Chapter 14: Squandering Funds
There were ten people in the group, each with his own ulterior motives. Only Ning Mingmei, as the project leader, closed his eyes and rested, focusing on academic work.
"We're here at Yaochuan." someone said.
When the boat curtain was opened, a glittering city appeared under the flying boat. Buildings of all sizes are lined up like neatly arranged gems on a white jade plate.
Yaochuan does not belong to the demon world, the mortal world, or the monster world. But it is worthy of the title of the pearl on the border of the three realms.
Qingji Sect is located on top of a hundred peaks. Out of the 365 days in a year, the mountain is blocked by snow for 120 days. The only things the disciples can see are pine, bamboo, plum and birds. Several Qingji Sect disciples had never seen such a prosperous mortal city before. They were dazzled for a moment and their eyes were wide open so wide that their eyeballs almost rolled out.
"What a beautiful flying boat."
"I wonder which immortal is on the boat?"
Immortals and mortals live together in Yaochuan, demons often come and go, and the people here are not ignorant. But they still stretched their necks to look at the flying boat coming on the clouds, which showed the grandeur of Fang Wuyu's boat. Song Mingke was worried and said to Ning Mingmei, "Elder Ning, this boat is too eye-catching. Let's find a secluded place to get off the boat."
Chang Feichang, who was clearly more famous in the fairy world, had his eyes open, while Ning Mingmei had his eyes closed. But somehow, they all unconsciously regarded this "recluse" and cold swordsman as the person in charge of this trip.
Ning Mingmei closed his eyes and said, "Where is the most prosperous place in Yaochuan City? It must be legal. Not a brothel."
?
Chang Feichang actually spoke: "Bai Shixi."
Ning Mingmei said: "Land on the open space next to it."
The flying boat passed by the astonished people and headed straight for Baishixi.
Song Mingke was so anxious that sweat broke out on his head: "Wait, Elder Ning, we are here to look for someone. It's not appropriate to make such a big fuss..."
Ning Mingmei opened his left eye and glanced at Lin Heting. As the second disciple with academic enthusiasm, Lin Heting quickly understood the spirit of his mentor: "We want to land in the most prosperous place - let everyone know that the Qingji Sect is here, it is powerful, and will never be offended."
Lu Youyu interrupted, "But Baishixi is a place..."
Ning Mingmei closed his left eye, opened his right eye and glanced at Lin Heting. Lin Heting was under tremendous pressure and could only try to understand his mentor's spirit again and began to make up stories frantically: "At the same time, within a day, the streets and alleys of Yaochuan City will be filled with rumors that Qingji Sect has arrived here. They will naturally start to think: What is the purpose of Qingji Sect's visit to Yaochuan City? What does Qingji Sect need? Qingji Sect is the world's number one sect. If someone wants to profit from it or curry favor with us, they will naturally come to us with the information we need."
very good. The child is teachable. The ability to explain the reasons for the supervisor's actions when the supervisor cannot organize an excuse is an essential quality for every doctoral student. Lin Heting, from now on, you will be the one to write the proposal for applying for research funds to defraud money from Qingji Sect. Ning Mingmei closed his eyes and nodded.
Lao Liu's eyes lit up: "Master, this plan is really wise!"
The disciples of Yanyun Tower were shocked by these words. Lu Youyu's eyes were blank, and he said, "It seems to be the case..."
...No, that's not right. It took her a moment to come back to her senses and she started to get anxious again.
If we make such a big fuss, wouldn't everyone know that the disciples of Yanyun Tower did not study hard while on a visiting scholar trip, sneaked out to wander around during their free time, and even disappeared?
But Lin Heting's analysis was well-reasoned and all the disciples of Yanyun Tower could not refute it. Even Fan Juntian changed sides. He whispered to Lu Youyu, "What Elder Ning said is right."
"But what about the reputation of Yanyun Tower!" Lu Youyu was anxious.
Ning Mingmei: "The students are still too young. The face of a sect is of course given by the elders, not the disciples. The disciples are sealed in the building to study for hundreds of years. It is normal for them to be a little naughty when they come out once."
The system looked at him sideways.
Ning Mingmei hasn't spoken a word like a human since he came here. But what he just said was actually the most human thing.
...Have I been manipulated by the evil Ning Mingmei? The system begins to doubt itself.
Ning Mingmei: "So they need academic training to help them grow."
Well, Ning Mingmei is indeed not a human being.
The more Lin Heting analyzed, the more he felt that he was right. His eyes gradually brightened, and he felt a clear air surrounding his body. He murmured to himself, "Without leaving the house, you can know the world; without looking out the window, you can see the way of heaven. The sage knows without going, sees without seeing, and achieves without doing. He governs in the middle and follows the will of heaven. So this is Master's way of inaction..."
