Chapter 1550: Doing Big and Strong with Benevolence

Guide Liu’s words implied he had completed numerous commissions for the Prosperous Forest Guild, earning him an excellent reputation.

Bai Ziqi nodded to the attendant, who then handed Guide Liu a silver ingot. “As agreed, payment will be in installments,” the attendant said. “We depart at sunrise tomorrow, so don’t be late.”

Guide Liu acknowledged this and then asked, “How many people will be in your party? I need to arrange carriages and lodging.”

“Around thirty, I’d say.”

“Small inns won’t accommodate that many,” Guide Liu replied. “For comfort, we’ll need to hire four or five large carriages. Where do you plan to go next?”

“Shizhou Head and Liuping.”

“That’ll be a five or six-day journey.”

The attendant immediately interjected, “Can we go faster? Is there a way?”

“Ah... that would cost extra,” Guide Liu responded. “We’d need to hire carriages from the Changlong Martial Arts Guild.”

“The Changlong Martial Arts Guild?”

“The Changlong Martial Arts Guild is operated by the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce,” Guide Liu explained. “They specialize in escorts and are incredibly powerful. Over the past six months, they’ve swept through all the trade routes used by Yangshan. Where bandits used to be as numerous as cattle hair, now most are either dead or dispersed. Their carriages travel fast, and I can arrange for them, but they are a bit more expensive.”

“Go ahead, money is no object.”

Guide Liu bowed once more to Bai Ziqi. “The yellow croaker noodles at this inn are excellent, Sir Bai,” he said. “You might want to try them.”

After Guide Liu departed, the attendant asked, “Lord Commissioner, the battles at Shizhou Head and Liuping are from long ago. Why are you still collecting clues from those two places?”

“These are the recognized locations where the Great Emperor of Nine Serenities first made his appearance,” Bai Ziqi explained, stretching. “Later, the more crimes he committed, the more refined his methods became. But his initial attempts were the simplest, making them prone to flaws. Go order me a bowl of yellow croaker noodles.”

Guide Liu left the inn and first went to arrange the carriages for the next day’s journey. Then he stopped at a small stall, ordered a bowl of green bean noodles, quickly finished them, and only then returned to the Prosperous Forest Guild.

According to regulations, after reaching an agreement with an employer, he had to return to the Prosperous Forest Guild to register the details and submit basic information before commencing the work.

Without this procedure, employers wouldn’t feel secure.

He was a regular at the Prosperous Forest Guild; he simply had to stand outside the counter and state his business, and the clerk inside would record it swiftly.

“Where did you say those few Beijia people wanted to go?”

Those guests seemed to carry an inherent arrogance, looking down on everyone. When a clerk from the Prosperous Forest Guild had inquired earlier, they had openly declared themselves visitors from Beijia.

“There are about thirty of them,” Guide Liu said with a chuckle. “I just finished arranging their carriages for tomorrow’s journey. They reportedly want to go to Shizhou Head and Liuping first, and then other places. Their leader seems to be a high-ranking official, judging by his fine clothes, and his servants address him as ‘Commissioner Bai’.”

“Are they the ones staying at the Sunny Inn?”

“That’s right, yes.”

“Are they generous?”

“Quite generous,” Guide Liu confirmed. “They prepaid thirty percent of the travel expenses and my fee.” He added that it was fortunate security had vastly improved in Julu Port and along the trade routes; otherwise, with their lavish attire and dignified bearing, Bai Ziqi’s group would have been targeted by four or five bandit groups before even leaving the port.

Halfway through their journey, their gold and silver would have been weighed out and divided amongst the bandits.

The clerk put down his pen. “All right, registration complete,” he said. “Have a smooth journey tomorrow.”

After completing the registration, Guide Liu headed home.

The clerk put away the ledger and returned to his other duties.

Shortly after, a young, well-dressed man with a short scar on his left cheek emerged from the back room. “Where’s my wine?” he demanded. “Hasn’t it arrived yet?”

