TRWSB – Chapter 201 Huge Deal

Inside a secret room in the Forest Night shop.

“Your Highness, why did you sell so much Life Essence to Qi Heng?” a blue-clad elf asked.

Daiya squinted her eyes and smiled faintly. “Isn’t he a good customer? He has the financial means, but he doesn’t covet the source of our Life Essence.”

“That’s true. Qi Heng pays promptly. It seems our earlier information was accurate—before coming to Jin, Qi Shaorong emptied out all the funds from the Qicheng Cosmetics store and gave them to Qi Heng,” the blue-clad elf said.

Daiya nodded. “Luckily, the Jiang family has Jiang Dongming, a clever man. If the Jiang family had insisted on saving face and kept struggling, they might have been wiped out in Jin before long.”

Qi Heng had so much money in his hands—he could do countless things with it. With enough money, he could crush the Jiang family into ruin.

“Young Master Zuo seems to have a good relationship with Qi Heng. Bi Liuyun, under Qi Shaorong, is engaged to a young master from the Sea Tribe. If Qi Heng gets engaged to Zuo Yunfei, it’ll be even harder for others to move against Qi Shaorong,” the blue-clad elf said cautiously.

“We have no grievances with Qi Shaorong. No matter how strong he is or how extensive his connections are, we have nothing to fear,” Daiya said indifferently.

“Your Highness, do you intend to develop a long-term business relationship with Qi Shaorong?” the elf asked.

Daiya nodded. “Yes, indeed.”

The elves had always lived in seclusion, avoiding the world. But with humanity developing rapidly and forest resources dwindling, many elves were being captured and sold as female slaves.

If this continued, the elves’ situation would only get worse. To change it, money was essential. With enough money, they could buy weapons. Similarly, with enough money, they could buy back the tribespeople who had been sold.

“By the way, assign Daiqi to Qi Heng’s side.”

The blue-clad elf frowned. “Princess, Daiqi is one of the few Silver-Winged Hunters among us and has the potential to become a Golden Hunter. Is it really wise to send her out like this?”

Daiya squinted and said, “To accomplish great things, sacrifices must be made. Not only did I sell a large amount of Life Essence to Qi Heng, I also signed an agreement with him to supply raw materials for the Qicheng Cosmetics store. We need eyes on his side to know what’s really going on.”

Yuan Kingdom.

Qi Shaorong looked at the documents in his hand and couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you reading?”

“News from Qi Heng,” Qi Shaorong replied.

“What did he say?”

“He said he spent 120 million to buy fifteen vials of undiluted Life Essence from an elf-run shop,” Qi Shaorong said.

Zhuang Hao gave a dry chuckle. “Only the elven royal family has access to Life Essence. Could Qi Heng have been scammed?”

Qi Shaorong shook his head. “No. Zuo Yunfei was with him. If Ah Heng had been tricked, Zuo Yunfei wouldn’t have stayed silent.”

Zhuang Hao smiled. “That’s true.”

“Now Zuo Yunfei should realize…”

Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong. “Realize what?”

Qi Shaorong smiled. “That my people aren’t so easy to marry. Without a solid fortune, they shouldn’t even dream about it. Even if they managed to marry one, they wouldn’t be able to afford it.”

Zhuang Hao: “…”
If Qi Shaorong’s people were difficult to support, then Qi Shaorong himself was even more so.

Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao’s expression and asked, “What’s wrong? You look pale.”

Zhuang Hao shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Ah Heng seems to have signed a preliminary agreement with the elves to procure cosmetic ingredients,” Qi Shaorong said.

“Really? The elves have always kept to themselves—self-sufficient and highly xenophobic. I didn’t expect Qi Heng to be able to get in touch with them,” Zhuang Hao said.

Qi Shaorong nodded. “Yes! Ah Heng is really capable. Just thinking about marrying off someone so competent makes my heart ache! If only we could keep it in the family, like Mu Tingxuan did—no benefits going to outsiders.”

Zhuang Hao: “…”

Jiang residence.

Jiang Sizhong looked at Jiang Xingdong and Jiang Yuan, who had been sent back, his face dark and grim.

“The Patriarch was too ruthless,” Jiang Sizhong said through gritted teeth.

Jiang Sizhong had always valued the direct descendants. When Qi Heng’s father died, Jiang Sizhong had treated it as just the loss of a pawn—he sighed and moved on. But now that Jiang Xingdong and Jiang Yuan had been crippled by Jiang Dongming, he felt as if a knife had pierced his heart.

“Elder Zhong, Qi Heng is coming on strong. If the Patriarch doesn’t make a decision soon, the Jiang family might follow in the footsteps of the Mu family. The Patriarch went to great lengths to protect you.”

Jiang Sizhong’s face flushed red. “Absurd! He’s just a discarded son who was kicked out of the family. For the Patriarch, a man of great talent, to fear him to this extent—how laughable.”

“Elder Zhong, what’s done is done. Please try to take it in stride.”

Jiang Sizhong frowned. “That unfilial brat—his father died but left behind a disloyal son, who dares to harm his own uncle and cousin. Why didn’t he die back then? He should’ve gone to hell and reunited with his short-lived father.”

