Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Departing for Medicine King Valley, Shi Potian Officially Reports for Duty

"Your humble servant greets you, Young Master!"

Shi Potian hurried inside and knelt.

"Rise," Pei Shaoqing said calmly.

"Thank you, Young Master." Shi Potian rose, keeping his head bowed. "We moved into Phoenix Village this morning. What are your instructions, Young Master?"

"Now that you’ve just moved in, you ought to greet the local neighbors." Pei Shaoqing smiled, his tone serene. "Starting tomorrow, you can rob every merchant caravan that leaves the city. Try not to kill anyone, though. Keep robbing them until I order you to stop. If you happen to run into a man named Zhao Shiren, kill him on the spot."

"Yes, sir!" Shi Potian answered respectfully.

Pei Shaoqing pointed to a chair. "Sit."

"Thank you for the seat, Young Master." Shi Potian sat down.

Pei Shaoqing leisurely took a sip from his teacup. After setting it down, he said nonchalantly, "I also want you to gradually consolidate all the bandits in the mountains of Shu State and become the one leader they all respect."

’Little Shi, go and become the Bandit King!’

"Young Master, this is no easy task. I’m afraid I will disappoint you," Shi Potian replied cautiously.

Pei Shaoqing replied understandingly, "I will give you time. And I believe you won’t disappoint me."

"I will do my utmost!" Shi Potian still didn’t guarantee that he could accomplish the task.

After sending Shi Potian away, Pei Shaoqing thought for a moment, then ordered his men to summon Li Kui and Li Jun to his residence.

He had a servant show Li Kui to a side hall to wait.

He met with Li Jun in the study first.

"Li Xiaoqi, this official went to Tongzhou yesterday and heard from the Households Commander that there was a vacancy for a Xiaoqi at the Thousand Households. I asked the Households Commander to transfer you there. The corresponding documents should arrive soon," Pei Shaoqing said unhurriedly.

Li Jun looked up in astonishment, then hurriedly knelt and kowtowed. "This humble one thanks you for the promotion, my Lord!"

"Rise. As long as you don’t resent me for transferring you away from your hometown without consulting you, it’s fine." Pei Shaoqing had expected this reaction and spoke with feigned gravity.

Li Jun rose, his face flushed with excitement. "A true man’s ambition lies everywhere! My Lord intends to cultivate me; how could I possibly bear a grudge? I can never repay my Lord’s kindness. This humble one will repay you with my life."

"Once you’re at the Thousand Households, do your job well. Don’t bring shame on my name," Pei Shaoqing instructed, his expression turning stern.

Li Jun swore resolutely, "This humble one will certainly not bring shame upon you, my Lord. I will only bring you honor."

"Good. Remember your words. This official also hopes you have a bright future at the Thousand Households." Pei Shaoqing nodded, then waved his hand. "You may go."

"Your subordinate takes his leave!" Li Jun backed out of the room.

Only then did Pei Shaoqing go to the side hall to see Li Kui.

Li Kui was drinking tea. Hearing footsteps, he immediately put down his cup and stood up. When he saw Pei Shaoqing enter, he promptly knelt and kowtowed. "Your subordinate greets you, my Lord."

"I summoned you to tell you something. The documents for your promotion to Xiaoqi will arrive soon." Pei Shaoqing strode past him without a second glance, not turning his head as he spoke, and went to sit in the main seat at the head of the room.

Li Kui’s head snapped up, his body trembling with uncontrollable joy. Although he didn’t think Pei Shaoqing would go back on his word, the waiting had been agonizing.

’It’s finally settled.’

’I’m going to be a Xiaoqi!’

He immediately slammed his forehead against the floor with a resounding THUD.

"Your subordinate thanks you for the promotion, my Lord!"

’I’ve made up my mind. From now on, I must find ways to make those Profound Sect rebels cough up more silver to buy me higher positions.’

