Chapter 635: Daily Progress and Monthly Advancement
For a time, the only sound in the room was the rustling of pages. Each shipowner was extremely adept at doing business and calculating accounts—after all, it was their specialty, their bread and butter.
With the Hidden Officer's tacit approval, most of the sword immortals had left.
Li Cai, Ku Xia, Yuan Qingshu, Xie Zhi, Song Pin, and Pu He had all returned to the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Mi Yu and Gao Kui, on the other hand, remained.
Shao Yunyan was still sitting by the main entrance.
Xie Songhua still needed to personally "escort" an Aiai Continent cross-continent ferry away from Inverted Mountain, so naturally she wouldn't leave Spring Pennant Study.
Yan Ming and Nalan Caihuan also needed to stay. In the future, the specific commercial exchanges would naturally require these two, working together with Shao Yunyan in Spring Pennant Study, to coordinate business with the ferries from the eight continents.
The deal at Spring Pennant Study tonight was truly not a small one.
Across the map of the eight continents of the Haoran world, hundreds of dynasties, mountain sects, and immortal aristocratic clans would be set in motion in the future because of tonight's conversation.
Chen Ping'an had been sitting in the main seat the whole time, drinking the wine Mi Yu had brought, and he did not urge any of the shipowners to hurry.
He held a wine flask in one hand, while the other hand lightly clenched into a fist and then relaxed.
If anyone in the room harbored the deepest hatred for Chen Ping'an, it was probably Nalan Caihuan.
Gao Kui had come on this trip for only one reason: to kill her, Nalan Caihuan!
There was a lot of hatred, but she couldn't do anything about it—often because the fear outweighed the hatred.
Nalan Caihuan's greater fear came from the young Hidden Officer's heartfelt words to her: "I can hold my nose and do business with all these outsiders, but I just can't tolerate someone from my own side who actually holds power? That makes no sense. Nalan Caihuan, I guarantee you that the Nalan family won't lose too much of its foundation. If we're lucky, there might even be profit. But as for luck, I can't guarantee anything."
Nalan Caihuan had also guaranteed some things. She felt that she had truly reached an understanding with the young Hidden Officer, that they had opened their hearts and laid their cards on the table.
But instead of changing her current predicament, it had brought her the greatest fear: Gao Kui still hadn't left Spring Pennant Study. He was still sitting quietly not far away, drinking wine—not the immortal brew of Spring Pennant Study, but the wine from the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven.
Nalan Caihuan calmed her mind and began to scrutinize tonight's deliberation, every detail from beginning to end, trying to understand the young man better.
She had never really dealt with Chen Ping'an or the Second Shopkeeper before. It was only after he became the Hidden Officer that they had discussed matters once, and it hadn't been particularly pleasant.
Nalan Caihuan thought of a concluding remark from the young Hidden Officer that sounded like a final verdict.
The nitpicking of scholars was truly terrifying.
According to the customs of the Haoran world, it should have been "move with emotion and persuade with reason," but Chen Ping'an had instead said "move with reason and persuade with emotion."
The "emotion" referred to the bond of fellowship—something the businessmen of the nine continents had forgotten, but which the Sword Qi Great Wall still remembered fondly.
The "reason" was even simpler: the flying swords of the Sword Qi Great Wall's sword immortals and sword cultivators, taking heads.
After that came the most vulgar and worldly thing: the allure of wealth and profit. Everyone sat down, spoke nicely, and did business properly.
But before all that, Chen Ping'an's most ruthless threat wasn't the display of sword immortals ready to kill at any moment. It was his act of drawing a line, directly targeting the vital interests of certain shipowners.
Ignoring all morality, business rules, or sect management, Chen Ping'an chose to engage his opponents in direct one-on-one combat—for example, Wu Qiu and Tang Feiqian's private residences in the Sharpening Mountain area of Beiju Continent, as well as the reputations of those two Upper Five Realm cultivators.
A fate worse than death.
And of course, there were the lives of "South Dipper" Jiang Gaotai and "Rainbow" ferry manager Liu Shen.
Death when he said death.
Don't talk to him about sect foundations, or the consequences of flipping the table and refusing to do business. If anyone rose from their seat, then the Sword Qi Great Wall's subsequent actions, targeted and precise, would be aimed solely at that individual before the young Hidden Officer.
Talking about such things with the legitimate registered immortals of the Haoran world, the orthodox disciples of ancestral halls, and especially those proud and haughty children of powerful clans, might not only fail to reach an agreement but also completely sever the relationship.
