642 Potential Allies
Jingming Shang couldn't help but look at Lin Mu, who was so young and had reached a cultivation base that was far superior to him that to in less than five years. To him, this was nothing less than miraculous.
"It should be safe now, we can talk." Jingming Shang said.
"So who is this, really?" Jing Luo questioned again.
"Like I said before, this is one of the council members, Jingming Shang. He's also one of the people that old Man Jing Wei and Duan Ke trusted." Lin Mu answered.
Jing Luo raised his brows upon hearing this. He had not expected his grandfather and cousin to trust someone else after all that happened.
"Are you sure? There were many of our friends and so called allies that betrayed us back then." Jing Luo questioned in an apprehensive tone.
"I know…" Lin Mu said in a calm tone. "Jingming Shang owes them though and thus will not betray them… they simply have far too many things that can cause trouble to him." Lin Mu added, making a wry smile appear on Jingming Shang's face.
"That's true. Old man Jing Wei and Duan Ke saved my life many years ago and thus I owe them for that. Even when I helped them, it was mostly equal trades of items and gold, so there wasn't really a way that I was paying for that debt.
At most I was keeping their location a secret, but that didn't really count because as a merchant I do that for a lot of my clients when they need the source of a product hidden. But now… since you are here, I can finally fulfill my debt." Jingming Shang explained.
Jing Luo stayed silent for a minute and gauged the man before finally nodding his head.
"Alright, if grandfather and Duan Ke trust you and Lin Mu approves of it, I'll trust you too." Jing Luo stated.
~phew~
Jingming Shang took a breath of relief and felt like he had avoided a great calamity. This might have been true, as it was unlikely Lin Mu or Jing Luo would let him go after having learned so many things about him.
"So what is it that we need to do?" Jingming Shang asked.
"Ah, yes. So like I said, in the fight against Gu Yao, we will need allies. You are one of them, but that is not enough. We will need hundreds if not thousands of people to help us. And for that I want you to infiltrate the council and join the other members in the plan." Lin Mu spoke.
"Huh? Why?" Jingming Shang questioned.
"That secret backer Shantung talked about… that is quite likely to be Gu Yao or someone working for him. If we have you in there, we will get a lot of information and it will save us some valuable time. Plus… it will allow us to save the Mu clan." Lin Mu spoke.
"The Mu clan?" Jing Luo questioned.
"Let me explain the entire thing…" Lin Mu said before telling Jing Luo about all that had happened earlier and the condition of the Mu clan.
At the end of the explanation, Jing Luo was visibly enraged to say the least.
"THAT GU YAO!" Jing Luo said through gritted teeth.
~THUD~
~CRACK~
He slammed his fist on the floor in a rage and punched through the solid wood flooring. Jingming Shang could only look on with a wry smile while crying internally for his precious polished wood floor.
"We definitely need to save the Mu clan." Jing Luo stated with determination.
"Indeed. Not only will we save them, but we will also be getting an extra ally in the process." Lin Mu spoke.
"Hang on, if the Mu clan truly is linked with the ancient Mulong clan, they might not be that weak." Jing Luo suddenly said.
"Why do you say so?" Lin Mu questioned.
"I've read some old documents that said that the Mulong clan was proficient in small trap puppets. If they truly have a link to the Mulong clan, we may get lucky their inheritance may still be there." Jing Luo answered.
"Really?" Lin Mu said, feeling surprised.
"Indeed. Though there is no guaranteed. Still… since Gu Yao exterminated the Mu clan's members, I'm sure they hold a grudge against him and will aid us, regardless." Jing Luo stated.
"Perfect! That will be the best thing if it really is true." Lin Mu replied, feeling a bit pleased.
"If we really are looking for allies, I have a suggestion." Jingming Shang spoke in a hesitant tone.
"Oh? Please do tell." Lin Mu asked.
"Since you were in the meeting hall when they were discussing everything, you must have heard Miss Fen's condition, right?" Jingming Shang asked.
"Yup, I did. She's doing this to find a solution to her bloodline." Lin Mu replied.
"I think there is a chance that we can recruit her and her family as allies as well." Jingming Shang stated.
Lin Mu and Jing Luo furrowed their brows upon hearing this. To them, Miss Fen had given into temptation and gone against the Mu clan and they didn't know if they wanted someone like that.
"I'm not too sure of that." Jing Luo voiced out his concern.
"I know what you two are thinking, but Miss Fen is relatively a better choice out of all the members of the council. I know the others and they are far more corrupt than the Mu clan and the Fen Clan. The Fen Clan is linked to the royal family of the kingdom as well and thus they keep a better image of themselves." Jingming Shang replied.
Lin Mu and Jing Luo were not convinced by this and kept their silence.
"If we are able to find a way to take care of Miss Fen's bloodline problem, we might actually gain a powerful ally. Miss Fen does have a great network in places that I don't have mine in. Thus she could definitely be useful.
Don't forget that while we ten merchants are based in the Fenlong Kingdom, this is mostly due to the stability and remoteness which provides safety. In reality, we work all over the continent and have businesses everywhere.
The Fenlong Kingdom is merely a means to an end." Jingming Shang stated.
