37: Chapter 37 The Iron Abacus Asks About Accounts

At the gully entrance, the flickering red line was pressed into a dark crimson by the smoke. Sect Master Di Kun bent down and crawled into the drainage ditch; the damp, cold stone walls grazed his shoulders, and the black holes burned into his breath-concealing cloak were still emitting thin wisps of smoke.

Foul water submerged his boots, and gravel was wedged in the grooves. Loose Cultivator Gu was crawling in front, shivering. Speedrunner used his shoulder to push aside a loose stone slab, lowering his voice: "Sect Master, the pursuit behind us has stopped."

Sect Master Di Kun did not move forward immediately. He looked back; outside the narrow gully entrance, there was only smoke and fire left. The chaotic shouts and killing sounds from before seemed to have been pressed down by a hand, cutting off abruptly.

That deep bell sound was still rolling through the mine tunnel.

Deep inside the Abandoned Mine Warehouse, behind a stone door, was a low-ceilinged accounting room.

The accounting room had no windows. Three beast-oil lamps hung on the wall; the wicks burned thin, and the flames were pressed against the lamps by the Qi waves from outside. The wooden shelves covering the walls were piled with account books, transfer tallies, broken-tail ink pads, and bamboo tubes sealed with wax. In the center of the room sat a thin, elderly man in a gray cloth robe washed until it had faded to white, an Iron Abacus resting across his knees.

Iron Abacus's hands were very dry, his knuckles like old tree roots. He did not look at the fire outside, nor did he ask how many people had died; he only pushed the abacus beads back to their original positions, the beads striking the iron frame with a cold, hard sound.

"Who touched the account box?"

The Red Snake Sect minor leader at the door was covered in soot, his blade still dripping with blood. Just as he was about to open his mouth, the Marketplace Guard beside him shouted first: "They released poison first! Our men—"

Iron Abacus raised his eyelids, the tip of his iron staff tapping the ground.

The stone slab was pressed with a circular mark by the staff tip, and the rest of the guard's sentence stuck in his teeth.

"Second matter," Iron Abacus said, looking at the warehouse clerk kneeling on the ground, "Who touched the medicine mother?"

The warehouse clerk knocked his forehead against the ground, his fingers full of ash: "Three rows of medicine mother powder packets were burned. The main packet hasn't been checked yet, the fire is too big, and the Red Snake Sect says the Market Guards smashed the medicine cabinet first."

Iron Abacus wiped his fingertips along the edge of the abacus, feeling a bit of powder. He brought the powder under his nose to sniff it, then his gaze fell back onto the warehouse clerk.

"Third matter, who is missing?"

This time, no one interrupted.

The Red Snake Sect minor leader gritted his back teeth: "That informant, Loose Cultivator Gu... his body wasn't found. His blood was left on the North Slope side. Everyone said he was dead before, but someone saw drag marks in the drainage ditch entrance."

Iron Abacus's hand stopped.

The abacus beads did not sound again.

The flames of the beast-oil lamps in the room flickered, illuminating the deep, fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He placed the Iron Abacus on the table; when he stood up, the hem of his gray robe did not make a single sound.

"Loose Cultivator Gu is not dead, the account box is gone, and the medicine mother has been destroyed." He walked to the door, not looking at those glaring at each other, only at the black ash trampled on the ground, "This is not a warehouse robbery."

"Mister Iron Abacus, then what could it be?" The Red Snake Sect minor leader suppressed his anger, "They left behind my Red Snake Sect fire-starter, and they killed two of our men!"

Iron Abacus bent down and picked up half a fire-starter from the broken porcelain and black ash. The outer shell of the fire-starter was charred black, and the red snake pattern was still on it, but the break was too clean, as if someone had deliberately snapped it open to show everyone.

He tossed the fire-starter back into the ash.

"Only fools look at fire-starters."

Just as a hint of schadenfreude appeared on the Marketplace Guard's face, Iron Abacus's gaze already swept over him.

"Even stupider people look at corpses."

