Threat

Life in the Herb Repository was calmer than expected.

The manager, Zhou Fu—known as Zhou Bapi—was a lean, middle-aged man with triangular eyes and a goatee, his gaze always filled with calculation. He was unusually lenient toward Lin Ye and Chen Feng, not only refraining from making things difficult for them but even assigning them the easiest tasks.

"You two were recommended by Head Li, so you must work hard," Zhou Bapi said, squinting as he tapped his ledger. "Our Herb Repository is a vital area of the sect, and there are many rules. Rule one: not a single herb in the warehouse can go missing. Rule two: the accounts must be recorded without a single error. Rule three..."

He listed over a dozen rules, each one rigid and airtight.

Lin Ye accepted them respectfully, though he remained on high alert.

When things are too strange, there must be a demon at play.

How could Zhao Liang's people possibly be this kind?

He kept his composure and simply followed the rules.

Counting herbs, verifying every single entry.

Drying herbs, turning them over inch by inch to ensure evenness.

Organizing the records, transcribing them character by character.

He was as perfect as a machine.

Three days later, Zhou Bapi came to inspect. He flipped through the ledgers and stared at the warehouse, unable to find a single fault.

"You two have done a good job," Zhou Bapi said, his tone complex.

"It is thanks to the manager's guidance," Lin Ye bowed.

Zhou Bapi gave him a deep look before turning and walking away.

Chen Feng walked over to Lin Ye and whispered, "He is waiting for us to make a mistake."

"Yes," Lin Ye nodded, "so we cannot make any mistakes."

"Humans are not sages; who can avoid mistakes? He will always find a way to make us 'err'."

"Then we shall leave him with no options," Lin Ye said calmly.

In the days that followed, Lin Ye pushed "following the rules" to the extreme.

He started work at the hour of the Dragon and finished at the hour of the Rooster, not a second off.

Every herb was counted three times, and the accounts were verified five times.

When drying herbs, even the angle and spacing of the layout were perfectly consistent.

He even began walking along fixed routes, never deviating by a hair.

Chen Feng wasn't used to it at first, but seeing Lin Ye's flawless performance, he gradually followed suit.

The other laborers in the Herb Repository looked at them as if they were monsters.

"These two... have they turned into wooden puppets?"

"Who works like this? It's stricter than the Law Enforcement Hall."

"Zhou Bapi has finally kicked an iron plate this time..."

Ten days passed, and Zhou Bapi could no longer sit still.

That evening, he called Lin Ye into a secret room behind the warehouse.

"Lin Ye, do you know why you were transferred to the Herb Repository?" Zhou Bapi sat in a grand armchair, sipping tea slowly.

"This disciple does not know, please enlighten me, Manager," Lin Ye stood with his hands hanging at his sides.

"It was the intention of Senior Brother Zhao Liang," Zhou Bapi set down his teacup and stared at Lin Ye. "Senior Brother Zhao asked me to 'take care' of you. Tell me, how should I take care of you?"

"This disciple is dull-witted; I leave it entirely to the manager's arrangements," Lin Ye remained respectful.

"Heh..." Zhou Bapi laughed, his smile cold and sinister. "You're a slippery one. Fine, I'll be blunt—Senior Brother Zhao wants to cripple you. But since you are now part of the Herb Repository, I cannot act openly. So, I will show you a clear path."

He took an account book from a drawer and tossed it onto the table.

"This is last month's herb loss ledger. There is a deficit of fifty contribution points. You will alter the ledger to make it look like normal wear and tear. Once it's done, I'll give you ten contribution points, and from now on, I'll have your back in this Herb Repository."

Lin Ye looked at the ledger but did not move.

"What, are you afraid?" Zhou Bapi narrowed his eyes.

"Reporting to the manager, the accounts were verified personally by Deacon Li. This disciple fears I have no authority to alter them," Lin Ye said.

"As for Deacon Li, I have my own ways," Zhou Bapi tapped the table. "You only need to put pen to paper; I will bear all the consequences."

"This disciple does not know how to falsify accounts," Lin Ye lowered his head.

"Slap!"

