Da Xuan Martial Saint-Chapter 399 - 263: The Battle Begins

Inner City.

Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion.

Years had passed since the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion first arrived in Yu City; it no longer felt new. A large area of the Inner City, located in the southwest, now belonged to the Pavilion’s turf and wasn’t limited to just one Hexagonal Pavilion.

Besides, the influence of the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion had already spread throughout Yu County, either by intimidation or by temptation. Many gangs in the Outer City were working for them, and various businesses were all over the city. Only certain government-controlled trades such as salt and iron were temporarily untouchable.

Of course.

Even in Yu City, the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion couldn’t completely monopolize power. The Hehuan Sect, for example, seemingly only managed the brothel business on the surface, but in fact, over the years, many powers within the city had fallen under their control behind the scenes. After all, they might not be as good at doing business as the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion, but they just needed to use lust to control those who were.

At this moment, in the main building of the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion, in a rather spacious room, many stewards in Mysterious Robes were seated, including the protector Duanmu Chun, who was at the head. Everyone was sitting cross-legged on the rosewood floor, with numerous ledgers placed in front of them.

"The revenue from the tavern business in the South City District last month was 21,214 silver taels."

"The revenue from the tavern business in the East City District last month was 17,781 silver taels."

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"West City District..."

One by one, the stewards were verifying the revenue ledgers.

The Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion, now a large establishment, had businesses everywhere, including taverns, flower boats, and grain, fabric, and so on. Furthermore, there was strict governance from top to bottom, with all kinds of ledgers being checked each month.

Duanmu Chun sat at the head, not participating in the ledger auditing, only listening to the stewards’ summary, while several other protectors in Mysterious Robes sat leisurely beside him, some leisurely sipping tea.

"How have things been with the Inspectorate lately?"

After listening to several ledger reports, Duanmu Chun turned to someone and asked.

Compared to the monthly ledger audits, the movements of Seven Profound Sect and the Inspectorate seemed more crucial. Although it had been seven or eight days since the incident, and everything in the Inner City seemed peaceful, the more it was like this, the more Duanmu Chun felt that the matter wouldn’t just quietly settle down. Given Chen Mu’s usual methods, he wouldn’t just admit defeat so easily. Find your next read at novelbuddy

First, it wasn’t necessarily possible for Chen Mu to trace the matter back to the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion because the incident had been carried out personally by high-level experts from the Pavilion with almost flawless execution. Even though the Pavilion and the Seven Profound Sect harbored the deepest grudges, at such a time, who could be certain that it wasn’t another faction intentionally scheming and instigating trouble? As long as Chen Mu couldn’t be completely sure it was a scheme by the Pavilion, he couldn’t afford to retaliate recklessly and without regard.

Of course.

A Grandmaster on the Wind Cloud List was no joke. An incident this serious couldn’t just blow over without stirring some storms. Therefore, the Pavilion had long been prepared for the impact on their various businesses.

Yet, the result was that for seven or eight days it had been calm, whether it was Chen Mu, the Inspectorate, or the Seven Profound Sect, they all seemed to act as if nothing had happened. There was no overreaction, nor was there a major search or arrests using the incident as an excuse in the Inner City.

Despite this.

Duanmu Chun had made many preparations, such as instructing all members of the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion to be cautious. All stewards and protectors were to remain at the Pavilion’s headquarters and not to move around without good reason for the time being.

"The Inspectorate has been covertly watching our people more closely. We are indeed their prime suspects, but since the job was done with no leaks, no matter how hard they look, they won’t find any traces," someone leisurely replied while holding and sipping from a teacup.

Duanmu Chun nodded slightly and asked, "Do we have any intelligence on Chen Mu?"

Another protector responded cheerfully, "No news. He’s probably still figuring out how to expel the Demonic Qi. But once the Demonic Qi has penetrated the Five Viscera, not even a Grandmaster can help him expel it. He can only wear it down slowly. Without at least a decade or so, it’s unlikely to be completely cleared, so we can consider him out of the equation for the future."

"No, no matter what, he is still a Grandmaster who has mastered the Qiankun Artistic Conception and listed on the Wind Cloud List, it’s too exaggerated to say he’s out of consideration. At least for us, he remains a force not to be underestimated. Once he regains his composure, he will inevitably cause trouble in Yu City. We had better muddy the waters when the time comes; if we can incite him to fight against the Heavenly Seal Sect and Linjiang Pavilion, that would be ideal," Duanmu Chun replied.

The protectors talked among themselves.

Using Xu Hongyu’s plan against Chen Mu had proved completely effective, undoubtedly fulfilling the most basic goal, and the higher-ups of the Mysterious Pavilion Sect praised this outcome. Whether Chen Mu would suspect them later or how to deal with Chen Mu’s retaliation was a separate matter. At least the disciples below the stewards’ rank in the Pavilion were completely unaware of it.

Even if Chen Mu went crazy and turned Yu County upside down, exposing all the Pavilion’s external operations, they wouldn’t find anything unless he recklessly attacked their headquarters, but that would require being certain they were the masterminds.

But.

Even if Chen Mu was a high-ranking expert on the Wind Cloud List, the Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion was not some easy prey to be trifled with, not to mention just one Chen Mu. Even the entire Seven Profound Sect hadn’t scared the Pavilion; at worst, they would simply fight it out.

"You’re being too serious. In my opinion, with Chen Mu affected by the Demonic Qi, he probably wouldn’t dare to act rashly. Sooner or later, he’ll return to the Seven Profound Sect with his tail between his legs... It was Brother Duanmu’s exquisite tactics that have eliminated a great threat to our Pavilion," someone said.

"Since there is no wine here, let us replace it with tea and toast to Brother Duanmu," someone else said, raising a cup.