The Ledger Eats People

Sun Huai had not expected Li Sanshun to lay his cards on the table in front of everyone.

Every year, the Xuan Chu Academy had a surplus of entry-level resources. As long as one wrote down a pretext in the distribution ledger and moved the shortfall into the categories of "discarded," "compensation," or "deferred issuance," it was nearly impossible to uncover any issues during the year-end audit.

New disciples, having just entered the sect, mostly dared not offend the stewards.

Relying on this method, Sun Huai had saved up quite a few spirit stones over the past two years. Steward Zhao took the lion's share, leaving him only the scraps. Now that Steward Zhao was in trouble, he had intended to use Li Sanshun's resources to fill a gap and curry favor with the Zhao family.

Who would have thought that this kid from the mountains would sink his teeth into the accounts the moment he stepped into the Logistics Hall?

Sun Huai walked behind the counter and reached out to take back the distribution ledger.

"The Law Enforcement Hall hasn't closed the case yet; someone has to bear the burden of the damage to the Immortal-Asking Stairs. Once Han Zhao confesses and the sect clears up the whereabouts of the spirit stones, I will naturally issue the resources to you."

"When will they be issued?"

"In ten days at the earliest, two or three months at the latest. The sect has its own procedures for handling cases; it is not for a new disciple to urge us."

Li Sanshun looked at the duty disciple.

"Since it is only a temporary withholding, issue me a voucher. Write down the quantity of resources, the reason for the withholding, and have Senior Brother Sun sign and seal it. Once the Law Enforcement Hall closes the case, I will bring the voucher to collect them."

The hand of the duty disciple, holding the brush, froze in mid-air.

Resources were never issued with vouchers when withheld. If Sun Huai were to leave behind a signed record, he would have no way to shift the blame to others if an investigation were to occur.

Sun Huai also understood what Li Sanshun was implying.

"You suspect your fellow disciples the moment you enter the Xuan Chu Academy; a temperament like yours won't take you far. It has already been noted in the distribution ledger; a voucher is unnecessary."

Li Sanshun pointed to the bottom of the page.

"What is written here is 'deduction for compensation,' not 'temporary withholding.' You just said it would be reissued once the case is cleared; the two statements don't match. Either change the ledger or issue a voucher—choosing one shouldn't be difficult, right?"

People in the hall began to whisper.

Several new disciples living in C-Yard also checked their own supplies and discovered they were each missing a bottle of Qi Gathering Powder. Not knowing the rules earlier, they had already pressed their thumbprints in the distribution ledger.

A tall, thin youth squeezed to the front of the counter.

"Senior Brother Sun, my ledger says 'transit damage.' The dharma robes and pills were all packed in the Logistics Hall; how could they be damaged in transit?"

Another youth followed up: "My long sword was also withheld, citing damage to a wooden training dummy last month. I only entered the sect yesterday; where would I have gotten a 'last month'?"

Sun Huai glared at the duty disciple.

These reasons were supposed to be recorded separately; how could they be concentrated in the same ledger?

The duty disciple lowered his head. He was only responsible for copying what was on the slips of paper Sun Huai gave him and hadn't bothered to verify the names of the new disciples. Previous cohorts hadn't questioned it, but having run into Li Sanshun this year, all the loopholes had surfaced.

Sun Huai closed the ledger.

"Shut up, all of you! Distribution errors can be checked one by one. Whoever disturbs the order of the Logistics Hall again will have this month's allowance deducted."

From outside the door came the sound of an iron sword dragging against the ground.

Xiong Baichuan walked into the hall, carrying a wide, heavy iron sword. The threshold was not high, yet the blade still chipped a corner off it.

"Who is deducting allowances?"

Sun Huai hurriedly suppressed his anger.

"Peak Master Xiong, the Logistics Hall is currently processing the accounts for the new disciples. A few records had discrepancies, and I am currently verifying them."

Xiong Baichuan picked up the distribution ledger from the counter. He disliked reading accounts, but after flipping through two pages, he began to frown.

"Transit damage? A living person walks from the mountain gate to the Xuan Chu Academy, and the pills aren't even unsealed, yet a bottle is damaged? Is your Logistics Hall raising rats?"

Sun Huai wanted to push the responsibility onto the duty disciple, but his private seal was stamped under every single record; there was no way to dodge it.

Xiong Baichuan flipped to Li Sanshun's page, his face growing angrier.

"The seven formation spirit stones for the Immortal-Asking Stairs have already been recorded by the Sect Master on the account of Law Enforcement Peak. Li Sanshun forced out the Spirit-Suppressing Pattern, which counts as rooting out a parasite for the sect; Law Enforcement Peak is even preparing to grant him the Xuanchu Merit. And you, you're quite something—you turn around and withhold his resources again."

Sweat beaded on Sun Huai's forehead.

He hadn't received the news.

Steward Zhao had lost contact last night, and the stewards of the Xuan Chu Academy were all waiting to see what would happen. That Xiong Baichuan had said this himself meant the Law Enforcement Hall had already dug much deeper.

"This disciple misread the old accounts; I will correct them immediately."

