Star Trace Gate

Chapter 956 Various heroes deliver devastating blows, Old Niu becomes a punching bag.

It was only on the third day after Ren Ye met with Wang Anquan that Tianzhao Temple received a letter of complaint about Niu Dali's corruption, abuse of power, and reckless behavior.

On the surface, this letter of denunciation appeared to be anonymous. Tianzhao Temple only knew that it originated from Beifeng Town, but they were unclear about who wrote it. In reality, however, the letter was written by Wang Anquan himself, following Ren Ye's advice, and sent out at great risk.

Before writing this letter, Wang Anquan must have spoken with Yu Tiange and spent a long time persuading him to abandon his plan to kidnap Niu Dali. He then sought a breakthrough from the mid-level military officers in Beifeng Town.

In fact, Wang Anquan's purpose in reporting Niu Dali was to temporarily transfer the top military officer of Beifeng Town. Therefore, he could have chosen not to tell Yu Tiange the truth and simply secretly reported him to get Niu Dali out of town. However, he then thought that Yu Tiange's thought process was unpredictable. What if Niu Dali was transferred, but this guy came up with a new and surprising idea? That would be really troublesome.

As the saying goes, it's not the cunning of bad people that's scary, but the sudden inspiration of fools. Therefore, he decided to give Yu Tiange a heads-up beforehand and explained in detail the plan and suggestions he heard from Ren Ye. Only after obtaining the other party's consent did he begin his operation to report Niu Dali.

In fact, Yu Tiange was quite pleased after hearing the plan to report Niu Dali. He also felt that kidnapping Niu Dali was a risky move, and if there was a better way to get rid of him, that would definitely be the better option. Therefore, he felt that Wang Anquan had finally seen the light and understood the situation, which was why he was helping him improve the plan and doing his best.

Little did they know, this plan was not Wang Anquan's idea, but rather Xiao Huaiwang secretly helped him.

After successfully persuading Yu Tiange, Wang Anquan wrote a strongly worded and explosive letter of denunciation, directly targeting Niu Dali, the top military commander of Beifeng Town. Yu Tiange was unaware of the letter's contents, nor had Xiao Huaiwang seen it; only Wang Anquan himself, who wrote it, knew the full story…

Although the contents of the letter are unknown, it was extremely damaging and effective, causing Tianzhao Temple to instantly lose trust in Niu Dali.

The yamen that received the report was the "Wusheng Pagoda" of Tianzhao Temple. In orthodox Buddhism, "Wusheng" means "not born or not existing in the world," referring to the Nirvana truth of non-birth and non-death. However, in the migration location 251 years later, it represents "order without birth, misfortune forever," meaning that Tianzhao descended to earth, transcending all injustices. In short, the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon intends to eliminate all forces claiming orthodoxy and righteousness, including the Divine Court and countless ancient clans, thereby liberating humanity and saving the world.

This is a very sophisticated way of putting it. Therefore, the Wusheng Tower in Tianzhao Temple represents the authority over life and death, and is also the highest military institution of Tianzhao Temple, commanding all the monk soldiers active in the 251 migration area. As a result, the Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon and his group are often referred to by the people of the Divine Court as the "Wusheng Monk Soldiers".

Since the Wusheng Pagoda is the highest military institution of the Tianzhao Temple, equivalent to the Ministry of War of the ancient imperial court, this office naturally has many bigwigs from the Tianzhao Temple in charge.

Speaking of this, we must mention the official rank system of Tianzhao Temple. Since they claimed to be Buddhist, their rank system was quite novel and interesting. The lowest-ranking officials were called Zen Masters, usually practitioners of the first or second rank. Above them were Dharma Protectors, followed by Vajras, Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas.

In the hierarchy of Tianzhao Temple, the highest position is undoubtedly held by the "True Buddha," even above the Buddha. However, after the end of the last golden age, this divine being had long since disappeared. Therefore, in the place of migration 251 years later, no one in the world dared to call themselves the True Buddha; at most, they would refer to themselves as the Buddha.

