novelapdf Chapter 78 involves too much; he wants to live.
Chapter 78 involves too much; he wants to live.
Chapter 78 involves too much; he wants to live.
"The forest area on the certificate is not my forest area. It is a forest area separated from mine and is under the care of Tan Linong."
Tan Linong was an outer disciple who had only arrived at Lingmu Garden a little over two months ago, and like Liu He, he was at the fourth level of Qi Refining.
It used to be a farmland.
After Zhao Jianlei was sent to Tianliangyuan, Fu Shuai's forces were one man short.
So Marshal Fu transferred Tan Linong from Tianliangyuan to look after Zhao Jianlei's former forest area.
"Huh? I went to the wrong forest area?"
"Aren't you the outer disciple who was recently transferred from Tianliangyuan?"
Sun Xin asked in surprise, taking the talisman back from Liu He to examine it.
Upon closer inspection, I realized I had made a mistake and had misread the location of the forest area.
"Tan Linong comes from Tianliangyuan, and my name is Liu He."
"I will take responsibility for this; all the blame rests with me."
After a slight hesitation, he quickly took all the responsibility upon himself.
Seeing that he was willing to take full responsibility, Liu He didn't say anything more.
Cutting down a century-old black iron birch tree worth over two thousand spirit stones in the Spirit Tree Garden is a serious responsibility.
Liu He had never made such a big mistake in the year or so he had been at Lingmu Garden.
Sun Xin and Liu He went to find Master Fu together, and the follow-up to this matter was quite troublesome.
The two met with Master Fu and recounted the whole story.
"Senior Brother Fu, this is my fault, the responsibility lies entirely with me. I was too careless, I didn't look carefully at the forest area on the talisman, and since Junior Brother Liu wasn't there, I didn't ask him to check the talisman first."
Sun Xin did not shirk any responsibility and took full charge.
"Now that this has already happened, let's not talk about who's responsible, let's think about how to make amends. Junior Brother Sun, did you cut down a black ironwood birch in Liuhe Forest Area?"
In that case, come with me to Deacon Pang and get a new talisman to retrieve timber from Liuhe Forest District.
Liu He, wait for further instructions in the forest area.
After Fu Shuai finished speaking, he went to find Pang Qing with Sun Xin.
Liu He had no choice but to return to his forest area, praying that this matter would not implicate him.
As a forest ranger, he bears some responsibility, more or less.
It just so happens that he wasn't in the forest area at that time and didn't check the credentials beforehand.
Although he had his reasons, some things don't depend on "reasons".
In the forest area, the century-old black iron birch tree lies quietly on the ground.
Liu He suddenly realized something was wrong: Sun Xin had gotten the location of the forest area wrong.
The wood used for the talisman was not a hundred-year-old black iron birch, but an eighty-year-old one!
He not only misjudged the forest area, but also misjudged the timber?
Now that Liu He had a moment to think about it, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
Sun Xin may have indeed mistaken the forest area, but his conversation with Liu He revealed details: he thought Liu He was Tan Linong, and knew that Tan Linong had only recently been transferred from Tianliangyuan to Lingmuyuan.
The wood was not chosen by mistake, but rather intentionally.
The talisman said it was made of eighty-year-old black iron spirit birch, but he used a hundred-year-old black iron spirit birch.
"The price difference between a 100-year-old and an 80-year-old is huge."
A hundred-year-old black iron spirit birch is worth at least two thousand spirit stones, while an eighty-year-old one might only be worth fifteen hundred spirit stones.
What's going on between him and Tan Linong?
Liu He thought for a moment, then realized that the others weren't blind. This matter required many procedures, and given their cultivation and status, it was impossible for them to hide it from those people.
"Senior Brother Fu was probably involved as well. As for Deacon Pang—"
He froze, stunned by the thought.
He seemed to have discovered a remarkable secret.
If his guess is true, this is a very serious matter: it's a chain of collusion and profiteering.
He dared not think any further; this was not something he should know.
Report them?
Liu He dared not; he still wanted to live.
This matter is of great importance and involves far more than just a few hundred spirit stones; it is very likely that more than just a few people are involved.
"I don't know, I don't know anything—"
He gave himself a mental suggestion.
The amount of timber that Lingmu Garden takes each month is fixed.
It inevitably took Pang Qing some effort to issue this temporary additional document.
It wasn't until evening that Fu Shuai and Sun Xin, who had been traveling for most of the day, arrived at Liu He's forest area.
"We have the talisman."
Fu Shuai handed the newly prepared talisman to Liu He.
Liu He checked the talisman and found no error this time. It was his forest area address, and the timber had been changed to century-old black iron birch.
