98: Chapter 98 Dual-line settlement, the pressure of interests

By daybreak, Lu Hu had already sorted and arranged the items from the three Storage Pouches.

The Spirit Ore was piled in a small mound in the center of the camp.

The dark blue Ore shimmered with silver veins in the morning light; a rough estimate valued them at one hundred and twenty to thirty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones—the quality was decent but not top-tier, typical of the shallow veins on the periphery of the Cold Dragon Abyss.

Beside them lay the hunting supplies scavenged from Xue Mingyuan's cabin: four gold-embroidered spirit-silk tents, six boxes of spirit food, eight jars of spirit wine, three boxes of beast-repelling incense, and a complete set of nautical charting tools—brass compasses, a protractor, blank nautical chart scrolls, and a sounding lead weight engraved with the character "Xue".

Lu Changyuan picked up the lead weight and took a look.

There were clear signs of wear on the bottom of the lead weight—it had been used many times.

"He hasn't just been charting here for a day or two." He put the lead weight back, "Keep these nautical charting tools safe. We will use them ourselves later."

Lu Hu registered each item one by one in the military ledger.

The Spirit Ore was sealed and recorded as war spoils.

The hunting supplies were distributed according to military merit—the thirty brothers who went out last night each received an extra portion of spirit wine and spirit food, while the remaining tents and beast-repelling incense were confiscated for public use.

"Young Lord." Lu Hu finished the last entry and looked up, "Those letters—you said last night they weren't war spoils."

"Correct." Lu Changyuan took those few letters with the secret seals from his bosom, "These things are worth more than that pile of Spirit Ore."

He spread the letters out on a reef.

There were three letters in total.

The sign-offs all bore the same secret seal—a seabird with wings spread, with three small characters pressed beneath the wings.

The content of the letters was very ordinary: such-and-such date transporting a certain amount of Spirit Ore, such-and-such date handing over a supply list, such-and-such date requesting to expand the charting range.

But the material of the letter paper was not ordinary rice paper—it was official stationery with secret patterns exclusively used by the East Sea Governors Office; when held up to the light, one could see extremely fine watermark patterns floating on the paper.

"The same merchant firm." Lu Changyuan pointed his finger at the secret seal on the sign-off, "Three letters, at least three years of continuous correspondence. This proves that this merchant firm and Xue Mingyuan—or rather, the East Sea Governors Office—have had a Spirit Ore transport business going on for three years."

"What merchant firm?"

"I don't know the name yet. But Xu Sanlan's old list of sealed marks has the same secret seal." Lu Changyuan took back the letters, "We will know the name sooner or later."

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away at the East Sea Governors Office.

Xue Mingyuan, wrapped in a crumpled brocade robe with his headpiece tilted to one side, stumbled into the main hall of the Governors Office.

His three treasure ships had slipped back into the port within the Governors jurisdiction in the middle of the night—not a single Spirit Cannon had been fired, but the bottom of the cabins had been turned upside down.

The Spirit Ore, letters, and nautical charts in his personal Storage Pouch had all vanished into thin air.

"Uncle!" He threw himself to his knees in the center of the main hall, "The people from Blue Moon Island started grabbing territory first! We were just fine at the Cold Dragon Abyss, and they charged up and just—"

Governor Xue Zhen sat in the main seat of the hall.

He was in his early fifties, with slightly graying temples, wearing a deep purple official robe—not casual clothes, but the formal attire of a Governor.

He had just returned from patrolling his jurisdiction and hadn't even taken a sip of tea yet.

"Tell me from the beginning."

Xue Mingyuan began to speak.

In his version, he was legally hunting on the periphery of the Cold Dragon Abyss when he was suddenly surrounded by a group of cavalry, his ships were forced to retreat, and at night he was ambushed by masked men, leaving the supplies on his ships completely looted.

At the end, he added: "They simply don't hold the East Sea Governors Office in their eyes at all!"

After listening, Governor Xue Zhen did not speak immediately.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip.

The tea was lukewarm.

He placed the teacup back on the table and rubbed his fingers along the rim twice.

"Take some men and see who the Blue Moon Island Lord is."

Not investigate.

Just see—see the background of this person.

Two hours later, the people he sent out returned.

The information brought back was not much, but every single detail made Governor Xue Zhen's gaze sink a little deeper.

Blue Moon Island Lord, Lu Changyuan.

Deputy Envoy of Anti-Demon Supply Transport in the Outer Sea for the Zhenhai Military Warehouse.

During the great battle at Xuangui Island, he led the garrison to hold off the Black Army's offensive for three days; the war merit was personally stamped and confirmed by Commander Tie Zhan, the Deputy Commander of the Zhenhai Fortress, on the Command Headquarters battle report.

This person is the clan grandson of the Lu family's main lineage Golden Core Elder, Lu Qingyao—Lu Qingyao had once suppressed the False Core Commander Zhao Lingyue in a fit of rage at the Xingyan Military Prefecture.

