Hidden moth

Chapter 29 The Bad Man Zhao

Peng Xian walked over, sat down in front of the man and said, "Director Zhao, what a coincidence, you are here today!"

This middle-aged man's surname was Zhao, and his pseudonym was Zhenzhen. He now used his pseudonym as his name and worked as a director of a decent-sized company. As for his original name, Peng Xian didn't know.

Because he spoke with a slight accent from his hometown, and always sounded like a "bad guy" when he said "Zhenzhen", he was privately nicknamed Zhao Badman, but no one called him that to his face.

In ancient times, most sorcerers had Dharma names, but in modern society, many disciples of sorcery simply use their real names. Those who are familiar with each other on the Internet even just call each other by their online names. Only when they reach the fourth level will they be given a Dharma name by their master.

Zhao Huanzhen is only a third-rank "Yin-Yang Master" of the Danding Sect, but he usually uses a Buddhist name, and even his online name is "Huanzhen". It seems that he thinks that he will be able to advance to the fourth level or above sooner or later.

Zhao Zhenzhen didn't say anything polite. His face was as gloomy as water as he said, "It's not a coincidence that we met today. I heard that you booked a place here for a dinner, so I came to find you."

Peng Xian: "What does Mr. Zhao want to talk to me about?"

Zhao Huanzhen: "In this kind of situation, you should just call me Senior Brother."

Peng Xian: "Brother Huanzhen, what can I do for you?"

Zhao Huanzhen raised his hand and swung his knife. The blade drew a delicate arc in the air, slicing off a thin slice of fat and lean rib meat. He picked up the meat with the tip of the knife and raised his head, his eyes sharp as a needle. "Let me ask you first, what are you doing here?"

Peng Xian wanted to reply, "I'm here to treat you." But seeing the other man's gaze and the knife in his hand, he had to explain, "Some time ago, there were rumors that there were clues that the hidden moth was infesting here, so I came here. Aren't you here too?"

Zhao Zhenzhen shook his head and said, "My junior brother Liang Kai should be here for this, but I'm not. I'm here to investigate my junior brother's death."

Peng Xian acted surprised: "I heard that Junior Brother Liang was just missing. Could he have been murdered?"

Zhao Huanzhen: "You've all inquired about the situation at the scene, right? Even my master believes he's in grave danger. I came to Qiyuan on my master's orders. I'm determined to get to the bottom of this matter and bring the murderer to justice."

Zhao Huanzhen and Liang Kai shared the same master: Wan Zhongle, the fifth-rank sorcerer and external affairs steward of the Danding Sect. The elders of each sect held high status, often elusive and elusive, while the deacons were the true managers of daily affairs.

The external affairs deacon is not only responsible for transactions and exchanges with other sects, but also manages the sect's industries outside and is responsible for arranging livelihoods for some sect disciples who are not good at worldly affairs. He has a lot of money and great power, and is an important and powerful figure in the Danding Sect.

The sorcerers of the Danding Sect are best at collecting, cultivating, and refining various spiritual medicines. At the same time, their methods of collecting and refining spiritual materials are second only to those of the Ruwei Sect. They also often cooperate with the Ruwei Sect to refine magical instruments.

As the external affairs steward of Danding Sect, many people would come to him to ask for help. As Wan Zongle was in that position, he had to behave with some reserve to show that he did not want to use it for personal gain.

So many people who are looking for connections would deliberately make friends with the Danding Sect sorcerers who have close ties with Wan Zong Le, especially Wan Zong Le's own disciples, so that when they need help, there will be someone to help pass on the message.

Disciples also have closeness and distance between them. Among Wan Zhongle's disciples, Liang Kai is the one that Wan Zhongle favors the most. Liang Kai took advantage of this and gained a lot of benefits. Some people even spread the rumor that Liang Kai is Wan Zhongle's illegitimate son.

With a powerful figure like Wan Zhongle backing him up, Liang Kai's temper was inevitably somewhat spoiled, and he was adept at all kinds of extortion. In fact, from another perspective, he was more like a pair of white gloves deliberately cultivated by Deacon Wan.

The news that the hidden moth appeared in Qiyuan this time was also told to Liang Kai by someone, which was a way of currying favor.

