Chapter 199: Using Their Own Methods

Qi Zhengyan lost control of his expression, which turned unusually vivid. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice, “Ghost Shadow Sword?”

“Yeah,” Meng Qi replied indifferently, continuing to drink and eat.

Qi Zhengyan fell silent again. He didn’t ask about Li Sui’s fate. He had made his name with the Ghost Shadow Sword, never parting with it. If the sword was here now, it meant either the wielder was crippled or dead—there was little difference between the two.

Thinking carefully, deducting the time Meng Qi spent at Wufeng Tower buying pig’s head and beef, he had gone to the Ye residence, killed Li Sui, and left, all within half a teacup’s time. And this was assuming he had used his full speed rather than leisurely walking. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have killed Li Sui at first sight and left before anyone could react?

Li Sui was a swordsman who had been famous for many years, with seven orifices opened and his inner world nearly perfected. To kill him in one or two moves meant possessing power surpassing some nine-orifice cultivators.

“I just retrieved this jar of wine from the cellar…” Qi murmured, reaching out to take Li Sui’s Ghost Shadow Sword, running his fingers over the blade’s edge. This was the blade that had severed his cousin’s tendons, ending his martial cultivation path. If not for the upcoming death mission in the next cycle, he would have sought medicine to heal such injuries.

“Hehe,” Meng Qi chuckled, enjoying precisely this reaction from Qi Zhengyan. Wine unopened, man already slain, blood not yet cooled—this was the style of a true swordsman.

He relished these feelings but wouldn’t pay a heavy price for them. Usually, he would act only when convenient; if not, he’d just let it go. In his heart, he remained quite rational and clear-headed, never foolishly spending resources on things that were flashy but impractical, or things he would naturally obtain later.

Qi Zhengyan handed the Ghost Shadow Sword back to Meng Qi—it was his spoils of war. “With Li Sui dead and you newly arrived, the Ye family will definitely suspect us.”

“So what?” Meng Qi wasn’t bothered, pouring another bowl of wine. This osmanthus wine tasted sweet at first sip, then fiery afterward—truly excellent.

Qi Zhengyan looked at him puzzled, not understanding why Meng Qi seemed so unconcerned.

Meng Qi drank the wine, picked up a broad bean from Qi Zhengyan’s plate, chewed it a few times, and said, “Cousin, you lack the awareness of a disciple from a major sect.”

“Hmm?” Qi Zhengyan slightly frowned.

Meng Qi smiled and said, “Huanhua Sword Sect isn’t like Shaolin, a sacred Buddhist ground where doctrine and scriptures must be prioritized. The sect will definitely prioritize protecting its secular interests first.”

“You’re in Yicheng, representing the Huanhua Sword Sect. Although you lack the authority or power to force the Ye family to hand someone over, you can only watch helplessly as they protect the murderer—after all, your cousin isn’t a disciple of Huanhua Sword Sect. But conversely, would they dare attack you directly and force you to hand someone over? That would be tantamount to declaring war on Huanhua Sword Sect. Even the Zhou Jun royal family wouldn’t risk such a full-scale conflict! And they wouldn’t want to provoke the Six Gates either, escalating the matter.”

“As for assassination, they wouldn’t dare now. This isn’t a calm and peaceful situation where they can secretly hire a left-path expert, kill and flee, letting Huanhua Sword Sect chase them while covering up the crime. If you were to meet misfortune now, the sect would definitely send people. Once they investigate, they’ll directly point at the Ye family.”

“No matter what intentions or bribes your master’s junior might have, with a sect representative killed, he absolutely couldn’t hide it anymore—the truth can’t be concealed forever.”

Qi Zhengyan nodded slightly, still with some doubts, “But what if there are witnesses and evidence pointing to you…”

“Haha,” Meng Qi shook his head and laughed. “Didn’t your cousin have his tendons severed in broad daylight? What did the Ye family say then? They claimed you fabricated charges and bribed witnesses! Now we can throw those very words back at them. They wouldn’t dare escalate this and invite Huanhua Sword Sect to send more people.”

“If a major sect’s disciple is always fearful, people will think you’re easy to bully. Only by being strong and assertive can they remember the Huanhua Sword Sect behind you, remember the sect’s divine artifacts, and numerous experts.”

