After everything was settled with Minister Jin, I once more became engrossed in my designs for an alchemy factory. The idea of turning the entire first floor into a warehouse had benefits, but it also necessitated changes and extra formations to help move goods from one area to another.

As I had only recently been appointed to my position as Lord of North Lake, part of me wanted to take a more direct hand in the running of the city, but my lessons on the role of the Water Groom were clear. I wasn’t supposed to meddle. I was supposed to set a direction and let my ministers handle the specifics, since they knew the city far better than I ever would.

The direction I set was clear: I wanted a pill factory. So, my ministers did their best to assist me, and one week later, Minister Tang sent me a message requesting a meeting.

The ride to the location the minister specified took far longer than I had expected, and I was getting impatient by the end. The city streets were crowded with people going about their daily lives, and while they quickly got out of the way of my carriage, the mess of foot traffic still limited our speed.

I was taken to the far southwest corner of the island. The closer we got to our destination, the fewer people there were, until the streets were nearly empty. The buildings in this part of town were not elegantly designed. Instead, they were simple stone boxes. As I watched, wagons were constantly entering and exiting them, delivering and retrieving goods.

In this area, the edge of the island was a steep cliff with a drop of two or three meters. Minister Tang was waiting for me on a low stone parapet that overlooked the lake below.

“Lord Su, you have arrived, excellent,” he said in greeting.

“Minister Tang, what did you want to discuss?”

The minister gestured with a hand at the lake before him. “I need you to decide if this is a good place for the structure you wish to build, Lord. Considering the requirements you gave me, it appears to be the best option, but it is good for you to see the area in person, in case there were any details we missed.”

My mind instantly clicked into gear and began considering the location based on my current designs.

“You have decided to go with island expansion instead of tearing down old buildings?” I asked, wanting the reason for the decision.

“Yes, Lord. While it is more expensive, as long as funds are no object, it is the superior option. It allows for a far more suitable location, since it would otherwise be difficult to find a sizable enough location. Forcing the demolition of several buildings for your personal project would be frowned upon by the locals, but building out the island would be praised.”

The reasoning seemed sound, and I would accept the minister’s judgment.

“I need to expand the area of the structure slightly from what we discussed in the past, so we need to ensure that the expansion is large enough.”

“This…” The minister twitched uncomfortably. “Lord, this was something that I wanted to discuss with you. You are personally funding this project, so I cannot waste your money, but there is a lot of potential in developing this area.”

Minister Tang pointed out the blocky buildings that I had passed on my way here. “These are the warehouses that supply raw ingredients to various parts of the city. Not only the herbs you need, but also leathers, metals, and woods, among other items. Building more workshops directly adjacent to them would be highly beneficial.”

I cocked my head to the side. “What are you saying?”

“Lord, I wish to expand the scope of the expansion beyond what is strictly necessary for your project. Your building could be constructed by adding a simple 200 by 200-meter peninsula onto the island. However, I would like to do more. I am considering a one-kilometer extension along three kilometers of coast. It will cost more, but if we already need to hire earth and metal cultivators to extend the island…”

I thought about his proposal. If I were honest, I didn’t care much either way. I had the money, so why not spend it? There was only one problem. “What about the rules that limit how many projects I can personally finance?”

Minister Tang winced. “I’ve talked to the other ministers about this, especially Ministers Jin and Lu. They have accepted that a ‘more natural’ extension to the island would be for the best. A blocky peninsula that is only suitable for your project would hurt the feng shui of this area. However, they warned me that there were limits to such a rationale.”

I nodded. “If the ministers approve of your proposal, then I have no objections. As long as the project doesn’t require anyone above the Grandmaster level, then I will be able to fund it.”

“Thank you, Lord. This will greatly benefit the city,” said Minister Tang, giving me a deep bow.

I dismissed his bow and refocused on the project. “Do you have any plans for who you hire to perform this work?”

“No, Lord. My men have been working on drafting a contract, but we have not published it yet.”

“I would like to offer the right of first refusal to the Hu Clan. I have a connection to them, and we work well together.”

“Lord…” Tang hesitated. “This is somewhat improper. Any large projects such as this need to be posted openly, and all clans should have equal access to compete for them. Giving preferential treatment to a single clan would subject you to public criticism.”

I waved away his concerns. “I am just expressing my preferences. You are the Minister of Public Works, and the responsibility of completing this project is yours. Follow the normal procedures as you see fit.”

“Thank you, Lord.”

