122: Chapter 122 Targeting the High-ups, On the Eve of the Storm (3)

The communication talisman lit up in the early hours of the third day.

A faint golden-cyan spirit light emerged on the surface of the talisman—unlike the firelight of the paper burning on its own, this light seeped out from the creases of the talisman, spreading across the tabletop to form a half-body-high phantom.

The phantom's outline was blurry, its features indistinguishable—but that heavy pressure filled the entire study the moment the talisman's light ignited.

This was Commander Tie Zhan's Spirit Light Transmission—a receipt image sealed in advance within the communication talisman. Unlike a real-time Divine Thought projection which requires support from a Nascent Soul Stage cultivation base, this was a pre-recorded, one-time-use spirit voice message.

The sealing Array Pattern on the talisman was intact; only Lu Changyuan's own spirit breath could open it.

The phantom's voice was very low, so low that the flame of the oil lamp on the table dipped by an inch.

"Young man of the Lu family—I have seen the three fish you sent. The old scar on the back of the third fish—I recognize that mark."

The phantom paused for a breath.

Lu Changyuan pressed his fingers against the tabletop, feeling the board vibrate slightly—the residual pressure from the Spirit Light Transmission seeped out from the talisman, forcing the dust on the table to drift outward in a circle.

"That man surnamed Han—Vice Commander Han Yi of the Military Supplies Coordination Department—was my equal ten years ago. He managed the supply lines, and I managed the frontline combat troops. His seal was stamped on the dispatch order, and the ink color is the blue-cyan specific to the Unified Coordination Department. The seal is genuine—Warehouse Chief Cui was not mistaken."

"But Han Yi does not have the guts to swallow seven batches of military supplies."

The phantom's voice sank by a degree.

"The Unified Coordination Department only manages the transit and sealing of supplies—it cannot control the final destination of the goods. Those seven batches of cargo went into the private warehouse in East District 3 of the Inner City—East District 3 is not the territory of the Unified Coordination Department; it is under the jurisdiction of Right Commander Li Feng. Han Yi is the hand that ships the goods for someone else—Right Commander Li Feng is the one who receives them."

"This secret order only bears Han Yi's seal—it cannot topple Right Commander Li Feng himself. But it can pull Han Yi down from his position as Vice Commander of the Unified Coordination Department. Once Han Yi is down—Right Commander Li Feng will lose an arm that manages supplies."

"Wait for my signal."

The phantom began to dissipate.

The spirit light on the talisman faded from golden-cyan to grayish-white, then crumbled from grayish-white into fine powder—the talisman turned into several charred fragments on the wooden table. A Transmission Talisman can only be used once.

Lu Changyuan swept the charred fragments into the brush washer beside him.

A faint layer of oil slick floated on the water's surface—the residual spirit breath of the Spirit Light Transmission Talisman dissolved into the water, smelling like the air after a thunderstorm.

"Han Yi—Right Commander Li Feng."

He traced a line on the water's surface in the brush washer with his fingertip, the ripples cutting the oil slick in two, "One is the hand, the other is the head. Cutting off the hand does not kill the head—the head is still there. But a head without hands—cannot reach into the supply lines anymore."

Outside the window, the outer edge of the Restriction line floated with a faint layer of gold in the morning light.

The first phase of the Third-Rank Geng Metal Sword Intent Killing Array—the protective layer on the outer edge of the Restriction line, which began three days ago, was completed yesterday evening.

Leng Feng led people to install the last batch of Spirit Stone fragments on the array eye stakes at the outer edge of the Restriction line. When the Array Pattern on the top of the stakes lit up, the ripples on the water surface were all compressed into extremely fine straight lines—the Geng Metal Sword Intent contracted inward, pressing all the killing power toward the inner layer.

The entire water surface at the outer edge of the Restriction line seemed to be wrapped in an invisible golden film, and the sea breeze stopped as soon as it reached the outside of the film.

Luo Qingcheng said this film could not block a Golden Core—but anyone below Golden Core who forced their way in would not be able to come out.

Lu Changyuan pushed open the study window.

On the Outer Port Pier, Leng Feng was leading people to lay the second phase of the Killing Array in the direction of the berths—the first phase took three days to lay, and the second phase for the Outer Port berths would take five days.

Dozens of boxes of Spirit Stone, transferred from the public treasury, were stacked beside the berths, their wooden lids covered in a layer of morning sea mist droplets.

There was an unfamiliar boat at the Pier.

The boat was not large—it was one of those military communication light skiffs. The number of the Zhenhai Fortress Logistics Department was painted on the gunwale.

A messenger wearing the standard short shirt of the Logistics Department was walking down the gangplank, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hands. The bamboo scroll was sealed with a dark red military lacquer seal.

By the time Lu Changyuan came out of the study and walked along the stone path to the Pier, Su Qingli had already taken the bamboo scroll.

She scraped off the lacquer seal, unfolded the bamboo scroll, and glanced at it—her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Zhenhai Fortress Command Headquarters—Wartime Mandatory Conscription Order."

