A Change in Tactics

"Everything Lord Yi Yun promised you is here."

Amid the crowd's chatter, Sun Qin stopped praying and turned to Peng Shulan. "Also, Lord Yi Yun told me to remind you! Don't forget to take your gold with you! Lord Yi Yun has no desire to keep it safe for you!"

Whether Peng Shulan had left behind that enormous sum of gold deliberately or by accident, Yin Yunze had no wish to keep it and invite more trouble.

Having delivered that final message, Sun Qin turned to return to the Fox Immortal Temple.

"Hey, Immortal Maiden, wait!"

Seeing that Sun Qin was leaving, Peng Shulan hurried after her.

Having seen the grain conjured up through Sun Qin, how could Peng Shulan not know how important she was?

After stopping Sun Qin, Peng Shulan put on an apologetic smile and rummaged inside his robes until he found a silver ingot weighing about five taels.

"Immortal Maiden, I was in the wrong this time! Please accept this and buy yourself some rouge..."

Before Peng Shulan could finish, however, Sun Qin took an exquisitely embroidered pouch from her waist. Then she took out a piece of gold weighing about two taels and placed it beside the silver in Peng Shulan's hand.

"I'm terribly sorry Lord Yi Yun gave you a fright, Officer!" As Peng Shulan looked on in confusion, Sun Qin said irritably, "Take this gold and buy yourself some wine and food to calm your nerves when you get back, Officer! And please don't come again!"

As the middleman, Sun Qin had never thought of profiting from the price difference over the past month, but no one would overlook her role.

Anyone who wasn't as stupid as a pig ought to know that, after selling the grain, they had to give Immortal Maiden Sun a kickback.

And Sun Qin naturally did not refuse those kickbacks, accepting them with a smile as her due.

Although each payment was not a large sum, the base amount was substantial, and it was pure profit.

One payment after another, Sun Qin had arguably become the wealthiest person in the village aside from Song Zhao.

Yin Yunze, naturally, was not so ill-mannered as to demand that Sun Qin hand over those kickbacks. Even an emperor wouldn't let his soldiers go hungry.

Watching Sun Qin stride away and looking at the five taels of silver he had failed to give her and the extra two taels of gold in his hand, Peng Shulan was mortified beyond words.

"That woman's got spirit!"

"Boss, has that woman taken a fancy to you?"

"A beauty gave you gold! Boss, you'd better treasure it!"

Seeing Peng Shulan fail to make a friendly gesture and get toyed with by Sun Qin instead, the others joined in the teasing.

After all, as subordinates assisting with the operation, they would get credit for bringing back ten thousand jin of grain they had obtained for nothing. Naturally, they had no need to worry like Peng Shulan.

Hearing their jokes, Peng Shulan grew both angry and anxious. "Where do you get so many smart remarks? Get out there and find carts to haul this grain back! And you two, go to the Fox Immortal Temple and carry that chest of gold out! We need to hurry back and report this to the county magistrate!"

Hearing that Peng Shulan was truly anxious, the men kept laughing, but they did not drag their feet over their work.

And when Yin Yunze saw the thousand taels of gold actually being carried away before his eyes, his heart truly bled.

This time, it really had been a losing deal.

Not only had he given away ten thousand jin of rice, but he had also used up quite a bit of Power of Incense Offerings.

Aside from gaining a believer who might have something wrong with her head, he still didn't even know whether he could get into the county magistrate's good graces!

But the other party was from the imperial court, after all. As a wild fox immortal, Yin Yunze really couldn't afford to lock horns with them.

It was only because he had run into a few minor officials without even a proper rank that the dynasty's providence might as well not have been protecting them at all.

If the county magistrate himself had been there, never mind whether Yin Yunze's Fox Fire could have burned him; even his most important Illusion Technique would probably have been seen through.

If it really came to light that his tricks were nothing but a dabbler's cheap stunts, he would probably die a rather ugly death.

He lacked the strength for a head-on confrontation, so Yin Yunze could only yield for the time being and think of some moves outside the game.

Looking at Sun Qin waiting to one side, Yin Yunze said quietly, "Tell everyone in the village that tomorrow will be the last day I bestow grain. Those who offer one tael of gold may receive two hundred jin of grain. One transaction per person! Anyone who does not request it tomorrow will have missed their chance!"

Having lost money here, Yin Yunze could only try to make it up elsewhere.

Of course, besides wanting to recoup some of his losses from the villagers, the most important thing was that Yin Yunze intended to give the situation a push.

Qingling County was still managing to get by, and Yin Yunze's steady supply of grain was an important factor that could not be ignored.

Although his grain did not account for the bulk of the supply, it was enough to stir up the market and keep prices from rising too outrageously.

And it was precisely because things were still manageable that the county magistrate could sit steady on the fishing platform and send a few minor officials to make trouble for Yin Yunze.

