novelnext Chapter 846 - 531: Return to Black Prison
Chapter 846 - 531: Return to Black Prison
Chapter 846: Chapter 531: Return to Black PrisonAlthough Xu Yuan was joking, he was actually quite serious.
Although he never left the house now, the silver he needed was not one bit less; the showdown with his father on New Year’s Eve had put the matter of arranging the Sword Sect high on the agenda.
This matter was going to be very expensive.
And not only that, his plan to use Li Junqing to set up in Japan also needed money and provisions.
When Xu Yuan had been a personal guard to Li Qingyan in the Northern Frontier, he had seen the logistic accounts of the Northern Border Army with his own eyes.
During peacetime, an elite battalion of five thousand men needed three to four hundred thousand taels of silver a month for military salaries and spiritual food alone, and during wartime, with military achievement subsidies plus the wear and tear of spiritual blades and war equipment, the various petty items added up would start at no less than seven hundred thousand taels.
The subterranean survivors of Xiao Bai’s group, due to the unique environment of the silent Underground Palace, were more like a religious army built by fanatical believers; as long as they were fed, a token military salary would suffice. However, the problem now was that this army only had personnel and no equipment – new armored spirit blades and various types of military equipment still required silver for forging.
Xu Yuan had thought about asking his father to resolve this; at this time of brewing chaos, there was no reason to refuse the sudden addition of such a force fit for battle. The issue was that after the military equipment was listed by the Prime Minister’s Mansion, he wouldn’t be able to deploy this army at will.
So, he still had to figure out how to procure the silver himself.
Of course, Xu Yuan could also throw this mess at Li Junqing since it was him who wanted to borrow the troops; it made perfect sense to let him figure out the military equipment issue.
Only by doing so, this borrowed army could easily become controlled and corrupted by Li Junqing; the loyalty of a religious army of fanatics wasn’t in doubt, but they couldn’t withstand someone continuously "feeding" them, could they?
It would be best to maintain a certain level of provision for the borrowed army; it didn’t have to be much, but at least enough to sustain the basic operation of the troops.
Either of these two issues was a bottomless pit that needed a massive amount of money and provisions to fill, and Xu Yuan currently lacked a stable source of income, so naturally, he started to think about his fourth sister.
He sold her a cultivation technique and raised eight million taels of silver for her; it seemed perfectly reasonable for him to shuffle a few million for other uses, right?
Unfortunately for him, Xu Xinyao didn’t give him this opportunity.
Upon hearing that her re
This was the entrance to the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister’s Mansion and also the terminus of the Black Prison, where the residence of the warden of the Black Prison was located.
It was the same old room Xu Yuan had visited before.
Just as he was hesitating whether to go in and greet Qing, the wooden door was pushed open from the inside, and a tall figure in a black robe walked out slowly. Just about to speak, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye that Big Ice Lump next to him had an Ink Sword in hand...
The atmosphere in the cramped corridor instantly solidified.
The moment Ran Qingmo saw the person in the black robe, she felt a bone-chilling, intense killing intent, a profound animosity directed at her.
The atmosphere of swords drawn lasted but a moment before Xu Yuan belatedly became aware of the pervasive killing intent in the air. His Spiritual Vision swept across the area and he soon understood.
Qing was staring at the hand he and Ran Qingmo were holding.
Single people are like this, unable to stand the sight of public displays of affection, not to mention Qing’s psyche was somewhat unstable to begin with.
Thinking this, Xu Yuan inwardly sighed.
Moreover,
Qing must have mistaken him for someone else.
Waving his hand in front of Qing, Xu Yuan reminded quietly,
"Hey, hey, look closely. Although I might look familiar, don’t mistake me for my father when he was young."
"....."
As his words fell, the killing intent quickly dissipated.
Underneath the black robe, Qing shifted her gaze, her sweet and lovely voice echoing disdainfully as if she were looking at a plague,
"Xu Changtian, why have you come again?"
Xu Yuan didn’t mind her tone and replied softly,
"It’s good timing; I need to visit someone in the Heaven Rank prison."
"If you have the soul key, why not go directly?" Qing said and took a step backward, ready to retreat into her own room.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan quickly said,
"I’m going to Yin Liulan’s cell, and that place requires either your or Lou Ji’s soul key."
"Yin Liulan?"
Qing’s footsteps halted, and the gaze beneath the black robe carried a measure of scrutiny,
"What do you want there?"
"My father asked me to do something there today," Xu Yuan pondered for a moment before fabricating the story. Qing would never go and check with his father.
Upon hearing this, Qing’s hidden eyes flickered for a moment before she murmured softly,
"That makes sense since today seems to be the first day of the new year. Come with me."
With that, she prepared to lead the way.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan was momentarily startled,
"Ah? What first day?"
Qing’s sharp gaze swept over instantly, her expression carrying a hint of amusement,
"Xu Changtian, what are you pretending for? Others might not know, but as the warden of the Black Prison, I’m well aware of the identity of the prisoner in Yin Liulan’s cell."