Verbal sparring did not rely on being in the right, just pick what others were willing to hear.
The ghost-headed saber wielder spat out blood mixed with teeth, his forehead veins throbbing.
He did not shrink back like a turtle, instead, he cursed in a muffled voice: “What kind of days did the people of Ning Tai live, and what kind of days did the people of Jiangnan live? Every winter, many refugees starved to death outside the city, Fengxing Pavilion could not save them, and how many brothers used to live like that? Whoever blocked Master Qiu’s grand undertaking was going against us brothers!”
“You!”
Mountain-Shaking Tiger looked around and saw that most people stared at him with rather unfriendly eyes, and some instinctively avoided eye contact.
Those who could be brought here by the ghost-headed saber wielder were all presumably supporters of Ning Tai’s uprising.
Not to mention them, even three days ago, Mountain-Shaking Tiger himself thought so.
Mountain-Shaking Tiger was someone who was clever in small matters but muddled in big ones, and he also knew this shortcoming of his, so he always listened to his master. Since his master sent word for them to stop, there naturally was a reason to stop. Mountain-Shaking Tiger, unlike his other fellow disciples who were still hesitating and observing, directly ran out to find someone.
Pavilion Master Qiu had given orders for people from all the branch strongholds to assist Master Meng, so Mountain-Shaking Tiger did not think there was anything wrong with his actions, and he did not even conceal his whereabouts.
In fact, there was no need to conceal them. Inside and outside the city were all Jianghu people, either gathering information or stopping disturbances, and Mountain-Shaking Tiger mingled among them without attracting attention.
In fact, before finding Mo Li, Mountain-Shaking Tiger had never thought things would go so smoothly. Thus, the question arose: even he himself was not sure if he could find the person, so why did this group of bastards arrive so promptly and even prepare the Hunyuan Arrows of the Pili Hall?
Moreover, the current battle formation and posture, no matter how one looked at it, were not just aimed at dealing with him alone.
Mountain-Shaking Tiger felt a chill in his heart.
Among his fellow disciples, perhaps someone was unwilling to let go and thus betrayed the information……
“And then?”
Mo Li suddenly spoke. The seemingly impassioned Ghost-Headed saber wielder and the inwardly chilled Mountain-Shaking Tiger both looked up in astonishment.
Mo Li flipped and played with the copper coin in his hand. His five fingers were nimble, and the coin appeared and disappeared between his palm and fingers.
Everyone watched until their teeth hurt. The ghost-headed saber wielder clutched his jaw and stepped back warily.
“You wanted to start an uprising, to rebel, then just go do it. Why did you stop this brother nicknamed Mountain-Shaking Tiger from meeting me? Could it be that the two of us, Brother Meng and I, could stop all of your Fengxing Pavilion up and down, and hold back hundreds of thousands of armored troops?”
Even a top martial arts master could not directly confront a large army. Under a rain of arrows from thousands of elite soldiers, plus the power of hundreds of cannons, no matter what kind of master, he would have to flee at the mere sight.
What Mo Li said was reasonable, and for a time, everyone looked at each other in dismay.
Those in Fengxing Pavilion were most aware of the forces in Meng Qi’s hands—he basically had none! If one did not count this mysterious Doctor Mo in front of them, Master Meng was all alone. For the past few decades, who knew in which mountain hollow he had lived in seclusion, without leaving the slightest trace.
One must know that to cultivate forces, one could not lack grain, salt, charcoal, iron, horse fodder, beans, and materials. Unless Master Meng had a utopia that could be self-sufficient, otherwise, when Fengxing Pavilion put so much effort into investigating, it would have been impossible for him to remain so well hidden. Even those mysterious Xiliang people and the assassin organization Piaoping Pavilion had left some clues!
Mountain-Shaking Tiger, reminded by Mo Li, immediately realized the truth.
The ghost-headed saber wielder was bearing a toothache and talking nonsense here, of course, not just to anger him. His words were meant for the other Fengxing Pavilion people around him.
——Locking in the crime, inciting and agitating, calming people’s hearts! Ha, the same old tricks!
Mountain-Shaking Tiger’s spirits rose. If he could not defeat them physically, could he not win an argument?
