The old master was silent for a moment, and then became nervous again: "Xiaotian, what's wrong with him?" ”

I hurriedly said: "He's fine, at least he's safe, but he's been in some trouble recently, and these troubles are related to Zhao Dekai." ”

The old master stared at me silently, not speaking.

I pondered for a while, and then asked the old master tentatively: "Did Yan Xiaotian tell you about him and Jisoul Village?" ”

The old master frowned: "What do you mean?" What can he do with you and your Soul Village? ”

Hearing what the old master said, I was almost sure that Yan Xiaotian had lied to me, and he hadn't told the old master about his joint business with Jisoul Village at all.

I sorted out the wording and asked the old master, "What about that...... Have you noticed that Yan Xiaotian has become richer recently than before? ”

"Rich?" The old master touched his chin, as if trying to remember something, and said, "I heard Xiaotian say that he has been doing business with a few friends recently, and he said that the market has been good recently, and he has indeed made a lot of money......

Speaking of this, the old master suddenly turned his gaze to me: "Those friends of his......"

I answered, "All of them are from the Soul Village." ”

The expression on the old master's face became extremely surprised: "What do you want to do in the Soul Village?" ”

I didn't plan to hide anything, so I told all the specific plans I had suggested that Yan Xiaotian do business outside, and how to slowly withdraw the real power from the hands of the major elders, of course, I also told the old master that the reason why Jisoulzhuang supported Yan Xiaotian was also for his own interests.

If I say that the Soul Village is not good at all, I guess no fool will believe it.

The old master listened to my statement, and the expression on his face seemed calm, but his eyes kept wandering on the ground, as if he could avoid meeting my eyes.

It wasn't until I finished speaking that the old master looked at me and asked, "When did Yan Xiaotian's partnership with Jisoulzhuang happen?" ”

I said, "Not long after my last visit to Baiwu Mountain. ”

Old Master: "His business ...... How's it going? ”

I said: "According to Yan Xiaotian, it was still very good some time ago, the profits have doubled and doubled, and he was already ready to pull some elders into the shares. But just a few months ago, Zhao Dekai seemed to know about his business outside. ”

I stopped talking about this, and the old master waited for a long time without waiting for my next step, and couldn't help but ask me, "And then?" ”

Seeing that he has such an attitude, I can conclude that the winning chance of this matter should be relatively high, at least he should not object to Yan Xiaotian's business, and even care about Yan Xiaotian's business situation.

I took a deep breath and said, "With your understanding of Zhao Dekai, what will he do when he learns that Yan Xiaotian has an industry outside?" ”

The old master looked a little impatient: "Zuo Youdao, you have something to say, don't sell it to me." ”

I said: "I think that Zhao Dekai will definitely find a way to annex Yan Xiaotian's property outside, even if he can't annex it, he will definitely not let Yan Xiaotian get bigger and bigger." However, he should still have some fears now, so he hasn't attacked Yan Xiaotian on the bright side. ”

The old master frowned: "Fearful? What is he afraid of? ”

I smiled: "I am afraid of Jizhizhuang, I think, the reason why Zhao Dekai does not dare to directly attack Yan Xiaotian now should be because he still doesn't know who these new industries in Shaanxi belong to, whether they belong to Yan Xiaotian or Jisoulzhuang." ”

For my words, the old master looked a little disdainful: "Impossible, Zhao Dekai is not afraid of your Soul Village at all, I think he dared to break into the ghost market alone, and now he will not be afraid of you." ”

I was silent for a moment before I continued: "Zhao Dekai may not be afraid of the Soul Village, but the people behind him must be afraid of the Soul Village." At least for now, the master behind him doesn't seem to want to be an enemy of the Soul Village. ”

The old master asked, "Master? What master? ”

Me: "Do you remember the cult I mentioned the last time I saw you?" Funeral religion. ”

The old master looked thoughtful, and after a moment he shook his head at me.

In desperation, I could only talk about the situation of the funeral sect in detail, and said that Zhao Dekai recruited believers to receive alms.

For Zhao Dekai's actions, the old master should know very well, every time I mention Zhao Dekai, his eyes are full of a bit of disdain and pity, disdain I can understand, as for this pity, I can't understand it. And when I recounted the situation of the funeral religion bit by bit, the old master's expression became more and more solemn.

He listened patiently to my end before asking me about the funeral religion, and then he fell into a long silence.

I didn't disturb the old master's musings, but gently picked up the kettle on the table and poured him a glass of water.

Time seemed to pass very slowly, and I don't know how long it had been between the old master's contemplation and his coming back to his senses, but I saw his eyes wandering in the room not far away, and the expressions on his face kept changing in various ways. Finally, his eyes fell on the water glass next to his hand, and he immediately frowned and asked me, "You poured it?" ”

I nodded.

