A few minutes ago.
Right after Aksai left the black market shop.
The ashen-faced shopkeeper went inside the shop’s inner sanctum and bowed in front of a young man who looked to be in his early 20s.
The young man looked handsome and refined, his clothes rich-looking, and his demeanor leisurely as he played with a harp calmly.
“Young master Lian, there was—”
“I already know,” Lian Lakir cut him off and smirked before adding further in a calm voice. “I have already sent three guys after that man. Don’t worry, we will soon know everything about him.”
“Are you going to kill him?” the shopkeeper asked, not surprised by Lian’s preemptive measures.
It seemed that it wasn’t long before Lian was given the responsibility of managing this black market shop by the Lakir family. As such he looked puzzled when he heard the shopkeeper’s question.
“Is that what my predecessors did when they were asked to handle the black market of the Lakir family?” Lian asked the ashen-faced shopkeeper with a doubtful voice. The latter nodded before responding.
“The Basic Greenwood Tantra is a way to nurture slaves for the Lakir family. The family always believed that the slaves shouldn’t be more powerful than their masters.
Especially the slaves who were free to do whatever they wanted without any shackles placed on them.
That’s why the family kept this black market shop running. On the surface, we defy the Lakir family secretly and sell the last three layers of the Basic Greenwood Tantra to those with enough Spirit Stones on them.
However, our main purpose of selling the last three layers in the black market is so that we could identify these rebelling slaves and take care of them without making a fuss,” the ashen-faced shopkeeper spoke in a cold tone, his voice tinged with years of experiences acting as the shopkeeper of the dilapidated shop.
“I see,” Lian held his chin in contemplation before shaking his head. “I think this is way too primitive thinking though. It sounds smart but doesn’t that ultimately mean we from the Lakir family are scared of these Spirit farmers?”
“What do you suggest then?” the ashen-faced shopkeeper asked in a neutral tone. He didn’t want to influence the decision of this young scion from the Lakir family.
That way, the ashen-faced shopkeeper could stay away from any potential repercussions that may come his way if and when this young master who was supposed to be in charge messed up.
Lian waited for the ashen-faced shopkeeper to speak and deliberate. But it seemed that the old shopkeeper didn’t want any responsibility falling his way. Lian only smiled and shook his head before putting his harp away. He adjusted his long robe and ran his fingers through his dense blackish-blue hair.
“We can always force these rebellious Spirit farmers to sign binding contracts with us after identifying them,” Lian spoke as he got up from his position and walked towards the window that showed the view of the black market alley.
“What’s more? This exploration of the inheritance ground will keep on for years on end. We need more manpower, especially to act as good cannon fodder in our expedition.
Why would we allow the drifting cultivators to enter the inheritance ground otherwise? The situation with the Ragui family is tense as well. And we don’t know how the Purple River Sect will react when we start extracting resources from the inheritance ground.”
The ashen-faced shopkeeper started looking at Lian in a new light when he heard Lian’s reasoning. “So from now on, you want to hire all the rebellious Spirit farmers who have reached the late stages of Spirit Refining?” he asked with a curious voice.
“Indeed,” Lian nodded before adding further, his gaze looking at the low activity of the black market with a nonchalant gaze.
“At this time, we need these rebellious Spirit farmers more than ever to act as our swords and shields. Plus, buying their loyalty is easy.
We just need to offer them the last three layers of the Basic Greenwood Tantra, some cultivation resources, and a bunch of spirit stones, and they’ll wag their tails behind us like the good dogs they are,” Lian spoke and chuckled in disdain.
“But by doing things this way, the rebellious Spirit farmers will get access to the last three–” the ashen-faced shopkeeper wanted to retort but Lian cut him off with his next words.
“Anyone who thinks possessing the last three layers of the inferior-grade Spirit Refining cultivation technique means that they will successfully establish their foundation is only deluding themselves,” Lian spoke and sighed before shaking his head.
“If it was so easy to establish a foundation, why do so many of these drifting cultivators die while trying to achieve a breakthrough into the 2nd realm?” Lian sneered as he spoke, already aware of the pitfalls behind the foundation building due to his position in the Lakir family.
“I see,” the shopkeeper nodded in understanding. He had to say that even though Lian was young and lacked business experience, he wasn’t stupid or full of ego. He prioritized the clan’s needs over the petty power plays.
“Then the guys you sent after him will–” the ashen-faced shopkeeper’s voice trailed off, wanting Lian to complete his sentence.
“They will try to attack him and force him to show his trump cards but will not kill him,” Lian smiled as he spoke.
“Although that rebellious Spirit farmer only has 5th stage Spirit Refining cultivation, I have played it safe and sent one 6th stage and two 5th stage Spirit Refiners after him.
I have also sent a 7th-stage cultivator to act as a backup just in case, who’ll keep himself at a distance and only intervene when things go south.
Think of it as me not daring to underestimate the foe. You see, I don’t like to be outsmarted by any unforeseen surprises.
With three of them as frontal force and the late-stage Spirit Refiner acting as a backup, they’ll have enough room to play with him.
If he decides to exit the black market and surrender himself to the city guards, that will be even better. We can also follow him back to his home if he decides to act passively.
No matter what he chooses, he’ll eventually have to fight those three guys or reveal his identity.
This way, we will also get to know how much battle potential this new dog has– can he really bite when asked? Hehe.
Of course, once we let him go, we will also have our ways to track him down. He won’t be able to get away from us when we follow him to his home and uncover his real identity.
At that time, he’ll only have two choices– either join us on our terms or be killed. What do you think he’ll choose when presented with those choices?” Lian asked the ashen-faced shopkeeper and chuckled heartily as if he had cracked a nice joke.
“Young master Lian is wise beyond his years,” the ashen-faced shopkeeper offered another bow to Lian in response, not daring to speak any further.