“However.” I stopped him before he could change the topic. “The Hu Clan must be the ones to do the formation work. The building will need many specialized formations, and I do not wish to share them with other clans. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Lord,” the minister instantly replied. “The normal bidding process is only for general labor. If the work involves trade secrets, then special contracts are used instead.”

“Excellent, Minister Tang. Thank you for your hard work. I look forward to seeing what you can accomplish.”

After the meeting with Minister Tang, I sent a messenger to Mei to request a meeting between one of her Seeds, a representative from the Hu Clan, and myself. This was quickly arranged, and we met later the same day.

The Seed bowed as I entered the conference room. “Lord, I am Mu XiaoPei. Flower Mei has assigned me to assist you in these meetings.”

“Miss Mu,” I acknowledged, “have you already been in contact with the Hu Clan?”

This tale has been pilfered from NovelBin. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Yes, Lord. Flower Mei assigned me as your liaison with the Hu Clan one week ago, and I made initial contact immediately thereafter. Their representative expressed both his deep admiration for you and his wish for a happy cooperation. However, as I could not provide him with any details for this project, our talks were limited.”

“Understood.”

Reaching into my storage bag, I took out several portfolios and arranged them on the desk. Then, I took out a large map of the proposed island expansion along with the basic blueprints of the building I was having constructed. Not long after everything was in place, the Hu Clan representative was led into the room.

He gave me a deep bow of respect. “Lord Su, I am Hu NiAn. I have long heard of your great name, and I look forward to working with you.”

Hu NiAn was a large, middle-aged Grandmaster. He looked like someone who spent all his days doing hard labor outdoors. His arms were bulging with muscles, but he carried himself like a tradesman, not a warrior.

I smiled when I saw the man. The Hu Clan was good at learning–I would give them credit for that at least. When most clans requested meetings with me, they would send slick, well-groomed diplomats whose job was to flatter and cajole me until I was pleased and self-satisfied. Even when I expressed disdain for such things, their tactics never changed. The Hu Clan only attempted this once before realizing my preference for dealing directly with knowledgeable craftsmen.

I gave him a martial salute. “Welcome, friend from the Hu Clan. Please, have a seat. We have much to discuss.”

As we all sat around the table once more, a servant came to pour us tea, and Hu NiAn began examining the blueprints on display.

“Is this what you need us to work on?” he asked with a creased brow.

“No, my Minister of Public Works has informed me of the normal bidding process, so we will follow his guidelines. I plan to expand the island as you see here”–I gestured to the first drawing–“and construct this large building on the cleared land. While the minister has insisted on the normal process, I do hope the Hu Clan will consider participating in the bid.”

The Grandmaster looked the plans over carefully but shook his head in the end. “It’s going to be a lot of bulk work. You’re better off grabbing some down-on-their-luck adventurers to do the expansion for you. We might consider placing a bid on the building, though. It’ll be tricky to make that monstrosity stable.”

I laughed. “I’m not an architect, and some modifications would, of course, be acceptable.”

Hu NiAn nodded a bit and stroked his chin. Then, he pushed the drawings away. “Did you just call me here to give me advance notice on the jobs, or is there a reason I came all the way here?”

“There is,” I said, gesturing to the building’s blueprint. “This will be a factory for making Rank 0 pills–automatically, without an alchemist. Simply place a load of herbs in one spot, and pills will appear in another. Are you interested in helping make this a reality?”

I finally gained the man’s interest. “Explain.”

“Miss Mu,” I said, looking at the Seed. “Please help me move the table to the side of the room.”

As Hu NiAn and I watched, the Seed channeled her qi, lifted the heavy wooden table, and carried it off to the side. Then, I took out a variety of formation plates and spread them around on the floor, creating a large, semi-organized mess.

I lifted a small palm-sized plate to show it to Miss Mu and Hu NiAn. The Grandmaster was familiar enough with formations to know what it was, but I still explained for Miss Mu’s benefit, since she would need to be involved in this project in the future.

“This is a basic Rank 1 trap formation.” I pointed to two inscriptions on the left side of the plate. “These are qi filters. One for water qi, one for earth qi. These”–I my hand to the right–“are vortex inscriptions that will pull in qi. The channels that connect them will fill with water and earth qi.” The lines converged on a significantly more complex inscription. “And this uses the water and earth qi to constrict whatever is placed above the plate, locking it in place.”

“Hmm, it’s too weak,” criticized NiAn. “It wouldn’t be able to hold anyone in place for even a moment.”

I held the plate in my palm, pointed it toward the ground, and activated it. Then, I took out an herb used to make a Rank 0 Nutrition Pill and placed it inside the trap’s range. The trap formation locked this herb to the plate tightly enough that it didn’t budge, even as I violently twisted the plate in several different directions.

