Chapter 114: Chapter 114: The Crisis at the Eastern Gate
Qin Mo glided smoothly right past the large dragon, his loose white linen shirt completely spotless, while his flat black flip-flops let out a regular, lazy ’thwack-thwack’ sound against the polished floor tiles.
His pale, flawlessly handsome face wore a look of supreme, deeply condescending superiority as he held a small, elegant velvet box containing the premium caramelized popcorn crystals.
"A loud brute only looks at the surface chaos," Qin Mo murmured smoothly, resting the small box gently near Lin Wan’s hand before leaning in close to her side, his silver-tinted eyes full of doting, serene affection.
"Wanwan, the psychological pressure is working perfectly. I have already instructed my hidden agents to spread a rumor that the ’mysterious master’ of the warehouse is considering moving the trading post to the southern valleys next month due to the noise. The moment the capital council heard this, they immediately passed a new law exempting our cargo carriages from all entry taxes and city gate inspections."
"Who are you calling a surface brute, you slippery worm?" Long Zhan bared his sharp fangs, leaning his massive upper body over the quartz counter to glare aggressively at the snake king.
"I’m the one who has to stand at the warehouse doors and keep those greedy bastards from pushing the walls down! If I didn’t use my physical power to scare them into a neat line, your little agents would have been crushed into meat pies on the first day!"
"True dominance is achieved through the mind, not by waving your thick arms around like a common forest ape," Qin Mo retorted coldly, his posture completely relaxed as he crossed his long arms, his silver eyes flashing with a dangerous, mocking light. "Your aggressive grunting is merely a noise pollutant to Wanwan’s ears."
"Alright, that’s enough from both of you," Lin Wan said, her voice perfectly flat and direct as she reached into the small box and popped a sweet kernel of popcorn into her mouth. She didn’t lift her eyes from the ledger.
"If either of you causes a single delay in the afternoon delivery, you will both be banned from the dining hall for the next three days. Go check on the triplets. They have been entirely too quiet for the past twenty minutes, which usually means my kitchen mats are in immediate danger."
The two supreme kings instantly stiffened, their competitive pride vanishing in a flash as they submissively nodded their heads, completely suppressed by her calm authority.
"Mother! Mother! Look at our ultimate camouflage defense!"
Right on cue, a chorus of three incredibly high-pitched baby gasps echoed from the dark space beneath the main pantry shelves.
The large wicker basket that Lanying used to collect the fresh lavender leaves suddenly began to move across the floor on its own, wobbling clumsily from side to side.
After a few seconds, the basket tipped over completely, and three round, ultra fluffy white snowballs came tumbling out onto the clean floor tiles, covered from head to tail in fragrant purple petals and loose green leaves.
Xiao Chen was the first to scramble to his feet, his chubby front paws waving in the air as his wide blue eyes blinked up at Lin Wan with absolute, 100% pure innocence. "We were guarding the primary cargo, Mother! A giant, sky bird tried to fly through the window to steal the sweet white powders, but my fierce warrior claws scared him away!"
"Yes! I executed a supreme dive-attack from the top shelf!" Xiao Rui babbled excitedly, his silver-striped tail wagging like a frantic pendulum, sending a small shower of dried lavender leaves flying across Long Zhan’s clean denim jeans. "I jumped right into the basket and used my heavy body to trap the enemy! I am the strongest sea predator!"
"Xiao Rui, you didn’t trap an enemy, you just tripped over my tail and broke the wicker handle," Xiao Jue chimed in smoothly from the back, his small voice carrying that hilariously serious, dignified tone as he walked over to nudge Lin Wan’s leather boots with his round head.
His tiny merman tail, which had temporarily shifted back into a fluffy white leg for land movement, gave a thoughtful little thump against the floor.
"Mother, his tactical calculations are completely flawed. He didn’t check the weight capacity of the basket before launching his body."
"Ah! brother is criticizing my military strategy again!" Xiao Rui whined happily, rolling over onto his back to show his round, soft belly as he kicked his tiny legs in the air, thoroughly enjoying the mess he had created.
