Lightning King stood up reluctantly. As the leader of Baoze’s law enforcement department, he must take up the mantle to represent Baoze in this matter.
However, if he could, he would rather have not come to the conference. He came despite his busy schedule, to relax and see the game and comment on the young talents, to relax from the tense working state. Then, disaster struck him from the Heavens. What kind of rubbish issues were these?
Buddhists’ refusal to participate in this matter and the fact that the big families were all on the sidelines were nothing surprising. This was like how when something big happened, the entire world would look at America and wonder, “Hey Uncle Sam, aren’t you the global police? What are you doing now?”
Such responsibility would fall upon Baoze eventually. That was the price of being the boss.
If I knew this would happen, I would not have come. Lightning King was here to relax. However, in the end, the matter with Elder Hua Yu gave him a good scare of his life, and then this issue about the Taoist Reverend fell flat on his head. If he had not come, Baoze would have been able to stay out of the fray as they were only a group of high-level or middle-level employees. However, when he was around, Baoze had to be answerable to this.
“It’s all Li Xianyu’s fault. If he had not come, maybe these will not happen to the conference.” The Lightning King thought and glared at Li Xianyu.
Li Xianyu was confused. Somehow I felt that I will become a professional scapegoat soon. There are thousands of things to be blamed for in the world. Wang Chen and I will be the scapegoat for half of them each.
Thinking of him, Li Xianyu remained silent and sighed. What a tragedy. You fought against the Japanese aggressor for your people, and sacrificed demon descendants and sweat for your country, but what did you get in return? Your dearest died and turned to dust, and you yourself have to endure centuries of notoriety.
What was more tragic was that in those days, no one cared whether one was a good person or not, and no one cared what one did for the country. They only cared what one obtained in the Great Deities Palace. Someone innocent would be guilty if they possessed great treasures.
In those days, the Chinese land was torn apart by the Japanese army, and there was no order. Half of what the Demonic Priest had encountered was due to that era.
In full view of the public, the Lightning King left the audience to welcome the people of the Aoki family.
“Lightning King, you are a part of the management of Baoze, and you are entitled to intervene in this matter.” Li Zhu stated, “Baoze is an official institution. It has enough prestige and strength to deal with this. I believe you.”
The Lightning King didn’t go to pick up the ancient scroll handed by Aoki Takuya, and only he glanced at it. With his experience, he could easily judge whether it was true or not. Even though it was well preserved, the ancient scroll was obviously passed down through the generations.
The scrolls were written in the form of Japanese that was used during World War II. At that time, the Japanese used were slightly different from that of today. When dealing with loanwords taken from other languages, old Japanese text tended to use kanji to form a word that corresponded to the pronunciation of the original. After the war, Japanese texts started to use katakana to mark loanwords directly.
The record appeared true. However, he wouldn’t say that directly. “Well, Taoist Reverend, you are so ridiculous when you were young.”
“With all due respect, I can’t see the truth.” The Lightning King said, “the authenticity of this document needs to be verified by professionals. It’s about Taoism and the reputation of Taoism. If you trust Baoze, and that the Aoki family trust Baoze, you can give me these documents. I will send it to the Baoze headquarters for identification. Whether it is true or not, Baoze will reveal it to the outside world.”
“The conference is a great event held every four years in the demon descendant community. We come from afar, and we do not want out mood to be spoiled by these events. What do you think if we just end this matter here?”
Lightning King was a master politician. He was familiar with the tactics of procrastination. If he wasn’t skilled, how could he manage all these crazy people in Baoze as the law enforcement department head?
Our moods won’t be spoilt by this… The gossipy bystanders were disappointed. They were onlookers and people who like to watch these gossip. It’s the nature of such people to be worried that the world will not be chaotic. The more lively it was, the better.
“Amitabha, that is good.”
“Good!”
People of Taoism and Buddhism were relieved.
“I don’t agree!” Li Zhu snorted. “if you need a professional appraiser, you can look for one now. We can wait. I believe all of you here are willing to wait. Baoze can send any kind of professional appraisers here, but this old man refused to delay, and I refuse to let this be dealt with behind the scenes.”
“Why wait when we can do something now? Does Baoze want to cover up for the Taoist Reverend? I had faith in Baoze, but their decision is really disappointing.”
His words were well received by the audience.
“Baoze really seemed to want to cover this up. They need someone to appraise the document? I can. I learned history.”
