Chapter 349: Long Time No See

A few days later, several horse-drawn carriages left the realm of Qingming and headed toward Hanyang Pass. The carriages were loaded with letters from the Xu Clan’s prisoners of war to their families—some to report that they were safe, and others to request their families for ransom. There were over 20,000 letters in total.

In a luxurious estate north of Qianqiu City, a middle-aged man was sitting in a recliner, his eyes slightly closed as he basked in the rare winter afternoon sunshine.

Beside him, a long-serving Avatar reported, “News has come back. This time, Wei Yuan captured a total of one hundred and sixty thousand men, including fifty thousand from our Xu Clan’s private army and one hundred and fifteen thousand from the official forces. Two hundred and ten Dao Foundations have been taken captive as well. Furthermore, there is growing unrest within the clan. Many have received letters from their captured family members and no longer wish to fight. Instead, they want to pay the ransom and free their loved ones.”

The middle-aged man opened his eyes and gave a soft “mm” of acknowledgement.

The Avatar said, “We’ve discussed this among ourselves. The ransom amounts each family is willing to pay far exceed the minimum price Wei Yuan has set, so his terms seem acceptable. However, we cannot allow the families to negotiate on their own; the negotiations with Wei Yuan must be handled collectively.”

“I see. How much is he expected to receive?”

“Including the private army, after accounting for all the costs, he should net approximately two million seven hundred thousand taels.”

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow and said, “Fifty thousand captured. Hmm, if we ransom just thirty thousand, that should cover almost everyone who has to return... Have Qingliu tell Wei Yuan that we’re planning to ransom thirty thousand private soldiers, but we’ll need to handpick five hundred of them.”

“As you command.”

“Wait.”

The middle-aged man called the Avatar back, tapped his armrest lightly, and then said, “If we give him that much immortal silver, and he uses it to buy weapons and provisions, won’t he be armed to the teeth the next time we meet? Besides, losing that much immortal silver reflects poorly on our clan’s reputation—that won’t do!”

After pondering for a moment, he continued, “I heard that Wei Yuan is quite fond of spirit plants. It so happens that I have an Ice-Glass Divine Tree in my warehouse. It’s a rather fine spirit plant worth at least one million five hundred thousand taels. Let’s use that as the payment instead!”

The Avatar was taken aback. “Immortal objects are priceless and not for sale on the market. Aren’t we just doing Wei Yuan a favor?”

“The divine tree has only been growing for fifty years, and it will take at least three hundred more years to become useful. Thus, this is just a temporary entrustment. We can retrieve it any time before it matures.”

“My lord is truly insightful!”

“That’s all. Go convey my will.”

In a sizable military encampment in Ning Province, a chief commander with a full beard gazed out at the empty campground, his mind clearly preoccupied by something. Just then, a deputy general hurried over and whispered, “Generals, we just received word from the front lines: not a single one of the eight thousand men we sent out has returned. I’m afraid... they might have met a grim end.”

The chief commander grunted and said, “Knowing Old Liu and his lot, I’d be the first to disbelieve that they died in battle! Hmph, it’s more likely that they didn’t run fast enough and got captured.”

The deputy general said, “We still have no definite word from the front, and our camp is eight thousand men short. What should we do?”

But to his surprise, the chief commander replied, “What do you mean, we’re eight thousand men short? Aren’t they all right here in the camp? Not one of them has ever left their post.”

Understanding and realization struck the deputy general, but he still felt a sense of unease.

This military fort was a strategic stronghold originally meant to house 15,000 troops, but officials at all levels had pocketed 5,000 of those quotas for their own profit. In Western Jin, this was actually a very reasonable ratio. But since there were only 2,000 soldiers in the camp right now, they were basically profiting off 13,000 ghost positions!

Although the circumstances were out of their control, the deputy general still felt his heart pounding with fear.

Similar situations like this one were playing out everywhere across Ning Province right now. Like it or not, countless commanding officers of the royal army were forced to fatten their purse.

The transaction with the Xu Clan went smoothly, and Wei Yuan had no objections regarding the new terms. After receiving the Ice-Glass Divine Tree, he allowed the Xu Clan elders to select several hundred people from among the prisoners. Many of the prisoners were clamoring during the selection process, but alas, their names were not on the list.

After the elders were done selecting 500 people, Wei Yuan divided the 50,000 plus Xu Clan’s private soldiers into pairs and have them compete against one another: the winners would be allowed to return to the Xu Clan.

But simply winning wasn’t enough. Wei Yuan proceeded to select 20,000 from among the victors and demand that they each choose one loser to stay behind. Naturally, many of them pointed to those with whom they had long-standing grudges and ensured that these individuals would never be able to return to the Xu Clan[1].

