Confrontation (III)

Three days later, at the Transport Commissioner's residence.

Transport Commissioner Ouyang Yu sat in the seat of honor, his bearing extraordinary.

More than twenty people sat below him. Besides the heads of Tianlan's seven great Lineages, there were more than ten representatives of mid-sized Lineages.

Their expressions were calm, even bearing respectful, ingratiating smiles.

Beneath that respect lay every manner of suspicion, coldness, and resentment.

After all, he had come to smash their rice bowls, and those were their businesses, the fruits of their painstaking labor.

Who in all of Tianlan could possibly welcome me?

"Lineage heads, all of you are pillars of the Tianlan Ruin Realm, as well as friends of the ruling Ye Clan."

"Since we're all friends here, I'll speak plainly."

Ouyang Yu got straight to the point, placing a Jade Slip on the table. "These are the Transport Office New Tax Regulations issued by the ruling clan, along with records of the Tianlan Realm's tribute and levies over the past ten years. You've all seen them, haven't you? After checking the records against one another, I found that some accounts don't add up."

With a touch of his fingertip, the Jade Slip projected a screen of light filled with densely packed entries.

"For example, the cold iron vein in the northern reaches of the Tianlan Ruin Realm is an important source of material for forging Law Artifacts and armor.

"It belongs to the Gongsun Household, and its recorded annual output is three million jin. But according to the Transport Office's survey, judging by the concentration of Spiritual Qi and the size of the vein, its actual annual output should exceed five million jin.

"At the Yunlin Medicine Garden in the eastern region of the Tianlan Ruin Realm, the Ouyang Household reported a total of thirty-six Purple Mansion spirit medicines and spiritual items. But judging by the scale of the garden's Dao soil and the fluctuations of its spiritual atmosphere, it cultivated at least a hundred plants this year."

The entries flashed across the screen one after another, each striking precisely at a vital point the Lineages had concealed.

The atmosphere in the hall grew colder and colder.

Ouyang Xiong finally spoke, his voice mild. "Lord Ouyang, I'm afraid these estimates... may be inaccurate.

"A mine's output is affected by many factors, such as mining techniques and the number of miners, and there are losses as well.

"As for cultivating the medicine garden and reclaiming Dao soil, those require a cultivator's careful attention. Our realm has few inheritances for [Spirit Plant Farmers], and we have only one lower-grade fourth-rank [Spirit Plant Farmer], who cannot tend to everything. These Purple Mansion spiritual plants are delicate; they won't simply grow because they've been planted in Dao soil."

The head of the Gongsun Household chimed in as well. "We hope you will see the truth, Lord Commissioner. The Tianlan Ruin Realm has made some progress under the Ye Clan's protection these past years, but we have always been obedient. How could we dare defy the ruling clan? We have done our utmost to provide all the tribute required of us."

"Indeed, Lord Ouyang, please see the truth. We are utterly loyal to the ruling clan," the other Lineage heads echoed.

Ouyang Yu looked at them and suddenly smiled. "It seems you all think I'm young and inexperienced, easy to fool?"

He rose and walked to the center of the hall:

"Before I came, I examined all the trade records of the Tianlan Ruin Realm over the past century, even the details of the pills consumed by each Lineage's disciples in their cultivation. If the cold iron mine really produces only three million jin, did the 'cold iron essence' the Gongsun Household purchased over the past ten years fall from the sky?"

"If the Yunlin Medicine Garden can produce only thirty fifth-rank spirit medicines, then what is the Yunlin Grass the Ouyang Household sells to outside trading houses every year?"

With every sentence he spoke, someone's expression grew a shade uglier.

"I didn't come to bargain with you." Ouyang Yu's tone turned cold. "The young master's new policy is an unstoppable tide; it cannot be changed. You have ten days to pay this year's tribute anew and make up the taxes you concealed in the past. Anyone who fails to do so by the deadline..."

He paused, then spoke word by word:

"Will be punished as a traitor to the ruling clan. Three generations of their family will be exterminated, and the women of the family will be sent to the clan slave quarters and the pleasure houses."

At the words "traitor to the ruling clan," Murderous intent erupted in the hall, and all the Lineage heads glared at him.

Ouyang Xiong slowly stood, his face covered in frost. "Lord Ouyang, the Tianlan Realm and the Ye Clan are bound by an alliance. We are not a slave realm, nor are we one of those middle- or lower-ranked Ruin Realms. The Ye Clan also made it clear that it could grant us a concession or two...

