Broad daylight broke, and Li Zhi's confidant finally returned.
The confidant reported that the young lady had thrown him out without uttering a single word. Several times he had tried to deliver letters inside, but every one of them was cast back out.
Li Zhi had waited all night for the beauty in vain and was already quite annoyed. Hearing his confidant's report, he gave a heavy snort, resolving to pay no further mind to that incomprehensible woman.
Within Redstone City, Tianyu was taking inventory of goods inside a warehouse, watching sinewy mighty warriors haul chest after chest onto cargo carts.
As soon as the warriors loaded one cart full, they wheeled it into a shed specifically designated for parking them. Dozens of carts already stood beneath the vast sprawl of sheds to keep them dry from the rain.
This was the second caravan bound for Qingming. The number of carts was three times that of the first, packed with vast quantities of items from Wei Yuan's list.
However, few sacrificial offerings remained, and they still had to meet the quota for the annual Grand Sacrificial Rite, so only several thousand people had been prepared. Even so, Redstone City was already purchasing sacrifices in bulk from other cities, which would arrive in time for the next transaction.
While taking inventory, Tianyu's face suddenly turned deathly pale, and his life aura plummeted sharply!
Tianyu had experienced this kind of blow many times before. Gritting his teeth, he endured it and roared at the hauling laborers, "Snap to attention, all of you! You must finish loading within two hours! We depart in four!"
Then Tianyu grabbed a Shaman beside him and bellowed, "Go wake up every single driver! If even one is missing, have him get the hell out of my caravan forever!"
Four hours later, the massive caravan rolled slowly out of Redstone City, heading toward the distant east.
Inside his carriage, a weakened Tianyu finally recovered somewhat, muttering to himself, "...Maybe the reception really is bad."
When the sensation of being worshipped washed over him, Tianyu knew that a new shipment of goods had been prepared in Qingming and was ready for trade.
Inside the tallest main spire of Redstone City, several Desolate Shamans with wild, feral auras watched the caravan recede into the distance, all falling silent.
After a long while, one Desolate Shaman finally said, "Hongye wishes for us to form a coalition to subjugate the humans. The deadline for our reply is drawing near."
Another Desolate Shaman did not answer the question, saying instead, "I think this lad Tianyu isn't bad. He is a Great Shaman now, too. For the next tribal assembly, we can have him attend as well."
Though the Desolate Shamans' brains were mostly muscle, they still understood his meaning.
A female Desolate Shaman grew impatient and said, "The humans' brocade looks better than the rain-silk of the Land of Rain, and it's ten times cheaper! If Tianyu can bring back a hundred thousand bolts of brocade this time, let the Land of Rain fight the humans on their own. In every past joint campaign, we suffered the most casualties and got the least share!"
An elderly Desolate Shaman remarked, "Only a hundred thousand bolts isn't enough for us to break our covenant with the Land of Rain."
The shamans all looked toward the Desolate Shaman who had proposed inviting Tianyu to the tribal assembly. But at that moment, an impossibly decrepit old shaman with an unusually massive frame spoke slowly: "The humans' brocade will be endless... Their soldiers and weapons will also be endless..."
The Desolate Shamans all paled. Though this old shaman was not a Desolate Shaman, he was born with extraordinary gifts and could occasionally glimpse the future.
***
In the Land of Rain, Giant Oak City.
Countless Shaman warriors were massing toward this gigantic city, and Great Shamans arrived one after another. Atop the central tower in the city, three Nether Shamans sat facing one another, the surroundings around each of them twisting and warping continuously.
One Nether Shaman let out a shrill, piercing screech: "The Desolate Ancestor Tribe has refused to deploy troops! Those faithless desolate swine!"
"If Lord Hongye could recover, why would we fear a mere two human Scenery Commands?"
"Besides the Scenery Commands, that fellow named Wei Yuan cannot be underestimated either. He possesses a technique capable of shaving away lifespan, which is thoroughly disgusting."