Upon seeing him, the clerk respectfully greeted him, “Boss!”

This person was none other than Ah Hao.

The first time He Lingchuan disembarked in Julu Port, Ah Hao had tried to steal Dong Rui’s monkey. He ended up getting a severe beating from the two of them but, unexpectedly, that misfortune turned into a blessing. He later found himself working for Yun Guang, who was then the leader of the rebel faction and is now the King of Peng State.

When the Bo State experienced its coup, Yun Guang ascended to the throne after killing the old King of Bo. Ah Hao, finding himself unsuited to the official bureaucracy, returned to Julu Port and established this Prosperous Forest Guild.

The former Julu Port hooligan had transformed into a shrewd businessman, comfortable operating in both the legitimate and illicit worlds.

Just then, another of Ah Hao’s subordinates rushed in, eagerly presenting wine and meat. “Brother Hao,” he announced, “your aphid honey wine has arrived.”

“What took you so long!” Ah Hao exclaimed, snatching the items and giving the subordinate a slap on the back of the head before taking his wine and meat to the back room to enjoy.

Soon after, night fell.

The clerk pushed the ledger to the side of the table, clocked out, and headed home.

The following day, Bai Ziqi and his party departed Julu Port, heading north.

The route to Shizhou Head required them to exit Peng State’s border pass and then proceed eastward.

As Bai Ziqi revisited this familiar route, he was struck by the significant changes to the trade road:

“There are truly no bandits left.”

The last time he visited Shanjin Plain, he had been robbed almost immediately after leaving Julu Port.

Although the bandits ultimately met a terrible end, his first impression of Shanjin had been exceedingly poor.

This time, however, was different. They traveled over a hundred *li* with no incidents on the road, only spotting a few wild deer bounding about. Soon, however, Bai Ziqi noticed dozens of long poles erected along the roadside, each topped with a human head. The flesh had long since withered, leaving them resembling skulls.

As they approached, crows perched on the poles cawed loudly and flew off.

“What is this?”

“When the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce first established the Changlong Martial Arts Guild, this trade route was plagued by unrest,” Guide Liu explained. “The Guild organized patrols to clear out the area, and all the fierce bandits they captured were hanged on these poles. You’ll see many more of these poles as we continue. Since then, the number of bandits has drastically decreased.”

The attendant from the Heavenly Palace asked curiously, “How is it that the Changlong Martial Arts Guild managed to clear out the bandits that various states and regions couldn’t eliminate?”

“That, I don’t know,” Guide Liu admitted. “However, the Changlong Martial Arts Guild invested significant effort in their early days. I often heard tales of them playing cat-and-mouse games and engaging in fierce battles with bandits deep in the mountains, suffering considerable losses themselves.”

Nevertheless, the results were evident: bandits around these trade routes had been cleared, making freight transport for the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce remarkably safe. Naturally, Yangshan benefited not only itself but also brought prosperity to the local populace and traveling merchants.

Business became visibly easier to conduct.

“For most of this year, there have been few conflicts nearby,” Guide Liu said with a smile. “Instead, because the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce extended its operations here, they’ve been hiring people everywhere. When everyone has work and money to eat, fewer people resort to banditry.”

Bai Ziqi casually inquired, “To clear such a long trade route, the Changlong Martial Arts Guild must employ a large number of people, right?”

“Oh, there are tons of them, all big and burly men,” Guide Liu replied. “To be honest, some of those who used to live by the blade, who might have been roadside robbers, later joined the Changlong Martial Arts Guild. A stable income is surely better than becoming a bandit, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Roughly how many people are employed by the Changlong Martial Arts Guild in Julu Port?”

“I don’t know the exact number,” Guide Liu replied casually, “but their headquarters must have at least two thousand people, wouldn’t you say?”

“Just the martial artists responsible for escorts?”

“Exactly. If you include the coachmen, clerks, cooks, stewards, and so on, it’s nearly three thousand people.”

“Island Master He’s operations are quite extensive,” Bai Ziqi mused. “Several thousand people just for one martial arts guild headquarters.”

