54: Chapter 54 The Caravan Sets Off, Undergoes a Makeover

Three days later, in the meeting hall of Blue Moon Island.

There were no banquets in the hall.

Nor were there any celebrations.

There were only Jade Slips, account books spread out, and storage chests that had been resealed.

Lu Changyuan sat in the main seat, his fingertips tapping lightly on the desk as his gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the hall.

"From today on, the public treasury, military treasury, and private treasury of Blue Moon Island will be separated."

As the words fell, several people in the hall raised their heads.

Su Qingli was the first to react, her eyes brightening slightly: "Is the Master planning to split the accounts?"

"It is not splitting accounts, but cutting off the leaks."

Lu Changyuan raised his hand and pushed the three jade talismans in front of him away.

"The public treasury belongs to the daily operations of the island; farming, the Workshop, Formation, and population settlement will all be funded from here."

"The military treasury is listed separately; armor, warships, crossbow positions, Sea Cavalry Battalion, talisman arrows, and Spirit Medicine must not be misappropriated by any party."

"As for the private treasury..."

He paused, his voice calm.

"It belongs solely to my own dispatch."

Lu Hu subconsciously grinned, then forced himself to stop.

Su Qingli, however, was not surprised in the slightest.

The fortune the Master had taken from the conch of Demon General Fuhai was too large.

It was too large to be mixed with the public treasury.

Lu Changyuan continued: "The private treasury will not go through public accounts, will not be distributed, and will only be used for three things."

"One, buying lives."

"Two, buying paths."

"Three, buying the future."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Leng Feng raised his eyes: "Is the Master going out personally for this third thing?"

"Not only that."

Lu Changyuan spread out a map of the Outer Sea, his fingertips pointing to a dense chain of islands deep within the map.

"This battle for Blue Moon Island was won on the surface, but in reality, it only pushed back the most urgent blades surrounding us."

"The Formation needs to be repaired, the city defenses need to be built, the Sea Cavalry is still training, and the population gap still exists."

"We can hold on for a while, but we cannot keep shrinking in the coastal waters forever."

"Therefore, this batch of sea beast Materials, deep-sea Spirit Medicine, and Cold Iron essence must be turned into liquid Spirit Stones, connections, and trade routes as soon as possible."

As he said this, his gaze fell on Lu Hu.

"I will lead a team out myself."

Lu Hu immediately raised his head: "I'm going too."

"Naturally, you will go."

Lu Changyuan said indifferently: "This time it is not for war, but for trade. You will take twenty men with me, and the rest will be left to Leng Feng and Su Qingli to watch over the island."

Lu Hu was originally a bit unwilling, but after hearing "take twenty men," the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

But the next moment, Lu Changyuan's subsequent words pressed that bit of excitement back down.

"After we go out, no one will call you Lu Hu."

"You are the Chief Manager of the Changyuan Trading Company."

"These twenty men under you are not soldiers, they are sailors, cargo guards, warehouse keepers, and movers."

"Put away your weapons, take off your armor, suppress your Qi, and keep your mouths shut."

Lu Hu's entire face twisted: "Wear merchant robes?"

"Wear them."

"And have to smile and fawn?"

"Smile when you need to."

Lu Hu looked as if he had a toothache.

But some people in the hall had already let out low laughs.

Even Leng Feng's face, which usually had no expression, moved slightly.

Lu Changyuan looked at Lu Hu, his tone unchanged: "If you can't act the part, when you reach the Outer Sea, the first thing others will see is not business, but fat meat."

"At that time, even if you want to smile, others won't give you the chance."

Lu Hu's mouth twitched, but in the end, he cupped his hands: "Understood."

After the meeting dispersed, the entire Blue Moon Island began to turn rapidly like a giant ship that had suddenly changed direction.

In three days, the most capable craftsmen and old shipwrights on the main island were almost all brought to the Pier.

A medium-sized transoceanic spirit boat was repainted.

The hull originally belonged to a territorial defense spirit boat, with hard lines, a thick deck, and reinforced Array Pattern slots on the sides, looking military at first glance.

Now, it had been covered with a deep cyan coating to suppress its luster, and several cloud patterns of the trading company were added to both sides, which looked fancy but actually served to cover the Array Pattern.

The sharp ramming bow was also covered with a layer of shell by carpenters, modified into a slightly clumsy-looking cargo-carrying style.

From a distance, it looked like a large cargo ship with a very deep draft, specialized for long-distance sea travel.

Below the deck, each secret compartment was reinforced.

Cold Iron weapons, spare talisman crossbows, short-handled armor-piercing hammers, several boxes of poison needles, and two sets of second-tier protective Formation Plates were all stuffed into the inconspicuous interlayers.

Left on the outside were boxes upon boxes of sea beast leather armor, bone Materials, demon tendons, scales, deep-sea pearl Materials, and several Spirit Medicine chests specifically picked out for show.

