Hidden moth

Chapter 26: Encounter with Mountains and Rivers

Qiyun Mountain is a famous Buddhist attraction in the suburbs of Qiyuan. There are several ancient Buddhist temples from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain, and there are also many cliff carvings left over from past dynasties in the mountain.

Buddhist sites and roasted whole lamb seem like a completely different thing, don't they? But roasted whole lamb isn't served in a temple, but in a village at the foot of a mountain. Just because there are monks in the mountains doesn't mean the villagers have to be vegetarian.

Nowadays, there are many places called "XX Villa." For example, Ye Hui's real estate and hotel project in the southern suburbs of Taigu is called Chuanyue Villa. There is a village at the foot of Qiyun Mountain, which has enclosed a piece of land and renovated a group of bungalows and courtyards. It is also called Qile Villa.

Qile Villa has a history of seven or eight years. Initially, the local government wanted to develop it into a tourist resort project based on the nearby Qiyun Mountain Scenic Area.

Unfortunately, this place is too close to the city. Most tourists who come to Qiyunshan go back on the same day and basically do not stay here. Even those who come here specifically for vacation will not choose the village. There are better hotels and B&Bs in the mountains.

Later, it was upgraded and renovated, focusing on suburban tourism and farm stay projects. It was very popular for a few years, but the business has not been good in the past two or three years, and the number of customers has been decreasing.

This is a self-built project by local villagers, free from land costs and loan obligations, allowing it to remain viable. Many similar projects on the outskirts of Qiyuan City have now failed. This is actually a good thing for Qile Villa, as it reduces its competition.

Working in the service industry always requires innovation and highlighting characteristics. The farmhouse roasted whole lamb is a recent project launched by the villa. It is still rare in the Qiyuan area. If more people follow suit in the future, we can consider changing to other methods.

Hearing that Jinxing Media was treating him again, Qian was certainly a bit suspicious. Some details might go unnoticed by ordinary people, but for someone like him, anything out of the ordinary would be highly sensitive.

Jinxing Media is a partner of the business unit, having organized the team-building event at the Bada Club. They are also a partner of the Bada Group, which outsources all of its advertising and publicity work to Jinxing Media.

There are many project teams in the entire Qiyuan branch. Although the Cloud Life Project Team has cooperated with the other party, it is definitely not ranked first from a business perspective.

For public relations purposes, Jinxing Media and the Cloud Life Project Team have already held a social event. Why are they holding another one in such a short period of time? Do other departments of the business unit no longer need public relations?
When doing business and spending money to build relationships, the first thing to consider is the cost-effectiveness. So even if the money seems a little unusual, there must be something fishy going on.

So what? It's none of his business. He just went there to eat roasted whole lamb. In the two months since joining the company, in order to conceal his ulterior motives, he has been extremely conscientious and responsible in his work, and can be regarded as an excellent employee.

As a P5-level employee of Tengxin Group, his total pre-tax income is just over yuan a year, and he only earns more than yuan. It is actually nothing to him, and there is really no need for him to work so hard.

Now that he has discovered that he has been targeting the wrong person, he has lost interest in money. Although he is not going to quit his job immediately, he has also wanted to leave. Not only will he work overtime and worry about things, but he doesn't care about eating, drinking and having fun.

On Saturday, Jinxing Media rented a bus and took everyone to the foot of Qiyun Mountain. Of the 37 employees in the department, 32 were in attendance, and Huang Si was one of the five absentees.

Huang Si was called back by his mother, who said that something had to happen at home and that he had to go back. He Kao guessed what could be going on in Pugang Town. Someone must have introduced another girl to Xiaopang for a blind date.

Xiaopang seemed to be very averse to blind dates, so Mother Chen simply didn't tell him the truth and sent him back first. What if he and the girl fell in love with each other?
Xiaopang's situation is different from Hekao's. Hekao has no elders to worry about him, but Mother Chen has been very anxious since Xiaopang graduated from university. She urges Xiaopang to find a partner every day, which makes Xiaopang annoyed.

He Kao had been puzzled at first, wondering why Xiaopang was so unwilling to find a partner. He had even considered just finding a girlfriend and starting a conversation. Now, he could understand why, because Xiaopang was a man with a big secret.

Actually, it's hard to say. Maybe it's because I haven't met the right person. Otherwise, no secret can stop love at first sight! Thinking about Xiaopang's gossip, He Kao and his colleagues got out of the car in front of Qile Villa.

