Chapter 253 - 150: "Five Pieces, and Not a Penny Less.

Chapter 253: Chapter 150: "Five Pieces, and Not a Penny Less.

"Patriarch Shui. I’ve heard much about you."

"I wonder if Patriarch Shui has recently heard of the ’Mortal Realm High-speed Rail’?"

"I’ve heard a great deal about it."

The old man replied, his expression serious.

"The Mortal Realm is currently building a second High-speed Rail line from Jiangbei to Jiangnan. The route will pass over this bridge of yours. It won’t take up much space—just a small section."

"This bridge of yours is twenty meters wide."

"A width of about three meters is all I need."

"Of course."

"I won’t take it for free. Name your price."

"Very well." The old man, showing no surprise, held up five fingers. "Every merchant caravan that crosses this bridge is charged per head," he said seriously.

"Five Ghost Stones per person."

"The price is non-negotiable."

"Domain Lord Chen, since you’ve put it that way, I won’t charge the Mortal Realm a single coin for the right-of-way. However, in the future, the High-speed Rail must stop at the entrance to the bridge. All passengers crossing here will be required to pay our Jiangnan Shui Family a toll of five Ghost Stones."

In fact, just yesterday, he’d received a tip-off that Chen Fan was building a High-speed Rail line from Jiangbei to Jiangnan. He knew it would have to cross his bridge.

After all, his was the closest one.

Going further downstream would require a long detour.

Besides...

Many of the bridges downstream also belonged to his family.

In fact, all bridges between Jiangbei and Jiangnan belonged to his family. Only they knew how to construct them. In other words, if his family were ever wiped out, the connection between Jiangbei and Jiangnan would be completely severed.

To say they had lived off the river for generations was no exaggeration.

So they had already planned their counter-strategy.

Once the High-speed Rail was operational, travel between Jiangnan and Jiangbei would surely become more frequent.

With so many people riding the High-speed Rail, they would be absolutely raking in the toll fees.

...

"..."

Chen Fan’s brow furrowed. This complicated his plans. After a moment of thought, he said, "How about this: name a price, and I’ll buy the rights completely."

"I won’t interfere with any other merchant caravans that cross the bridge in the future."

"But in exchange, passengers on the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail will cross without paying a single Ghost Stone. What do you say?"

"That... is truly not possible."

The old man shook his head with a look of feigned helplessness. "Domain Lord Chen, we make our living by the river, not by a single catch. A one-time deal is no deal at all. If people wish to cross the bridge, the toll must be collected."

He then gave a light cough.

"Domain Lord Chen."

"You may not be familiar with the situation in Jiangnan. Throughout all of Jiangnan, only our Jiangnan Shui Family knows how to build bridges. All the bridges over this great river belong to our family."

"If you want to cross the river, you must go through the Jiangnan Shui Family."

After a moment of stony silence, Chen Fan said quietly, "I remember there being three powers controlling the bridges between Jiangbei and Jiangnan. Perhaps one of the other two families will accept my offer."

"Ahem."

A flicker of amusement crossed the old man’s eyes. "Domain Lord Chen, your information is a bit outdated. There were indeed two other families, but they were wiped out during Jiangnan’s last rainy season."

"Now, we are the only one left."

"If our family were to be wiped out as well..."

"...then from now on, anyone wishing to travel between Jiangbei and Jiangnan would have to detour through Jiangxi and Jiangdong. There are families there who can build bridges, of course, but it’s quite a long way around."

"How about this."

Chen Fan paused, ignoring the old man’s tangent. "One Ghost Stone," he said softly. "There will be no shortage of travelers. You’ll make a considerable profit."

"You’ve only ever been able to profit from merchant caravans, and there are few of them. Once my High-speed Rail is operational, many non-merchants will be passing this way."

"You should be content with that."

"Five stones. Not one less."

The old man shook his head, looking rather smug. "I know the Mortal Realm is powerful, and I’m well aware of the might of your Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. But we are the only family in Jiangnan that can build bridges. If I don’t give my approval, your Mortal Realm’s High-speed Rail will never reach Jiangnan. If you dare try to build it anyway, I’ll just block it with a City Wall, and..."

Before he could finish,

Chen Fan turned and walked away, done with the conversation.

’Shameless.’

’Just dragging this on.’

’I’ve been working for two days straight and I’m already tired and annoyed. Now I have to deal with this.’

’"Only our family can build bridges," huh? Once I wipe you out and find the Building Blueprint, the Mortal Realm can build its own.’

The very moment Chen Fan turned,

a flash of cold light appeared at the old man’s neck.

Before the old man could react,

fresh blood splattered everywhere.

Cold air rushed into the wound. The old man clutched his neck, but blood poured from between his fingers. A gurgling sound was all that came from his throat as he tried, and failed, to speak a single word.

Shao Qiu had appeared behind the old man, seemingly out of nowhere.

Like a phantom, Shao Qiu weaved through the crowd.

In a matter of breaths,

only pools of blood remained.

Their Cultivation was low; before a Martial King like Shao Qiu, they were utterly defenseless.

The instant the old man died,

a crack abruptly appeared in the great bridge beneath them. With its master dead, the bridge belonging to the Jiangnan Shui Family would soon collapse completely.

From then on, there were no more bridges between Jiangnan and Jiangbei.

And at that moment—

the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage was already airborne, soaring over the great river and heading straight for the Jiangnan Shui Family’s domain.

...

"..."

The merchants who had been watching from the sidelines stood in stunned silence, their expressions complex as they gazed at the corpses in the pools of blood. They looked on with regret, having overheard the entire conversation.

The negotiation had failed.

In truth, they had long resented the Jiangnan Shui Family. The toll hadn’t always been so high; the price had shot up after the other two families were eliminated.

After all, it was a monopoly.

Many suspected it was the Jiangnan Shui Family that had played dirty during the rainy season, causing the Ghost Tide to break through the other two powers’ territories.

How else could such a coincidence have occurred?

’It was satisfying, in a way, but what are we supposed to do now without a bridge? The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage can fly, but we certainly can’t...’