Daily Intelligence: From Miner to Dao Ancestor of Alchemy and Talismans

Xu Yuan poured him a cup of tea, placed it in front of him, and then sat down opposite him, looking at him with a puzzled expression: "Manager Li, is there... something you need today?"

Li Qinghe picked up his teacup, took a sip, and the tea had gone cold, but he seemed oblivious. He put down the teacup, looked up at Xu Yuan, and forced a smile.

"Brother Xu, during your trip to Black Wind Valley, did you really not encounter any danger? Did you meet any strange people?" He stared intently into Xu Yuan's eyes, trying to discern something from them.

Xu Yuan leaned back in his chair, not in a hurry to answer.

He looked at Li Qinghe with a calm gaze and a faint smile on his lips. The smile was so faint, yet it sent a chill down Li Qinghe's spine.

"Manager Li," Xu Yuan spoke, his voice low but like a hammer blow striking Li Qinghe's heart, "are you concerned about me, or about those three Black Wind Valley cultivators?"

Li Qinghe's face turned deathly pale instantly.

The teacup in his hand clattered against the edge of the table, spilling scalding tea that splashed onto his robe, but he seemed oblivious.

His pupils suddenly contracted, his lips began to tremble, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

"You...you..." He pointed at Xu Yuan, his hand trembling like a leaf, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

How did this kid know?!

Xu Yuan didn't reply, but instead reached into his pocket, slowly pulled out the secret letter, and casually tossed it onto the table.

A soft click.

The secret letter landed in front of Li Qinghe. The familiar handwriting and the familiar private seal stung his eyes.

He felt as if all the bones in his body had been removed, and he instantly slumped into the chair, his face drained of all color.

It’s over.

It's all over.

He never imagined that the elaborate trap he had laid would ultimately deliver the evidence into the hands of his target.

Those three good-for-nothings! Not only did they not kill anyone, they also sold him out completely!

Xu Yuan just watched him, without urging or rushing him, and even had the leisure to pick up his teacup and slowly take a sip.

The air in the room seemed to have solidified, making it hard to breathe.

After a long while, Li Qinghe finally managed to squeeze out a complete sentence.

"They...are dead?"

"Hmm." Xu Yuan put down his teacup, his tone eerily calm. "Three of them. All dead. Their remains are nowhere to be found in the Black Wind Valley forest."

Li Qinghe's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He suddenly slid off the chair and landed with a thud on his knees on the cold floor.

"Brother Xu... Brother Xu, spare me!" His voice trembled with sobs as his forehead slammed against the floor with a dull thud. "I was bewitched! I'm not human! I was blinded by greed! Please, have mercy, don't let this get out!"

"If...if the Zhao family finds out, I...I'll be dead for sure! The Zhao family's rules will throw me into an anthill, annihilating my soul and spirit, never to be reincarnated!"

He kowtowed and cried out, his voice high-pitched and thin, a stark contrast to the aloof and arrogant market magistrate he usually was.

Xu Yuan looked at him without saying a word.

He had expected this.

Li Qinghe, that old dog, may look respectable, but he's actually greedy, cowardly, and extremely afraid of death. Once you have something on him, he'll be more obedient than a dog.

"Stand up and speak." Xu Yuan's voice came from above, neither too loud nor too soft, but it carried an undeniable power.

Li Qinghe was stunned for a moment, then quickly got up from the ground, but dared not sit down. He stood there bent over in front of Xu Yuan, head down, like an old dog being grabbed by the scruff of its neck, not daring to even breathe.

Xu Yuan sat back down in his chair, raised his chin, and pointed to the seat opposite him: "Sit."

Li Qinghe sat down cautiously, his bottom barely touching half of the chair. He placed his hands on his knees, nervously rubbing them together. Cold sweat streamed down his face, but he didn't dare wipe it away.

Xu Yuan picked up the secret letter, flipped through it in his hand, and then looked at Li Qinghe.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you'd better answer them honestly. If you tell even half a lie, this letter will be on the Zhao family patriarch's desk tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, yes! Brother, ask away! I'll answer whatever you ask! Not a single lie!" Li Qinghe nodded repeatedly, his head bobbing like a rattle drum.

"Did you write this letter yourself?"

"……yes."

"Did you personally contact those three cultivators who had undergone tribulation?"

"……yes."

"You want them to kill me, then accuse me of having an affair with a cultivator, leaving no way to prove it?"

Li Qinghe's body trembled even more violently. He remained silent for a couple of breaths, then lowered his head and squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth: "...Yes."

Xu Yuan nodded, put the letter in his pocket, leaned back in his chair, crossed his hands on his abdomen, and spoke in a calm and unhurried tone.

"Okay. Then I'll ask you again, do you want to die, or do you want to live?"

Li Qinghe abruptly raised his head, his eyes filled with fear and pleading. Without thinking, he blurted out, "I want to live! I want to live! Brother, please give me a way out! I'll do anything you ask! I'll go through fire and water without a single complaint!"

"Want to live? Fine." Xu Yuan's tone was calm. "I have a few conditions. If you agree to them, this letter will never be seen by anyone else. But if you dare to play any tricks..."

He paused, his tone unchanged, but Li Qinghe's back was completely soaked in cold sweat.

You know the consequences.

"I know, I know! I understand!" Li Qinghe nodded repeatedly. "Tell me! I'll agree to any conditions! Don't just say three, I'll agree to thirty!"

"First," Xu Yuan held up one finger, "From now on, you must tell me immediately about all resources, tasks, and inside information in the market. You must give me whatever I ask for, without any concealment."

"No problem! Absolutely no problem!" Li Qinghe agreed without hesitation. "From now on, you can choose all the resources in the market! I'll tell you about any good jobs or opportunities as soon as they come! I won't hide anything!"

"Second," Xu Yuan held up a second finger, "provide me with all the internal dynamics of the Zhao family. Especially all information related to the protective array, the ancestral hall, and the treasury. I need to know everything the Zhao family does, from family meetings to guard mobilization."

Li Qinghe's expression changed.

This is a core secret of the Zhao family. If it is leaked and the Zhao family finds out, the person will die anyway.

But looking into Xu Yuan's calm eyes, and then thinking of the secret letter in his arms that could cost him his life, he gritted his teeth and nodded fiercely: "...Fine! I agree! I'll tell you everything about the Zhao family, without missing a single word!"