Jin touched his face and said, "Someone as handsome as me can't pretend to be too ugly. When I was beating them up, I noticed that the Jade Protector Hua Yunfeng was very handsome, so I borrowed his face."
Jin Yue scoffed: "You're not very good at disguise, but you like to dress up all the time. Do you think they can't tell the difference?"
Jin didn't care: "So what if I figured it out?"
Jin Yue raised an eyebrow: "You don't want to show your true face?"
Jin replied, "That's more interesting."
"Just interesting?" Jin Yue sneered. He didn't think it mattered that Jin Huanlai's disguise skills were slightly inferior, because disguise skills not only require excellent eyesight, but also meticulousness and patience. Therefore, most men are not as good as women at learning disguise.
.
Night, in people's minds, is tranquil and mysterious, even a little eerie. However, it is the domain of thieves. Fires blaze, and the leaders of the four altars and the prominent figures of the main altar are all gathered in the hall.
A black cloak flashed, and Jin Huanlai, holding a jade flute, made a graceful entrance.
The effect was phenomenal.
Everyone looked at the handsome Jade Protector Hua Yunfeng at the same time. Hua Yunfeng couldn't help but reach out and touch his own face. Just a moment ago, everyone was speculating about whether the new leader was male or female and what he looked like. Now they were all dumbfounded.
Jin sat down with an air of importance and began to admire his subordinates with great interest.
Of the four protectors, only the Silver Protector Zheng Jiaojiao is a woman, skilled in disguise. The other three are men: the Money Protector Yin Fei, around forty years old, is skilled in hidden weapons and has a somewhat straightforward personality; the one with the small mustache is the Wealth Protector Yue Yiping, who loves using poison and is worldly-wise; and the Jade Protector Hua Yunfeng is a famous handsome man in the sect, not yet thirty years old. Currently, apart from the sect leader, he has the best lightness skill. He likes to flaunt his charms and pursue women everywhere. Most of the outstanding women in the sect have fallen for his tricks.
Aside from borrowing other people's faces, Kim also has little interest in handsome men.
The Silver Protector was quite a beauty, but she was probably still thinking about being beaten by the sect leader for no reason yesterday. She kept her head down and looked pitiful, which made him feel a little guilty.
Jin Yue, standing nearby, shamelessly pretended not to see anything, gritting his teeth and continuing the ceremony. It would be a laughing stock if word got out that the dignified leader of the sect had hit a woman for no reason. What a scoundrel!
Jin yawned again.
Suddenly, everyone stood up and bowed respectfully to the person above.
What is it? Jin came to his senses and then noticed the palm-sized, glittering gold token inlaid with bright jewels.
Jin Yue held the token with both hands, his face grim: "This is the Thousand Hands Token personally passed down by Ancestor Jin Sihai. Seeing the token is like seeing the sect leader. From this day forward, you, Jin Huanlai, are the eleventh generation sect leader of the Thousand Hands Sect. Why don't you accept the token!"
Jin stood up and accepted it with both hands.
"Please give us your instruction, Master." The crowd bowed again.
Jin Yue nodded to him.
A lecture? Jin Huanlai felt rather annoyed. After thinking for a while, he coughed twice, raised his hand, and transformed into the voice of the handsome Jade Protector: "What I, the sect leader, want to say is all in the sect rules. That's all."
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Sit down, sit down." Jin was impatient and sat down first. He thought that receiving a token would be enough, but who knew there would be so many rules? Was the old man deliberately messing with him? Why didn't he say he was going to give a lecture earlier? He made this sect leader look bad.
It turned out that the new leader was a man of few words, a fact that the followers remembered well, and they sat down.
Protector Qian and Yin Fei finally frowned, stood up and cupped their hands: "This subordinate has a question."
Jin raised an eyebrow.
Since the cult leader hadn't asked him to speak, Yin Fei had to ask himself, "Why won't the cult leader show his true face?"
Jin asked, puzzled, "Does the cult leader really have to show his true face?"
This was originally a very simple question, but because everyone was used to the way the former leader Jin Yue spoke, when these words came from the mouth of the new leader, Yin Fei automatically interpreted them as dissatisfaction and provocation. He dared not say anything more and sat down silently. The wealth protector Yue Yiping next to him gloated, "Idiot, the new leader has just arrived. He should at least figure out his temper before speaking. Look, he's run into a snag."
The new leader is not easy to serve. He doesn't show his true face, probably to make it easier to monitor him. We'll have to be extra careful in the future. The followers remained silent, and the hall was quiet.
Unexpectedly, Jin Huanlai suddenly remembered something and jumped up: "This leader wants to add a rule to the sect!"
.
Adding religious rules? Everyone looked at each other in disbelief. The new leader's appearance and actions were truly shocking.
Protector Qian Yin Fei couldn't help but stand up again and reminded him in a deep voice: "It may be inappropriate for the leader to make this trip. The rules of our Thousand Hands Sect were revised by successive leaders. How can they be added to or subtracted at will?"
Jin sat back down: "Weren't all the previous leaders still leaders? They could change, so why can't I?"
Undoubtedly, Yin Fei had given this simple statement a complicated interpretation, concluding that the new cult leader had a bad temper and that every word he said was barbed, so he remained silent.
The new broom sweeps clean, and on his first day, he added new rules, clearly intending to give everyone a hard time. You've walked right into it, asking for trouble. Protector Yue Yiping chuckled inwardly, then stood up to smooth things over: "The leader is right. Protector Yin is too stubborn. Although these rules were established by successive leaders, times have changed. The leader doesn't intend to arbitrarily modify them; it's just adding one rule. What's the big deal?"
