Chapter 55: Collision Reveals All

The moon shone bright, stars sparse, and the cliff stood solitary. From his hiding place, Meng Qi instantly recognized the figure in the shadows.

Zhen Yong!

Though recently Meng Qi had focused his efforts on practicing the Golden Bell Cover, sword techniques, and lightness skills, and though the Warrior Monks’ Courtyard was separated from his by many other courtyards, making communication inconvenient, after resuming studies at the Sutra Lecture Courtyard, he still met Zhen Yong daily for brief chats about minor temple affairs. Therefore, even though the figure stood sideways to Meng Qi, he was still certain it was Zhen Yong.

Why would he come to the cliff so late?

Could it be that there really was some tremendous secret?

Meng Qi thought with slight irritation. He himself harbored a great secret and had no desire to get involved in other incidents that might expose his abnormalities.

Within the Shaolin Temple, he simply wanted to be a quiet little novice monk.

Holding this mindset and his awareness that he was not yet a true expert, he had previously chosen not to rashly explore the secret passage after the incident with Zhen Guan, but instead returned directly and sent out the signal.

The gray-clothed figure turned his head, cautiously scanning the surroundings. The dim moonlight clearly illuminated his face, confirming Meng Qi’s correct identification—this was indeed Zhen Yong.

Meng Qi held his breath and controlled his heartbeat, not wanting to draw Zhen Yong’s attention, hoping he would leave quickly so Meng Qi could resume his patrol unnoticed. Then, the next day, when Zhen Hui reported the incident to their master, Zhen Yong’s secret would naturally be uncovered.

This place was secluded and nearly unknown to anyone. Zhen Yong habitually inspected the area before pulling a book from within his robes and flipping through it with a faint smile.

The cold moonlight bathed the scene. Meng Qi, whose eye-related acupoints had already refined six locations, noticed that the book in Zhen Yong’s hands was made of pale, ordinary paper, not the precious “Mu Hua Paper” typically used for writing martial arts manuals, but rather the inferior paper used in the Sutra Copying Hall for novice monks to practice calligraphy.

“Could it be a copied book written on common paper?” Meng Qi instinctively speculated.

Zhen Yong was deeply absorbed, murmuring softly to himself, completely forgetting the urgency of a wrongdoer needing to leave the scene quickly. This made Meng Qi secretly anxious.

It wasn’t that Meng Qi feared he couldn’t endure, but his younger apprentice brother had never experienced such a situation before. As time passed, the younger monk might grow restless and accidentally bump into something, making a sound.

Meng Qi slightly turned his head, watching Zhen Yong. Under the shifting shadows, his face appeared dim, vaguely showing a hint of curiosity as he focused intently on Zhen Yong.

“Still maintaining single-minded focus, not bad…” Seeing this, Meng Qi silently praised.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Zhen Yong adjusted his stiff posture and accidentally kicked a loose stone, which rolled off the cliff without making a sound.

Startled by the noise, Zhen Yong reluctantly closed the book.

Not daring to stay too long, he extended his hand outside the cliff to feel around.

After a moment of searching, he withdrew his right hand, now holding an oil-paper-wrapped bundle.

“It seems there’s a hidden crevice on the cliff’s outer side… clever concealment,” Meng Qi mused thoughtfully.

Zhen Yong unwrapped the oil paper, revealing several thick and thin books inside. He placed the book he had been holding into the bundle and rewrapped it tightly.

At that moment, a reckless rat darted out from a hole, startling Zhen Hui, who instinctively flinched backward.

Crack! The sound of a broken branch rang out sharply in the quiet night!

Bang! Startled, Zhen Yong’s hand trembled, and the oil-paper bundle dropped to the ground. He turned around in shock and panic.

At the same time, his left hand instinctively reached out beyond the cliff.

“Who’s there?” Zhen Yong whispered harshly, seemingly still unable to spot Meng Qi and Zhen Hui.

Before his voice had even faded, and before Meng Qi could devise a countermeasure, Zhen Yong suddenly lunged forward, his left hand gripping a sharp monk’s sword.

His shout had been a feint!

“Accumulated Qi fully developed—he indeed concealed his strength…” Seeing Zhen Yong’s movement, Meng Qi sighed. He lowered his left shoulder and charged straight into the blade without dodging.

