The Buddha is actually me

Chapter 180 Zhuge's Wisdom, Night Watchman
Zhang Jiuyang appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was almost exploding, and even his expression was a little stiff.

"Judge, I don't understand..."

"Do you know where your weakness is?"

Zhuge Yunhu's voice sounded slowly. He walked to Zhang Jiuyang, patted him on the shoulder gently, and said with a smile: "Relax, don't be nervous. Longhu is in charge of the Yanluo case. I always trust people I employ."

"Since she was asked to take charge of this case, she naturally trusts you. I'm not like someone who would rather trust a handsome young man whom she has just met for less than a year than an old man who has taught her and helped her for more than ten years..."

"Oh, people's hearts are not ancient!"

Yue Ling completely ignored the teasing in his words. She and Zhang Jiuyang looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

"Supervisor, please tell me where our flaw is?"

This question also formally acknowledged Zhang Jiuyang's identity.

Zhang Jiuyang smiled bitterly and asked, "How did you find out?"

If there is a flaw, it must be corrected in time, otherwise it will sooner or later become a time bomb for him and take his life at the Yellow Spring Banquet.

What Zhang Jiuyang couldn't understand was that even the Painted Skin Master only suspected that Yan Luo had a connection with the Imperial Observatory, and didn't know that he was Yan Luo.

How did Zhuge Yunhu, the supervisor who was in charge of Kyoto and had never seen him, know this?
Zhuge Yunhu smiled slightly and said, "Speculation."

"Speculation?"

"The Qingzhou Yan Luo case shocked the world. Yan Luo was known to have killed countless people, and he specifically targeted high-ranking officials, causing Qingzhou City to become a river of blood overnight. However, when I read the files, I found two suspicious points."

"Which two places?"

"The first is that too few civilians died. Of course, strictly speaking, it's not a big deal. Perhaps in the eyes of Yama, ordinary people are not as good as chickens and dogs. Only high-ranking officials are worthy of his killing."

"But later, the villages near Yunmengze were massacred, and all the dead were civilians. Although there were bloody words left behind, this was clearly a copycat crime."

After a pause, Zhuge Yunhu looked at Yue Ling and said with a meaningful smile: "I don't believe that my favorite disciple, who I taught myself, can't even see through such a simple trick."

"But you didn't say much, but openly acted as if you wanted to fight Yan Luo to the death, and you stayed in Yangzhou and refused to give up. This is strange."

"There is only one explanation. You just want to use the name of investigating the Yama case to investigate another person, a person who is not on the record of my Imperial Observatory, but is regarded as a serious threat by you."

Yue Ling was silent for a moment, and then said, "Thank you for your advice."

“So, a new problem arises.”

Zhuge Yunhu sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and said, "How can you, Yue Ling, find someone that even the Imperial Observatory can't find?"

"Even the Imperial Observatory couldn't find it, but you were able to discover it. This can only mean that you have a more sophisticated channel for obtaining information than the Imperial Observatory. Those rough guys in Jizhou don't have this ability."

"So you thought that Yue Ling had planted an insider in Huangquan, but how did you know that the insider was me?"

Zhuge Yunhu took a sip of tea and continued, "It's very simple. The person who can get into Huangquan can't be from the Imperial Observatory. He must be an outsider that I don't know."

"why?"

"Because there is no such talent in the Imperial Observatory."

His eyes dimmed and he sighed, "Yu'er is already a rare talent, but even he failed, which shows how difficult it is. To be honest, I couldn't believe that you could succeed at first."

"But I have to believe it, because you are too suspicious. You are a peripheral member of Longhu. At the same time, you have been in Qingzhou. What's more, you were also in Yunmengze. Now you are in Yangzhou."

Zhang Jiuyang remained silent. If it were someone else, they would definitely not notice these details, but when someone began to doubt his identity, they would observe again and think that it was too coincidental.

"Of course, I was just guessing at first and couldn't be sure until I saw a book."

"what book?"

Zhuge Yunhu took out a book wrapped tightly in sheepskin from his arms, opened the first page, and saw three large characters written in a flamboyant style.

"The Carnal Prayer Mat"!
Yue Ling frowned suddenly, and Zhang Jiuyang also looked puzzled.

What's wrong with this book? Will it make Zhuge Yunhu completely identify himself as Yan Luo?

"Mr. Liaozhai, I've said before that I really like reading your books, especially The Carnal Prayer Mat. The writing is delicate and the conception is ingenious. The fifteenth chapter, 'The Alliance Discusses All-Night Joy, Sisters Share One Night of Joy', is really thought-provoking. I read it for a full ten -"

Yue Ling suddenly coughed, glared at the supervisor with cold eyes.

