Chapter 118: Jiang Ce? God Among Gods!
Jiang Ce did not tell Xuan Qing and the others about his idea or the fact that Zhang Ze Xing would come, so the group was confused from beginning to end.
They only vaguely felt that the Celestial Master’s Mansion might have reached some consensus with the Gatekeeper behind the scenes.
But they did not think that Jiang Ce was leading all of this, after all, the Old Celestial Master listening to him seemed impossible no matter how they thought about it.
“Since that’s the case, then come with me.”
Zhang Ze Zhi said to Gao Song.
Gao Song hesitated slightly: “Can I bring some trustworthy people?”
“Up to you.” After Zhang Ze Zhi said that, he was about to leave: “Hurry up, I’ll wait for you outside.”
From beginning to end, Jiang Ce only watched all of this as a bystander.
From the moment he mentioned the Celestial Master’s Mansion, he had already distanced himself from it.
This was naturally agreed upon with the Old Celestial Master; this plan was also the Celestial Master’s Mansion’s letter of allegiance.
Although the Old Celestial Master was unwilling to target the Daoist Sect, his past friendly relationship with the Gatekeeper was no longer useful now; perhaps due to arrogance, or perhaps underestimating the Gatekeeper, his actions had already been known to Wei Lao.
His behavior was tantamount to a backstab, with unrighteousness first, so under these circumstances, he could only agree to Jiang Ce’s request and use the Lu Mountain Sect as the target.
It was said to be an investigation, but what the result would be once Gao Song actually arrived at the Celestial Master’s Mansion was hard to say.
It probably would not be a good result.
Jiang Ce originally planned to make the Lu Mountain Sect disappear entirely, but after consideration, he felt it was not appropriate to cause a big commotion now, because the more he learned, the more suspicious he became of the Gatekeeper.
He was no longer a novice now; having met so many different kinds of people, he also understood that although everyone cultivated through merit cultivation, merit was judged by actions not intentions; even with great merit, it could not determine whether someone was good or bad.
At least regarding the Gatekeeper, he ultimately felt there was something suspicious.
Because goals like maintaining peace and guarding the world were too grandiose; it was normal for there to be one or two selfless people in the world, but for such a massive organization to be united by such an abstract belief was something he could not comprehend.
There must be some purpose, they just did not know it yet.
The most important thing right now was to improve his cultivation, so he would have enough capital to participate in higher-level competitions, but the vexing part was that unless he directly ascended to Half-Immortal, reaching Heaven-Reaching Dharma Master was unclear if it was good or bad, so how to improve without being discovered was a more worthwhile problem to consider.
Thinking about these things, watching Gao Song instruct his disciples and the Young Daoist Priests present on matters after he left, and then leave the hall, Jiang Ce should have kicked him while he was down, but at this moment he had no interest.
He wanted to be happy, but could not.
He could already foresee the result: the Lu Mountain Sect colluding with the Gluttonous Ghost would be confirmed, intolerable by all righteous paths, and then under the Old Celestial Master’s incitement, those sects that had never directly faced the Gluttonous Ghost would certainly hate them even more, easily joining the large force against the Gluttonous Ghost; even if some sects were unwilling to contribute, with the Lu Mountain Sect as a precedent, to prove themselves, they would definitely contribute, making Wei Lao’s arrangements much easier to complete.
If everything went smoothly, then if before it was just open and covert small-scale fights with the Gluttonous Ghost, after the situation stabilized, it would probably be a full-scale clash led by the Gatekeeper against the Gluttonous Ghost.
Time was running out.
At that moment, the whispers of a few Young Daoist Priests caught Jiang Ce’s attention.
“Do you think Gao Sect Leader really colluded with the Gluttonous Ghost?”
“What nonsense? Impossible.”
“But I’ve heard the Gluttonous Ghost has appeared on our side; I don’t think Gao Sect Leader could be unaware, but he never took action to exterminate them.”
“Rumors, how can you take them seriously? The Gluttonous Ghost mainly operates in the West and North; I haven’t heard of any in the South.”
“Actually, what Old Fang just said, I’ve heard too; it seems real.”
Jiang Ce had unknowingly already come to their side, smiling as he asked: “I’m quite curious about what you all are saying; can you tell me more specifically?”
