"Greetings, Steward Zhang!" Qu Qizhong said with a bow as he entered the courtyard and saw Zhang Deming sitting there.
Zhang Deming smiled. "It seems youâve been doing quite well for yourself these past few days."
"Thanks to you, Steward, Iâve managed to open the shop. All the goods you gave me have been sold."
"Here are the Spirit Stones from the sales. The four Spirit Nurturing Beads sold for a total of thirty-three Spirit Stones," Qu Qizhong said respectfully.
"An average price of about eight stones each, then?" Zhang Deming murmured as he accepted the Spirit Stones.
Qu Qizhong replied, "This is just the beginning. Once most people realize that the Tier One Spirit Nurturing Pearls we sell have a higher success rate than the ordinary ones on the market, the price should go up by a fair bit."
Zhang Deming nodded. "Youâve done a great job. I contacted you this time because, for one, I figured you might have run out of stock, so Iâve brought you more."
As he spoke, Zhang Deming took out a small pouch containing nineteen Spirit Nurturing Beads he had recently stayed up late to produce.
"And second, I need to lay out the procedure from now on. I canât meet with you in person like this every time."
"Especially once youâve made a name for yourself. Considering how rare Spirit Nurturing Masters are, plenty of people will start getting curious about your supplier."
"The Qu Family might not treat you well, but youâre still one of them, after all."
"You probably wonât be in any immediate danger, but there will be no shortage of people wanting to find out about the Spirit Nurturing Master backing you."
Zhang Deming paused before continuing, "Thatâs why we canât meet in person for pickups anymore."
"From now on, youâll receive a message, just like you did today. All you have to do is go and collect the goods."
"As for the Spirit Stones from the sales, deposit them directly into the Hongmeng Spirit Manor. Iâve already opened an anonymous account there."
"This is the deposit card for the account; it can only be used to put money in, not take it out."
Zhang Deming said, taking out another card.
Qu Qizhong listened quietly, only taking the card and the small pouch after Zhang Deming had finished. He glanced at the dozen-plus Spirit Nurturing Beads in the pouch and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he wouldnât run out of stock anytime soon.
"Understood."
Zhang Deming looked at him and said, "Donât worry about stock issues, but donât be too conspicuous. You can go ahead and sell off a batch in the next few days."
"After that, once things have stabilized, you can sell them at a maximum rate of two per day."
"If you exceed that rate, you might run out of stock."
"My supply schedule will roughly follow that rate as well, and Iâll deliver them in batches."
"The timing of these batches wonât be fixed; it might be once a week, or it might be once a month."
"It will depend on the schedules of our other members. After all, I canât just dispatch someone to make a special trip solely to deliver a handful of Spirit Nurturing Beads."
âWell, my cash flow is tight right now, so I have to come up with some excuse.â
âBesides, weâre supposed to be a top-tier organization. Having our members run errands for a few dozen Spirit Stones? That would totally ruin our image, wouldnât it?â
âSo, for the sake of the Allianceâs reputation, I need to master the art of pulling excuses out of thin air!â
âThis isnât just BS, this is... um... proactive strategic phrasing.â
âItâs entirely possible that future Alliance members wonât be running around for a few dozen Spirit Stones! Right?â
Hearing this, Qu Qizhong hesitated for a moment. "Steward Zhang, could you possibly provide a few more?"
Zhang Deming laughed. "Where do you think these Spirit Nurturing Beads come from? Theyâre a âperkâ provided to me for developing this new branch."
"Aside from this initial batch for getting things started, the sales quota of two per day canât be increased until youâve produced significant results."
"If it were up to me, Iâd have them allocate me a huge batch of Spirit Nurturing Beads directly. Thereâs a huge market for this stuff; do you think Iâm worried about not being able to sell it?"
"Besides, selling on such a large scale would exceed the production limit of a single Spirit Nurturing Master."
"Could you handle that kind of pressure?"
"When people come looking for answers, wouldnât that just become my problem?"
âMaking just two of them takes me at least five hours of intense work. Any more than that, and when the hell am I supposed to find time for my own Cultivation?â
âWhen would I get anything else done?â
Qu Qizhong gave an awkward laugh. "I was just... thinking about earning more Spirit Stones for you, Steward."
Zhang Deming waved his hand dismissively. "Thatâs enough. If thereâs nothing else, you may leave."
"In that case, Iâll head back to the shop. I wonât disturb you any longer, Steward Zhang." With that, Qu Qizhong stood up and left the courtyard.
Zhang Deming sat for a while longer before removing his disguise, securing the courtyard, and leaving.
