The Young Wanderer 06

"Holy crap!"

They realized things had gone wrong, turned, and ran.

Yue'e, hidden in the shadows, glanced at those fleeing in panic, then looked down and recited the script the master had sent. It was the lament she would deliver soon.

"What? The winter clothes meant for the poor were all burned by those bandits?"

"How can people be so wicked!"

"Heavens, I heard the news too! They said the cloth workshop was going to give winter clothes to all the poor this year, but then, then! Those damned thieves!"

The Nine Clouds of Qingyun couldn't take it anymore. Now, with every few steps, they could hear someone cursing them, using the crudest language imaginable!

They had no way to defend themselves either. Why would the cloth workshop have any motive to burn its own warehouse? Who would believe that?

The local authorities were also more agitated than before. The first time could be called an accident, but the second time was a blatant disregard for the law! The constables even started searching house to house. This made the nine of them sense real danger, so they chose to flee. However, they encountered constables again during their escape, leading to another clash. The Nine Clouds of Qingyun injured several soldiers and escaped outside the city walls.

Fang Zhiyi, at this moment, rubbed his hands together, grinning with delight at the silver before him.

His accountant, Golden Abacus, watching his master's expression, couldn't help but shrink his neck. Truly, when the master didn't act, nothing happened, but when he did, it shook the world!

He had actually managed to openly transport all this silver here, bypassing the official inspections. Normally, transporting physical silver required records with the local authorities, or there would be trouble. Yet, with the master's move, this silver, accumulated over so long, was swaggered out right under their noses.

It was just a pity for those young fools who took the blame.

"Now that we have the silver, proceed as I instructed," Fang Zhiyi said to Golden Abacus.

Golden Abacus nodded. He always harbored doubts about the master's methods, but... well, it wasn't like there were other options, was there?

Watching him leave with the rolled-up blueprints tucked under his arm, a smirk curled at the corner of Fang Zhiyi's mouth.

All the gray-market operations had been shut down. Now, the industries under the Wanbao Pavilion were cleaner than clean. All he had to do was wait for those little protagonists to come sticking their noses in, looking for trouble.

They were practically professional scapegoats, weren't they?

The scale and coverage of Wanbao Pavilion meant it was definitely on the imperial court's radar, with every transaction likely being watched. This time, he just happened to use these nine idiots for a one-time withdrawal. Not bad, really quite useful.

The Nine Clouds of Qingyun still maintained their fervor. Perhaps that was just youth.

Of course, their inexplicable hatred for Wanbao Pavilion deepened a bit more.

This also laid the groundwork for the Drunken Sword Immortal's appearance. When the Nine Clouds of Qingyun actively picked a fight at the Drunken Sword Immortal's tavern, and Xiao Changfeng, also a swordsman, drew his sword to challenge the Drunken Sword Immortal, the Immortal initially wanted to accept. But then he thought of the master's promise, of those ten jars of fine wine—what was face worth! Ever since being expelled from his sect, he'd given up on keeping face!

So, in full view of everyone, he let Xiao Changfeng knock him down.

Even Xiao Changfeng was somewhat stunned. He could sense the man before him was a master, his cultivation even slightly higher than his own. But he... he just fell down? He hadn't even used his full strength...

Why?

"Someone's been killed!"

"Beating people up without paying for the meal!"

"Help! Someone!"

With the waiters' shouts ringing out, the young men instinctively bolted. They had practically developed a conditioned reflex by now.

What in the world was this Wanbao Pavilion? Weren't they supposed to be a Jianghu force? A killer organization? A grand conspiracy? Why did they just start yelling at the top of their lungs at every turn?

Official documents circulated between cities. Soon, wanted notices for the Nine Clouds of Qingyun arrived here. The local officials took one look: Well, well, aren't these the lads who dined and dashed and assaulted merchants?

Having received gifts from Wanbao Pavilion, the local officials naturally got to work, immediately sending people to spread the word on the streets and post rewards for their capture.

Thus, the reputation of the Nine Clouds of Qingyun began to stink.

Having fled the city once more, the nine of them caught their breath, utterly failing to understand why any of this was happening.

"Could it be we were wrong?" someone wondered doubtfully.

Li Wenyan also felt uncertain in his heart. He prided himself on never making wrong decisions, but lately, it seemed every decision he made was a mistake.

"If only those Wanbao Pavilion people would fight us properly, I, a fourth-rank cultivator, fear no one... but they report us to the authorities every single time... this..." Zhao Jinglei angrily punched a nearby tree, causing the sturdy trunk to shake violently.

Xiao Changfeng also felt dejected: "All my superb sword skills are wasted, with nowhere to exert my strength."

Everyone fell silent.

For the first time, someone began to question whether their campaign against Wanbao Pavilion was a mistake at all.

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly City, Prince Xuan was utterly bewildered.

"Prince Xuan is truly a great philanthropist!"

"I once spoke ill of Your Highness. Please do not hold it against this ignorant one."

"This old subject thanks Prince Xuan on behalf of the common people!"

These retired old ministers before him were showering him with praise, leaving him completely baffled.

It wasn't until evening, when his spy delivered a secret report, that he understood.

The industries under Wanbao Pavilion had recently been making a big show of doing good deeds, all uniformly stating to the public that it was Prince Xuan's will. The common people's favor towards this prince had multiplied.

"And because it's known to be Your Highness's enterprise... the local authorities investigating the loss of the charitable funds from Misty Rain Cloth Workshop have dispatched all their top experts in an urgent manhunt for the thieves," the spy reported.

Prince Xuan was dumbfounded. What was going on? He knew of Wanbao Pavilion; he supported it. But weren't all those operations Fang Zhiyi's doing? How had they become his?

And doing good deeds... good deeds...

Prince Xuan suddenly jumped up: "You said WHAT?!"

The spy was somewhat confused: "I said... the people are very grateful to Your Highness, and some local officials have submitted memorials praising your merits..."

Prince Xuan felt his scalp go numb. Praising merits! Showing support! He could already imagine how Emperor Tianyan would deal with him!

Had Fang Zhiyi gone mad?

But on second thought, no, that wasn't like him... So what he was doing was simply to build some reputation and gain some support for him?

Regardless, he was probably in for a rough time this time.

Sure enough, a messenger arrived in the middle of the night, saying Emperor Tianyan wished to summon Prince Xuan to the palace for a "chat."

Prince Xuan went with a bitter expression.

Fortunately, he was no pushover either. In terms of cultivation, he and Emperor Tianyan were evenly matched. In terms of bloodline, they were brothers. Though the Emperor's words were laden with implication, without solid evidence, he couldn't do much to him.

But he also realized one possibility.

With this move, Fang Zhiyi had dragged him out from the shadows. In other words, whereas before he had used Fang Zhiyi as a pawn, now he was the one bound to Fang Zhiyi's war chariot! And it was the kind you couldn't shake off!