106: Chapter 106 The Questioning Arrives, A Game of Rules

The conference hall of the Blue Moon Island Lords Mansion. Early morning.

Lu Changyuan spread the copy of the inquiry letter from Jubao Pavilion on the table. Su Qingli and Chen Mo sat opposite him. Besides the inquiry letter, three other items were laid out on the table—a compilation of production records for the purification liquid starting from the first batch, the complete purchase receipt stubs from the Xingyan Grand Market, and the detailed military supply consumption for Blue Moon Island over the past three months.

"Three points." Lu Changyuan tapped the inquiry letter with his finger. "The first point—the procurement sources and storage records for all raw Materials. The second point—proof that the raw Materials do not contain any Spirit Plant varieties not registered with the Zhenhai Logistics Department. The third point—proof that the production process did not utilize prohibited Formations or blood sacrifice methods."

He flipped the document to the last page. "Applicant—Jubao Pavilion, Outer Sea East Route. Accepting Party—Zhenhai Fortress Logistics Department, Compliance Division. If no reply is given within ten days, the inquiry will automatically escalate to a matter under investigation. Once it reaches 'under investigation'—first, shipments are suspended, then an investigation begins. During the investigation, payments are frozen."

Chen Mo opened the compilation of production records—this was something he had copied overnight. Every batch's input amount, ratio, output volume, quality rating, and waste disposal method were recorded, from the very first batch to the latest one. Every entry had a date and the operator's signature.

"Of the three points, the third is the easiest to handle," Chen Mo said. "The array cauldron we use is a standard manual spirit array—the Array Pattern was drawn by Miss Su herself, and every step of the operation is recorded. Prohibited Formations and blood sacrifice methods—there is absolutely no trace of these in our production records. Attaching all the operation records from the first batch will be enough."

"The second and first points are the same issue," Su Qingli picked up the Xingyan purchase receipt stubs and flipped through them one by one for the two men to see. "purification powder—during the major Xingyan procurement, there were formal allocation orders and receipts; the three columns for procurement volume, storage volume, and consumption volume all align. Evil-Suppressing Sand—the same logic applies. The source, destination, and balance of both items can be traced back to the corresponding receipts for every link."

"The problem lies with the old sand, the thunder-struck wood shavings, and the fine outer skin," Lu Changyuan said.

The old sand was waste sand replaced from the roots of the devil-cleansing thunder bamboo. The thunder-struck wood shavings were wood shavings that naturally peeled off after the thunder bamboo was stimulated by thunder-pattern talisman paper. The fine outer skin was the second layer of skin that naturally shed from the nodes of the thunder bamboo. These three items were all by-products of the thunder bamboo—under Luo Qingcheng's Seal-Breath Restriction, the thunder bamboo was not included in any Spirit Plant registration. There were zero purchase receipts for them.

"Jubao Pavilion is not making trouble without reason." Lu Changyuan flipped the inquiry letter to the second page—attached there was a complete record of all public procurements made by Blue Moon Island at the Xingyan Outer Port. Evil-warding Talismans, Heart-Cleansing Pills, purification powder, Evil-Suppressing Sand, old-style thunder-pattern talisman paper, thunder-struck wood—every entry had a purchase time and quantity. "They performed a discrepancy analysis between the list of raw Materials we publicly purchased and the output of the purification liquid. The total procurement volume is less than the output volume—which means there is an unknown source of raw Materials. This is their entry point."

"But they don't know about the thunder bamboo," Su Qingli said.

"They don't know about the thunder bamboo," Lu Changyuan repeated. "Their entry point is that 'the procurement volume does not match the output volume'—they suspect we have privately cultivated unregistered Spirit Plants. Finding the thunder bamboo is their goal, not their starting point."

"Then how do we reply?" Chen Mo closed the production records. "Delay? Wait until the last month of the three-month trial supply is finished before addressing it?"

"We cannot delay," Su Qingli shook her head. "Jubao Pavilion is using the formal document of the Logistics Department—which means they are confident in the compliance rules of the Logistics Department. Delaying is an admission of guilt—once the ten days are up, the inquiry will automatically escalate, and by then, even if we deliver the final batch of the three-month trial supply, we won't be able to get paid."

Lu Changyuan stood up. He walked to the table and rearranged the three items.

"No delay. And we won't submit everything."

He picked up the first item—the compilation of production records. "Operation records—submit them all. From the first batch to the latest one, every batch's input, ratio, output, rating, and waste disposal. Not a single page missing."

He picked up the second item—the purchase receipts. "purification powder and Evil-Suppressing Sand—all purchase records, with original copies of the military allocation orders attached. Every receipt is included. Additionally—attach the detailed consumption list for the defense line maintenance of Blue Moon Island over the past three months. The procurement volume of purification powder and Evil-Suppressing Sand is greater than the actual usage for the purification liquid—the discrepancy will be explained by the consumption details for the defense line maintenance."

He picked up the third item—a blank sheet of paper. He wrote three lines of text on it.

"Old sand—recycled inventory Materials. Source: Replacement of root cultivation sand generated during the process of Blue Moon Island Spirit Plant cultivation."

"Thunder-struck wood shavings—naturally shed Spirit Plant Materials. Source: Naturally peeled off during the regular stimulation and maintenance process with thunder-pattern talisman paper."

"Fine outer skin—naturally shed Spirit Plant Materials. Source: Natural shedding of the second skin layer at the nodes of the Spirit Plant."

"For the three core raw Materials—list the source as 'Spirit Plant cultivation by-products,' but do not specify which Spirit Plant. Label the classification as 'recycled inventory Materials' and 'naturally shed Materials'—these two categories belong to the 'no separate registration required' category in the Logistics Department's registration regulations." Lu Changyuan put down the pen. "I have gone through the rules of the Logistics Department—the registration requirement targets the 'Spirit Plant body during cultivation,' not the 'waste and naturally shed Materials of the Spirit Plant.' What we are submitting is waste—not the Spirit Plant."

Chen Mo picked up the paper and read it twice. "If we write it like this—will the Compliance Division ask follow-up questions?"

"They will ask. But they can only ask 'what Spirit Plant is the source'." Lu Changyuan opened the production records to the entries regarding the three raw Materials. "If they ask this—just say it involves the technical details of Blue Moon Island's Spirit Plant cultivation, which is not convenient to disclose. If they insist on investigating—ask the other party to present the inspection authorization from the Logistics Department for the Blue Moon Island Spirit Plant Garden."

Su Qingli smiled. Inspection authorization—for the Logistics Department to inspect the Blue Moon Island Spirit Plant Garden, they first need to obtain an inspection permit from the Zhenhai Command Headquarters. And for the Zhenhai Command Headquarters to issue an inspection permit, they must first confirm that the Blue Moon Island Spirit Plant Garden truly has grounds for suspicion of violation. Where does the suspicion come from? From the unknown source of the raw Materials. But the raw Materials have already been labeled as 'recycled inventory Materials' and 'naturally shed Materials'—this is legal and compliant. This is a closed loop. Jubao Pavilion needs to prove that these items are not waste to pry open this closed loop—but if they are not waste, what are they? thunder bamboo. And as for the existence of thunder bamboo, Jubao Pavilion has no evidence.

"How should the reply document be written?" Su Qingli spread out a clean sheet of paper.

"Reply point by point according to the three items. First point—attach all purchase records, storage records, and consumption details. Label the three core raw Materials as recycled inventory Materials and naturally shed Materials. Second point—declare that all raw Materials are items within the scope of the Logistics Department's registration and do not contain any unregistered Spirit Plant varieties. Attach the compilation of production records as supporting evidence. Third point—declare that the production process is a standard manual spirit array operation, and attach all operation records from the first batch. Add a paragraph at the end—if there are further questions, please provide specific points of doubt and the basis for the inspection, and we will cooperate in providing supporting evidence."

"This is a countermeasure," Su Qingli said while writing. "It is equivalent to saying—'If you think there is a problem, you bring out the evidence.' According to the rules, the Compliance Division cannot investigate people without evidence—it can only make judgments based on existing evidence. We have not given it any evidence."

"What evidence did Jubao Pavilion give them?"

"The procurement volume discrepancy." Su Qingli opened the attachment to Jubao Pavilion's inquiry application. "They performed a discrepancy analysis—the procurement volume of purification powder minus the consumption volume of purification liquid equals a certain amount. They marked the discrepancy in red."

"Fill in the consumption details for the defense line maintenance," Lu Changyuan said. "After the discrepancy is filled, let them do the math again."

Su Qingli spent an hour drafting the reply document. After Lu Changyuan read it point by point, he stamped two seals at the end of the document—the Blue Moon Island Lord's Seal and the military badge of the Deputy Envoy of the Zhenhai Military Warehouse. Double seals.

"Have someone send this to the Zhenhai Fortress. Use the military courier express—no delay."

Su Qingli left a copy of the reply document on the table. She looked at those few lines of labeling—"recycled inventory Materials," "naturally shed Spirit Plant Materials," "technical details not convenient to disclose." Every word stepped exactly on the line of the rules, neither more nor less.

"What if they demand to see the actual items?"

"What actual items?"

