Mysterious Opportunity

Li Fan knocked on the door.

"Hi, Lord Wen, are you busy?"

"... Lord Li? What a coincidence!"

"Hehe, I just happened to be passing by your residence and happen to have some matters I'd like to discuss with you privately. Is now a convenient time?"

"Ah... you see, this is convenient for me... so it's not very convenient for me. Perhaps we should go to the yamen another day..."

"Hey, the government office is full of idle gossip, it's inconvenient. I think it's more convenient here. There's no one watching us here, right? It's alright, it's alright, you can continue using it, I don't mind."

"Ah, but I... sigh... yes, yes, please tell me, please tell me..."

Wen Zhang was also at his wit's end. These Six Doors were really inconsiderate, blocking people in the toilet. He had no choice but to squat in the toilet and agree.

Hearing his concession, Li Fan, who was just a door away, nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point. You must have heard about the sealing off of Heping Fang by the Discipline Institute of Ink Bamboo Mountain these past two days, right?"

"Yes, yes, I've heard about it."

"Very well, Lord Wen has held his position in the Jingji for many years. Surely you can't hide this situation in Heping Fang from your eyes, can you? Heh, you let such a thing go unchecked; you probably know perfectly well who's behind it all, don't you?"

"Don't be nervous, I'm not blaming you. I just wanted to ask, what is your opinion on the matter of that person in Taiping Temple secretly colluding with the demonic path and supporting the Black Lotus Sect?"

Wen Zhang squatted by the door for a while before speaking softly.

"I wonder which side Lord Li is actually working for?"

Li Fan smiled, knowing these clever people wouldn't act until they saw the benefit, so he took out a piece of mutton-fat jade pendant from his pocket and slipped it under the door for the other person to see.

Do you recognize it?

"This! Hiss... You really are from Sanyuan..."

Huh? You actually recognize the token given by the Grand Tutor? That's impressive! To be honest, did you dream about visiting Yuntai Peak when you were a kid?

However, now is not the time to interrupt. Li Fan put away the jade incantation and said.

"Of course, didn't I tell you right away, sir? I was sent by the Three Palaces to capture the immortal thief, the Nangong Seven Thieves, a wanted criminal on the run by the Tingwei! You must have heard of him, sir, as the governor of the capital Jingji, right?"

Do you know Cen Hun, the eunuch in Taiping Temple? That white-browed eunuch is actually a remnant of the rebel Nangong! Taiping Temple dares to harbor such a rebel; they are clearly plotting a rebellion! They should be executed along with their entire family! Their property confiscated, their heads cut in half, and their bodies displayed in the marketplace!"

Li Fan could tell that Wen Zhang was terrified, so he softened his tone and said...

"However, these are internal affairs of the Li Country, and have nothing to do with a mere officer from the Six Doors. Moreover, thanks to Lord Wen's guidance, I was able to catch these remnants of the rebels and fight them a few times, but unfortunately, these traitors escaped."

So here I am again, asking you to point me in the right direction and tell me where to capture these immortal thieves.

Li Fan, despite his loud and boisterous manner, genuinely came to seek advice. After all, those guys had escaped so decisively and efficiently, clearly having a pre-existing escape plan. The pharmacy in the Heping Fang had been completely ransacked; not only were there no corpses, but the Discipline Institute hadn't even found any medical waste...

The connection with Taiping Temple has naturally been severed. The white-browed eunuch, Sixteen, 'Cen Hun' —whoever he was, he has revealed his identity this time and has naturally disappeared without a trace. He probably won't appear with that face again.

Even if Li Fan stormed into Taiping Temple, rounded up all the steamed dumplings and shrimp dumplings, interrogated them one by one, and searched every nook and cranny, it would probably be difficult to find any reliable clues about those immortal thieves. Li Fan was still hesitating between playing the long game or going straight in to search their souls, fearing that if he alerted them, he would end up with no clues at all.

However, after careful consideration, he realized that although the clues about 'Cen Hun' had been cut off, the other nine unseen immortal thieves might still be a possibility. Since they had been operating openly in Changsi City for the past few years, conducting drug experiments on the poor, they must have legitimate identities and official records to facilitate their actions.

