YM778.TV Chapter 96: Negotiate Again
Under the guidance of Yang Lingbao, the high school principal, Jiang Cheng and Liu Qing arrived at the guest room of the Prefect Mansion of Wuyue.
This was not the official meeting room of Wuyue’s government office, but it was occupied by a group of officials with no small positions.
At the head was naturally the Prefect of Wuyue, Zuo Yuanhong, followed by the chieftain of the Aquatic Tribe of Ming River, Tun Sheng, and the General of Xiang State, Qi Huangyi.
Further down were Yuan Shengfan, the director of the educational department managing Wuyue’s elementary and secondary schools, Lin Xiao, the Chief Arrestor of the Six Fan Gate of Wuyue, and Feng Jing, a talisman subject teacher at Guangmao Academy of Wuyue.
Yang Lingbao led Jiang Cheng into the guest room, designated a seat for him, and then reintroduced the dignitaries present to him.
Meanwhile, Liu Qing moved a small stool and sat down at a spot lower than Jiang Cheng’s.
“Alright,” Zuo Yuanhong waved his hand, “The reason we’re not in the conference room today is to be frank and direct, to avoid unnecessary courtesies.”
Of course, this was just an official excuse.
The actual reason was that the matter involved the Aquatic Tribe of Ming River, and Zuo Yuanhong found it inconvenient to intervene with the identity of Wuyue’s government office.
Zuo Yuanhong, having been an official for many years, was clear-minded as a mirror.
This Tun Sheng, being a monster, should have approached the Immortal Sect with any issue, but instead, he abnormally came to them, which definitely meant he had no good intentions.
It was very likely that the Immortal Sect had disregarded the Aquatic Tribe, and they had turned to them as a backup plan.
But the issue was, if the Immortal Sect couldn’t resolve the matter, their government office surely couldn’t either!
If it weren’t for the fact that Tun Sheng had such a high cultivation level, Zuo Yuanhong wouldn’t have wanted to bother with the Aquatic Tribe’s messy affairs at all.
Putting on an official air, Zuo Yuanhong said, “Jiang Cheng, the chieftain of the Aquatic Tribe, Tun Sheng, has reported to us that your talismans have severely interfered with the daily lives of his tribespeople. Is this the case?”
“Absolutely not!” Jiang Cheng refuted adamantly.
As soon as Jiang Cheng spoke, it wasn’t just Zuo Yuanhong and Qi Huangyi whose expressions changed; even Tun Sheng couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
Usually, a refutation begins cautiously and gradually, or one refutes only a part with some limitations. A full-blown denial like Jiang Cheng’s, cutting straight to the point, was almost unheard of.
Zuo Yuanhong frowned and asked, “Are you implying that Chieftain Tun Sheng is lying?”
“Correct. To be precise, what Senior Tun has stated deviates significantly from the truth,” Jiang Cheng said.
Yang Lingbao, as Jiang Cheng’s principal, was sitting right next to him at this time.
He had specifically instructed the young man to be cautious before coming, but it seemed the young man hadn’t taken any of it to heart!
Even if Tun Sheng was lying, you can’t just call him out directly!
The guy is a monster at the Great Perfection Realm of Core Formation! Eating you would be like crunching on chips, one crunch at a time!
Yang Lingbao subtly tugged at Jiang Cheng, signaling for him to be more cautious with his words.
At the same time, Liu Qing was silently staring at Yang Lingbao’s hand.
Zuo Yuanhong smiled and said, “Oh? Since you claim that Chieftain Tun Sheng is lying, then where is your evidence? If you can’t provide evidence, this would constitute defamation of another person. According to the laws of Great Liang, defamers can be jailed.”
Jiang Cheng corrected with reason and evidence, “Lord Prefect, the Liang laws do include defamation, that’s correct. But defamation is a ‘personal complaint crime.’ However, Chieftain Tun Sheng is not a subject of the Liang Kingdom and is not protected or governed by the laws of Liang. Therefore, he cannot ‘personally complain,’ and whatever I say does not constitute ‘established defamation.’”
Zuo Yuanhong: ?
How can you understand this better than I do?
Zuo Yuanhong had intended only to intimidate Jiang Cheng, to make him speak the truth faster, but who could have predicted that the young man would not only be well-versed in the laws of Liang but also refute them with sound logic?
Is this really a high school student?
Are high school students now this formidable?
Zuo Yuanhong looked towards the Chief Arrestor Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao nodded silently, indicating that Jiang Cheng was indeed correct in what he said.
