Chapter 32: The Aftermath of the Tower’s Collapse

Chapter 32: The Aftermath of the Tower’s Collapse

While sorting through the financial data, I discovered an even more terrifying fact: the Zhuo Group had a massive funding shortfall in its borrowings from numerous investment banks.

The Zhuo Group clearly had two sets of financial systems. According to its real financial reports, the group’s total financial assets had long been unable to repay the huge loans owed to major banks—and that didn’t even include funds circulating with business partners. In other words, the group was actually in a state of false operations while insolvent.

All of this clearly depended on the company’s other set of false financial data, as well as collusion between inside and outside parties at the relevant banks—collusion very hard to explain cleanly.

I recorded the information indexes one by one.

Over the next ten days or so, I separately infiltrated the legal centers of the major banks and leaked to them the Zhuo Group’s true financial asset statements and the massive bank loans.

At the same time, I also separately infiltrated the partner companies, affiliated merchants, investment enterprises, and securities platforms connected to the Zhuo Group and leaked the relevant financial information to them as well.

I didn’t hand the information directly to the official discipline-inspection authorities. Doing that might have caused the Zhuo Group’s assets to be frozen overnight, and the ones who truly suffered losses would likely have been the business partners.

Based on Xuanhong’s work experience in corporate groups, when a giant group like this went bankrupt, it often pulled in many sides’ interests. If the authorities intervened too early, they would inevitably first consider asset restructuring, loan-to-equity swaps, debt-to-equity swaps, and other methods while taking care of every party’s interests.

That wasn’t what I wanted.

So my method was simple and direct: don’t notify the authorities. Light the land mine directly, mobilize the stakeholders, and see who could run faster.

When a tower was about to fall, only those who ran fastest had a chance to survive. That was the simplest principle every economic actor understood in the business world.

Sure enough, it was just as I expected.

Investment banks, partner companies, and affiliated merchants swarmed like ants toward the Zhuo Group’s headquarters and subsidiaries, causing a severe run. Some partners were willing to take losses just to recover part of their principal. The Zhuo Group’s share price plummeted overnight.

The group’s abnormal financial run attracted the attention of the national discipline-inspection, taxation, and procuratorial authorities, which all intervened to investigate.

Major news media and online platforms across the country rushed to report on this enormous economic fraud case.

I didn’t notify the Du Group in advance to collect its debts. There wasn’t much business between them—only some financial lending and borrowing.

If I’d notified the Du Group too early, it might very well have alerted the Zhuo Group and caused them to trace things back, bringing unnecessary trouble to the Du Group.

In the days that followed, I simply sat and watched as the Zhuo Group walked step by step into the abyss.

The fall of a giant tower began with a pointless dispute and was brought down by the facts of its own crimes.

From then on, the Zhuo Group collapsed completely.

As a monk and Dharma master, I shouldn’t have involved myself in such worldly affairs.

But I was Xuanchen, a mortal with flesh eyes. I truly couldn’t free myself from hatred for wicked people, or from concern for kind, innocent ones.

Three months later, just when I thought my romantic rival Zhuo Weidong would disappear, a woman came to Tansong Temple to offer incense, forcing me to reexamine the aftermath of this incident.

That day, I was doing morning prayers. A young monk hurried over in a panic to report that a woman had come to the temple to offer incense and was spending extremely generously.

The problem was that when the woman worshipped the Buddha, she prayed for the Buddha to forgive her for slandering Dharma Master Xuanhong. When the young monk heard this, he ran over to tell me.

I felt such a small matter didn’t require attention.

But one thing the young monk said made me worry.

He said the woman had also muttered to herself while worshipping the Buddha, saying she knew her sins were grave, and that if she couldn’t obtain the forgiveness of the Buddha and Master Xuan, she would atone with her death.

When I heard that, I had no choice but to go out and meet the woman.

The mastermind who’d slandered Lin Liangming and me was obviously Zhuo Weidong. I would not fail to distinguish right from wrong and drag other people into it indiscriminately. More importantly, the revenge operation was already over. If someone died because of it now, I really would have to apologize to the Buddha.

When I saw the woman, I discovered she was actually a famous television host. She had a pleasant, sweet-featured face, but it was full of sorrow. When she saw me, she appeared extremely guilty and told me things about her relationship with Zhuo Weidong.

She admitted she was one of Zhuo Weidong’s mistresses and had privately given birth to a daughter. The slander against Lin Liangming and me had indeed been ordered by Zhuo Weidong.

She said the Zhuo Group’s collapse must have been because they’d done too many bad things, and because she’d taken part, her conscience was tormenting her. More importantly, there was also a human-life case: the death of the Du residence’s butler. She’d participated in that as well. With all these matters piled together, she spent every day in fear and panic and couldn’t sleep at night. Finally, she’d gathered her courage and come to beg the Buddha and Master Xuan to show mercy, so her mind could find peace.

When I heard that, I hurriedly turned on my phone’s recording function. There might be a key clue to solving the case hidden here.

I asked her to explain in detail the death of the Du residence’s butler.

The woman confessed that she’d dragged the Du residence’s butler into the scheme half a year earlier. The goal was for him to secretly make Chairman Du ingest the electronic worm. The person who’d ordered her to do it was also Zhuo Weidong.

She didn’t know why Zhuo Weidong wanted to do this. She’d only once heard Zhuo Weidong accidentally say to his subordinates that the Du family had to die; otherwise, the one who died would be his father.

