Chapter 425 - 265: Merely a Matter of Practice
Chapter 425: Chapter 265: Merely a Matter of Practice
"Also, go find Boss Jia and find a way to get all the silver he has."
"Whether you tell him it’s to compensate for losses or you’re just borrowing it, it doesn’t matter. Just get your hands on that silver and send it all to Liu Lang."
Wang Ji nodded in agreement.
He had no choice. All of Hundred Herbs Hall’s silver was gone, so he might as well take Jia Yuzhi’s too.
Once he calmed down, another matter came to mind.
"It’s just that, milord, I’m afraid we won’t be getting the silver from Yan Sea over in Guangyuan County."
Chen Yi grunted in acknowledgment. His gaze drifted to the hibiscus outside, a rare look of hesitation on his face.
Lately, while investigating the situation across Shu State, his greatest concern had shifted from Liu Hong to the Xiao Family.
Or more precisely, Old Marquis Xiao.
For one, he had appeared in Shu State as "Chen Yu," yet the Xiao Family had shown no reaction, which made him suspicious.
He couldn’t help but worry about what the Old Marquis might be planning.
For another, he was running out of silver.
Aside from the hundred-thousand-plus taels of silver for Liu Lang, the rest was earmarked for Lou Yuxue.
If he used all his funds to buy out the grain from the major Trading Companies, it would certainly impact his subsequent plans.
After a moment of silence, Chen Yi sighed inwardly. ’Given the current situation, I’m afraid I’ll have to take a few more risks.’
Of course, the "risk" he was considering had nothing to do with his life; it was purely the possibility of Old Marquis Xiao seeing through his ruse.
This was precisely why he had always intentionally avoided any direct confrontation with the Xiao Family while carrying out his secret operations.
’It seems a confrontation is unavoidable this time.’
"Tomorrow morning, deliver a visiting card to the Xiao Family on my behalf."
Wang Ji paused. "The Xiao Family? Are you going to visit the young lady?"
Chen Yi shook his head. "Deliver it to Old Marquis Xiao. See when he might be free to meet with me."
"Understood."
Given how business was booming at Hundred Herbs Hall, Wang Ji wasn’t worried that Old Marquis Xiao would refuse the request.
A short while later, Wang Ji took his leave.
Without hesitation, Chen Yi summoned Zhang Dabao. "Are the men you found ready?"
Zhang Dabao nodded vigorously, a hint of excitement visible on his youthful, inexperienced face.
"Rest assured, milord. I will put my all into the task you’ve given me."
"Good. Have them make their move tonight."
"Yes, sir!"
Zhang Dabao affirmed the order. Just as he stepped forward to remove the disguise from Chen Yi’s face, Chen Yi spoke.
"You may go. I’ll handle it myself this time."
"But... milord, should I at least explain the key techniques to you?"
Chen Yi shook his head with a smile. "You’ve applied my disguise so many times. Even without paying close attention, I’ve picked up a thing or two."
He paused, then waved him off. "Business comes first. Have them get into position before nightfall."
Hearing this, Zhang Dabao hesitated no longer. He bowed and turned to leave.
Chen Yi watched him disappear beyond the courtyard gate, the smile on his face slowly vanishing.
’By my calculations, Lou Yuxue’s people should be making their move by now.’
’With Zhang Dabao’s people added to the mix, it will be enough to quickly spread the news that King Landu is leading an army to attack Shu State throughout all of Shu State.’
That’s right.
After his discussion with Lou Yuxue, Chen Yi still felt uneasy, so he had arranged for Zhang Dabao to be his backup plan.
His goal was simple: he wanted to make the grain prices in Shu State skyrocket in the shortest time possible.
’Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.’
’The Ji State Trading Company... heh. Ultimately, they’re too small-minded...’
With these thoughts, Chen Yi took out Zhang Dabao’s kit—a rattan-woven box—and pulled out a palm-sized dagger.
He made a few practice motions with it before turning to the Copper Mirror and methodically removing the disguise from his face.
As Chen Yi watched his own features reappear bit by bit, he was left holding a thin mask, and a thought came to him.
’The Disguise Skill truly is a marvelous thing.’
’But this Skill is merely a matter of manual dexterity. It doesn’t involve the Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism. No matter how masterful one becomes, it’s only a matter of crafting a more exquisite mask.’
Compared to this Skill, pursuits like Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting, or the Martial Arts, were the true paths to the Great Dao.
Chen Yi wiped his face, packed the rattan box, and left the courtyard under his umbrella.
Zhang Dabao had his own assignments for the next few days, which meant Chen Yi would have to apply his own disguises.
