Dong Rui's eyes went wide as saucers. Was He Lingchuan's face worth that much, or was it Fang Canran's? "Can I borrow some?"
Researching demon puppets required funds too! In the past, he could only rely on robbing people. Ever since teaming up with He Lingchuan, he didn't even have that freedom anymore.
He needed money too; how could petty pocket change ever be enough?
Fang Canran maintained his suave smile. "Certainly. The interest will be one li, simple interest at that."
Dong Rui grumbled in discontent, "Hey, I took part in your operation in Lingxu City too!"
"That is why it's only one li. Otherwise, you'd be charged compound interest of at least one and a half li."
He Lingchuan was not surprised. He knew his great feats had earned him a fine reputation with Lingshan. After all, the Mount Rong Sect had lent several million taels to the Yuan Kingdom for the war on his account.
Of course, the Yuan Kingdom had also put up prime assets as collateral, so Mount Rong wouldn't lose out no matter how they calculated it.
Yet after thinking it over, he politely declined Fang Canran's offer. "I'll turn to Lingshan for help when I'm at the end of my rope."
He had too little contact with Lingshan, and he didn't want to owe this mysterious organization such a colossal favor. Sometimes, a person thinks they merely owe a favor, but in the other party's eyes, they've practically sold themselves.
For a mere three to five million taels with a clear ceiling, who knew what price he might have to pay in the future? In the long run, it wasn't worth it.
It was best to maintain an equal exchange and mutual benefit.
Fang Canran did not press him. "Lingshan will surely be pleased that you've settled east of the Mou Kingdom. Shall I make an introduction for you?"
"Nothing could be better!" That was one of the reasons He Lingchuan had come to Platinum Island in the first place, and now Fang Canran had brought it up on his own.
The man was truly sharp as a tack.
Fang Canran sought his consent beforehand. "However, I'll have to report your grand achievements, or else they won't give you the time of day."
He Lingchuan did not hesitate. "As long as you trust them."
If he wanted to make contact with Lingshan and win their attention and favor, this secret could never stay hidden anyway. It was better to toss it out proactively as a bargaining chip.
Over a century ago, his ancestor Lu Xun had represented Lingshan in establishing contact with Panlong City and Zhong Shengguang. And during his escape after wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace, he had heard the countless leaves of the Dao-Seeking Tree whisper the word "Lingshan" to him.
He Lingchuan felt a natural curiosity and affinity toward Lingshan, and naturally wanted to establish contact and learn more about it.
"Naturally."
"There must be people from Lingshan in the Mou Kingdom too, right?"
"Yes, very much so!" Fang Canran paused before adding, "Lingshan's secrets are endless, and I only know the merest scratch on the surface: in truth, the very founding of the Mou Kingdom was orchestrated single-handedly by Lingshan."
Even the founding of the Mou Kingdom was Lingshan's doing? Dong Rui chimed in, "Is it comparable to the Heavenly Palace's relation to Beijia?"
The relationship between the Heavenly Palace and Beijia was complex, but everyone knew that Beijia served the celestial gods. Thus, the Heavenly Palace occupied the dominant position and could influence Beijia's state policies.
Why was this fellow so blunt with his questions? He Lingchuan glanced at him. Good question, though!
He still hadn't figured out the relationship between Lingshan and the Mou Kingdom either.
No helping it; there were far too few people he could ask.
"It isn't that tight, and it certainly isn't a subordinate relationship," Fang Canran said, weighing his words. "To this day, Lingshan holds a detached, transcendent status in the Mou Kingdom."
Hearing this, He Lingchuan knew that the Mou Kingdom possessed greater independence and autonomy than Beijia.
But Fang Canran followed up immediately:
"To this day, most officials and commoners in the Mou Kingdom are completely unaware of Lingshan's existence. Most who hear the name 'Lingshan' dismiss it as an ethereal legend; only a tiny fraction ever get the chance to come into contact with it."
