Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Even a three year old child in the West Desolate would know that the trading relationship with the Barbarian Clan was lucrative, with high profit margins. If not, private smuggling would not have been so rampant over the years.

Admittedly, in the beginning, the trade with the West Barbarians started out with wanting to get some of the West Barbarian treasures. But wealth changed people. With the continuous flow of gold and silver, it had long since dazzled people and confused them.

Although wealth was not really useful to cultivators in itself, it was still the foundation. There was a price to everything, and when wealth exceeded a certain amount, no one dared to underestimate it.

Everyone wanted a share of the wealth. The Imperial Clan ruled the West Desolate but they were not completely fair internally. Moreover, if they wanted to stop all personal exchanges with the West Barbarians, it would affect a lot of people.

In the end, even the Imperial Clan would not be able to prevent it.

If they could not stop it, then they might as well join in. The Imperial Clan accounted for almost twenty percent of the smuggling and every year they had numerous gains.

For General Jinwu to handle the smuggling between the Imperial Clan and the Barbarian Clan, it would mean that an immense wealth would pass through him every day. Whatever his fingertips touched would be enough to make people salivate. It invoked envy.

And this was enough to explain the sudden change in the Marshal's attitude and why Lord Chengtian's visit was so rushed.

In a flash, the border army camp was filled with envy for General Jinwu.

……

"Marshal, do you really believe that Lord Chengtian came only to hand the smuggling affairs to General Jinwu?" The advisor from the Marshal tent frowned and said.

Wu Tongtian was calm, "So what if I believe it or not? It is not important." He placed down the jade slip as his eyes flashed. "As long as General Jinwu is involved in the smuggling, he will get into trouble. Blocking off the path is like killing their parents. Moreover, this involves a huge fortune. General Jinwu will be extremely busy."

Once he had gotten dragged into the internal strife, Ning Qin would not have the energy to interfere with the army.

Even if he managed to amass a huge fortune, after the West Desolate King abdicated, he would simply be someone that the king grew to eat.

When the time came, Wu Tongtian would not mind taking a bite of it himself.

Moreover, there was something else…nobody involved in the smuggling had ever assumed power in the military!

Like Marshal Wu. He received a large fixed income every year and did not involve himself in any smuggling.

This mattered because of the inside information from smuggling. If someone who personally delivers goods to the Barbarian Clan suddenly entered the battlefield, he may cause many casualties and would not be qualified to lead in the army!

If General Jinwu was smart, he should have rejected it…it was a pity that he was blinded by wealth.

Hmph! The future was more or less set.

……

Ye Sangdu played with the jade seal in his hand as he smiled. He was in a good mood.

General Jinwu seemed to be in a good position with his control of the Imperial Clan's smuggling and would soon amass wealth.

But he would soon be a dead chess piece!

He lifted his hand to throw the jade seal, "Tell them that the Later Ye Family is willing to back them. If they do this well, they will live a life of riches!"

"Yes, Great General!"

A general took the jade seal and turned to leave.

……

"General, they are not easy to deal with, Why did you let yourself get dragged in?"

Jiang Chengzi's subordinate chuckled bitterly and he looked worried.

Everyone else nodded.

"I understand your concerns. But these are His Majesty's wishes and I had no choice."

Jiang Chengzi spoke slowly and calmly, "Don't worry too much. Although I will be cooperating with General Jinwu, he is still the one leading this."

There was another point that Jiang Chengzi did not mention.

Although this situation could become troublesome, it was also an opportunity.

So when Lord Chengtian raised this, he merely pretended to hesitate before agreeing.

Of course, he would have to see how this would all end up.

But from what he was seeing now, it was worth a bet!

……

In the carriage that was on its way to the mine.

Qin Yu knocked on the window and the carriage stopped.

"Go and ask Lady Rourou to come over."

There was an acknowledgement and someone left quickly.

A moment later, Rourou pushed open the door and entered. She was carrying chicken overlord in her arms. He looked at Qin Yu guiltily before quickly turning away.

Closing the carriage door, Qin Yu knocked on the window and the group continued on its way.

Sitting on a cushion, Rourou yawned, "Perverted little Qin Yu, what did you call me for? You better not have any indecent thoughts."

This woman…

The vein on Qin Yu's forehead pulsed as he took a deep breath, "I have something important. I am not here to joke around with you." He tapped the air and space time rules fluctuated. He called upon the lantern.

Across from him, Rourou raised her brows.

Qin Yu thought it was because she saw this lantern. However, he did not know that she was hiding a lot of emotions behind this expression.

For example…this was evidence!

"This lantern contains an immense power. I have to seal it so that it cannot hurt me."

Rourou frowned, "Poor…little Qin Yu, I already told you that I am unable to use a lot of power in this state. It will not be easy for me." She blinked, "Why don't you ask the other one. Although her realm is strange, it should not be too difficult for her to do this."

Qin Yu knew that she was referring to the Ruler. But now he was trying to hide from her, so he did not dare to call upon her.

He shook his head, "There are some issues now and I can't ask for her help. I have to trouble you." He paused before continuing, "Tell me if you have any requirements."

It not being easy did not mean that she could not do it. Qin Yu understood the underlying message behind her words.

Rourou smiled as she gently stroked chicken overlord's feathers and looked to be thinking.

