Chapter 128: Li Shimin’s Invitation

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What did eighty thousand taels of silver actually represent?

In the third year of the Zhenguan era, the Great Tang's population was recovering rapidly. Yet the household registers maintained by the Ministry of Revenue contained fewer than two and a half million households. The empire was still rising from ruin, and every province and prefecture was struggling to rebuild. The Tang of that time was still far from being a land of abundant treasures, renowned throughout the world, and submitted to by all under heaven.

In other words, the dynasty established after Li Shimin's accession was still desperately poor. The entire court's annual tax revenue, converted into silver, amounted to only several million taels. After paying the salaries of officials large and small, funding the construction of canals and official roads, providing relief in times of disaster, and allocating supplies to the various armies, scarcely anything remained. Thus, though Li Shimin was the emperor, he lived with great frugality.

Now Lady Xiao, Lady Long, had demanded eighty thousand taels of silver the moment she opened her mouth, giving Lu Xin quite a shock. Back when he had still been in Shanyin County of Yuezhou, a single copper coin could buy two doses of Dream-Soul Paste. As a servant in the Xu household, a monthly wage of fifty copper coins was something countless commoners would fight tooth and nail to obtain. Eighty thousand taels was enough to make someone a regional magnate.

Seeing the two men fall silent at once, Lady Long climbed down from her high stool and began to laugh softly.

“What? Too expensive? Zhao Li, I have named my price. Whether you choose to buy is your affair. If the deal falls through, the friendship need not. I will not blame either of you. Besides, eighty thousand taels should not amount to much for the Nine-Star Gang, should it? Your gang's business stretches across every province and prefecture in this vast empire. Grain, cloth, wine, and river transport—the Nine-Star Gang must control twenty or thirty percent of all such trade under heaven. Have I spoken falsely? Your Gang Lord Lu is a man whose wealth rivals that of an entire nation.”

As she spoke, Lady Xiao walked toward a secret chamber on her right. Its stone door was set into a solid rock wall, with a mechanism built into it. Zhao Li hurried after her, smiling with practiced humility.

“You flatter us, Madam. My Nine-Star Gang merely handles a few small businesses, nothing compared with the wealth and influence of your Duke's household. Eighty thousand taels is indeed rather steep. I'm afraid I cannot decide such a matter myself.”

“Heehee. If you cannot decide, then the two of you may return for now. There is no harm in discussing the matter when someone who can make the decision arrives.”

Lady Xiao reached the door of the secret chamber, then turned around with a playful smile. At once, a fragrant aroma filled the air. Lu Xin could not tell whether it came from rouge and cosmetics or from Lady Xiao's own body. He only knew that it was intoxicatingly sweet. After one breath, his entire body grew soft and numb.

Seeing this, Zhao Li's expression changed slightly. He discreetly pinched Lu Xin's thigh, bringing the youth back to his senses. Lady Xiao said nothing. She merely stood before the door, smiling faintly as she studied the two of them.

“What formidable bewitching arts! This woman brought Dream-Soul Paste into Chang'an. She must have some deeper scheme.”

Lu Xin was horrified. After inhaling only a trace of her fragrance, he had nearly fallen into an illusion from which he could not escape. Had Zhao Li not been beside him, he would probably have been at her mercy by now. He bit his lip, then suddenly took a step forward.

“Lady Xiao, you are my senior, and your cultivation is unfathomable. I trust you. But eighty thousand taels of silver is no small sum. Might I first take a look at the Dragon's Saliva Herb?”

“Hehe. Ordinarily, I should not inquire into a buyer's private affairs. But the Dragon's Saliva Herb is the finest healing treasure under heaven, and it is used only to treat injuries that have penetrated to the marrow. An ordinary person could not refine it even if he obtained it, much less buy it. If I am not mistaken, the person seeking it is one of those who appeared in Chang'an last night, is he not? Little one, if you can tell me who it is, I might give you a discount.”

Lady Xiao let out a strange little chuckle and suddenly narrowed her eyes. Lu Xin instantly felt a powerful will envelop his entire body, as though it intended to see through him completely. Hearing her words, Zhao Li naturally thought of Li Chunfeng at once. His brows furrowed, and his gaze grew complicated.

Lu Xin was not particularly scheming, but he could still guess a little of what the two of them were calculating. He gave a bitter laugh and shook his head.

“Please do not test me, Madam. I am determined to obtain the Dragon's Saliva Herb today. Open the door.”

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Without another word, Lu Xin made clear how resolute he was about purchasing the Dragon's Saliva Herb. Lady Xiao glanced at Zhao Li, pondered for a moment, and said nothing. She turned and opened the door to the secret chamber.

Rumble!

The stone door was slowly forced open by the mechanism, revealing a space roughly a hundred paces across. There was no furniture or decoration within. The rock walls on all four sides rose ten feet high, and countless cavities had been carved into them. Some were no larger than a fist, while others were as broad as millstones. Every one had been fashioned into a hidden compartment, and every compartment was sealed with a talisman.

Under the faint candlelight, hundreds upon hundreds of yellow talismans shimmered with a pale golden radiance. The sight was dreamlike beyond description.

“This is Lady Xiao's treasure vault. It is said that the treasures hidden in these compartments outnumber even those in the imperial treasury. I have entered the Xiao residence many times, but this is my first visit here. Lu Xin, I have you to thank for this.”

Zhao Li surveyed the chamber, staring at the densely packed compartments in the rock walls with eyes that shone like lamps. Lu Xin, however, had little interest in the treasures. He only wanted to see the legendary Dragon's Saliva Herb as soon as possible.