Qian Guran had just gotten off the bus when he noticed something was wrong. The villa had a gate built with rockery on either side and an arch above. Next to the gate was a bulletin board, currently covered in a large poster.

The content of the poster is the promotion of the latest activities of Qile Villa. The theme slogan is "Mountain and Water Encounter", and the background includes the scenery of Qiyun Mountain and photos of Qile Villa.

For any large banner poster of this type, the area between half and one third on the right side, which is the golden section, is usually the core picture expressing the theme and occupies the largest area ratio.

The core image here is a man and a woman sitting at a table. The man is dressed business-like and the woman is dressed casually. The table is set with exquisite tea sets and two plates of wild raspberries that add a touch of color.

They were not looking at the scenery, but looking at each other lovingly.

This picture gives people the feeling that the two people definitely do not come here to eat roasted whole lamb, but rather like they are having afternoon tea in a five-star hotel, with the mountain and water scenery as the backdrop, which has a very petty bourgeois style.

It seems Jinxing Media takes on all kinds of work, even going so far as to provide publicity and promotion for Qile Villa. Qile Villa must be looking to drum up more business recently, hence the media company's promotional efforts.

This kind of publicity should be mainly online, but offline arrangements must also be made. However, this offline arrangement cannot be said to be careless, it can only be said to have ulterior motives!

If you look closely, the man in the promotional picture looks very much like Peng Xian, the boss of Jinxing Media.

Qian Guran had met Mr. Peng the last time at the Bada Club, but he was busy with other things at the time, so they didn't talk much. Despite this, Qian Guran still remembered him and immediately realized what he was talking about when he saw the photo.

Did the boss use himself as the model to save money? Probably not. The person in the photo is just a resemblance.

Even if someone who is very familiar with him sees him, they will only feel that he looks a bit like Peng Xian, but he is not Peng Xian. So this photo is likely to have been edited with software to create this impression.

As for the woman in the photo, if you look closely, she does look a bit like Gao Xue'e, but it's just a resemblance, not the same.

Qian had observed this secretly, but none of his colleagues, including Gao Xue'e herself, seemed to notice. It seemed only He Kao had noticed. It was no wonder, since who would pay so much attention to a roadside advertisement?

Why did He Kao notice this? Because when he got off the bus, he was thinking about Xiaopang's blind date. When he saw the poster, the two people looked like they were on a blind date. So he took a closer look. The more he looked, the more he felt that the woman looked a bit like E Zong.

Then he saw Peng Xian standing at the gate of the villa. This department activity was specially organized by Boss Peng, who had booked a place for them to come and play.

This man looked to be in his early thirties, with a handsome appearance, an upright posture, and a very manly air.

He Kao hadn't interacted much with Mr. Peng before. They'd only met once at the swimming pool, but they'd never exchanged a single word. That day, he'd gone swimming with Xiaopang, then rescued Mr. E, and then gone to the private room upstairs with his colleagues. But after this discovery, the more he looked at Peng Xian, the more he felt a resemblance to the man in the poster!
The theme of the poster is "Mountain and Water Encounter". There are seven pictures in total on the page. The photo of a man and a woman is in the core position. There is another picture above the photo, which is a peak surrounded by flowing water.

If the viewer is not paying attention, this will just be a landscape painting with decorative effect.

If the author intended it, this picture clearly has a strong hint of something.

Standing in front of the villa's gate, I could see the scenery, which indeed included mountains and water. The mountain was Qiyun Mountain in the back, and the water was brought in from elsewhere, creating a stream and an artificial lake.

Behind the villa's main gate is the stream, with a suspension bridge over it. There's actually another gate where self-driving tourists can drive in directly, but today our bus stopped here, so everyone had to get off and walk across the suspension bridge.

He Kao just felt that the man and woman in the poster looked a bit like Peng Xian and Gao Xue'e in front of him, while Qian Guran was already frowning secretly.

First seeing the poster on the bulletin board, and then seeing the iron chain suspension bridge behind the gate, Qian Guran couldn't help but complain in his heart - are the sorcerers of Xingshenmen so straightforward in doing things?
Qian Guran's first judgment was that Mr. Peng from Jinxing Media should be a sorcerer of Xingshen Sect, and his purpose in setting up this plan today should be to hook up with Gao Xue'e.

