As long as he accepts the gifts, it doesn't matter whether he intends to appease Zhu Yunwen or to trap him.

Zhu Yunwen also seemed not to have understood the meaning behind the words, and instead spoke with great excitement:

"In that case, thank you very much. With the Xiaoyao Sect supporting my Tianlong Gang in the martial arts world and speaking up for us, I believe my Tianlong Gang will definitely have a place to stand in the martial arts world."

The leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect sneered inwardly, thinking that this young man was still just a young man and too inexperienced.

Completely unaware that he was dangling a carrot in front of him, he happily waved his hand, ordering his men to carry all the gold and silver jewelry into the Xiaoyao Sect.

Then the leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect hypocritically said to Zhu Yunwen:

"Then, leader of the Tianlong Gang, why don't you come with me to the Xiaoyao Sect? We can have a meal, drink some wine, chat, and have a good talk about the future development of the martial arts world and the prospects of various sects in the Jianghu?"

Zhu Yunwen smiled and nodded, saying:

"That's natural."

He thought to himself, "These good things have all been sent to your carefree sect, so it's not too much to ask for a good meal."

And so, Zhu Yunwen and his wife entered the Xiaoyao Sect. After entering Xiaoyao Manor, Zhu Yunwen looked around.

Thinking about the Free and Unfettered Sect, it truly lived up to its reputation as a sect with over a hundred years of history, possessing considerable depth and heritage.

Just look at how Xiaoyao Manor was built; it's practically an outdoor estate. Leaving aside its size, just the pavilions, terraces, bridges, and flowing water—even the wealthiest person would have to spend a considerable amount of money to create something like that.

This shows that these martial arts sects are really rich. As for where this money comes from, there are probably some things that can't be discussed openly.

Besides the various buildings that shocked Zhu Yunwen, there were also a great many disciples in the Xiaoyao Manor, and almost all of them wore different clothes.

For example, ordinary disciples all wear white robes, while disciples with a slightly higher status wear belts of different colors and their clothes are embroidered with patterns.

Those of higher status could wear colored clothes.

Clearly, the hierarchy of the Xiaoyao Sect is very distinct, and from a cursory glance, it appears that the large courtyards on either side of the entrance to Xiaoyao Manor are mostly populated by ordinary members of the Xiaoyao Sect.

They are basically trained by specialists who train them in martial arts and develop their potential.

The martial arts skills of these basic disciples are only very average. The further you go in, the higher the status and position of the members of the Free and Unfettered Sect who live there are.

I glanced at it and there must be around a thousand members, so the Free and Unfettered Sect has quite a few disciples.

Most of these disciples, especially the basic students, were able to stay in the Xiaoyao Sect by paying tuition or entry fees to the sect.

Unless someone has exceptional martial arts aptitude, they will be exempt from the entrance fee and tuition for learning martial arts; otherwise, they will have to pay.

This can be considered a source of income for the Xiaoyao Sect, and those with high martial arts skills can create a lot of value for the Xiaoyao Sect.

For example, some high-priced tasks in the martial arts world can be taken on by disciples with good skills to earn money.

This includes things I mentioned before, things that are considered low-class, like robbing the rich to help the poor, or robbery and sexual assault.

It also includes helping others transport goods, which is the ancient practice of canal transport.

They would usually hire some skilled martial artists to accompany them. At this time, the escort agency had begun to take shape and would also hire people with high martial arts skills to escort some goods.

Later on, these sects might even directly engage in business dealings with logistics companies, but that's a story for another time.

In any case, although these sects have many ways to make money, most of the respectable and legitimate ways to make money are not enough to support the sect's expenses.

It is even less sufficient to support the sect having such a luxurious and extravagant place and consumption.

Therefore, they must be doing many shady things behind the scenes.

Soon, Zhu Yunwen and Zhao Qingzhu followed the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect into the innermost hall of Xiaoyao Manor.

Zhu Yunwen and the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect took their seats, and tea was immediately served. Then, some of the more important figures in the sect came out and sat down to chat with the leader and Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yunwen maintained a smile throughout, and after chatting about various topics, he suddenly feigned humility and asked for advice, saying:

"By the way, this is my first time establishing a sect, and there are many things I don't understand. The reason I brought such a generous gift to see the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect is that I thought I could ask him for some guidance."

The leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect immediately said:

"If the leader of the Tianlong Gang has any questions, please feel free to speak. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge."

Zhu Yunwen smiled slightly and said:

"I'm just curious, how does this sect operate to increase its income? I suppose you, the leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect, know that the sect's expenses are not small."

Although I only have a mere five hundred members, my expenses are terrifying. Therefore, I would like to ask you, the leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect, for some advice.

Upon hearing this, the leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect immediately understood and said with a smile:

"Brother, there are two ways for this sect to make money: one is overt, and the other is covert. The overt way is to use the sect's reputation to send disciples out to do these things."

Meanwhile, the secret method involves having disciples conceal their sect identities and use other identities to do certain things. Of course, I can't tell you the specifics.

That's all I can say. Before, a few wealthy people from various places came to my Xiaoyao Sect and spent a lot of money to hire more than ten or twenty experts from my sect, saying they wanted to do some business.

I hired these people to act as my henchmen and perform supernatural tricks. They gave me several hundred taels of silver in one go, which was a considerable income. However, in retrospect, this deal was a loss.

Because almost all of my dozen or so disciples who had been sent out were rounded up by the local government. It still breaks my heart to think about it.

Overall, this deal was a loss, considering it cost me the lives of more than ten or twenty mid-level experts from various sects.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

This seems to be related to what happened in Nanjiang County before.