How could this be? How could this be?
Standing at the top of the cliff, Gui Qinshao looked down at Suo Lun below with his cruel gaze, and a wave of unreal pain surged in her heart.
While her father was away, she had stolen the military tally, and with her mother Tu Ling Si backing her, her third brother, as the water army commander, had led the water army to attack Random Stone Island to take revenge on Suo Lun.
It had originally been a sure thing, something that could be achieved easily. Who would have thought that Suo Lun would appear from behind the sea surface and even bring an army of several thousand people.
Then, tragedy struck.
This water army was almost all of the surface naval forces that the coastal Gui Clan possessed. Now it had all been completely wiped out in her hands. When her father returned, she really did not know how sad and heartbroken he would be.
Moreover, her father had always warned that when he was not around, they must not act rashly against Random Stone Island. In the end, she had been blinded by anger and had directly encouraged her third brother to lead the army for revenge, only to suffer a devastating blow. Now she herself was on the brink of despair.
“Jump down then. I guarantee I will not catch you. I guarantee I will let you fall until your body is smashed to pieces.” Suo Lun shouted again from below.
For some unknown reason, his voice was carried by the sea wind into her ears and sounded especially cruel.
Gui Qinshao felt inexplicably very sad in her heart. She was so beautiful and alluring that any man would show pity towards her and be infatuated with her. Even if she was overbearing and unreasonable, even if she did something wrong, those men would all forgive her.
But the current Suo Lun had an icy tone and an even icier gaze, without the slightest pity, only absolute cruelty and determination.
She walked to the edge of the cliff and peered down. It was about seventy or eighty metres high. Falling straight down from this height would indeed smash the body to pieces.
She was truly afraid. It was not entirely fear of death, but fear of what her smashed body would look like.
Moreover, she really could not bear to die. She was so beautiful, her youth had just begun to bloom, and she was still so happy.
Fine, although her happiness had been doused with a basin of cold water by Suo Lun and was no longer so happy. But with the love of her parents and brothers, she was still very happy.
Now, everything was about to be destroyed. How had she walked to the end of death?
She, she really could not bear to die.
“Miss, I will protect you and fight our way out.” Uncle Ming beside her said, his voice full of determination.
Then, he brandished his curved blade and suddenly charged down the cliff from the other side, rushing towards Suo Lun almost madly, directly intending to perish together with him.
“Swish…” The white whisk in the hands of the white-haired and white-bearded eunuch beside Suo Lun was gently flicked.
In an instant, the soft long strands of the whisk turned into a deadly weapon, piercing the expert Uncle Ming until he looked like a blood gourd, and he fell to the ground dead.
Come to think of it, this was the first time Suo Lun had seen a weapon like a whisk in this world, and yet in this world there were no Daoist or Buddhist forces.
Seeing Uncle Ming die miserably, Gui Qinshao let out a cry of alarm. It was not that she cared much for this family expert, but she was frightened by the tragic way he died.
She had been pampered since childhood and was inevitably selfish, caring only for her parents and family, at most adding Ling Ao who had grown up with her. For other people, she had no feelings, not even for Uncle Ming, the family expert who had always protected her.
“Now the only person beside you is also dead.” Suo Lun laughed coldly once again. “Gui Qinshao, jump down then. I guarantee I will not catch you and will let you fall into a pulp of flesh.”
The gentle and kind Suo Ning Bing beside him simply turned her body away and did not look, showing no intention of pleading for mercy at all.
Gui Qinshao, alone on the cliff, fell into complete despair. Looking in the direction of the coastal city, the doting eyes and face of her father Gui Xingfu appeared in her mind.
“Dad, I cannot bear to die. I do not want to die!”
Then, she bit her jade teeth fiercely and really leaped down from the seventy or eighty metre cliff without using any dragon power.
Only a few seconds later.
“Bang…” Her delicate body hit the ground, sending dust flying in all directions.
Suo Lun kept his word and indeed did not reach out to catch her.
…
The battle on the sea surface had already completely ended.
The ships of the Gui Clan water army had been burned clean. More than two thousand water army soldiers had also been shot and killed cleanly from a high position.
Not only that, to prevent any fish that slipped through the net, the Suo Clan warriors and the warriors of Duke Zhi Ting had even landed on Random Stone Island to hunt and kill everywhere.
If it were anywhere else, one or two of these people might still have escaped. But this was an island, with beaches all around the shore. One step would leave footprints that could not be hidden at all.
Thus, even the fish that slipped through the net and swam to the island were killed clean.
