28: Chapter 28 The Accountant Behind the Crack in the Stone

The hilt was chilled by the cold water, but Sect Master Di Kun's fingers did not loosen their grip.

The narrow trench was only wide enough for one person to pass sideways; the slippery stone walls scraped against their shoulders and backs. Ahead, Gu Heng's footsteps as he led the way were erratic, and every time he crushed the gravel at the bottom of the water, the sound echoed back and forth between the walls of the trench.

The whistling from behind chased them into the crevice, piercing like fine needles, making one's eardrums ache.

The medicinal powder on the Dark Souls Youth's back was washed away by cold sweat, and the scent of medicine mixed with the smell of blood drifted backward.

He gritted his teeth, but refused to keep his mouth shut: "These pursuers must have 'Auto-Pathfinding' turned on; they don't even hesitate at the fork in the trench."

The Sect Protection Elder walked at the very back, water dripping from his sleeves, holding two cracked Spirit Talismans in his hand.

He stopped every dozen steps or so, using his heels to smudge the mud marks by the water, and kicked a few pebbles into the bottom of the trench, letting the flowing water wash away their footprints.

Sect Master Di Kun did not look back.

Gu Heng's silhouette flickered ahead as he reached out to pull aside some hanging withered vines: "Through here. There's a collapsed stone crevice behind this, we can hide for half an incense stick's time. Any further ahead is a dead-end trench, don't wander around."

"You are overly familiar with this place," Sect Master Di Kun said.

Gu Heng's shoulders tensed; he snapped off a piece of the withered vine, which whipped against the stone wall with a crack. He didn't reply, just bent down and squeezed into the crevice.

The others followed him through, and a stone cavity formed by a collapse opened up before their eyes.

The stone cavity was not large, with several broken mine beams wedged overhead. The wood had long since been blackened by water vapor, and one could scrape off a layer of rotten debris just by touching it.

The ground was piled with rubble and old Ore slag, and in the innermost corner lay half of an abandoned wooden wheel, crushed until only a distorted hub remained.

Sect Master Di Kun did not sit down after entering.

He pulled that dispatch talisman from inside his chest clothing, pinched the corner of the talisman with his fingertips, and flicked his wrist.

The paper talisman flew through the damp air and slapped against the Ore in front of Gu Heng. The blood and mud on the talisman's surface hadn't dried yet, and its edges were slightly wrinkled from being warmed by his body heat.

Gu Heng glanced down, and the composure he had been forcing onto his face flickered like ashes doused with cold water, before he barely managed to piece it back together.

Sect Master Di Kun stood at the entrance of the stone cavity; the firelight filtering in from the narrow crevice behind him stretched his shadow long, casting it right at Gu Heng's feet.

"Still pretending?"

Gu Heng wiped the water from his face, his smile tighter than a grimace: "Sect Master Di Kun, I really have just seen similar talisman tokens. Who among those moving goods in the Border Wasteland hasn't seen a few dispatch talismans? The people of the Red Snake Sect use talismans as orders, and they occasionally leak out into the market— "

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand.

Gu Heng's words were cut off in his throat.

"The first time you reported the route, you avoided three open sentries, yet you didn't ask me how to navigate the outer circle of the Beast Taming Ground." Sect Master Di Kun broke off a wooden splinter from a mine beam and tossed it at Gu Heng's feet. "You recognize the medicinal marks; you know which medicinal liquid makes a Yao Beast go berserk and which one makes it go limp. When you saw the tracking powder, your first reaction wasn't to ask what it was, but to find water to wash it off."

The wooden splinter rolled to the edge of Gu Heng's shoe, picking up a bit of mud.

"You also knew that the key to the iron room was hidden in the back clasp of the waist token."

Gu Heng's lips moved.

Sect Master Di Kun took a step forward, his boot crushing a piece of Ore, the stone fragments cracking with a crunch.

"Does an ordinary delivery Loose Cultivator deliver with such expertise?"

The stone cavity fell silent, with only the sound of the water trench rushing outside.

The Life-Skill Player was crouching behind the Dark Souls Youth; the medicinal powder was only half applied when he paused, then he pressed the remaining powder down firmly with a cloth strip.

The Dark Souls Youth's mouth twitched in pain, and he looked up at Gu Heng.

"Brother, if you keep making up excuses any slower, the pursuers behind us will practically be helping you finish your story."

Gu Heng looked up and glared at him, the fire in his eyes just starting to flare up before being blocked back by Sect Master Di Kun.

The Sect Protection Elder walked to the side of the collapsed crevice, pressed his palm against the stone wall to listen for a moment, and said in a low voice: "The pursuers have headed to the northern fork; we've shaken them off for now. We don't have much time."

Sect Master Di Kun did not rush him.

He crouched down and flipped the dispatch talisman over. In the bottom corner of the back of the talisman was a very faint cinnabar hook mark, like a half-stroke leaked by an accountant's brush, not part of the common talisman patterns used by the Red Snake Sect.

Gu Heng stared at that half-hook mark, his eyelids twitching twice.