Lingshan was secretive and ethereal, entirely imperceptible to ordinary people. He Lingchuan had schemed in secret for so long in Lingxu City, yet had only heard the words "Lingshan" by chance near the end of his stay.
Dong Rui cut to the core issue. "In any case, Lingshan wields great influence in the Mou Kingdom?"
"Naturally. The high officials and renowned generals of the Mou Kingdom almost all come from Daoist orders, and some of those orders fall under Lingshan. I heard that when a Lingshan elder came out of seclusion and descended the mountain, the Mou sovereign personally rushed to the foot of the mountain to welcome him."
"Mr. Fang, do you happen to know General Yutian of the Mou Kingdom, Xia Pei?"
"I've met him a few times in the past. Grand Guardian Xia hails from the Hongshan Sect, and the Hongshan Sect has been a long-standing ally of my Taihang Sect." Fang Canran asked, "Brother He, do you have past ties with him?"
He Lingchuan replied casually, "Just asking offhand. We couldn't be further apart."
Dong Rui immediately added from the side, "This kid bought the Yangshan Archipelago right out of the hands of Xia Pei's in-laws."
"Grand Guardian Xia's in-laws?"
"Xia Pei's daughter, Xia Lishang, married Lu Qinglin, the second son of the Bailie Lu family. The Lu family bends over backward to curry favor with those in-laws," Dong Rui said quickly. "The Lu family priced the Yangshan Archipelago at just eighty thousand taels and sold it, thinking they'd gotten the better end of the deal. Now they're kicking themselves, their guts green with regret. Who knows if they might try to seize it back by force sooner or later."
Some things weren't convenient for He Lingchuan to say, so Dong Rui said them for him.
"Eighty thousand... for an entire archipelago?" Fang Canran was stunned by the figure as well. After a momentary daze, he remarked, "Were the Lus drunk at the time?"
"Back then, the archipelago was shrouded in yin fiend energy; no human could get close," Dong Rui said, pointing at He Lingchuan. "Only this inhuman monster managed to forcefully disperse the yin fiend."
He Lingchuan lowered his head and sipped his wine.
Fang Canran had an epiphany. "So that's how it is!"
He had only arrived on Platinum Island a few months ago, so he didn't know much about the surrounding area.
"Even if they regret it, what can they do? Cash on delivery, islands in hand—surely you two signed a contract?"
"A contract doesn't matter; what matters is strength," He Lingchuan said calmly. "The lease on Blade Harbor, which Bailie rented to the Qing Kingdom, expired over a decade ago, yet they still haven't been able to take it back."
"True enough." Fang Canran mused, "Grand Guardian Xia has a domineering temper and is fiercely protective of his own, and the Mou Kingdom views Bailie as a vassal. But in the final analysis, buying a piece of land is a minor matter. It would demean the grand Xia family to intervene over something like this, not to mention it isn't even within the Mou Kingdom's borders. Looking back over all these years, Bailie has sold off quite a bit of territory, and you never saw them demand any of it back."
He Lingchuan said dismissively, "Since I dared to buy the islands, I'm not afraid of them trying to take them back."
Dong Rui threw in a "however": "They haven't been idle behind our backs, though. When we buy goods, they conspire with merchants to hike prices through the roof; when we sell goods, they obstruct us at every turn."
Fang Canran nodded. "As the lords of Bailie, the Lu family has a few tricks up their sleeve."
He Lingchuan then asked seemingly offhand, "By the way, the Lu family always claims to be descendants of immortals. Does Bailie actually have any connection to Lingshan?"
Fang Canran smiled. "What if they do?"
"If they do, when they cross me, I'll hit them a little lighter."
In the Panlong World, Lu Xun had crossed the vast ocean to deliver a message from Lingshan to Zhong Shengguang.
This proved at least that the Lu family's ancestor had deep ties with Lingshan, and that Lingshan trusted Lu Xun greatly.