But talking about this with the merchants in the room, who were no longer pure cultivators, was the most effective.
The real dividing line was, of course, the booklets Mi Yu had taken out.
Without those booklets, no matter how many schemes Chen Ping'an had, once the dozens of shipowners left Spring Pennant Study and Inverted Mountain, his efforts would be futile except for incurring the resentment of the entire Sword Qi Great Wall. He might still be able to serve as the Hidden Officer, but the financial power of the Sword Qi Great Wall would fall back into the hands of her and Yan Ming.
Nalan Caihuan regained some of her spirit, feeling that she finally knew how to deal with the young Hidden Officer.
In terms of appearance and demeanor, Nalan Caihuan was indeed a great beauty.
So Mi Yu glanced at her.
Then Mi Yu shook his head, a look of pity and disdain in his eyes, and stopped looking at Nalan Caihuan, continuing to close his eyes and rest.
If Nalan Caihuan was a woman who could move men's hearts with her looks alone, then Mi Yu was a man who could delight women with just his appearance.
The female Nascent Soul cultivator, who was extremely bitter and resentful, "happened" to witness this scene, and the gloom in her heart lessened slightly.
That heartbreaker who deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces, after saying that heinous and unforgivable remark, hadn't looked at her once. His wandering gaze toward the seats opposite had deliberately avoided her every time.
If Mi Yu didn't have her in his heart, why would he be so deliberate?
Besides, they say Nalan Caihuan had once been infatuated with Mi Yu, but even she hadn't been able to get close enough to become a pair of divine dao companions on the Sword Qi Great Wall?
Thinking this way, the woman felt she had one-upped Nalan Caihuan.
She looked at Mi Yu again. He seemed desolate and lonely, turning his head to gaze at the beautiful snowy scene outside the door, staring speechlessly.
Completely different from the earlier shameless demeanor when he had fawningly delivered wine to the young Hidden Officer.
For no reason, she felt a pang of sadness. Now that you're an Upper Five Realm sword immortal, Mi Yu, and you're still in your homeland, do you have to endure this humiliation?
Chen Ping'an had been resting his chin on one hand the whole time, observing all the subtle clues of the various human sentiments. When he noticed the finely nuanced changes in Mi Yu's behavior, he had to feel some admiration. A devoted person moves others with their devotion, but a heartbreaker like Mi Yu, with such talent—if he cultivated only the path of romantic relationships, then our Sword Immortal Mi would probably be at the Ascension level. He might even be able to spar with Jiang Shangzhen and compare their methods.
Chen Ping'an decided to find an opportunity to vent some anger on behalf of these infatuated women and give Mi Yu a beating—the kind where the sword immortal couldn't fight back.
Xie Songhua was somewhat troubled. Jiang Gaotai's "South Dipper" wanted to ride, and Dai Hao's "Grand Soup" couldn't be missed either. This female sword immortal's gaze wandered unsteadily, and the ripples stirred by the sword intent from the bamboo case on her back had not stopped for a moment. The matter at Spring Pennant Study was over, but she now had several personal grudges that were far from settled. Those fellows from Aiai Continent were the first to stick their heads out, stand up, and speak. And in the end, it seemed that those who sought death were also mostly from Aiai Continent—that was slapping her face twice. Look at Wei Jin and Yuan Qingshu, and then look at the cultivators from Baoping Continent and Nanposha Continent opposite them—didn't they all show proper respect?
What, just because I'm a woman, I'm not a sword immortal?!
Dai Hao was terrified. He had no choice but to take the initiative and speak to the young man who was slowly drinking, asking cautiously with his heart voice, "Hidden Officer, about Sword Immortal Xie?"
Dai Hao didn't even dare to look up at the main seat. Etiquette or not, he really had no choice; he couldn't afford to worry about that. If he looked up, someone like Xie Songhua, a fearsome sword immortal who would kill even Jade Pupil realm demon race sword cultivators without a second thought, would surely notice any suspicious signs.
Chen Ping'an chuckled. "Remember what Sword Immortal Xie said to you fellow townsfolk when you first met her tonight? Think back carefully."
Of all the ferries from Aiai Continent, whichever was most short of money, she, Xie Songhua, would personally escort that ferry. If the escort went wrong, she could be blamed.
Dai Hao breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for the guidance, Hidden Officer."