Pei Shaoqing chuckled. "You deserve it. Now hurry and report the good news to the Profound Sect rebels."

"Yes! Your subordinate will go at once." Li Kui, still on the floor, shuffled backward on his knees until he reached the doorway. Only then did he stand up, bow once more, and turn to leave.

Pei Shaoqing smiled faintly. ’After being promoted to Xiaoqi, this Li Kui has become even more respectful and mindful of etiquette.’

Li Kui rushed to the Junlai Inn and informed Shopkeeper Ma of his successful promotion to Xiaoqi, implicitly expressing his desire to join the Profound Yellow Sect.

After speaking with Li Kui, Shopkeeper Ma immediately went to tell County Magistrate Wang the good news.

County Magistrate Wang was all smiles upon hearing the news, exclaiming, "Excellent, excellent! This Pei Shaoqing really is a man of his word who gets things done for money. As his rank gets higher and higher, as long as we have enough silver, it might even be possible to get Li Kui promoted to Hundred Households Commander or Households Commander in the future!"

’Brother Pei, oh, Brother Pei, you can’t blame me for this.’

’Blame your own greed for selling offices and titles. You would never dream that the person you promoted after taking the money is actually a spy planted by my Holy Sect, would you?’

"Squad Leader, from what I gathered, it seems Li Kui wants to join our Holy Sect. However, I believe he’s only thinking this way because he sees the Holy Sect can help him get promoted," Shopkeeper Ma said in a low voice.

County Magistrate Wang said dismissively, "He wants something from the Holy Sect, and the Holy Sect wants something from him. That’s perfectly normal. As long as he genuinely contributes to our Holy Sect after becoming a member, that’s enough."

After speaking, he paced back and forth, pondering for a moment before saying, "Since he’s shown interest, find an opportunity to tell him directly: if he wants the Holy Sect to spend money to help him climb higher, he must first join the Holy Sect."

"Yes," Shopkeeper Ma replied with his head bowed.

...

「Two days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Early morning, at the Tongzhou Jing’an Guard Hundred Households.

Pei Shaoqing had deliberately worn his Jing’an Guard uniform today. All black, it made him look cold, severe, and sharp.

He stood on the steps, looking down on his subordinates who were assembled and ready below. With one hand on his sword hilt and a grim expression, he declared loudly, "The other day, this official promised that we would not let the matter of Medicine King Valley injuring you rest! I am a man of my word. Today, you will follow this official to march on Medicine King Valley and demand an explanation!"

"SIR, YES SIR!" the Jing’an Guards roared in unison, their voices thundering like an earthquake and shaking the very heavens.

Pei Shaoqing gave the order, "March to Yazhou!"

A quarter of an hour later, Pei Shaoqing and several dozen of his subordinates galloped out of the city, heading straight for Yazhou. Zhao Zilan and Liu Yuheng accompanied him, while Ye Hanshuang stayed behind to protect Xie Qingwu.

At the same time, after receiving Lu Dingchuan’s orders, the Jing’an Guard Hundred Households in every county of Shu State dispatched the majority of their forces to advance on Yazhou from different directions.

Tongzhou was about six hundred li from Yazhou. Thanks to General Hei’s divine speed, Pei Shaoqing could make the journey in less than a day. He told Wang Peng to lead the men and make haste, while he and Liu Yuheng went on ahead.

On the very day Pei Shaoqing left Tongzhou, the merchant caravans of several businesses within Tongzhou City were attacked by Shi Potian’s men, and all their goods were plundered.

The shopkeepers who received the news were both furious and alarmed.

’Since when was there a new group of bandits outside Tongzhou City?’

They went to the Hundred Households to explain the situation, hoping the Jing’an Guard could help. However, Chen Zhongyi, who had been left in charge, had already received instructions from Pei Shaoqing. He refused them on the grounds that he could not act without an order from Lord Pei.

