Chapter 1132 - 939: Realization

Keep a distance? Manxi was speechless; was there even a need to keep one now? At this point, even if he wanted to intervene, he couldn't get in. Forcing his way in would be a violation of fair competition.

Last time, goaded by Dongguo Shou, he found some "reasonable" excuse to go on inspection, only to run into this Demon King and that Demon King refusing to give him face, so that he ended up having to find himself a way down the stage. Was that humiliation not enough?

All he hoped for now was to at least keep his current position. When the time came, with status and justification, he'd have all the chances and reasons he needed to deal with Shi Chun.

Yet the situation Shi Chun had stirred up at the moment left him unsure whether he should be happy or worried.

The population‑attraction campaigns in Dingxi and Dingbei Prefectures were in full swing. So far, the number of people the two prefectures had each brought in was already about to catch up with the headcount of his own Domain Central. The situation looked very bad.

But his superiors believed that even if the two prefectures managed to recruit enough manpower, there was no way Shi Chun could get that much money to plug the financial holes of Dingxi and Dingbei. When the time came, the affairs of the two prefectures would inevitably drag Shi Chun down with them.

The problem was, Manxi had personally gone through the Battle of Great Pardon and had watched with his own eyes how Shi Chun repeatedly turned the tables after being driven into desperate straits. On top of that, having seen his own attempts to suppress Shi Chun fail, he then saw with his own eyes the example of Shi Chun forcibly scraping together hundreds of billions from Yanfu Continent.

Back then, Dingnan Prefecture had also said there was no way Shi Chun could get hundreds of billions to fill the hole. And how did that turn out?

His superiors said this time was different from last time, that Shi Chun would not be allowed back into Yanfu Continent to raise money. But when Manxi reviewed Shi Chun's past "battle records," he found himself somewhat cowed by what Shi Chun had pulled off.

That Dongguo Shou, who had once carried himself with an air of carefree elegance, was no longer carefree; he had turned into a petty schemer, and he shared the same worries as Manxi, constantly coming over to sow discord.

Right now, Dingnan Prefecture had a whole crowd of bigshots coming and going. On the surface, it looked like they were wrangling and making trouble. The upper ranks were gloating, saying that perhaps they wouldn't even need to wait for later; this matter alone might be enough to topple Shi Chun.

But he didn't share their confidence. Precisely because he was in the midst of it, his personal sense of the situation told him something felt off. He worried that too many heavyweights getting involved would generate some kind of momentum, worried that money of a corresponding scale would fall from somewhere to fill the giant pits in Dingxi and Dingbei, worried that this was something Shi Chun had deliberately engineered.

Yet all his worries were useless at the moment, because he had no way to clearly explain to his superiors what was going on; he could only wait with eyes open for the day when the threads of this affair surfaced.

At Dingnan Prefecture's Central, the three Great Elders of the Qiankun Sect had arrived at a rather inopportune time. Before coming, they hadn't done any proper scouting of the situation here. The master of the place was not in, and no one knew when he would return.

After staying three days, one elder left first; two days later, another left, leaving only one stationed on the mountain waiting.

Feng Xi, however, was not waiting idle. An industrial portfolio with an annual tax payment as high as ten billion had formally migrated over.

He had discussed matters with Shi Chun face‑to‑face and knew what deal the two of them were working on, so he knew that Shi Chun was not "out of contact." That bastard simply wouldn't act without seeing the rabbit—if he didn't see meat, he wouldn't show up. This was something Feng Xi would never tell outsiders.

Once the people and assets were in place, and the contracts were signed, everything was finalized and implemented under Feng Chi's own eyes. After that, Feng Xi called Feng Chi aside for a talk and said bluntly, "The Phoenix Clan's sincerity has already been placed on the table. Have Shi Chun come see me."

He knew very well this woman could reach Shi Chun; with no outsiders around, there was no need to go in circles anymore.

Feng Chi replied respectfully and politely, "Clan Chief, I've already conveyed your sincerity to the Commander. The Commander's reply is, this…" She shook her head. "Not enough!"

She could indeed get in touch with Shi Chun, but she had no idea what the deal between them actually was, and still mistakenly thought it was about the Beidou Refusal Array.

To be honest, an industrial portfolio with an annual tax of ten billion was already quite a lot. With this level of sincerity laid out and still not enough to earn another meeting with the lord, she herself felt surprised, and thought it was a bit like asking the impossible.