Wen Zhang, who is now in charge of the security of Changsi City, is not a good-for-nothing who just coasts along. He must have found out some behind-the-scenes information to know how deep the water is and why he let these people go unchecked.

So Li Fan seized the opportunity when the cruel official got up at night and caught him.

But you know what, everyone in the Wen mansion, from the gatekeepers and servants to the guards, actually possesses the cultivation level of the Divine Essence Body. The security is far more stringent than that of the Sili Xiaowei's office. It seems this guy has secretly raised a large number of assassins to secure his current position. Although, in Li Fan's opinion, this level of strength is really useless except for bullying ordinary people.

People often come up with quick thinking when they're driven to desperation. Wen Zhang didn't want the headlines in Changsi City the next day to be something like, "Breaking News! Three people in the Jingji were sitting alone at home when a pot fell from the sky and they fell into the toilet and drowned!" So he quickly came up with some useful intelligence.

"White eyebrows... Ah! I've got it! Changsi City Xianyi Temple, there's a female Daoist priestess known as the Mysterious Opportunity!"

Li Fan asked curiously, "Xianyi Temple? Mysterious Opportunity? Never heard of her. Is she from Ink Bamboo Mountain? What realm is she at? Why are her eyebrows white too?"

Wen Zhang swallowed hard and said, "This woman is a renowned talented woman in the Jingji. Lan Zhi Huixin, beautiful, and of exceptional talent. She was originally born into a well-to-do family, but unfortunately, she had a fiancé of equal social standing, whom she was betrothed to since childhood. He was too successful, passing the imperial examination with top honors, and was chosen by a powerful family to marry into her family."

Although she considered her husband's future and agreed to become his concubine, her exceptional talent and beauty aroused the jealousy of the wife. As a result, she was framed and nearly tortured to death. She was even forced to leave her home and become a nun at Xianyi Temple in the suburbs.

Because her spineless husband feared his wife and dared not offend the powerful families, he assumed she was dead. This Mysterious Opportunity, was heartbroken and gradually became dissolute. Those guests who went to Xianyi Temple to offer incense and gifts, if they were exceptionally talented and eloquent, and who gained her appreciation and admiration, would not only receive tea and wine, but if they were lucky, they might even share intimate moments with her.

Li Fan couldn't help but mock him, "Since Lord Wen knows so much, have you perhaps also displayed your talent a few times?"

Wen Zhang, "Ahem! Lord Li, please don't joke. To become a guest of this Mysterious Opportunity, one must be either a truly talented scholar or a high-ranking official with a reputation for talent."

Those who regularly visit her Xianyi Temple for tea and poetry are all cultured people from the Jingji region; the atmosphere is refined and elegant, unlike the vulgar West Market. It's not a place you can just go to whenever you want."

Li Fan understood; it was a private club.

"Okay, okay, she's just a socialite from the arts and culture world. What, what's her connection to Taiping Temple? Is it because of some overlap in their work?"

Wen Zhang said, "The people in the Xianyi Temple circle are at most minor officials like vice ministers, which are not comparable to those in the Taiping Temple. I haven't found out what powerful backers she has. At first, I thought that this woman was just a popular figure in the small circle of literati who had been praised by each other."

So, a couple of years ago, someone accused the Mysterious Opportunity of privately beating and killing a servant girl and hiding her body in the temple. I handled the case according to the law. Alas, to be honest, the officers didn't actually find the body. But this matter was actually arranged by the principal wife. She probably heard that the Mysterious Opportunity had been banished from the capital and was living quite comfortably, so she wanted her dead. Therefore, although she couldn't find the body, she found the deceased's blood-stained clothes and other witness testimonies. In the end, she suspected that the hermit had used some secret Daoist magic to destroy the evidence. Therefore, I intended to deal with it according to the law, imprisoning and executing Xuanji as a warning to others.

But when you mentioned the white-browed attendant Cen Hun, I remembered this matter.

It was Cen Hun of Taiping Temple who stepped in and took Mysterious Opportunity away from prison, saving her life. Not only that, Cen Hun also helped her drop the case, and Mysterious Opportunity's family also issued a letter of divorce, thus severing all ties with her and ending all past grievances.

