Chapter 208: Reunion with an Old Friend
The disciples from Kunshan showed great enthusiasm and curiosity towards Qiao Wan's "live streaming."
This question, like a runaway dog, raced down the path of "deviation" and would never return.
"Hey, Taoist Friend Qiao, is it true that Hall Master Ma often races wheelchairs with people at midnight?"
"I heard Elder Martial Brother likes elegant and graceful girls?"
Eventually, seeing Qiao Wan's sincere attitude, someone daringly changed their address from "Taoist Friend Qiao" to "Little Qiao."
"Little Qiao, is it true that the Dragon Clan has two birds?"
Surrounded by a pile of problems, Qiao Wan quietly looked up at the sky.
It felt like the leaders of a gossip school, you should be more serious!!!
Unfortunately, this livestream didn't last long. Just as Qiao Wan was sitting under a tree, continuing to sell her goods, several hidden sect disciples suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Is Qiao Wan here?"
"Where is Qiao Wan?"
These hidden sect disciples looked serious and intimidating, like urban patrol officers. Everywhere they went, chaos ensued.
Guided by trembling Kunshan disciples, these hidden sect disciples approached Qiao Wan and said in a deep voice, "Are you Qiao Wan? Come with us."
"Brother, what's going on?"
One of the hidden sect disciples, who had gone on several missions together with her before and had some connection, looked at her with a serious expression and said, "There's trouble with the techniques you've been selling."
Just as she suspected.
Without showing any sign of panic, Qiao Wan stuffed the jade slip in her hand into her sleeve.
On a scroll, a group of disciples from Kunshan were stunned.
Something went wrong with the cultivation method?
Wasn't this cultivation method supposed to be very useful?
One of the hidden disciples said, "Come with us to Wenshi Hall first. Hall Master Ma is looking for you. We'll talk about the details later."
During the journey, Qiao Wan tried to casually strike up a conversation to get some information.
Unfortunately, these hidden disciples all wore the same expression of bitterness and kept their mouths shut. They only said, "You'll find out once we reach Wenshi Hall." They were only showing face to Qiao Wan, as they had fought alongside her for many years. If it were an ordinary disciple, they would have kept quiet and just marched on without saying a word!
As soon as Qiao Wan set foot in Wenshi Hall, she saw a wheelchair in the center of the hall.
Ma Huaizhen was sitting in the wheelchair, holding his hand, calmly observing a disciple who had been brought in by a few medical cultivators.
Without even twitching his eyebrow upon seeing Qiao Wan enter, he said, "See for yourself."
Qiao Wan followed Ma Huaizhen's gaze. She saw a young disciple rolling and crying on the ground, looking extremely distressed. It seemed like there was something inside his body, trying to burst out.
There were two or three companions standing nearby. As soon as Qiao Wan entered, they all glared at her angrily. However, they were cautious of the imposing presence of the person in the wheelchair and didn't dare to act rashly.
With just a quick glance, Qiao Wan immediately made a judgement. It was dark magic.
Jun Caiwei had mentioned before that although her idea of selling goods was good, there was an obvious loophole, and this situation was a clear example. It could be easily exploited by someone with malicious intentions.
Qiao Wan stood still, feeling unsure, and pondered for a moment.
On the jade slip, these rumors about her collaborating with the demon realm were obviously intentionally spread during a certain period of time. This trick is just like what modern marketing companies do with buying fake followers. After careful consideration, Qiao Wan realized that she had offended many people since she arrived in Kunshan. However, the only person with the wealth and power to do something like this was Xiao Sui from the Xiao family.
Feng Wangyan couldn't possibly be behind this, Qiao Wan thought expressionlessly. He is just not smart enough.
"Do you have any ideas?" Ma Huaizhen asked.
"I do," Qiao Wan raised her head and calmly bowed, "Someone is framing me."
As soon as these words were spoken, her companions became unsettled. Supporting the stretcher, they gritted their teeth, "Qiao Wan!! What do you mean by this?!"
"You mean to say that we framed you?!"
"Look at what you've done to Ah Zhen!!"
Qiao Wan glanced at Ah Zhen and then averted her gaze.
Ma Huaizhen glanced over with a warning look. His companions' faces changed slightly, and they didn't dare to fight in front of this intimidating deity.
Ma Huaizhen said, "Go on."
Qiao Wan nodded and respectfully said, "Leader, the techniques I bought are all legitimate practices, with a tenfold compensation if proven otherwise."
One of the companions, whose Kunshan badge had the name Min Guofei engraved on it, stepped forward and gritted his teeth. He said, "You claim these are legitimate techniques, but can you explain why Ah Zhen became like this after practicing your techniques?!"
Without looking at him, Qiao Wan earnestly looked at Ma Huaizhen and said, "The techniques I sell are cultivation methods from the Great Hall of Light."
As we all know, Qiao Wan practices dual cultivation of sword and body, while the body-refining techniques from Zen Buddhism are particularly famous in the cultivation world.
"You said you are selling techniques for body cultivation from the Great Hall of Light? How can you prove that?" Ma Huaizhen, without being alarmed by these words, didn't even ask her how she obtained the cultivation techniques from the Great Hall of Light. After all, opportunities like these are mysterious and unpredictable. Qiao Wan must have come across the cultivation techniques from the Great Hall of Light after leaving the mountain, it was most likely a fortunate encounter.