From now on, the Gui Clan water army was completely annihilated. In the short term, they would have no power to threaten Random Stone Island again. As for Gui Qinzhong, the commander of the water army, he had now become Suo Lun’s captive and was locked in the castle.
When Gui Xingfu returned home and heard this news, he would definitely be so angry that he would spit blood three litres.
…
Suo Lun once again came before Duke Zhi Ting, bent at the waist ninety degrees and saluted. “Thank you, Duke, for saving my life. Otherwise, my Random Stone Island would have suffered a disaster of destruction.”
Duke Zhi Ting said, “Our interests are aligned, so there is no need to be so polite.”
Then, he let out a light sigh and said, “However, Suo Lun, this matter of ours this time is big, and the consequences are serious.”
Suo Lun nodded. The armies of a feudal lord and a royal duke had mixed in battle, and the feudal lord’s side army had been killed clean.
Next, this matter would definitely cause a terrifying sensation throughout the entire kingdom. Then, the entire cabinet and the royal family would have to face the baptism of this storm thoroughly.
Although Duke Zhi Ting enjoyed the king’s favour, being at the centre of the storm would probably be uncomfortable.
“If it were not for enormous benefits, I really would not have done this, nor would I have dared to do this.” Duke Zhi Ting said, “I am truly worried whether my body can withstand this storm.”
Suo Lun said, “It definitely can.”
“I hope so.” Duke Zhi Ting said, “However, the external statement on this matter must be unified. Just say that I was travelling in the East Sea when the Gui Clan water army suddenly launched an attack on me. In the darkness I could not see clearly and thought they were pirates, so I immediately counterattacked and accidentally slaughtered the Gui Clan water army completely.”
Suo Lun nodded and said, “Yes.”
Duke Zhi Ting said, “Do not mention Random Stone Island at all, nor say that the Gui Clan water army came to attack your Random Stone Island. Even your name cannot appear. You are still too fragile now and cannot withstand such a storm.”
“Yes.” Suo Lun said.
The current Suo Lun was best forgotten by everyone. His only goal was to earn an astronomical amount of gold coins, then gather a powerful army and retake Heavenly Water City within three months.
If he got involved in this storm, what he would face would not just be trouble, but disaster.
Duke Zhi Ting glanced at Suo Lun and said, “Talking with a smart person is really too easy. However, you kid are ruthless enough. You killed more than two thousand Gui Clan water army soldiers without even blinking.”
Suo Lun said with some embarrassment, “This, it was mainly not me who killed them.”
“You bastard, you really have thick skin and a black heart. I am optimistic about you.” Duke Zhi Ting said, “Come, let us go and see our salt fields and see if our miracle is really as heaven defying as you said. If not, then I will really have been pitted to death by you.”
Suo Lun said, “Please follow me.”
…
At this time, the sky had already dawned.
The battlefield had been completely cleaned up. Duke Zhi Ting’s main force had not even landed on Random Stone Island but remained in the fleet of tower ships on the sea. Only a few experts followed closely behind Duke Zhi Ting.
Suo Lun first led Duke Zhi Ting to see the salt fields, explaining as they looked.
He led the way and explained in front, while Duke Zhi Ting kept his hands behind his back and nodded continuously.
This scene looked somewhat familiar. It was as if they had come to a certain news programme on CC** in the twenty first century.
At the same time, countless grains, vegetables, fruits, wine and meat were transported down from the tower ships using small boats and continuously carried into the castle.
Although they could not cheer, the salt workers of Random Stone Island and the Suo Clan warriors felt无比 excited in their hearts.
So much grain, at least several hundred thousand jin, enough for them to eat for more than half a year, and they could eat proper meals, not just drink porridge.
With grain in hand, there is no panic in the heart. Not to mention there was fish and meat. The days on Random Stone Island in the future would be wonderfully prosperous.
All of this had been brought by their master Suo Lun.
At the most dangerous moment, he had led the army as if descending from the sky and saved everyone on Random Stone Island. He had also brought an astronomical amount of grain. He, he was truly omnipotent.
Whether salt workers or Suo Clan warriors, when they looked at Suo Lun’s figure from afar, their eyes were filled with passion and reverence.
Master Suo Lun was truly omnipotent!
…
Suo Lun’s explanation was very detailed, and Duke Zhi Ting listened very carefully.
Suddenly Duke Zhi Ting said, “Suo Lun, although I have not yet seen the results of the so called salt drying method. But you keep saying that this is a revolution in the salt industry and that output and efficiency can be increased more than ten times. You explained it so carefully. Are you not afraid that I will learn it and then start my own operation?”
