About five days had passed since the day when the Fen clan agreed to join the alliance.

The overall progress had been steady, and everything had been going well. Even the other members of the merchant council seemed to have stabilized by now and the initial panic after the massacre of the three clans was now mostly gone.

Though Shantung still seemed to be at a loss for what to do next. He had exhausted every means of contacting his backer but had gotten no response. At this point, he was close to believing that it might be his own backer that had massacred the three clans and was now refusing to answer him.

Shantung sat in his clan's mansion while nervously drinking some wine.

"Patriarch, you need to mediate. So much worrying is not good for you.

" A man spoke to Shantung.

~tap~

Shantung put the cup of wine on the table with a clack before rubbing his forehead.

"Even if I want to, I can't… if it really is as everyone is expecting, then our troubles would increase many folds. With the backer changing the stance, we are left between a cliff and a ravine.

If we still decide to stick with them, while we might have a chance to survive, we would also be excommunicated from the merchant council. Not to mention the final intentions of the backer are still unknown to us.

" Shantung said to the man.

"Then what are we supposed to do, patriarch? As you said, the backer is very powerful, so what does he even want with a place like the Jiao Long city? Even if the merchant council members are based here, that is only because of the safety.

Our actual businesses are all spread across the empire. We don't even keep our wealth here.

" The man asked, feeling confused.

Shantung had cold sweat appear on his forehead after hearing the words of the man. For about five minutes, Shantung went silent before letting out a sigh.

~Sigh~

"My son… you might be right. When I was asked to support him, I wasn't 'asked' exactly… more like threatened.

" Shantung answered.

"THREATENED? Why didn't you tell us so patriarch?

" The man, who was evidently the son of Shantung questioned.

~Sigh~

Letting out another sigh, Shantung shook his head.

"If I could, I would have, but the danger was simply too much. The backer said that he would exterminate me and our clan if I opposed him. And look now, the three clans Hui, Fei and Shu, who had shown neutrality first, were directly eliminated.

If the backer had waited just one more day, he would have gotten the news that the three clans had joined us.

" Shantung explained.

"What?! So we could have had the same fate as that of those clans?

" The son of Shantung said in shock.

"Yes…

" Shantung nodded his head in a fatigued manner.

~thud~

The son of Shantung couldn't help but fall on the ground from the shock.

"No wonder you had been worried so much… this is just our worst fears coming true…

" he spoke while trembling himself.

Silence descended in the room for about ten minutes before the son of Shantung moved again.

~pata~

He picked up the other cup of wine and drank it all in one go before putting it back on the table. The heat from the wine roused him and the buzz of the alcohol calmed his nerves.

"We need to find a solution to this, father. We can't just be on the passive any more.

" He said, changing the title being used.

Seeing his son being a bit more mature than him, Shantung couldn't help but feel emotional. The mix of wine and stress was sending him into a tizzy.

"You are right. Do you have any suggestions? I don't think I can do this alone anymore…

" Shantung admitted.

"I think the first course of action should be to reverse our stance. We cannot associate with the backer anymore… whoever they are. We need to consolidate support from the other council members and denounce the actions of the backer.

If we are the ones to admit it first, while the council members may vilify us at first, they will still have some semblance of trust. Even if we are merchants, we should aim for the target that brings us profit, and associating with the backer is no longer good for us.

" The son of Shantung advised.

Shantung pondered over his words for a few seconds and found them to be reasonable. While they may have to pay some penalties to overcome the initial problems of mistrust with the council members, it will still be better in the long term.

"Good, we shall do that then.

" Shantung agreed.

~clap~clap~clap~

Just as Shantung said that he was shocked by the sound of someone clapping. He and his son became alert and turned to the source of the sound.

"Who's there!?

" they said in unison.

~shua~

Shantung then saw a handsome man descending from the sky in a nonchalant manner. Seeing this, his eyes went wide as he understood what this meant.

"This… Nascent Soul realm…

" Shantung muttered.

"Could it be the backer? Have they come to kill us?

" the son of Shantung wondered in shock.

"I have to say Shantung, you son is way smarter than you are… Smart enough that he has saved your clan from being exterminated.

" Said Lin Mu, who just descend from the sky.

"W-Who are you?

" Shantung questioned, feeling unsure.

"Me? I'm here to offer you help… your clan help.

" Lin Mu answered.

"You'll help us? But how?

" The Son of Shantung questioned.

Lin Mu smiled upon seeing this and gestured to the table,

"why don't we all take a seat? This will take a while…

"

***

Lin Mu's choice of waiting and watching had gone well, and the Shantung had broken under stress. The added pressure from the loss of their spies and no replies from Gu Yao had also made it more problematic for Shantung.

Eventually taking advantage of this, Lin Mu managed to add them to the alliance as well.