The military tally for the five thousand mixed garrison troops of Xuangui Island is still in his hands to this day.

After listening, Governor Xue Zhen placed the report on the table.

The first thing he did was reach out and slap the still-wailing Xue Mingyuan across the Face.

The sound was sharp and loud.

Xue Mingyuan was knocked onto the ground, a line of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

"Shut up."

Governor Xue Zhen stood up.

He was not a playboy who inherited his position through family connections.

He was a Late Stage Golden Core cultivator who climbed up from the very bottom—in his youth, he had served as a low-ranking officer in the Zhenhai Army for eighty years, step by step, before finally sitting in the position of Governor.

He understood one truth: in this sea of stars, offending the wrong person costs ten times more than offending ten right ones.

He began to calculate in his mind.

Commander Tie Zhan was the Deputy Commander of the Zhenhai Fortress, managing the logistics supply lines and war merit assessments for the entire defense zone.

The East Sea Governors Office was nominally a civil post, but military supply allocation, Spirit Ore mining, and merchant route access within its jurisdiction—all relied on the Zhenhai Army's nod.

Commander Tie Zhan happened to be his direct superior.

If this Lu Changyuan were just an ordinary Deputy Envoy under Commander Tie Zhan, things would be easier to handle.

But Commander Tie Zhan had personally confirmed Lu Changyuan's first merit at the Command Headquarters—this showed that Commander Tie Zhan valued this person.

Lu Qingyao was a Golden Core Elder of the Lu family's main lineage.

The influence of a main lineage Elder in the Lu family was not something a local branch could compare to.

The matter of her suppressing a False Core Island Lord for Lu Changyuan at the Xingyan Military Prefecture had long since spread within their circles.

Xue Mingyuan had tried to grab territory from Lu Qingyao's clan grandson—if this matter were poked up to the Council of Elders, he, Governor Xue Zhen, would be guilty of failing to discipline and allowing his nephew to commit violence.

The last point: the Xuangui Island military tally.

A young man holding the military tally of five thousand garrison troops—regardless of whether the soldiers' hearts were truly loyal, the establishment of these five thousand men was solid and real.

Someone who could obtain a military tally within the Zhenhai Army system did not do so by luck.

The three threads twisted together, and the end of each thread pointed to the same conclusion: his nephew hadn't kicked an iron plate this time; he had kicked a wall.

Governor Xue Zhen did not hesitate for too long.

He reached out and hauled the still-prostrate Xue Mingyuan up, taking a look at the slap mark on his Face.

"Prepare the ship. Prepare gifts. We depart overnight."

"Uncle—"

"If you dare say one more word, I'll break your legs along with it."

Governor Xue Zhen let go.

Xue Mingyuan stumbled back two steps, leaning against a pillar, not daring to make another sound.

The servants in the Governors Office began to bustle about.

A flying boat was dragged out of the warehouse, and the Governors Office's flag was removed—Governor Xue Zhen was not going to show off official authority; he was going to discuss business.

Three boxes of gifts were prepared: one box of High Grade spirit tea, one box of century-old spirit ginseng, and one box of ice silkworm silk.

This was not the standard for an apology—it was the standard for paying a formal visit.

The next morning. Blue Moon Island's Outer Port.

The thin mist on the sea had not yet dispersed.

The night watch guards were changing shifts when they suddenly saw a flying boat appear at the end of the shipping lane.

The flying boat was not large, the hull had no markings, and it sat very high in the water—as if it had been rushing to get here.

The flying boat docked at the berth.

The gangway was lowered.

A middle-aged man in a deep purple official robe walked down.

He held a young man by the back of his collar with his left hand—the young man was black and blue, head bowed, his brocade robe a complete mess.

The middle-aged man straightened his clothes, walked up to the guards on duty at the port, took a calling card from his sleeve, and presented it with both hands.

"East Sea Governor Xue Zhen. Requesting an audience with Blue Moon Island Lord Lu. Please report this."

The guard on duty took the calling card and glanced at the official Governor's seal stamped on it.

"Please wait a moment."

He turned and ran toward the Lords Mansion.

Governor Xue Zhen stood on the berth, the sea breeze blowing the hem of his official robe until it snapped loudly.

He did not sit down, did not have anyone bring a chair, and did not have anyone serve tea.

He just stood there, still holding his nephew by the back of his collar.

The shipwrights and peddlers in the port peeked over here secretly.

A Governor—this was an official more than one rank higher than an Island Lord.

But this Governor's behavior did not match the word "Governor" at all.

Governor Xue Zhen did not care about these gazes.

He had been in official circles for over a hundred years and understood one thing deeply: Face is for others to see, while substance is for oneself to live by.

The Face lost standing here at the Blue Moon Island port today was much lighter than the official position lost tomorrow if held accountable by Commander Tie Zhan at the Command Headquarters.