“Nanbeitong” was a courtyard with shops in front and residences at the back. Meng Qi sat in the shadow of a flying eave, gazing at Wu Cheng’s bedroom across the way.
After leaving a “letter” in You Tongguang’s study, Meng Qi had rushed to the “Nanbeitong” shop at the northern water gate of the city overnight, intending to monitor Wu Cheng’s every move.
Since the Xueshen Palace’s destruction had already occurred decades ago, the remaining disciples had been secretly passing down the teachings, gaining rich experience. Therefore, Meng Qi believed that if he were to sneak in and capture Wu Cheng for interrogation, as he had done with Jin Ancheng, he might very well alert them. For instance, there might be other Xueshen Palace members near Wu Cheng observing his movements. Once they detected any irregularities, they would immediately notify the relevant people and cut off all contact. It was also possible that Wu Cheng had a poison tooth hidden in his mouth, willing to commit suicide at a critical moment to protect secrets…
All these considerations led Meng Qi to decide to try other methods first before resorting to force.
Therefore, Meng Qi’s afternoon use of the phrases “dark clouds covering the sky” and “disaster is sure to follow” to frighten Wu Cheng was not baseless. Since the Xueshen Palace claimed to be descendants of deities and sought to break the boundary between mortals and gods, they must have believed in immortals, deities, and fate. Compared to ordinary people, they were even more “superstitious.” When faced with a “strange monk’s” “curse,” no matter how much he outwardly professed disbelief, Wu Cheng would likely feel uneasy and anxious deep inside.
In such a state, Wu Cheng would probably seek psychological comfort, such as worshipping the Snow God or seeking out senior members of the Xueshen Palace in Tianding City to dispel calamities and stabilize his emotions.
Of course, Meng Qi’s judgment was based solely on the Xueshen Palace’s professed philosophy and the subtle clues of their secret transmission evolving into a cult-like organization over the years (as detailed in Duan Xiangfei’s report). He had no absolute certainty. If Wu Cheng showed no reaction, Meng Qi would have to switch to other methods.
The moon was veiled by dark clouds, its faint glow barely illuminating the surroundings, which were otherwise pitch black. Meng Qi, relying on having already refined six acupoints related to the eyes, barely managed to see clearly into Wu Cheng’s bedroom.
After a long while, a faint creaking sound suddenly broke the silence. Meng Qi focused his gaze and saw Wu Cheng pushing open the window cautiously, scanning the surroundings, then slightly nodding toward the front diagonal direction.
Front diagonal direction? A thought struck Meng Qi as he followed Wu Cheng’s line of sight, only to see the side wing’s door slowly opening.
So there was another accomplice from the Xueshen Palace, secretly monitoring Wu Cheng from across the way. Who knew how many more people were hidden nearby… Meng Qi inwardly thanked his decision not to recklessly barge in and capture Wu Cheng.
Wu Cheng jumped out of the window, landing with barely a sound—his martial arts skills were quite impressive. Then he slipped into the side wing room and shut the door behind him.
No candlelight appeared inside the wing room, nor was there any sound of conversation, as if the room were completely empty.
As Meng Qi prepared to go down and investigate, he suddenly recalled Fei Zhengqing’s digging of the underground tunnel and thus gained an understanding. He did not jump into the courtyard but instead carefully examined the surrounding courtyards.
If there were indeed a tunnel, its route would naturally be chosen to avoid detection, prioritizing brevity and minimal disturbance to the neighbors. This side wing room was close to two courtyards on the west side, so it was unlikely they would go through their own courtyard to connect with the eastern or northern courtyards—doing so would make it better to simply choose an eastern or northern wing room as the tunnel entrance in the first place.
Therefore, Meng Qi believed the tunnel’s exit must be in one of the two western courtyards. Even if the Xueshen Palace was extremely cautious, they could have extended at most one more courtyard westward, and Meng Qi still had time to check each one.
He did not consider directly following the tunnel from this side, as he suspected there might be other Xueshen Palace members monitoring this wing room, and rashly entering would only alert them.
Standing up, Meng Qi stealthily slipped into one of the western courtyards under the cover of darkness.
After a while, based on the condition of the residents, Meng Qi determined that this courtyard belonged to an ordinary family, so he infiltrated the other one, constantly pressing his ear against the roof tiles to listen to the sounds inside.