Just as, in peaceful times, even a village chief like Song Zhao could have torn down Yin Yunze's Fox Immortal Temple.

Things were still manageable now, so the county magistrate was not all that desperate for Yin Yunze's help.

As a result, there was no way for the two sides to stand on equal footing.

In short, things weren't bad enough yet, which made the situation unfavorable for Yin Yunze instead.

And to make things worse, Yin Yunze did not need to do anything at all. He only needed to do nothing.

It might seem that Yin Yunze supplied only one or two thousand jin of grain a day, but if that supply was cut off, grain prices would soar.

And the final ten thousand jin of grain Yin Yunze had given away would only allow the county magistrate to hold out for a little while longer at most.

During that time, what Yin Yunze needed most was to keep his presence to a minimum.

At the very least, he needed to be less conspicuous than the grain merchants who were driving up prices.

"Lord Yi Yun, are you..."

Hearing Yin Yunze's order, Sun Qin was puzzled, but she also had a guess of her own.

"Do you think giving away those ten thousand jin of grain cost me nothing?"

Although Yin Yunze gave a high-sounding explanation, he still couldn't help roaring in his heart.

My money!

After his silent roar, Yin Yunze thought it over and decided not to reveal the more important decision.

If he delivered two pieces of bad news at once, Sun Qin probably wouldn't be able to keep the situation under control. In any case, putting it off for a day was fine.

"I understand."

Hearing Yin Yunze's answer confirm her guess, Sun Qin's expression grew even more solemn.

After bowing to Yin Yunze, Sun Qin turned and left the Fox Immortal Temple to pass the news on to the villagers.

Yin Yunze did not return to reality, either. Instead, he waited in the Fox Immortal Temple for Sun Qin's report.

Yin Yunze knew full well that this rise in the price of grain would cause an uproar among the villagers.

The previous drop from one thousand jin to five hundred had already made Song Zhao jump with anxiety. Never mind that it was now dropping from five hundred jin to two hundred.

Even so, Yin Yunze had not expected some of the villagers to react more fiercely than he had imagined.

Before dark, a group of older women had gathered in front of the Fox Immortal Temple.

Their target, however, was not Yin Yunze, the fox immortal. They had come to complain about Sun Qin.

"Lord Fox Immortal! Widow Sun says you're raising the price of rice to one tael of gold for two hundred jin?"

"Lord Fox Immortal, Widow Sun has truly had her eyes bewitched by ghosts..."

"Lord Fox Immortal, you must stand up for us!"

After his initial surprise, Yin Yunze was actually pleased to see this happen. Hadn't he chosen Sun Qin as his spokesperson so that, when something like this happened, she could take the blame and become the target of everyone's ire?

Even so, the clamor of the gossiping women made Yin Yunze frown.

But Yin Yunze still chose not to respond, watching the scene instead.

He had made it clear that only Sun Qin could communicate with him, so naturally he would not be foolish enough to stab her in the back. Besides, wouldn't showing himself just because of a little noise make him seem beneath his station?

Yet even though Yin Yunze gave no response, the middle-aged women sat down together and began chatting after cursing for a while.

As they talked, they inevitably brought up Widow Sun's past.

It was from their conversation that Yin Yunze learned Widow Sun was not a local, but had married into Clear Creek Village from elsewhere.

Sun Qin's husband had even once been a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, his name inscribed on the golden list.

Her husband had married Sun Qin somewhere after he went to the capital to take the examinations, though no one knew where.

Somehow, however, her husband had ultimately been demoted to a commoner.

After returning, he had been bedridden with serious illness. He lingered for several years, wearing his parents to death as well, before he finally breathed his last, leaving only his daughter Zhao Wan and Sun Qin to depend on each other. Because her parents-in-law and husband had died one after another, Sun Qin had never enjoyed a good reputation in the village.

That also explained why Yin Yunze had always felt that Sun Qin was better educated than the other villagers.

After all, Yin Yunze had seen Sun Qin teaching Zhao Wan to read and write in her spare time.

He simply hadn't given it much thought at the time.

Besides Sun Qin's affairs, the private business of other villagers also spilled from the mouths of these women.

After their noisy chatter had gone on for who knew how long, Yin Yunze finally saw Sun Qin return with several men.

Seeing such a crowd of aunts and old busybodies blocking the entrance, Sun Qin knitted her delicate brows and said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Seeing Sun Qin return with people behind her, the women were somewhat afraid.

But perhaps emboldened by their numbers, one of them soon began to curse.

"Widow Sun! Don't you know why we're here? Looks to me like you're scared!"

"Your good days are over! We're here to expose your wicked deeds to the fox immortal!"

"That's right! You want to raise prices? Not a chance!"

Seeing this, Yin Yunze couldn't help laughing.

But it was laughter born of anger.