After all these ordeals, the name list of 30,000 men to be ransomed back to the Xu Clan was finally finalized. However, those who weren’t on the list had first been defeated, then specifically named by the victors to stay behind. It went without saying that this double grudge was something none of them was going to forget anytime soon.

The Xu Clan elder named Xu Qingliu simply sat by and watched as Wei Yuan carried out his maneuvers from start to finish, raising not the slightest objection. He had just made an absolute killing out of this deal—why would he say a word against it? Besides, the clan had purposefully made the decision to abandon these 20,000 men, so they were as good as dead in his eyes.

With this, the Xu Clan were done ransoming everyone they wanted to ransom. Most of the Dao Foundation stage cultivators belonging to the Jin army had also ransomed themselves. As for the remaining 130,000, it could not be any clearer that they had been completely and utterly abandoned, and they had all come to terms with this reality as well.

On top of that, none of them had much of an appetite after taking Sun Yu’s drugs for the past few days. Although they didn’t feel hungry, they were visibly weakened and despondent. Thus, they all resigned themselves to their fate.

Shortly thereafter, Wei Yuan’s transaction with Tianyu was also successfully completed.

This time, Tianyu showed up aboard a flying vessel. There were also three whole Great Warlocks on the ship. Their presence made Wei Yuan seriously consider the possibility of the vessel meeting an untimely destruction, its crew perishing, and several bags of Heaven Merits being credited to his account.

As tempted as he was, the transaction ultimately concluded without a hitch.

Tianyu had brought him a seed of an aquatic immortal plant, and it was as big as a water jar. The seed was a specialty of the Shaman realm and had the potential to grow nine different types of immortal plants, ranging from first-grade to ninth-grade. Exactly what would grow depended on the prevailing fortune, heavenly timing, and earthly qi at the time.

In addition, he had brought Wei Yuan 10,000 catties worth of spirit ores. Once refined, they could be used directly as the primary material for mystic artifacts. However, Tianyu did not bring any human sacrifices with him. According to him, all the nearby sacrifices had already been sold to Wei Yuan during his last visit. Obtaining more would require several months just for the journey alone.

After seeing Tianyu off, Wei Yuan wrote two secret letters and dispatched messengers to deliver them covertly to Jingdu.

Just a few days later, Zhao Tong appeared quietly. This time, instead of storming straight into the central peak, he stopped short at the boundary and sent someone to announce his arrival.

Wei Yuan immediately rushed over and said, “Eunuch Zhao, you should have come straight to me after you arrived. There’s no need to ask someone to announce your arrival.”

Zhao Tong chuckled. “That’s exactly what I was thinking, but after taking just a couple of steps inside, my heart suddenly started pounding like crazy, so I hurried back out. This eunuch would like to live a few more years! Speaking of which, your realm has transformed into a den of dragons and tigers, Lord Wei. Even ordinary high cultivators can’t just come and go as they please anymore.”

Wei Yuan chuckled. “Feel free to treat this place like your own rear garden, Eunuch Zhao. Come, shall we go to the central peak for some tea?”

“I have important matters in mind. I’ll just have a cup of tea, then I’ll take what I need and be on my way.”

Wei Yuan was well aware of Zhao Tong’s style. After leading him to the central peak to take his seat, he immediately presented the eunuch with a tightly sealed box.

Zhao Tong first set up an array, then carefully lifted the lid of the box. Inside, he saw several red gemstones the size of fists. The next instant, a foul, blood-like stench hit him in the face. Even with his cultivation level, his face paled for a moment, and he nearly gagged on the spot.

Zhao Tong closed the lid, carefully affixed talismans to seal it, and sighed. “It is both an immortal elixir and white arsenic. Every time I see it, I can’t help but feel both love and fear.”

Tucking the box close to his body, Zhao Tong continued, “You really are a pillar of the state, Lord Wei. I had only given you this task a short while ago, yet already you’ve produced results. Your swiftness and decisive actions are truly a joy to behold! I can say now with certainty that his Majesty did not misjudge you, nor did I. I must return to report back, so I shan’t keep you any longer.”

Wei Yuan rose to his feet and escorted Zhao Tong all the way to the edge of the realm. The eunuch then said, “This is far enough. I must press on. Lord Wei, you needn’t worry too much from here on out—just wait patiently for the good news.”

Zhao Tong slowly rose into the air, flying faster and faster until he vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye. After flying several li away, the eunuch suddenly disappeared from Wei Yuan’s perception.

Two days later, Wang Qian the Xiang Marquis showed up as well.

