Chapter 271: Premeditated
“Have you heard? Sea City is safe now, and there’s a new City Lord. If we go back now, we will be occupying a cave abode for free.”
“It’s fine if you say such things. Sea City has been occupied by the devils. How is it possible to chase the devils away? I think it’s better not to go there. It’s too dangerous there.”
“But I see that many people have already arrived at Sea City. Moreover, I heard that there are abundant resources there. There are two big rivers beside it. That place is rich. If we can rush over now, we might be able to become rich there in the future.”
Many people in the Catacombs were discussing. They had more or less heard such news. Although many people were still puzzled, there were also many people who had already rushed to Sea City. Moreover, Li Yuanqing had directly transferred many people from Ping City to help Ye Qiluo as she did not have any helpers.
The lockdown of the array formation in Rong City would take a month. He could not transfer anyone from there, so he could only think of other ways.
Ye Qiluo was glad that she had Li Yuanqing’s full help. In addition, he had sent people to publicize it. Now, there are many residents in Sea City.
The situation of these itinerant cultivators outside was originally very worrying. Now, they could have a cave abode in Sea City, in addition, there were many other resources, they had even given out many things.
Those who came early had all obtained spirit stones. This was a real benefit.
Everything went so smoothly and the progress was alright. However, after Li Yuanqing handed this responsibility to Ye Qiluo that day and gave her some things, he left. These people who came to help came later. However, Ye Qiluo was still a little lonely.
She thought that Young Master Li would stay here forever, but he left again.
Ye Qiluo, who was no longer bound, had made many changes in Sea City. She had borrowed all the resources from Ping City. Originally, Li Yuanqing wanted to treat these resources as funding from Ping City and not return them. However, Ye Qiluo insisted on treating them as borrowed resources and had even written a contract.
Hu Jiujiu did not take these words seriously. She had been guarding Li Yuanqing for the past two days and reporting the recent situation to him.
“Recently, Ping City hasn’t been threatened. Everything is going very smoothly. From the looks of it, there won’t be any other dangers in the short term. Moreover, we’ve also established a very mature defensive array that is completely managed by Little Man.”
The aura of the Man-eating Vine had changed a lot after not seeing her for a long time. She used to be like a little sister, but now, she looked like a big sister and spoke much less.
“Master, during the time you were gone, I’ve strengthened the defensive array formation of Ping City again. It’s more than thirty percent stronger than before. Moreover, there’s still room for improvement. If I can find enough materials in the future, I’ll continue to improve it.”
The Man-eating Vine had Hu Jiujiu as her backer and a sufficient supply of materials. In addition, Li Yuanqing had provided her with the array formation books to practice.
In just a few months, her attainments in array formations had already reached a new level. Now, not only could she produce some outstanding large array formations, but she could even modify them herself.
Many array formations were designed according to the materials at that time. In the current situation, there would naturally be many deviations. It would be troublesome if she did not modify it. Its power might be much weaker.
Little Man had discovered these problems through many practices. That was why she was confident that she could do some repairs.
Li Yuanqing was still very satisfied with their management in Ping City. That little fellow had endured the pressure.
Originally, there were still many people in Ping City who were very dissatisfied with Hu Jiujiu, the City Lord who is a demon. However, after this period of time, these dissatisfied voices gradually disappeared.
“Master, Sea City is vast. Since Sister Ye is already in charge of it, shouldn’t we establish more communication between us? We can build a few teleportation arrays among them. It will naturally be more convenient to travel.”
“It’s fine. You can send Little Man to discuss this with City Lord Ye.”
“Sister Ye is alone there. The pressure is a little high. Why don’t we let Little Man go to Sea City for a period of time and help her perfect the array formation in Sea City? Didn’t Master only build a general structure? Isn’t there still a lot of details?”
Li Yuanqing was flipping through the books on weapon refinement, looking for a way to refine the huge devil crystal in his hand and make it into something useful. When he heard Hu Jiujiu’s words, he looked up at her.
“Why? You seem to be quite close to City Lord Ye.”
“Master, how can you say that? Isn’t it because you have a good relationship with Sister Ye that Sister Ye is so kind?”
Hu Jiujiu covered her mouth and chuckled. She did not say anything.
Li Yuanqing waved his hand and casually said, “If Little Man is willing, let her stay there for a while. It’s fine, but don’t delay your usual work. The things here are the most important. Do you understand?”
“Don’t worry, Master. I’ve already arranged Ping City properly. I was just worried that I would have nothing to do during this period of time. Sea City is big enough. I already have some ideas. When the time comes, I’ll find a chance to operate it well. I hope to make it a little different.”
“The two of you premeditated this?”
“What premeditation? Sister Ye is struggling to support that empty city alone. She still has to spend all her effort to gather everyone. How troublesome would that be? I’m just asking Little Man to go over and help Sister Ye resolve some trouble.”
When Li Yuanqing heard this, his mood gradually changed. He did not say anything else and casually sent the two of them away. Little Man was becoming more and more united with Hu Jiujiu.
He had not been back for a while, but the two of them were like wearing the same pants. They supported each other. But, this was not a big deal. There was indeed a lot of trouble in Sea City. It was a good thing to let the Man-eating Vine help perfect the array formation.
Li Yuanqing, on the other hand, was in trouble now. He wanted to refine the devil crystal into a rod-shaped weapon. At that time, he would find some materials in the books that could match the devil artifact. With these materials, he would be able to use his human body to drive this devilish aura. It was an alternative technique.
