Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

Judging from the paper and ink, this excerpt from the directory was probably compiled several decades ago. At that time, Pang Qing's grain shop was still in operation, indicating that the clues were not too old.

It's normal for a grain shop to close down over several decades, and it's also normal for it to change owners; in any case, we need to investigate.

Yi Yang folded a corner of the book page, stuffed it back into the hidden drawer, and fastened the lock.

He picked up the teacup, took the last sip of the now-cold coarse tea, got up, walked to the door, and pushed it open.

"Someone come here."

Footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.

The door was pushed open halfway.

The woman who entered was a young woman in her early twenties, wearing the uniform light blue short jacket worn by Qianyanglou, with a circle of fine cloud patterns embroidered in silver thread around the cuffs. She was quite pretty, with clear eyes and fair skin on her hands, and she didn't look like someone who did manual labor.

She stopped at the doorway and bent down slightly.

"What are your orders, sir?"

Yi Yang glanced at her and used the simplest of words.

"Go to the storeroom and fetch five bottles of cultivation pills. They must be of high grade, at least fourth grade."

The maid's body stiffened for a moment, almost imperceptibly, but under the five senses of the sixth level of Qi and Blood, it was impossible for her to hide.

She kept her head down, but her eyes were darting around rapidly. She pursed her lips, and her fingertips unconsciously gripped the fabric of her sleeve.

Yi Yang took all these subtle movements into account, remained silent, and waited.

The maid stood still.

The silence lasted for four or five breaths.

Yi Yang's brows furrowed slightly, and his tone was tinged with displeasure.

"What are you still standing there for? Aren't you going? It's not like I'm not going to pay."

The maid's head snapped up.

Those eyes were filled with shock.

Two words—pay.

Looking at her like this, Yi Yang's impatience, which had been weighing on his brow, dissipated considerably, replaced by a subtle understanding.

"Do Ye Yang and his group usually take the pills without paying?"

The maid's lips moved twice, but no sound came out.

She didn't dare to answer.

This question is a death trap no matter how you answer it. Saying "yes" is tantamount to reporting the former manager; saying "no" means the new landlord isn't blind.

Yi Yang noticed her predicament and didn't press her for more information.

He took out five silver notes, each worth one hundred taels, from his pocket, placed them on the table, and weighed them down with the bottom of a teacup.

"Is this enough at the internal price?"

The maid swallowed hard, her gaze darting between the silver notes, before finally regaining her composure and speaking very softly.

"My lord... internal procurement channels offer a 50% discount. Five bottles of grade-five pills will cost more than five hundred taels."

"Then let's get it done."

Without a word, the maid turned and left, her pace three times faster than when she came in.

After the door closed, Yi Yang leaned back in his chair and rearranged the five silver notes.

Ye Yang, oh Ye Yang.

No wonder Qianyanglou's accounts are so well done; even the maids have been trained to have the conditioned reflex of "taking things without paying."

This isn't greed, this is outright robbery.

The only difference is that they were robbing the Sky Patrol Bureau's treasury.

Yi Yang silently memorized this debt, without writing it down on paper.

Paper can be burned, but the things in your mind cannot.

……

into the night.

In the main hall on the fourth floor of Qianyang Tower, only one oil lamp was lit. The wick burned very low, and the flame flickered in the copper lamp, casting dancing shadows all over the walls.

Yi Yang sat cross-legged on the futon, having already opened two of the five bottles of pills. The aroma of the medicine permeated the sealed room, strong and pungent, carrying a metallic astringency and a herbal bitterness.

The stance for the sixth level of the Yi Mu Health Preservation Exercise has been set up, and the frequency of Qi and blood circulation in the meridians is stable and continuous.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Three short and one long.

It's a code for Huang Yushu.

"Come in."

The door opened a crack, and Huang Yu slipped in, quickly locking the door shut.

He held a thick stack of papers in his hands, the ink still wet, with several sheets circled in red. The red circles were drawn with great force, the vermilion almost piercing through the paper.

Huang Yushu placed the stack of papers on the table, took a breath, and lowered his voice considerably.

"Sir, the investigation is complete."

Yi Yang didn't open his eyes, his stance remained unchanged, and he uttered two words: "Speak."

Huang Yushu turned to the first page.

"Ye Yang served as the head steward of Qianyang Tower for seven years. During these seven years, he abused his position to falsely report losses in the process of purchasing and selling elixirs, embezzling at least 120 bottles of elixirs of grade four or above. This amounted to more than 10,000 taels of silver on the market."

Yi Yang did not respond.

Huang Yushu turned to the second page.

"Of the nineteen suppliers listed on the books, six are empty shells. The shops are rented from Ye Yang's brother-in-law's house, and all the goods coming in and going out are recorded on paper. In reality, not a single grain of powder passes through those shops. The money goes around in circles and ends up back in Ye Yang's own cellar."

Yi Yang still didn't respond.

Huang Yushu's voice carried a hint of urgency.

"Second-in-command Sun Wei, third-in-command Xu Zhi, and accountant Feng De were all involved. The four of them divided the spoils in a 50/20/20/10 ratio. Ye Yang took the lion's share, while Feng De took the smallest, but Feng De was the most skilled at falsifying accounts."

Yi Yang's breathing remained perfectly still, and his internal energy cultivation continued as usual.

Huang Yu gritted his teeth and turned to the last page.

"Sir, there's one more."

He lowered his voice even further.

