When Tang Xiaoyu saw this action, he immediately stood up: "Brothers, I have to go on stage now."
He quickly ran behind Lin Qingying and handed her the unfinished fruit juice.
Lin Qingying drank two sips and handed it to Tang Xiaoyu in passing. She was about to open her mouth when she suddenly realized, turned her head and looked at Tang Xiaoyu.
"How could I have forgotten about you."
She grabbed Tang Xiaoyu and leaned her head on his shoulder, "I'm a taken woman, how can I compare with you, a single man? Hehe..."
The people sitting on the sidelines watching the show were stunned.
"What's the situation?"
"Don't know!"
Lin Qingying didn't care what reaction these people had. With a smug face, she said, "Xiaoyu, the sun is so hot!"
Tang Xiaoyu understood immediately and gave her an umbrella.
"So thirsty!"
The fruit juice was handed over immediately.
Xie Wanying now wished she could beat Tang Xiaoyu to death, yes, beat Tang Xiaoyu to death, not Lin Qingying.
Don't ask why, because women never give you the reason why.
"Xiaoyu, I'm hungry, let's go eat! In case some people can't stand it."
"Okay, let's go! Watch your step, make way in front please."
Lin Qingying turned to Xie Wanying, "We'll go first, don't be envious! Bye bye."
Xie Wanying was so angry that she gritted her teeth. She said to the disciples watching the show next to her, "Go investigate, see if they are really together."
"Yes, sect master."
"Let's go."
Seeing Xie Wanying leave angrily, Lin Qingying laughed so hard she couldn't close her mouth.
"Xiaoyu, if you dare break up with me, it's either you die or I perish."
Tang Xiaoyu shivered: [Are all women so aggressive and unreasonable?]
"If breaking up can make you feel relieved and happy, death for me would also be a kind of deliverance."
"If there is a day we break up, I absolutely won't be the one to initiate it."
Lin Qingying was moved to tears by Tang Xiaoyu's words: "Xiaoyu, I won't allow there to be such a day."
"I believe you."
The two strolled the streets all day, carrying bags of food and drinks back to the yard.
Tang Xiaoyu said goodbye to Lin Qingying and returned to his own room.
Just then he heard Little Ling'er say outside, "I just saw the sect master carry a lot of things next door."
Xiao Lan said, "That must have cost a lot of money!"
Shi Tou said, "Sect Master is really something. He doesn't like it when we spend a little, but he spends so much on others without even blinking an eye."
Little Ling'er said, "Isn't that embezzlement?"
Tang Xiaoyu listened very calmly, calmer than he had ever been.
It wasn't that these kids' voices were very loud, but that they were intentionally letting him hear.
Tang Xiaoyu had always thought these children were very naive, loved to grumble a little, and only today did he realize that their candid words reflected their true inner thoughts.
He took out his own money and counted it. Today he had spent less than ten taels of silver in total, after all they were just some snacks, not worth much money.
Then he took out the sect's money and counted it again. Not a cent was missing.
He flipped through the ledger where he normally kept accounts, and started calculating item by item. After finding that the amount recorded matched the money he had, Tang Xiaoyu put the ledger and money together.
Hearing that Zhou Ruiqing had returned, he called him in.
"Elder Zhou, this is the sect's ledger, with income and expenditures all recorded clearly, and the dates are there too. This is the sect's money we currently have, check it against the ledger and see if the amounts match."
"Sect master, what are you doing this for?"
"Nothing much. I just feel a bit low on energy and need your help to share some of the load."
"I see! Then I can take over managing the accounts, you should rest more."
"Good, you do the math first. If there are no issues, write me a receipt."
"No need to calculate."
"Follow procedures."
"Alright!"
After an hour, Zhou Ruiqing wrote Tang Xiaoyu a receipt.
Tang Xiaoyu put away the voucher: "From now on, Elder Zhou, worry a bit more."
"These are all my duties."
"Then go on, you're busy."
With nothing weighing on his mind, Tang Xiaoyu slept peacefully and woke up on time the next morning to buy breakfast.
But this time Lin Qingying did not accompany him. Tang Xiaoyu went alone to buy breakfast for over twenty people. He first delivered to Lin Qingying's side, then returned to his own side and put the breakfast on the table before continuing to sleep.