“I graduated from the Department of Archaeology. Shall I take over?”
“I studied Japanese.”
All the audience are young talents and are capable. The explanation of Lightning King did not hold any water. If we wanted professionals, there must be many people present who can recognize the authenticity of this ancient scroll.
Lightning King took a deep breath, and his voice was very low. “Li Zhu, you are not afraid to die in your age. You should still consider your Li family. This matter will come to an end for the time being. Baoze can promise you that we will surely uphold justice for you.”
Li Peiyun sneered. “Lightning King, my Li Family has been abroad for a long time. The world is so big, you can try and see if you can still find my Li Family.”
Li Zhu said lightly, “Baoze can uphold justice for us? I’m afraid I won’t be able to wait. I am already over a hundred years old.”
“What do you want then?” Lightning King said angrily, “After this, Taoist Reverend’s reputation would be damaged. The whole Demon Descendant community will be looking at him and the Taoist Faction will not cover this up for him. Whether if you wanted to deal with Taoist Reverend or to right the name of Demonic Priest, your goal has been achieved. When the event of the Great Deities Palace is over, the Taoist will deliver the judgment of the Taoist Reverend. Baoze and Buddhism will definitely bear witness to that.”
“Then how does Lightning King think the Taoists will deal with their Reverend? Will he be forced to abdicated and be banished from Taoism? So what? He will still be let go free and easy. Besides, Taoist Reverend had been in power for so many years, he would certainly have many supporters. Even if those leaders clearly draw a line between themselves and Taoist Reverend on the surface, a large number of people will still obey him. He could still rule from behind the scenes.”
What he said was reasonable. The Lightning King knew that it would turn out like that, but what could be done? Should the things that Taoist Reverend had done be exposed and be proven guilty, he would lose his reputation and will be forced to retire from the position of Taoist Reverend. The whole world would be satisfied with the result, and everyone would agree with it.
Who would siege Taoist Reverend for the sake of Demonic Priest who died over 80 years ago to make him pay with his blood?
That’s impossible. To say something that doesn’t sound nice, most people just want to see the fights unfold, and then go along with the chaos and stir some shit and watch the Taoist Reverend abdicate. That was only possible if many people supported the morally righteous party. Demonic Priest was not their father. You can’t expect them to avenge for the Demonic Priest.
“You are not satisfied with the fact that Taoist Reverend will no longer be able to gain a foothold in the Demon Descendant community and may not be able to survive his last days? What else do you want?” Lightning King asked.
“An eye for an eye,” Li Zhu said it slowly, word by word.
“Bastard!” Lightning King was furious. “You are destroying your own hopes for survival. If you really want to revenge, do it after the Great Deities Palace opens. Then, you can do whatever you want. But now, I refuse! Baoze will not agree with any conflict.”
If you want to do it, you need power. What power do you have? Your great-grandson, Li Peiyun?
Since negotiation had failed, there was no need to continue anymore. Li Zhu no longer looked at the Lightning King. His turbid gaze swept the whole audience.
“Everyone, just now the heir of the Li family said that justice may be late, but it will never definitely be served eventually. You have agreed with him, and thus I would like to ask you hits question.”
“Now, do you still agree with that?”
The audience looked at each other, “What does he want?”
“Wang Qing, I’m going to ask you to repay the debt of that year. What Demonic Priest Wang Chen didn’t have time to do, I’ll do it. I challenge you as a disciple of Wang Chen. The Heavens and Earth shall bear witness. I, and on behalf of my great-grandson Li Peiyun, swore to fight Wang Qing to the death, and to end this fiasco ” Li Zhu’s old voice echoed. “Wang Qing, do you dare to accept this fight?”
The Taoist Reverend was silent.
“Old bastard, do you know what you are doing?”
“Amitabha, Elder Li, don’t be impatient. Don’t be impulsive.”
“Li Zhu, you are unrestrained. Lianghua temple is not a place where you can bark at anyone you want.”
“The matter of the Demonic Priest had already been settled. If you want to reinvestigate the case, you should cooperate with everyone instead of playing around here.”
There was no support for him from the Taoists, Buddhists, Baoze, or even the major families. There were those who supported him, but they were all shocked. A fight with the Taoist Reverend? With Li Peiyun?
The Taoist would never let this happen. Even if the Taoist Reverend was guilty, the judge should be Taoist itself. If their own leader had committed a crime but was punished by a random group of people in the name of justice, it would be an utterly shameful incident in the history of Taoism.
