Chapter 187: Murderous Intent from All Sides

Once Yan Jing accepted the money, he would leave behind a trail.

If Bai Qiu leaked this to Wei Nantian, everything Yan Jing had done so far would be for nothing. Given Wei Nantian's temper, he would very likely turn on him.

Branded a traitor on top of that, everyone in Bianliu County would have a reason to come after him.

They could drown him in spit alone.

That was also why, when Bai Qiu asked what he was unsure about, Yan Jing said he couldn't and didn't dare speak of it.

Because the person at the top of the stairs was still there at the time.

"Boss Bai, you truly live up to your title as the wealthiest man in Bianliu County."

Yan Jing neither refused nor agreed. Instead, he cupped his fists.

"Oh! I wouldn't call myself the wealthiest!"

Bai Qiu waved a hand.

"I just do a bit of small business, but I can still afford this much."

"Small business?"

Yan Jing feigned surprise.

"Then why have I heard that Boss Bai does massive business with Across the Lake?"

"The business with Across the Lake is indeed bigger than my business in Bianliu County, but I don't make any money from it."

The mention of business sparked Bai Qiu's interest. Seemingly forgetting about the bribe he had just offered, he said, "For the business Across the Lake, the higher-ups and I split it ninety-five to five."

Bai Qiu held up five fingers.

"How exactly is it a ninety-five split?"

"The higher-ups get ninety-five, and I get five."

Oh, so it was out of a hundred.

"Then why do you still work with Across the Lake?"

Yan Jing asked. "I heard that Bianliu County isn't entirely under the jurisdiction of Across the Lake."

"For the money."

Bai Qiu rotated his hand and clenched his five fingers into a fist.

"I don't make money on this business, but I make much more on the others."

"For example, so many people die in Bianliu County every day. When others sell their bodies to the outside, they have to pass through five checkpoints and get searched at each one. If they're caught, they have to hand over at least half. When I pass through, I don't pay a cent. In fact, if the inspectors run into my men, they're the ones who have to buy my men a meal."

"As long as we don't run into an inspector, every body sold is pure profit."

Realization dawned on Yan Jing. He nodded.

"Then who do you sell them to?"

"Whoever needs them."

Bai Qiu smiled.

"Funeral homes, apothecary shops, hospitals, museums, and high-ranking officials with a taste for these things..."

"I'm not in charge of downstream sales. I only handle delivery."

"Understood," Yan Jing said with a nod. "You earn the easy money, while others earn the hard money."

"You're mistaken, Advisor."

Bai Qiu wagged a finger. "In this world, those who actually make money earn the easy money. Only those who don't make money earn the hard money."

"An excellent lesson, Boss Bai."

Yan Jing cupped his fists again.

"Put like that, there's no business in Bianliu County that Boss Bai wouldn't dare do."

"Ah! You can't say that."

Bai Qiu held up a hand.

"I only deal in the dead."

"If you want to talk about having no taboos, Across the Lake is the big player."

"Me? I just sip the broth."

Yan Jing nodded.

"Then what would happen if you dealt in the living and got caught, Boss Bai?"

"Then I'm afraid I'd end up just like Wei Nantian."

Bai Qiu stared directly at him as he spoke.

For all his beating around the bush, Bai Qiu had only communicated two things.

First, his influence in Bianliu County was far greater than Yan Jing had imagined.

Second, he still wanted Wei Nantian dead.

"Alright, we'll end the tea here, Boss Bai."

Yan Jing nodded and stood up.

"..."

Bai Qiu watched as Yan Jing got up and walked step by step toward the stairs, his mind racing.

Truthfully, he wanted to kill Yan Jing.

But if Yan Jing died, Wei Nantian would definitely redirect his hatred from Lin Changgui onto him.

In that scenario, Lin Changgui would practically pick up the mayoral seat for free.

For him, that wasn't how business was done.

Moreover...

If he struck and the halo around Yan Jing didn't vanish by the time Wei Nantian arrived, he would lose everything he had invested.

But to just let Yan Jing walk away...

He was unwilling.

Once Yan Jing went back and reported the matter to Wei Nantian, he would still be operating at a loss.

The mere thought of it made him feel incredibly frustrated.

He had never imagined that he, Bai Qiu, would one day end up in a position where any move he made resulted in a loss.

Finally, as Yan Jing reached the stairs, he called out, revealing his trump card.

"I've invited reporter cultivators here. The moment you walk out that door, Wei Nantian will get the news. He'll know you and I met."

But Yan Jing didn't stop walking.

"Then Commander Wei will also receive the signal to retreat. The losses outweigh the gains, Boss Bai. There's no need to burn your capital over a nobody like me."

"Bang!"

After Yan Jing left, the teacup in Bai Qiu's hand smashed heavily onto the floor, sending tea splashing everywhere.

It took a long while for him to recover from his gloomy mood.

Regardless, he had already shown Yan Jing his cards.

If he was worried about Yan Jing making Wei Nantian retreat, Yan Jing was surely just as worried about him leaking their meeting.

The kid had just played it too cool, making it seem like he had the upper hand.

Thinking this way, his mood settled significantly.

"Heh."

His gaze shifted out the window, watching Yan Jing's retreating figure. In the palm of his hand, a smooth ballot materialized, and a hint of mockery entered his eyes.

No one knew that this was his true trump card.

It was what would guarantee he emerged as the biggest winner in this mayoral election.

On the surface, Bianliu County had 26 ballots, giving Lin Changgui and Wei Nantian 13 each.

But in reality, those two men could only possibly have 12 each right now.

Because he had investigated and learned that one ballot had vanished alongside Mei Changfeng.

By the time those two were at swords drawn and bows bent, the value of the ballot in his hand would multiply several times over.