The people on both sides shut their mouths simultaneously. Iron Abacus raised his hand, and two gray-clad accounting servants emerged from the accounting room behind him, each with short bells and copper plates hanging from their waists. His voice was not loud, but it cut through the chaotic warehouse area outside the door.

"Pass the order. The Red Snake Sect personnel are not allowed to leave the warehouse area, and the Market Guards are not allowed to leave the warehouse area either. Whoever moves without authorization, break their hand first, then question them."

"First, seal the waterways."

"Then, seal the North Slope."

"Finally, seal the East Cliff."

The accounting servant was stunned: "Sir, shouldn't we seal the North Slope first? There is a fire-starter there—"

Iron Abacus turned his face, and the gray-clad accounting servant immediately lowered his head, sweat beads from his forehead dripping onto the copper plate.

"Pass it on as ordered."

The copper bells rang one after another, short, deep, and cold. They were no longer the chaotic warnings from before, but clear, orderly commands. The figures running in the mine warehouse were re-routed; the several teams that were originally rushing toward the North Slope were forced to turn back, and torches were spread out along the waterway entrance.

In the drainage ditch, when Sect Master Di Kun heard the first command, his palm pressed against the damp wall.

"Seal the waterways?" Life-Skill Player turned back from the front, muddy water streaming down his face, "Shouldn't they be going to the North Slope? Was our fire-starter planted for nothing?"

"It wasn't for nothing." Sect Master Di Kun glanced at the darkness behind him, his mouth tightening, "It's just that we ran into someone who doesn't take the bait."

Loose Cultivator Gu lay by the foul water; when he heard the three words "Iron Abacus," all the color drained from his face. His elbow slipped, and he almost fell into the ditch. Life-Skill Player reached out to pull him up, but he kept staring in the direction of the gully entrance.

Sect Protection Elder crouched beside him, his voice dropping: "Do you know him?"

Loose Cultivator Gu's lips opened and closed twice before he managed to squeeze out the words: "The marketplace's black accounts pass through three hands, and the final one is with him. Transfer orders, private seals, medicine powder master accounts... if he says one account is wrong, a whole group of people outside could die."

Speedrunner cursed: "That old man is a Chief Financial Officer and the King of Hell combined."

No one laughed.

Sect Master Di Kun pushed Loose Cultivator Gu forward: "We can't take the waterway anymore. You said there was an old elevator shaft in the Abandoned Mine Warehouse; where is the entrance?"

Loose Cultivator Gu looked at the blood on his shoulder and gritted his teeth: "From this ditch to the left, go up to the abandoned ore-washing trough; there is a crack behind it. I've seen the entrance, but that shaft hasn't been used for over a decade. I've never been down there, so I don't know if it's open."

"Lead the way."

Sect Master Di Kun had just uttered the two words when the sound of insect wings rubbing together came from the gully entrance behind them, as thin as a needle scraping bone. Immediately after, Iron Abacus's voice came from across the mine tunnel, unhurried and slow.

"Release the tracking insects. One to take the scent of Loose Cultivator Gu's blood, one to take the scent of the account box's wood lacquer."

Sect Master Di Kun's eyelid twitched.

Loose Cultivator Gu gripped the tattered cloth at his waist, his wound still oozing blood. Life-Skill Player raised his hand to scatter medicinal powder to mask the scent, but his wrist was held by Sect Master Di Kun.

"Medicinal powder can block it for a while, but it can't stop the insects."

"Then what do we do?" Life-Skill Player pressed his forehead against the stone wall; torchlight was already flickering into the gully entrance, "If we drag this out any longer, we'll become cured meat in the mine tunnel."

Sect Master Di Kun's gaze fell on the Storage Pouch at his waist. The account box was inside.

He did not take out the whole box immediately; he only pulled a corner of the black-lacquered account box from the Storage Pouch. With his blade tip against the outer edge of the box bottom, he shaved off a thin layer of wood lacquer. The curled black lacquer fell into his palm, carrying the scent of aged pine resin.