As a third-level strategist at the Wangqi Gate, Lao Qian could still tell whether a man wanted to seduce a woman, because at this moment Peng Xian and Gao Xue'e were standing in front of him.

What about the Xingshen Sect's sorcerers? This was just Old Qian's speculation. Xingshen techniques were all about stirring the mind, guiding and controlling one's emotions, and sounded a bit like hypnosis.

Xingshenmen's sorcerers weren't just skilled in magic; they were also adept at arranging and utilizing various environmental factors to create cues. However, to arrange these cues so explicitly, General Peng's methods weren't particularly sophisticated.

Qian Guran deduced that this person could not possibly be a fourth-level "beggar", at most a third-level "performer", and most likely only a second-level "fisherman".

First level of Xingshenshu, known as the Pretender.

The second level of Xingshenshu, commonly known as Fisherman.

He is at the third level of Xingshenshu and calls himself a performer.

He is at the fourth level of Xingshenshu and is jokingly called a beggar.

The fifth level of Xingshenshu is known as the lover-stealing skill.

He is at the sixth level of the magic arts and is honored as an illusionist.

Peng Xian was already walking quickly towards the crowd. He extended his hand and went straight to Gao Xue'e, with a bright smile and a cheerful tone.

"Mr. Gao, I've been waiting for a long time. The lamb in the yard is already roasted, and we're just waiting for you to come and feast... This way, please, this way. There's a suspension bridge ahead, it's very shaky, so be careful where you step... Let me be your escort!"

Peng Xian's movements were very natural. He said hello and was about to accompany Gao Xue'e into the gate. It seemed that he wanted to protect her as she walked across the suspension bridge shoulder to shoulder and even give her some support.

"We don't need you as a flower protector, we have plenty here... He Kao, quickly help Ms. Dian E!"

There was a sudden voice, and with it a sudden person appeared. Qian Guran inserted himself between Peng Xian and Gao Xue'e in time, blocking Peng Xian's steps.

Peng Xian was startled, but his expression quickly returned to normal. He was about to make a detour when Qian Guran reached out and stopped him, saying, "Hello, my name is Qian Guran, a new employee in the business unit. You must be Mr. Peng, right? Nice to meet you!"

Peng Xian couldn't help but shake Qian Guran's hand and said, "Oh, nice to meet you! I heard Mr. Gao mention you, Dr. Chunhua?"

Qian held Peng Xian's hand tightly, appearing very affectionate, but he inexplicably said, "The hills in front of the gate are beautiful, and the plaques are inscribed with honors. The scenery along this road is beautiful, but which flower is in bloom?"

This is the jargon between different schools of martial arts, also known as underworld jargon. It has developed into a modern version today, but Qian is still using the traditional old-fashioned way. Translated into everyday language, it means: "I'm a qi gate physicist. Which school are you from?"

If Peng Xian were a Xingshen Sect sorcerer, willing to tell the truth and not wanting the money to ruin his plans, he could have replied, "The sun rises over the hills, seeking good fortune in the clouds. The road leads forward, and the water flows under the bridge."

The brief translation is: "I'm from Xingshenmen, I'm not here for you, I just happened to run into you today. I just happened to be here doing something, please don't interfere and disrupt my business."

This kind of question and answer is also called "Pandao", which can clarify each other's identities and avoid misunderstandings, and outsiders cannot understand what they are saying.

But Peng Xian didn't say that. He showed a slightly puzzled but polite expression and said, "What kind of flowers are you talking about? There aren't many flowers blooming in the mountains this season. They've already borne fruit. We can still pick some today."

Qian Guran frowned secretly again. The other party seemed to have no intention of following his lead and was just pretending to be confused.

This is exactly what Peng Xian thought. After all, they didn't know each other before. As long as he didn't show any signs of magic, Qian wouldn't be able to say anything. He might even suspect that he had made a mistake.

As soon as they were delayed, the other group had already crossed the bridge. Gao Xue'e was helped across by He Kao, while the other colleagues fell behind by a few steps, some of them even laughing.

People often joked that He Kao was President E's little puppy, so today was the time for him to show off his skills! But He Kao felt differently. Under his calm exterior, he was actually quite shocked.

Because he clearly heard Peng Xian's voice, this person was the man in the coffee shop recording!

**
(End of this chapter)