Chapter 210: Chapter 209: The Friend You Mentioned
The success of the assassin business depends on both individual effort and the course of history.
Leyu understood the meaning behind the assassin fish’s words.
The peak season for the Imperial Court to thrive is the off-season for assassins; they must live carefully and prudently, and no one dares to recklessly employ assassins, naturally resulting in fewer orders;
Conversely, when the Imperial Court’s prestige is swept away, it becomes the prime season for assassins. They can now openly solicit clients, with every ambitious and scheming hero comes numerous assassin orders.
Therefore, the assassins’ main task is to maintain this chaotic world order and prevent it from ending too quickly.
And Lan Yan is clearly an excellent candidate to exacerbate this chaos.
Because he possesses extraordinary abilities and harbors rebellious intentions.
More importantly, he comes from a humble background.
Coming from a civilian background in the prestigious world dominated by the Nobility and Imperial Family, no matter what, he finds it difficult to climb the ranks, ultimately serving as a precursor for a king, crafting clothes for others.
People like him are ones the Assassin Organization is unwilling to kill and even willing to do business with.
The higher Lan Yan climbs, the more chaotic the world becomes.
The Assassin Organization may not have thought this way initially, but when they observed that the white-haired assassin couldn’t handle Lan Yan, they quickly changed their mindset.
Such ’ember tactics’ like ’sending in the elder after dealing with the young’ are nonexistent in institutions like Silver Blood Association and the Assassin Organization.
Leyu took out the ’Veil of Strife’ and casually said, "On behalf of Silver Ancient Moon, I ask if you can sell this item? He is willing to spend everything he has to buy it."
Fish was taken aback, probably her first time hearing someone looking to buy anything other than heads from the Assassin Organization.
"I will ask the leader."
Fish walked up to Leyu, took away the Veil of Strife, and handed a small booklet to Leyu.
Leyu glanced down, his eyes involuntarily brightened: The cover of the booklet was pitch-black with a skull spread flat in the center, below was a line of small text—
"White-haired sending off black-haired."
In this fledgling stage of capitalism with no brand awareness, the Assassin Organization surprisingly knows how to work on the cover to increase customer loyalty, already exhibiting business thinking ahead of its time.
No wonder a business like the Assassin Organization, which trades in lives, can thrive unrelentingly; Leyu couldn’t help but want to place an order to try it out.
Without even looking, Leyu could tell the booklet surely contained ways to contact the Assassin Organization and basic pricing, so he wasn’t in a hurry to peruse it, questioning: "Logically, helping you retrieve the Veil of Strife should be my extra labor. Both emotionally and rationally, your Assassin Organization should give me a little benefit for it, right? Otherwise, no one would help you recover lost items in the future."
"I will report to the leader." Assassin Fish said perfunctorily and left the council chamber without looking back.
With nothing exciting to see, members of the Silver Blood Association also began to leave the scene when Ting Wan suddenly stopped Leyu, who was about to stand up: "President Jing, Hongle Patriarch, and all present, please remain for a moment."
"What is the matter?" An impatient Quan Xin halted his steps, asking irritably, evidently sensing the call of Xiangxue Sea upon leaving the Sea of Consciousness of the Silver Blood.
"Nothing major, just a minor explanation." Ting Wan said, "You all heard many innocent accusations against the Ting Family from Lan Yan’s side. I hope everyone doesn’t heed the alarmist rhetoric of a treacherous person; our Ting Family remains a loyal member of the Silver Blood Association."
"Innocent accusations?" Lan Jianbo suddenly responded, "But you don’t seem that innocent."
Lan Yan once accused the Ting Family of sacrificing the Silver Blood Association to achieve his own family’s military transformation, listing all suspicious points, including why Ting Gu insisted on forming a negotiation team, and Ting Wan, initially meant to be exiled, returned as a Heyang General.
The actions of the Ting Family were not without flaws, but everyone was kept in the dark. Once Lan Yan, an outsider, unraveled the chaos in Xuanzhu County, how could they still believe the Ting Family’s flowery words?
The Ting Family aimed to sacrifice the Silver Blood Association for their own future!
They haven’t lashed out at the Ting Family solely because of unfavorable circumstances, plus the Ting Family has wealth and guns, obviously a tough nut to crack that would take everyone down if cornered.
Thus, upon returning, they avoided confronting Ting Chaozao, and reached a consensus:
First, stabilize the Ting Family; once things settle down here, unite to besiege the Ting Family’s industries from all sides, expose their vile deeds, and motivate the eighty-seven business associations to split the Ting Family. That way, they feast on meat, while Officials and the army sip broth, securing a bright future for all.
Now, Ting Wan, surprisingly seeking to explain himself, only makes them amused—they shoved him off the Celestial Platform, yet he brought a parachute, and now he’s saying it wasn’t intentional and seeks forgiveness?
Dream on!
"Hey, Patriarch Lan, don’t say it like that." Luo Zhen sighed, "How could the Ting Family harm us? You’re too young, don’t fall for Lan Yan’s slander!"
