Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 495: Chapter 269: Mediation

Hearing what Li Xuejin and Li Lu said, everyone’s hearts sank.

’They only just made the trade, and someone is already trying to rob them so soon?’

Plenty of people knew about the Wilderness Rice, but an incident like this had never occurred before. For it to happen so soon after the trade, everyone felt it was impossible that there wasn’t something shady going on.

"Has the Da Yi Commerce Association said anything?" Li Yihuo asked, looking toward Zhang Zeyu and Cheng Zongwen.

The two of them were Cheng Zongyang’s assistants and currently worked at the Commerce Association. And since Cheng Zongyang was a Steward there, Chen Kaishan couldn’t possibly turn a blind eye if they reported it.

Besides, the Da Yi Commerce Association also placed great value on the Wilderness Rice. Weren’t they worried about jeopardizing future trades?

Zhang Zeyu shook his head. "Steward Chen says the Da Yi Commerce Association never interferes in private disputes between other parties. That’s the rule. The only exception is if they make a move against one of our Stewards."

"But Steward Chen did offer a suggestion: we can hire help from the Commerce Association. As long as we pay enough money, we can get any Martial Arts expert to assist us! They would be dispatched from the Prefecture City."

"It would take at least half a month to get here from the Prefecture City."

"Then what should we do?"

"..."

Everyone began to discuss the matter again.

"Zongwen," Li Xuejin said, looking at Cheng Zongwen in praise. "Your reaction just now was quick and perfectly timed. Thanks to you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up the bluff."

As Li Xuejin spoke, the crowd once again fell silent.

Everyone looked at the two of them, confused. Li Xuejin then explained,

"That bit about assistance just now was a lie. There’s only the option to hire. I said that purely to intimidate the other party and stall for a few days. Fortunately, Zongwen reacted instantly and understood my meaning. Against a Fourth Grade Martial Artist, the Geomagnetic Stone is useless. This will require a true, head-on confrontation!"

Li Lu asked, "So, are we going to hire someone after all?"

Li Xuejin didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to Zhou Zhendong. "Can we contact the Boss?"

Zhou Zhendong shook his head slightly. "The Elf Bird has already been sent out, but it hasn’t returned yet. That means he’s still very far away, and we don’t know the situation. However, he left something behind before he departed. He said if we run into a problem we can’t solve, we can take that item to Chen Kaishan. He should be willing to help us once he sees it."

"What is it?" Li Xuejin’s eyes lit up.

Zhou Zhendong shook his head. "I don’t know. I haven’t seen it, and I’m not allowed to look."

Hearing this, the crowd was slightly disappointed, but they understood. Cheng Zongyang’s authority was absolute. No one present dared to defy him!

At this, Li Xuejin fell into deep thought.

But the others once again broke out in discussion.

Zhao the Seventh suggested they continue gathering intelligence to identify the mastermind.

Li Xian suggested asking the Li Courtyard to mediate. As the Cheng Family now represented a Middle Third Grade Family, they had the right to request that the Royal Li Family step in.

But Chen Eryun disagreed, feeling that Li Mingxin himself could be the mastermind. After all, the Wilderness Rice was incredibly important; it had the potential to completely change the entire landscape of agriculture. It would be no surprise if Li Mingxin was tempted.

Seeing everyone talking over one another without reaching a conclusion, Lu Wushuang, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up.

"What if I infiltrate their group, using the Lu Family’s revenge as a pretext?"

"There’s no need for that," Li Xuejin spoke up again. "Since they’ve made a move against us, we will get the intelligence we need. It’s just that this pawn they’ve pushed forward isn’t very strong, nor is he particularly bright."

The moment he spoke, the clamorous discussion died down.

"The Boss is in Luoyang for two to three months. Even if we send a message, he can’t return immediately. My bluff just now had some effect, but it was only to fool the other party and buy us some time while they’re not thinking clearly. If we provoke the mastermind behind them, even the five or six hundred Lower Three Grades Martial Artists of the Celestial Break Gang will be useless."

"Then we either hire someone, or we use the backup plan the Boss left for us," Li Lu said.

"We don’t need to," Li Xuejin said, gently waving his folding fan. "Since the Boss said that was a last resort, it means that whatever he paid for it, or its inherent value, is not small. First, let’s go to Li Mingxin. We’ll have him mediate and buy us one or two months’ time!"

Everyone was taken aback.

Li Xian asked, "Why one or two months? Can’t we ask for more?"

Li Xuejin looked at him. "One or two months is enough time for the Boss to receive our letter and get back. Once he returns, the matter will largely be resolved. For one, there’s the Boss’s own strength. For another, if he personally deals with the Da Yi Commerce Association, it will be far more effective than if we do it ourselves."

At this, only Zhou Zhendong and Cheng Zongwen exchanged a look, their expressions turning grave.

The others didn’t know, but the two of them were the only ones who knew the truth: Cheng Zongyang had gone to sea in search of immortals.

As for the Elf Bird, Zhou Zhendong hadn’t actually released it, because he knew it would be useless. His earlier statement had just been a cover-up; after all, it was unthinkable that they wouldn’t even try to send a letter when trouble like this arose.

"Second Boss," Li Xuejin said, looking at Zhou Zhendong and pulling him from his jumbled thoughts.

"What is it?" Zhou Zhendong asked.

"Tonight, I will go with you to meet Li Mingxin. As long as we can get him to buy us one or two months’ time, it will be enough to change the situation. However, we must also pursue a two-pronged approach and prepare to hire a Fourth Grade expert for assistance. The cost for an Innate Expert is too high, and it’s not necessary at this point. Furthermore, anyone stronger than Fourth Grade belongs to the Upper Three Grades, and I fear that would attract an investigation from the Li Courtyard. The third contingency is the item the Boss left behind. We will proceed in that order."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhendong and Cheng Zongwen didn’t know whether they should tell everyone that Cheng Zongyang had gone to sea, fearing the group would make the wrong decisions based on a false hope.