Qi Zhengyan relaxed, “Within the sect, I’m just an ordinary disciple, always careful and cautious. Even outside, I remained the same, forgetting about the sect’s status and reputation.”

Meng Qi drank another bowl of wine, “Cousin, don’t worry. Even in the worst case, if Huanhua Sword Sect won’t support its disciples in such matters, why bother staying in such a sect that lets you get bullied? You should leave early and travel the world with me, enjoying revenge and gratitude freely.”

“I do believe the sect will protect its disciples,” Qi Zhengyan’s expression slightly relaxed. Frankly, his previous timidity was also due to fear that if the sect sent help, they might discover his secret. But now with “cousin” Meng Qi around, for matters requiring open confrontation, Meng Qi could handle it, significantly reducing his exposure risk.

Meng Qi’s internal cultivation was already high. The simple osmanthus wine made his eyes brighter the more he drank. “Cousin, your master’s junior has serious issues in handling this matter. I wonder if it’s due to cowardice or some other reason?”

“Perhaps he’s getting old, thinking about retirement and how to spend his later years comfortably,” Qi Zhengyan guessed.

While managing affairs and earning money, one must share profits with superiors, bribe those in the know, and dare not be too excessive or overt, or risk discovery. In a year, buying dozens of acres of land or a new house would be considered good. Even if Qi Zhengyan’s master’s junior controlled good farmland and shops, without mines, herb gardens, or weapon forges, he wouldn’t gain significantly more than others. Therefore, if he wanted to leave a wealthy legacy for his descendants after aging, he needed other means.

“That’s possible. It’s also possible he’s become senile, wanting to avoid trouble, thinking he can resolve the Tang Clan issue himself, fearing that reporting it would make superiors doubt his capability and have him replaced,” Meng Qi nodded slightly.

Such operations to exclude Huanhua Sword Sect’s influence definitely wouldn’t use overt violence. Otherwise, even though Yicheng was backed by the royal Wang family of Yedu, and was quite distant from Huanhua Sword Sect’s Siusiushan, the sect would still send people to forcefully support just to save face. Only by gathering other forces first and using cold, non-cooperative pressure to squeeze out Huanhua Sword Sect’s influence would work.

In this way, Huanhua Sword Sect could save face, and since this place only had farmland, estates, and ordinary shops, not particularly important, they often just gritted their teeth and accepted it, at most later blaming the local representative for incompetence in failing to get along with local powers.

Qi Zhengyan’s master’s junior was willing to risk punishment afterward just to keep things quiet. Besides having other intentions, the only explanation was senility.

Qi Zhengyan nodded, agreeing with Meng Qi’s words.

“In any case, if things show signs of deteriorating, cousin, you should bypass your master’s junior and directly report to the sect,” Meng Qi said, eating meat and drinking heartily.

A faint bitter smile appeared on Qi Zhengyan’s usually expressionless face: “Frankly, if I had other choices, I wouldn’t want the sect to send people here either.”

The people they’d send to back them up would definitely have high strength, possibly even experts from the outer world. If afterward one of them said, “Little Qi, you handled things quite steadily. Let Master Uncle guide you a bit,” or “Little Meng, your sword technique is excellent, making me itch to test it. How about I hold back my strength and spar with you? Hmm, how do you know Golden Bell Cover…”—then things would become troublesome.

Meng Qi nodded heavily: “If we can resolve things ourselves, we naturally wouldn’t want to disturb the sect on the mountain. But as a last resort, having this background that makes others cautious is necessary.”

As they were talking, a sudden commotion erupted outside. A waiter knocked and hurriedly entered, saying in a panic, “Master Qi, the Ye family has come seeking the murderer!”

He stole a fearful, curious, and reverent glance at Meng Qi. Qi Zhengyan’s cousin had silently killed Ghost Shadow Sword Li Sui, right inside the Ye residence. This strength, this audacity, was too terrifying.

Could he be here specially for revenge?

Could he be here specially for revenge?

Did he come seeking revenge for his relative?

What should he call Qi Zhengyan’s cousin…

Qi Zhengyan and Meng Qi discussed briefly, feeling calm inside. Qi Zhengyan stood up expressionlessly, saying indifferently, “Tell the Ye family later that my cousin never left.”

