Chapter 939: Ning Cheng won’t pay ahead of time (1/2)

Mu Linger had no idea that Manager Jin was heading north to meet with Ning Cheng. Seeing him stunned, she figured there was a chance and quickly added more details. “Manager Jin, you should know what Myriad Merchant Hall means to the Di Clan! I’m not tricking you. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Ning Jing too! My big sis helped Myriad Merchant Hall subdue the mess at the auction halls and gambling houses. Those elders have all been convinced by her deeds!”

Manager Jin’s gaze grew complicated. If Han Yunxi was in control of Myriad Merchant Hall, then what about Ning Cheng? If a gap existed between those two, then the Di Clan would definitely defer to Ning Cheng. He was the clan head, after all. Manager Jin didn’t tell Uncle Cheng about this. After they checked over all the cloth strips and verified there was none missing, they continued traveling overnight towards Northern Li’s Sky River City. Yet the very next day, they heard news from the town that East and West Qin had formed an alliance!

Han Yunxi and Long Feiye were joining hands to deal with the Wind Clan’s Bai Family and the Hundred Poisons Sect. They wanted the Wind Clan to explain just who was at fault for the original civil war, East or West Qin. It was even the Di Clan’s Myriad Merchant Hall’s Council of Elders who had publicized the news. Only then did Manager Jin believe Mu Linger’s words.

“Ning Cheng must know about this too,” Manager Jin probed.

“Heheh, Han Yunxi is simply making things difficult for herself! Don’t you worry, Ning Cheng would never yield to her again!” Uncle Cheng said coldly.

Mu Linger and Ning Jing were confined in the carriage and failed to hear the news. But if Ning Jing did, she might have been very happy. Myriad Merchant Hall’s news spread across Cloud Realm Continent, so Jun Yixie got wind of it long ago.

Slam! He threw a secret missive in front of Ning Cheng that told of Cloud Realm Trade Consortium’s elders and the Ning Clan troops’ deputy generals all rushing their way to Hundred Poisons Sect. Ning Cheng flipped through the contents before saying coldly, “Isn’t that just perfect? They’ll help you get rid of Bai Yanqing.”

At this, Jun Yixie clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked. He wouldn’t allow anyone to get in between him and his master’s affairs. Bai Yuqiao might fear him, but Ning Cheng didn’t. He only gave a cold snort. “Jun Yixie, you should be rejoicing that Bai Yanqing didn’t come to Northern Li. Otherwise, you’d be even more pathetic now!”

“Enough!” Jun Yixie overturned the letters on the table and roared, “Ning Cheng, Han Yunxi’s assumed control of your Di Clan’s treasury. How are you supposed to work with me now?” That was his main point of concern.

But Ning Cheng was unaffected. “In the Di Clan, it’s always the clan head’s words that count!”

“Haven’t you already smoothed things over? Why didn’t the Council of Elders consuilt with you about something so drastic?” Jun Yixie drew close to demand.

Ning Cheng slowly pushed him away. “Jun Yixie, I was kidnapped by Bai Yuqiao. As long as they investigated the remains of Blacktower, they’ll guess as much too! Do you think they’ll believe a single letter without confirming my safety first?”

Jun Yixie seemed to realize something as his expression shifted.

Coldly, Ning Cheng continued. “Jun Yixie, if 30,000 battle horses head south, the Di Clan will definitely believe that I’m safe and sound. They would rather listen to Han Yunxi right now than a letter with dubious origins! Don’t you even think of gaining a single rice bucket from that.”

“You’re threatening me!” Jun Yixie snarled.

“Yes!” Ning Cheng admitted it openly.

“Don’t forget your life is in my hands!” Jun Yixie raged.

“You could always kill me,” Ning Cheng looked indifferent. Of course, with Jun Yixie’s personality, the man would have killed him long ago if he was capable of such a thing.

“Heheh, kill you? I can’t afford to do that! Your life is worth at least a billion,” In other words, Jun Yixie meant to use Ning Cheng to exchange for the Di Clan.

“If you think it’s worth it, why don’t you give it a try?” Ning Cheng was as steady as Mt. Tai.

Han Yunxi and Long Feiye’s alliance was a big help to him, because the cooperation between East and West Qin would force Jun Yixie to a corner like a trapped dog. His letter to Uncle Cheng had been written precisely because he knew the man usually had objections against Han Yunxi. Again and again, he’d tried to coax him to turn his back on the West Qin Dynasty. After Han Yunxi injured his eye, he’d written a single sentence with enough meaning to elicit Uncle Cheng’s guesses. If he gambled right, then Uncle Cheng wouldn’t tell anyone in the Di Clan of his whereabouts and come to find him in person, just so he could coax him into allying with Jun Yixie. With Uncle Cheng here to put on an act in his place, it would be easy enough to win Jun Yixie’s trust.

Jun Yixie was truly panicking now. He narrowed his eyes at Ning Cheng while the man simply sat down and stated, “I don’t mind telling you this, but Han Yunxi and Long Feiye still have lingering feelings. That woman has long abandoned the idea of reviving the dynasty and even the East-West enmity between the two countries won’t stop her. Instead, it’s Myriad Merchant Hall’s Council of Elders that’s been led by their noses! Jun Yixie, you don’t have much time. Think it over carefully!”

Jun Yixie finally understood. Ning Cheng was playing a game of chess against him with the entire Di Clan. If he could yield 30,000 battle horses, then Ning Cheng would show himself and assume control of the Di Clan; otherwise, he would rather hand the clan over to Han Yunxi than cooperate. In the end, Ning Cheng wanted those horses first before giving him soldiers’ pay and provisions. Their original plan of money for horses had already put Jun Yixie on guard, but he never expected things would change so drastically in the span of a few days. Just how did Han Yunxi control the Council of Elders in Myriad Merchant Hall? And how did she get the Di Clan to agree to her alliance with Long Feiye?