That night, Black Wind Castle was brightly lit, and the entire school martial arts field was filled with torches, just like daytime. Thousands of members of the sect gathered around the new leader, Zuo Guardian and six elders, drinking and carousing in the school martial arts field. Black Wind Castle has not been so lively for many years, and everyone is open to eating and drinking.
Accompanied by several elders, Cui Hailong simply ate some wine and food, but he was not interested. He frowned and seemed a little worried. After the hour, he said goodbye to everyone and left quietly under the cover of a few confidants.
After leaving the school martial arts field, he went straight to the residence prepared for him in Black Wind Castle. The teaching staff had already packed everything.
This is a simple independent one-story building with a small courtyard outside. There are three rooms in total, a living room in the middle, a room on the left and a room on the left, a bedroom on the left, and a study on the right. There is an Eight Immortals table at the end of the living room. There is an oil lamp on the table. The flame of the oil lamp illuminates the whole room. There are wooden chairs on each side of the table.
Cui Hailong sat on a chair in the living room and signaled the two attendants who accompanied him back to leave. The two attendants had just walked out and were about to turn around and close the door when they saw a man in white coming in. It was Yu Boyang, the left guardian of the Crescent Sect.
When the two attendants saw him walking quickly towards this side, they stepped aside.
Seeing that the door was not closed, Cui Hailong glanced outside the door, saw the person coming, and hurriedly stood up to greet him. Yu Boyang waved his hand for him to sit down, and he quickly walked in and closed the door of the living room. .
Cui Hailong took Yu Boyang's arm, pointed to the chair on the right and said, "Teacher, please sit down!" Protector Yu waved his hand and said, "Hey, leader, you don't have to be polite to me, please sit down!"
The two of them sat down each without any extra words. Cui Hailong continued: "Teacher, the disciple was about to find you, but he didn't know that the teacher had already arrived. Teacher, you recommended the student to take the position of the leader of this generation. Disciple, this I feel extremely uneasy. Firstly, my disciple has low martial arts skills and little qualifications. There are many elders in the sect who have better qualifications and martial arts skills than me who want to take the position of leader. If not for the strong recommendation of my mentor, I am afraid it would be difficult to convince the crowd. Secondly, , now our Crescent Sect is weakening day by day, with less than 3,000 members. If we want to revive our sect, frankly speaking, I am afraid that it is a bit incapable of doing so. I don’t know what the teacher’s purpose is in recommending a disciple to temporarily take over the position of leader. I hope my teacher will clarify it!”
Yu Boyang stood up and said: "I think our New Moon Sect has been in the world for hundreds of years and has long been famous in the world. For hundreds of years, few sects can compete with our sect. Since our sect fought bloody battles with the Shenlong Gang more than two hundred years ago, His vitality was severely damaged, and he also lost the soul-chasing knife, the treasure of our sect. The sect was torn apart and the hearts of the people were scattered. After that, despite the painstaking efforts of several generations of sect leaders, they still failed to regain their original glory. When the previous sect leader took charge , although it has become famous all over the world, it is still just a small corner, and has only set up a branch in Jinling County. Although the leaders of our religion have done both good and evil, they are all upright and true heroes. The former leader acted a bit erratically, and failed to keep a low profile and strengthen the power of our sect. I don’t know who the hero offended him was, so he suffered such a disaster and ended up like this. Alas, what a pity!"
After speaking, he turned to look at Cui Hailong and asked: "Can you understand what I said?" Cui Hailong replied: "Disciple understands!"
Yu Boyang continued: "As long as you understand, I know that you are honest and steady, so I handed the Crescent Sect into your hands. I hope that you can carry forward the wishes of the past leaders, carry forward our sect with all your strength, and restore the original glory. brilliant!"
Cui Hailong cupped his fists and said, "Disciple must do his best to live up to the training of his teacher!" Yu Boyang waved his hand and motioned for him to sit down.
The two returned to their seats, and Yu Boyang continued: "How do you plan to deal with this situation now?" Cui Hailong slapped the table and said angrily: "Huh! When I talk about this, the disciples are so angry. This is just a mere five. In the past few years, all the properties that I teach in Jinling County with a radius of thousands of miles have fallen into the hands of Yang Zhenwei, and I don’t know what Nie Kaicheng and Ji Bochang have done in the past few years!"
After hearing this, Yu Boyang said calmly: "Calm down the leader, this situation is not a dead end. There are still more than 2,000 members in the main altar, and there are still hundreds of brothers in Black Wind Castle. As long as a few elders in the United Church , if we work together and recruit heroes from all walks of life, we will be able to reverse the decline and revive our teaching!"
