Hidden moth

Chapter 331 How I dislike the people of Qingshan

With the plan finalized, as the sect meeting drew to a close, Erji made another request: he wished to stay here to cultivate, while also guarding the Piaocai Cave Heaven and coordinating various construction matters.

As soon as Erji spoke, Chang Anju also expressed his desire to cultivate here.

He Kao asked, "Do you all have time?"

Erji said, “I am a monk who has left home. I have been traveling around and staying at various temples. There is no need for me to stay at the temple where I am registered for a long time. I will just go out and travel.”

Chang Anju replied, "Over the years, I have trained a group of apprentices who are all capable of handling things on their own. My specialized hospital doesn't usually need me to be there; I just need to show up when it's crucial."

He Kao thought for a moment and said, "How about this, you go back and make your arrangements first. I will open the gates next week. Once you've made your arrangements, you can come in. You can decide how long you want to stay here yourself."

Then I would open the door once a week. Anyone who had something to do could go out and take care of it, and anyone who had time could stay, including Lan Jiuwan and Ye Liangcheng.

The situation of Piaocai Cave is special. It does not have a physical entrance. It requires He Kao to open it out of thin air with that painting. No one else, not even Erji, can do this.

Therefore, He Kao decided to open the portal once a week. Anyone who wants to enter the Floating Color Cave for cultivation should arrange their affairs outside in advance, and the stay must be at least one week.

Chang Anju and Erji are easy to manage, as they can decide their own schedules on weekdays. However, Lan Jiuwan and Ye Liangcheng have other matters to attend to outside, which is why He Kao made these arrangements.

Being able to cultivate in a blessed land is certainly very beneficial, and everyone is very happy.

Today was just a visit. After the meeting was over, He Kao unfurled the scroll and used magic to open the portal, bringing everyone to the abandoned industrial park. Ye Liangcheng was the head chef, and everyone had a meal together.

Without going into details about how everyone made their own arrangements, He Kao contacted Li Xiuyuan after returning home, hoping to report the situation in person. The two met in the early hours of the next day at Longlin Slope.

Erji needed to inform the elders about his formal entry into the Hidden Moth Sect and his second inheritance at the Floating Color Cave. Elder Jiang was in seclusion undergoing tribulation, Elder Gu was overseeing the Immortal Pot, and Li Xiuyuan was the only one available to meet with him.

He Kao did not tell anyone else about the fact that Erji was Zhang Yanfei, but he could not keep it from the elderly people.

After listening, Li Xiuyuan sighed and said, "This is a good solution. Now there is no Zhang Yan, only Erji from the Hidden Moth Sect."

He Kao: "There's one more thing, but I don't know if I should ask it."

Li Xiuyuan rolled his eyes at him: "Speak when you should, and shut up when you shouldn't. Don't ask whether you should speak or not. Who knows what you're going to say?"

He Kao: "Zhang Yanfei gave Wan Zhongle a fake painting back then. At that time, he was a disciple of the Ruwei Sect, but he deceived the Dan Ding Sect deacon. At the very least, he didn't tell the truth. Does this count as deceiving the sect?"

Li Xiuyuan said calmly, "Do you think I didn't verify the situation? According to Wan Zhongle's confession, he heard that Zhang Yanfei was looking for information about the 'Tanxian's Walking Stick Picture', so he took the initiative to go and find him."

Wan Zhongle asked Zhang Yanfei why he was inquiring about such a matter. Had he seen the "Tan Xian with a Staff" painting? Zhang Yanfei then took out a painting, without claiming its authenticity, and only asked Wan Zhongle if he could identify its origin.

Wan Zhongle immediately took the painting away, leaving behind a batch of ancient painting materials, and asked Zhang Yanfei to make a copy to put back. Wan Zhongle could not determine the authenticity or origin of the painting, because no one had ever seen it before; it was only recorded in the sect's records.

The collection of the Nanhua Academy of Fine Arts may be replicas created by later generations, but its symbolic significance is important; at the very least, it confirms the authenticity of the sect's records.

He Kao: "This is consistent with what you told me about your illness."

