159: Chapter 159 Conspiracy

Guided by a maid, Pei Qingyun selected a room facing south.

As a distinguished guest, he was provided with servants for tasks like bathing and washing up.

Pei Qingyun did not mind this; having servants was better than doing things himself.

Before long, Pei Qingyun finished bathing and washing.

As for anything further, he had no such thoughts.

The night passed without incident.

Pei Qingyun woke up early the next morning.

It was mid-summer, so he woke up earlier than usual.

The warm sunlight poured down, and dozens of flowers of various sizes in the courtyard vied for beauty, exuding vibrant life.

At this moment, the maid in the courtyard prepared a basin of clear water for Pei Qingyun.

After a simple wash, Pei Qingyun began his meal.

For a Grandmaster like Pei Qingyun, meals naturally could not be the same as commoners; there were as many as ten different types of dishes.

Even within the Pei Clan, Pei Qingyun had never enjoyed such luxurious treatment.

It was not that the Pei Clan could not afford it, but rather that Pei Qingyun never encouraged such unnecessary expenses.

After all, no matter how powerful a Family was, it could not escape one law: the lack of money.

From the royal Family of the Great Jing Dynasty down to the most insignificant common families, this was true for all.

From this, it was evident how much importance Cui Ruiyuan placed on Pei Qingyun's arrival, even if it meant emptying the Family treasury.

An hour later, Cui Ruiyuan seemed to have received news of Pei Qingyun waking up and hurried to the small courtyard.

After some exchange of pleasantries, the two entered into the main topic.

"Grandmaster Pei, you are new here. You might not understand the Cui Clan well yet, so please allow me to first explain the predicament my Cui Clan is currently facing."

Cui Ruiyuan's expression turned serious as he spoke slowly.

With these words, Cui Ruiyuan had undoubtedly lowered his stance to a very humble position.

On this point, Pei Qingyun was generally satisfied.

Those who seek help must have the attitude of someone seeking help.

Even though both sides were connected by interests, and the Pei Clan was the primary beneficiary, as the stronger party, Pei Qingyun had to maintain the initiative.

"Please speak, Clan Head Cui. I am listening."

Pei Qingyun nodded, not acting haughty.

Beyond the intelligence he already possessed, he was more curious about whether the information provided by the Cui Clan differed from what he had gathered from the Pei Clan scouts.

Cui Ruiyuan took a deep breath and began to explain in detail.

From Cui Ruiyuan's account, the intelligence provided by the Pei Clan scouts was largely accurate.

Of course, there was a portion that he had inferred based on descriptions; in this part, the discrepancies were relatively larger.

The current situation of the Cui Clan was slightly better than he had imagined.

The attacks on the Cui Family Merchant Ships were merely a loss of some silver.

At the level of the Five-Viscera Martial Artist, the Cui Clan had not suffered much damage.

Besides, the losses were not his Pei Clan's anyway.

"Clan Head Cui, I understand what you mean. The reason this Luo Clan Grandmaster, Grandmaster Luo Dingpeng, came to your Cui Clan is clearly not to help you. Therefore, you must find a reason to send him back to the Luo Clan. On this point, I will not help you."

Pei Qingyun said.

He had no interest in cleaning up after others.

Of course, if Cui Ruiyuan were willing to increase the stakes, he wouldn't be unable to do so.

However, doing so would only lower Cui Ruiyuan's value in his eyes.

Clearly, Cui Ruiyuan understood this point as well, and he said solemnly, "Grandmaster Pei, please rest assured. I will handle this matter in at most three days."

Pei Qingyun continued, "Furthermore, doesn't your Cui Clan have scouts among the Gale Pirates? It is time for them to act, isn't it?"

Cui Ruiyuan explained with a troubled expression, "I am afraid that won't be possible. To be honest, the mole my Cui Clan planted among the Gale Pirates is none other than the Seventh Leader of the Gale Pirates. Except for myself and Elder Ruihao, no one else knows about this. However, for the past half year, every time I asked him about the movements of the Gale Pirates, the intelligence he provided was not very accurate. In the last two months, it has been as if he evaporated into thin air; I cannot contact him at all."

Pei Qingyun said, "You mean, this Seventh Leader has already been exposed."

Cui Ruiyuan thought for a moment, "I am afraid that is the case. I even suspect that the intelligence he provided previously was all fake news deliberately released by the Gale Pirates."

Pei Qingyun's expression also became a bit more solemn, "If that is the case, then this is rather troublesome."

If Cui Ruiyuan still had a mole among the Gale Pirates, he could find a way to pass on some false intelligence to lure the snake out of its hole.

Now that the mole had been removed, the Gale Pirates were playing a game of hiding in plain sight.

It was possible that every move of the Cui Clan was completely under the other party's control.

Thinking of this, Pei Qingyun also felt a headache.

Seeing Pei Qingyun's expression, Cui Ruiyuan's heart sank to the bottom of the ocean.

However, he still asked, "Grandmaster Pei, is there a solution? My Cui Family Merchant Ships have been docked at the Deep Water Harbor for a month now. If it were half a year ago, my Cui Clan could still afford to wait. But now, the Cui Clan's treasury is empty, and even the daily maintenance and operations of the Family are very difficult. In at most half a month, my Cui Clan must put the merchant ships back into operation."

At this moment, Pei Qingyun also fell into deep thought.

Half a month was not long, but it was not short either.

The duration of one sea voyage for the Cui Family Merchant Ships was also roughly half a month.

If Pei Qingyun wanted to get the fish to take the bait, he would only have one chance.

After pondering for a moment, Pei Qingyun slowly opened his mouth, "There is naturally a solution, but you must follow my requirements."

Upon hearing this, Cui Ruiyuan was overjoyed, and his words became excited, "Grandmaster Pei, please speak. As long as my Cui Clan can do it, we will definitely cooperate with all our might."

Pei Qingyun said slowly, "Don't the Gale Pirates like to hide in the dark? The next thing you need to do is to announce the news of my arrival directly, and make sure it reaches the ears of the Gale Pirates. This matter must be done as quickly as possible."

Cui Ruiyuan was surprised; he did not expect Pei Qingyun to do this.

According to his thinking, Pei Qingyun should hide his identity and board the ship.

Then, if the Gale Pirates attacked the merchant ship, they could catch them off guard.

Yet, Pei Qingyun did the exact opposite.

It didn't look like an open plot either.

However, Cui Ruiyuan did not question Pei Qingyun's decision.

"Grandmaster Pei, I will go do it immediately."

Cui Ruiyuan replied.

In fact, Pei Qingyun wanted to play a game of being upright and open.

The Gale Pirates liked to launch sneak attacks.

The reason why the Luo Clan Grandmaster was ineffective—actually, Pei Qingyun already had a vague guess in his heart.