42: Chapter 42 You can't even lick the rim of the bowl.

The first time Zhao Heng saw Sect Master Di Kun, he did not ask about the account box, nor did he ask about the fire at the Abandoned Mine Warehouse.

He pressed the scrap of ash from the note between his fingers into a crack in the stone table, lifted his hand to crush it, and the gray powder drifted down through the fissure.

"Sect Master Di Kun, how fast do you want to die?"

The dilapidated pavilion was drafty on all sides, half of its roof had collapsed, and a broken beam was stuck diagonally into the grass.

The afternoon light fell through the gap, slicing the dark patterns on Zhao Heng's gray robe into segments.

He carried the scent of cold ink, common to official documents from the Sect Affairs Bureau; his cuffs were neatly tightened, but he wore no saber at his waist.

Sect Master Di Kun stopped outside the pavilion. The bandage on his shoulder was hidden by his outer robe, but blood still seeped from the edges as he moved.

The Speedrunner did not follow into the pavilion, instead crouching by a small ditch below, his hand resting on a short pickaxe.

In the distant woods, the tripwires pre-planted by the Tower Defense Player were hidden among the grass blades; when the wind blew, they were invisible.

"You came faster than I thought." Sect Master Di Kun stepped onto the pavilion stairs.

Zhao Heng stared at his cuffs: "The Abandoned Mine Warehouse incident occurred, people from the Red Snake Sect knocked open the External Affairs Office in the middle of the night, the market manager sent three urgent letters in a row, and someone within the Sect Affairs Bureau wants to list the Taichu Sect as the prime suspect for the beast tide anomaly. And you still dare to send a letter to provoke me?"

Sect Master Di Kun took a piece of animal skin with a copied account page from his sleeve and placed it on the stone table.

The animal skin pressed down on the gray powder.

"Read it before you start cursing."

Zhao Heng did not reach out immediately.

He first looked at Sect Master Di Kun's hands, then at the edges of the animal skin. Confirming there was no medicinal powder or hidden needles, he used two fingers to pinch the corner of the account page and gently flipped it over.

With this flip, the anger on his face was cut off as if by a knife.

On the account page were Han Lishan's secret marks, as well as the split account amounts for "Deputy Chen."

The crucial private seal rubbing was missing, and the account page was missing a bite mark, but it was enough for someone who knew the goods to see the loose ends.

Zhao Heng's fingertip pressed on the two characters "Deputy Chen," his nail scraping across the animal skin, making a slight rubbing sound.

"Where is the original?"

Sect Master Di Kun sat opposite him at the stone table. The wooden bench had long been broken, and as he sat down, the rotten wood let out an unbearable creak.

"You haven't paid yet."

Zhao Heng looked up, his gaze lingering for a moment on Sect Master Di Kun's shoulder: "Do you think that by bringing a few pages of accounts, you can make me block three parties for you?"

Sect Master Di Kun placed his other hand on the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the stone debris near the crack.

"I thought you would understand."

Zhao Heng's expression darkened further.

He flattened the account page, then took a fine needle from his sleeve, lifted the corner, and held it up to the light to check for traces of medicinal liquid. A moment later, he retracted the needle.

"It's a copy."

Sect Master Di Kun did not deny it.

Zhao Heng smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "The real thing is in your hands, yet you bring fake things to whet my appetite. Sect Master Di Kun, your small Sect may be dilapidated, but your guts are certainly bold."

Sect Master Di Kun looked at the account page on the stone table.

"Han Lishan eats the meat, Chen Kuan drinks the soup, and you, Zhao Heng, haven't even touched the bowl."

Zhao Heng's fingers, which were resting on the edge of the table, paused.

The wind blew through the pavilion, blowing his cuffs against his wrist bones.

In that instant, he did not correct Sect Master Di Kun for calling Chen Kuan by his full name, nor did he use the bureaucratic tone of the Sect Affairs Bureau to pressure him.

"Where did you learn Chen Kuan's full name?"

Sect Master Di Kun pushed the account page half an inch toward him.

"You just told me."

Zhao Heng's eye twitched.

The grass outside the pavilion was pressed low by the wind. The Speedrunner whistled softly by the small ditch, then immediately stopped.

Sect Master Di Kun did not look back, only watching Zhao Heng's hand.

That hand had already left the table and retreated into his sleeve, as if re-evaluating the price of this transaction.

