Chapter Three: Money for a Life

“Thank you for your concern, Second Madam. In fact, I am quite grateful to Yang Qian. If not for him, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to take the Foundation Establishment Pill and attempt my breakthrough! As you know, even with the pill, the chance of success is only thirty percent. It was because of him that I managed to succeed. Please rest assured, I will always remember this favor deep in my heart.”

Yang Xuan spoke with a smile, as though he truly felt grateful to Yang Qian.

Yet when these words reached Lady Yang’s ears, they were like thorns, causing her expression to shift involuntarily.

On the surface, Yang Xuan seemed to be expressing thanks, but in reality, it was biting sarcasm—merciless and direct.

With thorough preparation, breaking through to Foundation Establishment already carried only a thirty percent chance of success. Yang Xuan, on the other hand, had done so without any preparation at all, a far greater risk.

Now, by mentioning it, Yang Xuan was clearly speaking in irony.

He had indeed remembered Yang Qian, but not out of gratitude—rather, out of enmity!

The thought of her son drawing the attention of a Foundation Establishment cultivator filled Lady Yang with dread. She had already, in her heart, cursed her wayward son a thousand times over.

But no matter how useless he might be, he was still her flesh and blood. She could not simply stand by and watch him fall to an untimely death.

“Xuan’er, Qian’er is your younger brother. He’s still young. I will teach him properly in the future. Could you…”

Before Lady Yang could finish, Yang Xuan interrupted her: “Yes, he is still young—a child, even! But that does not mean he can act with impunity. Everything in this world comes with a price.”

As he spoke, Yang Xuan cast her a meaningful glance.

Unfortunately, Lady Yang failed to understand his implication and continued to plead.

“Xuan’er, now that you have made your breakthrough, Qian’er is no longer a threat to you. Why must you still…”

Yang Xuan could only sigh inwardly at this stepmother’s behavior.

The Yang family of Yellow Maple Mountain, after all, was a noble clan with its own fief. Yang Xuan had believed that, as the matron of such a house, she must possess some measure of cunning. Yet it was clear he had overestimated her.

A daughter of a rogue cultivator—even if she rose to become the mistress of a household—could not develop the airs and wisdom of a noble family overnight. Especially when her only rival was an even less capable wife, and with no real tempering, how could she grasp the art of subtle power plays?

Seeing that Lady Yang still failed to understand, Yang Xuan gave up on subtlety and spoke plainly:

“Very well! For your sake, Second Madam, I can let Yang Qian go—but I require compensation.”

This sudden turn caught Lady Yang off guard. Only when she heard the word “compensation” did she snap back to attention, her expression shifting sharply.

“What do you want?”

The words slipped out before she could stop herself. In noble families, etiquette mattered greatly; such blunt talk of price would be considered terribly uncouth.

Yang Xuan, however, felt nothing about it. For the moment, he had yet to fully embrace the identity of a noble scion—he cared little for such formalities.

“Three thousand spirit stones,” Yang Xuan said, holding up three fingers.

“What? That’s outright robbery!” Lady Yang blurted, feeling her vision swim at the sum.

“Is it?”

“According to the rules of the Sect Alliance in the Xuanhuang Realm, the ransom for a Foundation Establishment noble is three thousand spirit stones. My price is fair and reasonable,” Yang Xuan replied coldly.

He was not making this up; it was the established practice, a rule set during the wars among human clans.

The human race had never been content with peace. From ancient times through the middle and recent ages, they had never ceased their infighting. Even in the face of external threats, internal conflict persisted.

Especially between noble families and the great sects, countless cultivators had perished in these struggles for resources and faith.

Thus, after the founding of the Immortal Court in the recent ages, and in order to focus efforts on star-colonization, a series of rules were set to govern internal wars among nobles and sects.

One such rule dictated that unless a noble family member violated the laws of the Immortal Court, they could not be killed outright; if defeated in civil war, their lives could be ransomed with spirit stones.

This rule greatly reduced the death toll, even as internal strife continued. Thanks to this, after the launch of the great star-colonization, the human race expanded rapidly to become the foremost race under the stars.

Now, countless millennia after these rules were set, they had become deeply ingrained in the bones of every noble family and sect, large or small.

Yang Xuan’s demand, then, was not without basis—it was the law.

“But… but Qian’er isn’t…” Lady Yang stammered, unable to finish her sentence.

Seeing this, Yang Xuan smiled faintly and asked, “Are you trying to say he’s not a noble? Or do you believe he will never attain Foundation Establishment? If you truly think he is worthless, then I’m willing to calculate his ransom as that of a Qi-Refining noble.”

The term “noble family” was broad; while it originally referred to the holders of fiefs from rank one to nine, over time, the title extended to their descendants as well. Though less formal, the same rules applied.

As for Yang Qian not being Foundation Establishment, it was true—but what mother would admit her son was without prospects? If she did, Yang Xuan would take her at her word, but he was certain she would not.

Yet, while Lady Yang was no expert in intrigue, she was not a fool. She shook her head.

“Xuan’er, we cannot calculate it that way. Qian’er has not reached Foundation Establishment. Even if he manages it in the future, it doesn’t apply now.”

She refused to be cornered, which disappointed Yang Xuan somewhat.

But he had never truly expected to get three thousand spirit stones. He was prepared for this outcome and agreed to ransom Yang Qian at the price for a Qi-Refining noble.

Still, he had no intention of letting Yang Qian off too lightly, and said directly, “Very well, then—two thousand spirit stones! One thousand for the noble of Qi-Refining level, and another thousand as compensation for me.”

“You…” At first, Lady Yang was relieved to hear Yang Xuan agree to the lower ransom, but his demand for extra compensation left her feeling extorted and played for a fool.

Of course, her greatest grievance was the exorbitant price.

Though, as Lady Yang, she held the purse strings of the Yellow Maple Mountain fief, she only managed the funds—she could not use them as she pleased. With Yang Huaiyun’s domineering nature, if she dared misuse the money, he might well kill her.

Thus, the money truly at her disposal was only her private cache.

As a mere Qi-Refining cultivator—never mind that her father was a Foundation Establishment rogue—her own savings, even combined with what she’d managed to put by in the Yang family, would make it difficult to gather two thousand spirit stones.

Seeing her hesitate, Yang Xuan’s face darkened, and he said bluntly: “No bargaining! That’s the number. If you agree, I will not trouble him in the future, and I will personally release him from the dungeon. I believe, if I—the victim—forgive him and free him myself, Father will not pursue the matter further.”

With that, he turned to go without waiting for a counteroffer.

Panicked, Lady Yang hurried to stop him. “Fine, I agree. But I only have a thousand spirit stones—could you…”

“You can! If you have items of equal value, I will accept them as equivalent to two thousand spirit stones, so long as they are not inferior goods meant to deceive me,” Yang Xuan cut her off, knowing exactly what she was about to say.