Hidden moth

Chapter 16: A Painful Story of Family
Although the expression was changed, Wu Yanjun's introduction to Yin E was similar to what He Kao already knew. In short, he was a strange man in legends since ancient times, and it was speculated that his ability came from an object.

Why do people believe such speculation? Not only because of various evidences, but also because the speculators themselves are extraordinary people who have practiced various techniques.

Since ancient times, there have been seven main branches of magic inheritance, namely observing the body, observing the subtle, invigorating the spirit, the heart plate, observing the qi, the alchemy cauldron, and spiritual resonance.

From a modern perspective, these seven traditions are not like the seven sects in fairy tales, but rather like seven different technical paths, such as turning, milling, boring, grinding, locksmithing, electrical work, and carpentry...

He Kao had never practiced any martial arts since he was a child, and had only participated in metalworking internship in college. He was also born into a family of carpenters, so it was inevitable that such comparisons would be made.

According to Wu Yanjun, these seven traditions are both secretive and public. They are like a circle, where those within naturally understand each other's situations. Outsiders, however, know very little, and even if they do hear something, it's mostly just hearsay.

How does one enter the circle? It's actually quite simple. All one needs to do is receive the inheritance and begin practicing. Sorcerers of various schools usually don't actively reveal their school's details to outsiders; this is a long-standing tradition.

So, did Wu Yanjun's initiative to find He Kao to talk about this violate the rules of the sect? This decision did go against the will of the ancestors, so until now, he was the only one who came directly to He Kao, and no one else had made it clear.

But this is also a special case, because Wu Yanjun witnessed with his own eyes that his fellow sorcerers secretly spied on He Kao, not only harassing his life, but also using means to replace the ornaments he was wearing.

On the surface, everyone seemed to be behaving properly, and He Kao was completely oblivious and unaffected. However, wearing that fake beast claw close to his body was not a good idea, though He Kao himself was unaware of it. Wu Yanjun felt he should intervene.

He not only explained what the hidden moth was, but also introduced the existence of Jianghu magic, techniques, and sorcerers.

There were clues that the hidden moth was suspected to be appearing in the Qiyuan area. A group of disciples from the magic sect heard the news and came to suspect He Kao. Their main target was the hidden moth.

At this point, He Kao shrank back and interrupted, "Why do you suspect me?"

Wu Yanjun said meaningfully, "You ask this, does that mean you believe what I say?"

He Kao: "Believe it or not, you're already here, sitting across from me!"

Wu Yanjun: "I can't tell you this, because knowing too much is not good for you."

He Kao thought to himself, "Haven't you said enough?" He continued, "Then tell me about yourself. What does the writing on your badge mean?"

Wu Yanjun: "Have you ever played games?"

He Kao: "I'm a programmer. The games you play are developed by people like us."

Wu Yanjun: "Then it's easy to communicate. You can understand it as, I have become an Awakener and successfully changed my job, and then advanced to the second-level job..."

The structure of the sect is looser than people imagine. It is not a gang where everyone gathers together on a daily basis. It is more like an academic group or industry association, and practitioners of various sects are distributed in all walks of life.

However, their internal connections were much closer than those of so-called industry associations, and their bond was the inheritance of magic. They also had what was known as a sacred place of inheritance since ancient times, equivalent to the headquarters of a sect, but these were now symbolic concepts.

The core of inheritance is people. The elders of each sect are not elected because it is a technical job. Those who have achieved level six or above in various techniques are recognized as the elders of the sect.

Wu Yanjun is a disciple of the Ruwei Sect, so the technique he practices is of course the Ruwei technique.

The first level of achievement in the art of subtlety is called "Imitator".

The second-level achievement, commonly known as "Poet".

Level 3 achievement, calling himself an "appraiser".

The fourth level achievement, jokingly called "craftsman".

Achievement of the fifth level, known as "the man who measures the heart".

Sixth level achievement, honored as "Weapon Master".

As for what lies beyond that, Wu Yanjun had no idea. Even his master couldn't explain it. Both master and disciple had only achieved the second-level Mo Ke.

After a disciple becomes a formal sorcerer, the master will usually register him with the sect and leave a name for him. He will also take him to visit familiar fellow disciples and introduce him to fellow practitioners from other sects to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts in the future.

However, Wu Yanjun's situation was rather awkward. The place where he met his master was very special. It was a detention center in the south of Dongguo. To be honest, he was his cellmate when he was in prison.

His master is a well-known artist, Zhang Yanfei, former vice president of the Dongguo Artists Association and president of Nanhua Academy of Fine Arts.

Wu Yanjun did not know Qian Guran, and did not know that Qian Guran had also investigated the Zhang Yanfei case, but as Zhang Yanfei's disciple, he knew more about the "Nanhua Academy of Fine Arts Artwork Substitution Case."

Wu Yanjun briefly introduced the case and explained why his master was imprisoned.