Moreover, after that, the Mysterious Opportunity was not seen visiting Taiping Temple. Instead, he continued to cultivate himself in Xianyi Temple outside the city, associating with high-ranking officials and seeking pleasure with scholars, just as before, and his reputation even grew.

Because many of her admirers pleaded with me for her life, the world assumed that some high-ranking official had intervened and persuaded me. No one knew that she escaped with her life entirely thanks to her connections at the Taiping Temple. Therefore, if you wish to apprehend the remnants of the Immortal Thief, perhaps you could start with this person."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan couldn't help but feel puzzled. "Now that you mention it, this person is indeed highly suspected of colluding with the immortal thief. There are quite a few steamed dumplings, cough cough, and nuns in the Taiping Temple, but that eunuch hasn't taken a liking to any of them. Yet, it doesn't seem like he simply wants to make a good connection and recruit her..."

Lord Wen, you might as well make your point clearer, lest another mistake occur and the thief escapes again, wasting a clue and causing me to have to come back and bother you again, which I can't bear to do."

Wen Zhang sighed, but then he thought, "I've been silently trapped in the latrine, how could I possibly escape?" So he had no choice but to confess everything.

"Lord Li, do you know where to begin when searching for someone?"

"Oh? You're testing me again?" Li Fan was getting a little impatient, his voice rising an octave.

"No, no, what I mean is that to find someone or investigate a case, you first need to find their money."

Wen Zhang dared not keep them in suspense any longer and quickly blurted out the details.

"The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for gain. When I was investigating this case, I noticed discrepancies in the income and expenditure of Xianyi Temple. The daily expenses were incorrect, and the tea, snacks, utensils, food, clothing, and daily necessities in the temple were extremely luxurious, belonging to the highest-ranking imperial relatives. But in reality, there wasn't that much cash and gold. Isn't that strange?"

Li Fan couldn't help but interrupt, "What's wrong with that? Isn't this kind of tone normal in high-end clubs? She's the number one internet celebrity in the arts and culture scene in the Li Country, so she must have big spenders giving her money. Maybe she can earn two million strings of cash a day!"

Wen Zhang sighed, "Lord Li, who would go to offer incense and fulfill a vow, carrying so much gold and silver, and donating a million strings of cash at once? Xianyi Temple isn't a proper cultivation sect, and Mysterious Opportunity doesn't have any powerful protectors around him. If he has so much money in his hands, isn't he afraid of being targeted by villains? Besides, is it really necessary to spend so much money for just one woman?"

That's not necessarily true; the world is full of wonders.

"So you mean...?"

Wen Zhang couldn't help but switch into detective mode again. "Based on my observations and deductions, those literati, officials, and nobles who frequented Xianyi Temple were not only there to meet with the Mysterious Opportunity, but mainly to compose poems and paint."

Li Fan: "... Huh? Did you say it backwards?"

"Exactly! I also find it strange. If it were just an ordinary woman of some talent and appearance, having one or two lovers and meeting up every three to five days would be normal. But at Xianyi Temple, every night it's bustling with activity! Is that Mysterious Opportunity so powerful that he can keep partying all night long? That's too outrageous!"

Therefore, through this case, I have also made many inquiries and discovered that many talented and romantic scholars were deliberately courted and flattered by the Mysterious Opportunity Mystery. She admired their talents and could chat with them, so she regarded him as her confidante and became unable to resist him. Whenever they met, they would discuss poetry and songs, and often compose poems and paint pictures. They would only make love when their feelings were so deep that they could not extricate themselves.

Those nobles and dignitaries, on the other hand, weren't necessarily after Mysterious Opportunity; rather, they specifically paid high prices to buy those poems and paintings from her.

When I first found out about this, I thought she was acting as a middleman, helping scholars get into officialdom through connections with powerful figures. But later it didn't seem like that. There weren't any scholars from humble backgrounds who got promoted. It seemed like she was just someone who kept her female confidante company, occasionally helping her gain fame and boasting about how amazing her poetry and paintings were.

Therefore, if I am not mistaken, someone deliberately mingled among the nobles and scholars, transferring large sums of money out of Xianyi Temple through the buying and selling of calligraphy and paintings..."