Suo Lun said, “Of course, and if the Duke starts his own operation, I have no objection.”
Duke Zhi Ting looked at Suo Lun and sighed, “You really are a smart person. You know what you want and what is truly important.”
He did not explain his words clearly. Between him and Suo Lun, it was no longer just a union of interests.
However, the meaning inside was something everyone knew in their hearts and could never be spoken out loud.
The salt fields on Random Stone Island now totalled six or seven thousand mu. Duke Zhi Ting was already panting by the time he reached the last row of crystallisation pools.
Although they had experienced a fierce battle the previous night, the salt workers still had to collect salt from the crystallisation pools early in the morning.
On the vast expanse of crystallisation pools, after draining the brine, the entire pool was covered with a thick layer of salt. The salt workers used wooden pushers to push the salt together, instantly piling it into a small mountain.
And as far as the eye could see, there were dozens or even hundreds of pools. Every pool had a pile of newly crystallised salt.
In Duke Zhi Ting’s eyes, this was not salt, but shiny gold coins. He asked excitedly, “These salts added together must be twenty or thirty thousand jin.”
“Probably eighty thousand jin.” Suo Lun said.
“Eighty thousand?” Duke Zhi Ting exclaimed in shock, “Then, then how long does this production take?”
“Less than two days.” Suo Lun said.
Duke Zhi Ting was completely stunned. This was still only the output from less than ten thousand mu of salt fields.
Then, if several tens of thousands of mu or even one hundred thousand mu were opened up. Then… how much salt would there be in a year? One hundred million jin? Or even more.
Moreover, compared to boiling salt, this salt drying method had almost no cost. As long as he was willing, he could completely monopolise the entire salt industry of the Angry Wave Kingdom.
At that time, how much money could be earned?
Duke Zhi Ting’s eyes instantly turned green. More than one hundred or two hundred thousand gold coins a year. Even if only half went to his hands, that would still be one hundred thousand.
This, this damn money earned in two years would be enough for him to pocket for a lifetime.
In the past ten plus years, no matter how shamelessly he had pocketed, he had only managed twenty or thirty thousand gold coins, and his reputation had already gone rotten on the streets.
Only after knowing Suo Lun had he truly made a fortune. Moreover, each sum was bigger than the last. He really was going to become as rich as a nation and could rival the Zhi Li sisters in wealth.
Then, Suo Lun led him into the large warehouse.
Instantly, salt piled up like mountains rushed into Duke Zhi Ting’s view.
Several million jin of salt piled together, like a great white mountain, really had strong visual impact.
“This, how many jin is this?” Duke Zhi Ting asked in a trembling voice.
“More than three million jin.” Suo Lun said, “This is still the experimental output from before, merely a drop in the ocean.”
Duke Zhi Ting looked at Suo Lun in disbelief and said, “You, you are really a genius, a genius among geniuses, truly turning stone into gold. We are going to make a fortune.”
Yes, Suo Lun was going to make a fortune.
Although the salt before his eyes was only three million jin and worth only a few thousand gold coins.
But this salt field and the future output made gold coins instantly turn into a mere number.
…
Suo Lun and Ye Jingyu walked into the dungeon of the small castle. The unconscious Gui Qinshao lay on the wooden bed in the cell, still unconscious.
She had jumped down, and Suo Lun had indeed not caught her, allowing her to fall to the ground. However, the eunuch expert beside him had quickly supported her with the whisk, preventing Gui Qinshao from being smashed to pieces.
Gui Qinshao definitely could not die, otherwise when Gui Xingfu went mad, he would definitely fight to the death.
Every man has a reverse scale. Suo Lun’s reverse scale was Suo Ning Bing, while Gui Xingfu’s reverse scale was his wife Tu Ling Si and daughter Gui Qinshao.
“Now, she is completely unconscious, and all the meridians in her body are locked, right?” Suo Lun asked.
“Yes, she has been fed medicine and is unconscious, but she vaguely has some sensation, with no strength in her entire body.” Ye Jingyu said, “So, you can take revenge completely and do whatever you want to her.”
Ye Jingyu’s voice sounded somewhat strange, as if hoping Suo Lun would do whatever he wanted, yet also as if not hoping.
Looking at Gui Qinshao’s stunningly seductive face and her devilish curved figure, Suo Lun’s gaze narrowed. This was a woman so beautiful that even royal descendants did not dare to marry her.
What kind of humiliation had this woman once brought to Suo Lun? Now, she had finally fallen into his hands.
“I have never been any kind hearted man.” Suo Lun laughed coldly. “Falling into my hands, consider yourself unlucky, Gui Qinshao!”