Chapter 8, Chapter 8, Chai Hu Nan

The next morning, a pebble the size of a fingernail flew in through the half-open door, grazed Lin Chengye's cheek as she sat at the table, and struck the wall behind her. Lin Chengye understood immediately, sent Wutong and Cangliu away, and sure enough, Chaihunan, still dressed in the same clothes, climbed in through the back window and threw down an oil paper package.

Lin Chengye opened it with suspicion, and inside were still warm mung bean pastries, red bean pastries, lotus flower pastries, and so on. However, unlike the ones Bian Yi brought back last time, these were more exquisite and cute. The lotus flower pastry was especially beautiful, with a golden color and petals blooming layer by layer.

It's probably one of the famous shops in Wucheng. Lin Chengye took one out and put it in her mouth; the aroma and sweetness slid down her throat instantly. She squinted her eyes in satisfaction, then politely offered one to Chai Hu Nan. Seeing that he shook his head, she put the paper package away on the table next to her with even greater satisfaction.

"This is for you, right? The waiter from Li Ruizhai delivered it this morning. The Alliance Leader has never liked sweets. Today is the day for the Alliance's morning meeting. This morning, Huang Qindong discovered that someone had added the line 'Li Ruizhai offers five kinds of pastries daily for a total of sixty coins' to the Alliance's ledger. The ink was still wet when she touched it and she got very angry, asking who did it. Only the four of us had the ability to sneak into the accounting room in the middle of the night. In the end, the Alliance Leader pointed to herself, and she didn't say anything."

Chai Hu Nan paused, then coldly uttered a few words.

"You stingy person."

"Those who manage the accounts are always worried about the money."

Lin Chengye could tell that the group actually had a good relationship, and their bickering was quite amusing. She opened her palm and curled her fingers towards Chai Hu Nan.

Where is the stuff?

"this."

Chai Hu Nan shuddered, and suddenly a large pile of account books fell out from under her wide black robe. She squatted down and slammed them to the ground, her internal force causing the account books to fly everywhere, crashing onto the table like rain. Lin Chengye frowned and dodged left and right to avoid being hit.

"...Why didn't you tie it up with a rope?"

The ledgers were quite complete, and Lin Chengye casually flipped through them. However, the dates were all messed up after Chai Hu Nan brought them back, so they needed to be reorganized.

"Since I stole it, Dongzi won't be going to the accounting office for about three hours from now. I asked the leader to move the regular inspection of the clinic to today, and she found an excuse to take Dongzi with her."

What an unpleasant way to address someone. Lin Chengye glanced at Chai Hu Nan, waved for her to sit down, and then picked up the account book according to the dates to examine it carefully. He first put aside the accounts within the alliance and started looking at the medical clinics and pharmacies that the Jiangjin Alliance had opened in other territories.

This account is at most twelve years old, and the Jiangjin Alliance was probably not so stable when it was first established. It did not start to expand its business until the thirteenth year of Yongjing, so there is not much to look at.

Huang Qindong was quite skilled at managing accounts, recording the purpose of every transaction clearly. In other cities, he chose the perfect locations or the martial arts sects he wanted to do business with, all of which were either in bustling areas or had excellent reputations and standing.

An hour passed quickly. Lin Chengye propped his head up, scanning the accounts at a glance, his thumb and middle finger rubbing together habitually. The monotonous sound of turning pages made Chai Hu Nan's eyelids droop, and he almost collapsed onto the table.

"What can you tell from this?"

Chai Hu Nan finally couldn't hold back and asked.

She couldn't understand why Chen Pixi, who was clearly the one with the problem, was now leisurely checking the accounts here. That guy was a martial arts fanatic and had no connection whatsoever with Huang Qindong's jurisdiction.

"Huang Qindong is very meticulous in her work. Rather than saying she is stingy, it would be more accurate to say that she is extremely strict in her work. There is not a single trace of erasure or alteration on so many accounts."

Lin Chengye raised his eyes, but did not answer the question directly.

"Then..."

There were still some things left to sort out, and Lin Chengye was too lazy to say more. She put down the ledger, stretched, stood up, walked around a few times, and casually asked...

"Well, let's put that aside for now. Who's more capable, you or Chen Pixi?"

