Suppressing his temper, Lu Qing'an urged, "Father, these travelers from overseas have only just come ashore and know nothing of this place, which is the only reason they are interested in the Yangshan Archipelago. By the time letters travel back and forth between you and Second Brother, they will have finished asking around. Will they still want to buy the Yangshan Archipelago then?"
How vast was the Mou Kingdom? And this was delivering a letter straight to the front lines. Even using the swiftest, most expensive aerial courier by avian demon, a round trip would take at least a month!
In a month, the trail would be stone cold. Father placed far too much trust in Second Brother, while paying no heed to the judgment of his eldest son.
Lu Zhensheng gave an assenting grunt. That was true enough.
Lu Qing'an pressed on, "In the past, others have wanted to buy the Yangshan Archipelago too. Didn't every single deal fall through after dragging on for just a few days?"
As far as he knew, over the past thirty-odd years, there had been at least two chances to sell the Yangshan Archipelago. The first time, the buyer's offer had been so low that the Bailie people turned up their noses at it, so nothing came of it. The second time, the price had already been agreed upon, only for the buyer to learn that the Yangshan Archipelago sat upon a yin fiend leyline and could never be developed, scuttling the deal entirely.
Lu Zhensheng naturally saw that he wanted to sell. "What thoughts do you have regarding this deal?"
"Currently, among the six outer islands, only two are leased out, and the businesses on them are petty, worthless trades like food and supplies," Lu Qing'an pondered aloud. "Sixth Uncle said Butler Ding's clothes and accessories were immaculate and well-kept, and his manner of speech showed proper decorum, clearly indicating he comes from a prominent household. People were later sent to tail him, and found that his master, surnamed He, is staying at Lingtai Courtyard in Yunding Mountain Villa, surrounded by throngs of servants, spirit pets, and attendants."
The Lu family held a stake in Yunding Mountain Villa as well. Lingtai Courtyard was the finest residence in the entire villa; the price for a single night's stay was equivalent to ten nights in a luxury inn within the city. Anyone who took up lodging there without batting an eye was either immensely wealthy or of noble standing.
Lu Qing'an continued, "How about this: if they only buy the six outer islands, we set the price at sixty thousand taels; if they purchase the entire Yangshan Archipelago, one hundred thousand taels."
Buying the six outer islands was not cheap; buying the whole Yangshan Archipelago, on the other hand, felt like a bargain.
Anyone could do the basic arithmetic.
Lu Zhensheng paced a couple of steps. "An outsider suddenly appears, a fool with more money than sense, wanting to buy the Yangshan Archipelago. I cannot shake the feeling that something is amiss."
Knowing his father's doubts, Lu Qing'an went straight to the point: "Yet with sixty thousand or one hundred thousand taels coming in, the task of gathering grain funds for the Mou Kingdom can be settled in an instant."
This was persuasion aimed straight at the mark; Lu Zhensheng would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted.
Trading a useless archipelago for solid silver—it was a trade well worth making.
Furthermore, although the Lu family ruled Bailie, one hundred and thirty thousand taels of ready silver for grain procurement was not something they could produce at a moment's notice. It would take at least ten days to a half-month to scrape together. On top of that, collecting and purchasing the grain would take additional time, and the Mou Kingdom was already growing impatient.
His eldest son was right. With these tens of thousands of taels of ready silver pouring in, the pressure of procuring grain would dissolve immediately.
Seeing his expression, Lu Qing'an added fuel to the fire: "The Lu family has produced so many great masters over the generations, yet none could do a thing about the Yangshan Archipelago. Can a young outsider named He turn trash into treasure where they could not? If Father is still uneasy, we can simply wait until he goes bankrupt and buy the islands back at a discount."
He paused, then added, "Besides, this He fellow has no roots here." How would he dare oppose the clan leader of Bailie?
"We also cannot set the price too low, lest we arouse their suspicion." After all, how often in reality does one come across a genuine bargain? Lu Zhensheng finally made up his mind, tapping his index finger twice on the table. "Let's do this: price the six islands at ninety thousand taels, and the entire Yangshan Archipelago at one hundred and fifty thousand!"
