Chapter 272 - 174: Overt Scheme

Chapter 272: Chapter 174: Overt Scheme

On a desolate land, ten thousand miles from the Da Xuan Dynasty, stood a palace brimming with a primal aura.

Hewn from unpolished megaliths, the palace looked somewhat crude, yet it possessed a certain ineffable appeal.

The palace halls were exceptionally tall, clearly built for inhabitants of immense stature.

Inside one of the halls, a creature over ten feet tall with a human body and a dragon’s head sat high upon a throne. Opposite it stood a man.

"Mr. Liang, all the men sent to Daxing Mountain are dead. What should we do now?"

The dragon-headed creature spoke, its voice booming and coarse, yet its tone was filled with respect.

"This outcome was within my expectations."

The man standing opposite the creature spoke slowly.

He appeared to be in his forties, with a slender frame and gaunt features. He looked less like a Martial Artist and more like a scholar.

"Killing two of the Taiping Bureau’s Marquises last time was merely a stroke of luck. It seems Da Xuan’s fortune has not yet run out. If the Demon Court were to attack rashly, I fear victory would be unlikely."

Liang Jinglue said, deep in thought.

"What should we do? Please advise me, Mr. Liang."

The Master of the Demon Court said gravely.

It was immensely powerful and could kill an ordinary man like Liang Jinglue without a second thought, but it held a genuine respect for him.

This scholar he had found in Da Xuan possessed unparalleled strategic genius.

It was Liang Jinglue who had helped him establish the Demon Court. It was also Liang Jinglue who had devised the plan that allowed him to slay two Marquises of the Da Xuan Taiping Bureau in one fell swoop.

He revered Liang Jinglue as if he were a Celestial Being.

"Da Xuan has deep foundations, while our Demon Court has yet to fully mature. Now is not the time to face them with brute force. We must outsmart them."

Liang Jinglue said gravely, "I have a plan that will inflict a grievous blow upon Da Xuan without costing Your Majesty a single soldier."

"Tell me at once,"

the Master of the Demon Court asked eagerly.

"The human heart is a complex thing. The bulk of Da Xuan’s power lies with the Taiping Bureau, a fact that has long bred resentment in others.

Now that the Da Xuan Taiping Bureau has lost two Marquises, someone has already eagerly established the Inspection Bureau to chip away at the Taiping Bureau’s power.

As long as we bide our time and Da Xuan faces no external threat, they will be consumed by internal strife."

Liang Jinglue analyzed, "But that is not enough. I plan to add more fuel to the fire."

"I do not understand such matters. Mr. Liang, you need only tell me what to do."

said the Master of the Demon Court.

"Humans love nothing more than to vie for fame and profit. As the saying goes, ’there is no first among scholars, and no second among warriors.’

We can arrange to have a ranking list of the most powerful Martial Artists published throughout Da Xuan. When that happens, both the Taiping Bureau and the Inspection Bureau are bound to fight tooth and nail over their place on it."

Liang Jinglue said with complete confidence, "Their internal strife will be our opportunity to build our strength."

"Is this what you humans call ’sitting on the mountain to watch the tigers fight’?"

the Master of the Demon Court exclaimed joyfully.

"Precisely."

Liang Jinglue said with a smile, "We can call this ranking of Martial Artists the... Dragon and Tiger List."

...

"That’s thirty-two people in total. At fifteen thousand taels each, the sum is four hundred and eighty thousand. I’ll round it up for you to an even five hundred thousand taels."

Su Mu gazed in wonder at the completely unfamiliar face before him. Pushing a stack of silver notes across the table, he marveled to himself.

’Forget everything else, Xue Shan’s Disguise Technique is simply masterful.’

’Even sitting face-to-face, I can’t spot a single flaw.’

’If Xue Shan hadn’t come forward on his own, I probably wouldn’t have recognized him even if he’d walked right past me.’

"They’re silver notes from the Datong Bank, redeemable for cash anytime. My math is right, isn’t it?"

When Xue Shan made no move to take the silver notes, Su Mu asked, puzzled.

"Wrong! Dead wrong!"

Xue Shan crossed his arms, his face a mask of indignation.

"It should be nine hundred and sixty thousand taels, at a minimum!"

Xue Shan roared.

"I’ve seen greedy bastards in my day, but you take the cake! The Jianghu rule is we split it fifty-fifty! I risked my life for you, and you’re only giving me a twenty-five percent cut? Does your conscience not bother you at all?"

Xue Shan stomped his foot, pointing and cursing at Su Mu, spittle flying from his lips.

"Where are you getting nine hundred and sixty thousand taels from?"

Su Mu said calmly, "We agreed on the price beforehand. I even threw in an extra twenty thousand taels. You can’t just jack up the price now because you think I’m a pushover."

"We did, but I didn’t know you were collecting sixty thousand taels from each person!"

Xue Shan raged.

"Xue Shan, let’s have a reasonable discussion about this."

Su Mu calmly poured himself a cup of tea and said at a leisurely pace, "The sixty thousand taels is what *I* got. What does that have to do with you?

Besides, do you think I got that money for free?

Don’t I have to grease palms left and right?

You go give it a try. If you went asking for that money, do you think they’d give it to you?

We’re talking about a lot of people, from seven or eight major sects and clans. Are you sure your Golden Wind Tower can afford to offend so many powerful groups at the same time?

The politics involved here are incredibly deep. It might look like I got sixty thousand taels from each person, but to make that sum seem reasonable, rational, and legitimate, I had to pay off countless people up and down the ladder.

The amount that actually ended up in my pocket is less than fifteen thousand taels. I basically had to chip in my own money to make it work."

Xue Shan eyed Su Mu suspiciously. Su Mu’s expression was dead serious; he didn’t look like he was joking at all.

He began to have his doubts. ’They always say officials are the most corrupt people there are... could Su Mu actually be telling the truth?’ ℯℯ𝘭.

’It wasn’t out of the question for those officials to demand a cut.’

’A young man like Su Mu would never be able to outsmart those old foxes.’