Zhou Bapi slammed the table and stood up. "Lin Ye! Don't be ungrateful! I can get you into the Herb Repository, and I can just as easily send you back to hard labor! I could even make you disappear without a trace."

The candlelight in the dark room flickered, casting a shadow of his ferocious face.

Lin Ye was silent for a moment before finally speaking: "Just tell me what you want me to do, Manager."

Zhou Bapi's expression softened slightly as he sat back down. "A smart man. It's simple: tonight at the hour of the Rat, a shipment of Blood Crystal Grass will arrive at the warehouse. While you are on duty, 'accidentally' knock over the lamp oil and let thirty percent of it burn. Afterward, I will report it as an accidental loss. As for you, it will just be negligence while on night watch—thirty lashes and three months of hard labor."

"Blood Crystal Grass is a mortal-grade mid-tier spiritual herb; thirty percent is worth at least three hundred contribution points. Thirty lashes and hard labor..." Lin Ye looked up. "Manager, that is a deal I cannot make."

"Then just wait to be killed by an 'accident'!" Zhou Bapi sneered. "It's perfectly normal for a few miscellaneous servants to die in the Herb Repository every year. Tell me, would it be better to accidentally slip and fall to your death, or to be poisoned by the herbs?"

A naked threat.

Lin Ye looked at Zhou Bapi and suddenly smiled.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhou Bapi frowned.

"I'm laughing at how well the steward has calculated his abacus," Lin Ye said. "Trading my life for three hundred contribution points. Once it's done and I'm dead, there will be no proof. Change the ledgers, and no one will be any the wiser."

"And what if it is?" Zhou Bapi snorted. "Do you think you have a choice?"

"I do," Lin Ye said calmly. "I can go to the Law Enforcement Hall right now and report the steward for embezzling herbs and framing a fellow disciple."

"Hahahaha!" Zhou Bapi laughed loudly. "Report me? Do you have evidence? This ledger? This secret room? Who can prove that I was the one who made you do it? Will the Law Enforcement Hall believe a miscellaneous servant like you, or will they believe a steward like me?"

"I don't need evidence," Lin Ye shook his head. "I only need to file the report, and the steward will be mired in trouble. I doubt Senior Brother Zhao Liang would be very happy about that, either."

Zhou Bapi's expression darkened.

If the matter blew up, it would do him no good.

"Then what do you want?" Zhou Bapi asked coldly.

"It's simple," Lin Ye looked at him. "The steward wants contribution points, and I have a way. But doing something as stupid as burning the herbs is out of the question."

"What kind of way do you have?"

"The Herb Repository has a monthly loss quota. For low-grade mortal herbs, a loss of up to thirty percent is considered reasonable," Lin Ye said slowly. "We can manipulate the figures within that margin."

"Be specific."

"For example, when taking inventory, we can record some of the perfectly good herbs as 'poor quality' and account for them at seventy percent of their value. When drying them, we can have some herbs 'accidentally' get damp and process them at fifty percent. These losses fall within a reasonable range and cannot be traced," Lin Ye said. "In a month, we can squeeze out at least fifty or sixty contribution points. It doesn't seem like much, but it's a steady stream, and more importantly, it's safe."

Zhou Bapi's eyes lit up, then he grew suspicious: "You know about these things?"

"I know a little," Lin Ye said. "When I was in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, I had some contact with the accounts."

He hadn't spent that month in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall for nothing. He had long since figured out the tricks behind Head Li's shady dealings.

Zhou Bapi stared at Lin Ye, silent for a long time.

"Why are you helping me?"

"This isn't helping the steward; it's helping myself," Lin Ye said candidly. "I want to live, and I want to stay in the Herb Repository. Cooperating with the steward is safer than being his enemy."

"You are very smart," Zhou Bapi slowly sat down. "Smart people often die young."

"This disciple only seeks self-preservation and dares not be greedy," Lin Ye bowed.

"Fine, we'll do as you say," Zhou Bapi finally nodded. "But I want to see results this month. If you can't do it..."

"If I can't, this disciple will accept whatever punishment you deem fit."