Chapter 290
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon, but I need you to do something for me.”
Li Mo’s voice suddenly faded away—not in volume, but in transmission.
“Fill it up? The whole thing? How much would that cost...”
Huang Donglai’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Born to wealth, it must have its use; spend a fortune and it will return.”
As the words fell, a mist began to rise.
The fog swirled and enveloped him, and in an instant, the young man’s figure vanished. When the mist cleared, he was nowhere to be seen.
The cloud of transformation doesn’t weigh down the body; it lightens the heart.
With a light heart, the sky is vast and the earth is wide—where can’t one go?
“Tsk, that candy really is sweet,” Huang Donglai murmured, staring at the spot where Li Mo had disappeared.
Huzi’s eyes were wide, and he waved his fists, shouting, “What did I tell you? What did I tell you!”
“Big brother rides the rainbow clouds; how could he not be a hero of the ages?”
...
PS: Apologies for the delay, dear audience. This involves character growth, so it needs careful consideration.
I seek your support, mwah!
---
**Chapter 315: It’s Him, It’s Him, It’s Him**
Ziyang Prefecture, Xiyangyang Hotpot Restaurant.
Not long ago, the Qianlong List was released again, featuring two prodigies from a provincial sect, causing a stir throughout Ziyang Prefecture and becoming the talk of the town.
“Have you heard? Our Ziyang Prefecture’s Qingyuan Sect has produced two...”
“Come on, everyone knows about Wang Qi Douhun and Han Xianzi in Ziyang Prefecture!”
“Among the recent Qianlong prodigies, who could possibly overshadow these two?”
“Tsk tsk, slaying demons in the Southern Wilderness and returning unscathed—what a remarkable feat! We need to toast to this!”
“Stuttering girl, bring the drinks!”
Listening to the patrons’ chatter, a ‘waiter’ in oversized, ill-fitting clothes and a cloth blindfold hurried over, clattering with a tray of drinks and a plate of peanuts.
“Stuttering girl, we want drinks too! Why didn’t you bring us peanuts?” a curious customer asked.
“You... you just said... Li Shaoxia... his nickname isn’t very nice,” Jiang Chulong whispered, holding a tray.
Only those who spoke well of Brother Li would receive peanuts.
The customer felt slighted and frowned, but his companions quickly hushed him, pointing to the second floor where a woman in palace attire sat with a commanding presence, squinting at the gourd of wine in her hand, which she tipped twice, leaving it empty. Her beautiful face showed signs of displeasure.
The customer shivered and quickly sat up straight, looking like a well-behaved child on the first day of school.
“Shang Jie, the wine.”
“Why hasn’t my precious disciple returned from the Southern Wilderness?” Shang Wu sighed, taking the wine from Jiang Chulong. She smacked her lips; her precious disciple had spoiled her, and even this Qingluo wine was hard to enjoy.
“I... I miss Brother Li too,” Jiang Chulong said, biting her lip. She glanced at the private room where Aunt Mei and the elders of the Qingyuan Sect were gathered, then quietly asked, “Shang Jie, has... has Brother Li sent any news?”
Shang Wu shook her head, not denying but simply not knowing.
So, Jiang Chulong stealthily leaned toward the door to listen.
It was Aunt Mei’s voice:
“Those two kids in the Southern Wilderness, it can’t be just for show. You all know that with the Void Temple no longer suppressing things, chaos is likely to ensue.”
Qian Bufan, Xue Jing, Han He, and other peak masters and elders all wore solemn expressions, lost in thought.
Each elder, in charge of a peak, was aware of the core secrets of the Qingyuan Sect; their sect was originally established to guard the imperial tombs.
And behind the disaster beasts lay the remnants of the Great Shang.
“Why haven’t Li Mo and Ying Bing returned yet?” Qian Bufan pondered aloud.
“Do you think there’s a possibility...” Xue Jing mused, recalling the boy’s character, “that he wants to help defend the city in the Southern Wilderness?”
As soon as he said this, the private room fell silent.
All that could be heard was the bubbling of the hotpot and the sound of Qian Bufan chewing thoughtfully.
This possibility was indeed the most plausible one.
“Everyone should prepare early; after all, the court has given up on the Southern Pass. Some things are just a matter of time. I plan to take Chulong and leave...”
Before Mei Yun could finish her sentence, the door was pushed open, and Jiang Chulong timidly stood there.
