Xiao Ruyu raised his hands to clasp his fists, but he didn't want to accept his favor because of these thousands of mortals. He changed the subject and said respectfully:
"It's just that before I go out, the elders of the family specially told me that the closer the two families are, the more trivial things they have to keep apart, so that there won't be any resentment. I will keep this in mind and not dare to take advantage of the nobles."
When Li Tongya saw him acting so cleanly and in a measured manner, he felt a little high in his heart and said softly:
"What do you mean?"
"For each batch of mortals delivered to Lixia County, my Xiao family will subsidize it, giving one thousand mortals one spiritual stone."
The price given by Xiao Ruyu was considered kind. After all, the Qingchi Sect was a bad leader, and all the sects acted based on the eyes of the sect. They always took whatever they wanted from the mortals under their control without any supervision, and never regarded it as anything important.
Resources, some cultivators have special needs, so they will value them more, while others will look down upon them even less.
"Then let's settle it like this."
Li Tongya responded, then saw Xiao Ruyu nodded and spoke again:
"Junior, there is another thing to do when I come here. The Guli Road has been in disrepair for a long time and has disappeared in the mountains and forests. Wolves and tigers are rampant. As for the families on the road, they have cut off all contact. Only those who have practiced Qi can travel in the county. It is really inconvenient."
"We, the Xiao family, want to rebuild the Guli Road and set up post stations at the front and rear of each house. We, the Xiao family, will fill the gaps so that many monks and mortal merchants can travel to and from the county... Let all the families on the Guli Road come together
Benefit.”
"oh?"
Li Tongya didn't expect that the Xiao family would do such a thankless thing. He paused slightly and said softly:
"It will be of great benefit to my Li family to have the Xiao family take the lead in doing this. Of course, there is no reason to disagree... But please forgive me, this matter is thankless, so why should the nobles suffer?"
Li Tongya was not of a nosy nature, but the two families had been on good terms for many years, and both Xiao Yuansi and Xiao Chuting were kind to the Li family, so they offered words of advice.
"Thank you for your concern, senior."
Xiao Ruyu met many families along the way in Guli Road, and every family agreed happily. It is estimated that many people were secretly sarcastic in their hearts. Only Li Tongya said a word of comfort, shook his head slightly, and explained:
"The Xiao family's alchemy and weapon refining lines cooperate with many families and support 30% of the monks in the entire Lixia County. It is an important business that supports the Xiao family's expenses. If the source of herbal medicine and spiritual minerals is cut off, my family will naturally
It’s because I feel so uncomfortable that my family has fallen in love with the spiritual object of Gu Lidao... It’s inconvenient for Ruyu to reveal any unnecessary words, so please forgive me, senior.”
After Li Tongya heard this, and combined with Xiao Chuting to quietly become the Zifu, he was secretly shocked, made some guesses, and said in a deep voice:
"There's no need to say it's inconvenient."
Xiao Ruyu nodded slightly, discussed the location of the inn, decided on all the arrangements, and then said goodbye.
Li Xuanling sent him out of the hospital and watched him ride the wind eastward. Then he returned to the yard and saw Li Tongya sitting silently holding his tea bowl. He stayed silent for a while and asked:
"Father, the Xiao family has connections with families in Mushroom Plains and Linghai County. They have been doing business for many years. Is this because they are afraid that someone will cut off the flow of goods in the east? Who has such great energy to make all families
Don’t you dare to interact with the Xiao family?”
Li Tongya put down his tea bowl, shook his head, and replied:
"I'm afraid the Xiao family will break away from the Qingchi Sect and become independent."
"What?!"
Li Xuanling was stunned and said in a harsh voice:
"This...Qingchi Sect now has three early-stage Zifu, one middle-stage Zifu, and even Chi Wei, who is at the peak of Zifu...he...how dare they?"
"The Xiao family is waiting for Lieutenant Chi to die."
Li Tongya combed it for a moment, and he was 70% to 80% sure. He squinted his eyes and said softly:
"When Xiao Chuting became the Zifu, he was already qualified to stand on the stage. Didn't the ancestor of the Chen family stand on his own immediately after leaving the Zifu? It's just that among the Qingchi Sect, only Chi Wei was able to kill Xiao Chuting.
