Chapter 62: Infamous Reputation and the Golden Signboard

In the study, Jin Ancheng solemnly bowed before the jade statue in front of him, murmuring incantations.

After a long while, he opened his eyes. The unease in his heart had slightly eased, yet something still gnawed at him, leaving him restless.

“May heaven protect us…” he exhaled.

“Yes, may heaven protect you indeed,” a hoarse, grating voice suddenly echoed in the room.

Jin’s back stiffened. Without thinking, he shoved the jade statue over, causing it to crash and shatter, while simultaneously sliding sideways and turning, unleashing the ultimate technique “Yama’s Soul Hunt.”

However, his hands grasped at empty air.

Only then did he notice a mysterious figure seated behind the desk, fully wrapped in a black robe. The figure wore a crude mask meant for children’s play, painted with a grinning monkey’s face.

When had he come in? What about the guards? A chill ran down Jin’s spine at the sight of that smiling monkey mask, and without hesitation, he dashed toward the window.

His vision blurred momentarily, and once again, that grinning monkey face appeared before his eyes.

“If you try to run again, I’ll cut off your legs first,” the hoarse, unpleasant voice reached Jin’s ears.

This terrifying martial arts skill stunned Jin Ancheng. Moreover, the opponent hadn’t attacked directly, which somewhat diminished his resolve to fight to the death. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he asked, “Are you, by any chance, ‘Shen Hou’ of the ‘Twelve Divine Forms?'”

If he could defeat the opponent, he could escape later. If he couldn’t, rushing in now would only provoke him, possibly leading to being sealed at an acupoint and turning any escape attempt into a fantasy.

“Since you recognize me, give up your illusions and answer my questions honestly,” Meng Qi continued in a hoarse voice.

Keeping his hands subtly poised in a martial arts stance, Jin Ancheng forced a smile and said, “What would Shen Hou like to ask?”

“I want to know what Duan Mingcheng did before he vanished,” Meng Qi got straight to the point.

Jin’s brows furrowed. “Mr. Shen Hou, there’s really not much to ask. I’ve already given a detailed account to Chief Investigator Fei. That night, Duan reserved a private room and hosted the Young Lord of the City and Chief Investigator Fei. He didn’t call for any female entertainers and dismissed me. About half an hour later, the Young Lord and Chief Investigator Fei left one after another. Duan came out to settle the bill, exchanged a few flirtatious words with ‘Yueyue,’ a familiar companion, but didn’t stay overnight and left directly.”

“He spoke to me no more than three sentences, all related to the banquet.”

“He must have disappeared on his way home, but there were no signs of a struggle along the way.”

“Is that so? But the information I received tells a different story,” Meng Qi began to bluff Jin Ancheng.

Jin’s expression remained unchanged. “Mr. Shen Hou must have been misled by rumors. The truth is exactly as I described.”

Meng Qi said nothing, silently scrutinizing Jin Ancheng. The atmosphere, combined with the grinning monkey mask, felt particularly oppressive.

Slightly uneasy, Jin asked, “Mr. Shen Hou, you don’t believe me?”

“What do you think?” Meng Qi casually countered, then lowered his voice. “You have three sons and two daughters, right? Haven’t you become a grandfather yet?”

“What do you mean?” Jin’s gaze turned sharp, his face darkening.

Meng Qi said casually, “If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll kill them one by one in front of you and see how long you can endure. Hmm, I heard you’re especially fond of your youngest son, so I’ll start with him.”

He obviously couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing, but the “Twelve Divine Forms” were known for their ruthlessness, taking any mission, completing tasks by any means, without any moral boundaries. Jin Ancheng had no choice but to believe it.

Sometimes, a bad reputation comes in handy.

Jin’s face darkened further. “Mr. Shen Hou, I swear every word I said is true. Please don’t force me.”

“Do you really think I know nothing?” Meng Qi snorted and deliberately turned sideways, “Your youngest son lives in the western courtyard, doesn’t he?”

Fury burned in Jin’s heart, but he didn’t lose his composure. He lunged forward, grabbing at Meng Qi’s throat and right hand while shouting to alert the guards, not expecting them to rescue him, just hoping to create enough noise. This was Tianding City, after all. Even the Twelve Beasts dared only to act secretly!

Meng Qi’s sideways move was a feint. Instead of advancing, he retreated, ghost-like dodging Jin’s hands and crashing into his chest.

Seeing Shen Hou’s strange martial arts style, Jin had to hastily redirect his hands to grab Meng Qi’s back, but his shout got stuck in his throat.

Meng Qi did not evade. He took the blow squarely on his back and swiftly drew his monastic blade, pressing its edge against Jin’s throat.

After grabbing Meng Qi’s back, Jin exerted force with his ten fingers, but it felt like grasping stone, with only flakes of “stone dust” flying off, causing sharp pain in his fingertips.

Just as he sensed danger within, the monastic blade was already at his throat.

Meng Qi extended his left hand and sealed several of Jin’s major acupoints, cackling, “Mr. Jin, we’re both civilized men. Why resort to violence?”

Provoking Jin Ancheng on purpose, Meng Qi successfully captured him by exploiting the opening.

Under normal circumstances, Meng Qi wouldn’t have worried about subduing him at all. But in the dead of night, if he couldn’t quickly neutralize Jin, it would easily draw attention, bringing the Tianding City Chief Investigator, the Young Lord, or even the City Lord Cui Xu.

