Chapter 289: Chapter 256: The Three Major Powers

Li Hen City is not like Dongshan City.

In Dongshan City, Lin Miao could let Lianxin or Liansuo accompany Sun Youwei to take a walk; with Liansuo’s martial arts cultivation, protecting Sun Youwei was not a problem.

But in Li Hen City.

He dared not let her go out; in Li Hen City, there were too many lawless and lecherous people everywhere.

If anything happens to Sun Youwei, the consequences would be unbearable for him.

After several days of travel, Lin Miao, who had martial arts skills, could withstand it, but Sun Youwei, who lacked martial arts, was indeed a bit tired.

After arranging the room, they rested.

Lin Miao took a cold shower and changed into clean clothes.

Longchuan Canyon was indeed cooler than outside, especially in the hot summer; this place was on the shady side of the mountain, so there weren’t many areas directly exposed to sunlight, which made the temperature much lower.

But living here for a long time is not good for the body.

Anyway, those who have lived in Li Hen City for long have some ailments like rheumatism and bone diseases.

Yingfeng Valley is much better than here.

But Yingfeng Valley is still within Longchuan Canyon, previously occupied by a pair of giant python beasts, and there’s not enough space to build a city there.

The people who initially constructed Li Hen City, who knows what they were thinking, built the city on a shady side.

"Master, is ’Lin’s’ your enterprise?" Qiu Ze asked as he approached Lin Miao.

"Yes, ’Lin’s’ is one of my businesses in Li Hen City." Lin Miao nodded, "Qiu Ze, your identity needs time to be cleaned up, so I cannot bring you to Dongshan City for now. If discovered, it would cause trouble for me, so temporarily stay in Li Hen City."

"Then what should we do?"

"I am building a castle at Yingfeng Valley; when it’s time, you will go there to maintain order and act as supervisors." Lin Miao explained, "That’s my territory in Longchuan Canyon."

"Are you planning to be a king over Longchuan Canyon?"

"Haha, not to that extent; I just want to leave myself a retreat." Lin Miao chuckled.

"Master, what are you planning that you need to prepare a retreat first?" Qiu Ze was surprised, feeling as if he had boarded a pirate ship.

"Haha, don’t be afraid, I’m not planning anything illegal or criminal; rather, I possess some things that attract attention, and placing them elsewhere isn’t safe. Only in Longchuan Canyon can I protect myself." Lin Miao explained.

"Master, what do you possess that attracts attention?"

"Do you know what ’Lin’s’ business involves?"

Qiu Ze shook his head.

"Crystalline sugar, the kind of white sugar."

"Crystalline sugar!" Qiu Ze wasn’t a bumpkin, knowing what crystalline sugar was; this stuff was only affordable by the nobility and wasn’t available at all times. Ordinary families couldn’t even afford regular sugar, let alone crystalline sugar.

"I possess the purification technology for crystalline sugar, which is of higher quality than that of Yue Country. If people knew of this, wouldn’t it attract those who wish to snatch it?"

Although Qiu Ze wasn’t in business, he knew crystalline sugar was valuable, especially when mastering its creation could be akin to possessing a huge "gold mine," providing continuous wealth without depletion.

This would likely tempt anyone.

Those in power or with strong sect influence would rush in like wolves to prey upon a scent of fresh blood.

"Master..."

"Don’t worry, the crystalline sugar workshop isn’t in Li Hen City now; it will move there once the Yingfeng Valley site is complete, so you don’t need to worry about safety here." Lin Miao smiled.

Hearing Lin Miao say this, Qiu Ze couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Tonight, rest well; tomorrow morning, we’ll set off for Yingfeng Valley." Lin Miao instructed, "Tell the brothers, there’s no order in Li Hen City, so at least two must go out together, avoid conflicts with city folks, and in trouble, just mention ’Lin’s,’ which usually prevents further issues."

"Yes, Master."

"Everyone can withdraw a hundred taels of silver for personal use; things here are much pricier than outside." Lin Miao instructed again.

"Thank you, Master."

"Mrs. Qiao, register them all; in future, salaries and allowances go through you." Lin Miao called Mrs. Qiao over with instructions.

"Yes, sir."

"Have you notified Miaoxue?"

"Already sent a message via pigeon, estimations are that Madam is on the way back." Mrs. Qiao nodded.

"Alright, I understand, that’s it. You go ahead and get busy." Lin Miao said, "I will go out for a stroll and return before dinner."

"Sir, do you need me to assign a guide for you?"

"No need, I am just taking a casual walk around nearby, not going far..." Lin Miao waved his hand and stepped out with large strides.

Although Li Hen City is typically a place of anarchy and lawlessness, its trade market is quite prosperous. Here, you can buy anything you want, and find all sorts of rare and peculiar items.

The three major forces each have their own unique business characteristics.

Heaven-Dominating Tower relies on auctions and black market dealings, situated in the northern district of Li Hen City. There is a huge trade market and auction venue, as well as a boxing arena where fights, bets, and gambling take place every night—it can be said that it’s full of bloodshed and violence.

Beyond human combat, there is also human versus beast fighting, attracting many participants, especially some wealthy and thrill-seeking young nobles.

