(Xia Zi POV) [The floor manager]
I have been working in the Merchant's Guild for close to a decade.
Here, I have seen my fair share of nobles, young masters, affluent merchants and people who think they are important seeking to do business with us.
Though it is true that we do not control the merchants, we still have considerable influence over them since we control the market distribution.
With the money the Guild possesses, we have many powerful Houses and Sects backing us up. As long as it is someone seeking to do business under our sphere of influence, they will have to play by our rules.
Even our backers have to give us face if they want to continue doing business with the Guild. A single black mark from us was enough to ruin any business opportunities they have or might be planning to have.
Such was the power of money.
Even if a strong individual possesses power to lord over the common man, they still require money to live. Therefore, money is the true power in this world!
It was only through my dedication and hard work that I managed to be promoted to this floor manager position that most people would kill for. Not only do I get better pay, I am also able to boss around powerful individuals who seek cooperation with us.
The feel of power when you see an Elder or even a Sect Master genuflecting themselves before you just to get better treatment is simply exhilarating.
To see someone who normally lords over others lower themselves before you, do you know how addicting that feeling is?
That is why when a man dressed in simple, casual robes showed up at our main branch's gates, I had no intention of entertaining him at first.
You see, when your position is determined by your performance, one does not usually spend too much time on someone who won't contribute to your sales numbers. I would've just kicked him out there and then but upon the sight of the girls accompanying him, I thought he might just be the servant of those girls who looked like nobles.
Thus, I still did my duty by showing them into the Guild.
But everything turned out to be a mistake when I heard the girls being so respectful to him. If I had to guess, he most likely hired these girls from some back alley and dressed them up in order to get in here. A ruse that I'm ashamed to admit that worked on me.
I was tempted to just turn around and kick him out right there. With how he looked, I doubt he could even afford the cheapest storage ring we have here.
But I had another idea then.
Being experienced in the art of business, I'm used to seeking out profits from unfavourable positions.
I led the group to the cheapest section for the rings, the place where minor merchants and nobles would usually make their purchases. Judging by how he is dressed, I don't doubt that he would leave the room empty handed.
I laughed inwardly when he offered to buy rings for all the girls, he most likely has no idea how expensive these rings are.
Since most of these rings are made of low quality materials like wood or stone, the girls would definitely not be interested in them.
And thus, this would be the start of the first phase of my plan: separating the guy from the girls.
I informed them that we had a better selection of rings elsewhere and offered to have a staff member guide them there.
Unfortunately, I did not expect that one of them would actually seek permission from the guy first.
But fortunately, he chose to remain behind. It was quite obvious that he had just realised how expensive the rings were and was looking for an excuse to ditch the girls here.
With the two groups separated, I can then begin the next part of my plan. Turning them into indentured servants of the Guild, or more specifically, me.
The girls were simple enough, the room they were being escorted to were filled with nothing but useless counterfeits that we flood the market with to saturate the market.
They will 'accidentally' break something and we can use that to incriminate them where they have to pay an exorbitant amount of money or sign the contract..
The guy on the other hand, I was planning to have him get involved in some kind of fight with the guards and have him owe reparations to us.
But who knew he would just serve himself up so easily by slamming hs fist on the case.
Everything was going so smoothly up until he threw a pouch at me, the contents filled with a ton of gold coins.
Then he just had to do the crazy thing of smashing ten of our display cases without hesitation.
Granted, I did exaggerate the strength of these display cases quite a bit. There was no point in using such extravagant defensive measures on such low quality rings, but the fact that he broke them without much thought must mean he is quite mentally unstable.
That's how I immediately knew the coins he threw at me must be fake.
To be fooled not once but twice by him, this is the lowest point in my entire life!
For this to happen under my supervision will completely ruin my chances at another promotion!
Enraged, I wanted him to be beaten within an inch of his life before turning him into a labour slave.
The last thing I expected was for the Guild Master himself to show up personally. I suppose he was already nearby when the display cases were broken which triggered the alarm and notified him.
Though I would have to give up on making that little trash my slave, I can shift all the blame to him and still keep my career on track.
But of course, apparently life had other plans for me...
As though things could not get any crazier, the Guild Master actually prostrated in front of him and begged for forgiveness.
The Guild Master I knew was someone who would never lower himself to anyone, not even the Royal Family. With the amount of power that he wields, it was a natural thing since no one could match his vast influence.
The only exception was the Xi Family at their peak but since their dissolvement due to internal strife, the Merchant's Guild no longer has an equal.
Huh?
Master Lin?
Who is that?
Why does everyone suddenly seem so fearful all of a sudden? Even the guards who would bully the usually arrogant young masters into submission were on their knees in front of this Master Lin.
He is just a Master of some backwater Sect right? I don't even remember seeing his face when I went to watch the Sect Showcase Festival half a decade back. Even if he was someone significant, it shouldn't matter in front of our influence right?
Everyone still remained at their previous positions even though Master Lin had already left.
"Xia Zi… Do you know what you have done?!" Guild Master screeched, turning to me with anger clear in his eyes..
I gulped, "N… No?"
"Do you not know who Master Lin is?"
"He's… He's just a Master isn't he?"
He smacked me across the head, "The publicly recognised strongest Practitioner in the world you blind shit!"
"That… Even if he is… Shouldn't that be the same as the other Masters we dealt with?"
"Do you even know why we can suppress the powerful Sects and Families?!"
I shook my head.
"Those strong individuals and groups still rely on money to maintain their positions! Master Lin does not! Even if some powerful Sect decides to try and suppress us, we could call in favours from the other powerhouses to get rid of them!"
"No… No matter how strong he is, this Master Lin can still be judged by the law right?"
Guild Master kicked my shins angrily, causing me to let out a yelp of pain.
"A hundred Practitioners from the strongest Sects challenged him in the last Sect Showcase Festival, Master Lin wiped them all out without breaking a sweat! The Dark Sect summoned a goddamn demon and he destroyed it by summoning a dragon! So you tell me, who is going to enforce the law when he is involved? You?!"
"But… But… Sanctions?" I stammered.
Guild Master spat on the ground, "If he wanted to destroy the entire Merchant's Guild, no one will be able stop him. Who do you think the other merchants will side with in case there's a coinflict, huh? Definitely not your blind, dumb ass!"
I was still a little unconvinced, "Surely as strong as he is, he couldn't possibly stand against the power and influence we have right? An organization should be able to overpower an individual."
"You… You… Arrghhh!! I knew I should've made you pay more attention!"
He pulled me towards him so that he could whisper in my ear, "The Xi Family got wiped right?"
I nodded.
"The last person they offended was Master Lin. Want to take a guess on what made them disappear?"
My heart clenched, the severity of our situation finally dawning on me.
Guild Master released me with a sigh, "What else did you do? Please tell me that's all you did… Not like it's not already bad enough as it is…"
"No… I… That's all I…" I stopped.
Oh… The girls that he brought along… If he wasn't the vagrant I thought he was, who were they?
Guild Master saw the look on my face and his eyes widened, "You… Don't tell me you did something to his disciples as well?!!"
"He… He has disciples?"
Guild Master gave me the look of utter defeat.
Something tells me I would be lucky to even keep my head at this point of time…