Meng Qi merely used Duan Xiangfei’s schemes, which was using the Transformation Strategy to track people.
“Although when Duan Xiangfei was tracking me, he had already consummated the Transformation Strategy, and I still have a way to go.”
The Black Face Man ignorantly tried to shake off his tail. After going around in a circle, he entered through the back gate of some courtyard.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, then blissfully walked towards a wing room, and knocked on the door a few times.
“Who is it?” a man with a melodious voice asked.
“It’s me, the second keeper,” the black-faced man answered in a relaxed voice.
The door creaked open, and a bearded young man looked out at the dark-faced man, chuckled, and said, “If you do not come back, I’ll have to inform the Big Dangzi.”
The black-faced man was a “dead man walking”. He didn’t expect the black-faced man to be alive at this moment, which was why he was extra vigilant upon hearing the black-faced man’s voice. Fortunately, nothing happened.
In hindsight, the black-faced man spoke with fear as he was completely in the dark about his situation. “Lucky I’m not dumb and that he, being a monk, was merciful, otherwise I’d be dead. I appreciate the vice-proprietor’s concern. There’s no need to bother the Big Dangzi with my well-being.”
“I’m here to inform the Big Dangzi of getting ready for hosting the ‘guests’”, The young man stroked his beard and then said with a smile, “Please come inside.”
The window paper was very thick, and it was extremely dark inside. The young man seemed to like this kind of setting because he didn’t light any candles.
After shutting the door, he asked, “Did you tell them the truth?”
“Indeed, the second keeper, I gotta hand it to you. You knew they were very discreet and wouldn’t believe the word on the street. t’s extremely difficult to lure them into a trap. Smart though they are, they still couldn’t compare to you. How could they have known that I, seemingly a follower, was the real trap?” The black-faced man answered in awe. Though he didn’t know the exact plan, he guessed it was a trap when the second keeper told him not to keep it a secret.
A smug smile appeared on the second keeper’s face. “I just want to be prepared for all situations. For the not-so-bright ones, the rumors on the street should be enough to lure them to Che Lie Gorge. By contrast, the smart ones would fall right into the trap and go to the third keeper. As for those smart and discreet ones, I’m leaving them in your capable hands.”
“The second keeper, your well-thought-out plan is second to none.” The black-faced man praised diplomatically because the second keeper liked this kind of tone.
The second keeper acknowledged with smile and said, “Notify the third keeper that he doesn’t have to pretend to be on the opposing side of the honorable Mr. Zeluo anymore, and that if he hurried back to the Che Lie Gorge, he might be in time to witness the beheading of the little bald ass and his posse.”
Ze Luoju’s estimation of strength and ability was solely dependent on corpses, and it didn’t matter if there is one, two, or three enemies. At the end of the day, their strength was within that range. He didn’t want to waste time doing things himself or investigating other enemies. As long as they caught the little bald ass, everything would become clear.
“I’ll go and inform the third keeper right away,” the black-faced man replied. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face for he thought he had made a great contribution.
The the second keeper waved his hand and said, “Not so fast. First, tell me the details about what happened.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that he was not the sharpest tool in the box, and that he was ready to fight to the death for the secret, I wouldn’t have reminded him in the first place. So I need to see if he has made any mistakes.”
The black-faced man had repeated every word he had said to the second keeper and then asked, “The second keeper, did I do okay?”
The second keeper remained silent for a moment and then took out a pen and quickly scribbled a letter. Finally, he nodded and answered, “You did well.”
He took a weird looking bird with a white head and black feathers out from the cage, tied the letter on its leg, and then opened the window to let it fly.
Suddenly, as the bird flapped its wings, a long, powerful hand appeared from the shade and caught it.
The second keeper and the black-faced man were stunned when they saw a handsome juvenile with a black cloth wrapped around his head and a sword and a blade on each of his sides coming out of the shadow. He said with a smile, “Please go on talking. I’d like to listen to you.”
They both were frightened out of their wits. “Where did he come from and how did we not notice him?”
“The shade was clearly visible and not exactly dark. How did we miss him?”
“Shame, I was going to let you live,” Meng Qi sighed, holding the blade in his right hand and diagonally cut towards the black-faced man.
The blinding flash of the blade had made the black-faced man come to his senses, so he dove to the side to avoid the cut.
The blade flashed, and the black-faced man never stood up again. Blood was flowing from his body.
Meng Qi was extremely fast at killing people. Before the second keeper could react, the Buddhist Commandment Blade was pointing towards him.
“If I’m not wrong, you are Yu Lin, the Smiling Fox right?” Ming Qi asked with a smile.
The second keeper forced himself to keep his poise and replied, “That’s right.”
Millions of ideas were flipping in his head. He was trying hard to find one to help him out of this jam.
Meng Qi continued with a sigh and said, “You’re smart, but lacking in strength and ability. You haven’t even enlightened all your Apertures yet.”
Yu Lin forced a smile and added, “Isn’t that a good thing? My lack of ability means I’m easy to be manipulated and smart means you won’t have any problems communicating with me. Don’t you want to know where that little monk had gotten to?”
“You are full of lies, which means your credibility is non-existent. It matters not. There’s a whole bunch of dim people I could ask.” Meng Qi said, still maintaining that ‘I-feel-sorry-for-you’ look.
Seeing that he couldn’t talk his way out of this tight spot, Yu Lin mumbled, “With the Evil Sword Hunting Order, that little monk has probably landed in the hands of the horse bandits. If you want to get him out, merely relying on your strength is not enough. You need intellect and scheming. I could help you in those departments and submit myself to your rules.”
“I’ll do anything to live because sooner or later I’ll get everything back!”
