False Accounts

Things happened so quickly that even after they successfully teleported away, they still hadn’t fully reacted.

The Nine Heavens Pavilion manager knew how difficult the treasury’s restrictions were to break.

He had believed he would surely perish here today, but unbeknownst to him, destiny took a sharp turn after the arrival of those two cultivators, actually allowing him to survive.

As a manager of a trading firm, he couldn’t help but ponder the origin of that golden key.

It could instantly transfer a treasury spanning tens of thousands of li right before everyone’s eyes, without any side effects.

This item must be an extremely rare, never-before-seen treasure. And the person wielding this item must also hold a high position with a profound background.

Thinking this, he hurriedly bowed in gratitude, tearfully saying, “Thank you, cultivators, for your assistance. This humble one has no way to repay you. If…”

The others also bowed and said, “Thank you, cultivators, for your assistance.”

The manager hadn’t finished speaking when his head was struck from behind by Man Qing Sword. His body went limp, and he promptly fainted.

The other Nine Heavens Pavilion staff, hearing this, changed their expressions, and their gazes at Su Qing were somewhat terrified.

“I’ve already brought you out of the evil cultivators’ encirclement. There’s no reason for me to go to the trouble of harming you now,” Su Qing said with a smile. “But as the ancients say, the more one knows, the faster one might die.”

Those people also understood the meaning in Su Qing’s words.

Thinking that if she really wanted to harm them, she could have just left them to die at that time, there was no need to go through all this trouble now.

So they all found ways to forcibly shut themselves down.

They truly deserved their reputation as workers in a Fortune 500 company of the cultivation world, the Nine Heavens Pavilion.

They were indeed very perceptive.

Actually, even if they didn’t shut down now, it wouldn’t matter.

It was estimated that by the time this group was released, all relevant memories would be erased.

This was both protection for Su Qing and protection for the informed.

The fact that one of the Sword School’s treasury keys was in her hands could not be easily exposed.

Otherwise, it would pose a life-threatening danger to those who knew.

Once exposed, everyone would be hunted to death.

Su Qing would hand them over to the Sect Leader, letting him decide their fate.

This matter involved the Sword School, the Song family’s Nine Heavens Pavilion, and even the Heavenly Secret Alliance.

Perhaps the entanglement went deeper and further than she imagined.

She was not an insider, only knowing the general outline of many things.

Handing it over to Wang Quan to handle was most appropriate.

Being the host and having the Sect Leader work for her like this was truly dizzyingly satisfying.

All irrelevant individuals had left. Only the students of the Sword School remained awake.

Tang Yueling was exceptionally intelligent, and having spent so much time with Su Qing, she vaguely guessed the origin of this treasure.

Precisely because of this, she did not mention it, but instead gave Su Qing a meaningful glance.

This glance was very brief, but Su Qing perceived it.

She read a little surprise, a little blame, and much, much understanding and pride from it.

Su Qing was slightly stunned, then suddenly laughed.

Tang Shitao was still curiously looking around.

Tang Yueling said calmly, “Heal your injuries first, stop the bleeding.”

She hadn’t been so seriously injured in a long time.

Half her clothes were soaked with blood.

If not for Su Qing and Tian Ning’s timely assistance, today would truly have been a fight to the death.

Distracted by Tang Yueling, Tang Shitao composed herself and even pulled out the pills needed for healing.

Having just escaped danger, and not yet truly feeling safe, the six Sword School disciples all found a secure spot to sit, heal, and recover.

The Tang family members gathered together.

Su Qing stood observing her surroundings.

Tian Ning was cleaning her sword. Qi Liwei, however, stood somewhat stiffly to the side.

Perhaps the atmosphere was a bit awkward, or perhaps she had other thoughts, Qi Liwei said to Su Qing, “You shouldn’t have brought them along. Everyone has their own destiny. Even if you save them today, they might not survive, and you’ll only drag yourself down.”

Her intentions were good.

After all, these people were hired by the Song family.

Presumably, some unspoken rules were established during their contract, and they might well inform the Song family of their escape.

At that time, the Song family would surely not let Su Qing off lightly.

It would be better to leave these people to their fate, rather than needlessly entangling herself in karma.

She inwardly assured herself that her words were indeed well-intentioned, but as they left her lips, they somehow sounded a bit off.

Tang Yueling raised an eyebrow, her eyelashes suddenly lifting, and her eyes sparkled with light.

This was a sign of her being quite interested.

Tang Shitao secretly mocked Qi Liwei’s foolishness for bringing this up in front of Su Qing.

After all, although this one’s cultivation speed after stepping onto the immortal path was astonishing, even turning heads among aristocratic descendants, and she was known to everyone in the first year of the Sword School, when it came to background, Su Qing was even inferior to these Nine Heavens Pavilion managers. She didn’t even have city household registration; she was a genuine country bumpkin.

