The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 41

Yue Buqun thought for a moment and then said, "Actually, my Huashan Sect originally did not have a distinction between the Sword and Qi factions. It was only because some of our predecessors went astray in their practice that they focused solely on swordsmanship and neglected internal energy. They did not know that internal energy is the foundation. If one neglects internal energy and focuses solely on swordsmanship, no matter how exquisite the swordsmanship is, one will never be able to break through the upper limit. However, they were obsessed with this and even formed their own sect, calling themselves the Huashan Sword Sect and referring to our sect's orthodox internal energy cultivation method as the Qi Sect. This is how the Sword and Qi conflict arose."

"Therefore you must remember to never follow in their footsteps."

Jiang Ning nodded.

"Master, don't worry."

Yue Buqun then left with Ning Zhongze.

After everyone had left, Jiang Ning tidied up the classroom again before leaving himself.

Shortly after he returned to his room and was about to take his sword outside to practice, a disciple of Mount Hua ran over.

"Junior brother, Wang Yuan is looking for you again. He's at the Righteousness Hall right now."

This was Wang Yuan's first time climbing Mount Hua in the few days since he returned from Jiangning.

"Okay, I understand, thank you, senior brother."

Jiang Ning nodded to the disciple, put down his sword, and walked outside. When he arrived at the Righteousness Hall, he found three people waiting in the living room: one man and two women. One of the men and one of the women were a bit older, around thirty or forty years old, while the other woman looked about fourteen or fifteen years old.

At this moment, the middle-aged man saw Jiang Ning walking towards the main hall from afar. His face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly walked out of the main hall and limped towards Jiang Ning.

"Benefactor!"

Before even stepping forward, the middle-aged man knelt down before Jiang Ning and kowtowed repeatedly.

"It has been a year since we last met, and I have not yet been able to express my gratitude to my benefactor. I hope my benefactor will not be offended."

The woman and the girl also came up behind the middle-aged man and knelt down in front of Jiang Ning, calling him their benefactor.

Jiang Ning stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and pulled him up.

"There's no need for you to kneel before me. Upholding justice and helping the weak is the motto of the Huashan Sect. You don't need to thank me."

After helping him up, Jiang Ning said, "I heard from my master that you came to my door many times during the year I was traveling down the mountain, trying to find me. Why worry about me like this?"

When Wang Yuan saw Jiang Ning again after a year apart, he still wept bitterly, his voice choked with emotion.

“At that time, my family property was seized, and my wife and daughters were kidnapped. The county magistrate and the steward colluded to swallow my family property. No one helped me. If it weren’t for your help, my family would have been destroyed and I would have become a skeleton in the wilderness. How could I not remember your great kindness and virtue?”

His wife and daughters behind him were also sobbing, clearly still shaken by the devastating events that had befallen their family a year ago.

Jiang Ning shook his head and said nothing more, but asked, "I heard you moved to Huayin County? Is life going well? Has anyone been bullying you?"

Chapter 68: The Future Development of the Huashan Sect

"No no."

After venting his emotions, Wang Yuan felt much better and quickly replied to Jiang Ning's question.

"After my benefactor left, I don't know what happened to that county magistrate. He suddenly died of illness five days later. I was afraid that I would be bullied again in Yunmeng County, so I moved here with my wife and children. Although we just moved here, the people here are quite nice."

Jiang Ning nodded.

“My benefactor, I heard that last year when you were in Xiangyang Prefecture, you did something great and saved many unfortunate people. They followed the Huashan Sect to Huashan and built a new village at the foot of the mountain.”

Wang Yuan then said.

A new village was built not far from the foot of Mount Hua. So many people came and were openly clearing land. It was impossible to keep it a secret. Fortunately, others only knew that these people were rescued by the Huashan Sect and did not know the specifics.

Jiang Ning nodded.

"Yes, Not Bad."

Wang Yuan added, "I have visited that village and found that the geology there is poor. Although the vegetation is lush, I'm afraid it would be difficult to harvest crops there."

Jiang Ning looked at him.

"Do you have any idea?"

Wang Yuan cautiously said, "My idea is to open a breeding farm there. The vegetation there is lush, and I happen to have some wealth. I can partner with the local people to raise some poultry and donkeys there, and then sell them in the nearby towns and big cities."

"You can discuss it with the local people; as long as they agree, it's fine."

Jiangning Road.

Wang Yuan quickly replied, "I have already discussed it with them, and they have all agreed."

Jiang Ning chuckled: "Since they've already agreed, then do it. Why bother asking me again?"

