Data-Driven Daoist

“The Night Alchemists’ Yard archives list no Arts,” Elder Chang said. “Merely a few recipes and know-hows. Records of past exploits, and knowledge donated by our employees. Arts aren’t to be shared with outsiders. You shall only receive them for great contributions. Either as tokens for the Scripture Hall, or directly from the Medical and Alchemy Halls. For the latter cases, it is not to be shared unless stated otherwise.”

He ran his finger over a shelf. There was not a speck of dust.

“As for knowledge listed here, do as you see fit,” Elder Chang said. “Good work in the Hidden Realm. You kids made the Sect a better place.”

Yu Han tried not to blush. A thickset man with serious powerlifter energy praising him? It felt like being acknowledged by the gym’s top dog.

“Li Yao, Fang Zhao, and Niu’er have access to this place too,” Yu Han said. “I don’t have to share it with them.”

“You aren’t starting a Courtyard?” Elder Chang raised a brow. He checked the hinges of the window. “Where has the squeak gone? No matter. The Mad Bloodhounds’ Courtyard rights will be transferred to you.”

“Courtyard rights?”

“Not every disciple can register a Courtyard,” Elder Chang said. “You have to exchange the token with contribution points. The amount is equivalent to years of work. This time, the Law Enforcement Hall and Young Dragon Duan Xiaolong pushed for the Mad Bloodhounds’ right to be transferred to you. It is a great honour.”

We can have our own mini faction? Yu Han pondered. I’ll have to look into this.

Yu Han already had a book on the various factions inside the Sect—“Blue Strategies Part 3: Groupings.” He had a general conception of Courtyards, Pavilions, Palaces, and of course the Halls, and Clans. But the book didn’t go into full details, and neither was it broad. It only had twelve pages after all.

It didn’t mention smaller organizations like the Night Alchemists’ Yard, nor Tribes of Spirit Beasts and non-Core clans of the sect.

One thing he did know: a Courtyard could get tax breaks.

Two days later, Yu Han and co. picked up the spoils from the Sea of Gold Commerce Outer Sect branch.

“Do come again.” Little Three, the receptionist, bowed. “I most joyously enjoy our discussions.”

What discussions?

The route back to Yu Han’s place was one of the most stressful walks they had ever experienced. Every disciple seemed suspicious, as if they were eying the poor man’s jade. It didn’t help that they were openly gossiping. The Mad Bloodhounds incident had spread far.

Huang Niuniu fidgeted every two steps. She exhaled, her shoulders dropping as they reached his hut.

Yu Han closed the door carefully, double-checking the locks. He closed the windows and lighted a few glow stones.

“Fei Rui, keep watch,” Yu Han said. “You’ll have your share too.”

“I demand mine as well,” Mistress Miao said.

“Listen here,” Fang Zhao said, “you didn’t even—”

“She located the Mad Bloodhounds,” Yu Han interrupted. “And helped with luring the monsters.”

Fang Zhao clicked his tongue. Li Yao laughed and shook the red-eyed boy’s shoulder. “Chill, Mister Red-eyes. Even without the spoils, you’re the one who gained the most.”

“Let’s start from the top. What resources do we have now?” Yu Han took out a stick and pointed at Huang Niuniu.

She swatted it away. “Fang Zhao and I had 10 contribution points each. Han’er and Li Yao had 5. With the external mission, we got another 30. So in total, we now have 60. From the 1000 spirit stones Fang Zhao gave us, we have 765 remaining. We also have extra spirit stones from other sources, like our stipend. So in total, 812. The same as before we left.”

Huang Niuniu stared into space, calculating. Her forehead creased at the effort.

I can make glasses for her. She would look so good—no. No!

“We have about 30 Mortal Grade Spirit Stones’ worth of Filth Eating Ghoul monster cores. We have 288 cores from the Hidden World,” she said. “They should be more valuable than the Filth Eating Ghoul cores. But I don’t know the exact value. 75 of them are from monsters level 4 and above. I checked them out with Mistress Miao. She ate the core of the level 10 Redgrass Beak Viper though. We also have 17 Lesser Nurturing Bloodfern stalks and 2 crowns. Mistress Miao ate the rest. Fang Zhao’s ring has many beast corpses, I can’t say the exact value.”

Fang Zhao shot the cat another glare.

Huang Niuniu puffed out her chest.

“Good job,” Yu Han praised. “Someone has gotten a lot better at numbers.”

“Someone has gotten a lot better at praises.”

“Our expenses?” he asked.

Huang Niuniu looked at Mistress Miao, then at Fang Zhao. She stuck her tongue out, then listed their expenses.

108 Lanterns of the Blue Veined Underspores.

4 Rot-Negating Body Tempering Elixirs.

4 Potions of the Blue Waved Waters.

Those were their own expenses.

6 Elite Grade Concealment Talismans.

6 Elite Grade Stone Arrow Talismans.

7 Elite Grade Protective Talismans.

20 Mortal Grade blood replenishing pills.

7 beast-repelling incense balls.

5 beast-calling incense balls.

These were from the Night Alchemists’ Yard.

“We returned the remaining stuff to the vault,” Huang Niuniu finished.