After occasionally hearing deliberately suppressed breathing, he gradually grew more confident.
Following the principle of proximity between the wing room and Wu Cheng’s courtyard, Meng Qi didn’t have to strain much before he heard Wu Cheng speaking: “Thank you, Han Shi, for comforting me. I was overwhelmed by recent tension and worried unnecessarily about the random words of a little monk.”
A slightly aged voice replied: “Revering heaven and fearing deities is the foundation of our Xueshen Palace, which is not wrong. However, we must distinguish between fraudsters. Alas, this time we suffered heavy losses, and with the situation tense, even the Venerable has gone missing, making everyone naturally uneasy.”
The Venerable has gone missing?
Meng Qi was not clear about the meaning of titles within the Xueshen Palace’s secret transmission, but he could tell that the Venerable’s status was above that of Han Shi.
“Han Shi, the Venerable hasn’t yet…” Wu Cheng suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Then Han Shi solemnly spoke again: “Friend on the roof, please come down.”
He discovered me? Meng Qi was startled but, to prevent a possible trick, did not act immediately.
Han Shi spoke again: “Friend on the roof, since you’ve heard us say we’re from the Xueshen Palace, you should know of the ‘Shape-Shifting Art.’ Though I’m not accomplished in it, my perception is different from ordinary people.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Qi realized he had already been exposed. However, confident in his martial prowess, he laughed loudly, flew down from the roof, and knocked on the door to enter casually.
Inside the room were four people: one was Wu Cheng, another was an old man with a hunched back, and the remaining two sat on either side of the old man, seemingly his attendants.
“So it’s the Shen Hou.” Seeing the monkey-faced mask on Meng Qi’s face, the old man hesitated slightly, clearly not expecting it.
He was dressed in a short brown tunic, resembling a poor, hardworking dockworker.
“Indeed, the Shape-Shifting Art is extraordinary,” Meng Qi said casually, like visiting a friend, as he shut the door and then lightly struck the sleeping acupoints of Han Shi’s two attendants.
Han Shi did not resist, smiled, and said, “The Shape-Shifting Art is indeed wondrous, though not as supernatural as rumors claim. May I ask why Shen Hou has come here?”
Last night, when Shen Hou had easily killed Jin Ancheng, Han Shi had realized his inferior strength and decided to honestly reveal non-critical secrets while seeking an opportunity to escape.
“There are two purposes. The first is to inquire about the mysteries of the Shape-Shifting Art.” This was a purpose Meng Qi had just thought of.
Han Shi asked in confusion, “Could it be that Shen Hou wishes to force me to reveal the Shape-Shifting Art? If so, you’ve come to the wrong person. Only those of the Venerable’s rank can learn the complete Shape-Shifting Art. I only know a little.”
“You should at least be familiar with the effects of the Shape-Shifting Art,” Meng Qi asked with a smile, seemingly in a relaxed mood.
Han Shi nodded: “Anyone who has deeply understood the Xueshen Palace knows the ‘Shape-Shifting Art’ well. It focuses on the third eye between the eyebrows, a divine technique for unlocking the spiritual treasure within the human body. Even if practitioners ultimately fail to open the treasure, their spiritual power will surpass ordinary people’s, allowing them to sense most things within a certain range without seeing or hearing them.”
This wasn’t a major secret, but it wasn’t common knowledge either, so it was normal for Shen Hou to be unaware.
The third eye between the eyebrows? The spiritual treasure? Meng Qi became even more interested in the “Shape-Shifting Art” and smiled, saying, “So that’s how you detected me earlier.”
Pausing slightly, he cautiously asked, “If one masters the Shape-Shifting Art to its peak, can they create illusions through immense spiritual power, as if ghosts and gods were present, making them impossible to defend against?”
“How did you know that?” Han Shi asked in astonishment, surprised that Shen Hou, who previously seemed unfamiliar with the Shape-Shifting Art, would know about its terrifying power when fully mastered.
“Because I fought someone like that last night. Every strike I made only hit illusions. I barely managed to drive him back. I suspect he might be your Venerable.” Meng Qi deliberately revealed some information, watching for Han Shi’s reaction.
