275: Yan Hui's Account Book

Jun Xiaoyao sat on the obsidian throne in the Heavenly Outer Palace, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest.

The water mirror in front of him displayed the footage transmitted back by The Net—Marshal of the Unruly led three Luowang Assassins as they infiltrated the academy; the bronze bells on the eaves chimed softly in the night breeze, yet he landed soundlessly like a cat.

The special powder on the soles of his boots shimmered with a silver light under the moonlight.

"Young Lord," Zhao Gao's whisper came from the water mirror, "As per your instructions, I have already put the 'Rosemary Powder' into the water vat in the academy's kitchen. It will take effect in half an hour, and I fear the academy guards won't be waking up tonight."

Jun Xiaoyao nodded slightly, his gaze falling on a small frame in the corner of the water mirror—that was the real-time feed of The Unruly's camp, where Marshal of the Unruly was wiping his Tiger-Head Gold Spear, the cold glint of the spear tip reflecting the chill in his eyes.

The panel automatically popped up the information card for Marshal of the Unruly: [Name: Marshal of the Unruly (Yuan Tiangang), Realm: Late Grandmaster Realm, Martial Skill: Tiangang Art, Soul-Snatching Spear, Origin: Great Tang Wuxia World, Loyalty: 98%].

"Tell him to hurry up," Jun Xiaoyao said indifferently, his voice reaching the ears of Marshal of the Unruly through the message talisman, "Yan Hui's study has a secret compartment containing account books about his collusion with noble families; that is the important stuff."

Marshal of the Unruly looked up in the water mirror, the corners of his mouth curling up, though he said nothing. He merely flicked his wrist, and the gold spear transformed into an afterimage, prying open the window latch of the study.

The candlelight flickered inside the room; Yan Hui was hunched over the desk writing something, the rustling sound of the brush tip across the rice paper clearly audible.

Suddenly, Yan Hui's brush paused, and he looked up toward the window: "Who is it?"

Marshal of the Unruly did not respond; his figure moved like a ghost, circling behind the desk, his gold spear pointing directly at Yan Hui's back.

Yan Hui turned abruptly, and three silver needles flew out from his sleeves, but they were lightly deflected by the shaft of Marshal of the Unruly's spear, pinning into the pillar with their ends still vibrating.

"It's you!" Yan Hui's pupils shrank suddenly, his face turning pale after seeing who it was. "People from The Net? Who is your master? You dare to touch someone from my Haoran Academy, are you not afraid of being hunted down by all the Cultivators in the world?"

"Enough nonsense," Marshal of the Unruly's voice sounded like it had been tempered in ice. "Where are the account books?"

Yan Hui stiffened his neck and sneered: "I don't know what you are talking about! The academy's classics are all in the Scripture Pavilion; search if you want!" He secretly reached for the alarm bell under the table, but was kicked in the wrist by Marshal of the Unruly, causing him to grunt in pain.

Outside the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao tapped his finger on the panel to bring up Yan Hui's information card.

[Name: Yan Hui, Realm: Peak Grandmaster Realm, Martial Skill: Haoran Righteousness Palm, Gentleman Sword, Origin: Haoran Academy, Loyalty: 0% (Hostile)]. A line of small text popped up next to it: [Related Characters: Qingzhou Wang Family, Youzhou Salt Merchant Wang Yuanbao, Barbarian Young Lord Meng Lie].

"He is stalling for time," Jun Xiaoyao said to the message talisman, "The third shelf, 'The Analects' contains the mechanism trigger."

Marshal of the Unruly followed instructions and reached out, sure enough feeling a protrusion in the second volume of 'The Analects'. Upon pressing it, the bookshelf slowly moved aside, revealing the secret compartment behind it.

The secret compartment was stacked with several rolls of yellow paper, the topmost one labeled "Qingzhou Grain Tax Secret Files," the ink still bearing the greasy sheen of a fresh print.

"Heh," Marshal of the Unruly picked up the secret files and flipped through them. "Colluding with the Qingzhou Wang family to withhold grain taxes and privately selling military rations to the barbarians—Yan Hui, your reputation as a great scholar is ruined."

Yan Hui's face turned from white to green; he suddenly lunged at Marshal of the Unruly, trying to seize the chance to escape through the door.

Marshal of the Unruly dodged to the side, and the gold spear hooked his belt, yanking him backward forcefully. Yan Hui crashed heavily to the ground, his hair bun coming undone.

"Bring him back to the camp," Jun Xiaoyao's voice came through the message talisman, "Let Meng Lie confirm if this 'good ally' is the one who wanted to poison his entire clan."

Marshal of the Unruly picked up Yan Hui from the ground and walked out as if dragging a dead dog.

Yan Hui struggled and roared: "Jun Xiaoyao! I know it's you! You Beyond Heaven scum, if you have the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!"

Jun Xiaoyao watched the hysterical Yan Hui in the water mirror, circling his fingertips on the armrest, but did not reply.

In another corner of the water mirror, Zhao Gao was directing Luowang Assassins to post copies of the account books. Quite a few commoners had gathered on the streets of Qingzhou, pointing at the words on the paper; someone recognized Yan Hui's signature and spat on the ground on the spot.

"Young Lord," Zhao Gao's voice carried a smile, "The Qingzhou governor has sent people over, saying they want to borrow our account books as evidence to investigate and punish Yan Hui."

Jun Xiaoyao gave a faint grunt of acknowledgment, his gaze shifting to a new notification that popped up on the panel: [Triggered Side Quest: The Liquidation of Haoran Academy, Reward: Haoran Righteousness Art Fragment, Support of 30% of Qingzhou Merchants].

He tapped "Accept" with his fingertip, and the image in the water mirror changed—Marshal of the Unruly had thrown Yan Hui next to Meng Lie's cage, and Meng Lie was holding the bottle of "Mechanism Guide," his eyes looking as if he wanted to swallow Yan Hui alive.

Meng Lie: "Yan! You said this medicine was for strengthening the body, yet you wanted to poison my entire clan?!" He kicked Yan Hui in the chest; Yan Hui coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood, but still remained stubborn: "Barbarian savages, you deserve to die!"

"It seems we don't need to do it ourselves," Jun Xiaoyao said to the message talisman, "Let Meng Lie handle it, and we will go retrieve the Haoran Righteousness Art fragment."

The "Beyond Heaven Influence Value" on the panel was jumping wildly, steadily advancing from "Youzhou First-Class" to "Qingzhou Overlord."

Jun Xiaoyao stood up and walked to the summoning array in the Heavenly Outer Palace; the light at the center of the array was brighter than last night—this was a sign that the accumulated energy was enough to summon a new character.

He traced the array patterns with his fingertip and said in a low voice, "It's time to add someone who can manage the accounts."

A light shone in the array, revealing a lean figure wearing a square cap and a long robe, clutching an abacus in his hand. Upon seeing Jun Xiaoyao, he bowed: "I am the accountant, greetings, Young Lord."

The panel automatically popped up an information card: [Name: Calculated Strategy · Jiang Jing, Realm: Middle Stage Grandmaster Realm, Martial Skill: Divine Calculation, Sleeve Arrow, Origin: water margin World, Loyalty: 90%].

Jiang Jing: "Rest assured, Young Lord. In the future, leave the income and expenditure accounts and resource allocation to me; I guarantee not a single cent will be off."

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the scene in the water mirror of the Qingzhou commoners parading with the account books, then looked at the abacus in Jiang Jing's hand, and the corners of his mouth finally curled up—it was time to properly organize Beyond Heaven's finances.