"Regrettably, the Karma Great Curse has already been used; a similar curse can no longer be employed."
"How did he survive the Karma Great Curse?"
An awkward, deathly silence suddenly descended upon the room. No one spoke, and they tacitly bypassed the topic.
***
In Qingming, land reclamation had been proceeding at a frantic pace, and they were now breaking ground on their fifth million mu.
Another season of grain had been harvested, yielding nearly nine hundred million jin in total. Qingming had thrown open its doors to absorb displaced refugees, yet the population had barely reached one and a half million.
Wei Yuan had already raised the grain ration for common folk to five hundred jin a year, and to one thousand jin for those undergoing Body Casting.
Consequently, almost everyone of suitable age and constitution in Qingming had begun Body Casting. At the same time, Wei Yuan continually transported grain to western Ningzhou, yet grain stockpiles still expanded rapidly.
Wei Yuan was perpetually busy, with scarcely any time to rest. Yet somewhere in his mind, he was always pondering what status he should adopt when visiting the Bao family.
He had already asked Li Zhi this question, but Li Zhi had merely tossed it right back to him.
Just then, a bolt of heavenly lightning struck ahead, snapping Wei Yuan back to reality. Ahead lay the lightning grounds. Five Thunder Crystal Wood trees were currently planted here, the sky overhead eternally cloaked in dark clouds, drawing down a bolt of thunder every few moments.
Arranged around the Thunder Crystal Wood were segments of teal wood marked with red grain. After a bolt of lightning crashed down, many logs were charred over nearly half their surface; three or four more strikes would scorch them entirely.
This lightning-charred phoenix-blood wutong could replace thunder sand as the primary ingredient of gunpowder. The domain could now produce it in bulk, boosting gunpowder production five- to sixfold.
After inspecting the lightning grounds, Wei Yuan returned to his quarters to review recent reports.
One of them came from a merchant firm in the State of Zhao. Under this firm's name was a medium-sized thunder sand mine. Wei Yuan had long wanted to buy it, but the firm remained unwilling.
Wei Yuan set this report aside and picked up another. This one stated that the prices of several types of spirit wood being purchased were rising, and acquisition volumes in the coming year would likely decline.
The prices of several rare mineral ores had also soared. Fortunately, adding merely a few liang to every thousand jin of molten iron sufficed to forge high-performance steel. Although the proportion seemed small, Qingming's steel output was now colossal, so the cumulative quantity of rare mineral sands required was vast, and the price had already tripled.
As Qingming's scale continued to grow, the variety of materials involved multiplied. Moreover, the throughput of many individual goods had grown large enough to warrant a place on Wei Yuan's desk.
By the time he finished attending to these official matters, two hours had slipped by unnoticed.
Wei Yuan set down his brush and looked out the window at the bright moon hanging high in the sky. That thread of heaviness surfaced from the depths of his heart once more: How should he approach the Bao family?
Perhaps besides Li Zhi, he should ask a few more people—Xiaoyu, for instance, or Cui Yu... But they were all schoolmates, acquaintances of long standing, and Wei Yuan always found it somewhat awkward to bring up.
Under the moonlight, Wei Yuan exhaled a long breath, resolving to set aside his pride and ask properly.
As he was pondering, a cultivator suddenly came to report that the imperial envoy from Western Jin had arrived and was currently waiting outside Qingming.
Wei Yuan was somewhat surprised. Checking the hour, midnight had not yet struck. Shouldn't the Western Jin envoy be asleep aboard an airship at this hour? Why had he suddenly come over, and why did he refuse to enter Qingming?
Wei Yuan immediately departed his quarters and flew toward the northeast. Moments later, he spotted an airship resting quietly in a mountain valley. It was not large, bearing the insignia of the royal trading house—evidently, this imperial envoy had arrived in secret.
