from Qin Yuanhao.
Qin Yuanhao was in a bad mood, his forehead dark and his mouth twitching occasionally, revealing beast-like teeth.
His colleagues didn’t pay much attention to him; their skills and status were similar, so no matter how angry he got, it wouldn’t affect them.
People in the devil sect were like that; they didn’t care about others’ troubles as long as it didn’t affect them.
It was no wonder Qin Yuanhao was upset. Before the meeting, he had already been asked:
"Can I borrow some spirit stones? You don’t need to pay me back; after all, you have a spirit stone mine."
"Do you know any beautiful sisters or mother-daughter pairs? Introduce one to me."
"I'm sorry; I shouldn’t have taken you to that place to listen to music. It must have been painful for you, right?"
"Brother Qin, I’ll stick with you from now on. The Book of Merits doesn’t matter; I just want to be close to you."
"Generous and not interested in women? Qin Yuanhao, you’re really embarrassing our devil sect! You’re not a spy sent by the righteous sect, are you?"
Qin Yuanhao secretly clenched his fist, wanting to smash the people spreading rumors about him into pieces!
How did he go from being a bad guy to a good person?
Who’s calling who a good person?
(End of Chapter)