It took most of the day for two tons of gold ore to be processed into pure nuggets. The entire workforce of the smithery was committed to the effort. Gold and silver were not precious metals but they were more precious than metals like iron. They were shiny and pretty and had intrinsic value. They were used across the world as currency for the common people. Gold, especially, was extremely important to Jade Hill Town, the center of the region’s trade and economy. It was in the Jade Hill Lord’s interest, and thus Basu’s interest, to process Gray’s ore before anything else.

The total haul, in the end, came out to around fifty kilograms of pure gold nuggets. Each standard gold coin of the Rising Sea Kingdom contained twenty grams of gold. The total in terms of coins was approximately two thousand five hundred gold coins!

Gray was mesmerized by the shiny pile of wealth. It was truly an astonishing amount. He could buy as much food as he wanted, for the rest of his life and then some. Perhaps he would never have to worry about money ever again!

However, his joy was short-lived and interrupted by the return of Harsh Patel and a squad of armed guards. They came with a sturdy chest and loaded all the gold inside.

“Hey! What’s going on?” Gray was alarmed at his gold being taken away.

He was chase after the guards but Harsh Patel held him back. “Calm down. You’ll get your money. Let's go see the lord to settle the accounts.”

The captain's hand was like a vice. His tone was firm and left no room for interpretation.

Gray wasn’t happy about this but there wasn’t much he could do. It wasn’t like he could go around and beat all the guards up and take back his money. Just Harsh Patel alone could squash him without much effort.

They followed the guards carrying the treasure chest back to the lord's castle. They entered the gate, climbed two sets of stairs, and arrived before a tall set of double metal doors that featured a circular emblem with a strange creature in the middle drawn in deep-blue paint. The beast had a lion's head and a fish's body.

"That's the symbol of the Reddy Clan, a merlion." Harsh Patel explained to Gray before walking forward to salute the door guards, “Captain Harsh Patel requests a meeting with the Jade Hill Lord. It is about the matter of gold from Amin Baba’s caravan.”

"Captain Patel! Please wait a moment!"

One of the guards entered the room. After a few moments, he came back out and kept the door open.

“Let’s go.” Harsh Patel beckoned to Gray and went in.

The inside room was large and open with tall windows that let in an abundance of sunlight. Tall stone columns lined the center area and were adorned with flags displaying the same emblem as the door. At the far end was an entryway to another room that was covered by a thick veil. A small-statured person sat beyond it but Gray could not get a good view.

Harsh Patel led the group up and bowed, “My lord!”

The other guards also bowed and only Gray was left standing dumbly.

“Gray, you should bow…” Harsh quickly tried to pull him down.

“Harsh, it’s fine. You told me about his background so it’s understandable.” The lord spoke. The voice was soft and neutral and it was hard to tell if the owner was a man or a woman. “I am Lord Reddy, ruler of the Jade Hill Township and the Jade Plains Region of the Rising Sea Kingdom. We are gathered here to settle the matter of the gold from Amin Baba's trade caravan.”

Right on cue, there was another knock on the door. It opened and the person in question came into the room. Amin Baba looked around and locked eyes with Gray. Both immediately tensed, sensing each other's mutual animosity and distaste.

“Amin.” Harsh Patel warned.

Amin Baba turned away from Gray and gave an exaggerated bow, “My lord!”

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“Now that everybody is here, I can get to the matter at hand, the distribution of the gold. We will perform one last weighing and recording of the total gold. Issac, come.” The lord called out.

A middle-aged man with brown hair and a full beard came out from behind the veil. He wore multi-layered robes of light green. His arms were laden with a balance scale and a set of weights.

The guards hauled the gold chest over and Issac began to weigh the nuggets carefully. While he was doing that, the lord continued explaining the situation, mostly for Gray's benefit.

The total haul of gold would not all go to him. It was expected that portions would be given to Amin Baba for transporting the ore and to Basu for turning the ore into metal. What Gray did not expect was that the lord also wanted a cut.

