Chapter 55: Meeting the Trio of Bullies

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Meeting the Trio of Bullies

Three familiar panels appeared before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[Name: Wang Hun, Sixth Stage of Qi Refinement]

[Favor Debt: 1320]

[Name: Zhang Zhao, Fifth Stage of Qi Refinement]

[Favor Debt: 1580]

[Name: Chen Lei, Fifth Stage of Qi Refinement]

[Favor Debt: 1850]

Seeing this, Li Jian’s eyebrows rose slightly.

Wang Hun was a cheerful man who called him out.

He was a tall, broad-shouldered fellow with thick eyebrows and a square face.

His sturdy build and confident posture gave him the air of someone who was accustomed to throwing his weight around.

Beside him stood Zhang Zhao, a slender young man with narrow eyes and a slightly hooked nose.

He wore a faint smirk, his gaze wandering about as if he were always looking for something to criticize.

The last of the three, Chen Lei, was shorter and stockier, with a round face and a pair of small, shrewd eyes.

Unlike Wang Hun’s imposing presence or Zhang Zhao’s smug expression, he looked rather unremarkable at first glance.

’Oh? I didn’t expect to run into three walking treasure chests so soon.’

He had originally thought that after dealing with Han Jin and Su Qin, he would need to spend some time searching for other people who owed him Favor Debt.

Yet here they were, appearing right in front of him without any effort on his part.

’What a pleasant surprise.’

Of course, he didn’t let any of these thoughts show on his face.

Instead, he looked at Wang Hun, who seemed to be the leader among the three, and gave him a casual nod.

"It’s been a while."

Wang Hun grinned when he saw Li Jian’s response, apparently taking his calm attitude as a sign that the other party was still the same old pushover.

"Indeed! It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? I heard you went on a mission recently. How did it go? Did you manage to get anything good?"

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the beast core and scales in Li Jian’s hand.

The other two disciples also looked over, their eyes lingering on the materials he had collected.

Although the horned lizard wasn’t particularly valuable, its core and intact scales could still be exchanged for some spirit stones or contribution points.

For outer disciples who were constantly struggling to gather resources, even a small amount of extra wealth was worth their attention.

Li Jian naturally noticed their gazes.

’Ah, there it is. That familiar look.’

He almost laughed.

The original owner had apparently spent so much time around these people that they had developed the habit of treating his belongings as their own.

Wang Hun stepped closer and casually draped an arm over Li Jian’s shoulder, behaving as though they were still close friends.

"By the way, we’re a little short on resources right now. Since we’ve run into each other, why don’t you help your brothers out a little?"

He pointed at the materials in Li Jian’s hand.

"That beast core and those scales won’t fetch much anyway. Why don’t you hand them over to us? We’ll remember this favor."

The moment those words left his mouth, the other two disciples nodded in agreement, apparently finding his suggestion perfectly reasonable.

Li Jian stared at them for a moment.

Then he smiled.

’Interesting. I’ve barely said a word, and they’re already trying to take my things.’

He could almost admire their confidence.

The original owner might have tolerated this sort of treatment, but unfortunately for them, the person standing before them now was someone else entirely.

Still, Li Jian wasn’t in a hurry to refuse.

After all, the system had already revealed something far more interesting than a few beast materials.

Three people... Three Favor Debt balances.

And judging by their behavior, it seemed they hadn’t changed since the original Li Jian’s death.

’Well then... let’s see just how much these old acquaintances are worth.’

Li Jian glanced at Wang Hun’s arm resting on his shoulder before slowly lifting his eyes to meet the other man’s gaze.

"Help you out?" he repeated with a faint smile. "Sure. But before that, shouldn’t we settle some old accounts first?"

Hearing that, Wang Hun blinked.

"Settle some old accounts?"

He exchanged a glance with Zhang Zhao and Chen Lei before turning back to Li Jian with a puzzled expression.

"What accounts? What are you talking about?"

Li Jian tilted his head slightly, as though he were genuinely surprised by the question.

"Oh? Have you already forgotten?"

He gently shrugged off Wang Hun’s arm and took a step back, creating some distance between them.