Wei Jin, intentionally or unintentionally, had not traveled with Li Cai and the others. He was the last to leave, choosing to go alone.
Chen Ping'an stood up. "I'll see Sword Immortal Wei off first. Mi Yu, you are responsible for answering the guests' questions. Whether things are settled or not, record them for now. I'll say this sincerely: once you sit down, everyone is a businessman. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Whether you earn much or little depends on your own methods. I am no exception. In this main hall of Spring Pennant Study tonight, the rules for making money will be even greater than the title of Hidden Officer."
Chen Ping'an looked at the "Rainbow" ferry owner, Liu Shen, and then at the "Fu Bell" ferry owner from Liuxia Continent, Liu Yu. After calling their names, he smiled. "I'll trouble you two shipowners to help record the content of our discussions."
Chen Ping'an saw the sword immortal from Wind and Snow Temple all the way to the main entrance of Spring Pennant Study.
Wei Jin said, "I don't usually like to meddle, but I have some doubts. Can I ask?"
"There's nothing you can't ask and I can't say."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "I'm very happy to meet a sword immortal from my homeland, Baoping Continent, on the Sword Qi Great Wall, and one who doesn't lose out to any of the senior sword immortals."
Chen Ping'an added, "That's the truth, genuine and not fake. Believe it or not."
Wei Jin laughed. "If you hadn't added that superfluous sentence, I might have believed you."
Chen Ping'an said, "Just ask."
Wei Jin then asked, "All the outlander sword immortals, including Xie Zhi, don't want to gain anything extra from tonight's affair. Why were you so insistent on making a deal before coming to Spring Pennant Study? Couldn't it be... gilding the lily? Actually, probably not. You're good at calculations, so let me change the question. At the time, you only said that you wouldn't let any sword immortal make the trip to Inverted Mountain in vain or play the villain for nothing at Spring Pennant Study. But you didn't specify what the reward would be, yet you dared to say it definitely wouldn't disappoint the sword immortals. What is this so-called reward?"
Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, then said slowly, "Speaking from the heart, I want to ensure that good people get good rewards. Speaking from the matter itself, I don't want the Sword Qi Great Wall to owe any more favors. Clean and tidy, deal with the matter on its own merits—make a clear-conscience business deal with these outlander sword immortals. As for the reward you ask about, it varies from person to person. I won't go into detail with you, as it involves the privacy of the sword immortals."
In addition, Chen Ping'an didn't hide anything. "But I can state one bottom line directly: in the future, every outlander sword immortal who still has the chance to return home can take away at least one Lower Five Realm sword embryo from the Sword Qi Great Wall. Those who don't want to take anyone away will be compensated differently then. Those willing to take one or two more, as long as the Sword Qi Great Wall has such good Lower Five Realm seedlings, they can take them away."
Wei Jin smiled wryly and shook his head.
What a mind.
Outlander sword immortals, cross-continent ferries, the Sword Qi Great Wall's yet-to-mature sword embryo cultivators—past, present, future—all calculated into the scheme.
And if these young or adolescent innate sword embryos, who might truly "bloom inside the wall but be fragrant outside," could spread across the various continents of the Haoran world, what kind of scene would that be?
And those outlander sword immortals who would serve as teachers—regardless of their individual temperaments, they were all sword immortals who dared to come to the Sword Qi Great Wall and dared to die on the city wall. Wouldn't they teach these direct disciples with all their hearts and favor them exceptionally?
Once this batch of children grew up and eventually rose across the various continents, wouldn't they naturally band together? And if they banded together, wouldn't the returning sword immortals who had already left the Sword Qi Great Wall also follow suit?
Even if, worst case, the Sword Qi Great Wall ceased to exist in the future, wouldn't the gathering place of these future sword immortals be a kind of different Sword Qi Great Wall?
Wei Jin laughed.
He was looking forward to that scene.
This was Wei Jin looking forward. If he looked back...
Thinking back to their first meeting, in Wei Jin's memory, the young man beside him was just a naive, timid, mud-legged boy at that time.
And that boy had had such clear, bright eyes.
Wei Jin stopped walking, sighed, and turned to look at Chen Ping'an, who was habitually rubbing his hands to keep warm. "You're an outlander. Why do you think so far and so much for the Sword Qi Great Wall?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "I have a wife here. You don't. How can you compare to me?"
Wei Jin shook his head, wanting to drink again, not wanting to talk about this.
Regarding his future plans, Chen Ping'an had been open and honest with him before, and the Old Sword Immortal had been present at the time.
