Singing with a Sword

The following is the main text of the novel "{?$article_title?}" ({?$jieqi_title?}) provided by {?$jieqi_sitename?}. Please enjoy! The largest money shop in Jianling City is called Debao Money Shop, and the manager is named Qian Debao, a well-known wealthy man in the city.

Yi Ranxiao led Huangfu Cheng to Debao Money Exchange. Along the way, many ordinary people stared at Yi Ranxiao. Yi Ranxiao and Huangfu Cheng were puzzled.

"Senior Brother, why are these people always staring at you?"

Yi Ranxiao was also completely confused and said, "I don't understand either. Am I that handsome today? No, I'm not."

Just then, a child ran over, stood in front of Yi Ranxiao, looked at him with big eyes, and asked, "Are you the great hero Yi Ranxiao?"

"A great hero?" Yi Ranxiao was stunned. "I am Yi Ranxiao, but when did I become a great hero?" The child smiled broadly and said, "Ah, you really are the great hero Yi Ranxiao! Haha, Hero Yi, can you sign your name for me? I admire you so much! You were able to defeat Chen Dasheng and his gang of bad guys and rid our Jianling City of a great scourge. I admire you to death!"

Yi Ranxiao suddenly realized, "So that's the reason!"

The child thought he wouldn't sign his autograph and was almost in tears. Yiran laughed heartily and said cheerfully, "No problem, no problem, it's just an autograph!"

Although she was a top student in her previous life, she had never experienced what it was like to be a star. Unexpectedly, in this life, she was able to receive such treatment, and Xiao Xin was overjoyed!

Seeing how approachable Yi Ranxiao was, some onlookers rushed to ask her for an autograph.

……

……

Having finally shaken off the fervent fans, Yi Ranxiao and Huangfu Cheng arrived at Debao Money Exchange. At the front desk, they explained their purpose, identities, and the amount they needed to borrow. Upon hearing it was a large sum, the person on the other end led them to the back room to discuss the matter with Qian Debao in person. Just as they reached the back, a young page emerged.

"Xiao Tang, these two need to see the manager later. Please make the arrangements. I'll head back to the front desk now."

The young pageboy named Xiao Tang smiled at Yi Ranxiao and Huangfu Cheng and said, "Gentlemen, come with me." The two followed Xiao Tang to the backyard of the money shop, where there was a small garden with bright flowers and green willows.

Yi Ranxiao was secretly surprised; this Manager Qian was quite a man of taste. In the center of the garden, there was a pavilion connected to a long, narrow corridor, where a group of people were admiring the flowers on both sides. Leading them was a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar; this was Manager Qian.

Shopkeeper Qian was a man who enjoyed literature and calligraphy, and he always mingled with a group of cultural figures, reciting poems, composing couplets, and solving riddles. And among this group of cultured people today, surprisingly, was Xiang Wuji, this rough and uncultured fellow!

It turned out that Xiang Wuju had sent people to investigate and learned that Yi Ranxiao was coming to Debao Money Shop to borrow money today, so he also came to meet this Yi Ranxiao.

Qian Debao is an old friend of Xiang Wuji, and the two have some business dealings behind the scenes. Today, Xiang Wuji and Qian Debao had planned ahead and set a trap to embarrass Yi Ranxiao in public.

You, Yiranxiao, haven't you become a great hero and figure in Jianling City these past few days? Aren't you famous? Hehe, today I'll make you lose face in front of so many celebrities!

Yi Ranxiao spotted Xiang Wuji at a glance and became wary. Xiang Wuji should be able to guess that he had already killed Chief Zheng. His appearance here was most likely aimed at her. However, since she was here to borrow money today, she decided to avoid trouble. So Yi Ranxiao smiled and walked towards Manager Qian, who was leading the group.

"This must be Manager Qian, right? I've heard so much about you." Yi Ranxiao's outward manner was quite good.

Shopkeeper Qian said with a smile, "Haha, this must be the God... God what was it again? Oh, look at me, my mind isn't working so well anymore. There are two sects in Jianling City whose names contain the word 'God,' but I only remember the God Fist Gang. The other one... Hmm, let me think, oh, I remember now, it's the Divine Wind Hall! Haha, you must be the senior brother of the Divine Wind Hall, Yi Ranxiao!"

Yi Ranxiao frowned. This Manager Qian was a bit strange. She subconsciously glanced at Xiang Wuju. Could it be that these two...

"I forgot to introduce you, this is Brother Xiang Wuju, the leader of the Divine Fist Gang," Manager Qian said with a meaningful smile. Yi Ranxiao was now certain that Xiang Wuju and Manager Qian were in cahoots! Borrowing money today would be quite difficult, but Yi Ranxiao liked to face challenges head-on. He wanted to see what tricks these people could pull.

"Oh, it's Brother Xiang. I've heard so much about you." Yi Ranxiao bowed slightly.