Grandmaster Hu nodded at this display, but he didn’t comment.

I moved in front of another formation plate. “This plate uses fire energy to melt the physical shell of the herb. It only has the filter and gathering inscriptions for fire qi, but there are several more needed to regulate the temperature and direction of the heat it produces. The herb needs to be heated to exactly the right temperature, and that heat needs to be applied equally from all directions.”

I moved the herb to hover over this plate, activated the formation, and we watched as the physical body of the herb slowly disappeared. In qi vision, however, I could see that the energy was still locked in the exact same position that the complete herb had been in previously.

Neither of the others were alchemists, and I didn’t think their qi vision was as advanced as mine, but they still had some ability to sense what was happening.

“At this point, I need to be more careful. The energy is locked into place, but it is more fragile and can easily be destroyed.”

I moved the herb to the next set of formation plates. There was one lying flat on the ground and four more surrounding it. Together, they formed an open box.

“The plate on the ground senses and detects any energy that isn’t wood-aligned. It’s connected to the four surrounding plates. When the prepared herb is placed inside, the five plates work together to purify its medicinal energy.”

I inserted the medicinal energy into the group of arrays–the plate holding the energy in place acted like the lid of a box. Inside, all the formations activated, and we watched in qi vision as the bottom formation sent signals to the side formations. Then, the side formations sent out needle-thin bolts of qi to strike the impurities in the medicinal energy. After a minute, it was completely cleansed.

“This does a lot of damage to the herb,” I admitted. “The targeting method I’m using isn’t great, and it can sometimes cause the wrong side of the formation box to attack certain impurities, burning holes through everything in its path instead of only the minimal amount necessary, but it does perfectly cleanse the herb.”

Grandmaster Hu’s eyes widened at the sight of the purified energy. He instantly knew what this would mean.

“Finally, this last formation uses wood qi to condense the medicinal energy into a pill,” I said, placing the purified herb over the last plate that I had prepared.

The final formation activated, and the medicinal energy was compressed into a pill.

I deactivated the trap formation, releasing the pill, and let it drop into my palm.

“Perfect Rank 0 Nutrition Pill,” I announced. “52% efficacy. It’s so bad that, if an alchemist made it, they would be laughed at.”

The Grandmaster and Seed both fixed their gazes on the pill, but it was Hu NiAn who spoke first. “An alchemist didn’t make it, though, and that formation of yours can make countless pills with no effort.”

“That is the plan,” I confirmed.

I walked over to the table and opened up a portfolio I had prepared.

“This shows the entire assembly line. I want everything automated. Herbs will be delivered to the ground floor, and lifts will drop them off at the beginning of the assembly line. The trap formation will grab one, and a track system will carry it from one formation to another, finally dropping the finished pill in a jade box at the end. When a hundred pills are in the box, it will be sealed and sent back down via another lift.”

I pointed out the various features of the assembly line blueprint.

“The lift and track systems should be doable by Formation Disciples. I want them as simple as possible, since they are the most likely to break and need repair. A Formation Master should be able to handle the trap, melting, and condensing formations, but it would be good to have a Grandmaster with far more skill than myself to create the purifying formations.”

As Grandmaster Hu studied the blueprints, gears turned in his head. “Power is going to be a problem. The ambient qi will be enough to power a single assembly line, possibly two, but if you want to fill your building with these, you’ll drain all the qi in the area.”

I nodded. “I’ve considered that. As we are expanding the island, I want to embed a Qi Gathering Formation under the site where the building will be located. The stronger the better. A Rank 3 Qi Gathering Formation should be able to handle it.”

Hu NiAn shook his head. “No, that won’t be enough. You need Rank 4. Rank 5 would be better, but Rank 4 should be sufficient. Anything less, and some of your formations will occasionally run out of power. When that happens, they will need to be manually restarted. For a massive building filled with hundreds of formations, this would be a nightmare.”

I frowned. “I concede to your judgment. Paying for a large-scale Rank 4 formation will be difficult, though.”

Grandmaster Hu immediately waved this away. “We’ll build it. Don’t worry. You can repay our Formation Lord after you advance to Pill Lord, but the Hu Clan has to build this.”

I looked at the Grandmaster as he stared at the plans. His eyes shone with avarice, but I wasn’t sure if it was for money, fame, or simply advancing his knowledge of formations. His thoughts didn’t concern me, though. All that mattered were the results.

I smiled at him. “Happy cooperation.”