"Let me think... There was the time you asked me to run errands for you for an entire week. Then there was the time you borrowed my spirit stones and never returned them. Oh, and how could I forget the mission where you three convinced me to take the blame for your mistake?"

As he recalled each incident, his smile remained perfectly calm.

"Now that I think about it, there were quite a few things."

Wang Hun’s expression stiffened.

Zhang Zhao and Chen Lei also exchanged uncomfortable glances.

They hadn’t expected Li Jian to bring up those matters so openly.

In the past, whenever they took advantage of him, he would grumble a little but eventually do as they asked.

Even when they deliberately pushed their responsibilities onto him, he rarely dared to confront them.

To them, that had simply been the way things worked.

After all, Li Jian had always been weak, timid, and easy to manipulate.

Who would have thought that he would suddenly start keeping track of their past grievances?

Wang Hun quickly recovered and let out an awkward laugh.

"Come on, Li Jian. Those were all things between brothers. Why are you taking them so seriously?"

"Brothers?"

Li Jian repeated the word, raising an eyebrow.

"That’s right!" Wang Hun said, seizing the opportunity to put on a friendly smile. "We’ve known each other for so long. Surely you haven’t forgotten all the good times we shared just because of a few minor misunderstandings?"

He even patted Li Jian’s shoulder as though trying to reassure him.

Unfortunately, Li Jian simply looked at his hand.

Then Wang Hun withdrew it after a moment.

’What a shameless fellow.’

Li Jian couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

If these people had simply been ordinary acquaintances who occasionally asked him for help, he might not have bothered bringing up the past.

However, their behavior made it clear that they still regarded him as someone they could push around whenever it suited them.

If he allowed them to continue acting this way, they would probably take his entire wallet next and thank him for being such a good friend.

’No, that wouldn’t do.’

Since the system had already revealed their Favor Debt, he might as well take this opportunity to see what he could gain from them.

Li Jian folded his arms and looked at Wang Hun.

"Fine. Let’s say those were misunderstandings between brothers. Then you shouldn’t mind returning what you owe me, right?"

Wang Hun’s smile froze.

"...Returning what I owe you?"

"Of course." Li Jian nodded as though the answer were obvious. "You borrowed spirit stones from me, didn’t you? And there were the resources I spent helping you with your missions. I never asked you to repay me back then because I considered us friends."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"But since we’re brothers, surely you wouldn’t want to take advantage of me forever?"

Wang Hun’s expression grew increasingly ugly.

He had indeed borrowed spirit stones from the original Li Jian, but it had been such a long time ago that he had practically forgotten about them.

As for the other resources, he had never intended to repay those in the first place.

Now that Li Jian was bringing everything up, Wang Hun naturally wasn’t pleased.

"Li Jian, don’t push your luck."

Suddenly, his earlier friendly expression disappeared, replaced by a cold stare.

"We’re only asking for a few beast materials. They’re not worth much. Are you really going to make a fuss over something so trivial?"

At his true face, Li Jian almost laughed.

’There it is.’

When they wanted something from him, they were brothers.

When he wanted something back, he was making a fuss. What a convenient way of looking at things.

He shook his head and gave Wang Hun a look of genuine disappointment.

"Senior Brother Wang, I never realized you were such a forgetful person. You remember every little benefit you can get from me, but the moment I mention what you owe me, you suddenly act as though I’m being unreasonable."

He sighed.

"Perhaps I really was wrong about our friendship."

Wang Hun’s face darkened.

Zhang Zhao and Chen Lei were no longer smiling either.

They had come across Li Jian expecting to take advantage of him as usual, not to be lectured about their past behavior.

After all, they were the stronger ones here.

Wang Hun was at the Sixth Stage of Qi Refinement, while Li Jian had only recently reached the Fifth Stage.

Even if Li Jian had improved somewhat, he was still weaker than Wang Hun.

What reason did they have to tolerate his attitude?

Wang Hun took a step forward, releasing a faint pressure from his cultivation.

"Enough nonsense... Hand over those materials, and we’ll forget about this conversation."

His eyes narrowed.

"Or have you gotten so full of yourself that you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to?"