35: Chapter 35 Snatching the Box

The cold light on the mine beam flickered.

Sect Master Di Kun did not look at the account casket, but at that point of cold light first. A hidden crossbowman lay prone on the back of the crossbeam, covered in grey mine-dust cloth, the crossbow arm wedged into a crack in the beam, its tip pointing down the entire mine tunnel behind the transport team. If anyone rushed out from behind, the first bolt would pierce their throat, and the second would strike the copper bell.

The copper bell hung in the shadows of the beam, with only half its edge visible.

The Speedrunner followed Sect Master Di Kun's gaze, his lips barely moving, "Kill the one on the beam first. Once the bell rings, the warehouse area will be sealed, and our retreat route will be completely cut off."

The Sect Protection Elder pressed the sword scabbard against his palm, his thumb covering the worn mark on the hilt. He carried a scent of old wood mixed with rust; it was faint when close, but was completely suppressed once his killing intent rose.

Sect Master Di Kun raised two fingers, pointing first at the beam, then at the middle section of the transport team.

The Sect Protection Elder nodded slightly, his entire figure merging into the darkness. The Life-Skill Player took two poison smoke bombs and a small packet of pungent powder from his pack; the powder was wrapped in oil paper, the surface of which had been corroded into pale yellow stains. The Speedrunner crouched down, picked up a piece of slag from the ground, and memorized the position of a half-extinguished lamp stand nearby.

Loose Cultivator Gu shrank behind Sect Master Di Kun, his eyes fixed on the grey-robed accountant. When he saw that face clearly, his shoulders suddenly slumped.

"What is it?" Sect Master Di Kun did not turn around.

Loose Cultivator Gu's teeth clicked together, "He is the Deputy Accountant of the Marketplace. He was the one who made me deliver life-contracts to the Beast Taming Ground back then. For every contract a Loose Cultivator was missing, he would chop off a finger to show the others."

Sect Master Di Kun pushed his short blade fully out, the back of the blade pressing against his cuff, "Focus on the casket, not the grudge. If you pounce on the wrong person now, I will break your legs first."

The corner of Loose Cultivator Gu's mouth twitched; he released his fingers from the edge of the wooden box and gripped the handle of his short hoe instead.

The transport team approached their hiding spot.

The six servants walked with erratic steps, the wooden poles on their shoulders creaking under the weight. Two Red Snake Sect Cultivators walked one in front and one behind; the former swept the path, the latter watched the people. The Deputy Accountant walked in the center, clutching the black wooden casket; the hem of his grey robe was unstained by mud, but his soles were thick, making little sound as he stepped along the mine tunnel.

The villain was not stupid.

Sect Master Di Kun saw that the Deputy Accountant changed the angle at which he held the casket every five steps, keeping the seal talisman facing outward, his other hand hidden in his sleeve. That was not out of fear of it being snatched, but in preparation to destroy it at any moment.

He raised his hand, his fingertips dropping.

The Life-Skill Player moved first.

The oil-paper packet was thrown near the feet of the pack beast pulling the mine cart; the pungent powder exploded, and a pale yellow dust rolled across the ground. The beast's nostrils flared, its front hooves dug frantically into the ground, and the cart frame slammed into the wooden rails, the clatter shaking the mine lamps violently.

"What's wrong with the beast?"

"Hold it steady!"

The servants staggered while carrying the sealed box, the wooden poles hitting the wall, and the copper-clad corner of the box scraped against the Ore, sending two sparks flying. The Red Snake Sect Cultivator in front turned around, while the one in the back reached for his sword hilt.

Before the hidden crossbowman on the beam could pull the trigger, the Sect Protection Elder dropped from the shadows above.

The sound of the sword leaving its scabbard was drowned out by the braying of the pack beast. The blade sliced into the crack of the beam, first severing the crossbow string, then grazing the neck of the hidden crossbowman. The blood did not spray far, as it was absorbed by the large piece of grey mine-dust cloth. The hidden crossbowman's body slumped, but his fingers hooked onto the copper bell's rope just before he died.