Wang Yuan looked at Jiang Ning with a somewhat nervous expression and said, "Yes, my idea is that when we open a breeding farm there, we want to give some poultry to the Huashan Sect every month as an offering to express our gratitude and to thank the Huashan Sect for protecting us."

“I had mentioned this matter to Mr. Yue before, but he did not agree. Later, we asked him several more times, and Mr. Yue told us to ask our benefactor. As long as our benefactor agrees, it will be fine.”

"It's just that our benefactor has been traveling abroad and hasn't returned, so we've been waiting until now."

Wang Yuan continued, “Our benefactor saved us from dire straits and asked for nothing in return. But if a person lives a life without repaying kindness, what difference is there between him and a beast? We hope our benefactor can agree. This is our wish. If our benefactor does not agree, even if I, Wang Yuan, survive in this world, how can I face my ancestors in the afterlife?”

Jiang Ning frowned and remained silent upon hearing this.

Wang Yuan and his wife and daughters watched Jiang Ning nervously.

The development of a sect requires management, but the Huashan Sect has no industry of its own and relies entirely on Yue Buqun to support it. The sect is impoverished and its development is abnormal. As soon as Yue Buqun dies or something unexpected happens, the Huashan Sect will immediately scatter like birds and beasts.

Jiang Ning had long wanted to change the Huashan Sect's current distorted development model, but he hadn't had the time or energy to do so before, nor did he have any clue where to start.

Nowadays, most martial arts sects operate with their own businesses, such as the Taishan Sect, Hengshan Sect, and Shaolin Sect. These sects, especially the Shaolin Sect, all own a large amount of land.

The Shaolin sect is a Buddhist sect, so they certainly don't manage all the land themselves. They rent it out to the local people and collect rent, which is a lot of money in itself. Moreover, they don't pay taxes.

In addition, they also have a considerable income from donations of incense money from worshippers, so they don't have to worry about making a living.

In addition, they also have lay disciples. After these disciples leave the secular world and establish their own businesses, they also make offerings to them, which is also a form of income.

Leaving aside sects like the Songshan Sect, besides being similar to the Shaolin Temple, Zuo Lengchan might have also engaged in some money-making activities in private, given his methods.

As for the demonic sects and those evil cults, needless to say.

The righteous path has fields and land, the demonic path can rob and seize, and they all have their own ways of making money, but the Huashan Sect is in the most awkward position.

The Huashan Sect had no land, no industry, and too few disciples, all of which limited its development.

If Yue Buqun had truly stooped to commit murder, arson, and robbery in private, things wouldn't be like this now.

It's unclear whether Yue Buqun was a true gentleman who was unwilling to do it, or whether his reputation as the Gentleman Sword limited his bottom line.

In short, the Huashan Sect has become what it is today.

Jiang Ning was also considering how the Huashan Sect should develop in the future, but he had no clue what to do.

The best approach would be to adopt a development model similar to that of the Shaolin and Hengshan sects. The Huashan sect could acquire industrial land, but if the Huashan sect had the funds to do so, then Jiangning wouldn't need to consider this option.

He could also say, like the saying he saw online in his previous life, that primitive capital accumulation is bloody, and as long as he is willing to do it, he can quickly accumulate a large sum of money. But if he does that, what does all his persistence mean?

Even if he later saved many more people and many people thanked him and the Huashan Sect, weren't his hands still dirty?

In a sense, he and Yue Buqun are similar. Yue Buqun may be a hypocrite, burdened by the title of "Gentleman Sword" his whole life, bound by his own heart.

That heart called conscience.

But he enjoyed it very much.

Wang Yuan's suggestion at this moment reminded Jiang Ning.

Since the development model of other sects in the martial arts world is not applicable to the Huashan Sect, he might as well change his approach.

Since Wang Yuan and his group want to make offerings to the Huashan Sect, then accept it. Just like those sects in cultivation novels, sects provide protection to mortals, and mortals make offerings to the sects, each getting what they need.

In this chaotic world, although there are dynasties, they cannot provide them with protection. Since this is the case, the Huashan Sect saves them, shelters them, and provides them with a place to live and make a living. In return, they make offerings to the Huashan Sect.

In this way, the Huashan Sect would no longer need to rely on Yue Buqun alone for support.

Although Jiang Ning wanted to uphold justice, he also knew that it was unrealistic to rely solely on passion to fuel his love for justice; even a great hero needs to eat.

Upholding justice comes at a price.