He laughed, stroked his white beard, and said with a smile: "This time there are the words Huang and Quan. My friend, do you still remember the two flaws I mentioned earlier?"

“This is the second place.”

Zhang Jiuyang looked at the two words, and a light bulb suddenly lit up in his mind, and he blurted out, "It's handwriting!"

Zhuge Yunhu showed admiration in his eyes. He liked talking to smart people because it was easy and quick to understand.

"In the Qingzhou Yanluo case, you killed so many people that blood flowed like a river. In the end, you even wrote two big words in blood in front of the prefect's mansion - Huangquan."

"Although you are smart and have intentionally changed your handwriting, the traces at the subtle joints are difficult to change. I saw those familiar traces in this book, "The Thin Meat Ball."

After a pause, Zhuge Yunhu looked at Yue Ling and said with a smile: "Longhu, do you really think I am someone who indulges in such mundane things? You still have a lot to learn."

Zhang Jiuyang flipped open the book and said, "Strange, if you just want to verify the handwriting of the word Huangquan, you only need to read the fifteenth chapter. Why does every page of this book look so old?"

“There are no such words in front of it.”

Zhuge Yunhu: "..."

He coughed, calmly put the book into his arms, and said calmly: "Anyway, you two don't have to hide anything from me. Some things should be told honestly."

"For example... the Qingzhou Yanluo case, is it a test that you must pass in order to join Huangquan?"

His expression was somewhat solemn, his eyes were bright and he looked at Zhang Jiuyang quietly.

In an instant, the atmosphere became a little tense.

Zhang Jiuyang felt a terrible pressure, and even the magic power in his body began to flow sluggishly.

Zhuge Yunhu's eyes were deep and wise, like two sharp swords, seemingly able to see through every corner of his heart.

This was the scrutiny from the current supervisor, the invisible pressure from a great cultivator in the sixth realm. Even Zhang Jiuyang, with his psychological quality, could not help but be shocked.

If he really killed innocent people in order to pass the test of the underworld, then in Zhuge Yunhu's eyes, he would probably be no different from those evil spirits.

Yue Ling once said that although the supervisor's actions seemed casual, he never crossed the bottom line.

Because of this, he had repeatedly rejected some of the emperor's unreasonable requests. The new emperor did not have a good impression of him and even planned to appoint the abbot of Taiping Temple as the imperial teacher to replace Zhuge Yunhu as the head of the Imperial Observatory.

However, due to the late emperor's will and Zhuge Yunhu's own prestige, it was delayed and not implemented.

Zhang Jiuyang took a deep breath and was about to speak when Yue Ling spoke first.

"Superintendent, he——"

"Let him speak for himself." Zhuge Yunhu poured a cup of tea for Zhang Jiuyang and said, "Moisten your throat. I want to hear you speak for yourself about this matter."

"Thank you."

Zhang Jiuyang took the teacup and took a sip. In just a short moment, he had calmed down and looked straight into Zhuge Yunhu's eyes without avoiding him.

Seeing this scene, a hint of appreciation flashed in Zhuge Yunhu's eyes, but he did not show it.

"In the Qingzhou case, most of the people I killed were bad guys."

"Nie Guangxian, the governor of Qingzhou, was a spy that the Painted Skin Master had planted decades ago. By borrowing his head, I can, on the one hand, weaken the power of the Painted Skin Master, and on the other hand, submit a letter of allegiance to Huang Quan."

"A gentleman can be deceived by his own methods. If we still insist on being a gentleman in the fight against this group of evildoers who do all kinds of evil and have no bottom line, it would be tantamount to tying our own hands and allowing evil to do harm!"

"As long as I can eliminate evil and save people, I don't mind being criticized. Future generations will judge my merits and demerits."

"Zhuge Supervisor, are you satisfied with my answer?"

Zhang Jiuyang knew that it was impossible to lie in front of such an extremely smart person as Zhuge Yunhu, so he let go and spoke frankly about his true thoughts.

Of course, he was not someone who would be bullied. One of his hands had already quietly placed on the jade flute at his waist.

If Zhuge Yunhu still believed that he was an evil spirit and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible, Zhang Jiuyang would immediately play the White Dragon Chant, and I believe Yue Ling would also help him.

If the two women join forces, even Zhuge Yunhu would be in trouble.

Fortunately, Zhuge Yunhu did not take action. Instead, he stared at him blankly, looking a little dazed and absent-minded, as if he was recalling something.

After a long time, he came to his senses and sighed.

"When people get old, they tend to lose focus. What you just said reminded me of someone."

"Who?"

"My son Zhuge Yu."

Zhuge Yunhu sighed and said, "That kid said something similar back then. He said the night is long and someone has to be the night watchman."