The half-exposed copper bell was struck.

The sound was not loud, but sharp, like a needle piercing deep into the mine tunnel.

The light in Sect Master Di Kun's eyes dimmed, and he had already lunged forward. He cut into the middle section of the transport team from the shadows of the wooden boxes, his short blade landing first on the wrist of the rear Red Snake Sect Cultivator. The blade did not cut bone; it slid along the tendons, and a line of blood sprayed onto the red snake-skin scabbard. The Cultivator's sword had only been drawn three inches before his fingers went limp.

"Enemy attack!"

The Red Snake Sect Cultivator in front did not turn back to charge; instead, he kicked over a nearby lamp stand. Lamp oil spilled, and the mine tunnel lit up with a flickering yellow light, attempting to force everyone in the shadows out.

The Speedrunner was faster than him.

He kicked another lamp stand, sending it flying sideways to smash into the corner of a wooden box. The box boards split, and the empty medicine bottles piled inside rolled all over the floor. The Speedrunner pushed over the mine cart, its wheels jamming into the wooden rails, and the entire path immediately narrowed.

"Sword on the left! Sleeve on the right! Sect Master, the accountant is going to burn the casket!"

Sect Master Di Kun's gaze swept across the chaotic light, and he saw the Deputy Accountant's movements.

The man did not flee. He stepped back half a pace while clutching the casket, a short stiletto sliding from his sleeve, while his other hand tore a corner of the seal talisman on the black wooden casket, and he turned to throw it into a nearby brazier. The coals in the brazier were half-red, placed specifically beside the hidden door, as if waiting for this very moment.

Loose Cultivator Gu lunged out.

He did not use his short hoe, nor did he shout. He slammed his entire body into the Deputy Accountant's shoulder, his soaked sleeves reeking of drainage ditch, smashing hard into the grey robe. The Deputy Accountant's wrist deviated, and the black wooden casket fell, grazing the edge of the brazier; the seal talisman was scorched by the heat, but it did not fall into the fire.

The short stiletto also sliced open Loose Cultivator Gu's waist in the collision.

Blood gushed out instantly, dripping down his hem onto the slag. Loose Cultivator Gu let out a muffled groan, but his hands held the account casket tightly as he rolled to the side of the wooden rails.

The Deputy Accountant's face changed for the first time. He did not pursue Loose Cultivator Gu; instead, a second thin blade slid from his sleeve, and he stabbed it toward his own chest, as if trying to destroy something.

Sect Master Di Kun arrived.

The short blade nailed down, piercing through the Deputy Accountant's palm and pinning his hand to the wooden frame of the hidden door. The bone struck the wood with a dull thud. The Deputy Accountant gritted his teeth, his other hand still trying to reach for his sleeve pocket, but Sect Master Di Kun raised his knee and drove it into his abdomen, slamming him back against the wall.

Mine dust shook loose from the cracks in the wall, covering the Deputy Accountant's face.

"The key." Sect Master Di Kun spoke.

The Deputy Accountant twitched a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, "You cannot take it away. The copper bell has already rung; the Red Snake Sect will seal the warehouse, and the Market Guards will come. If you retreat now, you might still keep your..."

Sect Master Di Kun gripped his pinned hand, pressed his thumb against the base of the index finger, and snapped it in the opposite direction.

Crack.

The Deputy Accountant's second half of the sentence was cut off by a sound of pain through his teeth, his heels kicking wildly on the ground, knocking over the brazier. The coals rolled to the edge of the wooden rails, burning several black spots. Sect Master Di Kun did not give him a chance to breathe and snapped the second finger.

"The key."

The Deputy Accountant's forehead pressed against the wooden frame, dust and sweat matted together. His eyes flickered toward his left sleeve, then immediately looked away.