Buddhism and Baoze would naturally not protect the Taoist Reverend. It was impossible for Taoist Reverend to continue to sit in this position without being affected. However, as the official organization and leader of the Demon Descendant Community, Buddhism and Baoze needed to consider the overall situation and will not acquiesce to Li Zhu’s demands.
It was also a kind of protection for him. Fighting with the Taoist Reverend now? Li Zhu was just looking for death.
Li Zhu seemed to have expected such a situation for a long time. He smiled and did not rush. “Before I came, I had arranged people to place bombs in all the great places and Taoist temples of the Taoist Faction. As long as I give a phone call, the foundations of your centuries of Taoism may vanish into thin air.”
The faces of all the people changed.
Li Zhu nodded at Li Peiyun, who took out his cell phone and made a phone call. He said calmly, “Quanzhen!”
A few minutes after the call, a Taoist priest in Quanzhen Sect immediately received a call from his disciples. His eyes were red and his cell phone was broken from his clenched fist: “Taoist Reverend, Donghua Hall and Dongyue Hall were destroyed.”
Quanzhen disciples exclaimed in disbelief, “How did they get in?”
Just as the Lianghua temple was not open to the outside world, so are the other temples. Tourists could only go to those special and open Taoist temples to burn incense or sightsee.
“They planted bombs on Southern Mountain. The mountain collapsed and destroyed Dongyue Hall and Donghua Hall.”
The pupils of the Taoist followers contracted.
“You can attack together and kill me. I’m not afraid of life and death. If you would just keep silent, the bomb won’t explode. After that, you can check it out yourself.” Li Zhu smiled coldly. “Indeed, staying silent is the modus operandi for you people after all.”
“Ancient Gods Clan!” Lightning King gnawed his teeth.
Li Zhu looked at him and said, “Please be silent, Baoze. We have also planted bombs in provincial capitals. If you don’t want to see the news of the explosion tomorrow, just let your people keep silent.”
The Lightning King was so angry. No one had ever done such a crazy thing. Anyone who had any desire to survive would never dare to do so.
The old man, who had endured the hatred for decades, had gone completely mad.
Lightning King stood up reluctantly. As the leader of Baoze’s law enforcement department, he must take up the mantle to represent Baoze in this matter.
However, if he could, he would rather have not come to the conference. He came despite his busy schedule, to relax and see the game and comment on the young talents, to relax from the tense working state. Then, disaster struck him from the Heavens. What kind of rubbish issues were these?
Buddhists’ refusal to participate in this matter and the fact that the big families were all on the sidelines were nothing surprising. This was like how when something big happened, the entire world would look at America and wonder, “Hey Uncle Sam, aren’t you the global police? What are you doing now?”
Such responsibility would fall upon Baoze eventually. That was the price of being the boss.
If I knew this would happen, I would not have come. Lightning King was here to relax. However, in the end, the matter with Elder Hua Yu gave him a good scare of his life, and then this issue about the Taoist Reverend fell flat on his head. If he had not come, Baoze would have been able to stay out of the fray as they were only a group of high-level or middle-level employees. However, when he was around, Baoze had to be answerable to this.
“It’s all Li Xianyu’s fault. If he had not come, maybe these will not happen to the conference.” The Lightning King thought and glared at Li Xianyu.
Li Xianyu was confused. Somehow I felt that I will become a professional scapegoat soon. There are thousands of things to be blamed for in the world. Wang Chen and I will be the scapegoat for half of them each.
Thinking of him, Li Xianyu remained silent and sighed. What a tragedy. You fought against the Japanese aggressor for your people, and sacrificed demon descendants and sweat for your country, but what did you get in return? Your dearest died and turned to dust, and you yourself have to endure centuries of notoriety.
What was more tragic was that in those days, no one cared whether one was a good person or not, and no one cared what one did for the country. They only cared what one obtained in the Great Deities Palace. Someone innocent would be guilty if they possessed great treasures.
In those days, the Chinese land was torn apart by the Japanese army, and there was no order. Half of what the Demonic Priest had encountered was due to that era.
In full view of the public, the Lightning King left the audience to welcome the people of the Aoki family.
“Lightning King, you are a part of the management of Baoze, and you are entitled to intervene in this matter.” Li Zhu stated, “Baoze is an official institution. It has enough prestige and strength to deal with this. I believe you.”
