Hidden moth

Chapter 196 The Mask Is True

Li Weiping, once a subordinate of Shi Haowu, the eldest son of the Huiming Shi family, codenamed "Banping," ran errands for him. With the fall of the Shi family and the death of Shi Haowu, Li Weiping lost his backing and support, and his good days were over.

The patriarchal hall's investigation into the Shi family hadn't yet concluded. His sister and brother-in-law urged him to stay home, lest he be caught in another misdeed.

So Li Weiping went to work in Nanhua, driving a minivan and delivering packages every day, as well as running errands. His sister and brother-in-law also gave him some money, and with that, he could get by, even if he couldn't afford to eat and drink lavishly.

It was past nine o'clock that evening when he returned to his rented house. He leaned on the sofa and browsed his mobile phone, too lazy to move for a long time. Suddenly, he raised his head with a look of horror, and even his mobile phone fell on the sofa.

This is a small one-bedroom apartment. The bedroom door was not closed. A masked woman walked out silently just now. She was not discovered by Li Weiping until she came in front of him.

Although Li Weiping was not a sorcerer, he had once followed a group of high-level sorcerers and had a keen eye for how powerful they were. At this moment, he did not dare to move.

A piece of paper floated on the coffee table. It was the printed receipt from the supermarket. It was light and weightless and seemed to pose no threat at all, but it was flattened in the air by an invisible force and stuck to his neck.

Li Weiping: "You, who are you?"

The person who came was Lan Jiuwan. Her voice was cold: "Don't ask such stupid questions. I'm wearing a mask because I don't want to reveal my identity. I just want to ask a few questions. As long as you answer truthfully, nothing will happen."

Li Weiping: "I've already told the Zongfa Hall what I know. Haven't you asked me many times?"

Lan Jiuwan: "Then tell me again, and make sure there are no discrepancies in the details."

There is indeed a kind of technical interrogation, which involves re-interrogating the suspect every once in a while, choosing a different angle, asking about details that were not mentioned in the previous interrogation, and repeatedly comparing to determine whether there are any contradictions in the suspect's confession.

If it happens many times and over a long period of time, some people may even confuse the lies they made up at the beginning. The more they say, the more loopholes there will be, unless they tell the truth from the beginning.

Li Weiping thought that Lan Jiuwan was from the Zongfa Hall. Even if he was not from the Zongfa Hall, he might have been sent by someone else in the Shumen, or he wanted to find out the secrets of the Huimingshi family... Unfortunately, he didn't know much.

Lan Jiuwan's question wasn't complicated. He continued, "Your name is Li Weiping, and you're a Zhiyuanke, right?"

Li Wei didn't dare nod randomly because of the note stuck in front of his throat. He straightened his neck and said, "Yes."

Lan Jiuwan: "Then tell me everything you know, starting from how you became a Zhiyuanke, all the way to why the Zongfa Hall dealt with the Huiming Shi family and how they dealt with them."

How did Li Weiping become a Zhiyuanke? The patriarchal hall investigators had not previously asked this question in detail, because there was no need to ask. They were only concerned about what Shi Haowu and others had done.

The Huiming Shi family boasted a lineage of five generations of sorcerers, but in reality, their lineage had already been passed down through four generations. Although the Huiming area valued clan traditions, it was difficult to maintain the lineage by selecting only within the clan.

Therefore, the elders of the Shi family would also look for talented young people outside, accept them as disciples and teach them secret methods. If they were successful in their practice, they would also incorporate them into the clan through various means.

For example, the head of the family, Shi Zhizhai, adopted a adopted son, Gu Jiang, who also became a high-level sorcerer.

Li Weiping's elder sister, Li Yu, was noticed by the elder of the Shi family, who taught her magic and took her in as his disciple. After Li Yu had completed her training, she married Shi Haotu, a member of the Shi family.

Before the Shi family's incident, Li Yu had already reached the second level of cultivation. As for Shi Haotu, he had not yet entered the cultivation stage. He only served as a matchmaker for the marriage, but the couple had a good relationship.