Chapter 69: The Contract

Having figured out the sect's development, Jiang Ning no longer hesitated. After asking Wang Yuan to wait in the main hall, he went directly to Yue Buqun to discuss the matter with him.

……

"What? Offerings?"

Yue Buqun looked astonished, and Ning Zhongze also looked surprised.

They had never heard of this form of offering.

After Jiang Ning's detailed explanation, Ning Zhongze's eyes lit up, and she felt that this model was feasible. Yue Buqun was somewhat tempted after listening, but he was still a little hesitant.

After a while.

Yue Buqun spoke up, "Ning'er, if my Huashan Sect does this, how will other righteous sects view my Huashan Sect?"

Jiang Ning couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. He didn't tell Yue Buqun about the development models of other sects, but instead said, "Master, why care about what others think? We uphold the righteous path for the sake of the people. We protect them and give them a place to live. They worship us, so what's wrong with that?"

"If we care so much about their opinions, are we upholding the righteous path for the sake of others' opinions, or for the sake of the people?"

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's last words, Yue Buqun's expression shifted slightly. He recalled what Jiang Ning had said to his fellow disciples in class that morning.

After a while.

"Hahaha."

Yue Buqun laughed loudly, stood up and looked at Jiang Ning, saying, "Ning'er is right. As long as I have a clear conscience, why should I care about other people's opinions? I have lived for decades, but I am not as insightful as you."

Upon hearing Yue Buqun's words, Jiang Ning knew that he had agreed.

Yue Buqun stroked his beard and said, "Since they want to make offerings to the Huashan Sect, then grant them permission. Go and tell Wang Yuan to have them select a few representatives from the people at the foot of the mountain to go up the mountain in three days. The Huashan Sect will formally form a contract with them in three days."

Now that they've agreed, it needs to be done formally, so they know that the Huashan Sect doesn't accept their offerings casually.

"Yes."

Jiang Ning nodded and left, returning to Zhengqi Hall, where Wang Yuan and his wife and daughters were still waiting for him.

Before Wang Yuan could speak, Jiang Ning interrupted him upon seeing Jiang Ning return.

"Our Huashan Sect is dedicated to saving people and eliminating demons. Since we have saved you, we will protect you. If you wish to make offerings, our Huashan Sect agrees. After you leave the mountain today, talk to the villagers and come back to Huashan in three days to finalize this agreement with our Huashan Sect. Is that acceptable?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuan became excited, fell to the ground, and shouted:

"Can!!!"

……

Three days later.

The open space in front of the Zhengqi Hall.

A group of people stood on the open ground. Besides the disciples of Huashan, there were also many villagers who had migrated from Xiangyang to build the village. Most of them were women, who were women rescued by Jiangning and Huashan Sect in Xiangyang.

A table was placed in front of them, with Yue Buqun standing behind it, and the Huashan disciples and commoners standing behind him.

At this moment, Yue Buqun's expression was somewhat helpless.

His original intention was to have these people select a few representatives to come up, but after Jiang Ning told them three days ago, they were so enthusiastic that many wanted to go up the mountain themselves. Almost the entire village had to come. If Jiang Ning hadn't repeatedly instructed that only a few representatives were needed, there probably wouldn't have been enough room for everyone here.

Even so, most of the villagers still came.

Most of these people were former courtesans, and unlike the numbness on their faces before, they are now full of hope for the future.

Some of them had developed hidden illnesses due to long-term oppression, and some had even contracted venereal diseases. They thought their future was bleak, but the Huashan Sect not only rescued them but was also willing to help them start a new life. Moreover, in response to their physical conditions, the Huashan Sect spent a lot of money to invite a group of famous doctors from Xi'an Prefecture to treat them and regulate their bodies. The Huashan Sect even paid for the medicine and tonics, so they didn't have to pay for them themselves.

Of course, the Huashan Sect itself didn't have the money to treat their illnesses; the money was all confiscated from the Iron Palm Sect, and they themselves knew this.

But it was precisely because of this that they were even more moved and deeply grateful to the Huashan Sect.

The actions of the Huashan Sect made them realize that this world is not only dark, but also has a sun, and now they are under the sun's rays.

Jiang Ning stood on the outside looking at these people and noticed several familiar faces among them.

The woman named Shuyun, her husband, and the girl who asked him for help to get back the money someone owed her.

Seeing Jiang Ning looking over, the girl waved at him and chuckled.

Jiang Ning couldn't help but chuckle.

"The ancestors of the Huashan School are above."