"Word of the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus cannot be leaked, but it cannot be consumed raw, either. It must be incorporated into medicine by an exceptionally skilled physician. Do you need me to find a divine doctor for you?" Qi Shiyun asked with genuine concern.
Since the decision had already been made, there was no need to second-guess it.
True fellow Daoists in the Heaven's Chosen lineage were hard to come by, and Qi Shiyun sincerely hoped Lianshan Xin would grow into his potential.
Lianshan Xin's mind was completely at ease now, and he said gratefully, "Thank you for your concern, Milady. My father happens to be a physician with a modest reputation in Jiangzhou. He can handle the preparation, and there is no need to worry about him leaking the secret."
"Your father possesses such skill? That is rare indeed."
Qi Shiyun was somewhat surprised. Ordinary physicians would never dare touch a miraculous medicine like a Thousand-Year Snow Lotus.
Then again, skilled physicians were not exceptionally rare in the jianghu; what was truly impossible to find was the lotus itself.
Qi Shiyun did not dwell on the matter, turning her attention back to the Qu family treasury.
As she paced through the chamber, the wealth accumulated by the Qu family over the years was laid bare before them.
Much of it consisted of things Lianshan Xin had never seen before, and even Qi Shiyun found her eyes opened wide.
"Lotus grass."
"Singing Jade Liquid."
"Five-Colored Ambergris Jade."
"Golden Phoenix Bamboo."
"Silver Dew Flower."
"Starlight Sand! There is actually Starlight Sand here—this is a peerless material for forging divine weapons!"
"And this is... a Myriad Manifestations Stone?"
Qi Shiyun grew increasingly astounded.
"Did the Demon Cult take a long time to transport supplies? How could the Qu family treasury hold so many treasures?"
"Milady, are these items astonishingly valuable?"
Lianshan Xin did not know much about such things. His horizons were still far too narrow; even with treasures laid out right before him, he could not recognize their worth.
Qi Shiyun pondered for a moment and said seriously, "In all of Jiangzhou, probably only Mount Kuang, the Prefectural Estate, and Bailudong Academy possess more treasures than this room."
Lianshan Xin was thoroughly shaken.
Do not think Great Yu's nineteen provinces was a large number. Over a millennium of heritage, the Great Yu Immortal Dynasty governed only nineteen provinces in total, and Jiangzhou was one of them.
The fourth richest place in Jiangzhou could easily rank among the top hundred across the entire empire.
"Even without that Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, you've rendered immense service this time. Of course, you can forget about receiving any credit from His Majesty or the Crown Prince."
Qi Shiyun made a dark joke.
Lianshan Xin had not yet entered officialdom, but what he had done today was already enough to put him on Emperor Yu's and the Crown Prince's blacklists.
"Still, if we present these treasures, the rewards within the Nine Heavens will certainly be generous. The Qi Condensation Pill you've been pining for won't be an issue at all," Qi Shiyun said.
With his heart reassured, Lianshan Xin grew bolder and asked, "Tanhua Qi, even if we hand over only half, the credit would still be substantial, wouldn't it?"
Qi Shiyun glanced at him and shook her head. "Keeping half is too much. We couldn't handle that. At most, we can keep ten percent."
Ten percent was by no means small, but Lianshan Xin knew full well how much wealth martial arts consumed.
He did not yet know how expensive cultivating immortality was, but common sense told him it would only be more, never less.
Therefore, when an opportunity to strike it rich presented itself, one had to seize it.
"Tanhua Qi, of course the two of us can't keep half just for ourselves. Every brother who came to the Qu manor to slay demons and eliminate evil deserves a share of the spoils."
As Lianshan Xin spoke, he casually grabbed a thick stack of banknotes and shoved them into his pocket.
The entire motion was so smooth and practiced that Qi Shiyun was left nearly dumbfounded.
"I'm still standing right here," she had to remind him.
She wasn't the sort of person who couldn't tolerate a single grain of sand in her eye, but that didn't mean she could tolerate a whole handful thrown in her face.
This pushed well past the boundaries of her moral tolerance.
Lianshan Xin remained utterly unabashed, arguing with righteous indignation, "Tanhua Qi, if we hand everything over for Lord Heavenly Sword to deal with, wouldn't Lord Heavenly Sword have to confiscate it and surrender it to headquarters in the capital?"
"Naturally."
