Lord Panel (2-in-1)

"Silver ore? What silver ore?"

Jobb's obese face paled slightly before returning to normal, and he said with a forced smile:

"My dear lord, please don't be fooled by these peasants. Yes, there is a pitiful little silver mine in your territory, but it was mortgaged to Lord Maki of Redleaf Fief Territory last year. According to the laws of the Empire, it is no longer your mine. Would you like me to bring you the mortgage deed for your review?"

"Pawning a silver mine?" Bai Xiaowen squinted. "How come I don't remember such an important thing?" He searched his memory and confirmed that there was no such item in the young lord's memories.

Jobb chuckled and said, "Of course you don't remember. Because you've long ago entrusted all affairs in the territory to me—your loyal steward, old Jobb, to handle everything. A small matter like mortgaging the silver mine is naturally within my authority. The mortgage contract bears your seal, and the entire process is legal and impeccable."

A cold glint flashed in Li Shuyi's eyes as her fingers stealthily moved towards her waist.

Bai Xiaowen smiled slightly, "But Anton said that the silver ore mined each month was given to you under the guise of being handed over to the lord?"

Jobb laughed heartily, "That's even simpler. I obtained the operating rights to the silver mine from Lord Maki of Redleaf Fief Territory! There's also a contract as proof—within a five-year validity period, all the output of the White Stone Silver Mine, except for a portion handed over to Lord Maki as taxes, belongs to me..."

Bai Xiaowen nodded and said, "Mr. Jobb, you are truly a loyal steward."

Jobb was somewhat surprised that Bai Xiaowen's outburst of anger did not occur, as he had originally anticipated.

However, Jobb cautiously said, "Lord Dio, what do you want? Everything I've done is in accordance with imperial law, and you have no right to punish me... Also, I must remind you that your lord's guard was disbanded two years ago because they couldn't pay their salaries."

At this point, Jobb seemed to gain more confidence and gradually found the initiative. A smile reappeared on his chubby face:

"By the way, you can also fire me, or banish me from White Stone Town. However, before that, you need to settle the wages you owe me for the past six months, which is sixty gold coins in total... I don't think you can afford that, right?"

"Perhaps you should seriously consider my suggestion and sell the territory to Lord Maki of Redleaf Fief. He is also very interested in your sister, Miss Charlotte. After purchasing the territory, if Miss Charlotte is willing to become Redleaf Lord Maki's personal maid, he will pay another considerable sum of gold coins..."

Bai Xiaowen coughed, interrupting Jobb:

"Jobb, you're right. Under normal circumstances, I really can't do anything about you."

Jobb paused, looking at Bai Xiaowen.

"However, you've misunderstood something. As a noble wizard, sometimes I don't need to rely on worldly laws to reclaim what I own."

"What's the meaning..."

Just as Jobb was about to ask a question, he saw Bai Xiaowen open his right hand, the light of the Four-Color Talisman swirling in his palm, finally selecting the yellow Spell Talisman and shooting it straight out!

A notification message regarding the Spirit Realm Rules has arrived:

"The ratio of enemy strength to friendly strength is 0.378:1, and the success rate of the Heart-Confounding Talisman's confusion effect is 62.20%."

"Your identity has been detected as the Lord of White Stone Town. An identity Suppression has been applied to the target, increasing the success rate of the deception detection!"

"The Heart-Confounding Talisman has successfully confused the enemy! Chief Steward Jobb Handel of the Lord's Manor in White Stone Town, Northern Frontier, has been bewitched."

[Identity actually has Suppression effect!] Bai Xiaowen suppressed his excitement.

However, although the Heart-Confounding Talisman has a strong bewitching effect, it can only bewitch one target at a time. After the 9-minute cooldown period, the charm cannot be used to Talisman Switching again; the bewitched target must be abandoned.

Once control is relinquished, the target will suffer brain death. Of course, Bai Xiaowen could also risk being devoured and use his Divine Might to protect the target's brain while relinquishing control, but this is a rare occurrence.

If control isn't relinquished, the deceptive effect will persist until Bai Xiaowen leaves the Spirit Realm.

This time, using the Heart-Confounding Talisman also made Bai Xiaowen realize the benefits of "identity," as it enhances the bewitching effect. It seems that in the future, tickets for B-Tier, or even A-Tier and S-Tier, will be more important to Bai Xiaowen than to others.