"The thunder bamboo."

Lu Changyuan put down the pen. "Then let them first obtain the permit to break the Restriction on Qixia Peak. Senior Luo's Restriction—the Logistics Department cannot investigate that."

Su Qingli put the copy of the reply document into the drawer. Outside the window, the sounds of loading and unloading from the Outer Port Pier drifted in with the sea breeze—ships were docking, people were moving cargo. The daily operations of the port did not stop because of a single inquiry letter. At the entrance of the single-person shed on the easternmost side of the Inner Harbor, two veteran Daoist soldiers were still on duty. On the stone platform at the top of Qixia Peak, Luo Qingcheng should still be resting with her eyes closed. In the devil-cleansing thunder bamboo garden, Ye Zhe was recording the daily operation log of the Seal-Breath Restriction.

Lu Changyuan stood up and walked to the window. He glanced in the direction of Qixia Peak—the summit was shrouded in a very faint cyan halo, which was the light refraction layer formed by the Seal-Breath Restriction on the surface of the mountain. From the outside, Qixia Peak was just an ordinary mountain with slightly denser Spiritual Qi. When scanned with Divine Sense below the Golden Core level, one could not see the thunder bamboo, could not see the Seal-Breath Restriction, and could not see anything at all.

Let Jubao Pavilion apply for inspection authorization. Let the Logistics Department go through the approval process. Let the Compliance Division try to prove that waste is not waste.

He turned around and looked at the copy of the reply document on the table—double seals, three pages, dozens of attachments. Every line of text stepped exactly within the grid of the rules. Jubao Pavilion used the rules to block him, and he used the rules to block them back. I have a legal source corresponding to every one of your inquiries. You do not have the authority to investigate the things behind the source.

In the afternoon, Chen Mo came out of the Trial Workshop and handed a newly organized raw material inventory list to Su Qingli for filing. Every item on the list was marked with the current stock, estimated months of availability, and replenishment plan. Old sand—less than half in stock, the next replacement is expected next month. Thunder-struck wood shavings—enough for one and a half months, the marginal increment is rising with the increase in the growth rate of the thunder bamboo. Fine outer skin—stock is abundant.

"Within a month—are there enough raw Materials to complete the third batch?"

"Enough," Chen Mo opened the production schedule. "The third batch is expected to be 120 to 150 bottles. There are enough raw Materials now, but after adding the cauldrons, the old sand will become a Bottleneck—there is only one thunder bamboo, and the replacement cycle for the old sand at its roots is fixed."

"What does Ye Zhe say?"

"The symbiotic effect of the tide sound spirit bamboo is accelerating—the thunder bamboo grew half an inch last month, and the monthly output of wood shavings and outer skin is rising accordingly. Ye Zhe measured the thickness of the newly shed outer skin yesterday—it was ten percent thicker than last month. The three-fold acceleration mentioned by Elder Tianji is not realized in a single day; it is rising bit by bit."

"That is enough. No rush."

Lu Changyuan folded the raw material inventory list. At this moment, the communication platform lit up again—a notification from the Zhenhai Fortress Logistics Department had arrived. The Logistics Department had received the reply document and attachments from Blue Moon Island, informing them that "the Materials have been received, and the review will be completed and a conclusion issued within five to seven working days."

Five to seven days. Exactly within the ten-day inquiry period.

He handed the notification to Su Qingli. After reading it, Su Qingli drew a circle on the calendar under the ledger—seven days later.

"Seven days later—either the inquiry is rejected, or it escalates to under investigation."

"It cannot escalate," Lu Changyuan spread out the copy of the reply document, his finger pointing at those three lines of labeling. "Recycled inventory Materials, naturally shed Materials, standard manual spirit array—every item is within the scope of compliance. Jubao Pavilion's entry point is correct, but they have no evidence to cross this line of compliance."

"They are still missing one thing."

"What thing?"

"Knowing what they are investigating."

Lu Changyuan glanced at her. He understood what Su Qingli meant—Jubao Pavilion was investigating something they did not know existed. They knew Blue Moon Island had some kind of unregistered raw material source—but they did not know it was thunder bamboo. They were throwing punches at a shadow. And that shadow was covered by Luo Qingcheng's Seal-Breath Restriction, which even Divine Sense from a Golden Core could not penetrate.

Outside the window, the tide was rising on the sea. The cold light of the Starlight Coral parent branch was spreading wider and wider underwater. Outside the six-zhang clear water area, another small patch of seawater was beginning to turn clear.

On the stone platform of Qixia Peak, the cold tea in the teacup needed to be changed. But Luo Qingcheng was still recovering from her injuries—no rush.