Chapter 25

"I don't understand. You knew the price when you ate it, didn't you?"

"What?"

"What are you talking about? If it was this expensive, we would never have eaten it."

"Lord Kwon is our regular."

That one sentence hit the nail on the head. It meant that Kwon Hyuk-gi and his party would have known the price of the natural food and eaten it, so if you have a problem, take it up with them.

Jeong Charyeon burst open the door. But that hateful Kwon Hyuk-gi had already disappeared somewhere. Jeong Charyeon finally spat out the curse she had been holding back.

"You crazy son of a bitch!"

Ordering so much while knowing the price was an intentional attempt to screw her father over.

Jeong I-chu looked at her with a surprised face, as if he had heard Jeong Charyeon's curse. Jeong Charyeon wasn't even aware that she had cursed. That's how flustered and excited she was. Even for the Sect Leader of the Righteous Sword Sect, 890 nyang was not a small amount of money.

"We absolutely can't pay!"

At Jeong Charyeon's words, the smile disappeared from Ihwa's face.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we can't pay."

As Jeong Charyeon answered clearly, Ihwa's eyes narrowed.

"Are you saying you're going to eat and run?"

"Because it's an unfair price."

Ihwa said with a sneer.

"If the Sect Leader of the Righteous Sword Sect and his daughter, known as the Unrivaled Beauty of the Murim, try to skip out on a mere liquor bill, what will the Martial Artists of Jianghu think?"

Even though they hadn't introduced themselves, Ihwa knew exactly who Jeong I-chu and Jeong Charyeon were.

Jeong Charyeon's face hardened coldly. She suspected that Kwon Hyuk-gi and this Spring Breeze were in cahoots.

"Are you threatening us now?"

"It's not a threat, it's a fact."

Jeong I-chu sighed and stepped forward.

"I understand. I'll come back and pay you later."

As Ihwa said, such rumors should never spread. Rumors in Jianghu were truly terrifying, capable of burying even a small to medium-sized Sect.

"Father!"

"Charyeon, let's just go."

"No! I can't let this happen."

"Haha, let's just go."

The moment Jeong I-chu turned to leave, Ihwa said.

"Where are you going now?"

Ihwa's tone was extremely cold.

"You have to pay before you leave. What if you just leave?"

"Didn't I say I'd bring it?"

"How can I believe that?"

This was too much. It was also the moment when it became clear that she was in cahoots with Kwon Hyuk-gi.

Unable to bear it, Jeong Charyeon shouted.

"Hey!"

Ihwa was experienced. She didn't get angry and calmly responded. She was truly a seasoned fox who had been through thick and thin.

"We have a policy of not accepting IOUs."

Jeong I-chu looked embarrassed.

"Then what do you want us to do when we don't have money right now?"

"There are two ways to handle this. First, you can write an IOU promising to pay the money immediately. The interest increases by 20% every ten days."

Jeong I-chu was dumbfounded. Even so, he was the leader of a Sect. The fact that she was acting like this even knowing that meant that this woman, Ihwa, was either not just a woman selling liquor, or that she had a great backer. He was caught, really caught.

"Are you telling me to take out a high-interest loan?"

Jeong Charyeon was so dumbfounded that she almost slapped Ihwa across the cheek.

In comparison, Jeong I-chu was calm.

"Then what's the second option?"

"It's simple. One of you stays until the other one brings the money."

In other words, one of them had to stay as a hostage.

Jeong I-chu's expression hardened. He was not one to get angry over trivial matters. But this time, he was really angry.

"Are you out of your mind?"

As Jeong I-chu exuded killing intent, Ihwa's eyes sharpened.

"You must think I'm easy to bully because I'm just selling liquor."

As if waiting for it, the back door opened and a Martial Artist walked out. His sharp eyes and light steps suggested that he was not an ordinary master of Martial arts.

Recognizing that the opponent's skills were no less than his own, Jeong I-chu stood in front of Jeong Charyeon.

That wasn't all Ihwa was relying on.

"If you knew who uses our establishment, you would never do this."

Ihwa looked down on Jeong I-chu.

Jeong I-chu felt drained. To defeat her, he would have to get covered in mud and roll around in the dirt with her. To clear up today's injustice, he would have to endure all kinds of gossip. People would only talk about the results. The problem was that he had been deceived by Kwon Hyuk-gi in the first place. Jeong I-chu was too kind-hearted to endure all of that.

"I understand. I'll write an IOU."

In the first place, leaving his daughter as collateral was out of the question.

"No, Father!"

Jeong Charyeon stamped her feet, not knowing what to do. Once he wrote an IOU, there would be no turning back. Moreover, if he couldn't get the money in time, he wouldn't be able to handle the enormous interest.

Ihwa smiled silently. Either way, today's events would be fatal to the Righteous Sword Sect, both in terms of money and reputation.

Just then, someone tapped Jeong Charyeon on the shoulder from behind.

"Do women come to places like this too?"

Surprised, she turned around and saw Jeok Leegeon standing there with a blank face.

"Ah! You? Why are you here?"

"If I knew you liked places like this, I would have come with you. Do men come out to serve here too? You have more unique tastes than I thought."