Everyone stared in disbelief as, after Bai Xiaowen unleashed a beam of yellow light, the previously arrogant Jobb suddenly became unusually obedient, kneeling before Bai Xiaowen as if he wanted to kiss his shoes.

"Get up, Jobb. How much money have you made running the White Stone Silver Mine, and where is it stored?" Bai Xiaowen asked.

Jobb stood up and said in a slightly mechanical voice, "I will exchange all the harvested silver ore for Imperial Gold Coins. Seventy percent of them will be given to Lord Maki of Redleaf Fief Territory, and the other thirty percent will be kept by me. So far, I have accumulated about 474 Gold Coins, all of which are hidden in the cellar of my residence..."

"Lead the way," Bai Xiaowen commanded briefly, then said to Anton and the others, "You follow me."

Anton and the others trembled slightly, daring not to voice any objection. They hadn't expected that their lord was actually a wizard! In the Kane Plane, wizards were synonymous with mystery, and most people kept their distance from them.

Jobb's residence was right next to the lord's mansion.

It's worth mentioning that Jobb, this fat man, also hired someone to set up a blowgun trap. Anyone unaware of this would be shot and killed by nine poisoned arrows fired from three holes in the wall if they tried to open the cellar. However, with Jobb's personal guidance, this trap became useless.

In the cellar, Bai Xiaowen found a box of gold coins. As soon as his hand touched the box, a notification sounded.

"Territory building resources detected: 470 gold coins. Lord Panel (temporary) open."

Bai Xiaowen was slightly taken aback, and curiously clicked on the Lord Panel.

A semi-transparent interface appeared in front of Bai Xiaowen, displaying a simplified map of the territory of White Stone Town.

At the very top, a line of text is displayed:

Population: 7

Gold Coins: 479

Grain: 7

Building materials: 0

Valuables: 0

"Could this be data from the White Stone Town territory?" Bai Xiaowen frowned and asked for details. "The territory can't possibly only have seven people, can it?"

The Spirit Realm Rules quickly responded, "The population displayed on your Lord Panel refers to the number of people under your influence who are able to obey your commands. Residents of White Stone Town who have never interacted with you or have never seen you are not under your influence and are not counted in the territory's population."

"You can enhance your reputation and increase your influence to reach a larger population."

Bai Xiaowen understood. To put it bluntly, it still comes down to facial recognition.

With Bai Xiaowen's intelligence, she quickly drew inferences from one instance to another and deduced the meaning of the last three options.

Gold coins, food, and building materials are all resources that Bai Xiaowen "has the authority to control." Bai Xiaowen currently does not have the authority to control the private property of other citizens in the territory, including gold coins, food, and houses, and these are not included in the Lord Panel.

The fact that there were zero building materials and valuables is easy to understand. As for the food for seven people, Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment and figured it probably referred to a bag of flour and a few loaves of black bread in the lord's mansion kitchen...

As for the gold coin resources, there were 4 gold coins and some silver coins and copper coins that were just confiscated from Jobb, plus the 5 gold coins that were originally in the lord's house, for a total of 479 gold coins, which is correct.

At the very bottom of the Lord Panel, there is another section of text.

Army: 0

Public sentiment: 2

Livability rating: 3 (Very poor)

Prosperity Level: 5 (Very Low)

The low values for these items were within Bai Xiaowen's expectations. After all, the vast majority of the people in the entire territory were struggling to even have enough to eat, so how could they have any popular support? The rampant banditry further exacerbated the extremely poor livability.

Bai Xiaowen had no idea how the livability rating was determined. How could White Stone Town, with its current conditions, have a rating of 3? What would a rating of 2 or 1 be like? Would it be a desolate, No-Man's Zone?

White Stone Town was essentially a large bandit stronghold with little trade, so its low level of prosperity was understandable.

Bai Xiaowen stored the gold coin box in his Storage Space. This move surprised Anton and the others once again. However, considering Bai Xiaowen's identity as a "wizard," they were not entirely unable to accept it after their initial surprise.

Suddenly, Anton boldly said, "My lord, since you are a wizard, why don't you go and wipe out the bandits of White Stone Town? Those damned bandits, especially the Black Wind Bandit Group, are killing and plundering everywhere. Your people dare not work normally... Without these bandits, with White Stone Town's mineral resources and land, even if it can't become rich, it should at least be able to feed itself. Those who have left their homes will gradually return, and the taxes they pay to you will increase."

