CRD 02

Chapter 2

The Murong Family (1)

Thud!

Murong Tian slammed into the wall and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing him sitting there without even raising his head, Zhang Jiu frowned openly.

“Young master, it won’t do if you keep avoiding us.”

Murong Tian still didn’t respond.

It seemed Zhang Jiu wasn’t even expecting an answer, as he continued speaking leisurely.

“We’ve waited five days past the repayment date for you, without even charging interest. And yet, what is this?”

Zhang Jiu crouched down, smiling.

“Yes, I know. We also know you tried to handle things somehow. That’s why we waited for you, knowing you meant well.”

“…….”

“But now that things have come to this, what can we do? It seems your connection with Huang Suo of the Ten Swords Sect has been severed as well.”

“…….”

“Young master, are you listening to me?”

Murong Tian lifted his head.

His eyes were full of confusion. Zhang Jiu somehow felt that his gaze was strangely different from usual.

‘It must have been quite a shock.’

He snorted and reached out his hand.

Zhang San handed him a piece of paper.

“Let’s see… there’s quite a lot to add up, but we’ll consider it a favor to the Murong family and only charge interest for three more days.”

“……?”

“That means the total amount… is one thousand eighty taels and seventy wen, but we’ll forgive the small remainder. You just need to pay exactly one thousand taels. Just one thousand.”

“What did you just say?”

“One thousand taels.”

“No, not that.”

Murong Tian’s eyes, still filled with confusion, gradually began to burn with heat.

“What did you say about the Murong family?”

Zhang Jiu blinked foolishly.

“What do you mean?”

“You said you’d take my family’s circumstances into consideration?”

“Shall we not?”

Before Murong Tian could recover from his shock, this was another confusing statement.

He sprang to his feet. For a moment, his blood pressure dropped so fast that stars danced before his eyes, but he steadied himself by leaning on the wall.

“Take my family into consideration? The circumstances of the Murong family?”

Zhang Jiu’s frown deepened. His already harsh face grew terrifyingly fierce, enough to make ghosts shiver.

“Then pay the full one thousand eighty taels, and the seventy wen too.”

Murong Tian was dumbfounded.

‘Are these people sane?’

The Murong Family—Murong Shi Jia (慕容世家).

A hegemonic family in Liaoning Province, the Murong Family was one of the longest-standing martial arts clans of the era.

Though it had experienced ups and downs over the years, and nearly fell into ruin during the rebellion the year Murong Tian was born, it soared brilliantly again after he became the head of the Martial Alliance.

Naturally, the Murong Family’s resources were immense. A thousand taels? That was laughable; they could pay it without even blinking.

Yet, they claimed they would “consider the family’s circumstances”?

‘These guys are definitely like the Yanwang Debts. Ruthless loan sharks who are worse than murderers.’

It seemed this body indeed belonged to a descendant of the Murong Family. He had been addressed as “young master,” so it was likely he was legitimate.

That’s why it felt strange.

‘A legitimate Murong heir borrowing money from these bankrupt scoundrels?’

It made no sense.

Murong Tian was confused. Not only had he died and entered the body of a young man from an unknown family, but now he had supposedly borrowed money?

‘…….’

His mind slowly cleared.

All the chaos vanished in an instant, and finally reason took over.

“Listen here.”

“Listen here…?”

“If you answer my questions sincerely from now on, I’ll be grateful.”

Zhang Jiu looked at him in disbelief. Behind him, Zhang San grinned.

“Of course. If the young master of the Murong Family asks, we’ll answer with all our hearts.”

The tone dripped with sarcasm.

Anger surged, but Murong Tian forced himself to remain calm. This was not the time to lose his temper.

“Am I truly a descendant of the Murong Family?”

“…Are you serious?”

“Answer me.”

“Of course! If you weren’t a descendant, who would you be?”

Murong Tian pressed on.

“I mean, am I truly a descendant of the Murong Family in Liaoning Province?”

Even in this vast world, the surname Murong was unique to their family.

Still, he asked, just in case.

Sure enough, their expressions shifted subtly.

“Liaoning Province?”

“If not Liaoning, then where?”

“This is Hubei Province, isn’t it?”

“…What?”

Hubei? Could it be that there really was a fraudulent family pretending to be Murong?

Then Zhang San spoke, smirking.

“Even if we reminisce about the glory of twenty years ago, it’s no longer worth pitying, young master.”

Murong Tian’s eyes bulged.

“Twenty years?”

“Yes, it was renowned back then, but that’s just past glory. Nothing worth reminiscing for us—or for you—so let’s not waste time with nonsense.”

“……!”

“If you’re done asking questions, let’s wrap up the business.”

Murong Tian gaped like a fish out of water.

Zhang Jiu scratched his head.

“As you know, our friend has quite a temper. Avoiding it won’t help. So let’s stop playing around…”

“Did you just say twenty years ago?”

“Do you want me to say two years instead? It doesn’t matter, that’s not the point.”

