Chapter 188: Section 188: Go Form a Marriage Alliance

Under the veil of night, the manor was serene.

Zi Di slowly pushed open the room door and entered.

She lit the candle.

The study remained the same as it ever was, hardly any different from her memory.

The room wasn’t large, but the lighting was excellent. In daytime, sunlight would pour through the glass, brightening the whole area.

The furnishings in the study were minimal, no paintings hanging on the walls, only a massive map of the Continent where her father had marked numerous red and blue symbols.

Whenever Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce expanded to a new location, he would update this map accordingly.

Zi Di stood in front of the vast map, pausing.

Childhood memories came flooding back.

When she was very young, whenever her father achieved something, he would joyfully invite her mother to view the map and report on the progress of the Guild.

Her mother would often tease him, saying he was like a child.

Her father would then point to certain cities on the map that hadn’t yet been marked, telling her mother how long he estimated it would take to expand the Guild to those locations. He’d explain how one kind of business would boost and another would have significantly reduced costs by then.

Watching her father talk endlessly, Zi Di’s mother would gradually show a look of concern.

“Don’t overwork yourself. It’s enough,” she would advise.

Her father, however, would shake his head, “It’s not enough, not enough, far from enough. I want to establish branches here, here, and here, in every important city, not letting any slip away!”

“He did it…” Zi Di looked up at the map on the wall, with various colored symbols covering all the major cities of the Empire and many unique towns and villages.

Such an astounding business achievement!

It was hard to believe that a Black Iron Level could achieve this.

Yet, it was precisely such tremendous success that led to his demise.

Zi Di withdrew her gaze, slowly walked around, and eventually settled behind the desk.

On the massive mahogany desk lied a writing set, paper drafts, and a small easel. In the easel was a portrait of her father, her mother, and herself standing together.

In the painting, Zi Di was very young, not even four years old, snuggled into her father’s chest, fast asleep on his shoulder.

Zi Di slowly sat down in the real leather chair her father had always used.

Her petite frame made the seat seem wide and large.

The chair was quite old. Even with Zi Di’s light weight, it still creaked.

Remembering how her father used to sit, she subconsciously imitated him, resting her elbows on the desk and softly forming fists, either propping up her chin or touching her lips.

This was what she would often see late at night when she went to remind her father to go to bed and found the lights in his study still on.

“Father…” Zi Di murmured, thinking of the day’s meeting.

After many of the elders stopped underestimating Zi Di, it was followed by challenging negotiations.

Despite having been through many hardships over the years and being exposed to a lot from a young age, when it came to personally dealing with and participating in these business negotiations, she was still inexperienced.

Fortunately, Fat Tongue publicly supported her, speaking up several times to clearly point out traps in various clauses.

Most matters had not been agreed upon yet.

Only a few had reached preliminary cooperative agreements.

Some openly left, announcing their departure from the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, including that elder who controlled the banking business.

Zi Di let these people go without any difficulty.

She conveyed a strong message to the others–leave if you want to. I’m not afraid of any one of you leaving; I would not even fear if everyone left!

She knew that these people didn’t accept the offers because they considered them unappealing, and the powerful forces also had little interest in them.

They came here this time ostensibly to attend a funeral, but what they really wanted was to extract real benefits from within the Chairman’s line to subsidize themselves.

But unexpectedly, Zi Di was no longer the naive, inexperienced girl they remembered.

Zi Di firmly controlled her assets without ever slackening. The sudden changes in Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce meant the Chairman’s line underwent the greatest losses. Zi Di was only interested in partnerships that promised her a profit.

Now, nestled in the leather chair, Zi Di felt two main things.

The first was wealth.

Even with a loss of more than eighty percent, the remaining twenty percent was still considerable.

The second was difficulty.

The intellectual clashes and verbal sparring during the meeting negotiations left her with a headache that persisted until now.

Additionally, managing such a vast wealth for the first time, Zi Di lacked confidence.

“Can I do this right? Can I protect these assets? Can I support Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce?”

“Zi Di, you must succeed!”

“This was your father’s lifeblood, and similarly, your hope for revenge!”

She had never revealed this to anyone else, but Zi Di was already resolute in her decision for revenge.

The words that Fat Tongue shared with Zi Di during the day at the funeral were things she already knew.

