The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

"Yu Jizi, three thousand five hundred taels of gold, and three beauties as a gift..."

Yue Buqun read it softly.

This was originally Tang Ying'e's private account book. As the deputy sect leader, Zuo Lengchan entrusted him with many matters of the Songshan Sect, including bribing Yu Jizi and those unorthodox figures. Therefore, Tang Ying'e kept a private account book.

Just like Yu Jizi, who was greedy for money and lustful, Zuo Lengchan gave him 3,500 taels of gold and three beauties, which Tang Ying'e remembered.

"A jade disc, two thousand taels of gold, and a pair of white jade horses..."

"Yu Yinzi, ten thousand taels of silver..."

Yue Buqun looked down, his brows furrowing more and more as he looked.

"Lu Lianrong, 10,000 taels of silver, three mansions, 80 acres of fertile land..."

This private account book is extremely detailed. It records clearly who Zuo Lengchan bribed and how much gold and silver he spent. It even has records of several thousand taels of silver for the already deceased Lao Denuo.

The more Yue Buqun read, the more heartbroken he became. He couldn't bear to look at the rest, so he simply closed the ledger, shut his eyes, and comforted his wounded heart alone.

Chapter 403: Plans

After calming his wounded heart, Yue Buqun continued to flip through the account books and read them carefully. When he got to the later part, his expression turned ugly.

The first half of this private ledger records Zuo Lengchan's bribery of masters from the Five Mountains Sword Sect and unorthodox practitioners, while the second half records numerous bloody incidents.

"The Three Eccentrics of Lingnan massacred Wang Yanqun's entire household in Luoyang, seizing 30,000 taels of silver..."

"........."

Yue Buqun continued reading and saw that all the money was obtained by those unorthodox people recruited by Zuo Lengchan through murder and robbery.

Yue Buqun became increasingly alarmed as he looked at the document, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

Judging from this ledger, Zuo Lengchan did these things not just once or twice, but most recently several months ago.

At the end of the ledger, there was a note written by Tang Ying'e himself.

"Since I joined the Songshan Sect, I have been deeply grateful to my master for teaching me martial arts and instructing me to act in accordance with the law, punish evil and uphold justice, and never do anything that is against morality and reason..."

Yue Buqun continued reading.

This is Tang Ying'e's inner monologue.

The first half describes the teachings Tang Ying'e received from his master after joining the Songshan Sect, while the second half describes his inner struggles after he began working for Zuo Lengchan.

At first, Tang Ying'e still had a sense of justice. After learning that Zuo Lengchan had recruited those unorthodox people to kill and plunder for him, he strongly disagreed with Zuo Lengchan's actions. At first, Zuo Lengchan promised him that he would only kill those who were rich but heartless. However, as time went on, the distinction between those who were killed and those who were rich but heartless became increasingly blurred, and Tang Ying'e gradually became numb.

“I know I am not the same as before, and the Songshan Sect is no longer the same as before. But my senior brother said that all of this is for the future of the Songshan Sect. These things have to be done by someone. If we don’t do them, the Songshan Sect will not be able to become strong, and the Five Mountains Sword Sect will not be able to completely eliminate the Demonic Sect. I don’t know if what my senior brother said is true or false, but I know that we can’t turn back. Perhaps to those who were killed by those unorthodox people under my senior brother’s command, we are the demonic path.”

This is Tang Ying'e's last statement.

Yue Buqun closed it.

By this time, all the boxes filled with gold and silver had finally been inventoried.

"Esteemed sect leaders, the inventory has been completed. The total amount of silver is 280,000 taels and the gold is 19,000 taels."

One tael of gold is equal to ten taels of silver. Nineteen thousand taels of gold is equivalent to nineteen thousand taels of silver. Adding the previous twenty-eight thousand taels of silver, the total is forty-seven thousand taels.

Upon learning this number, everyone gasped in shock.

The number was simply too staggering; they had never seen so much money in their lives.

This is only a part of the Songshan Sect, not including the deeds to houses and land, and that huge pile of silver notes.

The Songshan Sect had many sources of income. They owned a lot of land, which they could rent to commoners to collect taxes from. The territories controlled by the Songshan Sect also provided them with a large income. In addition, Zuo Lengchan secretly sent people to commit many murders and robberies, making the Songshan Sect extremely wealthy.

But as much came in, much went out. Zuo Lengchan had to support more than 800 people from the Songshan Sect, recruit those unorthodox people, support that group, and secretly bribe Yu Jizi and other high-ranking members of the Five Mountains Sword Sect. The amount of gold and silver he spent was not small.

Even so, the total assets of the Songshan Sect exceeded one million taels, which was quite astonishing.

Fang Zhengchongxu, Zhenshanzi, and the others unconsciously increased their breathing upon hearing this number, and looked at Yue Buqun and the others.

"Sect Leader Yue, in your opinion, how should we deal with the Songshan Sect's gold, silver, and real estate?"

Master Dingxian asked the question.

Mr. Mo and Taoist Tianmen also looked at Yue Buqun.

They trusted Yue Buqun the most.

Master Qingzhu remained silent.

They're here to help, and they won't interfere with how these things are handled.

Yue Buqun did not say how to handle it, but instead handed Tang Ying'e's private account book to everyone.

Mr. Mo and the others were puzzled, but after taking the ledger and looking through it, their expressions all turned ugly.

"Amitabha."

Fang Zheng closed his eyes with a look of reluctance.

