CHAPTER 585: CHAPTER 595: OUTRAGE

"Department Director, don’t lose heart just yet. There are still over a dozen Medicine Mountains left to inspect, right? Who knows, there might be surprises waiting for us!"

A Deputy Director said, consoling with a smile.

"Hmm, that’s true!"

"After all, our Pharmaceutical Department is only responsible for the collection of Medicinal Herbs, not for their cultivation. If the Medicine Farmers below can’t grow them, there’s nothing we can do about it."

Wei Wuxie took a short rest, then continued to inspect the medicinal herbs of the remaining dozen or so Medicine Mountains.

If he didn’t finish the inspection, those herbs couldn’t be stored in inventory. He had to hurry.

Leaving them outside the warehouse wasn’t only a risk of theft, but also prone to damage from rats, fire, and so on.

After all, with people coming and going outside the warehouse, management was far less strict than inside.

When Wei Wuxie reached Medicine Mountain #106, he muttered to himself, "This mountain has a Big Chief named Wu Ming, a genius. Every year he contributes a few thousand-year-old Medicinal Herbs, and his understudies, the small leaders and Medicine Farmers, have also learned some of his techniques. The herbs they cultivate are very old indeed."

Wu Ming was just a Big Chief, yet the significant attention he commanded from Wei Wuxie spoke volumes of Wu Ming’s abilities.

Little did Wei Wuxie imagine, however, that the much-praised Wu Ming had already been subdued by Chu Feng and became his Sword Slave.

"Haha, look, Wu Ming has indeed lived up to expectations, contributing four thousand-year-old Medicinal Herbs again this year. I’ve heard he’s retained quite a few, hoping to cultivate one or two ten thousand-year-old Medicinal Herbs."

Wei Wuxie couldn’t help but laugh with joy upon seeing the yield contributions of Wu Ming’s managed Medicine Field on the ledger.

"Unexpectedly, this year’s poor weather also took a significant toll on Wu Ming. The harvest from his Medicine Field is clearly not as good as last year’s."

"Where are Wu Ming’s herbs?"

Having reviewed the ledger, Wei Wuxie’s gaze swept over the mountains of medicinal herbs.

"Wu Ming... is under Chu Feng’s management. His herbs are over here!" The Manager was also quickly flipping through the ledger in his hands, organizing it with each Manager as a major unit.

Beyond that, each Big Chief as a minor unit.

This way, responsibility could quickly be traced back to individuals.

"Manager He, you’ve done a meticulous job! In a little while, there will be a vacancy for the position of Deputy Director, and I will nominate you for it. Whether or not you’re elected will depend on the higher-ups!"

Wei Wuxie was quite satisfied with this Manager’s work.

"My, my, nominating me for Deputy Director, this, this is wonderful... I shall never forget the grace of your promotion, Master Wei," Manager He said, overjoyed.

"Alright, alright, I don’t like hearing these empty words. Just do your own job well."

Flattery and fawning were Wei Wuxie’s least favorite things; they wouldn’t get anyone anywhere with him.

"Eh, the age and quality of these herbs seem somewhat inconsistent with what’s on the ledger!" Wei Wuxie furrowed his brows as he inspected.

"When collecting herbs from the various Medicine Mountains, generally the Chief Clerk of each mountain makes the assessment. It’s normal to occasionally make mistakes. As long as the discrepancy isn’t too great, it’s within reasonable margins."

"You place great importance on this Wu Ming, Master Wei, so it’s inevitable that some subjective emotions might affect your judgment."

A Deputy Director said from the side.

"Hmm, you have a point there," Wei Wuxie accepted his subordinate’s opinion, deciding not to pursue the matter further. Suddenly, his gaze swept across, and he spotted two particularly conspicuous black mushrooms.

"This, this seems to be the Black God Mushroom, and it’s not young... at least a hundred years old..."

"That’s not right, I remember the ledger’s catalog of rare medicinal herbs doesn’t seem to have a record of it."

