Chapter 104: Exaction
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"I had spent much energy looking for this piece of jade in the past, but who would've guessed that it would appear so effortlessly!"
Inside the room, Fang Yuan slowly put the piece of jade down, feeling relieved.
"The thing that I had wanted most came to me in such a way….."
He shook his head, with a slight happiness in his heart.
According to what Huang Fu Renhe said, many years ago, he was being ill-treated and was under extreme pressure; there was no way he could endure. Taking an opportunity, he escaped with this piece of jade to the Secluded Mountain Prefecture.
However, his magical energy was not great enough to see through the piece of jade to know its secrets.
To Fang Yuan, however, it was a piece of cake.
<>!
This was the title of the paragraph inscribed in the piece of jade. It was the elementary book for potential alchemy masters. The book not only had recordings of the characteristics, medicinal effects and methods of handling different types of spiritual objects, it also included a special way to appraise spiritual objects, aiding alchemy masters in determining the quality of spiritual objects, if they were poisonous, etc.
After all, there were many weird and strange spiritual objects present in this world and it was impossible for the inscription to cover every single one of them.
"Of course, the most valuable pieces of information will be the explanation by alchemy masters themselves, as well as the methods of handling different types of spiritual ingredients…....This inscription should be considered very precious to Huang Fu Renhe!"
Fang Yuan thought about it before deciding to pass on the information from the Spiritual Recordings to Huang Fu Renhe. Ultimately, this piece of jade was from him.
"Unfortunately, Renhe didn't know about the preciousness of this object. If he had passed this jade to Lanruo, that girl should be able to see some of the secrets in it, and of course…...that would also mean that the jade would not come to me!"
He felt fortunate, and at the same time, a little worried.
The mysterious spiritual knight or spiritual disciple who wanted to kidnap Lanruo was also a problem.
Of course, he had already exterminated the Wild Wolves Gang. It would be hard for the spiritual knight to track him down.
Being such a gifted girl, Fang Yuan was not willing to give her up.
"I cannot easily pass on the cultivation of a dream master. However, I still have a few other spiritual knight techniques with me….."
Letting his thoughts run wild, he pondered. "It will be beneficial for me to train a few loyal subordinates. Of course, as much as possible, I shouldn't let her learn the Blood Magic Manual. Just the thought of it spooks me….."
"Thinking about this, as part of the secluded valley faction, we can have anything we want. If I need people, I can get them. If I need spiritual ingredients, I can also get them. We now have a doctor, a pharmacist, a martial artist and a certain level of influence, and therefore should be considered the most powerful in Qingye City. If I was the Sect Head of the Spirit Returning Sect, even if I only knew a little about the secluded valley, I would still have to ask them for help in times of war….."
Fang Yuan stroked his chin and was speechless.
He was in a different position and hence, his perspective and attitude in seeing things were very different.
Since he was part of the secluded valley, he wouldn't wish to see the Spirit Returning Sect having their way and becoming powerful at the expense of the suffering of others.
"Master! They are already here!"
While Fang Yuan was in deep thoughts, Zhang Sheng called to him from outside.
"Direct them to the main hall. I will be there soon!"
Fang Yuan opened the door and saw Zhang Sheng carrying a broom.
Under the care of Fang Yuan, and with the help of spiritual ingredients, Zhang Sheng's Dantian recovered. He had re-obtained his inner force and reinstated his status as a considerably skilled martial artist.
In the main hall of the secluded valley.
Zhou Wenwu, Yu Xinlou and Huang Fu Renhe were waiting in there.
Huang Fu Renhe looked like he had no worries and was enjoying his tea. Yu Xinlou seemed a little worried and Zhou Wenwu was the most uneasy one.
"Here comes Sir!?"
Seeing the arrival of Fang Yuan, the three of them got up and greeted him.
"Hmm!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head to acknowledge them. He then sat in his chair and waved his hand.
Seeing this, Zhang Sheng closed the doors to the main hall and guarded outside. With his skills, even martial artists of the 4 Heavenly Gates could not sneak up upon them.
"You may speak now. Did something happened at the Spirit Returning Sect?"
Fang Yuan came straight to the point.
"You are correct. The Spirit Returning Sect had given an order for all cities in Qinghe County to be on alert. Soldiers from the Spirit Returning Sect are now deployed everywhere, and every family in the county are expected to contribute and help out in any way they can!"
Zhou Wenwu gave a wry grin.
The way he mentioned about the Spirit Returning Sect showed that he was unhappy with the sect.
"Oh? What did they blackmail the three of you for?"
Seeing this, Fang Yuan became interested.
"Every big household in the Qingye City will have to give 100 taels of gold and all the spiritual food they have. The households will also have to provide their most powerful martial artists to be under the direct command of the city master!"
Zhou Wenwu's face was black.
Previously, things were improving back in the Zhou family. However, with this order from the sect, his family would be forced to their limits, and even he, an inner force expert, would have to be conscripted since he was the most highly skilled in his family, which explained his expression.
"The situation for my family is slightly better than Brother Zhou's!"
Yu Xinlou forced a laughter. "I was ordered to give them some money and food supplies, and some of my business shops to the temporary city master….."
"Since all of you were affected, I guess it is a matter of time the secluded valley will be blackmailed too..."
Fang Yuan murmured and suddenly, he asked, "A temporary city master? What about the previous county leader?"
