With a muffled crash, Jiang Qingfeng was abruptly awakened.
She lifted her head from a pile of ledgers and jade scrolls, sitting up. A red mark from a jade scroll was imprinted on her fair-skinned face, and her usually clear eyes were now bloodshot. Even her ticulously kept hair bun was disheveled.
Upon waking up so suddenly, she was still in a daze, unable to distinguish between reality and dream, until her gaze gradually focused, and she saw the half-collapsed pile of ledgers in front of her, with Jiang Baitao sprawled out asleep on top of them. She finally ca to her senses.
The ledgers had collapsed, but Baitao hadn’t woken up. Instead, he turned over, randomly grabbing a few rolls of scrolls, hugging them to his chest, and continued to sleep deeply.
Jiang Qingfeng sighed. She stood up, feeling stiff and sore all over. Her gaze coincidentally t with Lin Le’s, and both of them shared a wry smile.
The task of inventorying the sect’s assets was more difficult than expected. Besides the storage on Bichao Mountain, the materials in the storage pouches handed over by Lu Qian, and the assets scattered outside the mountain, such as in various marketplaces. Even within the mountain, so pavilions often had hidden rooms, used to store rare items.
If one were to simply tally up the visible items within the mountain, it would probably account for only half of Chaosheng Sect’s actual assets.
Therefore, Jiang Qingfeng first had to straighten out the accounts from recent years, materials requisition records, procurent lists, etc., to find out on the books what exactly Chaosheng Sect had, and then verify in person.
The matter of vassalizing two sects delayed half a day the day before. Upon returning, they had no choice but to work even harder, accounting and sorting through the night, striving to complete this task as soon as possible.
This was not because Lu Qian was particularly unsympathetic. Jiang Qingfeng imagined that as long as she asked, her junior brother would certainly give more ti, but she and Lin Le both knew that ti was indeed pressing now. Many things required having the sect’s assets cleared up before Lu Qian could proceed with the next arrangents.
Moreover, Lu Qian himself was also extrely busy. He and two Honored Guest Elders discussed the new system for the Yunshan Sect for an entire night. Yesterday, without even resting for several hours, he dispatched disciples to the nearby marketplace to bring over a dozen mortal servants, seemingly storytellers or children’s teachers. Who knows what he’s preparing, but he hasn’t been seen out of the small courtyard.
Tan Hong and his wife had also been patrolling the territory, and hadn’t returned to the mountain gate in recent days. For the revival of the Yunshan Sect, everyone was working hard, so naturally, she too had to exert all her efforts.
Fortunately, Lin Le was very clever and capable, providing substantial help. Jiang Qingfeng only then discovered that Lin Le’s mory and calculation skills were astonishing, often able to instantly recall many figures and do ntal calculations. Moreover, his logical abilities were excellent, able to tidy a heap of old accounts in just a glance.
Thanks to his help, the two managed to barely sort through all the ledgers from nearly the past ten years, forming a preliminary consolidated list.
As for Jiang Baitao, although he was full of enthusiasm, not letting himself hinder the progress was already quite comndable.
By this ti, the morning sun had risen. Although they had rested for only an hour or two amidst a pile of ledgers, neither wished to delay further. After a brief conversation, they called Baitao, tidied up their appearance slightly, took the preliminary list, and headed out to begin the on-site verification.
Along the way, walking on the cobblestone paths connecting various buildings, they occasionally encountered forr Zhou Family outer family cultivators, now new disciples of the Yunshan Sect, who had nothing to do and were wandering around the mountain.
These disciples had varying aptitudes and ages. So had just started cultivation for a couple of years, while others had been rolling around the Cultivation Realm for over a decade. This experience as outer family cultivators had turned them sowhat worldly and slick. Seeing Jiang Qingfeng and her party from afar, they would stand respectfully by the roadside, saluting and calling, "Elder Jiang."
At first, Jiang Qingfeng would wave them off with a few words, but later realized it was futile and just let them call as they pleased.
Lin Le was also embarrassed by their greetings; he had just reached the first layer of Qi Cultivation and only just entered the path. Yet, these cultivators respectfully called him "Senior Brother Lin," causing the freshly fourteen-year-old boy to blush with determination to practice diligently in the future so as not to fall too far behind.
The most popular topic among these new disciples’ chats was still about the day before yesterday when Lu Qian with one move of the "Duo Chao Geng Gold Divine Sword" broke through the multiple defenses of four late-stage Qi Cultivation Practitioners within five breaths, easily winning.
Initially, the duel retelling was rather objective, with admiration for the Sect Leader and analysis and judgnt of both parties’ techniques, etc.
However, as more and more disciples joined the discussion, especially those early-stage Qi Cultivation practitioners who couldn’t even perform "exorcism," they added many outrageous elents from their own perspectives, turning the originally simple and swift match into a fantastically exaggerated battle.
The latest version Jiang Qingfeng heard had already turned into: "Only hearing the Sect Leader shout, the winds and clouds surged, the world changed colors, and the entire Bichao Mountain began to tremble, with us unable to stand firm and rolling in a heap. In the blink of an eye, with just a gaze from the Sect Leader, golden light shimred in the celestial sky, Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi flowed continuously, pouring into the Sect Leader’s body..."
It’s hard to tell what version Tan Hong and his wife will hear once they return with their team.
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