Bab 67: Cooperation (3)
"You... you are Izanami?" Lan Jing Er couldn't help but stutter.
'No. It can't possibly be her. Yan Qing Shan, I've been told, was a pampered, spoiled, reclusive lady. The eldest miss of a giant corporation. Where in the world did she get the nonsense she was spouting? Could she have possibly heard about it somewhere? However, ordinary people could not possibly know about the infamous Izanami. But... but this presence is undoubtedly from someone who thrives in the Underworld.' He argued in his head. Lan Jing Er spent a lot of time in the Underworld. He almost grew up in it. Not that he had a choice. Their business required interactions between the opposite worlds. Hence, he at least knew how to distinguish people from the civil aspect of society from the dark side of it.
Lan Jing Er tried to act composed lest he embarrassed himself. Being fed dog food was fine, but if it was his dignity on the line that would be a different story.
"Such a claim. I wonder if you could back it up, Miss Yan?" Lan Jing Er put emphasis on his last statement.
Yan Qing Shan smirked. At least, Lan Jing Er was not as gullible in this aspect. She took out a white circular jade token and pushed it in front of the doubtful man. Lan Jing Er took the token with a little hesitation. But as soon as he saw the carving, all his doubts were taken away.
There in that inconspicuous white jade was a carving of the amenonuhoko, the heavenly spear that was bestowed to the goddess of life and death. Circling the spear were the four guardian deities; Seiryuu, Genbu, Byakko, and Suzaku. It was said that only Izanami, the ruler of the Japanese Underworld had the right to hold this token. It was her sole insignia.
Lan Jing Er was dumbfounded, his eyes darted from the token and to the woman who nonchalantly gave it to him. He sighed in defeat. It seemed like this day still has a lot in store for him. Lan Jing Er shook his head at his previous thought. How dare he assume that this would be another typical day and another typical marriage meeting?
'Nothing is typical about this ah. Who the hell told his folks that Yan Qing Shan was this and that? He would club them to death! She was a legend alright. A legend.' Lan Jing Er's heart was bitter. At the back of his mind, he wished they'd just fed him dog food instead of scary surprise like this.
"My apologies. Miss Yan has hidden herself quite deep. I hope you won't blame me for being unable to recognize your esteemed self." Lan Jing Er said calmly after he has gathered his wits about.
Yan Qing Shan grinned at him. Why was it that this grin looked foreboding? And why was it that the great emperor Zi Jue doesn't seem to notice the grimness of this particular smile? Why was he smiling like a... fool?
Lan Jing Er was thoroughly confused. The questions on his mind multiplied tenfold. It was feat that he was able to sit through with crumbling at this kind of situation.
'Dad, thank you for being so harsh to me.' He secretly felt grateful to his father. The pressures he had put on him in the past, Lan Jing Er could now see their advantages.
"No need for such formalities, Young Master Lan. After all, if we pushed through this prospective cooperation, we'd be comrades; brother and sister if you may." Yan Qing Shan said dismissively.
"Then I can only thank, Miss Yan." Lan Jing Er replied.
"Identities aside, perhaps you'd be more agreeable to talking about business now? I am aware of the Lan family's involvement with arms. I dare say, you lot are quite good at what you do."
Lan Jing Er smiled, his expression tinged with a hint of pride. Arms-dealing, after all, was not a simple business. It was actually very dangerous. People like them were branded as both a bane and a boon.
"Thank you for the compliment. If you could elaborate on the cooperation you were talking about, I'm all ears."
Yan Qing Shan took out a tablet from her bag and opened the rough draft of the agreement Zi Jue and her created a while back. She handed it to Lan Jing Er for reading.
It took Lan Jing Er about half an hour to finish perusing the agreement made by the people he was in a meeting with. It was not that he found difficulties reading, he took such a long time because it felt like his eyes were deceiving him. The terms that Yan Qing Shan was offering were very advantageous to them. In fact, it felt like he was cheating her off if he agreed to it.
The most crucial aspect of arms dealing was the transport and exchange of the goods themselves. It required the highest-form of security. The Lan family had their own men for this. But as they expand more, this has become an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. This cooperation was practically an answered prayer for Lan Jing Er. Yan Qing Shan offered to answer their security and even route-clearing as well as ensuring safe rendezvous points on every transport they make. This was in addition to their own Lan Security details. In exchange, the Lan family will provide for them their requested armaments and their assistance on the account of emergencies.
This might look like Yan Qing Shan getting the good end of the deal, but Lan Jing Er knew that in reality she was actually losing out. Who in the underworld did not know that a single warrior from the Asahi family was enough to take down tens of men? With them ensuring their security, every transport was good as gold.
Lan Jing Er once again smiled his bright, sincere smile this time laced with undeniable gratitude. "Miss Yan, it's safe to say that you have yourself a deal. As the successor of my family, rest assured that boasting aside I have the authority to agree to this."
"Great! This is merely a draft of the agreement. We will be finalizing it in a few days, if you have any additional terms to make just contact us so that we may add it to the contract." Yan Qing Shan nodded at him. She was secretly glad that Lan Jing Er agreed.
"On another note, I have another proposition for Young Master Lan." Yan Qing Shan said as she retrieved the tablet from Lan Jing Er.
"Please, do say so Miss Yan." Lan Jing Er missed the mischievous glint in her eyes. Though Zi Jue, who was still present in the room and who was still holding to Yan Qing Shan like a king observer.
He wondered what mischief Yan Qing Shan was about to place Lan Jing Er in. Aside from admiring this rare expression of her.
"Hmm. I'm actually going to put up my own brand. I wonder... may I hire Young Master Lan to be my principal designer?" Yan Qing Shan asked breezily.
Once again, Lan Jing Er's jaw touched the ground.
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Meanwhile, a new scandal suddenly popped out of the internet and grew out of control. It trended almost immediately and has broken the hearts of countless young ladies.
It was the news that the bachelor extraordinaire, Young Master Lan, was about to tie the knot and was caught in lascivious scenes in public with his fiancee. The catch, the woman was none other than an embarrassment of a lady, the infamous eldest miss of Yan Group.
Hadiah
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