Chapter 71

As the sky grew increasingly dark, Meng Qi stepped into the temple's Zen courtyard and saw a scene of chaos, with footprints everywhere.

"Venerable Zhen Ding, you're back?" Ning Daogu and the others, who were sitting around a stone table, rose to their feet in pleasant surprise.

Meng Qi had already changed back into his gray monk's robe and said with a smile, "Amitabha, I appreciate your efforts today, all of you."

Without asking, he could guess from the state of the courtyard that there had been no shortage of people challenging them over the past two days, but they had all been repelled by Ning Daogu, Yue Shishi, and the others.

"It's nothing, just a small effort," the four of them replied in unison.

Meng Qi smiled and said, "In our Buddhist tradition, we believe in cause and effect. If I am invited to watch the 'Grandmaster Battle' the day after tomorrow, I would be honored if you four could accompany me as my attendants."

"Really?" Yue Shishi and Nie Yao exclaimed in delight. If they could witness the Grandmaster Battle, even if they didn't gain much, it would be enough to boast about for many years.

Ning Daogu and Ji Xin quickly regained their composure and bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you, Venerable."

Meng Qi nodded lightly and entered his Zen room, hearing the four of them whisper excitedly.

"Ah, why don't I have such a youthful and adventurous past..." Meng Qi sighed with a feigned sense of沧桑 (cang桑, meaning '沧桑' can be translated as 'weathered' or 'worldly'), then sat cross-legged on a cushion, carefully sorting through the events and clues of the past few days.

Although he knew the most critical task at the moment was to "monitor" You Hongbo and wait for the other Phase God to fall into the trap, he wasn't in a hurry. After the theft of the Buddha statue by the Monkey of the Year of the Monkey, the entire You residence was on high alert, and You Hongbo had begun to stay indoors, often accompanying You Tongguang to avoid any accidents. Therefore, Meng Qi believed that unless Chen Long acted personally, they wouldn't be able to kidnap You Hongbo for a while.

Moreover, Meng Qi speculated that the best time to kidnap You Hongbo would be the next evening, after the theft of the Buddha statue, when all attention would be diverted, allowing them to abduct You Hongbo without anyone noticing.

Of course, this was just Meng Qi's own judgment, and he wouldn't "impose" it on the other Phase Gods. Who knew what they were thinking? Therefore, from tonight on, he would have to keep a constant watch on You Hongbo until the Phase God appeared or until the last moment.

"The shadow that night, according to the Cold Envoy, could be a master who has cultivated the 'Great Illusion Technique' or a Grandmaster who has condensed the Ancestral Aperture between the eyebrows and opened the Secret Treasury of the Spirit. The first chapter of the 'Great Illusion Technique' confirms that this extraordinary skill is indeed a method for cultivating the Ancestral Aperture, so the Cold Envoy was not lying about this, unless he knows another method for cultivating the Ancestral Aperture, which is almost impossible given his strength."

Meng Qi began to ponder which parts were true and which were false, "If he didn't lie, why did Fei Zhengqing not mention the possibility of a Grandmaster who has opened the Secret Treasury of the Spirit, unless he didn't know about its function, but this is unlikely, as he is Cui Xu's confidant."

"In other words, Fei Zhengqing deliberately concealed the possibility of a Grandmaster who has opened the Secret Treasury of the Spirit, and the only person worth hiding such a fact and who has opened the Secret Treasury is... Cui Xu."

Meng Qi narrowed his eyes, looking at the white paper on the window, with the name "Cui Xu" echoing in his mind.

Hereditary city lord, genius swordsman, righteous Grandmaster—these were the layers of glory surrounding Cui Xu. Whether in power, wealth, or martial arts, he had nearly reached the limits of what a normal person could achieve.

Meng Qi knew many more things about him, such as his childhood sweetheart, the loss of his wife in middle age, his complete family, numerous sworn brothers, and the fact that he had rarely acted in the past five years, leaving the affairs of Tian Ding City to his son, Cui Jinhua.

"Moreover, the shadow that night only killed Jin Ancheng to silence him but ignored Fei Zhengqing, who was defenseless and knew even more, and the long sword could penetrate my Golden Bell Cover... But why would Cui Xu, who has power, wealth, and martial arts, need to deal with Duan Mingcheng and risk a falling out with Duan Xiangfei?"

If it wasn't Cui Xu and his subordinates who kidnapped Duan Mingcheng, Meng Qi couldn't think of any motivation for him to silence Jin Ancheng. He would have just used his full strength to kill the "Monkey of the Year of the Monkey."

"Could it be for the Snow God Palace treasure? But does Cui Xu need it? Or does he want the secret techniques and cultivation insights inside to advance further, open the three Secret Treasuries, and break through the boundary between man and god?"

Meng Qi pondered the "motive for the crime," reluctantly believing that Cui Xu had a reason.

"Perhaps he learned about the Snow God Palace treasure from You Tongguang and thus targeted Duan Mingcheng, who possessed a treasure map and was trying to contact the Snow God Palace, and took advantage of their meeting to capture them all."

Without considering whether the motive was sufficient, Meng Qi felt more and more convinced that this was how things had happened.

"Duan Mingcheng's treasure map is now in Cui Xu's hands. If the Snow God Palace Venerable can't withstand the torture, they will likely reveal their treasure map. The treasure map given to Cui Jinxiu by Zhang Zongxian and his wife, who were being pursued by the Twelve Phase Gods, would also fall into Cui Xu's hands. If there are no surprises, You Tongguang's treasure map will be presented to Cui Xu, and he may have already gathered all four treasure maps..." Meng Qi carefully analyzed, feeling a bit alarmed.

