The Human Emperor
chapter-26

“Stop talking nonsense for a moment. I have a matter for you, let’s find a place to talk.”

Wang Chong patted Wei Hao’s shoulders and said.

“Fine! Wait for me here for a moment!”

Upon seeing Wang Chong’s serious expression, Wei Hao also retracted his smile. He had grown with Wang Chong and knew that Wang Chong would not easily ask for another person’s help.

Furthermore, he didn’t like coming to the Eight Gods Pavilion. For him to appear here, it must be some serious affair!

“Gao Fei! There mustn’t be a single cent less for my payment. Pay all of it up obediently later on. Otherwise, you don’t have to dream of living on in the capital!”

Wei Hao threw a sack to him before pulling Wang Chong away.

The scions in the Eight Gods Pavilion were all from respectable families. They couldn’t afford to tarnish their reputation by going against their words and thus, Wei Hao wasn’t really worried about them reneging on the deal.

“Right, Wang Chong, let me ask you something seriously.” Wei Hao abruptly said.

“What?”

Wang Chong turned around and asked.

“Can you don’t call me Youngster Wei in front of so many people?”

Wei Hao suppressed his voice and looked at him with a very bitter expression. Seeing such a sight, Wang Chong burst into laughter:

“You brat! Don’t even think about it! ——”

“…”

…

The Eight Gods Pavilion was bustling and Wei Hao pulled Wang Chong to his seat.

“You fellow, where did you go in the morning? After hearing that you are out of your seclusion, I went to your house early in the morning. Yet, your mother said that you aren’t home. It sure is difficult to meet you.”

Sweating profusely, Wei Hao sipped on the Western Region Pomegranate Juice provided by the Eight Gods Pavilion as he chattered.

“I had something up this morning, so I went out.”

Wang Chong smiled.

Upon hearing Wei Hao’s complaint, Wang Chong felt a surge of warmth. Only after losing it all did he know how to treasure them all.

Only Wang Chong knew how precious this seemingly ordinary exchange was.

Wei Hao would have never known that at this time, Wang Chong had already fallen out with him in his previous life.

In his previous life, Wang Chong felt foreign to everything in this world. This included his parents, brothers, sisters and of course, Wei Hao wasn’t excluded in the list.

Back then, to him, Wei Hao was a good buddy of Wang Chong, not his. Especially during the seven days in confinement, Wei Hao, as a supposed ‘good buddy’, didn’t even come to meet him. What kind of good buddy could this count as? A good friend? A good brother?

Even drinking buddies were better than this!

From then on, Wang Chong cut all ties with him and never met him again.

Only very long later did Wang Chong realize that in the seven days that he was confined, Wei Hao, because of him, was grounded by his family for seven days as well.

Back then, Wang Chong’s reputation was too poor and Wei Hao’s father had forbidden him from coming into contact with him. However, Wei Hao, who was usually obedient, refuted his father for Wang Chong.

This angered his father and as such, Wei Hao was beaten up severely!

In those seven days, he was actually lying on his bed and recuperating from his wounds.

However, Wei Hao had never told this to Wang Chong, not even bringing it up. Only when the great catastrophe came and the two brothers who hadn’t met for a very long time reunited did Wang Chong knew of all these.

Wang Chong also knew that the person who helped him from the shadows ever since the Wang Clan fell into difficult times wasn’t anyone else but Wei Hao.

‘Only with a long journey will one know the stamina of his horse, and only with time will a person’s heart show through’. Only at the final moments of his life did Wang Chong know who were his true friends and brothers.

However, when Wang Chong finally awoke, it was already too late. The world had already been destroyed and the Central Plains no longer existed, needless to say, a Wei Hao.

When Wei Hao finally died before him due to severe wounds, Wang Chong couldn’t help but howl in sadness.

The one thing that he should have never done in his life was to lose this true friend and brother! This had been an ache in Wang Chong’s heart, as well as one of his greatest regret!

“Good brother! Don’t worry. No matter what, I will never leave you to be.”

Wang Chong looked at Wei Hao, who was still rambling on happily. Solemnly, he made a promise.