Sect Master Di Kun released his hand, though the short blade remained pinned through the metacarpal bone. He reached two fingers into the left sleeve, first finding a folded piece of thin paper, then a copper key. He tucked the thin paper into his sleeve pocket and handed the copper key to Loose Cultivator Gu.

"Open it."

Loose Cultivator Gu's waist was bleeding profusely, and his face was terrifyingly pale. He pressed the account casket to the ground, his fingers trembling so much that he couldn't insert the key several times. The Life-Skill Player rushed over, tore a strip of cloth to wrap around his waist, and pressed medicinal powder onto the wound. Loose Cultivator Gu's neck tightened from the pain, but his hands became steady.

Click.

The black wooden casket opened.

Inside lay three thin account books, the edges bound with red thread, the covers labeled with three categories: Ore, Beast Contracts, and Medicine Powder. Beneath the account books lay a thin rubbing, the rubbing paper a dark cyan color, imprinted with half of a private seal, the markings glaringly clear.

Sect Master Di Kun looked down.

Deputy Director of the External Affairs Office of the Sect Affairs Bureau.

The characters seemed to crawl out of the paper and attach themselves to his vision. The dirty hands of the Sect Affairs Bureau were not in rumors, nor in the mouth of Zhao Heng; they now lay at the bottom of the black wooden casket, stained with the scorched smell from the brazier.

The Speedrunner shouted from behind the mine cart, "Sect Master, people coming from the left path!"

The moment he finished speaking, dense footsteps rang out from deep in the mine tunnel. The sharp sound of the copper bell was still echoing, and in the distance, lamp after lamp was lit, the points of light quickly forming a line along the outer side of the dark wall.

The Red Snake Sect Cultivator in front took advantage of the chaos to retreat, not charging up to risk his life. He grabbed his injured companion and blew a short whistle. The whistle was three short and one long; the hidden doors on both sides of the mine tunnel began to bolt shut, the wooden bolts slamming into the iron catches, the sound echoing one after another.

The Deputy Accountant, pinned to the door frame, trembled from the pain, yet still squeezed out a sentence, "Burn the accounts, and you have nothing. Run with it, and none of you will make it out."

Sect Master Di Kun stuffed the three account books and the rubbing back into the casket, closed the lid, and handed it to the Sect Protection Elder.

Then he pulled out the short blade.

The Deputy Accountant's palm slid off the door frame, leaving a vertical streak of blood on the wood. His body slumped downward, but Sect Master Di Kun raised his foot and stepped on his cuff, pinning the hand that still concealed the short stiletto to the ground.

"You like leaving doors open." Sect Master Di Kun used the tip of his blade to pick up the half-broken copper bell from the ground; the edge of the bell was stained with blood, and it gave a soft, dull chime as it swung, "I like it too."

The Deputy Accountant's eyes turned toward him, the calculation within them half-washed away by the pain.

Sect Master Di Kun stuffed the half-broken copper bell into the Deputy Accountant's chest, turned around, and signaled to retreat toward the inner side of the warehouse area, "We are not taking the original path. Where the account goods are transferred, that is where we will cut through."

The Speedrunner paused for a moment, then laughed aloud, "Sect Master, this isn't a retreat; you're just casually unlocking the second phase."

The Life-Skill Player clutched the first poison smoke bomb in his hand, his knuckles stained with Loose Cultivator Gu's blood, "I'll cover the rear. Once the smoke is released, they won't be able to see anyone clearly and will only be able to slash at their own shadows first."

The Sect Protection Elder carried the account casket, his sword blade hanging diagonally, the blood dripping from the tip forming three spots on the wooden rail.

Sect Master Di Kun stepped over the Deputy Accountant, and just as he stepped into the hidden door, the lights deeper in the Abandoned Mine Warehouse flared up suddenly. The shouting of the Red Snake Sect and the orders of the Market Guards collided from two directions; iron chains were pulled, and stone doors at the end of the mine tunnel slowly lifted, revealing a narrow path leading to the sealed-box warehouse area.