When Wei Wuxie discovered the two hundred-year-old Black God Mushrooms cultivated by Chu Feng, he was thrilled as if he had found two pieces of gold in a rubbish heap, his face breaking into a smile once more.

However, he remembered that when he had checked the account books, he seemed not to have seen any entries for Black God Mushrooms.

He immediately picked up the account book and examined it thoroughly.

Manager He whispered from the side, "Page fifty-four of Medicine Mountain 106’s account book records these two Black God Mushrooms. However, they were marked as flawed and thus classified as ordinary Medicinal Herbs."

Wei Wuxie gave Manager He another appreciative glance and then quickly flipped to page fifty-four of the account book.

Indeed, as Manager He said, the two hundred-year-old Black God Mushrooms were recorded there.

"Flawed? That’s truly regrettable."

Wei Wuxie unconsciously picked up the two Black God Mushrooms to examine them closely.

His brows were furrowed into a ’川’ shape, and his expression turned exceptionally cold, radiating supreme authority.

Those familiar with him knew that Department Director Wei was angry, very angry indeed.

"It’s absolutely nonsensical. These two Black God Mushrooms are of such high grade, obviously rare mutant medicinal herbs, and the Chief Clerk of Medicine Mountain 106 actually categorized them as ordinary Medicinal Herbs."

Having served for many years as the Department Director of the Pharmaceutical Department, Wei Wuxie was highly experienced.

Hundred-year-old Black God Mushrooms were already extremely rare, and mutated hundred-year-old Black God Mushrooms were absolutely treasures.

Such extremely valuable herbs being classified as ordinary Medicinal Herbs – had he not personally checked, they would have been missed.

They would have been completely wasted in that case.

It would have been a tremendous loss not just for the Sect but also an injustice for the Medicine Farmer who cultivated the Black God Mushrooms, burying his abilities.

If the medicinal herbs cultivated by Wu Ming and his subordinates were underrated during evaluation, that could still be understood.

But these two Black God Mushrooms being downgraded by two whole ranks is absolutely unforgivable.

"Department Director Wei, please calm down. The Chief Clerk of a Medicine Mountain has limited capabilities and may have just overlooked it," a Deputy Director quickly consoled.

"Hmph, the Chief Clerk overlooked, does that mean the Mountain Master would as well? This matter will not be tolerated; we will investigate thoroughly, and I, the Department Director, will personally oversee it." Wei Wuxie was furious, and the presence of Deputy Directors and Managers on the scene all could not help but shiver.

In their hearts, they thought, both the Mountain Master and Chief Clerk of Medicine Mountain 106 are in big trouble this time.

"Bring paper and pen over, I, the Department Director, will personally re-evaluate all Medicinal Herbs of Medicine Mountain 106. Also, get the best Jade Box and pack these two extremely precious mutated Black God Mushrooms properly. Later, I will personally offer them to the Sect Master and Supreme Elder. These are indeed incredible treasures."

Even though Wei Wuxie was furious, he did not forget to ensure the two Black God Mushrooms were well protected.

It shows how precious these two Black God Mushrooms were in his eyes.

The subordinates dared not delay, hurrying to carry out the tasks.

Soon, Wei Wuxie personally reassessed the Medicinal Herbs of Medicine Mountain 106. He spent nearly a whole day on this task, with other Deputy Directors assisting from the side as the head of the Pharmaceutical Department personally conducted the evaluation.

After the final results of the review were out, Wei Wuxie was even more furiously indignant.

Of the eight Managers from Medicine Mountain 106, only that Manager named Chu Feng and his small and big leaders and Medicine Farmers faced deliberate suppression of their medicinal herbs.

The medicinal herbs cultivated by the other Managers were all normal.

Furthermore, the medicinal herbs cultivated by two of the Managers were clearly overrated. For example, Steward Yang Tianbao.

These two Managers were from the faction of Mao Wu Mountain Master.