The Lightning King didn’t go to pick up the ancient scroll handed by Aoki Takuya, and only he glanced at it. With his experience, he could easily judge whether it was true or not. Even though it was well preserved, the ancient scroll was obviously passed down through the generations.
The scrolls were written in the form of Japanese that was used during World War II. At that time, the Japanese used were slightly different from that of today. When dealing with loanwords taken from other languages, old Japanese text tended to use kanji to form a word that corresponded to the pronunciation of the original. After the war, Japanese texts started to use katakana to mark loanwords directly.
The record appeared true. However, he wouldn’t say that directly. “Well, Taoist Reverend, you are so ridiculous when you were young.”
“With all due respect, I can’t see the truth.” The Lightning King said, “the authenticity of this document needs to be verified by professionals. It’s about Taoism and the reputation of Taoism. If you trust Baoze, and that the Aoki family trust Baoze, you can give me these documents. I will send it to the Baoze headquarters for identification. Whether it is true or not, Baoze will reveal it to the outside world.”
“The conference is a great event held every four years in the demon descendant community. We come from afar, and we do not want out mood to be spoiled by these events. What do you think if we just end this matter here?”
Lightning King was a master politician. He was familiar with the tactics of procrastination. If he wasn’t skilled, how could he manage all these crazy people in Baoze as the law enforcement department head?
Our moods won’t be spoilt by this… The gossipy bystanders were disappointed. They were onlookers and people who like to watch these gossip. It’s the nature of such people to be worried that the world will not be chaotic. The more lively it was, the better.
“Amitabha, that is good.”
“Good!”
People of Taoism and Buddhism were relieved.
“I don’t agree!” Li Zhu snorted. “if you need a professional appraiser, you can look for one now. We can wait. I believe all of you here are willing to wait. Baoze can send any kind of professional appraisers here, but this old man refused to delay, and I refuse to let this be dealt with behind the scenes.”
“Why wait when we can do something now? Does Baoze want to cover up for the Taoist Reverend? I had faith in Baoze, but their decision is really disappointing.”
His words were well received by the audience.
“Baoze really seemed to want to cover this up. They need someone to appraise the document? I can. I learned history.”
“I graduated from the Department of Archaeology. Shall I take over?”
“I studied Japanese.”
All the audience are young talents and are capable. The explanation of Lightning King did not hold any water. If we wanted professionals, there must be many people present who can recognize the authenticity of this ancient scroll.
Lightning King took a deep breath, and his voice was very low. “Li Zhu, you are not afraid to die in your age. You should still consider your Li family. This matter will come to an end for the time being. Baoze can promise you that we will surely uphold justice for you.”
Li Peiyun sneered. “Lightning King, my Li Family has been abroad for a long time. The world is so big, you can try and see if you can still find my Li Family.”
Li Zhu said lightly, “Baoze can uphold justice for us? I’m afraid I won’t be able to wait. I am already over a hundred years old.”
“What do you want then?” Lightning King said angrily, “After this, Taoist Reverend’s reputation would be damaged. The whole Demon Descendant community will be looking at him and the Taoist Faction will not cover this up for him. Whether if you wanted to deal with Taoist Reverend or to right the name of Demonic Priest, your goal has been achieved. When the event of the Great Deities Palace is over, the Taoist will deliver the judgment of the Taoist Reverend. Baoze and Buddhism will definitely bear witness to that.”
“Then how does Lightning King think the Taoists will deal with their Reverend? Will he be forced to abdicated and be banished from Taoism? So what? He will still be let go free and easy. Besides, Taoist Reverend had been in power for so many years, he would certainly have many supporters. Even if those leaders clearly draw a line between themselves and Taoist Reverend on the surface, a large number of people will still obey him. He could still rule from behind the scenes.”
What he said was reasonable. The Lightning King knew that it would turn out like that, but what could be done? Should the things that Taoist Reverend had done be exposed and be proven guilty, he would lose his reputation and will be forced to retire from the position of Taoist Reverend. The whole world would be satisfied with the result, and everyone would agree with it.
Who would siege Taoist Reverend for the sake of Demonic Priest who died over 80 years ago to make him pay with his blood?
That’s impossible. To say something that doesn’t sound nice, most people just want to see the fights unfold, and then go along with the chaos and stir some shit and watch the Taoist Reverend abdicate. That was only possible if many people supported the morally righteous party. Demonic Priest was not their father. You can’t expect them to avenge for the Demonic Priest.
