Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 768 - 742: Bustling
For a moment, Li Dehai had a foreboding premonition.
He couldn’t quite figure out where the crisis came from, but the cultivator’s keen intuition told him that something was wrong.
But he had no way out. He had spent all his Immortal Jade building the Cloud Top Immortal Realm, and unfortunately, luck was not on his side, as he failed to turn it into a new Money Tree.
There was really no Immortal Jade to refund, and if he couldn’t get the Firestones, the family’s assets accumulated over thousands of years would all be lost!
"I collected the payment in advance and used it elsewhere. It’s not a crime without discussing it with you all, right?" He argued stubbornly, "I’ve never owed a debt when taking goods from you, and I even pre-stored two hundred thousand Immortal Jade.
You were the ones who released the news saying there would be a bountiful year ahead with a large production of Firestones, asking me to pay a deposit in advance to wait for the goods. And what happened?
There was indeed a large shipment initially, and then straight into a year of debt with nothing harvested. If it weren’t for the false news, I wouldn’t have taken such a big step, pre-collecting so much money!"
Liang Li sneered upon hearing this, "Oh, listening to Shopkeeper Li, are you saying that we caused you to squander the few million Immortal Jade you had?"
"Don’t target the mines, Shopkeeper Li. Go back and wait for news first. We’ll handle our matters ourselves, especially finding the insider trading secretly. There’s no need for outsiders to get involved."
Watching time pass bit by bit, with the auditor’s warning lingering in his ears, how could Li Dehai obediently go back and wait to be sealed off?
He sighed sincerely, "I am really anxious this time. We’ve been working together for so many years, surely you know the foundation of the Li family?
I’m just a merchant, and my cultivation realm is here for all to see. How could I be a match for you all, let alone dare to target the mines?
If I don’t go to the mines, can’t you just go and take a look? I really only need a few boxes of Firestones to solve this urgent problem.
Please have mercy and make a trip, regardless of who trades privately, if there are Firestones, it means the mines must be operational. Just help fetch a few boxes for me first!"
The Five Great Merchants’ explanation about the Li family was built on lies, which couldn’t withstand scrutiny.
As for the so-called mines, the Sand Hill City was still dealing with a lot of lawsuits, and it wouldn’t be easy to find out who secretly made a deal with Ming Qingyan, the old she-bear.
Moreover, with the cold poison rampant in Sand Hill City, these patriarchs were far too noble to risk themselves.
Their concerted efforts to dismiss further aroused Li Dehai’s suspicion. Could it be that they had jointly agreed to abandon the Xihuo Merchant Guild and do business with the Wuju Merchant Guild of Moon Snail Mountain?
That would be even worse!
In the face of crisis, he thought, if I have no way out, don’t think you can just sit back and watch. The alliance among the Five Great Merchants is not unbreakable; breaking the alliance and arousing suspicion may provide him an opportunity to manipulate the situation to his advantage.
"This is Ruan Yanluo from Moon Snail Mountain who sells Firestones..." Li Dehai immediately condensed her charming and exotically beautiful image with Spiritual Power in mid-air, and pointedly said, "Such a stunning beauty comes to Silver Valley seeking cooperation; surely, she couldn’t do so quietly. Gentlemen, do you have any impression?"
Shi Kesong looked up and his eyes lit up — a great beauty!
Clicking his tongue, he’d love to talk business with her. Surely, it would be wonderful.
But the other four glanced at him with sidelong glances. Everyone knew that the new Patriarch of the Shi family was a notorious womanizer. With such an exotic beauty at his door, he certainly wouldn’t refuse the opportunity.
"Why are you all looking at me?" Shi Kesong suddenly realized what was going on and got angry, "Li Dehai, don’t you dare dump this on my head!
Not to mention Silver Valley, where there are countless female cultivators trying to curry favor with me. Even if it takes a few Spirit Stones to buy some mortal beauties, I’ve done it before. Do you think I’d be captivated by a woman and ditch you all for a private deal with her? Let alone dealing with the mine boss over there..."