The few guards of the Jiang family saw that Jiang Sizhong was emotionally agitated and didn’t know what to say.

Jiang Yuan stared wide-eyed at Jiang Sizhong, hissing from his throat.

Jiang Sizhong looked at his grandson, whose tongue had been cut out, and felt a sharp pang in his heart.

Jiang Yuan couldn’t speak, but his mouth kept opening and closing.

Jiang Sizhong held Jiang Yuan in his arms and comforted him, “Ah Yuan, Grandpa knows what you want to say. Don’t worry, Grandpa will definitely stand up for you.”

…

“Qi Heng hasn’t continued making moves against our Jiang family. He contacted those business guild managers today but didn’t say much. Everyone has already withdrawn,” Jiang Quan said.

“That’s good,” Jiang Dongming replied.

“Patriarch, to be honest, Qi Heng is just a bodyguard at Qi Shaorong’s side. Qi Shaorong didn’t even come himself. Aren’t we overestimating him and giving him too much face? Several elders in the family are saying that lowering ourselves to a junior like this damages the Jiang family’s dignity.”

Jiang Dongming squinted and said, “Dignity can’t be eaten as food. What does it matter?”

“I’ve found out that before Qi Heng came to the Jin Kingdom, Qi Shaorong emptied the accounts of the Allure Cosmetics store and transferred all the funds to Qi Heng’s account. At least over a hundred million. That kind of money is enough to rival a small country’s wealth.”

“Qi Shaorong is so generous to Qi Heng, which shows how highly he values him.”

“Qi Heng has Zuo Yunfei backing him and a lot of money in hand. Going against him brings nothing but harm to the Jiang family. Using Jiang Xingdong and Jiang Yuan to appease him is nothing in comparison. Besides, they were the ones who caused the mess to begin with—why should the whole family suffer for them?”

“The patriarch is wise. But did Qi Shaorong really give Qi Heng that much money?”

“I’ve already verified it. That money is indeed in Qi Heng’s hands,” Jiang Dongming said.

“What on earth is Qi Shaorong thinking? Why is he so good to someone who isn’t even related to him?” Jiang Quan asked in confusion.

“Who knows? That guy Qi Shaorong is extremely protective of his own. Anyone who can become his trusted follower must have accumulated great virtue in a past life,” Jiang Dongming said.

Jiang Quan looked at Jiang Dongming and said, “Patriarch, Elder Zhong seems to have a big issue with your decision. He’s complaining that you’ve been unfair.”

Jiang Dongming snapped, “If it weren’t for that family of fools, why would I need to go plead with that junior Qi Heng? And now he has the nerve to cause a fuss? Let him make a fuss! I was considerate of his age and kept him out of this. If he doesn’t know his place, don’t blame me for putting righteousness above family ties.”

Although Qi Heng had already ceased his actions, the damage he had inflicted earlier had left a mark on the Jiang family. Jiang Dongming still held deep resentment toward Jiang Sizhong.

+++++

Zuo Family.

Zuo Yunfei looked at Daiqi, his face full of displeasure.

The elven beauty calmly scanned the surroundings, standing by Qi Heng’s side like a javelin. Though she was cold and distant, the aura she exuded was irresistible.

“You can leave now,” Zuo Yunfei said.

Daiqi glanced at Qi Heng but ignored Zuo Yunfei’s words.

Qi Heng looked at Daiqi and said, “Do as he says.”

Daiqi frowned and said, “My cousin told me to protect you.”

“When under another’s roof, one must bow their head. I have to listen to him right now, so you should too,” Qi Heng said.

Daiqi nodded and left.

“That woman Daiya, why would she send you a beautiful woman!” Zuo Yunfei said, clearly unhappy.

Qi Heng shrugged. “How would you know?”

Zuo Yunfei frowned at Qi Heng and asked, “What are you smirking about?”

Qi Heng lifted his head and looked at Zuo Yunfei with amusement. “Such jealousy! Young Master Zuo, with your grand reputation, you’re so petty. If you ever die from jealousy, it would go down in history as the first case of a ninth-level expert dying of envy.”

Zuo Yunfei glared at Qi Heng and said irritably, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

Qi Heng chuckled and didn’t say more.

Zuo Yunfei gave Qi Heng a light kick and said, “You once said, although no one has ever liked you, you believe that liking someone shouldn’t look like how I act.”

Qi Heng looked at Zuo Yunfei and said, “You really remember my words clearly.”

“You’ve never been liked—I get that. You’re so venomous and ruthless, it’s no wonder. But what did you mean by saying liking someone shouldn’t look like me?” Zuo Yunfei asked.

“The people I know—Zhuang Hao, Yi Fan, and Hailing—all act gentle, harmless, and cultured in front of the ones they like. Not like you—mean, domineering, and unreasonable…” Qi Heng said grumpily.

Zuo Yunfei frowned. “So you like people like Zhuang Hao, Yi Fan, and Hailing?”

“Of course. All three are gentle and considerate—real gems of the human world! It’s a pity…”

“A pity they don’t like you,” Zuo Yunfei said.

Qi Heng shook his head. “There you go again. At least they wouldn’t treat me like you do.”

Zuo Yunfei: “…”