Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Brutal Honesty

Mo Qingfeng also found a spot to sit down, speaking with some excitement, “There must be a problem at River Mouth Village. Not just River Mouth Village, along my way of asking for alms, I encountered a few such cases in other villages, though not as many. Clearly, someone is secretly abducting and trafficking, doing such heartless deeds!”

“Then why do you say it’s the River God?”

Mo Qingfeng said mysteriously, “Since you came from River Mouth Village, have you heard that the government office has sent people to investigate this matter?”

“Yes!”

“Did they find anything?”

“They found nothing!”

“Exactly, that’s the problem!” Mo Qingfeng said with animated expressions, “Leaving other villages aside, just River Mouth Village alone had seven or eight girls disappear at once. The villagers guarded strictly yet couldn’t prevent it. The government office investigated but found no trace. What does this indicate? It indicates this is a massive, organized, and planned large-scale trafficking event with insiders and external support. Moreover, there’s a mastermind involved. The plan is meticulous, and the actions are cunning. Could ordinary people accomplish this?”

Xia Wenjin said, “No, they can’t!” She and Huang Zheng had also considered this. It’s precisely along this line of thought that they conducted their investigation. Just that group led by Mountain Goat Beard was not weak in martial arts, capable of making a small name for themselves in the Jianghu. It was only because of Huang Zheng’s superior skills that they were able to capture them.

Speaking of Huang Zheng, Xia Wenjin was a bit suspicious that he was not only from a wealthy family but perhaps a descendant of a martial arts family in the Jianghu. After all, those with such skills are indeed rare apart from family scions.

Mo Qingfeng was quite proud, “See, you also know where the problem lies, right? If I were to tell the government that a very formidable and terrifying group of villains specifically targets beautiful girls for abduction, making these girls worse than dead, or already dead without a proper burial, what would they think? They would definitely be living in pain, extremely scared, and in a state of panic!”

“So, you pretended it’s the River God taking a wife?”

Mo Qingfeng shook his head knowingly, “There are benefits to doing this. First, it won’t cause panic among the villagers. Thinking it’s the River God taking a wife, if their daughters are considered pretty and chosen by the River God, they might feel slightly comforted. After all, those villagers, having lived in the wilderness for long, still hold fear for the divine! Second, it can lull those evildoers. Their collaborators are in the village, and our pretense of the River God would make them feel lucky and lower their guard, thus exposing more flaws. With these dual benefits, how could I be wrong?”

Xia Wenjin scoffed, “You deceive and extort to get food, drink, and money, then run off, leaving those villagers to be continually fooled. Is this your so-called dual benefit?”

Mo Qingfeng’s eyes rolled, and he shook his hands, “No, no, no, do I look like someone who would turn a blind eye and just walk away?”

“You do!” A blatant swindler, how could you possibly act courageously upon seeing injustice?

“Cough, cough… What rubbish are you talking about honestly?” Mo Qingfeng muttered quietly with a big eye roll, then said, “You’re misjudging me. I’m not that kind of person! I left a poem in River Mouth Village, asking any fated person to come to Shian Temple to find me! You came from there; isn’t it because of that poem that you’re here to find me?”

Xia Wenjin said ambiguously, “Sort of!”

Mo Qingfeng immediately retorted, “See! If I really didn’t want to get involved, wouldn’t I just leave without a word? Why leave a poem? Announcing to others that I’m at Shian Temple, wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?”

“What does the first line of your poem mean?”

“The wise man has his use!” Mo Qingfeng wobbled his head.

Xia Wenjin barked, “Speak plainly!”

Mo Qingfeng rubbed his bald head, somewhat embarrassed, “I’m looking for someone.”

“Who are you looking for?”

“I don’t know either, my master told me to find them!”

“Your master?” Xia Wenjin eyed him suspiciously. The little swindler’s master, doesn’t that make them a big swindler?

Mo Qingfeng understood the look instantly; he almost jumped up, speaking excitedly, “You can question my character, but you can’t doubt my master!”

“What kind of person is your master?”

When it came to the word master, Mo Qingfeng became serious, casting Xia Wenjin a knowing, superior, and confident glance, “Have you heard of the Stargazing Method?”

Xia Wenjin’s eyes slightly constricted; she indeed had heard before.

But that was in a past life, Huangfu Yuxuan had people gathering more and more around him, with increasing supporters, said to be due to someone skilled in the Stargazing Method observing the stars and determining Huangfu Yuxuan as the chosen one by destiny.

She had never known who that person was.

In hindsight, Huangfu Yuxuan had been deceiving and precautionary against her all along, but she was seduced by his mesmerizing looks and sweet words in her past life, never realizing it. Wasn’t her death in the previous life due to being victimized? Rather, it was because she was stupid, wasn’t it?

Truly blind and foolish!

Unfortunately, when one is in the midst of things, they can’t see clearly. Only once they escape can they realize the truth.

Could it be that Mo Qingfeng’s master is the person next to Huangfu Yuxuan?

Now, Xia Wenjin looked at Mo Qingfeng with a somewhat unfriendly gaze.

But Mo Qingfeng only noticed Xia Wenjin’s slightly unsightly expression, thinking she didn’t know, feeling a loss of face, and smugly said, “I knew you hadn’t heard of it. The Stargazing Method is extraordinary. Over six hundred years ago, the abbot of Bodhi Temple, Master Xu Yun, personally created it, documented it, and passed it down through generations. The Stargazing Method, broadly speaking, can foresee the rise and fall of dynasties, the shifts in rivers and mountains, natural disasters, and man-made calamities! Specifically, it can predict fortunes and misfortunes, life and death limits! It’s incredibly magical!”

He gestured animatedly, “My master is a uniquely gifted person; he inherited the Stargazing Method and is one of the most formidable people in the world!”

“Did you also learn the Stargazing Method?”

Mo Qingfeng gave her a sideways glance, wearing an expression suggesting she was clueless, and disdainfully said, “Do you think the Stargazing Method is as common as cabbage, something anyone can learn easily? Didn’t you catch the key point in my words earlier? Inheritance! Do you get it? It’s unique. Even if others obtain the complete records of the Stargazing Method, they can only scratch the surface. Only those who inherit it get the essence. My master will naturally pass it down to me in the future. Why would I need to learn it now?”

Xia Wenjin: “…”

Though she did indeed overlook it earlier, Mo Qingfeng was quite annoying in his speech, so she simply rolled her eyes deliberately, misunderstanding, “In a word, you’re just lazy!”

“Lazy? You know full well you can’t learn the essence, so why learn? If inheritance is assured, why exert yourself excessively now?” Mo Qingfeng was deeply dissatisfied with Xia Wenjin’s disdain and staunchly defended himself!

“Alright, fine, you’re not lazy! Don’t stray from the topic; continue!”

Mo Qingfeng gave her a big eye roll, snorted, and said, “This time I came down the mountain for a big mission, following my master’s instructions!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep