412 The Paradoxical Hun (2/2)

The concealed weapon in his hand was an intricately crafted into the shape of a plum blossom flower. Specks of blood tainted the weapon, the same blood that had Meng Qi and the others had been tracking.

Examining the blood marred by demonic properties, Meng Qi felt that it belonged to Old Zhong. But who could have wounded him?

Gu Xiaosang? Or the cultivators of the Luo Denomination?

”'Master Thief' Sikong Tu's weapon, the Plum Blossom Dart,” Qian Kai murmured.

'Star Breaking Sword' Hong Qian and the Exterior experts from the Huanhua Swords Sect had ventured further down the little path, trying to search for the tracks of the attacker.

'Master Thief' Sikong Tu? The name seemed to ring a bell in Meng Qi's mind. Suddenly, pieces of the puzzle began to match.

Sikong Tu, notorious for pillaging graves; his inexplicable meeting with Prince Jin and the Crown Prince who were here in Ying City; the Five Monks of the Pure Lands and Mi Zijing who had dealings with the Putrid Drunkard; Sikong Tu who had missed his appointment last night with Young Master Lotus; Wang Siyuan's hint... The pieces began to form the most probable rendition of events in Meng Qi's mind.

When Sikong Tu found the ancient tomb, he chanced upon a treasure of the previous dynasty. The treasure was rumored to have been crafted by Emperor Ai and was capable of strengthening the fortune of emperors. Being a thief, the treasure was useless to him. Thus, he reported his finding to the capital and ended up attracting the Crown Prince and Prince Jin here to fight over the treasure.

Since he was largely active in Jiangdong, this was his home ground. With so many martial artists here thanks to the Party of Happycloud, he wasn't worried about Exterior experts hunting him down and dared to make outrageous demands in exchange for the treasure. He wanted to see who among the Crown Prince and Prince Jin would make better offers. Thus he had the Putrid Drunkard be his broker in these negotiations.

Little did he knew that he had neglected a greater danger in pursuit of a small gain. The Myths had set their sights on him.

If he had merely found an artifact of mere monetary value, he could have used it for himself. He wouldn't have to draw danger to himself for no reason.

The three Exterior masters searched the vicinity while Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei examined the corpse to find what they could.

Qian Kai, Hong Qian, and the others returned a short while later, shaking their heads.

”Sikong Tu is a master of concealment. We lost track of him halfway. Looks like he has escaped. The tracks of the Myths pursuing him went dead as well,” Qian Kai explained.

In front of the Exterior masters, Meng Qi decided to wait until they were alone before telling Jiang Zhiwei about Young Master Lotus coming across Master Thief. When they returned to the city and went off on their ways, he pretended like he was returning to the Happycloud Heights. Instead, he changed his destination halfway and went straight to Young Master Lotus's residence. He planned on asking him about Master Thief.

Once he got the information he needed, he would make a confidential report to the Six Fan School. There was no need for him to continue partaking in the struggle for power between the influences in the city. Whoever the treasure ended up had nothing to do with him and he had no use for the treasure either. He might as well take the opportunity to gain some rewards from the school.

Young Master Lotus, being a lover of great wine and freedom, didn't stay in the Treasure Pavillion, operated by the Huanhua Swords Sect. Instead, he had rented a residence in an alley nearby. It was a quiet and tranquil area with hardly anyone strolling about even at noon.

Stepping on the blue stone slabs and counting the white walls around him, Meng Qi looked for the yard that Young Master Lotus had rented before suddenly stopping in his tracks.

He had heard a quiet, hushed sound!

If not for the tranquility of this neighborhood, he wouldn't have heard the noise even with his acute hearing ability.

The sound was full of suffering as if it belonged to someone who was at his deathbed.

Meng Qi frowned, deep in thought. He hesitated momentarily before he hurled himself over the wall. He entered the courtyard and tried to find the source of the sound.

This courtyard was probably owned by a merchant. Considering it was so close to the New Year festivities, there were only two aged servants keeping guard here. Meng Qi quietly slipped inside and crept to the firewood storage room near the walls.

The sound had come from this place.

He raised his sword and pushed open the door. He instantly stepped aside as he did, wary of an ambush.

The door was old and battered, creaking as it revealed the interior of the room. Meng Qi saw a man dressed in black clothes leaning against a stack of firewood. Half of him was skinny, while the other half was healthy. It was an incredibly odd sight.

However, he knew at once the man had half of his flesh and blood consumed by the Kungfu of Heaven and Demon. If the man was injured by the Ajati Finger technique, he wouldn't show changes on his face.

He swiftly closed the door and whispered, ”Sikong Tu?”

Struggling to smile, the man's voice was quiet as he said, ”I thought... I thought I'd seek refuge with Liu Su and get his help... but who knew I'd be ambushed by the wicked woman and had to escape here... The damage is done and I'll live no longer. Even the great Recovery Pill of the Shaolin temple won't help me now.”

”My friend, I'd bestow you a great reward if you promise me something.”

Sikong Tu was tenacious. He only had skin clinging to half of his face but he never stuttered even when his voice was full of agony.

Meng Qi looked upon him with grave eyes. Sunlight spilled in from the open window, bringing in rays of light that brought forth a dreamlike atmosphere.

To think the very man who had controlled the strings of fate in Ying City would end up lying in front of Meng Qi!