Chapter 285: Levels of Thought

Meng Qi instinctively took a deep breath, vaguely grasping something, his heartbeat quickening.

The old man with streaks of gray in his hair didn’t dwell on his own topic but smiled and asked, “Young man, you seemed a bit annoyed earlier?”

He looked at Meng Qi without shifting his gaze, as if chatting was something that required full concentration.

Only now did Meng Qi truly get a clear look at his appearance. He wasn’t as old as Meng Qi initially thought; the gray hair had given him that illusion. In reality, there weren’t many wrinkles on his face, somewhere between middle-aged and elderly. His features were ordinary, but his intense focus gave him an indescribable charm.

“Yes,” Meng Qi suppressed his slightly excited mood and suddenly had an idea, chatting as if with an elder in his family. “This junior got involved in a murky affair in Maoling.”

He subtly changed his self-reference.

The old man didn’t mind this and listened attentively. At the end, he asked, “Young man, when you left yesterday, your inner conflict had already been resolved, and your mind was basically calm. You became annoyed again because of what happened afterward?”

He didn’t deliberately hide anything nor did he emphasize anything, speaking in a plain and straightforward manner.

Meng Qi became even more certain. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke directly in a casual tone, “Last night, this junior obtained a clue about the thief and immediately informed my companions. We rode nonstop to the residence of Chu Guan, the incense master of the Great River Gang, but we arrived too late. He committed suicide with his sword, shouting before his death that Wenqu Star Lord would avenge him.”

“We didn’t delay on the way and had already hidden our auras and changed our appearances beforehand, so we shouldn’t have been recognized by ordinary people. Yet the information still leaked. This junior suspects that either there is a very powerful expert following us or one of our companions last night was a traitor.”

Normally, the opponent wouldn’t need to arrange a very strong expert to track Meng Qi and his companions. For example, they could use real street vendors to record which streets Meng Qi and others turned into, collecting the information one by one to determine the target. However, Meng Qi had considered this in advance, and everyone had changed their appearances and hidden their auras before leaving.

To follow Dai Fei and Chen Yasong, who were both half-step beyond worldly and highly vigilant, without being noticed at all, the tracker’s strength must be extraordinary.

The old man listened carefully to Meng Qi’s account, his expression unchanged, like an endless ocean, even with a giant stone falling into it, not creating much of a ripple.

After listening, he didn’t offer an opinion but smiled slightly, as if seeing through Meng Qi’s heart, “You already have a tendency? What really troubles you isn’t this, right?”

Meng Qi’s face slightly reddened, feeling a bit embarrassed as he scratched his head, his deliberate attempt to change the topic exposed, “Yes, this junior already has a tendency. What truly troubles and worries me is that Chu Guan shouted before his death that Wenqu Star Lord would avenge him.”

“Hmm, feels inconsistent?” The old man didn’t move his hands or feet, fully focused on the conversation.

Meng Qi exhaled and nodded slightly, “Yes. We hadn’t yet uncovered who was behind him, yet he himself revealed the name, letting us immediately know it was Wenqu Star Lord. It feels like he deliberately framed him with his death.”

At the time, Meng Qi had other suspects. With Chu Guan’s outcry, Wenqu Star Lord was at least half-exposed and could no longer completely hide behind the scenes, making it seem as if Chu Guan had a grudge against him!

If Chu Guan had committed suicide without coercion, silence would have been the best strategy. Even if he went mad before death, he might only shout, “Someone will avenge me!” There would be no need to specifically name Wenqu Star Lord. If he had been forced to commit suicide and was willing to give up his life, why go to such lengths, not fearing that the important “factor” that led him to choose death might be destroyed by the person behind the scenes?

Initially, he didn’t think much of it, but upon reflection, Meng Qi sensed the inconsistency.

“Since you noticed something was off, why were you still troubled?” The old man asked with a slight smile, directly probing Meng Qi’s inner thoughts.

Meng Qi smiled self-deprecatingly, “It’s precisely because I noticed something was off that I felt troubled, sensing there was something I hadn’t considered clearly. But I couldn’t figure it out until just now, when I watched the elder carving the statue, my mind calmed, and I suddenly understood.”

“What did you understand?” The old man barely offered his own opinion, merely going along with Meng Qi’s narrative.

Meng Qi’s expression turned serious, “The opponent, daring to ‘play chess’ with Wang Siyuan, shouldn’t be so easily seen through. The truth must be buried much deeper.”

“I realized after thinking it through that shouting ‘Wenqu Star Lord’ felt inconsistent. As the one who laid the plan, wouldn’t he have thought of this?”

“Just like the first trap I stepped into, it had obvious coincidences and the clues were quite deliberate. But I thought such an old-fashioned plot couldn’t possibly be used to harm someone. If it were a trap, it would have too many loopholes, be too foolish, and rely too heavily on coincidence. So I assumed it was real, judged my own strength, felt confident I could escape unscathed and clear my name, and went to Guan Jinyuan, disrupting the opponent’s plans, only to find out it really was a trap.”

“Without mentioning why it was arranged so perfectly, what underlying necessity there was, or why Wang Siyuan said that no matter how we responded, we’d fall into the trap, the scheme itself was deeper than my thinking. He knew I could detect something wrong, so he deliberately made it seem old-fashioned and obvious, completely unlike a mastermind’s plot, making me think it was too fake and relied too much on coincidence, making it seem less like a trap.”

The old man blinked and chuckled, “In other words, this time is the same?”