A notification message came from the Spirit Realm:

"[Side Quest: Suppress the Bandits] Now Available."

Mission Objective: Eliminate the bandit gang within the territory of White Stone Town.

"Mission difficulty: Unknown."

"Mission Duration: None (equivalent to the maximum number of days you can stay in the Kane Plane)."

"Mission Reward: Unknown."

After this side quest was activated, Li Shuyi glanced at Bai Xiaowen, looking somewhat excited.

Bai Xiaowen had a much higher opinion of Anton. His words were clear and logical, and most importantly, he persuaded people from the perspective of a lord. Ordinary miners didn't have that ability.

However, Bai Xiaowen refused the task.

"I understand these principles," Bai Xiaowen said calmly. "However, I have my reasons for not going to wipe out the bandits... Anton, you should reorganize a few miners and continue the silver mining operation."

Upon hearing that Bai Xiaowen had no intention of eliminating the bandits, Anton and the others looked somewhat disappointed.

"Then... what about the Black Wind Bandit Group? They might raid the mining area again. That's too dangerous." Anton tried to persuade Bai Xiaowen to change his mind from another angle.

"How much were you paid before?" Bai Xiaowen asked.

"180 copper coins per week." Anton didn't understand, but he answered honestly nonetheless.

"As long as you're willing to go to the mines, your weekly wages will increase by 50%," Bai Xiaowen said. "The Black Wind Bandit Group will no longer plunder the mines; this is my guarantee as the lord. If you still don't want to go, I won't force you. I believe that with such wages, many people in the territory will be willing to do it."

Upon hearing that their wages would increase by 50%, the old miner's eyes lit up, and he eagerly said, "Your Excellency, those new workers certainly can't dig as efficiently as we can."

"So you agree?" Bai Xiaowen asked, looking at Anton.

Anton could only bow his head and reply, "Yes, my lord."

Bai Xiaowen didn't contribute much, just a few dozen copper coins a week. But restoring silver mine production and maintaining gold coin income were extremely important.

After Anton and the others left, Bai Xiaowen ordered Jobb to retrieve the mortgage contract for the silver mine and the profit-sharing contract with Maki, the lord of Redleaf Fief. Finally, he sent Jobb to the mining area to supervise the mining work.

"You'll probably take action against those bandits, won't you?" Li Shuyi said.

"You noticed?" Bai Xiaowen asked with a smile.

"Yes, the best way to solve the main quest is probably to recruit the bandits, right?"

Li Shuyi had been racking her brains, thinking, "We can only stay here for 15 days. No matter how much we develop our territory, it's impossible to see results in half a month. Taking shortcuts and making a fortune is the only way. Those bandit hideouts, especially the Black Wind Bandit Group's hideouts, should have a lot of money."

"Your idea is excellent, it coincides with mine," Bai Xiaowen praised, making Li Shuyi a little embarrassed.

"Then why did you refuse the mission?" Li Shuyi asked.

"Shu Yi, when we're venturing into the Spirit Realm, we don't necessarily have to accept every mission we see," Bai Xiaowen said. "Think about it, Anton himself is penniless. As the one who initiates the mission, what kind of reward can he give us?"

Li Shuyi shook her head.

"If we take on this mission, these people will know we're going to launch an attack on the bandit gang. Our advantage of Ambush will be gone," Bai Xiaowen said. "Don't expect Anton and the others to keep it a secret... Maybe Anton himself can, but what about the others?"

Bai Xiaowen took a breath. "If the news leaks, it will affect my plans. Besides, Anton's side quest doesn't offer any decent reward. Completing it will only make him more loyal to me at most. Even if I don't accept the quest and just wipe out the bandit group, I'll still gain his loyalty and gratitude, and it will also keep things secret."

Li Shuyi nodded, indicating that she understood.

Bai Xiaowen and his companion returned to the lord's mansion and found a tattered map of White Stone Town in the main hall.

As can be seen from the map, the iron mine occupied by the Black Wind Bandit Group is called "Cliffside Mine," located in the southwest area of White Stone Town.

"Is the Black Wind Bandit Group our first target? Isn't that a bit too exciting? We should pick a weaker bandit gang first and see how difficult the Kane Plane is," Li Shuyi asked.

"There's a reason I chose the Black Wind Bandit Group directly," Bai Xiaowen, flipping through the two contracts in his hand. "Don't you think this bandit gang is strange?"