CHAPTER 92: YOU CAN TAKE THE BLAME

After concluding his correspondence with Yin Shengong, Fang Che took some time to feed his Five Spirit Parasite.

Even though the Five Spirit Parasite was still being subjected to tortuous training daily, but at the very least, it was being fed every day, and that was something that it was already very thankful for.

It had no idea what it was like for other Five Spirit Parasites, so it was already feeling very blessed.

So what if I have to go through a bit of torture? At least I have stuff to eat now!

Near midnight, after Fang Che had been eagerly waiting for an entire day, Mu Linyuan finally arrived.

"Uncle-master Mu!" Fang Che greeted warmly, then latched onto Mu Linyuan's hand before leading him into the study, then personally brewed some tea without calling upon Ye Meng.

"Why are you acting so hospitable? You must want something from me!" Mu Linyuan harrumphed.

"Whenever you come here, it's always to drop off cultivation resources, or to debrief me on ways to earn merit points, so of course I have to display some hospitality, Uncle-master Mu," Fang Che said with a wide smile.

"You're a cunning little rascal," Mu Linyuan chuckled as he sat down. "I've come here this time to tell you about our arrangements for the branch helm..."

After hearing the plan of action from Mu Linyuan, Fang Che said in a concerned manner, "I can't help but feel a little uneasy, Uncle-Master Mu. Pope Yin is sacrificing an entire branch helm just for me? It feels like way too much! Surely I'm not that important."

Mu Linyuan could immediately tell that Fang Che was trying to dig information out of him, and he rolled his eyes as he scoffed, "You really think Pope Yin is doing this just for you? He was going to eradicate this branch helm anyway, and you just so happen to be benefitting from it on the side. Right now, there's a power struggle happening in our church, and the branch helm belongs to the traitor. Does that make sense?"

This was exactly the confirmation that Fang Che wanted to hear, and a relieved look appeared on his face as he said, "That explains everything then. I was thinking maybe Pope Yin had gone insane!"

"Don't go running your mouth, you little brat!" Mu Linyuan scolded in a stern manner. "If Pope Yin finds out, you'd be lucky not to have your legs broken!"

"But Pope Yin isn't here right now," Fang Che said with a sheepish smile.

"Right now, we need to come up with a plan. What do you think?" Mu Linyuan asked.

"How many people are there in the branch helm?" Fang Che asked.

"Over a hundred in the branch helm alone, but if we factor in all of the subsidiary organizations and businesses, that amounts to roughly five hundred people."

"We have to get rid of them all, right?"

Mu Linyuan didn't answer right away. He was wondering if all of the subsidiary organizations and businesses could be spared. After all, it would be difficult to reconstruct the branch helm in the future if the entire foundation were destroyed.

"Seeing as the branch helm has betrayed our church, the people in all of the subsidiary entities beneath it can no longer be trusted. Hence, they'll have to be cleared out eventually anyway, so we may as well get everything done all at once," Fang Che said.

Mu Linyuan felt like this was a reasonable idea, and he replied, "I suppose that would be best, but the branch helm will have to be reconstructed at some point. You're still going to be in the White Cloud Prefecture for the best part of five years, and once you reach a sufficient cultivation base, there's a very good chance Pope Yin will instate you as the helmsmaster."

Fang Che's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.

"Really? In that case, I'll need to have some subordinates, so maybe we should just get rid of the branch helm alone, after all. As for the rest, I can just get a list of names and keep a close eye on them."

Mu Linyuan: "......"

"You're not suspicious of them all of a sudden?"

"I have to have people under my command, and it's better for them to be experienced than not. I'm confident that in my ability to keep them in check if I can reach the position of helmsmasters someday. If I can't, then I'll toss them out one by one, and that'll provide me with a constant source of fodder to feed to the Protectionists," Fang Che said with a smile.

Mu Linyuan didn't know what to say.

Now that it was revealed that those people were going to be his subordinates, he was suddenly viewing them as an asset as opposed to a liability and was reluctant to kill them as a result.

Either they made themselves useful or loyal to him, or he would toss them to the Protectionists one by one.

“I've underestimated your shamelessness," Mu Linyuan exclaimed.

"I was taught by the best, Uncle-master Mu."

"In that case, let's stick to the original plan and wipe out just the branch helm."

"Do we have an exact figure on the number of people in the branch helm?"

"I'll have to find that out when I actually go there."

"If we're getting rid of everyone, then there's no point in leaving the branch helm itself intact, right?"

"I suppose."

