Chapter 287: The Reason Qin Haoran Is Being Hunted

"Creditor" was a term Lu Yang was quite familiar with; he even had a friend who fit that description.

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't borrow any money!" Meng Jingzhou snapped, noticing Lu Yang's gaze.

"Do you know which power the creditor belongs to? Is it the Meng family, the Moneyfall Merchant Guild, or some other force?"

In Lu Yang's mind, the two most prominent lending powers were the wealthy Meng family and the Moneyfall Merchant Guild, which had merchants spread across the land.

Li Haoran shook his head. "I don't know which power it is. The dream fragments are always intermittent. A few days ago, I accidentally dreamed of a scene before Qin Haoran was severely injured. From their conversation, I learned the other party was a creditor and Qin Haoran had no money."

"However, it might not have been Qin Haoran who borrowed the money; it could have been the entire Nine Underworld Sect. The creditor might have approached the person in charge of the Nine Underworld Sect, which is the Sect Master."

"The other party knew Qin Haoran was the Nine Underworld Sect Master?" Lu Yang asked, surprised. "They had the audacity to lend money to the Nine Underworld Sect? If the Great Xia Dynasty found out, they'd face severe consequences, even if it didn't kill them."

Li Haoran shook his head, stroking his chin in analysis. Through the repeated torment of Qin Haoran's memories, his knowledge base was rapidly expanding.

"They probably didn't know. Based on the memory fragments I've acquired and my understanding of Qin Haoran, the most likely scenario is that Qin Haoran first withdrew some spirit stones from the Nine Underworld Sect's treasury to register a small merchant guild. Its members included Qin Haoran and dozens of people from the Nine Underworld Sect."

"Then, he used various methods—or rather, operations that brought quick money in the short term but had hidden dangers later—to make the small guild's business appear thriving and prosperous."

"The small guild borrowed money from the creditors several times, always repaying on time."

"When the creditors evaluated this small guild, they would consider it to have high credit, a good industry, and unlimited future prospects."

"When the small guild proposed borrowing a huge sum to expand its influence, the creditors would most likely agree."

"After receiving the money, the small guild could ostensibly spend all the spirit stones under the guise of doing business. In reality, all the spirit stones were secretly transferred to the Nine Underworld Sect."

"Finally, the small guild would declare bankruptcy."

"Because Qin Haoran registered the small guild as a limited liability entity, the guild's responsibility was limited to its capital contribution, and its members bore no personal liability. This meant the creditors couldn't directly demand repayment from Qin Haoran or other high-ranking members of the Nine Underworld Sect."

Li Haoran concluded, "This way, Qin Haoran and the Nine Underworld Sect borrowed money without having to repay it. A perfectly executed plan."

After listening, Lu Yang felt it was perfectly reasonable for the creditors to hunt down Qin Haoran.

It was understandable.

"Fortunately, Qin Haoran is dead, so you don't have to bear his debts." Meng Jingzhou felt relieved for Li Haoran, noting that even if Li Haoran were sold, he wouldn't be able to pay off the interest, let alone the principal.

"I hope so." Li Haoran didn't feel comforted; this was one of the reasons he couldn't rest easy.

Legally speaking, he certainly wouldn't inherit his past life's debts, but whether the creditors would acknowledge the law was another matter.

That swindler Qin Haoran deserved to die!

Lu Yang patted Li Haoran's shoulder. "It's not good to stay cooped up in the cave dwelling all the time. Why don't we go out for a stroll? Have you had any breakthrough ideas for forming your Golden Core yet?"

Li Haoran shook his head. "No."

In truth, he had Qin Haoran's ideas for Golden Core formation in his memories, but he was unwilling to follow Qin Haoran's path.

"That's perfect. It's time for you to form your Golden Core. Go out, change your mood, and you might just find the opportunity for your Golden Core."

