Chapter 163: Chapter 158: Tallying
According to the rules set by the elders, disciples could no longer seize herbs from one another once they were off the mountain.
The disciples felt much like students emerging from an exam hall. With the results now a foregone conclusion, there was no point in dwelling on gains and losses, and everyone began to relax.
Disciples who knew one another began to congregate, asking about each other’s hauls and chatting cheerfully.
"Junior Brother Zhao, how many herbs did you get?"
A familiar voice called out from behind him. Zhao Lin didn’t need to turn to know it was Zhang Xiaoshan. He stopped and waited for him to catch up, then answered casually, "Not too many."
"How many is ’not too many’?" Zhang Xiaoshan pressed.
Zhao Lin thought for a moment, then held up his thumb and index finger in the gesture for "eight."
"Only eight?"
Zhang Xiaoshan’s eyes widened. "That’s not great," he exclaimed. "What a shame."
"A shame about what?"
"I know you have an Earth Luo Fruit. If you’d just picked a few more mid- and low-grade herbs, you’d have had no problem getting into the top ten. But now... it’s going to be tough!"
Zhao Lin, unconcerned, asked, "And you?"
Zhang Xiaoshan mimicked Zhao Lin, holding up four fingers and whispering, "Four... high-grade ones!"
Zhao Lin smiled. "In that case, my congratulations."
Zhang Xiaoshan sighed. "In any other year, that would’ve guaranteed me a spot in the top three, with a shot at first place. But not this year. I heard yesterday that Zhong Yewu had already found four high-grade herbs, and he’s probably got even more by now."
"Then there’s Xiang Bao from the Fire Jade Department and Lin Qiutong from the Cyan Wood Department. They’re probably ahead of me, too."
Zhao Lin didn’t comment. ’Xiang Bao doesn’t stand a chance,’ he thought. ’I have all the herbs he gathered.’
The six elders stood beneath a welcoming pine as the disciples gradually returned to their respective groups, the crowd growing steadily.
"Brother Sun, look. Isn’t that the disciple named Zhao from the Water Mirror Department?"
"That’s him! Brother Xiang said he’d take care of him for us. I wonder if he did. Let’s go ask..."
Within the Fire Jade Department’s ranks, a tall, thin disciple and a short, stout one were whispering to each other.
The two of them approached Xiang Bao, and the stout disciple asked, "Brother Xiang, did you find that disciple named Zhao?"
Xiang Bao’s expression soured the moment he heard the question.
All the herbs he had gathered on the first day had ended up with Zhao Lin. On the second day, he had sought out his brother to get revenge, but not only had they failed, they had ended up losing his brother’s herbs as well.
On the third day, he was so exhausted that he slept late into the morning. With no desire to search for herbs himself, he decided to just rob others instead.
Unfortunately, by the final day, everyone had grown cautious. The disciples mostly traveled in groups, and it was rare to find anyone alone.
After much effort, Xiang Bao only managed to rob two disciples from the Earth Department. It was just enough to avoid returning empty-handed, but any hope of competing for the top three was gone.
He was in an absolutely foul mood and answered coldly, "Couldn’t find him!"
The tall, thin disciple and the short, stout one looked at each other, stunned. They had no idea why he was in such a foul temper.
Overhearing this, Zhao Lin gave a silent laugh and turned his attention to the other groups.
The disciples were naturally all discussing the rankings for this Autumn Harvest, speculating on which department would take first place and who would win the Five-Six Pill.
Most people favored the Gold and Stone and Fire Jade Departments, as those two had claimed the top spot for the past five years.
As for the individual rankings, the favorites were Zhong Yewu of the Gold and Stone Department, Xiang Bao of the Fire Jade Department, Lin Qiutong of the Cyan Wood Department, and the Du brothers from the Earth Department.
However, some also had their eyes on Zhang Xiaoshan of the Water Mirror Department. The fellow had a big mouth and had been bragging to anyone who would listen that he’d collected four high-grade herbs, a fact now widely known.
"Brother Water Mirror, the count is about to begin. I wonder how the disciples of your esteemed department fared?"
