The walk back to his hut was the most peaceful Lin Xiao had experienced since his transmigration. The usual whispers and sneers were absent, replaced by wide-eyed stares and averted gazes. The news of Lin Gang's humiliating defeat—courtesy of a single, precise strike from the clan cripple—was already spreading like wildfire.
He closed the rickety door of his room, the silence broken only by the faint, happy glow of the System screen.
[Current Karma Points: 90]
It wasn't much, but it was a start. It was potential. It was ammunition.
[New Mandatory Quest: 'A Guild's Last Breath']
[Objective: Investigate the Lin Merchant Guild's financial records and identify the root cause of its impending bankruptcy.]
[Reward: 100 KP. Failure: Death by debtor's prison/enslavement.]
"Always with the cheerful consequences," Xiao muttered, but a grim smile touched his lips. Finance. Economics. This was his native language, far more than any cultivation technique could ever be.
He found his father, Lin Zhan, in the main study. The man looked like he had aged a decade in a day. He sat amidst a sea of scrolls and ledgers, his head in his hands, shoulders slumped in defeat. The aura of a Qi Refining expert around him felt dim, suppressed by the weight of worldly failure.
"Father," Xiao said, his voice softer than he intended.
Lin Zhan looked up, his eyes red-rimmed and weary. "Xiao? What is it? This is not a good time. The creditors… the Wang Cartel…" He trailed off, gesturing helplessly at the chaotic piles of paper.
"I know," Xiao replied. "Let me help."
A flicker of pain crossed Lin Zhan's face. "Son, your concern is noted, but this is beyond…" He stopped, clearly not wanting to say 'beyond a cripple.'
"Please," Xiao insisted, his gaze steady and unnervingly confident. "Indulge me. What is our single largest recent loss?"
Sighing in defeat, Lin Zhan gestured to a specific ledger. "The 'Starlight Blossom' shipment. I invested nearly half our remaining capital. It was a sure thing! A rare ingredient for the Moon Gaze Palace. But the shipment was a fake. 'Fading Star' herb. Worthless. The Wangs swindled us."
Xiao's mind, sharpened by his past life and the System's presence, began to race. "System, analyze the entries for the 'Starlight Blossom' and 'Fading Star' herb. Cross-reference with market prices and known properties."
[Processing...]
[Analysis Complete. 'Starlight Blossom' is a Tier 2 spiritual herb. 'Fading Star' is a Tier 0 inert plant. Visual and spiritual scent similarity: 94.7%.]
[Conclusion: Intentional fraud by the Wang Cartel is statistically probable (98.3%).]
"Show me the contract," Xiao said, his voice now all business.
Lin Zhan, too exhausted to argue, handed him a scroll. Xiao's eyes scanned the dense legalistic script. It was full of loopholes and clever phrasing designed to protect the seller.
"System, 'Photographic Memory.' Now."
[Purchasing 'Photographic Memory' (Tier 1). Cost: 100 KP.]
A wave of icy clarity washed over him. The complex text, the columns of numbers in the ledgers—they all imprinted themselves into his mind with perfect, indelible detail. He could recall every comma, every smudge of ink.
He closed his eyes, the data swirling in his mind like a constellation. The Wang Cartel's pattern emerged—not just this one swindle, but a series of smaller, systematic thefts, inflated prices, and "bandit" attacks on Lin caravans that always coincided with Wang business expansions.
"They're not just outcompeting us, Father," Xiao said, opening his eyes. "They're conducting a targeted, hostile takeover. They're bleeding us dry, siphon by siphon."
Lin Zhan stared, a dawning horror in his eyes. "How… how do you know all this?"
"I have my ways," Xiao said evasively. "The question is, how do we turn their greed against them?"
He focused on the "Fading Star" herb. Worthless. But what if it wasn't?
"System. Is there a way to make the Fading Star herb appear as something else? Something rarer?"
[Affirmative. 'Herb Transmutation Aura' (Single Use). Creates a temporary spiritual resonance, causing the target herb to mimic the aura of a specified, rarer species. Duration: 5 minutes. Cost: 50 KP.]
A plan, beautiful and vicious, snapped into place in his mind. It was a classic bait-and-switch, a con as old as time, but dressed in the spiritual robes of this new world.
"Father," Xiao announced, his tone leaving no room for argument. "We are going to get our money back. Every last spirit stone. But you must do exactly as I say."
An hour later, Lin Zhan, holding a simple jade box containing a single, worthless Fading Star herb, was walking through the bustling central market, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs. Following Xiao's precise instructions, he "accidentally" bumped into a lavishly dressed young man surrounded by guards—Wang Jian, the arrogant son of the Wang Cartel's patriarch.
The jade box tumbled from Lin Zhan's hands and sprung open.
"You bankrupt old fool!" Wang Jian sneered, brushing imaginary dust from his silk robes. "Watch where you're going!"
But his sneer faltered as his bodyguard, a grizzled elder at the Foundation Establishment realm, gasped. "Young Master! Wait! That aura…"
The elder's eyes were wide, fixed on the herb. "By the heavens… that's not a common Fading Star! Look at the subtle silver shimmer at its core! That's a Phantom Starlight Blossom! A mutated variant! It's invaluable for breaking through to the Golden Core realm! I've only read about them in ancient texts!"
Wang Jian's avarice instantly overpowered his contempt. The Lin family was finished. They were desperate. They wouldn't know the true value of what they had. He could swindle them again and obtain a legendary treasure for a pittance.
The script unfolded with perfect precision. Lin Zhan, feigning panic, clutched the box to his chest. Wang Jian, playing the magnanimous predator, offered a lowball price. Lin Zhan, acting cornered and desperate, finally "reluctantly" agreed to sell for the exact amount of the original swindle—one thousand spirit stones—on the condition of immediate, silent payment.
Back in the Lin estate, Lin Zhan stared at the pile of glowing, pulsating spirit stones on his desk, his hands trembling not with joy, but with shock.
"Xiao… the herb… it was worthless."
"The herb is worthless, Father," Xiao said calmly, a faint smile on his face as the System screen glowed in his vision. "I merely made them see what their own greed desired to see. The most powerful illusions are the ones we cast on ourselves."
[Karmic Event Resolved: 'The Great Herb Swindle']
[Karma awarded for: Exploiting the greed of the Wang Cartel (200 KP). Saving the Lin Merchant Guild from immediate collapse (150 KP). Humiliating a rival without violence (100 KP). Total Award: 450 KP.]
[Current KP: 440. Significant growth detected. Host is advised to invest in long-term stability.]
Lin Zhan looked at his son, truly looked at him. The sickly pallor was gone, replaced by a sharp, calculating intensity. The frail body held a posture of unshakable confidence.
"Who are you?" Lin Zhan whispered, the question laden with awe and fear.
Lin Xiao met his father's gaze, the reflection of the spirit stones gleaming in his eyes.
"I am the one who will weave fate itself into a net to catch our enemies," he said softly. "And that was merely the first thread. Wang Jian will be furious when he discovers the truth. His rage will be our next opportunity."
He turned and walked away, leaving his father amidst the newfound wealth, more confused and terrified than he had been in poverty.
The game was indeed afoot. And Lin Xiao was just getting started.