Chapter 219 - Commoners?(2)

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow but did not answer at once. He suddenly understood what the two old men were proposing.

We will not demand that you produce any concrete evidence. You take the money and leave. We will not submit a memorial to the imperial court. Everything that happened here was mutually agreed upon.

Still... 5 million taels of silver. Converted by the prices of this world, that would have been roughly 7.5 billion in his previous life. For any individual, it was an astronomical sum. Yet they were offering it on the spot without so much as blinking.

The wealth these sects had accumulated over the past thousand years was truly obscene.

The Sect Master took another sip of wine and added softly, “You’ve endured a long and exhausting journey of thousands of miles. As a small gesture of appreciation, we are also willing to offer you a 70% silent stake in the Raydrop Merchant Guild.”

Xu Yuan nearly laughed aloud. A 70% silent stake, so 70% ownership. That was practically the same as handing him the entire trading company. But was this old man actually trying to bribe him? The Chancellor's Manor would most likely belong to him in the future anyway. And this was what they wanted to use to test the integrity of a government official?

Perhaps another man truly would have failed such a test.

But Xu Yuan... his thoughts abruptly stopped. He realized the old man was not trying to bribe him at all. The reason was his cultivation.

The Sect Master could see through his sixth rank cultivation. Someone at his level could never quietly swallow such an enormous stake in a trading company. Even if he somehow managed to take it, he would never be able to digest it.

And if Xu Yuan had a superior behind him, that person would undoubtedly be one of Xu Yinhe’s trusted confidants.

In other words, these two old men were trying to use him to establish a connection with the Chancellor's Manor.

The Calm Sky Merchant Association had wanted to enter Westmarsh Province for more than a day or two. The Myriad Manifestations Sect was offering to open the door for them.

The Raydrop Merchant Guild was already half-dead anyway. The Calm Sky Merchant Association could borrow its name and use it as a shell for expansion.

The Chancellor's Manor had quality goods and ample silver to seize the market. The Myriad Manifestations Sect had local connections, could provide political cover, and could offer its entire network of established trade routes.

More importantly, operating under the Raydrop Merchant Guild’s name meant paying no taxes and avoiding a joint blockade by the other local powers.

Once the business flourished, the Myriad Manifestations Sect would also receive a share of the profits. Everyone could sit down and divide the money together. Seventy percent for you, thirty percent for us. Why fight to the death over 200,000 wretched commoners when they could all make money and collect dividends together?

Having worked it all out, Xu Yuan sighed inwardly and raised his cup. He neither accepted nor refused, but he exchanged a knowing smile with the Sect Master.“I admire your boldness. Come, let us drink.”

The three men cheerfully raised their cups and drank together.

“SCREEEECH!” An eagle’s cry suddenly rang out.

Someone outside was attempting to board the pavilion.

Xu Yuan glanced up and smiled. “It seems your daughter has arrived, Sect Master. Judging by your appearance, you must have been quite the dashing gentleman in your youth. I imagine your daughter is a great beauty?”

The Sect Master’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

Xu Yuan noticed but paid it no mind. The corner of his mouth curled upward as he rose from the couch and went to greet her. “Sect Master, Grand Elder, please wait here. I’ll go welcome her myself.”

The Sect Master moved to stop him, but the Grand Elder caught hold of him and sent a silent voice transmission. “Sect Master, the greater situation must come first. You should go down and persuade XIaohe. If she can maintain a relationship with this young master, it will benefit the sect.”

The Sect Master’s aged fist slowly tightened. “You want XIaohe to become some painted courtesan who survives by selling smiles?”

The Grand Elder’s expression did not change. “I know you had a daughter late in life, but if Xu Yinhe dared attack the town directly, then he must possess decisive evidence. This man is not even thirty, yet Xu Yinhe entrusted him with such an important task. XIaohe would hardly be lowering herself.”

“Then why don’t you send your granddaughter?” the Sect Master asked calmly, though fury simmered beneath his voice.

“If this young master takes a liking to her, why not?” The Grand Elder lowered his eyes and took another sip of wine before replying evenly, “If he is interested in having Zhaohua serve him instead, that would also be acceptable.”

Zhaohua was the Grand Elder’s wife.

The Sect Master shot him an icy glance. In the end, however, he chose to remain silent.

When Xu Yuan stepped onto the deck, he once again saw Zhou Xiaohe, the petite girl with the outrageously generous chest.

She had changed into formal palace attire, and her hair had been pinned up in an elegant bun, but even the layered robes could not conceal her figure.

Their eyes met. Xu Yuan waved a hand, telling Zhou Xiaohe’s escorts to get lost, then smiled. “Miss Xiaohe, your father is waiting inside. Please, follow me.”

Zhou Xiaohe’s eyes flickered. She carried herself with easy confidence and replied in her usual lively manner, “Now that I’m on Young Master’s territory, naturally I’ll do whatever Young Master says.”

As they walked across the broad deck, Xu Yuan asked casually, “I heard that whenever Miss Xiaohe traveled the world, you were usually accompanied by a rather dull-witted fellow?”

“You mean Li Zhu?”

“That seems to have been his name.” Xu Yuan nodded.

