186: Chapter 186 Rumors Spread, Emotions Are Stirred Up

Night deepened into the alleys of the market district, and the lights went out one by one.

The wind swirled sand grains between the stalls, making the cloth banners flap loudly.

Lu San leaned his medicine chest against the corner, untied the faded linen bundle from his shoulder, shook it out onto the ground, and sat down cross-legged.

He did not rush to rest; instead, he fished a small piece of dry cake from his bosom, broke it in two, stuffed one half into his mouth to chew slowly, and gently placed the other half on the empty ground beside him.

Before long, a gaunt stray cat poked its head out from the shadows and approached hesitantly.

It sniffed, then lowered its head and began to gnaw on it.

"You are hungry too," Lu San said in a low voice, his tone as light as the wind blowing over the eaves. "In this world, who isn't hungry?"

After eating, the cat rubbed against his pant leg and slipped back into the darkness.

Only then did he stand up, brush off the dust, and walk toward a low-lying dwelling nearby.

The door was unlocked and creaked open when pushed.

Inside, a single oil lamp was lit, and two merchants from the West Desert Sand Clan were huddled under the light, checking their cargo lists.

Seeing him enter, one of them looked up: "Master Lu, not sleeping yet?"

"Can't sleep," Lu San smiled and sat down by the threshold. "I just finished applying medicine to those children in the camel caravan, and I have something on my mind."

"What is it?" the other asked casually.

Lu San shook his head, as if hesitating for a long time before speaking: "You... haven't really heard?"

"Heard what?"

"About the Chen family." He lowered his voice. "An old acquaintance of mine was on duty at the Leiyin Pavilion a few days ago and saw with his own eyes their people being blocked outside the Council Hall. The reason given was 'non-core collaborative unit,' and they weren't allowed to attend the meeting. Isn't this clearly trying to sideline us?"

The two exchanged a glance and did not respond.

Lu San was not in a hurry and continued on his own: "I also heard that the Chen family has already sent people to the Zhao Clan of Xiling to discuss a merger."

"They call it 'unified dispatch,' but who doesn't know that after unifying, how the mines are worked, how pills are refined, and who uses the mechs—isn't that all up to them?"

"With the resources we have in our hands now, who knows if we'll have to hand over a quota tomorrow."

"That can't be, right?" One of them frowned. "The Chen family contributed a lot to fighting the insect race, so it's normal for them to get a larger share of the spoils."

"Normal?" Lu San sneered. "Have you ever seen a family win a battle and then demand to take away the dispatch rights of other clans?"

"Last month, the Beipo Liu Clan wanted to repair their spiritual energy aqueduct and applied for three star-patterned stones. It took half a month to get approved, and the reason given was 'strategic reserves priority.'"

"And what was the result? The five new engineering mechs the Chen family built all used high-purity star-patterned stones for power."

The room was silent for a moment.

"Are you saying... they are using the Alliance's resources to raise their own troops?" The man who previously didn't believe him changed his tone.

"I wouldn't dare say that." Lu San waved his hand. "I shouldn't be the one saying this. But I run around outside a lot, and the news I hear, when put together, connects the dots."

"Think carefully. In the last half year, which major event wasn't ultimately decided by the Chen family?"

"Joint defense, technology sharing, interstellar routes... they sound like good things, but whose hands do the benefits fall into?"

"Their juniors all wear new armor and wield new swords, while our children are still using old Talisman paper to draw Formations."

The two fell silent.

The oil lamp crackled and jumped; the firelight reflected on their faces, flickering between light and dark.

The next morning, the market became lively again.

Lu San set up his stall as usual and hung out his cloth banner that read, "Buying Exotic Ores, Exchanging for Fine Medicine."

The bearded man from the Xuansha Tribe was the first to come to his door, clutching a bluish crystal in his hand.

"Cold Marrow, same old rule, three spirit coins."

Lu San took it, examined it, and handed back a small porcelain bottle: "This is a Miasma-Dispelling Pill. Use it for your wife; I know she has been coughing badly at night."

The man took the medicine but didn't leave: "Master Lu, what you said yesterday... is it really that serious?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Lu San sighed. "Don't you also feel that things have been off lately?"

"Last time you traded, the Beipo Liu Clan drove down your price. You think that was a coincidence? They were forced to do it too."

"I heard the Chen family wants to build a 'Co-Alliance Production Chain.' All mineral materials must pass through their quality inspection center, and anything unqualified is directly banned from sale. You tell me, who is in charge?"

