Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 57 - 57 49 Fifty Pounds of Medicinal Fruits!

57: Chapter 49: Fifty Pounds of Medicinal Fruits!

57: Chapter 49: Fifty Pounds of Medicinal Fruits!

Walking further inside, they encountered another official who was deep in sleep.

Gu Wen didn’t bother to conceal his approach and grabbed the sleeping man by the collar, slapping him across the face before the drowsy eyes had a chance to fully open.

The official instantly woke up to find two mysterious figures wearing masks, and the corpses on the ground in the distance.

Fright nearly drove him to let out a shrill scream, but another slap silenced him before he could make a sound.

He went abruptly quiet.

Gu Wen let go of the man and said, “The Path I follow does not seek wealth at the cost of life.

You’ve got family, old and young to care for.

How much does the court pay you for your loyalty?

Keep quiet and find me the storeroom ledger.”

Once an order was established, inventory management became an essential skill.

The Grand Treasury Department hoarded all manner of rare and exotic treasures from throughout the realm, its storage space exceeding 50,000 square meters—comparable to six football fields—and it had been continuously expanding over the years.

If he were to search on his own, and luck wasn’t on his side, he might not find the correct warehouse even by dawn.

The official, cupping his mouth, nodded incessantly and then turned around to enter a room.

Shortly after, he came out, flipping through a pile of ledgers.

Gu Wen spared them no glance and commanded, “I need the ledgers related to the Emperor’s alchemy.”

The official trembled and begged, “Sir, please spare my life.

This is a capital offense.”

“I could execute you right now.”

The official’s eyes flickered with a cunning glimmer as he feigned courage, “Sir, just kill me now and you can protect my family…”

Before he finished his sentence, there was a sickening crack—Gu Wen had twisted and broken his arm.

A massive hand muffled the official’s agonized scream, as Gu Wen’s icy gaze bore into him.

“Sir, I’ll find it, I’ll find it.”

Gu Wen reset the man’s arm and stood aside, pressing the barrel of his gun against the official’s back, prompting him to flip through the ledgers even faster.

A slight sting prodded him, and he started separating some mixed ledgers from the rest.

He understood these people all too well and the laws of survival in this world.

Kindness is met with exploitation; strength invites control.

His mere mention of not harming lives for wealth had made the official bold enough to bargain.

While you may see yourself as a hero, to others, you are a fool.

To be posted at the Grand Treasury Department—a place dripping with benefits—one needed extensive connections and financial investment, and was certainly not clean.

They had a central role in the Emperor’s plunder of the people’s wealth and in driving out civilians from their homes during the demolitions in Bianjing.

Whether or not the official would lose his head was not Gu Wen’s concern.

Shortly thereafter, a particular register was selected.

[Medicinal Records]

Gu Wen opened the directory to a dense list of recorded medicines.

Many of the names he didn’t recognize, nor was he certain which contained Heavenly Marrow, so he quickly skimmed through until he came upon the records about the medicinal fruits.

[March, Lin Chuan medicinal fruits totaling over 320 jin entered the storeroom…]

[The Imperial Palace has claimed 300 jin…]

[April, over 400 jin of Lin Chuan medicinal fruits entered the storeroom…]

[The Imperial Palace has claimed 400 jin…]

[May, 200 jin of Lin Chuan medicinal fruits entered the storeroom…]

[The Imperial Palace has claimed 160 jin…]

Gu Wen’s breathing grew heavy.

He knew the Grand Treasury Department had many medicinal fruits, but he hadn’t anticipated them being measured by the jin.

According to the records, the Palace had taken the lion’s share, which made sense since the fruits could spoil, and generally they were all consumed within the month of delivery.

The quantity of fruits was significantly less this month, likely due to the war, no wonder he hadn’t been able to find them before.

But the Grand Treasury Department still had forty jin left!

A single piece of medicinal fruit was the size of a small tomato—100 pieces hardly weighed three jin.

How many pieces were there in forty jin?

