Chapter 63

Jin Ancheng darted about, now high, now low, now in front, now behind, now to the left, now to the right, running around the city of Tian Ding for a full two quarters of an hour before he finally slipped into a seemingly ordinary courtyard.

This was not because he had discovered Meng Qi, but because he was an old hand at the game, habitually circling around to change direction, always assuming someone was following him.

Meng Qi lightly landed on the roof tiles, like a feather touching the ground, making no sound at all, then watched as Jin Ancheng, familiar with the courtyard, advanced to a side room and knocked on the door in a rhythmic pattern.

"This fellow is indeed cunning, almost lost him," Meng Qi muttered to himself, hiding in the shadow of the eaves.

This was his first time tailing someone. If it weren't for his mastery of the Divine Step technique, his steps so subtle, appearing in front and then suddenly behind, he would have either been discovered or, fearing discovery, lost Jin Ancheng. Even so, the whole ordeal made Meng Qi break out in a cold sweat, as if he had been practicing martial arts for half a day.

"This ordinary residence is definitely not Fei Zhengqing's mansion. Who is Jin Ancheng looking for...?" Meng Qi frowned, thinking. As the chief constable of Tian Ding, ranking among the top ten in power, this "shabby" two-story courtyard could never be Fei Zhengqing's home. "Could it be that Jin Ancheng was still lying earlier?"

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. After knocking rhythmically for a while, the door opened silently. Jin Ancheng slipped inside and closed it behind him, a habit he had.

Seeing this, Meng Qi slid down the eaves along the beam, like a leaf falling, unnoticed in the quiet night.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Meng Qi moved like a wisp of smoke, taking a few steps to hide behind the window of the side room.

After listening for a moment and finding no sound inside, Meng Qi quietly stood up, moistened his finger with saliva, and poked a hole in the white paper of the window.

After a barely audible sound, a small hole appeared in the window paper. Meng Qi pressed his eye to it and looked inside.

No one!

It was an ordinary side room with a table, cabinet, and bed, but there was no one inside!

Jin Ancheng, who had just entered, was also nowhere to be seen!

Meng Qi's heart tightened. He looked around again, confirming that there was really no one inside, then gently pushed open the window and leaped in.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Meng Qi suddenly remembered something. If there was no one inside, who had opened the door for Jin Ancheng?

Clap, clap, clap. Applause came from the side of the bed. Meng Qi held his saber horizontally, not panicking, and looked over.

He saw that the box on the side of the bed had been pushed aside, revealing a dark, large hole. Standing next to it were Jin Ancheng and a middle-aged man with a horse-like face and a long beard. The latter was the one clapping.

Indeed, it was a secret passage. Jin Ancheng must have intended to go to a nearby residence, which was his real destination. Yes, there was a spacious mansion nearby... Meng Qi roughly understood what had happened.

Jin Ancheng lit the firebrand in his hand, his smile sinister, the flesh on his forehead twitching. "Thanks to my rich experience in the martial world, I waited a bit longer in the secret passage, otherwise, I wouldn't have caught you, Mr. Shen Hou."

At this moment, perhaps seeing the light, doors in other side rooms began to open one by one, voices low, quickly surrounding this side room in an orderly manner.

"Who is this?" Meng Qi, without looking at Jin Ancheng, pointed the grinning monkey mask at the middle-aged man with the horse-like face and long beard.

"Mr. Shen Hou, putting on airs is not a good habit. Could the Twelve Beasts not recognize Fei someone?" The middle-aged man's voice was rough but had a strange sharpness.

"Ah, it's Chief Constable Fei. I'm just curious, why are you here at midnight? Could you be admiring the moon alone?" The grinning monkey mask made it impossible to see Meng Qi's expression.

Fei Zhengqing laughed. "Truly the most mysterious and bizarre of the Twelve Beasts, Mr. Shen Hou is indeed calm. If I were in your place, I would have already been looking for a way to escape."

"Coincidentally, I had business tonight and planned to leave through the secret passage, but I ran into Mr. Shen Hou."

As he spoke, Jin Ancheng moved to another direction, preparing to attack Meng Qi from both sides, flattering him. "Thanks to the Chief Constable's foresight in establishing the secret passage, otherwise, we wouldn't have caught Mr. Shen Hou."

"Haha, also thanks to your extensive knowledge and experience." Fei Zhengqing held a pair of judge's pens in his hand, praising Jin Ancheng casually. "Mr. Shen Hou, why not surrender? With your strength, the City Lord will surely appreciate your talent."

Meng Qi chuckled. "Actually, no matter how well you plan or how much experience you have, I only know one thing."

"What?" Faced with Shen Hou's calmness, Fei Zhengqing was a bit serious.

"I only know that you can't beat me."

Before the words were even out of his mouth, Meng Qi pounced on Fei Zhengqing like a ghost, his steps changing rapidly, making it impossible to grasp his movements. His saber slashed through the air, aiming directly at Fei Zhengqing's neck.

Faced with such agility, Fei Zhengqing secretly praised his reputation. He sidestepped, and the judge's pens struck at Meng Qi's head acupoints.