Li Xiuyuan: "At the time, it was impossible to confirm that it was the relic of the founder of the Dan Ding Sect. Even if it was, after being lost for a thousand years, its ownership was difficult to determine. In principle, it was the property of the Nanhua Academy of Fine Arts, and even Zhang Yanfei was not qualified to give it to someone else privately."

As for what happened afterward, you know better than I do.

He Kao: "Actually, that painting is not a relic of the Dan Ding Sect. It should be the sacred artifact of the Yin E Sect. It just fell into the hands of Lei Dunzi, the founder of the Dan Ding Sect, who added a portrait of Tan Zu on it to cover it up."

Li Xiuyuan: "So it is a matter of fate that it returned to Yin'emen after a thousand years."

He Kao: "Then there is another question: Has the Clan Court investigated Wan Zhongle's matter?"

Li Xiuyuan's gaze suddenly sharpened as he glanced at him sideways: "Do you really dislike this person?"

He Kao lowered his head and remained silent, because he truly disliked Wan Zhongle; the feud between the two had begun two years ago.

Two years ago, during the Qiyuan Rebellion, Wan Zhongle's disciple Liang Kai broke into He Kao's apartment at night and interrogated him at gunpoint. Later, Liang Kai was killed by Huang Xiaopang, the then-hidden moth, and his body was never found.

Wan Zhongle's other disciple, Zhao Huanzhen, was ordered by his master to come to Qiyuan. Ostensibly, he was there to investigate the disappearance of his junior brother, Liang Kai, but in reality, he gathered a group of scoundrels from the magic sect and kidnapped He Kao and Gao Xue'e, attempting to lure Yin'e out.

Huang Xiaopang and He Kao wiped out the group and disposed of the bodies. Two more disciples went missing, and Wan Zhongle violated the ban by coming to Qiyuan, only to have his leg broken and be punished with a year of confinement… After all this, how could He Kao possibly have any good feelings towards Wan Zhongle?
On the other hand, He Kao and Wu Yanjun have a good relationship. Xiao Wu also mentioned Zhang Yanfei's past, believing that his master committed the crime because someone behind the scenes coerced and bribed him, and that the mastermind might be Wan Zhongle.

Wu Yanjun even suspected that his master's death was related to Wan Zhongle, but he had no evidence. However, he couldn't help but feel hatred towards Wan Zhongle. Influenced by Xiao Wu, He Kao felt even less favorably toward Wan Zhongle.

Later, many things happened in the arts sect, and the Dan Ding sect was at the center of the storm.

Xiao Wu nearly lost his life in a trap set in the snowy countryside of Northeast China. The mastermind behind it, as discovered by the Clan Law Hall, was none other than Yu Pingzhou, the former deacon of the Dan Ding Sect. As for the recent conflict, the current deacon, Geng Yanxin, further exposed his identity as an undercover agent for the Xiao Alliance.

Even more outrageous is that Qi Nansheng, the former leader of Dan Ding Sect, was actually a sorcerer from Xiao Meng. This shows how deeply and how long Xiao Meng had infiltrated Dan Ding Sect. So, is Wan Zhongle, who has served as a steward for a long time, without any problems?

Although He Kao didn't speak, Li Xiuyuan seemed to know what he was thinking and said again, "Your little friend Wu Yanjun has always suspected that his master Zhang Yanfei was killed by Wan Zhongle, but now you know that this is not the case."

He Kao couldn't help but say, "But it's a fact that Wan Zhongle took the painting away as soon as he saw it, which could be considered robbery."

Li Xiuyuan nodded: "What Wan Zhongle did does seem a bit domineering, but he's not stupid. Before going to find Zhang Yanfei, he had already investigated the situation at Nanhua Academy of Fine Arts and knew very well what was going on there."

What does this mean? What's going on at the Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts? Many of its original works by famous artists have appeared on overseas auction markets, with the originals being replaced by fakes.

This matter only came to light after Zhang Yanfei's case. At that time, the case had not yet occurred, but Wan Zhongle had already investigated the Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts and was aware of the situation.

