"Achoo..."
Li Mo wiped his nose, wondering who had been talking about him, then stepped through the gates of Hengtong Bank. The place was already under heavy guard, with armored soldiers stationed both inside and out. Judging by the design of their armor, they were likely the personal troops of the Southern Suppressing King.
Under the soldiers' guidance, he crossed the main hall and headed straight for the warehouse.
The warehouse had long been prepared, with mountains of supplies piled high and people bustling in and out.
The officials had been waiting there for hours, drinking tea until they had made multiple trips to the outhouse. Their expressions were far from pleased.
Since when did officials wait for others?
This person was a merchant's man.
But Li Mo was no merchant. In fact, these old foxes couldn’t even fathom his motives for organizing this grand event. It couldn’t just be a whim.
Who in their right mind would toss out a mountain of gold on a whim?
Sun Gui had been hovering nearby, anxiously wiping sweat and glancing at the door. When he finally saw Li Mo arrive, he let out a sigh of relief.
"The esteemed officials have been waiting for quite some time. This is Minister Song Baiyue of the Ministry of Revenue, and this is Vice Minister Qian. Both will need to inspect and sign off on the inventory later."
Zhong Qin, dressed as usual in a long robe, spoke with a gentleness unbefitting a battle-hardened general:
"Thanks to Li Mo’s generosity, we’ve managed to avert a crisis. Let’s work together to ensure this affair concludes smoothly."
After exchanging glances with his colleague, Song Baiyue nodded slightly. "Li Mo, this is a matter of great importance. There’s no room for delay—do you understand?"
The matter of his tardiness was brushed aside.
Li Mo had only paid the deposit, not the full sum.
This was a man who wouldn’t even give the Crown Prince face—a reckless youth, yet one who seemed to have the Emperor’s favor. Playing the authority card here probably wouldn’t work.
"Indeed. Just now, Sun Gui mentioned the preparations are nearly complete. Let’s begin the inspection."
Li Mo nodded.
With that, Sun Gui unfurled a list and began reading aloud as they walked:
"One hundred bolts of plain silk."
"Three hundred logs of raw timber."
"Six hundred bluefin fish, four hundred pine-nut chickens... two hundred thousand dan of refined grain... one hundred thousand dan of horse fodder..."
"Wait, hold on!"
Vice Minister Qian suddenly stopped in his tracks, eyes widening at the endless stream of grain still being hauled into the warehouse.
"Li Mo, what do you need so much grain for?"
"Same as the other ingredients—for cooking. The Grand Blooming Festival is a celebration for all under heaven. Shouldn’t everyone eat and drink well? Besides, what if the flowers wither from hunger?"
Li Mo looked utterly innocent, his reasoning airtight.
"But two hundred thousand dan? Are you feeding pigs?"
Vice Minister Qian still wasn’t convinced.
"Ah, I have a signature dish that extracts the essence of a hundred grains. It takes a hundred jin to produce just one liang, but the flavor is exquisite."
"And the horse fodder? Can you cook with that too?"
"Well, when guests come from afar, you can’t just make the horses run without feeding them."
"..."
Vice Minister Qian scratched his head. It sounded logical, yet something felt off.
He glanced at Minister Song, but when his superior remained silent, he reluctantly nodded.
They walked a little farther.
"Ten thousand tempered steel swords, seventy thousand long halberds..."
"What in the—?"
Vice Minister Qian lost his composure again, pointing at the mountainous pile of weapons.
"Li Mo, are these for the Grand Blooming Festival too?"
"As everyone knows, my Frost Fairy is a peerless swordswoman. A single dance of her blade can summon ten thousand swords to the skies. Not only that, her musical prowess is unmatched. When she plays 'The Heavenly King’s Battle Array,' weapons rise and dance like an army charging into battle."
Li Mo spoke with such conviction it almost sounded true.
"So these are... performance props?"
Vice Minister Qian looked to the Southern Suppressing King for confirmation.
"Indeed. Performance props." Zhong Qin’s lips twitched, as if he’d guessed Li Mo’s plan.
But having guessed it, he had no choice but to play along.
Minister Song cleared his throat. "You’ve never served in the military, so you wouldn’t know. If the Southern Suppressing King says it’s fine, then it must be appropriate."
"..." Vice Minister Qian had read many books, but he’d never been a soldier.
Still, this didn’t feel like preparations for a festival...
Now they had grain, weapons... if this kid just raised his arm and called for a revolt...
A moment later.
Everyone stared at the bright yellow robe in the distance and fell into deep thought.
...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