Why does the Demonic Monk Mumu hold such a transcendent position in Tianzhao Temple, even being called a divine monk? This is because all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in Tianzhao Temple believe he possesses the greatest talent for cultivation in the world, and is the person with the best chance of becoming a true Buddha. Such a brilliant individual originally belonged to the Divine Court, to order, but they used extremely cruel methods to murder Mumu's entire family, forcibly handing this peerless talent over to chaos, making him the most dazzling existence in the chaotic and ominous camp.

In Tianzhao Temple, only those of the sixth rank are qualified to be given the title of Bodhisattva. This shows what kind of realm the Buddha must be at the next level.

The person who sits in the Wusheng Pagoda is a Buddha from the 251st year of the migration. After Wang Anquan's letter of denunciation was delivered, it was first reviewed by several Bodhisattvas, and then surprisingly reported to this Buddha, which greatly angered this powerful figure.

Therefore, it is clear that the content of Wang Anquan's whistleblower letter was not a baseless accusation or a mindless fabrication, but rather contained certain evidence and facts that resonated with the bigwigs of the Wusheng Tower.

Because the letter was unsigned, did not pass through layers of officials, and was not reported via a spirit jade disc but rather delivered by a messenger pigeon, the Tower of No Life could not trace its origin. They could only roughly guess that it was likely a North Wind Town official who, unable to tolerate Niu Dali's actions, reported him in a fit of anger.

Therefore, the Buddha who sat on the stupa of the Stupa of No Birth ordered one of his bodhisattvas to handle the matter carefully.

……

Three days later, in Beifeng Town, at the Inner Government Office.

The handsome and composed monk Moro was sitting in the inner hall, appraising several rather peculiar antique treasures.

Since taking office, he has received many "congratulatory gifts" from his subordinates. Some of these gifts were very valuable, while others were just tokens of goodwill. He selectively accepted them, taking some and refusing others.

Moro, though young in appearance, possessed a very ascetic personality, always giving off a deep and rigid impression. Such a person is not suited for making friends, but is perfectly suited for officialdom. Because those below him could not fathom his thoughts, they naturally feared him greatly.

However, Lord Moro wasn't without hobbies. He also loved collecting, including jade thrones, golden Buddhas, and Stypunk. So, when the civil officials below heard that their leader had such interests, they naturally knew how to express their respect.

"Ong!"

While Moro was appraising antiques and treasures, he suddenly felt his consciousness space vibrate, and then casually took out the spirit communication jade disc unique to the chief official of the inner palace.

He frowned slightly, released a wisp of divine thought into the jade disc, and then sensed a line of text.

【Moro, you've been in Beifeng Town for some time now. After Beifeng Town was occupied, are the accounts of the amount of Star Essence and treasures collected by the various Divine Court offices accurate? The total account only shows a little over 20 million; is there something fishy about that? Rumor has it that Niu Dali ordered his men to surround the Ministry of Revenue compound in Beifeng Town, and many monk soldiers died in the process of collecting Star Essence. Have you investigated this matter? When you took office, Niu Dali acted ostentatiously, using murder-for-life methods to treat the prisoners in the town's dungeon. Did you participate in this, and do you know the details?】

The series of questions from the spirit jade disc left Moro somewhat bewildered. He pondered for a while with a blank expression before a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The message on the jade disc was signed by a Bodhisattva from the Wusheng Pagoda named Zhuyuan. Although he had never met this Bodhisattva before, he had heard of his great reputation, and the two were not in a superior-subordinate relationship. Therefore, Moro immediately realized that Niu Dali had probably made a big mistake, incurring the wrath of his superiors and becoming the scapegoat. That was why this Bodhisattva Zhuyuan had bypassed his rank and department to directly inquire with him.