Wei Jin had no intention of refusing.
He just hoped that he could first establish a meritorious deed worthy of the "Immortal Terrace" on the Sword Qi Great Wall, not inferior to Xie Songhua of Aiai Continent, before going to Fuyao Continent to do that task.
Wei Jin had no particular attachment to Wind and Snow Temple. Once his master was gone, he had long seen through it. But since his master had passed the "Immortal Terrace" to him, he had to do something.
His master and those older cultivators cared most about face. As a disciple, Wei Jin had to earn that face for his master. When he went to his master's grave to offer wine in the future, he would have something to accompany the drink, so he wouldn't have to remain silent.
Chen Ping'an said, "Should I tell you something I've never mentioned to anyone?"
Wei Jin said, "If there's no scheming involved, I'll listen."
The sword immortal of Wind and Snow Temple, Wei Jin, opening the night with his sword, arriving before his person with his sword.
That kind of sword immortal spirit.
Song Yushao of Comb Water Kingdom, one man one horse against an army. One man against a nation.
That kind of martial artist's boldness.
The demon Ding Ying of Lotus Flower Paradise, whose true opponent in boxing was actually the Great Dao.
That kind of supreme nature that contended with heaven.
These were the battles that Chen Ping'an had chewed over the most and found the most aftertaste.
After listening to Chen Ping'an's general account, Wei Jin smiled. "It doesn't seem to have much to do with realm level."
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Not much."
Wei Jin left Spring Pennant Study.
Chen Ping'an turned around alone and walked back.
Halfway, he stopped beside a courtyard's open-air patio, squatted down, scooped up snow, and roughly wiped his face. He took a deep breath and rolled a solid snowball.
Shao Yunyan stood behind the young Hidden Officer and said softly with a smile, "Sword immortals kill without drawing blood. The Hidden Officer's measures tonight are similar in effect."
Chen Ping'an shook his head and laughed. "Not that similar. It's like a family with a thick foundation: a junior leverages that power to get things done. Success shows some ability, but not as much as people think."
He casually tossed the snowball onto the roof ridge, tugged at the golden cord of the jade token at his waist, and said, "If Yan Ming or Nalan Caihuan were in my position, they could have done this too. What they lacked compared to me wasn't effort or scheming, it was just this jade token."
Shao Yunyan shook his head. "I don't think so."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "If everyone were like Mr. Shao, able to distinguish sincere words from polite ones and understand the subtext, things would be so much easier."
Shao Yunyan said, "If there really needs to be compensation, we have Sun Juyuan and Mi Yu. As for advancing money and paying damages, the order—first Yan Ming, then Nalan Caihuan, then my Spring Pennant Study—doesn't make much difference. The only thing the Hidden Officer needs to be careful about is how much to advance—whether to pay out the entire family fortune and be done with it, or have the three parties each pay half first."
Chen Ping'an said, "Let's advance half first. If it comes to that point and the financial situation hasn't improved, or if an accident occurs that guarantees losses for the Yan and Nalan families, then I'll have to ask Sword Immortal Shao to sell off the entire Spring Pennant Study at a low price."
Shao Yunyan smiled. "Fine. Actually, I'm not afraid of accidents; I'm just afraid of not having a plan."
Chen Ping'an said, "To prevent those shipowners from huddling together for warmth once they leave Spring Pennant Study, and to keep them from ever again producing a young upstart like the old master of Landscape Cavern who stirred things up and bound people's hearts together—to achieve that, we need to make them lose heart first, to completely distrust their former allies, to be united in appearance but divided at heart. Cloudy and half-true words like mine earlier are not yet set in stone. Many of those old foxes in there won't shed tears until they see the coffin. They won't know the sweetness of a date without first tasting the bitterness of a beating. So in the coming days, I'll do some dirty work, and I might need Sword Immortal Shao to act on my behalf. During this time, if you need to call upon any sword immortal, just say the word."
Shao Yunyan asked with a smile, "Hidden Officer, leaving aside ideas about human nature and visions, just looking at your style of doing things—are you really worthy of the special regard and high hopes the Old Sword Immortal has for you?"
Chen Ping'an was speechless for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Sword Immortal Shao, do you have to be so blunt?"
Shao Yunyan smiled. "Among friends, there are no taboos in speech."
Chen Ping'an scooped up snow again like cupping water, clapped his hands lightly, sending snowflakes flying, and said slowly, "Doing things, and doing them well, is always harder than reasoning and being a good person."
