Merchant associations

After dealing with the Spirit Controlling Sect cultivators, Lin Yun returned to the Wu Family's old residence and appeared directly in Wu Ping's study.

"You can start preparing to leave. Cultivators from the Spirit Controlling Sect have already come looking," Lin Yun told Wu Ping, who was working on the accounts. At the same time, he tossed two identity tokens belonging to Spirit Controlling Sect disciples onto the desk before him.

Wu Ping's face paled. Looking at the two tokens on the desk, he murmured, "The Spirit Controlling Sect? They really came..."

"And there were two Foundation Establishment cultivators. I dealt with both of them, but with two Foundation Establishment cultivators missing, the Spirit Controlling Sect may send more people to investigate," Lin Yun said.

Wu Ping's own uncle was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so he naturally understood how formidable they were. He glanced at Lin Yun in shock, never having imagined that the immortal master his uncle had found would be so powerful, and immediately made up his mind.

Two months later, outside Yue Capital.

Standing atop the Taiyi Five-Smoke Gauze, Lin Yun gazed down from high above at the capital of the Yue Kingdom.

Two months earlier, after making his decision, Wu Ping had begun moving that very night. With Lin Yun's help, he had left Xi Zhou, intending to head to the Fengdu Kingdom, which bordered the Yue Kingdom.

After spending nearly two months escorting the Wu Family to the border between the Yue Kingdom and the Fengdu Kingdom, Lin Yun had immediately hurried to Yue Capital.

"Demonic aura produced by practicing demonic arts in a human body... It looks like Han Li hasn't dealt with the Black Fiend Sect yet."

Seeing the faint demonic aura rising from the city in the distance, Lin Yun put away the Taiyi Five-Smoke Gauze and merged with the Invisible Sword's light, silently appearing in a corner of Yue Capital.

Yue Capital was divided into four districts: east, south, west, and north. The northern district housed the palace complex and imperial city, while the southern district was home to high officials and hereditary nobles. Commoners lived in the western district, and the eastern district was the domain of wealthy households.

The merchant associations under Lin Yun had seen their businesses flourish in recent years, gradually expanding into Yue Capital. At his suggestion, they had opened a Guild Hall in the eastern district to cultivate connections with wealthy merchants and powerful figures from across the Yue Kingdom.

As soon as Lin Yun reached the Guild Hall's entrance, a young man dressed as a servant came forward and said politely, "Please forgive us, young master, but we are not open to the public."

Lin Yun glanced at the doorman, whose martial arts skills were quite impressive, then took out a small gold plaque engraved with a number and a black cat's head and handed it over.

The servant carefully accepted the plaque with both hands and examined it closely. He promptly returned it to Lin Yun with both hands, saying respectfully, "So you are an honored gold-plaque guest. Please follow me."

Lin Yun nodded and followed the servant into the Guild Hall.

The Guild Hall occupied several dozen mu. Unlike the other sumptuous mansions and secluded gardens in the eastern district, its interior was exceptionally refined, resembling a garden from south of the Yangtze. Every corner reflected the tastes and aspirations of cultured scholars, with only certain details revealing its understated extravagance.

After passing several elegant garden scenes, the servant led Lin Yun to a reception room. Before the maids already waiting respectfully nearby could attend to him, Lin Yun tossed the gold plaque to the servant and said, "Your bosses should be in the garden too. Take this and have them come here."

The servant was briefly taken aback, then hurriedly acknowledged the order and rushed away.

Lin Yun settled in to enjoy the attentions of the beautiful maids.

Before the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed, hurried footsteps sounded outside the reception room.

"That will do. Go outside and send the people waiting there in."

Lin Yun stopped the maids who were kneading his back and massaging his legs, then told them to go out and summon the people waiting beyond the door.

After the maids left, three men in brocade robes entered one after another.

When the three men saw Lin Yun seated upright in the grand armchair, fervor immediately filled their faces, and they prostrated themselves.

"Dong Qiang of the Taobao Association..."

"Ma Er of the Jindong Association..."

"Hua Yun of the Heavenly Blade Alliance..."

"Pays his respects to Master."

Lin Yun raised his hand, summoning a gentle breeze that appeared before the three men and forcibly lifted them to their feet. With a headache coming on, he said, "I told you long ago not to kneel! Can't you understand me?"

That was the drawback of demonic methods. A little too much force, and he had made himself an supreme deity in their hearts. No matter how often he told them not to kneel, they would agree readily enough, only to fall to their knees in fervent devotion whenever they saw him.

"Yes, Master."

Sure enough, all three agreed once again.

Lin Yun inwardly shook his head. Since this would be their last meeting anyway, he could not be bothered to correct them. His methods had merely made the three men utterly loyal to him and would have no other effects on them.

"Everything is ready, I assume?" Lin Yun asked.

"Yes. Almost all the gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin escorted here by the branch associations in the various provinces has been placed in storage. It is all stored here, apart from a small quantity of copper in the Qin Family's warehouse in Yue Capital," Dong Qiang answered.

Hearing that some of the copper was stored elsewhere, Lin Yun asked in puzzlement, "The Qin Family?"

Ma Er hurriedly explained, "Yes, Master. The Qin Family of Yue Capital controls a quarter of the Yue Kingdom's copper-mining business. We purchased most of our copper from them. Since you instructed us to gather the goods in the capital this time, a small quantity happened to remain in the Qin Family's warehouse."

Lin Yun nodded, yet something about the Qin Family's background sounded very familiar. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly remembered. Wasn't it this Qin Family that Han Li went to?

He then asked, "Has anything strange happened in the capital lately?"

Hua Yun, who handled gang affairs, immediately answered, "A little over two months ago, an immortal master arrived at Prince Xin's Residence. He was said to have cured Prince Xin's favorite concubine. After he appeared at Prince Xin's banquet, many dignitaries in the capital wanted to send their children to become his disciples and learn his arts."

Then he hurriedly added, "But that so-called immortal master wasn't worth a damn compared to you, Master. Later, for some reason, he left the capital."

Lin Yun nodded in understanding. There seemed to have been such an episode in the original story. This must have been where Han Li discovered something fishy about Prince Xin's Residence.

"What else?"

Hua Yun frowned and thought carefully, then his eyes suddenly lit up. Hesitantly, he said, "There is one other matter, though it's uncertain. Apparently, quite a few people have vanished without reason in the capital lately. But no one can establish who these people were, so we don't even know whether they really disappeared."

Lin Yun considered this. It was probably the Black Fiend Sect's doing. The thought stirred something in him, but he asked no further questions.

"All right. Take me to the warehouse so I can collect everything."

"Yes, Master."

They arrived at the warehouse and looked at the neatly arranged contents.

Lin Yun was very satisfied with the five-metal raw materials filling the entire warehouse. With this batch, along with the raw materials gathered in the Yuanwu Kingdom, he should be able to refine enough five metals essence.

"Well done. This gold and silver must account for most of your reserves, right? Will your businesses have trouble maintaining cash flow afterward?" Lin Yun asked as he packed the materials into his Storage Bag.

"No, Master. Apart from gold and silver, some of our funds are held in jewels. Besides, the glassware and salt we trade in are as good as currency," Dong Qiang answered.

"Good. You no longer need to keep collecting these things. The merchant associations are yours now."

Lin Yun glanced at the three men standing respectfully nearby, then vanished from the spot.

Only his faint voice remained, drifting into their ears. "You gathered materials for me, so I grant you a lifetime of wealth and honor. Conduct yourselves well from now on."