Accounts

Qin Manor Small Courtyard.

Several burly guards each held a Golden Gourd Hammer.

This Golden Gourd Hammer was a heavy weapon, weighing at least fifty-odd jin. Unless one was born with immense strength, it was impossible to even lift.

"Young master... are we really doing this?"

The guards hesitated.

If they struck too hard and injured Qin Yang, making him angry, they'd lose their heads.

These days, no one in the entire manor dared to defy the eldest young master, Qin Yang.

Especially these guards—they had personally witnessed how Twin Snake Gang's leader, She Qing, was killed with a single punch from Qin Yang.

That scene still echoed in their minds.

"I told you to hit me, so hit me. What's with all the nonsense?"

Qin Yang stripped to the waist, revealing strong, fluid muscle lines.

Sensing the displeasure in his voice, the guards flinched and braced themselves to go through with it.

Two stood behind Qin Yang, two in front.

"Hit me!" Qin Yang growled.

At his command, the four guards raised their Golden Gourd Hammers and swung them at his body.

Watching from the side, Xiao Huan's face went pale with fright. She covered her eyes, terrified that the young master would be beaten until he coughed blood.

Thud thud thud~~~

Several dull, heavy impacts rang out.

Four Golden Gourd Hammers landed on his shoulder, chest, thigh, and abdomen.

Qin Yang stood there, completely unfazed.

The guards themselves were stunned.

It felt like they were striking a layer of tough, resilient cowhide.

Of course, it wasn't cowhide—it was the Primordial Qi Shield that Qin Yang had formed.

"Did you all go whoring at the brothels last night?"

"A bunch of limp-wristed weaklings. If any of you can actually injure me today, I'll reward you with five hundred taels of silver!"

Qin Yang said indifferently.

Hearing that, the guards suddenly found their strength, wildly swinging their Golden Gourd Heavy Hammers, pounding Qin Yang's body.

Thud thud thud~~~

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The guards were all panting, exhausted.

Qin Yang was completely unharmed. After all that hammering, there wasn't even a bruise on his skin.

"Young master... we really can't hit anymore!"

"Damn, young master, your external training is terrifying!"

The guards were too tired to even lift their Golden Gourd Hammers and begged for mercy.

Seeing them like this, Qin Yang shook his head in exasperation. "Go back and train properly. With stamina like that, what are you even doing with your lives?"

The guards scrambled out of the small courtyard.

"Young master, are you really okay?"

Xiao Huan tilted her head and asked.

"Of course. I'm not invulnerable to blades or arrows yet, but taking a few hits is no problem."

Qin Yang smiled smugly.

He hadn't expected the Primordial Qi Shield to work this well.

After half a month of training, it had only reached the third layer. When the qi shield seed in his heart spread out, circulating through his blood and seeping out through his skin, it formed a thin layer of qi force on the surface of his body.

This layer of qi force couldn't really be called a shield, but its defensive power was still quite formidable.

If he could cultivate it to Great Accomplishment, it would surely be a different story altogether.

Just as he was thinking this, Qian Hai walked into the courtyard.

"Uncle Qian, what's the matter?"

"Let's sit and talk first."

Qin Yang smiled.

The two of them sat down on the stone stools in the small courtyard.

"Young Master. The wandering swordsmen we sent out earlier have all returned—empty-handed."

"They found no trace of the Family Head at all."

Qian Hai sighed softly.

"Don't give up. Find a few more people and try again."

Qin Yang wasn't short on that bit of silver; he just wanted peace of mind.

After that night, he'd come to see things differently.

He wondered if Qin Dongsheng had run into some evil spirit on his way back.

That night, if Yin Hezi hadn't happened to pass by with his corpse-driving, dragging him out of that broken temple, he'd surely be dead too.

Qin Dongsheng had traveled back from Nanxing City through desolate wilderness the whole way—the odds of encountering a spirit were probably higher.

"Mm. I'll send more people this time."

Qian Hai nodded.

Having said that, his expression turned grave again.