Zhen Yong had set a trap, launching a sudden attack, expecting the enemy hidden in the woods to be unable to evade in time, hoping to kill with one strike. Yet he was stunned to see a figure charging head-on into his blade without dodging.

Clang! The sword struck something like metal or stone. Zhen Yong inwardly cried out in alarm and hastily retreated without hesitation.

At that moment, a flash of swordlight slashed toward him from an unexpected angle—sharp, bizarre, and nearly impossible to evade.

Zhen Yong gritted his teeth, swung his sword downward, and followed the blade’s momentum, barely avoiding Meng Qi’s strike.

Hmm… Meng Qi felt a flicker of surprise. Zhen Yong had actually dodged his “Blood Blade” move in such a desperate situation. The sword techniques he displayed were exquisite and profound, definitely not those of an ordinary practitioner.

Zhen Hui stepped forward, smiling gently, calm and serene. His right hand moved in a flower-picking gesture, exuding an otherworldly aura—the “Flower-Picking Finger.”

Zhen Yong had already anticipated another enemy and wasn’t surprised by Zhen Hui’s attack. His expression turned serious, his sword light converging precisely to block the “Flower-Picking Finger.”

Then, he kicked his right leg forward, slashed his sword sideways, and smoothly directed the blade straight at Meng Qi.

The slash was profound and mysterious, giving Meng Qi the sensation that all his three thousand worldly troubles would vanish with a single stroke.

This was undoubtedly a terrifying sword technique! Meng Qi dared not be careless. He activated his footwork, moving like a ghost, each slash emerging from impossible angles.

Zhen Yong had always practiced sword techniques secretly, with few opportunities to display them or undergo life-or-death trials. For a moment, he was overwhelmed by Meng Qi, who was performing at his peak. Each slash made him feel the next could come from any direction or location, gradually draining his physical and mental stamina.

Meanwhile, Zhen Hui, lacking combat experience, failed to maintain balance while dodging Zhen Yong’s leg attack. He stumbled sideways, nearly falling off the cliff.

“Ahh!” He cried out softly, realizing he had knocked the oil-paper bundle off the cliff, where it vanished into the mist below.

Seeing the narrow cliff and the difficulty of fully utilizing his footwork, and not wanting to delay and invite complications, Meng Qi slashed once more and, while Zhen Yong was flustered, suddenly lunged forward, using his chest to block the opponent’s sword.

Clang! The sword struck, tearing through the monk’s robe and producing a metallic clang again, leaving a pale scratch.

Under the full moon, Zhen Yong had already recognized the attacker as Zhen Ding, knowing his terrifying Golden Bell Cover. Therefore, every previous slash had aimed for vital points and weak spots. Yet he hadn’t expected Zhen Ding’s sword techniques to be so strange, nor his fighting style so forceful and brutal—daring to block the sword with his bare chest as Zhen Yong couldn’t change his attack in time!

Caught off guard, Zhen Yong had no chance to change direction.

Successfully breaking through, Meng Qi thrust his sword forward, placing it at Zhen Yong’s throat.

Clang! Zhen Yong dropped his sword, signaling his surrender.

Zhen Hui stepped forward again, flicking his flower-picking finger to seal several major acupoints on Zhen Yong.

Meng Qi remained cautious, keeping the sword at Zhen Yong’s throat while signaling Zhen Hui to pull out the sash from Zhen Yong’s robe and bind his hands behind his back.

“Zhen Ding, Zhen Hui, are you satisfied now?” Zhen Yong forced a pale smile.

Meng Qi replied indifferently, “Brother, why go to such lengths to act like a cowardly sneak?”

After being struck by the acupoint seal, Zhen Yong struggled to stand and sat cross-legged instead. His eyes flickered, and he spoke sorrowfully, “I don’t have Zhen Hui’s talent, nor Zhen Ding’s achievements. If I want to learn supreme techniques, I have no choice but to take this path. I don’t want to waste my life in Shaolin, forever under a dim lamp beside Buddha, never experiencing the excitement of the martial world.”

“Zhen Ding, Zhen Hui, for the sake of our friendship, please let me go. From today onward, I’ll reform and never do such things again. I’ll even let you read the secret manuals I’ve obtained.”

His eyes reddened as he pleaded desperately.