At least over one thousand three hundred of them, which is about twenty-five years’ worth of Heavenly Marrow!

“Papa struck it rich!”

Gu Wen could hardly conceal his excitement, and at his side, Hee Huan said, “Brother Red Dust, this man can’t stay.”

“I know.”

Thud!

The spear pierced through the chest, and once more the spear’s force drew out the vital energy.

Hee Huan inwardly clicked his tongue; he had seen quite a few weapons that could absorb vital energy to grow stronger, but a dharma form that could do the same was simply unheard of.

Weapons have their own limits, and so do people.

But someone who could possess a dharma form, their lower limit should be at least the peak of the Third Realm, with a high probability of reaching the Fourth Realm.

If he were to enter the Demon Path, wouldn’t he kill until the world was filled with corpses and ash?

“Let’s go.”

Gu Wen led the way, with Hee Huan closely following.

Using the location provided by the inventory, they quickly found the place where the medicinal fruits were stored.

In the storeroom, a wall of drawers, much like those in a large traditional pharmacy, except these drawers were five to six times bigger.

The Lin Chuan medicinal fruits were located on the first row and third column, with their names written in black ink on red paper.

Gu Wen handed the inventory to Hee Huan, who should know a bit about pharmacology, understanding which were the Spiritual Medicines, so as not to reveal his own ignorance in cultivation.

Bending down to pull open the drawer, the touch was heavy, and under the light of the fire, the vermillion fruits glistened.

Beautiful!

Too beautiful!

Gu Wen with a small wooden shovel in one hand, and a burlap sack in the other, couldn’t stop scooping the fruits into the bag, the smile on his lips utterly uncontrollable.

It felt like a mouse had entered a rice jar, a beggar into a vault of Gold.

Once upon a time, he had to run around just to buy a few medicinal fruits, and even needed to wait in line for a Dragon Tiger Pill, but now he was using a burlap sack to carry several dozen pounds of fruit.

Soon, a large bag of medicinal fruits was packed.

Weighing it with the scales in the storeroom showed a discrepancy with the inventory—not less, but ten pounds more.

Gu Wen’s face showed contemplative thoughts, then quickly realizing that he had been able to buy fruits from the black market before, he understood.

This wasn’t a granary.

The medicinal fruits had to be delivered to the Emperor’s palace every month.

When the time came to report, they likely skimmed off the top before delivering to the Emperor.

Probably reported excessive wastage, then shifted some of the lesser and better fruits out to sell.

I’ve stumbled into a bargain.

Now it turned into fifty pounds of medicinal fruits, which is about one thousand six hundred fruits, amounting to roughly thirty-three years of Heavenly Marrow.

With thirteen years of Heavenly Marrow, I enhanced my power, and now I’ve looted thirty-three years’ worth.

Gu Wen’s mouth almost split with laughter; indeed, when fortune comes, one can hardly stop it.

On the other side, Hee Huan was turning over drawers and chests, gradually moving from the nervousness of stealing treasures of a Sage to a face full of smiles.

“Brother Red Dust, come help me, we can’t take it all, we simply can’t take it all!”

Gu Wen also joined the scramble through drawers and chests.

Ten years’ supply of Spiritual Medicine, century-old ginseng, Lingzhi, one hundred and twenty-year-old polygonum, a hundred-and-twenty-year-old poria weighing a pound each, heavy Dendrobium…

About half an hour later, the two men could carry no more and each left with a sack larger than their own bodies.

Passing by the treasury, they saw chests full of silver and Gold, and Copper Coins piled up like little hills.

Gu Wen couldn’t carry any more; he now wished he had grown ten more hands, and even more, wished to kill the dog Emperor and sit in that wretched position himself!

The two left the unguarded Grand Treasury Department, the distant Dragon Bridge still brightly lit, with the imperial guards’ investigation into the Dragon Bridge robbery far from over.

Feng Baizhou, the steward of the inner palace, was talking with Lu Chan when a sudden restlessness overtook him.