Chapter 188: Worrying

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e were in a carriage returning to Daxia City with their group.

Inside the carriage, the air was filled with soft, melodic chatter and the warmth of spring; the three women, each beautiful in her own distinct way, complemented one another, creating a sight that was truly a feast for the eyes.

However, among the three, it was mostly Cai Wei who was speaking, as she was reporting on all the affairs of the House of Luolan over the past month.

After all, with both Jiang Qing'e and Li Luo having entered the academy to cultivate, the operation of the House of Luolan's many affairs, both large and small, had fallen onto Cai Wei's shoulders; Li Luo believed that without her presence, Jiang Qing'e would likely be even more worried and exhausted.

Cai Wei was indeed exceptionally talented in management; she had kept the countless, complex affairs of the House of Luolan in perfect order, and she was truly a most competent Chief Steward.

"The House of Luolan's other industries have been calm this past month, but there have been significant changes at the Xiyang House."

"Thanks to the secret-method source water provided by the Young House Master, the Xiyang House headquarters' revenue reached 300, 00 Heavenly Gold coins this month."

Hearing this, even Jiang Qing'e could not help but show surprise, her golden eyes looking at Li Luo in astonishment.

Previously, the Xiyang House headquarters' annual income was only about a million, averaging around 100, 00 per month; had it really tripled because of Li Luo's secret-method source water?

At this rate, wouldn't the Xiyang House headquarters alone reach an annual income of over three million? That was almost half of the entire House of Luolan's annual revenue in previous years!

Facing Jiang Qing'e's amazed gaze, Li Luo felt an intense sense of satisfaction; after all, the "Big White Goose" was so outstanding that there had previously been almost nothing he could do to surprise her.

This moment was truly gratifying, but to maintain his composure, he only smiled faintly and waved his hand nonchalantly: "This increase is actually within expectations; after all, the Tianshu Prefecture Xiyang House branch had already seen this kind of growth."

Cai Wei then continued: "However, because the Young House Master required a large amount of spirit liquid and light, we purchased seven 6th-grade spirit liquids and lights and over twenty 5th-grade ones this month, so this expenditure reached 320, 00 Heavenly Gold coins; in the end, we actually lost 20, 00."

Li Luo's smile immediately stiffened. Sister Cai Wei, I feel like you're targeting me!

"So it's running at a deficit, Young House Master. You've dug quite a deep hole for yourself," Yan Lingqing interjected with a smile, twisting the knife.

Jiang Qing'e smiled and said, "Money is meant to be spent, and this isn't a waste of effort. After all, those spirit liquids and lights are being invested in Li Luo. Once his dual resonance is perfected in the future and our House of Luolan gains a new Marquis-level powerhouse, it won't be considered a loss."

Li Luo was touched; the Big Goose still cared for him.

However, for the sake of his future spirit liquids and lights, he felt that this loss-making situation should be changed, so he asked, "Sister Cai Wei, there should still be room for the Xiyang House headquarters' revenue to grow, right?"

He had been able to achieve this kind of growth at the Tianshu Prefecture branch, and since the headquarters was larger than the Tianshu branch, logically, the increase should be even greater.

"That was the plan... but don't forget, the Xiyang House headquarters is no longer in its prime," Cai Wei reminded him.

Li Luo was stunned, then shook his head helplessly; he had almost forgotten that. When he first arrived in Daxia City, the Duze House, in order to give him a "big gift," had directly bribed the previous Xiyang House president, Han Zhi, and poached nearly half of the resonance refiners, leaving the Xiyang House headquarters severely crippled.

For a Xiyang House, resonance refiners were the foundation; after all, no matter how much secret-method source water or materials you had, if there were no resonance refiners to refine them, everything was useless.

"That ingrate..."

Li Luo couldn't help but curse. If you wanted to leave, fine, but you had to poach so many resonance refiners—these were the roots of the Xiyang House; your methods were truly vicious.

"Have you been trying to recruit resonance refiners recently?" Jiang Qing'e asked.

Cai Wei nodded her rounded, pretty chin and said, "We have been recruiting, and the compensation offered is quite high. We even used the secret-method source water provided by the Young House Master as a selling point, but... the results haven't been as good as expected."

Li Luo frowned. High-7th-grade secret-method source water was quite high-level; it should have had a huge appeal to many resonance refiners. How could the results be poor?

Jiang Qing'e said slowly, "Are you being targeted? By whom?"

Cai Wei smiled helplessly: "Who else could it be? Naturally, it's the Duze House's 'Daze House.' They spent such a high price to poach Han Zhi and cripple our Xiyang House; how could they sit by and watch the Xiyang House slowly recover?"

"They are aware of the Xiyang House's performance over the last month, and they must be quite shocked. That is why they are determined to obstruct us from recruiting more resonance refiners and prevent us from restoring our scale."

"The Duze House again..."

