As soon as they felt their bodies tighten, Mei Qing and Hou Shen were bound tightly by a strange force. Suspended halfway above the sea, they could not move at all.
It was only then that Mei Qing and Hou Shen could clearly see who had ambushed them. Not far behind them, a short, old Daoist priest hovered halfway above the sea surface. His hair was disheveled, his sparse beard short and patchy, and his nose red from drinking. He was indeed the same old Daoist they had encountered at Wanghai Tower. However, the priest now wore a grim expression, his eyes filled with hostility. The small banner he had used for fortune-telling was nowhere to be seen, and his old Daoist robe was even more tattered than before.
“Good riddance! I suspected you were no good the moment I saw you at the wine tower. I regret not acting then, for a moment’s mercy nearly allowed a tiger to grow into a menace. This time, I cannot let you go,” the old Daoist priest said angrily.
“What does the Daoist master mean?” Mei Qing felt a surge of anger. The priest’s ability to hover effortlessly in the air and easily capture both of them clearly indicated his high cultivation. Yet someone of such skill had resorted to a cowardly ambush from behind, which was truly despicable.
“What kind of skill is this, old Daoist, to attack from behind? If you have the guts, follow the martial arts code of conduct, let us go, and we can settle this face-to-face!” Hou Shen shouted, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes glaring.
The old Daoist turned his small eyes toward Hou Shen, shook his head, and said, “You aren’t even a cultivator. Why should I bother with you? I have no intention of troubling you. But this guy here—” he pointed at Mei Qing, “—practices evil arts and kills people. I must eliminate this disgrace to the cultivation world.”
Mei Qing and Hou Shen exchanged glances, both showing surprise. From the old Daoist’s tone, it seemed he regarded them as great villains. Perhaps there was some misunderstanding.
“Senior,” Mei Qing, maintaining his calm, asked, “we believe we have done nothing deserving of such accusations. May I ask what you mean by practicing evil arts and killing people?”
“You evil fellow still dare to be defiant even at the point of death!” the old Daoist roared. “Let me ask you, are you not practicing the dual cultivation technique of extracting essence? That day at the wine tower, I noticed the girl had an unusual constitution. When I saw you paying attention to her, I even tried to warn you. But you, a thief by nature, could not change your ways. My moment of mercy allowed you to become a threat to others. Today, I will not let you escape!”
“Senior, perhaps there is a misunderstanding? I may have studied dual cultivation techniques, but I have my own cultivation partner and have never engaged in essence extraction. Last night’s incident has nothing to do with me. We came here precisely to investigate this matter. I hope the senior will look into it carefully,” Mei Qing said while glancing deeply at Hou Shen and secretly winking.
The old Daoist was furious. “Still trying to argue! I clearly saw the girl in the village had been victimized by essence extraction. I have scoured the area within dozens of miles, and except for you, there is no other suspicious person. Do you think you can fool me?”
“Oh?” Mei Qing looked thoughtful. As he was about to say something, he suddenly shouted, “Master Shi!”
The old Daoist was startled. With his spiritual sense spread out, and the three of them hovering in midair above the sea, where could anyone else come from? Looking at Mei Qing and Hou Shen again, he suddenly found that they had broken free from his magical restraint and moved at once!
As soon as Hou Shen moved, he disappeared from sight; while Mei Qing, descending as he did so, formed hand seals with both hands and began chanting, “Before Taiji, the root of heaven and earth; Metal, Wood, Fire, and Earth, Water God leads the way…”
“Do you think you can escape?” The old Daoist was surprised as the two suddenly broke free from his restraint. He had examined the two before: Hou Shen’s body was not yet fully cultivated, clearly not a practitioner; Mei Qing, although somewhat skilled for his age, was still no match for the old Daoist. That the two had managed to escape his restraint in such a short time was indeed unexpected.
Even if the two had temporarily broken the spell, they still could not escape the old Daoist’s grasp. The old Daoist looked at Mei Qing mockingly. Although Hou Shen had become invisible, to the old Daoist’s spiritual sense, he was as clear as day; and as for Mei Qing attempting to escape using a teleportation technique, the old Daoist naturally would not allow it.
Just as the old Daoist was about to form another spell to seal the five elements and break Mei Qing’s teleportation technique, he suddenly heard Mei Qing shout “Freeze!” Instantly, he felt his spiritual energy stagnate, and he was frozen in place, unable to release his prepared technique.
“Here he comes!” With a shout, Hou Shen’s tall figure suddenly appeared from behind the old Daoist. Two daggers, emitting a strange black luster, flew one after the other straight toward the old Daoist’s back.
