Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 141: Delicate Balance

In a certain sense, Su Xiuwan was indeed very "honest".

She was not familiar with the affairs of the Treasure Pavilion, and coupled with the possibility of receiving some kind of instruction, she entrusted Li An with authority, showing immense trust in him.

As the Chief, Li An had the support of the Pavilion Master, and in just three months since his return to the main pavilion, the entire pavilion had undergone a complete transformation.

He directly deposed several appraisers and promoted many newcomers. The core positions in the treasure vault and auction house were also filled with his own people.

After replacing them with his own people, the Pavilion Master, to some extent, became a mascot. The power of the pavilion was in Li An's hands, and he could tamper with the identification, storage, registration, and auctioning of goods at any time.

He also displayed great greed, directly seizing anything he set his eyes on!

Li An was shameless!

The main reason was that he now understood very clearly that the owner of the mysterious demonic aura attached great importance to him and definitely wanted him to form his core.

Therefore, instead of being angry at Li An's embezzlement, he would secretly support it.

Since that was the case, why not be greedy and corrupt?

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

In just one year, Li An had embezzled quite a lot and his wealth had become substantial once again.

On this evening, Li An was having dinner when he suddenly heard the sound of a vegetable vendor on the street:

"Selling spirit vegetables... fresh spirit cabbage, cat ear grass, and wild spirit vegetables from the mountains..."

Li An's eyebrows furrowed.

Finally, they had come...

Spirit cabbage, cat ear grass, vegetables from the mountains... White Tiger Mountain!

"Go and bring the vegetable vendor in. I'll pick some fresh vegetables. My appetite hasn't been good these past few days," he said.

The old servant quickly left and soon a vegetable vendor had entered. Li An casually picked and chose, but at the same time whispered, "You're from the northwest?"

White Tiger City was in the northwest direction of Tianyang City.

"Yes, Master Zuo, these are all good vegetables from that side," the vendor said.

The vendor picked up a handful of vegetables and handed them to Li An, with a storage bag hidden among the vegetables.

Li An accepted it and handed him a storage bag in return.

The vendor expressed his gratitude and left immediately.

...

"Three pieces of third-grade Heavenly Annihilation Stones."

A total of three!

Li An naturally understood the meaning of White Tiger True Immortal.

He had been back for a year and it was time to do something.

He carefully examined them and quickly discovered that these three Heavenly Annihilation Stones contained another kind of mysterious demonic aura.

This kind of mysterious demonic aura was of the same level as the flesh and blood demonic aura and the Yin-Yang demonic aura. Although it was not of the same origin as the mysterious demonic aura in Li An's body, their levels were comparable.

"There is also a terrifying demonic cultivator hidden in White Tiger Mountain, who is very likely not weaker than the one on this side," he instantly understood.

Li An pondered the risks of this matter.

The demonic sect of the Third Princess obviously had some conflict with the Wang Family, otherwise they wouldn't have concealed it from the Wang Family regarding Li An's situation.

But what was their attitude towards White Tiger Mountain?

If Li An did something for White Tiger Mountain, it would definitely be exposed and couldn't be hidden from the Third Princess.

Moreover, he was already being closely watched by the Third Princess—White Tiger Mountain didn't know about this.

It could be said that White Tiger Mountain was wrong from the beginning in asking Li An to act as a spy and puppet. His own chess moves would undoubtedly be revealed in front of the Third Princess's faction.

After thinking it over, Li An decided to test the waters.

Because, if he really did something for White Tiger Mountain, there were only two possibilities:

First, what White Tiger Mountain wanted Li An to do was in line with the interests of the Third Princess's faction, and the Third Princess's faction would definitely remain silent.

Second, Li An's actions for White Tiger Mountain would harm the interests of the Third Princess's faction...

If that was the case, Li An didn't think it would be a big problem!

His greatest confidence was himself.

Before he formed his core, the Third Princess's faction would never be able to make a move against him. At most, they would use other means to obstruct his work for White Tiger Mountain.

No matter how it turned out, he wouldn't lose out!

And it was important to clarify the relationship between White Tiger Mountain, the Wang Family, and the Third Princess's faction through this test...

...

The next day.

Under his arrangement, someone delivered three pieces of Heavenly Devouring Stones to the Treasure Pavilion for appraisal.

Li An did not personally appraise them, but had someone find another ordinary appraiser.

The appraiser reported layer by layer.

"Master, these three Heavenly Devouring Stones are indeed all third-tier and extremely valuable..."

Li An said, "I remember that the Wang Family once entrusted the collection to the pavilion. I suggest buying them directly!"

Su Xiuwan looked meaningfully at Li An and asked, "Master Zuo, how much spirit stones do you think is appropriate to buy them?"

"Thirty thousand spirit stones!"

Li An said directly.

Su Xiuwan couldn't help but be taken aback. This Li An's appetite was too big...

If she approved the expenditure of thirty thousand spirit stones, it would be a question whether there were even twenty thousand spirit stones left to actually purchase the Heavenly Devouring Stones. A large portion of it would definitely be swallowed up by Li An...

But she didn't say anything. "Leave them for now. I will decide tomorrow. Also, bring the Heavenly Devouring Stones up for me to examine."

Li An respectfully withdrew.

...

That night.

"Interesting, interesting,"

In a certain secret room, in front of the Horse-Faced Executioner, the Blood Shadow woman looked at the three Heavenly Devouring Stones on the table and couldn't help but laugh.

"I said that the White Tiger Mountain couldn't remain indifferent. It turns out they have finally bought Li An to work for them..."

"Let Li An act as a mole, supplying the Wang Family with problematic goods. When King Jingbei truly attacks Nascent Soul, the White Tiger Mountain will suddenly strike, and my sister will be able to deal with me using this opportunity..."

"A good show."

She praised it greatly.

"This Li An... actually colluded with the White Tiger Mountain!"

The Horse-Faced Executioner said, "Senior, should we..."

"What should we do?"

The Blood Shadow woman sneered, "I want Li An to be safe and happy."

The Horse-Faced Executioner was stunned. What did that mean?

"The White Tiger Mountain first sent a Foundation Establishment female cultivator with a Yin destiny over, and now they have let Li An help with the layout... This is when the fish starts to bite the hook."

"The smoother Li An's progress, the tighter she will bite."

"Only then can we successfully catch the fish."

The woman smiled faintly, "Inform them and help him."

"This Li An actually deceived my sister and became her mole. My sister doesn't even know that he is a natural-born demon body..."

"Quite interesting."

...

The next day.

"The Wang Family is very satisfied with these three Heavenly Devouring Stones."

Su Xiuwan said, "This time, Chief Zuo has accomplished a great feat by collecting these rare treasures!"

"The Wang Family said that in the future, the more of these things, the better."

Upon hearing this, Li An felt relieved!

It seemed that the Third Princess's faction... had chosen to help the White Tiger Mountain deal with the Wang Family!

Of course, this did not mean that the Third Princess's faction and the White Tiger Mountain Demon Sect had common interests or were allies.

It was also possible that the Third Princess's faction was deliberately using the White Tiger Mountain.

But Li An didn't care.

The current situation was enough!

In this way, Li An could easily obtain resources from both sides without worrying about being obstructed.

Now, the Third Princess's faction treated him as a furnace, thinking that he was unaware and implementing the "pig-raising" plan.

On the other hand, the White Tiger Mountain saw him as "Xu Qiuhui," their "mole."

But Li An was well aware of both sides' plans and held a delicate balance in the whirlpool.

This game... was gradually becoming interesting.

...

(End of this chapter)