Immortality Cultivation: Fellow Daoists, please live for two more episodes!

Qiu Wu's smile remained unchanged. Anyone can say polite words, but if you really want to do business, it's better to be upfront about some things:

"Brother Qin, you flatter me, but there's something I really don't understand."

"Wanjitang has at least seven or eight shops outside the gate. They could easily handle any of them with just a word. Why did they come to our small shop instead?"

Qin Jiu did not avoid the question upon hearing it:

"To be honest, I have a batch of Yin Po ore, a considerable amount, but the source of this batch is a bit mixed. Going through Wanjitang's own shops would be too conspicuous and would easily attract the attention of the Fujiao Society."

"Your Jucai Pavilion is involved in points-based loans, so there are always a lot of disciples coming and going. You also have some mineral trading involved. From the outside, it looks like the old trick of borrowing and repaying money, keeping a low profile."

Selling goods?

Inside the stone chamber, Zhou Youyuan frowned slightly when he heard those two words.

He had considered the possibility that the other party would try to extort money from him, and had even made considerable preparations for it. However, he never expected that the other party would not value his family's lending business, but instead hoped that he could help sell the goods...

Its origins are dubious; it's probably something that can't be brought to light.

However, in any case, the most valuable transactions are those involving defective goods, because the other party also has leverage over the goods.

Qiu Wu had clearly considered this as well, and his smile vanished instantly:

"Brother Qin is very frank, so I won't beat around the bush. Since this batch of goods came from various sources, the people handling it have to take risks. If something goes wrong and it gets back to Jucai Pavilion, we're not like Wanji Hall; we don't have the financial resources to handle that."

Qin Jiu nodded upon hearing this, and was quite straightforward: "You won't bear the risk for nothing. The commission for resale will be 30%."

Thirty percent? That sounds like a lot, but since Qin Jiu's goods came from illegitimate sources, thirty percent isn't just about buying the distribution channels; it also carries significant risks.

However, what truly moved him was not the 30% of the points, but the symbol behind Qin Jiu...

Wanjitang.

All of Wanjitang's goods, from the Jucai Pavilion to the accounts, the people coming and going, and the relationships behind them, would pass through Qiu Wu's hands.

Once Wanjitang has established dealings with Jucaige, it's impossible for Fujiaohui not to know...

Or, even if Fu Jiao doesn't come looking for him, can't he find out from Qin Jiu who the Foundation Establishment expert behind Jiang Yuheng really is?

Moreover, this clone was originally a expendable pawn, used to stir up trouble and distract the people coming from Yu Miaoxian's side.

This deal would not only stir up trouble but also connect him with Wanjitang and help him gather information.

It's a win-win-win situation! Why not do it?

Zhou Youyuan had a thought, and Lin Qiusheng silently nodded at Qiu Wu.

Seeing this, Qiu Wu rubbed his hands together, chuckled, and said to Qin Jiu in a tone that was half coquettish and half pleading, as if he were used to bargaining:

"Brother Qin, 30% is quite a lot, but if this business is to take off, all the goods coming in and going out every month will have to pass through my hands. I'm a timid person and a light sleeper, so I can't sleep soundly at night."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jiu stared at Qiu Wu for a moment, then his lips twitched slightly: "Forty percent, that's all."

Qiu Wuchong and Qin Jiu smiled:

"Forty percent, forty percent. But let me make this clear from the start... how the goods come in and go, what route they take and what name they are given, it's all up to me. If Brother Qin trusts me, the first batch can be sent over tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jiu put down his teacup, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:

"Great, it's settled then. I'll have someone deliver the goods to the back alley tomorrow."

After saying that, he clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lin Qiusheng, nodded to Qiu Wu, turned around, pushed open the door, and walked away with crisp, clean steps.

As soon as the door closed, the smile on Qiu Wu's face vanished instantly, as if someone had wiped it with a rag.

He rubbed his hands together, glanced back at Lin Qiusheng, then at the untouched bowl of tea on the table, and muttered:

"Brother Qiusheng, this water is quite deep."

Inside the stone chamber, Zhou Youyuan closed his eyes, silently calculating his next move in the game. Then, through the light screen, he spoke a sentence through Lin Qiusheng's mouth:

"Spread the word about this deal once you're out here."

"What rumor are you spreading?"

"Tell me that Jucai Pavilion recently landed a big deal, and people from Wanji Hall came to negotiate in person."

Qiu Wu's eyes darted around, as if he understood something. A knowing smile slowly spread across his face.

"Okay, leave this to me."

……

But sometimes, you should never think that you're the only smart person in the world.