Ming Guofei stared at her, "Are the cultivation techniques from the Great Hall of Light capable of transforming people like this?! I believe the recent messages on the jade scroll were correct."
What kind of messages could be on the jade scroll? It must be about Qiao Wan colluding with the demon realm. In the beginning, they staged a play in front of everyone.
"Under the guise of selling techniques, they infiltrated these evil and heretical teachings into our disciples. Our taoist friend has such deep thoughts," Ming Guofei said, kneeling hastily towards Ma Huaizhen.
"Hall Master, I know that Qiao Wan has worked for you before, but you are known for your fairness and justice throughout Kunshan. Please, you must see the truth!"
Qiao Wan carefully observed the cultivators in front of her and felt a slight sense of unease.
The enemy was approaching aggressively, and it seemed that her brain wasn't functioning properly.
First, they accused her of colluding with the demon realm, and then they claimed that Ma Huaizhen had a romantic relationship with her. They even accused Ma Huaizhen of high crimes.
Ma Huaizhen was well aware of the deceitful nature of these disciples. He smiled and reassured, "Don't worry, I will handle this matter justly."
Qiao Wan glanced at the young man writhing on the ground, then turned to Ma Huaizhen and cautiously spoke, "Chief, something isn't right about this."
"What do you mean, not right?"
"If I had collaborated with the demon realm from the beginning, it would have been a long-term plan. I must have wanted to cause something big." Qiao Wan tightly held the jade slip in her sleeve, calmly looking up and saying, "Just as my taoist friend Ming said, if I really intended to infiltrate these demonic powers into Kunshan, I would have done it slowly. Why bother for something like this?"
Qiao Wan paused as she glanced at the jade slip on the ground.
"For the sake of a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, exposing myself and ruining my plans that I have worked on for so long, it's not worth it."
Ma Huaizhen raised an eyebrow and smiled, curiously looking at the confident girl in front of him.
"She even knows how to play mind games after coming down from the mountain."
"Well, it makes sense. What do you think, Guofei?" Ma Guofei was slightly surprised and exchanged a glance with his companion, feeling a sudden uneasiness.
This task isn't easy to carry out. If it weren't for the amount of money they were being offered, none of them would have been willing to do it.
The young man lying on the ground, crying out in pain, quietly closed his eyes and thought, "This is not good." He had spent a lot of effort on behalf of the young master, practicing both Qiao Wan's techniques and the demon realm's techniques. The demonic energy in his body was real, causing him great suffering. He wondered if Ma Huaizhen would be able to notice something was wrong with him.
"This..." Min Guofei said with a stern face, "There must have been a mistake."
Qiao Wan interrupted, "Min, we must be careful in everything we do."
Ignoring Min Guofei's sudden change in expression, Qiao Wan respectfully took out a jade scroll from her sleeve and handed it over.
"Hall Master Ma, I believe someone is trying to frame me."
Ma Huaizhen asked, "What is this?"
Qiao Wan explained, "These are statistics."
These were the statistics she had asked Qi Feidao to compile under the disguise of Lu Cixian, and then send them to her.
"Look, Master," Qiao Wan said as she pointed at the content on the jade scroll, "there has been a sudden increase in talk about my collaboration with the demon realm during this particular time period."
"And this," she added.
"These usernames that posted the comments were never seen before on the jade scroll, which means someone deliberately hired a lot of helpers and changed their identities to manipulate the discussions from behind the scenes."
Unfortunately, the jade scroll from Kunshan is not advanced enough to pinpoint the IP addresses.
Qiao Wan calmly remarked, "Tremble, foolish liberal arts student."
The other disciples from Kunshan who were also witnessing this live broadcast on the jade scroll were dumbfounded.
Someone... wants to frame Qiao Wan? And they are using them as a pawn?
Min Guofei, feeling flustered, said, "But... you still have to prove that this technique is really from the Great Hall of Light and has nothing to do with the demon realm. Who can vouch for you?!"
"I'll vouch for my taoist friend."
As soon as the words fell, a big-bodied monk suddenly walked into the Wenshi Hall from outside.
The monk overshadowed the majority of the hall as soon as he entered.
Not only were Min Guifei and the others stunned, but Qiao Wan was also stunned.
After a half-second of being frozen, Qiao Wan's eyes suddenly brightened, and she couldn't help but blurt out, "Ciji!"
It's you! John Ciji... Oh, the trio from the study room back then!
The monk, who was Ciji, laughed loudly, "Little Qiao, long time no see."
Qiao Wan asked in a daze, "What are you doing here?"
She... It seems like the Great Hall of Light's certification isn't part of her plan, right?
"Me?" Ciji laughed, "Of course, I'm here to deliver a message on behalf of the Venerable One."
"The... Venerable One?"
The long-lost monk smiled, and his face was filled with meat when he laughed, "The Venerable One is currently chatting with the elders of your esteemed sect."
Qiao Wan's brain made a loud noise, and she opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"Sen...senior has also come?"