Her eyes and legs ached from watching it. Bian Yi told her last night not to overwork herself and to get more rest.

“...Me. I rank fourth on the Yunya Yitian Ranking, and Chen Pixi ranks thirty-second.”

Chai Hu Nan hesitated for a moment, but still answered.

"Hmm, impressive."

This Cloud Cliff Yitian Chart is what people commonly refer to as a list of masters. Lin Chengye had just picked up another piece of mung bean pastry when he heard this, raised an eyebrow, and sincerely praised it.

Fourth, that's quite impressive... This title is enough to protect the Jiangjin Alliance. Could it be that I was wrong before? Is the Jiangjin Alliance's confidence actually based on Chai Hu Nan? Lin Chengye took a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, but then he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

When she was at the Lin family mansion, she loved collecting stories of the martial arts world. The changes in the Yunya Yitian Genealogy were the most talked about, such as how Guan Yue, ranked second, challenged Ji Teng, ranked first, for the 88th time and failed to defeat him.

"I didn't notice it at the time, but now I do have a question," Lin Chengye asked curiously.

"Is Bian Yi not on the Yi Tian Catalogue?"

"There are two types of people who won't be on the list. The first is those who are at the peak of martial arts, known as semi-immortals. There are currently three of them: Qin Ruoliu, the city lord of Yulin City in Lai Kingdom; Tuoba Sui, the prince of Northern Yan; and Chu Wuding, the Taoist priest of Qingluan Xianzhi Temple in Southern Qi. The second is the people from the Yitian Spectrum of Paiyun Cliff."

Even though Lin Chengye couldn't see Chai Hu Nan's expression, she felt that the man was probably sneering. She thought for a moment and then said.

"...Bian Yi is the person in charge of compiling the Yi Tian Chart? How did this Yi Tian Chart end up in her hands?"

"The person who compiles the Yi Tian Manual is called the Manual Master. He is an upright person chosen by the previous Manual Master. As long as his martial arts skills are passable, that's enough, since all he needs to do is record things. In the tenth year of Yongjing, the second year after the establishment of the Jiangjin Alliance, the Alliance Leader rescued a woman in her sixties. Who knew that the woman was the previous Manual Master who had been ambushed? As soon as she woke up, she shoved the Yi Tian Manual into the Alliance Leader's hands, saying that she had had enough and was being chased by people who were not convinced of her abilities every few days. So, she gave it to him. People in the martial arts world only know that the current Manual Master is the leader of the Jiangjin Alliance, and very few people associate Bian Yi with him."

"Why is Bian Yi always... well, forced to take on some jobs?"

Could it be that they thought she was kind because of her appearance and the fact that Bian Yi was a doctor?

Chai Hu Nan pretended not to understand Lin Cheng Ye's implied meaning and silently lowered his head to look at the ground without saying a word.

Lin Chengye didn't bother with her. After resting enough, he pointed to the stove in the center of the room.

"Go and clean up the stove, it's too hot. I'll tell you what's wrong in a bit."

Last night, before leaving, he made sure the stove was burning brightly, afraid she would get cold. Although she was sensitive to cold after her tendons were severed, she was still a seventeen-year-old girl, and when she woke up this morning, she felt hot all over.

"...She really is a rich girl."

Chai Hu Nan clicked her tongue, walked to the stove, and reached in to take out a few pieces of charcoal. It was unclear what kind of cultivation technique she practiced, but her hands suddenly sprouted snake-like scales, turning completely black, yet the flames failed to harm them in the slightest.

The world's martial arts are truly diverse and wondrous, and I wonder what kind of cultivation methods are used. Lin Chengye's mind was quick and agile; even his poor health couldn't stop his mind from working non-stop.

"Alright, just say it already." Chai Hu Nan slammed his hand on the table impatiently.

Lin Chengye, sitting in the ledger, beckoned to Chai Hu Nan, signaling her to come over. The stool creaked as it scraped against the floor, and Chai Hu Nan, dragging her large black robe, moved to Lin Chengye's side, looking in the direction Lin Chengye was pointing.

In the thirteenth year of Yongjing, from the first day of the fifth month to the twenty-seventh day of the fifth month, the mission to Yicheng was undecided, and the journey cost three taels and two hundred cash.

