The swordsman’s expression was as if he was dreaming. Whatever he thought in his heart, even the old monk Yuan Zhi knew.
——After selling his life for half of his life, in the end, he didn’t even know what he was doing. How could he bear it?
“This is just your baseless conjecture, complete nonsense.” The swordsman steadied himself and gritted his teeth.
Meng Qi seemed to have just noticed him and sneered, “A mere pawn, and it can speak?”
The swordsman was furious, his face darkened, making the scars on his face even more ferocious.
Mo Li came down from the eaves and said in a deep voice, “Piaoping Pavilion found fewer dark posts, and they are sending people to surround us from all sides.”
No matter how the situation in the world was, the most important thing was to leave from here first.
The old monk Yuan Zhi picked up his wooden staff and said sternly, “The pavilion master should go first, I will cover the rear.”
The Fengxing Pavilion must be protected. Only the Fengxing Pavilion had the conditions to publicize this conspiracy in the shortest time. For this, even if it meant breaking his vows, Yuan Zhi was willing to take full responsibility.
“Master, you mustn’t.” Qiu Jing hurriedly stopped him, “The southwestern border will be in chaos, Master should return to Xuanchuan Pass as soon as possible.”
With one more top master, Xuanchuan Pass might be able to hold out a little longer.
After Xuanchuan Pass, there would be no more natural barriers.
To prevent the army of King Tianshou from entering the Central Plains, Xuanchuan Pass must not fall.
If it weren’t for more troublesome matters here, Qiu Jing would rather persuade Meng Qi to go to Xuanchuan Pass. He was truly someone who could fight a war.
“This is a game of chess. When we see the board clearly, the opponent’s pieces are already nearing the midgame.” Meng Qi said unhurriedly, his expression showing no signs of urgency.
It was because of his demeanor that he calmed the panicked crowd.
Everyone met Mo Li’s gaze. That’s right, the priority was to escape first.
Mo Li originally thought he would have to say it again, but seeing everyone calming down one after another, he couldn’t help but credit Meng Qi.
——As expected of the national teacher, skilled in handling subordinates.
Although these people were not Meng Qi’s subordinates, in a critical moment, the last thing needed was a chaotic command, and the most needed was someone to take charge of the overall situation.
Qiu Jing was certainly qualified, but the swordsman did not respect her, and with her abilities, she couldn’t possibly lead everyone to break through.
“These alleys have been reconstructed. Piaoping Pavilion has a total of seventeen designated hiding places, mutually echoing, with a view of all directions. Currently, only one is missing.” Without hesitation, Meng Qi led everyone in a chosen direction while speaking eloquently, “No matter which direction you go, in less than half a quarter of an hour, you will fall into their encirclement.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was puzzled. Since there was no way out, shouldn’t they take up arms and fight?
Or urgently set up a defensive line to deal with the imminent attack?
But Qiu Jing didn’t speak, the old monk Yuan Zhi went with the flow, the swordsman was a captive, and Mo Li was with Meng Qi. Everyone had no choice but to follow.
There were only about twenty people in total. Meng Qi walked and stopped, requiring everyone to stay hidden in the shadows of the eaves. However, after a quarter of an hour, no hidden weapons or people from Piaoping Pavilion appeared.
What about the promised inescapable net?
Just as he was thinking, Meng Qi suddenly transmitted a signal for everyone to stop and remain silent.
After a moment, they vaguely saw shadows passing over the eaves above them.
The tiles creaked under the footsteps.
“Where are they?”
“Don’t know, they were nearby just now. Old Fourth’s group got their acupoints sealed, and then the people disappeared.”
Low voices of conversation, filled with anxiety and frustration, came through the wind.
“Could they have entered the houses of the civilians in the alley?”
“The soldiers are searching the whole city. Who dares to open the door at this time? Besides, there’s no Fengxing Pavilion stronghold nearby.”
The people of Fengxing Pavilion felt extremely awkward hearing this. Their influence in Run County was indeed almost nonexistent.
The voices quickly moved away, soon replaced by another group.
Meng Qi frowned slightly. Piaoping Pavilion had indeed increased their manpower.
Mo Li tapped his shoulder from behind. Meng Qi came to his senses and signaled everyone to continue moving forward.
“Wait.”
Mo Li turned back and walked to the side of the carried swordsman, quickly rejoining his limb joints.