“Ahem, that’s not important. Quickly tell us about Chieftain Tun Sheng’s matter,” Zuo Yuanhong smoothly changed the subject.
Jiang Cheng nodded and explained the reason behind Tun Sheng’s lies, “Just now, Senior Tun said that my talismans greatly interfered with the daily lives of his tribesfolk. That’s impossible for two reasons. First, not all aquatic creatures are considered members of the Aquatic Tribe; only those who have awakened their spiritual intelligence and have formally commenced cultivation are recognized as Aquatic Tribe members. These tribesfolk have at least reached the Qi Cultivation Stage, and shielding themselves from the influence of talismans is as easy as flipping their hand.”
“Second, the range of influence of talismans is limited. Each time they take effect, there’s a considerable time interval, so even if there are influences, the extent and degree would not be too significant, let alone cause ‘severe’ effects on the Aquatic Tribe.”
After Jiang Cheng finished speaking, many of the onlookers in the area nodded slightly in agreement.
Zuo Yuanhong, after hearing Jiang Cheng’s words, turned his gaze to Feng Jing, a teacher from Guangmao Academy.
Feng Jing also nodded slightly, indicating that there were no issues with what Jiang Cheng had said.
However, at that moment, Tun Sheng spoke up, “Wuyue is at least four hundred miles away from Ming River, and I could still hear the sound of the talismans from there. Is this what Jiang refers to as ‘limited range’?”
Jiang Cheng calmly replied, “Senior, the usage effects of my talismans are recorded by both the Tongtian Sect Talisman Master Association and the Artifact Refiners Association. Four hundred miles is already beyond the working range of my talismans. If you can hear it from that distance, it must not be from my talismans.”
Tun Sheng took out a Fishing Talisman and tossed it to Jiang Cheng.
“Had I not had evidence, you might have indeed fooled me. Take a look, isn’t this talisman your work? It can easily emit sound waves that travel for a thousand miles. Don’t tell me about Ming River, even after it flows into the sea its effects could be felt.”
Jiang Cheng took the talisman and immediately spotted the trickery.
He opened the talisman, pulled out the “Animal Encouragement Talisman” within, and said to Tun Sheng, “Senior Tun, this talisman was indeed originally produced by our workshop, but now it has been altered and is no longer my work. Look at the brushwork; it has clearly been illegally modified.”
Jiang Cheng took out the contract that had to be signed when purchasing a Fishing Talisman.
“According to the agreement reached at the time of purchase, once a talisman is modified, it is considered an automatic waiver of warranty rights, and the person who modified it assumes all responsibilities and obligations for the talisman after its modification.”
Jiang Cheng handed the contract to Tun Sheng and added, “I understand your concerns about the future development of the Aquatic Tribe. But as a law-abiding citizen, if a product from my business has been illegally altered and has produced undesirable effects, I am a victim just like you. And I regret your experience.”
Yang Lingbao: ???
What’s going on?
What just happened?
How did this kid suddenly end up on the same side as Tun Sheng?
Not only was Yang Lingbao surprised, but even the organizer of this situation, Zuo Yuanhong, couldn’t keep his composure.
Tun Sheng came to pick a fight with you.
Yet after a few words, you somehow ended up sharing a common enemy with Tun Sheng.
What about Tun Sheng’s demands?
How will the conflict between the Aquatic Tribe and the talismans be resolved?
Initially, when Tun Sheng heard about Jiang Cheng from Lanye, he merely thought of Jiang Cheng as a young man adept at rhetoric.
After all, although Jiang Cheng verbally refuted Lanye, when Lanye asked Jiang Cheng for a solution later on, Jiang Cheng sidestepped the question.
To raise a problem is not difficult.
To accurately identify and raise a problem is hard.
To raise a problem and contemplate a solution is even more challenging.
In Tun Sheng’s eyes, Jiang Cheng was only in the second phase, capable of identifying issues, but not yet possessing the ability to come up with brilliant strategies that bring peace.
But now, Tun Sheng saw it for himself.
This kid was capable.
His mastery of ‘deflecting conflict’ and ‘unifying allies’ was impeccable.
It wouldn’t take much for an ordinary person to be led astray by his words.
Tun Sheng narrowed his eyes, looking at Jiang Cheng who “expressed his regret.”
Even having lived for hundreds of years and reached the Great Perfection Realm of Core Formation, he could not tell whether Jiang Cheng was genuinely expressing sympathy,
or if he was being disingenuous with profound scheming.