Still, she believed Shi Chun's decisions were always wise, and so she carried them out without compromise.

Feng Xi said in a deep voice, "Just how much does he want? Have him name a number himself."

Feng Chi said, "Lord Commander said that whether the number you've offered is sincere enough, you know that clearly in your own heart."

Feng Xi's face darkened. "Have him come out and talk to me face‑to‑face."

Feng Chi couldn't help but give a wry smile. "Clan Chief, I've said all this already, but the lord simply won't come out. He said once the sincerity is in place, he will naturally come see you. I don't know what he means by that either. I'm actually puzzled myself, but an order from above is not something I can defy. I really can't make the call, so please don't make things hard for me. It's no use making things hard for me."

Feng Xi was furious, yet there was nothing he could do; he could only fling his sleeves and leave. The moment he walked out the door, he discovered people from the Stargazing Pavilion watching him nearby.

He felt a surge of anger and wanted to unleash his power for a massive search, but that impulse was doused like a bucket of cold water. He had only just regained his freedom on a "no evidence found" basis; he had no wish to be placed under soft detention again.

Outside the mountain gate of the Refining Heaven Sect, Bai Sheng shot into the air after leaving the mountain and flew straight toward Refining Heaven City. Landing outside the city gates, he entered the city, hired a carriage inside the city, and headed directly for the Xun Gate.

With the matters here settled, he was preparing to leave.

At Wuyu Trading House, the incident of someone secretly delivering the Young Master Nan Token had already been confirmed.

The incident where Situ Gu's female Disciple was supposedly peeped on while bathing, which had triggered a lockdown and strict internal investigation, also indeed existed. As for whether the incident itself was true, even after he personally entered the Refining Heaven Sect to verify, he still couldn't confirm it. Tracing things to the end, he found that the source of the story was that female disciple of Situ Gu's; the account came from her mouth alone, with no second eyewitness.

Once he confirmed the incident had indeed occurred, what he cared most about was whether the blind man had been captured by the Refining Heaven Sect. He suspected that person might be a covert investigator sent by Shi Chun. After he risked infiltrating deep into the Refining Heaven Sect to investigate, he could basically confirm that the target had not fallen into the Refining Heaven Sect's hands.

For an ordinary person, wanting to dig this kind of matter all the way through would be impossible to achieve in a short time. But with the Illusion Demon King personally taking the field, the results were indeed extraordinary.

Moreover, this investigation made him suspicious of this woman Situ Zhen. The one who peeped on her bath was beaten blind and then killed a person in the city to erase the trail. Would someone with that level of ability really take such a risk just to peep on a woman bathing? Is that plausible?

If it wasn't that there was something wrong with Situ Zhen, then it meant the person who approached Situ Zhen had another agenda.

And the biggest reason for suspecting Situ Zhen was that among the accounts he had collected regarding the Battle of Great Pardon, there was clear mention that Situ Zhen had also once gone into the Extreme Abyss. Could that be why Shi Chun's people had traced the investigation to this point?

Amid his chaotic thoughts, he arrived near Xun Gate, got out of the carriage, entered through Xun Gate into East Victory Royal City, then transferred to Western Ox King City, and from there transferred again to another place.

In a mountain forest, Xu You had already arrived in advance to wait. After Bai Sheng arrived, he immediately gave a detailed report on how Chai Wenwu had recently been running around everywhere, working his three-inch tongue to the limit to lobby people.

Summing it up, the situation looked bad.

There was a clear contrast as well. Xu You had inquired with others under Chai Wenwu about the previous rounds of industrial introduction, and compared with now, it was like heaven and earth. Not a single big shot from the Demon Realm could be persuaded in the slightest anymore, let alone personally going to Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture to take a look.

Upon learning that the Soul-devouring Demon King Lü Mi had reached the doorstep of Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture only to turn back, Bai Sheng stood atop a mountain peak, gazing into the sky for a long time without speaking.

He had already realized that he might have lifted a rock only to smash it on his own foot.

Reporting the Demon Path matter he himself had stirred up, while it did scare off Bi Dao and Luo Xian'er, had likewise alarmed others.

If Chai Wenwu's attempt to bring in industries yielded nothing, causing Shi Chun's ambitions in the Heavenly Domain to fail, it would likewise severely undermine his own designs.

After parting ways with Xu You, Bai Sheng went straight back to Butterfly Valley.

