299: Chapter 97: Giving in and Compromising Will Not Bring Peace 299: Chapter 97: Giving in and Compromising Will Not Bring Peace Yang Youxuan, inside the Incense Hall, made such an accusation against her senior sister Shi Yulan, which was essentially a point-blank confrontation with no room for maneuver.
The Red Lantern Society had been founded on the core principles of unity and mutual assistance to resist the Foreigners.
By making such a statement in front of her own sisters, hence, it was essentially like a friend telling you that your son looks like a Japanese…
Any man would find it unbearable.
Even with Shi Yulan’s good temper, she could not help but change her expression dramatically and glare as she rebuked, “Yang Youxuan!
Do you know what you are saying!”
“I know exactly what I said; there’s no need for me to repeat it!”
Yang Youxuan turned to look at the three Red-Robed Elders and bowed with folded hands, “The elders must have heard of the story of the Investiture of the Gods.
The government’s monitoring list in their hands is akin to the Investiture of the Gods itself.
The government’s intention is clear: to ensure social order, suppress the Huaidao Sect force, eradicate feudal superstitions, and promote new cultural education.”
“To achieve this ultimate goal, some people must be listed, and the numbers must be sufficient.
From this perspective, our Red Lantern Society has no real difference from those other organizations.
We ourselves do not wish to invite trouble, yet it is hard to guarantee that others, in order to survive this ordeal, won’t push us to the forefront.
This incident is a fuse, a trap drawing us into the game!”
Shi Yulan frowned and said, “If you already knew it was a trap, why would you jump into it?”
Yang Youxuan responded coldly, “The trap is not before us, but behind us; not jumping is what would actually lead us into the game!
Senior sister might not know, but while you have been inactive, someone on behalf of the Red Lantern Society has already visited Madam Cui in the hospital.
I would like to know which sister was so kind-hearted?”
This time, the room fell silent, and everyone exchanged glances.
“Does no one want to admit it?
Or are you saying it has nothing to do with us, and someone is impersonating us?
If we remain silent and later, someone else acts under our name to support Madam Cui, would we have to bear the consequences arising from their actions?”
Yang Youxuan stared at Shi Yulan and said loudly, “Retreating and compromising will not win any sympathy, a principle each sister here should have clearly understood from the inception of the Red Lantern Society.
Today, the Red Lantern Society has grown so prominent that even if you do nothing, others will do it for you.
Do I really need to spell out the entangled interests clearly for you to understand?”
The Red Lantern Society really had no core interests, unlike the Qianjin Church, with big businesses and tens of thousands of people relying on their many factories for their livelihoods, nor like the Longevity Sect, which had an obsessive pursuit of immortal cultivation.
As a religious organization, it had no core doctrines and rarely actively proselytized.
As a gang within the Jianghu World, it had no particular martial arts secrets to pass on, nor did it have any interest in dominating the Martial Arts World.
As a secret fraternal organization, it lacked significant ambitions and plotting; it wasn’t even particularly secretive.
In short, the core ideology of the Red Lantern Society could be summed in one sentence—We want to live well.
To outsiders who do not know the truth, this ideology creates the illusion of being particularly easy to bully.
Having said this, Shi Yulan could no longer equivocate, and asked in a grave voice, “After all that has been said, do you have concrete evidence?”
“Are we police that we need to talk about evidence?
Did our predecessors, when they burned churches and killed Foreigners, ever discuss evidence with the Foreigners?”
Yang Youxuan raised her hand, revealing a Red String of Fate woven into a Concentric Knot on her wrist: “The Red Lantern Society only talks about karma.
As disciples, our words alone provide no proof, so I request the elders to investigate the origins of this karma.
Then, right and wrong will naturally be judged!”
In the past, the Red Lantern Society truly did not focus on evidence when killing, but that didn’t mean they were unreasonable—they had their own standard of judgment, bestowed by the Holy Mother of Red Lotus through the Red String of Fate.
The cycle of karma, inevitable retribution—although it was not explicitly stipulated in the past, it was a tacit rule universally accepted within the Jianghu World.
It fits with human sentiment but not with propriety.
In the past, when rites and music had collapsed and the laws existed in name only, things were different.
But not anymore.
Causality is not something that can be brought to court as evidence.
To kill someone for this reason is undoubtedly a criminal act.
Shi Yulan’s face showed difficulty as she turned to look at the Red-Robed Elder.
“Sister, we are in a new society now…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The Red-Robed woman sitting in the center slightly opened her vermilion lips, her voice not loud, yet it clearly transmitted into everyone present’s ears.
“Some want to live peacefully, others want to stir up trouble; how can anyone live peacefully without eliminating these demons and evil spirits?
Your daughter makes sense, whether anyone is scheming against us or not can be clarified by checking the causality.”
Three red-robed women simultaneously closed their eyes, slender threads of red string emerged from the collars of their red robes, wafting up like incense offerings, rising continuously into the sky.
“Wow—”
Li Mumu stood by the ship’s rail looking up, in her view, the sky seemed to blossom slowly with a giant Manjushahua, countless red strings spreading out like human blood vessels in all directions.
Inside the painted boat, silence prevailed, everyone held their breath, focusing, waiting for the elders’ calculation results.
However, such a large-scale phenomenon had already startled half of Tianmen the moment it appeared.
……
Sister Veronica, who had been looking down sending a message, suddenly raised her head, looking at the spread of scarlet filaments in the sky and instinctively said, “Who has provoked the group of old ghosts from the Red Lantern Society?”
“Red Lantern Society?”
Wang Yunxiao, unfamiliar with the Red Lantern Society, asked curiously, “What does that mean?”
“This is the signature formation of the Red Lantern Society—Forgetful River Blood River Map, divided into three stages.
The current situation is the first stage, initiated by at least three Red-Robed Elders, which can obscure heavenly secrets, calculate causality, and also has the function of summoning members and communication.
Bringing out such a trump card only means one thing, those old ghosts have been seriously provoked and are ready to stir up trouble.”
“It can’t be targeted at us, right?”
“…”
“Alright, I admit I might be overthinking it.”
Seeing the hesitant expression on Veronica’s face, Wang Yunxiao knew that he was somewhat unrealistic in his thoughts.
Who am I, to necessitate such a grand display just to deal with me?
Should the sky fall, there are big shots from the Special Service Bureau to bear it; it won’t smash down on us little shrimps.
His side’s investigation was not proceeding smoothly, since the other party, being professionally trained agents, naturally wouldn’t just sit foolishly waiting for the police to come.
By the time they located the stronghold Lu Er had mentioned, it was already empty.
This was the time when professional skills from professionals were needed.