The dark-faced man in a woolen hat watched the middle-aged man enter the woods. Instead of following directly, he circled to the other side and cautiously slipped in.
Ahead, the trees were lush and dense, shadows flickering among them. He strained his eyes to look when suddenly a sharp pain struck the back of his head. His vision darkened, and he immediately lost consciousness.
Meng Qi grabbed the man by the back of his tunic and returned to the original spot, unceremoniously dropping him in front of the middle-aged man. He said flatly, “Be careful where you step.”
Although the oasis was cooler and more humid than the desert, it still lacked the pleasantness of early spring in the heartland of Zhongyuan. The middle-aged man had initially felt somewhat warm, but now cold sweat drenched his back and forehead. A chill rose from his heart—he had been followed! And he hadn’t even noticed!
“Yes, it was my carelessness,” he answered, breath quickened.
Both Meng Qi and Gu Changqing wore disguises when meeting him—black cloth wrapped around their heads, black robes covering their bodies, typical of desert travelers, with face masks concealing their features.
“What information have you gathered?” Meng Qi idly toyed with several pieces of silver, making the middle-aged man involuntarily swallow.
He calmed himself and spoke clearly, “I asked around at inns, taverns, and households. About ten days ago, a young monk in gray robes indeed passed through. Having run out of travel funds, he begged for alms. Though not eloquent, his handsome appearance and honest nature earned him generous donations and left a memorable impression. He inquired about the route of that natural disaster and headed toward Chelie Gorge.”
From this oasis to “Bomi,” there were seven or eight routes based on water availability, and Chelie Gorge was a must-pass point on two of them.
Meng Qi nodded slightly. The description matched his junior brother’s image and impulsive behavior. “Any other news?”
The middle-aged man frowned, “There is something else, but I think it’s too absurd, fearing it might offend your honorable ears.”
“Speak freely,” Meng Qi felt a stirring inside.
After a moment’s thought, the man said, “Some say the young monk in gray robes was crying and making a scene in the streets, begging people for money. Eventually, he headed back east toward the Congling Mountains. That’s all.”
Meng Qi thoughtfully tossed the silver pieces to him, “Be careful on your way back.”
The middle-aged man, eyes gleaming at the silver, replied excitedly, “I know, I know.”
Watching his retreating figure, Gu Changqing expressed doubt, “That latter piece of news seems too fake. It doesn’t sound like the Zhen Hui you described. If bandits intended to confuse us, wouldn’t they concoct a more believable lie?”
Meng Qi smiled, “Exactly. The lie has to be so obvious it serves their purpose.”
“What purpose?” Gu Changqing was puzzled.
Meng Qi gave a faint smile, “Since there’s such an obvious lie, there must also be other misleading information that aligns with Zhen Hui’s behavior but subtly steers people in the wrong direction. Zelu may be the leader of the bandits, dominating the vast desert, but he only commands about thirty percent of the bandit forces. There are quite a few rival bandit chieftains who are on par with him.”
There were no shortage of bandits wanting to oppose Zelu!
“You mean the earlier news might also be false?” Gu Changqing suddenly realized, “That makes sense. I was wondering why such an obvious lie existed. It must be the doing of Zelu’s rivals, deliberately misleading us. Such figures aren’t rare on the Hanhai.”
He suddenly became talkative, “For example, our Gu Family Fortress in the Jinsha Oasis has absolutely no presence of Zelu, as it falls under the territory of ‘Frostblade Fury’ Shendu Liao…”
“Frostblade Fury” was another formidable bandit leader on the瀚海, a master on par with Zelu, and the two were sworn enemies. It was said that behind Shendu stood the “Asura Temple” of the Nine Evil Paths, as well as the top martial artist in the Western Regions, Mengnan, who had cultivated the “Great Asura Body.”
Shendu and Zelu were transliterations of Western names, while Anguo was the Zhongyuan-style name for a Westerner.
As he spoke, Gu Changqing’s voice gradually softened, as if exposing his own disgrace. The righteous Gu Family Fortress had to secretly rely on a bandit leader. Perhaps because of this, he held an even deeper reverence for the glorious history of his ancestors—who once roamed the vast desert, upheld justice, and vanquished bandits.
Meng Qi nodded silently, preserving Gu Changqing’s dignity.
Suddenly, Gu Changqing chuckled bitterly and sighed, “Meng Qi, am I really ridiculous? Talking about upholding justice while my family secretly relies on a bandit chief. If your enemy wasn’t Zelu’s gang but Shendu Liao’s, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have the courage or boldness to help you. I fear involving my family…”
“If you ignored your family’s safety and chased after ‘justice,’ I might look down on you. If you can’t even protect your family’s survival, how can you talk about righteousness?” Meng Qi comforted Gu Changqing.
Looking into Meng Qi’s eyes and seeing his sincerity, Gu Changqing relaxed, “Then should we seek out the bandit chief who spread the false information? Since he’s an enemy of Zelu, he might be willing to help us and provide accurate intelligence.”
