Volume 3 Huashan Xiaoao Chapter 11 I, Yue Buqun, am short of money
He personally sent Lao Denuo to an empty house, tied him up and imprisoned him, and ordered Liang Fa, Shi Daizi and several outer disciples to guard him strictly. Only then did Yue Buqun take Ning Zhongze and Linghu Chong back to the main hall.
On the way, Linghu Chong couldn't help but say, "Master, this plan certainly led out the spy, but what if something unexpected happens to Zixia Magic?"
After hearing this, Yue Buqun felt that he should teach Linghu Chong some other things to prevent him from being too naive and being taken advantage of by others, such as the Sword Sect.
Then he took out the copy of "Purple Cloud Magic Skill" that he had taken from Lao Denuo and threw it to Linghu Chong, chuckling, "Do you think I would let that spy handle the real "Purple Cloud Magic Skill"? Take a closer look."
Although Linghu Chong had never learned the "Purple Cloud Magic Skill", he was Yue Buqun's eldest disciple after all, so he had some ability to distinguish. Therefore, he flipped through the secret book in his hand and looked at it. He couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Isn't this the Purple Cloud Magic Skill?"
Yue Buqun said: “Not only is it not Zixia Magical Skill, if others don’t know how to distinguish it, they will go astray if they practice it!”
Linghu Chong blurted out, "This is too vicious."
"Huh?" Yue Buqun stopped and glared at Linghu Chong.
Linghu Chong reacted and immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing, and hurriedly explained: "Master, I mean it's better to destroy this secret book. If someone who doesn't know about it practices it by mistake, won't they be hurt?"
"You practiced Zixia magic without my permission, so you deserve the consequences!" Yue Buqun snorted.
Ning Zhongze saw that the atmosphere between the two was tense, so he said, "Brother, Chong'er also means well, you can ask him to destroy the secret book."
“It’s up to you.” Yue Buqun said to Linghu Chong first, and then said: “With your temper, how can I be assured of passing the position of the head of the sect to you in the future, and how can I be assured of promising Shan’er to you? Think about it carefully!”
After saying that, he quickened his pace and walked forward.
Ning Zhongze smiled and said to Linghu Chong: "Chong'er, your master has always been optimistic about you, don't let him down."
Linghu Chong actually had no interest in the position of the head of the sect, but he liked Yue Lingshan, so after hearing Yue Buqun's words, he was not only not troubled, but excited, and nodded heavily, saying: "Disciple will definitely live up to Master's expectations!"
Both of them were of relatively simple nature, but they did not know that Yue Buqun deliberately said these words to Linghu Chong before he left, in order to make Linghu Chong stay by his side and not become a member of the Sword Sect.
After arriving in the hall, Yue Buqun explained to Su Yan and others how he went down the mountain to capture Lao Denuo and forced the Songshan Sect and others to leave.
At this time, Feng Qingyang, Feng Buping and the other two were all in the hall, but they did not comment on the matter.
First of all, although this matter was planned by Su Yan and Yue Buqun, they also knew about it.
Secondly, Feng Qingyang had been following Yue Buqun and Lao Denuo secretly under the instructions of Su Yan, just in case, and witnessed what happened with his own eyes.
After listening to Yue Buqun, Su Yan said, "Since Lu Bai and the others have left, this matter has come to an end. However, if you want to restore the reputation of Huashan, you still have a long way to go.
There are three things you need to do next. The first is to refine the Qi-invigorating Pill, the second is to recall the fellow Sword Sect disciples who are wandering outside, and the third is to make the current Huashan Sect disciples give up their previous prejudices and practice the Sword Sect's swordsmanship.
If these three things are done well, the Huashan Sect's strength will increase rapidly, and it will be able to compete with the Songshan Sect and even the Demon Sect."
After hearing what Yue Buqun and the other seven people in the hall said, they immediately clasped their fists towards the jade pendant and said, "We will obey the orders of our ancestor!"
The next day, two people from the Sword Sect went down the mountain.
Feng Buping was going to persuade Ji Bumou and Qi Xuanwei to return to Huashan Sect, while Cheng Buyu was going to bring the families and children of the three to the mountain.
As for Cong Buqi, he stayed in Huashan and taught Liang Fa, Lu Dayou and other inner disciples of the Huashan School swordsmanship.
Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze were jointly responsible for purchasing medicinal materials and refining Qi-invigorating pills - in Yue Buqun's view, this was a truly important matter and he was not confident in handing it over to the people of the Sword Sect.
But then Yue Buqun discovered a very embarrassing problem.
The money of Huashan Sect is not enough to refine many Qi-invigorating Pills.
Su Yan was staying in Yue Buqun's Purple Mansion today, and took this opportunity to learn about the financial situation of the Huashan Sect.
Just like the world where Wuji Dao exists, most of the martial arts sects here have their own industries.
The main industry of Huashan Sect is farmland. In the past when Huashan was at its peak, there were several thousand acres of farmland, but now there are only more than a thousand acres left.
More than a thousand acres may sound like a lot, but considering that it is in Huashan, most of the land is mountainous, and the actual fertile land is less than a hundred acres.
The Huashan Sect claimed to be an upright sect and collected less rent from the tenant farmers, so the income from this aspect was naturally not high.
In addition to farmland, the Huashan Sect also had a grain store, a cloth store, a blacksmith shop, and a grocery store in Huayin County at the northern foot of Mount Hua.
However, these four stores are not primarily for profit, but are mainly for the purpose of providing the daily necessities for the Huashan Sect disciples.
Therefore, from a financial perspective, the Huashan Sect is actually equivalent to a small landlord in feudal society.
Although most of the medicinal materials used to refine the Yunqi Pill are common ones, there are also some precious ones, such as wild ginseng.
After Yue Buqun sent his disciples to secretly investigate the prices of various medicinal materials for Yunqi Pills, they discovered that with the Huashan Sect's current financial resources, they could only purchase medicinal materials for refining five furnaces of pills each year, and each furnace could produce a maximum of 30 Yunqi Pills.
With this calculation, 150 Qi-enhancing Pills every year doesn't seem to be a small number.
But don't forget that there will be consumption and waste in the process of refining pills. What's more, the Huashan School is a novice in this area. According to conservative estimates, three out of five furnaces can produce successful pills, and it would be good if each furnace can produce more than a dozen Qi-enhancing Pills.
By this calculation, the Huashan Sect might only be able to refine forty or fifty Qi-enhancing Pills in the first year.
However, the Yunqi Pill is not a precious pill used to assist martial artists in breaking through bottlenecks, but is a pill used in daily life to increase true Qi. It can be taken by martial artists before they have completed the third or even eighth level of the acquired heavenly cycle.
Although there are not many people in the Huashan Sect, there are still about twenty people who can take the Qi Yundan.
Even if the Qi-invigorating Pills were treated as treasures and occasionally given as a reward to a disciple, most of them were taken by their teachers and leaders, and each person would not be able to get more than a few.
Although the Qi Yundan is quite effective, using it in such a small amount will slow down the improvement of Huashan Sect's strength.
Su Yan couldn't wait, and Yue Buqun couldn't wait either.
In the Zhengqi Hall, Yue Buqun had a worried look on his face.
Ning Zhongze advised: "Brother, even if you only refine a few furnaces of Yunqi Pills, it will be of great help to our Huashan Sect.
Now that we have the guidance of our ancestor and the Sword Sect has returned to Huashan, everything will slowly get better. Why should we worry about this, Senior Brother?"
Yue Buqun glanced at Ning Zhongze and realized that some things were hard to say, so he could only sigh and say, "Junior sister, just as you said, I should do the first thing that the Grandmaster asked me to do."
Ning Zhongze then realized that Yue Buqun was worried about this, but he didn't know how to persuade him.
She also frowned for a while, then said, "I still have a few valuable jewellery, how about selling them?"
Yue Buqun shook his head, "How much can you sell those jewelry for? What we lack now is big money. Besides, those jewelry of yours are all the memories that Master and Master's Wife left for you."
After hearing the conversation between the two, Su Yan knew that he had to give Yue Buqun some advice.
So he sent a message to the two of them: "Don't worry about money. I can teach you another method to turn stone into gold."
Turning stone into gold?
Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze were surprised at first, and then they were extremely happy.
Yue Buqun immediately bowed to the jade pendant and said, "Thank you, Grandmaster!"
Seeing this, Su Yan felt a little strange.
By the way, could this hypocrite deliberately come to the Zhengqi Hall where his jade pendant is located to sigh and seek help?
Su Yan was a little more cautious towards Yue Buqun, but he did not change his mind about giving advice. He immediately sent a message, "Bring me a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone."