This is flattery, citing classics.
Ning Mingmei said to the system: "Lin Heting's praise comes from the heart."
...Okay.
System: "You just said you were trying to cheat people out of money, right? Then why did you stop at Baishi Creek?"
Ning Mingmei: "My purpose is just as Lin Heting said."
...You are lying again, aren't you?
"Master, I understand!" Lin Heting's face was full of surprise. Between closing his eyes and opening them, his aura had almost reached perfection. "I am one step closer to breaking through the middle stage of the Golden Core!"
The disciples of Yanyun Tower, who were embarrassed just now, were shocked again.
...What's going on with the Qingji Sect? Just a few words and a breakthrough!
Fan Juntian has not been to Qingji Sect many times. But Song Mingke is different. As the closed disciple of the master of Yanyun Tower, and the mortal enemy of the closed disciple of the master of Qingji Sect. He was very clear about the cultivation progress of other disciples of Qingji Sect. The purpose of coming here this time was originally to find out the situation. Fortunately, we defeated the Qingji Sect at the Taoist Conference half a year later.
Lu Youyu was in a similar situation, so there was also surprise and doubt in his eyes.
This kind of breakthrough through self-thinking is truly unheard of.
"Piao Miao Peak..." Song Mingke silently recited this inconspicuous peak in the Qingji Sect in his heart. Before arriving at Qingji Sect, it had never been on his list of rivals.
Could it be that this seemingly unknown Piaomiao Peak is actually a secret weapon specially hidden by the Qingji Sect?
Could Ning Mingmei, the master of Piaomiao Peak and the sword-wielding elder of Qingji Sect who never leaves his house, be so terrifying?
The flying boat landed on a small square in Baishixi. Baishixi is indeed the most prosperous high-end consumption place in Yaochuan City, with beautiful scenery and elegant atmosphere. Guests from various restaurants and shops all stick their heads out to look at them. Ning Mingmei said to the system: "It's not easy to go on a business trip, I have to enjoy myself. I have been here for so long, and I haven't had a meal yet."
So you just want to have a good meal, right?
Ning Mingmei: "Academics can also have spiritual pursuits."
"Who are the people on this boat?" A man in luxurious clothes asked as he lifted the curtain a little in the private room.
A female disciple got off the flying boat first. The female disciple has an extraordinary temperament, with a face as white as a lotus and eyebrows as thin as willows. She was wearing a white and purple Taoist robe with crane patterns embroidered on the corners. Another person said: "It turns out to be the flying boat of Qingji Sect."
"I wonder what Qingji Zong is doing here?"
After her, several more disciples came down, all of them were as beautiful as orchids and jade trees. Among them was an immortal who looked like a young boy but whose status was obviously higher than those disciples, and he looked like a god. Someone noticed that in addition to the Qingji Sect disciples, there were also several Yanyun Tower disciples wearing red auspicious cloud Taoist robes.
"The Qingji Sect and the Immortal Master of Yanyun Tower actually came here together?"
There was also a very small sound.
"These immortals from Yanyun Tower came to Yaochuan City a few days ago. Why are they back now?"
After the ten people got off, they did not move, which showed that there was still one person on the boat.
After seeing the jade-like hand that lifted the pearl curtain, someone even stopped fanning himself and said, "Just by looking at that hand, you can tell that this person must be an unrivaled beauty..."
Then the fan fell off.
...What's with this outfit?
but.
"What a strange temperament, take another look." someone said.
Ning Mingmei's strange temperament always makes people ignore his beauty. But this temperament is so strange, and it always makes people want to take another look.
"Ask the person next to you which is the best inn in Baishixi." Ning Mingmei raised his chin to Lao Liu.
The best inn in Baishixi is Chengyuan.
The disciples led the way. Ning Mingmei walked at the end, dressed in white and carrying a sword, but he walked out in a leisurely and casual manner, just like someone wearing wooden clogs and holding a pipe. The people around were looking at this group of people, but in fact they were all looking at Ning Mingmei.
As soon as they reached the gate of Chengyuan, the boss came out to greet them. Of course Master Qingleng couldn't speak on his own, so Lin Heting came over again with a tactful look, and Ning Mingmei whispered something in his ear.
Lin Heting: "This... this is not enough."
He had good eyesight and saw the price list for the No. 1 room, which cost more than 10,000 spirit stones per day.
Ning Mingmei: "We used Brother Fang's check. If we didn't spend it all, he would think we were not giving him face. Before he left, Brother Fang cried and asked us to spend money for him."
