The flea stood trembling in front of him, a forehead slick with sweat.
He hadn’t thought this much into it, initially just a bit puzzled as to why it took so long to investigate such a minor matter right under their own roof.
Only when the investigation results landed in his hands did he have an epiphany and feel an immense sense of relief… relieved that the correct decision had been made in the hall!
Yang Ge shifted into a more comfortable position, and with an easy smile, said, "All this just because of Ming Sect’s peace recruitment?"
The flea couldn’t help but wipe away the beads of sweat above his eyelids, replying in a low voice, "Returning to Second Master, the peace recruitment of Ming Sect is the root cause, but the main reason is the struggle between the peace faction and the rebel faction within Ming Sect which has gone from covert to overt, showing signs of a split within the grand Ming Sect."
"Furthermore, recently Qingmu Hall’s Chief Yang has been frequently liaising with various branches of Ming Sect, seeking to vie for the position of the next Sect Hierarch, whereas Yang Potian’s closed-door disciple and son-in-law, Lu Wujie, is far inferior to Chief Yang in terms of martial arts, prestige, merits, and popularity."
"Although there’s no explicit rule within Ming Sect’s code that the position of Sect Hierarch must be passed down through a single lineage, the title has been transmitted through Yang Potian’s line for four generations, in essence no different from a rule establishing primogeniture..."
He rambled on and on, veering off-topic with his prattle.
But in essence, it was all just one sentence!
"Oh..."
Yang Ge summarized with interest, elongating his tone, "So the best way to shift internal conflict is to find a powerful enemy on the outside, right?"
Viewing the whole matter from this angle, he found that Yang Potian was rather courageous and resourceful!
On the matter of the Jiangzhe tax reforms, Yang Ge had put up a plaque, basically taking a stand with the court on this issue.
And Yang Potian stirring trouble over this matter meant challenging both Yang Ge and the court’s dignity at the same time!
By falling out with the court, proposals for peace with Ming Sect would immediately fall through, and the foundation for conflict between the Ming Sect’s peace faction and rebel faction would naturally vanish into thin air!
To fall out with Yang Ge meant cutting off Yang Tiansheng’s strongest ally at once... no matter how strong Yang Ge was, tens of thousands of Ming Sect followers would never accept an enemy as an ally for the next Sect Hierarch!
Moreover, the pressure exerted on Ming Sect by the court and by Yang Ge himself promoted unity within Ming Sect and solidified Yang Potian’s position as the Sect Hierarch!
It was like killing four birds with one stone!
Only there was one very grave issue...
Yang Ge muttered, bewildered, "But where does Yang Potian find the courage to provoke me? No matter how numerous his sect followers, I could kill them in three slashes, what good are they?"
Hearing this, the flea shuddered, quickly forcing himself to regulate his breathing, to focus his attention inwards...
Yang Ge, unable to fathom the reason after much thought, suddenly recalled something and looked up to ask, "Is your venerable master doing okay?"
The flea remained unaffected.
Yang Ge waved his hand in front of the flea’s eyes, "Hey, I’m talking to you?"
The flea looked up with a dazed expression, "Huh?"
Yang Ge: "Your family’s venerable master, is he doing alright?"
The flea was taken aback and asked in astonishment, "Second Master, why do you ask?"
Yang Ge laughed, "I just suddenly remembered something..."
The flea quickly clasped his fists and bowed, "Please enlighten me, Second Master!"
Yang Ge: "I recall a few days ago you were so bored you mentioned to me that the White Lotus Sect’s Sect Hierarch Tang was inexplicably held down and rubbed against the ground by some mysterious figure, right?"
The flea’s face showed utter confusion as he let out an "Ah?" Then, catching on, he nodded and said, "Indeed, that happened, but what does that have to do with our Louwailou’s doorman? Second Master, that mysterious person wasn’t one of our doormen! If it were his venerability himself who took action, we surely wouldn’t have received any news about it!"
"No no no, I’m not talking about your venerable master personally beating up Tang!"
Yang Ge shook his head like a rattle-drum: "Your venerable master doesn’t have that capacity!"
"What I’m saying is... huh, let’s just consider whether there’s a possibility that your revered master was also ground into the floor by that mysterious person?"