"With us two Golden Core stage grand cultivators protecting you, this trip will be completely safe!" Meng Jingzhou gave himself a thumbs-up, not forgetting that the original purpose of this outing was to show off that they had both formed their Golden Cores.

Li Haoran was speechless.

So what if you've formed your Golden Cores? With the cultivation insights of a Peak Integration stage grand cultivator backing me, I'll surpass you two sooner or later!

Li Haoran was explicitly forbidden by Senior Sister to leave the Dao Seeking Sect; otherwise, he would have gone to the dense forest to seek his Golden Core opportunity.

The only circumstance under which Li Haoran was permitted to leave the Dao Seeking Sect was if Lu Yang led him.

Being led by Lu Yang was safer than being led by the Fifth Elder; he wouldn't even fear encountering an immortal.

"Before we go, I should inform Master first."

"Let's go."

The three found the Fifth Elder, who was currently forging artifacts. He held a large iron hammer, striking the weapons with sparks flying everywhere. Each blow was like mountains colliding, earth dragons turning over, making the ground shake violently.

"Ah, Haoran, what's wrong?" The Fifth Elder stopped forging when he saw Lu Yang and the other two approach. He shrunk the hammerhead and tapped his stiff back.

"Master, it's like this, I'd like to go out with Senior Brother Lu and Senior Brother Meng..."

Li Haoran concisely explained his situation. The Fifth Elder nodded repeatedly, understanding Li Haoran's predicament. It was akin to Li Haoran having to deal with all sorts of troublesome matters for a large sect every day.

Otherwise, Daoist Bu Yu wouldn't have been allowed to become the Sect Master.

"Martial Nephew Yunzhi said that if you go out with Lu Yang, nothing will go wrong. You may go."

"Should we inform Senior Sister?" Li Haoran asked, feeling a bit uneasy about leaving the sect.

"Senior Sister is out on an errand and won't be back for a while," Lu Yang replied. He was probably the only one in the entire Dao Seeking Sect who knew what Senior Sister was doing.

The Emperor of Xia had replied, saying the immortal's cave dwelling could be moved. Senior Sister had gone to move Immortal Bu Xiu's kitchen.

Moving an immortal's cave dwelling without damaging the integrity of the immortal ruins was extremely difficult, requiring Senior Sister to personally undertake the task.

Immortal Bu Xiu had been delighted for half a day, unable to close her mouth, saying that once the kitchen was moved back, she absolutely had to show Lu Yang some of her skills.

Lu Yang was so scared he didn't dare make a sound.

After informing the Fifth Elder, as the three were about to board the ship to leave the Dao Seeking Sect, Lu Yang suddenly asked, "By the way, where are we going?"

How could they buy boat tickets if they didn't know their destination?

The three exchanged glances. They had only thought about leaving the Dao Seeking Sect, but hadn't decided where to go.

They couldn't possibly go back to the dense forest.

"How about this: we go to the Mission Hall and pick a mission? Wherever it takes us, that's where we go," Li Haoran suggested. He happened to be short on contribution points.

"Sounds good," Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou agreed, treating it as accompanying Li Haoran to earn contribution points.

Among the three, only Li Haoran lacked contribution points. Lu Yang himself had plenty and could even use Immortal Bu Xiu's contribution points at any time.

Meng Jingzhou could exchange spirit stones for contribution points.

The three arrived at the Mission Hall, and Meng Jingzhou immediately spotted a mission that caught his eye.

"'Southern Jizhou, Shoutian County, Guhuai Town. Outside the town, there's an abandoned temple where travelers often stop. There are suspected sightings of a female ghost who devours vital energy. Upon learning of this, travelers are flocking to the area...'"

"This is it!" Meng Jingzhou excitedly slapped his thigh, feeling a destined connection with this mission.

It was the perfect opportunity to test the effectiveness of his dual 'bachelor' spiritual roots!

Li Haoran rubbed his chin. Guhuai Town... why did that name sound so familiar?