At the Cloud Building, the numb-faced attendant with pockmarked cheeks caught up to the elderly madam Feng Chi on the stairs. Understanding the situation, she quickly made it to the corner of the stairwell, turned into a nearby corridor, and pushed open the door to an unoccupied room to step inside.

As soon as the door closed, the attendant handed over a note to her.

Feng Chi unfolded the note and exclaimed in surprise, "Just came out from the Land of Exile? Shi Chun, oh, so it's not that Si Chun..." She furrowed her brows in thought for a moment, "This is really hard to confirm. One cannot simply come and go from the Land of Exile to gather information. Besides those from the Bowan Building, only the city guards of Life Prison have relatively easy access in and out." She shook her head, "Nevermind, I'll find a way to confirm this myself."

With that, the attendant silently left...

After leaving the Bowan Building, Shi Chun glanced back at the dispirited Wu Jinliang who had followed. He knew that this fellow was currently wallowing in a feeling of defeat from his choices.

It was precisely because he would make such unwise choices that he had revealed to him the secret of the Purple Shining Nebula within his body and taught him the Secret Technique to dispel the immobilization charm, just in case it might be necessary at a critical moment. The precondition was that Wu Jinliang already knew about the existence of the Purple Shining.

Right now, the three beside him were all old brothers from East Nine Plain, but there were secrets he would not tell Dong or Da Shitou.

Because he clearly understood that faced with the choice just now, Dong and Da Shitou would surely be birds that choose the best tree to perch.

He did not think their choices were wrong. If he couldn't offer them better, and yet he prevented them from making better choices, whose problem was that?

Without similar choices at hand, the old brothers from East Nine Plain were, after all, more reliable than outsiders, like now, for instance.

Dong soon approached Shi Chun and tugged on his sleeve, sternly reminding, "The fifty thousand gold—or perhaps even doubled to a hundred thousand—that you might earn from Bian Weikang might be good, but Miss Miao wasn't wrong either. In Zhaotian City, nobody dares to snatch a woman from Lv Taizhen, not even the City Lord would do such a disgraceful act.

This kind of matter, the news has most likely already made its way to Lv Taizhen's ears. Right now, you two should avoid wandering around carelessly, danger could strike at any moment. This city isn't like Zhixu City; although there are rules, it's not easy to restrain those with power and prestige. They are bold enough to take covert action within the city walls."

Shi Chun replied in confusion, "Who said I'm going to make money off Bian Weikang? The guy's so poor he relies on a woman to support him; he doesn't have a damn dime to give me."

Dong and Da Shitou both looked astonished, while the downcast Wu Jinliang burst into a mischievous chuckle in response.

Shi Chun added, "Don't worry, Lv Taizhen doesn't dare to touch me right now."

His remark left the two attendants from the Bowan Building sighing in distress. Da Shitou lamented, "Master, hate to say it, but in his eyes you're less than nothing. He really would dare to make a move against you!"

"At least he wouldn't dare make a move right now." Shi Chun ran a finger across the embroidered 'Bowen' character on his collar, "It's because there are two from the Bowan Building with me. If Lv Taizhen's men are really watching me now, they would know I've been to the Bowan Building. They wouldn't dare to carelessly take action without knowing my background. Those with power and prestige are indeed more daring than us, but sometimes... they are even more cowardly."

He decided to set aside the pressing matters with Bian Weikang for the moment and made a visit to the Bowan Building to see Miao Yilan first, not only to show the proper courtesy and gratitude, which was certainly one aspect, but also to deliberately create the impression he had just mentioned for others to see.

He had not expected to run into Miao Yilan and Dong in this place, but since he did, he wouldn't waste the convenience provided. It could save him a lot of trouble.

In this unfamiliar land where he was still quite weak, trying to snatch food from the tiger's mouth is not that easy; besides being brave, one also needs to be meticulous.

Dong couldn't help but sigh again, "Master, what you say makes sense, but it can only deceive for so long..."

"Deceiving for a while is enough." Shi Chun waved his hand dismissively to change the subject, glanced around at the bustling crowd, and then beckoned the three to a quieter spot by the lake to start calculating, "Dong, Da Shitou, how shall we settle the previous four thousand taels?"

With this topic brought up, the two attendants from the Bowan Building felt awkward. Even Dong could only stumble through his words, "Miss Miao lent the money to you, everyone knows that. There's no point in talking about it again, let's go and have a nice meal."

Shi Chun blocked his inviting arm, "There's no rush for food. We're brothers after all. If after the business is done I can't give you four thousand, would it be alright to give each of you one thousand?"

The two embarrassed fellows' eyes lit up instantly, then they look sheepishly grateful as Dong said, "Alright, let's talk about it when you've earned the money."

