Warm Fragrance, Soft Jade

To mask his embarrassment, Xu Yi feigned composure and said, "It is settled," then looked at her with a smile, saying nothing more.

Jing Tao, being sensible, took out the contract she had stayed up all night drafting and placed it before Xu Yi:

"This is the security contract for Lingtong Hall. Your salary will be 50 silver dollars per month.

As for the others in the security department, you may recommend whoever you wish, and I will accept them all."

Fifty silver dollars was already higher than the monthly income of most ordinary citizens in Puxi City!

The downtrodden at the bottom of society, such as rickshaw pullers, even if the heavens were kind and business was at its absolute peak, would make at most 12 silver dollars a month.

Textile workers generally earned around 12 silver dollars a month as well, and if they fell ill or needed to take leave, their pay would be even less.

Other factories, such as those employing printers or mechanics—skilled laborers—could earn up to 40 silver dollars a month.

That was the reality of wages in legitimate industries.

A salary of 50 silver dollars a month for a security captain, even with the potential risk to one's life, was truly not low.

After all, which industry was without its own dangers?

Jing Tao added:

"But you must ensure that the factory's normal production is not disturbed."

The implication was that, from now on, Lingtong Hall would become his territory to collect protection money.

Xu Yi reached out his right hand with a hint of disappointment, took the contract, reviewed it, placed it on the stove, and signed his name.

Jing Tao took the contract back from Xu Yi, signed her own name in the Party A column, and said with a serious expression:

"You have helped me a great deal. By rights, this job is nowhere near enough to repay the kindness you have shown me.

But I have few resources at hand right now, so this is all I can offer for the time being.

In the future, I will certainly repay you more."

Jing Tao was actually quite anxious inside; she knew her sincerity was truly insufficient, and she was terrified that Xu Yi would demand to insert his own people into the management—

This time, Xu Yi had killed off nearly half of the management at Lingtong Hall, so recommending people—inserting his own men into the factory—would have been a perfectly normal request.

But Xu Yi did not.

Xu Yi actually did not!

Jing Tao had spent the entire night thinking of every possible outcome.

She thought of his background in the gangs, and she thought of the meeting between her father and Ye Hai when her father was still in good health; after that meeting, her father's face had been ashen, and Ye Hai's expression had been equally grim—it was clear the business deal had fallen through.

Xu Yi was a disciple of Ye Hai, and now that he had the opportunity to demand anything he wanted and held the absolute upper hand, any request he made, no matter how outrageous, would have been possible.

She had thought about the possibility of being sidelined, and she had considered countless ways to defend her power, including but not limited to marrying herself off...

Yet, she had never imagined that Xu Yi would truly make no demands at all!

She felt a sense of disappointment.

While disappointed, she also felt a sense of unease.

Not making a demand might be the greatest demand of all.

If he made no demands now, was he saving them for later?

Was he certain that she could not provide a reward that would satisfy him now, certain that she could not sate his appetite, and that was why he made no requests?

Jing Tao felt a mix of shame and anger.

What exactly do you want?

Xu Yi simply looked at her.

As Xu Yi watched, he suddenly saw Jing Tao's face flush red, and he was momentarily bewildered.

Xu Yi thought it over and over, but in the end, he couldn't help himself and said, somewhat bashfully:

"Miss Jing Tao, could you give me some personal token? Perhaps a sachet or something similar?"

Once these words were spoken, both of them fell silent.

An awkward and ambiguous atmosphere fermented between them, yet it failed to reach a breaking point because of the undisguised sincerity in Xu Yi's tone.

He was not after her body.

He truly only wanted a sachet!

—Jing Tao realized this fact.

A profound sense of loss and disappointment welled up within her.

These emotions helped clear her head a little.

She associated this with his unique spiritual nature, and a realization dawned on her—scent, it seemed, held significant meaning for his spiritual essence.

"Wait here."

Jing Tao returned to her bedroom on the second floor, and before long, she came back down with a pendant.

"Here."

The pendant looked like jade, yet also like emerald, with patterns within that seemed to suggest agate...

Xu Yi did not understand jade ornaments and could not discern exactly what this object was.

The pendant was about the thickness of a thumb, encased top and bottom in cloud-patterned silver locks, making it appear as if the jade were wrapped within the clouds.

A red cord was attached to the silver lock above; the cord had faded, clearly showing its age.

Xu Yi took the jade pendant and placed it in his palm, unexpectedly feeling a warmth radiating from the jade.

He squeezed it, then widened his eyes in surprise.

This jade was not only warm, but it was also slightly soft!

Beyond the warmth and softness, the aura emanating from the pendant stimulated him at every moment.

Xu Yi forcibly tore his gaze away from the pendant, tucked it into his tunic, and exhaled softly, breathing out some of the inner agitation along with it, as he forced himself to change the subject to distract his attention:

"How is the matter with Ji Xiao?"

Jing Tao had already asked her master to go and investigate, so she replied:

"It is already being looked into."

Xu Yi gave a grunt of acknowledgment:

"I will go to Lingtong Hall today to meet the people in the workshop."

Jing Tao replied:

"Let's make it tonight."

Jing Tao felt uncertain; she had considered many things and ultimately wanted to rely on her power as a Night Roaming God to provide a guarantee of force.

As a [Ghost Messenger] among the Night Roaming Gods, Jing Tao's spirituality was mostly related to driving ghosts; ghosts were one of the Hundred Night Miasma, and could only exert their full power at night.

She would not be able to go to school during the day today; she needed to go and find those on the list who had been checked off. Those people had not participated in the struggle to force Jing Hesheng out back then, nor had they conspired to kill the direct line of her branch of the Jing family. They had no grievances with her, and most of them would be her helpers in the future.

However, a portion of those people were genuine fence-sitters—on the surface, they protected themselves and acted amiable, but in private, one never knew if their bottles contained sugar or poison.

This time, Jing Tao intended to force this group of fence-sitters to make a choice.

The business of Lingtong Hall was not as large as a major pharmaceutical factory, but it was still a premier manufacturer of medicine and skincare products in the 38th Shop District. This cake was large, and there were many people trying to get a slice; she had to be careful and cautious to properly redistribute the interests while re-entering the game.

Only in this way could she ensure that Lingtong Hall would run steadily in the time to come and recapture its former glory.

These considerations were the reason she had chosen tonight.

Xu Yi heard the hidden anxiety in her tone and responded in a deep voice:

"No problem."

"Just set your mind at ease. Those who ought to disappear have already disappeared."

"As for those who have not disappeared, if they do not wish to be decent, I can help them be decent."