Chapter 456 - 399: Dilemma

Chapter 456: Chapter 399: Dilemma

After the incident at Jiangxin Ferry, Chen Li chose not to return to Lingxi, heading back to his Liyang Mansion instead.

His reasons for staying in Liyang were not complex.

First, his daughter, Chen Shouyue, had suffered damage to her meridians. While her life wasn’t in danger, the injury couldn’t be neglected. The Liyang Mansion was fully equipped, making it a much safer option than enduring the arduous journey back to Lingxi.

Second, and more importantly, Liyang Commandery City now only seemed calm on the surface. In reality, treacherous undercurrents were surging, and it had become the center of a vortex, drawing in various factions and their watchful eyes.

The Chen Family’s interests in Liyang required someone with enough authority to hold the fort.

But as things stood, the Chen Family had no Grandmaster there, nor even a core member whom Chen Li could completely trust to leave in charge.

If he were to leave, the Chen Family’s foundation in Liyang would be like a rootless lily pad, destined to be tossed about in the coming storm.

Chen Li knew very well that the situation in Jiangzhou had reached a tipping point, ready to erupt at the slightest touch.

The Duke of England, the Jiangzhou Governor, and the Junior Minister of the Jiangzhou Textile Bureau—the joint arrival of these three magnates in Liyang was certainly no whim for a leisurely tour.

Their purpose undoubtedly involved immense, tangled interests, enough to stir up tempestuous waves in Liyang and even across all of Jiangzhou.

And at almost the same time, another storm was brewing.

Chen Li had already used Gao Changhe and Li Sanli to leak news of the Little World at Kao Mountain Wall, disseminating it through a two-pronged approach that targeted both official Government Office channels and the clandestine Black Market.

The news that factions like the Celestial Sword Sect and the Su Family had already gone inside would be like a spark hitting hot oil.

A Little World spanning up to 300,000 mu, completely separate from the outside world—its value was enough to drive any faction into a frenzy.

Even after excluding the steep, unusable terrain, a conservative estimate placed the remaining farmable and forested land at around 200,000 mu.

This land was not recorded in the Court’s Yellow Register, making its value immeasurable.

Simply planting ordinary crops would yield an annual output of over four hundred thousand taels of silver.

If used to plant valuable crops like mulberry and hemp or to cultivate Spirit Medicines, the profits would be beyond measure.

Chen Li’s own Cultivation for the Master’s Three Gates, if he were to use resources unreservedly, would only consume about two hundred thousand taels’ worth of various resources per year.

If one could completely control and properly manage such a Little World, it could support four or five Grandmasters in their Cultivation without any reservations. If the standards were relaxed to merely supplying resources, the number of Grandmasters it could support would be even more substantial.

More importantly, the Little World was a realm unto itself. Within it, its master would be akin to a local emperor, able to act with far fewer restrictions.

Such an opportunity, with such immense profits at stake, was enough to make all the powers of Jiangzhou—both legitimate and illicit—and even those from neighboring State Counties, turn green with envy and come swarming.

It was foreseeable that the Kao Mountain Wall Little World was destined to unleash a storm of blood and slaughter.

Although Chen Li had deliberately muddied the waters to divert everyone’s attention and make it easier for him to act from the shadows, he also knew deep down that it was far from certain whether his own family could remain completely uninvolved.

Moreover, his eldest daughter-in-law, Zhou Shuwei, was about to give birth. By personally staying in Liyang, the very eye of the storm, he would draw attention to himself, which was in itself the best way to protect the main branch of the Lingxi Family.

’If those spies in the shadows focus their attention on me, then things in Lingxi will naturally be a bit more peaceful.’

Upon returning to the mansion, Chen Li had Bi He help his daughter to her room to rest. He then took the Dust-Cleaning Slave and the Silk Lady and locked them in the secret room in the cellar, instructing a servant to check on them periodically.

Both were Grandmaster Guiyuans with astonishing powers of recovery. Although he had already sealed their meridians, Acupoints, and even their Divine Souls, leaving no room for problems, it was always better to be cautious.

After dealing with the two captives, Chen Li went to his daughter’s room. He placed a hand on her wrist, once again using his Divine Sense and Primordial Qi to conduct a thorough examination.

For others, an injury like severed meridians might have been quite troublesome.

But for Chen Li, it was no difficult task.

The Sweet Wind Jade Dew Heaven-Repairing Creation Pill had a miraculous effect on repairing meridians and Acupoints. What’s more, Chen Shouyue’s Five Grains Spirit Nurturing Technique shared the same roots as his own, so there was no need to worry about conflicting types of True Qi during treatment. This would allow him to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Time passed, bit by bit.

An hour later, a hint of color gradually returned to Chen Shouyue’s pale cheeks, and her tightly furrowed brow slowly smoothed out.

Chen Li withdrew his power and let out a long sigh of relief.

The severed meridians inside Shouyue’s body had been successfully reconnected. Though still fragile and in need of time to be nurtured and reinforced, the worst was over. She just needed a period of quiet rest to make a full recovery.

As for why his daughter remained unconscious, Chen Li had already figured it out when he had probed her with his Primordial Spirit.

’It must have been the Silk Lady or the Dust-Cleaning Slave. They must have tried to interrogate Shouyue using a Divine Soul Secret Skill. But I passed the Prajna Glaze Heart Sutra of the Self-Viewing to her long ago, and her Divine Sense Illusion has already taken form.’

’When they attacked with their Divine Sense, her Divine Sense Illusion shattered, damaging her Divine Soul. That’s why she’s still unconscious.’

’This kind of spiritual damage is far more difficult to repair than physical injuries; often, only time can heal such wounds.’

’Fortunately, whoever cast the Skill didn’t seem to expect this to happen and stopped in time. The damage to the core of her Divine Soul isn’t severe. With a few days of quiet rest, she should wake up on her own.’

After confirming that his daughter’s condition was stable, Chen Li quietly slipped out of the room.

「The next morning.」

Chen Li had just finished his breakfast and was preparing to check on Shouyue when a servant came to report that Luo Pingyuan, the Magistrate of Mirror Mountain County, had arrived and was waiting in the front hall.

When Chen Li arrived at the front hall, he saw Luo Pingyuan dressed in casual clothes. His complexion was much improved compared to the last time they had met at the Jingshan County Magistrate’s Office.

Standing behind him was Liu Zongying.