240: Chapter 240 Shifting the Blame East

The Village Chief frowned. "Detonate it? How do we detonate it?"

The Militia Captain gritted his teeth and whispered, "Aren't they looking for some treasure? We'll leak some information and tell them about a fake treasure site. Let them fight to the death over a fake treasure. It's best to have them fight outside the village; even if they beat each other's brains out, it'll have nothing to do with us."

"How do we do that specifically?"

"Do you remember that Huang Jianyong recognized a godmother?"

"Godmother? Where did Huang Jianyong get a god—" The Village Chief suddenly realized. "The old elm tree in Dongpo Village!"

"Right. The elders in the village still remember this. Find a chance to spread the word, saying that Huang Jianyong's treasure is hidden near his godmother. Let those people go and ask about Huang Jianyong's godmother. As long as someone finds out, they'll definitely go. Once one person goes, the others will naturally follow. When that happens, even if they turn the world upside down, it'll be in Dongpo Village, and it won't have anything to do with us."

The Village Chief was clearly tempted. He stood up and paced back and forth in the room. "Doing this... wouldn't it be a bit unethical?"

"What's unethical about it? The area around that old elm tree is all barren hills, nobody lives there. Even if the fighting is fierce, it won't affect anything. At most, the old elm tree gets sawed down or dug up; there's no real loss or impact. Even if the people from Dongpo come knocking, at worst we compensate them with a tree. It's better than letting these people cause trouble in our village every day. The villagers have had a lot of complaints these past few days. If we don't show some action, next year's election..."

The Village Chief slapped the table. "Fine, let's do it."

The Militia Captain nodded slightly. "The problem now is how to make these people believe the supposed treasure is over by that old elm tree in Dongpo Village."

"Right, these people aren't stupid. They might even possess all sorts of strange methods. They won't be easy to fool."

"There's only one way now."

"What way?"

"Mixing the fake with the real. Bury some real stuff under the old elm tree."

"Real stuff? What real stuff?"

"The dharma instruments they keep talking about."

"Where are we going to find those things?"

"We don't have any, but someone does. We can spend money to buy them. Spend three to five hundred thousand to buy a few decent items and bury them."

"How is that possible?"

"Spending a little money to get this done is a great deal. Anyway, it's not your money. Even if the villagers find out, they won't object; they're sick and tired of those outsiders right now."

"Let me think, let me think."

"Old Huang, we can't delay this. If we wait any longer, who knows what kind of mess will break out."

The Village Chief waved his hand irritably, puffing heavily on a cigarette, one after another. Amidst the swirling smoke, he suddenly nodded heavily. "Fine, let's do it. But those dharma instruments—where do you plan to buy them? Can you guarantee they're authentic?"

The Militia Captain looked delighted. "Guaranteed authentic."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but for this, we have to go to Han Jingyang."

"Why look for him? Huang Jianyong's whole mess was caused by him. If it weren't for him, how would the village have ended up like this?"

"One thing at a time. For dharma instruments that are cheap and guaranteed authentic, Han Jingyang is really the only one who has them."

"..."

The Village Chief was silent for a long time. "Are you sure?"

"Mhm. Han Jingyang's name is quite big in the circle. I've asked around. Although this guy is obsessed with money, his reputation is actually quite good. At least he doesn't sell fakes. The expensive ones are very expensive, and the cheap ones are very cheap. But even the cheap stuff is good in the eyes of many Feng Shui Masters and Yin-Yang Masters. Buying two or three real ones to mix into a pile of fakes will be enough to make the whole thing look real."

"Contact Han Jingyang first."

"Why contact him? We can just take the money and go straight to his shop to buy them."

"Is he at the shop?"

"He's not there right now, but he's bound to be open for business. He can't keep the doors closed forever."

"That's true. Then what about the rest of the fakes?"

"The fakes can't be too fake; they at least have to look the part." At this point, the Militia Captain slapped his forehead. "Right, didn't we bust a gang of tomb raiders back in '06? There's a batch of old items just sitting at the village committee office. They're just sitting there anyway; picking a few to pass off as dharma instruments would be perfect."

"This..."

"It's been so many years, they aren't worth much. Even if they get chipped or bumped, it's fine. No one will hold us accountable. We just need to give the accountant and the others a heads-up."

"Alright."

Jiguang Zhai.

Han Jingyang and the other two left Xipo Village and returned directly.

As they entered, Shi Xiaoya asked impatiently, "Boss, is there something wrong with Huang Jianshe?"

Han Jingyang smiled and nodded. "Not only is there something wrong, it's a pretty big problem."

"What's the problem? How come I couldn't tell? He looked just like an ordinary person."

"If you could tell, Huang Jianshe would have been arrested long ago. How could he have remained safe and sound until now?"

"Huh?"

"Think about it. Huang Jianshe lived in Chaotian Temple for many years. The tunnel Huang Jianyong dug also led directly to Chaotian Temple. Even the spirit Huang Jianyong cultivated settled down there. Every time he committed a crime, he had to run through the tunnel to Chaotian Temple before taking action. Is it possible that Huang Jianshe didn't notice a single thing after all these years?"

"This... maybe he was confused by some other means of Huang Jianyong's? There must be dharma instruments or techniques that can make people fall into a deep sleep, right?"

"There are," Han Jingyang nodded. "But everyone has overlooked the relationship between Huang Jianyong and Huang Jianshe."

Hearing this, Liu Jing blurted out, "Biological brothers?"

Shi Xiaoya, however, frowned. "That shouldn't be right. Although their names sound like brothers, the villagers have never said so. Besides, if they really were brothers, that old man Bai Sixing and Zhang Zhiyang's group definitely wouldn't have ignored Huang Jianshe. They would have certainly checked Huang Jianyong's social relations. If they were brothers, they would have made many connections. They might not be strong, but they aren't fools; they're quite good at gathering intelligence."

"But these two names... one is Huang Jianshe, one is Huang Jianyong. They're too similar."

"That's very normal in the countryside, especially in the early years. Most people in a village have the same surname, and names are often similar. For boys born in that era, six out of ten would have 'Jian' in their names. It's not unusual."

"This..."

Han Jingyang smiled. "That's exactly the point. This phenomenon is so common that it's even easier to overlook. I'm certain that Huang Jianyong and Huang Jianshe are biological brothers. Records can be modified, and memories can fade. I suspect Huang Jianshe was adopted shortly after birth, so most people don't remember it. But as the older brother, being about ten years older than Huang Jianshe, Huang Jianyong definitely wouldn't forget his younger brother. To make a bold assumption: after Huang Jianyong achieved success in his cultivation, he helped his brother Huang Jianshe along the way, yet found ways to keep him hidden. The two brothers operated, one in the light and one in the shadows. After the incident, Huang Jianyong's decisive suicide might not have been without the intent to protect this younger brother."

Shi Xiaoya and Liu Jing's eyes widened in unison. "That's possible?"

Han Jingyang asked back, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Isn't that too bizarre?"

"In the early years, there were plenty of bizarre events in the countryside. This is nothing."

"But what were they after? Neither brother was living a particularly good life. Especially Huang Jianshe, who was barely scraping by. If they really had such great ability, why didn't they improve their living conditions?"