The old master stared at me for a while, and sighed: "Speaking of which, my room, except for Xiaotian, that is, a few of you have been here. Unexpectedly, the person who is most familiar with Baiwu Mountain now is actually a disciple of Jisoul Village. ”

Am I the one who is most familiar with Baiwu Mountain? I've only been here twice, and my knowledge of Baiwu Mountain should only be superficial.

But the old master didn't seem to think about explaining, he changed the subject: "You said that you came here for Yan Xiaotian's business, but you haven't made it clear what happened to him." ”

I said honestly: "Actually, I don't know what the situation is with Yan Xiaotian and them now, he invited me to come, but he didn't explain the matter clearly. However, I estimate that some of the things that Zhao Dekai is doing now have threatened Baiwu Mountain. ”

The old master snorted from his nose and said, "He is not only threatening Baiwu Mountain, in the past half a year, the foundation of Baiwu Mountain is about to be destroyed by him." ”

I asked the question I had wanted to ask the most since I entered Baiwu Mountain: "Could it be that no one can restrain him in Baiwu Mountain now, not even you?" ”

The old master sighed: "You are right, no one can restrain him, and neither can I." Now, the elders of each room know that the connivance with Zhao Dekai over the years is to raise tigers, but it is too late. Now Zhao Dekai is holding the Baiwu Mountain Transmission Token, as if he has grabbed the lifeblood of my Baiwu Mountain, and now, no one dares to disobey him. ”

As the old master spoke, his eyes unconsciously turned to the hanging portrait on the wall.

I followed his gaze and saw the horn of the old man in the portrait again, and immediately understood what the "token of transmission" he was talking about.

That horn may be as important to Baiwu Mountain as Fantianyin is to keep the right line.

The old master looked at me again and said, "The bearer of the bull's horn is like the ancestor who came in person, and that heavenly horn determines the thousand-year fortune of our Baiwu Mountain. ”

I asked the old master, "Have the messenger tokens always been kept by the elders of the first room?" ”

I haven't forgotten that today's Zhao Dekai is not only the master of Bailian Hall, but also the first elder of Baiwu Mountain.

The old master shook his head: "Originally, the token has always been guarded by the Elder of the Hidden World, but the Elder of the Hidden World failed to rush through the level a year ago, and he has not been traced yet. Later, Zhao Dekai was elected by the elders and became a temporary horn holder. Alas, at the beginning, the elders of each house recommended him to hold the horn, because they were worried that I would restrict Zhao Dekai, and at that time, they all had shares in Zhao Dekai, and they actually ignored the thousand-year-old foundation of Baiwushan for their own interests. But after Zhao Dekai took the corner, he immediately forcibly withdrew the shares from the hands of the elders. Alas, this is a game with a tiger! ”

I said, "Since Zhao Dekai has already reached this point, haven't the other elders opposed him?" ”

Old Master: "Objections? Hmph, these people's handles are all in Zhao Dekai's hands, how dare they resist? Moreover, once the token changed hands, unless the hidden elder was found, no one would have made every effort to deprive Zhao Dekai of his status as a horn holder. ”

At this time, Liang Houzai, who has always been shy to talk to strangers, asked, "How did the Hidden Elder disappear?" ”

"A year ago, the elder had to retreat for six months in order to break through a barrier," the old master said, "but just a few days after he entered the gate, when a few juniors went to deliver food, they found that he was gone, and only the tokens were left in the retreat place. Since then, he has not been heard from. ”

Liang Houzai said to me: "In other words, the hidden elder of Baiwu Mountain suddenly disappeared, there must be something strange here." ”

Of course, there are strange things! The old master must have thought the same way, and when Liang Houzai said this, I found that the old master's eyes became very gloomy.

I didn't discuss the matter of the Hidden Elder anymore, but just said to the old master: "These are all internal matters of Baiwu Mountain, and I, as an outsider, have no right to intervene. But if something happens to Yan Xiaotian, I must help, and now Zhao Dekai is also a threat to our Soul Village, since he is closely related to the Funeral Sect, he is already a public enemy of the righteous path. ”

The old master stared at me thoughtfully, and after a moment, he suddenly smiled: "You kid has a heart, and you know how to find me a step down." Well, indeed, no matter how much our Baiwu Mountain declines, we will not invite outsiders to deal with our own affairs. But if Zhao Dekai really entered the cult, then it seems reasonable for you to join in the Soul Village. Hehe, let's say, what is the purpose of you coming to me this time? ”

I also opened the skylight and said something bright: "I want to bother my seniors and help me check the details of Zhao Dekai." ”

The old master picked up the water cup and took a slow sip of water, which seemed to be slowing down his drinking, and thinking about something during this time.

After putting down the glass, he asked me again, "How do you want me to check it for you?" ”

I said, "You are an old Jianghu, how do you check it specifically...... Hehe, you should have more experience than I am. I just want to find out now the specific distribution of Zhao Dekai's forces, what kind of people are around him, and what he has done in recent years. ”

The old master made a look of embarrassment: "If I can find out these things, can I still let Zhao Dekai toss until now?" Zuo Youdao, you have found the wrong person. ”