Douluo: Law of Heaven and Earth

Chapter 972 Lu Qibin's Past - Extra Chapter 33: Unexpected Turn of Events
Back home, Li Zhao went into the bedroom and pulled open a wooden panel under the bed. The panel was filled with thousands upon thousands of copper soul coins, silver soul coins, and even hundreds of gold soul coins.

Since making money her belief in childhood, Li Zhao has carried it through to the end. She makes suggestions to the village chief to help develop Lanke Village, all in the final analysis, so that she can earn more money.

Money is not everything.

Li Zhao was well aware of this, but after her parents died, they left her only fifty gold soul coins, and Edward also taught her three skills: to believe in herself, to learn to think, and to cultivate faith.

Therefore, she believes that the will her parents left her was to make money, and this will become her belief!

to this end!

She will stop at nothing!

only--

"The best course of action right now is for the old village chief to step down and for someone I can trust to become the new village chief, such as Edward..."

Why not herself?
Very simple.

Because she is young and lacks prestige, unless she is a Soul Master.

But then again, if she had become a Soul Master, why would she have stayed here as a scavenging villager?
They went to big cities a long time ago!
The reason she dared not go to big cities despite having so much money was because she knew she was an ordinary person, not a Soul Master.

Moreover, she had no way to carry all those soul coins with her.

"...But do I really have the courage to lay a hand on the old village chief? He's just an old man who hopes everyone can be like one family."

Just as he was fretting, the door opened and Edward walked in.

"Uncle, could you knock first?" Fortunately, Li Zhao had already closed the wooden board by then—this secret was unknown even to her Uncle Edward.

"That's heartbreaking. I used to change your diapers when you were little." Edward, with a full beard, laughed heartily, and then explained why he had come.

I need to borrow money to buy alcohol!
“You never used to drink.” Li Zhao was speechless, but what could he do when the other party raised him and taught him to read and write? He could only take out two copper soul coins from the bedside.

"Only two?"

Edward said this, but he still took the two bronze soul coins without hesitation and said with a smile, "I didn't have money to drink before, but now that I have some spare money, I naturally have to let my taste buds enjoy themselves."

"Besides work, all that's left in life is enjoyment."

Li Zhao was even more speechless: "You're not a nobleman, are you?"

"Who says only nobles can enjoy this?" Edward retorted. Seeing Li Zhao deep in thought, he waved goodbye and said, "Goodbye then! I'm busy!"

Li Zhao was utterly speechless, having no idea what this leisurely uncle had to do with all this, since he was one of the most notorious slackers at work!

[He probably just went somewhere to drink alone.]

This is what Li Zhao was thinking.

And Edward did just that! As night fell and the villagers of Lanke Village fell asleep, he quietly went to the mountain where Li Jiang and his wife were buried.

Sitting beside the two mounds of earth, devoid of even a single weed, Edward raised his cup to the moon, murmuring to himself, "Brother Li, your daughter has grown up, but I wonder if it's because of me, that she has such a strong liking for money..."

Sigh, it's really not my fault. Besides, there's nothing wrong with liking money; at least you won't die an inexplicable death like them...

However, please forgive me. Even though I am old, my life is still the most important thing to me. If one day I can't persuade her to "go astray" as you, don't blame me.

I just want to live…

In the dead of night, Edward staggered to his feet, his face flushed, and groped his way toward a nearby cave.

That was where he hid his wine.

Over the past decade, he has developed a fondness for drinking, even secretly buying fine wines from nearby towns—where did the money come from? Certainly not from the "stingy" Li Zhao, but from the annual payment Li Gong made to him! After all, he was the caretaker of Li Jiang and his wife's tomb!

"who?"

A loud shout came from inside the cave. The soul power carried by the sound wave caused Edward to fall backward. He sobered up instantly and his face was filled with fear: "Don't kill me!"

"A homeless scavenger? How did he end up here?"

Amidst the firelight, two disciples of the Star Crown Sect emerged, the one in the lead being a middle-aged man nearing thirty.

"Elder Lu, this man might be a spy. Kill him." One of the disciples slit his throat.

This Elder Lu was none other than Lu Qibin. He was nearly thirty years old and had only reached the Soul Sect level. However, because he had endured the harsh criticism of the other elders and worked diligently, and because the sect's higher-ups could not let the disciples of other surnames feel disheartened, they made an exception and promoted Lu Qibin, who was Li Gong's disciple, to one of the elders of the Punishment Hall.

Furthermore, Lu Qibin's current soul power is at level 49, which is only one step away from becoming a Soul King. In the Star Crown Sect, becoming a Soul King is enough to qualify him for the position of Elder.

This is also the main reason why Lu Qibin was able to be promoted exceptionally.

"Spare me! I'm not a spy!"

Edward kept kowtowing, and secretly realized from their clothing that they were from the Star Crown Sect. However, he was unsure of their relationship with Li Gong and dared not speak carelessly. He could only offer another bargaining chip, pointing to the wine in the hands of the two Star Crown Sect disciples, "These are all wines I have collected. Although they are all country stuff, they are still unique. I'll give them all to you. Can you spare my life?"

“You old man, you really don’t know what’s good for you. If we kill you, you traitor, the wine here will be ours too,” a disciple said.

Edward cursed these sect disciples for their hypocrisy, but dared not argue back. He gritted his teeth and said to them, "You are disciples of the Star Crown Sect, right? I met one of your elders once... I don't know his name, but could you spare my life for this reason? I can offer other 'money' to save my life."

"What?" the disciple continued to ask.

“The young girl… I guarantee she will absolutely meet the family’s aesthetic standards; she just needs a little bit of makeup and dressing up.”

Edward was afraid they would look down on the country kids, so he added after he finished speaking.

Lu Qibin was extremely disgusted by the behavior of the person in front of him. Just as he was about to refuse and scold the person away, he heard the disciple beside him say, "Elder Lu, the young sect leader of the sect wants to recruit maids. However, the sect leader is very strict. But if we send a maid to him in private, we might be able to increase the influence of us non-family disciples in the sect."

Expanding our voice?
Totally impossible!
Lu Qibin knew the sect's secrets, but considering that a direct refusal might displease the two disciples, given the intense "competition" among disciples from other clans within the sect, even he dared not get involved rashly, so he acquiesced.

"Alright, bring the girl here at this time tomorrow."

"I'll definitely bring it!"

Edward hurriedly agreed, not daring to run away, otherwise the whole village might die... Rotten Chess Village, as its name suggests, has been forgotten even by the people of the Spirit Hall. They don't come to awaken the spirits of the children of the right age. Even if the village is destroyed, these disciples of the Star Crown Sect can blame it on the Fallen Ones.

In order to survive, he had no choice but to sacrifice his niece. Moreover, in his opinion, if Li Zhao went to the Star Crown Sect, she might be able to reunite with that elder and her sister!
(End of this chapter)