CHAPTER 97: CHAPTER 96: EVERYTHING IS WITHIN THE YOUNG MASTER’S CALCULATION

Yin Minghong felt that the past few days had been like magical realism.

First, he encountered an assassin trafficked by human traffickers at Red Moon Fortress, then ran into Bai Ye’s traitor, Yin Yinxian, who fled from Chenfeng District to Dongyang District. Hardly having any time to rest at home while waiting for a reply from Bai Ye’s headquarters, he was actually found by Jing Zhengwei.

Jing Zhengwei rarely lets his subordinates interfere in other affairs; people like Yin Minghong hardly know the "Wei Ling" maritime trade personnel. Jing Zhengwei would not have his subordinates engage in any "industrial linkage". When cross-departmental cooperation is truly needed, he will personally get involved.

He even banned industrial linkage, let alone "borrow the second-in-command of Red Moon Fortress to suppress Wei Ling Maritime Trade’s crew." The reason for prohibiting subordinates of different industries from knowing each other is very simple—prevent collusion.

So this was meant for times like these... I don’t know any of these crew members, naturally, unable to secretly notify them, so Jing Zhengwei felt confident in deploying me to join the action. Moreover, when the crew later knew I was the second-in-command of Red Moon Fortress, they would further avoid approaching Jing Family’s other industry cadre, severing our collusion possibility, achieving his goal of dividing us...

Yin Minghong’s thoughts were swirling, gaining more insight into Jing Zhengwei, inducing greater dread in his heart.

Jing Zhengwei, truly a sly old fox, even engaged in cross-dressing, such rudimentary schemes for him might be almost instinctive.

But why only summon me over?

Could it be he has no more usable forces in Xuanzhu County?

No, after this upheaval, Wei Ling surely needs a new leader; does he intend for me to assume control of Wei Ling?

As Yin Minghong was wildly speculating, Leyu watching the composed Bai Yulan, paused before saying, "To rush over for your little gathering, I haven’t even eaten yet."

Bai Yulan glanced around: "Apologies, seems all banquets have been tampered with, none intact."

"No worries, if untouched, I definitely wouldn’t dare eat it." Leyu chuckled, then sat cross-legged at the nearest banquet. Some nearby sailors seemed to have bold ideas but obediently backed off under the aim of Leyu’s guard bearing firearms.

Leyu picked up a rosé-colored, tender, and flavorful drumstick, chewing it gleefully; while savoring several bites, he asked, "Is there honey Five-Flower Tea?"

Bai Yulan said, "There’s liquor."

"Forget it... Second-in-command, is there water!?"

Still pondering Jing Zhengwei’s scheming, Yin Minghong suddenly heard the shout, instinctively nodding. On seeing Leyu beckoning him over, Yin Minghong acknowledged missing an excellent opportunity, and painfully tossed over the water pouch from his waist.

For undercover spies like Yin Minghong, naturally, he wouldn’t randomly consume provided foods or drinks. While he couldn’t manage food or rations, safe water he always carried, a bag sufficient for him to survive silently for three days.

Damned, had I guessed earlier, poisoning the water could have killed him... Although Yin Minghong knew he couldn’t predict Jing Zhengwei’s unusual actions, he still felt remorseful.

Having eaten his fill, Leyu took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, looked at Bai Yulan who had been motionless: "Given your calmness, I provided a meal’s time for you to think. I’m actually a cultured and easygoing person, whatever happens, I’ll afford you an explanatory chance, hope you can persuade me."

Bai Yulan cupped his fists and asked, "May I ask when Mr. discovered my connection with the fleet?"

"Four months ago, after your proposal to load Grace Lock, I’ve been keeping an eye on you."

"So everything is within Mr.’s calculations." Bai Yulan smiled bitterly, "Mr.’s depth is far beyond what I imagined."

Yin Minghong couldn’t help but glance at Leyu, pondering that other than Jing Zhengwei’s mastery at cross-dressing and concealing shotguns, he surprisingly had a secret intelligence team monitoring others?

The Jing Family waters are indeed profound.

Others’ thoughts were similar to Yin Minghong and Bai Yulan; naturally, they couldn’t fathom that Jing Zhengwei actually investigated on his own.

Indeed,

Leyu scoured Jing Zhengwei’s memories,

uncovering his daytime carefree, princely persona,

but at night, prowling Xuanzhu County as a Dark Night Walker!