Li Fan didn't understand for a moment. "Wait a minute, didn't you just say that spending a lot of money would attract the attention of bad guys?"

Wen Zhang chuckled, "The wealth in this world isn't just gold, silver, and coins. I've heard that in recent years, Taiping Temple has also been snapping up a lot of land deeds. If my reasoning is correct, it's possible that someone exchanged cash for land deeds. These land deeds are like the Immortal Tickets of Ink Bamboo Mountain today—hard currency that keeps appreciating in value during this time of rampant private money! By reselling these land deeds, one can easily exchange them for large quantities of grain, people, and land from the powerful clans and wealthy families of Li Country..."

Li Fan understood Wen Zhang's meaning. "You mean, it's not that Taiping Temple is colluding with the immortal thief Nangong, but rather that those immortal thieves are transferring the wealth accumulated by Taiping Temple?"

Wen Zhang sighed, "I'm not trying to excuse Princess Li, but she has managed the Taiping Temple for many years, accumulating a considerable fortune for the Li Country's treasury. If she hadn't been suddenly assassinated and unable to manage affairs for so many years, perhaps the Li Country's governance wouldn't have been ruined to this extent by those eunuchs who bewitched the emperor?"

Unfortunately, my abilities are limited, and my position is lowly, so I can only use harsh laws and severe punishments to maintain the court's facade of authority and cover things up for the time being. But sooner or later, someone will surely see through it all: the roots of this great tree, Li Country, are already rotten; it's all show and no substance, and the edifice is about to collapse...

Hmph, only now are you starting to feel sorry for yourselves? But who told you parasites to seize everything so recklessly, ultimately destroying your own foundation?

"Alright, thank you for your guidance, Lord Wen. I understand. I won't bother you any longer!"

Li Fan was too lazy to keep Wen Zhang company in the outhouse, so once he understood the situation, he immediately left the Wen residence and set off for Xianyi Temple.

Sure enough, when Li Fan arrived at the place, it was already deserted.

Not only was there no sign of the Mysterious Opportunity, but there were also no maids, Daoist priests, scholars, or visitors, not even a mouse.

Clearly, these thieves won't forget to take down everyone involved in the asset transfer!

But it doesn't matter!

The worst thing is not knowing; once you know, you have nothing to fear!

Now that we know the water flows through the Xianyi Temple area, we can definitely trace its destination!

Even if those celestial thieves cleaned up their mess thoroughly, even if they killed everyone involved in the matter, including the head of the Mysterious Opportunity and everyone inside and outside the Xianyi Temple, it would be impossible to completely erase all traces.

Because the link of cause and effect in the transaction—between Taiping Temple's funds, Changsi City's land deeds, and Xianyi Temple's calligraphy and paintings—has already been established, it can definitely be calculated and divined!

Even if Li Fan can't figure it out, surely the Abbot can? Surely Xuan Tian can't?

Calculate it! Calculate it for me!

Those thieves may escape to the ends of the earth, but they can't escape the wealth and assets they've amassed through all that they've done.

As long as they put the land deeds out for trading, they will definitely leave traces, and we can catch them all!

Of course, just to be on the safe side, Li Fan still had to search through everything again.

So he casually took out the Si Nan... wait, there really were some things that weren't all taken?

Following the Si Nan's direction, Li Fan found a flower bed in the inner courtyard of Xianyi Temple.

Li Fan could vaguely see that the soil in this flower bed was a different color from the surrounding soil. So he reached out and dug around in the soil for a while, and unearthed a wooden box with a scroll inside.

Is it a painting for trading? What kind of thing could be worth several houses in the capital...? Is it some kind of erotic painting?

So Li Fan opened the scroll and glanced at it, suddenly feeling a little uneasy...

The painting depicts a woman whose body is half rotten, the other half having grown into a willow tree, surrounded by huge greenbottle flies, making it look exceptionally foul...

Then Li Fan touched his nose and found that blood had already gushed out and soaked his clothes.

Damn it.

It is Yuan Shi.

So, all the 'paintings' that have been passed down are probably <Yuan Shi>!