Leyu responded calmly, "Rest assured, we don’t heed one-sided stories; we only observe how the Ting Family acts. As long as the Ting Family doesn’t commit fraudulent deeds, naturally, they need not fear ghosts knocking at the door, and we will surely trust the Ting Family."
"Yes, yes." Quan Xin impatiently added, "Finished talking? Then I’m leaving."
Lan Jianbo suddenly realized, "Yes, we all trust the Ting Family."
Everyone nodded in agreement, as if they genuinely held full favor toward the Ting Family.
"Seems everyone harbors quite the prejudice against the Ting Family." Ting Wan lamented, "Decades of painstakingly built reputation can be lost overnight."
Leyu responded indifferently, "Knowing this, why start in the first place."
"But this is also good." Ting Wan laughed, "I have no interest in cleaning up the old man’s mess. Since everyone set their stance early, the matter simplifies considerably."
He took out a cigarette, gesturing to his brother to light it: "I know you all know what the Ting Family wants, and I also know what you plan to do."
"But the old man left not only a mess but also countless substantial inheritance."
"After thirty-odd years of presidency, how many business associations do you think were supported by the Ting Family within the Silver Blood Association?" Ting Wan said casually, "Ten? Twenty? Of course, businessmen only care about profit and not feelings, yet no one would doubt that the Ting Family cannot bring them fortune."
"Besides, your hostility is also an opportunity for the Ting Family. Compared to the Ting Family striving solely to enter the elite, the Nobility fears you united massive merchants more. The more you target the Ting Family, the stronger the support comes from above."
"With the support of dozens of merchant associations below, and the backing of the nobility and officials above, what do you think you can use to compete with the Ting Family? Even among yourselves, you are not united. You are all in it for profit. As soon as you can’t gain any benefits, you will naturally retreat."
"Whatever you plan to do will only push the Ting Family further ahead."
Ting Wanjian took a deep drag of his cigarette, then blew a smoke ring towards Leyu.
Witnessing such arrogant provocation, the expressions on everyone’s faces changed. They instinctively stepped back half a step, preparing to give Jin Zhengwei and Ting Wanjian room to fight.
But Ting Wanjian then reached out to disperse the smoke ring, offering Leyu an apologetic smile, as if it had happened accidentally.
He said leisurely:
"Despite my dislike for the old bastard, the path he designed is indeed the easiest for the Ting Family to walk."
"The Ting Family is no longer a cage that the Silver Blood Association can confine."
Everyone’s faces looked increasingly grim.
They didn’t think the Ting Family was a challenging opponent to deal with easily.
But it wasn’t until Ting Wanjian listed the advantages of the Ting Family.
That they realized.
The Ting Family had unknowingly grown into a monster!
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
"An excellent speech," Leyu gently clapped. "Here you are, pretending to beg for mercy, and it sounds like you’re offering us a chance to spare your sorry life. With this retreat-in-advance tactic, I should let you be the chairman; maybe you could even fool Lan Yan."
"The same goes for you," Ting Wanjian said, "Jin Zhengwei, your speech was also impressive. Isn’t it thrilling to have such power in your grasp?"
"But don’t forget why you rose to power."
"Because of the Linhai Army’s invasion."
"Because the Heyang Army was defeated."
"Because the Silver Blood Association is in crisis."
"Because," Ting Wanjian extinguished his cigarette butt, "the Ting Family needed a scapegoat to get through these difficult times."
"Of course, I cannot deny, your performance during negotiations was exceptional. You truly deserve to be the chairman."
"Therefore, I look forward to it," his eyes gleamed with a peculiar light, "that after the Linhai Army leaves, you can continue to deliver such brilliant performances."
"That I cannot guarantee," Leyu laughed. "But I am very much looking forward to seeing what remarkable show the Ting Family will put on for me after the Linhai Army departs."
"Then please wait and see, the Ting Family’s performance will surely be more exciting than the fireworks just now."
Ting Wanjian stood up:
"I have a friend who is eagerly anticipating meeting you again."
"You seem to mention your friend quite a bit," Leyu rested his chin in his hand and squinted at him. "Is this friend of yours actually yourself?"
Ting Wanjian shook his head, "No, you know this friend of mine too."
"I apologize for blowing the smoke ring at you earlier. My friend heard you particularly dislike the smell of smoke, so he specifically wanted to see your reaction to a smoke ring. However, he doesn’t smoke and is too polite to do such a thing, so he was constantly urging me to help him."
"But I haven’t met Jin Zhengwei before, so this matter was delayed until now to finally complete."
Ting Wanjian glanced at the cigarette ash, "I actually don’t like smoking either."
The malice was both bizarre and innocent...
A prank-like wish...
Polite in nature...
With ties to Jin Zhengwei...
And capable of connecting with Ting Wanjian...
Leyu’s expression subtly changed.
The ability to evoke a change in expression from someone with the Ice Blood Physique indicated his current emotional stirrings.
"Jin Zhengwu?"
Ting Wanjian looked surprised, then smiled and left with Ting Chao.
Before leaving the council hall, his voice could still be heard by Leyu:
"A position that doesn’t belong to you, you will never sit securely upon."
"Whether it’s the chairman or the patriarch."