Happy Troubles

Inside Clear Spring Pavilion, there was a deathly silence.

The perceptive workers would at this moment learn to become invisible, like the ring-bearing beast mask. And the imperceptive workers were still bouncing around in place, like the enthusiastic rattan chair. But it got its job through connections, so it was fine even if it wildly jumped on the leader’s nerves.

It happily led Su Qing, with four legs scrambling, to run three full circles in the room, right under Wang Quan’s nose, before finally stopping.

The last time Su Qing returned from the beast tide front, Wang Quan had specially rolled up his sleeves to brew tea, in the manner of a winding-stream party.

At that time, Su Qing wondered what he was pretending to be again, for everyone knew his true face.

Only later did she realize he was subtly employing tactics to win people over, completely confusing her.

Now, Su Qing no longer received such treatment.

She sat properly across the table, facing the Sect Leader, who was rubbing his temples as if he had suddenly aged a hundred years.

She spoke, “Sect Leader?”

She had already explained everything, so why hadn’t the other party reacted yet?

Of course, she hadn’t yet mentioned that the Song family’s treasury was in her hands.

Negotiation also had its techniques. She still wanted to secure a good sum for her roommates as well.

This was the only reason, absolutely not because she wanted to see Wang Quan’s incredibly dramatic change of expression.

The documents on the table were piled high, like a small tower constructed of paper and scrolls.

But this height was awkward; it couldn’t completely block the view between the two, yet it still allowed Wang Quan to clearly see the expectant eyes of this unfortunate student.

The unfortunate student sat upright, her back straight, completely unaware of having done anything wrong. Her dark eyes calmly looked at him, not shrinking away, but rather gleaming faintly.

Yes, she was even looking forward to it. Did she know how much trouble she had caused?

She absolutely knew.

This student was steady in temperament, with keen intelligence and clever ideas.

Therefore, she usually thought things through carefully before deciding to cause trouble. Hence, she was even more infuriating!

Even if he didn’t want to face it, Wang Quan’s overworked nature kicked in.

Almost at the moment Su Qing confessed, his thoughts spun eighteen turns, bringing forth all sorts of solutions and consequences for the matter.

The more he thought, the more despairing he became.

He mused, ‘Am I not a Sect Leader who spoils his students? Am I not the black-hearted persona reviled by thousands?’

‘How did I end up here? Something must have gone wrong.’

“You’re saying that the pillaging of the Nine Heavens Pavilion in Tianque City was your doing, and it’s very likely that there are human and material evidences left behind?”

Su Qing demurely said, “This student is untalented…”

“No, it’s not a matter of being untalented.” Wang Quan said calmly, “You graduate now.”

Su Qing blinked and said, “But I’m only a first-year student, and only at the Foundation Establishment stage.”

A first-year Foundation Establishment cultivator causing such trouble.

When she reached second and third year, Wang Quan dared not imagine what kind of colossal mess he would have to clean up.

He said, “That’s not important.”

“Graduate now?” Su Qing was even a little startled, and stammered, “Oh, then can I get my degree and graduation certificate?”

Wang Quan refused, “No.”

“Oh.” Su Qing blinked, then suddenly sighed, her tone somewhat wistful. “Carefree Immortal above, this student originally intended to dedicate the Nine Heavens Pavilion’s treasury to the Sword School, to further its grand development. Now, being forced to drop out mid-way, this student has no choice but to make plans for herself. I can only spend it all myself. Although there are too many treasures in an entire treasury, one person probably can’t spend it all, but this student nearly died bringing it back…”

An entire treasury.
An entire treasury.
An entire treasury.

Deficit, balanced account, surplus—surplus, it’s a surplus!

Wang Quan’s hands trembled. In the blink of an eye, all the documents on the table vanished, replaced by a complete set of high-grade tea ware.

Tea was already brewing automatically, bubbling from the white jade teapot spout, tinkling like flowing mountain springs, clear and distant.

The fragrance of tea, mixed with spiritual mist, wafted over.

Su Qing’s eyes narrowed slightly.

This was a bit too fast; she hadn’t even seen where he conjured these from.

A cup of tea was presented to Su Qing by Wang Quan.

The tea soup was a pale green, showing the spring vitality of distant mountains.

Wang Quan, covering his face with his sleeve, coughed twice and explained gently, “Carefree Immortal above, I had no such intention. I was merely thinking that you possess the talent to enter the inner sect for study. Graduating now is also fine. My intentions are pure. If I am misunderstood, I would die ten thousand deaths without regret.”

Su Qing: “……..”

‘He’s truly adaptable.’

But after Wang Quan finished his act, he lowered his sleeve, a faint smile surfacing on his white jade face, his eyes sparkling even more brightly.

His knuckles tapped the tabletop rhythmically, indicating his excellent mood.

He said, “Well done. Now, let’s talk about the trouble you caused—no, the merits you’ve earned. For instance, how do you want to divide this treasury?”

After a prolonged negotiation, according to the ring-bearing beast mask, the war in Clear Spring Pavilion that day lasted for three days and three nights.

If “clashing words” was meant literally, then Clear Spring Pavilion would have long been reduced to ruins.

The war between paupers was truly terrifying, leaving the ring-bearing beast mask in awe.

The final outcome of this debate was that Wang Quan would deflect the trouble, completely erasing Su Qing’s involvement in the matter, settling everything for her.

On that day, she had never been to the auction. She would have no further worries.

The Nine Heavens Pavilion managers would have their memories erased and be sent to a small world to make a living, thus preserving their lives.