Elder Huoyu strolled over, a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes on his face.
With Zhao Lin having found a Top Grade herb, there was little suspense about who would win individual first place in this Autumn Harvest.
’But when it came to the department rankings, a single Yin Erosion Lotus wouldn’t be decisive. He was still confident on that front. To get a leg up on his old rival, he decided to bring up the subject directly.’
Hearing this, the Water Mirror Elder gave a faint smile. "The juniors have all done their best. We should let nature take its course. There’s no need for us elders to be so impatient to pry."
Then he added, "And who knows, there might be a pleasant surprise."
’Having a disciple who was likely to take first place in the Autumn Harvest was already immensely satisfying. As long as his department didn’t finish last, he could hold his head high.’
"True enough. We’ll see the results soon enough." Having been gently rebuffed, Elder Huoyu walked away in a huff.
In the late afternoon, the six elders began a roll call. Only four disciples were missing. After a wait of about half an hour, all the disciples had finally reassembled.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the Gold Stone Elder conferred with the other elders and then announced, "Since everyone is present, we will now begin to tally the harvest."
He then announced the scoring rules: one Top Grade herb was equivalent to seven high-grade herbs, one high-grade herb was equivalent to seven mid-grade herbs, and so on down the line.
Ungraded herbs would not be counted toward the rankings; they would only be used as a tiebreaker if the counts of high-, mid-, and low-grade herbs were identical.
In truth, this rule wasn’t precise. The value difference between grades was often far more than sevenfold, and even herbs within the same grade varied in age and quality.
This system was simply for the sake of easy comparison. Otherwise, if they were to haggle over every last detail, the arguments would last indefinitely.
The Water Mirror Elder’s lips barely moved as he sent a voice transmission to Zhao Lin. "Zhao Lin, did you manage to find any high-grade herbs?"
’In his view, Zhao Lin had only recently joined the institute and this was his first Autumn Harvest. He was bound to be inexperienced. Finding a Top Grade herb was a stroke of incredible luck, a blessing in itself.’
’If another disciple had managed to collect six or seven high-grade herbs, they might just surpass Zhao Lin and snatch away the top spot.’
’When the elders were discussing the conversion rate between grades earlier, he had wanted to propose a one-to-nine ratio, but no one had agreed. Elder Huoyu, in particular, had been vehemently opposed, so he’d had to drop it.’
"I have some. Please rest assured, Elder."
Zhao Lin gave the Water Mirror Elder an affirmative look.
After announcing the rules, the Gold Stone Elder smiled. "Which department would like to go first? Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth... or the Outer Institute?"
Elder Zhou of the Outer Institute immediately spoke up. "The Outer Institute has a great number of disciples, so the tally will take some time. Why don’t we begin with us?"
None of the other elders objected, so Elder Zhou summoned a deacon to act as a scribe and record the harvest totals for each disciple and department.
Beneath the welcoming pine lay a large, flat, natural boulder, several yards across, that would serve perfectly as a display area for the herbs.
Elder Zhou gave a nod, and one of the Outer Institute disciples stepped forward from the ranks and walked to the great stone.
Zhao Lin recognized the disciple. It was Li Ying, the one he had sparred with during the entrance trials for the Wuxiang Institute.
Li Ying opened his herb storage box and laid out more than a dozen herbs on the large stone.
"One Seven-Star Flower, one Earth Orchid, two Cyan Bulrush Grasses... In total: one high-grade herb, three mid-grade herbs, and eight low-grade herbs."
The deacon’s eyes swept over the boulder as he announced the tally in a loud, clear voice, recording it in his register.
Seeing that he had a high-grade herb, many of the other disciples looked on with envy.
A single high-grade herb was worth seven mid-grade ones, or forty-nine low-grade ones. It was safe to say that without at least one high-grade herb, a disciple had no chance of placing in the rankings.
Unfortunately, high-grade herbs were difficult to find, and most disciples hadn’t managed to get any.
A smile graced Elder Zhou’s face. He had deliberately chosen a disciple with a high-grade herb to go first, hoping to start things off on a high note.
