Gold chain armor versus a nag, which is more important?
Without a doubt, it’s the horse.
Mo Li can give away the gold chain armor without blinking an eye, but this horse has been by his side for a while and is very spirited. How can the armor compare?
However, Doctor Mo knows that sooner or later, he must give the horse away because the river channels crisscross the South, and riding a horse is far less convenient than taking a boat. Moreover, the grass there does not suit northern horses. This is just a nag, not fast, and its current plumpness is due to good feeding; in reality, it has an average physique and cannot withstand sickness and diarrhea.
Mo Li strokes the horse’s forehead and mane, then hands the reins to Young Master Qiu.
“A gentleman does not snatch what others love.” Young Master Qiu can see that Mo Li is fond of the horse and immediately says, “If your journey is inconvenient, I can take the horse back. When you pass through Qiu’s home in Nanchuan County, Yuzhou, later on, just submit a visiting card, and I will surely return this horse.”
Mo Li neither agrees nor refuses.
He nudges the horse, which turns its neck to nuzzle Mo Li’s cheek and even tries to nibble his hair.
Meng Qi: “……”
The nag glances this way quickly, neighs loudly, and runs off.
“There’s no need to scare it when we’re parting.” Mo Li touches the strand of hair licked wet, his expression helpless.
“What?” Meng Qi is stunned.
He didn’t emit any killing intent, nor did he stare at the horse. In fact, he hadn’t had the chance to act before the horse, as if frightened, ran away quickly and even deliberately glanced this way to frame him!
What kind of horse is this?
Both cunning and sly!
Meng Qi is deeply aggrieved and about to defend himself when he sees Mo Li’s thoughtful gaze; Meng Qi quickly changes his expression and snorts coldly, “This place isn’t safe, it’s better to send it away early.”
—He absolutely can’t admit that he was framed by a horse.
Indeed, it was he who scared the horse away! Yes, that’s just his nature!
Mo Li, wanting to speak but then holding back, decides to remain silent to save Meng Qi’s face.
“Both Mr. Yin and Leader Liang have died, and the clues about the Holy Lotus Sect are severed.” Mo Li is very concerned about the mastermind behind the Holy Lotus Sect. He then asks, “Brother Meng, what do you know about Piaoping Pavilion? Is it possible they know the details? Just because they received money, they could cleanly dispatch so many assassins and use far more gunpowder than necessary, which is suspicious.”
“The doctor speaks wisely; Piaoping Pavilion may indeed be a clue.” Meng Qi muses aloud.
Unfortunately, Piaoping Pavilion is always secretive, and Meng Qi’s understanding of the martial world is limited; he doesn’t know much more.
“……I’ve heard they also pick their employers.”
“How so?” Mo Li instinctively feels there’s more to this.
Meng Qi slowly says, “The most secretive aspect of Piaoping Pavilion is that they initiate contact for business. If someone needs to hire an assassin, they must spread the word and wait for Piaoping Pavilion to show up.”
“How is that possible?” Mo Li is extremely surprised. Stealth and secrecy are essential for assassination. If someone broadcasts their need for an assassin loudly, wouldn’t their enemies become more vigilant? After the enemy is dead, wouldn’t the authorities, who are not incompetent, trace back to the truth?
Meng Qi claps his hands and laughs, “What the doctor thinks, I have thought as well.”
So the question arises, how can employers mention hiring assassins without speaking openly, and how do the assassins find such business precisely?
“Shall we approach the people of the Four Gangs and Twelve Assemblies?” Mo Li suggests.
Since there’s contact, they might be able to disclose something useful.
Meng Qi nodded, then added, “If possible, we should also capture someone from Fengxing Pavilion for questioning.”
The information-selling Fengxing Pavilion and the mysterious assassin group Piaoping Pavilion have similar names.
Mo Li understood instantly—if these two were not in collusion, considering that Piaoping Pavilion needed accurate and timely information for both killing and finding clients, the assassins were either major clients of Fengxing Pavilion or competitors in gathering intelligence.