Just when Zhou Youyuan felt that everything was progressing smoothly according to his plan.

Little did they know that far away in the back alley of Wanbaoge, in a corner of the miscellaneous workshop of Shuiyue Branch, there was a person who never once glanced at Jucaige.

Under a stall selling soup noodles at the west end of the servants' quarters, a young man in a gray cloth shirt sat on a bench with a half-bowl of cold vegetarian noodles in front of him. His chopsticks were resting on the rim of the bowl, but he hadn't touched it.

He calls himself Li Huai.

"Young Master Li, what brings you here again?"

A girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old emerged from behind the shed carrying a plate of pickled radishes. Her eyes still held a hint of timidity, but the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile…

Ever since she met Young Master Li, her face has never lacked a smile.

Yunniang felt that her luck had finally turned around.

First, she was seconded to do a mission, and in a situation where she was almost certain to die, she was saved by someone she didn't know, but judging from the things at the time, it was very likely an old acquaintance of her father.

She didn't want to have anything to do with that jerk anymore.

Then, a little over a month ago, during another mission selection, Young Master Li came. This time, he didn't come to save her because of her father, but because of herself.

What young girl doesn't dream of love?

Yunniang placed the pickled radish in front of Li Huai and wiped her hands on her apron. "The noodles are getting cold. Shall I heat them up for you?"

"Need not."

Li Huai picked up the bowl, took a sip of noodle soup, put the bowl down, and suddenly asked, "Yunniang, did you see your father being buried?"

Yunniang paused for a moment, then looked down and adjusted the hem of her apron: "I saw it."

"How did he die?"

"No head."

"There was a clean, flat cut on his neck, like cutting tofu with a knife. It was severed in one stroke, and there wasn't even much blood... The supervisor said it was probably severed before he died."

Li Huai took another sip of noodle soup.

Yunniang glanced at him cautiously: "Why...why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Just asking."

Li Huai put down his bowl, smiled, and said, "It's getting dark, I'll head back now."

Yunniang sighed, wanting to say something but not saying it, only watching him walk out of the shed, his gray cloth shirt disappearing into the alley.

The moment he turned into the alley, the smile on Li Huai's face vanished completely.

Chen Wendao slowed his pace, the bronze shield pressed against his chest, slightly warm.

He returned to Shuiyue a month and a half ago.

As soon as he returned, he found out about Lin Qiusheng.

The opening of Jucai Pavilion, the points-based loan program, and Qiu Wu stepping in to smooth things over—this is the most talked-about new development in Shuiyue in the past three months, making it hard to ignore.

But the rules of the Creation Immortal Sect over the years only taught him one thing: there must be a shadow under a bright light.

A mere cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining maintained the same expression for three months, yet subtly hinted at something else:

He and Sun Yunqi have countless connections...

Is Sun Yunqi such a careless person?

In the past, perhaps, but now that he had exposed himself, he believed the other party wasn't stupid either.

Cha Lin Qiusheng is very likely playing right into their hands.

So Chen Wendao didn't follow that line; instead, he chose to turn back and start investigating from the miscellaneous servants' quarters.

Sun Yunqi spent a long time in the servants' quarters before entering the outer gate, and all signs indicated that the person he wanted to contact was Zhao Donglai.

Zhao Donglai died by a single, bloodless decapitation.

There are many magical treasures or methods that can achieve this, but before he came, he asked a friend in the Heavenly Palace who specializes in the secret method of cause and effect to check two paths of cause and effect.

Sun Yunqi's karma was completely black and could not be seen at all, which was normal, since he was a person related to a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was able to steal the Dao Foundation from his master.

But what's strange is Zhao Donglai...

Isn't that hilarious? Cause and effect show that this guy never even existed in the world.

This is not something a Qi Refining cultivator can do.

Chen Wendao slowed his pace.

Unless, the one who killed Zhao Donglai was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The six qi of autumn, [the beginning of autumn] is the foundation of the Dao, and the autumn killing sword obliterates everything from the level of existence, so the cause and effect cannot be found.

Why would a mere clerk, an ordinary errand boy, attract the personal attention of a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

Unless he has something in his possession.

Chen Wendao stopped.

The innate Yin-Yang Dao foundation.

If Zhao Donglai had handled that thing and learned methods he shouldn't have, then everything would make sense.

Even the most intricate schemes have flaws; these flaws aren't found in the highest or brightest places, but in the lowest and most inconspicuous ones.

Just like now, Zhou Youyuan never imagined that his plan had already gone wrong from the very beginning.

But what a meticulously planned and interconnected scheme fears most is...

It's a crack that spreads from the very foundation.