He gave a meaningful look, indicating that it was impossible for him to take the risk of going to Sand Hill City to negotiate with the she-bear.
But when it came to beauties, the other four didn’t buy this excuse either.
"Initially, we gave the mine boss the Communication Stone, allowing anyone to contact him privately. Perhaps the so-called debt year was just a show for us."
"Yes, even my family’s miners have stopped responding, which is not a good sign."
"Now that you mention it, this month the Qi family is in charge of the Teleportation Array. Brother Shi transported many large boxes under the guise of moving beauties. Could it be that they contained Firestones?"
"I really didn’t!" Shi Kesong’s face turned red as he was besieged.
But indeed, he had spent money to buy many female slaves and was afraid of being found out by the old master, so he secretly transported them in boxes, worried they would suffocate. Inevitably, the boxes were a bit large.
The problem was that mortal bodies could not withstand the play of a Demon Cultivator. Those women had long since died and were discarded in abandoned mine pits to feed Demon Beasts. He couldn’t provide evidence, and the more he explained, the more it seemed like he was covering up.
Seeing this, Li Dehai couldn’t help but feel pleased, thinking that whether or not this guy was the one behind the scenes, at least the Shi family and the other four were not on the same page.
Once the truth came out, they would start fighting among themselves, and Ruan Yanluo might not supply goods for a while, giving him the chance to intercept and relieve the urgent issue!
"Stop arguing!" Facing the accusations, Shi Kesong’s blood rushed to his head, and he directly flipped the table, sending a palm strike towards Li Dehai, "You damn Li, how dare you slander me and sow discord, using me as a joke!"
Then, in an instant, with the aid of a Magical Treasure, Shi Kesong, who was already of a higher realm than Li Dehai, struck him with a palm. Fortunately, Li Dehai had a Magical Treasure for protection, narrowly escaping disaster.
After exchanging a move, Li Dehai was terrified, "You, you want to kill me to silence me after being exposed?"
Ultimately, Shi Kesong was young and hot-headed. Feeling wronged and unable to refute, he acted impulsively, never intending to kill him.
However, being accused of "betrayal" for being tempted by beauty turned out to be a heavy label, igniting a blaze of anger within.
With a flick, a Magical Treasure opened a Barrier in the hall to prevent him from escaping. Shi Kesong said coldly, "Since you’ve decided I want to kill you, then I’ll oblige and kill you! Everyone, after I kill this scoundrel, we shall all head to the mine to confront the truth, and see who has really betrayed the alliance!"
Although Silver Valley is remote, it can’t resist the Five Great Merchants monopolizing Sand Hill City, both externally and internally, dominating the city’s lucrative industries. With wealth and the convenience of a Teleportation Array, the Patriarchs, who earn money effortlessly, have armed themselves to the teeth with top-notch Cultivation Techniques and Magical Treasures.
In contrast, Li Dehai, who came from a merchant background and was busy daily studying business tactics, naturally had a lesser Realm.
Moreover, this was the Shi Family’s territory, making it extremely easy for Shi Kesong to deal with him!
Trapped by the Barrier and unable to teleport, outmatched in a fight, and swiftly depleting his Magical Treasures and Elixirs, Li Dehai had nowhere to escape and shouted loudly, "Back in the day, my ancestor saved your ancestors, giving you a way to survive! Today, I’m personally exposing Shi’s betrayal, and you stand idly by watching him strike? Is this how you treat your benefactor?"
"Benefactor?" Liang Li scoffed impatiently, "I’ve had enough of being burdened by some unknown generational debt. Even if there was one, it’s long repaid!"
"That’s reasonable. No matter what, our five families are long-standing allies. How can we be torn apart by his machinations?"