A shadow passed through Zhou Xiaohe’s eyes. “He died not long ago. He was killed during the demonic beast tide while defending Sageridge.”

Xu Yuan’s steps faltered slightly.

Zhou Xiaohe noticed and called softly, “Young Master?”

“I’m merely surprised.” Xu Yuan collected himself and answered honestly, “A man willing to die for a righteous cause deserves respect.”

He had only met Li Erzhu twice, but the man truly was the sort who would do something like that.

After all, he had been enough of a fool to travel thousands of miles to the frontier during a demonic beast tide, all for the sake of slaying beasts and protecting ordinary people.

Zhou Xiaohe lowered her eyes.

Xu Yuan glanced at her sorrowful profile, then suddenly asked, “Miss Xiaohe, do you know what caused the disaster in Sageridge?”

Zhou Xiaohe’s body abruptly trembled.

A moment later, however, she smiled as though nothing had happened.

“Young Master, what caused it?”

She had to consider the sect.

Xu Yuan stared into her eyes and enunciated every word. “Because the Myriad Manifestations Sect intended to massacre the town and create ghost fog.”

Zhou Xiaohe frowned and cupped her fists. “Young Master, what do you mean by that? The sect only recently provided aid to Sageridge—”

“Are you certain?” Xu Yuan interrupted, a strange look in his eyes.

Zhou Xiaohe looked puzzled, but her voice remained firm. “Young Master, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Xu Yuan’s gaze instantly softened, as though he were looking at an old friend long since dead. “I was only joking. Don’t take it seriously.”

He then reached out and wrapped an arm around Zhou Xiaohe’s shoulders. “Xiaohe, I think I’ve had a little too much to drink.”

Zhou Xiaohe’s body trembled faintly, but she did not resist.

The two of them entered the pavilion, passing through layer after layer of restrictions without exchanging another word.

When they stepped into the private chamber, the Sect Master saw Xu Yuan holding his daughter against him.

Having fathered her late in life, his breathing instinctively caught, but he said nothing.

Xu Yuan watched his expression and smiled faintly. The fingers of the hand resting around Zhou Xiaohe’s shoulders gently brushed across her delicate cheek. “Sect Master, you cherish this daughter of yours very much, don’t you?”

The Sect Master remained silent.

The Grand Elder chuckled from the side. “The Sect Master was blessed with a daughter late in life. Naturally, he treasures her dearly.”

“I see.” Xu Yuan nodded and smiled.

It was a very cold smile.

Squelch! Drawing upon the power the Sage’s remnant soul had been accumulating for so long, a blade appeared without warning and pierced straight through Zhou Xiaohe’s slender body, shattering her heart.

BUZZ! Vast waves of source qi erupted within the cramped chamber. The Sect Master could no longer suppress his fury.

“You’re courting death!”

BANG! With a muffled crash, the specially constructed wooden floor caved in. The Grand Elder had slammed the Sect Master face-first into the floor and pinned him there.

Xu Yuan watched the scene, slowly drew Clear Whisper from Zhou Xiaohe’s body, and gently laid her flat upon the floor.

“Enough. You can stop performing your little routine. Sect Master, you entered the Transcendent Realm more than 30 years ago. How could the Grand Elder, who only broke through half a year ago, possibly restrain you after you suddenly attacked?”

He calmly stepped past the two men and returned to the cushioned couch.

By the time he looked back, their performance had already ended.

The Sect Master had seemingly teleported to the dying Zhou Xiaohe’s side. Blood poured from the corners of her mouth as he used his immense cultivation to forcibly sustain the life of the once-radiant young woman.

Even a shattered heart could still be healed in this world.

But as Xu Yuan watched the Sect Master’s bloodshot eyes, he uttered something that plunged him into despair. “Stop.”

The Sect Master ignored him. His face was filled with guilt as he desperately prolonged his daughter’s life.

Xu Yuan spoke softly. “What touching devotion between father and daughter. But if you don’t stop, I’ll order the Blackscale Army to slaughter your entire sect.”

The Sect Master looked up. His aged face was twisted with anguish and fury. “Young Master... what is the meaning of this?”

Xu Yuan stared at him with dark, unfathomable eyes. “8,314.”

“What?”

“270,000.”

“Young Master, speak plainly,” the Grand Elder suddenly interjected. He knew the Sect Master had reached the very limits of his restraint.

Xu Yuan picked up the wine pot before him and leisurely poured himself another cup. “The first number is the number of Sageridge border army soldiers who died protecting its people. The second is the approximate number of Sageridge’s people who died in the jaws of the demonic beasts.”

THUD! He slammed the wine pot onto the table, then raised his cup and poured the wine onto the floor. “Every last one of them had a family. Sect Master... can you understand what their loved ones felt now?”

The Sect Master froze for a moment. Then, with reddened eyes, he let out a low, disbelieving laugh. “You did this... all for a pack of worthless commoners?”

Xu Yuan sighed. He did not argue. Instead, he silently took a crystal from his Sumeru Ring and held it in his hand.

“Stop.” He repeated himself. After a brief pause, he bared his teeth in a quiet smile. “Of course... you could always try killing me instead.”