Meng Qi returned to the temple when the day was getting dark. He discovered a mess inside. Dirty footprints were everywhere.
Ning Daogu and others were sitting around a stone table. Surprised and excited, they stood up to greet him. "Master Zhen Ding, you are back!"
Meng Qi had changed back into his gray frock. With smiling eyes, he said, "Amitabha, my Buddha. You donors must have had a trying day."
He need not have asked, for the mess in the yard told that myriad people had come to challenge him. But they were stopped by Ning Daogu and others.
"No problem. We wish we could help more," they replied.
Meng Qi smiled. "We Buddhists believe in the theory of Karma. If I am to be invited to watch the Spar Between grandmasters, I would love to invite you as my company, if you don't mind."
"Really?" exclaimed the elated young girls, Yue Shishi and Nie Yao. If they watched the Spar Between grandmasters, even if they could hardly learn much, it would still be an honorable experience that they could flaunt among friends.
Ning Daogu and Ji Xin were quicker to calm down. They gave a deferential salute. "Thank you so much, Master."
Meng Qi nodded slightly, and then he walked into his meditation room. He could still hear the exultant chirping of the four youngsters.
"Alas, why haven't I had such a youth, adventuring in Jianghu..." Meng Qi sighed, affecting a blasé tone. He took a Buddhist sitting posture on a hassock, and began to scrutinize over the events that he had gone through and the threads that he discovered recently.
Although he knew that the major task was to "monitor" You Hongbo and wait for another Animal God to show up in his trap, he was in no hurry. For after the Buddha statuette was stolen by Ennea Monkey, You's Mansion was on high alert. You Hongbo was almost reclusive and was often accompanied by You Tongguang for fear of accidents. So Meng Qi reckoned that if they did not come up with a prudent plan, unless Quint Dragon did not take the job personally, You Hongbo was unlikely to be kidnapped in a short time.
And Meng Qi deemed that if it were him to take away You Hongbo, the best time would be tomorrow night. The theft of the statuette would distract everyone, at which time You Hong would be easy to abduct clandestinely.
Of course, this was Meng Qi's own speculation. Ghosts knew what the Animal Gods were thinking. Therefore from this evening on, he had to keep an eye on You Hongbo, until the Animal Gods had shown up or the last key moment had come.
"The shadow that night, according to Frost Herald, may be a master who has cultivated Transformation Strategy, or a progenitor who concentrated the Primal Aperture at Mid-brows and opened the Secret Chamber of Spirit. The first chapter of Transformation Strategy testified that this magic art is indeed a Kung Fu to cultivate Primal Aperture, thus Frost Herald didn't lie, unless he was powerful enough to know another supreme art which also cultivates Primal Aperture. But given his current strength, it is virtually impossible."
Meng Qi started scrutinizing over which of his words were believable and which were lies that needed to be analyzed. "If he didn't lie, why hadn't he mentioned Fei Zhengqing, and told me only of Transformation Strategy? Perhaps he did not know the function of the Secret Chamber of Spirit, which is very unlikely. He might be a henchman of Cui Xu.
"That is to say, Fei Zhengqing has deliberately covered up the activity of a grandmaster, who has opened the Secret Chamber of Spirit. And the person, whose Chamber was opened and worth being covered, could only be..."
Meng Qi squinted his eyes and stared at the white window paper. A name, Cui Xu, was reverberating in his mind.
Hereditary Castellan, genius swordsman, grandmaster of a righteous sect—these are the halos around Cui Xu. In terms of authority, or wealth, or Kung Fu, he virtually all reached the ceiling for a mortal.
Meng Qi knew more about him: He had married a childhood girlfriend, who had died in his middle age; he had a daughter and a son and many sworn brothers; he had joined few contests in the last five years, consigning all the affairs of Destiny City to his son, Cui Jinhua.
"Besides, the assassin had only killed Jin Ancheng. Fei Zhengqing had lost the ability to fight and he clearly knew more secrets, yet he left him untouched. The assassin was also able to pierce into my Golden Bell Shield... Yet, Cui Xu was supposed to have no more need for power, money, or martial arts. Why should he abduct Duan Mingcheng and antagonize Duan Xiangfei?"
If it was not him who took Duan Mingcheng, Meng Qi could not think of other reasons why he would have Jin Ancheng killed. Doing what he could to kill "Ennea Monkey" would be enough.
"What about the treasure of the Snow God Palace? But why does he want this? Maybe he wants the martial scriptures and cultivation experiences for the Three Secret Chambers, and to become even stronger, to break through the ceiling between mortals and gods?"
Meng Qi pondered over the "criminal motives". It sounded plausible that Cui Xu would be behind all of this.
"Perhaps he had learned about treasure from You Tongguang, and thus targeted Duan Mingcheng for his map. Duan was also trying to contact the Snow God Palace. It would be a good strategy to wait for their meet-up and wipe them all out for good."
Aside from whether his motive was strong enough or not, Meng Qi felt more and surer of this.
"The Treasure Map of Duan Mingcheng now probably belongs to Cui Xu. If the Venerable of the Snow God Palace had succumbed to the torture, he probably had surrendered his map as well. Zhang Zongxian and his wife had given the Treasure Map to Cui Jinxiu for fear of the Twelve Animal Gods, and the girl must have turned it in to her father. The Map of You Tongguang, the last one, might also have been given to Cui Xu. He probably has all of the four Maps already..." Meng Qi was terrified after this reasoning.