These things were real and valuable.

But the good cargo that was actually ballast was not displayed on the surface at all.

Even the Sea Cavalry Battalion, which Lu Hu had cherished the most these days, was held back by Lu Changyuan.

Not a single one of the newly formed Sword Ray Cavalry was taken.

The only ones taken to sea were twenty elites who, after suppressing their aura, did not look eye-catching.

They took off their heavy armor, put on wide-sleeved merchant robes and thick-soled sea boots, and even the Evil Qi on their faces was strongly suppressed.

They looked like guards.

But if they really started to fight, most Loose Cultivator caravans in the Outer Sea would not be able to withstand a single round of their assault.

As for that Black-Armored Giant Crab, it was the one most tormented.

It was already huge in size, its carapace dark and cold, looking like a moving iron wall on the Pier.

Now, it was forcefully fitted by craftsmen with a heavy wooden frame on its back, covered with a layer of coarse cloth and a cargo rack woven from sea vines, and a circle of low-tier tide-repelling bells was hung around the edge of its shell.

At first glance, it really looked like a pack beast specially used by large caravans to pull heavy cargo.

Only when those crab eyes occasionally swept across people did they still reveal a fierce aura.

The few craftsmen responsible for tying the cargo rack to it had wet backs after they finished.

In the evening, the wind rose at the Pier.

Lu Changyuan changed into a deep cyan brocade robe, with only an ordinary Storage Pouch and a jade plaque engraved with "Changyuan Trading Company" hanging at his waist.

The purple-gold token that could truly crush people was hidden tightly away.

At this moment, he looked more like a young owner with some foundation, rather than the new island master who had just fought a fierce bloody battle in the coastal waters.

Lu Hu was also forced to change into a black merchant robe.

This fierce general, who usually loved to wear armor and carry a blade, now had a string of iron abacus beads hanging at his waist, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

Lu Changyuan looked at him: "You look the part."

Lu Hu muttered: "Look like what?"

"Like the kind of Chief Manager who can squeeze three taels of oil out of people's bones while smiling and counting."

Several bodyguards nearby almost couldn't hold back.

Lu Hu's face darkened a few more shades.

Just then, a trace of extremely faint Sword Intent suddenly rose from the direction of Qixia Peak.

The Sword Intent just flashed, not even truly disturbing the clouds on the peak.

But all the Cultivators on the Pier subconsciously went quiet for a moment.

Lu Changyuan looked up, not speaking.

He knew that Luo Qingcheng was awake.

And he knew that she was watching.

This trade route, on the surface, was just Blue Moon Island sending away a disguised caravan.

But in secret, it was about sending the most crucial lifeblood for the entire island's future for a period of time to the Outer Sea with his own hands.

It could not be sloppy in the slightest.

"Set sail."

With the order, the mooring ropes were untied, and the ship shook slightly.

The cargo ship of the Changyuan Trading Company slowly sailed away from Blue Moon Island.

The wind whistled on the Pier.

Those left on the island did not send them off with loud voices.

They just silently watched the ship go further and further away.

After the ship left the coastal waters, the wind and waves gradually grew higher.

Lu Changyuan stood at the bow, with the map spread out at his side.

The destination this time was one of the true commercial hubs of the Outer Sea, the Xingyan Grand Market.

If he wanted to sell the large cargo in his hands for a good price, and if he wanted to build the trade routes that Blue Moon Island would need in the future, he had to go to such a place.

Along the way, the caravan did not take the coastal routes they were once familiar with.

The routes Lu Changyuan chose were all more remote, further away, and more complex detours.

Sometimes they walked along the edge of a storm.

Sometimes they used the floating reef groups to mask their aura.

During the day, they hung the merchant flag; at night, they doused the lights.

The entire fleet was like a small fish swimming away from big fish, steadily drilling into the depths of the Outer Sea.

They traveled like this for half a month.

On this evening, a dark reef shadow finally appeared on the sea surface ahead.

The reefs connected to form an island, with sparse lights on the island, but quite a few ships were docked at the Pier.

Black Reef Island.

This was one of the most common transit stations on the way to the Xingyan Grand Market.

The place was not big, a motley crowd, but it was most suitable for resting, changing water, and gathering information.

The cargo ship of the Changyuan Trading Company slowly docked.

Before the ship had fully stopped, in the shadows of the Pier, several gazes were already stuck firmly onto them.

Those gazes were not sharp.

But they were stickily greedy.

Like fish in a tidal ditch smelling blood.

Lu Hu stood behind Lu Changyuan, squinting slightly, his fingers already instinctively moving.

Lu Changyuan, however, only looked at the dark Pier ahead, his voice very light.

"Remember."

"From now on, we are merchants."

"First see how they want to eat us."