“Yes,” Meng Qi nodded, “This junior could tell shouting ‘Wenqu Star Lord’ felt inconsistent. I believe others, after calming down, would notice too. Then they would instinctively think it was a frame-up to hide the real mastermind, completely overlooking ‘Wenqu Star Lord.'”

“Although his name was exposed, in our hearts, he truly disappeared!”

The old man cooperated by saying, “So it’s still ‘Wenqu Star Lord.'”

“Mm,” Meng Qi nodded. “It’s a trap in terms of thinking layers. As long as he thinks one layer deeper than us, he can manipulate us at will.”

“But what if the mastermind behind is thinking one layer deeper than you now? Framing Wenqu Star Lord to hide himself?” The old man smiled and countered.

Meng Qi smiled confidently, “In terms of thinking layers, it’s not about going deeper and deeper, but accurately judging the enemy’s thinking layer and then going one layer deeper. Otherwise, it would only backfire.”

“For example, this time, if we were all people who stayed at the first thinking layer, ‘Wenqu Star Lord’ would only end up with the opposite effect, making a mess. But I fell into a trap last time, and Jiang Hengchuan isn’t someone who doesn’t think. Dai Fei and Chen Yasong are even more experienced, one being a Qing Shou constable and the other the deputy head of Maoling, they would definitely detect the problem and go to the second thinking layer. To go deeper than that might be very unlikely. The mastermind wouldn’t risk burying the ‘trap’ in the third layer, harming himself.”

“If it weren’t for Wang Siyuan telling me that someone was ‘playing chess’ with him, making me take the enemy seriously, even with previous experience, I wouldn’t have reached this thinking layer.”

The old man didn’t comment, “What if you really didn’t go to the second thinking layer?”

“If I were the mastermind behind,” Meng Qi suddenly had an idea in his heart.

Before he could organize his words, the old man smiled and said, “How is it? After sorting out your thoughts, are you calm now?”

Meng Qi was startled and indeed felt truly calm, bowing his hands, “Yes, thank you, senior, for listening to this junior’s rambling.”

The old man didn’t speak further, just smiled and nodded, picking up the carving knife and the wooden block again, carving the wooden statue with concentration and reverence, like a landscape.

Seeing this, Meng Qi understood the meaning, got up to take his leave, and when he reached the alley’s mouth, he secretly clenched his fist and swung it, his expression slightly excited.

During these days, whenever he had free time, he would come here to “increase the affinity level”!

…

Just after returning to the rented courtyard, Meng Qi saw Jiang Hengchuan pacing at the door.

“Brother Jiang, what’s the important matter?” Meng Qi went forward to greet him.

Jiang Hengchuan’s expression was serious, “There are two things. The first is about yesterday’s incident. I thought about it carefully and felt something was off. Which conspirator would reveal their identity themselves? Previously, we didn’t even have a direction, but now we know it’s ‘Wenqu Star Lord.’ It’s unreasonable, too unreasonable!”

“Yeah, I also suspect it’s a deliberate frame-up.” Meng Qi hesitated slightly and replied with a light smile.

Seeing his opinion was shared, Jiang Hengchuan chuckled, “Great minds think alike! We need to inform Dai Qing Shou and Chen Tangzhu about this matter as soon as possible.”

“What about the second thing?” Meng Qi remained neutral.

Jiang Hengchuan switched to secret whispering, “I’ve been following Qiu Fei all along, relying on the realm of unity with heaven and earth, barely avoiding detection. I found out he has gone to a hill by the Jinshui River for two consecutive days. He might go there again tonight, so I’d like to invite Young Master Su to join me to hide there in advance and see what he’s really up to.”

He dared not follow too closely, fearing exposure.

Meng Qi gripped the Wheel Symbol hidden in his sleeve and hesitated slightly before saying, “Alright!”

By the Jinshui River, there was singing and dancing, a bustling market, and also quiet and secluded spots, such as this hill outside the city.

Meng Qi and Jiang Hengchuan arrived early, found a secret hiding place, concealed their auras, erased their traces, and waited for nightfall.

The area was overgrown with weeds, and there were footprints and other marks in some places, but apart from Meng Qi and Jiang Hengchuan, no one else was there.

After an unknown amount of time, the bright moon hung high, its light rippling on the water, and a shadow stealthily climbed up the hill—it was Qiu Fei, the “Wind-chasing Staff” expert.

He held a red staff, cautiously observing behind him and checking the surroundings.

Meng Qi and Jiang Hengchuan each used their methods—one relying on various techniques of projecting his mind outward and precise control of the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, the other depending on unity with heaven and earth—barely evading Qiu Fei’s notice.

After finishing his inspection, Qiu Fei suddenly stamped his feet on the ground, hard enough to create a thudding sound.

“What is he doing?” Meng Qi was slightly surprised; this action was too strange.

Suddenly, the ground began to move, the soil bulged, and two figures emerged. Their auras were weak, their faces deathly pale, appearing neither alive nor dead.

“The Sect of Impermanence of Life and Death!” A wave of realization surged in Meng Qi’s heart. Some past doubts seemed to receive a certain degree of explanation!

Why did the members of the Sect of Impermanence of Life and Death arrive precisely on the day they discovered Old Zhong’s departure?

Why did they chase Old Zhong for so long, yet only find clues during that specific period?

Why did a non-core disciple carry a living corpse at the level of an external scene?

Why was there no news of the mad Ningzhou Great Hero afterward?