"I never imagined that Zuo Lengchan had done so many heinous things in secret. His Songshan Sect is right next to my Shaolin Temple, yet I was completely unaware. This is my fault."

Yue Buqun said, "Abbot, there is no need to blame yourself. It is his own fault for falling into the demonic path, and it has nothing to do with you."

Fang Zheng's words were tantamount to farting in public, and Yue Buqun was too lazy to pay attention to him. He gave a few perfunctory words and then addressed Master Mo and the others.

"Now that you have all read Tang Ying'e's private account book, you must understand that all these gold, silver notes and land properties are ill-gotten gains."

"You tell me how to deal with these things, Sect Leader Yue. I will support you."

Tianmen Daoren was the most straightforward person; before Yue Buqun even said how to deal with it, he directly expressed his support.

Yue Buqun pondered for a moment and said, "I want to return this ill-gotten wealth to the people who have been oppressed by the Songshan Sect."

Yue Buqun then revealed his plan.

After Zuo Lengchan took power, the Songshan Sect developed extremely rapidly. Given his personality, he must have used some underhanded methods. Moreover, he even sent those unorthodox people to plunder wealthy households and amass wealth. It is possible that a lot of those properties were forcibly bought and sold from the people by the Songshan Sect through various means.

Yue Buqun wanted to give these people justice.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

This is no small project.

"I support Sect Leader Yue; this is a matter our Mount Tai Sect cannot shirk its responsibility!"

Tianmen Daoist was the first to speak, expressing his support for Yue Buqun.

Everyone looked at him with surprise when they saw how quickly he agreed.

Fang Zheng, in particular, had his brows furrowed slightly.

"Let the Hengshan Sect also contribute to this matter."

Not long after Tianmen Daoren made his statement, Master Mo Da also expressed his attitude.

"Amitabha."

Master Dingxian chanted a Buddhist prayer and said, "Sect Leader Yue's actions are those of a true gentleman. This humble nun admires him."

This can be considered as her making a statement.

"Our Emei Sect's mission is to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path. We must eliminate demons and protect the righteous path. Sect Leader Yue, please rest assured that the Emei Sect will fully cooperate."

Master Qingzhu didn't fall behind either.

At this point, only the Shaolin, Wudang, Kunlun, and Beggars' Sect factions had not yet expressed their opinions.

The sect leaders, including Chongxu Zhenshanzi, all turned their gazes toward Fang Zheng, waiting for him to speak.

"This humble monk also agrees with Sect Leader Yue's idea."

Fang Zheng could not refuse; on the contrary, he was very enthusiastic.

"Shaolin only learned of the Songshan Sect's actions today, and we are truly ashamed before the people. Sect Leader Yue, let Shaolin handle this matter."

Fang Zheng would not disagree; in fact, he planned to use this incident to spread Shaolin's influence and increase Shaolin's control in Henan.

Yue Buqun smiled slightly.

"No matter what, the Songshan Sect was once known as one of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects along with the Huashan and Taishan Sects. Yet the Songshan Sect has committed such heinous acts. Now that the Songshan Sect has been destroyed, we have a responsibility to give the victims justice for the sins they committed. Let us do it."

Chapter 404: The Sect Leaders with Conflicting Thoughts

Yue Buqun would never agree to that.

Both being seasoned veterans of the martial world, Yue Buqun could guess what Fang Zheng was thinking and would never allow Fang Zheng to be so comfortable.

Before these events occurred, Yue Buqun would have believed that Fang Zheng was a kind and righteous leader. However, since the beginning of the year, when Fang Zheng, together with his junior brother Fang Sheng and Chongxu, attacked the three of them, and even defended Zuo Lengchan during the day, Yue Buqun knew that this old leader was not as selfless as he appeared.

Although Jiang Ning had not yet told Yue Buqun what Zuo Lengchan had said to him, Yue Buqun had already keenly sensed that Fang Zheng was somewhat targeting the Huashan Sect.

Yue Buqun would never let Fang Zheng get away with it.

"I admire Master Yue's compassionate heart."

Faced with Yue Buqun's refusal, Fang Zheng showed no dissatisfaction, but continued, "This old monk fully supports what Sect Leader Yue has done, and Shaolin will certainly do its utmost to assist him."

Since he couldn't gain the initiative, he would fight for the right to participate. Fang Zheng believed that Yue Buqun would not refuse him, nor was it possible for him to refuse him.

"Then thank you very much, Abbot."

Yue Buqun nodded without hesitation.

"Sect Leader Yue, Wudang should also contribute to such an important matter."

Chongxu also spoke.

Not only him, but also Kunlun Sect Leader Zhenshanzi, Beggar Clan Leader Xiefeng, and Diancang Sect Leader wanted to help.

However, compared to Fang Zheng, these people's motives were more straightforward.

The Huashan sects just destroyed the Songshan sect and obtained such a large fortune. They might still have a lot left over. Since they all contributed to the destruction of the Songshan sect, they should also get a share of the spoils.

However, as righteous people, they could not openly ask Yue Buqun for money. They had to come up with a clever excuse. Therefore, the leaders of several sects chose to join. Firstly, they had an excuse to obtain some benefits, and secondly, they could spread the reputation of their respective sects.

Henan is the center of the world and has a huge influence in the hearts of people all over the world. Zhenshanzi has always wanted to spread the influence of the Kunlun Sect in this land. Otherwise, he would not have stayed in the sect as the sect leader and would have come to the Central Plains so often.