“…Say, you truly made a big affair over Yao Feng’s affair this time. It is a pity that fellow’s martial arts are too incredible and I’m not an opponent for him. Otherwise, I would have charged in along with you. Speaking of which, Yao Feng really went too far, to actually make use of Ma Zhou against you.”

Wei Hao slammed the table and roared angrily:

“I have already told you about that bastard Ma Zhou long ago. That fellow is a bastard and a hoodlum. He must have vile intentions for hanging out with you. Now, you should believe me right?”

“Yes, yes. I believe you.”

Wang Chong smiled. Looking at his brother complaining to him, he felt a surge of warmth flowing into his heart. This wasn’t his first time listening to him complain about this matter but this time, it felt different.

It had been long since he had seen such an ordinary sight.

“…Brother, objects are differentiated by their types and humans are segregated by their classes. Cats and mouses can never get along and fishes cannot survive out of the water. It is impossible for birds to burrow into the underground like an earthworm. It isn’t a good thing for us to try to escape from our surroundings. Ma Zhou’s affair serves as a good example, don’t hang out with Ma Zhou and that kind of people in the future.”

“Listen to me, come and play at the Eight Gods Pavilion more often. Over here, we are all of the same birth and we will all inherit our family’s heritage in the future. Coming into contact with one another and playing together will have its own benefits in the future.

Wei Hao nagged on and on, but his words were filled with emotions. To his brothers, Wei Hao had always been willing to take a sword them.

Wang Chong had a rebellious personality and Wei Hao was worried when he saw him getting closer with Ma Zhou and his lot. At this moment, he was dumping all of his concerns on him.

It wasn’t the first time Wei Hao had spoken to Wang Chong about Ma Zhou’s matter. In Wei Hao’s perspective, it was likely that Wang Chong would simply brush off his words once more. Yet, Wang Chong’s reply broke all expectations that he had.

“Alright!”

Firmly, Wang Chong said a single word.

“Alright?”

Wei Hao was taken aback. The finger he had lifted up froze in midair and somehow, he was unable to spout the ramblings that had congregated beneath his tongue.

Alright? Just like that?

Wei Hao widened his eyes. For a moment, he was unable to react.

After speaking of this matter to him so many times in the past, why did he take it in so easily this time?

How was this possible?

Wei Hao blinked. His brain was still overloaded by Wang Chong’s response.

“So, you won’t hang out with Ma Zhou and the lot in the future?”

“Un.”

“You will come to the Eight Gods Pavilion with me often in the future?”

“Un.”

Wang Chong nodded his head with a smile.

Wei Hao blinked again. For a moment, he wasn’t able to find a single word to say.

“Wang Chong, you are different from before.”

Wei Hao scanned Wang Chong from head to toe with a look of amazement. The current Wang Chong was truly different from how he was; in the past, he would have never come to the Eight Gods Pavilion.

Even more so, he wouldn’t have listened to his advice.

Yet, this current Wang Chong was calm and his disposition was completely different from before. It felt as though he was an entirely different person.

“HAHAHA! Good lad, looks like you have finally thought it through! As your brother, I am happy for you!”

Wei Hao suddenly thought of something and slapped Wang Chong’s shoulder with a delighted expression.

As the saying goes, a person grows in times of trouble. In Wei Hao’s perspective, the reason why Wang Chong had undergone such a massive change was because of Ma Zhou.

Wang Chong had truly awakened!

There was nothing else that could delight Wei Hao more than this.

“Hehe.”

Wang Chong only smiled. He knew what Wei Hao was thinking of, but Wang Chong wouldn’t point out the truth to him. Besides, Wang Chong had another mission here.

“It’s about time.”

Wang Chong smiled and looked at the crowd. As though responding to Wang Chong, a commotion suddenly broke out.

Before he could even spot the person, a cold voice had already echoed:

“Yo! Isn’t this Young Master Wang?”

The voice was filled with sarcasm and mock. The crowd parted and a young man dressed in a white robe with cloud embroidery on it walked over. A fur coat was draped over him and he had a small silver hat on his head. With a peach blossom fan in his hands, his footsteps were light and wide. However, the contempt on his face was apparent.