Lin Wan let out a low, genuine chuckle, walking over to scoop the heavy, lavender-covered Xiao Chen up into her arms.
She gently tapped his wet pink nose, wiping away a stray leaf that was stuck between his fluffy ears.
"No more sky bird simulations in the kitchen. Long Zhan, pack the final crates into the spatial carriage. The eastern gate warehouse opens in exactly one hour, and we have a market to dominate."
"You got it, Wanwan!" Long Zhan grinned widely, his violet eyes flashing with anticipation as he grabbed the crates.
Within the hour, the hidden warehouse near the capital’s eastern wall was completely surrounded by a massive, shouting crowd of high-ranking cultivators, noble elders, and wealthy merchants.
The tension in the air was so thick it felt like a battlefield, but the moment the heavy ironwood doors slowly opened to reveal Long Zhan standing in his modern black tank top, the entire crowd fell into an absolute, reverent silence.
The secret trading network of the spatial sanctuary was running perfectly, converting the wealth of the lower world into the absolute, impenetrable defense of Lin Wan’s family.
....
The atmosphere outside the hidden eastern warehouse of the Beast Capital had transformed from a standard commercial queue into a volatile, high-pressure powder keg. A thick, choking cloud of dust rose into the morning air as hundreds of luxurious carriages, pulled by massive horn-tipped mountain beasts and high-grade spiritual steeds, crammed into the narrow gravel road. The line stretched over three miles back toward the capital’s inner walls, blocking the main trade routes completely.
This warehouse was not an ordinary stone building; it was a sprawling, reinforced structure made of heavy black ironwood that Lin Wan had secured through Lanying’s ancient underground contacts.
The entire perimeter was wrapped in multiple layers of high grade defensive arrays that hummed with a faint, silver-blue light, preventing any external spiritual sens ofe from peering inside the cargo bays.
"Move your fat lizard mounts out of my way, Boar patriarch!" a sharp, incredibly arrogant female voice shrieked from the front of the line.
Princess Hu Mei of the Fox Clan stood upon the velvet-lined roof of her private carriage, her long silver-tipped tail swishing with pure, unadulterated fury.
She was wearing her finest crimson silk robes, her delicate fingers twitching around a heavy leather pouch filled to the absolute brim with shimmering, top-grade spiritual crystals.
Her beautiful face was twisted into a look of severe irritation.
"My grandmother’s hundredth birthday assembly is tomorrow noon! If I do not return to the palace with at least three jars of the mysterious master’s refined white sugar and five bars of that triple-milled lavender soap, I will personally ensure your clan’s grain imports are cut by half before sunset!"
"Do not try to threaten me with your family’s grain contracts, little fox!" Patriarch Xiong of the Bear Clan barked back, his massive seven-foot frame stepping out of a iron-reinforced carriage.
He slammed a heavy, hairy fist against his own chest, his deep voice vibrating through the gravel road like a minor earthquake.
"My elite warrior squad has been camping out in this dirty ditch since yesterday midnight! My core warriors are preparing for the deep mountain hunt, and they require the honeyed popcorn crystals to stabilize their spiritual oceans after their heavy bloodline cultivation! The Bear Clan will not take a single step backward today, even if the Fox King himself comes down to ask!"
Behind the heavy ironwood doors of the warehouse, the noise from the crowd outside sounded like a constant, rumbling storm.
Long Zhan stood behind a long, solid oak counter that served as the primary distribution point.
He had his massive arms crossed tightly over his chest, his large body packed into a tight pair of modern blue stretch-denim jeans and a fitted black shirt that stretched to its absolute limits across his wide torso.
His sharp violet eyes were fixed on the iron doors, a slow, highly amused grin cutting through his majestic features.
"Listen to them out there, Wanwan," Long Zhan whispered loudly, turning his head toward the back room where Lin Wan sat comfortably behind a small privacy screen.
"They are practically ready to start a full-scale territorial war over a few bars of herbal soap. I’m telling you, these capital nobles have completely lost their minds. If I open these doors right now without a solid plan, they will try to flood the floor like a pack of starving wolves."