Everyone was startled, wanting to speak but holding back.
The swordsman’s mobility was impaired, making him a burden. Several times, the people of Fengxing Pavilion wanted to kill him. Qiu Jing said he was Mo Li’s captive and couldn’t be killed for now. Everyone, considering they needed Mo Li and Meng Qi, held back.
“Doctor, are you letting him go?”
“No, just letting him move his joints, so he doesn’t become crippled.”
“But…”
“He didn’t make a sound just now,” Mo Li said calmly.
Everyone was stunned and instinctively looked at the swordsman.
Previously at Sweet Spring Bathhouse, the swordsman had his mute acupoint sealed. Later, they were fleeing, and with Meng Qi’s revelations muddling his mind, no one noticed when the acupoint was unsealed. But now it was unsealed. Even when Piaoping Pavilion couldn’t find them, the swordsman hadn’t made any sound to expose them?
This man, wasn’t he just refuting Meng Qi’s nonsense?
It turned out he had a tough mouth but had already conceded in his heart?
The swordsman felt his face burn under the understanding gazes and wished he could take up a weapon and kill them all to silence them.
“Are you going or not?!” the swordsman growled softly.
Everyone maintained their strange expressions, walking while looking back.
Swordsman: “…”
Logically, he should take this opportunity to escape, but there were too many things he wanted to understand.
If he returned to Piaoping Pavilion, the swordsman knew it would be difficult to find out anything with his abilities.
Because everything he had seen, heard, and known over the decades was similar to others knowing no more than he did. Even if there were exceptions, it wouldn’t be much better. The person who had been kind to him had always sought him out; he couldn’t find the other person. Facing him and tearing everything apart was almost the same, and unless absolutely necessary, the swordsman didn’t want to take that step.
Moreover, after having his joints dislocated for so long, even though they had just been rejoined, walking was still difficult and slightly painful.
Escape? He estimated that he would be caught after running just a few steps, which would be even more humiliating.
The swordsman bore the humiliation and followed them.
The old monk Yuan Zhi felt greatly relieved, thinking the swordsman might abandon the dark for the light.
“Benefactor, lay down the butcher’s knife…”
“Shut up!” the swordsman said viciously, “You took my knife!”
If not for the urgency of the escape, someone might have laughed out loud.
Mo Li rubbed his temples and turned to ask, “Where is his weapon?”
“Still at Sweet Spring Bathhouse, probably buried under the ruins.”
“Then there’s no need to worry. Since Piaoping Pavilion labeled us as rebels and deliberately left weapons to frame us, even if they were burnt to ashes, the authorities would clean it up,” Qiu Jing said with a faint smile, implying, “Piaoping Pavilion is highly capable; switching a knife in the yamen is a simple matter for them. It just depends on when you return.”
Yuan Zhi’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, “The butcher’s knife leads to the sea of suffering, but the benefactor stands on the shore. Do you still want to remain deluded and return to it?”
The swordsman: “…”
Mo Li thought the swordsman looked like he wanted to shove a stinky shoe into the old monk’s mouth.
Meng Qi led the way without turning his head.
Mo Li saw Meng Qi’s shoulders shake twice, probably laughing.
——It’s good to see him laugh, as Mo Li worried the national teacher’s old illness might relapse after killing tonight.
The alley began to widen, with fewer low houses.
This meant hiding was getting harder. Before, they could converse, and their breathing wouldn’t alert passing Piaoping Pavilion assassins, who would mistake it for civilians. But here, wealthy households, worried about rebels and disturbances by soldiers, had their homes brightly lit, with guards and servants patrolling constantly with lanterns.
Meng Qi seemed to have grown several pairs of eyes, moving faster and turning without hesitation.
Everyone could even feel that shadows always followed their steps, and the lanterns never shone on them.
“……”
Is this really the national teacher? Thieves all over the world should come to learn from him!
Especially the clerk from Sweet Spring Bathhouse, who was full of doubts. Earlier, Meng Qi and Mo Li needed his guidance to find a few businesses. Now, it seemed as if they had lived in the city for many years and had secretly seen Piaoping Pavilion’s assassination plan. But such a significant matter, who would dare write it down? If these two were actually from Piaoping Pavilion, what were they after? Fengxing Pavilion was essentially a seller of information, and the pavilion master said the opponent’s setup involved the fate of the world.
