Ghosts, Five-Year Plan

A haul?

Li Qingqiu's first thought was of Bai Ninger. Had the Lucky person finally come through?

He got to his feet and followed Li Sifeng. Yuan Li, carrying the Thousand Spirit Fruit, rose as well and followed behind them.

"Tell me about your time down the mountain first," Li Qingqiu said, turning to Li Sifeng.

Li Sifeng had grown tall enough to reach past his shoulder, nearly up to his earlobe. The sight stirred some feelings in Li Qingqiu.

The kid could finally stand on his own.

"It all went smoothly. We punished the wicked, wiped out evil, and made a name for ourselves. There's not much to tell—we just hunted bandits. We hardly ran into any worthy opponents," Li Sifeng said nonchalantly. The trip had been nowhere near as exciting as their earlier journey to the Martial Arts Conference, but this time he had led the group, and that sense of accomplishment had been more than enough.

Just then, a group of disciples carried several large chests through the courtyard gate. Li Qingqiu and the others stopped.

Cheng Canghai walked in behind them. He looked at Li Qingqiu, excitement written all over his face. "Sect Master, come take a look! There's so much treasure!"

They had brought in three large chests in all. Each was so heavy it took two people to carry.

Li Dongyue and Wu Man'er came in at the rear. Compared with the haul, Li Dongyue cared more about whether Wu Man'er had been hurt.

Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow. "Where did all this come from? Don't tell me it was a reward from the authorities. I wouldn't believe you."

Li Sifeng stepped forward and opened one of the chests, grinning smugly. "We got it from the bandits. Those mountain bandits were loaded, but they were wanted and didn't dare spend any of it."

Li Qingqiu walked over to the chest and peered inside. It was piled high with copper coins, gold and silver, jewels, paintings, and books. Every last thing looked valuable.

He moved on to inspect the other two chests. They were filled with treasure, too. The disciples who had gone down the mountain with Li Sifeng looked eagerly at Li Qingqiu, hoping he would praise them.

Li Sifeng saw that Li Qingqiu's expression had barely changed and assumed his Senior Brother wasn't pleased. "Eldest Senior Brother, is something wrong?"

"All this treasure came from bandits who robbed commoners and Lineages. It's ill-gotten gains," Li Qingqiu said.

His words made the disciples' hearts sink. Li Sifeng grew especially anxious.

"What does the evil the bandits did have to do with us? Eldest Senior Brother, you're not going to make us give it back, are you? Sure, we're strong enough to cut down bandits like slicing melons and chopping vegetables, but we still risked our lives out there!" Li Sifeng said, eyes wide. He voiced what all the other disciples were thinking.

Li Qingqiu shot him a look. "Give it back? To whom? The authorities? Who knows how much they'd pocket. Have your Second Senior Brother take stock of everything later. We'll set aside two-thirds of it, then bring it down the mountain in batches to buy grain and cloth for the people living around the Tai Kun Mountain Range. That'll earn Qingxiao Sect a good name. We deserve this, and so do you—you earned it."

"Each of you can choose one item from the chests as a reward."

The disciples were overjoyed. They bowed and thanked Li Qingqiu one after another.

The sect leader had put it plainly, but they didn't mind. They were happy to support the sect in doing good deeds, but they couldn't be expected to ask for nothing in return—especially when they had risked their lives to earn the treasure.

Li Qingqiu took an ancient bronze mirror from one of the chests, then stepped aside and gestured for the disciples to start choosing.

Li Sifeng didn't join the scramble. Instead, he went over to Li Qingqiu and lowered his voice. "Eldest Senior Brother, isn't two-thirds a little much?"

"Two-thirds sounds like a lot, but divided among all the villages and towns around the Tai Kun Mountain Range, it won't go far. If we want to achieve great things, we can't be stingy. Besides, this treasure was an unexpected windfall. We're only returning to the people what was taken from them."

Li Qingqiu waved the concern aside. Qingxiao Sect hadn't been short of money before; it had enough to cover its daily expenses and various development plans.

And by giving this treasure away, they could attract a steady stream of disciples to Qingxiao Sect. In the long run, it was no loss.

The more disciples there were, the greater the chance of finding geniuses. Over the past six months, the new disciples' aptitude for cultivation had been very poor. He had no choice but to heed Zhang Yuchun's advice and raise the sect's profile to attract more people.

Li Sifeng pursed his lips. Since his Eldest Senior Brother had put it that way, all he could do was let it go.

Li Qingqiu leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Keep taking Bai Ninger with you when you go down the mountain. That kid seems sharp. Give him some pointers when you have time."

With that, Li Qingqiu patted Li Sifeng on the shoulder, then picked Yuan Li up and headed for a long table nearby.

Li Sifeng looked at Bai Ninger with a strange expression. Because Bai Ninger was so small, the two disciples beside him had squeezed him until only half his body was visible. He looked rather comical.

Li Sifeng couldn't see anything extraordinary about the kid, but since his Eldest Senior Brother had singled him out, he would naturally keep a closer eye on him.

Li Qingqiu set Yuan Li down and went back to his room alone.

Li Sifeng's trip had certainly brought back a great haul, but the real prize wasn't the treasure. It was the mirror Li Qingqiu had just picked up.

Back in his room, Li Qingqiu shut the door and sat down at his desk. He took the ancient bronze mirror from his robe.

The mirror gave off a faint trace of yin-soul energy.

If Li Qingqiu hadn't been cultivating the Soul Seizing Curse, it would have been difficult to notice. Li Sifeng, whose cultivation was even lower, certainly wouldn't have sensed it.