With the strength on the spot, as soon as Chi Wei died, the Xiao family would naturally break away from the Qingchi Sect and occupy this badly beaten Lixia County, with its back to the Mushroom Plains and Wangyue Lake, and the Qingchi Sect might even have to offer a congratulatory gift."
"Zi Mansion..."
Li Xuanling muttered something, sighed deeply, and replied:
"The various families, the three sects and the seven sects are just tools in the hands of the Zifus..."
"It's just that once we break away from the Qingchi Sect, there are no families in the counties who dare to go abroad to do business with the Xiao family. The Xiao family will naturally look for new production areas and dumping targets, so they want to go west, repair the Guli Road, and set the goal of not having big problems.
In the county town, the families of Mushroom Forest and Wangyue Lake are scattered all over the place."
After Li Tongya finished speaking, the confirmation in his heart became more confident, and he thought to himself:
"It's just how our Li family can protect themselves and gain profits in such a great turmoil... diverting the trouble to the east and changing the current situation in Wangyue Lake where the Yu family is the dominant family."
————
Li Yuanjiao stood in the courtyard holding a sword. In front of him stood a girl with tied hair, a pair of almond-shaped eyes staring straight at the sword in his hand. The two of them faced off in the courtyard for a while. Li Yuanjiao saw that she was light on her feet, so she probably walked away.
It was a clever and repetitive move, with a flick of the wooden sword used for practice in his hand, and he walked close to her face.
The girl picked and swiped the cork gun in her hand, stepped back a few steps, held Li Yuanjiao's wooden sword with her left hand, raised her eyebrows and said with a smile:
"Brother Jiao, you are so cunning."
"snort."
Li Yuanjiao snorted lightly, sheathed his sword and retreated, and replied:
"You are not cunning, but Qing Hong, your shooting skills are quite solid and you can block a few of my moves."
Li Qinghong smiled and realized that he was actually at a disadvantage earlier, so he had to say aggrievedly:
"I have a legacy of swordsmanship in my family, so it is easy to learn it. I have hired the best spearman in the mountain to learn my marksmanship, but it is also very difficult to learn..."
"If you have a swordsmanship inheritance in your family, you can practice it. How can you practice any kind of spear? Spears are easy to learn but difficult to master. If there is no one to teach you, you may not be able to get started in your life."
Li Yuanjiao curled his lips, Li Qinghong put the spear on the ground and said in a childish voice:
"That swordsmanship gave me a headache, so my father brought out many weapons for me to choose from. They said that one inch is longer and one inch is stronger, so I took a gun. Who knew my father was very happy and asked me to practice hard, so I had to
Practice like this."
Seeing that it was Li Xuanling's decision, Li Yuanjiao had no choice but to give up the idea of asking her to practice swordsmanship instead. He hung the wooden sword on the wall and straightened his robe. Li Qinghong also leaned the spear against the corner and put down her tied hair.
Her face was slightly red from the strenuous exercise, giving her a bit of a pretty girl look.
The courtyard door rang twice, and a respectful voice came:
"Sir, Madam calls you over!"
"knew."
Li Yuanjiao responded and saw an old servant standing outside the courtyard with his head lowered. He had always served his mother and whispered:
"What happened?"
"Reporting to the young master, more and more people are coming from Dongshan, saying that... Mu Jiao Man... died of serious injuries and left the night before."
Li Yuanjiao's eyes lit up. He had never felt anything about the death of his uncle, whom he had never met before. Instead, he was greatly moved. When he saw Li Qinghong beside him, he laughed out loud and turned around to ask:
"How?"
Although Li Qinghong didn't know the details, she had a vague innate intuition or a keen sense of the situation that reminded her. Li Qinghong pursed her lips and said with a smile:
"No, it's a good thing anyway!"
"hey-hey."
Li Yuanjiao quickly walked out of the yard, ran outside happily, and said with a smile:
"The nine towns and twenty-six tribes in Dongshanyue will soon be my family's property!"