The Feiyun Commerce Guild Gets Scammed

Xingqiu's father and elder brother walked at the very front, with tall pack animals behind them. These pack animals were laden with bundles of goods, creating a spectacular sight.

Xingqiu walked at the very back.

His face wasn't filled with much dejection; instead, he looked at his family with great concern.

Bai Ye quickly jumped down from the archway, landing 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 just eating up on that archway," Bai Ye said, pointing to the archway. He continued, "By the way, what's going on here? You guys look like you've been swindled. Didn't you bring all the goods? Were you tricked by that unscrupulous merchant?"

Bai Ye pointed to the goods ahead and asked Xingqiu.

"Well..."

Xingqiu was still organizing his thoughts.

At this moment, a small, purple figure jumped down from a large bundle of goods on a pack animal.

"Who are you calling an unscrupulous merchant? Would I, the esteemed Sangemah Bayt, the Magnate, stoop to such a thing?"

She was petite and cute, wearing a small round hat and diamond-shaped crystal glasses perched on her eyes. She had a sly look when she smiled.

"This time, I strictly followed the contract. Not only that, but I also made significant concessions. I guarantee the profits are absolutely generous."

She said to Bai Ye.

Bai Ye turned his gaze to Xingqiu.

Xingqiu nodded.

"Yes, what she said is true. All of this commercial transaction was conducted according to the contract."

"Hmph hmph, in the words of your Liyue, this is called a contract that has been made and must be honored. Otherwise, you would be going against Rex Lapis."

Dori continued with a sly merchant's smile.

At this moment, she seemed to have discovered something. She turned and hopped a few steps to the side of the road, into the grass.

She pulled a gleaming Mora coin from the grass.

"I wonder who dropped this Mora on the ground and doesn't care. Do they know how important this one Mora is? When they're short by one Mora when doing business, they'll realize its importance."

Dori happily put it into her wallet and then said to Bai Ye, "Alright, I still have to escort these goods, so I'll be going ahead."

Dori took a few quick steps to the pack animals, planted her small feet firmly on the ground, and then leaped up, directly onto the goods on the pack animals.

She lay on the goods, crossed her legs, looking quite at ease.

Only Bai Ye and Xingqiu were left behind.

Looking at Xingqiu, Bai Ye asked, "Is what that Dori said true? She acted according to the contract, and you guys still got ripped off?"

Bai Ye was a bit surprised.

"Your Feiyun Commerce Guild isn't this incompetent, are they?"

"That..."

Xingqiu scratched his cheek somewhat sheepishly and then told Bai Ye the entire story.

There were indeed no issues with the transaction of these goods.

Dori had brought a large batch of goods from Sumeru, which had high sales in the Liyue market. Furthermore, because the goods could not be shipped by sea, Dori had dispatched a team of pack animals to transport them directly from her guild in Sumeru to Liyue Harbor.

Bai Ye looked at the departing pack animals and then at Xingqiu.

This didn't seem to be a problem, did it?

"Could it be that these goods are defective?"

"No, no, these are all high-quality goods. My father and brother both inspected them."

Xingqiu shook his head.

"Then why?"

"It's just that there was an additional condition for this transaction. The payment for these goods was not to be in Mora, but in fresh goods from Liyue, and they were willing to pay high shipping fees. At the same time, they required that the fresh goods be delivered on time and not be delayed."

"That also shouldn't be a problem, right? It's not like the delivery time is only a day or two, is it?"

Bai Ye still couldn't see the problem.

Door-to-door delivery might incur some shipping costs, but it was still normal.

If they couldn't deliver, the contract wouldn't have been signed in the first place, right?

"Merchants aren't that stupid, are you?"

"If we were to go by the usual route, traveling directly to Port Ormos from Liyue Harbor, there would naturally be enough time. However, due to some recent conflicts between The Akademiya and the Fatui, Port Ormos is currently in a state of chaos. Therefore, the port there cannot be accessed for the time being. As for land transportation, there simply isn't enough time."

"So, you're going to be hit with a huge penalty for breach of contract?"

"Mm, yes."

Xingqiu nodded.

But then, he smiled.

"However, these things won't cause the Feiyun Commerce Guild to collapse. It will just be a bit difficult for a while. Bai Ye, the reward your father promised you will still be paid on time."

"Don't bother, I'm not in a hurry. I only want the money to exchange for Floating Stone, and there's no Floating Stone on the market right now, so the money is useless to me."

Bai Ye wouldn't stoop to such low-class behavior.

But...

This money!

Bai Ye's heart was bleeding.

He turned to look at Dori, who hadn't gone far yet.

"Dori, you remember this, don't come out alone at night next time. Otherwise, I'll give you a good whack and throw you in the river."

Bai Ye secretly vowed in his heart.

Losing his Mora, It was more painful than killing him.

"Speaking of which, is there still any room for negotiation? Should we find someone suitable to ask?"

Bai Ye still asked, unwilling to give up.

"Mm-hmm."

Xingqiu nodded.

Then, Bai Ye pulled Xingqiu away from the Feiyun Commerce Guild's team to find a professional to consult.

And in Liyue Harbor, there was only one person who could handle such matters.

That half-human, half-adeptus legal consultant, Yanfei.

"I'm afraid not. This contract is very strictly drafted, with no loopholes to exploit."

The young woman with a large hat and pink hair 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 strict, blocking all possible loopholes. It's impossible for you to unilaterally terminate this contract. If you complete the contract, you will naturally receive a large reward; conversely, if you fail to do so, you will have to pay a substantial penalty for breach of contract."

"Is that so? Who exactly drafted this contract? Why is it so strict?"

"Hey, do you have a problem with something?" Hearing Bai Ye's words, Yanfei slammed the table. "This contract is a template I created! Previously, Liyue's commercial contracts had many loopholes, leading to numerous disputes. To prevent such situations, I put a lot of effort into formulating this template."