Meng Qi laughed and added, “Forgive me, but you are a scoundrel.”
“What?” Yu Lin was confused, but then he saw the dark red Buddhist Commandment Blade cutting at him. No matter how he tried to avoid it, the blade unyieldingly forced its way into his throat.
“I… I don’t wanna die! I still have a lot to give you great schemes! I can read people’s minds!”
Slash! Yu Lin covered his throat with his hands, and blood sprayed all the way to the ground. His limbs twitched a few times, and then everything became still.
“It only takes half a day to get to the Che Lie Gorge… ” Meng Qi muttered to himself. Then he dug a hole in the middle of the garden and buried the two bodies in it. Burning them would cause a lot of raucous and attract too much attention.
Half a day later, the sun was setting, and it was getting dark. The temperature in the desert was dropping fast and the wind was picking up.
The Che Lie Gorge was a valley that looked like it was forged by the immortals with their swords. Both the cliffs were smooth and impossible to climb and often covered by a layer of fog. It was a crucial area and ideal for an ambush.
Gu Changqing and Meng Qi were surveying the Che Lie Gorge on their horsebacks. Seeing the peaks, Gu Changqing furrowed his brows and asked, “Why were you in such a hurry to kill him? You didn’t even interrogate him on the whereabouts of the Big Dangzi’s camp. How do we find it now?”
Gu Changqing tried to forget the peculiar way Meng Qi followed the black-faced man. He kept trying to convince himself that it was a supreme and mystical skill, and hence he shouldn’t pry.
Meng Qi tried hard to laugh normally, “Their camp is just another hiding place, but Shen Zui is definitely not there, so why bother asking him?”
“But we could pretend to attack the camp and draw out Shen Zui’s ambush, then see how things go.” Gu Changqing was not dumb either.
Meng Qi laughed and said, “Why bother with all the trouble? I’ll just go knock on his door.”
“And how do you plan to find him?” Gu Changqing really hated the kind of person who talked in an obscure way revealing nothing.
Of course, Meng Qi felt the same before, but times had changed, and he now enjoyed talking like this.
He smiled and turned to ask, “How many horse bandits with their Eye Apertures opened could you handle?”
Gu Changqing knew he couldn’t lie about things like this, or he’d put himself in danger. He furrowed his brows and replied, “The horse bandits are vicious and unafraid. If it was a one-on-one fight, I could win with my family’s sword art. However, if it were two-on-one, then I’d be in a bit of trouble.”
Before he stepped into Jianghu, he had opened his Eye Apertures, and the Gu Castle was renowned for their sword arts. The “Sun-Penetrating Supersword” and “Swordsmanship of Gu Family” were all top-shelf, but their Inner Qi Force, “Fire Formula”, was average, relatively speaking.
Meng Qi nodded in acknowledgment and said, “Then, let’s go together.”
Gu Changqing was almost hysterical, “How can we go without an address?”
Meng Qi laughed and said, “We do have a guide.”
As he spoke, he loosened the bag in his left hand and the weird-looking bird flew out. It hovered above for a bit and then headed towards the nearby valley of Che Lie Gorge.
“Let’s go!” Meng Qi strapped his horse and followed the white-headed bird.
As Gu Changqing watched the bird, he was damn near ticked-off. “If you had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have looked so dumb!”
There were three tents in a concealed valley. The middle one had belonged to Shen Zui. The other two belonged to four other Enlightened Master Pros, two of whom had opened Four Apertures, and another two had opened their Eye Apertures.
He knew that An Guoxie’s killer was coming for him, so he set up traps and brought with him anything that he thought would help. Though he had killed An Guoxie with all kinds of tactics, An Guoxie was, after all, a Nine Apertured Master. He was a force to be reckoned with not to mention being on the Ranking List of Young Masters.
Just when he was cultivating his Qi in his tent, the sound of wings-flapping entered his ears. When he opened his eyes, his white-headed bird had returned.
When he took off the note and read it carefully, he was filled with joy. Then he called on the other four masters and told them to get ready for an ambush in two hours.
His four subordinates were split into two groups standing guard in rotation.
He then returned to his tent to get whatever rest he could.
Meng Qi and Gu Changqing were observing the camp on top of a tree. When they were certain there weren’t more people, they jumped off the tree and charged towards the camp.
By the time the Enlightened Master Pros on guard had realized, Meng Qi, who used Moves of Wind-god’s Legs, was already in front of them, his Buddhist Commandment Blade at the ready.
In the moment of life and death, they didn’t hesitate either, using Horseman Sabres to attack Meng Qi’s body.
After two clanging sounds of hitting the metal, one of the two Enlightened Master Pros was dead and the other wounded. The master who died was the one with only his Eye Aperture opened, and the master with Four Apertures opened had a deep cut across his chest.
“You’re using the Golden Bell Shield?”
He was shocked and startled, but he had no time to call for help because the opponents’ blade kept coming at him in waves. Each move was more exquisite than the previous. His life ended soon after.
Just as Gu Changqing had caught up, he saw the two Enlightened Master Pros dead on the ground. This scene gave him a bit of a fright too, and Gu Changqing had a new understanding of Meng Qi’s strength.
Without using a go-to move, concealed weapons or poison, he, just with his bladesmanship and the Golden Bell Shield, was a whole level better than an enlightened master with Four Apertures opened.
Meng Qi’s cloak had two holes, one just had a white mark, the other a cut, but not deep. There wasn’t much blood.
Shen Zui, awakened by all the racket, charged out holding his sword, and yelled, “Who’s out there?”
In the dim light, Meng Qi smiled, revealing his white teeth,
“I heard the Big Dangzi was looking for me, so I’ve decided to save you the trouble.”
