Chapter 3581 Distinguishing Truth from Falsehood

"Xiaoxiao, that's a pretty name."

Ye Chen muttered something casually and pinched the kitten's chin.

The kitten was quite well-behaved, half-closing its eyes and raising its head slightly as he handled it.

Ye Chen was somewhat surprised and said, "This kitten is quite bold; it's not afraid of people at all."

Lin Wan'er smiled and nodded, saying, "Xiao Xiao is more affectionate than the average stray cat. Maybe it's because it gets bullied in the cat community, so it feels that people are more reliable than its own kind."

After saying that, she looked at Ye Chen's handsome face and features as he lowered his head, and thought to herself, "If the young master knew that his mother was still alive, he would be very excited, wouldn't he? For twenty years, I thought that my dearest relative had long since passed away, but I never expected that my mother was still alive. There is probably nothing more comforting than this."

At this moment, perhaps liking Ye Chen's gentle kneading, Xiao Xiao slowly got up, arched her back, and stomped her feet back and forth a few times with her two front paws before burrowing into Ye Chen's arms.

Lin Wan'er smiled and said, "It seems that Xiao Xiao really likes you, young master."

As she spoke, she took out her phone, opened the camera, and said, "Young master, shall I take a picture of you and Xiaoxiao?"

Ye Chen didn't think much of it, nodded slightly, and looked at the camera while holding Xiao Xiao.

Lin Wan'er pressed the shutter button, and a close-up high-definition photo was taken. Because the lights in the courtyard were dim, the phone automatically turned on the flash. In the photo, Ye Chen's angular features were highlighted by the flash, making him look even more handsome than in real life, as if an automatic beauty filter had been applied.

Lin Wan'er handed her phone to Ye Chen, smiling as she said, "Young Master, take a look, is the photo alright?"

Ye Chen didn't care about any of that. He glanced at the photos casually and then smiled, "They're pretty good."

Lin Wan'er smiled happily, took back her phone, and casually opened WeChat to send the photo to An Chengxi.

She had never thought of taking photos of Ye Chen as a memento before. She wanted to take photos of Ye Chen just now, firstly because she thought the picture of the man and the cat was very harmonious, and secondly because she wanted to send the photos to An Chengxi to see.

For many years, An Chengxi has never dared to get close to Ye Chen. Back when Ye Chen was in the orphanage, it might have been a little better, as his staff could secretly take some photos for her to see. But in recent years, Ye Chen's strength has grown stronger and stronger, and the people she kept by Ye Chen's side have gradually withdrawn and kept their distance. It's probably not easy for her to see a recent photo of Ye Chen on a regular basis.

At this time, An Seikei had already left Kinkaku-ji and gone to Aomori Prefecture, which is several hundred kilometers away from Kinkaku-ji.

Aomori is located in the northernmost part of the Japanese mainland and is famous for its apples and other cash crops.

Anseongkei has her own plantation here, as well as deep processing production lines for apple-related products. Aomori's apple production accounts for half of Japan's total, and Anseongkei accounts for half of Aomori's apple production. Moreover, the main export business is handled by her company.

After An Chengxi and Ye Changying got married, in addition to helping their family make money, they also invested in many industries around the world using various shell companies and nominee shareholders. These included highly profitable technology, energy, and industrial companies, as well as small businesses that were not very profitable. For example, their investment in Apple in Aomori was large in scale, but the actual profit was not high. However, this did not matter to them. Their investment in Aomori was mainly due to the geographical conditions and the special nature of the industries there, which brought them many conveniences.

Aomori Prefecture has a low population density, about one-third of the average population density in Japan. The advantage of a sparsely populated area is that it is easier to hide, especially in the form of plantations, which are less likely to be discovered by outsiders.

Moreover, Aomori's geographical location is quite convenient for Ansei. A few hundred kilometers to the south are the developed areas of the Japanese mainland, such as Tokyo and Osaka, and a few dozen kilometers to the north is Hokkaido. Aomori is only separated from Hokkaido by the Tsugaru Strait and is also connected by an undersea tunnel. By boat, one can go east to the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East, and west to the vast Pacific Ocean. From Aomori Port, it is only seven or eight thousand kilometers to San Francisco, which is very convenient.

An Seiki controlled Aomori's apple export business by acquiring a large number of plantations and by driving down export prices and profits, making it impossible for competitors to keep up.

Others grow apples to make money, but she doesn't care about making money, so her profit margin is the lowest. With a low profit margin, the price-performance ratio in the eyes of consumers is naturally higher.

An Chengxi's main purpose in controlling Aomori's apple exports is to use these exports to create a cross-border freight channel, thereby enabling him to transport special goods through apple exports.

Fearing Ye Chen's investigation, she moved here after the death of the Void Concealment Mage, settling in the largest plantation under his command. The hillsides were covered with apple trees, all managed by her people, and a hidden security system had long been established, ensuring her safety to a great extent.

At this moment, she was in her own building on the plantation, tasting the apple juice she had just extracted using the traditional pressing method, when she suddenly received a photo sent by Lin Wan'er. She was overjoyed and held her phone in both hands, carefully looking at Ye Chen in the photo.

She hadn't seen such a clear photo of Ye Chen in a while. Looking at her son's handsome features and the rare relaxed smile on his face as he held the kitten, her mood instantly improved.

