Chapter 8: The Guild's Next Move
The silence in the City Lord's manor was broken not by celebration, but by a tense, humming stillness. The physicians, dismissed with a wave of the City Lord's hand, had scurried away, their pride wounded but their curiosity aflame. Only Bai Ling remained, her hand still resting on the hilt of her sword, her eyes fixed on the space where the mysterious shopkeeper and his jade enforcer had stood.
"Father," she began, her voice tight. "The power they wield... to appear and disappear within our most secured chambers... it's..."
"It is a fact we must now account for," City Lord Bai interrupted, his voice stronger than it had been in a year. He clutched the Soul-Anchor Amulet, feeling its steady, thrumming power knitting the frayed edges of his core. It was a temporary reprieve, but it was life. "The guilds sought to use me as a blunt instrument. They did not expect the instrument to have a will of its own, or for the anvil to strike back."
"But the favor! To openly nullify the tax—the guilds will see it as a declaration of war! Our family's standing—"
"Our family's standing was secured the moment that amulet prevented my core from vaporizing us all," he said sharply, fixing his daughter with a look that reminded her he was still the ruler of this city. "The guilds' power is economic and political. This 'Li Wei's' power is... absolute. He did not ask for the guilds to be dissolved. He did not ask for their heads. He asked for a specific, legal action to be undone. That is a man who understands rules, not brute force. We have incurred a debt to a power we do not understand. The guilds' displeasure is the lesser threat."
He rose from the bed, his movements still cautious but firm. "Summon Guild Master Zhang and Madam Luo. Tell them the City Lord wishes to... discuss the matter of the Celestial Vault."
Bai Ling recognized the tone. It was the voice he used before delivering an unfavorable verdict. She bowed. "Yes, Father."
---
An hour later, the same richly appointed chamber in the Artificer's Guild Hall felt different. The outrage had curdled into a cold, anxious fury.
Guild Master Zhang paced like a caged spirit-beast. "He what?!"
The messenger, a low-level clerk from the city administration, trembled. "T-the City Lord himself voided the tax notice, Guild Master. He said the legal grounds were... were insufficient."
Madam Luo's face was a pale, composed mask. "Insufficient. We wrote the mercantile code. He knows this." Her mind, sharper than any blade, was already racing ahead. "This is not a legal decision. This is a message. The shopkeeper has played a card we did not anticipate. He has appealed to a higher authority—the City Lord's self-interest."
"Then we change the game again!" Zhang roared, slamming his fist on the table. "We cannot attack the shop. We cannot use the law. So we attack his customers! We make it social suicide to do business with him. A boycott! Any cultivator, any sect, any merchant who enters that shop will be blacklisted. No one in this city will sell them a loaf of bread, much less a spirit herb! We will isolate him completely!"
A grim smile touched Madam Luo's lips. "Now that is a strategy. The City Lord can void a tax, but he cannot force people to trade. The threat of social and economic ostracization... that is a weapon he cannot break with a magical bodyguard."
The orders went out within the hour. Ominous, official-looking notices were posted on the guild halls' message boards and discreetly delivered to every major merchant and sect in the city.
NOTICE OF GUILD DISASSOCIATION The United Artificer and Alchemist Guilds of Red Maple City hereby declare the establishment known as 'The Celestial Vault' an unapproved and hazardous enterprise. Any individual or organization found conducting business with said establishment will be considered in violation of guild standards and will be subject to immediate blacklisting from all guild-affiliated services, including but not limited to: artifact repair, pill refinement, material acquisition, and mercenary contracts. Let it be known: Patronize the Vault, and find yourself shut out of the city.
The message was clear. The shop might have power, but the guilds were the city's economy. They were betting that no cultivator would risk their entire future for a single rented weapon.
---
Back in the Celestial Vault, Li Wei watched the news unfold through his system interface. It had tapped into the city's communication arrays, displaying the boycott notice in crisp, clear text.
[ Hostile Economic Action Detected: Coordinated Boycott. ] [ Objective: Nullify threat to customer acquisition. ] [ Analysis: Threat relies on social pressure and collective action. ] [ Suggested Solution: Make the cost of boycott higher than the cost of compliance. ]
A new prompt appeared.
[ New System Quest: 'Break the Boycott' ] [ Goal: Secure a high-profile customer who will publicly defy the guilds. ] [ Reward: Unlock 'Discreet Delivery' service. ]
Li Wei almost smiled. The System didn't see problems; it saw quests. It didn't see obstacles; it saw opportunities to expand services.
He knew who he needed. The answer had been in his ledger from the beginning.
He willed the system to pull up a specific customer file.
Customer: Lin Feng Status: In Good Standing Last Rental: Gale-Edge Dagger - Success Current Situation: Advanced to inner sect eliminations. Facing highly favored opponent (Disciple Bo's cousin). Blacksmith Guild has refused to repair his primary weapon.
Lin Feng was desperate, talented, and had already experienced the Vault's power. And now, the guilds had personally wronged him. He was the perfect candidate.
As if on cue, the obsidian door shimmered. Lin Feng stood there, but not with the hope he'd had before. His face was set in a look of grim determination, his knuckles white around the hilt of a chipped and badly damaged iron sword. The guilds' blacklist had already begun.
He looked past Li Wei, his eyes landing on a new display that had glowed to life after the level-up: a pair of armguards woven from what looked like solidified moonlight.
Item: Mirror-Moon Bracers (Earth Grade - High) Rental Fee: 50 Low-Grade Spirit Stones / 12 hrs Description: Creates a short-range, reflective teleportation portal. Can redirect a single incoming attack back at its source with 90% potency.
It was the perfect counter for a powerful, arrogant opponent who relied on a single, overwhelming technique.
Lin Feng looked from the bracers to Li Wei. He didn't need to say a word. The guilds had tried to break him. Now, he would break their boycott.
"The guilds..." Lin Feng started, his voice hard.
"I know," Li Wei said. "It seems they've made your choice easier. The question is, are you willing to be my first official boycott-breaker?"
Lin Feng's answer was to hold out his pouch of spirit stones. "I just need to win. I don't care about the rest."
Li Wei took the stones. The contract glowed.
The boycott had begun. And Li Wei had just secured his first defiant customer. The guilds had made their move.
Now, the entire city would watch to see who would blink first.