"Why are you bringing up Mr. Leisure?" Meng Qi said placidly.
Fei Zhengqing laughed like a cunning fox — though he had a horse-face. "Is it not Mr. Leisure who invited the Twelve Animal Zodiac Gods?"
Meng Qi replied indifferently, "There's definitely more than one person who wants to find out about the Snow God Palace's treasures."
"Perhaps it's not him..." Fei Zhengqing was a little baffled.
Meng Qi continued to ask, "What other clues did you found after?"
Fei Zhengqing muttered, "There's someone I've been suspecting as the traitor of the Snow God Palace, but I couldn't get permission from the Castellan without proof."
"Who do you suspect?" A raspy voice came from behind the smiling monkey mask, the tone still calm and even.
Fei Zhengqing sighed. "You Tongguang."
He only gave a name, assuming Meng Qi would definitely know who it was.
Meng Qi cursed mentally. If the name did not appear in the information Duan Xiangfei provided, he really would have no idea who that was.
You Tongguang, sworn brother of Cui Xu, was one of the richest merchants of Destiny City. He controlled the food, weaponry, ironware, and logistics of the nearby districts.
He was not only rich and powerful, but also highly skilled in martial arts. Rumors had it that he had once broken through the body's secret chamber, but was stabbed at the last moment and put all his efforts to waste. From then on, his Kung Fu became stagnant and he started wallowing in money and women.
Without Cui Xu's nod, Fei Zhengqing would not dare bring public figures like You Tongguang in for questioning.
If Fei Zhengqing was considered one of the top ten powerful men in Destiny City, then You Tongguang would be behind only Castellan Cui Xu and Junior Castellan Cui Jinhua.
"Are you planning on using me to deal with You Tongguang?" Meng Qi's tone carried a hint of laughter.
If You Tongguang died, his sons would not be able to take over the large family business. Even with Cui Xu's support, their martial skills were too poor for it. Besides, they have also lost a lot of influence and power. Fei Zhengqing and his men could step in and take over part of the businesses.
It would be great if You Tongguang could truly be proven guilty. If everyone was after him, then Cui Xu, who likened himself as an ally of justice, would join the fray and grab a piece of the You family.
Fei Zhengqing's expression had not changed, still giving off that agonizing vibe. He said bitterly, "Old You and I have been brothers for a long time. How could I use an outsider to harm him? If not for the fact that evidence was found during the Dabei Temple search, I'd never suspect him. But if he's really the traitor of the Snow God Palace Cla, I'd have to stand on the side of justice."
"What kind of evidence?" Meng Qi asked, clearly unmoved by Fei Zhengqing's expression or words.
Fei Zhengqing reacted quickly and said, "A few of Old You's handwritten letters were found inside Dabei Temple. From the outset, it looks to be about ironware business deals. There's nothing out of the ordinary, but I'm still dubious. Since when did Old You like discussing business deals within Destiny City via letters? This is very out of the ordinary for him."
"Perhaps it involved illegal ironware deals. That's why You Tongguang didn't want to discuss it face to face," Meng Qi replied casually, not caring if it was logical. If You Tongguang was afraid to show his face, why would he be unafraid to discuss it in a letter?
Fei Zhengqing seemed to have noticed Meng Qi's slip of words and smiled. "Outside of whatever Old You declares to be illegal, everything goes in Destiny City. He's always discreet and wouldn't write letters. He'd just ask his people to do his bidding. If there are problems, he'd just kill them."
"That's not necessarily true. Letters could be burnt. You just happen to be quick enough to find them." Meng Qi was still opposing Fei Zhengqing to see if he would reveal other evidence.
Fei Zhengqing acted as he was trying to remember. "Another time, I went to Old You's manor and accidentally entered his study. He quickly packed up a piece of snow-white jade pendant. I didn't take much notice at first. After all, such jades are not rare, but on hindsight, it does seem like the Ice Pendant, an heirloom of Snow God Palace's four Guardians. That kind of jade is rare and it's more than enough evidence to mark the traitor of Snow God Palace, but I can't be certain of Old You's piece of jade."
"Is that all?" Meng Qi asked in a neutral tone, but inside he was anxious about Duan Xiangfei's reason for giving him only partial information. What were his intentions...
"Nothing more. If I have any more, I'd have reported it to the Castellan." Fei Zhengqing shook his head.
Meng Qi was not sure if he should believe him, so he said, "After the Dabei Temple incident, did you keep an eye on You Tongguang?"
"He's too skilled a martial artist. Very few skilled agents can keep up with him. Since we lack agents, we'd often lose sight of him. Currently I'm planning to start with his sons." Fei Zhengqing really was the kind of person to expose all his cards.
Meng Qi followed up with a few more questions, making sure there were no flaws or contradictions in Fei Zhengqing's answers. He then walked up to Jin Ancheng and said, "You can now speak. If your statement doesn't match up with Head Constable Fei, don't blame me for being cruel."
Jin Ancheng nodded heavily and opened his mouth to say, "At that time..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, his eyes became frozen. A shadow jumped down from the roof, his sword flashing as he pointed it at Meng Qi.
Only noticing the intruder when he made his move, Meng Qi's heart jumped. Meng Qi used the one-armed Mt Hua move with his Buddhist Commandment Blade, a ferocious attack to drive away the intruder.
