The first request arrived three days after the agreement.
Then another.
Then one large enough that Gu Qing stopped answering alone.
He brought it to Gu Hao.
"The Luo River Sect has confirmed their initial figures," Gu Qing said, placing the message on the table. "They want consistency. Weekly deliveries."
Gu Hao read silently.
The numbers were… heavy.
Not impossible.
But no longer small.
"They have over fifty thousand mortals," Gu Qing added. "Fields. Workshops. Transport crews."
Gu Hao nodded.
Mortals on that scale did not eat for comfort.
They ate to endure.
That was exactly what Steady Grain and work grain were made for.
By the end of the week, the effects were visible.
Trade routes that once carried sacks now required carts.
Storage rotation accelerated.
Ledgers thickened with entries.
Spirit stones came in steadily now. Not bursts. Not windfalls.
Flow.
Gu Yuan reported it plainly.
"Our weekly stone intake has nearly tripled," he said. "Still modest compared to major clans… but stable."
Gu Hao listened.
Stability at higher volume was more valuable than sudden wealth.
Then came the problem.
Fields.
"Our land cannot scale at this rate," Gu Yuan said carefully. "Even with improved yields."
Gu Jian added, "Forcing expansion will exhaust our people."
Gu Hao nodded slowly.
They had reached a limit not of demand…
…but of hands.
That night, Gu Hao walked the outer edge of the compound.
Beyond the walls, lanterns flickered in nearby settlements. Hamlets where people remembered the Gu Clan not as cultivators, but as fair traders.
Mortals who had eaten better because of them.
Traders who had not been cheated.
Families who trusted the name without ever seeing a banner.
Gu Hao stopped.
He had never intended to trap loyalty inside walls.
The next morning, he called Gu Qing and Lin Wei.
"We don't recruit," Gu Hao said calmly. "We offer work."
Lin Wei blinked. "Outsiders?"
"Yes," Gu Hao replied. "Mortals only. Voluntary."
Gu Qing frowned slightly. "Other clans bind labor."
"We won't," Gu Hao said. "We pay wages."
That changed the room.
"Food rations," Gu Hao continued. "Coin. Shelter if needed. No forced residence."
"And loyalty?" Gu Qing asked.
Gu Hao shook his head.
"Loyalty bought by fear collapses," he said. "Loyalty bought by fairness compounds."
They moved carefully.
Messages went out through traders. Quiet ones.
Seasonal work available.
Fair wages.
No bondage.
Grain included.
The response was immediate.
Too immediate.
Within days, dozens arrived.
Then hundreds.
Families. Young men. Older workers with calloused hands.
They did not kneel.
They asked questions.
Gu Hao watched from a distance as Lin Wei explained terms patiently, repeating them as many times as needed.
No deception.
No fine print.
Fields expanded.
Not recklessly.
Plots were planned. Rotations staggered. Storage increased alongside production.
Mortals worked hard.
They were paid on time.
That alone set the Gu Clan apart.
Gu Jian observed the newcomers one evening.
"They trust us," he said quietly.
Gu Hao nodded.
"That trust," he replied, "is now a resource we must never abuse."
Trade numbers rose again.
Not explosively.
But relentlessly.
The Luo River Sect did not complain.
They increased orders.
And with each delivery, the Gu Clan's name grew heavier in quiet places.
Not famous.
Reliable.
That night, Gu Hao stood alone, feeling the familiar smoothness of qi within him.
He had solved a manpower shortage.
But created something new.
Visibility.
Workers talked. Traders talked. Volume traveled.
He wrote a single line in his private notes:
Scale reveals character faster than crisis.
The Gu Clan was no longer just surviving.
It was supplying something large.
And large things always attracted eyes.
The Order
8,000 jin of work grain per week
2,000 jin of Steady Grain per week
Fixed pricing
Fixed delivery windows
No renegotiation clause.
No urgency.
Just expectation.
Trade Numbers Before the Deal
Gu Qing reported calmly.
"Before the sect agreement, our average weekly trade stood at 25 to 27 low-grade spirit stones."
No one reacted.
That figure had already reshaped the clan.
Trade Numbers After the Deal
"With the Luo River Sect order added," Gu Qing continued, "weekly income rises to 78 to 82 low-grade spirit stones."
The hall went quiet.
That was not growth.
That was a new tier.
Gu Yuan spoke next.
"Our current land supports roughly 11,000 jin per week at safe yield," he said. "We are short."
Gu Jian folded his arms. "And pushing harder burns fields and people."
Gu Hao nodded slowly.
This was the first time demand had exceeded structure.
The Real Constraint
That night, Gu Hao walked beyond the inner compound.
He looked toward nearby settlements — places where people already trusted the Gu Clan.
Mortals who had traded fairly.
Workers who had been paid on time.
Land was not the bottleneck.
Hands were.
The next morning, Gu Hao made the decision.
"We hire," he said simply.
Lin Wei stiffened. "Outsiders?"