“What do you want?” Although captured, Jin Ancheng, as a martial arts expert of the underworld, still retained some composure.

Meng Qi’s tone turned serious. “I want the truth.”

“What I said is the truth,” Jin replied, looking at the executioner’s blade at his throat, his eyes flickering slightly.

Meng Qi chuckled hoarsely. “You’d better cooperate. Our ‘Twelve Divine Forms’ have a reputation for credibility. If we say we’ll kill your entire family, we definitely will.”

Perhaps it was the “Twelve Divine Forms” reputation that worked, or perhaps Jin Ancheng, being older, valued his family more than anything else. He sighed and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell, but that I cannot.”

“If you speak, you still have a chance to escape with your family and wealth. If you don’t, your entire family will die now,” Meng Qi’s mood improved, finally managing to bluff Jin Ancheng into revealing the truth.

At this moment, he especially appreciated the advantages of handling matters in the “demonic path.” If Duan Xiangfei were here, even if he could utter such threats as a righteous martial arts grandmaster, Jin Ancheng wouldn’t believe them. But when the “Twelve Divine Forms” spoke, he knew they would truly kill his entire family without hesitation.

No wonder Duan Xiangfei had sought the “Twelve Divine Forms” for the investigation.

After a moment of hesitation, Jin Ancheng continued, “That day, after Duan sent off the Young Lord and Chief Investigator Fei, he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he exchanged a few flirtatious words with Yueyue, then turned to a quiet courtyard behind. There, he ordered another banquet to host another guest.”

“This guest wore a black robe and a veil, concealing his face and age. But he was likely a man, roughly your height, and slender in build.”

“After Duan entered the courtyard, he dismissed me. I felt something strange, worried it might harm the Young Lord and Chief Investigator Fei, so I went around to the other side and eavesdropped. Their voices were low, and I only vaguely heard the words ‘Xuenshen Palace.'”

“Xuenshen Palace…” Meng Qi softly repeated. Since arriving in this world, most of the events he encountered seemed to be connected to the Xuenshen Palace.

Looking at the grinning monkey mask, Jin Ancheng continued, “Concerning the Xuenshen Palace, I didn’t dare to be careless. Although I couldn’t hear clearly, I kept trying. But gradually, no sound came from inside the courtyard. Surprised, I disregarded everything else and returned to the front gate, only to find it completely empty, with no one left, except for the leftover food and wine.”

“Since then, Duan has never appeared again.”

“Was there any sign of a struggle inside?” Meng Qi carefully inquired.

Jin Ancheng shook his head. “Not only was there no sign of a struggle, but a silver ingot was left behind. Perhaps Duan voluntarily left with the guest, or maybe he was easily captured due to his weak martial arts skills.”

“Was there anything special about the silver? Was there any poison or sedatives in the food and wine?” Meng Qi racked his brain, trying to recall clues from novels he had read.

Jin Ancheng shook his head again. “The silver belonged to Duan, marked with his family’s insignia. The food and wine were perfectly fine. There were no traces of clothing fragments at the scene either.”

“Mr. Shen Hou, I’ve told you everything I know.”

The grinning monkey mask swayed slightly, unsettling Jin Ancheng. Then he heard the hoarse voice, half-laughing, ask, “You explained clearly, but there’s one problem. The part you concealed doesn’t seem worth concealing.”

That part, if spoken openly, wouldn’t have caused any issues. Why hide it?

Jin’s face turned pale. After a long pause, he stammered, “It… It was Chief Investigator Fei who asked me to hide it. I couldn’t refuse.”

“Fei Zhengqing?” Meng Qi stared into Jin Ancheng’s eyes.

Jin nodded. “Yes. After Duan disappeared, the first to investigate was Chief Investigator Fei. He held my weaknesses and was stronger in martial arts than me. I couldn’t refuse. As to why he wanted to hide it, I truly don’t know.”

“Good. Mr. Jin, a wise man knows when to yield. It’s a pity I couldn’t kill your entire family,” Meng Qi chuckled, his figure flickering as he mysteriously vanished outside the study, disappearing from Jin Ancheng’s sight in a few quick movements.

Bound and unable to move, Jin naturally couldn’t stop or chase him. After catching his breath, he shouted loudly. Soon, the guards arrived and hurriedly helped him unseal his acupoints.

Then, with a dark expression, he dismissed the guards and sat alone in the study chair.

Half an hour later, he slowly stood up, glanced at the guards outside, and when they weren’t looking, pushed open the window, slipped into the darkness outside, climbed over the courtyard wall, and fled in another direction.

“Hmph, no matter how cunning you are, how can you rival my ‘extensive knowledge’…” From a high place, Meng Qi sat cross-legged in the shadow of the roof tiles, watching Jin Ancheng sneak out of the courtyard.

He had read many novels and knew that in similar situations, unexpected events often occurred. For example, someone might come to kill Jin Ancheng to silence him, or Jin might not have told the whole truth and might go to report to the hidden mastermind after he left. Although Meng Qi considered these scenarios typical novelist fabrications, he decided to continue lurking outside to observe what would happen, only leaving just before dawn.

He leaped onto the roof, silently following Jin Ancheng.