At this moment, Sister Sun walked in and said respectfully, "Madam, Jing Qing wishes to see you."

As An Chengxi zoomed in on Ye Chen's photo and carefully examined his son's face, he smiled and said, "Let Jing Qing in."

"Good lady."

Sister Sun turned and went out, and soon came in with Jing Qing.

Jing Qing approached An Chengxi and said respectfully, "Madam, Jing Qing is about to depart for home. I've come to say goodbye and see if there's anything else you'd like to tell me."

An Chengxi put down his phone, smiled and said, "There's nothing to explain. You've worked hard these past few days."

"Amitabha." Jing Qing put his hands together and said respectfully, "Madam, you flatter me. It is my honor to be able to serve you."

Jing Qing's feelings for An Chengxi were not flattery, but rather a heartfelt respect.

Previously, he was devoted to Buddhism and believed that all beings were equal under the Buddha. However, after successfully attaining enlightenment under An Chengxi's guidance, he realized that both Buddhism and Taoism were under the Heavenly Way, and that all beings were not equal because everyone's distance from the Heavenly Way was different.

Take himself as an example. After attaining enlightenment, his lifespan was several decades or even hundreds of years longer than that of ordinary people. Does this mean that all beings are equal? ​​Of course not.

An Chengxi herself had not attained enlightenment, and was probably much further away from the Dao than Jing Qing had after attaining enlightenment. However, in Jing Qing's view, the opportunity to get closer to the Dao was entirely due to An Chengxi's support, so she should be respectful and grateful to her.

An Chengxi looked at Ye Chen's photo for a while longer before reluctantly putting down her phone. She first replied to Lin Wan'er: "Thank you, senior."

Then he said to Jing Qing, "You've been in Japan for a while now, which has caused a lot of trouble back home. Now that everything here is settled, you can go back and take care of your business."

Jing Qing nodded slightly and said, "I plan to set off for Tokyo later and take the earliest flight back."

An Chengxi smiled and said, "Alright, you can decide according to your own time. If you decide to leave later, I will have someone take you there."

Meanwhile, the top-floor villa of Zijin Mountain Villa.

Lin Wan'er looked at Ye Chen and Xiao Xiao with a smile and asked softly, "Young Master told me on the phone that he had made a new discovery. May I ask what it is?"

Holding Xiao Xiao, Ye Chen said to Lin Wan'er, "I met Nanako today and while chatting with her, I discovered a detail that I had previously overlooked. Back then, at Qixia Temple, she was enlightened by a monk named Jing Qing, which is why she was able to attain enlightenment. I was wondering, what kind of person would be willing to risk exposing themselves to enlighten a stranger?"

Lin Wan'er's heart skipped a beat.

Ye Chen noticed Master Jing Qing, which meant he had caught a glimpse of what An Chengxi was hiding.

So she asked Ye Chen, "Does Young Master think that the identity of this Master Jing Qing is questionable?"

"Yes." Ye Chen nodded emphatically.

Lin Wan'er said, "I can't say for sure about such things. For cultivators, their secrets are important, but sometimes they also feel that inheritance is necessary. Just like my master, when he was in seclusion in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, he still took my father and Wu Feiyan as his disciples."

As Lin Wan'er said these words, she felt nauseous. She already knew Meng Changsheng's despicable character, but in order not to arouse Ye Chen's suspicion, she could only force herself to use him as an example.

Ye Chen said, "It's normal to say it's for the sake of inheritance, but Nanako's going to Qixia Temple was not accidental, but intentional."

After saying that, he recounted how Nanako was deliberately lured by a woman in the elevator, including the fact that the woman had disappeared.

Upon hearing this, Lin Wan'er frowned.

She knew that once Ye Chen grasped the source of Nanako's enlightenment, the matter would inevitably be exposed.

Furthermore, the fact that the woman had already left Jinling only fueled Ye Chen's suspicions.

However, she also knew that An Chengxi was powerless to do anything about it, because Ye Chen had his own methods. Not to mention a young woman, even someone like Master Jingqing, who had cultivation but not high cultivation, would probably not be able to keep the secret in front of him. As long as Ye Chen found that woman, he would find out everything.

Now that things have come to this, she dares not try to guide Ye Chen's judgment anymore, because she is a smart woman. She feels that once Ye Chen begins to notice and analyze these anomalies around him, he will look at problems with a dialectical and truth-seeking mindset. If she keeps trying to lead his judgment in the wrong direction, he will definitely realize that something is wrong with her.

Therefore, Lin Wan'er immediately said decisively, "I think your analysis makes a lot of sense. If Cai Cai Zi was deliberately led to Qixia Temple and then Master Jing Qing came forward to enlighten her by chance, then it proves that they must be in cahoots, and this may become an important breakthrough!"

"Right!" Receiving Lin Wan'er's affirmation boosted Ye Chen's confidence, and he no longer doubted Lin Wan'er's previous guidance.

He said seriously, "It will probably be very difficult to find that woman now, but it shouldn't be too troublesome to find Master Jingqing. As a well-known figure in the Buddhist community, his whereabouts should be relatively easy to track. Nanako said that she recently presided over the funeral of Master Kōin of Kinkaku-ji Temple in Japan, so he should be returning to Japan soon!"

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P.S.: My back has been hurting a lot lately, so I've been a little slower with updates. Please forgive me.