In the eyes of outsiders, a person who is too unreasonable actually has many reasons supporting that "unreasonableness." A person who likes to make money and can make money has paid many costs that he himself doesn't think are costs.
Ah? There's such a person?
Oh. So that's the kind of person.
When vision is limited, the world is dark and gloomy, and one hits walls everywhere—it's just a matter of resigning to fate.
When vision is clear, the world is bright, but instead one sees many unpleasant things.
One is suffering.
The other is frustrating.
Shao Yunyan said, "To deny all the kindness in the world because of one's own suffering. To negate all the joys and sorrows of others with a grand vision. Neither is good."
Chen Ping'an stood up and laughed. "Insight into human hearts, true and penetrating views. Sword Immortal Shao is truly a master."
Shao Yunyan smiled. "Not as good as the Hidden Officer."
"Oh, not at all."
"You're too kind."
An instant rapport, arms linked in joy.
"Brother Shao, that gourd vine—didn't you keep a single Sword-Nurturing Gourd at Spring Pennant Study? I just want to take a look, to see the world. Brother Shao doesn't need to watch me like a thief."
"Indeed, not a single Sword-Nurturing Gourd was left. They were all taken by that little girl Lu Sui to Beiju Continent. If the Hidden Officer doesn't believe me, feel free to search. If you find one, I'll give you another as a gift."
"Alright. Please trouble Brother Shao to give me a map of Spring Pennant Study's layout. I might come here often as a guest in the future. The residence is too big; I don't want to get lost."
"I don't think that's necessary."
"Brother Shao, if you're not so straightforward anymore, our brotherhood will be just a paper-thin joke for others to laugh at."
"Oh, not at all."
---
The managers of the Beiju Continent ferry had no objection at all to the nearly exhaustive pricing of all materials in that booklet.
In fact, unlike the other managers and shipowners who read line by line, the old cultivators from Beiju Continent flipped through the pages, either drinking wine or tea, all comfortable and casual.
Originally not very profitable, but now having a chance to earn a bit more—what more could they hope for?
Over at the Nanposha Continent ferry, there were minor objections.
The two shipowners from the Fu and Ding families of Old Dragon City, Baoping Continent, also voiced minor objections.
The shipowners from the Central Earth Divine Continent, Aiai Continent, and Fuyao Continent had not yet spoken.
Liuxia Continent and Jinjia Continent were neighboring continents, so their general relationship was not bad. Many of the materials and minerals shipped to Inverted Mountain were already exchanged between them, so they had been communicating via heart voice early on.
They planned to wait until Wu Qiu, Tang Feiqian, Jiang Gaotai, and Bai Xi spoke before deciding what to say.
The thick booklet had been compiled with Chen Ping'an responsible for the general direction and all the sword cultivators of the Hidden Officer lineage taking turns reading files and collaborating. Among them, outlander sword cultivators like Lin Junbi had contributed greatly. Many of the old file records of the Hidden Officer lineage could no longer keep up with the current changes in the Haoran world. Mi Yu copied and summarized. He might not have known them by heart, but in the main hall, it was enough for him to discuss matters with those shipowners who were already very measured in their words.
Liu Yu and Liu Shen were given an additional small task: to record the content of the discussions on both sides. Before Shao Yunyan left the hall to find Chen Ping'an, he had already prepared bookcases, brushes, and ink for the two shipowners.
How to make money under heaven? It boils down to two words: increase income and reduce expenditure.
The young man said that the products of the eight continents each had their strengths. So how to expand financial resources and reduce the expenses of cross-continent ferries was a great subject.
In the sections on local customs and ferries, there were prefaces in the booklet, with clear statements of purpose, hoping that the ferries and their respective sects and mountains would offer their own suggestions.
So tonight's discussion was not simply about the cross-continent ferries and the Sword Qi Great Wall bargaining with each other.
It was far more complex and far-reaching than that, involving all the cross-continent ferries and their old commercial channels, which needed to be renegotiated for sourcing, pricing, and returns.
In the young man's words, everything could be discussed openly, talked about privately—anything was fine.
Nalan Caihuan had been observing coldly, but the more she pondered, the more she realized how many intricacies there were. If pieced together, they all amounted to open and aboveboard calculations.