As soon as he got home, he went behind the desk in the palace hall where official affairs were handled and sat down, directly ordering his subordinates to bring out the previously compiled list of industries related to Butterfly Valley.

After carefully going through the industry list once, he raised his head and said, "Sort these out again in detail, and see which industries can be transferred to Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture while avoiding drawing attention as much as possible."

His trusted subordinate Chen Shu was taken aback at these words. He hadn't expected that the purpose of having him sort out related industries was actually for this, and couldn't help confirming, "My King, after sorting them out, are all of them to be relocated to Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture?"

He remembered that what had been agreed with Feng Chi on that side was a transfer of tax quota of one hundred million, just like Bi Dao and Luo Xian'er, merely to give some token support.

Bai Sheng said, "Those that can't survive after being moved don't need to go."

The implied meaning was: any that could survive would be moved.

Chen Shu asked in confusion, "My King, may I ask a question? Why such a massive move?"

Bai Sheng cut him off. "Just carry it out."

"Yes." After Chen Shu responded, he hesitated again and said, "If the volume we transfer is too large, it will be hard not to draw attention. Although some industries appear on the surface to have little to do with us, I fear they may not withstand a close investigation by someone with intent."

Bai Sheng was silent for a moment, then said, "Then pick the safer ones to handle first. Next, for those on other people's turf—within the Four Great Royal Courts and the Heavenly Court—anywhere we hold leverage, anywhere we can exert influence behind the scenes, we can quietly push things along."

Chen Shu wanted to speak but stopped, not understanding why his King was working so hard to help Shi Chun's side. Rumor had it Feng Xi intended to support Shi Chun in becoming Domain Master of the Heavenly Domain, yet now it felt as if his own King was actually the greatest supporter.

Before he could speak, Bai Sheng added, "Once the relocation targets are confirmed, contact Xu You and have Xu You guide Chai Wenwu to go and persuade them."

The words that had reached Chen Shu's lips were swallowed back down, and he changed them to, "Yes."

Bai Sheng said, "Be quick. Over in the Heavenly Domain, there isn't much time left for Shi Chun and the others to compete; they have to decide the winner within a year. Treat this as the top priority."

Chen Shu answered once more, "Yes, I will handle it as quickly as possible."

In Nanshan Royal City, within a pavilion building in the Right Minister's Mansion, the Gong family's eldest son, Gong Yuanhao, was receiving guests and chatting merrily with several visitors.

A steward hurried over and, seeing this, did not enter to interrupt, but used sound transmission to inform him, "Young Master, something has happened."

From that tone, from those words, he could tell at once that it was no trivial matter. Gong Yuanhao cast a fleeting glance, his expression outwardly calm as he continued joking and chatting, though his conversation was gradually wrapping up.

He sent his guests away a bit earlier than usual, yet showed not the slightest abnormality.

After personally seeing the guests off, he turned to ask the steward who had quickly come up to him, "What is it?"

The steward said, "Regarding the mortgage loans—the comprehensive compilation you ordered—the amount has already reached the astonishing sum of over one trillion." He offered up a Jade Scroll with both hands.

"How much?" Gong Yuanhao blurted out, whipping his head around, his face already drastically changed.

Previously, after hearing an abnormal warning from the informants stationed in East Victory, he had specifically retrieved the accounts for the relevant industries there, discovering several mortgage loans of several tens of billions each. Normally, short-term financing was no big deal, but the key was that the timing of the loans was all too close together, which had greatly heightened his vigilance.

It really wasn't normal. And that was only the accounts for one region within the Dongsheng Realm. He had no idea whether this problem was limited to a single region, or was a systemic, overarching issue.

A localized problem had localized solutions; a comprehensive problem required comprehensive measures. First he had to understand the situation, so he ordered a full compilation, resulting in the scene before him now.

The steward repeated, his voice trembling a little, "It has already reached more than one trillion and eighty billion, all of it lent out in the recent period."

Gong Yuanhao quickly took the Jade Scroll and cast a spell to inspect its contents. After carefully reading through it, he furrowed his brow and said, "These are all individual loans… Why are they suddenly all mortgaging and borrowing so much money together? Did some major business opportunity appear?"

He knew quite a few of the borrowers, though they normally didn't mix in the same circles.

Seeing that this young master still hadn't realized the gravity of the matter, the steward reminded him, "Young Master, after sorting through the borrowers who mortgaged and borrowed this money, we discovered that they all share a common identity behind the scenes—they are all partners of Wuyu Trading House!"