It was something he had never heard of before called taxes. Normal goods sold to traders by the people of the mountains were fully paid for. Thus, the prices that were offered already included lord’s taxes. Gray’s situation was tragic since he wasn’t fully paid for the gold ore upfront. Thus, he was responsible for the full tax amount which came out to an astonishing figure, one-fifth of everything.

What concept was one-fifth? It was as if his flesh was being sliced off to feed dogs. His heart bled at the loss and he silently cursed the greedy lord.

“This is simply a fact of life. All goods that are produced or brought into this region all suffer the same tax. It is something all towns and cities do to support themselves. You will encounter more taxes in other places as well.” Harsh Patel said.

His words weren't comforting at all.

Gray could not be placated. Amin Baba had taken one-twentieth of his gold. Basu had taken a similar amount. This combined with the lord's tax left him with so little. He tried to think of some way to recoup his losses and came up with an idea.

“Wait! I have a complaint to make.” He said loudly, “Amin Baba promised to provide a safe trip and protect my ore shipment. However, during the bandit attack, there was no protection for my gold. I had to protect it myself and even suffered serious injuries, the captain can back me up!”

“Is… this correct?” The lord asked.

Amin Baba cut in before Harsh Patel, “My lord, the bandits were over a hundred strong. It was chaos. We were all fighting for our lives. And in fact, Gray here deserves most of the blame because a bandit named Tang sat in the same carriage as him and probably learned something he shouldn’t have about my caravan from his loose lips.”

“Liar!” Gray shouted.

“Hahaha! Admit it!”

“Shut up!” Harsh roared, silencing them both, “Stay silent... My lord, you have already seen my preliminary report. Given the situation, I could not send everyone to protect the gold and make an obvious target. What ended up happening was the best-case scenario. Gray did an admirable job holding his own without drawing too much attention. On the other hand, Amin Baba barely did anything. He is at the 4th Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm, stronger than half of my guards. Yet he hid in the back during the entire battle.”

He then kneeled stiffly, “My lord, please serve justice for those fallen!”

A tense pause followed. Gray could almost feel the lord's eyes flick back and forth between him and Amin Baba. Both withstood the pressure, one much more so than the other.

The lord eventually came to a decision, “It was a serious battle so I cannot blame a person who was never trained to be a town guard.”

Amin Baba’s face split into a smile.

The lord spoke again, “Yet I find it interesting that the weaker and less experienced person managed to show courage in the face of danger and performed above and beyond anything I have seen. As a noble lord of the Rising Sea Kingdom, it is my duty to reward such a person!”

Amin Baba’s smile transformed into an ugly expression while Gray grinned.

The lord continued, “In addition to a spectacular failure during the battle, Amin Baba, I have also received numerous complaints from the guards that you hired. As a part of the caravan, they suffered excessive workload, poor food, and unacceptable lodgings. My guards are warriors, not mules for you to work to the ground!”

“It can't be true!” The trader muttered.

“Silence!” Harsh Patel bellowed.

A gust of air followed his voice, filled with spiritual energy and tinged with a razor-sharp aura. The trader cowered and hid his face. Even Gray was taken aback by the fierce display.

“Thank you, Harsh. Moving on..." The lord said, unperturbed, "Amin Baba, you will no longer be allowed to operate the trade route to the central region of King’s Mountains. My people will take over that route from now on.”

“My lord!” Amin Baba fell to his knees, “Please, my lord!”

“Get him out of here!” Harsh Patel snapped

“My lord! My lord! You can’t do this to me Gray, you fat bastard!” Amin Baba yelled as two guards dragged him out.

The door was shut and the room fell silent. Without any more fuss, Issac finished weighing the gold. Once the man was done, the ledger was handed to the lord who studied it.

Gray sighed and accepted his fate. Amin Baba was still allowed to keep his portion of the profit. So did Basu and the lord. Being in front of the lord and Harsh Patel combined was uncomfortable... as if they would make up more ways to swindle him.

He just wanted to get whatever gold he could and get out of here.

“Now Gray, for the last matter regarding your money, I have some bad news.” Lord Reddy said, “The remaining seven-tenths that is yours, I can’t give it all to you.”

“What?” He yelled in disbelief.

“Instead, I want to make a deal with you.”