Chapter 72 Money’s Always Short When Needed

Chapter 72: You Never Know How Poor You Are Until You Need Money

It was probably Meng Shu's attitude that ticked Ling Qingjue off, because after the affinity reached forty, he never revealed any hint of his affinity gift again.

Meng Shu spent two months grinding levels in the Magic Forest, reaching level eight in his class.

Every day, he cooked all sorts of fancy meals for Ling Qingjue and gifted him pretty gems, but Ling Qingjue didn't soften, still acting cold and distant.

If he didn't know what the affinity gift was, he couldn't raise the affinity.

Meng Shu dropped hints several times, but Ling Qingjue's mouth was glued shut, refusing to utter a single word.

His resistance was too obvious. Meng Shu wasn't one to push it, so he stopped after a few tries.

Since the guy didn't want to be won over, he might as well just stick to being a cook.

Once Meng Shu actually stopped asking, Ling Qingjue got annoyed and threw fits at home every day, lashing out at anyone who showed up.

The more he threw fits, the more Meng Shu avoided asking, and eventually he even tried to stay out of his way.

Ling Qingjue kicked up a fuss for a while, but with no one paying attention, he eventually quit.

He secretly watched Meng Shu for a while, trying to patch things up, but he was too awkward and couldn't figure out a good way no matter how long he thought.

It wasn't until Meng Shu hit level nine in his class and obtained certification as a 6th-tier Adventurer.

In his eyes, the monsters in the Magic Forest were basically no better than slimes, barely helping him get any stronger.

While chatting with Jia Zhao, he casually let slip, "If I had some better gear, I could go grind in the Beast Forest."

"The Beast Forest is way too dangerous," Jia Zhao said. "Just stick to the Magic Forest for leveling."

Meng Shu shook his head: "The monsters in the Magic Forest are too weak; leveling up is too slow. Lately, I've made Ling Qingjue unhappy, and he's ignoring me. I want to quickly reach level ten, then hunt the Deep Sea Dragon as an apology."

"The Deep Sea Dragon? That thing is not easy to kill."

"All I know is he likes it. Even if it's tough, I've gotta do it."

Meng Shu smiled bitterly. "He's been throwing a huge fit, practically lifting the roof."

Ling Qingjue got annoyed again—when was he ever that dramatic?

He was just expressing his displeasure appropriately.

Jia Zhao thought for a long moment and generously said, "I'll lend you ten bucks. Go buy some equipment."

"..." Meng Shu couldn't even crack a smile.

Even adding five zeros wouldn't be enough for a single set.

The two broke guys discussed how to get decent gear, and their conclusion was that they'd only get it in their dreams.

Broke Meng Shu trudged home, made dinner, and was about to coax the cat down to eat, only to find Ling Maomao already sitting at the table.

He still had a sour look, like the whole world owed him five million bucks.

Seeing that Ling Qingjue was actually coming to eat, Meng Shu felt a little thrill inside. He quickly served the food and said in a placating tone, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Hungry?"

Ling Qingjue was about to put on a sour face, but then he remembered that Meng Shu had been bitching about him being dramatic. He wanted to prove he wasn't an unreasonable cat, so he forced himself to soften his expression and said, "It's fine."

Meng Shu was stunned—the almighty cat was finally talking to him! Party time! Everyone rejoice! Roll out the red carpet!

They ate a few bites in silence, then Ling Qingjue set down his chopsticks and looked up, "Can you give me some money?"

Meng Shu thought he misheard, his eyes bugging out: "What?"

Ling Qingjue was asking him, a broke guy, for money? Was he crazy?

Ling Qingjue's Adam's apple bobbed—he was clearly even more embarrassed, "Not much."

He had wanted to forge a set of gear for Meng Shu, but he was short on materials.

As a self-sufficient cat, Ling Qingjue had never had any concept of money. His card had his salary deposited, and he never kept track, as long as he had enough for groceries.

Those materials were too rare; even for someone as powerful as Ling Qingjue, it would take a long time to collect them all.

Luckily, they were available on the market, but the prices were sky-high, and Ling Qingjue couldn't scrape together that much money at once.

He checked his bank balance and realized he couldn't even afford one piece of that material.

That's when he truly understood the saying, "A penny can foil a hero."

Meng Shu was speechless, caught between laughing and crying, but he didn't pry, "Sure, how much do you need?"

Ling Qingjue tilted his chin up and said softly, "Not much—I did the math. Just one billion."

"..."

Meng Shu dropped his head.

Ten seconds later, he looked up in utter disbelief, "How much?! How much?!"

Ling Qingjue had zero sense of money. He tilted his head. "One billion—is that a lot?"

"You... even if you sold me as a pork chop, you wouldn't get that much!" Meng Shu choked, more willing to believe his ears were broken than to accept that number.

Ever since entering human society, Ling Qingjue had always gotten whatever he wanted. If he needed materials, he just went and got them himself—he never had to buy anything.

When he brewed a potion, he'd sell it for a hundred bucks if he was in a good mood, or tens of millions if he wasn't.

Later, he got lazier and couldn't even be bothered to sell his potions—he just had nowhere to spend money.

Now that he actually needed money, Ling Qingjue realized how ridiculously broke he was—truly, "you never know how poor you are until you need cash."

Ling Qingjue asked in all seriousness, "A billion is that much? You can't manage it?"

His words sounded like a provocation.

Meng Shu was so stunned his eyes rolled back and he nearly passed out, "Are you joking with me?"

Ling Qingjue said seriously, "No."

"What are you going to do with so much money?"

To make you equipment. Ling Qingjue pondered for a moment, deciding to keep this surprise until the end, and acted indifferent, "I'm not telling you."

However, this surprise was a shock to Meng Shu. He put down his chopsticks in despair and covered his face with both hands, "One billion... one billion... where am I going to get that much money..."

Ling Qingjue was a bit disappointed, "Can't you do it either?"

He hung his head and muttered to himself, "Then I'll go rob the town mayor."

"Are you sure he has a billion?"

Ling Qingjue said calmly, "I'll beat him until he admits he has a billion. Oh, it seems that Xu Linzhou has a billion — shall I go rob him?"

"Enough!" Meng Shu slammed the table and stood up, his expression practically twisted, each word forced out through gritted teeth. "A billion, is it? Fine, I'll figure something out. Just don't go causing trouble."

He raised this cat himself—he has to spoil it, even on his knees.

Ling Qingjue narrowed his eyes and said with a wild boast, "Then get it for me within three days!"

He was in a hurry to forge equipment for Meng Shu, and then Meng Shu could go fight the Deep Sea Dragon.

"..."

Meng Shu stood up, with an eerily gentle demeanor. "I'm going to the balcony to get some air."

Definitely not because he wants to jump off the building.