Chapter 374 - 225: Brocade Robes at Night

Chapter 374: Chapter 225: Brocade Robes at Night

"I won’t. I don’t go back on my promises."

Zhuang Bufan said, "The one hundred thousand taels of silver—I will have every last tael delivered to Da Xuan. As for how to handle it, that’s up to you."

Qianyun Mountain gave Su Mu a long, hard look, but still didn’t voice the question in his heart.

Bao Lingyun was already dead. Did it really matter who killed it?

What no one knew was that Bao Lingyun possessed a substitution Divine Technique, giving it one more life than an ordinary demon.

The Demon Court had already sealed this information tightly. Aside from a select few demons, it was impossible for others to know, let alone the Da Xuan Envoy.

No one discussed Bao Lingyun for long, because the Demon Court had already sent people to deliver the ore and the humans they had captured to the Da Xuan Embassy.

Su Mu had Zhang Zhongmei and the Huo Zhen Court brothers take inventory of and receive the ore.

As for the captured humans, he asked Qianyun Mountain to step in.

Qianyun Mountain had been imprisoned with them, making him better suited to approach and communicate with them.

The day passed without incident. At dusk, Zhu Jiuyuan, Lu Mingyang, and the others returned. None of them looked happy; clearly, the negotiations had not gone smoothly.

During dinner that evening, Su Mu noticed something was wrong.

Lu Mingyang and the others were clearly irritable, even starting arguments while just talking.

Not even Zhu Jiuyuan could calm them down.

Su Mu also noticed that Zhu Jiuyuan seemed to have aged even more.

His heart sank.

"My Lord, their bodies were already weak to begin with. After spending so long in the wildlands, even with Profound Weapons protecting them, they’ve begun to be affected by the Demonic Qi."

A glint shone in Shi Ziran’s eyes as he said in a low voice, "If this continues, I’m afraid they’ll become Human Demons."

Before leaving Da Xuan, everyone in the envoy had been outfitted with special Profound Armor from the Taiping Bureau, which could resist the corrosion of Demonic Qi.

But the power within the Profound Armor gradually depletes.

They had been in the wildlands for too long, and the power of their Profound Armor was beginning to weaken.

The Taiping Captains were fine. They were all at the Rebirth Realm of Cultivation, their bodies capable of resisting the Demonic Qi’s corrosion.

But the civil servants were not. Days of fruitless negotiations had already left them anxious, and with the added influence of the Demonic Qi, their current behavior was the result.

"It’s not just them. The human Martial Artists the Demon Court released today don’t have Profound Weapons for protection. If they don’t leave the wildlands soon, I fear things will turn dire for them as well."

Shi Ziran said.

Su Mu’s brow furrowed. ’That was a bit of a miscalculation.’

Qianyun Mountain had said there was a place in the Demon Court’s Martial Arts Arena that could block Demonic Qi, and they were safe from its corrosion there.

’Did I actually harm them by getting them out early?’

The best solution now was to leave the Demon Court immediately and return to Da Xuan.

But the peace talks had yet to conclude. The envoy’s mission was not complete, so they couldn’t possibly leave the Demon Court now.

"Mr. Zhu, may I have a word with you in private?"

Su Mu came to Zhu Jiuyuan’s side and said in a low voice.

Zhu Jiuyuan nodded, rose, and went outside with Su Mu.

"It seems I overestimated the willpower of scholars."

Gazing at the dusky yellow sky, Zhu Jiuyuan sighed.

Demonic Qi couldn’t be resisted by willpower alone. Even he was now feeling a faint impulse to fly into a rage and destroy everything.

He had underestimated the Demonic Qi and overestimated his own willpower.

"Mr. Zhu, may I ask what the sticking point in the talks is?

Is it that the terms can’t be agreed upon because the Demon Court is demanding too much?"

Su Mu asked, getting straight to the point.

"Yes."

Zhu Jiuyuan didn’t hide anything. "I personally believe that giving an annual tribute to the Demon Court is like drinking poison to quench thirst. It will only make the Demon Court stronger and Da Xuan weaker."

"Then why do you still support the peace talks, sir?"

Su Mu asked gravely.

Zhu Jiuyuan was the leader of the civil servants, and the civil servant faction was the one advocating for peace.

"We have no choice."

Zhu Jiuyuan sighed. "If we had the strength to fight, don’t you think we would want to solve the Demon Court problem once and for all?

But we can’t."

Zhu Jiuyuan looked at Su Mu and said slowly, "Captain Su, I know your Taiping Bureau has always held reservations about the civil servants.

I won’t deny that there are indeed a few bad apples among the civil servants.

But please believe me, the majority of civil servants are doing it for Da Xuan."

Su Mu remained noncommittal. He hadn’t dealt with many civil servants and wasn’t in a position to judge.

"I support the peace talks because the Da Xuan Kingdom’s treasury is empty. It simply cannot support a great war."

Zhu Jiuyuan continued, "War requires more than just hot-blooded courage.

Da Xuan needs time to restore its national strength."

"Let’s not talk about that. I only want to ask you, sir, what is Da Xuan’s bottom line?"

Su Mu said, shaking his head.

Grand principles wouldn’t solve their current predicament.

As the Deputy Envoy, his mission was to bring the Da Xuan Envoy back to Da Xuan safely.

If this dragged on any longer, the Da Xuan Envoy would suffer heavy casualties.

When that happened, his mission rating would surely be lowered, and the Points he received would be drastically reduced.

Su Mu would absolutely not allow that to happen.

"Fifty thousand taels of silver, one hundred thousand bolts of silk."

Zhu Jiuyuan fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"And what are the Demon Court’s demands?"

Su Mu pressed.

"One hundred fifty thousand bolts of silk, seventy thousand taels of silver, and thirty thousand jin of grain."

Zhu Jiuyuan replied.

Both sides were dug in on their terms, neither willing to back down, which was why the negotiations had stalled.

Su Mu’s expression turned thoughtful.

’A few tens of thousands of taels of silver isn’t really that much,’ he thought.

The great clans of Da Xuan made more than that in a single year.

But they couldn’t just agree to the Demon Court’s demands.

Da Xuan was a vast enterprise with massive expenses.

It might not sound like much, but giving away tens of thousands of taels of silver for free every year would still have a significant impact on Da Xuan.