Lin Heting was in a trance: Did I hear something wrong?
Lin Heting went over and mentioned the eleven upper rooms - this shocked the shop owner, not to mention the disciples of Yanyun Tower. The shop owner said, "We only have six upper rooms."
Song Mingke said hurriedly: "Six upper rooms are enough. The two elders will have one each, and we disciples will squeeze in..."
The word "squeeze in" made him feel a little embarrassed. Who would "squeeze in" in such an expensive upper room?
Ning Mingmei did not refuse: "Okay."
The shop owner led the way. A group of people followed him. Ning Mingmei said to the system: "There will be many more places to spend money in the future."
The system endured and endured: "Remember that you are the Qingleng Master."
Although Ning Mingmei had a blank expression on his face throughout the entire process, even his heart rate did not show any unusual fluctuations.
He really didn't seem to enjoy the process of spending money, as if he just wanted to use it to play a prank on Fang Wuyu.
But the system always feels something is wrong.
Ning Mingmei: "The flowers on the snowy mountain are like this. They are not ordinary things, and they are spent carelessly if you have money."
Are you serious.
Everyone entered a courtyard. There is a winding stream and lush forests and bamboos in the courtyard. Just as mentioned before, Ning Mingmei and Chang Feichang each had a room, the two girls Lu Youyu and Yang Ying had a room, Chang Feichang's disciples Mu Hanshan and He Zhu had a room, Ning Mingmei's disciples Lin Heting, Lao Liu and Lao Wu had a room, and the boys from Yanyun Tower Song Mingke and Fan Juntian had a room.
Everyone entered the courtyard, feeling happy but also a little uncomfortable. Only Chang Feichang was still yawning with drooping eyelids. Ning Mingmei's expression and attitude remained the same from beginning to end:
"Everyone, go pack up. The class meeting will be in my room in half an hour. Be on time, understand?"
He turned around and said to the shop owner, "Please stay for a moment."
System: I really want to know how Ning Mingmei is able to command people so easily.
The disciples withdrew and went to their assigned rooms. Only Mu Hanshan followed Chang Feichang (or was followed by Chang Feichang) because he had to clean the room for his master.
Ning Mingmei: "Mr. Mu also seems to be very enthusiastic about academics, what a pity."
...What a pity! What a pity! So what exactly do you mean by academic passion?
With mixed feelings, the system watched Ning Mingmei sit down naturally, asked the shop owner to take out the bill, and ordered eleven of the most expensive teas and snacks in the store. Then he looked at Ning Mingmei and told the shop owner, "We in the Qingji Sect are not short of money. We came here to visit the best places in Yaochuan, eat the best food, and see the best scenery. If there are any recreational projects, just recommend them to us."
"Also, all of you disciples of Yanyun Tower are honored guests. Please use the best for all expenses in the inn. All extra items should be included. As for the people of Qingji Sect, please give them a portion as you wish."
What a complete sucker who made the tour guide ecstatic.
After being hit in the face by the prehistoric invincible sucker, the shop owner walked out in a daze. Before leaving, Ning Mingmei said again: "Give me another serving of the nine-color dumplings."
System: ...Okay, now I have finally captured some of Ning Mingmei’s emotional fluctuations. He wanted that dumpling that sounded sickly sweet.
Seeing the shop owner leave, the system couldn't wait to send Ning Mingmei an electric shock: "Master Qing Leng, is it appropriate to eat so much sweets?"
Ning Mingmei: "People who cultivate immortality don't get diabetes. Have you finished writing my system? In addition to the hero's weekly report, what other parts have you written? There is no progress at all. Does it still look like a system? Besides me, who else would accept you as a system? Why do you have such low standards for yourself? It takes so long to develop such a simple system?"
System: "...I am working on the map of Qingji Sect."
In addition, the personal weekly report page of the male protagonist and the personal pages of other Qingji Sect elders are also being made. With so much progress, it is not worthy of praise.
Ning Mingmei pushed his glasses and said, "Can you compare with others? If it were anyone else, I wouldn't push him. Xiaotong, I push you because I have expectations for your growth potential and I value you. As a system, you should have the same requirements as a system. You should be grateful for being able to learn from me."
system:……
Ning Mingmei: "If you understand, do it quickly. When your system is finished, I will find some time to see if I can go and see the hero."
The system obviously didn't know about the instructor's empty promises. It left in silent gratitude.
Ning Mingmei: “Tsk.”
He closed his eyes and continued to meditate.