Sect Protection Elder saw his action, his brows furrowing: "Are you going to use the account box as bait?"

"Use the lacquer scent as bait."

Sect Master Di Kun stuffed the wood lacquer into Life-Skill Player's hand: "There was a pack-beast shed by the ore-washing trough earlier. Don't use the dead ones; find one that can still run, tie this thing near its wound, and drive it toward the North Slope."

Life-Skill Player was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Got it, enabling auto-navigation for the insects."

"Hurry."

Life-Skill Player squeezed out through a narrow crack by the ditch, and Speedrunner lifted half a piece of rotten wood to shield him. The sound of torches outside approached, iron boots stepping on the stone steps, and the foul mud in the ditch was shaken into ripples.

Sect Master Di Kun pressed the account box back into the Storage Pouch, his fingers pausing at the pouch opening for half a breath. This box made Iron Abacus question the accounts first, then question lives. It was heavier than he had anticipated.

On the other side, in the pack-beast shed in front of the Abandoned Mine Warehouse, a gray-furred pack beast had half its body scratched by broken wood, and a halter was still around its neck. Life-Skill Player crawled over and grabbed the beast's horns, nearly getting kicked in the chest by one of its hooves. He pressed the wood lacquer into the wound on the beast's back, wrapped a broken rope around it three times, and slapped it on the ear.

"Brother, run to the North Slope. If you survive, it's your good fortune."

The pack beast felt the pain, knocked over the wooden railing, and rushed out of the shed entrance, trailing a string of rotten grass and blood droplets. The two guards had just turned their heads when the gray shadow had already rushed into the smoke, galloping wildly toward the North Slope.

The sound of insect wings split accordingly. One tracking insect followed the ground toward the North Slope, while the other bypassed the ore-washing trough and continued to circle along the edge of the drainage ditch, its slender mouthparts piercing the stone crevice where Loose Cultivator Gu had dripped blood.

Speedrunner's face turned black: "Led one away, but one is still left."

"That's why Iron Abacus is valuable." Sect Master Di Kun waved his hand, "Go up, change to the old elevator shaft."

The group climbed out from the left side of the drainage ditch and scrambled over the abandoned ore-washing trough. The residual water in the trough was black, the walls were covered with white spots, and the gravel at the bottom crunched under their feet. Loose Cultivator Gu's waist injury couldn't hold up, so Sect Protection Elder hoisted one of his arms and dragged him along.

A crimson light suddenly flared up behind them. The medicine powder master packet finally burned through; first came a muffled sound, then the entire warehouse area bulged upward. Dust fell from the stone beams, the edge of the ore-washing trough cracked, and black water sprayed out from the fissures, carrying a pungent medicinal stench. Sect Master Di Kun staggered, backhanding a rusty chain; the chain was pulled so hard that two iron nails burst out from the wall.

Screams and curses exploded again in the warehouse area. Iron Abacus stood in front of the accounting room door; one oil lamp had been extinguished by the shock, and shredded account papers flew past his shoulder. He reached out and pressed down on the Iron Abacus, his palm pinning the abacus beads so not a single one moved.

"Protect the accounts, not the goods."

The gray-clad accounting servant stumbled to his feet: "Sir, the medicine mother warehouse side—"

Iron Abacus's iron staff swung horizontally, blocking the path for the accounting servant to rush out. "Whoever catches the account box gets a reward. Whoever lets the account box slip away, their whole family pays with their lives."

This sentence cut through the tremors and the sound of fire, traveling along the hollow beams and pillars of the Abandoned Mine Warehouse. By the time it reached Sect Master Di Kun's ears, it had been distorted somewhat.

Sect Master Di Kun paused for a step.

Life-Skill Player shouted from the front: "Sect Master, the elevator shaft entrance has been found!"

Sect Master Di Kun touched the Storage Pouch at his waist, his fingertips stained with the cold, hard touch of the account box's outer lacquer. He did not look back; he only pulled his breath-concealing cloak tighter around him and led everyone toward the black opening hidden behind the rubble.