In the thirteenth year of Yongjing, from the ninth day of the tenth month to the twenty-seventh day of the tenth month, I was sent to Yicheng. The journey cost three taels of silver, and I rented a shop on Gumo Road for four taels of silver.

In the fourteenth year of Yongjing, from the second day of the sixth month to the twentieth day of the sixth month, I was sent to Yicheng. The journey cost me two taels and two hundred cash, and I rented a shop on Xiluo Street for four taels of silver.

The sixteenth year of Yongjing... The eighteenth year of Yongjing...

In the twentieth year of Yongjing, I was sent to Yicheng. The journey took from the first day to the twelfth day of the fifth month, and the cost was two taels of silver.

"Are you saying there's a problem with this?"

Chai Hu Nan frowned and gently shook his head.

“Yicheng is Dongzi’s hometown and is close to the capital, so it’s relatively prosperous. That’s why Jiang Jinmeng chose a familiar city as her first choice when she opened her pharmacy. I don’t know anything about the location of this shop. I went there every two years as part of a routine inspection of the shops outside Wucheng. Is there a problem with that?”

"There seems to be no problem on the surface, but compared to the other entries in this ledger, the problem is much bigger."

The person Bian Yi chose for her was indeed useful. Although Bian Yi seemed naive, having such a trusted confidant was a good thing. Lin Chengye glanced at Chai Hu Nan with satisfaction and continued.

"Last time you said that Jiang Jinmeng's business is roughly divided into two types: one is a pharmacy, and the other is doing business directly with martial arts sects, since some of the medicines needed are rather obscure. Tell me, who is the largest martial arts sect in Yicheng?"

"Yicheng Huarong Building."

Chai Hu Nan answered almost immediately.

"Well, let me ask you, why hasn't Huang Qindong done business with Qingronglou all these years, leaving such a big piece of meat untouched? As far as I know, this sect has extremely high standards for appearance, and their cultivation technique, Thousand-Face Needle, requires a great deal of healing. Why doesn't they do business with Qingronglou?"

"..."

Chai Hu Nan was rendered speechless, and he did indeed sense that something was amiss.

"It's still just speculation. Go find a map of Yicheng. You should have one, right? You're the one doing the intelligence work."

"No need, I remember."

Chai Hu Nan picked up a pen from the side, tore a piece of paper from behind the ledger, thought for a moment, and then drew the layout of the city. He even remembered most of the street names.

When the map was almost finished, Chai Hu Nan slowly stopped and murmured.

"...The location of Hua Rong Lou is right at the intersection of Gu Mo Road and Xi Luo Street. Could the true purpose of these two shops be..."

"Hmm, it's very likely that it was used to monitor Hua Rong Lou, which makes sense."

Lin Chengye nodded affirmatively and snapped his fingers.

"Before this, I was thinking about why. Could it be that Huang Qindong has some grudge against Hua Ronglou and went there with her assassins? Just now, you said that Huang Qindong's old home was in Yicheng, and then everything makes sense. Huang Qindong's wandering to Wucheng is very likely related to Hua Ronglou. She has never forgotten her hatred over the years, and now that the time is ripe, she may very well be going to settle scores with Hua Ronglou."

"Let bygones be bygones, forgive and forget"—six words. How easy is that? Lin Chengye sighed, but Bian Yi's approach was the best. Jiangjin Alliance was originally a non-family sect; if there were enemies and grudges, how could there be peace in the future?

“Let’s double-check. The ledger can be returned now. Do you know where Chen Pixi is training Deadpool? Come with me.” Lin Chengye stood up and said to Chai Huxi.

"...Wait for me a cup of tea."

Chai Hu Nan rolled her eyes wildly under her hood, too lazy to say anything more. She once again shoved the account book haphazardly under her black robe and quickly jumped out of the window. She didn't usually carry weapons, but if she was going to see Chen Pi Xi, she would bring her short knife called "Secret Butterfly Blade".

I wonder what the relationship is between the leader and this little girl. It would be best if she could be kept by his side in the future, which would make up for the leader's lack of common sense. Chai Hu Nan thought as he ran, and for a moment he was not so annoyed by Lin Cheng Ye's spoiled princess temper.

A note from the author: