Warhammer Fantasy: I Have Total War System

The compass cart entered the caravan.

The caravan managers along the way treated him very differently than before.

Previously, he spent money on purchases, and the enthusiasm of these people had an element of seeing him as a sucker.

But now, wherever he goes, all the managers and powerful figures of the merchants jump off their carriages and hurriedly bow to the sides of the road, not daring to take any presumptuous actions such as hawking goods or stopping him to chat.

Those who had deliberately ripped him off with inflated prices were now sweating profusely, their eyes fixed on their toes, terrified that Li Lin would come looking for trouble.

He does want to cause trouble, but not now.

"I need to purchase healing pills and military supplies. Those with stockpiles, please report outside the vehicle." He instructed his staff to broadcast this through a loudspeaker.

Among the merchants holding rosters and jade slips, Li Lin used the dual location of the Dragon Palace perception and the system map to try to find the alchemist who had previously sold him the Yellow Dragon Pill and the Rejuvenation Pill, hoping to recruit her to counterbalance Yi Ge, but he couldn't find her.

"Where are the people from Yuhuan Residence?" he asked several caravan managers who came in.

Everyone said the shop was still there, only the manager had changed.

The new shopkeeper is an ordinary apprentice in the Qi cultivation sect; he lacks the skills to refine any new elixirs.

Li Lin asked someone to recruit the apprentice, a timid young woman named Xu Zilu.

"Master...Master and my senior brothers and sisters all passed away overnight after the battle a few days ago."

"Gone? Where did they go?"

"I...I don't know." Xu Zilu's cheeks flushed as she rubbed her slender, fair hands.

Seeing Li Lin's suspicious expression, he added:

"I'm telling the truth!"

"I was promoted from a medicine slave because the Fire Copper Workshop was short-staffed. I really had no idea what my master and the others were up to."

"So you don't know how to refine pills?" Li Lin asked.

Xu Zilu nodded awkwardly: "I can learn. My master and senior brothers and sisters' alchemy insights are all left in the dormitory. I... I made a few copies when I was cleaning. We are all from the same sect, so I don't think they will mind."

Li Lin rubbed his forehead twice, feeling a headache coming on.

The person left? They didn't take their tips and secrets with them?

It is common knowledge that alchemists are not honest and mostly study some kind of secret technique in private, which is a serious crime that can lead to the extermination of nine generations of one's family outside of the Shangyang Esoteric Sect.

Aren't these people afraid that their research into forbidden techniques will be discovered by someone with ulterior motives, and that they will become fugitives?

Suspicious as it may be, now is not the time to concern ourselves with such matters.

The legacy left by the alchemist cannot be wasted, so Li Lin arranged for Xu Zilu to lead the remaining people from Yu Huan Ju into his supply train.

The young man was overjoyed, his smile as bright as a flower, even making Li Lin, this straight-laced man, swoon.

For a moment, it was unclear whether he was taking medication or was naturally beautiful.

They spent approximately eight hundred taels of gold to purchase basic supplies for two thousand people, and the Sinan wagon headed straight for the Qingluan Tower convoy.

The Qingluan Tower's procession still maintained its unapproachable demeanor.

White Feather Guards rode tall horses and patrolled around the ebony carriage.

Upon seeing Li Lin arrive, they showed no intention of bowing or making way for him. Instead, they gestured for Li Lin to stop and then used a magical artifact to notify the people in the carriage.

This attitude is exactly the same as when he was a notorious low-level soldier.

Li Lin was becoming increasingly curious about what kind of powerful backer was behind these people.

"Manager Li!" A clear voice broke the silence.

The young maid who had guided him earlier came out of the carriage to greet him, smiling and bowing.

She looked extremely cute in her light green short jacket.

"My name is Tangzhi. Last time I was in such a hurry that I didn't even have time to introduce myself to the head steward." Her round eyes looked at Li Lin without any fear. "The head steward is now a very important person, renowned throughout the land!"