Because of his sister, Li Weiping also had the opportunity to inherit the magic skills, but he did not get started and is still a Zhiyuan guest.

His brother-in-law Shi Haotu had advised him many times to stay away from certain sorcerers of the Shi family, especially to stay away from Shi Haowu's group... but Li Weiping refused to listen.

Li Weiping never dreamed that the Huiming Shi family's empire would collapse overnight.

The result of the clan law hall's handling of the Huiming Shi family was that among the 37 registered sorcerers, five were executed, seven were deposed and expelled, and 15 were expelled from the register.

There were also ten sorcerers who had not participated in the evil deeds of the head of the family and others. After receiving instructions, they were all banned for one year, but they still retained their status as disciples of the sect. Among them was his sister Li Yu, who was able to escape disaster.

All the Shi family's friends were instructed by the clan law hall and their property was confiscated.

To reclaim something is to reclaim the benefit received. Anything related to the art and magic that was not legally purchased or crafted by the person himself, but was given by this direct lineage, will be reclaimed by the clan law hall.

Because of his bad behavior, Li Weiping was given another ban.

Forbidden to teach means that this person will no longer be accepted into the sect, and will no longer be taught or instructed in the techniques, and he is not allowed to pass on the techniques he has learned to others.

He was just an errand boy for Shi Haowu, unaware of many of the secrets and incompetent. He had no right to participate. He had no official status to be removed from office, no merit to be abolished, so he couldn't be killed, could he? He could only be instructed, confiscated, or banned from teaching.

These trivial matters are exactly what Lan Jiuwan wants to ask.

Li Weiping could also provide some audio and video materials of Gu Jiang. Although Lan Jiuwan had never seen Gu Jiang's true face, he could recognize that this Gu Jiang was Ku Cha.

After Li Weiping had finished explaining most of it, she pressed the issue, "You call yourself Zhiyuanke and have been taught the art. So, please repeat the foundation-building formula of the Ruwei Art... Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else."

This request was a bit unusual; Li Weiping was not supposed to pass on the secret techniques without permission. However, he was no steadfast martyr, so he confessed honestly. Even Lan Jiuwan hadn't learned some of the auxiliary techniques.

Lan Jiuwan had never heard of the terms "Zhiyuanke," "Ruweishu," "Shumen," "Shufa," "Shushi," "Huimingshi Family," "Zongfatang," and so on, because Kucha hadn't told her. She had only recently learned about this from Ye Liangcheng, and today she had come to Li Weiping to investigate and confirm it.

Ye Liangcheng provided the clan hall with a notice on how the Huiming Shi family was handled, which mentioned many names. After some consideration, Lan Jiuwan finally chose Li Weiping.

Li Weiping is just a Zhiyuanke, and now he works alone outside and will not be noticed by others, but he used to be the follower of the young master of the Shi family, so he should know more about the situation.

Li Weiping's explanation actually proved that what Ye Liangcheng introduced was true.

But Li Weiping was not yet a formal disciple of the Shu Sect, and his knowledge of the internal situation of the Shu Sect was limited. Lan Jiuwan said in a commanding tone: "Very good, please do me one last favor and ask your sister Li Yu to come over.

I have no ill intentions, I just want to find out more about her. If what you just said is true, no one will be in trouble!"

Li Weiping: "How can I ask her to come? She won't listen to me."

Lan Jiuwan: "No matter what excuse you use, for example, you have an urgent matter, or someone from the clan law hall wants to see you, there are some circumstances that need her to verify..."

Li Weiping used the excuse provided by Lan Jiuwan to call Li Yu over. Li Yu came very quickly because she was also in Nanhua during this period.

Li Yu was a second-rank scholar in Ruweimen. She was not expelled from the sect, but was only instructed to be banned for one year and her license was revoked, but she was still a disciple of the sect.

There are a total of ten Shi family sorcerers like her.

The patriarchal clan was extremely complex to deal with a behemoth like the Huiming Shi family. With so many members and a vast network of sorcerers, the Shi family had created enormous wealth over the years, not all through cunning and unscrupulous exploitation.