’That’s fine. This way, I won’t have to keep running back and forth.’
...
Meanwhile, Liu Lang, Xue Duanyun, and the others were guarding a two-courtyard residence deep within the West Market.
Unlike a few days ago, when it was sparsely furnished with old furniture, every room in the residence was now piled high with grain.
Each sack held two bushels of grain, and a full thirty thousand of them were piled up here.
If it hadn’t been raining for days on end, Liu Lang would have just stacked them all in the courtyard to save the trouble of moving them around.
Fortunately, aside from the physical labor, they hadn’t run into any trouble over the past few days.
It was a stroke of luck amidst their misfortune.
At that moment, Liu Lang was sitting sprawled in a Grandmaster’s Chair, guarding the entrance to the main hall.
He looked at the inner hall, so packed with grain it was difficult to even get through the doorway, and couldn’t help but mutter:
"Has the boss calculated that grain prices will keep rising? Is that why he had us hoard all this, to make a huge profit?"
He had spent the last few days in various disguises, rushing between the East and West Markets, so he was well aware of the daily price of grain.
Before today, it hadn’t been too bad.
The price of grain was only rising by a mace or two of silver each day.
But now, with news from the Ancient Tea-Horse Road spreading, every Trading Company in Shu State had adjusted their prices, citing all sorts of reasons.
Fine grain was six taels a bushel.
Coarse grain was three taels a bushel.
Other staples that could substitute for grain, like sweet potatoes and yams, had also seen price hikes of varying degrees.
This couldn’t help but make Liu Lang question the motives of his boss, a man whose plans were always flawless.
After all, they had spent over a hundred thousand taels of silver to acquire this grain, at an average price of about three taels and two mace per bushel.
If they sold it now, their profit in silver coins would nearly double their investment.
"Three hundred thousand taels of silver... I have to say, a mind like the boss’s is wasted at Hundred Herbs Hall."
Hearing this, Xue Duanyun, Zhang Sanhu, and Zhang Sihu, who were standing nearby, all showed looks of admiration.
Even though their Celestial Sect was famous in the Jianghu, it was a fame built on Martial Arts alone.
When it came to making money, they couldn’t hold a candle to what they’d witnessed over the past three days.
Zhang Sihu counted on his fingers for a while before scratching his head. "Senior Brother, how much silver did we make?"
Xue Duanyun shook his head, exasperated. "Junior Brother Sihu, *we* didn’t earn anything. The boss earned the silver."
They were just following orders. They couldn’t let themselves get greedy at the sight of money and give someone the wrong idea for no reason.
Especially not with their leader, Guard "Liu Qing," right in front of them.
Zhang Sihu chuckled sheepishly. Realizing he had misspoken, he didn’t ask any more questions.
Zhang Sanhu, however, chimed in, "Senior Brother, what do you think the boss is going to do with all this grain?"
Xue Duanyun hesitated. "Now that the price of grain in Shu State has risen so much, the next step must be to sell it, right?"
Liu Lang overheard their conversation, glanced at the three of them, and shook his head with a smile.
"If you ask me, there’s more to what the boss is doing than meets the eye."
"Oh? Does Guard Liu know the boss’s plan?"
"I don’t."
Liu Lang explained, "I may not know the boss’s specific intentions, but I know the kind of man he is."
’With the boss’s style of always being three steps ahead, there’s no way this is just about making a bit of silver.’
’Remember when he burned the summer grain in the Three Towns? The boss made six hundred thousand taels of silver then.’
’Even though he gave three hundred thousand taels to the Xiao Family and left a portion with Lou Yuxue at the Spring Rain Building, it just goes to show he doesn’t really care about silver coins.’
’At least he’s not like Black Tooth, who’s only in it for the profit.’
"Then... the boss..."
Before Zhang Sanhu could finish, Liu Lang raised a hand. "Someone’s coming!"
Xue Duanyun froze, quickly signaling for Zhang Sanhu and Zhang Sihu to spread out and scout the courtyard’s perimeter.
Liu Lang, however, remained in place, concentrating on the sounds from outside.
After confirming that three suspicious individuals about half a mile away were headed for their location, he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
"The boss was right. Someone really has come to scout us out..."
The words had barely left his mouth when Liu Lang pulled two pieces of paper from his robes. He looked at them, and his face went blank.
"Huh?"
"What was it the boss said?"
"If there’s trouble with someone scouting, do I use this note, or that one?"
Damn it, the two pieces of paper look exactly the same, and I put them together. Not even a god could tell which is which now.