“Yes, Master Qi.” The waiter hurriedly replied.

Meng Qi didn’t even change his clothes, just dusted himself off and swaggered out of the backyard with Qi Zhengyan, arriving outside the shop.

Outside stood dozens of people, many obviously martial artists. Leading them was a young nobleman in brocade robe and red gown, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, his face powdered, eyes malicious.

Seeing Meng Qi in a plain green robe, he directly pointed at him, asking the maids, servants, and retainers beside him, “Is it him?”

The maids and servants hadn’t seen Meng Qi’s face clearly, stammering unsurely how to answer. Under the nobleman’s glare, they hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, he killed Master Li!”

The nobleman turned to Qi Zhengyan, frowning, “Master Qi, why did you send someone to sneak into the Ye residence and kill my retainer? Is this how Huanhua Sword Sect conducts itself?”

Qi Zhengyan slowly descended the steps, his aura calm and steady, making the nobleman instinctively retreat a step. How come Qi Zhengyan seemed completely different after just a few days?

“You fabricate charges and falsely accuse my cousin,” Qi Zhengyan said coldly without further inquiry.

The nobleman was stunned, then furious: “With witnesses and evidence present, you dare say it’s a frame-up?”

“Of course. I was personally with my cousin every step, never leaving him. Isn’t that right?” Qi Zhengyan turned to the shopkeeper and waiter.

His gaze was icy cold. The shopkeeper and waiter dared not refuse to answer: “Yes, Master Qi’s cousin never left the rice shop.”

“Ye Sanshao, did you hear that? If you continue falsely accusing my cousin, don’t blame me for being merciless,” Qi Zhengyan coldly stared at Ye Sanshao.

Ye Sanshao gritted his teeth: “Your word means nothing. Come with me to see the magistrate!”

“An innocent person has no need to see a magistrate! Even if the county magistrate or chief constable came personally, they couldn’t falsely accuse my cousin!” Qi Zhengyan’s expression remained unchanged.

“Fine, fine! Take him to the Six Gates!” Ye Sanshao furiously roared, pointing at Meng Qi.

The experts beside him were about to charge forward when Qi Zhengyan stepped out and swept his gaze over them all:

“This is Huanhua Sword Sect’s territory. Do you dare to start a fight?”

He took another step forward, emotionlessly shouting: “Do you wish to oppose our sect?”

“Do you wish to declare war on our sect?”

His momentum was overwhelming. Ye Sanshao and his expert companions retreated several steps, suddenly recalling his identity—he was the local representative of the Huanhua Sword Sect!

As Ye Sanshao was about to say something to save face, Meng Qi suddenly smiled, looking at him and said, “Ye Sanshao, when my cousin’s cousin was tendon-severed years ago, wasn’t it you who claimed we fabricated charges and framed Li Sui?”

Ye Sanshao was about to reply when he saw Meng Qi’s smile devoid of warmth. Suddenly chilled to the bone, he thought of Li Sui, who had been killed in the depths of the Ye residence. He swallowed hard, snorted coldly, turned his head, and left quickly, as if escaping some attached evil spirit.

“Cousin, I’m not afraid, but in the future, you must be careful of the Ye family’s retaliation when going out—they do possess a family treasure artifact,” Qi Zhengyan reminded, worried Meng Qi might become overconfident.

Before Meng Qi could answer, cries came from the street as a procession of people escorted a horse-drawn carriage while weeping.

“The Wan family?” Qi Zhengyan muttered in confusion, ordering a waiter to go investigate.

Shortly after, the waiter returned: “Reporting, Master Qi, it’s the eldest Young Master Wan. He was murdered on the Great River. His guards are escorting the body back. It’s said that at the time, Tang Erzi was also there but was injured by assassins, fell into the water, and his fate remains unknown.”

When Young Master Wan went out on business, he naturally had guards with him. However, at the time, he felt that Tang Erzi, a formidable expert, was by his side, so additional protection was unnecessary, and it would have been inconvenient for their discussions. Thus, he did not summon them. After his murder, the guards arrived, retrieved the body, and returned.

Back in Yicheng, they had waited until dawn, first sending someone home to notify. After receiving a response, they escorted the body into the city, arriving much later than Meng Qi.