“Luo Denomination?” Since he had dealt with Gu Xiaosang twice, Meng Qi was quite sensitive to these two words.
Meanwhile, Meng Qi scanned Hua Lun secretly. He confirmed Hua Lun was Hua Tiange from his appearance. Otherwise, how could Meng Qi believe someone who claimed himself as Hua Tiange for no reason?
Hua Lun was so anxious that he needed someone to send the message. Even though he was not familiar with Meng Qi, he took out the dark purple token carved with special cloud patterns and the words “Hua Lun”.
In his hand, the token glowed with purple soft light.
“Cloud patterns and purple bronze, it’s real.” Meng Qi gently nodded and was sure that Hua Lun was exactly Hua Tiange.
Big sects or aristocratic families all had their own identity symbol in the forms of tokens or crystals on the backs of the hands or the swords around their waists.
They were made by special technicals. They had marks left by experts of the Exterior that were difficult to replicate. In the forging process, the owners dropped their own blood onto the tokens. When they held the tokens or fully display their inner Qi, their blood would boil, and their body would emit a special glow to demonstrate their identities.
The identity symbol of Shaolin was the Prayer Beads engraved with the owner’s Dharma name, which the disciples should travel down the mountain to get. While Meng Qi and Zhen Hui were with their Master this time, they did not get their own Prayer Beads.
After Hua Lun had proved himself, he asked, “What’s your name? Which school or sect do you belong to?”
“I’m Meng Qi from Luo Yang, but I live in Xi Liang. I am nobody in Jianghu but lucky to be taught by a predecessor sword art. Now I am traveling around the whole country.” Meng Qi reorganized what he had said in the daytime.
Hua Lun frowned for he could not tell the real character of Meng Qi, decent or evil, from his simple self-introduction. “How can I entrust him?”
He managed to sit up looking Meng Qi up and down. Meng Qi looked gentle but not weak — handsome, dignified and macho. Hua Lun clinched his teeth and made his decision. “Please help me ask for Zhen Yi School’s help.”
“Don’t be hurried. Please tell me what happened in detail.” Meng Qi wanted to consider carefully before he decided whether to help.
Understanding Meng Qi’s worries, Hu Lun sincerely said, “Several days ago, I heard someone from the branch of Longnan Zhang came to help Huang Yun. I was afraid that they would bully us, so I informed my father and hurried back to ask the Elders or Senior brothers for help. Unexpectedly, in a secret spot near the mountain, I found Huang Yun talking with a disciple of Zhang about the Stange Stone.”
“I was so shocked that I listened carefully and was surprised that that person should be Emissary Vacation of Luo Sect. They plotted to occupy the Outsky Strange Stone with the branch of Longnan Zhang and Mount Qin Sword Sect. Their plan was to pretend to fight for the Strange Stone but actually to create an opportunity for Luo Jiao to steal the Stone. In this way, the branch of Longnan Zhang and Mount Qin Sword Sect would not be suspected while they would pretend to lose the disciples of Luo Denomination when tracking Luo Denomination’s track.”
As one of the Nine Evil Paths, Luo Denomination was always repressed by big sects like Shaolin, so their hierarchy was mysterious and unknown to outsiders. Even the disciples from Shaolin only knew that the top was Sanskrit Dharmaraja. Twelve Oracles was in the second level, and “Emissary Vacation” was in the bottom level. As to Expect for that, they did not know anything.
“And then you were exposed?” Meng Qi looked at the black blood dropping from Hua Lun’s back.
Hua Lun nodded and said, “Our Faction masters the Breath-holding Mysteries, so I am not discovered at first. After Huang Yun, disciples of Zhang and Emissary Vacation of Luo Sect have left, I planned to move on, but Emissary Vacation of Luo Sect returns and finds me there. I am injured by his Black God Paw but fortunate to escape due to my good sword art and superior skills.”
He turned around, and Meng Qi saw a deep black palm print in the middle of his back.
The cloth around the palm print was eroded and the skin black and swollen. A single touch would cause the skin to fester and the black blood to ooze out.
“It was Luo Denomination.” Meng Qi gently nodded. Black God Paw was the iconic skill of Emissary Vacation of Luo Sect, which was characteristic, mysterious and vicious. Once being attacked, the skin around the wound would fester. If the evil force of the palm and the poison it contained were not dealt with in time, its poison would spread to Five Solid and Six Hollow Organs. As a result, the injured would die painfully. Meng Qi said, “Childe Hua, your wound must be dealt with right now.”
It had been two days since Hua Lun was injured. If prolonging another day, he could only save his life and undertake the losses of his martial skill.
Hua Lun knew his conditions. Otherwise, he would never ask Meng Qi for help just now. He begged, “Childe Meng, please help me.”
With the sword in his right hand, Meng Qi pressed his left hand on his sleeveless shirt. He ran his inner force and instilled it into his body to help him remove the evil force and poison.
Hua Lun felt a genuine Qi with extreme righteousness and purest Yang flew into his body. Suddenly, he was full of energy and collected his own inner force with the help of the genuine Qi. Slowly, the evil force of Black God Paw and poison was forced out.
“From his genuine Qi, he is righteous.” Hua Lun thought and nodded.
Normally, unless the same genuine Qi flew in one’s body before or the genuine Qi of a particular super skill was special, it was hard to distinguish a skill from the quality of the genuine Qi when one was still in his enlightenment period. For example, Meng Qi’s Golden Bell Shield would only show its characteristics of pure righteousness and Yang. Before the Exterior, it would not show its feature of the solemnity of Buddhism, so it looked similar to other Inner Qi Forces. Only when Meng Qi ran it, the features of Golden Bell Shield would show, and others could distinguish it.