But there were still many questions. For example, why Fei Zhengqing left through the tunnel in the late night, and Cui Xu, the Castellan, happened to be there also... The most dubious point was by whom were Frost Herald and others of the Snow God Palace slain.
The person who killed them was also adept at sword. He was also respected by them, and seemed to be a senior in the Snow God Palace and unlikely to be Cui Xu. What made this guy kill his subordinates?
If he just wanted to use Frost Herald to make me suspect Cui Xu instead, he could have just left after giving an order. Why did he have to kill them?
"Besides, this guy knew well of my whereabouts and took actions after I had left. He was able to follow me without being noticed. Probably he could be the Lord of the Snow God Palace?" Meng Qi was suddenly shocked and felt scared. "What end does he have? To disclose the secret of Cui Xu and force him to surrender the Treasure Maps? But why he needed to kill..."
Partly illuminated and partly confused, Meng Qi had cleared his thoughts. "Anyway, the main task comes first. I have to keep watching Cui Xu, and You Tongguang could be the breakthrough point."
...
Wu Fengyu sneaked through the alley. Only the night without light could bring him some sense of security.
Having failed the assassination task, he was worried about the disclosure of his identity and the revenge of You Hongbo. So he excused himself and hid away for the time being.
"Who is the martial master behind him? Why did he just warn me without killing me for good?" This question had been dwelling in Wu Fengyu's mind, depriving him of appetite and sleep.
"Slap!" An acute pain came from behind his head. Wu Fengyu passed out with indignation.
"Again?!"
That was the last thought before he fell into a coma.
...
Hiding in the shadows on the roof of a house near the You Mansion, Meng Qi continued watching over the things that were happening inside of the Mansion. But this time he did not focus on You Tongguang, but shifted to You Hongbo, who had blown out the candles and gone to sleep in the east wing room.
Just when Meng Qi thought that this night was going to be a silent night, a man dressed as an escort accompanied by his subordinates quickly entered the yard where You Hongbo was residing.
From a distance, Meng Qi could not hear what they were talking about, but he saw that You Hongbo had waved his hands with excitement, grabbed his long sword, and gone out with the escort.
"They went out late in the night despite the danger, so there must be something weird that happened, either a trick of the Animal Gods or the secret of the You Mansion..." Meng Qi was excited and followed up carefully. No matter whose trick it was, he would be very happy to see it.
...
With a long sword gripped in his right hand, You Hongbo clenched his teeth and followed the escort, his face twisted with hatred, seeming ready to find someone and chop him into pieces.
After all, he was the favorite son of You Tongguang. He did not say much and generally inhibited his emotions.
"He is here?" seeing the yellow wall and black tile before him, You Tongguang asked with consternation and fear.
"Childe, Wu Fengyu was hiding here exactly, in Dabei Temple. Damn, the traitor must be challenging us with the frightening name of the God of Sword in White," the escort answered emotionally.
You Hongbo looked at him coldly. "Zhu Mingyuan, you know that the Sword God in White is here, and you still encourage me to enter and capture Wu Fengyu?"
If the consigned stuff this time was not of great importance, he would not have needed to come personally. Any escort master would have sufficed.
"Childe, it will be alright. If Wu Fengyu can hide here, so can we. As long as we don't get too close to the yard where the Sword God in White abides, it will be totally safe. Two days ago, two gangs of rogues fought inside, but the God of Sword in White was not disturbed," Zhu Mingyuan explained hurriedly.
You Hongbo was sure of his identity, reckoning that even if the God of Sword in White was disturbed, he would be given a lesson at most and would not be killed. It was important that he gained back the good impression of his father. Therefore, he nodded slowly. "Fine. Let's go."
Having climbed over the yellow wall, they prowled toward the yard where Wu Fengyu was hiding.
Having searched around the yard, You Hongbo was still careful, but he found no breath inside the house. "Shit, nobody is in!"
"He, he was there..." Zhu Mingyuan was surprised also.
You Hongbo frowned and pushed the door open. He ignited a match but suddenly his hand jerked, almost dropping the match to the ground.
Wu Fengyu was lying on the bed silently. His eyes were roundly opened, rendering an endless and unspeakable fear. He was already dead.
"Hooh!" A gust of wind went in, shutting the door closed. A dark shadow suddenly flashed over. Its hands, quick as lightning, blocked the major acupoint of the astounded You Hongbo.
Perhaps You Hongbo was not as incompetent in Kung Fu as the shadow. But he was too well-fed and lacking in the experience of practice. He was petrified by the scene, off guard, and easily sneak-attacked.
Staring at the shadow in fear, he recognized a woman with a slender body. She was dressed in night clothes and wearing a cute white rabbit mask.
"Hare?" He wanted to cry for help, but only this name came out of his mouth. The black eyes under the mask were gazing gravely at his throat.
"Third Childe of You, don't worry. You are just wanted as a hostage. As long as you behave well, you will have your life spared." The Hare chuckled, her voice was also deliberately husky.
"You didn't strike my aphonic acupoint. What do you want me to answer?" You were always a smart person, but he lacked experience. Zhu Mingyuan was already knocked down on the ground.
The Hare squinted at him and giggled. "This is out of my expectation. Since you are in my hands, I would like you to tell something about the Treasure Map."
"Who's there?" She looked out of the window alertly.
The window was opened with a rusty sound. A smiling monkey head appeared before them.
"Ennea Monkey?" the two people exclaimed with surprise simultaneously.