Wuling Sect, in Tang Bonian's cave.
Tang Ping and Qian Chao sat in front of Tang Bonian in a formal manner. Qian Chao had already told Tang Bonian what Chao Zhu had said to him last night. After finishing speaking, he waited for Tang Bonian to say something. What, but what made these two people a little curious was that Tang Bonian didn't say anything after hearing it. Instead, his face showed a look of thinking, and he kept puffing away at his cigarette bag for a while. After that, Tang Ping became a little impatient, while Qian Chao looked at Tang Bonian's tobacco bag and wondered what material it was made of.
Finally Tang Bonian spoke. He gently tapped his pipe on a small plate and said:
"This thing is really beyond my expectation. Well, as for the Chao family, I don't know whether I should call them troublesome or sensible. By doing this, they let you know something in advance that you shouldn't know now. Things, um..."
Tang Ping said immediately:
"Grandpa Six, what do you think of what Chao Zhu said?"
Tang Bonian said:
"I'm not in a hurry. Now that you two little guys know about this, tell me what you think of what the girl named Chao said?"
Tang Ping said without thinking:
"The sect is using the Chao family to keep an eye on Jing's movements, isn't that right?"
Tang Bonian said noncommittally:
"Any more?"
"Oh, that's really the case!" Tang Ping frowned and said, "You elders of the council are really unscrupulous in doing things. The Chao family and the Jing family are in-laws. How can you force one of them to spy on the other?" How about asking them to get information from you?"
Tang Bonian snorted and said:
"Hmph! That's why I said that there are some things that you shouldn't know now. Yes, the Chao family is indeed keeping an eye on the Jing family for the council. It's understandable that you say this is a bit unscrupulous, but, girl, This method is just not on the table. After all, what they learned from the Chao family was internal news from the Wuling Sect. If they found out anything, they would quietly tell the meeting hall, that's all. If it involves other important sects, If such news can reach the hands of the Assembly Hall, we don’t know how many people will die along the way. Even if some important news can be sent back, it means that we have arranged a hidden stake to send out this news. Your identity may be exposed, and you can imagine the consequences. For us, the most important thing is to keep the Five Spirits Sect safe. On this premise, it is enough to keep some sense of proportion. In addition, You can no longer care about whether the method makes people feel uncomfortable. Well, you five children, the sect has high hopes for you. In the future, after you build the foundation, the sect will definitely be of great use. At that time, you can I know that some people paid a big price behind the scenes to get some information. Girl, when dealing with these things, don’t mix your personal emotional ups and downs, personal likes and dislikes into it. In addition to making you look immature, it also makes you look immature. It will make you hesitate in doing things, and things can easily go wrong.”
"Then...Sixth Grandpa, the Jing family is still a family within our sect, so why is the council so wary of them?"
"Well, of course it's because disasters caused by big families in the sect happened in the past, so the sect had to guard against it."
Tang Ping obviously wanted to take this opportunity to know more, so she continued to ask:
"Grandpa Six, I don't know much about the affairs within the sect. Where did the current five clans, Zong, Jing, Huan, Feng, and Zhang, come from? What troubles have they caused before?"
Tang Bonian understood Tang Ping's thoughts. Now the two children in front of him were very smart. Since he had asked this question, he planned to simply talk to these two children more:
"Zong, Jing, Huan, Feng, and Zhang are just the five major families within the sect, and they are called the Five Clan. In fact, the word 'family' has been overused. In the past, we could call them 'clan' within the sect." 'The family must have made great contributions to our Wuling Sect. For example, they made outstanding contributions in the establishment of the Wuling Sect at the earliest, and later when the Wuling Sect faced disasters, they stood up and became the mainstay and turned the tide. Only a person and his family can be given the honorific title of 'Shi' within the sect, which is an honor. Nowadays, the so-called 'Shi' in the sect is just a prosperous family within the Wuling Sect, and Most of them have achieved good results in their cultivation. There are many of them and they have advanced cultivation. On the surface, this is a good thing for the Five Spirits Sect. After all, they are all Five Spirits monks, but don’t forget that while they are Five Spirits monks, They are all a family. Compared with ordinary Five Spirit monks, they naturally have one more tie, that is, their family, and this is what has always worried the meeting hall. The five clans in the sect now have It has not been passed down since the founding of our Wuling Sect. According to ancient records, in the past years, when the Wuling Sect had the largest number, eight clans coexisted. But now, those eight clans have long since disappeared. Every big family that can be called a 'family' has a process of rise, prosperity, and then a little decline and finally a complete decline and disappearance. Even the five families in the sect are no exception. From the establishment of Wuling Sect to the present, there have been many families in the sect. There are countless clans, and these five are no exception. Sooner or later, they are all passing by, but the Wuling Sect has always been here, dominating the south of Zhongzhou. Well, from this point of view, our Wuling Sect It can only be a big sect, not a big family..."
