The meeting place was neutral ground.
A small pavilion by the river, positioned deliberately between valleys. No banners hung from its beams. No formations pulsed beneath its stones.
Two tables.
Two tea sets.
No blades in sight.
Gu Hao arrived with three people.
Gu Qing, for trade.
Gu Jian, for presence.
And himself.
The other clan arrived with six.
That alone told Gu Hao what kind of conversation this would be.
The host was a man named Qiu Ren, patriarch of the Qiu Clan. Late Qi Condensation. Confident posture. Eyes that weighed people instinctively.
"Patriarch Gu," Qiu Ren greeted, smiling. "You keep a quiet house."
"We prefer hearing what matters," Gu Hao replied calmly.
They sat.
Tea was poured.
No one rushed.
Qiu Ren spoke first. "Your grain has… appeared in our markets."
Gu Hao inclined his head. "Markets do that."
A few of Qiu Ren's elders frowned.
"You sell to mortals," one said, amused. "That's unusual."
"So is buying," Gu Hao replied mildly.
Silence followed.
Gu Hao did not fill it.
"We propose a trade understanding," Qiu Ren continued. "Shared routes. Predictable exchange. Less friction."
"On what terms?" Gu Hao asked.
Qiu Ren smiled. "You supply. We ensure safety."
Gu Hao lifted his teacup, letting the steam rise.
"And if we decline?"
Qiu Ren shrugged. "Then nothing changes."
Gu Hao nodded. "That's honest."
He set the cup down.
"We will not enter exclusive arrangements," Gu Hao said. "And we do not outsource our safety."
A murmur spread across the table.
Qiu Ren's smile thinned. "You're in no position to dictate terms."
Gu Hao met his gaze evenly.
"We're not dictating," he said. "We're defining."
Gu Qing spoke then, voice steady.
"Our volumes are small. Our margins are stable. We don't require protection we haven't asked for."
One of the Qiu elders scoffed. "You think stability protects you?"
"No," Gu Qing replied. "We think predictability makes interference inconvenient."
Qiu Ren studied him more closely now.
Gu Hao leaned forward slightly.
"You're offering safety," he said. "But safety has a cost."
"And?" Qiu Ren asked.
"And we don't need it yet," Gu Hao replied.
The words landed softly.
Too softly.
That was the point.
The meeting ended without agreement.
No threats issued.
No tempers flared.
As they stood to leave, Qiu Ren spoke again.
"You're confident for a small clan."
Gu Hao paused.
"No," he said. "We're careful."
They returned the same way they came.
No pursuit.
No watchers revealed.
Gu Jian exhaled only once they were well beyond the river.
"That could have gone badly," he said.
"Yes," Gu Hao agreed. "Which is why it didn't."
Gu Jian glanced at him. "They underestimated us."
Gu Hao shook his head.
"No," he said. "They measured us correctly."
Gu Jian frowned.
"They just don't understand what we're measuring."
That night, Gu Hao stood alone.
The meeting had cost nothing.
Which meant it had bought something.
Time.
On Earth, he had learned that the most valuable negotiations were the ones that ended without resolution.
They left questions behind.
Questions spread.
Gu Hao wrote a single line in his private notes:
If they don't see your leverage, you don't have to hide it.
He closed the book.
Beyond the hills, the Qiu Clan would debate whether the Gu Clan was bold… or foolish.
And that debate would delay action.
Which was exactly what Gu Hao wanted.
Gu Hao did not misread the meeting.
The Qiu Clan had not threatened them because it did not need to.
Yet.
That was the danger.
Small clans were crushed not when they were weak, but when they became useful enough to notice and too small to resist.
Gu Hao understood this well.
Stability attracted curiosity.
Curiosity attracted pressure.
Pressure eventually demanded allegiance.
The only question was to whom.
He called Gu Qing that night.
"Expand the trade teams," Gu Hao said calmly. "Not deeper. Wider."
Gu Qing nodded immediately. "More markets?"
"More traders," Gu Hao corrected. "Independently."
"No exclusivity," Gu Qing said.
"Exactly."
Spread familiarity. Reduce choke points.
Gu Hao then turned to Gu Jian and Gu Yuan.
"We will seek a long-term trade agreement," he said.
Gu Yuan's brow creased. "With whom?"
Gu Hao named the sect.
The Luo River Sect.
Silence followed.
The Luo River Sect was not famous.
Not feared.
But for the Gu Clan, it was a mountain.
A third-tier sect with real territory. Fields. Workshops. Hundreds of mortals under management. A late Foundation Establishment patriarch and several Foundation elders.
They controlled irrigation channels.
They controlled trade routes.
More importantly, they controlled attention.
Gu Jian broke the silence. "They won't notice us."
Gu Hao shook his head. "They will if we solve a problem they already have."
The journey was not hurried.
Gu Hao went himself, accompanied by Gu Jian and Elder Gu Yuan.
No entourage.
No offerings stacked in wagons.
Just samples. Ledgers. And restraint.
The Luo River Sect's outer compound dwarfed the Gu Clan entirely. Mortals worked the fields in organized lines. Cultivators oversaw without shouting.
Order.
That was a language Gu Hao respected.
They were received by an elder first.
Foundation Establishment. Calm. Unimpressed.
"You sell grain," the elder said plainly. "Many do."
Gu Hao inclined his head. "We sell consistency."
The elder raised an eyebrow.
They were led to a smaller hall, where the sect patriarch arrived later.
Late Foundation Establishment.
His presence was solid, not oppressive. Like a river that had carved its path long ago.
"You wish to trade," the patriarch said.
"Yes," Gu Hao replied.
"For protection?" the patriarch asked.
"No," Gu Hao said honestly. "For continuity."
That earned him a second look.
Gu Hao placed two bowls on the table.
One Steady Grain.
One work grain.
"These are not spirit grains," Gu Hao said. "They are not cultivation resources."
The patriarch tasted them anyway.
He chewed slowly.
"They are… reliable," he said.
Gu Hao nodded. "Your mortals work long hours. Their yield drops before your qi does."
Silence.
Gu Hao continued, carefully.
"We do not seek exclusivity," he said. "We seek volume stability."
"Why would we bother?" the patriarch asked.
Gu Hao did not flinch.
"Because when your mortals last longer," he said, "your cultivators train without distraction."
The patriarch's gaze sharpened.
Negotiations took two days.
No shouting.
No coercion.
Terms were simple.
The Gu Clan would supply grain at fixed volumes.The Luo River Sect would provide long-term purchase guarantees.No branding. No public endorsement.Trade recorded, not advertised.
In return, the Gu Clan's trade routes would pass unchallenged through Luo River territory.
No promises of protection.
None were needed.
When the agreement was sealed, Gu Yuan finally exhaled.
"We've tied ourselves to something larger," he said quietly.
Gu Hao shook his head.
"No," he said. "We've stood in its shadow."
Gu Jian snorted softly. "That shadow is enough."
"Yes," Gu Hao agreed. "For now."
They returned without ceremony.
No flags flown.
No announcements made.
Only one thing changed.
When traders spoke of the Gu Clan afterward, they added a quiet sentence.
"They trade with the Luo River Sect."
That was all.
And it was enough.
That night, Gu Hao stood at the gate, looking outward.
He had not strengthened the clan.
He had positioned it.
On Earth, he had learned this lesson late.
In this world, he would not repeat that mistake.
He wrote a single line in his private notes:
Borrowed strength buys time. Time builds real strength.
The Gu Clan slept peacefully beneath a shadow that was not its own.
And soon, others would notice that shadow… and think twice.