Li Lin reached out and patted her head as she nuzzled against him, saying, "I'm just a minor commander of the allied forces. Once we return to Nangao, I'll be nothing. This is hardly a mission. Besides, I won the battle against the ogres, and your Qingluan Tower deserves half the credit."

"I wouldn't dare accept that," Tangzhi smiled, pursing her lips. "The young lady said that even the best things depend on who uses them. There are plenty of soldiers in the army with better equipment than the steward, but they still deserted, didn't they?"

"Haha, I love hearing that," Li Lin laughed, then changed the subject, "However, I'm not here to catch up today. I need thirty or forty sets of equipment, the best kind. Money is no problem."

Tangzhi's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, don't worry, Steward, we have everything you want. In addition, my wife has something important to discuss with you, and we also have a generous gift for you."

The biggest concern for caravans is nothing more than the fear that their people and goods will be confiscated.

Li Lin smiled, not taking it seriously, and followed Tang Zhi into the carriage of the Qingluan Tower manager.

The moment the curtain was lifted, a refreshing, damp breeze rushed towards me.

The sight before him made Li Lin pause slightly—the interior of the carriage was actually a small, exquisite courtyard with mountains and water features.

There is a pond, a rockery, a covered corridor, and a small pavilion.

Several koi carp leisurely swung their tails in the pond, two lush green bamboos grew beside the rockery, and in the red pavilion, beautiful women sat at a stone table laden with snacks and fruits, waiting for a long time.

The carriage was clearly inlaid with some kind of magical artifact similar to that of the Dragon Palace, but the space was not as spacious as the Dragon Palace.

Its area is roughly equivalent to the combined area of ​​three rooms in the outer hall of the Dragon Palace.

Li Lin guessed that it was probably the "Dragon Abyss" that Yi Ge had mentioned, which was one level below the Dragon Palace.

Sitting down at the stone table, the beautiful manager of Qingluan Tower was dressed in the same dark blue, narrow-sleeved outfit as the previous times we had met, with a bronze peacock feather hairpin in her high bun.

She nodded slightly to Li Lin, her attitude becoming a little better, but not exactly warm.

This aloof attitude only made Li Lin more curious about her, and he even instinctively wanted to show off in front of her.

As expected of Master Jing.

The tea ceremony skills are truly superb.

"Manager Li," she spoke first, her tone clear and crisp, "I didn't introduce myself when we met before. My surname is Chu, and my given name is Yao."

Li Lin waited for her to continue, but she only gave her name and then stopped.

The caravan came from that dragon-descended family in Xiuyanqing City?

Is she herself a descendant of the dragon?

Nothing was mentioned.

She didn't say anything, and Li Lin wasn't interested in asking. He took the silk scroll she handed him, glanced at it, and found that there were many more good items listed in the military equipment section.

While eating crisp plums, he carefully browsed the equipment, asking Chu Yao about its quality and efficacy piece by piece.

Li Lin quickly identified several sets of weapons and equipment that could form a complete set.

According to Chu Yao, the "Heavenly King Mask Armor" is a golden mask armor containing the magic power of the dragon race. It allows the wearer to transform into a ghost or god, intimidate the enemy army, and fight more bravely.

The "Mysterious Soul Armor" is a dark black heavy armor made of Changyuan stone bricks. It contains the power of the Jade Dragon Emperor and has better defensive performance than ordinary standard armor. Moreover, when standing still, it can withstand arrows and crossbow bolts.

The "Meteorite Iron Spear" is a heavy weapon specifically designed to target large units. It is extremely powerful, reaching the standard of a low-level magic weapon. Only a few high-level magic weapons can break it. Its disadvantage is also obvious: it is very heavy, and the wielder must reach at least the "Inner Strength" level to use it freely.

Li Lin was envious and immediately asked Chu Yao for the price.

One set costs 100 taels of gold, and 33 sets would cost 3,300 taels of gold.

Li Lin glanced at the system's finance section and quickly mentally scanned the ledger.