Her years of hardships had made one thing very clear to her–actions reveal more about a person than words.

The hatred she once felt had dissipated, morphing into a complex sentiment for her father.

Who could be faultless?

Especially when confronted with almost the entire Empire’s nobility.

Moreover, he had never truly forced his daughter into anything.

Just on her first day in office, Zi Di gained a deeper understanding and empathy for her father.

“Hahaha!” Just then, a sudden laugh shattered Zi Di’s reminiscence.

Then the study door was flung open.

A young boy strode in with confidence. He was very short, resembling a dwarf.

His gray, explosively styled hair caught the eye because it was exaggerated and flamboyant.

He held a dagger, yet it somehow gave off the grandeur of a great sword.

“Who are you?” Zi Di demanded.

“Hahaha,” the youth with explosive gray hair laughed loudly, “Good question!”

His voice suddenly lowered, forcefully roughened as if mimicking a raspy, aged tone, and he intoned, “I come from the shadows, I dance on the blade’s edge! Fate chose to lay me down, but I choose slaughter. Gods offered me salvation, yet I prefer destruction. Embodiment of love and truth’s evil, I am I, surely the greatest assassin in the world–the mighty Luo Shi!”

“Girl, I’ve come to claim your life. Make your move, and let me end you!”

Zi Di was utterly shocked.

Although it was her first experience with an assassination attempt, this brazenly open assassination was something she had never heard of before.

No matter how bizarre the assassin was, the killing intent he exuded was unmistakably real.

“Guards, to me!” Zi Di raised her voice to call out.

The youth Luo Shi laughed loudly, proudly saying, “Hahaha, keep shouting, shout until your throat is sore, but no one will come to save you because I’ve already taken them all down.”

Zi Di snorted coldly, her arm trembled slightly, and she flicked a small pinch of powder from her wide sleeves.

Magic–Lime Technique!

She uttered a few short syllables, and the powder, acting as a casting material, exploded rapidly, transforming into an even finer mist that immediately filled the entire study.

Then, she immediately leaped, nimbly evacuating the desk, and rolled into the corner.

In this interval, she had begun a brief chant using the casting materials in her arms.

Magic–Microsound Technique!

As she stood up, the silence spell was successfully cast, making Zi Di’s movements and chanting sounds incredibly quiet.

Following that, she cast another spell–Mirror Image Technique.

A likeness of her, looking extremely similar to her, ran towards the door.

“Wow, that’s well done,” Luo Shi’s voice suddenly came from behind Zi Di.

Zi Di had just felt a shock of surprise when Luo Shi’s dagger handle lightly tangled behind her, instantly transmitting Fighting Energy, infiltrating Zi Di’s body, locking her in place, rigid as a stone, unable to move.

“Lime Technique could almost be Instant Cast, Microsound Technique was also cast very sharply, and the choice of Mirror Image Technique isn’t bad either.”

Luo Shi’s intrigued commentary from behind made Zi Di’s heart sink to the bottom.

Following that, Luo Shi burst out with Fighting Energy, swiftly clearing all the powder mist from the room.

“Silver Level!” Seeing the color of the Fighting Energy, Zi Di felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

Amidst her fear, there was also anger and hatred.

“Did you kill my father?!” the girl questioned.

Luo Shi shook his head, “That wasn’t my doing. Stealthy assassinations are really not the style of an assassin. I aspire to be the number one assassin in the world, how could I do such a tasteless thing?”

Despite it being their first encounter, Zi Di found herself naturally inclined to believe Luo Shi’s words.

Luo Shi placed the dagger horizontally against Zi Di’s neck.

Being short, to perform this action, he had to stand on the wall with his feet, attaching Fighting Energy to the soles of his shoes to stabilize his posture.

“The intelligence said you were busy with livelihood, neglecting magic practice. Yet you secretly got promoted to Black Iron Level, and your combat stance just now clearly shows regular hard training.”

” Tsk tsk, you really are a cunning girl.”

“Remember, the one who will kill you is me, Luo Shi, a genius destined to become the world’s number one assassin!”

“Wait, dwarf! How much are they paying you, I’ll give you double!” Zi Di shouted.

Luo Shi behind her paused, then suddenly became furious, “Ah, I’m going to explode!”

“I am the finest assassin in the world, surely I possess the best professional integrity.”

