Chapter 153: Dead Ends (Patreon)

Quick info: I'm currently on vacation with family and don't have that much time to write, so I might miss an upload one of these days.

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“Sorry, but you’ll have to leave here.”

“Excuse me? I’m Professor Lei. I’m supposed to hold a speech here today.”

Geming Lei held up the manuscript ha had prepared, but the broad-shouldered guard that had blocked his way onto stage didn’t seem to care.

“No more of your speeches. Order from above.”

“What, but… I was hired specifically for that purpose.”

“Well, consider yourself un-hired then. At least the Training Hall isn’t going to pay you shit for your work anymore. Elder Rong has ordered all such unnecessary waste of sect resources removed.”

“…I see. Can you at least tell me why nobody informed me of this beforehand? The lectures will be put to a stop in the midst of a topic, without a proper conclusion like this.”

The guard scoffed.

“Does that sound like my problem, mortal? Stop wasting my time and make yourself scarce before I lose my temper.”

Geming Lei sighed and turned around without another word. He knew that there was little point in trying to argue with someone like that.

Truth be told, this hadn’t entirely caught him off-guard. Things at the Training Hall had been slowly going downhill since Elder Zheng Rong had taken the reins. Disciples were getting denied the resources they were supposed to get for any number for flimsy reasons, instructors were being let go and Members of the Rong Family were everywhere, inserting themselves into stuff they weren’t needed for. Geming Lei couldn’t prove it, but he suspected that a substantial amount of resources was being siphoned from the hall behind the scenes.

Honestly, he could feel lucky that he had been allowed to continue his activities as long as he had under this new leadership. It had given him enough time to come up with a substitute solution for this exact case.

Geming Lei walked down the path back to his residence before changing his mind midway – might as well make use of the time that had just now been freed up and do some more research in the sect’s records.

The library was truly a gift that kept on giving for a scholar like him. He was sure that he could easily spend ten lifetimes there without ever getting through all the material, even just that in the areas he had been given access to.

The library was actually part of his substitute solution as well. He’d begun hosting more and more regular discussion rounds at the library for interested members and disciples. He was on quite good terms with many of the sect’s scribes, since he’d helped them sort through much of the sect’s historical records in the past years, so getting this approved hadn’t been much of a problem. The funds were being provided to him by elders of the Reform Faction, substituted with donations from the participants.

While his discussion rounds obviously didn’t have the same reach as his speeches, he hoped that the knowledge they got out there would spread with time.

Geming Lei took his time as he strolled off of the Training Hall’s grounds and down the winding path through the forest. He didn’t exactly have anywhere to be anymore today now.

Two teenage disciples came running down the path and bolted past him. Probably late to a lecture they were supposed to attend. Geming Lei recognized both of them from sight – as he did most disciples by now.

His weekly speeches had, until now, been receiving great attendance. Pretty much all disciples that stayed at the Training Hall showed up every now-and-then and a significant number of members also came regularly. Geming Lei was confident that he had been able to improve the general knowledge and general awareness of quite a few people by a lot.

Of course the format still had its limits, even with the additional discussion rounds. He was still just a single person trying to educate thousands of people. He’d been wanting to expand the education program for quite a while now, but Elder Wei had told him that doing so wasn’t politically convenient yet. He wanted the education program to not draw too much attention from the pillar families for now.

That, of course, hadn’t really worked out; now he was banished from the sect and Geming Lei’s efforts would probably grind to a halt at least until he returned.

Geming Lei sighed. He didn’t consider himself an impatient person, but waiting had to be a lot easier when one had hundreds of years of lifetime at their disposal to do so. He wondered how much progress the investigation into the murder had made so far.

…

Qingge threw the report back on the table and ran her hands through her hair in exasperation. Nothing. Again.

They’d spend a month researching this murder and they had come up with absolutely nothing they could use as evidence.

She’d gone into this investigation confident that she could bring some light into the situation somewhat quickly. The Enforcement Hall was, after all, pretty experienced in doing investigations into the Pillar Families’ activities by now. Under Lan Shi’s leadership, investigating cases of corruption and misappropriation had become pretty much their bread and butter.

She’d quickly learned that this case was different though. Where they were usually dealing with individual members acting semi-independently and without much help from their family, this case was being handled with a lot more care.

It made sense – after all, the target weren’t just some funds, but the sect’s strongest elder, a cultivator on par with the patriarch. The fallout of being found out would undoubtedly be pretty massive.

Unfortunately, it meant that Qingge felt like they weren’t getting anywhere, which was slowly growing very frustrating. She was slowly running out of ideas of what they could try as well.

Turning back to the report, she scribbled a couple of notes on the piece of paper before standing up.

“I’m gonna go get this to Elder Shi. I’ll be back soon.”

Daiyu looked up from her work smiling.

“I can go, if you want.”

Qingge considered it for a moment, but shook her head.

“I want to ask her if she has an idea of how to proceed. Plus, stretching my back a little sounds like a good idea.”

“Alright. See you soon.”

Qingge slipped out the door and made her way over to Elder Shi’s office at the other end of the hallway.

“Junior Member Qingge greets Elder Shi!”

“Greetings.”

Elder Shi was sitting behind her table, working just like Qingge had all day. She’d been handling a lot more paperwork than usual since the investigation had started – after all, the Enforcement Hall couldn’t neglect its usual work over this matter and Qingge only had so many hours in a day.

“I’ve brought the newest report regarding the investigation.”

“And judging from your expression…”

“Yes. Nothing substantial this time either.”

“Hmm… unfortunate.”

Qingge put the report on the table before her.

“Qingge, I can sense that you’re anxious.”

Elde Shi didn’t look up from her paperwork as she spoke.

“I… I just feel like we’re getting nowhere.”

“I understand how you feel. I’ve felt that way for decades, no, centuries, in dealing with the pillar families. Just keep doing what you can, and ignore what you can’t.”

“Then we are just going to continue trying to find evidence without a concrete plan?”

Elder Shi looked into her eyes with a serious expression.

“We have no choice but to do that. For all we know, the evidence we seek might not even exist yet and something has to happen for it to do.”

Qingge nodded, though she didn’t feel convinced.

“Don’t forget that your master is also investigating this matter. I wouldn’t be as calm as I am if I didn’t trust him. For all we know, he may already have found a vital clue that he is following now.”

“I certainly hope so.”