Wei Yuan landed on the airship deck and announced his identity. The cabin door opened, and Zhao Tong walked out, smiling the moment they met: "Lord Wei, long time no see!"
Wei Yuan had not expected the visitor to be Zhao Tong. In the past, whenever Zhao Tong came to Qingming, he would wait directly at Reception Town in the center of the domain. Why was he acting so furtively this time?
Not having anticipated Zhao Tong's arrival and having rushed over without immortal silver on hand, Wei Yuan took out a pill case and pressed it into his hands, saying, "There's a little trinket in here that can extend life by three years. It's similar to blood yingluo, but the side effects aren't as severe. I truly have nothing else on hand—Eunuch, please accept this pill for now."
Zhao Tong's breathing quickened slightly as he gripped the pill case tightly. "Does this pill conflict with other elixirs?"
"It is unaffected by other longevity pills; the three years come with no deduction. It is merely similar to blood yingluo—consider it like taking a small fraction of one."
Zhao Tong gingerly tucked the box into his sleeve and said, "A life-saving treasure!"
With that, he pointed toward the inner cabin. "The true principal party this time isn't me. Go through this door, walk to the very end, and you'll see. Hurry inside!"
Wei Yuan stepped into the cabin. It was exceptionally quiet inside, completely deserted.
Reaching the end, he reached out and pushed open the cabin door, only to hear the door behind him shut with a thud—the passage he had come through closed automatically and locked fast.
Wei Yuan remained unperturbed and pushed the door open to step inside.
This was an expansive cabin, the floor covered entirely in soft, pitch-black beast pelts. A peerless enchantress reclined against a soft cushion, her bare feet resting upon the pelts, set off snow-white in contrast, her toenails nearly translucent one by one.
Uncontrollably, Wei Yuan's gaze traveled up her ankles, tracing along her calves, past her knees, before being blocked by the hem of her skirt. Just as Wei Yuan was about to sigh inwardly, he saw her reach down and hike her skirt up a good measure!
Even with Wei Yuan's self-control, his heart pounded forcefully several times.
With a faint, teasing smile, Consort Yuan crooked her finger. "Come here!"
Wei Yuan approached her. Seeing only a single cushion in the room and no other seat, he sat directly upon the beast pelts.
She lifted a wine cup, took a delicate sip, then slid it in front of Wei Yuan and beckoned him closer.
Wei Yuan leaned forward, drawing closer to Consort Yuan.
Leaning right against Wei Yuan's ear, she spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, audible only with rapt attention: "Drink this cup of wine, and only then can you witness that karma from that day..."
Wei Yuan was startled. "What karma?"
Consort Yuan lightly stroked her lower abdomen. "This karma."
In an instant, Wei Yuan pieced together the cause and effect, thoroughly shocked. "This... could it be..."
"He is lying in Chunhua Hall right now. Anomalies filled the heavens when he was born." The corners of Consort Yuan's mouth curled into a smile.
Wei Yuan's mind was instantly thrown into chaos.
"I hear you've had plenty of troubles lately. I'll just resolve them all for you!" Consort Yuan raised the wine cup, propped up Wei Yuan's chin with one hand, and poured the remaining wine straight down his throat.
Inside the cabin, a red candle suddenly popped with a spark, and a crimson hue laden with subtle fragrance billowed outward, draping everything in a gauzy veil.
The scent in the air was cloying and sweet, seeming to seep through every pore straight into the heart. When it bored in, there was a faint itch—an itch deep inside that could neither be scratched nor dispelled.
A hazy red veil cloaked Wei Yuan's vision. He watched as she rose and let her garments slip away, her snow-white body crawling toward him across the pitch-black furs, pushing his limp, weakened body down.
A bizarre sensation suddenly exploded, as if something had seized Wei Yuan's soul and was about to haul it right out of his body.
His mind in total disarray, Wei Yuan stammered, "W-wait a moment! Don't hem and haw like this... let's talk properly..."
Chapter 430