Sect Master Di Kun pushed the talisman back in front of him: "You recognize this."

Gu Heng's throat moved, and he reached out his finger, only to curl it back halfway.

His tattered robe was still dripping with water, and his cuffs were worn out, revealing an old scar on his wrist. The edges of the wound had tiny burn marks, not like those left by a sword or blade, but rather as if seared by some kind of cargo-accounting Seal.

"Sect Master Di Kun," Gu Heng lowered his voice, "some things, if you hear them, will bring trouble."

Sect Master Di Kun twitched the corner of his mouth, his eyes devoid of any smile: "You are the trouble right now."

Gu Heng's shoulders slumped a little.

A distant whistle sounded outside again, becoming muffled through the rock. Hearing that sound, Gu Heng pressed his back against the cold stone, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his knees.

"I am indeed not just a delivery person," he finally opened his mouth. "I used to handle cargo-accounting transfers for a manager in the Border Wasteland market. On the surface, I was a Loose Cultivator running errands, delivering medicinal herbs, beast bones, and Ore notes, but in secret, I helped them move black-market goods that weren't convenient to put on the public ledger."

The Life-Skill Player looked up: "A market manager? Which one?"

Gu Heng glanced at Sect Master Di Kun and didn't say the name immediately.

Sect Master Di Kun reached out to pick up the dispatch talisman and folded it, the talisman paper making a soft sound.

Gu Heng immediately changed his tone: "Surname Xu, Manager Xu, he manages the West Warehouse of the market and two short trade routes. He doesn't show his face in public; he has three accountants under him to split the accounts. I was just on the periphery, taking money to do jobs, never touching the core."

The Dark Souls Youth snorted: "If someone on the periphery can get their hands on the Beast Taming Ground key, I'm afraid the core is practically living in your head."

Gu Heng's face turned pale, but he didn't talk back again.

Sect Master Di Kun memorized that half-cinnabar hook mark. The Border Wasteland market was not just a simple trading ground; Sects, Loose Cultivators, powerful clans, and the black market all had to pass through there. The Red Snake Sect hid the Beast Taming Ground outside, the market laundered their goods, and if the shadow of the Sect Affairs Bureau was mixed in, the nature of this chain had already changed.

He looked at Gu Heng: "Continue."

"At first, I thought the Red Snake Sect was just secretly raising Yao Beasts and refining some forbidden drugs to sell to the beast-fighting arenas and Yao Beast hunting squads. These things happen a lot in the Border Wasteland; no one is truly clean." Gu Heng raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, his palm smearing with mud. "Later on, one time, an accountant under Manager Xu got drunk and accidentally put a box of account notes into the chest I was escorting."

"What was on the account notes?"

"A split-account ledger from the Sect Affairs Bureau." When Gu Heng bit out these words, the few people in the stone cavity all looked up. "And records of a large batch of Tide-Inducing Medicinal Powder."

The Sect Protection Elder slowly withdrew his hand from the stone wall, and a drop of water from his sleeve fell to the ground, creating a tiny mud splash.

Sect Master Di Kun tapped his fingertips against the edge of the dispatch talisman.

Tide-Inducing Medicinal Powder.

Last night, the Yao Beast tide came too orderly, and the Yao Beasts lost control too cleanly. If it were just the Red Snake Sect going mad, it would at most count as a neighboring Sect playing dirty. With the Sect Affairs Bureau's split-account ledger in the mix, this matter was no longer just about fighting over territory.

Gu Heng's voice tightened: "After I took it by mistake, I knew I was in trouble. I had intended to take that page of the ledger and run, using it as a protective talisman to find a market further away and trade it for a chance at survival. But before I could even leave the West Warehouse exit, I was detained by people from the Red Snake Sect. When I woke up later, I was already in the iron room of the Beast Taming Ground."

The Dark Souls Youth pulled the cloth strip tighter, sucking in a breath of cold air from the pain, but still interjected: "Your protective talisman was poor quality; you got recalled right after leaving the 'newbie village'."

The Life-Skill Player slapped him on the shoulder: "Say less, your wound has split open again."

Gu Heng lowered his head: "They said in a few days, they would send me to be 'processed into material.' The medicine pool needs the spirit blood of living people to suppress the medicinal properties. Loose Cultivators are worthless; no one will ask if they die."

The smell of rotten wood in the stone cavity suddenly grew heavier, as if old blood were seeping out from the crevices in the Ore slag.

Sect Master Di Kun pressed the dispatch talisman into his palm, not letting it wrinkle any further. He saw Gu Heng's current disheveled state, and he also remembered every time this person had been vague before. A person who could act as a transfer point for black-market goods didn't speak many plain truths; fear could force him to tell the truth, but it could also force him to tell more elaborate lies.

"Abandoned Mine Warehouse B3," Sect Master Di Kun said. "Location, defense, transfer cycle, who is in command."

This time, Gu Heng didn't dare to hesitate.

