27 The Deal

Cha Ming followed the bearded man's advice and spent the next week getting used to his body's condition. For ordinary people, it would have been difficult to tell time without seeing the cycles of the sun, but cultivators were a special breed of people who were naturally in tune with the heavens and the earth. This feeling only grew stronger once Cha Ming merged with the elaborate wood character he had painted.

The first day, he performed all sorts of bodyweight exercises and stretches that he had learned in the past, continuing for a full twenty-four hours. The largest benefit that he had experienced from this transformation was an increase in his vitality and endurance. While he hadn't pushed himself to his limits, he projected that it would be any easy feat to perform bodyweight exercises for a whole week.

The next twenty-four hours, he tried exhausting himself by running at full speed in the small circular room. Twenty-four hours of running hardly drained his stamina; this was quite fortunate, since he and Huxian would need to escape through the woods back to Green Leaf City. While his maximum speed had only seen a marginal increase, his endurance would allow him to cover four times the distance in a single day.

The next two days were used to discover the limits of his strength. He used his vine creation skill to tie stones and bones together and create a variety of heavy objects to test himself. The results were shocking. He could now lift five hundred jin over his head when using one hundred percent of his strength. Each of his arms could lift two hundred and fifty jin, and he could squat and deadlift one thousand jin.

Using a strength testing pillar was the most common way to measure the strength of a body cultivator. It would record the maximum amount of force delivered to the pillar and display it. This device could be used to measure fist strength and kicking strength. Weapons were typically not allowed on these models since sharp objects could deal serious damage to the device. Technique, force utilization, and the weapon used all had large impacts on the power of a combat technique. Therefore, fist strength was used as the universal standard for body strength, since it was a measure of force applied by the simplest unaltered battle technique.

Cha Ming did not have access to one of these force-testing stones, and so he picked one of the longer tunnels in underground tunnel system to run an experiment. First, Cha Ming would take a hundred-jin stone and throw it in the air to a predetermined height. Then, in the middle of the stone's downward trajectory, he used his fist and punched the stone in midair. The distance it traveled before hitting the ground was then used to estimate the amount of force delivered to the stone. Cha Ming's fist strength was approximately five hundred jin.

In the process of measuring his fist strength, he discovered a second marvelous benefit from the wood body refining. Aside from the obvious benefits to the durability of his body, any injuries he sustained would heal at roughly ten times their normal rate, and with minimal scarring. This improved rate of healing did not stack with the Healing Hand or Healing Bandage manifestations, but any wounds healed with these techniques left minimal scarring.

It was as though his body, in addition to strengthening, changed on a fundamental level to more closely resemble the wood element. Vitality, endurance, and regeneration were all aspects for which the wood element was famous for. Since his chances of getting permanently injured had greatly decreased, Cha Ming had spent the last two days punching and kicking the stone walls, getting used to controlling his force and getting used to the recoil and pain that came hand in hand with delivering physical blows to his enemies. He also practiced his staff art, getting used to the recoil and impact associated with using the weapon.

Huxian woke up after a week, just as the bearded man had predicted. As he woke up, he glanced around to see if there were any remaining stones on the ground that could be eaten. Cha Ming had predicted this and had stored away all of these special glowing stones. While improving Huxian's strength was very important for their survival, they needed to leave as soon as possible before their food supplies ran out.

Recalling what the bearded man had said, Cha Ming convinced Huxian to spar with him. The results left him very shocked. Huxian was twice as fast as him and twice as strong. Of course, this only referred to physical speed and physical strength. The pressure exuded by Huxian told Cha Ming that he was a sixth-level spirit beast, a top-quality one at that!

"You little bugger, you'd better not bully me now that you're so strong," said Cha Ming, sighing softly while rubbing Huxian's black head. While he was happy that Huxian's strength had increased, it remained that he was still just a naughty baby. Keeping him out of trouble would become increasingly difficult. Huxian was now so fast that he could run circles around Cha Ming.

After resting a full day, the duo finally began wandering through the many caves in the hopes of finding an exit.

--

Tick… tick… tick… tick…

In a quiet wooden room with a large wooden desk, four people were seated and having a meeting. One elderly man with green robes and flowing white hair was seated at the side of the desk, taking notes. The desk was built out of a dark, patterned wood. The surface was finished with a glossy varnish that emphasized the beautiful runic patterns decorating the entire desk. These runic patterns were beige in color, and while they seemed like they might have been inscribed by a master artisan, they were in fact a natural property of the wood used to carve out the desk. They grew as the tree aged, and a single line of runic patterns formed every sixty years, a testament to the age of the magic wood used to make the desk.