Xiong Baichuan threw the ledger back onto the counter.

"Spare me that. Bring out the distribution records for all the new disciples this year and re-examine them one by one. Whatever is missing, issue it today. Whoever took what they shouldn't have, go to the Law Enforcement Hall and confess yourself."

Sun Huai knew that the matter could no longer be suppressed.

Gritting his teeth, he took out the warehouse keys and ordered the duty disciple to redistribute the resources. In addition to his original supplies, Li Sanshun was also granted five points of Xuanchu Merit as a reward for discovering the accounting issues.

The new disciples from C-Yard retrieved their missing items and looked at Li Sanshun with much more closeness.

The tall, thin youth was named Zhou Miao, a four-element mixed spiritual root. Clutching his recovered Qi Gathering Powder, he whispered his thanks.

"If it weren't for Senior Brother Li speaking up, we wouldn't even have known our resources were short. If there's anything you need from C-Yard in the future, just give me a shout."

Li Sanshun put away his spirit stones.

"Check the bottle seals first; don't wait until you get back to find out they're filled with flour."

Zhou Miao hurried to check, and the sound of corks being pulled immediately filled the Logistics Hall.

Sun Huai stood by the warehouse door, his temples throbbing.

After watching the re-issuance, Xiong Baichuan called Li Sanshun outside the hall.

"You kid managed to walk up the Immortal-Asking Stairs under seven hundred levels of pressure; your physical foundation is decent. Don't go to Medicine Peak in seven days; come to Zhen Yue Peak. Cultivating five types of spiritual energy takes too much time; train your body first so you can take a few more hits when you're fighting."

"Peak Master Xiong, is taking a beating considered a skill?"

"Of course it is. Only if you can take it do you have the chance to fight back. When the disciples of Zhen Yue Peak go down the mountain to fight monsters to the death, who dares to say they never take a single hit?"

Xiong Baichuan patted Li Sanshun on the shoulder and turned to leave. After walking a few steps, he remembered something else.

"The Xuan Chu Academy is opening the Spirit-Gathering Room today. There are five spots in the Grade A Spirit-Gathering Room, allocated according to the speed of spiritual energy absorption. You have five spiritual roots; go in and try. If you grab a spot, you can use it for free for three days."

Li Sanshun was in need of high-quality spiritual energy, so he naturally wouldn't let the opportunity pass.

In the afternoon, more than thirty new disciples gathered at the Xuan Chu Academy's training grounds.

Five Spirit-Drawing Pillars stood in the center of the field. The testers sat beneath the pillars and circulated their cultivation arts; whoever could make the Spirit-Drawing Pillar shine the brightest would enter the Grade A Spirit-Gathering Room.

Zhao Yuanqing was already sitting under the first pillar.

Fire-type spiritual energy rose seven feet along the pillar, drawing praise from the disciples of A-Yard. A superior-grade fire spiritual root absorbed single-element spiritual energy very quickly; there were few in this cohort who could compete with him.

Instructor Xu, who was in charge of the assessment, recorded the result.

"Zhao Yuanqing, seven feet three inches, currently in first place."

Zhao Yuanqing opened his eyes and saw Li Sanshun walking into the training grounds; the frustration in his heart dissipated slightly.

Li Sanshun might have taken advantage of him at the Logistics Hall, but cultivation speed could not be faked. The Spirit-Drawing Pillar only measured the spiritual energy absorbed within the time it took for one incense stick to burn; five inferior-grade roots had no advantage here.

Zhao Yuanqing stood up and vacated the spot.

"Li Sanshun, the Sect Master said your Five-Element Harmony shows signs of a Primordial Origin Embryo. I'd like to see if five inferior-grade spiritual roots added together can make the Spirit-Drawing Pillar exceed three feet."

Instructor Xu flipped through the roster, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Li Sanshun cultivates the Primordial Origin Art, which requires five Spirit-Drawing Pillars to be activated simultaneously. The Xuan Chu Academy has never tested Five-Element Harmony before; how to calculate the score will have to be confirmed on the spot."

Zhao Yuanqing took out his A-Yard cultivation token.

"If all five Spirit-Drawing Pillars count toward the score, it's unfair to the other disciples. Why don't I put up my spot in the Grade A Spirit-Gathering Room to compete with him? Whoever loses gives up their cultivation qualification for three months."

Instructor Xu did not agree, looking first at Li Sanshun.

"The qualification for the Grade A Spirit-Gathering Room relates to your cultivation progress; you may refuse."

Li Sanshun walked to the center of the five Spirit-Drawing Pillars and placed the long sword he had just received beside him.

"Since Young Master Zhao is in such a hurry to move out of A-Yard, I'll help him out."

Instructor Xu waved his hand to activate the formation.

The five Spirit-Drawing Pillars lit up simultaneously, and the five-element spiritual energy beneath the training grounds surged toward Li Sanshun in unison.

Inside the storage bag at his waist, the old cloth scroll containing the Primordial Origin Art gave a slight tremor.

The missing half-page of the cultivation art slid out from the lining.