The moon hung high in the sky as Ji Yuan quietly returned to the Ming Xin Xuan.
With his cultivation level, only Qian Ni Chang here would have the possibility of detecting his presence.
However, she seemed to be troubled by something at the moment. The entire small building was brightly lit, with shop assistants coming and going, their expressions hurried.
Ji Yuan stood by the window, pondered for a while, then closed it and silently came to the alchemic furnace to sit cross-legged. As he formed a few hand seals, the firelight at the bottom of the furnace illuminated his face.
Now that he had just taken something from the Shen Xuan Sect, it was best to keep a low profile. Otherwise, once discovered, even the slightest clue would be enough for those notoriously overbearing individuals to disregard any reason with him.
According to Song He, they would definitely come looking for him. It wouldn't matter if he was truly involved or not; if they had any suspicion, they would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, Ji Yuan pushed open the door and stretched his waist in the small courtyard.
Although the sun had just risen, the Ming Xin Xuan was already a scene of bustling activity, with shop assistants coming and going, moving supplies in and out.
As more than half a month passed, the supplies gathered by Qian Ni Chang had also arrived one after another. Besides basic necessities like food and medicinal herbs, which were directly sent to various disaster relief points, some more valuable supplies were brought to the Ming Xin Xuan.
He stood in the courtyard watching for a long time before casually strolling around with a calm demeanor. Unconsciously, he found himself in the main hall, and then he saw Liu Ruyan, who was almost buried under a pile of account books.
This manager of the Qianyu City branch of Ming Xin Xuan, almost single-handedly, managed the accounting and material distribution. She was only assisted by a few elderly accountants who could slightly alleviate the pressure.
Seeing Ji Yuan walk into the hall at this moment, Liu Ruyan immediately put down the ledger in her hand and walked towards him with a smile.
"Oh, isn't this our esteemed grand protector? What brings you out for a stroll today?"
As she spoke, she winked, her words hinting at something more.
She was naturally aware that Ji Yuan had quietly left to intercept the supplies from various factions in the prefectural city. Her words in public were also a way to clear him of any slight suspicion, using the shop assistants and maids in the hall as witnesses.
However, upon hearing this, he could only give a bitter smile. He understood her intentions, but the final outcome was somewhat beyond their expectations.
Who would have thought that this trip would not only fail to intercept the supplies but also potentially provoke the Shen Xuan Sect?
However, whether it was a blessing or a curse was still hard to say. At least, from the current situation, it seemed to be more beneficial than detrimental.
"I've been refining pills for several days, so I thought I'd come out for some fresh air."
Although the result was slightly different from what he had anticipated, the show must go on, so he could only play along with his reply.
Thus, the two stood in the main hall, exchanging pleasantries for about a quarter of an hour, attracting the attention of the passing shop assistants.
Seeing that the time was right, Liu Ruyan feigned a sudden realization, "Speaking of which, the proprietress seemed to be looking for you last night, but it was getting late, so she didn't send anyone to disturb you."
Ji Yuan understood, but pretended to be puzzled, "What did the proprietress want with me?"
She chuckled and winked behind the backs of the shop assistants, "Why don't you go up to the third floor and ask yourself? The proprietress should have already washed up and is likely looking over yesterday's accounts."
Thus, he naturally ascended to the third floor of Ming Xin Xuan under the watchful eyes of the shop assistants.
This was originally Liu Ruyan's residence but had now been requisitioned by Qian Ni Chang. Besides daily living, it also served as a place for handling affairs.
Ji Yuan stepped through the open door and immediately saw Qian Ni Chang behind the desk. He hesitated for a moment before closing the door.
Although this action was somewhat impolite, the matters he was about to discuss required extreme caution. Otherwise, a single misstep could lead to utter ruin.
Seeing his solemn expression and the hint of gravity in his eyes, Qian Ni Chang immediately understood. With a wave of her hand, a flash of light briefly appeared in the room.
"I have cast a spell to set up a barrier. Even a cultivator at the third realm would not be able to eavesdrop on our conversation without alerting me."
As she spoke, she poured two cups of hot tea.
Steam rose from the cups, and the tea within contained a pure spiritual energy. Such spirit tea, valued as much as gold, would seem only natural.
