Busy

"."

He mentally lashed out at Su Jinxuan's corpse once more.

Xu Yuan composed himself, gently pushed her hand away, and calmly said:

"I need you to investigate two sects."

Lou Ji rubbed the back of her hand and asked with a smile:

Which two?

Xu Yuan replied softly:

"The Divine Mechanism Sect and the Myriad Medicine Sect."

Lou Ji raised an eyebrow and asked with a slightly puzzled tone:

"Aren't these two sects quite honest?"

Xu Yuan said in a low voice:

"I encountered some opportunities and heard some things during my travels, but I wasn't sure, so I had to check them out first."

Lou Ji pondered for a moment, then agreed without asking any further questions.

"Okay, I'll arrange it as soon as my sister comes down."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly upon seeing this.

In Cangyuan, one of the two sects was conducting pharmacological experiments in Ten Thousand People Cave, a short-sighted approach, while the other had discovered an important secret realm.

Moreover, the location of the mountain gate was on the route he had previously traveled.

At this moment, Lou Ji spoke again, her voice still gentle:

"Is there anything else?"

Xu Yuan looked up:

"Aren't these two things enough?"

Lou Ji's beautiful eyes flickered, and her brows furrowed little by little.

But just as she was about to offer some advice, she heard Xu Yuan speak slowly and deliberately:

"In the next two years, clues and intelligence will be very important. If necessary, we will need to instigate infighting within some sects, or even trigger conflicts of interest between sects. All of these things will require your Black Scale Guard, so 15 million taels is not too much."

"."

Lou Ji remained silent for a few seconds, then sighed, stood up, and said in a low voice:

"But Changtian, how do you plan to explain this to the others?"

The total compensation amount could be misappropriated up to 20 million taels of silver. Lou Ji would take eight dou (a unit of dry measure), while the other forces would share two dou. Wouldn't that tear Xu Yuan apart?

Xu Yuan smiled and pointed to the contract on the Red Thorn Wood table:

"Didn't you already read the contract?"

Lou Ji glanced over and nodded:

"I've seen it, so what?"

Xu Yuan picked up the contract:

"This only states the conditions under which my Prime Minister's Estate will help the Wanxiang Sect train its troops. Of course, besides what's written in black and white, there are also things we'll hand over to them privately, like the evidence we have."

Lou Ji's eyes flickered:

"Are you planning to block them here?"

They might try to raise prices on the spot, and if they compromise once, they can compromise again. But the Wanxiang Sect will never be blackmailed indefinitely.

Xu Yuan also shook his head in denial:

"This thing can't be blocked. If things go wrong, the Myriad Wanxiang Sect might suffer a devastating defeat. We'd better avoid that now, or the losses will be enormous."

The current success is due to the fact that the Wanxiang Sect was caught off guard, and their true elite forces were all inside the sect, so they didn't have time to bring their war Demon Beast from other places.

The 40,000 Black Scale Army could certainly destroy the Wanxiang Sect, but they would also suffer heavy losses themselves.

Yuan Hao said that even in the best-case scenario, more than 10,000 soldiers would have to be sacrificed.

Lou Ji pondered for a moment and asked:

"So, Changtian, what are you planning to do?"

Xu Yuan pointed to the green, viscous Spirit-Blocking Slime on the city walls:

"Xin Yao said that this thing can only be removed with a special dissolving solution, otherwise the array pattern and the materials will have to be discarded. This kind of City Protection Array must be very expensive, and the Wanxiang Sect probably wouldn't be willing to spend the money."

"We control all the warehouses of the Wanxiang Sect within the East City. Moving the goods from inside will be very troublesome."

"We won't gain much from these captured defensive weapons on the city walls. After all, the molds used by the Wanxiang Sect for maintaining their weapons are different from those used by our Prime Minister's Estate, making modifications too costly."

Speaking of this,

Xu Yuan tapped the table and grinned:

"Moreover, if possible, I would like to station troops here in Wanxiang City to protect the interests of our chamber of commerce."

Having said that,

Xu Yuan looked up and met Lou Ji's beautiful eyes:

"These things all require money to negotiate. We should be able to squeeze a few million out of the Wanxiang Sect, since these sects are richer than we imagined."

Lou Ji's beautiful eyes gradually filled with a smile:

"Changtian, are you planning to raise the price on the spot?"

Xu Yuan's voice sounded somewhat amused:

"What do you mean by raising prices on the spot? Haven't you seen the contract we signed? I didn't agree to any of these things, either on paper or verbally."