"The Abandoned Mine Warehouse is in the southeast corner of the old Spirit Stone mine. On the surface, it's a discarded mine warehouse, hanging a broken sign for 'Mine Material Storage B3.' There are two entrances: one is a stone door behind the collapsed well, and the other is a wooden sluice gate at the end of the dry river trench. People go through the stone door; goods go through the wooden sluice. There are abandoned Ore carts piled outside the wooden sluice, and the iron latch to open the gate is pressed under the third cart."

His speech grew faster and faster, as if he were afraid that if he were a beat too slow, Sect Master Di Kun would throw him back to the Beast Taming Ground.

"The warehouse doesn't just store the medicinal powder. Yao materials, beast bones, account notes, dirty silver, and the life contracts mortgaged by Loose Cultivators all pass through there. A small transfer every three days, a major clearing every nine days. Tomorrow night happens to be the gap before the major transfer; the goods will enter the warehouse, the escort team hasn't gathered yet, and only the resident guards will be left outside."

Sect Master Di Kun asked: "How many people?"

"Six to eight from the Red Snake Sect, four guarding the goods for the market, and there are two Spirit-Scenting Hounds in the warehouse. That's what's on the surface." Gu Heng swallowed his saliva. "There might be a crossbow array hidden in a secret compartment, and there could be bell-wires hanging on the old mine warehouse beams; if you step wrong, it will ring all the way to the backyard."

The Tower Defense Player was not here, but in Sect Master Di Kun's mind, the expression he would have upon hearing about a crossbow array and bell-wires had already surfaced.

"Who is in command?"

"There is a resident market accountant, surname Zou, nicknamed Iron Abacus. He isn't much of a fighter, but he has a sharp eye; he can memorize the numbers after going through the account notes once. On the Red Snake Sect's side, there is an Executor who rotates in command, most likely Executor Shen or Executor Luo. If tomorrow night is a gap, the Executor might not be there, but the accountant will definitely be."

The Sect Protection Elder's expression sank: "Are the account books there too?"

Gu Heng nodded: "The complete account books won't be kept for long; the account chains will be dismantled. But Abandoned Mine Warehouse B3 is the handover point; the medicine notes, silver notes, life contracts, shipping talismans, and the secret codes for the share from the Sect Affairs Bureau all have to be reconciled there once. If you take that place out, you can get half the chain; if you get the accountant's personal Iron Abacus, the other half of the chain can also be pieced together."

The Dark Souls Youth's eyes brightened: "Isn't that just a hidden treasure chest plus a key NPC?"

The Life-Skill Player finished bandaging the remaining medicinal powder and said in a low voice: "It's also a larger aggro range."

Sect Master Di Kun did not reply.

He stared at the cinnabar hook mark on the back of the dispatch talisman. The Beast Taming Ground was the nest, and the Abandoned Mine Warehouse was the pocket. What was in the pocket wasn't just a few Spirit Stones, but the flesh that the Red Snake Sect, the market, and the Sect Affairs Bureau were using to bite each other. If they got the complete account chain, the Red Snake Sect wouldn't just be damaged; they would have their belly ripped open. The market wouldn't be able to sit behind the table and play shopkeeper anymore, and the official skin of the Sect Affairs Bureau would be stained with filth and blood.

But that also meant that the Taichu Sect was no longer just stepping on the face of a neighboring Sect.

They were hacking at a chain of interests that would bite back.

The Sect Protection Elder walked to Sect Master Di Kun's side, his voice very low: "Sect Master, if the Sect Affairs Bureau is truly involved, this matter cannot be handled as a Jianghu vendetta. If official authorities get involved, all the Sects in the Border Wasteland will be watching which way the wind blows."

Sect Master Di Kun folded the dispatch talisman and tucked it back into his chest clothing.

"That is why we need evidence even more."

Gu Heng looked up, his eyes holding something indescribable: "Sect Master Di Kun, I have already said everything I can. That Abandoned Mine Warehouse... if you really intend to make a move, it's best not to let me show my face. Accountant Zou knows me, and the Red Snake Sect knows me too."

Sect Master Di Kun leaned down, picked up a piece of wet Ore slag from the ground, weighed it in his palm, and tossed it back to Gu Heng's feet. The slag shattered, black dust splashing onto the hem of Gu Heng's robe.

"From now on, you are an informant, not a guest."

Gu Heng's jaw tightened.

Sect Master Di Kun looked at him and said word by word: "If you hide anything again, I will throw you back to them for identification."

Gu Heng's fingers dug into the mud, his fingernails filling with black ash. He didn't argue again, just lowered his head.

The whistling outside moved further away, and the cold current in the water trench continued to wash against the stone walls. Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand to signal everyone to get up. The Sect Protection Elder crawled out of the collapsed crevice first to scout the path, and the Dark Souls Youth stood up while leaning on his broken wooden sword, the tip of the sword carving a wet mark into the ground.

When Sect Master Di Kun was the last to leave the stone cavity, he looked back at that half-section of the abandoned wooden wheel. The broken hub was wedged in the Ore slag, like a black eye that had been buried for a long time, staring at their backs from the damp shadows.