It would be enough to make up for everything he had previously paid for the other ballots.

He, Bai Qiu, would still turn a profit in the end.

"Advisor, oh, Advisor. It's a shame you didn't choose me..."

He slowly closed his eyes.

Elsewhere.

Walking down the road, Yan Jing glanced at his Inventory.

[Mental Immunity Potion (Bound Item) 1, High-Nutrition Bread, Dungeon Selection Voucher 1, Dungeon Postponement Voucher 1, Physical Enhancement Potion 1 (Bound Item), Inner World Box Key * 1 (Bound Item)]

Following this meeting, he only had one bottle of Mental Immunity Potion left.

And his Mental Immunity Value...

He looked at his personal panel.

[Player Name: Yan Jing]

[Player Title: None]

[Player Level: Second Tier, Experience (0.5%/100%)]

[Ritual:

Day Selection Ritual: Fear Sapling (Purple-Black)

Calming Rite: Lord of Execution's Silk Thread (Black)]

[Mental Immunity Value: 3]

Indeed, after running around these past few days for the ballots, his Mental Immunity Value was now down to its final 3 points.

Like a candle in the wind, it could snuff out at any moment.

And this was the result only because he had been deliberately managing it.

In other words, if that meeting had dragged past the ten-minute mark and Bai Qiu had employed means to drain his Mental Immunity Value, he would have been forced to consume his final bottle of Mental Immunity Potion.

It was safe to say that the meeting just now was far more perilous than it seemed.

However, the meeting was necessary.

Without it, Bai Qiu wouldn't trust him.

Of course...

That didn't mean trusting him right now.

But tomorrow.

With these thoughts in mind, he slipped into a secluded corner, switched identities, and transformed into Yi Ji.

He sought out Tiger and the Old Man, who were currently chatting in the shop.

"How did it go?"

The Old Man leaned in.

Luo Sheng had sent him to Bianliu County, giving him a massive task.

To him, the task sounded like pure fantasy, so he had refused to let Yi Ji and Tiger join him.

This was his own business; he couldn't drag them down with him.

However, during his mere dozens of days in Bianliu County, Yi Ji had figured out the lay of the land thoroughly, so the Old Man had asked him to investigate the latest situation.

"The ones with the most ballots right now are Wei Nantian and Lin Changgui,"

Yan Jing said.

"It really is Wei Nantian!"

The Old Man's eyes widened, feeling that his young master was simply divine.

Back when Luo Sheng had told him he favored Wei Nantian in this mayoral election, the Old Man had laughed and called it impossible.

"This human seems quite formidable," the Old Man muttered.

"Can you find out exactly how many ballots each of them has?"

As soon as he asked the question, the Old Man felt rather embarrassed, his face flushing hotly.

He had to rely on this kid, Yi Ji, for every scrap of information. At this rate, it was hard to say which of them was the real resident of Minhu.

Moreover, no matter how well-informed Yi Ji was, how could he possibly get his hands on that kind of intel...

"Twelve ballots each,"

Yan Jing replied.

"???"

The Old Man shot up from his stool. "Are you serious?"

"Roughly that number."

Yan Jing poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip.

"Twenty-six ballots in total. The two of them have twelve each, the young master has one, so the last remaining ballot..."

The more the Old Man calculated, the more excited he became, the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose quivering.

"I know who has the last ballot!"

"You know?"

Yan Jing blinked.

"Yes! My old friend definitely has it!"

The Old Man paced back and forth in agitation. "That must be it. He wants to use this ballot to drive up the price..."

"I'm heading out for a bit."

He looked at Yan Jing and Tiger, already moving to leave.

"Let's go together."

Yan Jing called out to Tiger.

He had always assumed that the final ballot was in Bai Qiu's hands. Hearing the Old Man's theory, even he felt a flicker of doubt.

A few days ago, he had actually visited Bi's Gambling House in his original body, but the proprietor had claimed the ballot was already given to someone else.

Could it be... he was lying?

Thinking about the origins of Wei Nantian's ten ballots—excluding the two from Wanhua Fang and Yan Jing—the remaining seven were as follows:

One from the Heaven Stealing Sect and one picked up from the ground, both from Bai Qiu.

One from Zhang Family Cloth Shop, backed by West Street.

One from the incense shop, backed by Feinan Temple.

One from Tang's Puppet Shop, backed by Mechanism Alley Entrance.

One from the seed shop, backed by Crop Plains.

One from the gambling house at the foot of the mountain, backed by Baile Manor.

These factions all wanted Wei Nantian dead.

That was how he could easily deduce that the person holding the other ballots was Lin Changgui, because he only took them in and never gave any out.

But if Bi's Gambling House held the last ballot, there might be variables to consider.

...

The group quickly arrived at the casino.

"Bi Jie!"

The Old Man barged into a back room of the casino, dragged the bewildered man in a Chinese tunic suit away from the gambling table, and hauled him into a corner.

"Do you have a ballot here?"

"I don't,"

Bi Jie said, completely baffled.

"How could you not?"

The Old Man lowered his voice. "Weren't you sent by Across the Lake this time to run for county mayor?"

!!!

Bi Jie hadn't expected his old friend to directly expose his true purpose. A look of obvious panic flashed across his face.

"Old Liu, don't talk nonsense! Didn't I tell you? I just haven't been back to Bianliu County for many years and decided to drop by for a visit."

"Liar!"

Old Master Liu spat directly. Staring intently into Bi Jie's eyes, he sneered.

"You might have been able to fool the me from five years ago, but this Old Man is different now. Bi Jie, oh Bi Jie. Have you ever heard of Sherlock Holmes?"

"Sherlock who?"

Bi Jie looked utterly bewildered.