"In that case, why don't I toss that out to the Protectionists as well?"

"But there are still many disciples and family members there..."

"Those will all count toward merit points, won't they?"

Mu Linyuan was rendered speechless once again.

Just a moment ago, he had been lamenting over the negative impact that losing the branch helm would have on the church, yet now, he was planning to uproot the entire thing!

"You sure are... adaptable. Alright, let's do that then."

Mu Linyuan didn't care about those people anyway.

"What we have to figure out now is how you can convert those people into merit points for yourself."

"Seeing as I'm only a fifth-rank Great Grandmaster at the moment, the academy isn't going to believe me if I claim to have taken out the entire branch helm on my own."

"Well, at least you're not delusional," Mu Linyuan chuckled.

"How about this? As a start, we relay Pope Yin's instructions to them, but don't stipulate that they must succeed in carrying out the mission. Essentially, we'll only be trying our luck, and success or failure doesn't matter as long as they're causing a disturbance."

Yin Shengong's plan was to use the branch helm one last time.

Even if they couldn't assassinate the prefectural overseer, breaking the White Cloud Lake dam to cause mass flooding would still create a massive headache for the Protectionists and local authorities.

Yin Shengong was going to get rid of these people anyway, so he may as well use them one last time before they died.

However, Fang Che wasn't going to allow that.

If they were to succeed, then that could be millions of lives lost!

Mu Linyuan thought back to Yin Shengong's instructions, and it was indeed true that the latter hadn't made any stipulations about the mission's successful completion. He gave a slow nod while contemplating the idea.

"Seeing as I have your approval, let's alter the plan a little."

Mu Linyuan's nod wasn't a gesture of approval. Instead, it was an unconscious gesture that he made while thinking, yet somehow, it had been interpreted as a go-ahead signal by Fang Che!

"Think about it this way, Uncle-master Mu: if these people successfully carry out their mission, then how will I be able to benefit from them? I don't possess the power to kill them, and even if I tip them off to the authorities, they'll have already carried out the mission, so it'll be too late. In that case, how can I expect to be rewarded?"

Mu Linyuan: "......"

"Pope Yin's instructions were for them to break the White Cloud Lake dam, and I can't just make an executive decision to alter the mission. Hence, I need you to help me, Uncle-Master Mu," Fang Che said in an earnest manner. "You need to be the one to have changed the contents of the mission, not me."

Mu Linyuan stared blankly back at him.

So I'm just here to take the blame for you?

However, he then thought of his previous conversation with Yin Shengong and the high hopes that the latter had for Fang Che...

"Alright, fine. My job is to assist you anyway," Mu Linyuan acquiesced after much contemplation.

"Thank you, Uncle-master Mu! I won't forget what you've done for me!" Fang Che said in an ecstatic manner.

Mu Linyuan gave a cold harrumph, but it was clear that he was very pleased as he scoffed, "Just make sure you don't get me killed before you have a chance to repay me!"

"If that's all decided, then I'll have to trouble you to visit the branch helm and ascertain its location, the number of people there, and the time and procedure of their plan of action. Once all of this information has been secured, I can report everything to the academy before they make their move."

Mu Linyuan was rather taken aback to hear this.

"All you're doing is reporting them?"

"That's all I can do this time. I've already used Brother Su too many times, I can't use him again," Fang Che sighed.

"You sure have made good use of your good Brother Su!" Mu Linyuan chuckled.

"Perhaps he'll truly come back someday," Fang Che said in a hopeful manner.

Mu Linyuan was unconvinced.

He was confident beyond a shadow of a doubt that Su Yue was long dead, given how Fang Che was using his name over and over again in such a blatant manner.

Not only had he taken the entirety of the Su Clan's wealth, he was still evoking Su Yue's name even in death! What a truly shameless and devious little brat!

"You must've known what Su Yue was up to, right? There's no way he could've pulled the wool over your eyes when you're this smart and alert," Mu Linyuan said.

A mysterious smile appeared on Fang Che's face as he said, "There's a type of intuition that can tell you if someone is genuinely being good to you or has ulterior motives. Call it a sixth sense, if you will. My sixth sense in this regard just so happens to be pretty sharp."

"It seems like the Su Clan's fate was sealed from the moment they set their sights on you," Mu Linyuan sighed.

"I'll have to ask you to keep that a secret for me, Uncle-master Mu. Right now, even my master doesn't know about this, and he's still calling me a naive fool whenever I bring up Su Yue."

Mu Linyuan immediately burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"There certainly is a naive fool between you and your master!"