"The second condition is that you must sell me five million jin of silk at twenty percent off the market price."
Li Chengfeng made a quick mental calculation. This demand amounted to only a little over one million taels of immortal silver. He had already spent ten million taels merely building the city walls, so he readily agreed to this as well.
Fortunately, Wei Yuan made no further demands, saying instead, "Until you fulfill both conditions above, your men will have to endure a small grievance and stay in Qingming for a few days. Once you get things done, I will release them back to you. However, their room and board will be one tael per person per day, and they won't be released until the bill is settled in full."
"Is this for real?"
"My word is my bond!"
"Good! Given Lord Wei's status and reputation, I am sure you are not one to go back on your word!" Li Chengfeng agreed at once.
At this moment, an advisor beside them presented paper and brush. Wei Yuan was startled. "What is this for?"
The advisor said, "Spoken words carry no proof. It would be better to draw up a peace treaty and have both sides sign it as a witness."
Li Chengfeng's face darkened slightly. He thought to himself: *If I sign such a treaty, wouldn't that make me a criminal for the ages? How could I ever sign a peace agreement that nails me to a pillar of shame?*
Yet since his advisor had already proposed it, Li Chengfeng forced a smile and said, "That would be fine too! What do you think, Lord Wei?" In his heart, he was cursing the tactless advisor up and down, resolving to find a way to have him put to death once they returned.
Wei Yuan burst into laughter and tore the paper to shreds. "Sign what? What can a single sheet of paper bind? Pure pedantic nonsense! If we reach an understanding now, we act on what's agreed. If we can't agree later, we'll just fight another battle and negotiate again. What do we need a treaty for? Do you think I'm afraid you'll renege?"
The advisor's face turned pale and green by turns. He could only curse the barbarian inwardly, not daring to utter another half-word. A barbarian like Wei Yuan had no respect for scholars; one couldn't appeal to unyielding integrity or martyrdom before him—Wei Yuan truly would kill.
Li Chengfeng also breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly finalized the matter.
Wei Yuan added, "I will only handle the exchange here at Bishui."
Li Chengfeng not only breathed another sigh of relief, but a great weight lifted from his chest.
Scraping together five million jin of silk posed some difficulty, but with money, it was no real problem. At most, it was a price difference of a little over one million taels of immortal silver, and Li Chengfeng could make a profit on the brocade, leaving the net cost at only seven or eight hundred thousand taels. In his eyes, that was a trifling matter.
As long as he held onto the Bishui domain, wiped-out troops could be replenished, and deficient military funds could be allocated—none of it was an issue.
A smile returned to Li Chengfeng's face. He ordered the soldiers to lay down their weapons, strip off their armor, and accompany Wei Yuan's army back to Qingming. The soldiers were informed that they were not captives, but collateral for the peace terms, and would return before long.
The reputation of a hostage was vastly better than that of a captive, and it could be framed as serving the state, so the soldiers showed little resistance and obediently complied.
Li Chengfeng's expression finally relaxed into genuine smiles, and the atmosphere softened considerably. Wei Yuan rubbed his hands together and said excitedly, "Isn't it time to draw the prize?"
Li Chengfeng and a dharma idol general unrolled the scroll and said, "Lord Wei, if you please!"
He appeared entirely confident. The advisors and military officers privy to the truth inwardly praised the Fourth Highness's shrewdness. The Li family had drawn from this Scroll of the Phoenix Fire Immortal Palace for centuries; only a single immortal artifact had ever been drawn, along with four Scenery Command spirit treasures. Even dharma idol magic treasures had been sparse—the overwhelming majority were merely Dao Foundation materials.
Now Li Chengfeng had used such an airy, insubstantial prospect to preserve the Bishui domain and secure Wei Yuan's withdrawal. It truly could not have been more worthwhile.
Many among them knew Qi-Gazing. Looking at Wei Yuan now, his karmic luck appeared utterly ordinary, no different from a common man's. It seemed that the prior claims of Wei Yuan being a child of karmic destiny had all been mere rumors.
