Fusang Sword Heart Diagram

Chapter 40 Mermaid Girl
Two figures, one yellow and one gray, landed on the duck-shaped islet.

The yellow-robed cultivator looked young, not yet thirty, with a pair of slanted eyes. He squinted and said, "Elder Dou, your Southern Star Sword Sect's Qingbo Cave Lake is truly a treasure land of feng shui. No wonder the yarn produced every year is not only abundant but also of such high quality."

He turned his gaze, a smile on his face: "The Merfolk Royal Court was destroyed, and the remaining Merfolk were either captured or went into hiding. In the entire Northern Yuling Prefecture, only the Southern Star Sword Sect can still find Merfolk."

"Regarding the cooperation we discussed earlier, I wonder what Elder Lu's thoughts are on it?"

Dou Yuan was representing Elder Lu in the negotiations, so of course he couldn't easily let the other party find out his intentions or his bottom line.

His face was solemn, and his tone was slightly heavy: "The merfolk in Qingbo Cave Lake are the foundation of our Nanxing Sword Sect's annual merfolk silk trade. If we sell a batch of merfolk to you to extract oil for making everlasting lamps, the merfolk silk production will decrease next year. How will we explain this to the sect?"

Luo Dujun scoffed inwardly: "If Lu Cong really didn't want to do this deal, he could have refused outright long ago. His ambiguity is simply because the price didn't satisfy him."

"Two old men, with such big appetites, aren't they afraid of overeating themselves?"

Luo Dujun smiled and said, "Elder Lu has his concerns, and I understand. But Qingbo Cave Lake has existed for so many years, it's normal for some merfolk to die of old age, isn't it?"

Dou Yuan was slightly taken aback. He looked at the young man in front of him and his gaze changed: "No wonder the Autumn Frost Sword Sect sent you to facilitate this matter. You are indeed a quick-witted person."

"You flatter me, senior." Luo Dujun looked flattered, which pleased Dou Yuan.

Luo Dujun keenly sensed that Dou Yuan's attitude had softened, and pressed on, saying, "The production of shark yarn fluctuates every year, which is perfectly normal."

"If we want to keep the amount of mermaid yarn the same as in previous years, we can make up for it by having those mermaids work a little more each day. The important thing is that Elder Lu has been stationed at Qingbo Cave Lake for so many years, and it's time for him to be promoted back to the sect. In the future, it may not be so convenient for him to travel back and forth. If I want to cooperate with Elder Lu again, I will not have the honor."

Luo Dujun's words were also a reminder to Dou Yuan that if Lu Cong did not discuss cooperation with them this time, there would be no chance in the future, because he was about to be transferred away from Qingbodong Lake.

Qingbo Cave Lake is a resource point of the Nanxing Sword Sect, not owned by Lu Cong. He secretly sells a group of merfolk and can obtain a sum of cultivation resources without paying anything. Why not?
If the Autumn Frost Sword Sect doesn't make a deal with Lu Cong, they can make a deal with the next person stationed at Qingbo Cave Lake. They have many choices, but Lu Cong's only choice is Luo Dujun.

Whether to hand over this resource to others or keep it in one's own hands, a wise person should know how to choose.

In this negotiation, Dou Yuan's side has already lost the upper hand.

Seeing Dou Yuan's expression, Luo Dujun knew in his heart that the deal was done. He put his hands behind his back, feeling overjoyed, and saw that the moonlight tonight was particularly beautiful.

This conversation on the duck-covered is a secret known only to heaven and earth.

A cool breeze blew through the reeds; the islet was deserted.

*
bottom of the lake.

Yang Ruo looked annoyed: "Junior Sister Ning, you pushed me into the water too quickly. I didn't have time to separate my body from the lake water! I polluted the water. Will this affect the quality of the mermaid yarn next year?"

Ning Fusang really wanted to pry open Yang Ruo's head to see what was in it that made him believe such things.

Qingbodong Lake is 800 li long, so this little bit of influence is negligible.

This regulation simply prohibits anyone from sneaking into Qingbodong Lake without permission.

Yang Ruo stretched out her hands, made a hand seal, and enveloped herself in a transparent bubble, only then feeling much more at ease.

"Junior Sister Ning, after we entered the water, why did you keep pulling me towards the bottom of the lake? We couldn't hear what the people coming were saying." Ning Fusang asked calmly, "Senior Brother, don't you know the saying, 'Do not listen to what is improper'? Eavesdropping on other people's conversations is not the behavior of a gentleman."

Yang Ruo felt her cheeks burning and was a little embarrassed by what she said.

In reality, this was of course made up by Ning Fusang. There are no gentlemen in the cultivation world, and even if there are, they don't live long.

Resources and interests are the eternal pursuit.

In the dead of night, going to Qingbo Cave Lake to discuss matters is most likely a secret that cannot be revealed to others. She is only at the second level of cultivation, and she is also accompanied by a fool like Yang Ruo. She would need to be alive to eavesdrop.

Besides, what does someone else's conspiracy have to do with her? After completing the Qingbo Cave Lake mission, she returned to her sect.

The reason for not letting Yang Ruo listen was because they were worried he would meddle in other people's business.

"Junior Sister Ning, Qingbo Cave Lake is so big, where would the merfolk live?"

Yang Ruo landed on the ground and looked around. The light on the lake bottom was dim, and the water plants floated lightly and gracefully.

Nearly cylindrical, soft, scaleless small fish swam around in front of Yang Ruo.

Just as Ning Fusang was about to say, "How would I know?", she suddenly caught a glimpse of blue fish scales in the corner of her eye.

"Qingbo Cave Lake is the territory of the Southern Star Sword Sect. Who are you? Leave at once!"

The mermaid girl was beautiful and spoke coldly, looking at Yang Ruo and Ning Fusang with hostility, her face full of vigilance.

She specifically mentioned the four characters "Nanxing Sword Sect" to deter those with ill intentions and to tell them that the merfolk of Qingbo Cave Lake could not be hunted at will.

Clearly, the girl mistook Yang Ruo and Ning Fusang for rogue cultivators who had secretly infiltrated Qingbo Cave Lake to hunt merfolk.

Yang Ruo quickly waved her hand and explained, "You misunderstood, we are not bad people."

Zhu Bei sneered, "You can't see into people's hearts. Who knows what bad things you're up to? Leave Qingbo Cave Lake at once, or you'll alert the people guarding the shore and won't be able to leave."

The Southern Star Sword Sect lent Qingbo Cave Lake to the merfolk to live in, giving them a safe place to stay and preventing them from being hunted. In return, they were to weave yarn for the Southern Star Sword Sect in exchange for spirit stones.

This is a collaboration. In order to protect their own interests, the Southern Star Sword Sect will not allow outsiders to infiltrate Qingbo Cave Lake to capture merfolk.

Therefore, Zhu Bei showed no fear when facing the two human cultivators. She only needed to make a slight disturbance, and the patrolling members of the Southern Star Sword Sect would seal off the lake and apprehend the thieves.

“This mermaid girl, my junior sister and I really have no bad intentions. We are disciples of the Southern Star Sword Sect,” Yang Ruo explained.

“When I was fishing for mermaid gauze yesterday, I found a mermaid pearl. I heard that pearls are formed from the tears of mermaids. I thought that the mermaids in Qingbo Cave Lake must have something sad to say, so I dragged my junior sister here to take a peek.”

He opened his hand, revealing the mermaid pearl in his palm. When Zhu Bei saw the mermaid pearl clearly, his eyes flickered slightly, but his attitude remained cold and hard.

"Now that you've finished looking around, please leave. Don't come back again."

(End of this chapter)