Su Qing then learned that Commander Chiyan had indeed fallen in the Nine Heavens Pavilion that day.

The flames after his demise had burned for several days and had not yet extinguished, scorching the Nine Heavens Pavilion to almost ashes.

If these escaping managers were to return, they would surely be held accountable and would not survive; they could only seek other paths.

However, Wang Quan sensed that there must be something fishy about this matter.

Logically speaking, Old Man San and Commander Chiyan were of the same cultivation realm.

It would be difficult for Commander Chiyan to win, but escaping would be relatively easy.

For a powerful cultivator to fall so quickly must have other reasons. Perhaps the Song family also made a move…

But it didn’t seem so.

The Song family was furious and had issued an order to eliminate the Heavenly Secret Alliance.

Wang Quan knew this was just a small-scale skirmish.

After hearing the news, he was also investigating who had truly killed Commander Chiyan, what truth was hidden behind it, and whether he could exchange that truth for more spirit stones.

But now that the treasury was in hand, he first needed to find someone to tally the inventory, which was quite time-consuming.

Su Qing and Wang Quan debated for three days, sleeplessly, and only then did they barely manage to divide the spoils.

The items from the Nine Heavens Pavilion all had exclusive marks, making them easy to trace.

To be safe, one-tenth of the treasury would be converted into spirit stones and directly deposited into her account, and another one-tenth would be issued to her as contribution points.

As for the spiritual items she wanted, they would be provided by the Sword School’s warehouse.

In addition, the Sword School’s medicinal mountain would release another one-tenth of its stock to the herbal trading firm.

Although Su Qing didn’t get a large share, what she received was all clean and legitimate.

Furthermore, even if the remaining eighty percent was taken by Wang Quan, it would be spent on the Sword School, and eventually benefit her.

She was very satisfied with this outcome.

Wang Quan was also very satisfied.

The Sword School’s finances could breathe a sigh of relief for the next decade. He even told Su Qing with great satisfaction and pleasure, “It’s a pleasure working with you. Keep up the good work.”

It was as if he wasn’t the one who had aged a hundred years and told her to graduate quickly.

Tian Ning would absolutely not accept that Cold Moon Carp Pearl.

Su Qing instead chose an Ice Heart Ancient Wood Fruit from the Sword School’s treasury.

This item was between Tier 3 top-grade and Tier 4 low-grade. Not only was its grade suitable, but it was also a rare spiritual item with both ice and wood attributes, making it extremely suitable for healing during core shattering and reformation.

Its success rate would be greatly increased.

With such a spiritual item in hand, Tian Ning would not have to worry about failing to shatter and reform her core.

The only thing she needed to consider was the opportune moment.

Su Qing, on the other hand, chose a Tier 3 top-grade spiritual vein, placing it within her mustard stone to carefully nurture it for a few years. Perhaps it could develop into a lush, vibrant personal grotto-heaven.

As for Golden Core spirit items, she wasn’t in a hurry.

Besides, she was only in the late Foundation Establishment stage now and didn’t know when she would reach Great Perfection.

She had plenty of contribution points and spirit stones, so she would take her time to choose suitable ones.

Tang Yueling did not ask for any of them. Su Qing knew her concerns.

“Then save it for the next generation.”

Tang Yueling was silent for a moment.

After a long while, she nodded slightly.

With this matter concluded, Su Qing settled down to cultivate in the Sword School.

She practiced divine sense, swordsmanship, and body tempering simultaneously, opening herself to all aspects of cultivation, preparing to break through to Foundation Establishment Layer 8.

Life was basically uneventful.

Her daily routine consisted of cultivation, eating, being robbed by the Orange King, and chasing the Orange King.

If there were any surprises, it was inexplicably winning a prize on the confession wall and receiving ten thousand contribution points.

Adding Wang Quan’s contribution points to that, she had a total of two hundred thousand contribution points.

She could be a Sect Leader for two days.

But being a Sect Leader was thankless work.

It not only delayed cultivation but also required cleaning up messes. Whoever wanted to be one could be one; she wouldn’t.

Man Qing Sword, due to its shattering, had been quietly resting in her storage bracelet, healing itself.

To be precise, it was diligently digesting the curved saber. It was like a python that had swallowed enormous prey, coiled up, contentedly and wearily consuming it little by little.

Su Qing had a premonition that once Man Qing Sword completely digested this, it would surely advance, transforming into a Tier 3 spirit weapon.

During this period, Su Qing had been using the wooden sword crafted from a plum branch.

Her sword intent had begun to take shape, but it was still immature.

For this reason, she chose to use a wooden sword instead of a spiritual sword.

The wooden sword was blunt and lacked a sharp edge, yet it allowed her to focus more on tempering her sword intent, comprehending what the path of the sword truly sought.

She often sparred with Tian Ning, sometimes practicing her sword three thousand times alone, or studying sword manuals.

All sword manuals suitable for the Foundation Establishment stage in Limitless Pavilion had been exchanged by her.

Su Qing studied them all, finally discovering that her favorite and most frequently used were still the basic eight moves of the Carefree Sword Art.

Whenever she used the Carefree Sword Art with great satisfaction, red plum blossoms would always bloom on the wooden sword, as if it were the highest commendation.

Sometimes, the Orange King and Xiaocao would come to watch her practice swordsmanship.

After her continuous supervision day and night, the fat cat’s weight loss effect was not non-existent, but one had to look very hard to see it, and still wonder if it was just a psychological effect.

However, its cultural literacy was rapidly improving. Recently, it had even become inspired by poetry, composing a poem specifically to show off to Su Qing.