There was an old expression that said "A single coin can make things difficult for a hero". Wang Lu laughed at himself, because currently, as a self-proclaimed professional adventurer, this expression literally applied to himself: A single copper coin had made things difficult for him.
The reason why he took the coin back was mostly because of intuition. However, Wang Lu did not regret his action in the slightest because he felt that he had made the right decision.
What was the actual value of the Lady Boss's coin? Wang Lu was not clear about this either, but its value shouldn't just be limited to the Peach Blossom Village... right? Truthfully, before the black shadow had mentioned the copper coin, Wang Lu had treated the coin from the Lady Boss as a normal coin. But when he was about to give the coin as a tuition fee, the black shadow's action aroused his vigilance.
In the game... no, in most of the adventures, there was this kind of setup. Items that were acquired in the beginning of the adventure, if the player could keep them to the later stages, could often display a miraculously unimaginable feat. It seemed that this copper coin was such an item. If he hastily used it in the middle of this adventure, at the end of this, he might "beat his chest and stomp his feet" in regret.
The more he thought about it, the more Wang Lu felt that his intuition was right. But the next problem was that he still needed the money from the mountain to pay for the tuition fees. Where could he find such a thing?
Of course, there was a simple answer: he just needed to look for the Village Head and directly ask him. After all, his favorability from the Village Head had been maxed out, so it shouldn't be too hard to ask him for one.
"Money?"
When the Village Head heard Wang Lu's request, his brows deeply wrinkled.
"It would be easy if you wanted anything else, but this money thing... I've never seen it before. This village uses bartering as an exchange system. We've never used the equivalent of what you just said."
Wang Lu clicked his tongue, thinking, "Sure enough, you really are unreliable."
It seemed that he would have to rely on himself.
"Village Head, it doesn't matter if you don't have this money thing. Since this is the case, we can just invent it."
"Huh?!" The Village Head could not make heads or tails of what Wang Lu had just said.
Wang Lu explained, "Although there are not many people in the Peach Blossom Village, but there are many goods, and the transactions are frequent. However, the barter method is very inefficient. As the Village head, how about you use your reputation as the guarantee and start issuing out coins for everyone to use."
The Village Head was surprised. "Issuing... coins?"
"Correct. You can use shells, precious metals or something like that. If you don't want the trouble to find those things, you can even use printed paper. In any case, you can guarantee its value. And once you have the monetary system in place, the villagers can efficiently trade their goods, and this, in turn, will increase productivity, which would greatly improve the people's quality of life to a whole new level! In return for facilitating this economic miracle, all you have to do is give me a single coin!"
Wang Lu became more and more excited as he spoke, thinking that this stupid task really needed this stupid solution. Who knew where he could find a coin on this mountain? He was too lazy to guess, and he didn't feel the need to look for it. Therefore, it would be much easier for him to do it this way!
Unexpectedly, although Wang Lu had explained to him for quite a while, after a long silence, the Village Head shook his head.
"No."
Wang Lu nearly jumped up. "No? Do you understand what you just said?"
The Village Head continued to shake his head. "This matter of issuing currency is not feasible."
"Damn it! How could it not be feasible? Did nothing I just said make sense? Never mind, let's start again..." Wang Lu showed incredible patience.
"Wang lad, I understood everything you said." The Village Head sighed. "But it's not going to work."
"Tell me why?"
"...." This question seemed hard for the Village Head to answer, and only after a long while did he hesitatingly reply, "We can't go against the ancestor's rules."
"Why can't you change the rules set out by your ancestors? Are you all constipated [1] or something!?" At this point, Wang Lu was really furious. "You actually have the nerve to say such an idiotic excuse? Has my maxed out favorability caused overflow error [2] in your brain?"
The Village Head said, "I know it's very good, but I don't like it."
"Damn it! Why are you still playing hard to get at such a mature age? Aren't you worried that your life will be shortened with a heart attack?"
No one knew if the Village Head would get a heart attack, but Wang Lu might have one at any moment.
As an adventurer who seemed to have a connection with the designer of the trials, Wang Lu had an overwhelming advantage in the Immortal Path. However, in this case, it seemed that he suddenly lost his connection with the designer, which was very painful for him.
Even more painful was that the designer of this trial seemed to behave like a hoodlum. Usually, the Village Head had a very normal intelligence, but at this time, he couldn't even come up with a proper excuse; it was like he was poisoned by Auntie Liu and Madame He into an idiot. There was something wrong going on here...
"Alright, let's not beat around the bush here. Just draw the line whatever you want."
The Village Chief looked bewildered. "What line?"
"..." Wang Lu frowned and stayed silent for a long time. His eyes swept the Village Head's body from head to toe several times, making the old man feel very awkward.
"Never mind, just forget that I came here today."
Meanwhile, on the clouds above them.
"... I feel that we shouldn't be doing things like this, right?"
A black shadow was observing the animated cloud depicting Wang Lu talking to the Village Head with an uncertain look.
