Chapter 223 - Compromise (2)

Lou Ji pinched him hard in annoyance. “What? Your big sister might be a little venomous, but I do possess a conscience, you know~”

Right. Of course. Absolutely. Xu Yuan rolled his eyes inwardly.

Lou Ji gave a soft snort. She wound a strand of hair around one long finger, twirling it idly as a trace of reminiscence entered her eyes. “Your big sister used to be one of the wretched commoner those sects speak of. Is it really so strange that hearing it would upset me?”

Xu Yuan understood at once. “Not strange at all.”

The next instant, Lou Ji suddenly leaned close to him. She stared into his eyes with a smiling expression. “But for you, Changtian, that reason isn’t enough.”

Xu Yuan was silent for a moment before answering honestly. “I knew Zhou Xiaohe.”

Lou Ji understood his intentions immediately. Intelligence work was her profession, after all. He had silenced a witness. Yet when she saw Xu Yuan’s expression, she considerately said nothing.

Xu Yuan lowered his eyes and murmured, “She and another person saw Ran Qingmo and me in Sageridge. They didn’t identify our true identities at the time, but she could have recognized us later.”

“You handled it well,” Lou Ji praised.

Xu Yuan let out a slow breath and gazed in the direction of Sageridge, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “Back then, the two of them traveled thousands of miles to Sageridge to save the common people. They helped the frontier army hunt down demonic beasts, and now...”

He gave a quiet, humorless laugh. “Still, she made the correct choice.”

Lou Ji reached over, pulled Xu Yuan’s head against her shoulder, and gently stroked his hair. “Changtian, don’t think about it too much. Your father and eldest brother handle such matters very well. When people stand on opposing sides, you kill whoever needs killing. If you spare them, they’ll only turn around and kill you instead.”

Lou Ji paused, then said softly, “Come now. Tell your big sister the other person’s name.”

“He’s dead.” Xu Yuan’s voice was quiet. “He was a fool. He couldn’t accept what his sect had done, so he insisted on going beyond Sageridge to kill demonic beasts and atone for their sins. With the beast tide raging, he’s most likely already died in battle.”

Xu Yuan sighed. “People like him are probably why Xinyao can still hold on to her faith in the sects.”

Lou Ji raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She did not press him for the man’s name, either. She merely continued stroking Xu Yuan’s head as he rested in her arms. Yet inwardly, she had already taken note of the man. He had chosen righteousness and died for his convictions. Admirable. Worthy of respect. But for the Third Young Master’s safety, she would still have to confirm that he had truly perished in the beast tide.

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The Myriad Manifestations Sect’s council hall.

Once the catalogue had been passed around, the sect’s senior leadership immediately erupted into chaos.

The blade was already at their throats and drawing blood, but that did nothing to dampen their reluctance to surrender their own interests.

The Sect Master and Grand Elder watched in silence as the elders below cursed and argued over one another.

“90 million taels? They’re trying to tear out the foundations of our Myriad Manifestations Sect!”

“Sect Master, even if the Chancellor's Manor wins an all-out war against us, they won’t gain anything from it! Fight them! They wouldn’t dare!”

“I think negotiations are possible, but the payment must be made in installments. We can hand over some of the businesses on this list. The industries that provide basic necessities for those wretched commoners can go, but the demonic beast, formation inscription, and medicinal-herb businesses must remain ours. If we surrender those, it really will shake the sect’s foundations.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?! The farming tools and agricultural businesses all belong to our Gu Clan! Why don’t you suggest handing over the demonic beast businesses instead?!”

“Demonic beasts? You have the nerve to bring those up? They’re one of the sect’s foundations! Without those large breeding grounds, the Demonvein Merchant Association will lose its entire supply. The sect’s income will be slashed! And that’s not even mentioning the armies we need to organize for war. You all saw those flying demonic beasts attacking today...”

“We only have half an hour! Are you planning to spend all of it arguing?!” The Sect Master’s furious shout silenced the hall. His gloomy gaze swept across everyone below before settling on Fifth Elder Xia Wenlin. His tone eased slightly. “Fifth, what is your view?”

Xia Wenlin had remained silent throughout the argument. At the question, he rose and cupped his hands toward the gathered elders.

“We should preserve as many of our businesses as possible. These assets are hens that lay golden eggs. I made a rough calculation just now. After so many years of accumulation, the sect should have around 10 million taels in readily available silver. The actual amount may be somewhat higher. If we scrape together everything we can, we might barely reach 20 million. That still leaves us around seventy million short.”

The Myriad Manifestations Sect had stood for a thousand years and amassed tremendous wealth. Yet its expenses were equally enormous. Cultivation devoured resources like nothing else, and the sect’s disciples enjoyed exceptionally generous benefits.

At that point, Xia Wenlin cupped his hands once more. “My Xia Clan is willing to contribute 1 million taels to help the sect survive this crisis.”

His words were met with silence. Donate money? Not a damn chance.

The Sect Master’s and Grand Elder’s expressions immediately darkened at the sight of the silent crowd.

Everyone below was the head of a powerful clan. Aside from what they handed over to the sect, none of them had been shy about lining their own pockets over the years. Yet now that disaster had come knocking, the two old men could already sense many of them quietly calculating how best to cut their losses and flee.

After a long silence, the Grand Elder spoke. “If the sect ceases to exist, all those businesses will become fat meat laid before the other sects and great clans. The Nie Clan will contribute 3 million taels.”

The Sect Master followed suit. “Everyone, think this through carefully. My Zhou Clan will also contribute 3 million taels.”

With the two leaders setting the example, the elders below reluctantly pledged varying amounts of silver.

Xia Wenlin listened carefully until everyone had finished, then let out a long breath. “We have now gathered 40 million taels, but we must keep some in reserve. Our cash flow cannot be allowed to run dry. If it does, many of our businesses will be unable to continue operating.”

“How much must we retain?” the Sect Master asked gravely.

Xia Wenlin did not answer. Instead, he looked toward He Jigu across from him. “I’m not responsible for the trading companies. We’ll have to ask Elder He and the others.”

He Jigu might have been fond of scheming and fighting for power, but when it came to commerce, the man knew his business.

After running through the numbers in his head, he quickly replied, “Considering that we’ll be surrendering part of our holdings, and the disruption caused by the resulting gaps in our operations, we must retain at least 10 million taels.”

Xia Wenlin then asked, “Elder He, roughly how much of the sect’s holdings would 60 million taels represent?”

He Jigu considered it for a moment. “At market value, around 30%. Losing 30% of our businesses would severely weaken the sect, but it would not shake our foundations. The Chancellor's Manor has calculated precisely that we would never choose mutual destruction over this.”

Xia Wenlin sighed deeply. “There is no point dwelling on that now. The Chancellor's Manor wants these businesses because it intends to establish itself in Westmarsh Province. They will certainly take over industries such as banks and trading companies. We need to prepare in advance.”

He Jigu raised an eyebrow. “Transfer the assets elsewhere?”

Xia Wenlin shook his head and pointed at the catalogue on the table. “If the Chancellor's Manor could investigate all this so thoroughly, then it must have prepared long ago. A petty trick like transferring the assets would never work. However, we can still make arrangements among the lower-level clerks and shopkeepers.

“Also, we need to dispose of the materials prepared for the ghost capturing formation as quickly as possible. And we must recover the person they captured alive. Otherwise, they will always have something they can use to control us.”

With that, Xia Wenlin cupped his hands toward the Sect Master. “Sect Master, matters have already reached this point. We must prepare ourselves for the coming upheaval. I will present you with a detailed plan afterward.”