The information that made Jiang Lan so nervous and uneasy must be very important.
Lu Ming pricked up his ears, listening carefully.
Instead of directly explaining the situation, Jiang Lan asked a very abrupt question: "Have you ever read the martial arts novel 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' written by Mr. Jin Yong?"
Huh?
Lu Ming frowned.
He said, "I haven't read the original work, but I've seen the TV series. What, does this have anything to do with the White Lotus Sect?"
Jiang Lan said, "Not directly, but there are some similarities between them. In 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,' there is a Lingjiu Palace, which was later the sect managed by Xu Zhu. The initial leader of Lingjiu Palace was Tianshan Tonglao, and the reason Tonglao could make numerous sects submit to her was because of one thing—the Life and Death Talisman!"
Anyone who had watched the TV series knew this plot point.
Once the Life and Death Talisman was planted, it would cause excruciating pain at fixed intervals each month, and only Tonglao could remove it; therefore, those sects had no choice but to submit to Tonglao's might.
Wait!
Lu Ming suddenly realized.
He looked at the nineteen photos on the table, then thought of Xu Qin's illness. Could it be that… the White Lotus Sect was also controlling its followers using something similar to the Life and Death Talisman?
Lu Ming asked, "Does the White Lotus Sect also have Life and Death Talismans?"
The answer was affirmative.
Jiang Lan nodded with great certainty and said, "This is what I've investigated. The nineteen people in the photos, including my mother, have all had a special poison implanted in their bodies by the White Lotus Sect. Once poisoned, only the White Lotus Sect's sacred medicine can cure it. Without the sacred medicine, they will become critically ill like my mother. Given enough time, they will surely die!"
She paused and continued, "However, this is not the worst part. According to my investigation, the sacred medicine cannot actually detoxify them; it only alleviates the suffering of the poisoned. It appears to be a cure, but it's not. The poison remains in the body, and it worsens over time!"
Wow, this was truly astonishing.
Lu Ming had initially thought it was just ordinary poison that could be easily neutralized with the right treatment.
He hadn't expected the poison to be so potent.
It was far more cunning than it appeared.
The White Lotus Sect was much more terrifying than he had imagined.
Jiang Lan pointed to one of the photos and said, "This person passed away after taking the sacred medicine three consecutive times. The sacred medicine only eased his pain, but it couldn't remove the poison from his body. Similarly, the other eighteen people are in a dire situation; they are not far from death."
This…
So, Xu Qin was also running out of time?
Jiang Lan said, "My mother hasn't been poisoned for long. She should be able to hold on for another two to three months. We must find the antidote within this period, otherwise, my mother will very likely face death, just like these people!"
Lu Ming fell silent.
In that case, even obtaining the sacred medicine would be useless. Was there still a need for Jiang Mengxin to join the White Lotus Sect?
Jiang Lan read his thoughts.
She said, "Now that you know the truth, whether you want to stop my sister from joining the White Lotus Sect is entirely up to you. I'll just state my opinion: joining the White Lotus Sect itself is not the scary part; the scary part is being implanted with this special poison, which I'm calling the 'Life and Death Talisman.'"
It was fine for her to join the White Lotus Sect, as long as she wasn't implanted with the Life and Death Talisman.
Lu Ming asked, "Are all disciples implanted with the Life and Death Talisman?"
"Of course not," Jiang Lan explained. "Currently, there seems to be no cure for this poison, and it's fatal. If all disciples were implanted with the Life and Death Talisman, there would be large-scale deaths within the White Lotus Sect, which would not benefit them."
This meant that only specific individuals were implanted with the Life and Death Talisman.
Lu Ming asked, "So, who gets implanted with the Life and Death Talisman?"
Jiang Lan shuffled through the photos on the table and said, "Based on the people I've investigated, some were undercover agents investigating the White Lotus Sect, and they were implanted with the Life and Death Talisman to kill them. Others were billionaires whose wealth the White Lotus Sect wanted to seize. Some were stubborn and disobedient, and the Life and Death Talisman was implanted to make them comply. In short, there's always a purpose behind being implanted with the Life and Death Talisman."
Then… what about Xu Qin?
Lu Ming frowned and said, "Aunt Xu Qin being implanted with the Life and Death Talisman was likely for the second reason – the White Lotus Sect coveting her wealth."
Jiang Lan nodded. "Yes, I think so too. My mother owns 10% of the Jiang family's shares. The White Lotus Sect implanted my mother with the Life and Death Talisman to control her, to make her obediently hand over the shares to the White Lotus Sect!"
What a malicious tactic.
Now, Lu Ming suddenly understood why so many wealthy individuals had donated money to the White Lotus Sect.
They must have all been implanted with the Life and Death Talisman, right?
Jiang Lan continued, "Now I'm very worried about my sister. If she joins the White Lotus Sect and is also implanted with the Life and Death Talisman, the Jiang family will very likely be swallowed by the White Lotus Sect! Moreover, I'm afraid my sister herself will be taken by the Moon Saint Envoy."
Hmm?
Lu Ming asked, "What's going on with that?"
"Sigh…" Jiang Lan sighed and said, "You don't know, but the Moon Saint Envoy is actually a lecherous man. He has created his own 'Moon Palace' where he 'keeps' twenty to thirty women – pure students, beautiful young wives, icy presidents, famous celebrities, you name it! As long as the Moon Saint Envoy Shi Hengxiao fancies someone, they can't escape."
Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a brazen fellow.
Lu Ming asked, "Are these women all submissive to him?"
"No," Jiang Lan said. "Shi Hengxiao has strange tastes. He likes to tame disobedient women. The more they resist him, the more he wants to possess them. He will use all sorts of methods to force those women to join the White Lotus Sect, and then implant them with the Life and Death Talisman. Once the Life and Death Talisman is planted, there are only two choices: one is death, and the other is to obediently follow Shi Hengxiao's commands. So far, no woman has chosen death. They can only betray their chastity and helplessly submit to Shi Hengxiao's lustful tyranny!"
Hearing this, Lu Ming realized even more the danger Jiang Mengxin was about to face.
No wonder Jiang Mengxin had been so fierce to Shi Hengxiao before, and he wasn't angry. It turned out this guy liked that kind of thing.
He was now forcing Jiang Mengxin to join the White Lotus Sect and then finding an opportunity to implant her with the Life and Death Talisman.
In this way.
Jiang Mengxin would either become critically ill like Xu Qin, waiting for death; or she would have to obediently follow Shi Hengxiao's commands, hand over the Jiang family's assets, and betray her chastity in exchange for the sacred medicine.
Tragically.
Even if she obtained the sacred medicine, she would still be unable to escape the fate of death in the end.
Now it was all clear.
The White Lotus Sect was a terrifying organization that used the 'Life and Death Talisman' to amass wealth! They were wicked, truly wicked.
However.
Jiang Lan said with a solemn expression, "The deeper I investigate the White Lotus Sect, the more terrifying it becomes. The Life and Death Talisman is just the tip of the iceberg of the White Lotus Sect. This organization has many more terrifying secrets, but my abilities are limited, and I can't dig any deeper."
Lu Ming listened and said calmly, "I understand. Thank you for your hard work. I will handle the rest. I will not let the White Lotus Sect run rampant!"