"Young Master, there's one more thing."

"Old Wu from the Accounting Room says the pharmacy's account books have been a bit odd these past two months."

Qin Yang was surprised. "Which shop?"

The Qin Family owned two pharmacies: Daliang Pharmacy and Dashan Pharmacy.

These two shops were the Qin Family's financial lifeline, bringing in several hundred taels of silver each month.

"Daliang Pharmacy."

"The silver handed over these two months is nearly half of what it should be."

Qian Hai said coldly.

His meaning was clear—the shopkeeper of Daliang Pharmacy was pocketing the money. Otherwise, why would there be such a huge discrepancy?

"Could it be business has been slow these two months?"

Qin Yang didn't want to wrong anyone.

Shopkeeper Yao of Daliang Pharmacy was an old hand at the Qin Manor, having worked diligently at the shop for over a decade.

He had to handle this carefully.

"I hope so too."

"But I went to Daliang Pharmacy in secret a few days ago."

"There were even more people buying medicine there than at Dashan Pharmacy. There's no way the money should be this short."

Qian Hai had naturally done his investigation before coming to Qin Yang.

"Then I'll go take a look."

Qin Yang didn't want to bother with trivial matters, but something like this required his personal attention.

He and Qian Hai first went to the Accounting Room.

Old Wu, seeing Qin Yang come in person, knew exactly what was up and directly pulled out the account books for Daliang Pharmacy.

"Young Master. Look at the figures for these two months."

"These are the old account books from Daliang Pharmacy."

"The books Daliang Pharmacy handed in are definitely off."

Old Wu was a meticulous old man, thorough in everything he did.

For all these years, he'd managed the Qin Manor's accounts.

Qin Yang glanced at them and compared—even an outsider could tell the books from these two months were wrong. The discrepancy with the past was too great.

"I'll handle it."

"Also, Old Wu, since it's almost year-end and times are tough, give everyone in the manor half a month's extra monthly allowance this time."

Qin Yang said indifferently.

"Thank you, Young Master." Old Wu quickly expressed his gratitude.

"If I spread that news, the whole manor will be overjoyed."

Qian Hai smiled.

Qin Yang's changes these days were truly remarkable.

Even when Qin Dongsheng was in charge, he'd never done something like this.

Qin Yang gave a few more instructions, then left the Qin Manor alone.

Daliang Pharmacy was on An Sui Street.

It was a street along the river, with shops only on one side. Across the way was a tributary of the North River.

Neat willow trees lined the outer side of the street, their branches swaying gently with the river breeze.

A group of old men were gathered in a corner, playing chess and chatting.

The buildings here were all pharmacies and physician halls, each hanging banners proclaiming things like "Miraculous Healer."

People on the street carried large bundles of herbs, their expressions troubled.

Daliang Pharmacy sat at the very end of the street.

The few shops that could occupy prominent spots all belonged to the city's major powers.

Qin Manor was only a minor player in Linjiang City, so naturally, it could only set up shop in a corner.

Yet even so, it made a decent profit every month.

Qin Yang observed from outside for a while and found that Daliang Pharmacy's business was indeed doing fairly well.

After all, small pharmacies didn't charge as much as the big ones, making them a better choice for those on tighter budgets.

By noon, the flow of customers to the pharmacy gradually thinned out.

Only then did Qin Yang step inside.

"Young Master?!"

"Greetings, Young Master Qin!"

Seeing Qin Yang, the apprentices and pharmacists quickly greeted him.

Qin Yang nodded lightly and glanced around casually. "Where's Shopkeeper Yao?"

"Young Master, Shopkeeper Yao is inside boiling medicine," one pharmacist said hurriedly.

"Alright, you all get back to work. I'll go in and take a look."

Qin Yang walked to the back of the pharmacy.

In the rear courtyard, over a dozen stoves were set up, lined with medicine pots, all simmering herbs.

"Young Master, what brings you here?"

An old man around fifty, with graying hair, looked surprised to see Qin Yang.