Cui Hailong seemed to realize his gaffe, calmed down his emotions, and continued: "What the teacher said is absolutely true. Yang Zhenwei doesn't know what means he used to develop so much in such a short period of time!"
Yu Boyang snorted disdainfully and said: "It is absolutely impossible for Yang Zhenwei to have such great ability. As the saying goes, there must be monsters when things go wrong. In my opinion, this matter must be considered in the long term and cannot be rash. However, As the saying goes, there is no way to allow others to sleep soundly beside the bed. The Lord of Jinling City must have further plans for our religion, so we must be on guard!"
Cui Hailong nodded, gently cupped his hands and said: "What the teacher said is absolutely true. The disciple will definitely live up to the teacher's trust!" Yu Boyang stood up and said: "It's getting late. The leader should rest early. I will go to the meeting for the leader tomorrow. The Lord of Jinling City, I will take my leave first!"
Seeing this, Cui Hailong hurriedly stood up and followed, saying: "Teacher, please go slowly!" Yu Boyang looked back and continued to walk out the door. Cui Hailong asked: "Teacher, what else do you want to say to the students? ?"
Yu Boyang stopped and said seriously: "Hai Long, I only want to ask you a question!" Cui Hailong stood up and said: "Teacher, please speak!" Yu Boyang continued: "If one day, we can bring back that child Yunfeng Now, will you return the position of leader to him?"
Cui Hailong listened, took a deep breath, and said slowly: "The Crescent Sect has the kindness to re-create its disciples. The position of the leader should have been Yunfeng. Even if he cannot be found, if it were not for the strength of his mentor, Even though I have recommended him highly, it is not my turn to take the seat. If it were a round of merit, the position of the leader should have been taken by my mentor. The disciples must not dare to have any objections to this, and everything will be based on the instructions of my mentor."
Yu Boyang turned around and asked: "Now that you are the leader of our sect, you are responsible for revitalizing our sect. During this period, you will surely establish a very high prestige in the sect. After many years, if you find the young master and come back, you will Return the position of leader to him, but as the saying goes, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain, so how will you deal with yourself then?"
After Cui Hailong heard this, he was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to answer.
Yu Boyang seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, and then said: "Yunfeng, this kid has never practiced martial arts since he was a child, nor has he been exposed to the affairs of the sect. Even if he takes the position of the leader of the sect in the future, it will be difficult to convince the public, not to mention there are several elders. He is eyeing this position. If you walk away, not only will he not be able to eliminate his doubts about you, but others will take advantage of you. I grew up in the church since I was a child. I have experienced four church leaders and have been deeply influenced by several church leaders. Well, even if we are unable to revive our sect's former glory, we do not want to see the sect fall apart due to competition for the position of leader. You must think clearly about this matter before making a decision."
After saying that, before Cui Hailong could answer, Yu Boyang opened the door and walked out. Cui Hailong looked at the leaving figure of the man in white and fell into deep thought.
The next day, Cui Hailong sat up from his bed. The conversation with Yu Boyang last night kept him awake almost all night, and he fell asleep in a daze until dawn. When he woke up, it was already noon. He called two servants to change his clothes, put his hair into a bun again, and washed his face with hot water brought by the maid.
When Cui Hailong walked out of the room, the maid had already prepared pastries waiting for him to enjoy. He picked up the tea on the table, took a few sips into his mouth, rinsed his mouth, walked to the door, and wanted to spit out the room, but saw the maid on the side holding a spittoon in front of him.
He spit the tea in his mouth into the spittoon, returned to the table, put down the tea cup, took a cake and put it into his mouth, tasting it carefully. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something important, drank a cup of tea in a hurry, and shouted outside the house: "Someone is coming!"
Two guards came in after hearing the sound. He waved to one of them, called him to him, whispered a few words in a low voice, and finally waved his hand and said: "Go!" The man clasped his fists and replied: "Yes, leader! "He turned around and left in a hurry.
Then, Cui Hailong said to another person: "Go and invite some elders to the meeting hall!" After saying that, that person also took the order and left.
After doing this, Hailong sat at the table and continued eating pastries.
About a quarter of an hour later, he summoned four more sword-wielding guards, who followed him out of the courtyard and headed straight for the meeting hall.
Arriving at the meeting hall of Black Wind Castle, there were already two guards standing on both sides of the door holding knives. Seeing the leader arriving, the two of them raised their hands and shouted in unison: "Master!".
Cui Hailong waved his hand and motioned for them to leave. Two of the guards he brought stood at the door holding knives, while he and the other two guards stepped into the meeting hall.