At the same time, Jin Ancheng attacked from the side, his fingers curled like eagle claws, aiming for Meng Qi's back acupoints.

Knowing you have hard qi training, but striking acupoints is the perfect counter!

Meng Qi's body didn't sway, his feet didn't move. The saber, which had been slashing forward, suddenly swept up from the side, aiming for Jin Ancheng's chest and abdomen. At the same time, he slightly turned his head, fully activating the Golden Bell Cover, his skin turning a dark golden color, like a statue of a luohan in a temple.

This slight turn of the head made Fei Zhengqing's judge's pen miss Meng Qi's temple and strike his ear acupoint instead.

Even with hard qi training, being struck at an acupoint is still powerless. You're not a forty-year-old pure yang monk!

The steel tip of the pen struck Meng Qi's ear, making a crisp sound, as if hitting a golden statue.

The dark golden color reflected the firelight, making Fei Zhengqing's face, which was both surprised and frightened, look particularly ugly.

The saber aimed at Jin Ancheng, appearing in front and then suddenly behind, was withdrawn from an unimaginable angle, knocking away Fei Zhengqing's judge's pens. It had been a feint all along!

With one successful move, Meng Qi, like a tiger descending from the mountain, wove a web of saber light, quickly subduing Fei Zhengqing and Jin Ancheng, who couldn't break through his defenses, and sealed their acupoints.

After reaching the fourth level of the Golden Bell Cover, except for the eyes, the lower abdomen, and a few key acupoints like the temple and the sternum, Meng Qi's other parts could only be penetrated by a master-level technique or a weapon of the same level.

"I told you, you can't beat me." Behind the mask, Meng Qi smiled, showing a row of white teeth.

Fei Zhengqing, a renowned expert, famous for his judge's pens, had few equals below the master level. Today, facing Shen Hou of the Twelve Beasts, he felt an indescribable fear. The other party clearly didn't have the characteristics of a master, yet how could his strength be so terrifying? What kind of hard qi training had he practiced?

This battle severely damaged his confidence.

"Fei has indeed underestimated Mr. Shen Hou's strength." As an old hand, he quickly regained his composure. "We have collected information on the Twelve Beasts' missions in Tian Ding to assess your strength. Who knew that Mr. Shen Hou had never used full strength before. Haha, it turns out your specialty is not saber techniques."

"Who told you I specialize in saber techniques?" Meng Qi asked with a smile.

Fei Zhengqing, hearing the teasing tone, sighed. "We made a mistake. Mr. Shen Hou, your specialty is hard qi training. I wonder what your relationship is with the Bitter Monk of the Dharmic Mystery Sect?"

"I admire you, Chief Constable Fei." Meng Qi suddenly sighed. "If I were in your position, I doubt I could remain so calm and chat idly, let alone inquire about my background."

Fei Zhengqing smiled bitterly. "I come from a constable background and am used to interrogating. I know you, Mr. Shen Hou, came to inquire about the disappearance of Young Master Duan, not to kill. As long as I tell the truth, I won't lose my life."

"Yes, Mr. Shen Hou, I heard the Twelve Beasts have a saying: 'There's no need to kill for matters outside the mission, it's a waste of energy.'" Jin Ancheng echoed, afraid that his continuous lies and opposition would anger Shen Hou.

Meng Qi smiled sardonically. "Not necessarily. I kill based on my mood. Tonight, the moon is high and bright, a perfect night for killing. If you don't satisfy me, next year on this day will be your anniversary, and the anniversary of your entire family."

He had always wanted to say such tough words. When he read novels before, he found the villains' lines particularly impressive.

Fei Zhengqing, as the chief constable of Tian Ding, could control his fear, his face unchanged. "Fei will tell you everything I know."

"I want to know why Lord Jin came here at midnight to report. Did he lie to me?" Meng Qi asked in a low voice. The people outside the courtyard, without orders, remained in their previous state.

Jin Ancheng said in a deep voice, "Chief Constable Fei ordered that if anyone inquired about this matter, they should report immediately. However, there is one place where I did lie."

He confessed voluntarily.

Meng Qi thought for a moment and moved Fei Zhengqing to the other side. "Whisper where Jin Ancheng lied, and I'll ask him. If it's different, hehe..."

Fei Zhengqing lowered his voice. "He only lied about one thing: there were clues left in the room."

"There was a leaf from a dragon locust tree under the table. That tree only grows in the Great Compassion Temple in the east of the city. It must have been brought in by the mysterious person accidentally."

"So, I immediately dispatched people to search the Great Compassion Temple. Unfortunately, we were a step too late and didn't catch the suspect, but we found more clues, all pointing to the remnants of the Snow God Palace."

"We suspect that the disappearance of Young Master Duan was their doing, as he has always been very interested in the treasures of the Snow God Palace and has never stopped searching for clues."

Meng Qi listened quietly, the words "Snow God Palace treasures" echoing in his mind.

Fei Zhengqing suddenly smiled. "To avoid alarming them, I had Ancheng hide the truth, but Mr. Xian Yin knows about it."

Meng Qi's eyes narrowed slightly. Duan Xiangfei knew about this? Why wasn't it mentioned in the information?

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