The merchants then went to the County Government Office. Old Wang wanted to help, but after learning that there were Martial Artists among the bandits, he just threw up his hands and said the County Government Office was powerless to assist.

The merchants could only return home, disappointed once again.

"Damn it all! Since when was there such a group of villains outside Tongzhou? Shi Potian... just from the name, he sounds even more fearsome than that butcher Xu Yuanqing."

"Sigh... and at this critical moment, Lord Pei has gone out on official business. We don’t even know when he’ll be back. What are we supposed to do now?"

"We can’t just stop doing business, can we? Every day we’re delayed, we’re losing piles of pure silver."

The merchants walked out of the County Government Office with faces full of worry.

"Everyone, please calm down." Zhao Shiren, who was scheming to establish a chamber of commerce, felt he had to step up and stabilize the situation. Once those around him had quieted down, he said, "From what I’ve seen, that Shi Potian only robs goods and doesn’t kill people. This proves he’s much more reasonable to deal with than Xu Yuanqing was."

"Therefore, I intend to risk my own safety to go and speak with the bandit leader. I want to see if we can negotiate a toll. That would be far better than him constantly robbing our caravans, preventing us from getting raw materials in or shipping our goods out, and causing us disastrous losses."

’He figured that bandits are only in it for the money, and the fact that Shi Potian only stole goods without killing anyone was further proof of this.’

’Besides, the man doesn’t know me, and we have no personal grudge. There’s no danger in me making a trip.’

First, he took the lead in renegotiating the profit split with Pei Shaoqing for everyone’s benefit; now, he was about to enter the tiger’s den for everyone’s benefit again. Although he only acted when he felt reasonably sure of success, it still spoke to his boldness.

’If he really managed to settle this matter, then taking the lead in forming the chamber of commerce and becoming its president would be a natural next step.’

"Brother Zhao!" Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

Weren’t they all men of great wealth? They valued their lives above all else. Now, seeing Zhao Shiren willing to risk his life and enter the bandits’ lair alone, they were both amazed and full of admiration.

Zhao Shiren met their various gazes with a calm smile, his heroic spirit on full display. "We can’t just stop doing business. With Lord Pei away, we can only rely on ourselves. I am willing to take this risk, but I have one small request that I hope everyone will agree to."

"Brother Zhao, please speak!" a merchant said.

Zhao Shiren’s true intentions were revealed. "Everyone here may be somebody in Tongzhou, but compared to the major trading houses, we are nothing. Therefore, to pursue greater profits and become more competitive..."

"...I believe we must unite and act as one. Thus, it is necessary to establish the Tongzhou Chamber of Commerce. This humble one, unworthy as I am, is willing to recommend myself as its president."

For a moment, everyone looked at each other, exchanging glances.

"Brother Zhao has a point. I support him," said a stout merchant who was on good terms with Zhao Shiren.

"I support him too. It was Brother Zhao who led us to reclaim some of our profits from Lord Pei, and now we’re relying on him again to communicate with the bandits. He’s done so much for us. If we really form a chamber of commerce, the presidency can only go to him."

"That’s right, Brother Zhao. As long as you can come to an agreement with Shi Potian, I’ll agree to form the chamber of commerce and support you as president to lead us all to fortune."

With the first person voicing their support, the others quickly followed suit, agreeing to Zhao Shiren’s terms.

"Excellent! Since you gentlemen trust me so much, I, Zhao, will definitely not let you down!" Zhao Shiren beamed, cupping his fist in a salute as he looked around at the crowd. Then he declared forcefully, "I’m going to meet that Shi Potian right now!"

’By the time Shopkeeper Qian gets back, the chamber of commerce will already be established. The deed will be done. Even if he doesn’t agree to me being president, he won’t have a choice unless he wants to be ostracized by everyone.’

Zhao Shiren quickly prepared a generous gift, took two of his household servants, and left the city to head up the mountain, full of confidence and ambition.

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