Chapter 9 009

Bai Choufei was originally very thoughtful.

The resume reported by Zhu Xiaoyao was exactly the various attempts he made in his early years to make a fortune.

What he said during the casual chat on the river before entering Bianjing was also true.

If a man cannot create eternal achievements and become famous, it is no different from coming to this world in vain.

If according to the late Fan Wencheng, he would rather die with a voice than live in silence.

So he is not like Wang Xiaoshi, who still retains the chivalrous spirit and innocence of a young man who just entered the world -

he not only wants to stand out, but also to become a rich and powerful person.

Shi Qingruo's words "irreplaceable position" are like the most accurate arrow that hits the bull's eye.

She has continued.

"Golden Wind and Rainy Rain Tower has been established for a long time. Even if we only count the time when Master Su took over, he has countless confidants under his command. The five gods in the tower, namely the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest

, have their own strengths and command their tribes. The Six-and-a-half-point Hall was born out of the Jiangnan Thunderbolt Hall and has a long-standing reputation in the martial arts world. The hall masters under its command are all well-known figures in the martial arts world of the capital." "If there is no fate, why would they choose people like you with unknown origins as their arms and helpers? It is certainly more suitable to leave things to confidants than you."

However.

"But I am different."

The more Wang Xiaoshi listened, the more he felt that the changes that had taken place in Miss Shi were really unimaginable.

Just like at this moment, even though there were no other gang members of the Mitian League by her side, Shi Qingruo's words and deeds clearly showed a demeanor of being able to command everything.

Even people overlooked one thing.

What she said was both her advantage in recruiting talents and her disadvantage.

Her foundation was still too shallow after all.

But just as she said, this shallow foundation is unique enough for Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi.

"Many masters in the Mitian League gathered here because of my husband, but my husband suffered a disaster before, so the league was in disarray. Now everything starts from scratch, and people with martial arts and strategies are needed to stand out. If Mr. Bai and Mr. Wang are willing to yield, the Mitian League will show their sincerity to recruit them."

She paused, and suddenly her expression softened a little: "Besides, even if it is not for the affairs of the league, the two of you have saved my life, and I should repay you."

This was said sincerely, but I don’t know if it was because of the difference in status now, Wang Xiaoshi still waved his hand quickly: "There is no need to mention the previous things. If you have to say it, Miss Shi also helped us a lot."

He acted rashly, Bai Choufei was arrogant, and most of the things that settled those abducted children were done by Shi Qingruo.

At that time, he felt that she was well behaved and didn't seem like someone from a rural family...

But there was no point in talking about this now, so let's just look at what's in front of us.

He pondered for a moment, and then asked, "I won't ask for now, why is it Miss Shi..."

"It's Madam Shi." Shi Qingruo corrected seriously.

Wang Xiaoshi continued awkwardly, "Madam Shi can represent Guan Shengzhu to decide to recruit the two of us into the alliance and entrust us with important tasks. I just want to know, after all, we are just casual acquaintances, why do you believe that we can be of great use to you?"

Master-disciple relationship and martial arts cannot be the only criteria for judgment.

Otherwise, he and Bai Choufei would not be restricted everywhere in Bianjing City.

Shi Qingruo's eyebrows curved: "If that's the case, are you willing to accept my invitation?"

Wang Xiaoshi did not answer.

But he should have an answer in his heart.

If someone else was in front of him, not Shi Qingruo, with whom he had had dealings before, and chose a force to serve, he would have to ask more questions.

The Misty Heaven Alliance has been leaderless for many years, so it is a mixed bag of people, and people with real talents will not choose this place.

However, now, he at least knows what kind of character Shi Qingruo has.

Because of this, it is not too difficult for Shi Qingruo to judge Wang Xiaoshi's attitude.

The words he said seemed to be still testing, but if he had no interest in staying in the Misty Heaven Alliance, there was no need to ask such a question.

The sword he carried on his back was comparable to Lei Sun's Bu Ying sword and Su Mengzhen's Hong Xiu Dao in the martial arts world. It was not difficult to use it to break out of the siege and rush out of the Misty Heaven Alliance.

But now, not only did he not move, he also asked what the two of them were for.

Shi Qingruo replied: "It is hard to say what role you play in the alliance, because before you officially join the Mitian Alliance, I have a test for you. If you accomplish this, not only can you stop the gossips in the alliance, but you will also know more clearly what you should do."

Bai Choufei followed Shi Qingruo's gaze and saw her eyes lazily scanning the surroundings.

The implication was that there was no need to be wary of ears at this moment, because what she wanted to explain was naturally a big deal!

He didn't show it on his face, but his heartbeat in his chest accelerated again.

If he missed this opportunity sent by an old friend on the way, if he wanted to get another chance to stand out, he might have to do something more dangerous and more likely to suffer in return. It would have been better

if Shi Qingruo didn't mention the test. After she said it, Bai Choufei felt that this matter was more appropriate.

Without waiting for Wang Xiaoshi to reply, he asked, "What is Madam Shi's test?"