His father had an even bigger appetite than he did!
Lu Qing'an nodded. "Very well, I will see to it at once."
***
Toward evening, Ding Zuodong returned to Yunding Mountain Villa to report to He Lingchuan.
Lingtai Courtyard was essentially a small garden estate featuring an elegant retreat. Reclining on a bamboo chair beneath the shaded trees and sipping a cup of osmanthus plum drink, one could banish nearly all the lingering daytime heat of early autumn.
Ding Zuodong walked over and bowed. "Master!"
"You're back."
Ding Zuodong looked closely at He Lingchuan. "Master, your complexion looks much better over the last two days."
A few days ago, He Lingchuan's color had been poor—not only pale, but haggard. Qiu Hu had guessed that something had gone awry with his cultivation.
Now, however, he looked radiant and vigorous, seemingly fully recovered.
He Lingchuan chuckled. "Eating well, sleeping well, and without any worries weighing on my mind—how could I look anything but well?"
His soul injuries were completely healed, his spirit whole and vitality abundant, all thanks to the Emperor's Flowing Dew in the Panlong World.
On the day following the eruption of Emperor's Flowing Dew, Yuheng City swiftly processed the spiritual dew collected from the outskirts into pills and powders. A portion was reserved for future military rewards, while another portion was distributed to the city guards and army who had labored through the night.
Naturally, the Commander's share was not forgotten.
A very generous share at that!
Moreover, when he returned home, he discovered that Master Sun had quietly collected a bottle of spiritual dew for him during the night as well.
After thanking the lovely lady, he went to A'luo to have it made into Emperor's Flowing Dew powder.
This time there were no fist-sized lumps of Emperor's Flowing Dew paste for him to scoop up, falling short of his sheer luck in the Jeweled Tree Kingdom. Yet as the Commander of Yuheng City, he didn't even need to gather it himself, and the share allocated to him was bound to be the most substantial.
In terms of sheer quantity, it was more than three times what he had collected using spiderwebs in the Jeweled Tree Kingdom!
At that moment, he finally understood why everyone fought tooth and nail to climb the ladder.
The higher one stood, the more exponentially wealth, status, and perks increased.
Not just him—whether in Beijia, the Mou Kingdom, or Panlong City, the powerful figures who held authority enjoyed the very best cultivation resources.
After ingesting the medicine, He Lingchuan had begun regulating his breath and circulating his energy, no different than in reality.
When he finished his exercise and woke up, he discovered he had already returned to the real world. His mind was clear and refreshed, his five senses sharp, and the heavy sluggishness in his mind had vanished entirely.
This meant that his soul wound had fully healed, and his vitality surpassed what it had been before.
Yet physically, there was little change; his cultivation realm had not increased.
So was this the effect of the Emperor's Flowing Dew in the Panlong World—cultivating his divine soul to make it more condensed and powerful?
Come to think of it, that made sense: it was his divine soul that entered the Panlong World, so naturally it would be his divine soul that reaped the benefits.
Realizing this, he was actually overjoyed.
A cultivator's physical body, divine abilities, and martial arts were all straightforward to train; there were established methods to follow. But condensing the divine soul and elevating one's Dao heart were the hardest of all, with no ready-made path to rely upon.
Why did so many cultivators enter the mortal world and wallow in the boundless red dust, if not seeking precisely this?
That He Lingchuan's divine soul could enter the Panlong World for tempering was already an immense stroke of serendipity. Otherwise, when outwitting the Heavenly Palace and plotting against Nailuotian, he could never have remained so calm, composed, and methodical.
The firmness and resilience of his Dao heart were already beyond what ordinary cultivators could compare to.
Now, blessed additionally by the Emperor's Flowing Dew of the Panlong World, his divine soul would grow even faster.
Only this would properly match his cultivation—the so-called "harmony of body and soul."
Otherwise, a weak divine soul would struggle to command a powerful vessel.
What was more, there was still a hidden hazard lurking in his mind: Nailuotian's divine imprint mark.
Chapter 894