Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 261 Investigation Conclusion
Song Xian looked at the backs of the three people in silence for a while, then called someone to invite Zhong Wenyuan over.

The matter has not been concluded yet. If I hide the truth from Zhong Wenyuan now, it will show that I don’t trust him enough, which will create a rift in his heart.

And if the matter is really related to him, it can still be remedied while Tian Qi has not revealed it yet.

After a while, Zhong Wenyuan also arrived and bowed to him.

"Senior Brother Wenyuan, I called you here today to discuss something." Song Xian looked serious as he briefly recounted what Lu Yuan had reported and handed him the file.

Zhong Wenyuan frowned, took the file, and looked at it for a while: "Master, what do you plan to do?"

"I've already asked Senior Brother Zixiang to bring the person here. There are no outsiders here, so there's no need to hide anything. Senior Brother Wenyuan, when Zhou Qiang reported this to the Government Affairs Hall, did you investigate? Why didn't you follow up?"

Zhong Wenyuan knew that Song Xian suspected that he was in cahoots with Tian Qi, which was evident from the fact that he ordered Lin Zixiang to arrest people without informing him. The meaning of this sentence was even more obvious. The implication was that he was asking whether he was involved in Tian Qi's affairs.

He did not have any resentment, because it was he who strongly recommended Tian Qiben to take the position of director of Chiyan Mine. In addition, it was normal for him to be suspected because of Zhou Qiang's reaction.

On the contrary, he was a little worried.

Because he was the only one who knew the real details, and the reason he recommended Tian Qi was because of Alan Lam.

This was also the reason why he did not conduct a high-profile investigation and handle the Chiyan Mine incident after Zhou Qiang reported it.

Tian Qi and George Lam are very close. If Tian Qi is investigated, George Lam may be implicated, which is something he does not want to see.

It was not only because he had a close relationship with George Lam, but also because George Lam was one of the only two disciples in the sect with dual spiritual roots, so he had great hope of building a foundation. If his future was ruined for such a small matter, it would be a loss.

He understood Song Xian's character. Although he was kind and tolerant, he was still decisive in enforcing the sect's laws and regulations.

If the matter were to be exposed and George Lam was involved, it would be troublesome.

For this matter, he even had a special talk with George Lam, asking him to keep a distance from Tian Qi, both overtly and covertly.

But unexpectedly, after going around in circles, this matter was brought up again.

"Zhou Qiang did report it, and I sent someone to investigate. At the time, there was no substantial evidence pointing to corruption at the Chiyan Mine."

Song Xian didn't continue to ask about how the Zhengwu Palace conducted its investigation. His focus was not on this. "If I remember correctly, Senior Brother Wenyuan, you recommended Tian Qi. What do you think of this person?"

"I failed to supervise and I am willing to be punished."

"After Senior Brother Zi Xiang brings the man back, you can interrogate him together!"

"Yes."

"This matter is your responsibility. Whoever is caught will be dealt with severely according to the regulations. Go and prepare!"

"Then I'll take my leave." Zhong Wenyuan stood up and left.

Song Xian looked at his departing back and fell into deep thought. Although he believed that Zhong Wenyuan would not do such a thing, he was not 100% sure whether he was involved in the corruption in Chiyan Mine. But as long as the matter was not brought to the surface, he was still willing to give him a break, so he let him participate in the subsequent investigation and interrogation, and if there was really any problem, let him solve it himself.

These elders of Hunyuan Sect have all made contributions and hardships, and have made great contributions to the development of the sect. Unless absolutely necessary, he is willing to protect them.

Unless it's like Xu Ning's case, where the matter has been exposed, it must be dealt with seriously according to the sect's rules.

…………

Dark clouds covered the moon, and the sky and the earth were dark.

The Chiyan mining area, two or three hundred miles away from the main peak of Tianshan Mountain, is still brightly lit, and the sound of rocks smashing resounds through the world.

Looking around, in huge pits, a group of strong men were holding shovels, hammers and other tools, gnawing and smashing the hard stone walls.

Red Flame Stone is a special red stone with fire properties. It is usually hidden in mountain walls or mines, and is integrated with the mountain and the mineral walls. It needs to be carefully removed to maintain its integrity.

This requires a large amount of manpower and experienced miners, so the entire Chiyan Mine recruited many strong men to serve as laborers.

In the northwest of the mine, there is a small mansion. In the dim room, Tian Qi has already fallen asleep.

While he was sleeping, he heard a loud knock on the door. He opened his eyes in a daze, but before he could react, he saw that the door had been kicked open.

