Chapter 184
Chapter 184
Qiu Yao'er was completely engrossed in the story, her mind seemingly transported into its world. In truth, the first chapter only covered Sun Wukong learning Taoist arts from Patriarch Bodhi. It hadn't even reached the seventy-two transformations or the cloud-somersault, and much of the background was still left to be introduced. But for Qiu Yao'er, it was more than magnificent enough. The setting, unlike anything she had ever heard, was utterly fascinating.
The idea of a protagonist born from a stone monkey forged by heaven and earth was also delightful. This story was simply too exceptional, too brilliant. The best part was that it created a marvelous and complete new world. It was the very kind of fantastical world Qiu Yao'er had always dreamed of. A world so mystical, so wondrous, so grand and vast. She wished she could go to such a world, even if only in a dream.
This was truly an extraordinary tale. Compared to this, all the stories she had heard before seemed utterly mundane and dry. A good story, like fine wine, intoxicates a person. And right now, Qiu Yao'er was already drunk on the tale.
*‘What a beautiful story. The prose is beautiful, and the world within it is even more so.’*
When Xu Qianqian finished the first chapter, it was Qiu Yao'er who suggested they stop.
“That’s enough for today.”
Xu Qianqian asked worriedly.
“W-Was the story I told not to your liking?”
“No, it’s because it was too good.”
The story and the world within it were so magnificent that Qiu Yao'er wanted to savor the afterglow. She wanted to imagine the wondrous world introduced in the first chapter, unwilling to miss a single detail. Everyone thought Qiu Yao'er simply enjoyed listening to stories, especially those with thrilling plots, but what she truly craved were tales of entirely new worlds.
For various reasons, she was bound to Raging Tide City, having spent her life gazing at the same unchanging fortress walls and sea. Thus, deep in her heart, she held an endless yearning for strange and new worlds.
“How many chapters does this story have in total?”
“One hundred!”
“Then, tell me two chapters every day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Even when I go out to war, you must stay by my side and tell me the story.”
Xu Qianqian was overjoyed.
“Yes!”
She had finally achieved her goal of staying by the she-devil’s side. A goal she couldn't achieve with her own body and beauty, she had accomplished with just a few thousand words from Shen Lang.
*‘How infuriating! Still, that scoundrel Shen Lang is truly something else.’*
After Xu Qianqian left, Qiu Yao'er opened the window and gazed out at the distant sea. The same days, the same scenery—it was truly dull. How she longed for a strange and new world. But she had never been able to go there. It wasn't just because of the few hundred pitiful women within the fortress walls. Of course, they were part of the reason. They were so beautiful that without Qiu Yao'er's protection, they would have long since become playthings for beastly men, forced to live a life worse than death.
But the real reason she couldn't leave was that she had to remain here, waiting for someone who would one day return. When that person would come, or who they were, even she did not know.
***
For several days straight, Shen Lang and Jin Mucong continued to write like madmen. Fatty, that book-copying pervert, cranked out another hundred thousand words in five days. After writing the two-hundred-page manuscript, Jin Mucong read it through twice himself with great satisfaction, yet still looked reluctant as he handed it to a secret agent, who then delivered it across the sea to Xu Qianqian.
As the ten-day deadline promised by the Heavenly Dao Society drew near, Shen Lang began to feel a little anxious. It always seemed to be the case that the more you worried about something going wrong, the more likely it was to happen. Fortunately, reality proved otherwise. When carrying out a plan where many parties stand to gain, mishaps are rare. As the time for the Heavenly Dao Society to deliver the gold coins approached, so did the deadline for the Count of Xuanwu's Estate to repay its debt to the Hidden Yuan Society.
Public opinion across the land naturally grew more intense. Rumors about the Jin Clan and Shen Lang swelled to an explosive degree. Of course, they were all bad rumors. The Hidden Yuan Society and the reformist faction mobilized all public opinion to attack the reputation of the Jin Clan and Shen Lang. The central theme of all the talk was still: 'If you borrow money, you must repay it. Failure to do so is a sign of moral decay.'
Furthermore, the public narrative furiously proclaimed and condemned that the Jin Clan's finances were already depleted, and they couldn't repay the debt because Shen Lang insisted on maintaining his extremely extravagant lifestyle. The purpose behind spreading such rumors was simple. It was all their own doing, so when the Hidden Yuan Society came to claim Sorrowlove Island, the people of the world should not be surprised, nor should they feel the slightest pity for the Jin Clan. Even if the Count of Xuanwu's Estate were to crumble, no one should be surprised or feel sorry for them. This was only natural justice.
***
No accidents or unexpected disasters occurred. Among the five elders of the Heavenly Dao Society, some were greedy and some were despicable, but all of them were intelligent and wise. Huang Dong secured the unanimous consent of the council of elders without much effort. When he took out the sample glass mirror, the eyes of all five elders lit up. A moment later, they began to tremble with excitement, their reaction even more emotional than Huang Dong's when he first saw the glass mirror.
One of the elders asked.
“What is the cost of this mirror?”
Huang Dong replied.
“One silver tael.”
