Chapter 173
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Chapter 173: Investigating the Case, Capturing People
Five Elements Sect, mountain gate.
Internal Affairs Hall, Wei Yunshen led the team and surrounded the Internal Affairs Hall. He is currently the Deputy Hall Master of Black Clothes Hall, and the Hall Master position is temporarily vacant.
“Martial Uncle, the account books have been sealed.”
“Alright, now those whose names I call, come with us.”
Wei Yunshen nodded. Five days ago, Zhang Wanjing, in the name of the sect’s Presbyterian Church, issued a public announcement to the entire sect. In order to rectify the discipline within the sect, he called on all disciples to report and expose the management above the lay brothers, but without falsely accusing anyone. Evidence must be provided, and reports can be anonymous, but false accusations will be punished.
In a matter of days, Black Clothes Hall received thousands of reports, at least half of which had evidence or named evidence clues. After days of preparation, they began taking action today.
The people whose names were called by Wei Yunshen suddenly had a change in their expressions, and some even tried to escape, but Lin Jiang caught them on the spot.
“Make way and get lost.”
Before all the names were called, a loud roar came from outside the door, and Jin Yu walked in.
“Wei Yunshen, what do you mean, come to the Internal Affairs Hall with me to take someone.”
“Black Clothes Hall follows the rules, carrying out the orders of Ancestor Shi Yuntang and the Presbyterian Church. Hall Master Jin, do you have any objections? If you have any objections, go and file a complaint.”
“You think I dare not?”
“Whether I dare or not, I don’t know. But right now, you come with me because someone has reported you for embezzlement, bribery, and forcefully taking female disciples as concubines.”
“Nonsense, Wei Yunshen, dare you insult me?”
“Please cooperate with the investigation, Hall Master Jin.”
“What if I don’t cooperate?”
“Then don’t blame me, Wei, for being heartless. If we report to the sect, there will naturally be someone to deal with you. Can’t defeat you at the golden core stage, but how about at the Nascent Soul stage?”
“Hehe, I’d like to see who would dare to take action against me.”
Jin Yu sneered and said. Even his master is powerful. He has the confidence to be arrogant.
“Jin Yu, I will deal with you myself.”
But before Jin Yu finished speaking, a figure appeared behind him. Zhang Wanjing had arrived.
“Zhang Wanjing, why do you think you can challenge me?”
“Your mistress reported you. She accused you of abusing your position, manipulating her to be close to you, and then framing her for damaging the sect. She had no choice but to submit to you, or else you threatened to expel her from the sect. How do you respond to these accusations?”
“I am the Master of the Internal Affairs Hall. Are you saying that I, with my position, should be taken down just because of one woman’s words? Will the Five Elements Sect fall into chaos?”
“What if I have evidence? You have committed more than one offense. In your many years as the head of the Internal Affairs Hall, you must have taken bribes, Wei Yunshen. How many reports have you filed against Jin Yu?”
“Not a lot, not a few. One hundred and eight reports in total, and among them, thirty-six have solid evidence. We have already investigated them.”
“Is there anything more to be said? Will you fight me, or will you come with me peacefully?”
“You…”
Jin Yu immediately turned pale with fear. He and Zhang Wanjing had been enemies for many years, and Zhang Wanjing was the first to make a move against him. Without solid evidence, how could he dare to act?
“I’m sorry, nephew Jin. I am arrogant, and I have the confidence to be arrogant. You don’t.”
Zhang Wanjing personally took action and directly sealed Jin Yu’s meridians. Jin Yu didn’t resist. In the Immortal Sect, aside from crimes like treason and killing one’s master, there was no death penalty. But if he were to make a move, it would be considered treason, and Zhang Wanjing would be delighted to kill him. No one could save him.
“Take them all away.”
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Wanjing and his companions, like wolves, took away everyone on the list. The Internal Affairs Hall was now half empty.
The headquarters of the Black Clothes Hall was located within the Inner Gate, in a secluded mountain where they worked alone. Originally prepared with several rooms, they were now not enough. A large number of external disciples were recruited to temporarily construct rooms for confinement and interrogation of prisoners.
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In front of Shi Yuntang at the main hall of the sect, there were fifteen jade slips. Each jade slip represented a crime committed by a Golden Core disciple. After being captured, they didn’t deny or refute any of the ironclad evidence, but they didn’t confess anything else.
He didn’t realize when he was caught, and those who weren’t caught pretended they didn’t know. Zhang Wanjing didn’t investigate further because crimes like corruption couldn’t be punished even if they were discovered. They all faced the same consequences.
“There are fifteen jade tablets and fifteen golden cores, exactly one each for the fifteen disciples, members, and clan members. Now, speak up if you have any opinions.”
Shi Yuntang sneered. Zhang Wanjing likes to hit people, especially in the face. The fifteen jade tablets represent the fifteen golden cores, which are all related to the fifteen Nascent Souls.
“That traitor! I’ve been in Wilderness for decades and haven’t earned as much as he has. From today on, he’s no longer my disciple. His punishment will be based on the rules of the sect.”
