Chapter 1378: The Crisis Waiting Ahead

Xue Zongwu sneered, "That's right, but the accounts are gone, burned to ashes by some petty thieves."

"In the past, when faced with such a situation, the Royal Court's special envoy could only return and report truthfully to my King." General Xue's influence was evident, and Frost Creek County was also a victim, with its storehouses burned down.

"What about now?"

"If 'that person' insists on investigating, you'll still be in serious trouble."

Xue Zongwu was puzzled. "The accounts are gone. What trouble could I possibly be in?"

"Yours – I mean, Frost Creek County's accounts may be gone, but the subordinate accounts are all there. So many mines, ranches, markets, warehouses, large and small merchant guilds, wealthy households... all those various entries, they each have a set of accounts!" Tong Huan explained. "If 'that person' is determined to investigate, with one command, Frost Creek County will have to compile all the subordinate historical accounts and rebuild the ledgers!"

Hearing this, Xue Zongwu had a premonition of trouble. "What's wrong with that?"

Wasn't burning them supposed to be the end of it?

"The burned ledgers had long been reconciled by Qian Yu; for years, outsiders couldn't find any discrepancies," Tong Huan said gravely. "But if a large-scale, unified reconstruction of the accounts is ordered, those accounts, those 'smoothed over' accounts, will definitely be exposed!"

The principle of accounting is that every decrease must have an increase, every deficit must have a corresponding reconciliation. The complex financial manipulations Qian Yu had performed in the ledgers over the years were so intricate that few could unravel them besides himself; even the auditors sent by the Yao Royal Court never found any loopholes. Now, once the ledgers are reconstructed, many entries simply won't match up."

He coughed softly. "At this point, the lost master ledgers from Frost Creek County would become useful. They are the originals; if they were used to cross-reference the newly built accounts, then..."

He didn't need to say more; Xue Zongwu understood and was rubbing his temples hard.

Cross-referencing! Qing Yang stole his ledgers for the final "confrontation in court"!

"No wonder Frost Creek County reported a few days ago that the Royal Court's special envoy notified two mines to audit their accounts and submit ten years of past ledgers. Ha, so it was Regent Qing Yang secretly planning to deal with me!"

In his fury, he dropped the euphemism "that person" and directly called out Qing Yang.

This was also why he had hastily sent Qian Yu to Frost Creek: to check for and fix any omissions, to prevent anyone from finding fault.

"That's why those two men in black had to kill Qian Yu," Tong Huan said solemnly. "Qian Yu was the one who 'smoothed over' all the accounts. With him dead, no one would remember the details, and the accounts would have to be completely redone!"

"Furthermore, the Royal Court's special envoy will arrive in ten days to audit the accounts. By then, you will most likely have reached the capital, neither in Frost Creek nor with the army!" Xue Zongwu's inability to be present in Frost Creek would make it difficult to interfere with the supervision and auditing sent by Qing Yang.

"The original accounts were a messy jumble, hard to audit; but with them burned away, Regent Qing Yang's people would have a reason to demand a complete reconstruction of the ledgers."

"What a scheme, what a tactic!" Xue Zongwu paced back and forth anxiously in the training ground. "How insidious!"

He was not adept at winning battles in this arena.

He preferred to fight genuinely on the battlefield, not engage in these tricks.

"What do we do now?"

"The remaining accounts cannot be burned! You have ten days. You must rush to reconcile the accounts for auditing and try to balance them as much as possible before Regent Qing Yang sends people down for the audit. Otherwise, it won't be you doing it, but Qing Yang's people supervising Frost Creek County's ledger reconstruction!"

"Ten days..." Xue Zongwu was speechless, a bitter taste in his mouth. Accounts from the past five to seven years, all the various, trivial, detailed entries, all needed to be redone?

Redoing them wasn't the most troublesome part; the real trouble was making sure the accounts balanced as much as possible!

Forget ten days, two months wouldn't be enough!

"You need to be quick." Tong Huan knew that General Xue's most pressing need right now was time.

"Damn it!" Xue Zongwu swung a fist angrily at the air and quickly left the training ground.

Tong Huan added, "You're about to return to the capital; please be extremely careful on your journey."

Xue Zongwu grunted in acknowledgment. Lately, he had felt uneasy, always sensing impending disaster. The last time he had such a premonition, he immediately altered his battle strategy, thereby avoiding an enemy ambush.

Even if his advisors hadn't mentioned it, he intended to proceed cautiously on this journey back to the capital.

The fine, dense rain, like silk threads, had been falling all day.

Only a few steps away, Dong Rui didn't bother with an umbrella. But by the time he entered the Reverence Merchant Guild's branch, his clothes were already half-soaked.

He had been careless. He shook the water from his hair and heard the low sound of a xun.

The guild was sparsely populated today. Besides, only the temperamental patron would be playing an instrument freely here.

Dong Rui walked to the guild's back courtyard, marked "Authorized Personnel Only," and hopped to the second floor. Sure enough, he saw He Lingchuan leaning against a wooden pillar on the long corridor, playing the xun. Brilliant Jacaranda flowers openly extended into the second floor, nodding gently with the sound of the xun and the breeze.

The melody, while melodious, carried the unique desolation of the ancient xun, blending with the rain outside the eaves, becoming even more distant and ethereal.

Even someone unmusical like Dong Rui detected a profound loneliness, as if the player was isolated from the world, accompanied only by the gentle breeze and fine rain.