“Why isn’t it important?!”

His anger finally erupted, his voice rising.

“Hah.”

Zhang Jiu slowly stood, rolling his shoulders.

“How long has it been since we gave you a massage, young master? Even if you’ve grown skinny, we don’t go easy on you just because of that.”

Murong Tian’s mind raced.

Talking to these fools any longer would only frustrate him further. They certainly weren’t going to answer willingly.

At the very least, he needed to see the family in Hubei for himself.

‘Why did I even become head of the Martial Alliance, which doesn’t suit my temper?!’

He pointed toward the alley.

“Enough. Lead the way.”

“To the afterlife?”

“The family, idiots! Lead me to the Murong Family!”

“…Really.”

Zhang San stood beside Zhang Jiu.

The two large men filling the alleyway gave Murong Tian the sense that it was completely blocked.

“Let’s pause the discussion for now. First, let’s get your mind in order, young master, then we’ll talk again. Agreed?”

“Just resolve the money and lead the way to the family!”

“If you don’t intend to repay, of course, we’ll have to come to your house. If there’s not enough money, maybe your sisters will have to be sold.”

“…?”

“But first, we need to instill some manners…”

“Instill… manners?”

His excitement shot straight through his head, as if it were about to take flight.

Murong Tian’s eyes turned cold.

“Sell who?”

Zhang Jiu smirked and tried to reply, but no words came out.

‘Huh?’

Why couldn’t he speak all of a sudden?

“You dare say you’d sell my family?”

Should I sell the young master?

He wanted to tease them, but still no sound came.

Zhang Jiu panicked internally. His back grew damp, and he realized something was very wrong.

Then Zhang San shouted.

“After calling him young master so politely, he’s trying to sit on our heads! A family descendant who’s worth less than trash, thinking he can act high and mighty!”

At that moment, Zhang Jiu instinctively realized Zhang San had crossed a line.

Murong Tian’s lips curled into a small smile.

His mouth smiled, but his eyes were glassy and expressionless. It was like watching a predator with no facial muscles.

“Yes, I was too hasty. We should have established manners first before talking.”

Zhang San roared and swung a punch.

Even he realized something was wrong. Normally, he would have intimidated them thoroughly, but he swung first.

Zhang Jiu instinctively joined in, knowing they should run, but he couldn’t help himself.

Thwack! Bang! Bang! The sounds echoed through the alley.

The bustling street outside couldn’t hear the terrifying noise.

After a while…

“Huff! Huff!”

Leaning against the wall, Murong Tian gasped for air.

“You… damn bastard!”

It took him over half a minute to recover enough to breathe normally. This low-quality body really had zero stamina.

‘And I didn’t even sweat.’

His insides were burning as if everything inside him had been cooked. His body was so wrecked that even the breathing techniques of his martial cultivation were useless. He had no choice but to recover naturally.

Still, after giving them a thorough beating, his anger had subsided a bit. It was almost as if he had drained some blood, calming himself.

He kicked Zhang Jiu in the head.

“Hey.”

“Ugh!”

Zhang Jiu, who had fainted, suddenly jumped up.

Clutching his chest, he collapsed again. He looked as if he were dying from the pain.

Murong Tian shouted.

“Get up already!”

“Y-Yes!”

Zhang Jiu knelt right there. His face was swollen beyond recognition, and fear was clearly written all over him.

Murong Tian dragged a wooden box from the corner and sat down, exhaling heavily.

“Your name?”

“Zhang Jiu! And this one is Zhang San!”

“Good. Now answer my questions properly.”

Even while answering, Zhang Jiu’s throat was swollen from the beating. He couldn’t even swallow the spit in his mouth.

‘How… how is this possible?!’

This scrawny frame hiding such ridiculous strength! They had panted and staggered, yet all their punches missed, while his strikes landed perfectly.

The terrifying part was that each hit felt as if the bones had fractured.

They had endured this for over a moment without pause—he was lucky to be alive.

“Are we definitely in Hubei?”

Zhang Jiu responded immediately.

“Yes! Wuhan, Hubei!”

Wuhan—the capital of Hubei. A major hub of land and water transportation, naturally bustling with people.

Murong Tian’s face twisted.

“You’re certain it’s Hubei?”

“Y-Yes!”

He wanted to rush to the family immediately to see what had happened, but after thrashing about once, he realized that charging ahead blindly wasn’t wise.

“Do you know the Martial Alliance or not?”

“Yes!”

“Then do you know Martial Alliance leader Murong Tian or not?”

“N-No!”

“What?!”

Murong Tian’s cheeks twitched involuntarily.

“You said the Murong Family moved to Hubei twenty years ago, but they don’t know the leader of the family? Are you kidding me?”

“T-That can’t be!”

“Then why don’t they know Murong Tian?”

“Well….”

Zhang Jiu’s eyes spun as he racked his brain for an answer.

“Ah! Do you mean the Martial Alliance leader Guangming Wuzun Huo Yanchan?”