Sūn Yan adjusted her posture slightly before speaking in a calm, unhurried voice.
"I made my position perfectly clear during our previous rounds of negotiations."
"If you want our assistance, you will pay three million primeval stones, and our trade agreement will be revised so that the prices of our goods increase by twenty percent."
A faint smile appeared on Sima Quan's face as he replied,
"I'm afraid the word assistance is a bit of an exaggeration, Lady Sūn ,You speak as though the Cao Clan poses no threat to you, when in reality, we are all aboard the same ship,That is why your demands seem rather unreasonable."
Sūn Yan rested her head against her right hand and answered lazily,
"No...I don't think so,In my opinion, the Cao Clan is no threat to anyone."
She let out a quiet chuckle before continuing in the tone of an elder humoring an impatient child.
"Ah... the young and their hot blood,They see danger lurking behind every shadow and are eager to start wars over the smallest of matters."
Her gaze settled on Sima Quan.
"Tell me what exactly has the Cao Clan done to you?Have they attacked you?Have they sent an army to your borders?Have they openly threatened you?"
She slowly shook her head.
"No ,They are merely another clan living on the same mountain as we are,As for my offer to help you, it was nothing more than an attempt to ease your concerns."
"As for me...I see no war on the horizon unless, of course you are the ones determined to start it."
A thin layer of sweat formed on Sima Quan's forehead as a thought crossed his mind.
"Is this old hag still insisting on this nonsense?!"
He then cast a subtle glance toward her attendants.
Unlike their mistress, they could not completely hide the dissatisfaction written across their faces. Like everyone else, they understood that the threat posed by the Cao Clan was as obvious as the sun at noon. Every day the alliance between the Sima and Sūn Clans was delayed reduced their chances of surviving the coming war.
Yet Sūn Yan continued to stall, refusing to compromise and clinging to demands that were nearly impossible to accept.
What angered them even more, however, was the rumor spreading throughout the clan.
It claimed that these prolonged negotiations were nothing more than a scheme to extort the Sima Clan into surrendering its Longevity Gu recipe, even if doing so meant gambling with the future of the entire Sūn Clan—all to satisfy Sūn Yan's own personal interests.
And yet, no one dared oppose her.
Her influence within the Sūn Clan was simply too deeply rooted. Her descendants formed the clan's strongest faction without question, while her grandson—the clan's second Rank Four Gu Master—obeyed her with absolute, unquestioning loyalty, making her authority virtually untouchable from within.
After observing the expressions on their faces, Sima Quan became certain of one thing.
The Sūn Clan was under no illusion.
They understood the current situation perfectly and knew just how dangerous the Cao Clan truly was.
It was precisely this awareness that Sima Quan had been counting on. He had believed that, as the pressure mounted, the Sūn Clan would eventually recognize reality, abandon its unreasonable demands, and agree to an alliance with the Sima Clan without any conditions.
So he had chosen to play a game of patience with Sūn Yan.
Yet she had proven to be far more difficult than he had anticipated.
Either she was a master negotiator, capable of enduring until the very last moment to squeeze out the greatest possible benefit...
Or she simply no longer cared about the fate of her own clan, desiring the Longevity recipe even if obtaining it meant bringing ruin upon the Sūn Clan itself.
That conclusion sent a chill down Sima Quan's spine while simultaneously filling him with anger.
Although the Sūn Clan was not his own, he simply could not understand how anyone could gamble with the survival of an entire clan for the sake of personal ambition.
It was true that, as one of the Sima Clan's elders, he had occasionally used his position to secure certain personal benefits.
But Never ,Never would he dare endanger the very existence of his clan for his own selfish desires.
"There is no point dwelling on these thoughts."
Sima Quan let out a silent sigh and pushed all those conclusions aside.
Now was no longer the time to analyze Sūn Yan's motives.
It was time to bring the negotiations to an end.
He turned toward one of the three men accompanying him and silently extended his hand.
The man immediately understood what he wanted. Reaching into his robes, he carefully withdrew a sealed scroll and respectfully placed it into Sima Quan's hands.
Holding the scroll, Sima Quan stared at it for a long moment, his expression complicated.
It seemed the rumors had been true.
On more than one occasion, Sūn Yan had subtly hinted that she was willing to abandon all of her previous demands in exchange for the Longevity Method possessed by the Sima Clan.
He raised his eyes to meet hers before speaking calmly.
"Lady Sūn, I believe you will want to see what is inside this scroll ,I suspect... it will change your mind about joining this war."
One of Sūn Yan's attendants stepped forward, accepted the scroll from him, then climbed the steps to the throne and respectfully handed it to her.
Without leaving her seat, Sūn Yan slowly unrolled the scroll and carefully examined its contents.
As she read, Sima Quan spoke once more.
"What you are holding is only a fragment of the original ,The remaining portions will be delivered to you in stages, provided the Sūn Clan fulfills its obligations throughout this war."
Silence filled the hall for several moments.
At last, Sūn Yan gently rolled the scroll shut and gave a satisfied nod.
"Very well ,I withdraw all of my previous demands ."
Then she added in a firm tone that left no room for negotiation,
"However, none of our Rank Four Gu Masters will participate in this war ,And only half of our clan elders will be committed to the campaign."