Her small face bore a fragile look, yet within her timidity lay a hint of resilience, like a delicate flower breaking through the stone.
“Aunt Mei... Chulong... Chulong doesn’t want to leave.”
Mei Yun was taken aback; she had never seen Jiang Chulong with such an expression, and her face darkened.
“Is it hard to let go of this place? We can find another location and set up an identical one.”
“It’s not the same... this place... is the home Brother Li gave me...”
Jiang Chulong’s face paled slightly, her voice trembling.
She was unaware of the world’s turmoil, nor did she know what was happening in the Southern Wilderness.
She wanted to wait here for Brother Li to return.
At that moment, a certain assassin from the Xiyu Building, Zuo Qiu Yang, rushed in with a list in hand, exclaiming, “Big trouble! Huge trouble!”
“What trouble?”
“All the beef and mutton in the city have been bought out by one person—there’s not a half-kilogram left! How are we supposed to do business? Is this some malicious competition from other hotpot restaurants?”
“Get lost!”
“???”
...
Yunzhou.
Now, the entire Hengtong Trading Company was bustling with activity, with workers scurrying in and out of the warehouse like a swarm of ants.
“Not enough manpower? What are you all here for?”
“If we’re short, go find temporary workers at the docks and offer double... no, triple the pay.”
Sun Gui, a robust figure, was bustling about, the proud manager, personally overseeing the chaos.
This was no joke.
This order was a gift from the God of Wealth; if it went through, he might not just stay in the Yunzhou branch but could soon be transferred to the capital’s headquarters.
“Damn it, what does Li Shaoxia want to do?”
“With this much food, we could recruit an army and rally them with a single call...”
Sun Gui wiped the sweat from his forehead, muttering to himself.
“What’s going on?”
Suddenly, a voice came from behind. Sun Gui turned to see Li Mo standing at the warehouse entrance, holding a bottle of San Guang Bao Ye, a rare elixir that replenishes spirit energy.
Li Shaoxia took two big swigs, making Sun Gui’s heart race.
At this rate, how could any spirit energy withstand such consumption?
And when did he arrive? How could he not sense such a presence in his own domain...
The means by which he had rushed over from the Southern Wilderness was something Sun Gui had never even heard of.
“Most of the first batch is ready—meat, grain, oil...”
Sun Gui handed over the list and then asked, “Li Shaoxia, please don’t mind my prying, but the grain prices in Yunzhou have risen by twenty percent. If we want to avoid affecting local livelihoods, the next batch will have to be sourced from elsewhere, and I don’t know how much more it will cost.”
“Just source it.”
Li Mo nodded, using the World Seed to store the supplies from the warehouse.
Sun Gui was left speechless.
Such a vast storage space—he had never heard of anything like it.
Another day of being limited by poverty for Yunzhou’s richest man.
---
In the Southern Wilderness, Qingmu City.
The entire city had already entered a state of war readiness, with tension in the air.
There were already flying disaster beasts from foreign tribes acting as scouts, lurking around Qingmu City with predatory intent.
Before the army moved, the supplies had to be secured; thus, the granary of the Qingmu camp was naturally the most heavily guarded place.
Currently, it was guarded by Qu Sheng’s personal troops.
The flickering flames cast shadows as the commander of Qingmu stood with his hands clasped behind his back in front of the granary.
The cold wind blew into the empty granary behind him, producing a mournful howling sound.
“Li Shaoxia said he wants the granary at Qingmu Camp to be overflowing?”
“That’s what he said, and then he left.”
Huang Donglai nodded nearby.
“...”
Qu Sheng furrowed his brow, his expression complex.
Rationality told him this was not a realistic request.
First of all, with eighty thousand men, they consumed at least hundreds of thousands of pounds of supplies daily. The amount of food consumed in a war was terrifyingly exaggerated. Even the imperial court had to think carefully, fearing it would be a heavy burden.
Not to mention whether they could afford it.
Even if they could gather the supplies, how could they deliver them in time?
For one person to supply food for the army over vast distances in a short time—it sounded like a fantasy.
If anyone else had said this, he wouldn’t have mobilized forces to wait here.
Time passed.
Qu Sheng gradually began to wonder if Li Shaoxia had already decided to leave, but before departing, he couldn’t bear to lose face, so he made some grandiose claims.
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