Lighting Lanterns in the Mountains and Seas

Actually, Shi Chun already knew this without him saying it, but he deliberately asked. Upon hearing, he replied, "I thought your sect didn't care about this small amount of money. If that's the case, doesn't Brother Dongguo feel this matter is quite unfair?"

Dongguo Shou stared in confusion, not knowing what he meant, somewhat worried that Shi Chun might be up to some trickery, as Shi Chun's reputation was known far and wide, one had to be cautious.

Shi Chun explained himself, "I've looked into the previous Battles of Great Pardon; once the territory is rewarded based on merit, things like burning bridges right after don't immediately happen. Heavenly Court suddenly doing this is unfair. If they do, they even make us pay for travel expenses; isn't that a bit unreasonable?"

Dongguo Shou nodded in agreement, "Brother Chun's words make sense. It's not that the matter has come to this point; we have no choice."

Shi Chun exclaimed in surprise, "Why no choice? If we haven't tried, how do we know there's no way? In my opinion, the Heavenly Court should waive Xun Gate fees in this aspect, and for everyone who officially enters Heavenly Domain in the past three years, travel fees should be completely exempted. Of course, Xun Gates within other Royal Courts might not accept this, but at least within Heavenly Court, they should be fully waived, right?"

He now didn't even want to pay the fifteen hundred travel expenses, wanting them completely waived.

Dongguo Shou pondered, "That's not a small amount of money; can you really get all the Xun Gates in various places to agree to lower this much money?"

Shi Chun laughed, "Brother Dongguo, whose side are you on? Why are you considering for them? At least try, right?"

Dongguo Shou fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Shi Chun reminded him, "Brother Dongguo, let me say ugly words upfront; if later my side comes and saves on travel expenses, and your side doesn't, people find out you didn't participate, and end up talking behind your back; don't get caught up like with the pay issue again, saying I didn't inform well beforehand, making it so that you're neither here nor there."

At these words, Dongguo Shou felt a toothache; regarding the pay issue, he didn't know what to do next month, and every payday felt like he was suffering in hell's gate. If this comes too, then he'd truly be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Thus, he quickly made a decisive decision; considering saving travel expenses for attracting populations, the sect wouldn't object. He immediately took a deep breath and said, "How do you plan to proceed?"

Shi Chun replied, "What else can we do? Of course, we should collectively go to Domain Master to express our concerns, requesting Domain Master to respond to Heavenly Court. We all have handed over the ladder; if it can save money on attracting populations, how could Domain Master not use this opportunity to report?"

This was indeed simple; Dongguo Shou resolutely agreed, "Alright, count me in from the Eastern Region."

"Great, I'll now call Tong Mingshan and Wu Jinliang over. We four commanders will join forces to petition together." As Shi Chun spoke, he took out the Mother-child Talisman to contact the two.

Dongguo Shou saw this move and couldn't help but shake his head secretly; this person treats the Western and Northern Commanders as if they were summoned and dismissed at will, even more effective than Manxi's words. If Manxi's opinion clashes with this person's, it's hard to know whose to heed, no wonder Manxi wanted to deal with the three of them.

Wu Jinliang and Tong Mingshan, upon hearing, naturally rushed over quickly.

Once the four met, they immediately hurried to the Domain Master Mansion.

Upon seeing Shi Chun and the three's arrival, Manxi's dissatisfaction with them had mostly dissolved; after all, at most, they could last three years, after which they'd have to leave.

He now looked at Dongguo Shou with disapproval, wondering about what Shi Chun and the other two were up to with someone like Dongguo Shou. Could it be they'd been turned over by Dongguo Shou?

Once a few people explained about saving travel expenses, when Manxi realized what it was about, he maintained a composed façade, internally thinking it was a good thing. It could alleviate quite a bit of pressure on his side by attracting populations. After all, this travel cost, no matter how it's distributed, wouldn't be easy on anyone's head.

As Shi Chun expected, the ladder was already handed over; Manxi pretended to be reserved for a couple of words and ultimately agreed righteously, stating he would immediately report everyone's opinions to Heavenly Court.

Afterward, the four commanders left the Domain Master Mansion, immediately went their separate ways; Wu Jinliang and Tong Mingshan had to continue handling cost-saving housing matters, Dongguo Shou needed to return to the sect to report this matter.

As he watched Dongguo Shou's departure, Shi Chun also secretly sighed in relief; considering the joint effort of the Carefree Sect and the strength behind Manxi, plus the ready-made arguments for petitions, success in this matter was quite likely.

His current ability was at its limit; saving money would naturally be best, but if it couldn't be saved, his plan couldn't halt.

Thus, he didn't return to Dingnan Prefecture; he led his team out of Heavenly Domain, redirected to Heavenly Capital, heading straight to East Victory Royal City.

Wuyu Inn, a quiet spot amidst the bustle of East Victory Royal City; Shi Chun and his group arrived, not really visiting uninvited.

As soon as Shi Chun arrived at Royal City, he used the Mother-child Talisman to contact Young Master Nan.

The welcoming Young Master Nan at the door pointed to Shi Chun's followers, gesturing to the steward beside him to arrange for everyone's food, drink, and rest.

Jiang Wushou, however, declined his kindness.

This was also his consistent rule; when they guarded Shi Chun outside, they wouldn't accept provided food and drink or enter other arranged environments.

He even wanted to send someone into Wuyu Inn ahead to check, leaving Young Master Nan bewildered, who turned to Shi Chun, "Brother Chun, is this the standard for your comings and goings now?"

"Oh, no, no, I've offended too many people, always those who want to assassinate me, please understand." Shi Chun modestly replied.

Young Master Nan was astonished, "Really? With your status, people can still frequently try assassinating you? Who could be so bold?" Making him realize he had to pay serious attention, he immediately told Jiang Wushou and others, "Then you'd better go in and arrange according to your rules."