Martial Saint with Passives

A glimmer of hope lit up in Mrs. Yin’s eyes. ”Is... is it really possible? Then... then hurry and ask him! Shichang, go quickly and ask Lord Zhao!”

But Zhu Shichang put on a troubled expression, wringing his hands as if in a terrible bind. ”Aunt, there’s something you don’t understand. Asking Lord Zhao to come out of retirement to save someone is completely different from hiring him as a regular Tributor! To ask an expert to intervene and save a life on such short notice, especially against a notoriously vicious gang, is incredibly risky! Lord Zhao’s fees are already high, and on top of that, there’s a premium for the risk involved... Furthermore, to even get him to consider it, we have to pull strings within the Taiyuan Sect. Smoothing things over with everyone, up and down the line—that all costs real, solid gold!”

”How... how much? Shichang, just tell me. As long as we can save the Master, we’ll scrape together whatever it costs!” Mrs. Yin pressed urgently.

Zhu Shichang took a deep breath, as if he had to steel himself to name the price.

”Aunt, this is an emergency, so I won’t hide the truth from you. Lord Zhao’s opening price is a fee of twenty thousand taels in gold notes, just for him to make a move! And that doesn’t even count the expenses for pulling strings! Also...”

He paused and glanced at Wang Xiufen, who immediately understood and gave a slight nod.

”Also what?” Mrs. Yin’s heart leaped into her throat.

Zhu Shichang’s tone grew heavy. ”Furthermore, Lord Zhao feels that this job is too risky. Afterward, the Iron Bone Gang might hold a grudge against him. To guarantee the long-term safety of the Yin Family and the clothier, and to demonstrate the Yin Family’s sincerity and trust, he is demanding... forty percent of the clothier’s shares as an additional condition.”

”For... forty percent of the shares?!” Mrs. Yin felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. Her vision swam, and she almost fainted again.

Twenty thousand taels in gold notes was already an astronomical sum. It would drain nearly all of the clothier’s liquid cash, and they would even have to sell off some of their properties!

And forty percent of the shares on top of that? This was asking for the clothier’s very lifeblood!

The clothier was the very foundation of their family in Cangzhou, the culmination of Yin Rong’s life’s work!

Seeing her state, Wang Xiufen quickly began to coax her with a show of great earnestness. ”Aunt! Money can be earned again! If we give him the shares, as long as the clothier survives and Lord Zhao is a shareholder, who will dare to bother us in the future? That would be like slapping the Taiyuan Sect in the face, wouldn’t it? What’s most important are the people! If Uncle and Uncle Wang are gone, what will you and Yingying do? Could you even hold onto the clothier then? Those creditors and gangs, circling like wolves, would swallow it whole in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing behind! As long as you have the people, you still have hope! Doesn’t that make sense?”

Zhu Shichang chimed in from the side, ”That’s right, Aunt! Indecisiveness will only bring more disaster! Every second that passes, Uncle and Uncle Wang are hovering at death’s door! Forty percent of the shares for two lives and the long-term peace of the clothier—it’s worth it! You have to make a decision!”

Mrs. Yin collapsed onto the couch, her face ashen.

The desperate future Zhu Shichang and his wife painted had completely crushed her.

Her mind was in turmoil. All she could hear were Wang Xiufen’s words echoing over and over: ”Without them, all is lost,” and ”As long as there’s life, there’s hope.”

’Yes, if Rong dies... the clothier is finished... Yingying and I will be a widow and an orphan... How could we possibly survive here in Cangzhou Prefecture?’

’If he’s alive, the clothier survives... Even if we give Lord Zhao forty percent... it’s better than losing everything... And we’ll have the Taiyuan Sect to rely on...’

’Right... right... This is the only way...’

Under the immense psychological pressure, the instinct to survive and her overwhelming fear for her loved ones’ safety caused her resolve to crumble.

She looked at Zhu Shichang and his wife like a drowning person grasping the last piece of driftwood. ”Shichang, Xiufen... then... do as you said... Please, ask Lord Zhao to save the Master...”

At her words, an almost imperceptible flicker of triumph flashed in the depths of both Wang Xiufen’s and Zhu Shichang’s eyes.