The two men opposite the desk wore black cultivator robes. The man sitting to the side was young, perhaps in his midtwenties. He was also in charge of notetaking and had tagged along to gain experience. The three men were seated in silence as they waited for a reply from the young man in green robes seated behind the desk. The handsome man had his eyes closed as he listened to the ticking of the clock in the quiet room.

Tick… tick… tick… tick…

After three hundred ticks of silence, the young man opened his eyes. There was a wisp of white hair dangling from the side of his head. He only had one such wisp of white hair adorning his perfect, straight head of blond hair. White hair was a very unusual feature to see on a sixteen-year-old man. The man was Wang Jun.

Wang Jun had intentionally waited for three hundred ticks of his clock in order to make the two guests sweat. These two were very powerful men in Green Leaf City. One was the president of the Spiritual Blacksmiths Association, Chen Hou, and the other was the young master from the Chen family, Chen Ling Tian. The Chen family was one of the three major families that controlled Green Leaf City's commerce. The president of the association was Ling Tian's uncle and the most prestigious spiritual blacksmith in the surrounding hundred cities. He had come all the way to Green Leaf City to wrap up the details of a business deal that would have a huge impact on the trade of weapons and armor in the nearest twenty cities.

"I refuse," said Wang Jun. "These conditions are far too important to the trade contract, and the Wang Family would rather not engage in this business than to remove them. If you have nothing further to add, you may leave."

He moved a stack of papers to a corner of his desk—contracts he'd carefully reviewed and signed. After reviewing and signing ten contracts, he noticed that Chen Hou still hadn't left. His face was red, and a very prominent vein protruded from his forehead as if ready to burst at any moment.

Wang Jun didn't seem to care, and looking over to his left, he instructed his assistant, "Elder Bai, please see these two guests outside. The documents I am working on are confidential and shouldn't be seen by their wandering eyes."

The old man got up and bowed. "As you command, young master." He looked toward the two gentlemen, who had expressions of pure rage. One of the arms on Chen Hou's chair suddenly let out a creaking sound as the solid wood was crushed in his firm grasp. The graying man was a spiritual blacksmith, after all, and his physical prowess could not be denied.

"This is outrageous!" he bellowed. "How can a young man like you make such an important decision? I refuse to believe that you have this authority!"

Wang Jun's expression showed no fluctuations as Chen Hou let out his aura. He was a Xiantian life-form, someone who had fully purified his body after reaching the peak of mortal body refining. His physical body strength was comparable to that of an early foundation-establishment cultivator.

In response to his outburst, Elder Bai, who had been sitting meekly beside Wang Jun, let out an aura of thick suppression that forced Chen Hou to stagger and cough up blood. The young man beside him fainted directly, as he had not yet established his foundation. Elder Bai looked at the miserable Chen Hou coldly.

"Young Master Wang is not someone who you can try to bully with force." He let out a cold snort. Yet another burst of raw power forced Chen Hou to cough up an additional mouthful of blood. The blood seeped onto the reddish wooden floor, which drank up the bloody puddle in the fraction of a second. The floors were clearly made to clean up these kinds of messes, which commonly occurred in "aggressive negotiations."

Wang Jun, who had not participated in the scuffle, had his elbows on the table with his fingers interlocked in front of the lower half of his face. His cold, penetrating gaze made the struggling Chen Hou shiver.

"Chen Hou, I am fully authorized by the Wang Family to make any and all decisions relating to business dealings in the Song Kingdom. If you want to complete this deal, you must go through me, as no one in the surrounding kingdoms would dare go over my head for such a small deal." One word could be used to describe Wang Jun's behavior right now—domineering.

"You might be thinking," said Wang Jun, "how can this be a small deal? Since I'm feeling generous today, let me elaborate."

He paused a bit before continuing, taking a sip out of a hot cup of tea that had appeared in front of him. Somehow, Elder Bai had found time during this commotion to brew a cup of tea for the young master. Wang Jun smiled appreciatively at Elder Bai and gave him an approving nod. The warm look on his face instantly disappeared as he turned back to the two miserable men. Chen Ling Tian had just regained consciousness. His face was pale as a sheet, and the previous angry look on his face had disappeared and had now been replaced with an expression of fear.

"Gentlemen, the agreement in question is a sole-sourcing agreement between Jade Bamboo and the Song Kingdom Spiritual Blacksmith's Association. We are looking to purchase all of our new higher-end merchandise for the nearest twenty cities from your association at the cost of sixty percent of list price, delivered. We want these goods delivered within three days and all accounts payable within thirty days of placing the order. Your organization is asking for seventy percent, a two-week delivery time on any orders, and all accounts being payable up front. Now let me elaborate on why this is a laughable proposition.

