Chapter 354 - 338: Predicament

Chapter 354: Chapter 338: Predicament

The sun was already starting to set in the west by the time Chen Shouheng returned to his mansion.

He heard a commotion in front of the mansion gates before he even got close.

He stopped in his tracks. When he looked up, his expression instantly darkened.

The main gates of the Chen Mansion were wide open. A group of burly guards in an Escort Agency’s uniform were carrying heavy silver boxes out from inside the mansion, loading them onto a carriage parked outside.

The silver boxes struck the carriage bed with dull THUDS. Each sound felt like a hammer blow to Chen Shouheng’s heart.

Disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect stood by, supervising with cold indifference.

The one in charge was none other than Elder Jian Chen. He watched impassively as the silver boxes were carried out one by one.

An irrepressible rage surged through him. Chen Shouheng’s hands, hanging at his sides, clenched into tight fists, his knuckles turning white.

Just then, a cool, soft hand gently took hold of his clenched fist.

Chen Shouheng turned his head to meet the calm gaze of his wife, Zhou Shuwei.

A trace of exhaustion was on Zhou Shuwei’s face as she gave him a slight shake of her head.

The cool touch on his palm was like a stream of clear water, slightly dousing the flames of fury raging in his chest.

Chen Shouheng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his turbulent emotions. He took his wife’s hand in his, and they stood side by side, silently watching the scene unfold.

Time passed.

When the last silver box was loaded onto the carriage, the Darts Masters secured the chests tightly with thick hemp ropes.

Only then did Elder Jian Chen stroll forward. His gaze swept over Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei. He cupped his hands in a perfunctory salute and said coolly, "The silver has been counted. Thank you both for your cooperation; it saved us a lot of trouble. Farewell."

Without waiting for a response, he turned, waved his hand, and left with the Celestial Sword Sect disciples and the Escort Agency convoy.

The wheels rumbled over the bluestone road, the sound eventually fading as they disappeared around the street corner.

Silence returned to the front of the mansion.

CREAK...

The steward and a few servants silently and slowly pushed the heavy mansion gates closed.

As the last crack of light disappeared, Chen Shouheng squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, they were bloodshot.

He lowered his voice, the words seeming to be ground out from between his teeth, laced with a bone-deep chill. "I will have vengeance for this!"

Zhou Shuwei squeezed his hand. "My husband, vengeance must be had. But now is absolutely not the time."

She looked up at her husband. "The Celestial Sword Sect is likely not the sole driving force behind this. The power of the person pulling the strings, someone capable of mobilizing such forces, is probably far beyond our imagination. ’A little impatience can spoil a great plan.’ Right now, it’s as if we’re in a whirlpool. One wrong step could lead to eternal damnation. We must endure for now."

Chen Shouheng took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

He nodded and asked in a low voice, "Shuwei, in your opinion, who could this mastermind be?"

Zhou Shuwei pondered for a moment before whispering, "I’ve been thinking about it all this time. To have the Liyang Commandery Magistrate’s Office so completely under control that Zhao Yuanhong is utterly obedient, to be able to mobilize the Jiangzhou Riverway Government Office to cooperate, and to even make a major Jianghu sect like the Celestial Sword Sect disregard its reputation to act as a pawn..."

She paused, her voice dropping even lower, laced with gravity. "Even the powerful Cao Family, with their backing from the Inner Court, seems wary of this matter, only contacting us through the Drunken Creek Pavilion. After thinking it over and over, the only one with such far-reaching power, who could accomplish all this... I’m afraid... would have to be someone who controls the Jiangzhou Government Office."

"The Jiangzhou Government Office?"

Chen Shouheng’s expression instantly turned grim. "Why would they target my Chen Family?"

Zhou Shuwei shook her head gently, her eyes also filled with confusion. "That’s something I can’t figure out either. But the situation is clear now. This matter is of great importance. We must report it to Father as soon as possible and ask for his decision."

Chen Shouheng nodded. "First thing tomorrow, I’ll set off for Lingxi to prepare the silver for the auction payment. I’ll go to Jing Mountain Bamboo Forest Village first to see Father and tell him what happened today."

At the mention of the auction, Zhou Shuwei asked, "How did the auction go today?"

Chen Shouheng told her everything about the auction.

