I Am Your Natural Enemy

Of course, if you want someone to do something, and to do it well, you can't just force them.

"Alright, I'll just say it straight. I've got an idea, let me lay it out and you think it over for yourself.

You take He Changfeng away, I'll pretend I never saw him, you keep him hidden quietly, and in the report, he's already dissipated.

Later on, if anyone from Changfeng Group contacts you, you handle it as you see fit.

My profile is too high, and the Scorching Sun Department's is too, if we go straight to Changfeng Group to investigate, it'll cause all kinds of trouble.

Most importantly, over at headquarters, a bunch of melon peels are watching me. Now that the Soul Devouring Beast thing is basically wrapped up, they're itching to trip me up with something else.

I don't want any extra trouble, so you've got a low profile. And don't you still know some people in Yu State?

By that time, whatever commission you can squeeze out of Changfeng Group, that's all your own ability.

Anyway, I'm not supposed to know about any of this. I just need to get to the bottom of what's really going on here.

Also, someone is deliberately doing heretic rites and usurping the Water God's position, and that's absolutely not allowed.

There's some deep water here, not the kind of thing we can deal with in the open.

Admitting a River God now was a very clever play by you.

Just right, you were involved from the start, so you're the best person for this. No one will suspect a thing."

Cai Qidong was trying to talk Wen Yan into it. Wen Yan stared wide-eyed, looking shocked at Cai Qidong, hesitated for a second, and asked in a low voice,

"Minister, why are you treating me like a melon peel?"

"Hey, what are you saying, when did I ever..."

"Minister, the very least you can do is paint a cake for me. Not even painting a cake and you want me to get things done? That's just too much."

Cai Qidong took a deep breath, forget it, he wouldn't argue with this kid. So young, yet always blurting out inconvenient truths.

"As long as you can get information, not even all of it—just some progress, I can make the call and let Fuyu Mountain pick kids from Nanwu County's orphanage this year.

And, first to choose! You get three rounds!

The kids picked, until they're adults, all their living expenses are covered by us.

Plus, as long as they stay in school, all schooling and living costs up to finishing college, we'll cover it.

For the next three years of martial demonstrations at the Nanwu County Scorching Sun Department, Fuyu Mountain gets five quotas each year—Great Zombies don't count as a spot.

The reason it's three years is because next term, I might not still be stationed in Nanwu County."

Seeing that Wen Yan was unmoved, Cai Qidong gritted his teeth and added,

"A few months from now at the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, aside from the set seats, Binhai County probably won't have any slots for Fuyu Mountain, right?

Nanwu County can give you two slots for Fuyu Mountain!

Isn't that sincere enough?"

Wen Yan blinked, his eyes completely clear.

He had no idea what this meant, didn't know the first thing about whether it was sincere enough or not.

But he could already sense that this was going to be a huge, messy pain—otherwise, Cai Qidong wouldn't be spending so long bartering with him.

"Minister Cai, hold on a second, I have to ask first."

Wen Yan quickly walked over to Old Zhang Laoxi, pulled him aside, and asked about the relevant details.

Only then did he realize just how much this would affect Fuyu Mountain.

For the past hundred years, Fuyu Mountain has only ever taken in orphans from around Fuyu Mountain.

The kids who get abandoned pretty much all have issues. Even if they don't have innate medical problems, their talent tends to be poor.

So for Fuyu Mountain's younger generation, under forty years old, only Qin Kun is worth mentioning.

Other major sects recruit disciples from wealthy families or adopt kids from orphanages, only picking the ones with real talent.

After Fuyu Mountain's decline, even in Binhai County, they never got to pick disciples first, and Fuyu Mountain never really fought for it either.

The Grand Uncle Master always felt that adopting kids was supposed to be about giving them a home; if you lost sight of that, it went against your original intention, so he was always pretty Zen about it.

But to say he didn't want talented young blood—that's impossible. He dreams all day about posthumous generations who can shoulder the Fuyu Mountain banner after he's gone.

And as for taking in kids, Fuyu Mountain isn't some rich sect either—even if they wanted to, they couldn't support too many.

These days, Qin Kun sends in a lot of money every year specifically for Fuyu Mountain, and the Grand Uncle Master has no choice but to accept it.

As for martial demonstrations, Old Zhang Laoxi isn't too clear since he's never gone, and he's even more clueless about the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony—he doesn't even have the ticket to attend.

Anyway, for Cai Qidong to open with these terms, he's definitely bleeding for it.

Wen Yan hesitated a little. Cai Qidong really is a sly one—finding his weak spot right off the bat. When money didn't work, he immediately switched tactics.

He pulled out his phone and called up Qin Kun to ask about the situation.

Qin Kun sighed and groaned—he knew way more than Old Zhang Laoxi and was all too familiar with how dire things were at Fuyu Mountain, which was way beyond just a dry spell.

Once those old Taoists at the top are gone, then there's nothing left, dry or green.

Wen Yan didn't tell Qin Kun what Cai Qidong was offering, but by now he already had his own thoughts.

Aunt Gan even came personally, saying she was standing up for the little zombie, but Wen Yan knew she'd really come to have his back and protect him.

The Grand Uncle Master handed out the Scorching Sun Fist without even seeing him in person.

That "learn whatever you can" line—only Old Zhang Laoxi trusted the Grand Uncle Master enough to buy such obvious tall tales.

If it was really open to learn, why can't you find a single mention of it online?

If all it takes is digging up a bit of intel to get this much out of it, Wen Yan was definitely willing to give it a go.

He went back to Cai Qidong and spoke in a low voice.

"Minister Cai, we're all on the same side here, so I'll keep it straight.

About probing for info—I'll give it a try, and you have my word I won't slack off.

But how much I can actually find—I can't promise any results.

Also, the offer you put on the table—it's not enough, you'll need to add more."

"Everything, one grade up, that's the upper limit of my authority, can't offer more." Cai Qidong didn't even blink, just hiked it up a notch.

"..."

Wen Yan took a shallow breath. Looks like he got played by this old fox after all.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want a spot for someone else on the special task force, same as me, with regular monthly allowance."

"You mean that thing you're raising, the one that might be a bird or a cat? For that, you can just talk to Feng Yao."

"Not that one. Someone else."

"Nope, can't do. That spot isn't just handed out. Purely drawing paychecks without working is absolutely not allowed." Cai Qidong shook his head immediately.

"Look, I'm telling you, you might not need it once in ten years, but if you ever do, giving a twenty-year allowance would be a bargain. Take it or leave it."

Cai Qidong's eyes flashed, and he immediately recalled everything from the past month, searching for any clues.

With a bit of backtracking, he found something connected to Wen Yan—a not-yet-confirmed expert.

He put on his managerial smile, nodded, and patted Wen Yan on the shoulder.

"Listen to you, since it's your recommendation, I trust your eye, you just go get Feng Yao to process this later."