The moment they heard this, all five elders were stunned, then erupted into a frenzy of ecstatic joy.
“A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has finally come to our Heavenly Dao Society.”
“The chance for our Heavenly Dao Society to triumph over the Hidden Yuan Society has finally arrived.”
“At last, the opportunity for our Heavenly Dao Society to dominate the world once more is here.”
How had the Heavenly Dao Society conquered the world before? They brought spices from the Western world to the East, and silk and porcelain to the West. With that, the Heavenly Dao Society established its commercial supremacy. But as time passed, more and more people entered the silk, porcelain, and spice trades, and both the Heavenly Dao Society and the Hidden Yuan Society lost their monopolies.
Eventually, they shifted their business focus from trade to finance. In other words, they started playing with money. They invested in businesses, in power, in wars, in nations. But a gamble twenty years ago cost the Heavenly Dao Society everything.
The Emperor Jiang Li, whom they had backed, was defeated, and the Great Yan Empire achieved a great victory, unifying the Eastern world. When the Yan Emperor drew his sword and looked around, no nation dared to challenge or oppose him; all countries submitted to the Great Yan Empire and became vassal states. That war was not merely a military conflict, but a financial one as well. The Hidden Yuan Society succeeded in its speculation, seizing victory and becoming the king of commerce in the Eastern world.
After that, the Heavenly Dao Society fell from its peak. If a force to counterbalance the Hidden Yuan Society hadn't been needed, they would have vanished long ago. Now, they had finally gained another chance, one that might come only once in a hundred years. An opportunity to control the world had arrived. Before, they had dominated the world with porcelain, silk, and spices; this time, it was mirrors. The common characteristic of these goods was that they might start as luxuries but could eventually become necessities. It was a business that could last for at least a hundred years. Moreover, it wasn't just about making money; they could also regain strategic dominance.
Huang Dong said.
“The other party has demanded one million gold taels in exchange for the entire mirror-making technology.”
“Give it to them! Even if they ask for more, give it to them!”
Huang Dong added.
“They demanded the gold within ten days, and now only seven days remain.”
The Grand Elder of the Heavenly Dao Society said.
“Give it. Procure the gold from the local region immediately.”
“The glass needed for the mirrors must be purchased from the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. The price of one sheet of glass will be set at about five percent of the mirror's selling price.”
At this condition, the elders frowned. It wasn't because they were stingy, but because they were worried about being beheaded by their superiors.
The Grand Elder responded.
“That condition must be negotiated. But let's pay the money first and negotiate later. That will show our sincerity. Regarding the glass technology, it would be best if we only have to purchase the estate's glass for a limited time. But within three to five years, they must also hand over the glass technology to us. We can pay, we can even share our profits, but we cannot afford to lose our heads.”
“Understood!”
“Go. Go and procure the funds. The sooner, the better. Don't wait until the last day; send it a day earlier, even an hour earlier if you can.”
“Yes!”
***
And so, on the ninth day, several hundred carriages entered the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. They arrived a day earlier than the promised deadline. What they transported was grain. Everyone was watching closely, but it was all grain. One could tell it was grain just by looking at the depth of the wheel tracks. If other goods were inside, the carriage tracks would have been much deeper. Someone even intentionally collided with one of the carriages, causing grain to spill onto the ground, but nothing else was hidden inside.
What was the Count of Xuanwu's Estate planning to do with so much grain? The reason was exceedingly simple. They were about to lose Sorrowlove Island and face their doom. In such a situation, what would they need most? Grain. To solve the problem of food, one of the absolute necessities for survival, they had purchased this much grain. This act convinced people that the end of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate was imminent.
Besides, several hundred carriages of grain wasn't worth much. At most, it would be less than three thousand gold taels. After the grain-laden carriages entered the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, all the grain was unloaded. There were certainly no hidden gold coins inside the carriages.
All the gold coins were hidden within the wooden walls and floorboards of the carriages. From the outside, it was impossible to tell. Even if a carriage had overturned and all its grain spilled, not a single gold coin would have been found. A million gold taels, weighing a total of over seventy thousand catties, were divided and hidden within the walls and floorboards of three hundred carriages. Each carriage was only about two hundred catties heavier, so the wheel tracks were not noticeably deeper. Thus, the Heavenly Dao Society could transport the gold openly while maintaining absolute secrecy. Shen Lang couldn't help but admire their methods.
*‘The Heavenly Dao Society is a powerful force indeed. Truly worthy of a massive organization that has dominated Eastern trade for centuries. To handle things so perfectly and flawlessly on such a tight schedule...’*
“A total of seven hundred thousand gold taels, and twenty-three thousand catties of gold ore.”
Huang Dong took out a piece of the gold ore; it weighed nearly a catty. It looked like a rough, golden rock. It was high-purity gold ore in its natural state, looking as if it had just been dug from the earth.
“Three hundred thousand gold taels would normally weigh twenty-one thousand catties. However, as the purity of these nuggets is not perfect, we have brought twenty-three thousand catties to compensate. You will absolutely not be at a loss, Young Master Shen!”