The Soul Seizing Curse was no simple spell, and Li Qingqiu had only practiced it now and then. He still hadn't mastered it. One benefit of cultivating it was that it made him more sensitive to the presence of souls.

The ancient bronze mirror looked perfectly ordinary, even a little worn. Its surface was cloudy.

He didn't rashly pour Origin Energy into the mirror. Instead, he silently circulated the Soul Seizing Curse's mental method, his eyes fixed on its surface.

In a daze, he saw a white-clad woman with disheveled hair inside the mirror. She lay barefoot in the darkness. Startled, he quickly looked away.

Could there really be a ghost inside?

This wasn't the first time Li Qingqiu had encountered a magical artifact. It proved that cultivators had once walked this land. Why there were none now, he had no idea.

After much thought, he decided not to stir the hornet's nest. He couldn't tell how powerful the ghost in the mirror was. At least for now, she was still asleep.

He got up and set the bronze mirror on the windowsill, just out of direct sunlight.

Once he had put the mirror away, Li Qingqiu left the room.

The sunlight outside gradually faded until night fell and the bronze mirror was swallowed by darkness.

The New Spring festival came around again. Compared with previous years, Qingxiao Sect had welcomed a few more new faces, so each year the celebrations grew livelier.

They slaughtered chickens and pigs, and firecrackers rang out in a constant roar. This year's festivities were far grander than last year's, letting every disciple feel the care the sect's leaders had put into them.

After three days of celebration, Jiang Zhaoxia and Li Sifeng each led a group down the mountain. One group went to settle a score; the other went to uphold justice.

Once they had left, Qingxiao Sect became quiet all at once.

At noon, nine disciples stood in a row before Li Qingqiu in a forest. Every one of them was excited, their eyes fixed intently on him.

These nine disciples had made the greatest progress in martial arts over the past year. Li Qingqiu was about to fulfill his promise and teach them the first-layer mental method of the Primordial Scripture.

"The Primordial Scripture is Qingxiao Sect's secret art. Once you master its first layer, you can become True Disciples. I won't set a deadline for you. Even if it takes you thirty years to master the first layer, I'll still pass on the second-layer mental method. But there's one thing you must remember: the Primordial Scripture must never be taught to outsiders. Even if you leave the mountain one day and start families, you must not pass it on to your descendants. If Qingxiao Sect discovers that anyone not on our rolls has learned the Primordial Scripture, we'll hunt them to the ends of the earth and never stop until they're dead."

Li Qingqiu spoke sternly, and his words sobered the nine disciples.

"Of course, if your children want to cultivate the Primordial Scripture one day, you can recommend that they join Qingxiao Sect and receive the inheritance openly. Understand?"

Li Qingqiu softened his tone and spoke earnestly.

Once too many people practiced the Primordial Scripture, it would inevitably spread beyond the sect. All he could do was lay down the rules in advance.

He would pass on the Primordial Scripture one layer at a time, ensuring that no one could surpass him without his knowledge.

Seeing the disciples looking a little intimidated, Li Qingqiu stopped talking and began teaching them the mental method, along with how to sit in meditation and absorb qi.

At Nurturing Origin Realm Layer 1, a person was qualified to venture into the martial world.

At Yangyuan Realm Second Layer, one could roam a region freely, like Yang Jueding.

At Nourishing Yuan Realm Third Layer, one could challenge anyone in the Guzhou Martial Arts World.

Li Qingqiu's goal now was to train a hundred cultivators at Nurturing Origin Realm Layer 1 for Qingxiao Sect within five years.

It wouldn't be easy to reach that goal. For many people, Nurturing Origin Realm Layer 1 was an insurmountable chasm.

Li Qingqiu taught the nine disciples for only two days before sending them off to practice on their own.

Each of the nine disciples had different friends, and they were all asked about it in private. They kept their mouths shut and never revealed the Primordial Scripture, but they proved that the sect leader hadn't lied: as long as they fulfilled their duties and worked hard at martial arts, they had a chance to learn the sect's secret art.

After Li Sifeng led his people down the mountain, Zhang Yuchun stayed at the sect and stopped traveling. He began tightening up management and training his own team of administrators, sparing Li Qingqiu a great deal of trouble.

When the winter snow had melted away completely, people began making their way up the mountain for medical treatment. Qingxiao Sect's reputation had spread throughout the Tai Kun Mountain Range.

One day, Liu Fanzhou, the wealthy patron who had funded the road to Qingxiao Sect, came again.

Li Qingqiu, Zhang Yuchun, and Li Dongyue received him in person. They also invited his daughter, Liu Yan, into the hall.

Seeing that Liu Yan was much healthier than before, with a rosy glow in her cheeks, Liu Fanzhou was delighted. When he learned that Liu Yan had already taken Li Dongyue as her master, he immediately brought out a jade pendant and presented it to Li Dongyue as a disciple's gift.

After chatting for a good while, Liu Fanzhou finally sat down and brought up the affairs of the realm.

"Sect Master Li, I've learned something. Qingxiao Sect should prepare for it," Liu Fanzhou said seriously, his expression turning solemn.

Li Qingqiu smiled. "What is it?"

Liu Fanzhou didn't keep him guessing. "The rebel armies throughout the realm have been suppressed, and the prefectures are still busy exterminating bandits. This calamity, which has lasted for years, has finally jolted His Majesty awake. Great Li is vast, and there will always be places the Imperial Court and the prefectures can't keep an eye on. His Majesty plans to invite martial arts experts from all the sects in the realm to the Imperial Palace for a meeting. I hear he intends to appoint official posts to the martial arts sects and have them protect the people on the Imperial Court's behalf."