Meng Qi waved his hand, “Not in a hurry. Perhaps his enmity toward Zelu is also feigned?”
Such layered schemes, he had seen many before. Unlike before when he often overlooked details, he now had considerable experience in the martial world.
“What?” Gu Changqing was startled but realized upon reflection that this was indeed plausible. One must not underestimate the cunning of the bandits!
His gaze at Meng Qi changed again. Perhaps Master Zhen Ding was indeed full of twists and turns in his heart, very perceptive to schemes and intrigues.
Compared to him, he felt dull-witted and inexperienced.
“So what should we do?” he earnestly asked.
Meng Qi pointed at the unconscious dark-faced man on the ground, “Don’t we still have him?”
Saying this, he kicked the dark-faced man awake.
The dark-faced man slowly opened his eyes, dazed and unaware of his situation until he saw the two masked black-clothed figures above him. He suddenly became alert, fearful, and asked, “What do you want from me?”
“I’d like to ask what you were planning! Speak! Why were you sneaking around following our man?” Meng Qi sternly demanded, trying to project the aura of a “gang boss.”
“I, I wasn’t. I just came into the woods to relieve myself,” the dark-faced man answered in panic. “Please spare me, honorable heroes. I know nothing.”
Meng Qi moved his right foot onto the man’s fingers and gently pressed, making the man shudder, “Don’t, don’t press hard.”
“I’ve never claimed to be a kind person, but when I get cruel, I’m not even human,” Meng Qi “threatened.”
The dark-faced man stared at him for a moment, then sighed, “Honorable hero, if I confess honestly, will you spare my life?”
“Of course. I’m a good person,” Meng Qi self-proclaimed, making Gu Changqing both laugh and cry.
The dark-faced man took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “I’m a subordinate of Da Dangzi, specially assigned to this oasis to gather intelligence and report on merchant caravans. This time, I was ordered by Da Dangzi to wait in the oasis for anyone inquiring about the young and old monks’ whereabouts. That’s why I followed you.”
“Da Dangzi?” Meng Qi wasn’t familiar with this bandit title.
Gu Changqing explained, “Da Dangzi Shen Zui, whose crime remains unknown, fled from Zhongyuan to the Vast Sea, gathered a group of bandits, and proclaimed himself ‘Da Dangzi.’ He is extremely powerful, rumored to have unlocked six acupoints, and commands many capable followers, including five or six acupoint-opening experts and a strategist known as ‘Smiling Fox’ Yu Lin.”
“They usually operate in this area. I didn’t expect they had secretly pledged allegiance to Zelu.”
Meng Qi nodded and continued, “So, Chelie Gorge was a false lead you intentionally spread to lure us into an ambush?”
“Not exactly false. The young monk indeed went to Chelie Gorge, but I instructed the innkeeper and information sellers to conceal one fact,” the dark-faced man honestly replied.
“What fact?” Gu Changqing pressed.
The dark-faced man’s expression twisted, “They concealed that the valley near Chelie Gorge is Da Dangzi’s camp. Thus, anyone inquiring about the young monk’s whereabouts would walk right into our trap.”
“And the young monk?” Meng Qi asked calmly.
The dark-faced man lowered his voice, “He’s been captured by Da Dangzi and will be handed over to Boss Zelu as bait.”
“You’ve answered honestly. I’ll spare your life,” Meng Qi said, then suddenly pressed his right foot down, kicking the dark-faced man’s head, knocking him unconscious again.
After a while, the dark-faced man slowly regained consciousness, found the woods empty, his expression changed a few times, and he quickly got up and returned to the village.
At this moment, two figures suddenly appeared in the woods—Meng Qi and Gu Changqing.
“Why don’t we go to Chelie Gorge to rescue Zhen Hui?” Gu Changqing was puzzled why they were still waiting. Saving a person was like putting out a fire!
Meng Qi smiled and said, “We can’t just believe everything others say. No matter what intelligence, we must verify it.”
“How to verify? Find the other side’s bandits?” Gu Changqing asked doubtfully.
Meng Qi pointed at the dark-faced man walking ahead, constantly looking around and glancing back—he was preventing being followed, “Follow him. Otherwise, did you think I spared him just because he’s a monk?” Gu Changqing muttered inwardly.
Meng Qi walked out of the woods with his hands behind his back, leaving a sentence, “Changqing, wait here.”
They had become familiar enough not to bother with formalities like “Master Gu.”
“Hey, following like this will be noticed! I’ve never seen anyone follow so openly. If he turns around, he’ll see you!” Gu Changqing exclaimed.
Meng Qi didn’t change his clothes, only removing the black face mask to avoid attracting attention. He walked behind the dark-faced man with his hands behind his back, not even attempting to hide.
The dark-faced man habitually kept looking back, but his gaze always passed Meng Qi, looking into the distance, as if there was no one there!
Watching Meng Qi openly trailing the dark-faced man while the man looked back but completely ignored him, even under the bright sunlight, Gu Changqing felt a chill run down his spine.
What was going on?
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