Then, he brought up his conversation with Cao Wenxuan. "After leaving the Commandery Magistrate’s Office, Cao Wenxuan followed me out. I talked to her about the first lot, the one with the fifteen thousand mu of fertile land."

Zhou Shuwei’s gaze sharpened. "What did she say?"

"She agreed that after we sign the Official Tribute Contract with the Jiangzhou Textile Bureau, the Cao Family will transfer the land they won at the auction to us at the original price."

Chen Shouheng added, "But she’s very cautious and insists on handling it only after the Official Tribute Contract is signed."

Zhou Shuwei mused for a moment, then sighed softly. "The Cao Family... they seem to be helping us at every turn, but this kindness is too coincidental, too generous. I can’t help but feel uneasy. My husband, you must be extra careful."

"I know."

Chen Shouheng nodded. "The Cao Family must be after something big. The situation is strange, with all these factions intertwined. We can only take it one step at a time. The most urgent task now is to gather the 1.47 million taels of silver."

Zhou Shuwei asked, "What’s your plan, my husband?"

Chen Shouheng gave a bitter smile. "We have about 1.3 million taels of silver on hand at our home in Lingxi. But we need to maintain a reserve, so I’m afraid we can’t take out the full amount."

Zhou Shuwei said thoughtfully, "I’ve already had Zhuo Yuan write an IOU, so our family only needs to come up with one million taels of silver. However, I’m worried Zhao Yuanhong will cause trouble, using the excuse of separate accounts for income and expenses to force our family to pay the full amount."

Chen Shouheng sighed. "If he delays the payment to the Sun Family, there’s nothing we can do. So, we must leave at least one hundred thousand taels for daily operations and emergency funds."

Zhou Shuwei calculated silently in her head, then said in a low voice, "The Zhou Family’s old businesses have brought in a good amount this year. After all expenses, there should be about thirty thousand taels of silver available. And then there’s my dowry..."

Chen Shouheng shook his head, cutting his wife off. "Don’t count on that. It’s a drop in the bucket. Even with it, we’ll still be short by at least two hundred thousand taels."

For a moment, they both fell silent.

Chen Shouheng’s mind raced, thinking of people he could possibly borrow from.

’Kao Mountain Martial Arts Hall?’

’They would most likely lend me money if I asked, but the hall is ultimately too small. Its liquid assets can’t be much; ten to twenty thousand taels would be the absolute limit.’

’As for Qian Laibao and my other martial brothers, they might have even less than the Kao Mountain Martial Arts Hall.’

In all of Liyang, people who could lend out over a hundred thousand taels of silver at a moment’s notice were as rare as a phoenix feather.

Even if there were wealthy families who could afford it, they had no deep ties with the Chen Family. Why would they help?

’The five thousand taels of gold could be exchanged for silver.’

’But time is too short. We only have ten days.’

’Even if I wanted to go to the nearest Black Market in Wuzhou, the round trip, plus the time to transport it, would take at least twenty-some days. There’s no time.’

After a long silence, Zhou Shuwei said softly, "My husband, at this point, I’m afraid our only option is to ask the Cao Family."

A bitter smile touched the corners of Chen Shouheng’s mouth, but he said nothing.

’Borrow from the Cao Family?’

He had certainly considered it, but he would rather go to a money-lender and exchange 1,700 taels of gold for 170,000 taels of silver.

’But at the Black Market’s exchange rate of one to two hundred, 1,700 taels of gold is worth a full 340,000 taels.’

’That’s a difference of 170,000 taels, lost just like that.’

’Even for the current Chen Family, and even if everything went smoothly, it would take two or three years to earn that much silver.’

How could he be willing to accept that?

But anger was one thing; reality was cold and cruel.

Exchanging such a huge amount of gold at a money-lender would, according to their rules, certainly require a detailed investigation into its origin before they would agree to the transaction.

And his family could never clearly explain the origin of this gold.

That path was a dead end from the start.

After thinking it over and over, it seemed the only path left was indeed to borrow from the Cao Family.

Even though he knew the Cao Family had ill intentions and there was surely a deeper scheme behind their actions, for now, he could only grasp this rope before him, not knowing if it was a lifeline or a poisonous vine.

"I suppose it’s the only way."