"In Ye Yang's private account, we found an envelope. The contents of the envelope were: Ye Yang will provide the second branch of the Li family with twenty bottles of fourth-grade or higher elixirs every quarter in exchange for the Li family providing protection for Qianyang Tower's illegal operations at the government level. Their contact channels are also in the letter."

Yi Yang opened his eyes.

The flame of the oil lamp flickered twice in those cloudy old eyes.

"Has this one been confirmed?"

Huang Yu handed over the receipt, the vermilion seal on the paper clearly visible.

"Confirmed. The style and pattern of the seal on the envelope are exactly the same as those used by the second branch of the Li family in their shops. My subordinate compared it with the old letter that Ye Yang threw away in the wastepaper basket, and they match."

Yi Yang held the receipt in his hand for a couple of moments, then folded it and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Everything else is a minor matter."

Yi Yang packed up the pile frame, stood up and stretched his knees a couple of times, then turned to look at Huang Yushu.

"This alone is enough to convict him."

Huang Yushu was stunned for a moment.

Yi Yang waved his hand.

"Alright, it's getting late, you should go back and rest."

Huang Yu opened his mouth several times, but swallowed the rest of his words.

He bowed, turned and left.

After closing the door, Yi Yang turned the oil lamp up a little brighter, sat back down on the futon, and continued practicing his exercises.

The private seal of the second branch of the Li family.

This envelope carries more weight than all the previous embezzlements combined.

Corruption is an internal matter that the Sky Patrol Division can handle on its own, but collusion with the inner city's powerful families is a different matter altogether.

Holding onto this card in your hand, deciding when to play it, how to play it, and what you can get in return—that's the kind of strategy worth strategizing.

Not in a hurry.

Let Ye Yang run wild for a few more days; it would be more convincing to have both the person and the account.

……

Five days have passed.

Yi Yang took no action.

Every day at Chenshi (7-9 AM), he would arrive at the main hall, close the doors and windows, and sit there for the entire day. Of the dozens of people in Qianyang Tower, apart from the maids who brought in tea, no one ever saw the face of this new tower owner.

Huang Yushu would come every evening to report on the day's business operations, and then be sent away.

By the third day, Huang Yushu's voice could no longer hide his anxiety.

On the fourth day, anxiety turned into disappointment.

Day .

Huang Yushu stood outside the main hall, clutching the day's transaction record in his hand. He stood at the door for a long time before knocking.

After reporting on his daily affairs, he hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help but say one more thing.

"Sir, regarding Ye Yang...when do you plan to make your move?"

Yi Yang sat on the futon with his eyes closed, one hand resting on his knee, and the thumb of his other hand slowly rubbing the knuckle of his index finger.

"What's the rush?"

Those three words left Huang Yushu speechless.

He bowed and left.

Walking along the corridor of Qianyang Tower, Huang Yushu's footsteps were so heavy they could shatter the blue bricks.

He had considered that perhaps the adults were afraid.

Ye Yang is backed by the Li family.

One of the three great families in the inner city, a behemoth that can be counted among the top in the entire Yunlin County. No matter how good Yi Yang is at fighting, whether he is at the fourth level of Qi and Blood or ranked thirteenth in the quarterly exam, he is no match for the Li family.

But a voice in Huang Yushu's mind was refuting it.

The old man who could hear the exact location of each of his moves from the second floor of the museum, the old man who carried the candidate chief steward, who was at the peak of his qi and blood, flying through the air on his shoulder during the quarterly examination—would he be afraid?

Huang Yushu couldn't convince himself.

But the facts are clear: five days have passed, and nothing has happened.

Maybe I'm just overthinking things.

Perhaps the adult is just a wise old man who knows what he can and cannot touch.

Huang Yushu walked to the bottom of the steps of the main entrance of Qianyang Tower and ran into Ye Yang.

The head steward was wearing a brand-new blue satin long gown today, with a Shu brocade belt around his waist. His goatee was neatly trimmed, and he looked radiant, much more energetic than he had been a few days ago.

When Ye Yang saw Huang Yushu, his narrow eyes narrowed into slits, and a smile spread across his face.

"Oh, Chief Guard Huang, reporting to the Lord again so early in the morning?"

Huang Yushu stopped in his tracks, swallowed the disgust on his face, and forced out a dry smile.

"Manager Ye."

Ye Yang laughed twice, and as he walked up the steps, he casually patted Huang Yushu's shoulder, his hand lingering for a couple more pats.

"For young people, it's very important to follow the right people."

He withdrew his hand, the jade pendant on his belt making a crisp clinking sound, and took steady, large steps.

After taking a few steps, Ye Yang turned around, his tone carrying the casual air of someone who had been through it all, lecturing a younger person.

"Lord Yi is a reasonable person, I can see that. From now on, we at Qianyang Tower will still be one family. If there's anything, we can discuss it together."

Huang Yushu's lips twitched, but he didn't reply.

Ye Yang turned around with satisfaction, humming a little tune as he entered the gate.

Huang Yushu stood at the bottom of the steps, the veins on the back of his hand, which was clutching the bill of transactions, bulging.

He stared at Ye Yang's retreating figure as he disappeared into the porch, his temples throbbing.

Be reasonable and discerning.

Oh.

Huang Yushu turned and walked into the alley, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

A gust of wind blew in from the street corner, causing the black plaque with gold lettering in front of Qianyang Tower to sway and the brass rings to make a crisp sound.

The window on the fourth floor was half open.

Yi Yang's eyes remained closed, his cultivation technique continued as usual, and his face remained calm and composed. However, a very subtle curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, slowly curving upwards.