The Journey of Immortal Cultivation

Chapter 1161 - 615: Putting on a Show (7)

The Hidden Stream was originally very strong, and now with Changtian’s return, it should be a time of unprecedented glory, so what kind of battle cannot be swiftly resolved and instead went into overtime? Thus, the situation must be unexpectedly complicated for the battle to be so deadlocked.

Changtian did not appear the entire day.

By the afternoon, with Ruo Ping’s support, she could walk to the courtyard of Yixian Inn, bask in the sun for a while, and take a couple of deep breaths of the cold but fresh air. Her limbs were still weak and powerless, but it was much better than being unable to move at all.

She gently bent her fingers, feeling that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make a fist. This is referred to as "Ghost Suppression" in Huaxia, where upon waking up, part of the brain’s nervous system is already awake, but the one controlling the muscles hasn’t fully awoken. But here, it means her Divine Soul had not completely mastered her body yet. Ruo Ping was right; in one or two days at most, she would regain full control of her body.

Before she woke up, Qingluan had been temporarily acting as the Hall Master of the Foreign Affairs Hall. This position would be returned to her once Ning Xiaoxian recovered.

Even though now, without any title, her status within the Hidden Stream was still beyond the ordinary, the entire Hidden Stream was like a machine running at full power; only she was the great idle person here. This not only wasted her abilities but also affected her mood. It’s like most ambitious women, no matter how wealthy their family might be, always have to find a job outside, not for the income, but for that dignity and respect.

Changtian was truly considerate for her, even considering this point.

That’s why as soon as her health improved today, Qingluan had already sent over more than ten ledgers for her to review. Ruo Ping served her well, pre-laying a White Tiger pelage on the soft couch, supporting her to lean against it. Her Divine Soul was still in the recovery phase and not as strong as before, so she had to close her eyes to rest for a while after going through just two or three books.

Reviewing the ledgers all afternoon was quite comforting for her. The business of the Foreign Affairs Hall was now much more prosperous than when she took over years ago, and the amount of Silver Coin involved in each account was enormous. However, there were also many doubts, not because the accounts themselves were wrong, but because most of the transactions were clearly directed — many of these businesses were not conducted openly, instead being disguised under various names, with the majority being secret transactions!

For instance, she could deduce from the ledgers that Ningyuan Hall, which she established, had now been moved to covert activities and renamed as Liu Xian Inn. Besides general Chamber of Commerce activities, it mainly held sales events, primarily selling Hidden Stream’s drugs. However, if someone investigated, Liu Xian Inn’s background was quite clean and had nothing to do with Hidden Stream. Moreover, Ningyuan Hall’s businesses, which originally spread across the Central Southern Continent, were transferred to Liu Xian Inn or handed over to others in different ways.

What exactly happened outside that made it impossible for Ningyuan Hall to continue using its original name for business? Changtian knew that this Chamber of Commerce was her cherished creation and wouldn’t easily remove its signboard. This situation must have been caused by the harsh circumstances outside, so severe that Ningyuan Hall, closely related to Hidden Stream, couldn’t survive, requiring a complete rebranding.

Another point of suspicion was the vast number of strange sales records she found in the ledgers; the items sold were not even specialties of the Bashe Forest!

For example, one transaction noted was "Fire cotton, three thousand two hundred jin, sold to Pingcheng City one thousand jin, Chiming City two thousand two hundred jin, money already accounted for." She remembered well that "Fire cotton" was a specialty of a small town she passed during her Westward Journey. Despite the "Fire" in its name, it was due to the special components in the soil there; cotton grown there, once woven into cloth, naturally bears the color of fiery clouds, appearing almost mercurial under sunlight — far more vibrant and lively than any artificial dye. Clothes made from it were popular among nobles in large cities.

However, the key point was that this small town was under Yangming Sect’s jurisdiction! Why did the Hidden Stream incorporate the town’s products into its accounts? Could it be the town now belonged to Hidden Stream? Entries like this were rife throughout the ledgers.

The more she read, the more alarming it became. Apparently, Hidden Stream was no longer satisfied with producing just medicinal materials and Elixirs; they were also involved in the mortal’s business. Furthermore, the expenditure recorded in the other two ledgers showed that in the past three years, in the first two, the cost of purchasing raw minerals and finished Magic Artifacts was extremely high, accounting for more than half of all expenses, and this only slightly decreased last year. Without fighting, why would the consumption of Magic Artifacts be so large?

There were too few ledgers brought over by Qingluan, limiting her assumptions, leaving her unsure how far off they were from the truth.

These days, every time she asked about external conditions, Changtian would gloss over it or change the topic, clearly not wanting her to know. At least, not now.

Yet the more it was like this, the more vehemently the questions in her mind grew.

...

She had not yet fully recovered, and with this mental exertion, she closed her eyes and fell asleep by sunset. Ruo Ping, not daring to disturb her, quietly took the ledger from her hand.

Half asleep and half awake, she suddenly felt a gentle and soft touch on her face, like an insect alighting, faint and indistinct, its wings lightly fluttering.

"Changtian?" Ning Xiaoxian rubbed her eyes, her voice still heavy with sleep. They had been together for so long that she was too familiar with his presence, so familiar that her body was defenseless against his approach. If it were someone else entering the room, she would probably have woken up immediately.

His voice contained a hint of mirth: "Who else could it be?"

"Why did you come back early?" He was supposed to return tomorrow evening; she had secretly been glad to have an extra day of reprieve today.

"You can already move around?" Coming back a day early indeed had its perks; she had given him quite a surprise.

"I..." she stammered, unable to speak, half out of nervousness, half from being tickled.

(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)