Chen Xuanhua was the first to speak. He was truly angry. Before, he worked tirelessly in Wilderness for a year and only earned a few hundred thousand spirit stones. In contrast, his disciple was able to embezzle hundreds of thousands within a year at the sect, and he even kept a bunch of women, living a luxurious life.
So Chen Xuanhua was the first to step forward and cut ties with his disciple, distancing himself.
“Senior Brother Zhang, according to the sect’s rules, how should they be punished?”
Shen Qun said to Zhang Wanjing. His son was also involved, and now he just wanted to know what would happen next and seek revenge later.
“Remove their positions in the sect, recover the embezzled spirit stones, impose a fine, and send them to Wilderness to redeem themselves.”
Zhang Wanjing said that the golden core is the backbone of the sect and cannot be abolished in cultivation, expelled from the sect, or even executed. This is already the harshest punishment.
“Okay.”
Shen Qun nodded, not saying much. As long as everyone is safe, there is still hope.
“What about all of you, speak up.”
Shi Yuntang roared at the rest of the people.
“We are willing to abide by the rules of the sect.”
The rest of the people had nothing more to say. Shen Qun and Chen Xuanhua had already admitted their wrongdoing, so they could only do the same.
“Alright, considering that you still have some consideration for the overall situation, we will let this matter go. There are many cases involving more than ten of you, and I won’t investigate further. But in the future, anyone who dares to cover up such outrageous actions by disciples shouldn’t blame me for being ruthless. Five Elements Sect may lack Nascent Soul cultivators, but it definitely doesn’t lack worms. I’m still alive and can manage the situation.”
Shi Yuntang said coldly to the crowd, just based on the spirit stones that these people embezzled, it could almost cultivate a Nascent Soul. It made him very angry.
All the Nascent Soul Elders stayed silent. They felt the same as Chen Xuanhua because they didn’t know about most of the crimes that were discovered. These crimes were committed using their names.
They thought their disciple was collecting ten spirit stones below and would offer them eight, keeping two for themselves as a small reward. In reality, the disciple collected twenty or thirty spirit stones but only gave them eight, pretending to be satisfied with two.
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“Oh Jin Yu, Jin Yu, how should I describe you? Just based on what’s been discovered, you’ve embezzled over five million spirit stones. If I had that many spirit stones, I would have broken through to the Nascent Soul stage. What about you? Tsk tsk.”
In Black Clothes Hall, Wei Yunshen looked at Jin Yu, not knowing what to say for a moment. It was shocking to see. They already knew Jin Yu had taken a lot of money, but they didn’t expect it to be this much. The number was too large, and this was only part of it. Not all of it had been unearthed.
Jin Yu glanced at Wei Yunshen, keeping quiet. At this moment, he truly regretted it. He had taken not just over five million spirit stones, but he hadn’t used them for cultivation and advancement. Instead, he had spent them. If he had used them all for cultivation, he might have become a Nascent Soul cultivator. Zhang Wanjing wouldn’t dare touch a Nascent Soul cultivator.
It was too late to regret it.
“Martial Uncle, my master’s latest order is to stop investigating the crimes of Jin Yu and the other golden core cultivators. The case is closed.”
Lin Jiang walked into the room from outside and presented a Sound Passing Talisman to Wei Yunshen. He had already seen it.
“Uncle Zhang, forget it, forget it, let’s not dig it up.”
Wei Yunshen looked angry for a moment, but then he thought again, if he continued digging, he would expose Nascent Soul and the matter would never end. The unity of Nascent Soul was important, that was the bottom line.
Jin Yu also breathed a sigh of relief, if they didn’t continue digging, then he would be safe, at least he wouldn’t die.
“Uncle Zhang, organize the charges and let Hall Master Jin sign.”
Lin Jiang said, glancing at Jin Yu, this guy had been Deputy Hall Master for decades, but was demoted after only half a year of being promoted. It was really satisfying.
This is what they call “thirty years on the east bank of the river, thirty years on the west bank.” When Lin Jiang followed Zhang Wanjing to work in the fields outside the sect, he suffered a lot. Otherwise, Zhang Wanjing wouldn’t have gone to his house to confront him.
In the next two weeks, Lin Jiang and the other Black Clothes Hall disciples were extremely busy. They had to thoroughly confirm the evidence of Jin Yu’s crimes. Some cases had victims, so they needed to conduct interviews and investigations. For those who were still alive, they needed to restore their honor and provide compensation. If someone had died, it would be even more complicated.
They also needed to recover the stolen goods, which was another troublesome task. Jin Yu and his accomplices had obtained numerous spirit stones, but most of them had been used for luxurious living, with extravagant clothes, food, housing and entertainment. The sect needed to recover the spirit stones, but they couldn’t afford to pay them back. It was another problem.
The issue of their followers was another problem. Zhang Wanjing couldn’t implicate Nascent Soul, but they couldn’t let go of Jin Yu’s associates and subordinates. It was not uncommon for lower-ranking officials to be corrupt.
The sect is very busy. Many important positions like Hall Master, Deputy Hall Master, and senior steward are almost empty. They are worried about how to fill these positions.
The whole Five Elements Sect is in a brief state of confusion. If it wasn’t for Shi Yuntang frequently appearing, relying only on Zhang Wanjing would not be enough to keep things under control. There might be some trouble.