He removed the portion of the certificate he wanted to keep from the talisman and handed the rest back to Commander Fu: "Senior Brother Fu, this time it's correct. I only hope that Deacon Pang won't punish me; there was a reason for this."
He was simply struck by an undeserved misfortune.
"Deacon Pang didn't blame you."
After Fu Shuai finished speaking, he instructed Sun Xin to take away the century-old black ironwood birch tree that had been cut down.
After a while, Sun Xin finished dealing with the century-old black iron birch and left with the timber.
Liu He's forest area.
It was late at night.
Only Liu He and Fu Shuai remained, along with the pit left by the felling of the century-old black iron birch.
"Liu He, come with me."
"Yes, Senior Brother Fu."
Liu He's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm.
Fu Shuai arrived deep in the forest, under a phoenix tree.
The canopy of the sycamore tree blocked the moonlight, casting a dark shadow.
Fu Shuai and Liu He stood facing each other, no more than three feet apart, their faces almost touching.
"Liu He, this matter was entirely due to Sun Xin's negligence. Deacon Pang, considering it was an unintentional mistake, helped cover it up and did not pursue the matter further; otherwise, the punishment would have been severe."
Fu Shuai spoke calmly, lowering his voice slightly.
"Yes, Senior Brother Sun is too careless. Fortunately, Deacon Pang didn't blame us, otherwise we would both have been punished."
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Liu He spoke with a hint of complaint.
"I have some friendship with Sun Xin, and I spoke well of him to Deacon Pang."
Let's just let this matter drop. Pretend nothing happened. Keep it a secret, don't tell anyone. It won't do anyone any good if others find out.
As Fu Shuai spoke, he stared intently into Liu He's eyes, carefully observing his gaze and emotional fluctuations.
"Don't worry, Senior Brother Fu, I understand."
Liu He nodded.
The so-called "secret" is unclear whether it refers to the secret of Sun Xin cutting down the wrong spirit tree, or some other, far-reaching, unspeakable secret.
"That's good. I'll give you a talisman at the next morning meeting so you can get a sapling of Black Iron Spirit Birch and plant it."
Fu Shuai thought to himself that Liu He probably hadn't noticed anything amiss.
This is their biggest secret.
In addition to supplying the spiritual wood in the Spirit Wood Garden for the use of the various peaks within the sect, a portion of the spiritual wood is also sold.
Some small sects that have reached the Foundation Establishment stage regularly come to Lingzhi Peak to purchase plants.
They purchase timber from Lingmu Garden, following a familiar process.
However, some minor sects, in order to save spirit stones, were very cunning and bribed Pang Qing to provide them with conveniences.
Therefore, Pang Qing "used the good to make up the bad," allowing the other party to buy spirit plants and wood with fewer spirit stones.
For example, if someone wants to buy a 60-year-old spirit poplar tree, they can offer the Qian Yuan Holy Sect spirit stones at market price.
Pang Qing provided the other party with eighty-year-old or even better Lingyang wood.
In this stage, Pang Qing was in charge and held considerable power.
Fu Shuai was there to assist and help improve various procedures and certifications.
As for Tan Linong, who was at the lower level, he was actually not important.
Even without Tan Linong's cooperation, Pang Qing had various means to manipulate the situation.
With the cooperation of the forest rangers, Pang Qing could reap even greater benefits.
Since Fu Shuai followed Pang Qing and became his "confidant," he has helped him to make various personal gains and has earned a lot of spirit stones.
This method is much more profitable and easier than raising cicadas.
Methods like raising white jade cicadas are easily discovered, and could very well result in more harm than good, leading to expulsion from the sect.
After Fu Shuai sought refuge with Pang Qing, he was initially apprehensive, fearing that he would be discovered.
As time went by, he gradually felt at ease.
With Pang Qing, a powerful figure at the third level of Foundation Establishment, what is he afraid of?
In order to earn more spirit stones, Commander Fu cultivated his own trusted confidants.
With the cooperation of forest rangers, their credentials can be forged from the very beginning, allowing them to earn even more profit.
Therefore, Fu Shuai wanted to use methods to get rid of Zhao Jianlei and brought in Tan Linong.
He had already discussed it with Tan Linong before transferring him from Tianliangyuan.
With only the meager spirit stones from their monthly stipend, cultivators find it difficult to quickly improve their cultivation, and many cultivators harbor greedy desires.
Fu Shuai didn't need to search for him; Tan Linong took the initiative to come to him, offering him spirit stones and begging him to find a way to transfer him to the Spirit Wood Garden.
As for Pang Qing, it goes without saying that helping Marshal Fu is also helping himself.