Threats

Life at the Herb Repository was calmer than expected.

The steward, Zhou Fu—Zhou Bapi—was a lean, middle-aged man with triangular eyes and a goatee. Whenever he looked at someone, there was always a calculating glint in his eyes. He was unusually lenient with Lin Ye and Chen Feng. Not only did he refrain from making things difficult for them, he even assigned them the easiest work.

"You two were recommended by Head Li, so you'd better work hard." Zhou Bapi narrowed his eyes and tapped the ledger with a finger. "Our Herb Repository is an important place for the sect, and it has plenty of rules. First, not a single medicinal herb in the storeroom may go missing. Second, not a single entry in the accounts may be wrong. Third..."

He listed more than a dozen rules, each one exact and airtight.

Lin Ye respectfully agreed, but inside, his guard rose to the highest level.

When something was out of the ordinary, there was bound to be something fishy.

How could someone working for Zhao Liang possibly be so kind?

He showed no sign of suspicion and simply followed the rules.

He counted the medicinal herbs, checking the entries one by one.

He spread out the herbs to dry, turning each inch of them over evenly.

He organized the catalog, copying it out one character at a time.

He was perfect, like a machine.

Three days later, Zhou Bapi came to inspect. He flipped through the ledger and examined the storeroom, yet couldn't find a single flaw.

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

"It's thanks to your excellent instruction, Steward." Lin Ye bowed.

Zhou Bapi gave him a long look, then turned and left.

Chen Feng came over to Lin Ye and murmured, "He's waiting for us to make a mistake."

"Mm." Lin Ye nodded. "So we can't make one."

"Nobody's perfect. We're bound to make mistakes eventually. He'll find a way to make us 'make one.'"

"Then we'll leave him with no way to do that," Lin Ye said calmly.

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

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

He counted every herb three times and checked the accounts five times.

When drying herbs, he made sure every one was placed at precisely the same angle and distance from the others.

He even began walking along a set route, never deviating by so much as a step.

Chen Feng found it strange at first, but seeing that Lin Ye left no room for error, he gradually followed suit.

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

"Those two... Have they turned into wooden puppets?"

"Who works like that? They're stricter than the Law Enforcement Hall."

"Zhou Bapi really picked the wrong fight this time..."

Ten days passed, and Zhou Bapi finally couldn't sit still any longer.

That evening, he summoned Lin Ye to a secret room behind the storeroom.

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

"This disciple doesn't know. Please enlighten me, Steward." Lin Ye stood with his hands at his sides.

"It was Senior Brother Zhao Liang's idea." Zhou Bapi set down his teacup and stared at Lin Ye. "Senior Brother Zhao told me to 'look after' you. What do you think I ought to do?"

"This disciple is slow-witted. I'll leave it to your arrangements, Steward," Lin Ye replied, still respectful.

"Heh..." Zhou Bapi smiled, his expression cold. "You're a slippery one. Fine, I'll be frank—Senior Brother Zhao wants you crippled. But you're working at the Herb Repository now, so I can't openly lay a hand on you. So I'll point you toward a way out."

He took a ledger from the drawer and tossed it onto the table.

"This is last month's ledger for medicinal herb losses. It's short by fifty contribution points. Change the ledger and make it look like normal losses. Once it's done, I'll give you ten contribution points. After that, I'll have your back here at the Herb Repository."

Lin Ye looked at the ledger but didn't touch it.

"What, you don't dare?" Zhou Bapi narrowed his eyes.

"Steward, Deacon Li personally checked the accounts. I'm afraid I have no authority to alter them," Lin Ye said.

"I have my own way of handling Deacon Li." Zhou Bapi tapped the table. "All you need to do is put pen to paper. I'll take responsibility for the consequences."

"This disciple doesn't know how to falsify accounts." Lin Ye lowered his head.

"Slap!"

Zhou Bapi slammed the table and sprang to his feet. "Lin Ye! Don't push your luck! I can bring you to the Herb Repository, and I can send you back to hard labor. I can even make you disappear without a sound."

The candlelight in the secret room flickered, casting his contorted face in shadow.

After a moment of silence, Lin Ye finally spoke. "What do you want me to do, Steward? Just say it."

Zhou Bapi's expression eased slightly, and he sat back down. "A smart man. It's simple. At midnight tonight, a batch of Blood Crystal Grass will be brought into the storeroom. While you're on duty, you'll 'accidentally' knock over the lamp oil and burn thirty percent of it. Afterward, I'll report it as accidental loss. You'll just be guilty of neglecting your night watch, and you'll get thirty strokes and three months of hard labor."

"Blood Crystal Grass is a mid-grade mortal-level spirit herb. Thirty percent of it is worth at least three hundred contribution points. Thirty strokes and hard labor..." Lin Ye looked up. "Steward, I won't take that deal."

"Then wait to be 'accidentally' killed!" Zhou Bapi sneered. "A few laborers die at the Herb Repository every year. It's perfectly normal. Tell me, would you rather accidentally slip and fall to your death, or be poisoned by medicinal herbs?"

A naked threat.

Lin Ye looked at Zhou Bapi and suddenly smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" Zhou Bapi frowned.

"I'm smiling at how cleverly you've worked out the numbers, Steward," Lin Ye said. "Use my life to trade for three hundred contribution points. Afterward, I'll be dead, and there'll be no witness. You'll change the accounts, and no one will be any the wiser."

"So what if I am?" Zhou Bapi snorted. "You think you have a choice?"

"I do." Lin Ye remained calm. "I can go to the Law Enforcement Hall right now and report you for embezzling medicinal herbs and framing a fellow disciple."

"Ha ha ha ha!" Zhou Bapi burst into laughter. "Report me? Do you have evidence? This ledger? This secret room? Who can prove I told you to do it? Will the Law Enforcement Hall believe a laborer like you, or the steward?"

"I don't need evidence." Lin Ye shook his head. "I only need to report you, and you'll be in a world of trouble. I doubt Senior Brother Zhao Liang would be pleased, 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. "You want contribution points, Steward. I have a way. But burning medicinal herbs is a foolish move."

"What way do you have?"

"The Herb Repository has a monthly loss allowance. Losses of up to thirty percent for low-grade mortal-level herbs are considered reasonable." Lin Ye spoke slowly. "We can work within that allowance."

"Be specific."

"For example, when we count the herbs, we can record some perfectly good ones as 'poor quality' and enter them at seventy percent of their value. When drying them, we can have some 'accidentally' get damp and process them at half price. Those losses would all be within reason, and no one would be able to detect them," Lin Ye said. "Over the course of a month, we could skim at least fifty or sixty contribution points. It doesn't seem like much, but little by little, it adds up—and it's safe."

Zhou Bapi's eyes lit up, then turned suspicious. "You know how to do this?"

"A little." Lin Ye said, "When I was at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, I dealt with the accounts."

His month at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall hadn't been for nothing. He'd long since figured out how Head Li's shady dealings worked.

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

"Why are you helping me?"

"I'm not helping you, Steward. I'm helping myself." Lin Ye answered frankly. "I want to live, and I want to stay at the Herb Repository. Working with you is safer than making an enemy of you."

"You're clever." Zhou Bapi slowly sat down again. "Clever people often die young."

"This disciple only wants to protect himself. I wouldn't dare ask for more." 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 manage it..."

"If I can't, I'll accept whatever punishment you decide."