This guy didn't tell his fellow disciples and went to Qiyuan alone, and something happened! Wan Zhongle ordered his disciple Zhao Zhenzhen to investigate and demanded that Zhao Zhenzhen catch the murderer.

Zhao Zhenzhen was very depressed and even suspected that the rumor was true - Liang Kai was his master's illegitimate son. The murderer was obviously Yin E, who was said to have incredible abilities and such brutal methods. He was afraid of him.

But he had to complete his master's order, so he was not in a happy mood.

At this time, Peng Xian asked another question that made him even more unhappy: "Why doesn't your master, Deacon Wan, come in person?"

Zhao Huanzhen thrust his knife into the sheep's belly, frowned, and asked, "Master Earth Master has issued an order that disciples of the fourth rank and above from all sects are forbidden from participating in this matter, and are forbidden from appearing in Qiyuan to take action... Don't you know?"

Peng Xian: "Is that so? I really don't know!"

Zhao Huanzhen snorted coldly, "It seems that there are still many things you don't understand."

He is a first-level cultivator of the Heart Plate Technique and is known as the "Feng Caizhe".

The second level of Heart Plate Technique, commonly known as "Knight".

He is at the third level of the Heart Plate Technique and calls himself a "traveler".

The fourth level of the Heart Plate Technique, jokingly called "merchant".

He is at the fifth level of the Heart Plate Technique and is known as a "Jianghu Man".

The sixth level of Heart Plate Technique, honored as "Earth Master".

No matter which magic technique is cultivated to the sixth level, one will automatically gain the status of an elder of the sect.

These included the "physician" of the Guanshen Sect, the "instrument master" of the Ruwei Sect, the "illusion master" of the Xingshen Sect, the "earth master" of the Xinpan Sect, the "seat master" of the Wangqi Sect, the "phantom master" of the Danding Sect, and the "calculator" of the Lingxi Sect. Speaking of earth masters, Peng Xian naturally thought of Elder Gu Chun of the Xinpan Sect, the only known sixth-level cultivator of the Xinpan technique. These elders rarely appeared in public, yet they held the authority to command and supervise their disciples.

But Gu Chun was an elder of the Xinpan Sect, so why could he command the alchemists of the Danding Sect? In fact, any elder of any sect could command all the disciples of the sect, as long as they acted in the name of the sect law hall and according to the ancient sect law...

The elders of each sect formed their own small circle, called the Zongfa Hall. In theory, any elder who wished could become a member of the Zongfa Hall. However, most elders were reluctant to be bound by worldly affairs, so each sect usually only appointed one elder as a representative.

If a sect has many elders, everyone can take turns to assign the task; but in a sect like the Xinpan Sect, there is only one elder, Gu Chun, so we have to trouble him alone.

Every elder can issue orders to all the sect members in the name of the clan hall, as long as the other elders do not object.

It was a bit like an executive committee, with each elder acting as an executive committee member. The executive committee members could issue orders to each sect, and as long as no one objected, the order would be passed.

If there were disagreements among the executive committee, they would need to be discussed and negotiated. However, ordinary disciples knew little about such situations, and leaders would not report their arguments to their subordinates; they would simply announce the results after the argument.

So usually, what everyone hears is that a certain elder has issued orders to various sects.

Peng Xian has been busy with business in the underworld for a long time and has no close connection with the core of Xingshenmen. Or it can be simply said that he is just a peripheral staff member with shallow cultivation and no status to speak of.

This time, the elder of Xinpanmen Valley issued a notice to all the sects, stating that all disciples above the fourth level were not allowed to participate in the matter of Qiyuan Yin Mo. The message only needed to be passed to the fourth-level sorcerers of each sect. No one would specifically notify low-level disciples like Peng Xian.

Zhao Huanzhen was only a third-rank sorcerer, so the sect didn't need to notify him. However, his master held a high position, so he was well-informed about all kinds of news and heard about it at the first opportunity.

Peng Xian came to his senses after hearing this and figured out a lot of things. At the same time, he secretly complained in his heart: Although the elder of the Shumen has given the order, Deacon Wan seems to be hypocritical and has sent Zhao Huanzhen over.

