Chapter 194: Chapter 168: Ling Xiao’s Conception
"Oh, well."
Li Wutong let out a long sigh. "After something like this, I’m no longer in the mood to celebrate. We’ll have a drink together next time we have the chance, my young friend. Tianluo, see Lord Ling Xiao out for me. I’m a bit tired."
Li Tianluo nodded silently.
"Let’s go, Ye Zi," Ling Xiao said softly, holding Ye Wen Ni’s small hand, which was gradually regaining some of its warmth.
Outside the city, the sun was setting.
The magnificent city stood behind them, shrouded in twilight.
Eight enormous Turtle Shell Beasts, pulling four magic crystal cannons, were ready to depart at a moment’s notice.
Ling Xiao and Li Tianluo stood together, silent for a long time.
Li Tianluo broke the silence. A hint of melancholy crossed his handsome face as he asked softly, "Brother Ling, if one day we find ourselves on opposing sides, can we still be friends?"
Ling Xiao was silent for a moment before looking Li Tianluo straight in the eye. "Your father is your father. You are you."
Li Tianluo smiled with a mix of resignation and understanding. "In that case... I wish you a safe journey, Brother Ling!"
The Turtle Shell Beasts were slow but had incredible stamina, pulling the considerably heavy magic crystal cannons without any apparent strain. Uncle Fu, who had been inspecting the cannons for some time, turned to Ling Xiao and said, "The Southern King is certainly a man of his word, and a bold one at that. These magic crystal cannons are all in perfect working order!"
Ling Xiao chuckled. "The one thing he didn’t account for was us finding out that man’s identity as a member of the Sword Sect."
"He also didn’t account for you, Young Master, being able to use your Spiritual Power to force him to kill his own subordinate!" Uncle Fu snorted. "Many people saw what happened. The Southern King’s prestige may be high, but an act like executing one of his own men is bound to disappoint many people."
"Indeed. But that’s his own problem. To think he’d try to use Ye Zi to get to me?" A scornful look appeared on Ling Xiao’s face. "He’s playing with fire." As he spoke, he glanced at Ye Zi with concern.
Ye Zi was sitting alone on one of the carts pulled by a Turtle Shell Beast, gazing up blankly at the stars. She hadn’t entered the luxurious carriage either, choosing instead to stay on the cart, feeling the cool night breeze and watching the heavens.
Stargazing had been Ye Zi’s favorite thing to do as a child because Sister Xiangcao had told her that everyone has their own star in the sky. So, Ye Zi had always searched for the stars that belonged to her mom and dad. Although she no longer believed the story as a grown-up, her habit of watching the stars had remained.
’That man is finally dead! The weight that has been on my heart for so many years is gone, yet I feel a sense of loss, as if my life’s purpose has suddenly vanished, leaving me with no motivation at all.’
’Thankfully, I have a cheerful disposition and can adjust quickly. I know there are still so many children in Wutang Town. I’ve been away for so long, maybe more have joined them! Xu Daoxuan is dead, but his master, the Southern King, surely won’t give up on controlling those children.’
’So, I have to go get those children before his people arrive.’
"Ling Xiao... I have something to tell you."
The sadness vanished from Ye Zi’s face, replaced by a look of determination as she spoke to Ling Xiao.
...
By noon the next day, news of the Lord returning to Penzes City with four magic crystal cannons had spread to every corner of the city in an instant!
Everyone was cheering and celebrating!
They seemed even happier than they had been during the Blast Flame Lion King Carnival!
Ever since the new Lord arrived in Penzes City, he had first granted the commoners, who had never owned land, the right to use the fertile fields!
Then, he had cut out the two malignant tumors of Penzes City—smuggling and slave trading, known as the root of all evil—and dealt a heavy blow to the three arrogant noble families!
What inspired the most admiration was how, on the night of the Blast Flame Lion King Carnival, faced with bandits who outnumbered them two to one, the Lord’s soldiers had fought heroically.
And the Lord himself... had even more heroically repelled a master of the Sword Sect level!
In Penzes City, Ling Xiao’s name was beginning to be deified!
Almost everyone spoke of the Lord with an expression of solemn respect, proud and honored to be his subjects!
Huangpu Yue smiled at Ling Xiao, who sat across from her. "I never thought that you, Viscount Lingxiao, would actually accomplish something that Counts, Marquises, and Dukes—that the entire nobility—could not! The will of the people, indeed!"
The moment Ling Xiao returned to his manor, he immediately sent for Huangpu Yue, wanting her to calculate how much capital would be needed to expand Penzes City.
Ling Xiao had been genuinely spurred on by the sight of the Southern King Li Wutong’s base. With countless Strong Crossbowmen positioned on its walls, a fortress like that would be a place that even a Low-level Demon Sword Master like Uncle Fu would not dare to breach lightly.
As for any Martial Artist below the rank of Demon Sword Master, it would be an absolute slaughter.
When Huangpu Yue met with him, she first teased Ling Xiao. However, one could tell from her words that although Miss Huangpu’s tone was slightly mocking, she was actually praising him.
"I’d like to ask you a question, Miss Huangpu," Ling Xiao said with a humble smile.
"What? You want to build that kind of city? Heavens!" Huangpu Yue exclaimed, staring at Ling Xiao as if to see whether he had a fever. After a long moment, she shook her head and said, "Do you have any idea that there’s only one city like that in the entire Lanyue Empire? Not even... not even the Imperial Capital is that impregnable! The only ones with that kind of financial power and authority are the Royal Family! An ordinary person... even if they could afford to build it, they would probably fall under suspicion, wouldn’t they? Why build a city like that? Are you planning a rebellion?"
Huangpu Yue covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled. "Fifty-meter-thick stone walls that are also fifty meters high... Setting everything else aside, let’s just talk about circling the current Penzes City... Hmm, twenty li on one side, so eighty li for all four sides! Heavens, I don’t even know if you could find that much stone! What’s more, you just said the Southern King’s walls were only thirty meters thick, yet you want to build yours fifty meters thick. Let me calculate... for the stone alone, that would be over a hundred million cubic meters. If one cubic meter of stone costs even ten Silver Coins, that’s still tens of millions of Gold Coins! Ling Xiao... tell me yourself, are you insane? Tens of millions of Gold Coins, and that’s just for the raw materials for the walls! It doesn’t even count labor costs, let alone things like transportation... In short, if you really want to build the city you described, it would be absolutely impossible without at least one hundred million Gold Coins!"
’A hundred million Gold Coins?’ Ling Xiao chuckled to himself. ’If you knew I was planning to establish my own sect... I imagine you’d be even more astonished!’
"In any case, thank you, Miss Huangpu. In the future, if I am fortunate enough to raise the funds, I hope you won’t turn me down. When the time comes, I’ll need your help to build Penzes City into something even more wonderful!"
"Of course... I will! It would be my honor to personally participate in such an unprecedented project!" Huangpu Yue said with a smile.
’A hundred million Gold Coins...’ Ye Zi thought to herself, looking at Ling Xiao’s slightly excited face. She didn’t have the heart to discourage him. ’My dear Lord, it’s not like our family can mint Gold Coins! Forget a hundred million... we don’t even have tens of millions right now!’
’Even though we got a lot from those three noble families, the shortfall is still enormous!’
"So, Ye Zi, let’s make a trip north first," Ling Xiao said. "We’ll bring all those children here. As for the money..."
Ling Xiao looked at Ye Wen Ni with a serious expression and said, "I have a grand design in mind!"
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