A chuckling crowd followed closely behind him.

“Su Bai! What are you doing here?”

Seeing those people, Wei Hao’s expression changed. He abruptly stood up and glared at the group with hostility.

“We don’t welcome you here, scram!”

Wei Hao stood in front of Wang Chong, worried for him. Su Bai was the son of Duke of Su and Duke of Su had a close relationship with the Yao Clan.

Wang Chong had just offended the Yao Clan and this Su Bai was probably here to cause trouble!

“Hmph, Wei Hao, did you think that the Eight Gods Pavilion was opened by your family? Why can’t I come here? Besides, did I say that I was here for you? Wang Chong, don’t you agree with my words?”

As he spoke, Su Bai glanced at Wang Chong, who was sitting behind Wei Hao, coldly.

Wang Chong glanced at Su Bai’s direction and saw Gao Fei standing behind Su Bai with his head lowered. He knew that Gao Fei was the one who pulled Su Bai over. Gao Fei wasn’t able to deal with Wei Hao and him, so he brought reinforcements over.

To be more direct, Gao Fei was sent by Su Bai to do Wei Hao in. However, Su Bai’s plan failed and as such, he couldn’t resist the urge to confront them face on.

However, Wang Chong wasn’t interested in this matter at all.

“Su Bai, you came at a good time. Lend me some money!”

Wang Chong lifted his head and spoke calmly.

The moment his words sounded, all sound within ten zhang vanished. The laughter and chatter of the crowd who were looking at the commotion abruptly changed into flabbergasted stares.

10 zhang ~ 33.3m

Even Wei Hao, who was standing in front of Wang Chong as though an eagle protecting its hatchling, was stunned.

Borrowing money?

Wang Chong was borrowing money from Su Bai? What was going on?

Didn’t Wang Chong know that Su Bai hated him? Given the relationship between Su clan and Yao Clan, how could Su Bai possibly lend him any money?

“Hahaha! Wang Chong, have you gone insane? On what basis did you think that I would lend you any money?”

After a moment of shock, Su Bai finally burst into laughter. The crowd following behind him also couldn’t help but roar in laughter as well.

“This lad must be insane!”

“How could he possibly think that young master would lend him money!”

“I think he probably hasn’t awoken from his dream yet, spouting dream talk here!”

…

The crowd behind him roared in laughter as well, and the contempt of their action was clear.

A descendant of the Wang Clan, Wang Chong, was actually borrowing money from the son of the Duke of Su? There was no funnier joke than this in the Eight Gods Pavilion today.

Wasn’t this lad being too presumptuous?

Hearing the laughter in the surroundings, Wei Hao was embarrassed.

“Wang Chong, what are you trying to do?”

Until now, he still didn’t know whether Wang Chong was serious on this matter. Given Su Bai and Wang Chong relationship, it was impossible for Wang Chong to borrow any money from him.

“2% interest, calculated on a daily basis for a month! When the time comes, it will be repaid along with the interest!”

After saying those words, Wang Chong laughed heartily, to the point that his back was arched backward. These few words plunged the entire lounge into silence.

Even the scions by the other tables, upon hearing those words, had their attention focused here. Their eyes were widened to the brim.

Gasps of cold air could be heard. Even Su Bai’s eyes were completely widened, as though it was the first time he was meeting Wang Chong.

Wang Chong’s words were simple and concise; everyone could understand the meaning behind his words, but they were unable to believe their ears. 2% interest, if tallied on a daily basis, meant a 60% interest in a month! If so, ten silver taels will become sixteen silver taels!

Wang Chong’s interest rate was even more insane than a loan shark’s!

“Wang Chong, you are insane!”

Wei Hao’s face was devoid of any color. He immediately turned around to grab Wang Chong’s arms. He was so nervous that his fingernails were plunging into Wang Chong’s flesh.

“If you lack money, you could just ask me for it. Why should you borrow it from them at such a high-interest rate!”

Wei Hao thought that Wang Chong was joking, but from the looks of it, it didn’t seem to be the case.