"Go straight to Shadow Building and have them strike at the person behind Lingxiao Business Alliance?"
"Alliance Leader, isn't that rather extreme?"
"If it succeeds, all well and good. But if it fails and alerts that person to our little maneuver, Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance may face a terrible disaster."
"With our current strength, we could hardly withstand the wrath of someone suspected to have reached Spirit Transformation Full Completion. Besides, Lingxiao Business Alliance has wealth and resources to rival ours. If they hire Shadow Building to assassinate our experts in return, we'll be in trouble."
"Moreover, hiring Shadow Building's experts costs a fortune. Even with Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance's deep pockets, it would likely take decades, perhaps a century, of net profits."
The other elders of Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance were tempted, but the price was too high. They leaned toward refusing.
"Enough haggling, you old fellows. If this works, we won't merely rid ourselves of a major headache. We may even be able to swallow up some of Lingxiao Business Alliance's holdings and strengthen our foundations."
"Besides, I know exactly what you're thinking."
"I'll pay half the cost of hiring Shadow Building. Surely you can cover the other half."
The Autumn Leaf Alliance Leader had spent years with these elders. Knowing they had probably considered hiring Shadow Building themselves, he went straight to the point.
"We pay the other half? That's still rather much."
"If you're willing to cover seventy percent yourself, Alliance Leader, we'll join you."
The elders' eyes lit up. After a private discussion, they made their counteroffer.
They were elders of Autumn Leaf Merchant Alliance, but there was only so much meat on that fat bone to share.
The alliance had been founded under the leadership of the Autumn Leaf Alliance Leader's ancestors, who had