Others might not catch the details of Piaoping Pavilion, but Fengxing Pavilion definitely had many clues.
“The Four Gangs and Twelve Assemblies are the local powers in Yuzhou; it will be a piece of cake for them to find out the whereabouts and the handlers of Fengxing Pavilion.” Meng Qi’s statement sealed the unfortunate fate of these local powers.
Master Meng decided to visit them with the doctor to talk.
***
“No, I know nothing!”
Cries echoed from the end of the alley.
Men armed and burly filled the alleyway in disarray, with others crouching in corners pretending to be dead.
Unfortunately, one’s act was very unconvincing, breathing rapidly, occasionally opening his eyes to sneak a peek. It was hard for Mo Li to not notice.
Realizing he was being pulled up by the hand, the pretender began to struggle frantically: “Esteemed predecessor, I am just a lowly runner, a nobody.”
Mo Li looked at his panic-stricken face and frowned, “Are you sure you want to continue lying?”
The man paused, not understanding where he had slipped up. The two formidable figures had passed by and grabbed his subordinate to “interrogate”; how had they suddenly turned around and singled him out? Was this a trick, or did they actually know his identity?
“Elder, I don’t understand what you are talking about…”
“Your gang is so wealthy, even a nameless low-rank character can eat meat every meal?”
“…”
The man was utterly shocked, almost believing he had meat stuck between his teeth.
His tongue instinctively licked, finding nothing; his expression changed, and he bitterly laughed, “What a tactic, to deceive me like this.”
Mo Li thought that this was indeed not a trick. Although the wealthy families and officials use trichosanthes and soapnut to make a paste for brushing teeth, common folk can only use green salt. But the difference between the impoverished and those who can afford meat is significant; they reveal their status the moment they speak. Ordinary people can’t tell at a glance because it requires extraordinary vision.
“Enough, how do you contact Piaoping Pavilion?”
“Piaoping Pavilion contacts the Dragon Head Association, not our Changxin Gang. The intermediary is the Jiangnan Eight Rhymes Hall, and we are to eradicate the demons of the Holy Lotus Sect…”
At that moment, Meng Qi also dropped his captive and came striding over.
“The doctor has a keen eye, catching the right person every time; leave this to me.”
“No, no!” the man instinctively cried out, his neck hairs standing on end.
He had seen his own men, not a match for a single move, scattered like broken branches and leaves by the autumn wind.
The Holy Lotus Sect couldn’t possibly have such masters, or else Leader Liang would have flattened the Four Gangs and Twelve Assemblies long ago!
The hidden masters of the Holy Lotus Sect might be those driven mad by secret medicines or reputable figures with concealed identities, so they could not be easily mobilized, yet he had never seen these two in Yuzhou before.
“What exactly do you want? And how did you find this place? Was it someone from Eight Rhymes Hall who betrayed us?”
Although Mo Li greatly disliked Eight Rhymes Hall, he still spoke, “Why are you so confident in yourselves, thinking that being discovered means betrayal?”
The head of Changxin Gang was stunned, his face full of confusion.
Meng Qi folded his arms and said, “You paid Piaoping Pavilion, and let Eight Rhymes Hall’s people exert themselves; don’t you care about the outcome? Just need to follow those who stayed on the nearby hill to observe the situation, they always have to come back to report.”
“Impossible, they’re hiding in a cave…”
“High grounds that can see everything are few; it’s not hard to guess.”
Meng Qi greatly appreciated Mo Li’s perspective. Not only the martial arts societies, but even the disorganized armies he encountered during his campaigns always felt betrayed whenever they suffered setbacks.
Is betrayal necessary? Just look around, and following one clue can lead you right to the instigator’s doorstep.
If only the Holy Lotus Sect and Piaoping Pavilion could be resolved so easily.
“No, they didn’t come back directly, they released a pigeon!” The head of Changxin Gang didn’t believe anyone could catch up with a pigeon; shooting it down with a hidden weapon might be possible.