Flows of black blood gushed. The swelling reduced, and the skin turned pale but a more normal color again.
Pu! Hua Lun vomited a mouthful of black blood. Suddenly, he was energetic. He cupped his hand in the other before his chest and thankfully said, “Please accept my heartful appreciation.”
Meng Qi took back his left hand, smiled, and said, “Did Luo Denomination send anyone to chase and kill you?”
“Yes! They had secretly recruited many followers in Three Mountains and Four Waters, among which there were many martial pros who had Enlightened the Apertures. They trapped me here. I would have been caught if I had not found a secret door in this the Buddharupa in my childhood. They must block the main roads down the mountain and search for me now.” Hua Lun said, seriously, “Childe Meng, when you go to Zhen Yi School, you must remain calm and don’t be nervous, or they will kill you.”
“Oh, if your sect doesn’t want to entangle with Luo Denomination, please follow them to Zhen Wu Sect. The disciples of Zhang and I are friends. You can show them my token and ask for their help.”
“It is such a coincidence.” Meng Qi looked at him with a smile and asked, “Why should I go to Zhen Yi School? Is it helpful?”
“Eh?” Hua Lun was so confused.
“Now the Strange Stone is missing. If I were Huang Yun and them, they must blame it on you as you have been missing for two days. They would deem to tell others that your father and you grudged the Outsky Strange Stone, so you pretend to be missing. They would tell others that you collaborated with forces from outside and looted the stone. At the day of the birthday dinner, you would never have any chance to argue for yourself since you are neither at Zhen Yi School or the hall. After all, the Strange Stone was gone under your guard,” Meng Qi said with a little smile.
Hua Lun thought carefully, and his face suddenly turned pale. He bit his lips and begged, “Childe Meng, you can attest for me! There is still a residue of Black God Paw on my back!”
“If you ganged up with Luo Denomination to rob the Strange Stone, you could deliberately pretend to be attacked by the Black God Paw. It is a desperate measure.” Meng Qi said with a smile, “As for me, I met you after the stone was lost. How can I attest for you?”
Hua Lun’s face grew paler. He seemed to predict his reputation hereafter, and he said with one last hope, “Childe Meng, what should I do?”
Meng Qi was not anxious but calm. He seemed to have a well-thought-out plan!
“Do you know Zhang Yuanshan of Zhen Wu Zhang?” Meng Qi answered with another question.
Hua Lun froze for a moment. With a forced smile, he replied, “Senior Brother Zhang is the heir of the heir of this generation of Zhen Wu Sect. How could I be his friend? But I was familiar with two brothers of Senior Brother Zhang.”
“I see.” Meng Qi gently nodded and replied with a smile, “It is easy to deal with this matter. The key is to get the Strange Stone back. With the Strange Stone, who can frame you?”
“Winning back the Strange Stone?” Hua Lun’s eyes suddenly brightened up but quickly turned grim again. He said disappointedly, “It still takes one day to arrive at my school. Even if I get someone to help me, the people of Luo Denomination will have escaped with the Strange Stone.”
“I can help you,” Meng Qi said with a big smile.
Hua Lun said skeptically, “Childe Meng, you must consider it carefully. It is very dangerous.”
From the strength of Meng Qi’s genuine Qi, Hun Lun judged that Meng Qi’s strength was between Four Apertures and Six Apertures.
“I will bring you down the mountain and back to the Talent-accruing School. Then you turn to Faction Master Hua and send all the disciples to win back the Strange Stone,” Meng Qi said coolly. They have Ning Jidao who have opened his Nine Apertures, so he naturally should bring Hua Tiange. Meng Qi asked, “Childe Hua, you eavesdropped their conversation for such a long time, so you must know where the people of Luo Denomination hide and plan to escape?”
Hua Lun thought for a while and nodded, “It should be there. Childe Meng, why do you help me? If I can help you, please tell me. I will do my best!”
“I have some issues with Luo Denomination, and I’m prone to seek revenge for the smallest grievance.” Meng Qi put his hands back and grinned. He said, “Haha, just kidding. Actually, I’m born chivalrous and righteous.”
Meng Qi guessed that the strong martial pros of Luo Denomination were not here since Hua Lun could escape.
“Actually, I believed the former one.” Hua Lun thought for a while and replied, “Childe Meng, if you can help me get the Strange Stone back, I would persuade my father to let you own the Strange Stone for three days.”
“It would be great,” Meng Qi replied without hesitation in case Hua Lun would suspect him. He said, “I must take you down the mountain and back to Talent-accruing School right away.”
Although the evil force of that Palm was removed from Hua Lun’s body, it had been inside his body for two days. It took at least two to four hours for Hua Lun to regain his strength. If Meng Qi acted alone without the assistance of Hua Lun, he would be blocked, and Hua Lun would be exposed. It was better to take Hua Lun with him.
Hua Lun cupped his hand in the other before his chest and thanked Meng Qi. He discreetly reminded, “Childe Meng, the disciples of Luo Denomination must have blocked the roads down the mountain. Some of them are powerful, so if you encounter them, don’t fight recklessly and don’t get entangled. Be careful.”
Meng Qi just smiled. He put the Ice Palace Sword before his chest and hit it. It sounded like the roar of the dragon. Meng Qi said loudly, ”
“Just wait for them to test my sword art!”
The verse “Kill a man within ten steps without leaving any residue for a thousand miles” suddenly entered Meng Qi’s mind.