This long corridor, this corner separated by blooming pomegranates and Jacaranda, was a world unto itself.

Dong Rui unconsciously slowed his steps.

Sometimes, he would forget that He Lingchuan was also a person with emotions, worries, and flesh and blood.

The passionate youth who had rescued Ke Jihai in the Deer Park of Yuan State had transformed into the profound and unreadable Great Emperor Jiuyou.

Dong Rui had never truly known what He Lingchuan was thinking deep down.

When the piece ended, its lingering notes faded away.

He Lingchuan put down the ancient xun, opened his eyes, and looked at Dong Rui. "The kitchen made a lot of taro-bamboo shoot buns, and there's freshly made sweet chili sauce."

The bamboo shoot season was almost over. Using taro paste for the skin, filling it with diced meat, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and other ingredients, then steaming it, made a popular local breakfast.

Dong Rui had come at this time precisely to get a meal. "I'll be there shortly. Your musical skill has grown again."

"It's passable," He Lingchuan replied. Ju City was quiet, but the Panlong World was engulfed in war. He Lingchuan had been preparing for battle nightly these past few days, and his feelings were profound.

As he toyed with the ancient xun, Dong Rui's gaze sharpened. "Huh, when did you open the last hole?"

The last hole of this xun had been sealed since He Lingchuan left Lingxu City. Why was it open now?

No wonder the timbre sounded a little different.

"This?" He Lingchuan shook the xun in his hand. "It's been open for several days now."

Dong Rui was startled. That meant...

"I have a premonition that the journey to Yao State will be fraught with danger, requiring our full effort," He Lingchuan said slowly. "When I go to Tianshui City this time, Qing Yang will certainly be unhappy to see me and might make some moves; as for the Yao King, his intentions are unclear and must be guarded against."

He could feel that Yao State was not friendly towards him.

Ha, perhaps Yao State wasn't friendly enough to anyone.

"Also, your colleagues are not to be underestimated. Their methods are bizarre and treacherous; they could even kill Situ Yu. If someone hires them to deal with me..."

He was confident his cultivation and combat skills far surpassed Situ Yu's, but it's always easier to be the aggressor than to defend indefinitely. That mysterious demon puppeteer organization, when they struck, they did so like a sudden downpour, making it truly difficult for the victims to contend with.

"There's another force that must be mentioned—" The rain outside the eaves suddenly intensified, but He Lingchuan's words, overriding the sound of the rain, reached Dong Rui's ears—"Heavenly Palace and Beijia."

"With such a great distance, Beijia would still notice us?" Dong Rui wondered. "Are they just bored?"

"The rise of the Black Armor Army and the legend of Great Emperor Jiuyou first caught the attention of the minor deities," He Lingchuan said, hopping onto the railing and sitting with his back against the pillar. "According to information collected by the Reverence Merchant Guild from the central Golden Sands Plain, some minor deities' followers have already converted to believing in Great Emperor Jiuyou. A few days ago, a shrine dedicated to Great Emperor Jiuyou was even built in Yutuo City."

Dong Rui chuckled, "They're worshipping you as an immortal on earth; aren't they afraid you'll shorten your lifespan?"

"When people pray to deities, isn't it for hope? Hope for a better life, hope for peace and health.

For common folk suffering injustice and bullying but powerless to resist, aren't they hoping for someone to uphold justice on their behalf and eliminate evil?

In all those past years, when had such a hero ever appeared in the Golden Sands Plain?

Deities, to attract followers, have to expend divine power to manifest miracles, sending the signal to the world, 'I exist, I am powerful.' In contrast, Great Emperor Jiuyou and his Black Armor Army act on behalf of heavenly justice everywhere, punishing evildoers. To the world, isn't that a miracle?

What is a miracle?

Isn't it demonstrating unimaginable power and accomplishing incredible feats that ordinary people wouldn't dare to dream of?

What Great Emperor Jiuyou has done aligns with ordinary people's judgment.

If he wants to manifest a miracle, he just needs to appear and slay a few great villains. How is that not more powerful than other deities who might struggle for two or three years to produce a single miracle?

So it's not surprising that 'Great Emperor Jiuyou' gained followers in just a few months, with their numbers steadily increasing. Moreover, He Lingchuan has the Clanging Dragon Armor, which can collect power of wishes, so he isn't afraid of people building shrines for him at all.

But this angered the other minor deities.

The Golden Sands Plain has always been a prime location for various celestial deities to compete for followers. This means it has the most minor and wild deities. They are the first to know of any subtle changes.

How different are the divine and human realms? News spreads just as quickly. Therefore, He Lingchuan believed that the emergence of 'Great Emperor Jiuyou' and the actions of the Black Armor Army must have attracted the attention of an increasing number of celestial deities.

And whenever Great Emperor Jiuyou eliminates evil, a flood dragon head totem appears in that area for three days. As for this, it's hard for Beijia not to mind—

The Demon Emperor is a descendant of the Dragon Clan. After hearing about the anomalies in the Golden Sands Plain, how could he not be interested in Great Emperor Jiuyou and the black flood dragon totem?

"Just because we haven't seen Beijia make a move doesn't mean it's truly at peace," He Lingchuan took a breath. "The biting dog doesn't bark. Who knows if Lingxu City already has a plan? So, this is the fourth hidden danger."

"When I say all this, I haven't even factored in the risk of eliminating Xue Zongwu. But to break the deadlock, we must go to Yao State." This trip was unavoidable. He asked Dong Rui, "By the way, was your transformation successful?"