He said loudly: “Brothers, listen to me. My master, Shopkeeper Bao, was old and regarded his apprentices as sons. Would your parents at home not worry if they heard their children were going to commit treason? Shopkeeper Bao once served as a military officer under the Chu Dynasty and was an old acquaintance of Master Meng. Now that the old man instructed his apprentices to meet an old friend a few times, did that commit an unforgivable sin?”
Ghost-headed saber wielder’s expression changed drastically, just as he was about to snatch the opportunity to speak, he saw Mo Li raise his hand. The copper coin between his fingers reflected a dazzling sunlight.
Ghost-headed saber wielder shuddered at once and directly hid behind someone else.
“Haha!”
Mountain-Shaking Tiger mercilessly pointed at the other party and laughed aloud.
This cowardly and ludicrous appearance caused the Fengxing Pavilion experts who came with him to feel humiliated.
“Fellow brothers, the one who truly sowed discord was this man!” Regardless of consequences, Mountain-Shaking Tiger reversed the accusation and returned the blame onto him.
“How so?”
Finally, someone responded. The speaker was a withered old man dressed like a Daoist.
“Immortal Baiyu.” Mountain-Shaking Tiger cupped his fists towards this old Daoist and said politely, “Why was our Fengxing Pavilion established? Was it not to let Jianghu brothers earn a living and provide a reliable livelihood for the countless poor people? Whether as dock porters or cart drivers in a horse caravan, in the end they all had to support their families. The imperial court was unjust, so we rebelled against the imperial court. There was nothing more to say about that. However, Fengxing Pavilion did not belong to any single person, nor bore any particular surname. Could it be that if a certain brother could not take up arms due to family burdens, he must be branded as a traitor?”
The crowd stirred slightly, beginning to whisper among themselves.
The old Daoist heard this and sneered, his expression unpleasant as he said: “Everyone risked their lives, disregarding death, yet there were those who cherished life and feared death, becoming deserters. Was that not treachery?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd immediately fell silent, not daring to speak again.
Mountain-Shaking Tiger was a stubborn fellow. He had originally been quite willing to restore Chu, but now he developed a strong sense of resistance, and even felt that this Fengxing Pavilion elder he once respected was now repulsive.
“You were coercing—”
“What nonsense, shoot the arrows!”
The old Daoist shouted sharply, and sharp arrows rained down.
In such haste, one could not clearly see how many Hunyuan Arrows from the Pili Hall, which could not be touched or caught, were mixed in.
Standing in a narrow alleyway, with walls on both sides and no escape, Mountain-Shaking Tiger was momentarily pale-faced, for he realized that the archers were not those familiar Jianghu people who had surrounded them earlier. He had used his words to persuade some of them, thinking that if they fought again, they would surely hesitate. Then he could find a gap in the net of heaven and earth to escape.
However, this time the ones shooting arrows were another group of black-clad masked men, just like those whose bowstrings had broken and injured their hands before. They said nothing and attacked immediately.
Mo Li remained composed and unhurried. He allowed both sides to argue, certainly not just to watch the spectacle.
This brief moment was enough for him to observe the surrounding terrain and spot those hidden in the dark.
Mo Li gathered his energy, spread his sleeves, and every place he spun and stepped seemed casual, but it just happened to face three arrows shot from different directions. As he moved swiftly, he flicked his fingers gently, tapping the arrow shafts.
It was like the rapid strings of a pipa, scattering into rain as he swept them away. The arrowheads spun and collided with each other.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
A series of deafening explosions rang out in the narrow alley.
The dazzling firelight seemed to be a flame born for one person, forever able only to chase his back and footsteps. Even the exploding dust could not cling to the fluttering hems of his robes.
“Cough, cough.” Mountain-Shaking Tiger was nearly choked half to death by the smoke and dust. Then his shoulder suddenly tightened, and he was taken up to the rooftop.
He looked at Mo Li with tongue-tied amazement. The latter’s expression was calm, his hair still neat, his clothes untouched by dust, showing no sign that he had just dealt with a skyful of arrows in an instant and then turned back to take him and that rattan box out of the encirclement.
At this moment, Mo Li suddenly raised his hand and caught the last three willow-leaf throwing knives.
To isolate the poison, his palm edge was filled with inner force and energy.
The hidden weapons turned directly into powder between his fingers, rustling down.
“You, this……”
“Go!” Mo Li did not have the patience to listen to Mountain-Shaking Tiger’s stammered gratitude.
Mountain-Shaking Tiger wiped away the cold sweat, realizing that he was completely a burden. He flipped down from the eaves and fled swiftly.
When the dust settled, everyone only saw Mo Li on the rooftop. Aside from a change in his standing position, his expression and demeanor were no different than before, as if what had been shot out were not lethal arrows, but fireworks for him to admire.
“Good skills, truly worthy of……”
Daoist Baiyu paused, unable to continue his usual praise, because Mo Li had no reputation in the Jianghu.
Even if there was one, it only spread among the upper ranks of Fengxing Pavilion.
“Worthy of being a doctor?”
The sudden voice caused Daoist Baiyu’s face to change drastically.
Meng Qi patted his shoulder, yet no one present noticed how Meng Qi had appeared, nor how he reached Daoist Baiyu’s side.
Facing the weapons pointed at him in unison, Meng Qi smiled with ease and composure, while Daoist Baiyu suffered in silence.
The meridians in his shoulder and back ached unbearably, as if gnawed by venomous insects. Daoist Baiyu tried to use his inner energy to expel it, but that deadly hidden force exploded at once, causing the old Daoist to scream in pain and faint.
Everyone was astonished, thinking Meng Qi had dealt a poisonous blow to Daoist Baiyu.
Meng Qi stepped on the swords and knives thrusting at him, reached out, and grabbed a masked black-clad man who was trying to escape.
“Since you all were from Fengxing Pavilion, why still cover your faces?” Meng Qi sneered, then caught another one and tossed him into midair.
That man flailed his hands and feet, terrified and wanting to stop his upward momentum, yet his body did not obey.
Just as he was about to slam headfirst through the rooftop, Mo Li grabbed him by the collar and tore off his face covering.
Meng Qi’s movements were as swift as lightning, darting east and west, constantly seizing the masked men who fled in panic.
Then he and Mo Li tossed them back and forth, and in the blink of an eye, a row of people hung from the rooftop.
“That one was Old Third Lei.”
“Didn’t they go back already?”
The Jianghu people below discussed noisily, evidently surprised.
Meng Qi picked out a strange arrow taken from the masked man’s quiver and examined it carefully.
“Be careful, Master Meng. This was a Hunyuan Arrow from Pili Hall. Once it was shot out and collided with something, it might trigger the hidden gunpowder inside.”
The speaker approached slowly, holding a folding fan, his face stern and cold.
The people of Fengxing Pavilion were startled. Some revealed expressions of being caught in a dilemma.
“Pavilion Master.”
“Young Master……”
The noisy voices split into two categories at once, dividing the factions.
Ghost-headed saber wielder’s expression changed back and forth. Finally, as if making a decision, he gritted his teeth and stood out, saying: “Pavilion Master, Meng Qi was the former dynasty’s national advisor and bore deep hatred against the Li clan’s kin. Now that we were on the verge of action, you must not believe his instigation, lest you do something that would make your dear ones grieve and your foes rejoice!”
Feeling Qiu Jing’s cold and fierce gaze sweeping over him, Ghost-headed saber wielder could only brace himself and continue: “Moreover, had we not already received intelligence that Meng Qi also stole the tribute that the Qi Dynasty’s Jinyiwei sent to the capital, and he had formed a deadly enmity with Chunshan Sect? We Jianghu people, facing such a troublesome person who made enemies on all sides, should keep a respectful distance.”
Meng Qi turned a deaf ear to such slander and focused only on dismantling the Hunyuan Arrow.
In fact, he and Qiu Jing had left the royal palace one after the other, drawn here by the sound of explosions.
Seeing so many people troubling Mo Li, Meng Qi had refrained from letting them all taste Daoist Baiyu’s suffering, already showing consideration for Qiu Jing’s sake.
“Silence!” Qiu Jing’s face sank. She pointed unceremoniously at the row of people hanging from the eaves. “Perhaps someone should explain to me how Pili Hall’s people appeared here, and why they tried to kill on the street together with you?”
