Chapter 762 - 63: Venerable of Arcana_2

"A transaction?" You Su raised his eyebrow slightly, somewhat curious, "What kind of transaction?"

"That’s right." Hua Luoxin nodded, looking serious, "I told you, I had those refugees play games with the purpose of finding a genius to annoy those pedantic old scholars, and you are the genius I found! Once I’m done in Shuocheng, I’ll return to the Return God Mountain and report back. After that, you’ll come with me to Nanyang Continent to take down those old scholars’ arrogance. I can see you’re a Condensed Water Upper Realm Cultivator who’s cautious even about entering a city, presumably because of inconvenient identity issues. As compensation, you can walk around Beiao Continent as my disciple, how about that?"

Hearing this, You Su’s heart stirred. If he could move around Beiao Continent as Hua Luoxin’s disciple, it would certainly save a lot of trouble. Not to mention, following such a Venerable with an obviously extraordinary identity would surely bypass many rigorous inspections.

"But you know I’m a fake, I’m not a refugee, and I also know a bit about calculations. So using me can’t prove the pedantry and stubbornness of those old scholars you talk about."

"You really have a knack for academic calculations, such a pity... But young man, as long as the conclusion is correct, the process can be embellished. You see, in the officialdom, isn’t it always a matter of pinning a crime first, then coming up with the charges? We scholars are the same; wouldn’t being too rigid make us as dull as those old scholars?" The Venerable of Occult Mathematics was not only full of actions but also full of words.

You Su pressed his lips together, contemplating back and forth; as it stands, he has no better path to take.

Suddenly a gleam of determination flashed in his eyes, "Alright, I agree. But I have one more request."

"Speak!" The Venerable of Occult Mathematics was overjoyed.

"You must take me to the Divine Mountain."

As soon as You Su finished speaking, he refilled the Venerable of Occult Mathematics’ tea.

However, the Venerable was not as straightforward as You Su had imagined, hesitating to take the tea You Su offered, he said:

"You’re not planning to do something bad on the Divine Mountain, are you?"

"You can calculate it if you want, I permit you." You Su acted calmly and composed.

Who knew upon hearing that, the Venerable of Occult Mathematics burst into laughter, pounding the table as he said:

"Deal! I must infuriate those old guys to no end!"

With that, the Venerable pushed open his room door, and finally turned back to remind, "I’ve already instructed that you’re my disciple, eccentric and injured, so no one will bother you. Rest well, I’ll find you if anything comes up."

You Su thought it over, and still cupped his hands in thanks, to which the Venerable went out with a hearty laugh.

That night, the City Lord’s mansion in Shuocheng was utterly silent.

You Su lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind filled with myriad thoughts.

The experiences of the past few days were richer than those of his past month.

But this was inevitable, for that month he was unconscious in the belly of a giant whale.

This Venerable of Occult Mathematics had shown no hostility so far, You Su could tell it wasn’t an act; it could be seen from his words and deeds that he had a pure heart in pursuit of the Dao. He genuinely didn’t care about You Su’s past because in his eyes, the enemies were only the stubborn old men hindering him in the realm of calculations, so he became so excited after finding a means to retaliate against them.

In this way, following him actually provided a certain level of safety guarantee. The only thing that made You Su feel a bit guilty was not knowing whether he would have a chance to go back to Nanyang Continent to help Daoist Hua vent his anger.

Just as You Su was deep in thought, a mischievous little head suddenly popped out of the warm quilt, resting on You Su’s chest.

"Ding Zhen, have we found ourselves a backing?"

You Su’s lips twitched, silently pondering if he had too many pseudonyms, Xu Haolong, Ding Zhen, Dabang...

"Why do you keep calling me Ding Zhen?"

"You could call me Pearl too." Bai Ze blinked.

You Su was slightly speechless, as it was merely something he had joked about, yet Bai Ze remembered it all along.

"Anyway, call me Dabang outside." You Su didn’t bother to argue.

"But didn’t you tell me not to talk outside?" Bai Ze responded in puzzlement.

You Su’s cheeks puffed up, exhaling in exasperation: "Now I’m telling you not to talk even indoors, it’s hard enough to get some rest, if you don’t shut up, I’ll throw you down!"

