Upon these words, Xie Wenyuan's face turned as black as ink.

"Father," Xie Qingfeng suddenly spoke up.

Xie Wenyuan looked over and saw his son, Xie Qingfeng, slowly say, "The Divine Force Crossbow was originally crafted by the Firewood Iron Shop for the Imperial Court. It doesn't belong to the Firewood Iron Shop. If the Imperial Court demands it, it is only right and proper. I agree with this decision."

"Heh heh... Worthy of being Thirteen Young Master," Qi Wanshan chuckled, then turned back to Xie Wenyuan and said indifferently, "Your son sees things more clearly than you do. You're fortunate; having such a good son can bring prosperity to your family for three generations."

Xie Wenyuan took a deep breath, as if holding something back. Finally, he said slowly, "Lord Qi is right; let's do it this way. However, I hope that after the Imperial Court suppresses the demons and quells the rebels, they will fully support the Firewood Iron Shop in uniting all trades."

"Of course," Qi Wanshan replied flatly. "That Tan Chongrui wants to reform Baojiao County. With the current division into three factions, it's the perfect situation for him to divide and rally support. The sooner we merge and unify, the sooner we'll be an unbreakable whole. The urgency of this matter, both myself and the officials at the Yamen are well aware."

"That's good." Xie Wenyuan seemed to be persuaded.

"In that case, please lead the way, Thirteen Young Master. I intend to take ten Divine Force Crossbows with me today." Qi Wanshan stood up directly from his chair.

Xie Qingfeng, his face expressionless, said, "Very well, My Lord. Please follow me. The Divine Force Crossbows are in a secret kiln outside the city. I will lead the way."

The two of them then walked out of the main hall.

Chen Ku was hiding in the greenery outside the hall, listening intently to their conversation. He was inwardly alarmed. The Divine Force Crossbow? They've already crafted fifteen of them!

Having witnessed the power of the Divine Force Crossbow that day, he was well aware of what kind of Divine Artifact it was. If fifteen Third Realm experts were indeed to operate the crossbows, they could potentially pose a covert threat to experts of the Five Realms.

Five years to create fifteen... this implies the Firewood Iron Shop has been in contact with the county government office for five years... wait... Chen Ku seemed to recall something. Wasn't it five years ago that County Magistrate Shangguan Yun came to Baojiao County? Could it be that this County Magistrate actually has his own agenda?

Meanwhile, he also overheard them discussing the materials for crafting the Divine Force Crossbows. They mentioned 'Ruyi Stone,' which seemed to be a very special material. But Chen Ku had no knowledge in this area. It seems I'll have to research later what Ruyi Stone actually is.

As he was pondering this, CRACK!

He suddenly saw Xie Wenyuan inside the hall smash the teapot on the table to smithereens. At once, an old butler from the courtyard quietly instructed a maid, "Quick, go and get a fresh pot of tea."

Chen Ku's eyes lit up; his opportunity had arrived. He waited right where he was.

Just then, he saw the old butler enter the hall with a broom and dustpan, sweeping up the fragments while saying in a soothing voice, "Master, please calm down. We are merchants, after all, and they are officials..."

"Qi Wanshan! That Qi the Bastard! Does he really think I can't see through his ambitions and objectives? Wanting to use me and the Firewood Iron Shop as his tools... He opens his mouth and demands ten Divine Force Crossbows? Once he takes them, will they ever be returned to us?" Xie Wenyuan's expression was grim, like an old lion baring its fangs.

But after his outburst, a cold sneer touched the corners of his mouth. "We're all thousand-year-old foxes; we just don't spell things out. That damn official wants to use my Firewood Iron Shop, but am I not also planning to use his influence to unify Baojiao County? Especially since... he even passed on the method for crafting the Divine Force Crossbow. Fifteen crossbows in five years? With my personal involvement in their creation, in five years... how could it only be fifteen..."

Chen Ku, listening from outside, was deeply shocked. Does this mean the Firewood Iron Shop might actually possess twenty, or even thirty, Divine Force Crossbows?

Just then, Xie Wenyuan roared, "Why isn't the tea here yet?"

Following this shout, a frightened maid immediately responded from outside, "Coming!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.