"Seasonal labor," Gu Hao replied. "Voluntary. Paid."
"How many?" Gu Qing asked.
"Initial intake: 300 workers," Gu Hao said.
The Offer
The terms spread quickly:
12 copper coins per day
Grain rations included
No binding contracts
Leave freely after the season
No clan seal.
No threats.
Just clarity.
The Response
Within ten days:
420 mortals applied
300 accepted
Fields expanded in planned blocks
Storage capacity increased by 35%
Within three weeks:
Weekly output reached ~19,000 jin
Luo River Sect orders fulfilled in full
No delays
Updated Weekly Figures
Gu Qing reported again:
Total weekly grain output: ~19,000–20,000 jin
Total weekly income:78–82 spirit stones
Wages & logistics: ~30% of coin flow
Net surplus: stable and growing
No debt.
No coercion.
Gu Jian watched the workers at dusk.
"They talk," he said quietly.
Gu Hao nodded.
"They trust us."
"That trust feeds us now," Gu Jian added.
Gu Hao's voice was calm, but firm.
"And that makes it dangerous to waste."
That night, Gu Hao stood alone.
Tripling revenue had not made him restless.
It had made him careful.
Because numbers did not just measure success.
They measured visibility.
He wrote one line in his private notes:
Scale does not announce danger. It invites it.
The Gu Clan was no longer a quiet survivor.
It was now a supplier that mattered.
And suppliers were never ignored for long.
The first delay was blamed on weather.
A cart returned late, its driver apologetic, mud still clinging to the wheels.
"The eastern road was blocked," he said. "Someone's livestock wandered loose."
Gu Qing nodded and recorded it.
No complaint was filed.
The second delay came three days later.
This time, a checkpoint had appeared overnight.
Not armed.
Not official.
Just a handful of cultivators from a nearby minor clan, lounging near the road, inspecting carts longer than necessary.
"They didn't take anything," the driver reported. "Just… asked many questions."
Gu Hao listened without reacting.
Questions were cheaper than threats.
By the end of the week, the pattern was clear.
One route slowed repeatedlyAnother saw "temporary tolls" imposed by local landholdersA third market suddenly found fault with measurements that had never been questioned before
Nothing illegal.
Nothing worth escalating.
Everything irritating.
Gu Hao convened a small meeting.
Not the elders' council.
Just Gu Qing, Gu Jian, and Lin Wei.
"They're testing friction tolerance," Gu Qing said.
Gu Jian frowned. "We can clear them out."
Gu Hao shook his head. "Not yet."
"Why?" Gu Jian asked.
"Because this isn't hostility," Gu Hao replied. "It's curiosity mixed with envy."
He turned to Lin Wei.
"How much does this cost us?" Gu Hao asked.
Lin Wei had already prepared the figures.
"Delays reduced weekly delivery by 4%," he said. "Additional handling costs add another 2%."
Gu Hao nodded.
"Six percent," he repeated. "Not accidental."
Gu Hao did not respond with force.
He responded with adjustment.
Routes were rotated.
Delivery days shifted.
Volumes redistributed.
No single path carried enough weight to justify obstruction.
Gu Qing implemented it quietly.
Within two weeks, delays dropped to under 2%.
The pressure eased.
But it did not disappear.
The Luo River Sect noticed first.
Their quartermaster sent a short inquiry.
Deliveries remain acceptable. Are there external difficulties?
Gu Hao replied honestly.
Minor delays. Already corrected.
No excuses.
No requests.
The response that came back was brief.
Good.
That single word carried weight.
Gu Jian reported later that night.
"Some clans are unhappy," he said. "They think we're benefiting too much from neutral ground."
Gu Hao nodded. "We are."
"And they don't like that."
"No," Gu Hao agreed. "They don't."
The real danger appeared quietly.
A rumor.
That the Gu Clan paid outsiders too well.
That it was destabilizing local labor.
That it was "buying loyalty."
No accusations.
Just whispers.
Gu Hao read the reports calmly.
On Earth, he had seen this tactic many times.
When you couldn't attack the product, you attacked the practice.
He made one change.
Wages remained the same.
But contracts became seasonal and public.
Terms were posted openly.
End dates clear.
No permanent binding implied.
Transparency diffused resentment faster than denial ever could.
Within a month, friction stabilized.
Not gone.
Managed.
Trade volumes returned to 78–80 spirit stones per week.
Deliveries to the Luo River Sect remained uninterrupted.
The Gu Clan absorbed the pressure without stiffening.
That was the message.
Gu Hao stood at the edge of the fields at dusk.
Workers laughed softly as they packed tools away. Carts rolled out on adjusted schedules. Guards watched without tension.
The world had pushed.
The Gu Clan had yielded… slightly.
And in doing so, had not broken.
Gu Hao wrote one line in his private notes:
Resistance teaches you where you are visible.
He closed the book.
They were being noticed now.
Not as prey.
Not as threat.
But as something inconveniently stable.