“This……”
Most of the Fengxing Pavilion people could not answer. They felt guilty toward Qiu Jing because they knew in their hearts that they stood on Master Qiu’s side, and instinctively avoided Qiu Jing’s gaze.
Although Ghost-headed saber wielder’s sophistry was unpleasant, every word spoke to their hearts.
In their view, Qiu Jing’s confrontation with Master Qiu was indeed an act that made dear ones grieve and foes rejoice.
Because in this world, for thousands of years, whether among aristocrats, commoners, or Jianghu people, everyone firmly believed that bloodline kinship was most important. Even if one’s kin committed crimes, there existed a precept of “concealing for one’s kin.” When a crime grew large enough, the law would execute three generations, no matter whether you knew of it or not. As long as you were within those three generations, you had to die.
This was truly a matter of life and death, interests shared and inseparable no matter what.
Over time, everyone had such an idea: if a person did not even protect their own blood relatives, then that person was not worth befriending at all, for he might betray you at any time, turn against you, and sell you out.
Most members of Fengxing Pavilion also viewed Meng Qi as a troublemaker who caused disturbances everywhere, someone who should have disappeared long ago but inexplicably still lingered.
Therefore, whether his words were forced or his logic flawed did not matter. As long as it spoke to what the listeners wanted to hear, it was considered reasonable and well-founded.
At the moment, if not for that row of people hanging from the eaves making them sense something amiss, the situation might not have favored Qiu Jing.
“Immortal Baiyu must know.”
“And you as well.”
Surrounded by so many scrutinizing eyes, Ghost-headed saber wielder felt his scalp tingle and said: “The people of Pili Hall came to Jiangnan for business some time ago, you all knew that.”
“But they should have left more than a month ago. Where had they been hiding during this time, and why hide?”
Fengxing Pavilion, unlike other Jianghu gangs, required a bit of brain power to reach high positions, as one had to frequently track people and dig up intelligence.
“No slightest clue inside or outside the city could escape Fengxing Pavilion’s eyes. If they hid easily, it could only be because of us.”
“Yes, to fake their departure and fabricate their journey northwards, what was the intention?”
Ghost-headed saber wielder retreated a step in embarrassment, and directly pushed the matter onto the unconscious old Daoist: “Fellow brothers, these people were brought by Immortal Baiyu, claiming to be a special force that could restrain martial experts. I also heard that the master and apprentice of Mountain-Shaking Tiger harbored ill intentions and secretly contacted Meng Qi. Only then did I acquiesce to their presence.”
By now, Meng Qi held a pile of dismantled components in his hands.
The arrow’s structure was inherently simple. If it were too heavy, it could not fly well and would lose accuracy.
Therefore, even if it exploded, its power was limited, unless, like earlier, a skyful of arrows was launched, using sheer quantity to prevail.
“The mechanism of this arrow was truly exquisite, what a pity.” Meng Qi gestured toward Mo Li watching from the rooftop and smiled. “If someone else were to use this thing, they might injure themselves. If I am not mistaken, Pili Hall rarely sold such arrows.”
Qiu Jing nodded, and said sternly: “If Pili Hall intended to help, Fengxing Pavilion would naturally treat them as honored guests. Why act so furtively, afraid to be seen?”
Those hanging on the eaves had their acupoints sealed and could not speak even if they wanted to argue.
“Seize Immortal Baiyu, and them as well.”
Qiu Jing decisively pointed to those who had been happily jumping around with Ghost-headed saber wielder.
The Fengxing Pavilion people, not understanding the full story, hesitated, until they heard Qiu Jing say: “You saw the urgent messengers entering the palace and leaving the city, right? Although the news had not yet reached the Pavilion, I can tell you directly that the Tianshou King had already taken the entire Yizhou. Cheng Jingchuan at the Ministry of War received accurate information that Xuanchuan Pass was collapsed by some unknown heavenly thunder-fire, causing countless deaths and injuries among the defending soldiers. In the whole world, the one capable of such a feat, originating from Yizhou, Pili Hall, cannot escape suspicion. Take them down first!”