"But if Lord Heavenly Sword wants to break new ground here in Jiangzhou, wouldn't he need silver to pave the way?"
Qi Shiyun did not answer.
The truth spoke for itself.
Money could solve any problem; if a problem couldn't be solved, it was only because there wasn't enough money—a rule universal across all creation.
"Tanhua Qi, what sort of background do you come from?" Lianshan Xin continued to ask.
Qi Shiyun answered truthfully, "A prestigious military lineage. However, after I joined the Nine Heavens, I was expelled from the family."
The Dragon Supporting Art she cultivated took far too heavy a toll on one's entire extended family; her kin had basically told her to get as far away as possible.
Lianshan Xin thought to himself that it was no wonder she looked so valiant and spirited—she truly came from a line of generals.
"In that case, don't you have to rely on yourself for some of the resources you need for cultivation?"
Qi Shiyun nodded.
Outsiders assumed the Nine Heavens provided everything she needed for her training.
In truth, young masters from other factions within the Nine Heavens did enjoy such treatment.
As for her... the Heaven's Chosen lineage was different.
No grand figure within the imperial court dared openly support a prodigy of the Heaven's Chosen lineage. The wealthiest princes and princesses in particular harbored a love-hate relationship with them, but outwardly, none dared associate with them in the slightest.
"Tanhua Qi, you were born into luxury and have likely never experienced the hardships of the common folk. Speaking from the bottom of my heart, earning money is truly difficult. If you want to get rich, you have to seize windfalls like this."
Every word Lianshan Xin spoke came straight from the heart.
As he spoke, he slipped another fistful of banknotes into his pocket.
Then, with complete earnestness, he shared his own background: "To be frank, my mother was a daughter of a fallen noble family, and my father possesses respectable medical skill and an honest trade. In Jiangzhou, our household couldn't be considered poor. Yet I practiced martial arts since childhood, and before I could even make a name for myself, I had almost drained the family fortune dry. The poor study letters, but the rich practice martial arts. Tanhua Qi, even if you are wealthy now, as long as you keep cultivating, you will eventually end up poor. One must always prepare for lean times ahead."
"Is that your excuse for shoving banknotes into your pocket handful after handful?"
Qi Shiyun was not entirely convinced.
More than twenty years of moral education made it impossible for her to succumb to corruption so quickly.
Yet Lianshan Xin's next two sentences sent her worldview tottering on the brink of collapse.
"Tanhua Qi, this money... I'm actually taking it on your behalf."
Qi Shiyun nearly laughed out of sheer exasperation.
Yet Lianshan Xin looked completely serious.
"If I don't take it, how can you take it? If you don't take it, how can Lord Heavenly Sword take it? And if Lord Heavenly Sword doesn't take it, how are we supposed to advance?"
Qi Shiyun was struck speechless.
"Are you so certain that Lord Heavenly Sword is incorruptible and above taking any bribes? Tanhua Qi, do not forget that we in the Nine Heavens are merely a blade. What is required of us is loyalty and sharpness, not incorruptibility."
If a blade were cleaner and more incorruptible than the civil and military officials, that would be a catastrophic problem; the Emperor himself wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
When one ought to be greedy, one must be greedy. When one ought to indulge, one must indulge.
Only that was the proper way to conduct oneself in a secret intelligence agency.
Qi Shiyun felt herself on the verge of being persuaded.
"Is this... really appropriate?"
Lianshan Xin smiled faintly. He stepped forward, placed the Myriad Manifestations Stone—the very treasure that had thrilled Qi Shiyun moments earlier—into her hands, and firmly gripped her fingers.
He wasn't trying to take advantage of her.
Those who walked the jianghu paid little mind to petty conventions.
He simply held her hands, looked straight into her eyes, and said with utter gravity, "If you trust me, draw up a list of what you need and leave the disposal of the Qu household to me. I took the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus and offended both His Majesty and the Crown Prince, which means I am destined to be someone you can trust unconditionally. In the future, I can handle many matters that would be inconvenient for you to touch personally. Tanhua Qi, your intentions will always remain noble and pure. Even if something goes wrong, it will only ever be because I executed your orders poorly."
Qi Shiyun stared into Lianshan Xin's eyes for three seconds.
There was not a trace of romantic ambiguity in his gaze—only an unvarnished ambition to climb the ranks.
Then, from the bottom of her heart, Qi Shiyun said, "Lianshan Xin, you truly are a man of exceptional talent."
Chapter 15