Zhang Yanfei fell for the ancient painting "Tan Xian Leaning on a Cane," both the sitter and the artist of the Danding School. Contrary to Qian Guran's understanding, Zhang Yanfei discovered the painting shortly after becoming dean and informed the Danding School.

That was ten years ago. Zhang Yanfei had good intentions and wanted to say hello to his fellow practitioners of Danding Sect, and he discovered the relics of their sect's founder.

When the people from Dandingmen came to visit, they brought Zhang Yanfei ancient paper, ancient ink, ancient pens, ancient inkstones, ancient seals, and even ancient silk and wooden scrolls for mounting, some of which were actually taken out of other ancient paintings.

Zhang Yanfei was stunned by the sheer number of items. The other party explained that they wanted him to make a replica to take back as a souvenir, one that was as close to the original as possible.

Zhang Yanfei laughed and said that one copy would not require so many materials, and these materials would be enough to make dozens of copies.

The combined value of so many precious antiques is no less than that of an ancient painting. However, the Danding Sect has a different approach. After all, the relics of the founder are priceless, and no amount of care is too much.

They did not know the original painting's condition beforehand, so they tried to collect as much material as possible from different eras. However, it is important to note that even if an ancient painting is authentic, its composition materials may come from different eras.

The so-called authentic work mainly refers to the layer of drawing paper and ink, and it may have been mounted many times during the process of inheritance, and the picture may also have inscriptions and seals from different eras in later generations.

Zhang Yanfei, a sorcerer of the Ruwei Sect, has achieved the second-level Mo Ke. He is also an artist and is best at this kind of craft. He carefully made a copy that is so realistic that it can be mistaken for the real thing.

Dandingmen expressed its gratitude for this and gave all the remaining materials to Zhang Yanfei and paid him a reward.

Of course, Zhang Yanfei would not accept any reward, but the other party took the opportunity to make another request: since the replica was so successful, could they take the original away and leave the copy in the college library?

Wu Yanjun wasn't present for this incident, of course, and his master, Zhang Yanfei, hadn't explained it to him in detail. Little Wu only knew that, although Zhang Yanfei was reluctant, he had to agree for some undeniable reason.

Zhang Yanfei thought that was the end of his quest, but it turned out to be just the beginning. Not long after, someone approached him again, mentioning a painting by a famous ancient artist in the academy's collection, and asked Zhang Yanfei to find a way to retrieve it.

Zhang Yanfei wanted to refuse, but the other party had evidence of his illegal theft of state assets: the painting "Tan Xian Leaning on a Cane" in the library. If Zhang Yanfei agreed to cooperate, he would be rewarded handsomely...

Zhang Yanfei had no choice but to join the pirate ship. Over the course of eight years, he stole at least dozens of works from the Academy of Fine Arts' collection by substituting them for other works. Many of these forgeries used the same materials originally provided by the Danding Sect. Zhang Yanfei was very cautious and skilled, so his detection was unlikely. However, two years ago, his crimes were exposed, and he was arrested.

It was a complete accident. Who would have thought that the fake could be replaced during a public exhibition, so that visitors could see the flaw at a glance.

The original painting he had previously swapped had appeared at overseas auctions, and people occasionally inquired about its existence. However, Zhang Yanfei denied any knowledge of the situation and said that the paintings sold at auction overseas could be fakes or copies of ancient works.

It is important to note the difference between a fake and a copy. For example, if an ancient painter is famous enough and his works are good enough, not only his descendants, but also his contemporaries and his disciples will copy his works.

If the copyist's skill is high enough, it will be difficult for future generations to identify it, and such a copy will be regarded as a genuine ancient artifact in some sense. It is precisely because of this situation that Zhang Yanfei can use this to cover up.

But after the incident, the police intervened in the investigation and collected a large amount of relevant information and physical evidence, which invalidated this argument. Two years ago, Zhang Yanfei was sent to the detention center, and not long after, Wu Yanjun also came in.

Hearing this, He Kao couldn't help but interrupt: "How did you get in?"

Wu Yanjun asked with a stern face: "Don't you believe what I said?" At the same time, he took out something and put it on the table. It turned out to be a certificate of release from prison, which looked scary.

He Kao shrank his neck and said, "I believe it. I didn't say I don't believe it. I just asked a question."

Although he said this, he still took a quick glance and saw that the name on the release certificate was indeed Wu Yanjun, and his sentence was released almost a month and a half ago.

Wu Yanjun put away the certificate and said, "A fellow inmate told me that if you don't have any money after you get out, you can go to a restaurant and put this on the table to show the owner, and you can get a free meal.

But I never do that, because what I hate most is eating and dashing, you know why?

He Kao thought to himself, "You didn't dine for free, but you used Xiaopang's card!" But he cooperated and asked, "Why?"

Xiao Wu's speech was intermittent, and He Kao was a little overwhelmed, not knowing how to play the supporting role. He could also sense that the other party was extremely in need of trust and recognition, which was why he kept mentioning it in the conversation.

