Hidden Moth-Chapter 430 - 239: Among Jianghu, the Blade Remains Sheathed

Chapter 430: Chapter 239: Among Jianghu, the Blade Remains Sheathed

He Kao had just explained the Sect Hall Order, the first rule being "Do not defy an incident, first submit to the authorities," so Chang’an Residence was still very cautious, specifically explaining the events to He Kao.

Chang’an Residence tracked Zhong Jinghui to Sutani City, using the materials in hand to report a crime, but the local police did not care at all.

Zhong Jinghui is from the Eastern Country, and the alleged crime occurred in the neighboring Wadi Country, which seemed irrelevant to the Sawa Country police. Moreover, in many parts of southern Sawa Country, local autonomy is quite high, and even the central government lacks control.

It’s one thing for the police not to care, but someone even tipped off Zhong Jinghui; some police might have taken some benefits and turned against Chang’an Residence, trying to arrest him without knowing what charges were made up.

Besides the police pretending to arrest him, there was a local gang that, upon receiving a bounty, also wanted to take action against him. Fortunately, Chang’an Residence had cultivation and was skilled enough in martial arts to escape in time.

Zhong Jinghui thought the storm had passed and let down his guard, driving out alone, giving Chang’an Residence an opportunity... Throughout, He Kao never inquired what Chang’an Residence did to Zhong Jinghui, nor did Chang’an Residence mention it.

Upon hearing this, He Kao couldn’t help but remind, "The Sect Hall Order is not just one rule, do you know that after ’Do not defy an incident, first submit to the authorities,’ there’s a note?"

Chang’an Residence: "Ah? How could I possibly know, what is it?"

He Kao: "Officials become thieves as one, harming the innocent, which leads to the third order — ’Do not leave disaster, act decisively when necessary!’

This note is what Gu Chun told He Kao earlier today. The first three orders of the Sect Hall Order have been passed down for thousands of years, and successive ancestors have summarized many specific situations, mainly based on ancient societal experience.

For example, say Chang’an Residence was staying at a hotel in Sawa Country and called for a health massage—which, though might be unregulated in the Eastern Country, might be legitimate in Sawa Country—and ended up encountering an "Immortal Jump."

A girl enters the room and asks to use the bathroom, followed by several burly men barging in, falsely accusing him of all sorts of wrongdoings, definitely not just prostitution, and specific charges are up to imagination... unless he pays a certain amount to settle privately, he would be handed over to legal authorities.

Chang’an Residence felt he had not broken any laws, so he called the police. The local Sawa Country police came, surprisingly working together with these people. They also threatened Chang’an Residence to settle privately with money; otherwise, he’d be taken in due to an ’XX crime.’

Notably, in this scenario, the police were real, not impostors! If Chang’an Residence insisted on not paying, or the amount offered did not satisfy the other party, he would genuinely be taken away.

Being taken away in such a place, one couldn’t predict where he would be detained or what would happen.

Ordinary people might be powerless in resisting this, but sorcerers have another option, which is "Do not leave disaster, act decisively when necessary." The Sect Hall encourages, even permits disciples to act, primarily targeting those evil officials representing authority, mostly without leaving any traces.

If acting on the spot would expose one’s identity and leave trouble, then one could first seek escape and wait for the right opportunity to act.

This is a hidden rule for wandering the Jianghu in ancient times, perhaps not applicable in modern society. But there are still many places in the world where order might be as chaotic as in ancient Chinese society, or even more chaotic.

Order relies on legitimate violence, most ordinary people do not wield public power and almost cannot resist criminal forces, only hoping for order’s protection.

Order is the last layer of protection for ordinary people, even in modern civilized societies, many people have suffered unlawful harm, calling the police is almost the last and only option.

But order is not human, it needs specific individuals to represent it to enforce. When the enforcing personnel representing order, who "Officials become thieves as one, and harm the innocent," ordinary people can only let themselves be slaughtered.

There’s an ancient saying in Eastern Country: "A county magistrate destroys a family, a governor wipes out a clan," wielding the violent power of order can ruin the homes of innocents.

Sorcerers have cultivation inherently possessing the ability to disrupt order; their actions need restraint but do not imply this ability does not exist. The Sect’s attitude is that when it’s time to act, act, just do not leave disaster.

Why this point is particularly emphasized relates to the experiences of many sorcerers in ancient times. Magic Sect disciples need to walk the Jianghu to train their cultivation and broaden their knowledge.

In the context of ancient clan societies, they were often typical itinerants, socially unstable elements, and natural suspects in various vicious cases.

If a headless case occurred somewhere, within the backdrop of underdeveloped investigative technology, many local officials’ first response would be to round up the nearby itinerants for punishment.

Back then, there was no presumption of innocence, nor the concept of civilized law enforcement, false confessions under torture were not uncommon, and this was a natural risk that sorcerers, particularly low-tier sorcerers, faced while wandering the Jianghu.

What to do in such situations? Then it’s only a matter of acting.

In extreme cases, one might not be able to resist and might choose to temporarily endure, seek escape, and later look for an opportunity to settle with those who framed unlawfully...

Why did He Kao talk about all this? Because Chang’an Residence clearly was worried about one thing, fearing his actions might overstep boundaries, failing the Sect’s assessment, so he explained the whole situation.

