Lin Taichu stood at the entrance to the main hall without going out to greet him. Only after Sun Desheng reached the bottom of the steps did he move aside.
"City lord Sun, please come in."
Sun Desheng climbed the steps and entered the main hall. He found the chair he had sat in yesterday and took a seat. After sitting down, he removed the cloth from his head and set it beside him, then looked up at Lin Taichu.
"The three days are up. Has Mr. Lin made up his mind?"
Lin Taichu sat down across from him.
"I have."
"Will you give me those thirty percent or not?"
"No."
Sun Desheng tapped the armrest with one finger.
"Mr. Lin, are you determined to cut off White Cloud City's path?"
"City lord Sun, among the goods you seized, four crates contain Dharma Artifacts from Immortal Soldier Island. The owner of that batch is surnamed Wang. The goods came from a workshop south of Immortal Soldier Island and were being sent to Luofeng City through Boss Wang. Zhao Feng's cousin was the one meant to receive them. You seized them before they even left White Cloud City."
Sun Desheng's hand stopped on the armrest.
"You say those goods were headed for Luofeng City. What proof do you have?"
Lin Taichu took a folded sheet of paper from his robes, unfolded it, laid it flat on the table, and pushed it toward Sun Desheng.
Drawn on the paper was the seal-strip design used for shipments from Immortal Soldier Island. The seal pattern and serial number on it had both been copied down with perfect clarity. Beside them was a line written in brushwork, noting the Forging Workshop number, shipment date, and the name of the person who handled the goods.
Sun