Seven Stars Converging Building

Meng Haoran was not the only one delighted; Meng Luohai, who had been hiding backstage, hurried out as well.

Meng Haoran cupped his hands and said, "Master Hu, what brings you here?"

Meng Haoran had had a premonition today that people from other factions would come to cause trouble. Yet after waiting for half the day without seeing anyone, he had instead awaited Master Hu from Qingyang County's yamen.

Master Hu's original name was Hu Huili. He and Qingyang County's Magistrate Song Zhiyi had once been fellow examination candidates. After Magistrate Song Zhiyi entered officialdom, he had kept Hu Huili by his side ever since, right up to the present day.

Hu Huili looked at uncle and nephew Meng Haoran and Meng Luohai, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "Now that the Meng Family has opened a new Spirit Beast trade route, it is a boon to our Qingyang County. Naturally, I had to come offer my congratulations."

After saying this, Hu Huili lowered his head and leaned close to Meng Luohai's ear, whispering, "My status differs from Magistrate Song's. He is the magistrate of an entire county, while I am merely his aide. If I come to buy Spirit Beasts from your Meng Family, no one who sees it will dare say anything. More importantly, I can also help promote your Meng Family!"

Meng Luohai nodded and replied, "Master Hu, I understand what you mean. Magistrate Song's position is special, so it is fine even if he does not come."

Hu Huili smiled. "Magistrate Song may choose not to come, but I must come! After all, you and I still have to support one another!"

Hearing this, Meng Haoran and Meng Luohai cupped their hands together and said, "Many thanks to Magistrate Song, and many thanks to Master Hu!"

With that said, Hu Huili turned and walked before a Spirit Beast. After looking it over, he asked, "Hao Ran, how much is this Spirit Beast?"

Meng Haoran replied, "Since Master Hu wishes to buy it, our Meng Family will give Master Hu some face. The price is only five hundred Spirit Stones!"

Hu Huili asked with a smile, "Hao Ran, when your Meng Family does business, do not sell at a loss. Charge whatever it should cost!"

"Of course not!"

Meng Haoran needed Hu Huili to promote the Meng Family today. Giving up the profit from a few hundred Spirit Stones would naturally help the Meng Family's Spirit Beast sales today.

"Very well!"

Hu Huili took a Storage Bag from his robes and asked with a smile, "Hao Ran, where do we complete the transaction?"

Meng Haoran extended a hand and led Hu Huili toward the back. "I will take you there."

After Hu Huili and Meng Haoran left, those below the stage who had already wanted to buy Spirit Beasts all surged onto the platform, choosing the Spirit Beasts they fancied.

Although Magistrate Song Zhiyi had not come in person, advisor Hu Huili was still someone at his side. Every word and deed of his represented the former.

With that assurance, the people below naturally swarmed forward like a tide.

Seeing the bustling scene below, someone in a distant corner silently committed it to memory before slowly leaving.

A county town's development could not do without the commercial activity of its marketplaces.

Qingyang County Town had roughly several hundred thousand residents. The two marketplaces alone covered an area three times the size of Xinghua Village.

And Qingyang County Town could no more do without the commercial activity of those two marketplaces than Qingyang County as a whole could do without its seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families.

The Wang Family, Sun Family, and Li Family of North City.

The Xie Family and Wu Family of East City.

The West City Zhang Family and Yang Family.

A thousand years ago, these seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families had been appointed by the Qingyang County magistrate of that time, becoming families with official rank.

From that time onward, the presence of these seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families could be found throughout every corner of Qingyang County.

Within Qingyang County Town was its most prosperous street, and in the middle of that street, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, stood an exceedingly luxurious restaurant.

Seven Stars Converging Building!

And the owners behind Seven Stars Converging Building were precisely those seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families.

The person who had secretly observed the Meng Family selling Spirit Beasts earlier had already slipped, unnoticed, into the depths of Seven Stars Converging Building.

Deep within Seven Stars Converging Building, a Spirit Spring exuded faint spiritual energy of heaven and earth, with mist curling all around.

After entering, that person respectfully knelt prostrate on the ground.

"Greetings, Patriarchs."

After speaking, he raised his head and looked toward the other side of the Spirit Spring, where several elderly men sat in a row.

There were exactly seven of them!

The elder seated in the center spoke and asked, "Wang Teng, how did it go?"

Wang Teng remained prostrate on the ground. Through layer upon layer of spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he looked at the elder's aged face and replied, "In answer to Patriarch, the Meng Family's Spirit Beast sales were even more popular than the Lin and Chen Families' Spirit Beast sale that day!"

The patriarch Wang Teng spoke of was Wang Renqi, patriarch of the Wang Family, a Ninth-Rank Cultivation Family of North City.

Wang Renqi's unruly beard and brows twitched slightly as he asked, "Why is that? Spirit Beasts are much the same, and every family's methods of breeding Spirit Beasts are much the same as well. Why can the Meng Family's Spirit Beast sales surpass those of the Lin and Chen Families?"

Wang Teng cupped his hands and said, "This junior has not sold the Meng Family's Spirit Beasts and cannot know what exactly makes their Spirit Beasts superior. However, this junior saw someone among the crowd. He was also buying the Meng Family's Spirit Beasts."

Wang Renqi asked, "Who?"

Wang Teng answered, "advisor Hu from the yamen, Hu Huili!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Renqi's narrowed eyes immediately flew open, and a flash of sharp light flickered through his aged pupils.

"Hu Huili? Why would that fellow go there as well?" Wang Renqi asked.

Wang Teng replied, "There were too many people buying the Meng Family's Spirit Beasts at the time. This junior could not squeeze in and was unable to hear what Hu Huili said to the Meng Family."

At this point, Wang Teng paused briefly before continuing, "However, this junior guesses that since Hu Huili went to the Meng Family, Magistrate Song Zhiyi must have instructed him from behind the scenes. Otherwise, even if he had ten times the courage, he would not dare go to the Meng Family in his capacity as an advisor!"

Wang Renqi laughed. "Heh heh, anyone with eyes can see through such a matter, but we cannot expose it."

Wang Renqi coughed a few times, looked around, and asked, "Gentlemen, what do you think?"

The elder seated farthest from Wang Renqi was Yang Shoushen, patriarch of the Yang Family of West City.

Yang Shoushen spoke, "What is there to think? Advisor Hu Huili went to the Meng Family; ten times out of ten, it was Song Zhiyi's intention. For these past seven years, he has been constrained by our seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families. We find him unpleasant to the eye, and he finds us just as unpleasant!"

After considering it, Wang Renqi said, "Since we all believe it was Song Zhiyi's doing, should our seven families make some small moves and give this greenhorn a little warning?"

Yang Shoushen swept out a broad hand and said sternly, "Brother Renqi, there is no need to be overly wary. Song Zhiyi merely wants to accumulate more political achievements during the final two years of his term. Let us give him some time for now. When the Family Tournament arrives in a few months, we will knock the Meng Family from the clouds into the dust, so Song Zhiyi can understand exactly whose domain Qingyang County is!"

As soon as his words fell, the patriarchs of the other five Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families rose and said, "Agreed."

Hearing this, Wang Renqi nodded slightly and said, "Since that is so, Wang Teng, keep a close watch on the dealings between the Meng Family and the yamen during this period. If anything happens, report it here at once!"

Wang Teng cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"

.:wap.

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