He Kao then assured him there’s no need to worry, at least chasing Zhong Jinghui does not violate any Sect’s rules.

As for Zhong Jinghui’s accomplices, He Kao reminded Chang’an Residence to discern carefully, never to kill indiscriminately. People associated with Zhong Jinghui might not be extremely guilty, and could just be innocent subordinates.

Chang’an Residence nodded repeatedly. According to what he knew, Zhong Jinghui and his group escaped to Sutani and opened a foreign trade company, employing dozens of people altogether.

However, the list Chang’an Residence narrowed down included only five people aside from Zhong Jinghui. They were all key members of the original fraud syndicate, each carrying at least one life on their shoulders.

He Kao finally asked, "What are you planning to do? Who else do you want to deal with?"

Chang’an Residence replied, "I don’t plan to clash with the local police. I still have business back home and can’t stay here for long. Dealing with Zhong Jinghui alone is satisfying enough, but if possible, I’ll take care of those five people too."

The reason Chang’an Residence focused only on Zhong Jinghui was that he knew her; they were from the same hometown, and his brother was taken to Wadi Country by Zhong Jinghui back then. The other five were also murderers of his brother.

He Kao then asked Chang’an Residence if he had detailed information on those five people, including their criminal records and personal audio-video materials.

Following them all the way from Wadi Country, Chang’an Residence did indeed collect quite a bit of material by various means. Mobile phones are great; these days, a phone is almost akin to a server, capable of storing so much data.

Those five guys are all Eastern Country people, born in Eastern Country with Eastern Country passports and IDs, but now they’ve paid to obtain Sawa Country identities, changed their names, and remain highly vigilant.

Zhong Jinghui had an incident, and for now appears to be missing. They are also presumed to be hiding, making them difficult to find temporarily.

He Kao got the materials, looked through them, and said, "Here’s the plan. You first prepare the materials for reporting to the Magic Sect Information Office, but no need to look for these people right now.

Tomorrow night, same time and place, let’s meet again. I’ll first help you review the materials, and then tell you where those five people are hiding."

Chang’an Residence was overwhelmed with joy and repeatedly expressed his gratitude... The meal finally concluded, and it was almost midnight when He Kao took his leave. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Chang’an Residence is a standard Wild Sorcerer; he doesn’t fully grasp the capabilities that various sects’ high-tier sorcerers possess, or he’d be even more astonished.

The disparity between rich and poor in Sutani is vast, and it’s quite chaotic, with a population exceeding a million. Simply obtaining detailed information, finding five intentionally hidden individuals in such a place would be nearly impossible for ordinary high-tier sorcerers!

But He Kao is different; he is a Tier Four Scholar of the Hidden Moth Sect, possessing the means of Consciousness Detachment. As long as within the reach of his Divine Sense, with enough detailed information, he can track the target.

Through periods of cultivation and training, He Kao’s Divine Sense’s maximum extension distance has reached 1.5 kilometers in open areas. Finding those five individuals in a place like Sutani would indeed take him considerable effort, but it’s not an impossible feat.

As long as those people haven’t fled the area and are still hiding in the city, with some time spent, he can still uncover them.

The next evening, at the same private room at Donghua Grand Hotel, Chang’an Residence again met the enigmatic Huo Qing, a fellow disciple. Just like when first encountering Ye Liangchen and Lan Jiwan, He Kao didn’t reveal his true identity and claimed the name Huo Qing.

In truth, it’s not a name but merely a code name; yet saying so gives it a somewhat sophisticated touch.

He Kao looked over the report materials written by Chang’an Residence, which resembled a personal archive record, detailing experiences from childhood to present, including the process of apprenticeship and cultivation of techniques.

Even the arduous pursuit of Zhong Jinghui and her cohorts across thousands of miles was truthfully reported in the material.

At the end of the material, he wrote about an encounter with a passing sorcerer during the pursuit of Zhong Jinghui, who introduced him to the Magic Sect and provided contact information for the Sect Hall Information Office.

However, Chang’an Residence didn’t introduce He Kao’s identity because he truly didn’t know, not even mentioning the code name Huo Qing. Following He Kao’s instructions, he also did not mention He Kao’s assistance in providing the hiding spots of the five individuals.

He Kao couldn’t help but chuckle as he read through the material, subsequently helping to delete many unneeded privacy details—information that others wouldn’t provide and that the Sect Hall would never require.

After reviewing the information, He Kao then supplied the hiding locations of those five individuals, complete with graphical illustrations.

Today’s meal involved far less drinking and concluded much earlier than yesterday. Chang’an Residence took advantage of the night, rode a motorcycle away, and began searching for the target in this somewhat chaotic city.

The five people hid in three locations, and with the diagram provided by He Kao, Chang’an Residence found them readily.

His action capability was truly strong, striving to infiltrate without alarming the irrelevant; when striking, he ensured single lethal hits and swiftly retreated, never entangling with others, leaving no loose ends.

By dawn, Chang’an Residence’s work was completed, and he rode his motorcycle out of the city, heading to another city to change his mode of transportation back to Eastern Country.

He Kao, who silently observed the whole process, also quietly departed.

**