Flea replied with a forced bravery, "Second Master, that kind of matter... how can a lowly one like me know anything about it."
Yang Ge nodded, "That is to say, it’s possible that your revered master wasn’t beaten up, but it’s also possible that he was, right? Hmm, Schrödinger’s beating!"
Flea, unable to find the words, could only nod with a tingling scalp, "Second Master speaks... speaks sensibly!"
Yang Ge clapped his hands, "So let’s first assume that your revered master was beaten up too, only that your revered master has a harder bone than Tang, who not only didn’t swallow his pride and blood but also turned around and pushed the matter onto me, so that I would avenge his grievous beating for him..."
"Case closed, Yang Potian surely has found himself a valorous leg to cling to, rich in the pride of the jianghu, and thinks that I can no longer pose a threat to him, daring to make a bold move!"
Flea looked as if he had something to say but stopped himself, wanting to tell Yang Ge: ’Your inference based on a series of "assumptions" is not at all rigorous, if this were in our Louwailou, you couldn’t even manage to get a seat at the communal table...’
But facing Yang Ge’s earnest demeanor, he ultimately closed his mouth, thinking to himself, ’As long as you’re happy!’
And Yang Ge, he didn’t need Flea to confirm his inference...
His deduction, though based on a series of "assumptions."
But he was ninety percent certain that his deduction was the truth!
He even dared to assert that the mysterious person was definitely not that old ascetic from Mount Longhu!
"The smaller the temple, the wilder the monsters; the shallower the water, the more abundant the frogs..."
Yang Ge sighed wearily, unsure for a moment how to deal with this situation.
Truth be told, his impression of the Ming Sect had always been quite favorable.
Not to mention his friendship with Yang Tiansheng, but just the fact that during the defense against Japanese pirates at Zhoushan, more than five thousand brave Ming Sect fighters had laid down their lives, leaving behind one thousand three hundred and twenty-six heroic souls, with almost every survivor wounded...
He had no reason to think ill of the Ming Sect.
Though those five thousand plus brave men were begged by Yang Tiansheng at the expense of his dignity from each hall and branch of the Ming Sect, if Yang Potian, the Sect Hierarch of the Ming Sect, had merely shaken his head and uttered a "no," those five thousand plus men would have resolutely been prevented from going to Zhoushan!
Moreover, after so many elite disciples of the Ming Sect died in battle, not one word of complaint was uttered from top to bottom of the sect.
This fraternity, Yang Ge had always kept in his heart, and he had consistently avoided conflict with the Ming Sect.
In the past years, whoever provoked him, he struck back, regardless of whether they were strong or weak, alive or dead, he had never backed down.
The only time he took a detour was before he sailed east across the sea, when Yang Potian blocked him in Hangzhou...
But unexpectedly, it still ended up in such a muddle despite his efforts!
Yang Ge was silent for a long time before he sighed and said, "Use the fastest messaging channel of your Louwailou to send a message to Yang Potian for me... that matter in Jiangzhe, I can let it slide for now, but just this once. If he dares to scheme against me again, we’ll settle old and new accounts together!"
"Besides, I don’t care how they fight or struggle within the Ming Sect, but Yang Tiansheng and the Yang Family of Fengyang must not suffer any harm, if anyone dares to touch them, I’ll close my inn and from then on, will only take care of him!"
Flea, standing in front of him, kept wiping the sweat from his brow, his mouth as if sealed by paste, not daring to utter a single word.
Yang Ge glanced at him and continued, "Also tell your revered master for me that I, Yang Erlang, will take responsibility for this matter. He can spread the word; anyone who troubles Louwailou over this matter will be regarded as provoking me, Yang Erlang. For every person from Louwailou who dies because of this, I will take the life of the perpetrator. When I, Yang Erlang, speak, I mean what I say, firm as nails!"
The murderous tone made Flea shiver instinctively, and he stood up straight, clasping his fists in salute, "Yes, Second Master!"
Yang Ge waved his hand, "Go and send the message, quickly!"
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Flea saluted, "Understood!"
After speaking, he turned and ran off.
Leaving Yang Ge alone, he sighed deeply once more, "Why is it so hard to try to do the right thing?"