“That’s impossible! How could you possibly drive back someone who has fully mastered the Shape-Shifting Art!” Han Shi clearly doubted Meng Qi’s strength, but he quickly calmed his shock and thoughtfully added, “The Venerable, who has full authority over Tianding City and its province, has been missing for days without any contact. He is likely already dead. The person Shen Hou encountered must not be the Venerable. Moreover, even if it were the Venerable, his mastery of the Shape-Shifting Art wouldn’t be that terrifying.”
“Could it be your Palace Master has arrived?” Meng Qi also believed that a Venerable couldn’t possibly be that powerful; otherwise, the Xueshen Palace wouldn’t have remained in secret transmission.
Han Shi shook his head with a faint smile, then after a moment’s thought, said solemnly, “It might not necessarily be the Shape-Shifting Art.”
“Hmm?” Meng Qi expressed his confusion with a nasal sound.
Han Shi’s expression turned serious: “The Shape-Shifting Art is a divine technique for unlocking the spiritual treasure within the third eye, but it’s not the only one. If there are other methods that cultivate the third eye and unlock the spiritual treasure, then regardless of whether one possesses the Shape-Shifting Art, they could interfere with an opponent’s senses during combat, causing misjudgments and creating illusions on their own.”
“Unlocking the spiritual treasure…” Meng Qi murmured thoughtfully, then shifted the topic: “I also have another purpose for coming here. I want to ask about the Xueshen Palace’s treasure. And now, I have an additional question: why did your Venerable disappear, and when did it happen?”
He didn’t directly ask about Duan Mingcheng but instead circled around to gather information.
Han Shi smiled bitterly again: “These two matters are connected. I’m not afraid to tell you, Shen Hou. Back then, our Xueshen Palace split, and the four guardians each took one of the treasure maps. Only when all four maps are combined can the treasure be found. However, human hearts are unpredictable, and in the end, only one guardian remained loyal to the Xueshen Palace’s teachings, so we only have one map.”
“One of the other three maps is missing, one is in the ‘Living God of Wealth’s’ hands, and one was obtained by Duan Mingcheng, the son of Xianyin Master. He also coveted the treasure and had frequent contact with us. Just when we were planning to join forces, the Venerable who went to negotiate with him disappeared together with Duan Mingcheng.”
The missing map is in my hands… Meng Qi thought silently, his heart stirred. It seemed that Duan Mingcheng indeed met with a mysterious figure at that time, but he wasn’t abducted by that figure. Instead, both of them disappeared together…
Of course, the Xueshen Palace’s account might not be entirely true.
Regarding the Venerable’s disappearance, Han Shi had deployed many people to search, but before any news came back, they encountered Fei Zhengqing’s pursuit and were forced underground, making further investigation difficult, with no clues at all.
Meng Qi awakened Han Shi’s attendants and questioned them again, finding their accounts highly consistent.
Seeing no more useful information, Meng Qi smiled slightly and said, “I’ve disturbed you late into the night. Please forgive me, Han Shi. I’ll take my leave now. Oh, by the way, would you mind writing down the Shape-Shifting Art for me? Just the parts you know.”
He wasn’t planning to learn the Shape-Shifting Art yet, as Han Shi might alter the content. He just wanted to see the cultivation approach regarding the third eye and ponder its underlying principles.
Han Shi sighed deeply, found paper and brush, and silently wrote down the initial part, as it wasn’t the core section of the Shape-Shifting Art.
After obtaining the first part of the Shape-Shifting Art, Meng Qi quickly exited the side room and watched from outside for an hour, finding no one coming to see Han Shi, nor did Han Shi leave.
Only then did Meng Qi carefully change directions multiple times and head toward the Jinshui Bridge.
As he was about to leave the northern part of the city, Meng Qi suddenly felt a sense of doubt. Even if Han Shi feared death, why was he so cooperative? Many issues were explained by Han Shi without even being asked, such as the possibility that the technique might not necessarily be the Shape-Shifting Art.
A chill ran through Meng Qi’s heart. He retraced his steps, returning once more to the courtyard.
The side room was silent, and Meng Qi sensed something was wrong. He poked a hole in the window paper and peered inside.
Everyone inside had fallen to the ground. Han Shi was leaning against a pillar, his expression frozen in a respectful smile, already devoid of breath!
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