At that moment, Lady Xiao walked to the exact eastern side of the chamber, rose into the air, and removed the talisman sealing the highest compartment. In the next instant, the entire chamber trembled twice. The compartment slowly emerged from deep within the rock wall, sending a cloud of dust cascading through the air.

When Lady Xiao returned to the ground, she beckoned with one hand. The object inside the compartment instantly flew into her palm.

Looking closely, they saw a somewhat translucent, dark green box made entirely of crystal. It was about ten inches long and a finger's breadth wide, though no one could tell what material it had been made from. The moment the box appeared, the temperature in the entire chamber dropped. Though it was summer, winter seemed to have descended in an instant.

“Darkway Ice Crystal! It is said that within the Ruins of Return there is an innate ice vein hidden beneath the ocean floor, ten thousand fathoms deep. Occasionally, dark green crystals rise to the surface. They never melt even after a thousand years, and fire cannot dissolve them. This box alone must have cost a fortune.”

The instant he saw the box, Zhao Li's eyes widened, and his voice trembled with shock. Lu Xin had never heard of Darkway Ice Crystal, but he knew the name Ruins of Return.

The Liezi records: “To the east of the Bohai Sea, beyond one knows not how many hundreds of millions of miles, there is a great chasm. It is truly a bottomless valley, and beneath it there is no bottom. It is called the Ruins of Return.” The same name also appeared frequently in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, where it was described as the legendary dwelling place of immortals.

“Hmph. The Dragon's Saliva Herb is the spiritual root of the wood element under heaven. Only while it remains alive can it be used as medicine. Very few things in this world can preserve it intact. Without this piece of Darkway Ice Crystal, you would never have been able to see it. Now, do you still think eighty thousand taels is too expensive?”

Lady Xiao spoke coldly, making no attempt to conceal the pride in her voice. Zhao Li swallowed twice, but said nothing more.

Then Lady Xiao slowly opened the box, and a clear fragrance immediately filled the entire chamber.

Inside lay a dragon-shaped plant, rising and falling in a steady rhythm. A faint green radiance suffused its entire body, as though it were breathing in and out. To Lu Xin, it looked like a ginseng that was on the verge of transforming into a dragon. Its whiskers and hairlike roots were distinct, and he could even see a heart beating within it.

“What kind of medicinal herb is this? It is a living creature!”

Only now did Lu Xin truly understand what Li Chunfeng had sent him to purchase.

“Lady Xiao, this Dragon's Saliva Herb…”

Ignoring Zhao Li's reaction, Lu Xin was about to take the jade bottle from his robes when a voice suddenly rang out beyond the secret chamber. It was deep and powerful, like rolling thunder.

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“Lady Xiao, I will take this Dragon's Saliva Herb. Whatever price they offer, I will add twenty percent.”

The voice came without warning, and Lu Xin's face darkened instantly. At this critical moment, someone had actually come to snatch the Dragon's Saliva Herb from them. Not only had he failed to ask the price, he had declared from the outset that he would add twenty percent.

Lu Xin and Zhao Li turned around almost simultaneously. The newcomer wore a scarlet robe embroidered at the chest with a fierce tiger and a qilin. His hair was bound beneath a crown, and his expression was stern and imposing.

Zhao Li needed only one glance before his voice sank.

“Chief Administrator of the Demon Suppression Court—Yuchi Baolin!”

“What? That man is Yuchi Baolin?”

Lu Xin was stunned, and his expression grew even uglier. He had once seen Yuchi Baolin in Xuanzhou, when the Netherworld soldiers had passed through the city at night. Riding a tall horse, Yuchi Baolin had pursued them all the way to Qingyang County in Chizhou.

This great general of the imperial court, the son of Yuchi Jingde, possessed cultivation in the Return to Subtlety Realm. Later, when Ao Tian underwent a corpse transformation, Yuchi Baolin had taken a blow head-on and then vanished without a trace. Lu Xin had originally assumed that even if the man had survived, he must have suffered grievous injuries.

But now it appeared that this was not the case.

Still, it was no wonder Lu Xin had failed to recognize him. At the time, Yuchi Baolin had been completely encased in armor. It had also been night, and they had been far apart; there had been no way to see his features clearly. Though they had met once before, Yuchi Baolin's appearance now made it obvious that he had come with hostile intentions.

“So it is Chief Administrator Yuchi. A pleasure to meet you. However, this Dragon's Saliva Herb has already been reserved by these two gentlemen, so I…”

“No matter. I will deal with their matter myself. As long as Lady Xiao hands the Dragon's Saliva Herb to me, money will not be an issue.”

Yuchi Baolin strode into the secret chamber on his own, without even glancing at Lu Xin and Zhao Li. As he spoke, he waved a hand, and both Lu Xin and Zhao Li instantly stiffened, frozen in place.

Lady Xiao watched this happen. After a moment's thought, she began to laugh.

“Eighty thousand taels of silver. As for the additional twenty percent, you may dispense with it. Consider it a small token of this humble woman's respect for General Yuchi.”

Holding the box, Lady Xiao took two steps forward and extended it toward Yuchi Baolin, apparently unconcerned with where the silver would come from.

Lu Xin was consumed by fury. Though he could not even lift his feet, he suddenly roared.

“Lady Xiao, since ancient times, all dealings have followed the rule of first come, first served, especially in your line of business. I was the first to come here to buy the Dragon's Saliva Herb. If you give it to someone else, are you not afraid that the Xiao residence will never be able to conduct business again?”

“What did you say? Boy, does Yuchi Baolin need instruction from someone like you in how to conduct himself?”

Lu Xin's words caused Yuchi Baolin's gaze to turn cold in an instant.

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