“Uh”
Seeing Jiang Ce drawn over, the few Young Daoist Priests were momentarily speechless and then looked at each other.
One Young Daoist Priest mustered courage and smiled: “Please don’t misunderstand; they were just talking nonsense, not to be taken seriously.”
“Tell me.”
Jiang Ce coaxed patiently: “Gluttonous Ghost matters can’t be taken lightly; if you really know something and deliberately conceal it, you might have to go have tea with Gao Sect Leader?”
“No way.” The few Young Daoist Priests’ faces turned green on the spot.
Given their relationship with Gao Song, if there was really something Gao Song hid from them, even if they had not participated, outsiders definitely would not believe it.
The Celestial Master’s Mansion might have trouble dealing with Gao Song, but dealing with them was too easy.
They were not as big as the Lu Mountain Sect, so threatened by Jiang Ce, someone spoke up to explain: “Brother Jiang, it’s not that we won’t tell; we really don’t know if it’s true, just joking.”
“Just say what you know.” Jiang Ce sat beside them, then pointed to Xuan Qing and the others also approaching: “If it’s really the Gluttonous Ghost and Gao Sect Leader ignores it, we can help you solve it; isn’t that good?”
“This” The speaker hesitated slightly, exchanged a glance with the others, and then said quietly: “We heard this; just listen.
Actually, it’s like this: for small Daoist temples like ours, besides earning incense money from fortune-telling and such, we also descend the mountain to perform Buddhist rituals for people.
The Lu Mountain Sect is big, so they generally don’t compete with us for this business; we each handle our own areas, and the number of times per year is basically stable.
But starting a few months ago, the number of people coming to us for Buddhist rituals dropped a lot.
At first we didn’t take it seriously, until one time we gathered together, someone mentioned it, and after calculating, almost the entire Min City had far fewer people coming to us for Buddhist rituals.
We felt something was wrong; after investigating, we found many people had started believing in sorcery.
Min City is complex; even the Lu Mountain Sect was initially influenced a lot by sorcery culture, so it’s normal for some to believe in sorcery, but what really made us suspicious was that these so-called sorcerers were not sorcerers at all.”
Jiang Ce frowned: “What do you mean by that? What do you mean sorcerers aren’t sorcerers?”
“Don’t be hasty; I haven’t finished.” The person took a sip of water and continued: “We’ve had contact with some sorcerers, but mostly divination and shamanic dance; but the ones I mean don’t do any of that. I sent disciples to investigate; those people seem to have built a very complete system—putting it bluntly, like a cult.
But if it were just a cult, it wouldn’t be worth making a fuss; just report it. But they can really do spiritual communication.
I once had a friend who often came to the temple for fortune-telling on big matters, but later stopped; reportedly, with them, no need for fortune-telling or divination—just some sorcery, and wishes come true. Another friend used to burn incense for his deceased wife during holidays, but later stopped because with their help, he directly saw his late wife’s soul.
You tell me, we’ve cultivated Daoism for decades and never heard of such things; besides the Gluttonous Ghost, I can’t think of other possibilities.”
“That outrageous?” Jiang Ce was somewhat surprised: “Is that friend who saw his late wife’s soul surnamed Tang?”
“Ah? No.” The Abbot shook his head in confusion.
“Then maybe surnamed Zhang?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“I see.” Jiang Ce shook his head regretfully: “I knew he wasn’t that devoted to his wife.”
The Abbots looked at each other, tacitly deciding not to ask about things they did not understand.
“But what you said, how to put it, a cult?”
Jiang Ce thought for a moment:
“Maybe that’s their core competitiveness; nowadays who doesn’t have some secret techniques? Judging solely on this is too hasty. Did you report it to Gao Sect Leader?”
“We did, of course.”
Another Abbot was somewhat agitated: “We reported it the moment we discovered the problem. You might not know, but these descending the mountain to perform Buddhist rituals commissions are worth thousands or even tens of thousands each; losing so many in a year is a very bad situation for us.
But Gao Sect Leader ignored it; he kept saying he was busy with Lu Mountain Sect affairs and really couldn’t manage.
He didn’t outright refuse to help, just kept saying to wait for his investigation; it’s been over a month of investigating, still investigating, no definite answer, like passing the buck.”
“That’s pretty infuriating.” Jiang Ce nodded.
