As dawn approached, Chu Xisheng was receiving several guests aboard the brightly lit Ten-Thousand-Material Ship at the East Bank wharf.
"Wouldn't you like to buy one, Young Banner Chief? This Vajra Puppet costs only 1.2 million taels of demon silver."
A refined-looking man in a scholar's robe was vigorously slapping the all-metal humanoid puppet beside him, producing ringing clangs. It stood nine feet tall, powerfully built and covered in iron armor.
The refined-looking man coaxed him patiently. "Its combat strength is lower fifth grade! I guarantee it's genuinely fifth grade, only a little weaker than your Commandery Commandant Shen Zhou. Young Banner Chief Chu, for just 1.2 million taels of demon silver, you can have a devoted fifth-grade expert who works tirelessly without complaint!
"What your Iron Banner Gang lacks now is a fifth-grade expert capable of holding a front on his own. You shouldn't be short of money now. I know you seized at least 1.6 million taels in demon silver alone tonight, not counting countless other supplies, and you can expect to seize even more in a few days."
Chu Xisheng folded his arms and looked expressionlessly at the middle-aged scholar. "I'll say it again: I'm not interested in that thing of yours. Everyone knows your Divine Mechanism Sect's tricks. There's no need to waste your breath, Mr. Zhong. Right now, I only want repeating heavy crossbows, Scorpion Crossbows, Immortal Tribulations, and the like. If you have runic heavy bolts, I can buy those in bulk too. Cash payment."
The Divine Mechanism Sect's business logic was much like that of modern corporations.
Trading 1.2 million taels of demon silver for a lower-fifth-grade expert seemed like an excellent bargain.
But the Divine Mechanism Sect's Vajra Puppets had a poor reputation. Their components broke whenever they fought. Even without fighting,