In the name of investigating the cause of death of a disciple, no one could find fault with it, but Wan Zhongle also gave Zhao Huanzhen an order, asking him to catch the murderer. It sounded reasonable at first glance, but it could not stand up to careful consideration.

The murderer is obviously Yin Mo, so what does it mean to catch Yin Mo? Of course, it means that the things belonging to Yin Mo will also fall into the hands of this Wan Deacon... Wan Zongle couldn't come himself, but he still didn't give up.

Thinking of this, Peng Xian asked again, "Who is the murderer? Does Senior Brother Huanzhen have any clues?"

Zhao Huanzhen: "Junior Brother Peng has been planning this for a long time, so he should know more than me. I came here today to ask for your advice."

Peng Xian smiled bitterly and said, "I was busy with the promotion ceremony some time ago, but unfortunately I failed at the last minute. I have no energy to get involved in this matter."

Zhao Huanzhen sneered, "I don't like what Junior Brother Peng said. The guy who was sitting at the same table with you drinking tea just now is called He Kao. His father is called Zhou Du, who should be the Yin E from twenty years ago.

I heard a group of fellow practitioners were targeting him, believing him to be the current Hidden Moth. Someone even broke into his room at gunpoint in the middle of the night, and he called the police, only to find that my fellow apprentice was murdered.

I also heard that you started a company and have been collaborating with this guy's company for a long time. You've been keeping a close eye on his department and organizing a lot of social activities. Two months ago, you invited them to the club to swim, and today you're roasting a whole lamb.

Do you mean you didn't participate? I've checked and found that you were the one who planned it the earliest and laid it out the longest. I don't want to ask anything else today. The room where my junior brother got into trouble is just downstairs from He Kao's apartment. You've been keeping an eye on He Kao for a long time, so it's impossible that you didn't find anything!

Peng Xian thought to himself—it’s a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding!
He was indeed the first to make the plan, but he really didn't have the energy to participate during this period. Besides, the person he was targeting was not He Kao, but He Kao's boss Gao Xue'e... But he couldn't explain these things clearly to Zhao Zhenzhen, and some inside stories couldn't even be told.

Peng Xian had no choice but to explain, "I did come here to investigate Yin E's whereabouts after hearing rumors, but as you know, everyone made a mistake and mistook He Kao for Yin E. Junior Brother Liang's incident proves that he is not Yin E.

As for today's roasted whole lamb, I had already ordered it. Regardless of whether the moth is found or not, business still needs to be done. Everyone needs to make a living.

Zhao Huaizhen said sarcastically, "You seem to be enjoying this meal. I heard you made a lot of money from live streaming a while ago."

Peng Xian quickly waved his hands and said, "How could that be possible? They even had the threshold removed, and the mess hasn't been cleaned up yet!"

Zhao Huanzhen: "You don't have to deny it so quickly. I didn't mean to borrow money from you! I just want to ask you, why do you think that He Kao is not Yin Moth?"

Peng Xian: "Because when Junior Brother Liang got into trouble, that guy surnamed He wasn't at the scene at all. The situation at the time is easy to investigate. He was eating in the restaurant. There are many people at the scene who can confirm that he never disappeared."

Zhao Huaizhen shook his head and said, "Yin'e is just one person, but it doesn't necessarily mean someone. He Kao might have been Yin'e, otherwise how could my junior brother and all of you make a mistake?

But as long as someone steals the Hidden Moth's things, the Hidden Moth will change its owner. I suspected that someone stole the Hidden Moth's things, but was discovered by my junior brother Liang. So in order to avoid revealing his identity, the new Hidden Moth killed my junior brother to silence him!

Peng Xian was stunned. After several seconds, he came to his senses and said, "That's a possibility!"

Zhao Huanzhen continued, "So the key question is who stole the Hidden Moth's item? Junior Brother Peng is familiar with He Kao and has long been keeping an eye on this person. Can you tell me who the suspect is?"

With what he said, those who had been secretly watching He Kao during this period, including Peng Xian, were actually suspects!
Peng Xian didn't know how to respond, but at that moment, a sudden voice rang out, "Martial Brother Zhao, what you said makes sense. This is the same question I wanted to ask Liang Kai. Now that Liang Kai is gone, I'll ask you two!"

As the voice came out, a woman came out from the back room.

**
(End of this chapter)