Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 363 The Remains of Rama, Son of the Second Assistant Minister

"Hahaha, kid, don't try to use your little tricks in front of the world-renowned Master Lu. You've suffered the consequences, haven't you?"

Amidst a hearty laugh, Li Guishou emerged from the cabin and reprimanded him.

He then handed a medicine bottle to Lu Xiaofeng and said, "This is the prepared antidote. My ship has limited medicinal materials, so for now I can only prepare ten pills for each of you."

Lu Xiaofeng accepted the antidote, clasped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you so much, Ghost Doctor, for saving my life. We will make up for the missing medicinal ingredients ourselves."

Li Guishou shook his head: "No need. I'll ask him for help with the medicinal herbs. After all, he's the one who needs my help this time!"

Lu Xiaofeng looked at Jiang Asheng and laughed, "Brother Jiang, your roundabout way of doing things isn't very straightforward."

Jiang Asheng quickly apologized, saying, "I do have a request, but Brother Lu is currently suffering from a severe poison. If I were to bring it up before the poison is cured, I fear it would be seen as an attempt to take revenge. Therefore, I dare not speak until Brother Lu is cured."

Lu Xiaofeng said, "In that case, Brother Jiang, you don't need to worry about anything else. Just ask if you need anything."

Jiang Asheng said, "Let's go inside and talk."

"it is good."

Once inside the cabin, the group sat down, and Jiang Asheng asked, "Brother Lu, do you know Zhang Haiduan, who once served as the Second Grand Secretary?"

Lu Xiaofeng's gaze sharpened: "Of course I've heard of it. Several months ago, Zhang Haiduan returned to his hometown, but was murdered by villains on the way. His entire family was killed; it was truly a tragic case. Brother Jiang, you mentioned this, could it be that..."

Jiang Asheng nodded: "My original name is Zhang Renfeng, and I am the son of Zhang Haiduan!"

As Lu Xiaofeng said, it is a skill to distinguish which of what others say is useful and which is useless.

Because of the major bribery case involving the Iron-Blooded Marquis, rumors spread throughout the Ming Dynasty, one after another, all trying to clear the Iron-Blooded Marquis's name.

At the same time, the Eastern Depot was also spreading various rumors to confuse the public.

In other parts of the Ming Dynasty, the rumors spread by the Eastern Depot might not have been as effective as those spread by various princes and nobles. However, in the capital, the rumors fabricated by the Eastern Depot were on par with all other rumors.

Therefore, being born in the capital city, one hears far more and more complex rumors than in other places.

However, the rumors spread by the Eastern Depot were generally devoid of evidence and even lacked logic, making them largely unreliable.

However, discerning the credibility of these rumors requires an even more advanced skill.

Jiang Asheng clearly possessed such abilities.

The rumors he mentioned were not based on any consideration of which side was favored, but rather on their truthfulness and reliability.

Such skills are clearly not something ordinary people can possess; they were learned by Jiang Asheng, or rather Zhang Renfeng, from childhood through exposure to his father and the teachings he received.

His father, Zhang Haiduan, just as Lu Xiaofeng described, was a man who mingled in the treacherous world of officialdom, where there was no visible warfare but was far more dangerous in the shadows, and had once risen to the position of Second Grand Secretary.

This position is second only to the Grand Secretary Pei Ju.

Unfortunately, this one step makes all the difference.

Pei Ju is not only the Grand Secretary, but he has held this position for more than ten years and has not stepped down yet.

In contrast, Zhang Haiduan served for less than two years before being defeated in court infighting and losing all his official positions.

He then wasted his time in the capital, and after a few years, he realized that he had no hope of making a comeback, so he had no choice but to leave the capital and return to his hometown.

Zhang Renfeng suffered from a serious illness since childhood. In order to cure his illness, he was sent to Kunlun Mountain to learn martial arts. When he returned to the capital after completing his studies, his cultivation had even reached the peak of the Innate Perfection Realm. It can be said that he was only one step away from stepping into the Grandmaster Realm.

Judging by age alone, he could be considered even more talented than Lu Xiaofeng.

But only those within the family know their own situation. The reason Zhang Renfeng has such cultivation is because Zhang Haiduan went to great lengths to obtain a thousand-year-old precious medicine and had it refined into a precious elixir.

That elixir is half for curing illness and half for increasing one's power.

After taking all the medicine, Zhang Renfeng was completely cured, and his cultivation level also greatly improved.

After returning to the capital, he spent several years meticulously honing his true energy, eventually successfully condensing the Flower of Qi and entering the realm of Grandmaster.