“You are not satisfied with the fact that Taoist Reverend will no longer be able to gain a foothold in the Demon Descendant community and may not be able to survive his last days? What else do you want?” Lightning King asked.
“An eye for an eye,” Li Zhu said it slowly, word by word.
“Bastard!” Lightning King was furious. “You are destroying your own hopes for survival. If you really want to revenge, do it after the Great Deities Palace opens. Then, you can do whatever you want. But now, I refuse! Baoze will not agree with any conflict.”
If you want to do it, you need power. What power do you have? Your great-grandson, Li Peiyun?
Since negotiation had failed, there was no need to continue anymore. Li Zhu no longer looked at the Lightning King. His turbid gaze swept the whole audience.
“Everyone, just now the heir of the Li family said that justice may be late, but it will never definitely be served eventually. You have agreed with him, and thus I would like to ask you hits question.”
“Now, do you still agree with that?”
The audience looked at each other, “What does he want?”
“Wang Qing, I’m going to ask you to repay the debt of that year. What Demonic Priest Wang Chen didn’t have time to do, I’ll do it. I challenge you as a disciple of Wang Chen. The Heavens and Earth shall bear witness. I, and on behalf of my great-grandson Li Peiyun, swore to fight Wang Qing to the death, and to end this fiasco ” Li Zhu’s old voice echoed. “Wang Qing, do you dare to accept this fight?”
The Taoist Reverend was silent.
“Old bastard, do you know what you are doing?”
“Amitabha, Elder Li, don’t be impatient. Don’t be impulsive.”
“Li Zhu, you are unrestrained. Lianghua temple is not a place where you can bark at anyone you want.”
“The matter of the Demonic Priest had already been settled. If you want to reinvestigate the case, you should cooperate with everyone instead of playing around here.”
There was no support for him from the Taoists, Buddhists, Baoze, or even the major families. There were those who supported him, but they were all shocked. A fight with the Taoist Reverend? With Li Peiyun?
The Taoist would never let this happen. Even if the Taoist Reverend was guilty, the judge should be Taoist itself. If their own leader had committed a crime but was punished by a random group of people in the name of justice, it would be an utterly shameful incident in the history of Taoism.
Buddhism and Baoze would naturally not protect the Taoist Reverend. It was impossible for Taoist Reverend to continue to sit in this position without being affected. However, as the official organization and leader of the Demon Descendant Community, Buddhism and Baoze needed to consider the overall situation and will not acquiesce to Li Zhu’s demands.
It was also a kind of protection for him. Fighting with the Taoist Reverend now? Li Zhu was just looking for death.
Li Zhu seemed to have expected such a situation for a long time. He smiled and did not rush. “Before I came, I had arranged people to place bombs in all the great places and Taoist temples of the Taoist Faction. As long as I give a phone call, the foundations of your centuries of Taoism may vanish into thin air.”
The faces of all the people changed.
Li Zhu nodded at Li Peiyun, who took out his cell phone and made a phone call. He said calmly, “Quanzhen!”
A few minutes after the call, a Taoist priest in Quanzhen Sect immediately received a call from his disciples. His eyes were red and his cell phone was broken from his clenched fist: “Taoist Reverend, Donghua Hall and Dongyue Hall were destroyed.”
Quanzhen disciples exclaimed in disbelief, “How did they get in?”
Just as the Lianghua temple was not open to the outside world, so are the other temples. Tourists could only go to those special and open Taoist temples to burn incense or sightsee.
“They planted bombs on Southern Mountain. The mountain collapsed and destroyed Dongyue Hall and Donghua Hall.”
The pupils of the Taoist followers contracted.
“You can attack together and kill me. I’m not afraid of life and death. If you would just keep silent, the bomb won’t explode. After that, you can check it out yourself.” Li Zhu smiled coldly. “Indeed, staying silent is the modus operandi for you people after all.”
“Ancient Gods Clan!” Lightning King gnawed his teeth.
Li Zhu looked at him and said, “Please be silent, Baoze. We have also planted bombs in provincial capitals. If you don’t want to see the news of the explosion tomorrow, just let your people keep silent.”
The Lightning King was so angry. No one had ever done such a crazy thing. Anyone who had any desire to survive would never dare to do so.
The old man, who had endured the hatred for decades, had gone completely mad.