"A big family?" Tang Ping grasped this point keenly.
"Yes, you asked before what disasters these 'clan' have caused. It's this kind of disaster. Of course, I have never experienced such a thing, but it did happen in the past records, and more than once, and it was very similar every time. , after a very powerful clan within a certain sect rose to prominence, they controlled almost every key position in the sect. For a while, they were powerful. They were a family, and gradually the sect's affairs became like their family affairs. Over time, Greed is bound to grow. In addition to placing their own people everywhere in the sect, their first consideration in handling sect affairs is not the interests of the sect but their own gains and losses. At the same time, they also regard the sect as private property and act arbitrarily. This is It will inevitably lead to conflicts between them and other monks, and disasters will arise from this. For our Wuling Sect, this kind of disaster originated from within Xiao Qiang, causing very serious damage, and even weakened the Five Spirits Sect for a time. The overall strength almost caused irreparable losses. Fortunately, the ancestors at that time solved this trouble, but they lost a lot of monks in the process. This is a regrettable internal friction."
Hearing this, Tang Ping and Qian Chao understood something.
"After this happened several times, the Assembly Hall will naturally start to impose restrictions on the families within the sect. Although the Wuling Sect is strong, it is only under the premise of unanimously opening up to the outside world. If the Wuling Sect wants to continue to stand as a powerful force, it must We must constantly eliminate internal conflicts, which includes restricting the big families in the sect to prevent them from causing trouble. There will no longer be the internal strife and internal strife in the past. So, girl, the Assembly Hall is responsible for the current situation. The five clans have all used some means to gain traction and not gain traction to keep an eye on and restrict them, which is also a last resort."
Tang Ping nodded after hearing this, and then asked:
"Grandpa Six, both Qian and I think this matter may involve an open and secret fight between the five clans in the sect, right?"
"Well, I think so too."
"Will there be fights among these clans within the sect?"
"Why not? Humph, under the surface harmony, the Five Clan secretly gave each other many problems and setbacks, just to be able to outdo each other or allow their own families to gain the upper hand and gain more control. It's just a big power. Well, let alone a large sect like ours, the Five Spirits Sect, even within a larger family, brothers will still compete with each other, not to mention us, this is also a helpless thing. Okay, I’ve said so much, do you have any other opinions on this matter?”
Qian Chao said:
"In addition to what was mentioned above, I think we should pay more attention to Zhang Yi. This matter involves Jinglu, and Jinglu is related to Zongcheng. So this matter is probably an attack by the Zong family on the Jing family. However, Chao Zhu also said that Zhang Yi has recently started to get close to Jing Lu. Even if Zhang Yi is highly suspected of worshiping Ling Xue Cultivator, he is a member of the Wuling Zhang family after all. Why did Zhang Yi do this? Was it entrusted by Zong Xi or Zong Cheng, or was the Zhang family behind him also involved? This is still unclear and needs to be found out. "
Tang Bonian nodded and said:
"That really needs to be clarified."
Tang Ping asked again:
"Grandpa Six, what should we do about this matter?"
Tang Bonian smiled and said:
"Don't ask me yet. After all, the Chao family has not informed the council about this matter. They just came to you privately. Now tell me, what are you going to do?"
As soon as Tang Ping heard this, she knew that Tang Bonian was planning to become a hands-off shopkeeper again, so she immediately quit and said:
"But even if Chao Zhu found Qian Chao at night and told her about this matter, she also knew that the Assembly Hall would definitely know about it in the end, right?"
"That's different. If the Chao family formally informed the Assembly about this matter, then the Assembly would naturally take over the matter, but they didn't. This means that the Chao family does not want the Assembly to intervene. Haha, they hope that you will resolve this matter. It’s just that I don’t want Culu to get involved.”
Hearing this, Qian Chao's heart moved, and then he looked at Tang Ping. Tang Ping understood immediately and said again:
"What good will it do if we resolve this matter without alerting the Senate?"