If this Wei Yuan were a child of karmic destiny, wouldn't they all be karmic luck incarnate?
The Phoenix Fire Immortal Palace was the site where a divine phoenix had fallen. The heavenly phoenix valued karmic luck above all, as the saying went that it would alight on nothing but the parasol tree. Thus, the Li family had maintained a tradition of using this treasure to test the karmic destiny of younger generations.
The Immortal Sect Unified Examination's methods of testing karmic luck could not filter out fleeting luck, nor could they measure true karmic destiny. Therefore, many who were merely lucky for a time could catch the eyes of the immortal palaces. Yet fleeting luck could never pass the scrutiny of the divine phoenix.
Thus everyone waited to see what kind of expression Wei Yuan would wear when he pulled out a Dao Foundation material. Some felt uneasy, thinking he ought to get at least a dharma idol magic treasure; otherwise, Wei Yuan might fly into a rage out of shame and frustration.
Wei Yuan was filled with anticipation, discovering surprisingly that drawing a prize was quite thrilling. He loosened his collar, took off the silk scarf tied around his neck—a gift from True Monarch Yanshi—and reached his large hand into the painting.
The immortal realm within the painting blocked divine sense. Wei Yuan felt his fingertips brush against numerous objects, but each bounced away at a touch. Finally, his hand grabbed a clump of somewhat slippery fire. The flames burned so fiercely that his primordial soul trembled; with a cry of pain, he yanked his hand back, clutching a large clump of moss still burning with faint Phoenix Heavenly Fire.
The moment this object emerged, the surrounding temperature skyrocketed. Dao Foundation cultivators were nearly set ablaze and had to scramble dozens of zhang away before they could find footing.
When an immortal object emerges, it bears its own name in heaven and earth. Wei Yuan observed it with the Qi-Gazing Technique. Relying on his pinnacle karmic luck, he tore through the heavenly principles surrounding it in one stroke and learned its name: Phoenix Blood Longevity Moss.
Connecting the painting's origins with the true name of the treasure, Wei Yuan could roughly guess its background: it had to be a patch of moss born from absorbing the phoenix's blood after the divine phoenix fell. Among all the immortal treasures left within the Phoenix Fire Immortal Palace, this item was very likely the foremost.
Wei Yuan immediately stored this piece of Phoenix Blood Moss into Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Though burned by the phoenix fire until he wanted to stamp his feet, his inward exhilaration was beyond words.
On the surface, however, he put on a deeply frustrated look and grumbled, "What rotten luck! I ended up grabbing just a clump of grass!"
Then Wei Yuan tied the silk scarf back on.
Several advisors and generals smiled. Seeing that Wei Yuan had no intention of turning hostile, they thought they had finally escaped disaster. Li Chengfeng, however, stood frozen where he was, wishing he could slap himself across the face a few times.
"The fighting is over, so I should be on my way. Your Fourth Highness, prepare yourself early—the brocade will arrive in three days. Silk is harder to gather, so you'd better hurry. For an army of tens of thousands, room and board comes to forty thousand taels of immortal silver a day!"
Li Chengfeng forced a smile and asked, "What about the wounded soldiers?"
Wei Yuan replied, "Flat price: ten taels of immortal silver per man."
"Done," Li Chengfeng agreed without a second thought.
Wei Yuan then returned to his army. Qingming forces began clearing the battlefield, marching off all the Zhao soldiers and leaving only Li Chengfeng's two thousand personal guards behind.
Wei Yuan had brought hundreds of supply wagons this time, just enough to transport the wounded Zhao troops. Seeing that Qingming treated the Zhao soldiers reasonably well and took good care of the wounded—treating the gravely injured on the spot and generously applying pills and medicinal salves—Li Chengfeng felt somewhat reassured.
Then he began to ponder how he would report this to his royal father.
Chapter 672