Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 613 - 613 612 Intricate and Confusing

613: Chapter 612: Intricate and Confusing 613: Chapter 612: Intricate and Confusing Someone speaking out with grievances during a banquet made the high-ranking officials rather uncomfortable.

Li Laixiang’s expression turned stern,

“Gu Dajun of Hengda, if there’s any issue, you can very well go to the Capital Commandant’s Office in private.

On such a fine day, to ruin everyone’s mood here, do you no longer wish to get along in Zhongqing?”

However, Gu Dajun stood tall, unafraid, “The rules at the Capital Commandant’s Office are strict, I’m afraid I won’t be let in, so why can’t I ask here?”

He was a businessman from Shan Country who had opened a business in Zhongqing, but had been repeatedly suppressed and found no means to source his goods; unlike the local businessmen, his way of doing things was completely in the style of Shan Country, not bearing grievances and directly reporting to the Capital Commandant’s Office, which was very common in Shan Country.

Of course, here it was somewhat eccentric, not quite fitting in; it wasn’t just his personal issue, most businessmen from Shan Country experienced similar encounters here.

Hou Niao pressed his hand down, at this moment, the demeanor of a superior was unmistakable, he might be pretending, but he might also genuinely be enjoying it?

The scene fell silent, “If you have any grievances, just state them.

Today, both General Lan and I from the central military command are present, we should be able to provide you an explanation; there’s no need to be nervous, no matter what you say, the Capital Commandant’s Office won’t retaliate against you, and presumably neither will the staff at the central military command office?”

Lan Zaitian beside Li Laixiang nodded, Hou Capital Commandant was good with words, initially assigning decision-making power to the three of them, not unilaterally dominating, which was an important attitude; if Hou Capital Commandant was willing to cooperate, they were of course willing to give face to this newcomer, after all, an uncooperative businessman was not worth fussing over.

Gu Dajun went up to the third floor and proclaimed loudly, “Hengda’s main business direction is Geng Essence and its derivatives, the most famous of Pingliang State, but recently, the Zhongqing Business District has been deliberately suppressing and restricting us outsiders, blocking supplies, maliciously raising prices, backroom dealings…”

Hou Niao, after listening for a while, couldn’t help but smile, “What you mean is, you can’t get Geng Essence, right?”

Seeing Gu Dajun nod, he turned to Li Laixiang, “Can’t even a single firm manage its goods?”

Li Laixiang grandly waved his hand, “Since the Capital Commandant has intervened, just leave it to the central military command, we will surely satisfy Mr.

Gu.”

For him, how much stock could a small business possibly have?

Letting a little slip through the cracks would solve the problem, as long as the Capital Commandant didn’t investigate further or blow things out of proportion.

If this Capital Commandant was sensible, like now, he certainly wouldn’t dwell on such trivial benefits; he was a person with perspective.

Gu Dajun hesitated slightly, wanting to say more but stopping himself as he looked at the three officials, who were chatting and laughing merrily.

He could tell, this new Capital Commandant wasn’t much different from the previous ones.

Speaking more would probably not lead to good results.

This was a perfect banquet, where both guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely.

Before the end of the banquet, Hou Capital Commandant graciously accepted the gifts from the commerce guild, including a small troupe and six young, beautiful dancers, evidently, quite a sum had been spent by both offices on this.

Full on wine and food, the music ended and people dispersed.

Hou Niao wandered around the bustling night market of Zhongqing, not feeling too disheartened, as the saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ goes; the situation in Pingliang State hadn’t formed in a day, nor was it caused by a single Capital Commandant.

A person becomes more mature, signified by not judging others and situations around him simply by right and wrong or good and bad anymore; righteousness contains faults, good contains bad, wrong has its reasons, bad has its goodness, the more mature a person, the greater these intersecting boundaries become, stabilizing one’s character, and deeper truths are discerned.

The main culprit for Pingliang State turning out this way was the agreement reached initially with the Langzhong Sect to maintain the cultural traditions of this land; but during the annexation of Langzhong Country at that time, this agreement was reached with the least cost for the maximum outcome.

Thus, there wasn’t a question of right or wrong, just that the times had changed.

Back then, it was for the annexation of a nation, now as the agreement nears its conclusion, it’s inevitable that some are beginning to scheme.

He had already reviewed the reports presented by every cultivator from the Capital Commandant’s Offices, half of them meaningless and the other half evasive.

He didn’t blame them, as a Capital Commandant, he hadn’t given his subordinates a clear goal.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to give one, but that he couldn’t, as he wasn’t sure how many among them were traitors?

He was waiting, not believing that all the cultivators from the Capital Commandant’s Offices were useless, without skills they wouldn’t have been able to enter this place; and it doesn’t require too deliberate a search, for a cultivator, just serving here for a while would eventually reveal some abnormalities.

Humans are complex animals, just as there are definitely those who have been bribed among these people, so there are also those who secretly bear fangs, waiting for an opportunity.

Throwing himself into the crowd, he now could easily completely conceal his own aura, indistinguishable from ordinary mortals.

Having been in Zhongqing City for several days, he successfully portrayed himself as a proud, vain and ostentatious visitor from Yujing, naturally exuding an air of superiority, viewing others as country bumpkins.

This feigned demeanor couldn’t fool Su Lingyun, but the old man wouldn’t say anything; not about capability, but at least in terms of loyalty, this old cultivator had no issues.

Turning several corners, he stopped in front of a barrier to watch the lanterns, then, a person slowly approached him, cautiously maintaining a distance of about ten feet.

“Capital Commandant’s Criminal Investigation, Li Shipeng, greets the Capital Commandant, sir.”

Hou Niao looked at the lanterns on his own, “You came to find me, is there something you need?”

Li Shipeng spoke softly, “Subordinate observes the Capital Commandant’s actions seem purposeful?

So I took the liberty to come here, wondering if my guess is correct?”

“You satisfy me, then I will satisfy you.”

Without hesitation, Li Shipeng was here exactly for this reason; since he had come, there was no turning back, “Wu Sect has been quietly monopolizing the Geng Essence supply over these years, they are preparing for war!”

Hou Niao’s expression remained unchanged; he knew that such matters in cultivation couldn’t be hidden from a cultivator’s long-term observation, he didn’t need to investigate himself, which would be laborious and time-consuming, as there were plenty of intelligent people in this world.

“Oh?

How so?”

“Geng Essence is the most crucial medium for communication between the divine soul and the artifact for a cultivator, virtually indispensable for any artifact; our Quanzhen Sect’s Flying Sword is one among them.

However, in terms of application scope, Daoist Sect’s use is undoubtedly broader because each person doesn’t just have a Flying Sword like us sword cultivators, but many magical artifacts, magical treasures, even including array plates and so on.

Over these past dozen years, the flow of Geng Essence in Pingliang State has become increasingly unclear, its whereabouts a mystery; as soon as it hits the market, it quickly disappears, and the few that appear on the market are just for show, which is why people like Gu Dajun cannot get their hands on Geng Essence.”