Wei Yuan handed him another box and said, “This one can extend life for fifty years.”

Wang Qian opened it, took a look, and sighed. “Utterly exquisite, yet utterly toxic. To consume it is like drinking blood to quench one’s thirst. There can’t be many things more wondrous about the workings of nature than this.”

“This is all I have at the moment. I’m not sure when the next batch will be available, so you best not count on it,” Wei Yuan warned.

Wang Qian nodded. “Too much of an item like this is as bad as too little. Fifty years is still enough to accomplish many things; any more might well invite disaster. I don’t have anything of great value with me, only an ancient immortal formula passed down from my ancestors. It might be of some use to you.”

To Wei Yuan’s surprise, what Wang Qian produced wasn’t a piece of jade paper, but an ancient stone mirror. The ancient immortal formula was not recorded in writing but existed as a transmission of true intent.

Wei Yuan probed the ancient mirror with his perception and immediately saw a hazy world within it, with a blazing pill fire burning at its center. The flame was a bright gold, intensely hot. Dozens of light orbs floated around the flame, each containing a single medicinal ingredient. Seven of these orbs were noticeably larger than the others; Wei Yuan guessed that they might be the primary ingredients.

Three other light orbs were positioned among the primary ingredients: one resembled a round drop of blood; another, a feather; and the third, something that looked like moss.

The dozens of medicinal ingredients were cast one after another into the pill fire next. They dissolved one after another as their potency underwent 100 changes in the blink of an eye.

As the final herb dissolved, the potency of all the ingredients reached a critical point at the exact same time. Thus, all things returned to oneness, ascended and sublimated, transforming into a pill as smooth as jade and containing a tiny green pine tree.

The pill was called the Kun Origin Pill of Longevity.

The world within the mirror dissipated, and the ancient mirror’s true intent was exhausted. With a crack, it shattered.

Wei Yuan was left wanting more. The pill-making technique shown by the mirror was entirely different from the contemporary ones. It was a return to simplicity and purity and beyond masterful. He did not recognize the vast majority of the dozens of medicinal ingredients, and as for the seven primary ingredients, Wei Yuan had never even heard of them.

Wang Qian explained, “This ancient immortal formula supposedly originated from some grotto-heaven. It passed through various hands until it eventually reached my ancestor’s, and has been handed down within the family since. The true intent of this formula has been passed down three times in total, and this is the last time. The first two who received it were both pill grandmasters of their time. Although they were unable to recreate this ancient formula, they had been successful in developing several longevity elixirs.”

An astonished Wei Yuan asked, “I know absolutely nothing about pill-making. Isn’t it a waste to pass the true intent of this immortal formula to me?”

Wang Qian smiled and replied, “On the contrary, you are the only one whom the formula isn’t wasted upon.”

He then handed Wei Yuan a piece of jade paper and said, “This is a formula written by one of our ancestors who was fond of pill-making, based on a secret manual of this ancient formula. It has never been shared with anyone outside our family. I’ve already secretly tested it twice and successfully produced three pills. I can also personally attest to their effectiveness. Please keep it for now.”

Wei Yuan took it and scanned it with his perception. The elixir was called the Jia Wood Little New Year Pill. It was based on the secret manual of the Kun Origin Pill of Longevity and could extend one’s lifespan by five years.

The so-called “secret manual” contained the insights and pill formulas written by those who had received the transmission of true intent. Many of the original ingredients—which had long since become extinct or were now impossible to find—had been replaced with substitutes of similar properties.

“Once I return to the capital, I’ll spread the word that I’ve given you the formula. Then, you should quickly find someone to refine a few batches of the Jia Wood Little New Year Pills and claim it’s the result of your own insights. The Xu Clan’s Ancestor originally did not care much about you, but with this arrangement, he might spare your life just to see if you can actually produce anything from the ancient formula.”

Wei Yuan had long known Wang Qian to be a man of deep foresight. Now that he knew what this was all about, he was once again deeply impressed by it.

Wang Qian cleared his throat and said solemnly, “Finally, Her Highness the First Consort asked me to convey a message to you.”

Wei Yuan instinctively flinched at the mention of her title. He feigned composure and asked, “What did Her Highness say?”

Wang Qian cleared his throat again. He was born a very handsome man, and his features bore a slight resemblance to the First Consort’s. Looking at him now, Wei Yuan could actually see a shadow of the woman in his appearance!

Wang Qian said, “It’s been a long time since we last met, and I’ve missed you dearly.”

Wei Yuan was immediately overcome with panic. What did she mean, “It’s been a long time”?? They had parted ways just two days ago!

1. Who the fuck raised this boy to be so treach—oh right. ☜