Chapter 1370: The Explanation Given by King Yao

Ling Guang shook his head dutifully. The human world was truly complicated.

"Because those in high positions cannot reach or see what's below them; their power simply doesn't extend that far." Even the most sagacious monarch isn't omniscient and omnipotent.

When Dong Rui walked in, Jiang Lishui was continuing to report on the aftermath concerning the two branch offices.

Those who deserved compensation were to receive generous settlements.

The Glimmergold Plains were notoriously chaotic, and working at the Yaoguo branch office used to be considered a desirable assignment. Everyone within the Yangshan Merchant Guild once vied for a spot there. Who could have known that it would be the first to suffer a massacre?

In addition, the Yangshan Merchant Guild was actively negotiating with the Xialin County government. The other party insisted that the person in charge of the Xialin branch office had been "caught red-handed" and, by law, was to receive thirty heavy strokes and five years in prison. Although Fan Shuang had reported the issues faced by the Yangshan branch to the capital, who knew how long it would take for a response? If Dai Wangsheng remained in prison for too long, he might be tortured to death.

The Yangshan Merchant Guild had also cultivated many connections in Yaoguo, so they quickly arranged for inquiries. The reply came back promptly: Yangshan had offended "someone they shouldn't have."

So, what was to be done?

The root of the problem was not in Xialin County at all. The Yangshan Merchant Guild had no choice but to send lavish gifts to officials and merchants through intermediaries. If spread across the price of the horses, this was equivalent to a 15% increase in the cost price per horse.

Yangshan also had to ensure that one of these lavish gifts would eventually reach the hands of "the person they shouldn't have offended."

Even though the Yangshan Merchant Guild had been so accommodating, humbling themselves and offering gifts, the other party still refused to release the individual. Instead, they invented various pretexts and caused all sorts of trouble. The main point was simply to harass them. The Yangshan Merchant Guild had no choice but to continue sending gifts.

After several such rounds of harassment, the money the Yangshan Merchant Guild spent to resolve the matter caused the cost of Red Valley horses to rise by another 15%. Originally, the purchase price was only 50% of the market price; now, with an additional 30% added (totaling 80%), the cost had become exorbitant.

Only then was Xue Zongwu grudgingly satisfied, as the person in charge of Yangshan's Xialin branch was soon "cleared of all charges" and released without guilt. The charge had been fabricated in the first place, so it could, of course, be easily dropped.

As for the incident at the Xiancheng branch, the Yangshan Merchant Guild conducted its own autopsy and discovered that four of the ten victims had been killed before the fire started—either their necks had been twisted, or their skulls had suffered severe blows. The other six had been burned alive. The perpetrators' methods were brutal and cruel.

However, the Xiancheng County government refused to acknowledge the results of the Yangshan Merchant Guild's private autopsy, still insisting that the Yangshan branch was merely a case of accidental fire and that everything was to be based on official announcements.

Jiang Lishui had experienced many difficulties and seen much of the world in the Glimmergold Plains over the past few months, growing exceptionally quickly, but when reporting this matter, he still gritted his teeth several times. The Xue family had the blood of ten lives from theiancheng branch on their hands, yet the Yangshan Merchant Guild still had to give them money and gifts! Once wasn't enough; in total, they sent gifts four times!

"You did very well, very appropriately," He Lingchuan said, not showing any anger, but rather a gentle and amiable expression. "The two branch offices still need to be rebuilt, reopened, and continue operating; you will need to put in more effort."

"It's my duty!"

Jiang Lishui still had a look of indignation on his face, but He Lingchuan said meaningfully, "Those who commit many injustices are bound to bring destruction upon themselves. Such people will eventually face retribution."

"Yes," Jiang Lishui replied. What else could he say? He admitted he lacked his lord's profound composure and strategic mind.

After Jiang Lishui left, Dong Rui, who had been listening silently for a long time, finally straightened up. "Seeing that kind expression on your face," Dong Rui said, "you must be brewing some mischief inside. Tell me, how are you going to retaliate?"

After conspiring together for so long, Dong Rui understood He Lingchuan more and more, knowing that this fellow was exceptionally cunning. The Yangshan Merchant Guild, which he had single-handedly built up, was being targeted and extorted, yet He Lingchuan could still smile; he most likely had a countermeasure.

This time, who would suffer greatly?

He Lingchuan blinked. "No hurry," he said, "you'll know in a few days."

Ling Guang scratched his cheek. "Yangshan operates in Yaoguo with the monarch's special permission," he said. "Why does it still need to make offerings to Xue Zongwu?"

The term "make offerings" sounded unpleasant, but it was the truth. The monkey still couldn't understand. Wasn't the King of Yao the ultimate authority? Yangshan had clearly already received a royal decree granting special permission, so why could Xue Zongwu still make things difficult for the Yangshan Merchant Guild? "Can't we complain to the King of Yao?"

"Of course, we can," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "Didn't I already file a complaint through Fan Shuang? Let's just wait and see if the outcome is as I expect."

Time flew by.

As the above events unfolded consecutively, early summer quietly arrived, and the Glimmergold Plains grew hotter day by day.

Lord He, the master of Yangshan Archipelago, dutifully stayed in Jucheng, managing his Yangshan Merchant Guild.

The Black Scale Army, however, was dispatched repeatedly. In these two weeks, they carried out thirty-one "jobs"—or rather, completed thirty-one missions. In such a short time, at such a high frequency, and across such a wide area—He Lingchuan was not foolish; he would not limit the Black Scale Army's operational range to only allied member states, otherwise, it would be easy for someone with ulterior motives to catch wind of their true intent.