Jing Zhengwei opted to learn the Qinri Battle Technique and Lingxu Battle Technique not without reason: Qinri Battle Technique comprehensively boosts various attributes; sound manipulation being its core can create sonic booms and conduct silent stealth. Lingxu Battle Technique is simpler, not only suiting Jing Zhengwei’s ’wealthy person’ mode liberally employing firearms, but its swiftness excellently fits for survival.

Using these two techniques, Jing Zhengwei proficiently undertakes secret actions. Though lacking the ’dark invincibility’ of the Hidden Sword Technique, he also lacks the ’helpless at dawn’ shortcomings; regarding insufficient potency in darkness, a shotgun suffices to resolve.

Sometimes, Jing Zhengwei even personally assassinates targets, fabricating advantages for his business association. Furthermore, he frequently conducts covert investigations, such as the ’treasure map’ Leyu gave to Yin Minghong, which was Jing Zhengwei’s serendipitous discovery while investigating his brother.

Regarding Bai Yulan’s collaboration with the fleet, Jing Zhengwei had already sensed it long ago.

Leyu then understood why Jing Zhengwei embarked on the extreme path of an ascetic Grandmaster: lacking maternal clan support, the family being unfavorable, Jing Zhengwei solely relies on himself for everything. He has no secret forces, nor time to cultivate trusted subordinates, thus he personally intervenes.

"If so, then let’s speak candidly and straightforwardly." Bai Yulan stated, "Indeed, I colluded with the fleet, concealed from Mr. engaging in slave trade; Grace Lock is not for transactions but for controlling Skyrim-acquired slaves to subsequently sell as premium goods to Scandinavia’s large landlords."

"The fleet’s triangular trade profits, after deducting staple commodities like food, tobacco, sugar, we personally embezzled seventy-five percent of gold and silver profits, leaving only twenty-five percent as goods payment remitted to Wei Ling."

"After deducting the sailors’ wages, the total profits among me, Black Flag, Bao Long, and Master Wu amounted to nearly ten thousand gold rounds."

Bai Yulan added, "If I’m not mistaken, you’ve probably already assigned someone to search our houses, right, Mr.?"

"What!?"

Except for Black Flag, Master Wu and Bao Long were utterly astonished, Bao Long couldn’t help but step towards Leyu: "No one is allowed to take my money!"

Bang!

A gunshot rang, a bullet hole inched before Bao Long’s foot, but Bao Long displayed no intention of backing away, glaring at Leyu angrily. Master Wu quickly held Bao Long back: "Don’t act rashly, while there’s life, there’s hope, wealth is but external..."

"Master Wu, I know your money surely isn’t hidden at home." Bai Yulan chuckled, "But Mr. has been aware of our dealings for four months, with ample time to investigate your connections during your prolonged voyages. If I’m correct, Master Wu likely has a confidant and illegitimate child, right, you’ve given them all your money, haven’t you?"

Master Wu’s face changed drastically.

"He’s right." Leyu glanced at his pocket watch, "By now, your ill-gotten gains should have arrived at my residence."

Baolong couldn’t hold it any longer: "I’ll fight you to the end—"

Boom!

A blinding punch landed with a thunderous impact, and Baolong’s temple was struck heavily by Black Flag, causing him to see stars as he fell to the ground. Clutching his forehead, he stumbled back to his feet and stared at Black Flag in disbelief: "Captain, you... you betrayed us and sided with that bastard!?"

Upon hearing this, Master Wu couldn’t help but distance himself from Black Flag, and the other crew members also looked at Black Flag with strange eyes. In their world, betrayal was not uncommon, but a captain selling out his crew for profit was a different story—even scoundrels would despise him for that.

Black Flag spoke in a deep voice: "Listen to what Director White has to say first."

"Baolong, don’t be so nervous." Bai Yulan smiled and said, "From the beginning, this money never belonged to us; we were merely safekeeping it for the Young Master."

Baolong was clearly confused: "What do you mean? Wasn’t that money supposed to be mine?"

"In the past, I wasn’t sure, but since the Young Master knew our secret four months ago, I can now be at ease."

Bai Yulan clapped gently and looked at Leyu, saying, "From the beginning, didn’t the Young Master hope that we would conduct the slave trade ’without informing you’?"

Leyu remained silent, while others had not yet grasped the situation, except for Mi Die and Yin Minghong, who came to a sudden realization.

"The profit from the slave trade is immense; it’d be a lie if the Young Master weren’t tempted. But the Young Master also saw the risks involved—those few guilds openly conducting the slave trade will eventually be sacrificed to the Skyrim warlords as offerings to appease public discontent. Naturally, the Young Master wouldn’t want to follow in their footsteps."

