Chapter 128: Conscience Feels a Bit Painful

Wei Yuning laughed, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the hospitality; I've already eaten. From now on, please call me Yuning or Young Master Yuning. Shui Sheng, could you present our plan to the king?"

"Yes, Young Master Yuning!" Xi Shui Sheng replied.

He laid out Wei Yuning's conditions and strategies in detail. The king and the two ministers listened, itching to interject, but the senior immortal stood nearby and feared losing politeness.

After a hard wait for Prince Xi to finish speaking, King Da Zhuang of Xi was the first to voice opposition: "No, this is absolutely unacceptable! An eleven tax is too low; it should be at least sixteen, no, seventeen tax to be proper."

"Your Majesty, our Yun Yin Sect is… a righteous immortal sect, not the brutal, unscrupulous ruler of the Black Water Nation. Eleven tax is sufficient; we have more than just this condition. If the Xi Nation produces any fine goods, beyond your own use, the surplus must be sold to us at market price!" When the word "righteous" was uttered, Wei Yuning felt as if he were a prostitute on a billboard, his heart uneasy.

However, compared with the Black Water Nation, the Yun Yin Sect truly is a spotless white lotus.

"Then we owe you even more thanks. Our goods are always bought cheap by unscrupulous itinerant merchants; apart from the surplus silver that can fetch a price, everything else is practically given away. With your help, I can only raise the tax by another ten percent!" The king grew even more reluctant, his face turning white with anger, and opposed.

Wei Yuning realized the king's argument was quite sound; he was actually at a loss for words.

"Then let's set the tax at thirteen; it can't be any higher. If you object, we… will simply drop the matter!" After a long silence, Wei Yuning said, struggling.

When those words left his mouth, he felt his conscience sting a little!

"Young Master Yuning, this… sigh, fine!" the king answered, huffing.

The two ministers beside them and Prince Xi wore delighted smiles; the deal was finally sealed.

A quarter of Xi Nation's mines had already been seized by the Blue Wolf Nation, though they were merely peripheral ordinary metal mines. The Blue Wolf people only enjoy grazing and neither like nor know how to mine.

After crushing Xi Nation's army, the Blue Wolf Nation's wolf knights grew considerably arrogant. Each mine shaft was left with only a five‑person knight patrol, completely disregarding the two hundred thousand Xi infantry and five thousand black‑horse knights.

After night fell, a pile of campfires was lit at the entrance of a mine shaft. The firewood came from the wooden tower frames and track sleepers used to transport ore. Blue Wolf Nation's warriors despised these labor tools and didn't treat them as toys.

A true man should ride across the vast lands, not bury his head in work like a woman; he should wield a sharp long sword, not a heavy pickaxe. Only the weak obtain food through labor; the truly strong survive by plunder.

This is the creed in the hearts of Blue Wolf Nation's warriors.

At night, the Xi Nation's temperature hovers around ten degrees, and the whistling night wind brings a slight chill.

Several wolf knights sat around the campfire, gnawing on black goats seized from Xi herders while gulping strong liquor from their skins, chatting loudly, and occasionally howling, startling the resting birds on the cliff.

A Blue Wolf lying on the ground suddenly lifted its head, looked around puzzled, found nothing, then after a while, cautiously lay down again.

Countless green vines sprang up, and before the Blue Wolf and the knights could react, they were tightly bound by the vines.

"Whoosh," a low whistle sounded.

From the darkness, a dozen robust Xi warriors surged forward, cutting off several wolf knights' heads in a flash, while black leather hoods were placed over the Blue Wolf's head one by one.

Deprived of sight, the Blue Wolf instantly became as obedient as a lamb, daring not a single movement.

Wei Yuning walked to the campfire, gathered the vines, and casually tossed the remaining half of the black goat meat into the storage ring.

"Leave three people to pull the Blue Wolf away and head to the last mine shaft!" Wei Yuning led the way, and the others hurried to follow.

Before midnight, thirty‑two massive mine shafts were cleared. Though they couldn't inflict fatal damage on the enemy, the deterrent effect was sufficient.

Wei Yuning, Qing Fu, Qing Ren, Qing Li, Qing Chou, and Feng Qi all took part; except for Wei Yuning, who refused to kill proactively, the other cultivators, seeking a swift victory, cleanly slew the wolf knights.

Their actions weren't free; each could claim a hundred catties of surplus silver. As for Xi Nation's "thirteen tax," Hong Zhi also refused to take advantage of Wei Yuning, and in the end, the sect split the profits evenly.

Monk Cheng Xin hadn't arrived; he was negotiating business with Prince Xi, preparing to sell Xi Nation's refined iron stone to the Black Water Temple.

A total of fifteen Blue Wolves were taken by Xi Nation's Black Rock City.

When Wei Yuning returned to the Royal City Imperial Residence, in its rear courtyard Hong Zhi and Yun Yan were studying the captured Blue Wolves. One Blue Wolf's head had been sliced open, another's belly was cut.

No blood spilled onto the ground, because the entire bodies of the two wolves were encased in pale‑blue ice blocks.

"Uncle Master Zhi, have you discerned anything?" Wei Yuning asked.

"I've seen a bit, but I don't fully understand. These Blue Wolves' bodies have been altered, perhaps by special medicines; their life force has been overdrawn, yet it also amplified their innate abilities, awakening the Blue Wolf bloodline spell, Ice Projectile. Such a spell that burns life energy to achieve its effect falls under life spells, and I haven't studied it much!" Hong Zhi shook his head.

"Life spells? Would water‑root healing spells count as life spells?" Wei Yuning asked.

"That counts! However, the spell on the Blue Wolves is likely a forbidden technique; the altered wolves have lost fertility, which violates natural law. Therefore, such a spell is an illicit art that should not exist." Hong Zhi said.

"It's more than a simple life‑evil spell; it can dramatically boost a cultivator's combat power in a short time, resembling some tribal witchcraft. The cultivators behind the Blue Wolf Nation are not simple; we must act prudently!" Yun Yan said from the side.

"Indeed, Yun Yan is right; you all should rest early. Tomorrow morning, the original plan remains unchanged; we will follow the main army to the capital of the Blue Wolf Nation." Hong Zhi said.

Early the next day, Wei Yuning went to the Black Water River outside the Royal City to cultivate.

This Black Water River is part of the massive river that runs through the entire Black Water Nation, but because the Black Water River is extremely wide and long—averaging fifty li in width and stretching twenty‑six thousand li—it has hundreds of upstream tributaries and thousands of downstream branches.

The spiritual energy here is exceedingly thin, yet there are still points where qi gathers, so Wei Yuning's cultivation proceeds normally. The few accompanying cultivators, however, find it troublesome; to cultivate properly they must rely on the spirit stones they carry.