"Your kind offerings have been duly noted. Thank you so much. Yours, Ennea Monkey."
The 20 skilled masters became confused and embarrassed upon hearing these words read out loud. The atmosphere in the hall was frozen and silent.
Ennea Monkey had mysteriously stolen the white jade joss under everyone's eyes and while surrounded by people. It was unbelievable and shocking.
They had to admit the truth even when it was unbelievable. Their faces turned red and green. Some of their hands were trembling; others were grinding their teeth.
"How could it be?" someone cried.
"There must be a mole! Someone told him." A robe-wearing elder stared angrily at the rest.
Unless Ennea Monkey had become a Buddhist God, that was the only explanation!
The crowd was about to argue when You Tongguang sighed and said, "You're all my friends. There's no need to fight over this. The white jade joss is nothing but an object."
"Old You, say no more. All of our reputation is on the line. The white jade joss might be small, but it's still easily found if someone carried it away. I suggest you frisk everyone."
To prove their innocence, everyone agreed. After rummaging around, the white jade joss was not found anywhere, not even on You Tongguang himself.
The atmosphere in the hall became embarrassingly silent.
...
When the people heard the crash, everyone became excited and thrilled in their hiding places around You's Mansion. They peeped from the window and searched for a shadow running into the night.
Watched this jollification, Meng Qi thought to himself the crowd really looked as if they were waiting for the arrival of a superstar.
The noisy crowd calmed down after a moment. The night became dark and silent.
"Did Ennea Monkey retreat because of the difficulty?" Nie Yao became disappointed. She thought she could watch the competition between Ennea Monkey and the other twelve masters. When that happened, she would lend a hand in killing Ennea Monkey.
"The white jade joss was surrounded by twelve masters. Even a grandmaster would be hard-pressed to steal it, let alone Ennea Monkey. He must have held back out of fear of losing his reputation," Ji Xin said, disappointed yet excited.
Ning Daogu and Yue Shishi shared the expression. They clearly felt the same way, but then they remembered the skilled master beside them. They turned to him and asked sincerely, "Master Zhen Ding, what do you think?"
"My opinion?" Meng Qi laughed. "I guess Ennea Monkey has confidence in stealing the white jade joss. Otherwise, there's no need for him to provoke Donor You."
"I think Ennea Monkey has a different aim. Stealing the white jade joss is just a cover. Twelve Animal Zodiac Gods are known for being cruel and merciless. Losing reputation would hardly affect him."
"Yes. If Ennea Monkey does as you said and achieves his goal, people in Jianghu will fear him instead of laughing at him." Yue Shishi and Nie Yao nodded at the same time.
A small noise came from the front as they talked, louder and louder by the minute, spreading around quickly.
"Ennea Monkey stole the white jade joss!"
"Ennea Monkey silently stole the white jade joss!"
The surprising sound couldn't be suppressed and went into Ning Daogu, Yue Shishi, and other people's ears. Ning Daogu and Yue Shishi were shocked and couldn't remember themselves.
"How could it happen? The white jade joss was surrounded by twelve masters. Even mosquitoes would find it difficult to fly in."
"Did he defeat the twelve masters directly?"
"If he really defeats them, I would consider Ennea Monkey a grandmaster at most. But silently? It's unimaginable! He seems to be a ghost. "
Soon, they came to their senses and talked about it excitedly with surprise and confusion. They thought the wait was well worth it. Ennea Monkey was really mysterious and horrible.
Meng Qi heard the conversations around him and a small smile appeared on his face.
...
Half a day ago, in the forest around Dabei Temple.
"This is the treasure map. Where's my son?" You Tongguang lost his gentle smile and his head was low that water could trickle down his face.
"He's safe now. After I make sure it's the real map, I'll tell you his location and you can pick him up." Meng Qi was still wearing his smiling monkey mask.
He had been searching for information all day today. No one knew what happened in Dabei Temple last night. It seemed to be a hallucination that Sword God in White was fighting the eight Animal Gods. There was no news about the injuries of Sword God in White or the death of Animal Gods.
"We'll exchange the map and my son at the same time." You Tongguang's gaze was frigid and intense.
Meng Qi said in relief, "There are four treasure maps and I don't know when I'll be able to collect them all. I'm just giving it a go and I don't care if I can't get them. However, Mr. You, you have three children. The youngest one is your favorite and the one you pin the highest hope on. I can give up treasure maps, but can you abandon You Hongbo?"
"You!" You Tongguang shouted in anger.
With his hoarse voice, Meng Qi laughed. "You have no choice but to follow my rules."
"If there's anything happened to my son, I'll kill you even if I have to spend every dime I have." You Tongguang ground his teeth and threw the treasure map to Meng Qi.
Catching the map, Meng Qi found that it was not an old map and guessed it was a mere copy. After giving it a look over, he asked, "You've already given the original to Cui Xu?"
"Yes. This is a copy." You Tongguang did not conceal the truth.
"I'll trust you this time. If I find out this map is fake, I'll kill your family even if I can't defeat you. Unless they don't leave their home anymore, they definitely won't be able to escape me. Even if they can avoid death one or two times, they can't avoid it forever."
You Tongguang snorted. "I won't bet on my son's life. Can you tell me his location now?"
