Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu said: "Suppose it is really a cult demon who takes action, then which demon will it be? Since you all work for Shibotang, you should have heard something about various secret associations."

Several businessmen looked at each other, and the oldest businessman said hesitantly: "As Deacon Qi said, we do know something about this, otherwise we would not suspect that a demon committed the crime. In our opinion, there is Maybe it’s the Purple Light Sect.”

"Ziguang Sect? The Ziguang Society that believes in the ancient immortal Ziguang Zhenjun?" Qi Xuansu frowned slightly, "The members of the Ziguang Sect are mainly women, so you are suspicious of those prostitutes."

The merchants were silent.

Qi Xuansu fell into deep thought.

Zhang Yuelu once introduced the Purple Light Sect to him in detail, and its methods were very similar to a certain Taoist branch many years ago, like a spider spinning a web. There is no abnormality in the members on ordinary days, and it is very difficult to identify them. In recent years, the main method used by the Taoist sect to destroy the Ziguang Sect is to capture the thieves first, capture the king, capture the senior figures of the Ziguang Sect, and then go through the list of those in the senior management. Find the hidden members one by one.

In terms of destructive power, the Ziguang Sect is far inferior to the Zhiming Sect, but when it comes to assassination and secret stealing methods, the Ziguang Sect is very difficult to guard against. Back then, even the Taoist Master Shenzhi fell into the trap without realizing it. Many Taoist secrets were leaked.

But why did the Purple Light Sect kill Mason?

Qi Xuansu asked: "Why do you think the Purple Light Sect is the most suspect? Did the dead shopkeeper Mei have any involvement with the Purple Light Sect in the past?"

The merchants remained silent.

Don’t say yes, don’t say no.

Falling in Qi Xuansu's eyes is tantamount to acquiescence.

Qi Xuansu said directly: "Shopkeeper Mei is actually involved with the Ziguang Sect, and everyone obviously knows about it, but they hide it from the Taoist sect. Do you know the seriousness of this matter? Based on this alone, I can inform the Shuzhou Taoist Office. Take everyone into custody and then report it to Tiangang Hall for a decision."

"No, that's not the case. Deacon Qi misunderstood. Please listen to our explanation." A businessman said quickly, "We don't know whether Shopkeeper Mei is involved with the Ziguang Sect. What we know is another thing. Shopkeeper Mei has nothing but family. In addition to his first wife, there is also a concubine, or it cannot be called an concubine, but a lover. This lover is very mysterious and wealthy. It seems that he is a widow who has inherited a large amount of inheritance. It was because of this lover’s strong support that Shopkeeper Mei was able to successfully bid and become one of the businessmen under the name of Shibotang.”

Qi Xuansu asked: "How do you know that this lover is behind the scenes?"

The businessman said: "A person who can be a supplier to Shibotang cannot be said to be a wealthy businessman, but he can also be regarded as a big businessman. To put it in a less flattering way, Shopkeeper Mei just opened a silk and satin shop before. Even if he was given the opportunity without bidding, he wouldn't be able to support such a big stall and produce so many goods. But within a year or two, Shopkeeper Mei suddenly had money and won the bid. We can only think that there are noble people helping us when we open the stall.”

Another businessman added: "We didn't think much about it at first. After all, this kind of thing is done voluntarily by you and me. We are not Taoists, so who can stop it?"

"But a few days ago, Shopkeeper Mei was very anxious. He made a blunder after drinking, saying that everything he had depended on the woman's charity, and he couldn't hold his head up in front of her. He also said that he was just the woman's support. It's just a face. In order to fear that the woman will be jealous, he doesn't even go home very often. Now... he is considered to be a little wealthy, and he doesn't want to be under other people's roof anymore... The last thing is even more scary. The biggest problem is that he is a The two shots were scattered, and the jade and stone were destroyed."

Qi Xuansu said: "Judging from these words, Shopkeeper Mei probably made a fortune from Shibotang's business. He didn't want to look at other people's faces anymore and wanted to get rid of his lover. If it is said that the lover hired a murderer to kill, that's true. Yes, but how can we determine that it is related to Ziguang Society?"

The same mature and prudent businessman said: "If that's all, then that's it. We won't take it too seriously. After all, after doing business for so many years, we have seen a lot of this kind of thing, so it's not unusual. The key is yesterday. At that time, shopkeeper Mei suddenly told us that if anything happened to him, it must have been caused by a demon. We felt something was wrong at the time and wanted to ask more, but he refused to say anything. "

"When I saw him today, he seemed to have forgotten what happened yesterday and became the same as before. He spoke as usual and was no longer anxious. We didn't think much about it and just thought it was him who had thought about it. Who else would care about him while he was still alive? Don’t bow your head? But who would have thought that something would happen tonight.”

Qi Xuansu asked directly: "Does Mr. Tang know about this?"