Wu Yanjun: "The reason I went in was because I beat up a guy who ate and skipped meals..."

Although Xiao Wu tried hard to make himself look like an otherworldly sage, his experience was actually very simple. He was born in an ordinary family in Nanhua City, and his family ran a small business.

Most people there love food. Some people line up to buy pork chop rice before 5 am. It's just an ordinary food stall, but it's so unique and tastes so good that you won't be able to buy it if you go too late.

Xiao Wu's family also runs a specialty restaurant. At first, they set up a stall with a stove on the street. Later, they bought a stall, and later bought two storefronts facing the street to open a noodle restaurant.

Although "Wuyan Noodles" is not a century-old shop, it has been run by two generations, from my grandparents to my father and mother, for more than 40 years. It is also a well-known old brand in the local area and has always been doing good business.

Although the business is small, it is actually quite profitable, especially in the early years, when the income was much higher than that of an average working-class family. The only problem is that it is very tiring to get up early and work late.

Wuyan noodles don’t actually have any special secret recipe. Apart from the soup and seasoning which are inherited from ancestors, the main thing is the high quality of the ingredients. The rice noodles are all handmade with the materials purchased in-house, so the scale cannot be very large.

With the advancement of technology in recent years, all kinds of products can be bought. They also customized a small automatic noodle machine, which saved a lot of heavy physical labor.

Despite the booming business, Xiao Wu's parents had no plans to expand into a chain, preferring to stick with their old shop and its established neighborhood. They believed their son had a bright future and there was no need to continue running a noodle shop.

Wu Yanjun has been smart since he was a child and has always had good grades. He graduated from Nanhua University of Science and Technology with a bachelor's degree. His family also paid for him to study abroad for two years, where he obtained a master's degree.

After graduation, Xiao Wu didn't want to stay abroad, and the employment situation there was not very good, so he returned to China to find a job. Unexpectedly, something happened as soon as he returned home.

His parents didn't allow him to help out in the store, but he had nothing to do those two days, so he insisted on running to the noodle shop to help with odd jobs, calling it being filial.

There were a few hooligans in that old neighborhood, known as street urchins, who often ate without paying. One day, the three of them finished their noodles, wiped their mouths, and shouted to Wu Yanjun, who was helping with the cashier, "Put it on the bill and we'll settle it together next time!"

Wu Yanjun had heard of this group of people and had long disliked them. He walked out of the counter and stopped them at the door, demanding that they settle the bill before leaving. The leader glared at them and said, "Didn't we always put it on the bill before? What's wrong today? Don't you know the rules?"

It would have been fine if he hadn't said that, but after hearing this, Wu Yanjun refused to let them go and demanded they settle all their previous debts. The two sides started arguing, and when the other party tried to leave, someone pushed Xiao Wu in the chest.

This action was the trigger, and then everyone started fighting. By the time my parents and another waiter rushed over from the kitchen, the three thugs were already lying on the ground. One was bleeding from the mouth and nose, and another called the police.

The other two thugs were fine, but one of them was punched in the face and suffered a broken cheekbone. It was diagnosed as a second-degree minor injury, which was enough to be considered criminally responsible, so Wu Yanjun went to jail.

Hearing this, He Kao asked in confusion: "One against three, and you still won?"

Wu Yanjun: "I practice sports."

He Kao: "Are you from the Department of Physical Education at Nanhua University of Science and Technology, or are you studying abroad to major in physical education?"

Wu Yanjun: "I'm not a sports major, but I've been doing sports since middle school. My sports performance played a big role when I was studying abroad; otherwise, I wouldn't have been accepted."

While I was studying abroad, I also worked as a trainer in a gym, teaching foreigners Dongguo Kung Fu..."

He Kao: "No wonder, it turns out he really practiced it before, so he injured someone?"

Wu Yanjun: "I didn't hit them hard. Who knew they were so weak?"

He Kao: "In your case, as long as you negotiate with the other party, give them some compensation privately, and gain their forgiveness, there's no need to go to jail, right? Even a suspended sentence would be fine."

Wu Yanjun sighed heavily and said, "You think the same as my parents. They also wanted to negotiate for compensation, but the injured boy refused and said he wanted to kill me if he didn't want the money... and that guy is a 2.5 generation guy."

He Kao: "What do you mean by 2.5 generation? Isn't he just a freeloader?"

Wu Yanjun: "In our place, we pay attention to clans. He has relatives. His uncle is an official and his uncle is quite wealthy in business. But he has no future and just hangs out on the streets. That's why we call him the second and fifth generation.

I told the police at the time that they were the first to hit me. But after watching the surveillance footage, the police said they were just trying to push me out of the door, and that I was the one who started it…”

He Kao: "How long were you sentenced?"

Wu Yanjun: "Nine months."

He Kao: "This kind of sentence is rare. There are both zero and whole sentences."

Wu Yanjun: "Because I stayed in the detention center for exactly nine months, I was released directly after serving my sentence."

**
(End of this chapter)