Shen Xiaoyi glanced at the middle-aged man in the brocade robe and said to Li Qingxian, "I was just discussing the mining business with this friend. You..."
"Li Yangguang," Li Qingxian said with a faint smile.
The girl in green lowered her head, covering her mouth as she laughed again.
"Brother Li, if you’re interested in the mining business, why not join our discussion?" Shen Xiaoyi offered.
Li Qingxian was about to refuse, but then he recalled that refining the Immortal-Seeking Bees had already consumed most of his Spirit Gold and regular gold. He also thought about the countless Life Artifacts on Shen Xiaoyi. Standing up, he said, "I happen to be looking for a way to make money. Since Young Master Shen is making the introduction, perhaps there’s a possibility for cooperation."
"Of course, of course," the middle-aged man in the worn brocade robe hurriedly said.
"Let’s head upstairs first. Waiter, put this table’s bill on Room A’s tab." Shen Xiaoyi gave Li Qingxian a slight nod and strode forward.
The middle-aged man in brocade followed, while the girl in green stayed behind to walk beside Li Qingxian. As they walked, she asked in a low voice, "Is your name really Li Yangguang?"
"Well, that’s what everyone calls me. And you? Are you Li Aixiao or Shen Xiaoqun?"
The girl in green’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. She whispered, "I share the Young Master’s surname. My name is Xiaohua."
"Shen Xiaohua. A good name," Li Qingxian said with a smile.
The four entered Room A and took their seats. Shen Xiaoyi pointed a slender finger at the man in the brocade robe and said, "This is the Crown Prince of the Liuyang Prince Mansion, Qiu Ye."
"Ah? My apologies for my earlier disrespect!" Li Qingxian hadn’t expected to meet a descendant of one of the founding heroes.
Qiu Ye gave a wry smile. "Please, don’t say that. Nowadays, I am but a young master."
"You’re too kind," Li Qingxian said, his mind already churning with information about the Liuyang Prince Mansion.
In the early days of the dynasty, a few of the founding princes were granted hereditary titles that would not be diminished through generations. Prince Liuyang was one of them.
After the Grand Ancestor passed away, two successive Emperors took action, finding fault with the various princes. One group of royals was stripped of their titles, while another group voluntarily gave up their undiminished hereditary status.
Qiu Ye’s father had already been demoted from Commandery Prince to Duke. Calling Qiu Ye "Crown Prince" was a sign of great respect.
The previous Prince Liuyang had been a profligate heir who squandered more than half of the family’s accumulated wealth.
While Xiaohua waited on them, Li Qingxian gradually learned more about the Qiu Family through conversation.
The current Duke Liuyang, Qiu Ye’s father, was not skilled in business. Furthermore, a battle injury required him to constantly rely on Elixirs to sustain his life, causing money to flow out of the mansion like water.
However, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. The Liuyang Duke Mansion still owned some mines and farmland.
Unfortunately, their last mine had been completely depleted, cutting off their largest source of income. They needed to prospect for new ones.
Prospecting required a massive amount of money and time, and Qiu Ye was afraid he couldn’t afford it. He was preparing to find a partner to jointly manage the Qiu Family’s mining interests.
Li Qingxian thought for a moment and understood. The Jiangnan Trading House behind Shen Xiaoyi had its power base outside of the north. Moreover, it was composed mainly of merchants and had an excellent reputation.
The Qiu Family wouldn’t have to worry about the Jiangnan Trading House swallowing their mining assets. If they were to cooperate with one of the top magnates in the Divine Capital, they’d be lucky if even the bones were left.
’Shen Xiaoyi must have invited me not just for a potential collaboration,’ Li Qingxian thought, ’but also because he wants me to take a look at Qiu Ye’s fate to see if this partnership is even worthwhile.’
During the conversation, Li Qingxian secretly used Observing Qi and Divining Fate, as well as Inference. But Qiu Ye was, after all, the son of a duke. Without consuming a Qi Fortune Fish, Li Qingxian couldn’t see his Fate Grid or Destiny Image.
However, he was currently investigating the Nether Mountain, and each Qi Fortune Fish he used was one less he had. There was no need to use one now.
Li Qingxian performed Inference several times using the techniques of the Fate Measuring Sect and the Life-Seeking Sect. He found that he couldn’t see far into the future, but he could determine that, at least in the short term, there was no chance of Qiu Ye making a comeback.
The food was served and everyone ate their fill. Only then did Qiu Ye get to the main topic: the details of their cooperation.
After listening to the two of them discuss for a long time, Li Qingxian could see that Shen Xiaoyi felt Qiu Ye’s asking price was too high, yet he was unwilling to give up the chance to build a good relationship with the influential family of a Founding Duke.
Although Qiu Ye was short on money, he didn’t want to take too much of a loss.
This was already their second time discussing the matter.
"What are your thoughts?" Shen Xiaoyi asked, looking at Li Qingxian.