For some reason, Meng Qi had the idea that the figure was swaying slightly under the light. It did not feel like a real person, but rather a shadow. Yet the light reflecting off the sword only expanded further, blocking most of his view. It was cold and frightening, causing his hair to stand.
He slashed his blade, trying to split the figure together with its sword. Just as his blade flashed past, it was as if the shadow and light off the sword were like reflections in a mirror or still water. They were like mirages that simply dissipated in the air.
This was bad! Meng Qi had no time to consider if he had been tricked by an illusion. Using Lightning Changes, he took a step. He seemed to be retreating, but he was actually moving forward from the side.
Poof!
The noise of a sword penetrating rotten wood resounded. Blood spilled from Meng Qi's left shoulder. The intruder was relentlessly on his tail, each strike aimed at his crucial spots. When Meng Qi tried to counterattack, whether to block the sword or aimed at the person, all his attacks seemed to hit a 'shadow'. They went right through without any impact.
If not for his unpredictable and effective defense move, Lightning Changes, he would long have died under the intruder's sword attacks. Even so, blood was oozing from different parts of his body. Sword wounds were also surfacing.
"Sorcery?" Meng Qi clenched his teeth, not daring to slow in his steps. "It doesn't matter what this is. What I see, hear, and smell, it all
points to a shadow!"
"I can't delay this any longer!"
If he continued getting hurt like this, he knew he would not be able to hold on much longer. So he steeled his heart and took out a black cylinder with a cold, metallic luster.
The shadow attacked again with his sword. Meng Qi raised his hand and pointed the black cylinder at him.
Whether it was due to sorcery or other reasons, it was not hard to see that the figure was not far from the shadow, judging from his wounds. Meng Qi may not be able to him with his blade, but this Pearflower Storm Needles was capable of attacking from all directions!
Meng Qi's thumb was on the trigger mechanism. The shadow seemed to have noticed the danger and abruptly backed off. He smashed the window and jumped out into the yard. The window that was knocked away mysteriously flew up and blocked the needles attack.
Meng Qi did not press the trigger. Under such circumstances, it was better to just scare them. After all, he did not know if there were more enemies hiding in the dark. This way, those in the hiding must first consider if they could block the Pearflower Storm Needles!
Bang! The window smashed on the ground and the shadow disappeared in the darkness.
Meng Qi did not put the Pearflower Storm Needles back in his pocket. Holding the cylinder in his hands, he used his sleeve to conceal it.
He turned around and saw Jin Ancheng's mouth was wide open and his eyes blank. He was obviously dead, bleeding from his throat.
The shadow actually had time to kill others while attacking his crucial spots!
Meng Qi's muscles were pulsating, contracting his wounds to temporarily stop the bleeding. He walked in front of Fei Zhengqing and saw a confused expression on his face. His breathing was heavy, but he was alive.
"Mr. Ennea Monkey, what just happened?" Fei Zhengqing asked in a shocked and confused state.
"There was a sneak attack. He killed Jin Ancheng, but I forced him to back off." Meng Qi was trying to sound as neutral as possible.
Fei Zhengqing was half sitting during the fight, so he saw part of the battle. But since Meng Qi had his back to him, he did not see the Pearflower Storm Needles, which explained his shock. "Mr. Ennea Monkey's skills are the best I've seen apart from some grandmasters, even better than You Tongguang's. Yet that man could render even you defenseless. How could this be… It's fortunate that you scared him off."
"That man's Kung Fu is strange, like sorcery. Each time I struck him with my blade, it was like hitting a shadow." Meng Qi was not familiar with the different kinds of Kung Fu, therefore he divulged this to Fei Zhengqing to see if he had any clues.
Fei Zhengqing's expression changed. "Was it like seeing someone in front, but when you cut him, you hit nothing but shadow, and yet you yourself have been cut with a sword?"
"You know what it is?" Meng Qi asked in surprise.
Fei Zhengqing's expression continued to shift and he was becoming short of breath. "It must be the traitor of the Snow God Palace. It must be him! It's rumored that Snow God Palace had a skill called Transformation Strategy. It can transform and create illusions. It bridges the boundaries of human realm and the heaven realm. Whey they attack, it's as if they were immortals that can't be harmed. For this reason, they called themselves the descendants of God and act as if they were superior to everyone."
"That man must've achieved a certain extent of Transformation Strategy and close to breaking through his Secret Chamber. He came to kill me tonight!"
"Then I've saved your life." Meng Qi laughed. He abruptly performed an eagle flip, jumping out the window. He disappeared into the darkness moments later. This was not the place to hang around!
After leaving the nearby streets, Meng Qi examined his wounds. Underneath his mask, his expressions were a mix of mirth and concern. Then he mimicked Jin Ancheng's way, circling the area before changing directions. A full fifteen minutes later, he found a hiding place and changed out of the night-traveling cloak and mask.
...
Dawn was breaking. Wu Fengyu slowly regained consciousness. He only felt a splitting pain at the back of his head and noticed the crowd around him, pointing at him.
"Why is this guy lying on the street? And he's carrying a blade..."
"Is it an avenger from one of those clans?"
"But that doesn't seem right. He's wearing only a night gown. Maybe he got kicked out of the brothel for not having money?"
He became completely awake hearing those words, expression suddenly frozen. Was he not going to commit murder last night? Why was he here, sleeping on the street?