George Lam strode in.

"Senior Brother Lin, why are you here?" Tian Qi was shocked and fell off the bed.

Lin Zixiang's expression was solemn. He glanced around and saw that the mortal servants in the mansion had been dismissed by him. Seeing that there was no one around, he said softly, "The headmaster has learned of your affairs. The headmaster has ordered me to arrest you."

When Tian Qi heard this, his face changed drastically, his face turned ashen, and his whole body seemed to go limp. He looked at Lin Zixiang earnestly, as if he had grasped a life-saving straw, and quickly grabbed his sleeve.

"Brother Lin, what should I do? Save me."

"Listen." Seeing his expression, Lin Zixiang shouted sternly, "Things have come to this point, and there's no turning back. Right now, we're outside your compound, and there are other disciples guarding it. It's impossible for you to escape. Fortunately, I've sent Junior Brother Lu Yuan to capture the others at the mine, so I still have time to explain what's next."

"Your only way out now is to confess honestly. I will do my best to protect you."

"Don't worry about your relatives; I'll take care of them. This time, you're bound to go to jail. I'll try to give you a light punishment. Even if you're put in a cell, I'll take good care of you and make sure you're comfortable."

"Once this matter has died down, I will find a chance to get you out."

"There will be a sect investigation and questioning next. You know what to say and what not to say."

Tian Qi nodded tremblingly and said, "Yes, yes, I understand. Brother Lin, don't worry, I won't tell you anything, and I won't implicate you."

"Your crime wasn't serious. At most, you'll just have to stay in prison for a few more years. As long as I'm still the Law Enforcement Elder, I'll have plenty of opportunities to get you out. Once I've established my foundation, releasing you will be a piece of cake. I'll then find you a new position."

Tian Qi felt hopeful after hearing his words and nodded repeatedly, "I know what to do."

"Let's go! Stay calm, I'm here, don't worry about anything."

The two left the room. Several disciples surrounded the courtyard. At Lin Zixiang's command, several people took Tian Qi and rode on the back of the Canglan Bird away.

In the meeting hall inside the mine, Lu Yuan had already summoned several other disciples from the sect who were assisting with management and explained the situation to them. As he was speaking, Lin Zixiang strode in from outside: "Is everyone here?"

Lu Yuan nodded and said, "The managers of the Chiyan Mine are all here."

"Tian Qi has been taken back to the sect, and the others have also been taken back to assist in the investigation."

"Brother Lin, should we leave someone here to manage the mine first? Otherwise, it may affect the construction. I suggest leaving Zhou Qiang to be responsible for the operation of the mine." Lin Zixiang glanced at Zhou Qiang below, feeling a little annoyed with this man and naturally didn't want him to take over the management of the mine.

"Zhou Qiang is an important witness. How can we investigate and question him without him? Let's go back and investigate this matter first."

The group then left the hall and boarded another Canglan bird.

…………

After questioning and investigation, the Chiyan Mine incident was quickly concluded, and Tian Qi confessed to everything.

After the case file was handed to Song Xian, he just nodded and approved of the investigation results.

Since Tian Qi has taken the responsibility alone, he doesn't want to find out who else is involved, because he knows very well that it is impossible for everyone in the sect to completely abandon their selfish thoughts and serve the public wholeheartedly.

In this world where great power belongs to oneself, whoever has the bigger fist is right. In such a world where the strong are respected, supervision and justice are almost impossible.

Can a Qi-refining cultivator supervise a Foundation-building cultivator?

In the absence of universal supervision, corruption is impossible to curb. This is an institutional problem.

The nature of this world determines this system, because the individual abilities of monks vary greatly.

As the head of the sect, he could only remain as fair and strict as possible, and set a principle that as long as the matter was brought to light, he would punish it according to the rules.

He will deal with anyone who shows up.

As for the intrigues, undercurrents, and dark ravines that took place beneath the surface, he could only turn a blind eye.

It's not that he is indulgent, but that he is powerless to do anything about many things. A person's energy is limited, and he doesn't have so much time to manage these trivial matters.

If he were to take care of everything, with the current size and industry of the sect, he would not be able to handle it even if he had three heads and six arms.

This is different from when he settled in Guzi Peak. The sect had only ten disciples including him and no property. He could still take time to chat and talk with the disciples.

Today's sect is getting bigger and bigger, with more than 300 members, including people from various forces and numerous industries. He doesn't even know the names of most of the people. He cannot manage such a large organization by himself.