The previous county leader was a good old man. He was kind, and it was probably due to the fact that he did not have real power and authority over the county. As long as things were not too chaotic or going out of hand, he would always be the forgiving and kind old man, which made him the favourite among the rich and powerful.
However, since the situation in Qinghe County was different now, the previous system of bureaucracy was no longer relevant. Hence, the county leader, together with the name of his appointment, had to be changed.
"City master?! This name sounds like a mercenary!"
Fang Yuan curled his mouth and said, "Why? Why haven't they ask me to give up anything?"
"This is expected!"
Zhou Wenwu added. "Your influence in the Qinghe County is bigger than ours. Furthermore, you are not living in the city and have no business or tradings there. Since you can walk away from this easily, the city master would not dare to bother you much….."
"Master, Little Pearl says that we have a female guest!"
Zhang Sheng voice was calm and deep, frightening Zhou Wenwu a little.
Even though Zhou Wenwu knew that Fang Yuan had taken in a cleaner, from his voice, it seemed that this cleaner's inner force was powerful, and might have surpassed himself.
"A female guest? Who is she?"
Fang Yuan glanced at Zhou Wenwu and had a premonition.
Zhang Sheng then went to have a few words with Little Pearl, before his deep voice came again. "She is from the Lin family. Lin Leiyue!"
"It's really her!"
Fang Yuan had expected her. "You three, take your leave! Bring her in!"
"Yes, Master!"
The three of them answered together and left. Not long after, Little Pearl brought the female guest in and quickly served her tea. After which, Little Pearl left.
"Miss Lin, please have a seat!"
Fang Yuan waved his hand and stayed calm.
Lin Leiyue stared right at him, in shock. She could feel that he had changed too much, even exceeding her expectations for him.
From the confident look Fang Yuan gave, it was a level of prestige that he could only attain from being at a high cultivation level for a long period of time and the ability to take a life without blinking his eye. Even though she had made a breakthrough in the inner force, she would still fear him.
"Even though my secluded valley is a little remote, I still have some good tea for my guests to enjoy. Please!"
Fang Yuan lifted his teacup and took a sip.
The tea that was used to serve the guests was not spiritual tea. However, it was still good and fragrant.
"Good tea!"
Lin Leiyue took a sip and her eyes glittered. She then looked at Fang Yuan with a bit of disappointment and determination. "Brother Fang, I guess you already know the purpose of my visit?"
"Sigh..."
Fang Yuan shook his head and gave a wry grin. "It is the Spirit Returning Sect's business to take full control over the country. What has that got to do with the secluded valley?"
"There is a saying that, a land in a country belongs to the king, and the people living in the land are the people of the king.Even though the secluded valley is not geographically in Qingye City, it is still under our jurisdiction. Would you disagree with this point?"
Lin Leiyue gave a strong rebuttal.
At that moment, a thought went through her mind. 'I am saying this is for your own good. If we end up fighting and causing the sect head to take action, I will not be able to answer to Master Wenxin….."
Thinking about the amount of effort she had put in to persuade her Master, Shi Yutong and how Fang Yuan was not recognising her effort, she was a little pissed.
"This is true..."
Fang Yuan touched his nose and looked at Lin Leiyue without an expression. "And what will the Spirit Returning Sect want from me?"
"The spiritual rice, of course!"
Lin Leiyue bit her teeth and said, "At least 660 pounds of it. Of course, the Spirit Returning Sect will not be getting it for free. We will buy it from you at market price. Also, since you have impressive medicine skills, I will also have to ask you to relocate to the Qingye City. This is also for your own safety, in case you get injured by robbers at night. Of course, the sect will need your help to treat the injured members of the sect during the war..."
"After everything is over, the sect will allow you to choose the next three generations of the city master of Qingye City. How does this sound?"
After she had spoken, she looked at Fang Yuan, hopeful. The conditions that she had given him were much much better compared to the others.
"Hmm….."
Inside, Fang Yuan laughed silently and intentionally gave a look of hesitation. "This is such a hard decision to make, I will need some time to consider….."
He had to live up to his title as the doctor who could work miracles.
As long as he didn't show that he wanted to relocate to Secluded Mountain Prefecture and join the other side, Shi Yutong would not dare to pressure Fang Yuan to the limits.
'He still needs to consider?'
Lin Leiyue became even more unhappy. She got up and said, "You have 5 days to consider, and I have fought for this deal for you. If we don't hear from you after 5 days, it will no longer be me looking for you!"
After her threatening words, she glanced at the back of the hall and noticed a few people hiding behind, before giving a bow and left.
"Hehe…..Lin Leiyue, this little girl…... her tone is so different now after being a junior sect leader for a few days….."
Fang Yuan touched his chin and felt a toothache. "She's too fierce!"
"We are useless!"
At the back, the three of them came out blushing.
"I cannot blame you three. Zhou Wenwu, I'm afraid that you were already followed as you made your way to the secluded valley…."
Fang Yuan exhaled a long breath and was under no pressure.
After all, even if Shi Yutong came personally, he would be able to escape even if he couldn't defeat her.
He was not in a desperate situation, which was why he had nothing to worry.
However, if he really lost his subordinates and his business, he could always hire more people and rebuild the business. There was nothing to be worried about.
Of course, that would be the worst-case scenario. For now, it would still be best to keep his subordinates and his business.