"Won't you help them out?"
A sweet, melodious voice chimed by her ear. Su Luo's eyes, as bright as stars, looked at Li Tianjue, and she said softly, "You're so capable, and the best person. Nothing is too difficult for you, so how can the Resource Hall be a problem?"
"Senior Brother, go and tell the elders to take back the management of the Resource Hall and let you be in charge again, okay?"
A thunderclap seemed to strike Li Tianjue's mind, and he suddenly came to his senses.
All the pleasant thoughts vanished, and his heart rate calmed. When he looked at Su Luo again, how could the person he had found so pleasing just moments ago now appear as a little fox who would lie and cheat until her victims died?
And she was still trying her best to trick him.
"Su Luo, I've discovered your little mouth is quite eloquent!" Li Tianjue suddenly curved his lips into a smile, shaking off the hand he was holding and saying teasingly, "You've fooled quite a few people over the years, haven't you? Too bad it doesn't work on me!"
"You..." Su Luo's face changed.
This man actually didn't fall for it. Her plan had failed.
Li Tianjue's expression returned to its usual calmness, as if that fleeting moment of affection had never existed. He said lightly, "Stop having such vain hopes. Just take over the Resource Hall honestly, don't be idle all day. Think about how to make it function normally."
Su Luo stomped her foot in anger, "Damn it! Li Tianjue, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person!"
Seeing her exasperated state, Li Tianjue wanted to laugh but could only suppress it with great effort, "If you want to quit, you can. I'm not forcing you. Just go and admit to the elders that you're not capable, and that's that."
How could that be possible?
Su Luo definitely didn't want to see everyone disappointed in her.
She still owed her two senior brothers a pile of treasures.
Her stubbornness flared up, and Su Luo gritted her teeth, "Fine, I'll do it. Do you think I'm really incapable? Li Tianjue, I'm telling you, within three months, I'll triple the inventory in the treasury. Within a year at most, Qingxutian will no longer have to worry about resources. Whatever we need, we'll have. Do you believe it?"
*Clap, clap, clap!*
Li Tianjue began to clap his hands, looking at Su Luo with a half-smile, "Not bad. Then I'll be waiting to see!"
"Old fox!" Su Luo snorted.
"Little liar!" Li Tianjue finally burst out laughing.
His hearty laughter carried far away. Tang Xiaoguo, who had been pacing worriedly outside Feihong Residence, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed Senior Brother was alright then, which was good...
Forced by the circumstances, Su Luo finally had to take on the mess that was the Resource Hall.
But she wouldn't let Li Tianjue off the hook.
There were still many things she didn't understand that Li Tianjue needed to tell her. She also needed to see if she could learn from his years of rich experience in 'deceiving superiors and concealing oneself' to help her through the initial difficult period.
Li Tianjue naturally wouldn't stand by and do nothing. He explained the situation of the Resource Hall.
"There's no need to rush with the outer disciples for now. Although there are over ten thousand of them, they contribute a certain amount of resources each month, such as spirit grains, spirit teas, and raised spirit beasts. Coupled with the pills and weapons refined by the elders, and the consumption of cultivation techniques and secret manuals, it's basically balanced."
"The inner disciples are what's important."
Speaking of this, Li Tianjue became a bit more serious. "Every inner disciple has a monthly allowance, which is five hundred thousand spirit coins. Additionally, they receive three bottles of pills of fifth grade or above, and they can choose what they need."
Su Luo interjected, "Is Xiaobai the same?"
Li Tianjue nodded, "Yes. Although Junior Brother is only six years old now and has only been cultivating for a year, these resources must be given to him; there can be no shortage. Furthermore, although Second Brother is the Crown Prince of the Northern Nether Empire and lacks neither money nor resources, Qingxutian's allocated resources must absolutely not be less for him, understand?"
Su Luo was getting a headache listening to this. Li Tianjue continued, "There are also the six elders. Their monthly allowance is one million spirit coins, and they can take any other necessary expenses from the treasury at will..."
"What, that much!" Su Luo's eyes widened.
The six elders combined would be six million a month. Adding the inner disciples, including herself, a total of eight people, would require another four million. Even without counting pills, spirit herbs, and spirit pets, the monthly expenditure would be a staggering ten million spirit coins...
Heavens, she might as well die!
Su Luo collapsed weakly onto the couch, groaning in misery.
In the past, she worked herself to death hunting demonic beasts every month. If she was lucky enough to catch one or two fifth or sixth-grade beasts, she could barely sell them for two to three million spirit coins. Now, she was being asked to earn ten million a month, and that was the bare minimum. Wasn't this trying to kill her?
"Senior Brother, how did you manage the operation of the Resource Hall before?" she asked Li Tianjue plaintively.
"Besides increasing income and reducing expenditure, what else could I do?"
For all these years, Li Tianjue had shouldered the entire sect's resource operations and also had to procure the spirit herbs needed for his fifth junior brother's treatment. He was almost mentally exhausted. However, these were burdens he could only bear silently and try his best to carry.
Now that he finally had someone to confide in, he couldn't help but talk more. "All these years, I've tried to minimize expenses. If it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't spend it. I couldn't reduce the monthly allowances for my junior brothers and sisters and the elders, but I didn't care about myself..."
His voice lowered, a hint of worry appearing between his brows. The usually aloof and solitary him also seemed to have gained a touch of human warmth.
Su Luo also recalled Li Tianjue's stinginess.
When he took Xiaoguo out from such a long distance, he actually didn't use a flying spirit artifact. Qingxutian had them, but he was reluctant to spend the spirit coins required to activate the artifact, so he chose to walk.
The repeated 'chance' encounters of camping in the wilderness were just to save on accommodation fees.
The claims of 'hardship to temper the mind, toil to strengthen the bones' were all excuses to save on food and all other expenses.
Even though he was the foremost chief disciple of Qingxutian, renowned and glorious outside, only he knew how difficult his situation was, how frugally he lived, and how much he scrimped and saved.
Su Luo was filled with mixed emotions, and her anger at Li Tianjue for plotting against her lessened significantly.
He had truly faced great difficulties, and it hadn't been easy at all!
In other major sects, would someone with Li Tianjue's reputation ever treat themselves so poorly to accommodate others? The responsibility and burden Li Tianjue carried, his willingness to give everything for Qingxutian without regret, and his character – Su Luo understood all of it now.
Looking at Li Tianjue with his brows lowered, a faint shadow beneath his long eyelashes, he was a renowned figure outside but so impoverished in private, like a banished immortal who had fallen to the mortal world, sent to suffer and endure hardship.
Su Luo suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for him.
"Don't worry, with the Resource Hall in my hands, it will be completely revitalized."
Su Luo felt a strong sense of responsibility, not just to help Li Tianjue, but also for everyone who liked and cared for her. She was determined to transform Qingxutian into the true number one power on the continent, a title it deserved!
Making the sect prosperous was her first wish.
...
For the next two days, Su Luo was immersed in the Resource Hall's treasury, inventorying the remaining stock.
"We can last at most two more months before we become unable to meet expenses..." Su Luo looked at the few remaining boxes of spirit coins and the sparse pills, so worried that she could barely sleep.