novelraw Chapter 30: Telling Only the Truth Doesn't Count as Deception
Chapter 30: Telling Only the Truth Doesn't Count as Deception
Daoist Fang Hong's methods were relatively peaceful, or rather, he hadn't figured out how to cultivate tree roots.
Comparatively speaking, some people's methods could only be described as cruel and vicious.
In one settlement of seventy or eighty people, regardless of men, women, old or young, all were killed cleanly. Incomplete corpses hung upside down from trees. The stench of decay could be smelled from far away.
Li Qiuchen didn't even dare approach. He looked from afar, sensed something was wrong, and turned to run.
Gaga Pig's sense of justice flared up again. Its two eyes were cold and bloodshot, looking like it really wanted to charge up and confront them head-on.
"If you just want to uphold justice, you can go right now."
Li Qiuchen leaned against a tree with his bamboo staff, looking calmly at the white crane, saying, "As long as you can answer three questions for me. If you answer them, I absolutely won't stop you."
"Ga?"
"First question: are there always this many Medicine Master followers? Like mushrooms after rain, just sprouting up when they say so?"
"...""Second question: we've visited six or seven villages and towns around here these past days. Can you see any differences? I mean, besides their methods."
"..."
"Third question..."
"Ga—!"
The white crane was angry. Stop talking all this useful and useless stuff, just state the conclusion and be done with it!
"The conclusion is I think it's abnormal."
Li Qiuchen stared into the white crane's eyes, asking calmly, "Do you know how much you eat in a day? I've counted for you. One day you ate seven small fish, about three jin in weight. Knocked open one hundred twenty snails, river clams, sixteen crabs and crayfish, two snakes. Drank at least one pot of the wild vegetable mixed grain porridge I cooked, plus all those miscellaneous things..."
"Gaga ga?"
Gaga Stick Pig immediately became angry from embarrassment. Why are you so bored you're counting all this?
I ate your family's rice... okay, I did eat it, but weren't the rest all wild river and water products? Who cares how much I eat!
"What I'm trying to say is, if even you can eat this much, don't those Medicine Master followers need to cultivate and eat normally? Didn't they have their own territories before? Or rather, sect dojos... all these people just grew out of thin air, and now each occupies a village, and they don't fight each other either? So harmonious and friendly?"
Playing an RPG game here, buddy?
As soon as you go over, the monsters spawn.
Faced with Li Qiuchen's questioning, the white crane fell into thought.
After thinking for a moment, it discovered it would have been better not to think.
I'm just a bird, why are you making me think about such complex questions?
"Gaga?"
So what? What do we do?
"Among the information the old Daoist told me, there are several points I'm rather suspicious of. It's not necessarily that he's lying to me, he himself might have been deceived. For instance... the great battle of two Golden Core powerhouses."
Li Qiuchen had already been knocked unconscious by the water at that time. He hadn't felt any battle aftershocks at all but the white crane should have still been quite conscious then.
"When you were stuck on the wall, did you sense any so-called Golden Core powerhouse battle?"
The white crane tilted its head and thought for a long time, then slowly shook its head.
That's right.
Li Qiuchen knew nothing about that sword immortal who appeared from who knows where, but he knew the old peach tree's root extension range was only twenty li.
Those were tree roots, not uranium-235.
Even taking ten thousand steps back, if the old peach tree really had some prized treasure at the bottom of the box that could produce a magnitude five earthquake when pulled out, letting the whole county feel the tremors.
He had been unconscious at the time, Gaga Pig was also delirious from hunger.
The Mountain God couldn't be a fool, right?
He didn't even know what happened, yet specially sought out him and the stupid bird to investigate.
That didn't make sense.
So synthesizing the information the old Daoist provided and what he'd seen and heard these past days.
Li Qiuchen was more inclined to believe that someone behind the scenes had specially woven this grand play.
And those Medicine Master followers were just like Grand Uncle, thinking themselves protagonists when in reality they were nothing more than supporting actors tricked onto the stage to warm it up.
Even more... whether what they were doing now truly came from their own subjective will was questionable.
After all, even in street-stall goods like the "Locust Tree Chapter," there were records about the "Soul Pulling Technique."
Theoretically, it was feasible.
"But there's no evidence."
Li Qiuchen helplessly spread his hands, saying, "All this is based on my speculation. Without actual evidence, how can I report it?"
"Gaga?"
The stupid bird gave up thinking and just laid flat.
How can we get evidence?
"The three-month period, Blue Stone Platform, Mohe the Perfected Being."
Li Qiuchen said in a low voice, "This person holds the most so-called Immortal's dharma remains. The legends about the Immortal of Heavenly Pond all came from his mouth. Even if he's not the mastermind behind the scenes, he must hold more intelligence than others."
"The only problem is, we two probably can't beat him."
Li Qiuchen was always cautious, never underestimating enemies or overestimating himself.
"Ga!"
The white crane's eyes were resolute.
Probably can't beat him, that means there's a possibility we can?
Can you not understand human speech?
Li Qiuchen glared at the stupid bird irritably.
"When I say probably, I mean we basically can't beat him."
"Ga!"
Think of what solution? Do you think I'm Doraemon with a four-dimensional pocket? Making me think of everything!
"This is a vicious cycle, you know? Without evidence, we can't convince the Mountain God. If we can't convince the Mountain God, he won't act. If the Mountain God doesn't act, we can't get evidence... Moreover, the Mountain God already said he won't act, he's only responsible for transmitting messages..."
Transmitting messages...
What exactly did he say back then?
Li Qiuchen suddenly froze, thought for a moment, then asked the stupid bird quietly, "What exactly did the Mountain God say at the time? He's bound by rules and won't act, but will pass the message along and find someone to solve it. That's the meaning, right?"
"Gaga!"
The stupid bird nodded vigorously.
"Then if we deceive him, he won't mind either, right?"
"Ga?"
The stupid bird was stunned.
Do you want to hear what nonsense you're talking about?
Whose side are you on exactly?
"What I'm saying is, even if part of the information we submit is false, that can only show our abilities are insufficient. The Mountain God himself won't act. If he doesn't act, he won't suffer losses, he's only responsible for passing messages. Whether the problem can be solved then doesn't concern him either. He won't blame us for this, right?"
The stupid bird hesitated to speak.
"Then only one problem remains."
Li Qiuchen stared into the stupid bird's big eyes, asking in a low voice, "I'm going to write a false intelligence report now. Will you collude with me and deceive the Mountain God together, or go confront that Mohe the Perfected Being head-on, gambling on a less than one percent chance of victory?"