Zhao Heng was silent for a few breaths. When he spoke again, his voice was much lower.

"I have checked the old files. Han Lishan and Deputy Chen Kuan of the External Affairs Office have been in contact for at least five years.

On the surface, the Red Snake Sect assists with the defense against the beast tide in the Border Wasteland, but in secret, they traffic medicinal powders, mine slaves, and beasts. The Abandoned Mine Warehouse is just one of the outlets."

Sect Master Di Kun's eyes did not flicker.

These matched the account books; what Zhao Heng provided was confirmation from official old files. Confirmation is more valuable than speculation, but it was still not enough.

Zhao Heng pressed the animal skin account page under his palm: "Give me two pages of core accounts, with the private seal rubbings.

I will suppress the rating for the Taichu Sect, delay the Red Snake Sect's appeal, and submit an official document stating the beast tide anomaly is under investigation. As long as the document is filed, anyone who moves against the Taichu Sect in the short term will have to go through the Sect Affairs Bureau's procedures first."

Sect Master Di Kun took out a small porcelain bottle and placed it on the stone table.

The bottle stopper was sealed with wax, and the bottle body had batch lines carved by the Life-Skill Player.

"An edge account page, plus a sample bottle of medicinal powder. Prove first that you can get things done."

Zhao Heng looked at the porcelain bottle, the muscles on his face tightening.

"Are you trying to dismiss a beggar?"

Sect Master Di Kun's fingertips stopped beside the bottle stopper, not pushing the bottle over.

"A beggar can at least hold a bowl. Right now, you can't even lick the edge of the bowl."

Zhao Heng's hand slammed onto the stone table.

Crack.

The already cracked tabletop was pressed to create a new fissure, and fine stone powder fell from the edge.

Outside the pavilion, the Speedrunner's fingers gripped the short pickaxe, and the grass blades at the tripwire wobbled.

Sect Master Di Kun sat still.

Zhao Heng stared at him, and the hand inside his gray robe's cuff slowly relaxed.

On the stone table, that copied account page was shaken half an inch away by the wind of his palm, only to be pressed down again by Sect Master Di Kun's finger.

"Sect Master Di Kun," Zhao Heng said, enunciating each word, "without me, a single document from the Sect Affairs Bureau could force your Taichu Sect to close its mountains for investigation.

If a few more people from the Red Snake Sect come, and the market cuts off your medicine and food, what will you use to hold on?"

Sect Master Di Kun looked up.

"Without me, this blade, Han Lishan eats the meat, Chen Kuan drinks the soup, and you will still only be able to wash dishes for them in the External Affairs Office."

Zhao Heng's Adam's apple bobbed, and the words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.

He turned his head to look outside the pavilion, his gaze sweeping over the small ditch, the grass, and the broken beams of the dilapidated pavilion, before falling back onto Sect Master Di Kun's face.

"You really dare to gamble."

Sect Master Di Kun pushed the porcelain bottle over.

"You came too."

Zhao Heng reached out to take the bottle but did not immediately put it into his sleeve.

He pulled out the stopper, let only a tiny amount of the scent escape, and quickly sealed it again.

Once that fishy, sweet medicinal smell appeared, the lines between his brows deepened.

"This is that batch of medicinal powder from the Beast Taming Ground."

"Can it be filed?"

"Yes," Zhao Heng said, putting the porcelain bottle into his sleeve, "but with just this bottle, you can't crush Han Lishan to death."

"I didn't ask you to crush him to death right now."

Zhao Heng glanced at Sect Master Di Kun and slowly folded the copied account page.

"Han Lishan has already sent people out."

Sect Master Di Kun's fingers paused near the crack in the table.

Zhao Heng lowered his voice: "A Cleanup Squad. They are not ordinary Red Snake Sect Disciples; they are people under Han Lishan specifically for cleaning up messes.

Their goal is not to kill you first, but to seize the account box, kill Loose Cultivator Gu, and burn all evidence of the Taichu Sect.

If people die, things can be fabricated, but if the accounts are in your hands, they cannot fabricate anything."

The wind outside the pavilion suddenly grew stronger. The old tiles on the broken beam loosened, one slid down, and it shattered into several pieces in the grass.

Sect Master Di Kun looked at the broken tiles, the light in his eyes sinking.

"When will they arrive?"