Li Qingxian said, "One hundred thousand taels of silver for a ten-percent share... setting aside whether it’s worth it or not, the risk is certainly high."
"And if it were you?" Shen Xiaoyi asked.
"I would need to investigate the area in person before making a decision," Li Qingxian replied.
Qiu Ye said, "The mountain range my family owns is only two hundred li from Beichang County. It’s not far."
"Would Brother Li be willing to go and take a look?" Shen Xiaoyi asked.
Li Qingxian sighed. "I’d like to go, but I’m simply too busy. I can’t get away these next few days. Once I have some time, I will certainly consider a partnership."
Qiu Ye’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected this man to actually be capable of producing such a large sum of silver.
Shen Xiaoyi, however, looked Li Qingxian up and down. "Brother Li, you don’t seem to come from a merchant background, nor are you a Martial Artist. Do you work within the government?"
Li Qingxian knew some things couldn’t be hidden. He smiled. "All subjects under heaven work for the Emperor."
Shen Xiaoyi nodded and said no more.
After the meal, Shen Xiaoyi paid the bill. The four of them went downstairs, where Qiu Ye offered his name card.
Li Qingxian accepted it but, after a moment’s thought, did not offer his own in return. Qiu Ye sighed inwardly, his shoulders slumping slightly.
Outside the restaurant, Shen Xiaoyi watched Li Qingxian come to a stop and said, "Beichang County has not been peaceful lately. If Brother Li has no urgent business, it would be wise to leave sooner rather than later."
"Alright. I’ll leave as soon as I’ve finished my business," Li Qingxian said.
"Good. I hope we’ll have a chance to cooperate next time."
"Definitely."
After parting ways with Shen Xiaoyi, Li Qingxian continued to mark the locations of Nether Mountain forces.
Returning to the Government Office late at night, Li Qingxian repeatedly studied the Magic Text map, recalling and summarizing his findings, when he noticed something.
Within the Trend Formation cloud of the Nether Mountain forces, there were often other shades of purple mixed in. One of these purple forces, the one most deeply entangled, also kept its distance from the Imperial Court’s own Trend Formation cloud and was similarly spreading its branches throughout Beichang County.
Inference yielded no results, but it did remind Li Qingxian of the Mud Society.
The Mud Society was opposed to the Imperial Court, particularly targeting the Demon Sect elements within the Ministry of Justice. At the same time, their relationship with the Nether Mountain was ambiguous—sometimes cooperative, sometimes adversarial. This perfectly matched the phenomenon of that other purple Trend Formation cloud.
Interestingly, the Nether Mountain’s Trend Formation cloud was always entangled with a black cloud of misfortune, yet the Mud Society’s corresponding black cloud was extremely faint.
Li Qingxian recalled Zhou Chunfeng’s advice and decided to ignore the Mud Society for now. He was already being targeted by the Netherworld Lord of Nether Mountain; it was unwise to provoke another, similarly massive power.
"The Ministry of Justice’s reinforcements are about to enter the city," Jingg Guan said, rushing in.
"How do you think the Ministry of Justice will make their move?" Li Qingxian asked.
Jingg Guan replied, "If it were any other Demon Sect, they might make some preparations. But Demon Transformation Mountain has been acting with increasing arrogance. They’re also worried we’ll steal their thunder, so they’ll probably just rest briefly before launching a direct assault on the Datong Martial Arts Hall late at night."
Li Qingxian asked, "When will our people arrive?"
"Reinforcements from the Beichang Guard and the Capital City Guard can arrive tonight. The Military Department, the Divine Capital Prefecture Magistrate’s Office, and Hex Lei’s people won’t get here until tomorrow at the earliest. If we really do find a large number of Nether Mountain operatives, Lord Yan will dispatch a second wave."
Li Qingxian thought for a moment, then said, "Let’s calculate the timing. We’ll move out before the Ministry of Justice. But we’re not going to the Datong Martial Arts Hall. We’re hitting the smaller strongholds."
"But... won’t that alert both sides?"
"The Ministry of Justice and Nether Mountain are having a huge brawl at the Datong Martial Arts Hall. What’s that got to do with us?"
"..." Jingg Guan was stunned.
"Once they start fighting, we’ll mobilize the Capital City Guard and the Beichang Guard to enter the city and seize the primary credit," Li Qingxian said, looking at Jingg Guan.
Jingg Guan chuckled. "The Ministry of Justice’s reinforcements aren’t very numerous. If the Datong Martial Arts Hall is really hiding as many Middle Grade masters as you say, the Ministry will definitely take a major fall. As for our Patrol Bureau, not only will we get credit for wiping out Nether Mountain, but we’ll also get credit for conveniently rescuing a brother department. That’s two major accomplishments in a row."
Everyone began to prepare. Li Qingxian ordered Yur Ping to stay behind and not go out, because Zhang Yulin would recognize him.