“Also, I am of the Human Race, pure Human Race, definitely not a dwarf!!”

“You can go die!”

The dagger, carrying Luo Shi’s soaring anger, slashed fiercely towards Zi Di’s neck.

Just when Zi Di thought she was undoubtedly going to die, she suddenly heard Luo Shi let out a panicked scream, then he disappeared without a trace.

A bloodstain remained on the wall.

“What happened?” Zi Di suddenly found that she could move again.

“I saved you, the new chairman of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce,” said a goblin who was about the same height as the previous Luo Shi, appearing in front of Zi Di.

He had the goblin’s sleek head, green skin, and a long nose with a slight hook.

“It’s a pity, I had already prepared my spell and caught him at the moment he made his move, intending to kill him on the spot. I didn’t expect this lad to be able to dodge and even escape. He’s young, but his cultivation in fighting energy is approaching the Golden Level, about to undergo a qualitative change. This talent is very rare,” the goblin commented slowly while looking at the bloodstain on the wall.

“Golden Mage!” Zi Di trembled; the goblin’s Life Breath was indeed at the Golden Level, no wonder he could scare away Luo Shi.

“Who are you?” Zi Di asked after giving a respectful bow.

“You can call me Master Sharp Drill, a pupil of the War Merchant,” the goblin, Sharp Drill, said with a proud smile.

War Merchant!

Zi Di’s heart shook violently.

“Your father and my mentor, the War Merchant, have always had business dealings. Several months ago, your father sent a distress message to Mysterious Monster Island. Unfortunately, at that time, I was assisting my mentor with an important magic experiment, so the tower spirits set aside the letter. After we found the distress message, my mentor sent me to rescue,” explained Goblin Sharp Drill.

“Thank you, sir, for saving my life!” Zi Di bowed again, her face filled with gratitude and relief. However, a chill flowed through her heart.

The scene just now clearly showed that Sharp Drill had used her as bait, luring Luo Shi to expose himself. Evidently, for Sharp Drill, killing Luo Shi was the priority, rescuing Zi Di was secondary.

Combining this with his earlier explanation, Zi Di’s father’s distress letter was not truly valued by the War Merchant and his pupil, otherwise, why would it be delayed by an experiment?

But Zi Di’s father must have had close business dealings with the War Merchant.

Zi Di’s father must have been desperate to send a rescue letter to the War Merchant, assuming there was some certainty in receiving help.

Now, that the War Merchant has sent his student Sharp Drill to assist also shows that Zi Di’s father had a certain utility value to the War Merchant.

“Think about it, it’s not surprising.”

“The War Merchant is seventh on the wanted list, a recognized Alchemy Grandmaster, an established arms dealer. The best choice for him to sell arms externally would be the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, since only six major guilds larger than Purple Vine are completely controlled by imperial elites.”

“My father must have sold a lot of arms for the War Merchant, which is why I received assistance.”

“Unfortunately, it’s too late!”

“It’s bad.”

“He just saved me incidentally, focusing on killing Luo Shi. This shows that he’s aware of the current situation of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, and I hold very low value in his eyes.”

In a few breaths, Zi Di’s thoughts raced, and she saw the situation clearly.

A spark flashed in her eyes, and she immediately spoke: “Master Sharp Drill, although my father has passed away, I have taken his place. From now on, I am willing to serve you, as well as War Merchant wholeheartedly!”

“Oh?” Sharp Drill paused, then looked at Zi Di with new respect, “Your expression just now changed; you must have just learned this secret about your father’s business. To protect yourself, you seek to borrow our power… Hehe, you are an interesting little girl.”

“Nothing escapes your eyes, sir,” Zi Di responded sincerely, “I am very scared. I never thought that just after taking over, I would face assassination. To save my own life, I am willing to take even greater risks. And I also believe that looking across all the guilds on the continent now, mine still remains the most worthy of your investment.”

“That’s right.” Sharp Drill nodded, “We’ve actually been cooperating with your father for a long time, and we indeed trust you somewhat. Although the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce is now but a name, that name is still world-renowned, so it still has high value.”

“But with your current strength, to cooperate with us, to receive our protection–you are not yet qualified.”

“Then, what would make me qualified?” Zi Di asked with a smile.

The following words from Sharp Drill, however, turned her face pale instantly: “Then go for a marriage alliance.”