The more frequent the Black Scale Army's operations, the more villains they killed, and the more sensational the effects they caused, the more forces would begin to keep an eye on them. Before these two weeks, the Black Scale Army's operations were still in their early stages, having an explosive effect only within a small area. After these two weeks, the Black Scale Army's reputation had spread to the central, southern, and northern parts of the Glimmergold Plains, because it had appeared in all of these places!

Wherever this peculiar army went, they would judge and execute locally recognized great villains, then display their heads publicly. In He Lingchuan's words, this was both a pattern and a selling point. After all, he was only one person, unable to be in multiple places at once, so it was impossible for him to appear at every location simultaneously. Therefore, most of these operations involved dividing their forces into smaller units, with leaders like Moqi Feng, Moqi Liang, Wang Fubao, and Puhua each leading a dozen or so riders to various parts of the Glimmergold Plains.

After the battle of Stone Helmet Peak and Greenery Villa, He Lingchuan adjusted his strategy again to strike out in small teams: with short durations, high frequency, and impactful targets, striving to create the greatest impact in the shortest possible time. The assassination targets were all carefully selected by He Lingchuan. They not only had to have committed undeniable crimes but their combat strength also had to be assessed as inferior to their own, to ensure that every Black Scale squad could achieve immediate success. The total number of Black Scale Army members had now risen to around two hundred. Each squad adopted a "veteran leading new recruits" approach, helping new members quickly get into their roles.

These dozens of concentrated operations were indeed effective. The Black Scale Army's reputation soared in various places, like ripples expanding outwards in a deep pool. In taverns and restaurants, pleasure houses and inns, the Black Scale squads happily became the number one topic of discussion everywhere. Commoners, peddlers, merchants, and officials—wherever they ate, worked, or socialized—could hear the glorious deeds of Emperor Jiuyou. Of course, Yangshan's active promotion was indispensable in this.

Because the events had happened too recently, and to avoid revealing their tracks, Yangshan did not provide storytellers with ready-made scripts. Instead, they only gave basic information and let them gather material from the populace and elaborate freely. Storytellers always did this: once they reached the stage of free elaboration, all sorts of bizarre and fantastical tales, and fake news that was clearly unreasonable yet eye-catching, began to spread with increasing intensity everywhere. The more bizarre, thrilling, and terrifying it was, the wider it spread.

The Black Scale Army's momentum even overshadowed the news of the King of Yao's upcoming fifty-ninth birthday.

Unlike the common people's enthusiastic discussions, the nobles of various countries, upon hearing reports of the Black Scale squads' repeated successes, mostly had only one impression: "These people have gone wild with killing!" Many nobles began to feel threatened, secretly strengthening their security, fearing a knock on the door in the middle of the night. In the courts of various countries and powers, discussions began about this elusive Black Scale Army, and how to heighten vigilance against them. Everyone wanted to know what the Black Scale Army truly sought by so actively and dedicatedly punishing evil and eliminating villains.

Time quickly passed amidst the worries of the upper echelons and the jubilation of the common people.

When Dong Rui came to He Lingchuan for experimental materials, Ling Guang was also there. In these past few days, the injured Black Scale warriors had recovered quickly under its care. But Ling Guang was still a little gloomy.

Dong Rui patted the monkey's head. "What's wrong?" he asked.

The Ghost Ape also bared its fangs, asking the same question.

He Lingchuan explained, "Fan Shuang kept his word and indeed reported the injustices suffered by our two branch offices to the King of Yao. Just now, I received a message from the Yao capital."

"Oh?" Dong Rui's interest was piqued. "Did the King of Yao give you justice?"

"One could say yes, and one could say no."

"Hey, speak properly."

"The King of Yao also wants me to go to Tianshui City to congratulate him on his birthday, so he wants to give me an explanation regarding these two matters," He Lingchuan said slowly. "Regarding the Xiancheng arson case, Tianshui City instructed the Xiancheng government office to investigate thoroughly. After many days of effort, Xiancheng finally caught two murderers and arsonists, who were in fact just two petty ruffians. They claimed that they failed to collect 'lighting fees' from Yangshan's Xiancheng branch, held a grudge, and thus privately set the fire to vent their anger. When they committed the crime, they were discovered by people from the branch, so they simply went all the way and committed murder."

"'Lighting fees'?" Dong Rui asked, bewildered. "What kind of money is that?"

"It's protection money collected by street thugs from businesses."

Dong Rui didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Our branch office," he scoffed, "is that really a place where two petty ruffians can extort money and commit murder? Even if they were trying to fool a fool, they wouldn't do it like this."

Ling Guang looked at him mournfully. Wasn't that just scolding himself? That's exactly how Yaoguo was fooling Yangshan.

Dong Rui cleared his throat lightly. "Then what about the autopsy results?" he asked.

"They insisted that they killed everyone at the Xiancheng branch," He Lingchuan said blandly. "They've been caught, interrogated, and sentenced. Both arsonists confessed without reservation, so the case was smoothly concluded."

"Alright, just casually pushing out two scapegoats, and it's over," Dong Rui said, giving a thumbs-up. "As long as there are culprits caught, the Xue family can go to the King of Yao and give an explanation, and you won't be able to investigate further."

"As for the Xialin frame-up case," He Lingchuan continued, "the Yao capital also investigated. Two officials from the Xialin government office were demoted, and three constables had their salaries withheld as punishment. So," he spread his hands, "that's how it is; it's over."

Ling Guang was unhappy. "But the real culprits are still at large," he said. It also knew that the two petty ruffians who were sentenced were just scapegoats, and the real culprits might be laughing at Yangshan and He Lingchuan right now.

"Do you think the King of Yao doesn't know?" He Lingchuan shook his head. "He should be clearer than I am about Xue Zongwu's character. But he doesn't care about the details; he just wants a result. And Xue Zongwu gave him a result."