Chen Shouheng took a deep breath and said, "I’ll return to Mirror Mountain tomorrow first. After I’ve counted and transported the silver we have at home, you and I will go talk to the Cao Family about the loan together when I get back."

"Mm."

Zhou Shuwei nodded in agreement.

...

「Jing Mountain, Bamboo Forest Village.」

The autumn wind carried a chill.

Inside the house, Chen Li sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed. Linglong sat with her back to him, also cross-legged.

One of Chen Li’s hands rested gently on Linglong’s flat abdomen, over her Dantian, while his other hand was placed on the Mingmen acupoint on her lower back.

His eyes were slightly closed, but his brow was tightly furrowed, and fine beads of sweat even dotted his forehead.

「Half a month ago.」

After getting a general understanding of the anomaly in the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi around Mirror Mountain, Chen Li had told Linglong to return.

Unexpectedly, she had made a rather surprising request.

She hoped Chen Li would help her cripple her Cultivation in the Celestial Fragrance Scripture.

She wanted to switch to cultivating the Yin Yang Unity Scripture instead.

Her reasons were quite sound.

First, the Celestial Fragrance Scripture was a core Cultivation Technique of the Xiang Sect with distinct characteristics, making it very easy for Xiang Sect experts to identify her. Second, and most importantly, her Cultivation progress was excruciatingly slow.

Chen Li asked for details. Linglong told him that of the 365 Acupoints in her body, she had only opened thirty-seven.

Even Bai San, who had broken through to the Spirit Realm several years after her, had already opened forty-three.

Even Chen Li was astonished by this speed when he heard it.

"Have you noticed anything unusual yourself?"

Linglong shook her head, looking puzzled. "I don’t know the reason either. I just feel that every time I cultivate, the growth of my Inner Qi is far less than expected. Perhaps my aptitude is just too mediocre."

’Mediocre aptitude?’

Chen Li scoffed inwardly. He didn’t believe that reason for a second.

He didn’t deny that there were differences in aptitude for cultivation in this world.

But for the first three levels of the Spirit Realm, as long as one had sufficient resources, even someone with the most ordinary constitution shouldn’t progress so slowly.

Moreover, although Chen Li hadn’t given her the core Eight Treasures Spirit Nourishing Soup, Linglong had never been short on monthly supplies of Secret Medicines like the Mysterious Black Tortoise Tribulation Secret Medicine and the Nine-Turns Essence Rejuvenation Marrow Heart Pill.

Logically, her progress should absolutely not be slower than Bai San’s.

He immediately had Linglong explain the key principles of the Celestial Fragrance Scripture’s circulation and personally inspected her meridians and Qi Sea.

After a thorough examination, Chen Li discovered the truly bizarre part.

The Celestial Fragrance Scripture was, in essence, an extremely sinister and predatory Demon Skill.

Its core lay in the concept of "predation"—it could absorb the three treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit from others and refine them into one’s own Inner Qi.

The more one preyed on others, the faster their Inner Qi would grow, and their Divine Sense would strengthen in tandem. It could be called a shortcut to power.

In terms of grade alone, it was one of the best Cultivation Techniques Chen Li had encountered so far.

In her early years at the Drunken Creek Pavilion, Linglong had naturally cultivated using this method, and her progress had not been slow.

But ever since she completely broke away from the Xiang Sect and began following Chen Li, she had never again engaged in such predatory acts, relying entirely on her own diligent cultivation and the aid of elixirs.

The problem lay right there.

It owed its success to predation, and its failure to it as well.

The Inner Qi produced through her own diligent cultivation ultimately lacked the nourishment that came from preying on others—the nourishment containing the three treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

However, when the Celestial Fragrance Scripture’s Inner Qi completed its Circulation and was being condensed and purified, it still retained its devouring nature. It had simply turned inward, beginning to slowly and continuously consume the Cultivator’s own Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

In other words, Linglong’s cultivation had turned into a slow process of self-cannibalization.

Inner Qi was easy to obtain and could be replenished with elixirs, but the recovery of a person’s fundamental Essence, Qi, and Spirit was extremely slow.

This led to most of the Inner Qi she cultivated being consumed by the technique’s own operation. Less than a tenth of it was actually retained.

Naturally, her progress was at a snail’s pace, even slower than that of an ordinary Cultivation Technique.