"Future generations will not remember who the night watchman was, but they will remember that every time he called the night watch, it was one minute closer to dawn."

"Later, he used the Longevity Curse to transform himself into a zombie and tried to break into the underworld, but ultimately failed..."

At this moment, Zhuge Yunhu suddenly turned into an old man, an old man who missed his son and felt guilty.

Zhang Jiuyang poured him a cup of tea.

"Zhuge Supervisor, it's a pity that I don't have the chance to meet your son, otherwise we might have become friends."

"But I also have a question for you."

After a pause, Zhang Jiuyang stared at him and said, "You already knew about the Painted Skin Master, right?"

Zhuge Yunhu nodded and smiled, and said frankly: "Yes, as early as twelve years ago, I noticed the existence of the Painted Skin Master, and knew that he was guarding something in Yangzhou."

Yue Ling was startled and looked at the supervisor in surprise, suddenly feeling a little strange.

As a prisoner of justice, she had read all the files related to Huang Quan in the Tianji Pavilion, but found no relevant records.

That's why she was so surprised when she learned about the owner of Painted Skin through Zhang Jiuyang, and felt that Daqian had been infiltrated like a sieve.

However, he never expected that the Supervisor had known about this twelve years ago, and even knew that the Painted Skin Master was guarding something in Yangzhou.

"Long Hu, don't be surprised. Only deputy supervisors and above can read the files about the Painted Skin Master. Your rank is not high enough. You don't even have the qualifications to know."

"In fact, I have been secretly investigating the Master of Painted Skin for these years. Although he acts in secret and hides himself quite deeply, I have found some clues in the past twelve years. For example, several important chess pieces he has planted in the court are actually under my control."

"Those painted skins won't know that their trusted butlers, servants, and concubines are my eyes and ears."

"Every day, they would report to me who they met, what they did, and even what they said in their dreams. It was through them that I was able to deduce that the Painted Skin Master had been guarding something in Yangzhou."

"Of course, my energy is limited, and I only found the largest fish. As for the smaller fish, such as Nie Guangxian, I really don't know."

Zhang Jiuyang looked at the old man in front of him, who was dressed in plain blue and had a simple temperament, and a chill inexplicably surged in his heart.

He was able to understand who the Painted Skins were by looking into their memories through his ghost-eating ability, but the other party could weave an invisible net for those Painted Skins without making any noise just by observation.

Such a mind and means are truly terrifying. He is worthy of being the descendant of Zhuge Qixing and has lived up to this family name.

"I have never taken action against those big fish, because I know that if you don't remove the root of the problem, it will grow again in the spring breeze. That root is the Painted Skin Master."

"If we don't kill him, the Painted Skins in the court will return, and they will be more secretive and harder to detect."

"And if you want to get rid of a gloomy and experienced enemy like the Painted Skin Master, you must have a large enough bait to lure him out first. Otherwise, even if you find his lair, it will be difficult to get rid of him once and for all because he has many burrows."

A hint of smile appeared in Zhang Jiuyang's eyes.

Unexpectedly, his plan coincided with that of the supervisor, and they both thought of the same thing.

"Unfortunately, I have never found out what that thing is, and those big fish don't know either. I had no choice but to agree to Yu'er's plan to sneak into Huangquan, hoping to get more information from the inside, but I didn't expect..."

He shook his head and sighed, "All my life, I have always believed in using the right tactics to defeat the enemy, and I don't like to win by surprise. The only time I took a risky move, I ended up harming my most outstanding son."

"Supervisor, we have found what the Painted Skin Master was guarding. Brother Zhuge's revenge will be avenged soon!"

Yue Ling's voice was sonorous and there was murderous intent in his eyes.

"That's why I came all the way to Yangzhou. If I hadn't found that thing, you wouldn't have asked me to come out."

Zhuge Yunhu slowly raised his eyes, his gaze was calm, but undercurrents were surging.

"What on earth is that thing?"

Zhang Jiuyang uttered three words.

"Shenju Mountain."

"Shenju Mountain..."

Zhuge Yunhu closed his eyes, pondered the name, and said, "So it's here... Why is it here?"

"Supervisor, is there any problem?"

Zhuge Yunhu shook his head and said, "From the reaction of the Painted Skin Master, Shenjushan is right, but after carefully considering the Yangzhou Rebellion, it doesn't seem like the Painted Skin Master's style, which is always a bit strange."

Zhang Jiuyang secretly sighed, he was indeed the Supervisor, he immediately realized the trick.

After a long time, Zhuge Yunhu slowly opened his eyes, his gaze was clear and his voice was firm.

"Perhaps we should go to Kamui Mountain and take a look ourselves."

(End of this chapter)