Ji Yuan did not stand on ceremony. After taking a seat, he drank the tea in his cup, smacked his lips twice, and poured himself another cup.
"If you like it, I'll have someone send some to you later."
Qian Ni Chang glared at him playfully. She knew he was fond of money, but she didn't expect him to be so incredibly so.
Spirit tea, though expensive, was only so for ordinary cultivators. Those with a certain status would not care about such things, as they could accumulate quite a bit through their daily social interactions.
"There might have been a slight deviation in the plan."
Upon hearing this, his face immediately lit up with joy. However, after thinking about the incident of serving her the previous night, his expression turned somber.
Seeing this, Qian Ni Chang couldn't help but frown slightly. What she feared most now was a change in the original plan, and such changes were usually for the worse.
"I didn't manage to intercept the supplies being transported by those people from the prefectural city."
She nodded slightly. This outcome was not entirely unacceptable. It would simply mean more trouble later and a higher cost.
"And does the Shen Xuan Sect in Chong Yuan Prefecture know about this?"
After a moment of thought, Ji Yuan said hesitantly, "I accidentally stole something that very likely belongs to the Shen Xuan Sect."
Even if the items didn't belong to the Shen Xuan Sect, they were at least considered their property, which meant he had thoroughly offended the behemoth that dominated the prefecture.
Upon hearing this, Qian Ni Chang almost spat out her hot tea. She stared at the young Daoist in front of her, her mind buzzing like a swarm of bees.
You call this a "slight deviation"?
Do you have a misunderstanding of what "slight" means?!
She almost stood up from her chair, the veins on her hands gripping the wooden table bulging. She could no longer maintain her calm and composed demeanor.
Even when the Qian family faced a sudden upheaval, or when her own cultivation path was hindered, she had never shown such an expression!
"You... say that again?!"
Qian Ni Chang spoke through gritted teeth, with a sliver of hope still in her eyes.
What kind of existence was the Shen Xuan Sect?
Even if they weren't the strongest cultivation sect in Chong Yuan Prefecture, they were definitely among the top three!
Throughout their thousands of years of heritage, their powerful figures had never been absent. Even in their weakest moments, besides one supreme being known as a celestial figure, they had at least two great cultivators and five to six cultivators at the third realm.
Not to mention that the current Shen Xuan Sect was considered the most prosperous period in thousands of years, with two supreme beings and no less than nine cultivators who had formed their golden cores!
The most important point was that due to the cultivation techniques they practiced, their conduct had always been extremely overbearing. Even in other prefectures or surrounding countries, in terms of arrogance and dominance, the Ming Jian Division itself felt inferior.
Those who had provoked the Shen Xuan Sect in the past were either beaten half to death and forced to pay restitution, or killed outright and had their belongings taken.
Even factions that ranked high within a prefecture had not been spared from having their mountain gates destroyed and their ancestral halls desecrated!
However, Ji Yuan's subsequent words shattered her last bit of hope.
"It should be correct. The first thing the person I ambushed said upon waking was Shen Xuan Sect."
He shrugged and said with some helplessness, "Moreover, that person was at least at the second realm, with two martial artists at the second realm and twelve at the first realm by his side, but they should all be dead now. It seems they were caught up by people from the Shen Xuan Sect."
Crack!!!
In a moment of distraction, Qian Ni Chang crushed a corner of the wooden table, and countless fragments fell.
The people from the Shen Xuan Sect were nearby, and the special grade protector she had recruited had just robbed them of their belongings?
In a daze, her vision suddenly darkened, and a look of utter despair appeared on her face. For a moment, she felt like crying but had no tears.
What was worse, this matter was not entirely unrelated to her. After all, it was at her suggestion that Ji Yuan took the risk to intercept that batch of supplies from the prefectural city. And it was through this twist of fate that he ended up stealing from the Shen Xuan Sect.
"What kind of things were they? If they weren't too valuable, it might not be insurmountable."
Qian Ni Chang sighed. Although there were ways to resolve it, it would inevitably mean a significant financial loss. It was not just a matter of money to quell the anger of the Shen Xuan Sect.
But as long as the value of the items was not too high, with the reputation of Ming Xin Xuan, it should be manageable, albeit at a heavy price.
