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Chapter 194 Conspiracy
The newcomer was neither a pale-faced scholar nor the monk with long hair from Bodhi Temple, but a round, fair-skinned fellow.

—That merchant, Cai Yuankui, the God of Wealth.

How to put it, this man is one of the few bearded people who isn't too unpleasant. Not only is he a pleasant person, but he has also recently brought me a lot of rare fine wines and food. Most importantly, I had a lot of contact with him before this Dharma assembly, so I can be considered an acquaintance to some extent.

But looking at that rounded figure
The bearded man held back for a long time before finally managing to swallow his saliva.

This person shouldn't eat it, at least not now.

So in the end, he just said it in a muffled voice.

"What brings Master Cai here so late?"

The chubby man smiled amiably—but for some reason, he gave an extremely strange reason.

"Well, Master, I recently had some insights while meditating, but there are some things I don't quite understand, so I'd like to ask you for some guidance."

The bearded man was taken aback.

—Why the hell are you cultivating on your own and coming to me for help?
—Besides, humans and demons are different. Even if I could teach you, could you handle the responsibility?

The bearded man was completely bewildered and wanted to kick the fat man out on the spot—otherwise, he really couldn't stand having that fat body swaying in front of him.

however

Suddenly, he saw the other person's hand.

Those plump, pig-claw-like hands were making a peculiar gesture.

Is this a method of communication used in the mountains?
Wait a minute, where did this fatso learn that from?

The bearded man was stunned. Just as he was about to question the fat man, he suddenly saw the fat man's hand gestures change rapidly.

Put together, it forms a sentence.

—Bodhi Temple has set up a magic array to monitor this area, so please be careful with your words, Master.

Looking at that still smiling face, the bearded man frowned, then his hand gestures changed in the same way.

—What exactly do you mean?
Cai Yuankui laughed.

"Oh, Lord Shan, you have keen eyes, you've seen it too. I'm not here to ask for advice, I just want to make peace about what happened this morning."

The conversation continued as if it were casual chatter, and one could even hear a lot of flattery in it, but the gestures he made with his hands conveyed a different meaning.

—There seems to be something wrong with the people from Bodhi Temple this time, so I would like to ask the mountain lord to join me in investigating.

The bearded man's eyes narrowed slightly, and at that moment, he too began to play along with the merchant.

"Make peace? That damned Jade Gentleman has tricked me to this extent, and you still want to make peace?! Let me tell you, no one can change anything today!"

—So what if that person has a problem? Anyway, with Ben Shan as guarantor, nothing serious will happen. Also, why me?
Cai Yuankui replied with a grin.

"Mountain Lord, please don't say that. As the saying goes, 'No discord, no concord.' Young Master Yu meant no harm. Besides, if we create a rift now, it will easily cause problems when dealing with Zhengde later."

—Because among these people, you, Mountain Lord, are the strongest. Who else can I turn to besides you for an alliance? As for the other question, Mountain Lord, don't you want to obtain the qualification to directly enter the Three Altars Dharma Assembly?
"what!"

The bearded man finally couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Although he immediately realized his lapse in composure and hurriedly began to ask about the origin of the matter using sign language, Cai Yuankui had already bowed and taken his leave.

"Since the mountain lord is so unwilling, then I will no longer try to persuade him. I only ask that the mountain lord not cause trouble out of enmity in the future and ruin everyone's grand plan."

Before leaving, Cai Yuankui made a few final gestures with his hands.

That means very simply.

We met in the dense woods outside the courtyard at midnight today.
-
At midnight, it is a time when all is quiet and all living things are asleep.

In the vast forest, not even the chirping of insects could be heard at this moment.

The bearded man strolled through the woods as if he were walking in his own home.

After much deliberation, he decided to attend the meeting.

Not only was the topic too intriguing, but he also knew Cai Yuankui's personality very well.

This guy may be cunning and treacherous in business, but when it comes to life and death, he's the quickest to back down.

He wouldn't dare to scheme against me, not even if he had eight lives!
Not to mention this is a mountain forest, his own territory. Even if a Tantric master came in person, he was confident he could escape. What chance did a mere Cai Yuankui have?
Ah. Under his speed, a journey that would normally take more than half an hour to complete was covered in the blink of an eye.

When I saw Cai Yuankui again, he was staring blankly at the moon.

"Hey, you idiot, what are you looking at?"

Upon hearing the bearded man's voice, Cai Yuankui hurriedly turned around and cupped his hands in greeting.

"I'm so sorry, I was thinking about something and didn't see the Mountain Lord arrive. Please forgive my rudeness."

"Stop with the nonsense!" The bearded man glared at him and said directly. "You know what I want to ask, so just spit it out. If you keep keeping me in suspense, I might just swallow you whole, disregarding our past relationship!"

Cai Yuankui said with a forced smile.

"Please calm down, Master. It's just that the entire courtyard is under surveillance by Bodhi Temple. I had no choice but to invite you here for a while."

After a brief reassurance, Cai Yuankui revealed his purpose for the visit.

"Master, what do you think of that monk who came today?"

"Is it true?"

There was silence.

After a long while, the bearded man spoke with a cold expression.

"What do you mean?"

Cai Yuankui answered with a smile, but the content of his words was extremely terrifying.

“My point is simple—I suspect that the monk who practices with his hair still intact… is actually someone who snuck in from somewhere else, and isn’t a member of Bodhi Temple at all.”

The bearded man closed his mouth again, staring at the rich, round face, as if trying to discern something from it.

But his face still wore that humble smile.

Seeing this, the bearded man slowly spoke.

"That was personally confirmed by Benshan of Bodhi Temple and the Poisonous Snake Monk. Are you suggesting they conspired to deceive everyone?"

Cai Yuankui said.

"—Both of them are staunch supporters of Bodhi Temple, so they must not act like this. But Ben Shan is an idiot and a good-for-nothing who can do nothing but flatter and fawn. The Poisonous Snake Monk has been studying scriptures for many years and has basically never been involved in outside affairs. Now he has been forced into his position. It is normal for them to be blind to their own faults."

"But those six words of truth cannot be faked."

“It is indeed impossible to fake, but based on my identification, it is not the true mantra transmitted by Tantra at all, but rather more like the methods of those heretical sects.”

The conversation ended there.

The bearded man pondered for a long time before speaking.

"You've said all that, but what evidence do you have?"

Cai Yuankui immediately grinned.

"As for evidence, of course I have it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered to find you, Mountain Lord. Now I just want to discuss with you how to capture this imposter so we can go directly to Bodhi Temple to claim the reward."

Cai Yuankui reached into his robes, seemingly trying to pull out the evidence, while slowly walking towards the bearded man.

"—However, the reward is limited, and the qualifications to enter the Dharma assembly are even more limited, so it's best not to let Jade Gentleman and Su Gu Ghost know about this, otherwise..."

As the bearded man listened to Cai Yuankui's words, he pondered whether or not he should get involved in this matter.

However, in a very sudden moment...

He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

I looked down and realized it.

A gleaming silver dagger was embedded in his chest, its hilt plunging deep.

　Yesterday's chapter has been released, so you guys can subscribe again.

　　I'm really sorry, but there's been a lot of review and approval lately, and honestly, I don't know why. It's just constant requests for revisions, and paragraphs are being deleted all the time. I suspect it's due to some of the more graphic descriptions. So, in the future, when dealing with descriptions of the human body, I might use "米人" (mi ren) or similar pinyin as a substitute. Please forgive me, everyone.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)