I changed the world.

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Dongcheng District is one of the traditional old districts of Linzhou. It has many old buildings with old styles. Due to the early construction time, the overall planning of the district looks relatively messy.

Qingyan Lane is an old alley in Dongcheng District. Although it's not very wide due to recent renovations, it's generally quite clean. At the alley entrance, some people with unfriendly expressions are sitting or standing. Through the exposed parts of their clothing on their necks and wrists, it's clear that these people have tattoos, many are smoking cigarettes, and some have dyed hair. They're playing cards or chatting at the alley entrance, while observing everyone who enters the alley. If they notice a stranger acting suspiciously, they'll approach and question them.

Some people would rather take a longer route than pass through here, which has resulted in Qingyan Lane generally appearing deserted.

Walking into Qingyan Lane, after walking about 100 meters forward, there is a large house with white walls and black tiles at a corner, which looks somewhat like an old-fashioned official residence.

At this moment, in a room of this house, Zhu Qi was sitting in a chair, his face looking somewhat pale. A tea set was laid out on the table in front of him. He skillfully picked up a purple clay teapot, filled a bowl of tea for the person in front of him, and sighed.

"Have you taken care of Ah Ji and the others' funeral arrangements?"

"Seventh Brother, everything's been taken care of, and the money has been delivered to each family." Sitting in front of him was Erpang, who picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

"Did each family say anything?"

Erpang shook his head: "It was just a car accident. Besides, the company gave us a lot this time. Everyone is grateful. There's nothing to be dissatisfied about."

"That's good then. This way, we can fulfill our brotherhood." Zhu Qi nodded, then glanced at Erpang and said, "This time you're taking Ah Ji's place. Do a good job and keep the people under you in check."

"I understand, thank you for your high regard, Seventh Brother. I won't say anything more. From now on, through thick and thin, it's just a matter of a word from you, Seventh Brother." Erpang picked up his tea and drank it all in one gulp.

"We've been through thick and thin together, we're practically brothers, why say such things?" Zhu Qi waved his hand and laughed.

Chapter 409 The Celestial Venerable's Dream

Unlike many depictions on television, in today's law-abiding society, even if organized crime wanted to commit serious crimes like kidnapping, they wouldn't easily send their low-level henchmen to carry out the operation. After all, such matters are too sensitive; the more people who know, the greater the risk. This is why Zhu Qi personally led the operation previously.

One issue involves a huge sum of money, and the other is that kidnapping and even killing a wealthy businessman is a serious case, so I have to personally handle it to feel at ease.

He naturally brought along the core members of the gang, which meant that the previous deaths and injuries were a devastating blow to the gang. However, this also created some vacant positions at the higher levels.

This also allowed Zhu Qi to place his favorites in positions of power. After all, with the current leader Wang Deyao and several high-ranking members imprisoned for their involvement in the drug manufacturing plant, he, as the head of the gang, was temporarily acting as the leader.

The Lotus Terrace Society is a relatively loosely organized martial arts gang. The relationship between different regional branches and the main branch is more of a nominal one, making it more like a franchise. Originally, the Linzhou Lotus Terrace Society was controlled by Wang Deyao. After his imprisonment, Zhu Qi temporarily took charge. However, he was not allowed to interfere in personnel matters, otherwise he would be breaking the rules.

However, the previous events gave him an opportunity to place his own people in the organization, which caused changes in the power structure within the group.

"I was seriously ill before, and I've only started to get better these past few days..."

As Zhu Qi spoke, he pulled his robe tighter around himself. The room was heated, but he still seemed to feel a chill. He sighed, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes that night, I wouldn't have believed that such an extraordinary person existed in this world..."

"That's right... that... that person... truly possesses divine abilities..." Erpang's real name is Zhou Wang. He is a large, fat man and the second oldest in his family, hence the nickname "Erpang" in the gang. At this moment, a trace of fear flashed across his face, and he didn't even dare to mention Zhang Jing's name.

"To be honest... I've been reading through some legends about the Xuanmen and Futu sects these past few days, and I've come to some conclusions about what that person said that day..." Zhu Qi suddenly said. Perhaps because they shared a common secret, their relationship suddenly deepened. Especially the events of the past few days, although seemingly in the past, still sent chills down Zhu Qi's spine whenever he thought about them. He even slept with the lights on at night these past few days, as if as soon as he turned them off, shadowy figures would linger in the darkness...

In fact, the same was true for Erpang; in fact, his weight of nearly 200 pounds had shown a downward trend for the first time in the past few days.

Both appeared calm, but were under considerable pressure. Their casual conversation, though seemingly just chatting, was actually a way for them to vent and relieve stress.

“Seventh Brother is a cultured man, he always sees further than a rough man like me, tell me about it…” Second Fatty hurriedly said.

"That day, that person... demanded that we do good deeds to atone for our sins. I've been reading some legends and myths these days, and most of the legendary masters and Taoist priests emphasize accumulating good deeds and cultivating blessings. I'm thinking... this might be some profound method that requires doing good deeds and accumulating merit to achieve enlightenment..." Zhu Qi said, subconsciously recalling what he had seen that day: "That person... with such methods, even if he's not a deity, he's not far off. Such a person, living in the mortal world, must be more than just playing around in the world..."

As Zhu Qi spoke, he subconsciously glanced around again, as if worried that someone might be listening: "I suspect that this is very likely where that person... is accumulating merit, just like in those legends of gods and monsters, where immortals and Buddhas must play in the mortal world and accumulate merit before becoming saints..."

Then, with a "smack," Erpang slapped his thigh: "Seventh Brother is right. Speaking of which, the Cloth Bag Ancestor of our sect, before attaining enlightenment, walked in the mortal world, accumulating merit and doing good deeds..."

The Cloth Bag Ancestor mentioned by Erpang is a widely worshipped figure in Buddhism. He is depicted as a smiling, portly monk carrying a large cloth bag on his back, which is said to be able to contain all the world's disasters. Because of his ability to ward off disasters, he has been widely worshipped by the people.

Buddhist religion is not native to Zhao, but it has been introduced to Zhao for more than two thousand years and has long been localized. Many Buddhist images also incorporate elements of Zhao folk legends and strange tales, such as the Cloth Bag Ancestor.

The Lotus Platform Society was originally a grassroots mutual aid community based on the Buddhist faith. Even though it has now evolved into a secret society with the characteristics of a criminal organization, its religious background has not been completely eliminated. Members still have rituals such as worshipping the Buddha when they join the society. The Buddha worshipped here is the Cloth Bag Ancestor.

Therefore, Erpang was quite familiar with this story.

The two exchanged a glance, and then both felt a surge of excitement. If that person was truly like the Cloth Bag Patriarch, and they had accumulated good deeds for him and helped him attain enlightenment, even if they hadn't made any great contributions, they would have at least put in some effort. So, perhaps... they might have a chance...

As the old saying goes, "When one attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." But you should know that even the Cloth Bag Patriarch was not alone; he always had some disciples who came to serve him tea and water.

Thinking of this, Zhu Qi and Erpang were both lost in thought. After all, Chinese people have always held a pragmatic attitude towards matters of ghosts and gods, and Zhu Qi and Erpang were no exception.

"But... Seventh Brother, in my opinion... some people in the society don't seem to believe the story of the Celestial Venerable appearing in a dream."

"It's alright, it'll be a good opportunity to see who's on our side and who's not of one mind with us..."

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