Standing next to the black shadow, a certain woman in white clothes sneered, "For children who like to cheat, not banning them from this Immortal Gathering is already quite lenient."
The black shadow couldn't tolerate it anymore. "You have the nerve to say he's cheating? He had obviously seen through the flaws in your design, but you just can't accept it."
The woman in white clothes was somewhat embarrassed. "What flaws? Little Ling'er, you don't understand this, so don't spout nonsense... Can Elder's flaws really be called flaws?"
The black shadow just sneered, "Making unauthorized change to the Immortal Path, smugly telling the rest of the Elders that this trial is not inferior to the Cloud Wave Map, Netherworld Path, and the likes, but now that there is a problem, you secretly came here to forcefully interfere with the process, trying to cover your ass..."
"Hey, hey, hey little Ling'er, why are you taking his side? Our sisterhood goes a long way, have you forgotten all about it?"
"Hmph, he helped me win that bet, so of course I'll take his side. Moreover, if you don't want someone to blame you for this, then don't do it. As the illustrious Elder of the Heavenly Sword Hall, you can't even take responsibility for your action."
The woman in white clothes immediately became angry out of shame. "Heavenly Sword Hall? Ha! To date, that retard Sect Leader still hasn't given my benefit for being an Elder of the Heavenly Sword Hall, so why should I act like an Elder of the Heavenly Sword Hall? I'm not going to take responsibility for this! When they give me the benefit plus the bonus that I deserve for painstakingly creating this Peach Blossom Village, only then will I change into a dignified and righteous Elder of the Heavenly Sword Hall!"
"... Although the Spirit Sword Sect is quite large, I'm certain that you're the only one who could say these words." This was the only reply that the black shadow could give in the face of such shamelessness from the woman in white clothes.
While they were talking, the woman in white clothes had already directed the Village Head to kick Wang Lu out. She clapped her hands and laughed. "I'd like to see what kind of tricks you'll use this time."
Then, an old man's voice coldly rang out from behind them. "I'd like to see what kind of explanation you give to the Disciplinary Elder this time."
The smile of the woman in white clothes instantly froze, and she slowly turned around while trembling. Her smile became extremely forced. "Hey, it's Sect Leader Senior Martial Brother! You honor me with your presence, honored guest. Please excuse me for not greeting you earlier..."
"Honored guest my ass! This is my home!"
"Really? I always thought that this was my home. My terrible sense of direction has been getting more and more serious, would Senior Martial Brother give me several ten thousand spirit stones to cure it..."
"Before curing your terrible sense of direction, I want to first cure your bold and reckless behavior! Previously, I overlooked your actions in haphazardly modifying the Immortal Path, but this time, you took advantage of my absence to mess with the Immortal Map. Humph, you can forget about your salary this year."
"Holy crap, are you serious!?"
"Furthermore, you said that I don't give you the benefit as an Elder of the Heavenly Sword Hall; this is indeed not good."
The hopes of the woman in white clothes were rekindled. "So...?"
"So you don't have to worry about being an elder anymore, just focus on cultivating at your Non-Phase Peak. When you reach the Yuanying Stage, I will reinstate you as the Elder of the Heavenly Sword Hall again, and I'll even give you your full benefit!"
"Crap! Senior Martial Brother, not only did I wholeheartedly did this for the good of this Sect, but also for your sake!"
"And if you keep talking, I am going to deduct your basic living expenses!"
"Senior Martial Brother, you can't distinguish right and wrong; you'll definitely regret conniving that boy to cheat!"
---
After getting rid of that troublesome woman in white clothes, the Sect Leader of the Spirit Sword Sect turned his head, but found that the black shadow had disappeared.
Knowing that he shouldn't think about it, the Sect Leader sighed and focused his attention to the Immortal Map. The Immortal Magic Device that controlled the entire Immortal Path had been thrown into a total mess by that woman in white clothes. However, The Sect Leader had merely stretched out his hand and stroked it, and the results of the woman in white's meddling practically disappeared.
The Sect Leader then pondered for a moment, then he added some things onto the Immortal Map.
"Although Junior Martial Sister likes to make mischief, given that there are loopholes, it would be best to seal them. But... that copper coin seems so familiar, I wonder where I have seen it before? Forget it, I'm not wearing my glasses, so maybe I am wrong."
---
On the other side, Wang Lu realized that his sure way to win had reached a dead end.
Although he very much despised this shameless practice of the Spirit Sword Sect, but since the easy road was impassable, Wang Lu would think of another solution; he would not give up that easily.
"In that case, let's think about another method... Is there any other way to find money on this mountain? In order to get the money, it must first exist. Did I miss some clues in this village... Fxck it! That's clearly impossible, right!? I'm a professional!"
Wang Lu angrily punched the table, showing his absolute confidence in his professional ability.
He had prepared everything for a whole month, and although he had never left his room during that time, he had grasped every single detail about the village. There definitely couldn't be anything that he had overlooked. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been impossible for him to create the perfect chain of quests completion strategy. However, as of this moment, he was clearly at the dead end. If he couldn't find another way out of this, his Immortal Path would end here.