Meng Qi didn’t join the conversation.
In fact, chasing pigeons is easier than chasing people.
At least pigeons don’t blend into a crowd and change their clothes to disguise themselves.
“The pigeon that carried the message was meant for your Changxin Gang, not the Dragon Head Association you mentioned, how do you explain that?” Meng Qi pressed.
“I… pretend you never came, and continue sending people to other gangs to deliver messages? You’ll follow them?” The head of Changxin Gang, seizing an opportunity, attempted to shift the responsibility.
Mo Li was amused by his words.
The martial world has its tough characters, and then there are slippery ones like him.
“Where is your leader?”
“He doesn’t handle matters, looking for him is useless… Alright, I am the one.” The man quickly raised his hands in surrender, pleading for mercy.
“Tell us everything you know, about Piaoping Pavilion and the Holy Lotus Sect… How did you plan, and what were your intentions?”
The leader of Changxin Gang’s eyes darted around; he readily agreed while insistently suggesting, “You might not believe just one side of the story, elder. Why not capture someone else too? You can ask more.”
“…”
“Elder, forgive me, but since this is a joint venture of the Four Gangs and Twelve Assemblies, surely it can’t just be my gang that suffers, right?”
Facing the leader of Changxin Gang, who insisted on betraying his allies, Mo Li finally understood why this man so readily suspected others of betrayal.
It was simply judging others by his own standard.
Because he was such a person, he assumed everyone else would betray him too.
***
Yellow tiles, red walls, evening sun reflecting off green waves, Mingchuan Temple in Yuzhou.
This was an ancient temple from the former dynasty, unfortunately destroyed by war sixty years ago, leaving the monks scattered and the temple deserted.
During the Chu dynasty, a local gentleman funded the rebuilding of Mingchuan Temple. When construction was half-complete, this benefactor died unexpectedly from a horse fall, and people claimed it was a bad omen, so the work was halted. Over time, the paths nearby were buried by wild grass, the pond in front of the temple turned into stagnant water covered with green algae, blending into the nearby wild grass as if part of a special meadow.
The tranquility of this abandoned ancient temple was disrupted today.
“Splash.”
The sound of falling into water echoed as Meng Qi tossed the person he was holding into the pond.
The leader of Changxin Gang watched the two new arrivals struggling in the water and said irritably, “Stop flailing, the water isn’t deep.”
Apart from the pond’s slimy green water making them utterly messy, and the muddy bottom that made it hard to pull out feet, the water was only waist-deep.
“If we threw all the leaders of the Four Gangs and Twelve Assemblies in here, this pond might not be big enough.” The head of Changxin Gang, thrown into the pond first, pragmatically suggested to Mo Li and Meng Qi to save space by capturing only a few key figures.
—His suggested list probably consisted of his enemies.
Meng Qi naturally didn’t heed his advice, capturing whom he considered useful.
One was the most respected owner of an escort agency within the Four Gangs and Twelve Assemblies, and the other was a trusted accountant from the Dragon Head Association.
The money paid to the assassins passed through the hands of the Dragon Head Association, and the escort agency owner was involved with both the underworld and legitimate businesses, knowing the most.
Both were publicly abducted by Meng Qi.
“Exactly who are you with, offending our Dragon Head Association, do you not want to leave Yuzhou?” The accountant, wiping algae off his face, shouted angrily.
The Dragon Vein of Taijing thought the name of the Dragon Head Association was quite good.
Just that its members lacked foresight.
“Did you find anyone from Fengxing Pavilion?” Mo Li whispered.
“Rushing in and smashing their shop would draw too much attention, especially after those explosives alarmed the authorities,” Meng Qi said leisurely with his hands behind his back. “Now that such a big incident has occurred in Yuzhou, how could Fengxing Pavilion lag behind? You and I just need to wait here, whether it’s the backers the Dragon Head Association relies on or people from Fengxing Pavilion, they will show up soon. For now, let’s ask about what we want to know.”