The Spirit Jade Disc is connected to the soul; when the text appears, it is accompanied by the aura of the messenger, making forgery impossible. Furthermore, this Spirit Jade Disc is extremely mysterious; it allows dozens, even hundreds, of people to communicate simultaneously, holding roundtable meetings, while also enabling private exchanges undetected. It can also choose to store the exchanged text as evidence of orders from superiors to subordinates. Of course, it can also choose to erase all traces of communication, and so on…

Moro smiled and pondered for a long time before slowly raising his right arm to write a reply on the spirit jade disc.

His reply was concise: "Lord Zhuyuan, based on my preliminary investigation, the Xingyuan general ledger is indeed questionable, and Niu Dali is certainly a suspect."

After a long while, Zhuyuan only replied with three words: "Understood".

Moro's reply was like a steel knife, striking Niu Dali's shiny, oily head squarely. You see, for anyone else, such a reply might carry no weight, but Moro was the local head of the inner court, an equal in rank to Niu Dali.

Therefore, his statement "there is indeed suspicion" is equivalent to Niu Dali standing behind the latrine, his body being violently swayed by a strong wind, and then being lightly kicked forward by him...

With a plop, Niu Dali fell into the pit.

The reason why Moro chose to kick someone when they're down remains unknown, but the Little Scoundrel King guessed correctly once again. He had told Wang Anquan before that if you throw a pebble into Tianzhao Temple, it could very well create huge ripples, and Moro's reaction now confirms his guess once again...

Before long, Moro summoned a gray-robed monk beside him and whispered, "Prepare some small gifts. I'm going to see Niu Dali later to see him off."

"Seeing him off?!" The gray-robed monk traveling with him asked, puzzled. "What's wrong with him?"

"Hehe, he'll probably be transferred back to the temple to be questioned by the Tower of No Life. As colleagues, I should at least go and offer a few words of comfort, otherwise it would seem that officialdom is a bit cold and heartless...!" Moro replied with a smile.

The gray-robed monk was even more puzzled: "Why is Niu Dali suddenly being summoned back for questioning?"

“I don’t know who did this to him. But one of the bodhisattvas in the temple just asked me if the discrepancy in the Xingyuan general ledger was related to Niu Dali. Adhering to the principle of upholding the facts, I replied that he was indeed a suspect.” Moro said with his hands behind his back, “If nothing unexpected happens, Niu Dali will receive his recall order before sunset, and... I should also temporarily take charge of the Martial Monk Supervisory Office.”

"Congratulations, sir. You should indeed go and comfort Niu Dali, let him feel the warmth of officialdom." The gray-robed monk immediately smiled and said, "However, even if you take over the management of the Martial Monk Supervisory Office, it will probably be difficult to mobilize those arrogant and fierce soldiers and make them obey your orders. After all, these people all have their own strongholds, and they don't usually listen to Niu Dali."

“I never intended to take over the management of the Martial Monk Supervisory Office. It’s a chaotic place; whoever takes charge will have a headache.” Moro shook his head slightly and said, “But Niu Dali’s transfer is actually very advantageous to us. It makes it easier for us to do that thing. Moreover, with him gone, we can take advantage of the situation and let the truth of many things disappear into obscurity…!”

"Yes, that's true. It's just a pity for Niu Dali, who has to take the blame for nothing." The gray-robed monk agreed.

"Heh, is taking the blame all you want? That's too petty. Tonight, invite the commander of the gray-robed monk soldier camp in the city to my residence for a chat. He's one of our men; I have something to tell him to do..." A cold glint flashed in Moro's eyes: "We can't miss this opportunity. Wait, wait for the transfer order that will surely come today...!"

"Yes." The gray-robed monk nodded slightly.

Meanwhile, inside the supply depot.

Ren looked at his jade butterfly with a complex expression, a mixture of joy and bewilderment.

He had just received a private message from "Master Chaos" Yu Yang. The message was brief: "Have you investigated the Xingyuan accounts? Is Niu Dali clean? Has he tampered with the accounts? This is an inquiry from the Bodhisattva of the Wusheng Pagoda. Speak freely and confidently. I will take care of the details for you. No outsider can know..."