"Shxt. Money in the mountain, money on the mountain... Exactly where will there be a money on the mountain? I've searched all the nooks and crannies in the village, could it be..."
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Wang Lu's mind.
"Tsk, I actually forgot about that person. My professional spirit is weeping."
After that, Wang Lu walked out of the village clinic with a self-deprecating smile. At the same time, he happened to see two failed participants walking by.
"What a coincidence. Hey, your two relatives..."
Before he could even finish his words, a black shadow descended from the sky and grabbed Wang Lu into a room.
"Enough... Don't provoke other people by insulting them with obscenities every time you want to meet me."
Wang Lu said, "Who let the designer of this Peach Blossom Village trial let such a flaw to exist? I don't want to do it this way either."
The black shadow nodded in agreement. "Then, why did you look for me this time? Could it be that you have thought it through?"
Wang Lu laughed. "I guess you could say I have thought it through. I've found it."
"Oh, really?"
"Ahem, at the beginning, I did make a mistake by thinking that the only money on this mountain was in the Peach Blossom Village. Only later did I realize that I was stupid; the key to the secret quest was you, the only non-resident of the village. The answer to the money problem is actually very simple. Even if the villagers in the Peach Blossom Village have no money, I'm sure that you, who asks for a tuition fee from me, do."
The black shadow laughed. "That is reasonable."
"So my task is to get that single coin from you."
"Uh huh, you're right. However, it's not going to be easy for you to get that coin from me. Even if you can come up with ten thousand liang of silver, I wouldn't trade with you."
"Don't worry, even if I sold my kidneys, I wouldn't be able to get that ten thousand liang of silver, but..."
As Wang Lu spoke with a smile, he pulled out something from underneath the bed.
It was a fine mahogany food box.
Seeing the food box, the black shadow seemed very surprised; it just stood there motionless. Seeing its reaction, Wang Lu's confidence went from 80% to 100%.
"This trial is finally over."
The food box was obviously not an ordinary food box. Despite its excellent craftsmanship and exquisite material, if it was just a simple food box, it still wouldn't be worth ten thousand liang of silver, much less be worth a single coin from Spirit Sword Mountain.
In fact, a single coin from the Spirit Sword Mountain was priceless. Not to mention the gold or silver from the mortal world... even if Xie Qianlong offered to trade that single coin with his family's Magical Treasures, would the black shadow agree?
Obviously not.
Thinking of this, Wang Lu quickly realized that, perhaps, only things from the mountain could be traded with money from the mountain. Moreover, it couldn't be ordinary things either, because ordinary things here were worthless.
The food box, of course, was not an ordinary item. Its effect was extraordinary. After the food was put inside, no matter how long it was, the appearance, smell and taste of the food would almost never change at all. In other words, this was a "super keeping fresh box". It couldn't be compared to the "violent wind and rainstorm" talismans of those trio of failed young masters, nor it was worth ten thousand liang of silver. After Wang Lu ate all the food inside it, it has no practical value whatsoever anymore. However, it was actually the key to passing the trial here in the Peach Blossom Village.
At first, when the Lady Boss had given him the food box, he had not realized its hidden feat. But then afterward, he became aware of how obvious it had been when he thought about the words of the Lady Boss at the time who said that the food inside was meant to last for one week... If the food box did not have any super keeping fresh feat, wouldn't they have to eat stale food?
Not to mention that since he had completed that chain of tasks, he had also helped the Lady Boss win her bet. None of the things the Lady Boss had given him were ordinary items. If that copper coin seemed to be involved with the last part of the Immortal Path, then how could the food box be just an ordinary food box?
Patting the extraordinary food box, Wang Lu said with a smile, "I'll sell this thing to you for just one coin. You won't reject this considerate offer, right?"
The black shadow stayed silent for a time. Because its face was covered with dark fog, Wang Lu couldn't see its expression.
After a while, the black shadow said, "I never thought you'd actually figure this out... I'll accept it."
Since the black shadow had accepted it, this meant that Wang Lu could be considered to have passed this trial. Hence, this self-proclaimed professional adventurer couldn't help but start laughing.
The black shadow also laughed. "I am curious, did you know this was going to happen from the beginning?"
"Of course not, I'm just a professional adventurer, not a beater [3]. Prior to this, I didn't look at any strategy guides; who would have thought that this food box hid this kind of secret. In the first two or three days, I already finished all the food inside, and then the last few days, I was just lying in bed starving."
The black shadow asked, "Oh, really? Since you didn't discover the secret of this food box before, why did you take it so far with you?"
"Because every decent professional adventurer is a hoarder."
...
[1] In Chinese, "can't change the rules" sounds similar to "can't take a dump".
[2] An error that occurs when the computer attempts to handle a number that is too large for it.
[3] Acronym of "Beta-tester" and "Cheater."