He no longer disturbed everyone's sleep like before, and did not lose his temper either, appearing rather quiet.
Whether it was sulking or anger, Tang Xiaoyu felt quite relaxed.
He slept another hour before getting up.
After getting up, he washed his face, shaved his stubble, and wanted to change his clothes. But he realized he only had two sets of clothing - one he was wearing, the other was the sect's uniform.
"I'll buy a few sets of clothes today. A man's got to be tough on himself."
He looked in the mirror again: "Perfect."
Humming a song, he walked outside.
"If you've never had a broken heart"
"You won't understand my sorrow"
"When there are tears in my eyes, don't ask who they're for"
"Just let me forget all this"
When Little Ling’er and the others saw the sect master walking briskly with a smile on his face, even humming a song as he headed out, they couldn't help asking: "Sect master, where are you going?"
Tang Xiaoyu stopped and said, "Oh, going shopping for clothes. A man's got to be tough on himself."
"I'm going, bye!"
Then he walked briskly away, continuing to hum his song.
"Ah, give me a cup of forgetful water"
"To exchange for a tearless night"
"All the true feelings, true meanings"
"Let it face wind and rain"
"The love that's given cannot be taken back"
When he arrived next door, before even entering, he called out, "Qingying, want to go shopping?"
Lin Qingying replied, "I have to go to Tianxuan Sect today, you go by yourself!"
"Okay, I'll go myself then."
"Mm-hmm."
Tang Xiaoyu headed straight for the clothes shops and bought several sets of clothes he really liked. He also bought a folding fan, then went to a restaurant and ordered a table full of dishes and alcohol.
Drinking alone without anyone to talk to, he soon got quite drunk unintentionally.
After paying the bill, grabbing the clothes and taking the leftover wine and dishes, he staggered tipsily back.
Little Ling’er and the others were very dissatisfied to see the sect master return drunk.
"What the heck! He went out and spent money again."
You see, he even bought a lot of clothes.
Shi Tou didn't mince words and directly voiced their usual criticism of the sect master: "We're a group of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, yet we let a mere mortal lead us. I've kept my mouth shut until now, but with how he is these days, how can he still manage us?"
That's just human nature, let alone a group of rebellious children!
What could Tang Xiaoyu say? From the very start these kids had looked down on him. If not for him helping clear their debts and later earning some money for the sect, these kids would have revolted long ago.
Only now did Tang Xiaoyu realize it wasn't that these kids were dumb, but rather they had never taken him seriously to begin with. Otherwise he wouldn't have spent the past year screaming and angry.
Tang Xiaoyu didn't care at all. Returning to his room, he continued drinking until he lost consciousness.
The next morning, Tang Xiaoyu found himself sleeping on the floor. He crawled into bed to continue sleeping.
Little Ling’er got up and found no breakfast, so she came to ask Tang Xiaoyu: "Sect master, where's today's breakfast?"
"Drank too much, didn't get up. Go ask Elder Zhou to buy some!"
Little Ling’er grumbled: "Geez, even breakfast he doesn't want to buy now."
Tang Xiaoyu sat up and looked at Little Ling'er: "Am I your dad or your mom? Whether you've eaten breakfast has nothing to do with me."
"Even if I raise pigs, I can kill and eat the meat. Raising you all, what do I get?"
"Come, Little Ling'er, tell me, what can I get?"
"Is it repeated deception? Or compliance in public with opposition in private, or endless blame?"
"You tell me, what have I gotten?"
Tang Xiaoyu spoke very calmly, without yelling.
"I kept you all at first because I pitied you. Not only is my money spent, I still have to think of ways to earn money to feed and clothe you all properly. Even the qi refinement technique for your cultivation was gotten by me pleading."
"How have you repaid me?"
"I, Tang Xiaoyu, owe nothing to your Sanqing Sect."
"Remember what I'm saying. It's not that I can't live without Sanqing Sect, but that I enabled Sanqing Sect to become what it is today."
"Also, the money I spend is my own money and has nothing to do with Sanqing Sect."
"Understand? If yes, please leave and stop disturbing me."
Little Ling'er cried, "Sect master, don't be angry. It's Little Ling'er's fault. I won't anger you again."
"No need anymore, you may leave!"
"Sect master."
"Leave."
"My lord, please take care and get some rest."