The afternoon sunlight fell on Master Du’s gray hair, and his elegant and square face was covered with wrinkles.

The passage of time was fair to everyone, whether it was the Emperor who was practicing Taoism or the minister who had unfulfilled ambitions.

“At that time, I had the will but not the ability, but he was just the opposite. He was young and full of vigor, so I chose him.” Old Master Du looked at Lin Fei in front of him with a relieved smile on his face, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. “I knew that Shaoqing Lin would come to find me one day, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon.”

This one sentence clearly admitted that he was involved in the case and was one of the murderers.

The two people sitting opposite each other, one was the Dali Temple Shaoqing who was as good as a god at solving cases, and the other was the murderer who confessed it frankly. The two of them sat opposite each other drinking tea, but they were unexpectedly harmonious.

“Lin Shaoqing, do you know why I chose Sudan Sheng?” Old Master Du asked Lin Fei.

Lin Fei looked back at Mr. Du and replied, “I have read his articles and poems. He seems arrogant but he is thoughtful, talented, intelligent, and has the common people in mind.”

If such a person entered the officialdom and had good luck, he might have become a famous official.

Even Lin Fei felt it was a pity, but now was not the time to talk about the case. After a pause, he continued, “The most important thing is that he seems to have discovered the evil intentions of the Goguryeo envoy.”

In this way, the two of them naturally hit it off.

“I was a little hesitant at first,” said Elder Du, “but he volunteered to me because the people of the Moro Cult approached him.”

As for why a sect targeted a student with wild ambitions…

“They are targeting not only one student but also Prince Yu, a royal relative who was ‘frustrated’ in Darong.” Old Master Du said this with a hint of mockery on his face, “Our Prince Yu did not want to be a rich and idle person, but wanted to be a powerful and important official.”

Darong was full of talented people, so Prince Yu’s “ambitions” were naturally beyond doubt. The people of the Moro sect saw through his thoughts and seduced Prince Yu with a few words, and he took the bait.

“If he couldn’t succeed in Darong, then he could switch to a small country and become a powerful official of Goguryeo.” Old Master Du said, “Prince Yu thought it was better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.”¹

“Like Prince Yu, there was also Cháoān Gōngzhǔ. The people of the Moro Cult are secretly active in Goguryeo, and they cannot do without the support of these two.” At this point, Old Man Du paused and said, “Although Fù Fùmǎ is a coward, he guessed one thing correctly.”

“Cháoān Gōngzhǔ has indeed been replaced,” said Old Master Du calmly, “The current Cháoān Gōngzhǔ in the Gōngzhǔ’s Mansion is a member of the Moro Cult.”

As for the reason why Old Man Du was so sure, it was because “Sudan was born smart and was quickly entrusted with an important task by the Moro Cult. He was a popular candidate for the top three. The Moro Cult also thought he was talented and wanted to lure him to help the Moro Cult seize the throne of Goguryeo, just like they lured Prince Yu. This Cháoān Gōngzhǔ was the person who contacted him.”

In this way, Fù Fùmǎ’s testimony could explain why Sudan Sheng always appeared in the Gōngzhǔ’s mansion in the middle of the night. It was to discuss the affairs of the Moro Cult.

“Darong is a vast land with abundant resources. The money earned by Prince Yu and PCháoān Gōngzhǔ in Darong has supported the Moro Cult for many years.” When Old Master Du said this, he couldn’t help but sneer, “Isn’t it sucking the blood of my people for their own benefit?”

“Although Sudan was careful, he still aroused the suspicion of PCháoān Gōngzhǔ and Prince Yu. On the day of the accident, he asked someone to pass a message to me, saying that he would meet me early the next morning and give me something, but I didn’t expect…” Old Master Du said this, his expression was stern, and his face was full of pain, “I didn’t expect that it was just suspicion, and before they found any evidence, the people of the Moro Sect would kill him.”

Sudan not only died, but his death was horrible.

Old Master Du personally went to great lengths to seek justice for Sudan’s death, but he did not expect that in the end, it was the late Emperor himself who stepped in to suppress the matter because of the “immortal master”.

“If the ‘immortal master’ hadn’t died inexplicably, the people of the Moro Sect would have targeted the national treasury.” Old Master Du said, “The late Emperor has always been extremely generous to the ‘immortal masters’. The people of the Moro Sect started out by talking about ghosts and gods, so they are naturally the best at this.”

As for why they are targeting the national treasury…

“An uprising requires money,” Lin Fei said calmly, “The people of the Moro sect wanted to overthrow the rule of the King of Goguryeo, but the two purses of Prince Yu and Cháoān Gōngzhǔ are not enough. Is there any purse in the world that is more abundant than the treasury of Darong?”

Therefore, sucking the blood of the people of Darong to help the Moro Cult seize power in Goguryeo was absolutely correct.

Because the “immortal master” died suddenly, the late Emperor lost interest, and the people of the Moro sect had no time to find a second “immortal master”, so they had to give up.

Then, five years later, they made a comeback.

This time, they used the same trick again and offered a “magic pill”, but they didn’t expect…

“Your Majesty is different from the last Emperor,” said Old Master Du, who could not help but laugh at himself. “There is no need for an old man like me to worry about this.”

In this way……

Old Master Du picked up the teacup in his hand and drank the tea in it.

Then he took out an account book from his bosom and placed it in front of Lin Fei: “This is the account book that Dan Sheng paid with his life for. It shows the whereabouts of large sums of money of Prince Yu and Cháoān Gōngzhǔ over the years. They sent the money to the Moro Cult through the Moro believers scattered all over Darong, helping the Moro Cult recruit soldiers in Goguryeo.”

Lin Fei took the account book, flipped through it briefly, then put it away and looked at Old Master Du in front of him: “Don’t worry, Old Master Du, I will do it!”

“If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have handed the account book to you.” Old Master Du said this and smiled bitterly again, “The account book has been with me for five years. Now it has finally been handed over to the right person. It can be regarded as the fulfillment of Dan Sheng’s last wish.”

Lin Fei said “Hmm”, looking at the old man Du in front of him, although he was a little moved, his expression was still calm, he said: “The last wish of Sudan was to expose Prince Yu and Cháoān Gōngzhǔ. In the final analysis, all Old Master Du had to do was hand over the account book to a trustworthy person. But Old Master Du has not completed what he wants to do yet, I wonder if what I said is right?”

“I heard that Miss Su was forced to marry by her clan because of Sudan Sheng’s death, and she died two years ago due to complications during childbirth. Father and Mother Su lost their two children one after another, and I heard that they are now suffering from illness and don’t have much time left.” Lin Fei said, “Old Master Du is a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty. Seeing Sudan Sheng’s family fall into their current situation, how could he remain indifferent?”

“I knew I couldn’t hide it from you!” Facing Lin Fei’s questioning, Old Master Du admitted frankly, “I will avenge Dan Sheng even if I have to sacrifice my old bones.”

Whether it was Prince Yu or Cháoān Gōngzhǔ, they were just two pawns who thought highly of themselves. The instigator of all this was still the Goguryeo sect – the Moro sect.

(End of this chapter)

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Footnote

1. The proverb “It was better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix” suggests that it is better to be a leader in a modest position than to be a subordinate in a high-status one. Essentially, it emphasizes the value of being in a position of authority or prominence, even if it is not particularly grand, over being in a lesser role in a more prestigious context. This proverb reflects the idea that having control or influence, no matter how small, is preferable to having a prestigious but subordinate status.