Chapter 1904: Arriving in Crowds

“I am an old woman, nearing two hundred years of age, and my body and mind are decaying. I cannot bear such a heavy responsibility.” She had previously sent this message to the Emperor via Vaiśravaṇa, though in truth, these words were intended for the gods. “I request the Emperor to relieve me of my duties and appoint someone more capable.”

Across the entire Glimmergold Plain, Qingyang possessed the greatest ability, the most extensive experience, and the most ideas. If she refused, who else could take on the task?

The gods' willingness to offer her this kind of support must have been at the Demon Emperor's behest.

Publicly, she was the old Grand Tutor of Beijia, deeply experienced and widely knowledgeable.

Privately, she and the Demon Emperor had grown up together, sharing a profound bond.

Therefore, the strong warning she issued still garnered the Demon Emperor's attention, prompting him to intervene and secure the necessary authority for her.

In this brief power struggle, she had gained the upper hand.

Yet, Qingyang felt no relief deep down.

Miaozhantian's expedition to the Upside-Down Sea had virtually depleted the resources of the gods and the Heavenly Palace on the Glimmergold Plain. To defeat the Thousand Illusionary Immortal, they naturally had to assemble the strongest team: guǐ beasts, golden-armored divine generals, demon immortals, great demons, and even the forms of true immortals and celestials—all had been taken along.

What quality could possibly be left behind on the Glimmergold Plain for Qingyang?

“He Xiao is rapidly coming into his own. To stop him, there's probably only one way,” Qingyang murmured. “Catch him off guard, and strike!”

The impending storm on the Glimmergold Plain had only one core: He Xiao.

Remove the eye of the storm, and perhaps the storm itself would subside.

Kill this person, and all problems would be resolved!

Twenty-six days after Miaozhantian's demise, Kun Town lay forty li north of Shrieking Forest.

After He Lingchuan and Dong Rui captured the Ghost King's Underworld Palace, they sought a suitable location near Shrieking Forest to establish a branch of the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce, aiming to expand its reach into the central and northern regions of Glimmergold.

Once the allied forces stabilized, the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce quietly shifted its central focus from Jucheng to Kun Town.

Local official power was weak, allowing Yangshan to largely dominate and wield unchallenged influence.

This was He Lingchuan's foresight. The Yangshan branch in central Glimmergold required a high degree of operational autonomy.

Moreover, the staff here were almost completely isolated, with the nearest villages and markets more than thirty li away!

This made it difficult for information to leak.

Currently, Ding Zuodong, He Lingchuan's most trusted confidant and known as the Grand Steward of Yangshan, was personally overseeing operations here.

Every day, short messages poured into the Yangshan branch like snowflakes.

Ding Zuodong had long cultivated a well-trained team capable of quickly processing complex information, so he didn't need to personally attend to every minor detail.

The managers of the Yangshan branch would compile similar types of information and report them to Ding Zuodong.

Two days prior, Chigu was supposed to deliver another three hundred fine horses to the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce, but the transaction was suddenly halted.

The Yangshan Chamber of Commerce's purchase of horses from Chigu was based on a written contract He Lingchuan had signed with King Yao months earlier. After the fall of the Yao Kingdom, Chigu temporarily remained unaffiliated, but its nomadic residents still needed to make a living, so they continued supplying horses to Yangshan according to the original agreement.

Now, they not only refused to provide the horses but also declined to issue a refund.

“The pastoral chieftain of Chigu is greedy, and we've dealt with him many times, but he's not stupid,” Ding Zuodong remarked, sticking to the facts. “It seems someone is forcing him to turn against us.”

Given Yangshan's current reputation and financial power in Glimmergold, who else would dare to make Chigu defy them?

Lu Qiowei stood with his arms crossed. “What do you plan to do?”

He was from Rongshan and had long since integrated into Yangshan. He Lingchuan had brought limited personnel into the Upside-Down Sea, leaving Lu Qiowei and his companions on the Glimmergold Plain to ensure the normal operation of the Chamber of Commerce.

“To strike a snake, you must hit its vital spot. Find out who's causing trouble behind the scenes, and then—” After years by He Lingchuan's side, Ding Zuodong was no longer merely a gentry steward from a small town in Yuan Kingdom. He was well-traveled and knowledgeable, and his resolve had grown much harder.

Lu Qiowei made a decisive slashing gesture. “Like this?”

Ding Zuodong nodded. “The pastoral tribe made a mistake. We need to compel them to rectify it.”

As he spoke, he opened another letter.

This was a secret report from Qingye City, delivered by a bird sent by City Lord Kang Lang.

More than a year ago, two members of the allied forces, the Kingdom of Puliu and the Kan tribe, nearly came to blows over the ownership of Qingye City. He Lingchuan advised Situ Yu to have Kang Lang, the Sixth Prince of Puliu and also a son-in-law of the Kan tribe, take over Qingye City. He also cleverly devised an accounting method for profit distribution that satisfied both parties' needs, thus foiling the Bixia people's scheme to divide the allied forces.

The subsequent operation and rapid development of Qingye City also relied heavily on the support of the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce. Therefore, Kang Lang had always been grateful to He Lingchuan and frequently exchanged communications with Yangshan.

In his secret letter, he stated that the King of Puliu, one of the seven members of the allied forces, had ordered him to seal and shut down all Yangshan-related businesses within Qingye City and expel all Yangshan Chamber of Commerce personnel. Kang Lang was unwilling but faced pressure from his father, the King.

Lu Qiowei leaned closer to read. “How should we handle a situation like this?”

Killing was his forte; business was not.

“We won't deal with it; just let it be,” Ding Zuodong said with a smile. “Among the troubles I've handled, this is quite mild. In the past few days, various forces across Glimmergold have been deliberately expelling the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce, preventing us from continuing our business. Our master anticipated this long ago and devised a set of countermeasures.”

Before He Lingchuan departed for the Upside-Down Sea, he had formulated a detailed strategy that, once activated, would trigger a chain reaction across the Glimmergold Plain.

The gods controlling local forces to ostracize, suppress, and expel Yangshan's influence was something he had long anticipated.

In the past, Yangshan would have chosen to fight to the end, using connections to mediate, attitudes to negotiate, and most importantly, interests to bind others. This had been Yangshan's consistent approach in Glimmergold.

Means always serve the end, after all.

But this time was different.

Just then, Ding Zuodong's chief attendant rushed in from outside, handing him a note. “Steward Ding, an urgent message from the bird demons in the east!”

A red note indicated urgent confidential information.

Ding Zuodong opened it, and despite himself, he laughed in anger. “They're practically asking for death.”

The letter was from Tongxi, forty li to the east. The local authorities there had suddenly accused a pharmacy under the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce of selling counterfeit medicine that caused deaths. Consequently, they arrested all local managers of the Chamber of Commerce and beat them brutally without question. The oldest among them, over fifty, couldn't endure the final few blows and perished.

The letter arrived just in time, as these individuals were scheduled to be paraded through the streets that very evening.

Ding Zuodong rubbed his temples, as if trying to recall something. “Did Tongxi just get new officials?”

He usually had a mountain of work and didn't possess his master's excellent memory, making it hard for him to remember such minor details.

The attendant who brought the letter immediately replied, “Yes! County Magistrate Wu of Tongxi was very respectful towards us and often communicated with us. Unfortunately, he died suddenly at home a month ago, and the position was taken over by the Tian family, sworn enemies of the Wu family.”