A gloomy look flashed in Li Luo's eyes. Within the academy, the Duze House siblings were constantly causing him trouble, and here in Daxia City, the Duze House was intensifying its various offensives against the House of Luolan, attempting to dismantle and annex it.

The struggles within the academy still maintained some bottom lines, but out here... the struggles and competition between great houses had no rules or morality; it was all blood and blades.

What the Duze House wanted was to strike the House of Luolan from the list of the Five Great Houses and then devour it until not even the bones remained.

Li Luo even wondered if it weren't for the fact that he and Jiang Qing'e had both entered the Astral Sage College and were considered highly valued by the academy, the Duze House would likely have used some underhanded means to eliminate them both directly; at that point, the House of Luolan, having lost its helmsmen, would naturally collapse without a fight.

"Currently in Daxia City, some of the more outstanding freelance resonance refiners, especially those who have had contact with our Xiyang House, have almost all been approached by the 'Daze House,' which has offered them better conditions than we can."

Cai Wei's willow brows furrowed, and she said with slight anger: "The Daze House is relying on its deep foundations to try and crush the Xiyang House."

It had to be said that the Daze House's move was both simple and vicious. The Xiyang House was already severely weakened; if not for the high-purity secret-method source water Li Luo had provided this time, it would likely have collapsed under such targeted strikes.

But even so, it was now very difficult for the Xiyang House to recruit more excellent resonance refiners.

Without more resonance refiners, it was difficult to expand the scale of the Xiyang House, and naturally, it could not achieve the effect of revitalizing the House of Luolan.

"Let's take the matter of the resonance refiners slowly. As long as the Xiyang House stays stable, there will eventually be opportunities to grow," Jiang Qing'e said calmly.

Li Luo and Cai Wei both nodded. Although the Duze House was pressing them step by step, they could not lose their composure and could only wait for an opportunity to act.

"By the way, there is one more thing, and it is quite urgent."

Cai Wei's pretty face tightened as she looked at Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e.

"According to the intelligence I received, many resonance refiners from the Xiling Prefecture Xiyang House branch have rushed to Daxia City. The previously sidelined Pang Qianchi has had contact with them, and it feels... like they have ill intentions."

Hearing this, Li Luo was stunned and said, "The Xiling Prefecture Xiyang House branch?"

In Daxia, besides the headquarters in Daxia City, the Xiyang House had two other branches: one in Nanfeng City of Tianshu Prefecture, and the other in Xiling Prefecture.

However, Xiling Prefecture was within Pei Hao's sphere of influence, so the Xiyang House branch there had long been controlled by Pei Hao and did not take orders from the headquarters.

So now, these resonance refiners from the Xiling branch were gathering in Daxia City and contacting Pang Qianchi—what were they trying to do?

"It should be driven by Pei Hao behind the scenes," Jiang Qing'e said faintly.

Whether it was the resonance refiners from Xiling Prefecture or Pang Qianchi, they were all considered Pei Hao's people. Now that they were gathering, it would be too naive to think there was no instruction from Pei Hao behind it.

"Pei Hao..."

Hearing this name, a coldness flashed in Li Luo's eyes. This was the culprit who had caused the internal and external troubles that left the House of Luolan teetering on the brink of collapse.

"Notify Pavilion Master Lei Zhang to keep an eye on Pang Qianchi and the others during this time... and of course, most importantly, see if you can find Pei Hao. I have a feeling he might have taken this opportunity to come to Daxia City as well," Jiang Qing'e said.

Li Luo frowned and said, "Pei Hao has come too?"

Previously, his meeting with Pei Hao at the old residence in Nanfeng City had led to the division of the Nine Pavilions of the House of Luolan. If Pei Hao had come to the capital again, he was likely not here for sightseeing; they had to remain vigilant.

Jiang Qing'e nodded: "I have this premonition."

"If he has come to Daxia City..." A cold, murderous intent flashed in Li Luo's eyes.

"Can we find a chance to get rid of him?"

The House of Luolan's power was currently divided, and the main reason was Pei Hao. If they could decisively kill him, although the situation would still be chaotic, as long as he and Jiang Qing'e did not lose their heads, they could gradually stabilize the situation. Once the biggest internal threat, Pei Hao, was gone, the House of Luolan would recover even faster.

Jiang Qing'e said softly, "Actually, Pei Hao has never been the one I fear... I am only worried about who exactly is supporting Pei Hao behind his back."

A shadow passed through Li Luo's eyes. There was a high probability that a top-tier force was providing support to Pei Hao; otherwise, he likely wouldn't have had the guts to rebel immediately after his parents went missing.

But who was supporting him?

The Duze House? Or the Jiyan House? These were the top forces that had always been at odds with the House of Luolan and had the motive, or perhaps, it was some other force?

Li Luo rubbed his brow. It seemed that with this news, this vacation would not be as worry-free as he had hoped.

(First update.)