With such a son, and given that Zhang Haiduan had been dismissed from office for several years with no prospect of reinstatement, the people in the court had basically forgotten about him. In addition, he was completely disheartened this time and only wanted to return to his roots.

Therefore, when returning to his hometown, Zhang Haiduan did not specifically hire anyone to protect him.

Unexpectedly, even under such circumstances, a powerful force suddenly intervened and wiped out Zhang Haiduan's entire family on the way.

"Because I had some strength, I was chased to the riverbank and fell into the river with serious injuries... I've already told you what happened after that."

Jiang Asheng said in a somber tone.

"I see." Lu Xiaofeng nodded.

What happened next was that he encountered Li Guishou in the river and was rescued by him.

Li Guishou, a master of bone-shaving and plastic surgery, gave Zhang Renfeng a new face, transforming him into the current Jiang Asheng.

"However, Brother Jiang, you have now returned to the capital and are working as a stable boy at an inn. Could it be that your enemy is within the capital?"

"Indeed! You've all likely heard of those people... Blackstone!"

"Blackstone? They're back in action?"

Lu Xiaofeng was surprised.

This assassin group had a glorious past, having killed several high-ranking officials in the court and was extremely arrogant.

But his later attempt to assassinate Grand Secretary Pei Ju was like kicking a steel plate.

The entire Ming Dynasty knew that Pei Ju had a hidden and powerful martial arts force under his command, which was full of experts, and it was even rumored that there were even grandmaster-level experts in this force.

Although this legend is not very reliable, it does confirm the strength of the force under Pei Ju's command.

Overnight, the once-renowned Blackstone organization fell completely silent.

Some say that the organization has been wiped out by the Prime Minister.

Some say they changed their names and hid themselves completely, not daring to show their faces.

But in any case, Blackstone gradually faded from the scene.

Unexpectedly, after several years, they made their move again, this time targeting Zhang Haiduan.

"That doesn't make sense. Your father has already resigned from his post and even decided to leave the capital. Why would anyone place an order? Besides, even if they did, why would they choose an assassin organization that has already disappeared?"

Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Jiang Asheng said, "Regarding this, it's actually quite simple. They're not making a move because someone is paying for it, but because they themselves want to obtain something!"

"what?"

"Rama's remains!"

"Rama's remains?" Li Xunhuan, who had been listening silently, suddenly exclaimed in surprise. Lu Xiaofeng frowned: "Rama's remains? What's that?"

Li Xunhuan said, "Brother Lu, you may not know this, but Naramo was a high monk from hundreds of years ago. In order to spread Buddhism, he did not hesitate to endure castration and enter the palace to preach the Dharma to the king."

He later went into seclusion in the wilderness, and after his death, his body was found to be intact and undamaged. Therefore, people generally believed that the internal energy he cultivated had special effects, capable of repairing injuries. As a result, his body became the object of contention among people, who hoped to find the extraordinary internal energy he cultivated within it.

Over the centuries, Rama's remains have repeatedly surfaced, but no one has ever been able to detect his inner power. In fact, due to the struggle for his body, it has been split in two.

“Oh…” Lu Xiaofeng nodded.

Actually, he wasn't completely unfamiliar with the name. At the very least, he had heard of it.

However, he came from an ordinary background, had no master he desired, and was not from any prestigious sect, so he was not particularly knowledgeable about the events that had occurred in the martial arts world hundreds of years ago.

"To repair the wounded... castration?"

Lu Xiaofeng immediately grasped the key point: "Could it be that the man in the black stone was castrated?"

Jiang Asheng said, "That's what I thought too, which is why I returned to the capital. Moreover, the reason Black Stone became famous was because he killed several high-ranking officials, but how could those officials be killed so easily? Many people speculate that behind Black Stone, there is actually another powerful force in the court..."

Lu Xiaofeng nodded: "Castration, the capital, the power in the court... no matter how you look at it, the most suspicious party is the Eastern Depot!"

"I don't think so."

Li Xunhuan said, "In disputes at court, the most taboo thing is to directly resort to weapons. If this is not taboo, not to mention the Eastern Depot, even the emperor would certainly not dare to do so."

Looking at the Eastern Depot's modus operandi, they would only ruthlessly kill their enemies after defeating them in court, and even then, they would need to fabricate charges. They never dared to kill someone without cause.

In contrast, Blackstone had assassinated several court officials, some even before they took office, on their way to their posts.

Jiang Asheng nodded: "That's true. The imperial court is more dangerous than the martial world, but it also has more rules!"

Lu Xiaofeng said, "Couldn't it be that the Eastern Depot is using Black Stone's name under false pretenses?"