Therefore, in Wan Zhongle's view, the Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts could not possibly protect this ancient treasure. It might be stolen and taken overseas by those parasites at any time, and it is very likely that it has already been switched.

Even if Zhang Yanfei produced a copy, Wan Zhongle wouldn't be too surprised, but he would still take it away because its symbolic meaning was very important.

In Wan Zhongle's view, Zhang Yanfei, as the dean, couldn't possibly be unaware of this, and might even be one of the key participants. That's why he took the painting directly but left behind a batch of ancient painting materials.

Wan Zhongle didn't confront Zhang Yanfei directly, nor did he report it to the police, which was already considered giving Zhang Yanfei face.

There were a few more things Li Xiuyuan didn't say. Given the current situation at the Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts, if the "Tan Xian Leaning on a Staff" painting is genuine, is it still appropriate to keep it there for preservation?
Even if Zhang Yanfei wasn't involved in the crime, what about the others? Besides, Zhang Yanfei couldn't stay as dean forever... And as it turns out, Zhang Yanfei ultimately couldn't even protect himself!

Seeing that He Kao remained silent, Li Xiuyuan sighed again: "The sect is just a sect for the inheritance of magic techniques. As long as one's conduct does not violate the sect rules, it will not and should not interfere with the private affairs of its disciples."

Zhang Yanfei did not report the incident to the police or appeal to the sect afterward; to him, it was a private matter.

Even if we assume that Wan Zhongle only took a copy, and he didn't keep it for himself, he handed it over to the sect to be enshrined in the Ancestral Hall after returning home, and explained the origin of the painting. Later, he even asked the Supreme Elder Qi Nansheng to authenticate it.

According to which clan rule should the ancestral hall punish him?

How can you so readily assume that Wan Zhongle didn't investigate the situation at Nanhua Academy of Fine Arts beforehand? And how can you so readily assume that the Clan Court didn't investigate Wan Zhongle?

This statement contains divine inspiration and introduces some other details.

Recently, various martial arts sects have uncovered numerous members of the Free Alliance, as well as a group of martial arts sect disciples who were bribed by the Free Alliance. Based on the cross-identification of these individuals, even more information has been obtained.

According to the investigation, Zhao Zhenhuan was also an infiltrator of the Xiaomeng! To be precise, several years before Zhao Zhenhuan's incident, he was bribed by the Xiaomeng to secretly sell information about the Shumen for personal gain.

This was only recently discovered. Wan Zhongle was unaware of it at the time, and there was no evidence to prove that he was involved. Moreover, the recent events have proven that Wan Zhongle is fine, or at least not seriously.

Elder Li also advised He Kao not to underestimate anyone, especially Wan Zhongle, who had served as a steward in the Dan Ding Sect for many years.

Wan Zhongle probably sensed something was off about his disciple Zhao Huanzhen a long time ago, but couldn't find anything wrong. At the same time, Wan Zhongle also guessed the intention of the Clan Law Hall, which was to use the Qiyuan Rebellion as an opportunity to reorganize the sect.

So Wan Zhongle sent Zhao Huanzhen to Qiyuan, ostensibly to investigate Liang Kai’s disappearance, but actually to test him and see what he could reveal… and something really went wrong!
If a disciple has made a mistake, the master is of course also responsible. However, Wan Zhongle has already publicly received punishment from the ancestral hall, having one leg broken and being banned from teaching for a year.

Li Xiuyuan said all this to remind He Kao that, firstly, he should not underestimate Wan Zhongle, and secondly, and more importantly, he should not let his personal emotions affect his fair judgment.

He Kao may dislike Wan Zhongle and may not have any personal dealings with him, but that does not prove that the other party is a bad person, and from the perspective of the sect, it is not a basis for praise or criticism.

Just as He Kao accepted Er Ji's return to the sect despite his doubts, from a higher perspective, if he were to become an elder of the Zongfa Hall in the future, he should have the same attitude towards Wan Zhong Le.

Upon hearing this, He Kao finally bowed and said, "I understand, thank you for your instruction, Master Li!"

**
(End of this chapter)