Xingqiu's father and older brother walked at the front, followed by a line of towering Dravya Beasts. Bundles of goods were piled on their backs, making for a spectacular sight.
Xingqiu walked at the very end.
There was not much dejection on his face; he simply watched his family with concern.
Bai Ye quickly jumped down from the archway.
He landed behind Xingqiu.
Bai Ye reached out and patted Xingqiu on the shoulder. "Xingqiu, you're back?"
"Huh? Bai Ye, where did you come from?"
"I was eating on top of that archway just now." Bai Ye pointed at it, then continued, "By the way, what's going on with you all? Why does it feel like you got scammed? Didn't you bring all these goods over? Did that shady merchant trick you?"
Bai Ye pointed at the goods ahead and questioned Xingqiu.
"Mm..."
Xingqiu was still trying to find the right words.
At that moment, a small purple figure jumped down from atop one of the huge bundles on a Dravya Beast.
"Who are you calling a shady merchant? Would the great Sangemah Bayt, the Magnate, ever engage in such dishonest business?"
She was petite and adorable, wearing a small round hat and diamond-shaped crystal glasses over her eyes. When she smiled, she looked thoroughly sly.
"This time, I followed the contract to the letter. Not only that, I made major concessions. I guarantee the profits will be exceedingly generous."
She spoke to Bai Ye.
Bai Ye turned his gaze toward Xingqiu.
Xingqiu nodded.
"Yes, she's right. Every part of this business transaction was carried out according to the contract."
"Hehe, as you Liyue people say, once a contract is made, it must be honored. Otherwise, you'd be going against Rex Lapis."
Dori let out another shady merchant's laugh.
At that moment,
she seemed to notice something and turned, hopping over to the grass by the roadside.
She picked up a glittering Mora from the grass.
"Who knows who dropped a Mora on the ground and didn't even care. Do they know how important this single Mora is? When they're short one Mora while trying to get something done, they'll understand just how important it is."
Dori happily put it into her wallet, then said to Bai Ye,
"Alright, I still need to escort these goods, so I'll be on my way."
Dori jogged back to the Dravya Beast, pressed her little feet hard against the ground, then sprang into the air and jumped straight into the pile of cargo.
She lay atop the goods with one leg crossed over the other, looking utterly at ease.
Only Bai Ye and Xingqiu remained behind.
Looking at Xingqiu, Bai Ye asked,
"Was what Dori said true? She handled everything according to the contract, and you still got taken for a ride?"
Bai Ye was somewhat surprised.
The Feiyun Commerce Guild can't be this incompetent, can it?
"Well..."
Xingqiu scratched his cheek awkwardly, then told Bai Ye everything that had happened.
There was indeed nothing wrong with this shipment.
Dori had brought a large quantity of Sumeru goods, and those goods truly sold extremely well in Liyue's markets. Furthermore, since those goods could not be transported by sea, Dori had dispatched a caravan of Dravya Beasts from her Sumeru guild to deliver them directly to Liyue Harbor.
Bai Ye looked at the departing Dravya Beasts, then at Xingqiu.
There did not seem to be any problem with that.
"Could it be that there are defective goods mixed in with the shipment?"
"No, no. They're all high-quality goods. My father and brother both inspected them."
Xingqiu shook his head.
"Then what is the problem?"
"It's just that there was an additional condition to this transaction. Payment for these goods would not be calculated in Mora, but exchanged for Liyue's fresh produce, with a high delivery fee offered. At the same time, the fresh goods had to be delivered on schedule without delay."
"That still doesn't sound like a problem, does it? Don't tell me the deadline is only a day or two?"
Bai Ye still could not see the issue.
Door-to-door delivery might cost some transport fees, but that was perfectly normal.
And if they could not deliver the goods, they could not possibly have signed the contract, right?
Merchants were not that foolish, were they?
"Ordinarily, if we went through Port Ormos, there would naturally be enough time to depart from Liyue Harbor and reach Port Ormos. However, because of some recent conflict between The Akademiya and the Fatui, Port Ormos is currently in chaos. The port cannot be accessed for the time being. Transporting them overland simply won't be fast enough."
"Then when the time comes, you'll be hit with a huge penalty for breach of contract?"
"Yes."
Xingqiu nodded.
But then he smiled.
"Still, it won't be enough to bring down the Feiyun Commerce Guild. Things will just be difficult for a while. Bai Ye, the payment Father promised you will still be delivered on time."
"Forget it. I'm not in a hurry. I only wanted the money so I could trade it for Floatstone, but there's no Floatstone on the market right now anyway. Money won't do me any good."
Bai Ye was not shameless enough to do something like that.
But...
That money!
Bai Ye's heart was bleeding.
He turned to look at Dori, who had not yet gone far.
"Dori, just you wait. Don't let me catch you out alone at night next time. Otherwise, I'll knock you out and throw you into the river."
Bai Ye silently swore to himself.
Letting his Mora suffer losses
hurt more than killing him.
"Say, is there still any way to fix this? Should we find someone suitable to ask?"
Bai Ye asked, still unwilling to give up.
"Mm-hm."
Xingqiu nodded.
Then,
Bai Ye pulled Xingqiu away from the Feiyun Commerce Guild's convoy to seek advice from a professional.
And in Liyue Harbor, there was only one person who could handle this sort of matter.
That was Yanfei, the half-adeptus legal consultant.
"Unfortunately, this contract was drafted very rigorously. There's no loophole to exploit."
The pink-haired girl in the large hat shook her head seriously.
After much effort, Bai Ye and Xingqiu finally found Yanfei. However, Yanfei gave them a very unfavorable answer.
"Really?"
"Yes. This contract is extremely stringent and seals off every possible loophole. It is simply impossible for you to terminate it unilaterally. If you fulfill the contract, you will naturally receive substantial compensation. Likewise, if you fail, you will have to pay a massive breach penalty."
"Is that so? Who drafted this contract? Why is it so strict?"
"Hey, do you have a problem with that?" Upon hearing Bai Ye's words, Yanfei slapped the table. "This contract was based on a template I drafted! Liyue's commercial contracts used to have far too many loopholes, which led to countless disputes. To prevent that from happening, I put all my effort into creating this template."
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