"You girl, no matter how you open your mouth or shut up, it's all good! Well, in fact, the biggest benefit is the Chao family. Don't you realize it?"
"What should I say? Is it possible that the Chao family will still work for us in the future?"
"Not entirely, let's put it this way, I think you all know what the Chao family does by now. Girl, Qian Chao, sooner or later you will build your foundation and go to the practice world to experience. If there is a reliable source of information outside, then that's right You will definitely be of great help in your work. Don't underestimate this. I know that you have your own small team in Ruixuan Town, but the information the Liu family can provide you is still limited, and in the future If you in the spiritual practice world can have multiple different sources of information about a matter, then your work will definitely go smoothly, right? In my opinion, this matter is not only a challenge to you, but also a sign of the Chao family’s influence. Find out your details. If you can do this well, the Chao family will definitely be your helper in the future. The benefits are so many that you can’t think of now. Well, I heard that the son of Chao Qian, the current head of the Chao family His name is Chao Chong, he is a young talent, he is both a disciple of the Five Spirits and the future leader of the Chao family, it will be helpful for you to make friends with him."
Tang Ping was moved after hearing this. What kind of person was her sixth grandfather? He actually praised the son of a wealthy family as a young talent. It seemed that the man named Chao Chong must be good, but what Tang Bonian said meant that he would be a young man. This matter was kicked back to them for resolution, and he said dissatisfiedly:
"After all is said and done, this troublesome matter is still passed on to us."
Tang Bonian smiled and ignored Tang Ping, but looked at Qian Chao and said:
"Qian Chao, what do you think?"
"What the senior just said is indeed heart-warming. Well, the juniors will try their best to make this matter not involve Jing Lu and cause no trouble. Also, the former has a lot of affection for the five of us because of Jing Jie's matter. Resentment, forced by the oath, cannot do anything to us. If this is done beautifully, it may be able to alleviate Jing's hatred towards the five of us, and it will also be beneficial to the five of us."
When Qian Chao said this, he basically admitted that he wanted to do this. Tang Bonian nodded and said:
"Well, I will naturally talk to the Council about this matter, but it is limited to Elder Jiang. You will try to solve it first. If you do a good job, then the Council will naturally ignore this matter and just treat it as a matter of course. It has never happened. If you can't do it well, then you will have no choice but to come forward. During this period, I will also help you inquire about news from all aspects. Girl Tang, you should come over and ask from time to time. Don't think that this is the case. It's just a trouble. I hope you can solve this matter beautifully. As for the solution, you can think of it yourself. As long as you don't go out of your way, no one will ask."
Tang Ping saw that this matter could only be like this, so she turned to the next topic. She stretched out her hand to Qian Chao. Qian Chao immediately understood and took a storage bag from his body and handed it over.
Then Tang Ping said excitedly:
"Grandpa Six, come and take a look at this!"
Tang Ping handed the storage bag to Tang Bonian's hand. After seeing the contents clearly, Tang Bonian's eyes twitched involuntarily, then he pursed his lips and looked at it for a while, then looked at Tang Ping and said:
"I didn't expect that I actually let you do it, so what are you going to do next?"
"What else can I do? It depends on Grandpa Six. You promised me."
"Oh, well, your master is going to be angry again..."
…
In the afternoon of this day, Shangguan Hong finally managed to return to the Five Spirits Sect.
Shangguan Hong pushed the door of his residence open with a bang, and Shangguan Hong walked in with chaotic steps, startling Shangguan Xiu in the room. She became even more frightened when she saw her sister's condition. Shangguan Hong's face was as white as paper, his long hair was messy, and there were faint blood stains on his face. When had Shangguan Hong, who had always been tough and strong, ever been so embarrassed? This scared little girl screamed in panic:
"sister!"
Shangguan Hong pursed his lips tightly and waved to Shangguan Xiu, and then strode towards his bedroom inside. However, he had just taken two steps, perhaps because he could no longer hold on, or perhaps because he finally returned to a safe place. At this point, she relaxed. In short, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Shangguan Xiu quickly caught her with a hand. Even so, Shangguan Hong only felt that his chest was extremely tight and his throat was still throbbing. Sweet, a mouthful of blood spurted out on the ground with a pop. This completely frightened Shangguan Xiu, and he almost cried:
"Sister, what's wrong with you?"
"I've been fooled... I've been fooled by Tang Ping! Xiu'er, help me go to bed to rest."
Then Shangguan Hong's eyes darkened and he fainted.