The man's face turned livid: "Then won't we have to live at their mercy from now on?"

"Indeed." Lu San nodded. "I heard the Cangling Clan has already been holding secret meetings, wanting to unite several clans to file a protest. But who will lead? No one wants to stick their neck out. They are afraid of being labeled an 'unstable factor' and being the first to be surrounded during the next mech patrol."

These words were like a spark landing on a pile of hay.

In less than half a day, the young steward from the Beipo Liu Clan also came.

He didn't bring any ore but asked directly: "Master Lu, do you really know people from the Leiyin Pavilion?"

"My cousin." Lu San said it naturally. "Last month he went to the Eastern Wasteland Alliance to report on his duties, and he wasn't even allowed through the door. The guards said that only 'First-Tier Collaborative Clans' could enter. He was so angry he tore up the invitation on the spot."

The young man gritted his teeth: "So we don't even have a say anymore?"

"Who told you not to have mechs?" Someone nearby chimed in. It was a warrior from Chiji Ridge, wearing old leather armor with a broken blade hanging at his waist. "I saw their po xu type-2 with my own eyes, practicing encirclement Formations at the border."

"The target wasn't the insect race; it was us 'potential threats.' I happened to be on patrol that day and saw it clearly—three groups of mechs advanced in a triangular Formation, and the blockade line was drawn directly thirty zhang outside our encampment!"

"When was this?" someone asked.

"Five days ago." The warrior lowered his voice. "They thought no one saw. But I was hiding in the rift valley and saw with my own eyes who was sitting in the command cabin—that young Young Lord of the Chen family, Chen Xiaodao. He sat there as if he were inspecting his own territory."

The crowd became restless.

"No wonder the movements of all clans have been restricted lately." The Talisman craftsman from the Nangu Lin Family muttered. "The order for Talismans we submitted has been delayed in approval for eight days. They say it's 'System upgrade,' but I think it's being deliberately held up."

"It's more than just holding it up." The old merchant from the West Desert Sand Clan shook his head. "I have a relative in the Blacksmith Alliance who said their newly developed spiritual energy forging hammer blueprints were detained by the Chen family on the grounds of 'classified technology.'"

"The reason given was 'to prevent leakage to hostile forces.' But whose hostile forces are we? The insect race? Or them?"

The discussion grew louder and louder, spreading through the market like the tide.

At noon, a representative from the Northern Plains Sun Clan hurried over, bringing even more shocking news: "I just received a transmission Jade Slip. The Zhao Clan of Xiling has rejected the Chen family's 'merger proposal.'"

"As a result, that very night, all three of their Spiritual Vein transport lines to the outside world were cut off! They claimed it was 'temporary maintenance,' but who believes that? Isn't this blatant retaliation?"

"I told you!" The bearded man from the Xuansha Tribe slammed the table. "They aren't cooperating at all; they're annexing! Today they cut your transport lines, tomorrow they can seal your Spiritual Veins! Once we all become vassals, we'll even have to look at their faces just to breathe!"

"But what can we do?" someone said, deflated. "We can't fight them, we can't out-argue them; they have mechs, they have the System, and they have the final say in the Alliance."

"So we just accept our fate?" The warrior from Chiji Ridge sneered. "I'd rather die on the battlefield than live on my knees!"

The crowd was in an uproar. Anger surged in their chests like boiling magma.

Lu San stood in the corner, silently packing up his medicine chest.

He didn't say anything more, just sighed softly, as if unable to bear witnessing all of this.

Then he shouldered his chest, turned, and walked deep into the alley, his figure quickly swallowed by the flow of people.

But the arguments in the market did not cease.

"We must unite!"

"Right! We cannot let them dominate alone anymore!"

"The Cangling Clan, the Xuansha Tribe, and the Beipo Liu Clan—the three families should meet first!"

"We must also pull in the Nangu Lin Family and the Zhao Clan of Xiling; there is strength in numbers!"

People began to write down names, others sent secret messages, and some stared in the direction of the Chen family's encampment with gloomy eyes.

In the evening, the sunset stained the horizon red.

The clamor in the market district had not yet dissipated.

Representatives of various clans gathered in different corners, whispering in secret meetings.

The once loose Alliance now showed the first signs of cracks.

And outside the Chen family's encampment, an invisible web of hostility was quietly being woven.