Volume 1, Chapter 50: Is Free Really That Important?

Feixian Island, outside the entrance of the Penglai Sea of Clouds Foundation.

A large crowd of gorgeously dressed figures, obviously wealthy and of noble status, were angrily blocking the entrance.

Many of them had visible injuries on their faces and bodies.

They were all patrons of the Penglai Sea of Clouds Foundation, or rather, benefactors whose names were prominently inscribed on the boundless merit board at the entrance.

They had thought that by donating so much money, the prestige of their respective families would be immensely elevated.

Never did they expect!

They had merely mentioned these matters intentionally or unintentionally in public occasions, such as at banquets hosted by certain immortals or grand assemblies jointly convened by several families.

Yet this sparked a massive uproar.

Many cultivators, upon hearing that they were associated with the Penglai Sea of Clouds Foundation, flew into a rage and attacked without the slightest mercy.

They truly beat them as if trying to kill them.

If one person couldn't beat them, they would team up for a group assault, chasing them across multiple islands.

Later, upon inquiring, they found out what the Penglai Sea of Clouds had done during the disaster relief operations.

It was simply beyond description by the phrase "wrath of heaven and indignation of men."

It was entirely the behavior of beasts!

Just listening to it made them boil with rage.

Let alone those cultivators in the disaster areas who had experienced it firsthand?

Thinking along these lines.

They suddenly felt that the beatings they received were not entirely without reason.

Yet the problem was that they had spent genuine gold and silver; regardless of their motives, they ultimately wanted to do a good deed.

The ones who didn't act like human beings were the Penglai Sea of Clouds Foundation!

Now that the problem had blown up, making all of them take the blame—how could this be tolerated?

Therefore.

They decided that no matter what, they must demand an explanation from the Penglai Sea of Clouds!

……

Bang!

Right at the forefront of this group was Young Master Shi.

He still carried injuries, looking quite miserable, but his resentment and anger were also the heaviest.

As Manager Zhong stepped out of the door.

He happened to see the other party stepping directly on the signboard of the Penglai Sea of Clouds Foundation!

His vision went dark for a moment.

"This... what are you all doing?"

"Doing your mother!"

Shi Yiming's eyes were bloodshot, pointing a finger at Manager Zhong while gritting his teeth, and said, "You dog of a Penglai Sea of Clouds, you've left me with no love left—"

Manager Zhong: "???"

Nearby, the rest of the patrons also began to denounce him one after another.

"Manager Zhong, shouldn't you give us an explanation for what happened in the Xingluo Archipelago!"

"We donated so much money, where on earth did you use it? How was it used? Why couldn't you even compare to the Langya Chamber of Commerce?"

"They gave away Yuxu Pills for free, boiled soup, and even provided massages... And look at you lot, using substandard pills for charity, selling Yuxu Pills at a markup of over a dozen times. You truly live up to being the three major chambers of commerce of the Northern Territory coming here to do business?"

"Donating money to you was supposed to be for doing good deeds and charity, it was out of trust for the reputation of your three major chambers of commerce! But now it seems we truly trusted the wrong people!"

"Not every chamber of commerce is the Langya Chamber of Commerce; unscrupulous merchants will always be unscrupulous merchants!"

"I don't care! I donated so much money, only to have a flawed artifact embryo directly smashed onto my head while walking down the street, nearly turning me into an idiot. Your foundation must bear primary responsibility for this incident!"

"Refund! You must refund the money!"

"That's right! Refund the money, or we'll smash your shop today!"

"..."

Seeing this.

Manager Zhong couldn't help but grow nervous.

Good grief.

Judging by the appearance of this group, they didn't seem to be bluffing; if they weren't given a satisfactory answer, they might really resort to violence.

Although...

Given the background and heritage behind Penglai Sea of Clouds, they were not afraid of the forces on this mere island at all.

However, after all, they were in business and valued harmony above all else. If a fight really broke out, from then on, their three major chambers of commerce would no longer be able to do any business in this archipelago.

They didn't care about the profits of a single Qingyun Archipelago.

But the impact of this matter was not small; it would definitely spread to other places. Surely they couldn't just abandon all those territories?

Thinking of this, Manager Zhong resolved to do something.

He stepped forward and took a deep breath.

"Everyone, calm down and listen to me!"

"Refunds..." Manager Zhong swept his gaze across the crowd. "Are impossible!"

The crowd: "..."

"To not keep anything from you all, we only just learned about this matter as well, and I am extremely furious, because this is entirely not my intention, let alone the intention of our three major chambers of commerce!

Our original intention was indeed, like the Langya Foundation, to provide disaster relief and save lives, and we even wanted to do better than them!

Unfortunately, our foundation was hastily assembled, and coupled with the sudden outbreak of disasters, the people under us varied in quality and harbored their own hidden agendas!

Especially the batch in the Xingluo Archipelago, they were all temporarily recruited personnel!

They have nothing to do with our foundation whatsoever!"

Manager Zhong said with a bitter expression.

Shi Yiming spat directly on his face: "My ass! You let untaught dogs out to roam, and you claim it's not your responsibility? Trying to brush it off with such an excuse, keep dreaming in your fucking spring and autumn!"

"..."

"Indeed! Don't even think about fooling us with this kind of excuse!"

"Do you take us for fools? The people I sent out have all inquired; the methods those people used to sell high-priced pills and the words they spoke were identical. It was clearly taught by someone, yet you still claim they were temporarily recruited?"

"Everyone, don't listen to this unscrupulous merchant! If he doesn't give us an explanation today, we'll smash his shop!"

"That's right! Smash the shop!"

"Smash the shop! Smash the shop!"

In an instant, public indignation surged.

All kinds of spiritual lights flickered between heaven and earth, rays of magical treasure radiance emerged, and hundreds of oppressive auras instantly locked onto the storefront of the Penglai Sea of Clouds Foundation.

Like an invisible storm, it was about to descend.

Manager Zhong showed an anxious expression on his face, raised his hands to press down, and said, "Everyone, I know you are all in a rush, but don't rush just yet! Hear me out..."

The crowd quieted down slightly.

Manager Zhong took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "If... if you smash the shop! You won't be allowed to hit me!"

The crowd: "..."

"Damn it! Beat him to death!"

"Fvck!"

"..."

……

Penglai Chamber of Commerce Headquarters.

The heads of the three major chambers of commerce gathered together, their expressions extremely ugly.

"In just three short days, over a hundred foundations we established across numerous islands have been smashed one after another. Do you have anything to say?" Tang Qian said with a gloomy face.

"More than that!"

Gou Anshi shook his head and said, "To my knowledge, there is one shop that was smashed, repaired, smashed again, repaired again, and ended up being smashed five times in a single day!"

Tang Qian: "..."

He couldn't help but curse a few times internally.

What is this trying to convey?

Are you trying to express how much hatred the foundations we established manage to attract?

Did you even need to say that?

Don't I know?

The female head of the Yungong Chamber of Commerce was named Xu Yanshuang. Her cultivation base was not low, her appearance showed no signs of aging, and she possessed a rather mature and charming demeanor.

Frowning, she looked at a pile of jade slips on the table recording bad news: "I just don't understand. It's also a foundation, and it's also a charity foundation, saving people just the same... Why is Langya so beloved by the people, while we are reviled by everyone?

Is it simply because theirs are free?

Fine, we did earn some money from them, but we also genuinely saved their lives! In the face of life, are those worldly possessions really that important?"