"Moreover, even if we don't do these things, the Wanxiang Sect will definitely do them for us. For example, whether to give us silver notes or cash, and if it's silver, what the purity would be? The fate of the long-term and short-term workers in those shops and medicine gardens, and the matters of industry handover—there are so many details we can do."

"Sister, the real negotiations are just beginning."

Xu Yuan stretched, stood up, and sighed as he gazed into the distance:

"I expect to be very busy from now on."

The day after the contract was signed,

A group of flying Demon Beast landed in Wanxiang East City, where Hua Hong sent a manager to negotiate the details.

Even with this group of people in charge, things still went as Xu Yuan had predicted. For the next period of time, he was so busy that he barely had time to sleep.

I wish I could break that fifteen-minute time into two pieces and use it as if it were half a minute.

They were either discussing the latest reports on the transfer of silver and assets, or arguing with the Wanxiang Sect Master and Great Elder of the Myriad Manifestations Sect. Occasionally, the Black Scale Army would also cause some violent incidents within the city.

Even when they were asleep at night, they would be woken up to make time to approach the secret envoys sent by the high-ranking officials of the Prime Minister's Estate to ask for money.

Xu Yuan found it hard to imagine how Xu Yinhe managed to balance cultivation with handling these complicated affairs back then.

There's always noise in my ears; I've never had a moment of peace.

I want to delegate power to those below me, but unfortunately, I don't have anyone I know and trust.

Should Lou Ji go?

Come on, this auntie just sits there with her legs crossed all day, watching the show.

Xu Xinyao does want to help and has the ability, but she is too mild-mannered and there is a possibility that she might be exposed.

As for the Big Ice Block

Okay, let's talk about Xu Xinyao.

It was Tianqing.

In the elegant private room, Xu Yuan, dressed in a white robe and pajamas, lowered his eyes and sipped a refreshing tea while listening to the reports from the managers below.

After everyone had left, he slowly raised his eyes to look at the only middle-aged man still standing to the side, his eyes filled with weariness:

What did they just say?

Bai Zhao —no, now Bai Jingtian —thought for a moment, then summarized simply:

"Many merchants came to Yunhua Bank yesterday to withdraw their money, and the amounts were quite large."

"Can you handle it?" Xu Yuan asked wearily.

Bai Jingtian's eyes narrowed slightly, and he knelt down with his hands clasped in front of him.

"I, Bai, am willing to share your burdens, young master."

Xu Yuan ignored his kneeling gesture and wearily waved his hand:

"Go ahead and go down. Someone will be there to protect you. If you do well, you have business with the Chamber of Commerce this afternoon."

Bai Jingtian clenched his fist tightly.

He realized this was an opportunity, a tremendous opportunity for him.

With a forceful kowtow, Bai Jingtian stood up, took two steps back, turned, and quickly left.

"Yes."

Watching the other person's departing figure, Xu Yuan let out a long sigh:

"I hope you won't let me down."

"Really."

Lou Ji lay on her side on the bed beside her, smiling as she said:

"If you're disappointed, then Changtian, is that all you've got?"

Xu Yuan glanced at her sideways:

"Sis, can't you help me?"

Lou Ji smiled, pursing her lips.

"Didn't your sister give you a massage last night?"

Xu Yuan tapped the pile of documents in front of him:

"These are the things I'm talking about."

Lou Ji chuckled:

"My sister is the examiner; she can't participate in the exam herself."

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes, ignored him, and continued to review the documents that had been passed to him.

Seeing this, Lou Ji seemed to suddenly remember something and said with a light laugh:

"However, your sister did manage to bring someone over who can comfort you."

Xu Yuan had grown accustomed to the seductive older sister's teasing over the past few days. His reading continued without pause as he asked, "A courtesan from a brothel?"

"Yes, if Changtian wants, I can arrange it."

Lou Ji turned around and lay face down on the bed, propping her chin up with her hand. "But not this time~"

Who is that?

Xu Yuan casually asked, "Su Jinxuan? Come to think of it, it seems like we haven't heard from her in a long time."

"It's Ran Qingmo."

"What?" Xu Yuan stopped what he was doing.

Lou Ji did not answer immediately, but slowly reached out and rolled the quilt over herself.

Xu Yuan looked at the other person's actions with a puzzled expression.

At this moment, Lou Ji slowly stretched out a lotus-root-like arm and pointed to the doorway:

"Yes."