Bai Ze shook his head, flatly refusing: "No."

"Then shut up."

"I meant that shutting up is not possible." Bai Ze had no reservation towards You Su, its entire jaw resting beside You Su’s collarbone, looking somewhat dejected, "I’ve been sleeping at home for thirty years, I’m not even sleepy."

For some reason, hearing this, You Su felt somewhat sorry for this sole companion on the journey to the Divine Mountain; honestly, in the long and tedious trek on the snowy road, Bai Ze’s company indeed made it less daunting.

His heart softened, "Fine, one more question, but if you don’t sleep, I need to!"

"Great! Then tell me why you had to change the squares, if it were me I wouldn’t have changed!"

Bai Ze perked up, raising its head.

But it wasn’t met with You Su patiently explaining again, but rather a ruthless toss.

"Think for yourself!"

...

By dawn the next day, the first ray of sunlight pierced the clouds, shining onto the ancient eaves of the City Lord’s mansion. You Su got up, pushed open the window lattice, looking at the world clad in silver outside, pondering quietly. Soon, the voice of the Venerable of Occult Mathematics resonated from outside, interrupting his thoughts.

"Dabang, follow me." The Venerable’s voice remained amiable.

You Su furrowed his brows slightly, responded, left Bai Ze inside the room, then followed the Venerable out.

"This trip is to validate the authenticity of your identity as my disciple, later there will be some math problems you need to solve for me. After that, you won’t need to show up frequently."

"But... but I can’t read." Of course, You Su can read, but he didn’t want to expose the fact that he was blind.

"What?!" The Venerable was greatly taken aback, resigned, "Given the situation, we’ll do it orally!"

Only then did You Su realize that the Venerable was actually an envoy sent by the Kongyuan Ancestral Temple of Immortals, and his task in Shuocheng was to conduct a tax investigation.

Shuocheng had rapidly developed in recent years, but the taxes paid to the Jiaoda Divine Mountain hadn’t increased proportionally, suspected to be due to tax evasion, hence the investigation by the Ancestral Temple of Immortals.

In the main hall, several accounting clerks had been waiting for some time; upon seeing the Venerable entering with his disciple in tow, they stood up to pay their respects.

The Venerable nodded slightly, signaling them to sit.

"How has Shuocheng’s tax revenue been over the past five years?" The Venerable went straight to the point, his gaze piercing.

The leading accountant’s face slightly changed, then resumed as normal, respectfully answering: "Reporting to the Venerable, Shuocheng’s tax revenue has increased annually, all accounts are clear and transparent, without any errors."

The Venerable smiled faintly, taking out a yellowed account book from his sleeve, and gently opened it, "In that case, let’s verify the accounts."

You Su sat silently on the side, observing. When the Venerable of Occult Mathematics was checking the accounts, his gaze was sharp, no entry escaped his scrutiny. Meanwhile, You Su, with his extraordinary mental arithmetic, responded fluently, putting those accountants to shame, even making the Venerable nod frequently.

As time passed by, page after page of the account books were turned, yet no discrepancies were found.

The Venerable closed the last account book, sighed: "Shuocheng has developed rapidly in recent years, yet the tax revenue hasn’t significantly increased, which is unreasonable. Moreover, I’ve heard there are frequent trade caravan activities in Shuocheng, with flourishing transactions, so why hasn’t the tax revenue grown?"

The leading accountant, upon hearing this, began to sweat profusely, stammering yet without a proper response.

The Venerable smiled slightly seeing this, "Why didn’t the City Lord come today, does he have something more important than the tax investigation?"

The smile hinted at underlying intentions, making You Su think quietly, this Venerable, when handling serious matters, was indeed rather earnest.

"The City Lord is out buying the best Snow Village Tea in Shuocheng for the Venerable, which is only sold at the Snow Village Inn in the east of the city, and only three cups per day."

The accountant, who was previously stammering, answered promptly this time, indicating this response was pre-prepared.

"The City Lord didn’t have to buy it personally." With that said, the Venerable turned with a light smile: "Dabang, come with me to see what’s so special about the Snow Village Tea at the Snow Village Inn!"