I’d never imagined the Zhuo family was connected to this matter too. I’d seen both Zhuo father and son. Zhuo Weidong was bad, yes, but he wasn’t yet qualified to become a subordinate of the person who’d planted the gu. He was clearly not important enough. Perhaps he’d been threatened and used by certain people.

I felt it was very necessary for me to make a trip to see Gu Qiutang. He should understand many things.

After hearing the woman’s account, I told her clearly that everything she’d said should be reported to the police. As for here, I could forgive her.

The woman nodded and turned to leave. But from her brain waves, I read that she still had suicidal thoughts. Perhaps my forgiveness wasn’t enough to free her from the fact that she’d participated in a criminal case. So she still wanted to seek release through death—and even involve her daughter, who’d only just turned two.

I hurriedly sent the young monk to chase after her and persuade her, telling her that as long as she put down the burden of the past, she could say farewell to it. Her daughter was innocent and had only just come into this world. The woman shouldn’t be so irresponsible.

Only about an hour later, the woman returned to the temple with red, tear-swollen eyes and poured out her grief to me. She hadn’t expected the suffering in her heart to be seen through by me at one glance. I really was a living immortal.

She said she now understood. Only by facing the past could she become a person anew.

I said that this place had already forgiven her. I told her to put down her burden, live well, and take good care of her daughter.

When she left after her confession, she actually did put down a burden—a small suitcase.

I had the young monk open it. Inside were materials containing evidence of Zhuo Weidong’s crimes, including information about certain bad overseas assets held by the Zhuo family.

I didn’t want to involve myself in worldly affairs anymore, so I had the young monk call one of the temple stewards. The temple steward would photograph all the materials. On one hand, copies of the case-related information would be given to the police; on the other, all the originals would be mailed to the national discipline-inspection authorities. The temple would also keep a record.

Let the police and discipline-inspection authorities handle this matter.

A little over ten minutes later, people from the scenic-area police office arrived and asked about the situation. Afterward, they took away the documents I’d prepared for the police, including the recording about the butler’s murder.

At this point, the matter could be considered closed for the time being.

The next day, Du Xinlang came to the retreat compound and chatted with me about the Zhuo Group’s bankruptcy and collapse. She felt it was truly satisfying. The Zhuo family had been so rotten, spreading rumors so recklessly—they deserved their bad luck.

Ever since the Zhuo family began spreading rumors about me, I’d stayed silent. Du Xinlang complained a little, asking why I hadn’t fought back against Zhuo Weidong. Letting him off like this was far too easy. She said that since I was so capable, I definitely had a way to deal with him.

Faced with Du Xinlang’s question, I could only use the compassion of a monk as an excuse to deflect her.

I didn’t tell her that all of this was my revenge. I merely said casually, “This is the mandate of Heaven. Wicked people have their own wicked retribution.”

While casually chatting with Du Xinlang about the Zhuo Group’s downfall, I learned that this case had also implicated a series of corruption cases. Some officials and financial bosses fell from power one after another. Dozens of partner companies were dragged in. Even the Du Group had several hundred thousand in project funds that hadn’t been recovered.

Of course, if the Zhuo Group hadn’t gone bankrupt, society’s losses might have been even greater.

All I’d done was tear open the painted skin of the Zhuo Group and knock over a dangerous pile of eggs. As for everything I’d done in secret, I didn’t regret it.

Afterward, I played the woman’s recording for Du Xinlang.

Like me, she’d never imagined the Zhuo family had also participated in the attempted murder of her father. This made Du Xinlang hate them so much her teeth itched.

I also told Du Xinlang how the matter had been handled.

I said that although the Zhuo family was bad, they might not necessarily be the mastermind. Perhaps Zhuo Weidong had also been desperate to save his father and had been hijacked by someone.

Du Xinlang, of course, couldn’t forgive him.

No matter what, none of that was a reason to harm someone else.

I had no choice but to comfort her and tell her to calm down. The Zhuo family had already received its retribution. And in the future, an even greater disaster was waiting for them.

I hoped Du Xinlang could learn to let go of this hatred. There was no need to create more suffering for herself because of someone else’s crimes.

Whatever the case, the final result of all this was good.

Du Xinlang eventually accepted my advice and promised not to keep dwelling on the matter.

A few days later, I went to the Du residence and listened as the police read to the Du family and the butler’s relatives the investigation result in the butler’s suicide case.

The butler’s relatives said they had no face to meet the Du family’s trust. Although Du Changfeng forgave them, the butler’s son still solemnly apologized on behalf of the family.

I also advised everyone that once a person is dead, all things become clouds and smoke.

The Zhuo father and son weren’t so lucky.

Not long after the case broke, everyone from the Zhuo Group’s president to its financial managers was detained by the police. Zhuo Weidong, however, didn’t hold a position in the group, so he wasn’t part of that case.

Because of that, he kept trying to get people out. After all, the Zhuo Group’s legal team was quite professional. From the day they’d started falsifying accounts, they’d already prepared multiple contingency plans.

After the case erupted, the Zhuo Group immediately activated those plans. Zhuo Weidong could have avoided the false-accounting case and fled overseas. Unexpectedly, because of one report from me—the woman’s confession that Zhuo Weidong had ordered the attempt to murder Chairman Du—he was caught.

This case involved attempted murder, a major criminal case. So Zhuo Weidong was stopped by public security at the airport. He was now in custody.

His charges might be even more serious than his father’s.