There are three major evil forces in Jianling City. One is Chen Dasheng's gang, another is the infamous Axe Gang, and the last is the Divine Fist Gang. However, the Divine Fist Gang appears to be very upright, and its leader, Xiang Wuji, is also a polite person on the surface.

Xiang Wuju, with a broad smile that revealed no hostility whatsoever, replied, "Brother Yi, how are you? Haha, Manager Qian is here today to compose poems, exchange verses, and solve riddles with you all. Why don't you put aside your loan business for a moment and join us?"

Yi Ranxiao raised an eyebrow. It seemed the other party wanted to embarrass him in public through cultural means. But since the other party had made the request, how could he refuse? So he said, "Alright, when in Rome, do as the host says. I, Yi Ranxiao, will respectfully comply. However, composing poems is really a bit too far-fetched for rough men like Brother Xiang and me who are good at wielding swords and spears. How about we guess some riddles together?"

In his previous life, he immersed himself in traditional Chinese studies for many years, and he was quite good at composing poems. However, his greatest skill was solving riddles! Heh heh, you bunch of rabble think you can stump me?

dream!

Xiang Wuji and Manager Qian didn't think so. They were well-prepared and confident that they could embarrass Yi Ranxiao in public! Even if it was just guessing riddles!

Shopkeeper Qian laughed heartily and said, "Alright, we'll do as Brother Yi says and just guess the riddles. Hmm, but everyone here is cultured, except for Brother Xiang and Brother Yi, who are martial artists. If we all guess together, it will be unfair. Hmm, how about this, the two of you have a duel. Brother Xiang has prepared five riddles. If Brother Yi can answer three of Brother Xiang's five riddles, then you win. If you can't answer them, then you lose."

In this way, the initiative in this competition is completely in Xiang Wuji's hands! This shopkeeper Qian really did collude with Xiang Wuji, but Yiran Xiaozhen is not afraid of them at all! With his skills from his previous life, even the most difficult riddles are probably no challenge for him.

"Okay!" Yi Ranxiao readily agreed. Huangfu Cheng reminded him from behind, "Senior Brother, this is too unfair!" Yi Ranxiao waved his hand and gave him a confident smile: "Trust your Senior Brother."

But Manager Qian feigned concern, saying, "Brother Yi, I haven't finished yet. Don't worry, I'll make sure the competition is fair and just, and you won't suffer any losses. Hmm—since it's a competition, there has to be a prize, that's what makes it fun. If you win, I can lend you the money directly without a guarantor. If you lose, in Jianling City, whenever you see Brother Xiang, just call him 'Big Brother.' Brother Xiang is older than you, so calling him 'Big Brother' won't hurt you. All things considered, this competition will be fair, and you won't suffer any losses! If you win, you'll gain something; if you lose, you won't lose anything."

Yi Ranxiao sneered inwardly. Call Xiang Wuji "Big Brother"? Did he even deserve it?! However, he wouldn't lose the competition, so there was no need to worry about calling him "Big Brother," but—

"Manager Qian, but this competition is ultimately a duel between me and Brother Xiang. If he loses, he should naturally offer something as a token of appreciation, right?"

Xiang Wuju spoke up: "Alright, if I lose, I'll pay you 100,000 gold coins!" He thought he was sure to win, so he offered a huge sum of money.

Upon hearing this, Yi Ranxiao smiled slightly and clapped his hands, saying, "Alright, it's settled then!" Xiang Wuju smiled smugly, thinking, "You little brat, you think you can beat me? You're kidding! From now on, you'd better call me 'Big Brother' obediently!"

"Then, you two, let's begin," Manager Qian said impatiently. The group of intellectuals behind him were also waiting to watch the show. It was usually the intellectuals who competed and the martial artists who competed in martial arts, but today it was the martial artists competing in their intellect. How interesting!

Xiang Wuju clapped his hands, and his men brought over a string of colorful lanterns. Xiang Wuju, this rough man, snatched it away and read, "The first one, one character with three mouths, guess a character."

Yi Ranxiao thought for a while. At first glance, it really sounded difficult, but after thinking about it carefully, the answer came to her. Yi Ranxiao calmly replied, "Eye."

Xiang Wuju was taken aback. This kid was pretty good. It seemed he would have to increase the difficulty: "The second one is, 'There are plenty of fish in the sea.' What is the idiom?"

This time, Yi Ranxiao fell into deep thought. Seeing that he couldn't answer immediately, Xiang Wuju and Manager Qian exchanged a smug smile. "Can't guess it, can you? Haha! Just wait to admit defeat!"

Ke Yiran suddenly raised her head and replied with a smile, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, so naturally it would be a 'barren land'!" Xiang Wuji and Manager Qian's expressions suddenly froze. They guessed that too? Damn, you're not stupid!

Shopkeeper Qian quickly winked at Xiang Wuji, signaling him to use the most difficult riddle from the prepared set. Xiang Wuji understood, flipped through the riddles for a while, and read: "Two dogs are racing. The yellow dog runs fast, and the black dog runs slow. When they reach the finish line, which dog sweats more?"

(Three chapters available for your support)