Mortal: Junior Sister Song Yu

After a half-day of rapid travel, the outline of a massive black mountain appeared on the horizon.

That is the Black Rock Mountains.

In stark contrast to the ethereal beauty of Luoyun Sect, the sky here seemed to be tinged with a hazy gray by the dust of minerals. The wind carried the pungent smell of sulfur, the fishy odor of damp earth, and a faint, almost imperceptible, rotten scent of despair.

Flying closer, the entire Blackstone Mine came into view.

That wasn't a mountain, but a mountain whose interior had been forcibly hollowed out.

A bottomless, enormous pit, like an ugly wound gaping open in the earth.

Countless makeshift wooden walkways and rickety hanging baskets, like spider webs, cling to the dark rock walls, connecting one deep mine tunnel after another.

At the bottom of the pit and on the walkway, countless miners dressed in gray prison uniforms were wielding specially made magical pickaxes, clanging and jingling as they mined a kind of shiny black ore.

The sound was not crisp, but rather a dull echo, as if all hope had been swallowed up by the rock wall.

Most of them were ordinary people, or Qi cultivators with low cultivation levels. Their movements were mechanical and numb, and their eyes were empty, as if their souls had long been devoured by this endless labor.

At the edge of the mine, a tall stone wall was built, and on several watchtowers, outer disciples of the Luoyun Sect patrolled vigilantly, holding magical artifacts.

Song Yu's escape light did not linger at all, and landed directly in front of the largest three-story stone building in the center of the mine.

"Who goes there!"

Two guards immediately stepped forward and questioned them sternly.

Song Yu put away her bamboo hat. Although her face was not clearly visible under the veil, her unfathomable cultivation level and the waist tag engraved with the words "True Inheritance" already indicated her identity.

The two guards' expressions changed, and they immediately bowed and saluted: "Disciple greets Martial Uncle Song!"

"No need for such formalities."

As soon as Song Yu finished speaking, a slightly plump, ruddy-faced middle-aged cultivator strode out of the stone building, his face beaming with a warm smile.

"Oh dear! I had no idea which esteemed senior had graced us with their presence. I am so sorry for not greeting you properly!"

The newcomer was Zhou, the manager of this place, a cultivator at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Behind him were two young cultivators, a man and a woman, who both appeared to have recently established their foundation. Their eyes were filled with awe and curiosity as they looked at Song Yu.

"You're too kind, Steward Zhou."

Song Yu nodded slightly, "I dare not slack off on the sect's mission."

Manager Zhou's smile froze. When his gaze fell on Song Yu's waist tag that read "True Disciple," his pupils shrank imperceptibly, and a barely perceptible bead of cold sweat even appeared on his forehead.

Song Yu's "Insightful Understanding" quietly activated, and she clearly "senses" that the enthusiastic Steward Zhou in front of her has experienced a sudden and intense fluctuation in his mind.

It wasn't a simple emotion, but a chaotic, foul-smelling black vortex, mixed with needle-like shock, slippery panic, and a hint of guilty, chilling fear.

Although he concealed it very well, and the smile on his face did not change at all, the panic that came from the depths of his soul was as clear as a torch in the dark night to Song Yu’s mind.

"So it's Senior Sister Song! We've all heard of Fairy Bai Feng's name in the mine! It's a great blessing for our mine that the sect would send you! Please come in!" Manager Zhou quickly stepped aside and led Song Yu into the building, his posture even more respectful than before.

Song Yu, holding Little Stone's hand, followed them inside discreetly.

"Fairy sister, it's so dark here." Little Stone gripped Song Yu's hand tightly and muttered softly, his face showing a child's fear of the unfamiliar environment.

"Don't be afraid."

Song Yu patted his hand reassuringly, but the chilling malice still lingered.

Upon entering the stone building, Steward Zhou enthusiastically introduced the situation, meticulously describing the losses from the monster attack and the miners' panic. He concluded with a heavy sigh, looking deeply worried.

"Ah, thank goodness the sect sent Senior Sister Song in time! You're an expert in water-based formations, you'll definitely be able to subdue those fire-type demon wolves! With you here, we can finally get a good night's sleep!"

Song Yu listened quietly, nodding occasionally, but her gaze fell on the female disciple behind Steward Zhou.

She remembered that female disciple; she was a newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator from White Phoenix Peak named Liu Qing, and she had a calm and steady personality.

After seeing off the beaming Steward Zhou, Song Yu kept Liu Qing behind.

"Disciple Liu Qing greets Senior Sister Song!"

Liu Qing seemed a little excited. Being able to see her senior sister, a true disciple from her main peak, here made her feel very close to her.

"Junior Sister Liu, there's no need for such formalities."

Song Yu's voice softened slightly, and his clear and insightful voice conveyed pure respect and joy, without the slightest impurity.

This person can be trusted.

"Tell me about the details of the mine."

Song Yu cut straight to the point, "Including the number of all registered miners and guards, the monthly spirit stone expenses, and the specific losses caused by this monster attack."

