Around late morning - Qin Wei's courtyard;

Qin Wei was practicing on his own, the foundational techniques taught by Vanessa, the other day. Luna, on the other hand, was just sitting nearby and watching with her eyes glistening in love. The battlemaids could only be silent statues as they were.

Vanessa's return from the Clan Estate halted his practice as she was carrying the letter.

He followed her into the house's study room before taking the rolled parchment from his hands, bound with a gold-inked House Griffin insignia

"From the House Lord," she said plainly, but her eyes lingered on his face, studying him. Meanwhile, Luna came to his side and gently massaged his shoulders while taking a look at the parchment. "Is it a good deal, Master?" She asked.

Vanessa couldn't help but narrow her eyes at her intimate behavior, but she put up with it and shifted her eyes to Qin Wei as his eyes were scanning the page, line by line, while his voice casually followed: "Vanessa, prepare the bath for me, will you?"

Vanessa nodded reflexively. "As you wish."

"I'll do it," Luna interjected, already standing up.

"No," Qin Wei cut her off gently but firmly, while his eyes were still on the contract. "I need to speak with you regarding the details of this contract."

Luna puffed her chest with a smirk on her face, glancing at Vanessa on those words.

Vanessa's gaze lingered on her and then on him, hesitant for half a breath, but she turned on her heel and exited without a word.

As the door eased shut behind her, Qin Wei exhaled through his nose, scanning the figures again. His brows rose again as he murmured. "Sixty gold coins… for a single exploding talisman? And one hundred fifty… for storage…"

He paused, doing the mental math. "With just one gold coin spent on a thousand rice papers? That's… almost eight hundred thousand times in net profit…"

His voice trailed off as the weight of that number hit him like a falling boulder. "Damn," he muttered under his breath, almost dazed. "This profit margin is criminal…"

Luna, who had been massaging him, peeked over his shoulder. "Hmm?" Her brows knitted into a deeper frown in the next moment. "But, Master Icarus, this price… sixty gold coins for an exploding talisman? One fifty for a storage one?" She shook her head. "It's too low."

Qin Wei blinked. "Too low?"

"Way too low," she said firmly. "The exploding talisman might not become much popular among sorcerers or the blade organizations. Even those who practice martial arts might feel it's not right to depend on talismans like this. At best, it can become popular among civilians who hold a mana in their core. After all, you need mana to unleash a talisman."

"This storage talisman, on the other hand, alone easily sells for three hundred gold coins at my place. The only problem was that it was a talisman and basically a paper. Some might be reluctant to buy it because it can be torn and destroyed easily, but it is perfect to carry many other things like clothes, food, accessories, and other miscellaneous items, which we don't want to group it up in a storage ring that is filled with weapons and such. Regardless of one's path, they will be tempted to use this storage talisman. If you sell 150 gold coins to the House Griffin, they are just cheating you. I think 300 would be a fitting price."

His head snapped toward her, eyes wide. "You're serious? Millions basically earn 1 silver a day of wages these days… Won't increasing its price too much make them feel reluctant?"

Luna met his gaze without hesitation. "The commonfolk might not be able to afford it even if you put it at lower prices. We are basically targeting large guilds and warriors. They earn hundreds of gold coins every single day."

Qin Wei leaned back slightly, moving his hand to his mouth as he bit the edge of his nail. "Damn… I almost fell into the trap." He paused. "However, the House Griffin also has a network. Without their name, it will take forever to build a reputation from scratch. I need them to act as mediators, and I don't know anyone else either."

He stood up and began to pace back and forth, talismans still in one hand, the contract in the other.

Then he stopped, turning sharply toward her as something clicked in his head. "Luna."

"Yes?" she blinked, head tilting.

"I need you to go back to Blossom Tower."

"Huh?" Her eyes widened, caught off guard.

"Not for long. Don't worry. I'm not sending you away," he said, voice serious now. "But we need market feedback. If the storage talisman can sell for three hundred gold coins over there, I want you to confirm whether they are really willing to purchase at such an amount. And if they are willing to work with me by selling them on my behalf, I'll sell them at a discounted price."

She stared at him for a moment and asked. "Are… are we backing out of the deal with House Griffin?" She tried to suppress it, but the happiness could be seen in her eyes.

Qin Wei, however, shook his head. "No. We play both."

"But the House Griffin wants the complete monopoly," said Luna.

Qin Wei smiled. "I know. But we won't give them a monopoly. The more competitors they have, the more the price gets volatile, and the more leverage we will have on the product."

She stood up, folding the talismans into her sleeve. "I'll leave after lunch." Then, as if remembering something, she crouched again and gave a tight hug with a smile, "Master, I'm really proud of you. One day, Master is definitely going to rebuild House Phoenix."

Qin Wei gave a knowing smile. "Don't worry, girl. That will definitely happen."

After a while;

The ink had barely dried when Qin Wei rolled up the freshly written contract, and the House Griffin's original copy lay open beside it on the table.

With Luna's sharp memory and knack for detail, they had drafted a nearly identical agreement, same structure, same phrasing, but with significantly better terms.

Just 80 gold coins per exploding talisman, and 200 gold coins for the storage one. A clean increase in the margin, but not too high to the point that they will renegotiate.

Secondly, he changed the condition of outright monopoly to a monopoly in Ashenford City.

Qin Wei tied the scroll with a thread, then handed it to Vanessa without looking up as she returned after preparing the bath with heat and medicinal herb liquids. "Give this to Father-in-law."

Vanessa's eyes flicked to the scroll, then back at him. She gave a small nod and tucked it into her sleeve. "Understood, Master Icarus."

As Vanessa turned to leave, Luna's voice piped in behind him. "Want me to assist you in the bath, Master Icarus?"

Vanessa paused in her footsteps for a second.

Qin Wei paused mid-step and glanced over his shoulder. "No."

She blinked. "Eh? No?"

"I said no," he repeated, already walking away. "I can wash myself. Alone."

Vanessa let out a subtle smile and continued to walk.

Meanwhile, Luna stared at the hallway where he had disappeared, drawing her eyebrows together. She crossed her arms and muttered in her head. "Weird. He never minded before… In fact, he would even force me to get in the tub with him."

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.