"In the future, I may ask you for something. Of course, this might be a small loss for you, but it will not be a huge problem.

"As long as you agree, I will help you seal this. The energy in this lantern will be a muted bomb."

Qin Yu frowned; his first instinct was to reject this kind of unclear request. But she would definitely not help him for nothing.

Thinking about it, he said softly, "First of all, like you said, this request must not endanger me. If that is not the case, then I have the right to reject."

Rourou clapped her hands, "Okay, deal!"

Soon after, Qin Yu felt like he got cheated.

All he saw was Rourou reaching out to touch the surface of the lamp before pulling her hand back and winking at Qin Yu.

"Done."

Hiss -

He suddenly felt his teeth ache.

Qin Yu's mouth twitched, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, confirm!" Rourou hit her own chest angrily. "I have always kept my word and never made a mistake. You can rest assured!"

Qin Yu wanted to curse. So you pretended that it was difficult?!

Rourou rolled her eyes, "What are you thinking? Only I can do this. Otherwise, you could have tried asking someone else! Hehe, this is the work of the Desolate King and I can smell the scent from the incense.

"You don't need to take my word for it. I will give you a chance to regret this. Hand the lantern back to me and let me remove it. Then you can find whoever you want; I won't help you!"

Although he was eighty percent sure that she was bluffing, he did not dare to take the risk. This lantern was dangerous and a small mistake would cause it to explode and blow him into pieces!

Qin Yu guarded the lantern, "Let me ask you once more: are you sure that it is fine?"

Rourou rolled her eyes even more exaggeratedly and waved her hands, motioning for him to hand the lantern over to her.

He had no choice but to believe her. Based on their past, the mysterious being would most likely not joke about things that could determine his life and death.

He quickly stored the lantern. Qin Yu said in a low voice, "I will do what I promised. Just tell me when."

Gulp -

Qin Yu felt as if he heard Rourou swallow her saliva but he did not know if he had misheard. Unease grew within him and he looked hesitant.

"Okay, it is set!" Rourou wiped the corners of her lips and turned to leave, "There is someone looking for you, I will leave first."

Pushing the carriage door open, she immediately turned into the gentle lady from the Demon Sect, looking vulnerable and timid.

Outside the carriage stood Hundred Saint. His mouth could not help but twitch.

This being really knew how to act. No one would be able to see through her if she did not want them to.

Hundred Saint moved to the side respectfully.

Rourou bowed to him and gave him a warning look. Hundred Saint shivered and felt like crying.

He did not dare disrespect her, but when he treated her with too much respect, he got a warning. This was too difficult!

After Rourou returned to her carriage, Hundred Saint slowly regained his awareness, "General, I am Hundred Saint. I need to see you."

"Come in."

Hundred Saint made a sound of acknowledgement before hopping on and opening the door.

Qin Yu looked at him, "Are you about to ask why I agreed to help with the Imperial Clan's smuggling?"

Hundred Saint nodded, "General, even though my uncle was the one who personally delivered the order, you really should not have accepted!"

He gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, "The smuggling with the Barbarian Clan has numerous links with the imperial military; it is an open secret. But any general who directly participates in the smuggling will not have a bright future. This is a huge disadvantage!"

Qin Yu's heart warmed but his face remained the same as he waved his hand, "I know my limits, you don't have to worry."

Hundred Saint wanted to say something else but Qin Yu cut him off, "I have to think of other things. If you have nothing else, please leave."

He chuckled bitterly before turning to leave.

Seeing the carriage door close, Qin Yu rubbed his chin. Although he did not have any good impressions of the West Desolate empire, if he had a chance he would like to help Hundred Saint.

Forget it, this was a problem for the future. It was too early to think about it.

……

General Jinwu has been recognized by the Imperial Clan and was given the power to manage the Imperial Clan's smuggling matters. Of course, there would be people who were not pleased about this.

Especially when the jade slip was handed to them. These people were like a bomb waiting to explode.

"Lord, what should we do?" A cultivator looked sinister as he frowned and spoke.

Behind the desk, a middle-aged man sat on a huge chair. He had a fair complexion and was calm, "Of course we shall make preparations to greet General Jinwu. After all, we have to deal with him."

He looked up.

The sinister cultivator sneered, "I understand!"

He turned and left.

The room fell silent. However, in actuality there were more than the two of them in the room.

There were several cultivators sitting in front of the table, facing each other. They were all silent but looked intimidating.

Smuggling had never been easy and the Barbarian Clan was not easy to deal with. In an exchange, there may be incidents and a fight may break out.

For them to be able to live till this day and become substantial figures was because they had managed to benefit from these exchanges. They were not ordinary people.

The middle-aged man with a clean white face slowly turned cold, "Everyone, we have done several illegal things over the years. This will not be a problem if no one checks. But now that things have changed, we are not able to determine what will happen in the future." he leaned forwards and knocked on the table, "So I am sure you all know what to do from now."

"We understand what you mean. However, General Jinwu belongs to His Majesty. He has a high status and power in the military. It will not be easy to cause trouble." Someone said slowly.

"Don't worry, I will not do things that risk my life. You all just have to stand with me and I can promise you that we will continue to grow our wealth!"

He reached out and picked up the jade slip, playing with it.

Everyone was silent for a while before standing and bowing, "We will follow you!"