Qi Mei, holding the spiritual stones she was using for meditation, said nothing. Her peripheral vision, however, flickered towards Tian Ning.

Tian Ning had just smashed a crystal cabinet in the treasury, taking out a soft, hazy silk that shimmered like rosy clouds.

This material was most suitable for making magical robes; it was both light and beautiful, making the wearer appear like a celestial fairy from a jade palace.

However, Tian Ning took this item not for its beauty, but to cut it, fold it carefully, then meticulously dip it in ointment, tirelessly wiping her sword with it.

She wiped it with such concentration, almost reaching a state of self-forgetfulness, as if she hadn’t heard the outside world.

Su Qing had actually not seen Qi Liwei for a long time.

Fate was indeed strange.

The last time she saw her up close was during the disciple selection at the entrance exam.

At that time, Qi Liwei was only fifteen, dressed in white, with a spiritual sword, her face youthful, her brows and eyes showing arrogance.

Although her personality was calmer than the other two, she also had a childlike demeanor, and she could be quite sharp when arguing.

Qi Libei and Qi Lifeng sometimes didn’t dare to provoke her.

Who would have thought that after entering the Sword School, perhaps due to the new environment, perhaps due to agonizing and struggling between Daozi and Tian Ning, the arrogance in Qi Liwei gradually faded, replaced by a steady composure, as if she had already foreseen something.

But a person’s core is difficult to change.

It will suddenly emerge at some calm moment, showcasing an unparalleled sense of presence.

Just like this moment.

Su Qing pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Why do you think I brought you along?”

Qi Liwei’s eyes flickered, thinking it was because of Miss Tian Ning.

Su Qing calmly looked at Qi Liwei’s slightly furrowed brow. “Although that was decades ago, you and I both remember that we had a feud which has never been resolved. We merely put it aside out of consideration for Tian Ning. Going by that, I should never have saved you, because if you told the Qi family, or your troublesome clan brothers, I wouldn’t have an easy time either.”

Qi Liwei looked up and immediately said, “I can swear a Dao Heart Vow.”

At the same time, Tian Ning’s voice rang out, and she said coldly, “I have no face that needs saving. Swear your Dao Heart Vow.”

The air fell silent for a moment, tinged with awkwardness. Tang Shitao didn’t care.

She knew all about these Qi family matters through Yueling.

She knew that one couldn’t have it all. Since Qi Liwei chose to be driven by Daozi of the Qi family, the principle of losing one while gaining another would surely hold true.

Otherwise, what would be the meaning of such dedicated people like them?

Moreover, she wasn’t the only one who had to make a Dao Heart Vow; she and Tang Qimei would probably have to follow suit.

“I know that you aristocratic nobles surely have backup plans. Even if I hadn’t brought you along, you would still survive.” Su Qing said calmly. “But my saving you has nothing to do with Tian Ning. She is not a Qi family member, nor is she related to you. The reason is simple.”

She met Qi Liwei’s gaze, which was filled with a bewildered astonishment. “This is beneath Tianque City, within the Sword School’s thirty-six cities. We are fellow disciples, and also classmates. We should naturally watch out for and help each other, even if circumstances lead to unforeseen outcomes.”

After saying this, Su Qing paid no further attention. In fact, no one spoke again.

Qi Liwei lowered her eyelashes, her expression complex, her knuckles clenched tightly.

She didn’t know if she was angry or experiencing some other emotion.

A thousand words seemed to be caught in her throat, ultimately dissolving into silence.

As the Orange King’s dedicated poop-scooping official, also situated within its belly, Su Qing saw a landscape different from the others.

They still saw scenes from the Song family’s treasury, while she, although also within this glass-bead-sized furball, could see the other spherical objects outside this furball.

Spherical objects of varying sizes floated quietly in the dark space.

She could clearly see the microscopic scenes compressed within each sphere.

There were void fragments, glittering like stars, yet when gazed upon for too long, one felt as if falling into an abyss.

There were desolate ruins of ancient battlefields. There were suspended immortal lakes with vast expanses of water.

She saw the orb containing the Dragon Boat Secret Realm.

A dilapidated dragon-ribbed ship floated in the boundless sea, shuttling among numerous islands.

It would sail here until the secret realm was opened hundreds of years later, and new explorers poured in.

Besides these precious grotto-heavens, some spheres also independently imprisoned a weapon, a spiritual plant, or a spiritual beast.

These single-room “prisons” naturally contained top-quality spiritual items. Su Qing merely stared for a while and felt the dazzling spiritual light was so intense that her eyes could barely stay open.

These were all the Sword School’s reserved resources.