"Yes, Senior Sister!" Liu Qing immediately took out a jade slip from her storage bag and respectfully handed it over. "This contains the personnel roster and expenditure records of the mine for the past three years. I haven't been here long and I'm in charge of this area, so I'm quite familiar with it."

Song Yu took the jade slip, probed it with her divine sense, and after a moment, she raised her head.

"Junior Sister Liu, there's something I need you to do."

"Please speak, senior sister!"

"Go and secretly bring all the original ledgers from the mine for the past year to my room. Remember, don't let anyone know about this, especially Manager Zhou."

Liu Qing paused for a moment, then, quick-witted as ever, she realized what was happening. Her face paled slightly, but her eyes showed no sign of hesitation; instead, a resolute determination filled them. She nodded firmly, "Yes! This disciple understands!"

Watching Liu Qing's departing figure, Song Yu's gaze deepened.

Involuntarily, the image of her husband Li Xiao's gentle, smiling face appeared in her mind.

As he helped her organize the sect's records, he smiled and said, "Yu'er, people's hearts can lie, and accounts can deceive, but the flow of spirit stones is always the most honest."

Behind every unusual expense lies a greedy ghost.

When we were auditing the accounts in Lingtian, we used this simplest yet most effective method to expose the steward who was embezzling funds.

Soon, Liu Qing quietly carried a thick stack of animal hide ledgers into Song Yu's room.

Song Yu asked her to stand guard outside the door while he sat down at the table and began to read the book page by page.

In the corner, Little Stone seemed to sense the heavy atmosphere. He stopped playing with the black stone, hugged his knees, and quietly looked at Song Yu's profile. His obsidian-like eyes were full of pure trust.

The ledger was very detailed, recording every single spirit stone that came in and out, and every miner's wages.

On the surface, it appears flawless.

However, Song Yu examined it extremely carefully, comparing the account book with the list of personnel recorded in the jade slip given to her by Liu Qing, one by one.

An hour later, her fingertips stopped on a yellowed animal hide.

She discovered a strange phenomenon.

The ledger lists about twenty names each month, who receive a substantial amount of spirit stones as a salary.

However, these twenty people were not listed in the official personnel roster of the sect provided by Liu Qing!

Twenty "shadow miners" appeared out of nowhere.

Her breathing remained unchanged, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

She continued scrolling down, and an even more outrageous record appeared.

A miner guard named "Wang Ermazi" was recorded as "killed in action" while on duty during a small-scale attack by monsters three months ago, and his compensation has already been paid.

But in the payroll record from the day before yesterday, the name "Wang Ermazi" actually received another paycheck!

The dead are still receiving spirit stones.

"Oh."

A very soft, cold laugh escaped from Song Yu's lips.

She slowly closed the ledger, already having made up her mind.

Manager Zhou was the inside man for that group of robbers.

Embezzling funds from those in charge, falsifying accounts, and using these tricks to line their own pockets.

But she didn't have an attack immediately.

She still needs evidence, a motive that can connect everything.

Such a massive act of embezzlement must have created a huge hole that needs to be filled.

She opened the door and asked Liu Qing, who was guarding outside, "Junior Sister Liu."

"What are your instructions, Senior Sister?"

"How much do you know about this Manager Zhou? For example, what is his character like, or does he have any particular hobbies?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing hesitated and looked troubled, glancing around instinctively as if someone was listening.

"Please feel free to speak."

Song Yu’s tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable power.

Liu Qing bit her lip, took a step closer, and lowered her voice: "Senior Sister, Steward Zhou... he's usually quite kind and generous. He's very good to us and even to those mortals. He's never withheld their spirit stones. It's just... he has one bad habit he can't shake..."

"explain."

"He's a gambler."

Liu Qing's voice was even lower, almost inaudible, "I only overheard someone mentioning it by chance. He's a regular at several underground casinos in Blackstone Town. It's said... it's said that he's lost everything trying to win back his losses and owes the casinos a huge amount of spirit stones, enough to make him a fugitive."

bet.

The number of people who have fled to the ends of the earth.

These two words swirled in Song Yu's mind, instantly connecting all the clues.

Manager Zhou wasn't simply greedy; he was driven to desperation. A gambling-addicted cultivator, burdened with debts large enough to drive him to the brink of extinction, had no choice but to embezzle and take the risk.

Recalling the hesitant and awkward tone Liu Qing showed when talking about him, it's likely that Manager Zhou was indeed kind to people, so much so that even now, his subordinates still remember his good deeds.

A pitiful person who may not be a bad person by nature, but who lost everything by taking one wrong step.

Song Yu sighed softly to himself.

Taking him down directly and handing him over to the sect's law enforcement hall would certainly be a clean and efficient solution.

However, this would allow the gang of ruthless bandits led by Xiong Kui, a fake Core Formation cultivator, to completely disappear, and the trail would be lost.

More importantly, Manager Zhou knows the mine inside and out. If he were to become desperate and cooperate with the bandits, the hundreds of guards and thousands of miners in the mine would likely suffer heavy casualties.

The best way is to win him over.

Give him a chance to redeem himself, and make him willingly become a pawn you planted within the enemy ranks.