In any case, the Qian family was already in such a state. As the saying goes, the more the merrier with troubles, and the more debts one has, the less one worries. At worst, they could drag the other two families down with them.
After all, despite their internal rivalries, the three families were still perceived as one by outsiders.
"That's not too bad. It was just some spirit stones and spirit coins, worth about over a million taels of silver."
Ji Yuan chuckled.
Over a million taels of silver!
"Just"?
Qian Ni Chang's face darkened, and the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
To her surprise, Ji Yuan suddenly put on a look of realization and then took out a jade bottle. "And there's this shard of what appears to be an immortal pill. It should have the effect of increasing cultivation, allowing an ordinary person to directly possess a cultivation base of the first or second realm without any prior training."
"I suspect its greatest effect is to help the user break through. The Golden Core stage might be difficult, but it should not be difficult for a few cultivators at the peak of the second realm to directly ascend to the third realm."
He thought for a moment. He felt that Qian Ni Chang had treated him well, and he would need her to take the brunt of the blame later, so he decided to be honest.
However, by the time he finished speaking, she had already closed her eyes and leaned back limply in her chair.
If she could defeat him, she would have killed Xu Lin. Why had he recommended this person to her in the first place?
It was truly worthy of being recognized by that madman. Putting aside other aspects, his ability to cause trouble was simply identical, on par!
Qian Ni Chang was in despair. Spirit stones and spirit coins worth over a million taels of silver, plus a broken pill fragment that could allow a second-realm cultivator to reach the third realm without any obstacles.
Even selling the entire Qian family!
They would absolutely not be able to quell the wrath of the Shen Xuan Sect!
The annual tax revenue of Qianyu City was only tens of thousands of taels. Even a first-class county town only collected about a hundred thousand taels. The annual tax revenue of the entire Luoxia Prefecture was only a little over a million taels!
"Proprietress, are you alright?"
Ji Yuan also realized he might have gone too far and asked cautiously.
But he couldn't be blamed entirely. If he didn't do this, it would be difficult to drag her down with him. In fact, under the threat of the Shen Xuan Sect, she might even sell him out.
After all, their relationship wasn't deep enough for her to risk everything.
Hearing this, Qian Ni Chang slowly opened her eyes and looked at him with a blank expression, "What do you think?"
Seeing this, Ji Yuan chuckled. As long as she didn't flip out on the spot, it proved that she had accepted reality and wouldn't sell him out.
"So, what do we do next?"
He hesitated for a moment, though it seemed out of place, he couldn't help but ask.
The current situation was rather urgent, as people from the Shen Xuan Sect might appear in Qianyu City any day now.
"What do we do?"
Qian Ni Chang raised an eyebrow and said indifferently, "I'm tired, let it all be destroyed."
She no longer had the energy to ponder what to do next. Exhaustion washed over her like a tide, and the feeling of mental exhaustion made her not even want to move a finger.
Compared to the powerful and unreasonable members of the Shen Xuan Sect, the Qian family's predicament and the difficulties she faced in breaking through seemed insignificant.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan became anxious, afraid he had pushed too hard. He quickly poured Qian Ni Chang a cup of hot tea and then presented the excuse he had prepared earlier.
"Proprietress, please rest assured. Based on the current situation, the Shen Xuan Sect likely does not know who is responsible."
This implied that as long as they left no trace, their actions would remain unknown.
Then, he pondered for a moment and, imitating Shen Lang's tone when he had instigated him, said, "And this might not necessarily be a bad thing. For you, Proprietress, it might be the key to a turnaround."
The spirit stones and spirit coins worth over a million taels of silver could be used directly without any exchange, and their effect would be even better than that of gold and silver.
The Qian family's biggest problem now, apart from not having a peak third-realm expert, was a lack of funds.
Before the deceased ancestor of the Qian family passed away, he had spent a considerable amount of the family's foundation in his pursuit of forming a Golden Core and extending his lifespan.
Furthermore, over the years, to cultivate enough experts, whether by nurturing their own or recruiting outsiders, the expenditure of money had been substantial.
Now, with such a large sum of spirit stones and spirit coins, even if it couldn't completely resolve the Qian family's difficulties, it would at least play a significant role.