After becoming a commander without troops, the daily maintenance cost of his army was reduced to less than two hundred taels of gold.

Moreover, as the commander-in-chief, he can directly use his authority to allocate military supplies to his troops free of charge, so there are basically no maintenance costs.

The money was manageable, but gold, enough to arm thousands, could only buy thirty-three pieces of equipment...

That really hurts!

The system's gold didn't just fall from the sky; he earned it by risking his life!

"Manager Chu," he put down the silk scroll, "the items are of good quality, but the price is just..."

"These can be purchased for free," Chu Yao suddenly said.

Li Lin frowned.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"But I need you to meet someone."

"Who is it?"

"The person is right here, just a few steps away. You'll know when you see them." Chu Yao's tone remained calm, but there was a certain unpredictable glint in the slightly upturned corners of her eyes.

"I want you to be alone with the other person in a room for the duration of a cup of tea."

Li Lin choked.

What does that mean?

Is he trying to find someone to match me with?

Is there such a good thing?

Is asking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea a bit of an insult to me?

How can I politely accept a refusal?

You're so dense! Think of something!

Seeing his hesitation, Chu Yao added, "I can guarantee that the people inside will never force you to do anything. At most, you'll just be sitting in the room for a while, and you won't suffer any loss."

"What if I don't want to?" Li Lin pretended to be aloof, but regretted it as soon as he said it.

"Then the deal will proceed as planned, with the price unchanged," Chu Yao replied crisply.

"Qingluan Tower does not accept bargaining."

Okay.

Li Lin temporarily suppressed his thoughts and calmly considered the situation.

Regardless of Chu Yao's identity, she is now trapped in this allied force just like him.

Surrounded by rebels and cannibals, she was in the same boat, and had no reason to harm herself at this time.

If they really wanted to cause harm, they could have just tampered with the equipment; there was no need to do it now.

"Okay." Li Lin nodded.

Chu Yao showed no extra expression. She got up and personally led the way, taking Li Lin through the corridor, around the artificial hill, and to an inconspicuous vermilion door deep in the courtyard.

The moment the door was pushed open, a dark and oppressive atmosphere rushed out.

The room was dimly lit, with only a faint flame burning on a bronze lampstand in the corner, and the air was filled with a heavy, intoxicating incense.

Li Lin recalled that when he was seriously injured, he seemed to have smelled a similar scent, which seemed to be a kind of incense specially used to relieve pain and induce sleep in the injured.

In the center of the room stood a futon, and opposite the futon stood an exquisite silk screen.

The screen depicts a tranquil scene of autumn leaves falling, with a boy and a girl, two young children, playing among the fallen leaves.

Li Lin felt that the painting was very familiar, as if he had seen it since he was a child.

But like most of the original owner's memories, this layer of memories is shrouded in a painful darkness, and without intense stimulation, it is difficult to recall.

"The person Steward Li wants to see is behind the screen." Chu Yao stood by the door. "Go in. The door will lock after the lights go out and won't reopen until the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. You can still leave now—"

Li Lin raised his hand to interrupt her and stepped directly into the room.

Most of the people here have very deep connections with him, and he has to get involved, otherwise he'll be planting a time bomb in his identity.

Chu Yao didn't say anything more and gently closed the door.

The moment the door closed, the lamp on the bronze lampstand in the corner went out abruptly, plunging the entire room into darkness.

Li Lin could feel a chilling magical power seeping out from the walls, as if an invisible membrane completely sealed the entire room.

He sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, closed his eyes to rest, and made no move to speak.

The silence lasted for a long time.

In the darkness, only the scent of incense and the faint sound of two hearts beating could be heard.

The person behind the screen finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He spoke first, asking, "Is my chair comfortable for you?"

Li Lin suddenly opened his eyes.

The system taskbar also popped up at the same time:

[Side Quest 3: Recruit a second deputy lord, recommended candidate is "Yang Dragonborn: Wu Tamei"]

[Reward: 500 distributable experience points, 1000 taels of gold]