He would never return to this place. Once the lease expired and the landlord rented it out to someone else, not a single traceable clue would remain.
After today, as long as he was careful, no oneâaside from a few major playersâwould be able to trace him through Qu Qizhong.
He wouldnât meet in person for any future pickups.
Zhang Deming weighed the bulging bag of Spirit Stones. âNow that I have money, why do I always get the urge to buy something?â
âIs there something wrong with me?â
Speaking of shopping, Zhang Demingâs thoughts drifted to that one-Spirit-Stone Tier Two Technique, the Summoning God Skill, which he hadnât been able to bring himself to buy before due to a lack of funds.
Tier Two Techniques usually cost thirty to fifty Spirit Stones, so he hadnât even considered buying one before.
Now, however, he could afford to buy it and see. It was only one Spirit Stone, after all.
Besides, since there were no more gods or Earth Spirits, it was impossible to even learn the basics of the skill.
âSo, what would happen if I... edited it?â
A jolt of excitement ran through Zhang Deming at the thought.
No sooner said than done. Zhang Deming set off at once, heading back to the Blue Sky Branch.
Greeted by the same smiling clerk, he extravagantly paid the "high price" of one Spirit Stone for the seemingly useless Secret Level Mid Grade, Tier Two Collection Technique.
After placing the technique in his bag, Zhang Deming left the shop.
Weighing the remaining Spirit Stones, he once again felt the urge to buy something. âI really must have a problem,â he mused.
But then he remembered he still owed Qin Shizhong sixteen Spirit Stones for goods, plus the two heâd borrowed from Zong En. It was best not to spend recklessly.
After paying his debts, heâd only have a little over ten Spirit Stones left.
Until his capital started to snowball, one careless spending spree could plunge him back into a deficit.
Looking at the two new specks of light that had appeared in his Spirit Nurturing Technique, Zhang Deming had originally planned to do some field investigation to expand his two-member Blue Sky Alliance.
Just then, the Identity Card in his pocket began to vibrate.
Zhang Deming pulled it out and saw it was a message from Feng Mingyou, asking to meet.
âHas he made his decision?â
After a moment of contemplation, he stopped dawdling and turned to head back to the Sect. The investigation could wait.
...
About an hour later, Zhang Deming was back at the Sect.
He went straight to Feng Mingyouâs courtyard on Little Qing Mountain. Upon entering, he saw Feng Mingyou sitting there, fiddling with a tea set.
"Steward Feng, your leisurely life is truly enviable," Zhang Deming said, sitting down at the stone table. "Itâs nothing like mine, running around all day without a momentâs rest."
Feng Mingyou glanced up at Zhang Deming. "I offered to trade places with you, but you refused. So spare me the sarcastic comments."
Zhang Deming shook his head. "Iâm genuinely envious."
Feng Mingyou began to brew tea, saying without looking up, "Qingyou Pool is dozens of times better than this place."
âHm, looks like heâs still wary. He must have done a background check on me before making his decision.â
âThen again, thatâs just his personality. It wouldnât be Feng Mingyou if he just made a snap decision.â
Zhang Deming gave a wry smile. "The conflict there is also dozens of times greater."
Feng Mingyouâs hands paused in the act of brewing tea. He spoke again. "If youâre tired of it all, you could just report your progress to the Sect. Mastering three Techniques in a matter of months..."
"I didnât notice last time, but I see now youâve already become an Advanced Apprentice."
"With a Talent like that, the Peak Master of Little Hui Peak would welcome you with open arms. Getting into the Inner Sect would be a simple matter of an application."
Zhang Deming smiled. "Iâd love to. If my Spirit Root were just a dozen points betterâenough to reach the genius threshold of fortyâI wouldnât need you to remind me, Steward. I wouldâve acted long ago."
"But with a score of twenty-one? If I reported my progress, how many of the old masters do you think would suspect Iâm hiding some other secret?"
Both men sensed a shift in the conversation. It was starting to feel like a showdown.
Feng Mingyouâs hands froze. He looked up at Zhang Deming and, after a long moment, sighed.
"It seems I have to take a gamble," he said. "Otherwise, Iâm afraid I might not be leaving this courtyard today."
Zhang Deming smiled. "I didnât realize you had such a sense of humor, Steward Feng. Just a month ago, I was still tilling the fields."
"If anyoneâs not getting out of here, itâd be me. One cup of poisoned tea is all it would take to finish me off."
"Besides, Steward, youâre the one who asked me here. Surely it wasnât just for tea..."