“Isn’t it? Uh, maybe Gao Sect Leader is really busy; I don’t mean anything else, just a bit anxious.”
He had just wanted to criticize Gao Song but realized it was too presumptuous, so he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, only looking at Jiang Ce with a face full of bitterness:
“In short, from our private investigation, we have eight or nine parts confidence to judge that those people are the Gluttonous Ghost; please believe us and stand up for us.”
Jiang Ce tilted his head, asking curiously: “Since you yourselves are sure it’s the Gluttonous Ghost, why not handle it yourselves?”
The person gave a dry laugh: “We can’t beat them; everyone knows the Gluttonous Ghost are ruthless. Look, without provoking them, they come to our door to deal with us one by one; if we provoke them, it wouldn’t be strange to be wiped out anytime.”
“Makes sense.” Jiang Ce nodded thoughtfully: “So because Gao Song kept dragging his feet on helping you, you think he has a relationship with the Gluttonous Ghost and is deliberately shielding them, right?”
“We wouldn’t dare say that.” The Abbot who had been very perceptive even when Gao Song was present spoke up, waving his hands in denial: “We’re just discussing the matter; no such implications.”
Jiang Ce propped his cheek, pondering for a moment: “Wait a bit.”
After saying that, he got up and pulled Xuan Qing and the others aside.
“What do you all think?” Jiang Ce asked for everyone’s opinions.
Master Ku Zhen was disdainful: “In short, they lack a cultivator’s sense of responsibility; even when their interests are harmed they are like this. If it didn’t affect them, they probably wouldn’t care. These Daoist Sect people are just like that, without the compassion of us Buddhist Sect people, let alone ‘if I don’t go to hell, who will’; always minding their own business.”
“What nonsense? Talk about them, not dragging in the Daoist Sect?” Xuan Qing was anxious.
“Hey hey hey.” Jiang Ce quickly stopped him: “Master Ku Zhen, no Daoism discrimination.
Also, I’m not asking what you think of them; I’m asking what you think of the so-called Gluttonous Ghost?”
Ling Xun chanted a Buddhist chant: “Naturally, we should step forward and eliminate harm for the people.”
“I agree; if it’s really them, there’s no reason to let them go.” Qin Shen Bo clenched his fist.
Liang Zhi Che nodded: “I think the same, but we can’t believe just their one-sided story; we must investigate the truth first.”
Lou Leshan also stated: “The rest doesn’t matter; being able to deceive so many believers, I really want to see it for myself.”
“What about you, Lu Yun?” Jiang Ce saw Lu Yun had been silent and asked.
“I’m fine either way; I’ll follow your lead.” Compared to Lou Leshan, Lu Yun seemed truly indifferent.
“Since that’s the case, it’s decided: we’ll descend the mountain and stay overnight; tomorrow I’ll check the situation and then plan.”
Jiang Ce made the final decision, settling the plan.
“You’re going alone?” Xuan Qing was somewhat worried.
Jiang Ce nodded: “Too many people would alert them; fewer is better. You and Master Ku Zhen have too strong a presence; everyone would sense something wrong. Excluding you two, I’m the most suitable.
My cultivation is the highest now, so I can best protect myself, and I’m good at adapting; acting on the spot shouldn’t be a problem, and I’d have the lowest risk.”
“Should we tell Wei Lao?” Master Ku Zhen was also not entirely reassured.
Jiang Ce shook his head, smiling: “It’s not confirmed yet; Wei Lao is busy with myriad affairs every day, no need to trouble him with everything. If he handled everything personally, what are we for? At least wait until we have results.”
“Makes sense.”
Jiang Ce turned back to the few Abbots waiting eagerly and waved: “In a bit, write down all the information you know about those people and give it to me; I’ll go check for you. If it’s really the Gluttonous Ghost, it’ll be handled; if they’re innocent, you’ll have to chalk it up to bad luck.
We Gatekeepers are a disciplined and rule-abiding team; we won’t let any bad person go, but equally, we definitely won’t wrongly accuse any good person.”
“Then thank you, Messenger.” The Abbots were overjoyed; involving their own interests, they even forgot Gao Song had just been taken away.
Their faces seemed to say: Gao Song? Don’t know him; Jiang Ce? God among gods!
It must be because I didn’t update yesterday, causing my luck to run out; the defense passed, but the teacher named and criticized me, wuwuwu