On the other side, Lu Youyu put down his things and ran to where the other two disciples of Yanyun Tower lived. In the Tianzi room of the inn, Fan Juntian was indeed very excited: "Brother, sister, Qingji Sect is really sincere!"
Song Mingke and Lu Youyu looked at each other, and the worries in their eyes along the way also dissipated a lot.
"I just think... isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to do this?" Song Mingke said, "Elder Ning is so kind, but we..."
There is something hidden.
Lu Youyu also bit her lip and said nothing. Finally, she said, "Brother, if you want to blame someone, blame me. I believed that Zheng Yinshang just wanted to go to the cloth shop to order something, so I let him go. How could I know that he really went to watch the performance?"
Senior Sister Yu Niao followed him out because she was worried.
Fan Juntian immediately said, "Senior Sister, Qingji Sect is so generous in booking the inn, they will definitely help us find Senior Brother Zheng and Senior Sister Yu faster!"
He said confidently, "Besides, Elder Ning asked us to go over there later. He must be discussing finding someone. Qingji Sect is close to Yaochuan, so there must be a way."
…An hour later, they came back in a trance.
Ning Mingmei stuffed the Yanyun Tower disciples with a lot of high-end cakes and premium tea, and they even took away several pieces of silk as souvenirs. In the past, when the disciples of Yanyun Tower traveled with the elders, they mostly did hard labor for the elders. Or they would run to a secret place in a remote countryside, where they couldn't even get a hot meal. They had never been corrupted by such sugar-coated bullets before, and they were so shocked that they didn't know what to do for a moment.
After returning to the room, Fan Juntian finally came to his senses: "What did Elder Ning say just now?"
Lu Youyu was also in a trance: "He asked us to have a good rest... and enjoy life more?"
In fact, the original words were to enjoy Fang Wu Yu’s black card more.
Fan Juntian said: "Did Elder Ning say when he would go find someone?"
Song Mingke shook his head.
"...Maybe tomorrow?" Lu Youyu said, "The people from Qingji Sect have been traveling all day, so it's time to let them rest."
Song Mingke said, "Let's go around and ask around secretly. So... where should the performance be?"
Several disciples looked at each other. Lu Youyu blushed again and whispered, "The auction house should be in Yinhua Lane, right?"
Not long after, Ning Mingmei got the news from his spy, Lao Liu. The disciples of Yanyun Tower slipped out secretly, and took off their Taoist robes and dressed in ordinary people's clothes before leaving.
Lao Liu: "Do you want to follow? The direction they are heading to is actually another area near Baishi Creek, Yinhua Lane."
The Eighteen Lanes of Yinhua are filled with brothels, casinos, pawnshops, opium dens, and auction houses, all of which are dens for spending money.
Lao Liu looked quite excited.
Ning Mingmei gave him a meaningful look and said, "You, Lao Wu and Lin Heting should follow."
Lao Liu said, "Should we ask Mu Hanshan and the others? They saw it, too."
Ning Mingmei: "Okay. It's safer for the six of you to go in pairs."
Lao Liu and others received the order and left. The system asked him, "Why, your disciple is interested in bad things, and you have mixed feelings?"
Ning Mingmei: "Look at them, they just wanted to have fun the whole day they came out. They didn't do any academic work on the flying boat, and they didn't do any academic work at the inn. I wonder what they will do next week."
...After all this time, the "interesting thing" you discovered on the flying boat is this! !
"Don't tell the truth. These young people. Tsk." Ning Mingmei said, "I knew it."
System: "So how do you know what Zheng Yinshang is going to do?"
"This is easy to infer." Ning Mingmei said, "You have seen it. Qingji Sect is the number one sect in the world. Everyone along the way to Yaochuan treated us with great respect. Yanyun Tower is the number one tower in the world, and its style is not much different from ours. Who dares to detain the disciples of the number one tower in the world? If the hostile forces detain them, it is impossible for no news to leak out - if they are arrested to threaten Yanyun Tower, or for some other purpose."
"Besides, revealing one's identity as a disciple of Yanyun Tower is very useful." Ning Mingmei pushed his glasses, "So Zheng Yinshang must have some concerns and didn't dare to reveal his identity. It goes without saying what he was doing."
However, Ning Mingmai tilted his head as he spoke: "But Zheng Yinshang is a cultivator after all, and a disciple of Yanyun Tower. He still has some basic morals and dignity. I guess the place that attracted him to visit wouldn't be an ordinary Qinlou or Chuguan... He should want to see something more exciting?"
What is it.
system:……
So where exactly is Ning Mingmei's brain?
The system finally asked the question it cared about most: "You said you saw it when you first met. How did you see it?"
