Douluo Dalu: The Eyes That Defy Fate

Chapter 278 Unequal sharing of spoils
Noticing the boy's puzzled expression, the two shrewd old men immediately knew the answer.

This kid probably doesn't know about the near-explosive rumors circulating outside.

So, without hesitation, the two most brilliant minds frantically racked their brains for a suitable reason to force Lin Po to stay at the Confucius Mansion for a few more days.

The longer this goes on, the bigger the commotion outside becomes, and the less room he has to refuse!
Lin Po, who had not received a response for a long time, inevitably became a little impatient and urged them loudly.

"No, stop laughing! You're not trying to tell me that with all this commotion and all this strange happening outside, two of the country's most important elders know absolutely nothing, are you?!"

Unfortunately, Lin Po's questioning had no effect.

Instead, Jing Hongchen hurriedly pinched her thigh, afraid that she might accidentally laugh out loud and offend this ancestor.

He had already learned about Lin Po's current strength from Kong Deming long ago.

Good heavens! A demigod under 16 years old!
He could be hung up and whipped without any resistance even with one hand.

Although Kong Deming seemed to be in much better condition, he still smiled and nodded, gesturing for him to come over and sit down to talk.

Seeing this, Lin Po had no choice but to suppress his irritation and quickly walked to the stone table, sitting down opposite the two old rascals.

After the visitor was seated, Kong Deming began to explain, his leisurely demeanor surprising Lin Po.

"The empire is peaceful and prosperous, and the people live in peace and contentment. What could be unusual? Perhaps you're being too sensitive."

"Besides, it would be strange if the Regent, who is second only to the Emperor, didn't cause a riot when he openly appeared on the street."

This statement is certainly not wrong, and even Lin Po could not find any loopholes to refute it.

However, the strange words and actions of those outsiders are truly perplexing and cannot be easily dismissed with a single sentence.

Therefore, he still wanted to continue asking questions to resolve his doubts.

However, before Lin Po could ask again, Kong Deming and the other man, fearing that revealing their secrets too early would ruin everything, quickly changed the subject.

"Let's not talk about that for now. How was your trip to Douluo Continent? How much money did you bring back?"

As he spoke, Jing Hongchen deliberately acted as if he were greedy for money, and at the same time stretched out his hands, as if to snatch the storage soul tool from Lin Po's waist.

The method was terrible, the acting was too fake, and the way they snatched the soul tool was too crude. How could such a clumsy performance fool Lin Po?

Just as Kong Deming was secretly lamenting that Xiao Jing was too eager for quick success and might make things worse, Lin Po's actions surprised him greatly.

Lin Po had one hand on his waist and the other hand supporting Jing Hongchen's head.

With his height and long arms, he was firmly pinned to the area outside his own arm span.

"Hmph! You old scoundrel! You come back and all you want is to rob me! Don't think I don't know why Sister Lexuan won't approve your funding! Have you dealt with the rats at Mingdetang?!"

"Don't slander me! It's just a few minor flaws, I've already smoothed them out! You brat, hurry up and hand over the money! The Hongchen family is so poor they're practically selling their pants!"

"No way! Don't give me that nonsense. The Hongchen family is broke? I don't believe it at all!"

Contrary to his usual behavior, Kong Deming did not offer any words of intervention in the face of this almost upside-down spectacle.

After all, the happiness of his great-granddaughter is more important than his own moral principles.

Moreover, he was also very curious as to why Jing Hongchen's fake act would make Lin Po willingly go along with his nonsense.

A teenager who can manipulate the entire continent is bound to be able to tell whether it's acting or not.

Little did they know, this was precisely the tacit understanding that the old man and the child had cultivated over a long period of time.

Jing Hongchen knew that Lin Po would understand his intentions, and Lin Po also believed that Jing Hongchen would not harm him.

So if it's a small matter, as long as it doesn't affect themselves or the people around them, they can do whatever they want.

Moreover, since it was something that Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen had to work together to keep hidden, Lin Po would naturally give them face and not investigate further.

Just as Kong Deming was deep in thought, the money-grabbing battle came to an end.