"Aren't you going too far?"

"An alliance?" Ouyang Yu turned to look at him, mockery in his eyes.

"Did the Ye Clan beg you to sign that alliance back then?

"It was only by trampling on the heads of your elders, through glorious victories and ten thousand li stained crimson, that the Tianlan Ruin Realm was made to sign it.

"It's only been a hundred years. Have you all forgotten?

"You even dare conceal your output and deceive the ruling clan, yet you still speak of good faith? Of an alliance?"

"If you refuse to pay, I'm afraid the ruling clan's penal elder and its Purple Mansion True Persons will have to visit the Tianlan Ruin Realm once more. This time, I'm afraid a little tax money won't be enough to make amends."

The two men's gazes clashed in midair, sparks flying.

In the end, Ouyang Xiong swept his sleeve and left. "In that case, my lord, could you give us ten days? In ten days, there will surely be an answer."

The others rose one after another. Not one of them spared Ouyang Yu another glance.

The hall soon emptied, leaving only Ye Wenting sitting there, his expression complicated.

"Ouyang," Ye Wenting sighed, "you're rushing things."

"Rushing?" Ouyang Yu returned to the seat of honor and rubbed the spot between his brows. "Guardian Ye, you should know better than I do that these people won't willingly spit out what they've swallowed. If I don't force them, they'll keep dragging things out until the new policy comes to nothing."

Ye Wenting was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I'm afraid someone is backing Ouyang Xiong."

"I know." A hint of a smile flashed in Ouyang Yu's eyes. "A spy from Great Jin's Firmament Heaven infiltrated the Tianlan Realm three months ago."

"Then you..."

"All the more reason to cut through the tangled mess with a sharp blade." Ouyang Yu looked at Ye Wenting.

"Guardian, you are a member of the Ye Clan. Now that the young master is in charge of the clan, he is in need of capable people."

"If you can help me bring proper order to the Tianlan Ruin Realm, your future will be boundless. I will certainly recommend you to the young master. When the time comes, you may rise beyond being guardian of a single realm."

Ye Wenting's heart jolted.

He understood the unspoken meaning: should he remain bound to the local Lineages, guarding that little bit of private gain, or stand with the young master and gamble on a greater future?

After a long while, Ye Wenting took a deep breath. "May I ask what you need me to do, Commissioner?"

"Two things." Ouyang Yu held up two fingers. "First, gather all the trustworthy cultivators under the guardian's residence and take control of several key teleportation arrays in the Tianlan Realm."

"As for the second, people from the ruling clan will arrive in ten days. Prepare to suppress the rebellion."

"Suppress the rebellion?!" Ye Wenting's expression changed. "The Tianlan Realm's seven great Lineages have eight Purple Mansion cultivators and more than a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators between them..."

"That's why we need to prepare." Ouyang Yu cut him off. "I've already sent word to the ruling clan, requesting that they dispatch elites and elders to support us."

"Once the army arrives, they'll be no more than clay chickens and pottery dogs."

Ye Wenting looked at Ouyang Yu before him, a trace of chill flashing through his eyes, and suddenly found it absurd.

No, I've become deeply entangled in this over the years.

A piece of jade in his robes was giving off light.

The long night was thick as ink, with only the bright moon hanging high, its light clear and pure.

At the guardian's residence.

In an inconspicuous tavern in a mundane place under its jurisdiction.

Spiritual fluctuations were sealed off, with twelve spirit-locking restriction stones embedded within, isolating it from heaven and earth and preventing detection.

At that same moment, Ye Wenting stepped out of the void, his face indistinct beneath the ink-dark night and clear moonlight.

He wore no guardian's official robes, only an ordinary set of blue robes, and swept his gaze around.

Ouyang Xiong, who had been waiting there, appeared remarkably calm and composed.

"They've come. I can't stall for long." Ye Wenting went straight to the point, his voice pressed extremely low.

"The account books, the image-recording jade of the private dealings, and your contracts with the Cangxuan Chamber of Commerce... anything that can implicate a single member of my Ye Clan must be dealt with immediately! Every trace must be wiped completely clean!"

"If you do it well, I can help you preserve a trace of your bloodline, or give you a way to survive."

Ouyang Xiong stood in the shadows, wearing his customary deferential smile, though his eyes remained utterly unruffled. "Guardian, there's no need to be anxious..."