A plot higher than the fate of the world left the clerk’s mind reeling, unable to think it through.
The clerk, being of low status, could hold back his questions, but the other experts from Fengxing Pavilion couldn’t.
As the path became smoother, Meng Qi led everyone into an empty shed behind a carriage house, not far from Run County’s tall city walls. Finally, someone couldn’t help but ask, “This… forgive my rudeness, but may I ask National Teacher Meng, how did we avoid the people of Piaoping Pavilion just now?”
Meng Qi didn’t find the question abrupt.
In fact, a more abrupt question would be directly asking if Meng Qi was colluding with Piaoping Pavilion.
Of course, anyone with a brain wouldn’t ask that, as it couldn’t be achieved by mere collusion. Piaoping Pavilion might be in cahoots, but could the guards and servants of those large households also be in league with Meng Qi?
Since the people of Fengxing Pavilion were tactful, Meng Qi kindly explained to them in three sentences.
“Piaoping Pavilion is using Qimen Dunjia to encircle and hunt you.
“However, this formation works in the city’s streets and alleys, confined by the houses, hence it can be used but not changed.
“The one who set up the formation is not here. The others using it are merely memorizing and rigidly applying it. When I was on the rooftops, I saw how they dispatched people and figured out the pattern in no time. If this were a real battlefield, this formation would collapse at the first touch, utterly useless.”
Meng Qi spoke plainly, but his expression subtly changed, carrying a hint of his former decisiveness and ferocity.
The swordsman narrowed his eyes, instinctively clenching his right hand, but found it empty—his weapon was gone.
The others were also affected by this aura, feeling a bit fearful when they came to their senses.
——They had shed blood in the martial world for decades but had never truly experienced the brutal slaughter of the battlefield, where corpses lay strewn everywhere.
Only the monk Yuan Zhi clasped his hands together, serenely reciting a Buddhist prayer.
“Master, we will part ways here.” Qiu Jing took out a copper token shaped like a fan pendant and handed it to the monk Yuan Zhi. “This can mobilize the local branch of Fengxing Pavilion. Master, take it as my contribution to Xuanchuan Pass.”
Yuan Zhi did not refuse. He took the token from Qiu Jing, clasped his hands together, and bowed to everyone.
Everyone returned the gesture. Yuan Zhi wanted to say something to Meng Qi but ultimately left over the wall without speaking.
The city gate tower was brightly lit, but this part of the city wall was more remote, with only soldiers patrolling with lanterns.
The wall was three zhang high, and the structure was relatively solid, undamaged by rainwater, so the defense wasn’t as strict.
For the people of Fengxing Pavilion to leave, they had to carefully find a shaded spot to tie ropes and climb. With the monk Yuan Zhi’s martial prowess, he could scale the wall with two steps of true qi, without needing to wait.
“The master probably wanted to invite National Teacher Meng to Xuanchuan Pass.”
“The idea is good, but… alas!”
Even if Meng Qi was willing to go, gaining the trust of Xuanchuan Pass’s commander to repel King Tianshou’s army would be difficult. As a former national teacher of Chu, Meng Qi’s identity meant the Ning family wouldn’t dare let him near military power. After all, they were officials of Qi and received salaries from Qi.
“The world is in such turmoil, yet these events keep happening.”
“That Southern Sacred Medicine, opium…”
The speaker suddenly became wary, glancing at the swordsman.
The swordsman expressionlessly watched them fall silent and deliberately avoid him.
Hmph, he didn’t care about their conversations.
No matter how out of place he felt, he would cling to Meng Qi and Mo Li.
Mo Li saw all this and couldn’t help but sigh.
“Doctor, why are you troubled?” Meng Qi came around at the right moment.
Mo Li found that Meng Qi was not worried about the situation at all. On the contrary, he seemed very interested, like meeting a master player in a famous game.
“Brother Meng…”
“The unseen enemy and the unfathomable intention are the most troublesome. Now the fog has cleared, the plot is revealed, and it all depends on each person’s skill,” Meng Qi said confidently, speaking casually, “Doctor, would you like to bet with me that Piaoping Pavilion’s three schemes will all fail?”
Author’s Note:
Piaoping Pavilion: Catch those escapees!
Mo Li: ?
Piaoping Pavilion: Where are they? Did they burrow underground?
