Qin Ran asked, "I heard the sect leader say that we need to go to Zhican Valley to purchase supplies in a few days. Is that true?"
Feng Feiyan said to Qin Ran, "Elder, this matter is usually decided by the Chief Alchemist Elder. I don't know the details." She looked very knowledgeable and spoke gently, "I just go along each time to accurately record the Spirit Stones spent and the pills purchased."
"Oh!" Qin Ran nodded to show he understood, "So this matter was decided by Jian Senior Brother."
Seeing how he was easily misled by her, Feng Feiyan's eyes unintentionally showed some smugness.
But who knew, the next moment, Qin Ran suddenly put his hand on the table, closing some of the distance between them. Caught off guard, she felt a pressure upon her.
She heard Qin Ran ask, "So is the timing of your purchasing trips random, whenever Jian Senior Brother says to go you just go; or is there a fixed schedule, like going once a month, once every six months, once a year?"
Although Qin Ran still had that delicate face, still had a smile in his eyes, his voice was still gentle, but for some reason, Feng Feiyan didn't feel like refusing his questions.
She hesitated for a long time before answering, "Elder, we need to resupply every three months."
"Mm..." Qin Ran nodded with a smile and continued asking, "What time of the month do you usually go - beginning, middle or end?"
Feng Feiyan didn't dare look at Qin Ran again. She lowered her head, still answering, "The middle of the month."
"The middle is the fifteenth of each month?"
"No."
"What day is it then?"
"The twentieth."
Feng Feiyan had lowered her head now, her expression no longer visible. Qin Ran leaned on the table, getting even closer, now able to smell Feng Feiyan's warmth. He asked, "What needs to be purchased this time? Herbs? Pills? Which herbs, which pills?"
"I really don't know about this." Feng Feiyan felt like a huge boulder was pressing down on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Do you know if this purchasing trip is different from usual?"
Feng Feiyan lowered her head even more, hunching her back, allowing Qin Ran to see her ample chest. She shook her head, her voice almost crying, "Mm."
Looking at this woman, Qin Ran finally dropped his smile. He stood up, no longer pressuring her, just saying, "Give me a few copies of the previous purchasing records."
When Qin Ran smiled, Feng Feiyan felt endless pressure, but when he stopped smiling, she suddenly felt the heavy pressure disappear.
She let out a big sigh of relief, hurriedly got up, and rummaged through the file cabinet nearby. She then carried over five stacks of records and handed them to Qin Ran, head still lowered, not daring to look at him. She said softly, "These are the records from last March and all of last year."
Qin Ran took the records, a gentle smile appearing on his delicate face again, like a weak scholar in green robes standing under a willow by the river.
"Thank you," he nodded.
Feng Feiyan squeezed out a smile.
Qin Ran took the records and walked back to his seat.
In the process, he noticed Ke Yue and Shi Yuan's serious and solemn expressions, as well as the shock written all over Yan Yi's face. This further confirmed his suspicions - out of the five people in charge of the Alchemy Hall, including Jian Yuanjie, amazingly one of them was not a mole!
Wearing a smile, he took a deep look at Yan Yi before returning to his seat and carefully reading through the records.
He didn't know what kind of mindset Jian Yuanjie had when he kept Yan Yi around.
He also didn't know what kind of mindset Yan Yi had, working in the Alchemy Hall.
It would be very interesting if Yan Yi was sent by the sect leader to investigate the moles in the Alchemy Hall, because in the entire Alchemy Hall, he was probably the only one who wasn't a mole.
Of course, on further thought, Jian Yuanjie's reasoning could still be guessed at. The person the sect leader sent over, I'll keep around, but give him a meaningless job... managing pill refining in a sect without any pill refiners...
Thinking this, Qin Ran wanted to laugh again.
But as he continued looking through the records, the smile faded from his face.
Qin Ran understood pills, herbs, and math. So he could understand these records and the significance behind them.
Thus he knew exactly what kind of garbage pills Jian Yuanjie had been feeding the Dao Sword Sect disciples all these years. He knew exactly how many Spirit Stones Jian Yuanjie had embezzled over the years... Jian Yuanjie's bag must be incredibly fat!
Most importantly, the only one who really needed spiritual herbs and medicines was Dan Peak... himself. In other words, all these years, Jian Yuanjie had embezzled countless Spirit Stones under the guise of helping him purchase herbs!
The more Qin Ran read through the records, the more complicated his emotions became. On one hand, he felt sorrow and indignation for the nation and people, worried for all the Dao Sword Sect disciples and the future of the Dao Sword Sect.
On the other hand, his intestines were twisting with regret that he hadn't ransacked Jian Yuanjie's bag back then!!!
Because not only had Jian Yuanjie unconscionably embezzled the pill funds of Dao Sword Sect disciples all these years, he had also gained greatly from harming the disciples... Jian Yuanjie's bag must be incredibly fat from all the kickbacks over the years!!
While Qin Ran was investigating corruption in the Dao Sword Sect, his heavily reminded Dan Peak had still slipped up.
What happened was this:
The shadow stealth technique Li Shiyin wanted to learn from Feng Shizhan was something Feng Shizhan had learned from the dragon Ao Yi. This technique allowed one to turn black and enter a dark form. Then they could blend into the darkness, burrow into shadows, enter silhouettes, and become impervious to harm. It was similar to Qin Ran's Dreamlike Illusion.
Qin Ran's Dreamlike Illusion turned himself into water. Feng Shizhan's shadow stealth turned himself into darkness.
Certainly shadow stealth was a good technique, but the problem was that Feng Shizhan hadn't learned it yet... At least he didn't have good control of it...
Under Li Shiyin's urging, he forcibly executed it, losing control of the technique.
The darkness spread...
With the cat tree as the center, the darkness spread outwards in a circle, not only turning Feng Shizhan and the cat tree into dark forms, but also Li Shiyin, half the creek, half of Sword Washing Lake near the cat tree, the trees by Sword Washing Lake, and even the little demon willow Liu Xiaoji.
Oh right, on that side, their dining table had also been dragged into the darkness by Feng Shizhan.
Turning these things dark wasn't that big of a deal in itself, they just had to change back quickly.
But the problem was...
Feng Shizhan had lost control. Turning so many things dark caused massive depletion of his magic power and soul force.
In other words, not only had Feng Shizhan lost control of the technique, for now he couldn't change the things he had turned dark back!
Moreover, Feng Shizhan had fallen into slumber due to overdrawing his magic.
Leaving only Li Shiyin running around in that patch of darkness, unable to regain her human form no matter how she tried. She cried out loudly for help but her voice didn't carry out.
"Qiqi, save me..."
"Master, save me..."
"Tushan Youyou, save me..."
She yelled until her throat was hoarse, but no one heard.