"Calm down. I need to ask you few questions." Meng Qi laughed.
"Didn't you just ask for the treasure map?" You Tongguang was mad.
Meng Qi snorted, faking a cold and stern look as he said, "I told you, you can only follow my rules."
You Tongguang closed his fist and blue veins were showing on his skin. He calmed down later and said, "Go ahead and ask."
Meng Qi raised his voice. "Where did Cui Xu lock up Duan Mingcheng?"
You Tongguang set back and looked at Meng Qi in surprise and fright. "W-Where did you hear this rumor?"
"I'm very sure it's true. I just want to know where Duan Mingcheng is now," said Meng Qi calmly.
"Ridiculous! How could it be!" You Tongguang smiled coldly.
Meng Qi laughed in his hoarse voice. "Mr. You, do you have any idea why I know you're the descendant of Snow God Palace Guardians and that you have the treasure maps?"
"Didn't you hear from the Snow God Palace traitor?" You Tongguang called the people of Snow God Palace traitors, showing zero respect.
Meng Qi laughed. "No, it was Fei Zhengqing who told me that. I just wanted to make clear where Duan Mingcheng is now. Fei Zhengqing deliberately drove my attention to Snow God Palace. He specifically mentioned that you could be the traitor and you keep in touch with those from Snow God Palace through letters."
"Letters? Damn you, Fei Zhengqing!" You Tongguang believed Meng Qi once he heard about the letters. He had killed the man who received his letters that night, but he was not sure if those letters were destroyed. He did not know if they were in the hands of Fei Zhengqing.
Meng Qi said placidly, "Of all the things to do, Castellan Cui attacked me that night. Had he not done that, I wouldn't have found out about Duan Mingcheng's whereabouts. That's why I'm asking you where he's being locked up in today."
"Fifth Brother attacked you?" You Tongguang looked at Meng Qi as if he was looking at a monster. He could not believe Meng Qi survived after Cui Xu's attacks.
Meng Qi grinned. "I have something special to protect me, enough to force Castellan Cui to retreat. Mr. You, can you answer me now?"
You Tongguang's expression shifted a couple times before he sighed. "Honestly, he never told me that. Perhaps he's concerned about my Snow God Palace background. But I've been in this business for many years and have the money to spare, so I did find out eventually. Duan Mingcheng is locked in the bottom floor of the Castellan Mansion prison."
"I thought only his corpse will be left. Castellan Cui is merciful." Meng Qi stared at You Tongguang's face, not missing any small changes on his face.
"He was worried that Duan Mingcheng's map was a fake, so he kept him around. When Jinhua returned after examining the location of the treasure, Duan Mingcheng would be killed." Since he had revealed the secret, You Tongguang no longer held back.
"Oh," Meng Qi said. "No wonder I haven't seen Young Castellan around after Zhang Zongxian and his wife handed the map to Ms. Cui."
"When it comes to such matters, the only person he trusts is his son." You Tongguang gave a bitter smile.
"Therefore, Castellan Cui and the Head Constable Fei left through the tunnel that night to kill Zhen Ding, didn't they?" Meng Qi said.
"That I have no idea. I was excluded from the affair." You Tongguang shook his head.
Without saying anything more, Meng Qi went straight for what he wanted. "Tell me the location and defense layout of the prison."
After explaining in the detail what Meng Qi wanted, You Tongguang said, "Ennea Monkey, can you tell me where Hongbo is now?"
"I still have a request. A last one." Meng Qi grinned.
You Tongguang took a deep breath and said, "Go ahead."
"'Steal' the white jade joss tonight. I know you can do that," Meng Qi said, staring directly into You Tongguang's eyes.
"Though the white jade joss is expensive, it's not something priceless..." You Tongguang was confused.
Meng Qi laughed. "I don't want to break my word."
He valued his reputation too much!
"All right." You Tongguang nodded.
Meng Qi nodded. "I'll leave You Hongbo in the garden of Dong Family. You steal white jade joss and find him later. Just toss the white jade joss into the river."
You Tongguang looked at Meng Qi for a moment. He turned away without saying anything.
Meng Qi stood there, watching him until he disappeared. He laughed and said to himself, "I've got pretty good acting! The effect that comes from saying only half-truths is quite interesting."
...
The next day, when news of Ennea Monkey infiltrating the protection circle and stealing the joss became a hot topic of discussion, Meng Qi received an invitation from Cui Jinxiu. The invitation was for Master Zhen Ding who could defeat Mu Shan, Mu Hengtian, and Ennea Monkey, as well having encountered Cui Jinxiu in the past. He had been invited to watch the fight.
"Everything comes down to this day." Meng Qi laughed. He put on his white frock and went out happily.
"Master Zhen Ding..." Ning Daogu and the rest have been waiting in the yard for a while now, looking rather excited.
Just after they finished kowtowing, they were shocked to see him. Master Zhen Ding now wore a white frock with red lips and white teeth, carrying an air of indifference and aloofness.
A few days ago, Master Zhen Ding was just a little monk with good Kung Fu. Today, he resembled a senior monk a little.
Meng Qi was pleased with their reaction and turned his Buddha beads in his hands. He smiled and said, "Amitabha. Please follow me to Castellan Mansion."