The old Daoist was greatly alarmed. Frankly speaking, although Mei Qing breaking free from his spell was unexpected, it had not drawn enough of his attention. Now, with his cultivation, he had been caught off guard by this fellow right in front of him. The sound of the wind behind him indicated danger, and he could not afford any more mistakes.
Although cultivators are said to possess great abilities, such as moving mountains and filling seas, this does not mean they can ignore the threat of mundane weapons. In fact, without proper preparation, even a wooden stick could incapacitate a cultivator at the Golden Core stage. Unless one has reached the realm of Earth Immortal or specializes in cultivating an indestructible physical body, most cultivators dare not withstand attacks from martial artists directly.
“Got you!” With a light cry from Hou Shen, the two daggers struck the old Daoist’s back one after the other. However, Hou Shen immediately felt something was wrong. The daggers felt light, and the image of the old Daoist in front of him suddenly turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished.
Realizing something was amiss, Hou Shen immediately retracted his daggers. At the same time, his body’s turbid energy sank, and he lost control of his form, immediately falling toward the sea surface. Before he could take any action, he felt his body tighten again, and he was once more suspended in midair.
Mei Qing, seeing the situation deteriorate, naturally met the same fate. The two exchanged helpless glances.
“Truly impressive. Young man, who is your master among the Mei Clan?” The old Daoist reappeared not far away, his expression now more serious as he looked at Mei Qing and said, “People from the Mei Clan rarely travel outside. How did you attain such cultivation?”
Mei Qing’s mind raced, but he did not answer immediately. The last time he encountered the Iron-Robed Daoist, the latter had also questioned him about his connection to the Mei Clan. Could it be that the Thunder Sealing Art was related to the ancient Mei Daoist?
“What the senior says is difficult to explain briefly. We were invited by Master Shi Mengzhu to search for the evildoer causing trouble. Would the senior be willing to accompany us to hear the full story?” Mei Qing said after a moment’s thought.
“You young rascal, your eyes are shifting. Do you think you can fool me with that old man Shi? It’s no surprise that old man was deceived, for he is not a cultivator. But my eyes are not so easily fooled! Better to speak honestly and stop your tricks!” The old Daoist listened, first moved upon hearing the name Shi Mengzhu, then sneered and laughed coldly.
“How could this not be true?” Mei Qing looked helpless and cautiously asked, “Earlier, senior said you had scouted the area for dozens of miles. Did you see the magician at Wanghai Tower that day?”
“The magician?” The old Daoist’s face showed a hint of mockery. “You still want to frame others? Let me tell you, whoever did this, it certainly wasn’t the magician. Stop wasting time and confess already!”
“What is there for me to confess?” Mei Qing’s expression remained calm. “A clear conscience fears no midnight knocks. But senior, you come charging in with accusations. What proof do you have? My brother and I were in our room all night yesterday, not stepping out the door. When would we have had the time to do anything wrong?”
“I don’t care!” The old Daoist shouted. “I never liked you from the start. Since you won’t confess, I’ll just have to capture you first!” Saying this, he moved his hands, preparing to cast a spell.
Mei Qing silently cursed. This old Daoist’s cultivation was absurdly high, and to make matters worse, he had a temper that refused to reason. What should he do now?
Just as Mei Qing was lamenting his fate, his vision suddenly darkened, and a tall figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
Both Mei Qing and Hou Shen were startled. They heard the old Daoist opposite exclaim angrily, “You bald monk, coming here to interfere with Daoist Master again!”
Only then did Mei Qing see clearly. The person blocking their way had only a back view, but his yellow Buddhist robe and bald head clearly marked him as a monk.
This monk was indeed strange. He stood in front of Mei Qing but said nothing. Although Mei Qing could only see his back, oddly enough, he clearly felt the monk’s meaning: “Please don’t act rashly. These two are not the culprits.”
“How do you know they are not the culprits? Hmph, I knew it. No matter what happens, when this baldy gets involved, it’s bound to be complicated! What do you intend to do?”
As Mei Qing was about to say something, he suddenly felt his body lighten. The monk’s wide sleeve swept around him, and instantly he felt as if he were flying through clouds and mist.
Opening his eyes, he found the surroundings were chaotic and indistinct, making it impossible to distinguish directions. Hou Shen was beside him, exclaiming in surprise, also looking around in confusion.
From afar, they heard the old Daoist shouting angrily, “Hey! Bald monk! You can’t just take people without explanation! Where are you taking them?”
After a while, there was no reply from the monk, but the flying speed became increasingly faster, incomparable to the slow and leisurely ride Mei Qing had experienced when riding a crane before.
Behind them, the old Daoist’s voice continued to echo, “By the Three Pure Ones, I never thought monks would learn to kidnap people—I’ve always said all the bad things are done by monks!”
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