This is a small venue. Compared with the previous central auditorium, it can only be regarded as a small room, but the decoration in the hall is similar to that of the central auditorium. There is a large wooden chair against the wall in the innermost part. A crescent moon is carved on the wall behind the chair. There are other decorations on the wall. There are four square wooden chairs on each side of the room. Six elders are already sitting upright. Waiting for the leader to arrive.
Two guards stepped forward quickly and stood on both sides of the leader's seat with knives. Cui Hailong slowly walked into the meeting hall. The elders were a little confused and were waiting to see what the new leader was doing when he summoned everyone so urgently.
Cui Hailong walked to the leader's throne, sat down slowly, shook his sleeves, and said to the six elders in front of him: "I have hurriedly summoned everyone here today because of a major matter related to the survival of our Crescent Sect. As you all know, since the former leader was killed, Jinling City not only took the opportunity to break away from the control of our religion, but also took away most of the property of our religion, Black Wind Castle. Now, although it is not an enemy of our religion, it has constituted a serious threat to our religion. A huge threat, the most urgent task is to find out the details of the Jinling City Lord. Elder Fan, Elder Yao and Elder Zhuo and I were all in the main altar in previous years, and we don’t know much about the situation here. Therefore, please ask Black Wind Several elders from the fort will talk to us, by the way, is there any news about Elder Wang?"
Nie Kaicheng and Ji Bochang were both silent, their eyes were wandering, their hands were holding on to the armrests of the seats, scratching in confusion.
Yao Yuan on the side stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Dear Master, there is no whereabouts of Elder Wang so far. However, Elder Wang's nephew returned to Black Wind Castle last night. Maybe he can know the whereabouts of Elder Wang."
Cui Hailong said to one of the guards beside him: "Go and find him!" The guard responded "Yes" and left quickly.
Then, Cui Hailong said to Yao Yuan: "Elder Yao, there is no need to be polite, please sit down and talk!"
Yao Yuan thanked him, sat down, and said in the direction of the leader: "Master, this Jinling City is located on an important transportation road. Caravans coming from the north must pass through Jinling City before they can enter the Jiangnan area. Our teaching has opened a black market in the south. After Fengbao was divided into altars, Jinling City has been taken over by our religion. Most of the city is owned by our religion, and the brothers in the religion basically rely on these properties to survive. Now, the entire Jinling City has fallen into the hands of Yang Zhenwei. . Yang Zhenwei, the lord of Jinling City, is a person in this city. His grandfather is quite prestigious in this city, so our professor entrusted some affairs in the city to his family to take care of. Over the years, he has been my right assistant and managed this Jinling City well. It is well organized, and the income of my teaching has also increased year after year. The leader should also know that Jinling City has been expanded three times. But since Yang Zhenwei took over the Yang family business, he has shown great ambition and has repeatedly asked me to teach him. Conveying the idea of increasing the share of Jinling City's revenue. It was not until the death of Master Zou that he became even more unscrupulous and embezzled our religion's property. He also proclaimed himself the Lord of Jinling City and took over almost all the industries in Jinling City. Our religion's vitality was severely damaged, and I am busy dealing with the funeral affairs of the former leader and am unable to fight against him. I can only watch the Yang family's power expand rapidly."
Cui Hailong asked: "Even if Master Zou is no longer here, you elders of Black Wind Castle were in charge of the overall situation in the past years. So Yang Zhenwei didn't cause any trouble, so why are you unable to fight back against his invasion now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Nie Kaicheng stood up and raised his hands and said: "Master, the people of the Yang family were originally just businessmen, with mediocre martial arts and no ambitions for hegemony. But since Yang Zhenwei came back, he has taken charge of the Yang family. I don’t know where he came from, but his swordsmanship is superb, and his subordinates who join forces with Elder Ji are no match for him. What’s more, his subordinates have also gathered several martial arts masters around him. Black Wind Castle is unable to compete with him, and all the brothers in the sect are unable to compete with him. Afraid of his power, they were forced to defect to him."
Cui Hailong thought about it, "How could such a thing happen?" Then he said to several elders: "Well! The Yang family must have planned this for a long time. In the past, I only knew that the Yang family has been attached to our religion all the year round, and their behavior is very good. He was modest and didn't do anything extraordinary, but he didn't know that Yang Zhenwei had such ambitions..."
At this point, the guard outside the door reported: "Master, Elder Wang's nephew has been brought here!" Cui Hailong raised his head slightly and said, "Bring him in!"
The guards brought Wang Shoucheng to the leader and then retreated.