She spread the bamboo scroll on the small table in the Pier's receiving shed, "The registered military roster of Blue Moon Island and surrounding waters—requisition two hundred combat-capable soldiers for military service within three days. Unit assignment: Vanguard Battalion."

The Vanguard Battalion—it was the land-filling battalion. They charged at the front during battles and blocked the rear during retreats. Two hundred people thrown in, and fewer than ten would return alive.

"Two hundred people—all for the Vanguard?"

"It is written on the order—'Two hundred Cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage or above under the jurisdiction of Blue Moon Island, to be incorporated into the Land-Filling Vanguard Left Battalion'. Not a single word is missing."

Su Qingli pressed the bamboo scroll onto the table, "Couldn't Commander Tie Zhan block this order?"

"The conscription order bears the seal of the Command Headquarters—it is not something Commander Tie Zhan can block alone. Right Commander Li Feng is the Right Commander, and he has a seat at the Command Headquarters. This order was most likely drafted by his people."

Lu Changyuan picked up the bamboo scroll, "But there is a clause at the bottom of the conscription order—substitute service with resources. Paying money can replace people. What is the conversion rate?"

Su Qingli flipped open the attached page that came with the order—the supplementary terms of the Zhenhai Fortress Wartime Conscription Order were printed on the page.

Her finger slid down the terms and stopped at the line for 'Standard for Substituting Military Service'.

"Qi Refining Late Stage—five hundred Spirit Stone per person. Foundation Establishment Early Stage—two thousand Spirit Stone per person. Mortal labor—one hundred Spirit Stone per person."

She turned the supplementary page for Lu Changyuan to see, "We have about thirty Dao soldiers at the Qi Refining Late Stage on the island—those at the Foundation Establishment are not within the scope of conscription; the Vanguard Battalion does not want Foundation Establishment. The remaining one hundred and seventy people—are all below Qi Refining Middle Stage and Mortal craftsmen."

"Thirty at Qi Refining Late Stage—fifteen thousand. One hundred and seventy Mortals—seventeen thousand. Together, that is thirty-two thousand Spirit Stone."

Su Qingli's hand paused on the table.

She opened the ledger—her left hand held down the public treasury monthly settlement page, and her right hand tapped on the reserve fund pool page three pages later.

She flipped back and forth between these two pages several times, reciting numbers—the public treasury monthly balance was about six thousand Spirit Stone, the Jubao Pavilion prepayment in the private treasury was about twenty-one thousand six hundred, the military long-term contract this month was eight thousand two hundred and five, plus the public treasury reserve fund pool—it was just enough when added together.

But after pooling it all together, the Spirit Stone on the public treasury's books—would be empty.

"Young Lord—thirty-two thousand Spirit Stone. After paying, there will be less than two thousand Spirit Stone in working capital left in the public treasury accounts."

"Pay it."

Su Qingli closed the ledger. She didn't speak—but her hand pressed on the ledger cover for quite a while, her nails pressing three shallow crescent marks into the paper surface.

She calculated the remaining Spirit Stone after this payment from beginning to end in her mind—how long it would last the island, and whether it could last until the next long-term contract payment.

"How long will it last?"

"Adding the private treasury prepayment and the military's monthly long-term contract—it is enough for all fourteen thousand plus people on the island to eat for half a year. But if there is another conscription order within this half year—"

She hugged the ledger to her chest, "Then we will have to sell from the military standard stockpiles."

"There will not be a second conscription within half a year. This order was specifically targeted at our Blue Moon Island by Right Commander Li Feng—he is using the conscription order to test Commander Tie Zhan's reaction. Commander Tie Zhan cannot block it publicly now—but within three months, when Han Yi falls, Right Commander Li Feng will not be able to block the next one."

"Three months."

"Correct. This thirty-two thousand Spirit Stone—is buying three months of time."

Lu Changyuan pointed to the three characters for Vanguard Battalion on the bamboo scroll, "If these two hundred people go into the Land-Filling Battalion, they won't live for three days. But if they stay on Blue Moon Island—they are the hands in the Workshop, the waists in the spirit fields, the backs on the Pier. If people die, they die. If Spirit Stone is spent—it can be earned again."

Su Qingli turned the ledger to a new page. She wrote three lines on the paper: 'Conscription Order Substitution: thirty-two thousand Spirit Stone exactly. Public treasury pays: about ten thousand Spirit Stone. Private treasury pays: twenty-two thousand Spirit Stone.' After writing the last character, she put down the brush.

"I will go to the public treasury to withdraw the Spirit Stone today, and tomorrow I will have the communication light skiff take the Spirit Stone and the exemption list back to the Fortress Logistics Department."

The messenger on the military light skiff at the Pier was still standing on the gangplank.

He glanced toward the Pier—looking at the golden film on the outer edge of the Restriction line.

He reached out and touched the gunwale, the water droplets on the gunwale were forced to the inside by the Geng Metal Sword Intent—the aftermath of the Sword Intent pushed outward from the Restriction line in a small circle, causing the bottom of the messenger light skiff to tremble slightly.