If threatening the shipowners' vital interests was like the Sword Qi Great Wall's brutal sword strike in the business arena—a release—then the young Hidden Officer's many hints, reminding the merchants in the room to consider their own Great Dao cultivation and care a bit more about personal gain and loss, with the Sword Qi Great Wall not only not opposing this but actually welcoming it and even lending a small hand—that was the Sword Qi Great Wall's sword returning to its sheath—a withdrawal.
He guaranteed that all ferries' future business would not earn less; at best, it would be icing on the cake.
But if he could make all the shipowners pocket the money themselves, turning the vague "business of the mountain" into truly "their own" business, that would be coal in the snow.
Between this release and withdrawal, the hearts of men would no longer be as they were.
But of course, whether all these schemes would bear fruit depended on whether they could withstand the scrutiny of reality and weather the many storms and accidents to come.
As he neared the central hall of Spring Pennant Study, Chen Ping'an suddenly asked, "Is there any exceptionally talented accounting personnel?"
Shao Yunyan said regretfully, "I used to have a direct disciple who was a master at this. He managed all the business of Spring Pennant Study without any flaw, with the ability to 'create something from nothing.'"
Chen Ping'an asked, "Is there a chance to call him back to work at Spring Pennant Study?"
Shao Yunyan smiled and asked, "Do you trust my judgment in people?"
Chen Ping'an said, "The human heart is hard to fathom. The difficulty lies not in how it was in the past or is now, but in how it will be in the future. So I dare not trust it completely. But fortunately, I have great faith in the Sword Qi Great Wall's ability to correct mistakes."
Shao Yunyan nodded. "Then I'll try to see if I can recall this person. He has an excellent talent for calculation. He has a natural intuition for tedious and boring numbers and even enjoys them. I originally gave him a sealed letter to go to a merchant sect on Aiai Continent that does relatively large business. If he can first gain some experience at a new Spring Pennant Study, he probably won't need that letter as a stepping stone."
Chen Ping'an said, "Tie him up and bring him back to Inverted Mountain if necessary."
They entered the main hall, and a long, drawn-out bargaining session began.
Nalan Caihuan was greatly surprised once again.
It seemed the young Hidden Officer deliberately wanted everyone to wear down every detail and price to the bone, as if he didn't care at all about rewriting the booklet.
He even pulled the Beiju Continent ferry managers, who had been determined not to speak, onto the business table with a smile, asking them in detail whether Beiju Continent had materials similar or alternative to those in the booklet.
Over and over, those old cultivators got annoyed. Since the Hidden Officer was clearly business-minded, they didn't hold back. Once they opened their mouths, it only took a few sentences.
Even the Beiju Continent shipowners, who were practically in the same boat as the Sword Qi Great Wall, were like that. The Nanposha Continent ones were even less polite, and even the two ferries from Baoping Continent, who had the softest voices, dared to say more.
For new prices that were agreed upon, the young Hidden Officer directly had Mi Yu erase the old pricing on the booklet and rewrite it beside it.
Wu Qiu and Tang Feiqian relaxed a bit and finally spoke.
Some prices were haggled higher, others lower—in short, there was give and take.
Yan Ming stopped remaining silent, and even Nalan Caihuan stopped playing dumb.
More and more shipowners and managers stopped hiding their mental calculations on their fingers.
Earlier, with a row of over a dozen sword immortals sitting in force, killing intent all around, the young Hidden Officer in the main seat had the final say.
But now, in their own old line of work—accounting—with abacus beads rolling up and down, who would win and who would lose was no longer certain.
On the Aiai Continent shipowner side, Jade Pupil realm Jiang Gaotai spoke more often. Over time, he became the de facto leader of the Aiai Continent ferries.
The other shipowners actually had some admiration for Jiang Gaotai. After all, he had just walked through the gates of hell, yet here he was, seemingly still unafraid of death.
Jiang Gaotai maintained a calm demeanor, displaying the elegance of an Upper Five Realm immortal, but inside he was cursing his mother. Damn it, he was being forced by the Hidden Officer to slash prices. Did they really think he had no sense? That he was some hero with his head in his hands?
Chen Ping'an looked up at the main entrance.
Unbeknownst to him, it was dawn.
In the account book, there were no one-shot deals. Many clauses were revised again and again. Both sides clearly still had a long way to go.
What's more, as time passed, disputes began to arise between the continents and between individual ferries. At first, they held back, but later they couldn't care about saving face anymore. Some even pounded tables and glared at each other. But the young Hidden Officer didn't mind; he even smiled, took sides, added some inflammatory