Hidden moth

Chapter 126 It’s too late to blame

There are seven elders in the clan hall, representing the seven major sects, and they are also the leaders of the seven major sects.

A sorcerer who reaches the sixth level of cultivation can be called an elder, but each sect has only one elder on duty in the clan hall. The identity of an elder in the clan hall also represents a responsibility.

The Zongfa Hall is equivalent to the "highest decision-making and executive committee of the sect." The seven elders are the seven executive members. Their responsibilities include supervising the world's sorcerers, managing the sect's institutions, and coordinating the development and allocation of cultivation resources...

But its most important tasks can be summarized into two: passing on skills and enforcing the law.

The transmission of skills is the core of the sect, encompassing all matters related to the inheritance of skills. Law enforcement represents a kind of order, and can make decisions on the various behaviors of disciples of the sect, including rewards and punishments.

This type of punishment has the nature of both arbitration and final judgment.

If a disciple in any sect makes a mistake, his teacher will punish him and report the reason and decision of the punishment to the clan law hall.

However, if the teacher does not punish or punishes incorrectly, the clan hall will arbitrate and sometimes even punish the teacher as well.

The rules of procedure in the patriarchal hall differ from those in secular institutions, emphasizing that one person can decide and one person can veto. Any elder can make a decision on behalf of the patriarchal hall, as long as the other elders do not object.

Therefore, at the level of the elders of the clan hall, what they represent is no longer just a certain school of thought.

Any elder has the right to veto any decision made by the sect, provided he can provide sufficient reasons.

Some might ask, what if someone is being unreasonable? Perhaps an elder vetoes something without providing sufficient reasons, or perhaps he provides sufficient reasons, but others simply refuse to accept them.

In reality, this situation rarely occurs. Warlocks are different from ordinary people. This is related to their cultivation, and the elders have taken an oath when they enter the clan hall.

Some people don’t mind swearing, but people like them will abide by the oath once they make it.

But the oath cannot constrain everything. The elders of the clan hall also have selfish desires and may even have major disagreements on certain matters. They are still just mortals.

Not to mention mortals, even gods have selfish desires and disagreements... Therefore, the decision-making principle of the clan hall is to seek common ground while reserving differences to the greatest extent possible.

Many low-level warlocks envied the elders of the clan hall and dreamed of becoming one of them one day. However, many sixth-level warlocks were not necessarily willing to take on this job.

With such cultivation, one can live a carefree life in the world. Why should one take on these things and endure this hardship?

However, high-level sorcerers have all been ordained to accept the position. If a former clan elder invites them to succeed them after they reach the sixth level, they cannot refuse. In short, this is actually an obligation.

Having received the teachings of the sect and enjoyed all its resources, one must give something back, right? The best way to repay them is to take on the responsibility of supervision and management, ensuring the orderly inheritance and the good conduct of the disciples.

The seven elders of the current clan hall are:

Jiang Daozhen, the seventh-rank great mathematician of Lingxi Sect.

Zong Zheng, the sixth-rank master of Wangqimen, is known as the second elder.

Kang Rulin, the sixth-level weapon master of Ruweimen.

Gu Chun, the sixth-rank geomancer of Xinpan Sect, is also known as the Master Geomancer.

Mei Guyu, the sixth-rank pharmacist of Danding Sect, is known as the Plum Blossom Fairy.

Li Xiuyuan, the sixth-rank illusionist of Xingshen Sect.

Ye Qi, a sixth-rank physician of Guanshen Sect, calls himself Wild Phoenix.

Among them, Jiang Daozhen and Gu Chun are in the most special situation, because Lingxi Sect and Xinpan Sect currently have no other sixth-level sorcerers to succeed them. Even if they want to "retire", they cannot find successors at the moment.

What if an elder passed away, but the sect had no other sixth-rank sorcerer to take over? Either they would bring back a former elder who had long since "retired," or they would appoint a temporary leader to temporarily fill the vacancies in the clan hall.

However, this situation has never occurred since the reintegration of the martial arts sect and the establishment of the clan hall a thousand years ago.

Kang Rulin told Ye Fenghuang that he could resign from the position of elder of the Zongfa Hall and ask his junior brother Zhou Yueming to take over. Zhou Yueming was also a sixth-level weapon master of Ruwei Sect, but had never served as an elder of the Zongfa Hall.