Therefore, power must be decentralized, and in the process of decentralization, abuse of power and abuse of power for personal gain will inevitably occur.

Tian Qi did not give out anyone else, which also solved a problem for Song Xian.

If he really gave Zhong Wenyuan away, he really didn't know how to deal with it.

If a sect elder is punished for this matter, then he, as the sect leader, will also lose face.

This is the best ending for the matter.

A few days later, Tian Qi was sentenced to forty years in prison.

…………

At night, Huang Ye walked into the brightly lit house and bowed to him.

"No need to be so polite, just sit down! How's the investigation going?" Song Xian waved his hand. In addition to letting Zhong Wenyuan, Lin Zixiang and Lu Yuan be responsible for the interrogation and investigation, he also asked Huang Ye to secretly investigate the matter in secret.

He did not want to deal with Zhong Wenyuan for this matter, so he let him be in charge of the investigation and interrogation team. If there was really a problem, it would also give him a chance to make up for it.

Since Zhong Wenyuan is involved in this matter, the open investigation team is unlikely to involve other people, just to give an explanation to the sect.

Although Song Xian did not intend to pursue the matter to the end, he had to know the truth behind it, so he asked Huang Ye to investigate secretly.

There were many doubts about this matter. For example, Zhou Qiang once reported it to the Government Affairs Hall, but it was suppressed by Zhong Wenyuan.

In addition, the red flame stones that Tian Qi resold over the years were worth a total of 20,000 to 30,000 spirit stones. Where did all these spirit stones go?

Tian Qi’s total savings did not exceed 10,000 spirit stones.

Obviously, there was someone behind this who masterminded it and shared the money.

Huang Ye said, "From what I know, Tian Qi and Zhong Wenyuan don't have a very good relationship, but he does have a very close relationship with George Lam. Not only him, but also Yang Xuan, Zhang Jian, and Zhou Qian all have very good relationships with George Lam. It's said that Yang Xuan, Zhang Jian, and Zhou Qian all got their current positions through connections between Tian Qi and George Lam."

Hearing this, Song Xian was shocked: "You mean, the person behind Tian Qi is not Senior Brother Zhong Wenyuan, but Senior Brother Lin Zixiang?"

"This is not a secret. Many people in the sect know about it. The Sect Master doesn't know it because you only interact with people like Zhong Wenyuan, Lin Zixiang, and Zhang Ningyuan. You don't know much about the people below you."

Song Xian was completely shocked and speechless. Only then did he realize that his control over the entire sect was not as great as he had imagined.

According to Huang Ye, the relationship between Tian Qi and Lin Zixiang was known to everyone in the sect, but he just didn't know it.

Well, he and people of Tian Qi's level usually don't meet each other, so how can he know who he is close to?

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Is Senior Brother Zixiang involved in this matter?"

"We've found some clues. After the Red Flame Mine was handed over last year, Tian Qi visited Lin Zixiang at his residence. In addition, we've also discovered that Lin Zixiang purchases large quantities of top-grade, first-grade spiritual wines and spiritual food from Qingfengfang every year. He always buys them at the Beast Control Pavilion. He's particularly fond of a spiritual wine called Tiger Soul Wine, and he buys dozens of jars every year."

"This spiritual wine costs fifty spirit stones per jar, and just a few months ago, he bought another foundation-building pill from Baoshen Pavilion in Qingfengfang, Bianxi City."

"Also, on the day Tian Qi was arrested, he sent the others away and met with Tian Qi alone."

Huang Ye did not draw any conclusion, but the meaning of his words was obvious.

Although Lin Zixiang's income is not low, it is definitely not enough to spend so lavishly on spiritual wine and spiritual food, not to mention that he also bought a foundation-building pill.

It had only been ten years since he failed in building his foundation last time, and when he did that, he had used all the spirit stones on him to buy foundation-building pills.

If it were based on his normal salary, he would not be able to come up with so many spirit stones.

Even though the facts were clearly laid out before him, Song Xian still found it somewhat unconvincing, or perhaps he was unwilling to believe it.

In his impression, George Lam has always been a loyal and honest person who has devoted himself to spiritual practice. How could he instruct Tian Qi to enrich himself?

Looking back to the past, when they were in Pingyuan County, the two of them went to the market together to sell the sect's cultivation supplies to Zhang Shilin in exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills. Lin Zixiang tried his best and not only did he not make a penny, he was even prepared to pay out of his own pocket. In the end, he even gave the remaining talismans to Zhang Shilin. How could he do such a thing?

(End of this chapter)