Ning Mingmei: "Have you ever held a group meeting or written a resume?"
?
"As we all know, group meetings are a place where people use sophisticated language arts to disguise their heavy workload... Tsk, I'm used to it. They like to inflate their 'research significance' and 'workload'. The significance of the dynamic analysis of an antenna can be linked to the original force of the universe; downloading code from GitHub and changing a few variable names to disguise the workload of their own project, and even using the time to find code to make up an 8,000-word workload to show the huge difficulties they encountered and explain why they didn't write it themselves." Ning Mingmei ate the dumplings expressionlessly, "If you encounter a thunderstorm, you encounter a thunderstorm. You talk so much and say that the difficulties you encounter are infinite. You are either asking for money or looking for an excuse to slack off."
system:……
Ning Mingmei: "That was indeed their excuse to take advantage of the thunderstorm to come to Yaochuan for a sneak peek. It's okay, my fellow students also often use academic conferences to travel... to practice in action."
This is ridiculous, but why does the logic seem to match up subtly?
Your classmates are out playing, but you, on the other hand, won’t be replying to emails and scrolls in the hotel.
Ning Mingmei: "And so many details are just like watering down the research experience in a resume. When adjusting a parameter, they would write "overcome XX" and "XX built XX", and when writing about doing an experiment, they would even describe it as "having 8,000 pipette usage experiences". It's so common, I can tell from this kind of email without even having to interview."
Take a look at yourself and see if this is what you wrote when you were looking for a job.
System: "So when do you plan to go out and look for someone?"
"Are you going out like a headless fly? Let's bet now, who will be the disciple of Yanyun Tower tell the truth first, or someone from another force will come to me first." Ning Mingmei took a sip of tea, "I don't like to meddle in other people's business, nor do I like being forced to do good things. If you don't report it and move around freely in a strange city, you still need to learn a lesson."
His tone was calm and he spoke in a genuine voice this time: "If you want me to help you, you have to kneel down and beg me first."
system:……
After saying this, Ning Mingmei fell silent. The system said: "Why, your conscience still hurts a little."
Ning Mingmei: "I want to drink meteorite latte. Are there coffee beans in the immortal world you mentioned?"
The system wanted to complain, but noticed a flash of gray clothes outside the door.
It is an extraordinary corner of clothes.
——Since this young elder came out, he really seemed to be indifferent to everything and didn’t say anything.
System: "Chang Feichang just left."
Ning Mingmei: "Eavesdropping? Who cares."
The system suddenly became alert. It quickly recalled what it probably heard Ning Mingmei said.
But Ning Mingmei was just drinking tea... No, he spoke aloud.
"If you want me to help you, you have to kneel down and beg me first."
…
This sentence should be fine.
Also, is Ning Mingmei’s inference really reliable?
The system is full of doubts about this. But Ning Mingmei was still leisurely eating his dumplings and studying with his eyes closed, as if he was not afraid of the boiling water.
What exactly is it that can attract Zheng Yinshang?
…
At the same time, in Yinhua Lane, in the deepest and most hidden corner.
"It is said that several Qingji Sect practitioners have come to the city. I wonder what they are here for?"
"It has nothing to do with our business after all." Someone said, "What about the special auction items? A fly almost flew in before."
"The two flies are seriously injured. We are sending people to look for them. But it's strange that we can't find them. Where did they hide?"
"You have to keep a close eye on him this time. If the ordered goods run away, it will ruin your business. Don't let it be like the order hundreds of years ago, when a person caught from Changle Gate ran away and almost ruined our business reputation. That was top-quality goods, and we lost a lot of money... right? Baimian. Come to think of it, you were still in Changle Gate at that time."
There was a slender figure with his back to them, holding tools in his fingers, concentrating on carving a mask, and did not participate in the conversation between the few people.
"...You." The other person pulled the sleeve of the person who spoke. He was obviously very afraid of this "Hundred Faces" and blamed him for speaking carelessly.
"Bai Mian" will not respond to them.
And just looking at the room full of “Hundred Faces” puppets is scary enough.
It’s strange to say, these people are obviously in the same group, but that “Bai Mian” stands far away from them. It's like I've never been part of this team.
"Yes." This time the man stopped writing and smiled, "He is an old friend of mine."
Someone hissed: "This..."
"But now, he is a useless piece of trash. A dog of a big sect."
The pen tip is leisurely.
"That's all."
The author has something to say:
Also, sisters, the attacker is out. This world is the second round of the attacker (the original male protagonist) who has lost his memory. Sect Leader Qi is one of the aliases of the attacker (two pieces).
Is it okay to tell spoilers?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