But many of the materials were quite rare. Even he did not have them. It would probably be troublesome to obtain them.
Li Yuanqing called Zhao Tai’an over. Zhao Tai’an was now one of the top figures in the city and was Li Yuanqing’s manager. Moreover, their small shop was already very popular and they had even opened an auction house.
With the rare materials that Li Yuanqing had obtained, he completely turned this shop into the largest trading company in Ping City. His subordinates covered many aspects. It could be said that they were all involved in anything related to the people in Ping City. Moreover, he had made the decision to change their original t.i.tle to Yuanqing Pavilion.
After Li Yuanqing returned, he had not told Zhao Tai’an, so he had not come to visit yet. Today, he finally received a summons from his young master. He woke up early to tidy up. When it was about time, he carefully rushed to Li Yuanqing’s small courtyard.
The current Zhao Tai’an had a very different aura from before. He already looked like a big boss. He was wearing silk and satin, and the gold and jade threads were refined from precious materials.
The treasures on his hands were all top-grade treasures. Just that top-grade storage ring alone could accommodate a few rooms of treasures.
This was completely different from when he was on a patrol team. This was Shopkeeper Zhao.
Zhao Tai’an carefully pushed open the door and walked in. He happened to see Li Yuanqing counting the materials in the courtyard and hurriedly ran over.
“Young Master Li, when did you come back? Why didn’t you inform me in advance? I’ve missed you so much recently.”
Li Yuanqing took a sip of tea and sized him up. He smiled and teased, “Shopkeeper Zhao is now a famous figure in Ping City. How would I dare to inform you in advance?”
Zhao Tai’an looked at Li Yuanqing awkwardly and said, “Young Master Li, those are just empty t.i.tles. Don’t you know what our relationship is? You’re the real big boss. I’m just a small shopkeeper. I’m just trying to keep up the shop’s reputation. It’s a little exaggerated now. If you don’t like it, I’ll change it tomorrow!”
Li Yuanqing waved his hand. Zhao Tai’an had not forgotten his original intention. Although he had become stronger now, he knew Li Yuanqing’s strength very well. All of this was given to him by Li Yuanqing.
Moreover, the materials on Li Yuanqing’s body were not something ordinary people could compare to. What kind of power was behind him that could support such a person? Even though Zhao Tai’an was already very knowledgeable, he had never heard of such a powerful organization. He admired Li Yuanqing from the bottom of his heart.
Therefore, he had been standing here for a long time and had yet to take the initiative to sit down. He only dared to run to the side and sit in front of Li Yuanqing after Li Yuanqing informed him. Moreover, he only sat on half of the chair and looked at Li Yuanqing very carefully.
“Young Master, I apologize to you!”
“What is it?”
“I took the liberty of changing our name to Yuanqing Pavilion without your permission.”
Zhao Tai’an hurriedly explained.
“There’s a reason for this. This is because there were really many items being auctioned at that time. Many auction houses had earned a lot of benefits from it. Not only was it not worth it, but it was also very troublesome. In addition, the shop had indeed earned a lot of money. I thought that since I have so many security personnel, why not take the initiative to set up an auction house myself?”
“So be it. Why change the name?”
“The main thing is to make this auction house more famous. Although you’re not around, our entire trading company belongs to you. We can’t forget you, so we made this decision.”
Li Yuanqing did not care much about this matter and directly brushed it off.
“Forget it, forget it. There’s no need to mention this matter anymore. Since it has already been changed, leave it be. Since I’ve already handed the management of the trading company to you, it means that I trust you very much. You don’t have to ask me anymore in the future.”
“Thank you, Young Master!”
Zhao Tai’an finally heaved a sigh of relief. In the beginning, he had wondered if Li Yuanqing would fly into a rage when he returned. He thought he would be furious. However, from the looks of it, Li Yuanqing was still very supportive of his work. He had not scolded him until now.
This way, he was still very grateful. If not for Young Master Li’s kindness, he would not be where he was today.
Just as Zhao Tai’an heaved a sigh of relief, Li Yuanqing suddenly took out a list and placed it in front of him.
“Help me take a look. Where can I find these materials?”
Zhao Tai’an took the list confidently. When he looked down, his face almost turned as black as the bottom of a pot. His expression was very conflicted. He put down the list again and looked up at Li Yuanqing. “Young Master, where did you see these materials? I’ve never heard of many of them, but I do know that two of them are traceable. We can think of a way to find them.”
“It’s fine. I’m not in a hurry. The materials on it are very important. Try your best to help me find their whereabouts. Even if you can’t find them, it’s fine as long as there are clues.”
Zhao Tai’an took a deep breath and carefully placed the list in his arms.
“Young Master, don’t worry. I believe there should be a way to find those two materials. However, I don’t have any clues for the other three. Perhaps I can release some clues to take a look. If someone can provide clues, I can also provide them with some rewards.”
“I’ll leave these to you. If you can gather all these materials, I’ll give you a Dharma artifact.”
Every treasure in Li Yuanqing’s hands was a top-notch treasure. How could the Dharma artifacts that Li Yuanqing had promised to give out be bad?
“Thank you, Young Master. Don’t worry, even if I have to risk my life, I will gather all these things!”
“There’s no need to risk your life, but you still have to pay more attention.”