“I am a selfish, greedy ingrate.” Fang Zhao bowed. His forehead touched the ground. “Sorry. Find it in your hearts to forgive me.”

“You better be sorry, mister!” Huang Niuniu transformed from a soft, giggly angel into an evil, criticizing demon. “Don’t you think it’s rude to use up poor people’s money while being a noble young master?”

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A vein bulged on Fang Zhao’s forehead. He thumped his chest with his fist. “I have no excuses.”

“At least try,” Huang Niuniu shook her head. “Do you really think ‘sorry’ will cut it? Mother told me that if someone was really sorry, they would show it with actions. But our young master Fang here—”

This petty little minx!

Yu Han’s head hurt. “Stop it. He promised to repay it. I don’t think he’ll default on the debt.”

“But Han’er…” Huang Niuniu frowned. “He’s ugly—”

A blob of water crashed onto her head.

Fang Zhao took out another pitcher from his storage ring.

Huang Niuniu pointed a shivering finger at him in disbelief. “You—”

Splashed again.

Mistress Miao snapped her head up. She looked between Huang Niuniu and Fang Zhao.

“Water.”

「Soft Niuniu. Fight back. Don’t let Fang Fang bathe you!」

It took half an hour for Yu Han and Li Yao to calm them down.

“He bullied me,” Huang Niuniu said, her every word laced with righteous indignation. She rubbed her wet face on Yu Han’s sleeve. “Han’er, cut off his jewels and keep it in the Sea of Gold Commerce. Give it back when he repays his debt. Otherwise he’s gonna run away with our money!”

“A thousand-year-old fox enchantress has better morals than you,” Fang Zhao spat. “She probably looks younger, too.”

“Not that hurts,” Li Yao winced.

“You would know, wouldn’t you? I bet grannies are your favourite when you pick your flowers in brothels.” Huang Niuniu said back with equal vitriol.

“On dead blackie’s grave,” Li Yao slapped his things. “Tubs, you hearing this? Red-eyes, you got burned!”

“Stop egging them on!” Yu Han groaned. “Please. Can we get back to the meeting? Fang Zhao, what were your gains?”

Huang Niuniu didn’t interrupt. She’d cheered up after Yu Han to gave her a change of clothes. She had her own, but Yu Han’s fit. They looked baggier. She covered her face with the sleeves and inhaled.

“As I said before, my Bloodline Trait evolved,” Fang Zhao said. “Now, it’s the Jade Sanguine Asura Ancestry. I have no idea what it is.”

“Sounds impressive.” Li Yao nodded. “Does Mistress Miao know?”

The winged, two-tailed cat pawed her way to the middle of the hut and stretched. “No.”

“Asura is a bad thing, right?” Huang Niuniu said. “They eat babies. Mother told me so!”

“I can’t say the grade.” Fang Zhao looked at Mistress Miao. The cat circled him, looking him up and down as if appraising. “It’s… It’s high enough. Most my True Qi goes to the calico still—”

“Tiger.”

“—my effective Qi Affinity is Elite Grade now. Refined talent. I acquired another Bloodline Art too,” he said. “It’s called the Sanguine Bloodmark.”

“What’s it do?” Li Yao asked.

“Need further tests. I can create Blood Marks using, well, blood.” He pulled up his sleeves. On his left arms, there were red shapes tattooed on. They all looked as if painted with blood, but not like injuries. The shapes vaguely connected with each out.

“Thank you,” Huang Niuniu said. “That was a very helpful explanation. We definitely didn’t get that from the name.”

Yu Han knocked on the back of her head.

“I have three Blood Marks,” Fang Zhao ignored the jab. “When attacking, I can consume them to empower my strikes. The more I consume, the stronger my strikes are. It takes a varied amount of blood for each Blood Mark. There seems to be a sequence. My gut tells me that after I create a certain amount, there will be a qualitative change. I think… it’s not only meant for offence. Most importantly…”

Fang Zhao’s breath caught in his throat. He took a minute to steady himself. “I’m Level 1.”

Li Yao gave him a pat on the back.

“My Initial Heavenly Allocation was in Body Origin,” Fang Zhao said. “Other than that, I gained one point each in Mind and Spirit Origin. And also, an extra five points in Body Origin.”

“Including Primordial Qi, that’s forty sub-origin points.” Yu Han had already let go of his jealousy. He most certainly had. His sub-origins gains at Level 2 were quite impressive too and he would be satisfied with that damnit! Comparing himself with this fortune’s favourite was a fast trip to mental instability.

Judging by how hard Huang Niuniu was biting her lips, she hadn’t let go of her jealousy either.

“All that suffering was worth it,” Li Yao said. “Good job, Red-eyes. Take it as the Dao repaying you with interest.”

Li Yao, stop being so cool.

“I-I also got taller.” Fang Zhao coughed into his fist.

He had exchanged his old clothes for new ones. The new ones fit the boy so well it made Yu Han want to steal them.

“He’s rubbing it in,” Huang Niuniu said. “That’s so unkind to Han’er. I hope you hit your head on the doorframe, young master.”