And that doesn’t even count the personnel of the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce itself.

“Isn’t it though?” Guide Liu said with a hint of inexplicable pride. “Yangshan’s business has even reached Yao State. Have you heard of Red Valley horses? Just a few days ago, I saw dozens of them being loaded onto ships in Julu Port, destined for the west.”

Bai Ziqi shook his head.

“They’re the finest horses in our Shanjin Plain,” Guide Liu explained, “and only Yao State controls their breeding. Yet, Yangshan manages to acquire them directly from Yao State. For exclusive goods like these, Yao State only deals with Yangshan. If it weren’t for the continuous flow of goods from Yao State, Julu Port wouldn’t be nearly as prosperous.”

“So, from what you’re saying, the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce holds considerable influence across the entire Shanjin Plain?”

“If they can conduct such large-scale business in Yao State, how could they not thrive in the Shanjin Plain?” Guide Liu retorted. “Island Master He also maintains excellent relations with the allied forces in the central region. Yangshan can travel freely even through war zones where others are denied entry.”

Bai Ziqi let out a prolonged “Oh.” “They wield significant influence, indeed. Are there many large merchant guilds like this in the Shanjin Plain?”

“Oh, quite a few, over a dozen,” Guide Liu replied. “Medium-sized ones include Luanji Trading House, Baishui Chamber of Commerce, and Bilixuan. The super-large ones are the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce, Deyou Trading House, and Qixin Zhai, among others. These top-tier merchant houses, in particular, cultivate strong relationships everywhere and are influential across all regions. However, most of the largest merchant guilds are based in Yao State. For example, Qixin Zhai is run by the Qi family of Yao State—the same Qi family whose patriarch was recently slain by the Great Emperor of Nine Serenities. Deyou Trading House, the largest in Yao State, has close ties to the Yao State royal court; none of this is a secret.”

“I see.”

Ahead lay the pass city.

Julu Port was a free port. After traversing the long trade route and passing through the pass city, they would officially enter the territory of Peng State.

The territorial demarcation remained unchanged, just as it had been under the old Bo State.

The pass city, too, was as Bai Ziqi remembered it: plain gray, with remarkably thick walls.

Once inside the city, Guide Liu turned and pointed to the city wall. “Nangong Yan, the Grand Commandant of Bo State’s Feathered Guards, along with dozens of his subordinates, were hanged here and left exposed for three days.”

This was news to Bai Ziqi, who casually asked, “Oh? Who did that?”

“I don’t know,” Guide Liu replied with a smile. “I asked the city gate guards, and they said Nangong Yan and his men had charged out through here just the evening before, full of aggression, even instructing them to immediately close the gates and seal the city, forbidding any outsiders from entering.”

“Who would’ve thought that the very next morning, they’d be the ones hanging on the wall?”

Everyone chuckled. Truly, this was Shanjin Plain, where even high-ranking, powerful ministers could meet such an obscure end.

They didn’t linger long in Peng State, instead continuing eastward towards Shizhou Head.

This was a typical small city on the Shanjin Plain: populous, with dilapidated houses, but featuring tall, imposing city walls that bore the scorch marks of past conflicts.

As Bai Ziqi and his party entered the city, they immediately noticed a large wooden pillar standing just beyond the gate. It was roughly the girth of two people embracing, and its top was painted black and carved into the likeness of a dragon’s head.

The carving was rudimentary, a crude design that somehow managed to be endearingly awkward.

Yet, the shape of the dragon’s horns was accurately depicted.

In front of the pillar, two offering tables stood side by side, one taller than the other. They were piled high with fruits, incense, candles, and lacquerware, leaving almost no empty space on their surfaces, especially with the fruits stacked like small mountains.

The fruits, varying in color from green to yellow and in size from large to small, looked as if they had just been freshly picked from the mountains.

Thick stacks of paper money were also laid out on the offering tables, piled so high they nearly overflowed both surfaces. A large brazier stood nearby.