“So it really was secret manuals,” Meng Qi said with a half-smile. “Brother Zhen Yong, I wonder how an ordinary warrior monk like you managed to obtain supreme martial arts secrets.”

So, don’t try to pacify me with excuses about not wanting to waste your life.

Zhen Yong’s expression changed, then he sighed, “Because Elder Monk Kong Hui, who guards the Sutra Pavilion, secretly bears a serious injury. It flares up at a specific time every noon. I accidentally discovered this and used that opportunity to copy the manuals, though I could only reach the third or fourth levels and couldn’t access the ‘Inner Eighteen’ supreme techniques.”

“I see,” Meng Qi chuckled. “No wonder you were so friendly with me and Zhen Hui back then.”

Zhen Yong furrowed his brow, not expecting his explanation to offend both Zhen Ding and Zhen Hui.

“And,” Meng Qi suddenly demanded sharply, interrupting Zhen Yong’s troubled thoughts, “where exactly did you hear such a secret?”

Zhen Yong shivered all over but remained silent, shaking his head.

Unwilling to dig deeper, fearing entanglement in trouble, Meng Qi turned to Zhen Hui, saying, “Little apprentice brother, go to the nearby courtyards and shout loudly for help. Remember, make sure everyone hears you—don’t just tell one person.”

During patrols, no signaling devices were issued.

Zhen Hui nodded and started walking outward.

Seeing the danger, Zhen Yong’s voice deepened, “Junior brothers, do you know what secret manual I just placed in the oil-paper bundle?”

Seeing both Meng Qi and Zhen Hui turn to him, he proudly declared, “The Yijin Jing!”

“What?” Meng Qi couldn’t help but exclaim. It was the Shaolin Temple’s treasured manual—the Yijin Jing, the legendary martial art capable of transforming the mundane into the miraculous!

Since it wasn’t a Fa Shen or Outer Scenery-level technique, the Yijin Jing had always been a closely guarded secret, kept under the strictest protection. How could an ordinary warrior monk like Zhen Yong possibly copy it?

There must be someone else behind this—someone far beyond Meng Qi’s imagination!

“What do you think? Forget this incident, and I’ll share the Yijin Jing with you,” Zhen Yong’s voice turned low and seductive, like a tempting demoness.

Meng Qi didn’t want to get involved in something so terrifying just by thinking about it, yet he couldn’t bear to abandon the Yijin Jing, a manual whose value rivaled even Fa Shen-level techniques. His heart wavered, torn between conflicting thoughts.

“Brother, brother… I accidentally knocked the oil-paper bundle off the cliff…” Zhen Hui weakly confessed.

Meng Qi let out a sharp breath, suddenly realizing how clouded his mind had become by greed!

If he chose the Yijin Jing and let Zhen Yong go, whoever was behind him would surely try to silence them both. Worse still, he wouldn’t even know who that person was, making it impossible to prepare in advance.

What a pity… Gazing at the endless abyss below, shrouded in mist, Meng Qi sighed. It was said to be filled with deadly miasma, accumulated over countless millennia, where only the deadliest creatures could survive. It would likely require an Outer Scenery-level expert to explore it.

“Fell… fell down…” Zhen Yong suddenly appeared dazed and lost.

Meng Qi signaled Zhen Hui to hurry and notify others, fearing unpredictable changes.

Even the Yijin Jing had appeared—this was truly terrifying!

Zhen Hui darted out, sprinting toward the nearby courtyards. Meng Qi watched Zhen Yong, pacing back and forth, alert for any ambush.

After a while, Zhen Hui’s distant shouts faintly reached them, and Meng Qi finally relaxed slightly.

After waiting a bit longer, Zhen Yong regained his composure for a final attempt: “Brother Zhen Ding, although the Yijin Jing fell down the cliff, I just now read a portion of it and memorized the opening cultivation instructions. If you let me go, I’ll recite them for you. In the future, you’ll definitely have another chance to see the Yijin Jing.”

“And I will leave immediately—no one will ever know. As for who to get the Yijin Jing from, I’ll tell you when I leave.”

Meng Qi curled his lips, about to speak, when suddenly a black shadow darted from the forest and struck Zhen Yong’s back with a palm!

Caught off guard, Meng Qi failed to stop the attack in time!