“Compared to those awesome Orthodox Sect geniuses you talked about in the Hidden Realm,” Li Yao asked, “are you better or worse?”

Fang Zhao had didn’t reply immediately. He stared into the distance momentarily, then shifted his gaze to Mistress Miao, who stared back. “I’m far behind. Refined Talent doesn’t make the cut. The cat’s stealing my future.”

Feline eyes of pure gold. Sclera so white it was like snow. Mistress Miao crouched, scratching the floor.

“I’m a human with a celestial tiger bloodline,” she said. “My wings span eternity.”

“Cat.”

“Tiger.”

“Cat.”

“Tiger.”

“Tiger,” Fang Zhao said.

“Cat!” Mistress Miao snarled. A few seconds passed before she realized what had happened. She scratched at the door until Yu Han opened it, then ran out.

「Is Fang Fang a bully?」 Fei Rui asked. 「First Soft Niuniu, then Meow Miao.」

“Arguing with a cat,” Huang Niuniu said. “How mature.”

“She’s older than you,” Fang Zhao said. “You look older, though.”

Petty bickering between these two marked the start of the next meeting section.

“Open it up!” Li Yao grinned. “Let’s see what we got.”

The Mad Bloodhounds’ assets were given in a pouch. A storage pouch. Of course, the Sect wouldn’t hand one of these over just to deliver goods. This one belonged to Bloodhound One.

Huang Niuniu placed the pouch in one palm and a spirit stone in another. Since they weren’t Qi Gathering yet, they had to use external aid.

She touched the spirit stone to a specific character on an array formation embroidered on the pouch. The girl fiddled with the pouch, then turned it upside down.

More pouches fell out, followed by sacks.

Huang Niuniu shook again. This time, four boxes tumbled out.

“It’s empty,” she said, then stashed away the storage pouch. The group had already agreed to give it to her.

“We have to find out it’s total capacity later, okay?” Yu Han said.

“Will it get wet if I store water?” Huang Niuniu rubbed her chin. “Leave it to me.”

The other pouches were normal ones, though they looked fancy. Yu Han took one and opened it. It had 20 tokens inside—the same type that Elder Scribe Dong Chou and Fang Zhao had once given him.

“We’re rich,” Li Yao raised his hands. “Sister, Big Bro finally made it. I can finally open our food stand!”

These were 20,000 Mortal Grade Spirit Stones.

Yu Han had to suck in a breath.

In the next pouch was the token to register their own Courtyard. They would have to go to the Administrative Hall later.

This one cost for more. To exchange for it, one had to have earned more then 100,000 contribution points directly from the sect. And then pay another 100,000 contribution points too. Inner Sect Elders had the right to bestow a limited number, while Core Elders and above were the only ones who could distribute them like apples.

One of the big sacks had 2744 pieces of spirit stones. It took a while to count.

This was the liquid currency the Mad Bloodhounds had in person, and some extra. For example, the Law Enforcement Hall had exchanged their artefacts, weapons, armour, and other miscellaneous items for spirit stones.

Fang Zhao took out the things they’d taken from Bloodhound Seven after Fei Rui knocked him out.

Array diagrams and talisman paper, a formation brush, a sword, a dagger. Two vials. This were the the pill bombs. A ring. It granted the user Psychic stealth, converting the sound the user made to that of a beast’s.

They opened the other pouches and sacks one by one. Most were crafting materials that could be preserved for longer times.

“How much is that?” Li Yao said. “Someone do the numbers!”

“It’s 23,567 Mortal Grade Spirit Stones.” Huang Niuniu could barely contain her joy too. “We can start eating both the Spites again.”

Li Yao and Fang Zhao didn’t look so happy about that. Yu Han looked forward to it.

Finally, the boxes.

One was stacked with unused Array and Talisman papers. Around a hundred each. Another had Nine Mortal Grade Formation Flags placed carefully in a bed of straw. The next had stacks of unused normal paper in the bottom compartment. On the upper compartment were vials of ink.

The fourth box had a set of formation brushes and jade-carving blades. There were places to insert spirit stones on each. The brushes and blades were wrapped in clothe. Under them, were three books.

“The Dao of Characters (Review by Liang Fuyu).”

“Immortal Yan’s Edict: A Hundred Lesser Forms of the Mortal Martial Path.”

“Mind Vein Runes—The Bridge to Connecting Hearts.”

The first book was a review of the book, the Dao of Characters. It wasn’t the actual book. It introduced the craft of Formations from Liang Fuyu’s perspective. The pages had doodle’s on them. This Liang Fuyu seemed to be a Core Disciple, judging by the most recent entry.

The second listed a hundred Mortal Grade Talismans, Arrays, and Formations for aiding Martial Arts practice, though it was mostly focused on Arrays. There was a subtle difference between the Art of Talismans and that of Arrays and Formations.

The third book listed Talismans, Arrays, and Formations too. Only thirteen. One Talisman, eleven Arrays, and one Formation. One needed to learn each of the arrays to set up the formation. The talisman was used to activate it.

The effect? It would bring psyche’s of willing others into the caster’s inner world.

“I want these,” Yu Han said. “I’ll study Formations.”