Balancing the Books
"Wow, there's a lot of gold and silver here!"
Fang Yu sighed and walked into the warehouse. As he passed, the gold and silver on the shelves disappeared and were collected into the Mirror-Breaking Pearl.
When he reached the end of the warehouse, all the gold and silver had disappeared. He roughly calculated the amount; there were probably over 500,000 taels of gold and silver stored there.
Compared to the massive Heavenly Exquisite Martial Hall Academy, this sum of over 500,000 taels of silver is not a large amount.
After all, it's the Grand Secretary's business; a mere 500,000 taels is just a small transaction.
After receiving the gold and silver Fang Yu arrived at the area where the Demon Beast meat was stored.
Silver snake meat, mountain deer meat, wild beef, and um, some 'black bird meat'.
Fang Yu's eyes lit up. He went to the box containing the 'Black Bird Meat', picked up a piece of meat weighing about an ounce, tore off a strip, and threw it into his mouth.
A surge of Qi and Blood rose from his abdomen and flowed to his limbs and bones, giving Fang Yu the illusion of being as light as a swallow.
This Xuan Bird meat is the meat of Demon Beast needed to cultivate the Yan Household's top-level Cultivation Method, "Spring Wind Palm." This box in front of us probably weighs about ten pounds, and it's estimated to be for the high-level disciples in this martial arts school to use for their cultivation.
Fang Yu moved his Divine Thought and put the box away, then looked at the other, relatively ordinary, Demon Beast meat.
That's a lot more; the total amount of all types of Demon Beast meat exceeds ten thousand catties.
"They really do take advantage of the big spenders!"
Ten thousand catties of Demon Beast meat would be enough for him to eat for several years. Fang Yu felt that he shouldn't need to engage in this kind of robbery and plundering before advancing to the Master level.
He activated his Divine Thought and collected all the meat into his possession. Then he circled the warehouse a few more times, collecting everything that was there, whether it was any or not. Since there was plenty of Demon Beast meat now, he didn't need to save the little bit of ' Primordial Qi ' needed to collect things.
After putting away the last item in the warehouse, Fang Yu went to the door, sensed the guards still gambling, gently pushed open the warehouse door, locked it again, and then returned the way he came, stopping and starting along the way, returning to his own courtyard without any incident.
*****
The next day.
The warehouse door was opened on time, and as it was pushed open, everyone was startled.
One person looked at the empty warehouse, where even the shelves were gone, and couldn't help but rub their eyes, staring intently at it again.
It's still empty!
"Quickly, go and inform them..."
The leading Sixth Grade expert, Yao Liang, subconsciously gave orders to his subordinates, but he stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, a fierce glint appearing in his eyes.
Several of the men suddenly realized something, and one of them said tremblingly, "Boss, we're all doomed!"
Before the words were even finished, a line of blood appeared on the man's neck.
A series of cold lights flashed, and the people present fell to the ground.
The next moment, Yao Liang turned around, closed the storehouse door, and quickly walked out of the storehouse courtyard, heading outside.
The inner treasury was mysteriously robbed, and right under his nose. Regardless of how the contents of the entire warehouse disappeared silently, he was seriously negligent, and the Yan Household would never let him off the hook. He was doomed.
Moreover, the ability to empty the warehouse silently right under his nose is certainly not something an ordinary force could do; it's likely the work of a member of the Yan Household. Such embezzlement is all too common in Long City.
If he didn't leave now, he would only be left to wait for death.
As Yao Liang pondered this, he left Heavenly Exquisite Martial Hall without even daring to return home, heading straight for the nearest city gate.
*****
A few days later, the fifteenth temple fair will be held.
Fang Yu disguised himself as a young girl and came to the temple fair. He spent two coins to buy a string of candied hawthorns and ate them while strolling around the fair.
As they were walking, a group of constables came shouting, parted the crowd, and came to a corner of a wall not far ahead that was covered with notices.
"Excuse me, excuse me..."
Amidst the loud shouts, several constables posted a notice on the wall and then left.
As soon as the constable left, a large crowd gathered around, and a storyteller who was nearby squeezed in, shouting loudly, "I'll read! I'll read!"
Fang Yu also approached at this moment, and his gaze swept over the notice, causing him to pause slightly in surprise.
At that moment, the storyteller's voice rang out as he read the notice.
"On the night of the first day of this month, the prestigious ' Heavenly Exquisite Martial Hall ' of this city was broken into by thieves who carried out a massive theft. The school's most important vault was breached, and the stolen treasures, gold and silver artifacts, martial arts manuals, and precious medicinal herbs were valued at a staggering five million taels of silver. This is a case rarely seen in this city in decades; the thieves' audacity is unparalleled, and their crimes are unforgivable..."
"... The wanted criminal ' Yao Liang ' committed embezzlement and disappeared without a trace after the crime was discovered. He was about thirty years old, over seven feet tall, with a strong and wiry build, a sallow complexion, and Sixth-Rank Strongman..."
"By order of the Prefectural Government, this reward is hereby issued: A reward of ten thousand taels of silver will be given to anyone who captures the ringleader Yao Liang alive and recovers the main stolen goods; a reward of three thousand taels of silver will be given to anyone who provides conclusive information leading to the capture of Yao Liang..."
As the notice was read aloud, the crowd erupted in uproar.
"What?! Five million taels of silver are lost!"
"How is this possible? That's the Heavenly Exquisite Martial Hall, a place teeming with martial arts masters!"
"This Yao Liang is truly remarkable; he actually embezzled five million taels of silver! That could buy so much fertile land!"
"..."
Fang Yu was stunned. After a long while, he murmured, "This Grand Secretary Yan is truly ruthless!"
Everything in that warehouse is still lying inside his Mirror-Breaking Pearl; he knows all too well its value.
The cash amounted to 500,000 taels of silver. Although the 10,000 catties of Demon Beast meat was more expensive, it was still worth about 1 million taels of silver according to market prices. The two items together amounted to 1.5 million taels of silver.
But now the Yan Household claims that five million taels of silver were stolen, which is rather ruthless.
Could it be that I inadvertently helped some important figure in the Yan Household settle their accounts?
Fang Yu pondered for a moment as he arrived at the City God, then passed through an underground passage to reach the Ghost Market.
The ghost market was still the same as before, selling all sorts of things. However, as soon as Fang Yu arrived at the square, he immediately felt as if he was being watched. Several faint gazes gathered on him from the shadows.
Fang Yu swept his Divine Thought over them and clearly sensed their cultivation levels. They were three Sixth-Rank Strongman. Although they were all wearing black robes that concealed their faces, Fang Yu could still clearly sense the unique aura on them that came from practicing the ' Spring Wind Palm '.
These three people should all be members of the Yan Household.
In the blink of an eye, the three people shifted their attention from him to other passersby.
'The Yan family has even searched the ghost market for people; they must be looking for that warehouse manager Yao Liang!'
Fang Yu thought to himself, then ignored the people and slowly wandered around the ghost market. Soon, he spotted Xiao Ji sitting in a teahouse drinking tea.
As he looked over, Xiao Ji also noticed him. Their eyes met, and he immediately smiled, took a bite of a candied hawthorn, and walked towards the other person.