But the proposal was rejected by Ye Fenghuang on the spot. Ye Fenghuang meant that no matter what Kang Rulin wanted to do, he had to deal with this matter first.

There is no avoidance system in the clan hall. On the contrary, whoever is responsible should be held accountable first.

It wasn't too far from Huiming to Nanhua City, taking the highway for about three hours. At dusk, Shi Zhizhai finally arrived at the Kanglin Hotel in Nanhua City and met Kang Rulin.

People of the same generation in a large family can have vastly different ages. Shi Zhizhai is in his early sixties and looks to be in his forties or fifties, while Kang Rulin is more than twenty years older and is approaching ninety.

But from Kang Rulin's description, he looked about the same age as Shi Zhizhai.

Still in the scenic waterside pavilion, Shi Zhizhai sat down and asked, "Brother-in-law, why did you call me here so urgently? The police took away several people from our Shi family, and I was just trying to find out what happened."

Kang Rulin's voice was devoid of emotion. He handed Shi Zhizhai a document and said, "No need to ask any more. The situation is right here. Take a look first, and then figure out what to say."

Shi Zhizhai flipped through the document without saying a word for a long time. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and his body subconsciously became hunched.

"Do you have anything to ask me?" It was Kang Rulin who spoke first.

Shi Zhizhai finally looked up and said, "Hao Wu, Hao Sheng and the others are still with the police. We can only find out what happened after we get them out."

Kang Rulin: "Isn't the situation already clear here? You and I are not police officers. After seeing all this, don't we know the whole story?"

Shi Zhizhai's expression was somewhat conflicted. He hesitated several times before finally asking, "Will the rest of the Shi family be implicated?"

Kang Rulin said calmly, "You are well aware of the rules of accountability in the Shu Sect. If you have not been involved in the matter, do not know the situation, and have not benefited from it, then the disaster will not reach you!
Just count these three points one by one in your mind. If someone meets all three requirements, then there will be no problem.

I've prepared a table here. There are thirty-eight registered sorcerers from the Huiming Shi family, and another one hundred and twenty-six Zhiyuan guests. Each person's name has these three options after it. Please tick them one by one, making it clear who is in what situation.

Remember, this is the only chance I give you. Don't fill out this form carelessly, and don't try to shield anyone."

After that, Kang Rulin handed over a pen and a folder. He didn't even ask what was going on, but just asked Shi Zhizhai to fill out a form.

Shi Zhizhai asked in reply, "I just reported to the clan law hall that the Huiming Shi family has thirty-seven registered monks. Where did the thirty-eight come from?"

Kang Rulin: "The first one is me! If you say I haven't been involved in the matter and don't know the situation, then of course you know it in your heart. But if you say I haven't benefited from it, even I don't believe it!"

When it comes to holding people accountable, the emphasis is on fate, which is what Kang Rulin just said: "Be involved in the matter, understand the situation, and receive the benefit."

They are not in a parallel relationship, but a progressive relationship. "Being involved in it" is the most serious, "knowing the situation" is the second, and finally "receiving the benefit".

If one is both "involved in the matter" and "knows the truth", he should be subject to the same punishment.

There's also a special case where someone is "involved" but not "informed." For example, someone like Li Weiping, though involved in what happened that night, simply ran errands and didn't know exactly what happened.

Such people will be punished, but only in a manner commensurate with their actions.

Many people may not be involved in the incident but know the situation, and if they turn a blind eye to it, they will also be held accountable.

The most special case is that one has neither participated in the relevant matters nor understood the inside story, but has obtained the benefits brought by the prohibited behavior, and corresponding treatment must also be taken.

Shi Zhizhai looked at the list and asked, "It was just what happened the night before yesterday. The Shi family suffered heavy losses... Let's not talk about it anymore. This is all our own fault. But what favor can you offer me, brother-in-law?"

Shi Haowu and others failed in their plan to take down Yin Mo. Not only did they lose Hu Shulue's life, they also lost a land spirit flag. They didn't gain any benefits. Judging from the facts, how could anyone benefit from it?