The Shi family still had a lot of assets left. After all, not everyone was involved in the illegal activities, and not everything was illegally obtained. Even if some things were to be seized, there must be a legal basis for the seizure.

There are many operational issues to be dealt with regarding the industries that should be divested and taken over. After the clan hall sets the disposal principles, it is estimated that it will take a year or two to completely complete the work.

Many industries still need to retain their existing staff and cannot afford to fire them all. Li Yu and Shi Haotu are among those retained and are currently cooperating with the patriarchal hall in handling the situation.

Many of the Huiming Shi family's industries are not located in Huiming, but in Nanhua, the provincial capital, so Li Yu has also been in Nanhua recently.

It was almost midnight and there was no traffic jam. Li Yu heard that someone from the clan hall was looking for Li Weiping again. Not knowing what had happened, he rushed over immediately.

Li Yu noticed something was wrong as soon as he entered the room. He saw his brother sitting on the sofa, and a masked woman standing opposite the coffee table... This was not the style of the clan hall at all!
Li Yu: "Who are you?"

Lan Jiuwan: "Don't worry, I didn't hurt your brother, and I don't want to hurt you. I just want to ask a few questions."

Li Yu: "You are not from the clan law hall."

Lan Jiuwan: "Are only people from the clan law hall allowed to ask you questions? Someone in the Huiming Shi family has committed many evil deeds, and when evil deeds are committed, there are always victims!"

Li Yu: "Are you one of the victims?"

Lan Jiuwan remained noncommittal and said, "I just want to know some information. If it involves secrets that you cannot reveal, I won't force you to ask."

Li Yu's one-year ban as punishment had not yet expired. She was unable to use her magical powers at this moment, and the situation was very unfavorable for her. She could only reply, "As long as it does not violate the rules of the clan law hall and the magic sect, I can tell you anything you want to know, but please release my brother first."

Lan Jiuwan explained, "I'm not holding him hostage, nor do I intend to threaten you with him. You can let him stay in the bedroom first. I'll leave after I'm done questioning him."

Li Yu insisted, "Since you don't mean to hold me hostage, let's talk somewhere else."

Lan Jiuwan looked at Li Yu, was silent for a while, and finally nodded and said, "Okay, let's change places."

She was wearing a mask, so it was not convenient for her to go to places like a coffee shop. So she found a secluded corner in the nearby public park and asked Li Yu a lot of questions.

There was nothing Li Yu couldn't answer. It was all public information about the Shumen and the Huiming Shi family, but the more she spoke, the more puzzled she became. The other party was obviously also a sorcerer, but didn't he even know these basic situations?
Lan Jiuwan finally asked about the secret of the subtle technique, and Li Yu replied that it could not be disclosed to unidentified people due to the sect’s rules, and Lan Jiuwan did not insist any more.

After asking these questions, Lan Jiuwan bowed and said, "I'm sorry to bother you so late at night. Thank you very much for today!"

Li Yu was now certain that the other party had no intention of harming anyone, so he pondered and said, "If you are a victim of the Huiming Shi family case, you can contact the Zongfa Hall. Someone from the Zongfa Hall is in Nanhua. I'll leave you their contact information."

Lan Jiuwan waved his hand and said, "Someone has already given me the contact information for the Zongfa Hall. I heard some things before, but I just couldn't believe it. Now it seems to be true."

Without mentioning how Li Yu reacted, Lan Jiuwan quietly left and disappeared into the night.

When she reappeared, she had taken off her mask and walked into a hotel. She had been staying there for the past two days, so it was impossible for her to wear a mask in public. She had also changed her clothes.

She was quite pretty, but her expression was always cold and somewhat unnatural. She used her room card to open the door, but as soon as she entered the room, she sensed something was wrong and seemed to want to move away, but then she stopped abruptly.

Someone in the room sat on the sofa and spoke slowly, "You just went to see the brother and sister. Is there anything else you want to say? Actually, a lot of information is public. The people from the Shumen Zongfa Hall are staying at the Kanglin Hotel not far from here."

**
(End of this chapter)