Wang Shoucheng knelt down and said, "Young man, pay homage to the leader!" Cui Hailong said, "Get up and speak!" Wang Shoucheng said, "Thank you, leader!" and stood up.
Cui Hailong looked at the young man in front of him who seemed to be only thirteen or fourteen years old and asked: "Are you Wang Shuishou's nephew?" Wang Shoucheng replied: "Report to the leader, I am the youngest one!" Cui Hailong asked: "Your name is What's your name?" Wang Shoucheng replied: "The younger one's name is Wang Shoucheng, and the brothers in the church call him Wang Ergou!"
Cui Hailong then asked: "Wang Shoucheng, where is your second uncle Wang Shuishou now?"
Wang Shoucheng replied: "My second uncle went out a few days ago. Before leaving, he gave me his token and ordered me to send the sisters he imprisoned to the mountains and forests south of Jinling City. I haven't seen him since. I’ve been to him!”
At this point, Cui Hailong interrupted: "Wait a minute, what did you just say? What sister?" Wang Shoucheng hesitated and said: "Yes, just..." Cui Hailong shouted angrily: "Stop hesitating, Say it!"
Wang Shoucheng had no choice but to answer truthfully: "My second uncle has no other hobbies. He only loves beauty. He often brings back some beautiful sisters from outside and keeps them at home..."
Before he finished speaking, Cui Hailong slapped the armrest of the chair and said angrily: "You bastard, our religion suffered such a catastrophe, and he only thinks about doing such things! With such an elder, no wonder Black Wind Castle has become This is what it looks like now!”
Wang Shoucheng knelt down again with a plop, and said tremblingly: "Calm down the leader, what the leader said is true. I have tried to persuade my second uncle on weekdays, but I always speak softly. As the elder of Black Wind Castle, how can my second uncle listen?" What does the villain say? The villain only obeyed his orders and helped the tyrants to commit evil. I hope the leader will forgive me!"
Cui Hailong was still angry and waved his hand to him and said: "Get up, this matter has nothing to do with you. Go down. If you see Wang Shuishou again, let him come to see me immediately!" Wang Shoucheng stood up and left.
Cui Hailong looked around at the faces of several elders expressionlessly, stroked his beard and said: "Elders, you have all seen that although our religion is not like those famous and upright sects, the leaders of the past generations have also had their own differences. There was killing, but he had never done such a dirty thing. As an elder of our sect, Wang Shuishou not only did not promote the doctrines for our sect and recruit believers when our sect was in crisis, but he did evil here and harmed the good family. Woman, I will remove him from the position of elder today, and he will be convicted and punished when he comes back in the future!"
Nie Kaicheng said: "Teacher, please calm down. What Elder Wang did is certainly abominable, but now my teachings are distracted. It is the time to hire people. There are still one hundred and eighty brothers in his Paradise Hall. In addition, the leader has just ascended the throne. If this is the case, Taking action against the elders of the church at this time may cause misunderstandings among the brothers in the church. It is better to use the disappearance of Elder Wang as an excuse and order his nephew to temporarily take over as the elder of Jile Hall, as a way to delay the attack until Elder Wang returns. He dealt with it according to the canon rules. I wonder what the teach's plan is?" Cui Hailong thought for a moment, stroked his beard, and said slowly: "This matter will be discussed another day. The first thing today is to discuss countermeasures with the elders to curb Yang Zhenwei's To prevent him from continuing to occupy our religion’s property, what do you elders have to say?”
The elders who had been silent all this time began to discuss among themselves. Taking advantage of this gap, Cui Hailong picked up the tea brought by the maid and drank it.
After a while, an elder on the right stood up. Seeing this, the other elders also stopped their discussion and looked towards him.
I saw his elder cupping his hands towards Cui Hailong and saying: "Cult leader, my subordinates think that now that he is strong and I am weak, the top priority should be to stabilize Yang Zhenwei, pretending to be good to him, so that he can relax his vigilance and secretly strengthen the power of our sect. Wait. I will teach you how to recover your vitality and then work on it slowly, which is the best strategy."
Ji Bochang, who was on the other side, couldn't hold himself back at this moment and stood up and said: "Why does Elder Yao gain other people's ambition and destroy his own prestige? Our teaching has always acted arbitrarily, so there is no need to show favor to his little Yang Zhenwei? "
Another elder on the right also stood up and said: "Elder Ji's words are wrong. It is said that one moment is another moment. Now our sect's vitality is severely damaged, and Jinling City is at its peak. Our sect is now concentrating on development and recruiting many disciples. But how can we act recklessly against it?”
There was back and forth between the two sides, and they argued endlessly.
