Master of Strange Dao

Equating to saying that all of Dazhen's citizens were now living on a quarter of its territory.

If this increasingly cold weather continued, one day Dazhen would reclaim those lands.

Major changes were imminent, and His Highness must be cautious.

The Crown Prince was silent for a moment, then bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Master, for your guidance. I understand."

"You'd better cultivate well. With your exceptional talent, you'll have a chance to reach the Tenth Tier in the future.

You must understand that the strongest power speaks the loudest."

After advising the Crown Prince, Wen Lingyou left the Eastern Palace and immediately went to see Emperor Li.

Upon seeing Emperor Li and greeting him, Emperor Li, noticing his expression, spoke first.

"Elder Wen, it's just as well you've come, there's something I need to tell you.

The Ministry of Revenue will soon complete the accounts, and the funds for those at the Lihuo Institute should arrive in a few days.

Everyone has worked hard, but the court has spent a lot recently, so it will be just as much as last year.

Therefore, I dug a little more out of the Treasury, to give a bit more.

When you return to the Lihuo Institute, do remind everyone to check and receive it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Wen Lingyou immediately expressed his gratitude.

But looking at Emperor Li's demeanor, he couldn't speak what he initially intended to say.

"Elder Wen has just come from the Eastern Palace, was there something urgent?"

"No pressing matter, just stopped by to see Your Majesty and share some insights."

Wen Lingyou felt somewhat downhearted; he had reached out a bit too often these years, and now Emperor Li knew to block his requests beforehand, even drawing from the Treasury, indicating the court was not well-off.

Since he couldn't request aid, he could only share his experiences and insights instead.

...

Three months later, even the Abyssal Rift had returned to calm.

No more Devils emerged from the Abyssal Rift, and those that had already come out were almost entirely exterminated.

Almsgiving Town was rebuilt and expanded to twice its original size.

In Jinlan Mountain, another store was opened in Almsgiving Town to wholesale Devil materials.

This time, some materials that Deceitful Ghost couldn't consume, such as certain Devils' horns, claws, furs, and various Devil's blood, were available in large quantities for those who needed them.

Because the quantities were enormous, it was uncertain how long it would take to sell at retail.

Deceitful Ghost, getting his wish, became the manager of the new store.

Having a hungry ghost run a store in Almsgiving Town didn't seem odd, as they had fought alongside them for so long; many had become quite friendly with some ghosts.

Deceitful Ghost sat at the back of the store, with eight golden books floating in front, and eight large pens scribbling on them, recording everything meticulously.

Deceitful Ghost pinched his fingers, calculated for a while, then issued orders.

"Starting tomorrow, the supply of mixed blood Devil blood will be halved from today.

Pure blood from a single Devil, except for the Black Sky Devil's, will be reduced to eighty percent today, and the rest will be only thirty percent offered.

Materials from Green Sky Devils will be halved.

Materials from Black Sky Devils will be reduced to eighty percent, and the more special ones will be selected and held back from sale for now.

Also, convey a message to our brothers and sisters at the Abyssal Rift, make sure they engage in reciprocal fights; ideally, let them gain an upper hand without killing too many Devils.

If they kill them off too much, they'll be scared to come near in the future, and once our stock is sold out in a few years, how will the store operate then?"

Deceitful Ghost, full of zest, issued directives.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he promptly stood up and waited outside.

A few breaths later, he saw Cece approaching from afar.

After entering the backyard, Cece looked at Deceitful Ghost's demeanor and then at his now shriveled belly.

"You digest quickly enough."

"High consumption means eating more."

Seeing Cece about to check the account books, Deceitful Ghost quickly said,

"Miss Cece, I've already restrained myself a lot, as per your instructions.

Otherwise, revenue could have still increased by at least thirty percent.

If we were to run it ourselves, at the very least, we could have tripled the overall increase."

"That's enough. You can't earn all the money alone; after all, we've ceased being human, now being hungry ghosts.

If you hog it all, people will resent you, and besides, we don't need to expand too extensively.

I recommended you to Master because I know you're good at business.

But remember, our goal was never just to make money.

We don't find wealth particularly useful; just remember to keep it in check.

By the way, Master wants to see you, prepare to come back with me to Jinlan Mountain this time."

"Okay," Deceitful Ghost cheerfully began to organize his work.

He was again strategizing and seeking benefits, subtly making it so the hungry ghosts could appear freely in Almsgiving Town during the conflict.

It was indeed a considerable achievement.

Despite the ghost being a bit ugly, the people in Almsgiving Town were accustomed to him.

If acquaintances met, they'd even greet each other.

...

In Jinlan Mountain, Yu Ziqing looked at the white Jade Tablet placed before him, playing with it in his hand.

The tablet was a foot long and three inches wide, seemingly seamless, with many runes and Daoist Patterns on it, and a number engraved at the lower corner.

This number was something Yu Ziqing insisted on adding, even if the item had no apparent use.

Taking a Spirit Jade, he inserted it into a slot at the back and heard Yang's voice emanating from the Jade Tablet.

"Hello, hello, can you hear me talking?"