Chapter:48 Ye Clan

"That was five years ago already—no point bringing it up. Anyway, good thing the squad captain back then was experienced and strong, or else I might've died right there…" Shou Tao, despite being an honest guy, still had his pride. He didn't tell Li Chang'an exactly what had happened back then.

Li Chang'an couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Damn, this guy is boring as hell. Can't get a single interesting word out of him. Looks like this journey's gonna be mind-numbingly dull...

Since Shou Tao had no intention of chatting, Li Chang'an gently squeezed his knees together, prompting the horse beneath him to speed up.

He'd taken this road before when he traveled to Heaven Dou City, but back then, he had gone as the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, riding in a fancy carriage. Naturally, he hadn't paid much attention to the scenery along the way.

Now, with nothing else to do, and Shou Tao clearly uninterested in conversation, Li Chang'an decided to enjoy the view. At the same time, he still harbored a bit of hope—maybe, just maybe, he could strike up a conversation with that sultry young madam, Bai Xue. It would at least make the trip a little less lonely.

Unfortunately, her carriage windows hadn't opened even once, despite the hours that had passed. So, Li Chang'an had to give up on the idea for now and just take in the passing landscape in silence.

Still, the mention of merchant guilds inevitably made him think of his own family's business. When he had first revealed the technique for making glass, his father had led a team of craftsmen and, after six months of effort, finally succeeded in producing crystal-clear, transparent glass.

With his current status, and with glass—this miraculous product—in their hands, the Li Family chamber of commerce had skyrocketed. In just three short years, they had climbed into the top ten Chamber of commerce on the continent. Today, the Li Family chamber of commerce ranked tenth across the entire Douluo Continent, with operations spanning all the major cities.

However, Li Chang'an was well aware: if the Li family truly wanted to be counted among the elite, they'd have to break into the top five. But those top five chamber of commerce had legacies stretching back a thousand years. They were like impenetrable fortresses.

Take the Hong Clan Chamber of commerce, for instance. Last night, when Li Chang'an mentioned escorting their caravan, his father couldn't help but sigh in awe—because even the fifth-ranked Hong Clan possessed resources ten times greater than their own.

That's because the Hong Clan controlled nearly half of the salt trade across the entire continent!

Half the continent's salt trade! That level of market share was beyond terrifying!

Of course, salt was one thing, but the Spirit Hall's real foundation lay in its tens of thousands of spirit masters. That was the true reason why they reigned as the continent's top power.

But back to the point—'if I could manage to get close to this young madam… could the Li family take another step up the ladder?'

Just from a few glances earlier, Li Chang'an had already determined: this woman held real power within the Hong Clan Chamber of commerce.

So, should he set aside his personal desires for the sake of the family?

'Sigh, this is a tough call…'

Just as Li Chang'an was caught in this inner turmoil, his body suddenly tensed. The little steed beneath him neighed sharply, even rearing its front hooves into the air—it had clearly been startled by something.

"Danger! Stay alert!"

Li Chang'an's reaction was lightning-fast. He leaped from the horse in one fluid motion and landed steadily on the ground. At the same time, he released his spiritual sense to scan the area.

They were currently traveling through a desolate stretch between Spirit City and the next major city—about halfway there. The place was remote, but at least there were no mountains nearby to block vision, which offered a bit of comfort.

However, as his spiritual sense swept outward, Li Chang'an quickly locked onto the source of danger. About a thousand meters ahead, a group on horseback was fast approaching.

There were at least ten of them, all dressed in black with matching masks, clearly intent on hiding their identities.

Still, Li Chang'an could feel it clearly: the leader's spirit power was intense, likely at the level of a Spirit king. The others behind him weren't pushovers either—most were around the three-ring or four-ring level.

'This isn't good. There's too many of them. I might not be able to protect everyone…'

He wasn't afraid of losing the fight, but this was a mission—he couldn't afford to let anyone under his protection get hurt.

A thousand meters on horseback was just seconds away. By the time Li Chang'an and the escort team were ready, the black-clad riders had already arrived!

"Leave the cargo and we'll let you go!"

The leader pointed at the crates on Bai Xue's carriage, his voice muffled and distorted—clearly processed to prevent recognition.

At that moment, the carriage door finally opened. Bai Xue stepped out slowly with the help of a maid in a green dress. Unlike this morning, her gaze was now icy cold, and all traces of seduction were gone.

"Who sent you? That bitch from the second branch? Or someone from the Second Lord's household?"

Her tone was fearless, her eyes sharp as she confronted the black-clad group and offered her guesses aloud.

'Second branch? Second Lord?'

Li Chang'an, listening from the side, was momentarily stunned. 'Holy hell… these thousand-year-old Clans really are something else. Their internal strife is just as dramatic as any TV drama!'

"Hmph, no more guessing. Leave the crates and walk away," the black-clad leader growled, pointing straight at Bai Xue.

She just smiled faintly and stepped forward a few graceful paces, her white thighs gleaming in the sun. She spoke again:

"You're not here to kill me—that much is obvious. So, you're not one of our internal assassins. Let me guess… there are a lot of Clans eyeing the Hong Clan's position, and the most aggressive among them is the sixth-ranked Ye Clan. So, odds are... you're Ye family assassins!"

"If you tell me who tipped you off, I'll do more than just hand over these three carts of new salt-refining equipment. I'll even teach you how to use them!"

"You should know—these devices boost the purity rate of fine salt by a full twenty percent. That kind of edge means massive profits!"

'Damn impressive!'

Even though Li Chang'an had watched countless palace drama shows with his girlfriends in his past life, he still couldn't help but mentally applaud Bai Xue. He had seriously underestimated her.

From her calm breakdown of the situation to her sharp deduction and then her calculated leverage—she handled it all with flawless precision. And her words instantly forced the black-clad group to reconsider.

After all, knowing how to use the machines was a whole different story from just having them. If they brought both the equipment and the knowledge back, the profit margins would be even greater.

As for this escort team? They could always kill them afterward. From the Ye family's perspective, they still had the upper hand.

"Fine," the black-clad man replied. "In that case, I'll tell you the truth—we are from the Ye Clan. We're here for that new salt-refining equipment. Now, give us the method, or you die!"

The aura of a Spirit king suddenly burst from his body, flooding the entire area with oppressive pressure.

'Ye Clan? Seriously? Even here there's a Ye family?'

Li Chang'an couldn't help but groan inwardly. Still, he wasn't really afraid.

'Back in my old life, I might have stayed away from anyone named Ye—who knows if their dad's a general with ten thousand troops. But here?

This is the Douluo Continent.

And I… am Li Chang'an.'

_____

T/N:

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