Although He Kao could prove what happened that night, he couldn't possibly know the inner workings of the Shi family. For example, Shi Haowu had called Shi Zhizhai before taking action, or that Ku Chazi was Gu Jiang...

Before questioning Shi Haowu and the others, the clan law hall would not know who was involved in this matter and who was related to it. So Shi Zhizhai held the materials and hesitated to write, trying to test what other information the clan law hall had.

Seeing this, Kang Rulin sighed and said, "Zhi Zhai, before I ask you, do you have anything else to ask me?"

Shi Zhizhai gritted his teeth and said, "I want to ask the Zongfatang, which sect rule did you violate by privately investigating Yin'e's identity?"

This question was quite tricky. He must have thought for a long time before finding such an unexpected angle. Even Kang Rulin was stunned for a moment, then answered clearly, "So far, it has not violated any sect rules!"

Shi Zhizhai added, "Is it illegal?"

Kang Rulin: "It's not illegal."

Shi Zhizhai then asked, "Will the clan law hall punish you?"

Kang Rulin: "You don't need to ask anymore, it's all the same thing. Before the Hidden Moth officially returns to the sect, the clan law hall has no reason to punish such a thing."

This question was very insidious, and Kang Rulin had to answer it this way.

Yin E did not accept the public invitation of the Zongfa Hall, so whether in theory or in fact, he has nothing to do with the Shumen now.

Someone secretly investigated Yin E's identity, which did not violate any secular law or any rules of the sect. It was just a violation of some people's taboos, but it could not be used as a basis for punishing anyone.

Shi Zhizhai lowered his head and said, "In that case, I have nothing more to ask."

Kang Rulin: "Then it's my turn to ask! Investigating Yin E's identity doesn't violate the rules of the sect, but the methods you used are unacceptable to the sect. Who ordered Yan Congfei to do this, and why did you kill him to silence him?"

Shi Zhizhai: "Hao Wu asked Yan Congfei to handle this matter, but I don't know who killed him to silence him. I haven't had time to ask in detail."

He just claimed that he didn't know and that the murderers were Shi Haosheng and Hu Shulue, but as long as there was a way to collude with them, he could put the blame on Hu Shulue.

Kang Rulin: "He Kao, you should know this name, right? Yan Congfei sent people to approach him and screen for suspicious people around him. There's a man named Huang Si and another named Miao Zhi, whose relatives have both suffered accidents. Who did it?"

Shi Zhizhai: “I don’t know.”

This time he really didn't know, because this matter was specifically arranged by Shi Haowu and was done by Gu Jiang. Shi Haowu did not tell Shi Zhizhai about these details.

Kang Rulin: "Who is Ku Chazi? Stop saying you don't know. Is it your adopted son Gu Jiang?"

Shi Zhizhai replied, "It's him." Then he looked up and said, "Hao Wu did tell me that they could find a way to find out Yin Mo's identity. I understand and agree. But I have to ask them for the details. I just came from Huiming."

Kang Rulin's expression was complicated. He looked at Shi Zhizhai and said, "Elder Ye and I are right here. You won't have the chance to arrange any countermeasures. Now that you are here, I will not allow you to have any private contact with other members of the Shi family.

As for the police, they'll be released sooner or later, so don't harbor any more illusions. If my guess is correct, Elder Zong and Elder Gu have probably already arrived at Huiming to keep a close eye on the seven of them.

I know very well that if you don't want to say it, it's useless to force it, but the other people in the Shi family are not like you. The more trouble the clan law hall has to make, the heavier the punishment for the Shi family will be.

The only thing you can do to help the Shi family now is to make the investigation of the clan hall go more smoothly. Don't hide anything and don't create any trouble.

I was just talking about myself. Do you think I was only talking about what happened that night? I was taught the art by the Huiming Shi family, and I'm related to the Shi family by marriage. Over the years, if the Shi family has committed crimes and profited, how could I not have benefited from them?

Since I have benefited from them, I should also bear their responsibilities. I must first take responsibility, investigate all the affairs of the Shi family thoroughly, and then make the punishment decision personally... This is also the first punishment imposed on me by the clan law hall.

If I have shown favoritism or protected someone, I will be punished more severely.”

**
(End of this chapter)