Fanfiction System in the world of Eastern Fantasy

He eagerly broke the seal and unrolled the parchment. His eyes scanned the page, line by line, while his voice casually followed: "Roulan, prepare the bath for me, will you?"

Roulan nodded reflexively. "As you wish."

"I'll do it," Jiang Ni interjected, already stepping forward.

"No," Qin Wei cut her off gently but firmly, eyes still on the contract. "I need to speak with you, more important matters."

Jiang Ni puffed her chest with a smirk on her face, glancing at Roulan on those words.

Roulan's gaze lingered on her and then on him, hesitant for half a breath, but she turned on her heel and exited without a word.

As the door eased shut behind her, Qin Wei exhaled through his nose, scanning the figures again. His brows rose. "Sixty taels… for a single exploding talisman? And one hundred fifty… for storage…"

He paused, doing the mental math. "With just ten taels for a thousand rice papers? That's… almost eight hundred thousand in net profit…"

His voice trailed off as the weight of that number hit him like a falling boulder. "Damn," he muttered under his breath, almost dazed. "This profit margin is criminal…"

Jiang Ni, who had been leaning casually against a nearby pillar, stepped closer, peeking over his shoulder. "Hmm? What's that, young master?" she asked, voice curious but chirpy.

Qin Wei blinked, snapping out of his internal celebration. "Here," he said, reaching into his inventory space and retrieving two talismans.

He handed them to her. "I made these," he said simply.

Jiang Ni took them with raised brows, eyes narrowing as she examined the prints. Her fingers brushed the surface of the talismans, feeling the residual energy trapped within.

"Young Master made these?" she asked, lips parting in genuine surprise. She looked at him again. "You're a talisman master?"

Qin Wei gave her a small smirk. "What do you think?"

She sat beside him, still staring at the sigils as if they might vanish. "The old master… he'd be speechless if he saw this."

The smile on Qin Wei's face faded like mist in winter.

"Don't mention him." His voice sharpened, cold and clipped. "That man never cared, not even when I almost died."

A brief silence hung between them.

Jiang Ni lowered her gaze, fingers tightening over the parchment. "I'm sorry…"

Then she exhaled and held the talismans up again, her brows knitting in a deeper frown. "But, young master, this price… sixty taels for an exploding talisman? One fifty for a storage one?" She shook her head. "It's too low."

Qin Wei blinked. "Too low?"

"Way too low," she said firmly. "The exploding talisman might not become much popular among sorcerers or the blade sects. Even those who practice martial arts might feel it's not right to depend on talismans like this. At best, it can become popular among civilians who hold a sea of Qi in their dantian. After all, you need Qi to unleash a talisman. This storage talisman, on the other hand, alone easily sells for three hundred taels in my sect. The only problem was that it was a talisman and basically a paper. Some might be reluctant to buy it and store important treasures in it, but it is perfect to carry many other things like clothes, food, accessories, and other miscellaneous items, which we don't want to group it up in a storage ring that is filled with weapons and such. Regardless of one's path, they will be tempted to use this storage talisman. If you sell at 150 taels to the Li Clan, they are just cheating you."

His head snapped toward her, eyes wide. "You're serious?"

Jiang Ni met his gaze without hesitation. "Dead serious."

Qin Wei leaned back slightly, hand moving to his mouth as he bit the edge of his nail. "Damn… I almost fell into the trap." He paused. "However, the Li Clan also has a network. Without their name, it is going to be forever to build a reputation from scratch. I need them to act as mediators."

He stood up and began to pace back and forth, talismans still in one hand, the contract in the other.

Then he stopped, turning sharply toward her. "Jiang Ni."

"Yes?" she blinked, head tilting.

"I need you to go back to Blossom Valley Sect."

"Huh?!" Her eyes widened, caught off guard.

"Not for long," he said, voice serious now. "But we need market feedback. If the storage talisman can sell for three hundred taels over there, I want you to confirm whether they are really willing to purchase at such an amount. And if they are willing to work with me by selling them on my behalf, I'll sell them at a discounted price."

She stared at him for a moment, the request slowly registering. "Are… are we backing out of the Li Clan deal?"

Qin Wei shook his head. "No. We play both."

"But the Li Clan wants the complete monopoly," said Jiang Ni.

Qin Wei smiled. "I know. But we won't give them a monopoly. The more competitors they have, the more leverage we will have on the product. And you never know when I'm going to have a fallout with the Li Clan. So, we cannot put our bread in one basket."

She stood up, folding the talismans into her sleeve. "I'll leave after lunch. And I look forward to the day when Young Master's name is spoken in reverence all over the Empire."

Qin Wei gave a knowing smile. "Don't worry, girl. That will definitely happen."

After a while;

The ink had barely dried when Qin Wei rolled up the freshly written contract, and the Li Clan's original copy lay open beside it on the table.

With Jiang Ni's sharp memory and knack for detail, they had drafted a nearly identical agreement, same structure, same phrasing, but with significantly better terms. Just 80 taels per exploding talisman, and 200 taels for the storage one. A clean increase in the margin, but not too high to the point that they will renegotiate. Secondly, he changed the condition of outright monopoly to the monopoly in Beiling City.

Qin Wei tied the scroll with a thread, then handed it to Roulan without looking up. "Give this to Father-in-law."

Roulan's eyes flicked to the scroll, then back at him. She gave a small nod and tucked it into her sleeve. "Understood, young master."

"Oh, and," Qin Wei added, standing up and stretching, "I'll be in the bath. Let me know what he says."

As Roulan turned to leave, Jiang Ni's voice piped in behind him. "Want me to assist you in the bath, young master?" Her tone was feather-light, her smile not. Roulan paused in her footsteps for a second.

Qin Wei paused mid-step and glanced over his shoulder. "No."

She blinked. "No?"

"I said no," he repeated, already walking away. "I can wash myself. Alone."

Roulan let out a subtle smile and continued to walk.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ni stared at the hallway where he had disappeared, eyebrows drawing together. She crossed her arms and muttered under her breath, "Weird. He never minded before…"

Still, she obeyed, seating herself on a small wooden bench outside the bath.

Later that morning, the sun climbed higher over the courtyards of Moonvilla.

Inside the main room, Qin Wei sat alone at the breakfast table. His eyes scanned a stack of newly cut yellow rice papers on one side, but his chopsticks moved with a lazy rhythm.

Jiang Ni sat off to the side and just watched. She didn't join him for breakfast as it is considered above her status to have a meal with her lord. Even if he wants to, she can't eat with him as a maid. She can only eat with him in an outside establishment like a tavern or restaurant.

Then footsteps approached from the corridor, belonging to Roulan.

Without a word, she stepped in and placed two scrolls neatly on the table before him. Qin Wei set his chopsticks down and picked them up. The warm wax seal of the Li Clan was imprinted on both.

"They agreed?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.