Seeing the lack of enthusiasm from the two, and knowing he still needed their help, Shi Chun turned to Wu Jinliang, "Jinliang, these two fellows have been away from East Nine Plain for too long. They've drunk too much water from outside and now look down on even us. Here, let them see for themselves. Tell them how we're planning to make this money."

"Hehe, sure, let's widen your horizons. Pay attention, for the Cloud Building's headliner, whether the Cloud Building sells or we sell..." Wu Jinliang said with a sly grin as he explained again the plan to sell Xiang Laner to Lv Taizhen for a low price.

"Hisss..."

After hearing the explanation, the two partners simultaneously drew a sharp breath, genuinely startled, eyes wide open. They then exchanged glances before simultaneously spitting out a figure to Shi Chun, "Two hundred thousand gold?"

Shi Chun brushed his clothes as if they were dusty, shaking off the dirt, while deliberately maintaining a modest tone, "Can't help it, it's my first time here, and I'm not familiar with the outside situation. Let's start small with one hundred and fifty thousand as a trial, and we'll make do with that for now."

"Hehe..." Wu Jinliang loved this shameless energy of his; it gave people something to strive towards.

"..." The two partners were speechless for a long time, calculating in their minds, their expressions filled with various shifts, not without regret.

Having achieved his goal, Shi Chun stopped beating around the bush and directly put on his authoritative Master demeanor, "There are two things I need you to handle. Arrange a foothold for us at Wuyou Inn; you'll pay for it. No matter how much you spend, it counts as your investment. I'm true to my word, once we earn profits, you'll get double what you spent in return."

"Sure."

"No problem."

Dong and Da Shitou nodded repeatedly in agreement, their faces blooming with smiles.

After satisfying his smile, Dong asked, "An item worth five hundred thousand, selling for two hundred thousand, isn't that too cheap? I think we could try selling it for three hundred thousand or even four hundred thousand. Earning more, wouldn't everyone benefit..." He looked around at everyone, and he too chuckled slyly.

The implication was clear, if you, Master, don't care for it, we don't mind having a bigger share.

This instantly won the unanimous agreement from Wu Jinliang and Da Shitou, who nodded vigorously in approval.

However, Shi Chun immediately waved his hand, rejecting the idea without hesitation, "This isn't East Nine Plain; we are nobody here, we are too weak, our appetites and teeth are not good enough. Too much and we can't handle it; overeating might even lead to death by overstuffing. Only what we can comfortably digest truly counts as in our bellies. Two hundred thousand is already our limit, not a single grain of Sandalwood Gold more would be appropriate.

Secondly, although we're doing business with Lv Taizhen, I don't want to talk to Lv Taizhen directly. I need you to find someone suitable from his circle to negotiate with me."

The group was puzzled, and Wu Jinliang asked skeptically, "Why?"

Shi Chun: "What do you mean why? It's obvious. How significant a figure is Lv Taizhen in Zhaotian City, it's unlikely that he would notice me. Even if I bring a bargain to his door, it's no use. Someone who can spend five hundred thousand gold on a beauty might not care for the small savings. If you were approached by someone you have no ties to, offering you unearned benefits, would you not be suspicious, would you dare to accept blindly?"

"That does make sense..." Wu Jinliang muttered as he stroked his chin.

Concerned about his own interests, Dong also pitched in, asking, "What kind of person are you looking to find?"

Shi Chun:"Someone close to Lv Taizhen who can help sell Xiang Laner to him, someone who can be bought with money. Don't tell me you've been here this long without hearing anything about the big shots on the surface in Zhaotian City."

Da Shitou, with a contemplative look on his face, suddenly suggested, "Cen Futong, the nephew of Cao Puqing, might be suitable."

"Cen Futong..." Dong thought for a moment, then also nodded slightly.

Immediately, Shi Chun enquired, "Who is he?"

Dong explained right away, "Cao Puqing is Lv Taizhen's steward, and Cen Futong is his nephew. Thanks to his uncle, he also lives quite comfortably here, although he tends to be idle and not earnest about work. As for money, he is likely not averse to it."

"Another nephew..." Wu Jinliang muttered to himself.

Shi Chun, however, smiled, "Good, let's pick him then. Tell him that someone wishes to gift him one hundred thousand gold just to befriend him. Don't disclose who the money is from; just ask him to come find me at Wuyou Inn. You shouldn't show up in person; after all, you belong to Bowan Building, it's not fitting for you to be directly involved in this. Spend some money to get someone else to run this errand, and you just watch from the shadows. That way, if anything changes, it won't affect you."

"Alright, shall I go now?" Dong asked for confirmation and, seeing no objections, he promptly set out to take action—there was money to be made, after all.

Shi Chun and the others then headed towards Wuyou Inn.

Che Si, who had changed clothes and was watching from the shadows, saw the group split into two paths, and he was a bit perplexed. He was curious to see what Dong was up to, but ultimately, he chose to focus on Shi Chun, the primary target.

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