Li Xunhuan said, "The imperial court is both the place that values ​​evidence the most and the place that doesn't. Take the current Iron-Blooded Marquis bribery case, for example. To execute him, you need irrefutable evidence of treason. Only with conclusive evidence can he be put to death."

But to protect him, all that's needed is to spread a few rumors. Because as long as the emperor believes him to be innocent, he is innocent!

In the imperial court, evidence is both important and unimportant.

The important reason is that every high-ranking official in the imperial court must produce sufficient evidence to convict someone, otherwise it will not be convincing to the public.

Even if the evidence is fabricated, it must still be there.

We can't just talk the talk; we need to provide evidence.

The reason it is not important is that many people's decisions and changes often only require one idea or a convergence of interests.

When a group of people want to bring down an individual, the will of the group is often more terrifying than evidence.

Therefore, if everyone in the court believed that Black Stone was a puppet controlled by the Eastern Depot, then even without any evidence, they would inevitably defeat the Eastern Depot.

But now, this has not happened at all, which precisely proves that the Eastern Depot and Black Stone have no connection.

Otherwise, it's impossible for the Eastern Depot's enemies not to attack it from this direction.

Moreover, in reality, Cao Zhengchun didn't have that much courage.

In the imperial court, he also had two rivals: Zhu Wushi and Pei Ju.

In terms of status, the emperor could demote him to a ninth-rank eunuch with a single word.

Therefore, he could neither lose the emperor's trust nor reveal too many flaws that the enemy might discover.

Under these circumstances, if he dared to create a black stone and assassinate court officials one after another, it would be tantamount to cutting himself off from the court, which would inevitably lead to a backlash from the entire court, and the emperor would not stand on his side at all.

Cao Zhengchun, or anyone who could rise to a high position on the playground, was not such a stupid guy.

“What Li Tanhua said is also what I think.”

Jiang Asheng said, "However, that Black Stone has been missing for many years. Apart from dealing with my father and seizing the remains of Rama, he has had no other opportunity to make a move. Therefore, I returned to the capital and investigated for a long time, but I did not find any clues."

He then looked at Lu Xiaofeng, stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "At this juncture, upon hearing the news that Brother Lu has returned from the Western Regions to seek out renowned doctors to detoxify, I came up with this idea."

Brother Lu's reputation as a detective is known throughout the land. No matter how secretive the plot, it will all be exposed to the world under Brother Lu's investigation.

Today, I humbly beg Brother Lu to help me uncover the whereabouts of that black stone, so that I may avenge my entire family. Whether successful or not, Zhang Renfeng bows in reverence!

After saying this, he bowed deeply.

Lu Xiaofeng quickly stepped aside and said, "Brother Jiang, there's no need for such a grand gesture. We are both poisoned, and no one in the capital dares to help us. Yet you are willing to introduce us to the Ghost Doctor, which is already a great favor."

To repay this kindness, helping Brother Jiang find the Black Stone Organization is my duty!

"Thank you!"

Jiang Asheng said emphatically.

He then added, "The matter of the Black Stone has been going on for several months now, so I'm not in a hurry. The most important thing right now is the severe poison in Brother Lu and Brother Li's bodies. We can discuss the specifics after the poison has been neutralized."

"That's true..."

Lu Xiaofeng nodded.

In any case, being covered in such potent poison makes it inconvenient to do anything.

Even though Li Guishou had already prepared ten antidotes for him.

But these ten antidotes will only last for thirty days. If anything goes wrong, whether he gets caught and imprisoned or loses the antidote, it will be a troublesome matter for him.

Moreover, the Black Stone organization has been missing for many years, so it must be very well hidden.

The fact that they attempted to assassinate Grand Secretary Pei Ju but have not been eliminated to this day proves just how well they have kept their secrets.

It would be difficult to investigate such an organization.

Therefore, it is even more important to detoxify first. Only by removing the burden of the poison can we better handle this matter.

"In that case, please listen to my treatment plan."

Li Guishou said, "In fact, no matter what kind of strange poison it is, in essence, it all damages the human body, just like being injured in a fight."

Injuries sustained in battle can often be treated with internal energy. Similarly, these deadly poisons can also be treated with internal energy. However, the damage caused by deadly poisons often exceeds the limits of human healing, which is why they cannot be completely cured.

Both of you are Grandmasters. In my opinion, the best solution is to gradually weaken the poison through other means, and then use your cultivation levels to slowly eliminate it. This would be the best method.

However, precisely because of this, it will likely take one or two months to completely resolve the issue!

Lu Xiaofeng and Li Xunhuan quickly clasped their hands in greeting: "Please, Ghost Doctor, take action! We will cooperate without hesitation!"

(End of this chapter)