The Embroidery Village, led by the Embroidery Lady, mainly focuses on the entertainment industry, located in the west of Li Hen City, with a sprawling Embroidery Tower covering tens of thousands of square meters.

It is a place of desire in Li Hen City. As long as an activity is related to beauty, you can find it here.

Here, you can play with women of any kind; local beauties, exotic charm, wild from the grasslands, and even chestnut beauties from thousands of miles away in the Western Region.

Apart from the fanciful arts, there is also cuisine, both normal and dark...

The Embroidery Lady also controls the entire textile, silk, and ready-to-wear business in Li Hen City, and she truly owns an embroidery shop, with her embroidery skills famed throughout the Da Li Dynasty.

The Skull Association started as a transport and labor business, occupying the largest area in the south of the city, and has the largest number of people among the three major forces.

They engage in the lowest tier of work in Li Hen City, transportation and manual labor, but the Skull Association has developed rapidly in recent years, penetrating other industries like gambling halls. After all, high-end gambling halls are not for everyone, and these lower-tier individuals also have needs...

Besides these three major forces, there are other entities that, while greatly inferior to these three, can still survive among them.

The three major forces cannot entirely wipe out others.

For instance, the Blade Catching Alliance, specializing in message trading, the Seven Stars Pavilion, and some assassin organizations, etc.

"Lin’s" is also located in the eastern city, relatively close to the influence range of Heaven-Dominating Tower, but not far from the Embroidery Village operated by the Embroidery Lady.

In fact, Li Hen City becomes much more bustling at night compared to daytime.

Good people prefer to work from sunrise to sunset, whereas the opposite is true for bad people; during the day they hardly work, and come nighttime, it’s their time for revelry.

Li Hen City is a place with few good people and many bad ones, where good people only come to survive if forced.

Yet in such a desire-filled city, how many good people can truly remain true to themselves until the end?

There are very few roadside stalls here, unlike normal cities with street markets; if you want to eat, you either go to a restaurant, or to places like Qin House or gambling dens, where they offer food and drink.

If people are already full at roadside stalls, who would still go to those places for entertainment and expenditure?

Therefore, looking for deals at roadside stalls is practically impossible.

But the northern city has a free-trade market, exchanging goods for goods, although transactions can also be done with silver, but Heaven-Dominating Tower takes a ten percent commission.

The Skull Association also cordoned off an area and set up a market, though their commission is lower compared to Heaven-Dominating Tower, the counterfeit goods are too many. If you want to find something reliable, it’s still better to go to Heaven-Dominating Tower’s free market.

Because Heaven-Dominating Tower not only takes commissions but also offers appraisal services.

Due to this, friction between the two forces continues unceasingly, conflicts arise from time to time, sometimes reaching a point of intense hostility.

Among the three major forces, the easiest to infiltrate and take over is the Embroidery Lady’s faction, whose rise is rather peculiar.

Initially, control over the city’s fanciful arts business was held by an organization called the "Mandarin Duck Pavilion," whose Pavilion Master was suddenly assassinated, and died of an abrupt illness.

The Embroidery Lady was a sworn sister to the Pavilion Master, but at that time, she only operated the embroidery shop and did not involve herself in the fanciful arts business.

The Mandarin Duck Pavilion had mainly relied on the Pavilion Master alone, and once the Pavilion Master died, it was on the brink of disintegration.

Thus, thirteen sisters of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion approached the Embroidery Lady, pleading with her to take over the Mandarin Duck Pavilion, and lead them to continue surviving in Li Hen Tower to prevent other forces from dividing the sisters of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion.

The Embroidery Village initially did not want to get involved in the Mandarin Duck Pavilion’s affairs, but the major forces of Li Hen City were in a chaotic battle at that time. The Embroidery Village was able to survive over the years thanks to the Pavilion Master’s protection.

On one hand for self-preservation, and on the other, considering her relationship with the Mandarin Duck Pavilion’s Pavilion Master and unwilling to see the fruits of her sister’s years of hard work fall into outsiders’ hands, she agreed.

Although the Embroidery Lady’s martial arts were not on par with the Mandarin Duck Pavilion Master, upon acquiring the foundation of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion, she made a breakthrough to the Meridian Passage Realm, stabilizing the situation. When other forces fought viciously to mutual destruction, her side unexpectedly became second only to Heaven-Dominating Tower’s power.

After the Embroidery Lady made significant progress in martial arts, she generously spent resources to train several experts in the Meridian Passage Realm from the thirteen sisters of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion.

The Embroidery Lady herself also quickly advanced to the Peak of Meridian Passage Realm, becoming one of the top martial artists in Li Hen City.

Nowadays, the Embroidery Lady’s legacy has passed to the third generation. The first-generation Embroidery Lady has long passed, and the second-generation Embroidery Lady, who was a closed-door disciple of the first-generation Embroidery Lady, is now the leader of the Embroidery Village.

However, despite its development over many years, conflicts within the Embroidery Village are abundant. Most of the original Mandarin Duck Pavilion individuals are gone, but their descendants remain, and the second-generation Embroidery Lady can still manage these individuals.

What about the third generation?