Just as described, this Wealth Protector was more shrewd and sensible than others. Jin chuckled to himself, "Make a mental note of this."
Overjoyed at gaining the new leader's favor, Yue Yiping immediately waved for pen and ink: "Which clause does the leader wish to add?"
Jin nodded: "Our Thousand Hands Sect is the richest in the world. From now on, we will be the ones to call others poor. If anyone dares to insult us, hmph..." He sneered twice: "You can decide what to do."
The believers were dumbfounded.
Yue Yiping put down his pen, wiped his sweat, and began to think about how to explain the contents of "do it as you see fit" more precisely, clearly, and specifically.
Half a day.
Yue Yiping picked up his pen again and asked in detail, "May I ask the leader, where would be the most appropriate place to add this rule?"
Jin casually suggested, "Let's just add it after the tenth one."
Yue Yiping was greatly surprised.
The entire faculty and staff remained silent.
Jin Yue felt ashamed that his disciple had lost face, and cursed inwardly. However, he had no choice but to clean up the mess. So he coughed heavily and said, "The Thousand Hands Sect has nine rules. The sect leader's intention is that this be the tenth rule."
People had always feared Jin Yue, and even now that he had abdicated, his influence remained. Therefore, no one dared to laugh; everyone lowered their heads and remained expressionless.
Yue Yiping kept wiping sweat from his face with his left hand while silently taking notes with his right.
.
After the ceremony, everyone dispersed. Jin Yue, unusually, neither cursed nor made a move. He simply stood there with his hands behind his back, watching Jin Huanlai with great interest.
Jin sighed, "Go ahead and curse. I remember there were ten rules, but somehow they became nine."
Jin Yue asked, "In these five years, have you read the religious rules twice?"
Jin choked for a moment: "It's such a small matter, yet you've inquired about it so thoroughly."
Jin Yue said, "I've inquired about many things."
"What else do you want to know?"
"Madam Yu is dead."
Jin didn't hear clearly: "What?"
Jin Yue laughed: "The wife of Young Master Yu of Huai'an City, surnamed Wen, is dead."
Whether he understood or not, Jin said "Oh," stood up, stretched, and looked outside the door: "It seems like it's still early before dawn."
Jin Yue sighed and patted his shoulder: "Although you promised me, I can make an exception this time..."
Jin waved his hand: "I'm not going to Huai'an City."
Jin Yue stopped pressuring him and withdrew his hand: "Alright, you've only been in office for a few days, you should familiarize yourself with the affairs of the sect more, and think about the antidote for this Seven Herbs Ingredient in your spare time."
Jin was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed drastically: "You gave me the Seven Herbs Elixir!"
Jin Yue nodded.
Jin, barely containing his anger, asked, "What kinds of herbs did you use?"
Jin Yue shook his head.
Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, Jin asked helplessly, "How many days do I have left?"
Jin Yue laughed heartily: "The poison will take effect in three days."
Jin Huanlai exclaimed again, "Three days! With so much grass, how am I supposed to tell?"
“With the leader’s abilities, three days should be too long,” Jin Yue turned around, laughed and left. “My methods are no better than yours now. Under normal circumstances, you would never have been hit. Why are you so slow to react today?”
Jin glared at his retreating figure, gritting his teeth: "Old man, this is the last time!"
.
The branches and leaves by the stream rustled slightly, shaking off a few drops of dew. The water flowed gently, making a clear, tinkling sound. The moon's reflection seemed to move in the water, gleaming with a cold light.
A huge black cloak clung tightly to his body, making him look like a bat with its wings tucked in. He sat motionless on a large rock by the stream, hugging his knees, gazing at the moon's reflection in the water, lost in thought.
The moon reflected in the water is beautiful like a dream, but it can never be grasped.
He did not investigate the cause of her death in detail. For five years, he had never inquired about such news, and he would not now, nor in the future, because he was just Jin Huanlai, the new leader of the Thousand Hands Sect.
I have a future, but no past, because I have forgotten it.
He took out the wine jug and drank three mouthfuls in total. Then he slowly raised his arm and watched the wine flow from the jug, turning into a thin stream that poured into the stream, splashing up small water droplets and rippling outwards.
There was a faint, intoxicating fragrance, and one felt as if they were intoxicated.
When the wine was finished, he tossed the jug far away, then tugged at his cloak, buried his head in it, as if his whole body was about to shrink into it.
A faint sound came from the left rear; someone was approaching.
.
This little trick could not be hidden from the dignified leader of the Thousand Hands Sect. Jin didn't move, continuing to keep his head down and knees tucked in, but he kept sneering in his heart. Ordinary people would not come to such a place to pretend to be ghosts in the middle of the night. Which ignorant little thing dared to mess with Grandpa Jin? Kill the men and eat the women!
After a long while, there was still no movement.
The person seemed to have stopped less than three feet away from him, not getting any closer, as if cautiously observing him.
A long silence followed.
Without turning around, Jin knew that those must be bright, harmless eyes, because he couldn't sense any murderous intent.
Jin disliked this feeling intensely. He disliked being spied on, absolutely not. The mere thought of those potential prying eyes made him furious.
So he decided not to be polite anymore.
With several hidden weapons in hand, about to be delivered, just then, a soft, hesitant voice finally came from behind.
Are you hungry?
First meeting with children
Although he was certain that ordinary people wouldn't wander around at night, the dignified Master Jin would never intentionally use a hidden weapon to attack a woman. So, upon hearing that clear, cautious voice, Jin quickly regained his composure and dignity, and forcefully stopped the hidden weapon.