"But what if someone conducts the slave trade ’without your knowledge’?"

"What if they don’t even use their guild’s name in the transactions?"

"What if you are ’completely unaware’?"

Bai Yulan raised the account book in her hand and said, "I vaguely felt that the Young Master knew, so I deliberately reported the Grace Lock with high profits twice. Your silence indirectly confirmed my suspicion."

"You couldn’t possibly not be suspicious of the profits and clients of the Grace Lock, but your lack of questioning showed you knew our real secret. Even if our operation got exposed, you could produce the account book to prove you never profited from the slave trade, having only sold ’Grace Locks.’"

"You could easily sidestep the blame by pushing us out."

"If another guild tried this, they might not get away with it, but since the Young Master is from the Jing Family, the Silver Blood Association would naturally give you leeway."

"Actually, I reckon the Young Master wouldn’t wait for the Silver Blood Association to take action either."

Bai Yulan tilted her head and smiled, "Once we grow fat enough, you would probably seize the opportunity to harvest, capturing all of us and taking all the accumulated wealth, leaving some scapegoats among us to present as gifts to the Silver Blood Association, thereby improving ties with the Skyrim warlords."

"In this way, your wings remain intact while reaping the rewards of the slave trade. With our deep roots and significant influence, this move could help you establish new trusted aides."

"Young Master, am I right?"

Leyu drank deeply, neither confirming nor denying, but instead asked, "Since you predicted such an outcome for yourself, why did you still go ahead and do it?"

"Why indeed..." Bai Yulan smirked bitterly, "Young Master, this is actually a game of strategy."

"I originally planned to earn enough and then escape Xuanzhu County to live a good life elsewhere. So the later I escape, the greater my gains; the later you move, the greater your gains."

"But the problem is, there can only be one winner in this game. Whoever acts first will win over the one who acts later. Just like now, if we had decided to disband and leave Xuanzhu County last time, we could be enjoying life elsewhere now while you’d watch us leave with the profits."

"I might not necessarily lose, and the Young Master might not necessarily win. But I didn’t expect the Young Master to harvest us so quickly. Are you in dire need of money?"

Leyu shook his head, "Not at the moment."

"Or is the Skyrim District about to stabilize?" Bai Yulan glanced at Black Flag, who shook his head slightly.

Leyu also said, "I don’t have information on the Skyrim District."

At this, Bai Yulan finally showed a puzzled expression, "Then why did the Young Master act so quickly? You should’ve known that we’d definitely continue at this point, and at least wait for us to carry out three or four more trades. With enough accumulated wealth, you’d have substantial proceeds... Like now, those over ten thousand gold coins are just an embellishment to you... Ah, I understand."

Leyu exclaimed, "You understand?"

Bai Yulan said, "I overlooked the psychological impact of asset appreciation. Someone like Master Wu, with descendants, might already be thinking of settling down. Although I, Black Flag, and Baolong haven’t reached satisfaction yet, after one or two more trades, once the wealth reached a certain level, we might also have stopped early."

"Like a plant, sometimes you have to prune the best-growing top part so it can keep thriving. Your appearance now, taking our accumulated wealth, forces us to continue ’deceiving the world,’ while minimizing your losses."

"I also overlooked the Young Master’s position... You don’t need to put on airs; as long as the account books are in order and a portion of profits is shown, the Silver Blood Association would overlook you. Even if you ’bare your heart’ to us, we could only continue to serve you."

"Appearing when we’ve completed three trades and are flush with success, not only quashing our arrogance but also making us, who have tasted the sweetness, lose any will to resist, forcing us to submit."

Bai Yulan sighed, "Everything was within the Young Master’s calculations. I thought I could outsmart you, yet little did I know the Young Master had calculated everything, and Bai Yulan is wholeheartedly convinced."

Leyu blinked, noticing the growing respect, suspicion, reverence, and fear in the eyes of those around him, leaving him a bit at a loss.

Eh?

Am I such a schemer?

Wasn’t it that Qing Lan discovered the secret, which triggered Zhengwei Jing’s memories about Bai Yulan, so I just took the opportunity to round up these traitors?

As for why I asked Yin Minghong to come... actually, Leyu is the type who ’needs a friend to go to the bathroom together.’ It’s a rare chance to have a group fight, and Yin Minghong is the only person he considers a friend (in his mind) in Xuanzhu County, so naturally he’d bring his buddy along to fight.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a trial for Bai Yulan and others, so why did it turn into a show for black-hearted capitalists like Zhengwei Jing?