The result is, without a doubt.

Even if Jing Hongchen became the second Super Douluo of the Sun Moon Empire after Kong Deming by relying on the Ninth Grade Purple Ganoderma and a continuous stream of high-level resources, he would still be no match for Lin Po.

"Grandpa Jing, you need to practice some more. You're still a bit short of being able to snatch things from me."

After saying that, Lin Po casually waved his hand, and a spatial door leading to an unknown destination opened out of thin air. Immediately afterwards, countless treasures of all kinds poured out of the spatial door, filling most of the courtyard in just a moment.

At the same time, the sudden change also silenced Jing Hongchen's stubborn mouth that wanted to argue, leaving him unable to utter any further sounds.

"Grandpa Kong, your courtyard is a bit small. One-fifth of it is still not open."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kong Deming's old face fell, and he glanced at Lin Po with a helpless expression.

"Small? My courtyard is one of the largest in the entire Ming capital. You must have brought back too many spoils of war!"

"Speaking of which, the total value of all these things must exceed one billion! What? Did you rob the entire Douluo Three Kingdoms?"

"That's not the case. These are only from Douling and Xingluo. Of course, the vast majority are provided by the Douling Empire."

Suppressing a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, Lin Po said:
"With the Sun Moon Empire growing stronger over the years, there have been few military conflicts within the Douluo Three Kingdoms."

"However, the Douling Empire is far from the Sun and Moon Empire and is basically unable to reach the front-line battlefield."

After years of accumulation, it's not surprising that they possess such substantial wealth.

Kong Deming nodded in agreement after hearing this.

If it weren't for the Star Luo Empire's long-term militarism, the gains from the last conflict would likely have been even greater.

However, new problems soon followed.

How should wealth, which is close to the total tax revenue of the Sun Moon Empire over ten years, be distributed most reasonably?

Lin Po originally planned to set aside 300 million and give it to Kong Deming, as agreed at the beginning, so that he could continue to study the 'Battle Armor' in depth.

Then, adhering to the principle of sharing the profits upon meeting, he gave Jing Hongchen another 100 million.

Part of it was used to cover the family's deficit, and the remainder was used as additional support.

Kong Deming didn't have much of an opinion on this. He simply counted his share of 300 million resources, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

Looking at Jing Hongchen, he was clearly very unhappy, his unsatisfied expression making Lin Po feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I can only give you 150 million at most. Sister Lexuan's 'Soul Palace' is newly established and also needs a lot of money!"

"One price, two hundred million! I know the organizational structure of the 'Soul Palace' very well, and I know exactly how much money we can spend! The remaining five hundred million is more than enough for the Empress!"

And so, the two argued incessantly for more than ten minutes without reaching a conclusion.

Suddenly, Lin Po, who was about to start arguing again, seemed to realize something. His expression became unusually strange, and his tone carried a hint of sympathy.

"Well, Mr. Jing, I'm afraid you won't be able to take a single penny with you today."

"Why? Who dares?"

"Wow, so much money! Little Po, which empire did you rob this time? Is there any for your sister?"

Jing Hongchen's question was ruthlessly interrupted.

The melodious sound that reached his ears was like the music played by a demon, causing him to freeze on the spot.

Oh no! What are these two little money-grubbers doing here?! My money!!

Following the sound, they saw two slender figures gracefully entering the gate of the Confucius Mansion, walking towards them over the mountain of treasures.

The visitors were none other than Empress Zhang Lexuan of the Moon Soul, who arrived late from the palace after learning of the Regent's return, along with her personal maid Han Ruoruo.

"Sister Lexuan, Sister Ruoruo, you've finally arrived."

With a joyful shout, Lin Po rushed forward and hugged Zhang Lexuan.

"Yes. Xiao Po, thank you for all you've done for your sister."

"It's not hard work, it's just my bad luck! I just got back and was dragged to the Demon Forest for extra work!"

Watching the siblings' intimate display of affection, oblivious to everyone else, the three people present had varying expressions: some were envious, some were helpless, and some were on the verge of tears.

(End of this chapter)