Chapter 1449 - 728: Hesitant (Part 2)
If the old man truly had ulterior motives, he would have attacked Lin Beichen and his group long ago, rather than engaging in peaceful conversation as he does now.
Suddenly, the old man burst into hearty laughter. Lin Beichen and Liu Baoguo exchanged puzzled glances, bewildered by the old man’s sudden laughter.
The two became even more wary, and Liu Baoguo was more certain of Lin Beichen’s words — this old man’s identity was indeed unusual.
Luckily, Lin Beichen had warned him in advance not to act rashly. Otherwise, with his hot temper, he would have already said something to offend the old man.
Lin Beichen asked the old man, "Why are you laughing?"
The old man stopped laughing and said, "I know where the fake monk is. I can take you there, but you must agree to one condition."
Hearing this, Lin Beichen’s heart stirred. If the old man could reveal the whereabouts of the fake monk, it would undoubtedly be beneficial. But the old man asking for a condition made him hesitate.
He didn’t know what the old man’s condition would be. If it was within his capabilities, he might consider agreeing; otherwise, he couldn’t accept it. Then, they would have to find the fake monk like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Alright, what’s the condition?" Lin Beichen asked.
"The condition is that you must accept the fake monk as your disciple," the old man said.
Lin Beichen found it absurd. Although he had disciples following him, he had never publicly stated he wanted to accept disciples. How did the old man see it, and why was he asking him to accept the fake monk?
"Sorry, I never accept disciples, so I cannot agree to accept the fake monk as your condition," Lin Beichen refused.
The fake monk has done so many deceitful things; accepting him as a disciple would tarnish his reputation. Therefore, Lin Beichen simply lied about not accepting disciples.
"What? Are you trying to fool an old man like me?" the old man laughed.
The old man exposed Lin Beichen’s secret with a laugh, saying, "Don’t think I don’t know you’re accepting disciples; it’s your task to do so. I’m proposing this condition to help you complete the task faster. I didn’t expect you to be ungrateful."
Lin Beichen was greatly shocked; he had never disclosed his system or its tasks to anyone. How could this old man be aware of such secrets upon their first meeting? Lin Beichen was filled with curiosity about the old man’s identity and decided to investigate further.
But he knew that he shouldn’t panic at this moment. If he showed surprise, it would mean admitting the old man’s words. So, Lin Beichen forced himself to remain calm, avoiding mention of the system.
"Did I get it right?" the old man asked.
Lin Beichen reluctantly admitted, "Old man, you are impressive; I am indeed accepting disciples."
Since his lie had been exposed, he saw no need to conceal the truth any longer.
"Are you planning to accept him as a disciple?" the old man asked, "If you agree, I can take you to find him right now."
"Well, I’ll have to think about it," Lin Beichen said, "After all, he’s done so many bad things that I can’t easily agree."
The old man understood; after all, the fake monk had a notorious reputation, and no one wanted to accept such a disciple.
"Alright, let me take you to find him first." the old man rose, with Lin Beichen and Liu Baoguo following behind.
They arrived at a thatched cottage on the edge of the town and immediately saw the fake monk brewing medicine.
Upon hearing footsteps, the fake monk looked up, seeing Lin Beichen and especially Liu Baoguo. He instinctively wanted to flee but stopped after a few steps, realizing running was not a viable long-term solution.
"You dare show up in front of me; see how I’ll deal with you!" Liu Baoguo rolled up his sleeves, ready to take action.
He thought the fake monk returned to provoke him, and he couldn’t stand such people, deciding to teach him a lesson.
Unexpectedly, the fake monk suddenly knelt before Liu Baoguo, admitting wrong: "It was wrong of me to deceive you. Please forgive me. I’ll never do bad things again. Beat me up; vent your anger on me."
The fake monk thought admitting his mistake was better than being pursued by Liu Baoguo. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to do anything in the future.
Upon hearing this, Liu Baoguo was thrilled, having long wanted to thoroughly beat the fake monk.
"Alright, you said it. Whatever happens, you brought it upon yourself, don’t blame me." Liu Baoguo said, ready to strike.
Lin Beichen had been observing the surroundings. He noticed the fake monk initially wanted to escape but suddenly returned and knelt to admit fault, sensing something unusual.
Just as Liu Baoguo’s hand was about to hit the fake monk, Lin Beichen intervened to stop him. He felt the fake monk might not be as bad as Liu Baoguo described, suspecting there were deeper reasons for his actions.
"Why are you stopping me? Once I’ve taught him a good lesson and vented my anger, he won’t need to hide from me anymore." Liu Baoguo was quite displeased with Lin Beichen’s interference, thinking that if he could beat the fake monk once, everyone would be happy.
"Revenge only breeds more revenge. I brought you here to find the fake monk, not for you to beat him arbitrarily." Lin Beichen said firmly.
"But he’s been horribly wrong to me!" Liu Baoguo protested angrily.
"Don’t rush; let’s assess the situation first," Lin Beichen replied resolutely, insisting on understanding the circumstances before making decisions. Although Liu Baoguo was discontent, he had to restrain his urge to lift the fake monk because he needed Lin Beichen’s help to solve the trap he was in.
With that said, Lin Beichen walked into the thatched cottage. Inside, there were four simple beds, each occupied by a person wearing pained expressions.
Seeing Lin Beichen enter the room, the fake monk was nervous and quickly followed him in.
"I’m willing to take full responsibility for what I’ve done. You can kill or punish me without regret. Just don’t let Liu Baoguo harm these people again. They’ve suffered once already, they can’t endure a second time. Otherwise, I’ll fight him to the death!" The fake monk said emotionally, filled with hatred towards Liu Baoguo.
Lin Beichen found it odd, glancing at Liu Baoguo. Liu Baoguo shrugged, completely clueless about ever harming these people.
"Don’t spout nonsense; when did I harm them? Don’t slander me. You’ll say anything to escape responsibility," Liu Baoguo retorted.
"Hmph, don’t play dumb. You know very well the unspeakable acts you’ve committed. It’s not easy to clear your name now." The fake monk wasn’t backing down.
Lin Beichen believed the fake monk’s expression and emotion seemed genuine; at this point, there was no need for him to deceive them. Otherwise, with so many people around, any one of them could teach him a lesson, not to mention injure the ones lying on the beds.
"You said Liu Baoguo once harmed these people; what happened? Under what circumstances did he hurt them?" Lin Beichen asked.
"Lin Beichen, how can you be so clueless? Are you going to believe anything he says? Don’t let him confuse you. How could I possibly harm them? I don’t know these people! They’re pulling a scam!" Liu Baoguo quickly defended himself, having no memory of them and his usual work didn’t endanger anyone.
Lin Beichen was inquiring the fake monk, but Liu Baoguo kept interrupting, which annoyed Lin Beichen. He shot Liu Baoguo a glare, causing Liu Baoguo to become obedient instantly. He realized if he continued displeasing Lin Beichen, Lin Beichen might stop helping him with the array problem.
"Alright, speak up; what exactly happened?" Lin Beichen told the fake monk.
"Here’s the situation: Liu Baoguo has been dealing in yam business.
A few years ago, he was buying various types of yams from the mountains. Somehow, he heard about a highly toxic iron flower in the mountains that was quite valuable, so he spread the word that he was buying it at a high price.
When the villagers learned of this, they were overjoyed. Because mountain folks are poor, lack skills, and find it hard to get jobs outside, they neglect safety to find the iron flower, hoping to sell it to Liu Baoguo for money. As a result, many died from iron flower poisoning.
The worst part was, Liu Baoguo paid only one-twentieth of the total price, while he intended to sell it for a high price.