Shi Kesong, with his head down, unleashed a fury of attacks, beating Li Dehai until he was bleeding and exhausted, feeling satisfied. He got up and said, "Thank you all for joining in. Our five families share both fortunes and difficulties equally.
This kid didn’t even bring a confidant. If he dies here, no one will know. But to keep the secret forever, unless someone has already betrayed the alliance, there should be no refusal."
The Shi Family still had the old masters in charge, so they couldn’t be provoked. After deliberating, the other family heads, feeling confident they weren’t involved in smuggling, saw no need to create suspicion. It was simply teaming up to kill a Demon Cultivator; it was no big deal.
Thus, all five drew their Weapons and advanced together to end Li Dehai.
After cleaning up the aftermath, they agreed to set off for Sand Hill City at nightfall for a confrontation!
...............
"What have the Five Great Merchants eaten that made them so bold, not even fearing the cold poison, and daring to head to Sand Hill City at night?" Jiang Yuan glanced at the intercepted messages in the Array, noting the ones sent to the mole and those threatening City Lord Ming, finding it rather lively.
But the small courtyard was even livelier now, so he couldn’t spare a thought for the evening’s affairs.
Time rolled back to the morning when he tried to utilize his Talent Skills to work as a temp at the Spark Fire Firm, and then teleported back to the courtyard to continue his renovation efforts—the expansive fields in the new courtyard were arranged neatly, but the landscape in the small courtyard was still cramped and needed reconfiguration.
Once the new setup was completed, he saw the "random one-time specific acceleration tool" given for completing the task. Thinking there was nothing else to do now, he clicked to use it, curious about what novel item he might gain.
As a result, he hit a jackpot—farming acceleration for a full six hours!
Jiang Yuan had barely reacted when he saw the wheat in a thousand acres of ordinary farmland, planted not long ago, mature instantly!
Then the orchards newly planted on the mountain popped with green buds, rapidly blossoming and bearing fruit; followed by the crops in the Spirit Field gradually maturing in patches.
The effect was immediate!
Moreover, in the data-driven world, a single sprinkling from the sprinkler lasts a whole day, no need to water again despite multiple harvests.
He was stunned for a few seconds before reacting, then hurried to bring out the limited-time three-month auto harvester he’d won in the lottery.
Click to use, and the simple paper airplane design "whooshed" out, instantly harvesting all the mature crops!
Then he hectically bought seeds, set the auto harvester, and watched as the clock icon at the top of his vision ticked down, while batches of crops, fruits, and herbs matured with a "whoosh," and the paper airplane "whooshed" to harvest and sow simultaneously.
[Achievement: Harvest 100,000 Crops! Reward: Greenhouse Expansion Card +1]
[Achievement: Harvest 5,000 Spirit Teas! Reward: Farming Fertilizer Gift Package +1]
[Achievement: Harvest 5,000 Fruits! Reward: Acceleration Card +1]
[Achievement: Plant a Fully Grown Special Plant! Reward: Special Plant Seed +2]
.........
Jiang Yuan buried his head in buying frantically, continuously buying seeds to fill the auto harvester, not even glancing at the accomplishments and rewards sweeping past.
[In an acre of Spirit Field, herbs are mature. Please harvest promptly.]
[In the mysterious Spirit Field, a large number of Spirit Roots are mature. Please harvest promptly.]
[Achievement: Plant 100 Spirit Roots! Reward: Mystery Seed Gift Package +5]
[Achievement: Plant 500 Herbs! Reward: Greenhouse Expansion Card +1]
.........
[Special Achievement: Achieve ten accomplishments in one day! Special Reward: Wing of Fire]
[Wing of Fire: A pair of wings condensed from Celestial Fire. Equip to fly, can be individually hidden or shown. Equip to gain: Attack Power +1000; Speed +100; Physical Strength +500; Fire Skills Damage +15%; Fire Skills Damage Reduction 15%; High Temperature Defense +5000]
