Lingxi. Chen Li’s study.
Outside the window, the sun was setting in the west, casting a warm yellow glow across the room.
Chen Li sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his eyes slightly closed, deeply immersed in his cultivation.
KNOCK KNOCK.
The soft knocking sound interrupted his quiet meditation.
"Father?"
His daughter Shouyue’s clear voice came from outside the door.
Chen Li slowly withdrew from his practice and opened his eyes. "What is it?"
The door was pushed open a crack.
Chen Shouyue poked her small head in, a curious look on her face. "Father, there’s an old man outside named Liu Wende. He’s with someone wearing a big black cloak that’s hiding their face. He says they’re here to see you about something important."
’Liu Wende? And with someone hiding their face?’
Chen Li’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. His Divine Sense spread out silently, like mercury flowing across the ground, instantly blanketing the entire courtyard.
Outside the courtyard gate.
Besides Liu Wende’s familiar aura, there was another, one that was deliberately suppressed yet still failed to conceal a Spirit Realm Cultivation.
’In Jingshan County, someone with a Spirit Realm Cultivation who could make Liu Wende so nervous...’
Understanding dawned on Chen Li in an instant, but his expression remained impassive. He said to Shouyue, "Show them into the study."
"Okay!"
Shouyue acknowledged and ran off.
Before long, footsteps approached from a distance.
Liu Wende was the first to enter, a strained and helpless, bitter smile on his face. He cupped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute toward Chen Li but said nothing.
Following him was the person in the large black robe, the brim of their hood pulled down extremely low.
After entering the study, the person closed the door gently behind them, then slowly raised their head and pushed back their hood, revealing a pale face.
It was none other than the Magistrate of Mirror Mountain County, Zhang Heming.
"County Magistrate?"
A perfectly measured hint of surprise appeared on Chen Li’s face.
He stood and offered a casual salute, his tone flat. "Your visit truly honors my humble home. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, County Magistrate?"
Zhang Heming didn’t answer right away, merely waving a hand.
Beside him, Liu Wende quickly bowed, exited silently, and pulled the study door closed from the outside.
Once Liu Wende had left, only Chen Li and Zhang Heming remained in the room. The atmosphere instantly grew heavy and delicate.
Zhang Heming chuckled softly. "Brother Chen, your family is truly full of hidden masters. That young lady just now, she cultivates an Inner Qi Heart Method, doesn’t she? Her aura is condensed, and her foundation is impressive. I almost misjudged. I never expected the Chen Family to possess such a legacy..."
"My daughter simply had a fortunate encounter."
Chen Li’s expression didn’t change, but he was inwardly alarmed. ’This Zhang Heming’s eyes are sharp. Shouyue didn’t even use her Inner Breath just now, yet he was able to see through her.’
"Brother Chen, you are too modest."
Zhang Heming chuckled, his tone probing. "Brother Chen, forgive my presumption, but with such a profound legacy... could your family perhaps have some connection to the Chen Family of Chen County?"
Chen Li shook his head. "You jest, County Magistrate. My Lingxi Chen Family has been farmers for generations. We have no connection whatsoever to such great Noble Families."
Unwilling to discuss the matter further, he immediately changed the subject. "For the County Magistrate to condescend to visit my humble home, and so secretively at that... surely it wasn’t just to inquire about my daughter’s training?"
Caught off guard by the firm but polite words, a flash of awkwardness crossed Zhang Heming’s face.
He was silent for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, stripped of its official tone and taking on a consultative one instead. "Brother Chen, let’s not mince words. I have come here so presumptuously today because Jingshan County is facing a great disaster. You and I... we’ve both been placed over a fire. The slightest misstep, and we will be consumed by the flames, bringing ruin upon ourselves."
Chen Li simply raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so? I am but a humble villager who minds his own business. If the sky falls in Jingshan County, the gentlemen of the Government Office are there to hold it up. What does it have to do with a commoner like me?"
Seeing his unyielding attitude, Zhang Heming grew anxious, yet he was helpless.
The two were like players in a game of Go, each waiting for the other to lose their composure first.
He knew the other man was forcing him to show his hand first.
Finally, Zhang Heming gritted his teeth, lowered his voice, and practically squeezed the words out from between them: "The Jiang Family’s young master, Jiang Chaoshan, and Snow Fairy, the personal disciple of Celestial Sword Sect Elder Jian Dian... are dead! They died right here in Mirror Mountain!"
The hand Chen Li was using to hold his teacup paused slightly. A flash of ’shock’ appeared in his eyes at just the right moment before he regained his composure and said coolly, "Be that as it may, the deaths of such important people have nothing to do with my Chen Family, do they?"
"What do you mean, ’nothing to do’?!"
Zhang Heming could barely keep his voice down. "Brother Chen, are you truly unaware, or are you playing dumb? You know better than I do why the Jiang Family brought so many masters here. Although Jiang Chaoshan and Snow Fairy died in the same room, there’s no guarantee it wasn’t a trap set by someone who captured Snow Fairy. But if they decide to investigate, they will surely turn Mirror Mountain upside down. When that happens, do you really think your Lingxi, your Chen Family, can remain unscathed?"
"You jest, County Magistrate."
Chen Li’s expression remained unchanged. "I’ve heard the Jiang Family’s young master was a passionate man, and Snow Fairy, true to her name, was surely a woman of celestial beauty. It’s entirely possible he fell in love at first sight and pursued her fiercely. If they fell for each other but were forbidden from being together by sect rules, it’s highly possible they entered a lover’s pact."
’What kind of bullshit lover’s pact!’
’Do you take me for a ten-year-old kid?’
Zhang Heming’s face darkened, and he almost couldn’t stop himself from cursing out loud.
After taking a deep breath, he said bluntly, "Brother Chen, we’re both intelligent men, so let’s be frank. If the Jiang Family and the Celestial Sword Sect start fighting, they won’t have time for anything else, which would benefit us both. I must ask for your cooperation in this matter. Of course, I won’t let you suffer a loss. There are about four thousand mu of ownerless farmland across Lingxi, Zhuoyan Village, and three others. Next spring, the County Magistrate’s Office will auction it off. I can make an executive decision to set this land aside and sell all of it to the Chen Family at the official price. How does that sound? This is a prime cut of meat the Noble Families have their eyes on. Once they get their hands on it, they won’t be letting go. Think it over carefully, Brother Chen."
Four thousand mu!
Hearing this offer, Chen Li’s heart leaped.
Since transmigrating, he had worked himself to the bone for over twenty years, only managing to increase his family’s land from two hundred mu to eight hundred and twenty.
This offer was nothing short of generous!
If he could acquire these four thousand mu, it would be an expansion akin to a snake swallowing an elephant.
Compared to his last visit, when he merely offered a piece of information in exchange for a truce, this was far more sincere.
But the silver coins needed to buy these four thousand mu...
Four thousand mu, at a rough estimate of thirty taels per mu, would be one hundred and twenty thousand taels.
Chen Li’s eyes narrowed slightly, his fingers gently caressing the cool teacup.
After a moment of thought, he looked up at Zhang Heming. "A grand gesture, County Magistrate. But I wonder, what is it you want me to do?"
Seeing Chen Li relent, Zhang Heming let out a huge sigh of relief. "Right now, we benefit from cooperation and suffer from division. Our only way through this crisis is to form an alliance, coordinate with each other, and ride out the storm together. What do you think, Brother Chen?"
A brief silence fell over the study.
"Fine."
Chen Li mulled it over for a moment, then finally set down his teacup and met Zhang Heming’s gaze.