Shi Qingruo asked slowly, "Based on what you and Master Wang have seen in Bianjing City in the past few months, comparing the Mi Tian League and Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou with Liu Fen Ban Tang, what is the biggest shortcoming of this place?"

Bai Choufei was stunned.

He had been involved in gangs.

If he wanted to analyze the development of gangs and distinguish the right and wrong orders in gangs, he would have much more experience than ordinary people.

Since he arrived in Beijing, he has indeed observed the strengths and weaknesses of various forces in addition to selling calligraphy and paintings.

The Mi Tian League was not among his choices, so he would naturally judge it with a more critical eye.

Before Shi Qingruo appeared out of nowhere and made Guan Qi regain some of his consciousness, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this place was a mess.

Now, she is going to pick out the biggest shortcoming from it.

He looked directly into the other party's deep eyes, and swallowed the word "people" that he wanted to blurt out.

No! This wasn't the answer Shi Qingruo wanted to hear.

For example, the Second Saint Lord who had previously approached him and Wang Xiaoshi, and then the Saint Lord Guan, whose martial arts were unrivaled in the world, showed that the Misty Heaven Alliance wasn't lacking in talent; it was lacking in coordination.

To put this coordination more bluntly—

"It's money," Bai Choufei replied.

As soon as he uttered this answer, he saw Shi Qingruo smile approvingly.

He followed up on the answer and said, "The money I'm talking about is not specific monetary amounts. Generally speaking, any force that has become powerful must rely on the mountains and rivers for its livelihood, and it always needs a source of income to support the food, clothing, housing, transportation, medicines and weapons of the gang. If the gang is bigger, it will cooperate with the salt gang for water transport and land escort. If it is even bigger, it may even rent people to the government to do some work such as escorting food and wages and guarding the border. If it wants to be self-sufficient, it will hire a group of iron workers, carpenters, bricklayers and farmers who grow crops and raise silkworms. These people exist in the Mi Tian Alliance, but they are not a big deal."

"The Liufenban Hall can make the guilds of all parties voluntarily hand over three and a half of their earnings, but the Mi Tian Alliance... to put it bluntly, there are still many pirates."

Shi Qingruo clapped his hands and praised, "That's exactly what you said."

The wedding banquet of the Mi Tian Alliance seemed to be grand, and Shi Qingruo personally participated in it, but it was difficult not to notice the flaws in it.

If they couldn't even figure out the financial accounts, even if they thoroughly counted everyone in the alliance and expelled all the undercover agents, they would still struggle to gain a foothold in Bianjing.

Guan Qi couldn't handle this sort of situation.

If they told him, "We want to compete with Lei Sun for business," he'd probably interpret it as, "We want to fight Lei Sun."

"What does Madam Master want us to do?" Bai Choufei frowned at the end of his analysis.

Undoubtedly, these business and financial matters couldn't be achieved overnight.

And for a faction without a solid foundation, rising to prominence would require countless coincidences.

After this analysis, he even began to doubt whether relying solely on the "uniqueness" of the Mitian Alliance was worth the decision.

Shi Qingruo seemed to see through his suspicion and calmly replied, "Mr. Bai, having sold paintings and calligraphy in Bianjing before, should know this: no matter how exceptional your work is, if the local dealers are discriminatory, it's hard to fetch a high price. The same is true for gangs."

"As you mentioned, the salt gang's water transport and land escort agencies, as well as the iron forging, taverns, and teahouses, have been divided up by the Liufenbantang and Jinfengxiyulou in recent years, leaving little room for development. If the Mitian League were to rashly intervene, not only would it fail to generate revenue for the gang and force members to focus on their own duties, but it would also cause further unrest and create trouble."

Besides, this wasn't something that could be accomplished overnight.

"So, Madam Shi's point is—"

Shi Qingruo handed the scroll from the nearby table to Wang Xiaoshi and Bai Chou. "Most things are difficult at the beginning. So, to solve the Misty Heaven Alliance's financial problems, I'd like to do something special first: ask you to pick up some extra cash."

Wang Xiaoshi followed Shi Qingruo's instructions and opened the scroll. He was surprised to see that instead of instructions, it depicted a woman's face.

If the portrait bore a close resemblance to the real woman, she could be considered a beauty.

But I don't know her identity...

"Her name is Shangguan Feiyan," Shi Qingruo explained.

"Recently, Jin... Recently, the Misty Heaven Alliance's spies have discovered that this person, claiming to be a descendant of the Jinpeng Dynasty, is out there, seeking to settle an old debt. But our people have also discovered that the people behind her aren't simple. They're claiming to be collecting debts, but in reality, they're doing favors."

"I'd like you two to go and find the treasure hidden behind this."

Wang Xiaoshi was puzzled. "But according to what Madam said, her background isn't simple. Is it possible there's no treasure?"

Wang Xiaoshi's own limited experience in the martial arts world didn't mean his master hadn't told him about it.

This truly sounds like a scam.