Yet times change unpredictably. Had that relationship endured to this day?
Arrogant as He Lingchuan's words sounded, Fang Canran still heard the underlying goodwill toward Lingshan. "My apologies, but I'm not certain either."
As he had said earlier, he too knew very little about Lingshan.
Fang Canran added, "Looking at practical reality, however, I imagine that even if there is a connection between the two, it cannot be very close."
He Lingchuan nodded. "I think so too."
In fact, observing how neighboring states treated Bailie, he had already grasped most of the picture. If Bailie truly had Lingshan as a giant tree to lean on, why would it suffer invasions, pay indemnities, and have huge swathes of territory carved away?
Why would the Lu father and sons try so desperately to curry favor with the Mou Kingdom's General Yutian, constantly donating silver and grain to the Mou Kingdom, and even dispatching their precious son to the western front lines?
Such was their delicate situation.
Fang Canran changed the subject. "Brother He, what goods are you selling now?"
He Lingchuan took a sip of wine. "Produce from the Yangshan Archipelago. In this season, mostly palm oil."
Fang Canran uttered an "oh." "The palm oil produced in your parts is truly fine stuff. The restaurants and pastry shops here all use it."
"Of course the goods from our islands are great—we use them ourselves," Dong Rui said, cracking melon seeds. "It's just infuriating how Bailie keeps poaching our clients. Whenever we negotiate a deal, they find someone to undercut the price and steal them away. Those bastards would gladly lose eight hundred men just to kill a thousand of ours."
Fang Canran laughed. "When it comes to grand achievements, Brother He is an old hand. But doing business... back and forth, it's mostly endless haggling and entanglements."
Facing this accomplished merchant, He Lingchuan said candidly, "I still have plenty to learn. Lessons like these have to be paid for in hard cash."
The three raised their cups in a toast.
Fang Canran added, "By the way, in a few days, an honored guest from the Mou Kingdom will be coming to Platinum Island. I'll introduce you; it might prove helpful."
He Lingchuan gladly agreed.
Fang Canran stood up and said, "Now that business is settled, let me take you out to eat. Platinum Island's roast seafood is an absolute delicacy! And the ghost market tonight is quite entertaining as well, full of weird and wonderful novelties."
Dong Rui perked up at that. "I was just planning to check it out."
He Lingchuan added, "I need to purchase over a thousand sets of weapons in bulk—sabers, spears, shields—plus seven hundred suits of medium and outer armor."
Certain items couldn't be bought through regular channels and had to be acquired through unconventional means, such as Platinum Island's ghost market.
Fang Canran gave a crisp reply. "As long as the price is right," it would be no trouble at all.
Dong Rui then pulled out a slip of paper. "Here's my shopping list. Can you get your hands on this?"
Fang Canran took it, his eyes glued to the text.
He Lingchuan leaned in for a look; it was densely packed with items.
Fang Canran mused, "These are all uncommon materials."
"Yeah, that's why I'm buying from you. They're for my experiments."
He Lingchuan couldn't help cutting in, "Hey, how much is this going to cost?"
Fang Canran casually gave an estimate: "At least eighty thousand taels of silver."
He Lingchuan stared, eyes bulging. "How much?!"
At the same time, Dong Rui pointed at He Lingchuan. "He's paying!"
"Mm, no, wait," Fang Canran waved his hand. "My apologies, I didn't see the whole thing just now. Most of what's on your list I can get for you, except for these three materials—"
He pointed them out to both of them. "—They have a price on paper, but no seller on the market. I'll go ask around. Please wait here a moment."
With that, he strode out.
He Lingchuan glared at Dong Rui. "What in the world are those for?"
"For making demon puppets, obviously," Dong Rui replied with utter righteousness. "It's not like you don't know what I do."
What else would a demon puppet master study if not demon puppets—cookbooks?
Chapter 955