"At the earliest, tonight," Zhao Heng said. "They won't chase blindly like those people at the Abandoned Mine Warehouse last night.

The Cleanup Squad knows to cut off the roads first, seal off any noise, and finally silence everyone.

If you still think you can stop them with a few tripwires, the mountain gate will have a new owner tonight."

The Speedrunner, by the small ditch, couldn't help but curse softly.

Sect Master Di Kun did not look back.

"Number of people, cultivation levels, route."

Zhao Heng sneered, and this time the smile finally carried a bit of the mercenary flavor of the officialdom.

"That is another price."

Sect Master Di Kun reached his hand into his sleeve, his fingertips touching the edge of the oilcloth containing the real private seal rubbings, but he did not take it out.

What he took from his sleeve was just the second edge account page.

"One more page."

Zhao Heng looked at the account page but did not take it.

"I want the core evidence on Chen Kuan."

"You will see it."

"I want to possess it."

Sect Master Di Kun pressed the account page onto the center of the stone table, his other hand still pressing on the oilcloth inside his sleeve.

"You first block the second wave of official pressure. Suppress the rating, delay the appeal, and get the document on the beast tide anomaly filed.

After you have done that, you will have priority to see Chen Kuan's materials."

Zhao Heng stared at the word "see," the coldness in his eyes churning.

"You are leaving a backdoor."

Sect Master Di Kun did not deny it.

Zhao Heng suddenly asked: "Aren't you afraid that after I go back, I will bring people from the Sect Affairs Bureau to search the mountain directly?"

Sect Master Di Kun moved his hand away from the account page.

"You can try. If you find the original, you get promoted; if you don't, Han Lishan will know you alerted the enemy, and Chen Kuan will know you want to bypass him to take the blade.

When the time comes, I would also like to see who deals with you first."

Zhao Heng's expression finally changed.

He did not slam the table, nor did he make any more threats; he simply tucked that second edge account page into his sleeve and placed it close to his body along with the medicinal powder sample.

This movement was very light, yet it was more like a concession than any of his previous words.

"The rumor that there is a remnant core of an old Spiritual Vein deep in the old branch mine tunnel is true."

Sect Master Di Kun raised his eyes.

Zhao Heng continued: "The market manager wanted to dig it up years ago, and even prepared mine slaves and array masters, but was later suppressed by Han Lishan.

No one wrote the reason into the public files; only four words were left behind: 'Hard bone at the mine bottom.'

That place is not an ownerless resource, and you are not the only one who knows about it."

Sect Master Di Kun's fingertips rubbed against the oilcloth inside his sleeve.

The remnant core of the old Spiritual Vein existed. And it was being suppressed by Han Lishan.

This thread, combined with the gap in the Origin of the Spirit Pool, was like a newly revealed mine seam; inside, there was light, but also a cave-in that could bury people.

Zhao Heng stood up, the hem of his gray robe sweeping across the dust on the edge of the stone table.

"There is a confidant of Han Lishan in the Cleanup Squad. That person works cleanly and likes to kill those who can talk first, then burn those who can write.

If Loose Cultivator Gu is still alive, hide him well."

When Sect Master Di Kun stood up, the wound on his shoulder was aggravated, and the bandage under his outer robe seeped a bit more dark red.

"Zhao Heng."

Zhao Heng's footsteps stopped at the edge of the pavilion stairs.

Sect Master Di Kun took back the copied account page that Zhao Heng had read into his sleeve, his voice steady: "After tonight, you will receive what you should see."

Zhao Heng did not look back.

"You must first survive tonight."

He walked down the pavilion stairs and left along the mountain path.

His gray robe was quickly swallowed by the shadows of the woods, but the scent of cold ink remained in the pavilion, mixed with the fishy, sweet smell leaking from the medicinal powder.

The Speedrunner climbed up from the small ditch, the joke gone from his face: "Sect Master, are they really coming tonight?"

Sect Master Di Kun looked in the direction Zhao Heng had left, pressing the private seal rubbings in his sleeve deeper.

"Return to the mountain."

He turned and stepped down the stone stairs of the dilapidated pavilion, his boots crushing the broken tiles.

In the distance, the Taichu Sect's mountain gate was hidden in the afternoon shadows, and the mountain wind swept through the grass, causing several tripwires buried in the soil to tremble slightly.