Chapter 22: with translation of chapter title

22 Regardless of betrothal gifts or dowry, in the future they will all be hers.

Lynx, resembling a big cat, with sharp claws and teeth, since ancient times, foxes have often been its prey.

This debt still needs to be traced back twenty years.

Nowadays, spiritual energy in the world is dwindling, nearing the declining age of the Dharma; the demon clan has already become on the brink of extinction, their lifespans also growing shorter, almost like humans, rarely able to exceed the century limit, and it is very difficult for them to reproduce offspring.

And Bai Yu is the finest cub of the last of the fox clan.

But his birth was quite perilous.

When Bai Yu's mother gave birth to him, it coincided with the migration of the lynx clan.

The two clans have always been sworn enemies, and a large portion of the fox clan's descendants have died in the lynx's jaws.

At that time, it so happened that Tushan Jiu's parents were out on an outing, and they happened to run into this battle.

It was no surprise that the Bai family could not withstand the lynx clan, a natural nemesis; they owed a blade to Tushan Jiu's parents, and only then did they escape this calamity and successfully give birth to Bai Yu.

At that time, the Bai family was almost exterminated; Bai Yu's mother, weakened after childbirth, was cared for by the entire clan, and Tushan Jiu's parents were not in a hurry to demand repayment, so this debt has been left until now.

The Bai family is naturally inclined to seek treasure and loves to hoard various rare valuables.

What they love most is collecting various jade stones.

The demon clan is extremely sensitive to spiritual energy, so as long as the jade stones they possess are of the highest grade, and they even have jade mines.

Nowadays, the Bai clan of foxes has only Bai Yu's family of three left, and the most famous jade magnate in Yi City, Bai Lu, is Bai Yu's father.

Today, Tushan Jiu, thinking of collecting the debt, casually pointed at names in the ledger, and then the Bai family happened to be the lucky one drawn.

Yi City is too far, Tushan Jiu couldn't be bothered to move, but Bai Yu happened to be filming in Nan Cheng, so Bai Lu notified his son to prepare things to repay the debt.

This, whether it's whole jade ornaments or complete sets that can serve as collectible jewelry, amounts to twenty or thirty pieces.

Taken individually, any one of them is no less than a nine-figure sum.

And that's where the jewelry portion of the dowry comes from.

Bai Yu saw Tushan Jiu not even opening to look, and asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll substitute inferior goods?"

Tushan Jiu calmly replied, "Not afraid, because the Bai family couldn't bear the consequences of that."

Bai Yu let out a light scoff, "I don't know if it's true or false, but are you lot of debt-collectors really that accurate in your calculations, never having failed?"

Tushan Jiu startled, then pressed her lips and stayed silent for two seconds before speaking, "The blade serves as proof, the word as evidence. When the prophecy comes true, we then collect payment—have you heard this saying?"

Bai Yu nodded.

He has heard plenty; his parents often told him the story of the debt-collectors when he was young, to the point his ears are practically growing calluses.

"But, what does that have to do with my question?"

Tushan Jiu smiled faintly, "How could there be no connection? If the prophecy comes true, we collect payment; otherwise, if we can't calculate it, we simply don't take the blade fee—what's wrong with that?"

Bai Yu choked.

That statement seems indeed flawless, but he always feels something is off.

Tushan Jiu gave him a sideways glance, barely suppressing her laughter.

Who says foxes must be clever?

This fox right in front of us is not very clever at all!

If we talk about failure, the Tushan clan truly has never failed.

They're not stupid; if they can't calculate, they simply won't extend credit, so naturally there's no failure.

Of course, it's also rare for the debt-collectors to be unable to calculate something, unless it's deeply tied to themselves.

Right now, she actually wants to extend another blade of credit to this fox.

After all, he's recently been targeted by something unclean.

Bai Yu watched Tushan Jiu staring at him, her gleaming gaze making his scalp tingle, and he quickly spoke, "Let me tell you, I have someone I like; don't fall for me, it won't lead to anything."

This time, it was Tushan Jiu's turn to be choked.

The air fell silent for a few seconds.

Tushan Jiu pulled out the handle of her suitcase, then left a sentence, "Be careful lately; if possible, avoid any physical contact with the female guests on this variety show from now on."

Bai Yu didn't react in time to understand what she meant.

By the time he wanted to ask, a few passersby had walked by, and he didn't bother to shout after the already-vanished Tushan Jiu.

When Tushan Jiu returned to the Xie Family's old residence, it was already past midnight.

She had just reached her own room door when the study door diagonally opposite opened.

It was Xie Shiyu.

Xie Shiyu, upon seeing Tushan Jiu, also startled, "Still not asleep?"

"Mm, I went out to collect the debt." Tushan Jiu unabashedly patted her suitcase.

"Collect the debt?"

Tushan Jiu nodded and spoke frankly, "Mm, yes, collecting the debt. Grandfather said I shouldn't be too shabby when I marry; the dowry I ought to have should still be there, so I'm collecting some debt to serve as my dowry, and today this is the first installment."

Xie Shiyu lowered his gaze to look at the large box taller than her waist, and softly said, "This afternoon I had someone transfer the five percent dividend of the Xie Clan Group's shares to your account; did you receive the notification?"

Tushan Jiu startled, then suddenly remembered that her grandfather had apparently mentioned this to her.

Back then, Elder Xie said that when the two children marry in the future, five percent of the Xie Clan Group's shares would be given to Tushan Jiu as part of the betrothal gift.

But because Tushan Jiu's grandfather had a special fate, the family couldn't have too much money, so for all these years the dividend from those shares has been kept in the Xie family, never sent to Tushan Jiu.

Now that her grandfather has passed away, there is no longer any fateful restriction, so these things should definitely be given to her as soon as possible.

Only she came too suddenly; the accumulated dividend amount over the years is enormous, so naturally some procedure is needed, which is why it only arrived in her account this afternoon.

Tushan Jiu took out her phone and glanced at it; there was indeed a message. She smiled apologetically, "I had my phone on silent this afternoon while I slept; when I woke up I went to collect the debt, didn't notice to look, but I received the message—thank you."

Looking at her gentle and well-behaved demeanor, Xie Shiyu earnestly said, "The dowry matter isn't urgent; there's no need to collect the debt overnight. What's mine is yours, what's yours is yours—after all, it's all yours—so whether you collect the dowry or not is up to you."

Tushan Jiu shook her head, disagreeing:

"No, one thing is one thing; how much betrothal gift your Xie Family gives is your intention. My grandfather said that our family in the mortal world only has me left, so the more dowry, the straighter my backbone."

Seeing her so insistent, Xie Shiyu also couldn't say anything more.

He thought, let her be happy however she wants; after all, whether it's the betrothal gift or the dowry, it's all hers.