But he still had many questions, such as why Fei Zhengqing left through the secret passage in the middle of the night, why the city lord Cui Xu was coincidentally at the scene... and the most puzzling point was, who silenced the Snow God Palace Cold Envoy and others?

The person who killed them was also skilled in swordsmanship and respected by them, seemingly a high-ranking member of the Snow God Palace, unlike Cui Xu. Why would he need to kill his subordinates?

If it was to use the Cold Envoy and others to shift suspicion to Cui Xu and then move away afterward, why kill them?

"Moreover, this person seems to know my movements well, waiting until I truly left before acting. The only one who could follow me without being noticed is perhaps the current Snow God Palace Palace Master?" Meng Qi was startled, feeling a bit fearful, "What is his purpose? To uncover Cui Xu's secret and force him to hand over the treasure map? But why kill them..."

Having figured out some things and still puzzled by others, Meng Qi slowly clarified his thoughts. Regardless, the main task was crucial, and he must first keep an eye on Cui Xu, with You Tongguang being the breakthrough point.

...

U Fengyu sneaked through the alleys, feeling a slight sense of security only in the darkness of the night.

After the failed attempt to kill and silence, he was always worried that the other party would inform on him, leading to a furious retaliation from the Third Master. So he found an excuse to hide temporarily.

"Who is the high-level expert behind him? Why just warn me instead of killing me to silence me?" This question had been haunting U Fengyu for days, making him unable to eat or sleep.

Slap! A sharp pain hit the back of his head, and U Fengyu fainted, both angry and frustrated.

"Again?"

This was his last thought before losing consciousness.

...

In the shadows of the rooftops near the You residence, Meng Qi continued to monitor the movements inside. This time, his attention was not on You Tongguang but on You Hongbo in the eastern wing, watching him extinguish the lamp and go to bed.

Just as Meng Qi thought it would be another quiet night, a man dressed as a bodyguard was led by a servant into You Hongbo's courtyard in a hurry.

From a distance, Meng Qi couldn't hear their conversation but saw You Hongbo wave his hand excitedly and then pick up his long sword, leaving with the bodyguard.

"Going out in the middle of the night in a dangerous situation, there must be something fishy. It's either a Phase God's plot or a secret of the You residence..." Meng Qi felt a surge of excitement and cautiously followed them, knowing that whatever happened would be to his advantage.

...

You Hongbo tightly gripped his long sword, his teeth clenched, following the bodyguard with a fierce expression, as if he wanted to tear his target to pieces.

As the son favored by You Tongguang, he didn't say much on the way, controlling his emotions.

"Is he here?" You Hongbo looked at the yellow walls and black tiles in front of him, feeling both surprised and fearful.

"Third Master, U Fengyu is hiding in the Great Compassion Temple. Hmph, this traitor is probably trying to use the White-robed Sword God's reputation to scare us away," the bodyguard replied excitedly.

You Hongbo looked at him coldly, "Zhu Mingyuan, you know about the White-robed Sword God, yet you still encourage me to go in and catch U Fengyu?"

If the cargo wasn't so important, he wouldn't have come personally; he could have sent any bodyguard.

"Third Master, it's fine. Look, U Fengyu can hide there, so can we. As long as we don't get close to the courtyard where the White-robed Sword God is staying, we can make as much noise as we want. Two groups of troublemakers fought there a few days ago without disturbing the White-robed Sword God," Zhu Mingyuan explained quickly.

You Hongbo, confident in his status, believed that even if he disturbed the White-robed Sword God, he would at most be scolded, with no risk to his life. More importantly, he needed to win back his father's favor, so he nodded slowly, "Alright, let's go in."

They climbed over the yellow wall and sneaked toward the courtyard where U Fengyu was hiding.

"Trouble, no sign of him!" You Hongbo didn't let his guard down, searching the surroundings first, but was surprised to find no breathing sounds inside the room.

"He, he's in there..." Zhu Mingyuan was clearly also surprised.

You Hongbo frowned, pushed the door open, and lit a fire stick. His right hand trembled, almost dropping the fire stick.

On the bed, U Fengyu lay still, his eyes wide open, frozen in terror, already dead.

The wind blew, slamming the door shut, and a black shadow suddenly darted out, hands moving like lightning to seal the shocked You Hongbo's acupoints.

You Hongbo's martial arts might not be much worse than the black shadow's, but he was pampered and lacked training. In this situation, he couldn't defend himself and was caught off guard, naturally falling victim to the attack.

He looked at the black shadow in terror, recognizing a slender woman in night clothes, wearing a cute white rabbit mask.

"Rabbit of the Year of the Rabbit?" He tried to shout, but the black eyes under the mask stared at his throat, making him only able to utter these two words.

"Third Master, don't worry, someone just wants to use you as a hostage. As long as you cooperate, you won't be in danger," the Rabbit of the Year of the Rabbit said with a chuckle, her voice deliberately made hoarse.

"You didn't seal my speech acupoint, do you have something to ask?" You Hongbo, always a smart man, though inexperienced, noticed that Zhu Mingyuan was already unconscious on the ground.

The Rabbit of the Year of the Rabbit looked him up and down, smiling lightly, "I didn't plan to, but since I caught you, I might as well ask about the treasure map."

"Who?" As she spoke, she became wary, looking out the window.

The window creaked open, and a grinning monkey head appeared before them.

"Monkey of the Year of the Monkey?" They both exclaimed in surprise.