"I know half of it." The mature and solemn businessman replied, "Because Shopkeeper Mei once specifically told us that after his accident, we immediately reported it to Mr. Tang. Because the situation was urgent at the time, we didn't have time to explain it in detail, so we directly told Mr. Tang about the incident. The matter may have something to do with demons. After Director Tang heard the word 'demon', he... became a little confused. He didn't care about hearing the cause and effect, and directly asked the spirit officer to seal the place, and then went to invite the two of them. "

Qi Xuansu was speechless. He didn't know how to evaluate this Chief Tang. Maybe he was specialized in the art. This Chief Tang was more suitable for business. He was not good at dealing with monsters, so he could only leave it to more professionals.

Qi Xuansu looked at the two deacons of Shibo Hall who were present and asked: "The two fellow Taoists also know about it?"

"We don't know what happened ahead." The two Taoist deacons shook their heads and denied, "We were only temporarily invited."

The businessman also confirmed the words of the two Taoist deacons: "I think Shopkeeper Mei invited the two deacons here to embolden him."

Qi Xuansu finally asked: "Who suggested coming to the temple today?"

After all the businessmen looked at each other, they said in unison: "It's Shopkeeper Mei. He ordered the banquet and invited the girl."

Qi Xuansu thought for a moment and concluded: "First, Shopkeeper Mei wanted to break away from the support of the 'noble man' behind him, and was very anxious about it. He even said that they would both die together after drinking. Second, Shopkeeper Mei seemed to have noticed something was wrong, or he had made up his mind. I am determined to have a showdown with the 'noble man' behind me, so I will tell you in advance that if anything happens to him, it must be caused by the demon. Thirdly, Shopkeeper Mei took the initiative to come to the hospital, and he arranged everything."

The businessmen present could also be regarded as Jianghu people in another sense. No one was a fool and they naturally understood what Qi Xuansu was talking about.

Qi Xuansu came to a conclusion: "In other words, Shopkeeper Mei deliberately chose this place to meet someone. It was probably a showdown, but it ended up falling apart."

Qi Xuansu habitually mixed in some slang, and then continued: "He invited two Taoist deacons for this, and you friends from the same country, not only to have a cover, but also to make the other party feel afraid, and also The words he confessed, which could be called his last words, should be what he called "the jade and the stone will be destroyed", but the other party still did not hesitate to kill the shopkeeper Mei, as long as he knew something about the secret society. People’s first reaction will be to think of the Purple Light Sect.”

A northern businessman said loudly: "It's the one called 'Hanyu', it must be her."

"That's not necessarily the case." Qi Xuansu said, "Master Zhang has inspected the body and found that Shopkeeper Mei died from the Nightmare Town technique. The biggest feature of this method is that it can cast spells from a distance without having to be present in person. That Hanyu may be related, he is a cannon fodder , maybe it has nothing to do with it, just an innocent person.”

The businessmen stopped talking. After going around in a big circle, I just concluded that the matter was related to the demon, but I still have no clue who the demon is.

However, there is no doubt that this matter needs to be investigated in depth to find out the real culprit behind the scenes.

Someone is behind Mason's bid for Shibotang's supplier. What do they want to do? It will never be a mutually beneficial and win-win situation with Taoism. It should be one of the many secret associations.

There is no doubt that this shopkeeper Mei is just a puppet of the secret society. When the puppet of this secret society climbed up the towering tree of Daomen, he gained both fame and fortune. He wanted to get rid of the secret society behind it and return to a normal life. He wanted to be a stable rich man, so he threatened the secret society, and he died.

Qi Xuansu suddenly felt that this experience seemed familiar.

Isn't this exactly who he is?

Relying on Qing Pinghui behind him, he entered the Tiangang Hall of the Taoist sect. It cannot be said that he is on the same path, but his future is bright. Not only will he be promoted to a sixth-grade Taoist priest soon, but a fifth-grade Taoist priest is also around the corner. If nothing happens, he will retire. It is not difficult to become a fourth-grade Taoist Priest of Jijiu, and maybe there will be a chance to attack the third-grade Youyi Taoist priest.

Under this situation, he increasingly wanted to leave the Qingping Society and return to a normal life.

So what will be his fate? Are you like this shopkeeper Mei, dying in a foreign country?

Will Qingping promise to let him go as long as he accumulates nine thousand meritorious deeds? Will he stick to his promise in the end?

His other route, namely "Xuanyu", also cannot circumvent the Qingpinghui.

Qingpinghui, Qingpinghui, Qingpinghui.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu felt a little depressed.

Others didn't know what Qi Xuansu was thinking at this time. Seeing him silent and with a solemn expression, they just thought he was thinking about the case, and no one dared to speak for a while.

After another quarter of an hour, Zhang Yuelu and Tang Yongde returned to the main hall.

Zhang Yuelu asked: "How is the question going?"

Qi Xuansu roughly repeated what he had just said. After listening to it, Zhang Yuelu said thoughtfully: "There is indeed a problem with this court. Chief Tang, immediately notify the Shuzhou Taoist Office and ask them to send people over to block this court. , Thorough investigation, no one is allowed to escape. "

Tang Yongde immediately grimaced and wanted to say something, but when he saw Zhang Yuelu's unquestionable gaze, he didn't dare to speak. He could only bite the bullet and said, "Yes."

It is related to secret associations, which is a red line in Taoism. Zhang Yuelu is also the deputy hall master, so he cannot tolerate his refusal.