They wouldn’t be easily taken out unless absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, they would truly be living off their old capital.

Su Qing’s heart inexplicably softened.

She thought, looking up at the sky, the Big Dipper hung high, the Milky Way spanned across, and stars twinkled.

But within the fluffy belly of the Orange King, there were also tens of thousands of stars, breathtakingly beautiful.

It was truly adorable.

Inside the Clear Spring Pavilion.

Wang Quan was balancing the books.

This ledger in his hand also had a history; it was passed down from Carefree Immortal.

At the inception of the Sword School, it recorded every expense that supported this massive sect from nothing to existence.

But Carefree Immortal had a flaw: when she found that she was spending more and more spirit stones, and no matter what she did, her debts outweighed her assets, she gave up. She started making false accounts.

Later, during the early establishment of the sect, when money was spent like water, she would close her eyes, shut the ledger, toss her brush, hum a little tune, and pretend it never happened.

Therefore, when this ledger reached Wang Quan’s hands, only a few pages had been haphazardly recorded at the beginning, not even one percent used.

He then continued to record from where it left off.

This person was good at facing reality; he never made false accounts.

Every single transaction was clearly accounted for.

It was precisely because it was so clear that he often felt his Dao Heart shattering.

Wang Quan did not even use an abacus to calculate; the best accountants in the city were no match for him.

No matter what the accounts, he could spot the discrepancies at a glance.

Wang Quan flipped through the documents. His talisman brush automatically marked corrections.

When he was alone, he shed the sickly noble young master demeanor, always talking to himself, his mental state remarkably vibrant.

“Crossing out these corrupt ones, truly audacious enough to even embezzle the spirit stones that passed through my hands. Interesting.”

“The mountain-protecting grand formation is too expensive, but this is a fixed cost and cannot be saved. How is the cafeteria’s expenditure three times that of last season? The third-year students are all Golden Core, yet they can still eat so much? Is this really the Sword School, not the Beast School?”

“Fighting, fighting, a bunch of poor sword cultivators, do you have two spirit stones in your pockets? All you do is fight, can’t even afford repair fees, dumping it all on me. Send them all out to work off their debts.”

“Medicine Mountain said this year’s introduced technology failed, and the spiritual plants haven’t grown well… Excuses. Clearly, they swapped out spiritual seeds for personal gain. Endure it for now, deduct their performance bonus, and settle accounts later.”

“Contact the back mountain. I will exchange beast cores for spiritual plant resources, starting from Tier 3. Have them prepare it first.”

“How did the Pill School’s tax this year decrease again? Just sell the Tier 9 Earth Fire to the Artifact School. Deduct the Pill School Sect Leader’s performance bonus, double deduction.”

“The Talisman School is doing well this year, their performance is decent. Award bonuses.”

“The Array School applied for spirit stones to rebuild the Myriad Array Diagram? What time is it now, and they’re still thinking about this?

No money, rejected. If the sect isn’t short on money, figure it out yourselves.”

Go.

“Body School… Never mind, as long as the Body School isn’t losing money, I don’t expect more.”

“The Beast School’s spirit beast population has increased. They applied to expand the spirit beast garden. Approved, but not so many spirit stones needed. Give them half; they can earn the rest themselves.”

After all the calculations, the account was still unbalanced, still in the negative.

Wang Quan, who detested false accounts all his life, collapsed into his chair, his eyes vacant, his soul seemingly having left his body.

“Whoever wants to be this Sword School Sect Leader, be it…”

After a while, he silently calculated again in his mind and instructed his talisman brush, “Contact the Yan Yi Sect Leader. More secret realm slots have been released, but the He Rong Faction is competing for them. Tell him to bid quickly.”

But it was still a loss.

Wang Quan sat up and asked the ring-bearing beast mask, which was diligently pretending not to exist, “Which families haven’t called on us this year? It’s fine if they don’t come, but the seasonal gifts must be delivered. If they don’t come, send them an invitation. Say I’m inviting them for tea.”

He calculated in his mind how many spirit stones he could deduct from which families. Only then was he barely satisfied.

It was almost even.

He grabbed the diligent talisman brush and, with a flourish, elegantly wrote [Balanced] on the quarterly summary.

It was at this moment that footsteps sounded outside, followed by a crisp knock on the door.

The rattan chair opposite the desk suddenly sprang up, as if hearing something, rushing towards the door with anticipation.

Wang Quan’s eyes narrowed. He sighed, remembering the troublesome student who gave him so much grief. He straightened his robes,

returning to his usual Sect Leader demeanor, as if everything was under his control.

Day.

“Don’t tell me she caused another major disaster and spread my name around…”

He thought, ‘But if it allows him to extort a sum, it’s not impossible for him to clean up her mess.’