"There is a kingdom ten thousand li to the west that is governed by the Qin Dynasty. We have an agreement with this kingdom to supply these same goods at fifty-five percent of the list price with certain volume guarantees. Any order produced in this kingdom can easily be shipped here for three percent of the list price in two weeks' time. If we pay seven percent, we can have the order delivered in a week, and if we pay ten percent, we can have any order delivered in three days using aerial beasts. All accounts to them are payable in thirty days.

"We are asking for sixty percent and a three-day delivery time to reduce our cost base and working capital. There are almost no cost savings involved. This deal will allow us to save five percentage points on three-day deliveries, two percentage points on one-week deliveries, and it actually costs us two percentage points for longer lead time orders, the bulk of the business. So, tell me, is this really a bad proposition?"

By this point, Chen Hou was sweating profusely. He was clearly not aware that Jade Bamboo already had such business relationships. If the Wang Family set their mind to it, they could run them out of business. Both men knew this.

"The pricing part of this business deal is not the main point," Wang Jun continued. "From a purely profit-based approach, this deal makes no sense, and we should run you out of business. However, our current supplier will tie up our working capital for two weeks during the delivery time. There is also the small risk of force-majeure events, which might interrupt deliveries, as well as the burden of dealing with officials to import goods.

"The Wang Family hopes to gain from this deal by reducing relative risk and reducing working capital, which we can then invest elsewhere. Therefore, the price, delivery time, and accounts payable portion of the deal are all essential. I've effectively given you the best deal possible under the circumstances."

Wang Jun paused for another minute, the clock ticking as Chen Hou sat lost in thought.

"I take it you will need a small amount of time to convene with your business group and reach a final decision?" Wang Jun inquired.

"Our business group will require a week to decide on this matter," Chen Hou said hesitantly. One week was really cutting it close.

"You have three days," replied Wang Jun. "Elder Bai, please see our guests out."

--

Three days later, a graying middle-aged man and a strong young man walked out of Wang Jun's office, smiling. Wang Jun nodded in a satisfied manner as he straightened out the pile of documents that had been signed by himself and Chen Hou. The contract was stamped with a seal in green ink, which featured the prominent character "Wang" surrounded with a light jade bamboo background.

While contracts could be stored and recorded on jade slips, Wang Jun liked the legitimacy of using a paper copy. Of course, the signatures would need to be imbued with the signer's aura to prevent forgery. Elder Bai wandered back into the room after he finished escorting out their guests.

"Congratulations, Young Master, on another successful deal," Elder Wang said, giving him a light bow.

Wang Jun smiled and shook his head. He had asked Elder Bai multiple times to be less formal in private. They were all part of the same family, after all. Unfortunately, Elder Bai would have none of it, continuing to show respect to him as though he were a lowly butler.

"Please, Elder Bai, you're stifling me." Wang Jun pondered for a moment before asking, "Is there any news I should be aware of?"

"For the most part, nothing out of the ordinary." Elder Wang finally showed some lapse in decorum as he sat in the chair in front of Wang Jun's desk, giving his tired old bones a small amount of rest. "The Zhou family is acting more and more unbridled and domineering. The Qian family, which controls the city guard, has pledged allegiance to them. As you know, that genius Zhou Li's elder sister has recently been accepted as the crown prince's chief consort, giving their family much more influence in the capital city.

"There is also… some disturbing news."

Wang Jun shot a surprised look at Elder Bai. Elder Bai had lived a long time and had seen many things. Something that qualified as "disturbing" was definitely out of the ordinary.

"Young master, there have recently been many occurrences of so-called 'rebellion' in the kingdom. These rebellions are short-lived and usually involve the following characteristics. First, a local band of ruffians announce that they have had enough with the royal family. They then gather up local warriors and go on a killing spree, not only targeting the local aristocrats but slaughtering women, children, and the elderly.

"The youths who are spared from slaughter are usually boys aged between thirteen and sixteen, and beautiful young girls who are old enough to bear children. These 'rebels' then move on to the next town and repeat the process. Before long, they are put down by local task forces appointed by the kingdom or by a nearby branch of the king's army. These events have been occurring over the last three months with increased frequency."

Wang Jun pondered for a few minutes while looking through his memory. He had an eidetic memory, and even obscure tidbits of information could be found within minutes. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes with a puzzled look.

"Elder Bai, I can't find anything in my memories. You know yourself how much of this continent's history I've memorized over the years. Is there something that I'm missing?"