Shi Qingruo said meaningfully, "Then who told you this unexpected windfall is necessarily the treasure? When the people involved in Jianghu turmoil are wealthy enough, some ill-gotten gains are bound to appear. Now that Guan Shengzhu has just married, both the Liufenbantang and the Jinfengxiyulou are focusing their attention on the crucial capital, allowing us to split up our forces on the other side. Isn't this the perfect opportunity?"

Wang Xiaoshi was about to ask more when Shi Qingruo added, "I know Young Master Wang has his own beliefs. Joining the Mitian Alliance doesn't mean you'll be surrounded by vulnerabilities. You can make your own decisions. I have only one request."

She looked intently at the two men before her and said in an extremely serious tone, "Although this is a test, if you leave here today, you will represent me as members of the Mitian Alliance. I don't want you to embarrass me outside." "

Also, I have two more things to remind you."

Wang Xiaoshi and Bai Choufei both looked slightly dazed as they left.

What prompted their reaction wasn't the mission assigned by Shi Qingruo, but her final words.

She said she could rise from an orphan with no martial arts skills to become the wife of the Saint Master of the Misty Heaven Alliance, and that the others she'd previously met could naturally assume other identities as well.

The not-so-gentle "gentle" female warrior wore her identity clearly on her face. After arriving in the capital, she quickly sought refuge with her senior brother, Su Mengzhen, the master of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower.

And the "Tian Chun" Tian girl they'd rescued on the river—a more accurate name would be Lei Chun, the only daughter of Lei Sun, the head master of the Six and a Half Hall.

From the moment they joined the Misty Heaven Alliance, they and those two were, at least on the surface, enemies, not friends. They must not act in a way that would betray the enemy.

That was her advice.

...

"Do you really think they'll be capable of your work?" Zhu Xiaoyao asked, watching the two men disappear from sight.

"From what I've seen from these two people's resumes, Bai Choufei is overly ambitious, while Wang Xiaoshi is a loyal man, though unfortunately a bit too straightforward..."

"I know," Shi Qingruo nodded in response.

This was clear to her from her interactions with the two before she arrived in the capital.

Moreover, Zhu Xiaoyao wouldn't understand that Shi Qingruo knew them far better than she imagined.

Before her time travel, during the first playthrough in which she chose to pursue Su Mengzhen, she, Wang Xiaoshi, and Bai Choufei had numerous interactions.

However, in that playthrough, they weren't members of the Misty Heaven Alliance.

During the Six-and-a-half-minute Hall's assassination attempt on Su Mengzhen, Wang Xiaoshi and Bai Choufei collaborated with Su Mengzhen to break through the encirclement, earning him his favor and a brotherly relationship.

The former nearly became the successor to the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower after Su Mengzhen's death.

The latter, driven by his ambition to never accept inferiority, stood against Su Mengzhen, determined to seize power.

Judging from this point of view, Bai Choufei is absolutely not suitable to be recruited as a subordinate, because his inflated ambition will sooner or later make him unwilling to obey anyone's orders.

But so what?

At least now, he is the most suitable person to drive the step that Shi Qingruo wants to take.

"I just want a result. I have my own plans for what happens next." She replied, "There are only two things you need to do."

"One is to have someone keep an eye on Bai Choufei, to prevent him from making any inappropriate moves beforehand, and the other is..."

Shi Qingruo's sudden pause made Zhu Xiaoyao instinctively feel that what she was about to say next should be much more important than the previous one.

However, the next moment, she heard a sentence: "I am not like you. I have internal energy to rely on and can starve. Have someone bring some lunch."

Zhu Xiaoyao was speechless: "...Yes."

Shi Qingruo flicked her sleeves and walked towards her residence.

After arranging the places for Bai Choufei and Wang Xiaoshi, she felt relieved. But she knew that this alone was not enough for her to gain a foothold here.

She had to find more subordinates who were useful to her. I just don't know if she can find the right person with the experience of the three rounds, and if she can trick people into coming to her with the current conditions of the Mi Tian League.

It's hard...

While thinking, she raised her hand and pushed open the door of the small building.

But her movements suddenly stopped again, and her eyes looked in one direction with a stern look: "Who is it!"

This has nothing to do with whether she has internal strength or not.

The moment she pushed the door open, she clearly saw a gray figure flying straight to the beam. Although the figure was light and agile, it still inevitably brought a gust of wind.

Someone broke into the house!

When she shouted, the Mi Tian League members guarding outside the small building immediately stepped forward to protect her.

Almost at the same time, Shi Qingruo saw the figure sitting on the beam and met her face to face.

It was a beggar in tattered clothes.

But even in the dim light, Shi Qingruo's eyesight still made it easy to see that it was a girl of about fifteen years old in disguise.

She would never be a simple beggar.

Because under the black and gray on her face, her skin was obviously whiter than that of ordinary people in the world.

Even when she was caught, her face was not embarrassed, but full of amazement. She was

only a little shy when she spoke: "Sister, I heard that there was a wedding banquet here, but I didn't expect that the things left behind were not very delicious."

Shi Qingruo pulled the corner of her mouth.

Let's not talk about whether it tastes good or not. She clearly saw that the girl hid the cake in her hand behind her back.