546 The Howling Lunar Hound (1/2)

Yellow dust lifted into the air, circling the weather-beaten rocks as they rose. Yan Wuwo reserved his doubt and skepticism of the woman's identity despite her outpouring anguish. Channeling his powers, his blood-shot eyes surveyed Qu Jiuniang as he conjured some spells to study her carefully, making sure that the Qu Jiuniang before them was not an impostor. The latter was stricken with grief and sadness even though she was consoled by her present safety at her comrades' rescue. Silently she submitted to Yan Wuwo's examination.

In truth, Meng Qi was quite certain that the Qu Jiuniang before them was her true self. The truth behind the Blessing-endowed Heavenly Official's disguise has been inadvertently discovered, a truth that he would not have secured without his encounter with Qi Yanzheng in Luoyang the year before. Qi Yanzheng's mysterious technique, that he had learned during his pilgrimages, have supplied him with the means of identifying the imposter!

This meant that the members of The Myths would not have any knowledge of this. It was, for all purposes, impossible that The Myths could have foreseen this incident and have devised such a scheme.

Yan Wuwo's eyes reverted back to their normal form after a few moments of examining his quarry. He quietly asked, ”Jiuniang, how did you end up in the clutches of The Myths?”

Qu Jiuniang woke to her senses with a start. Embers of burning anger glowed in her eyes. With renewed strength fueled by her rage, she seemed revitalized. ”It was not The Myths,” she glowered, ”I have never seen their members with such techniques and skills. Or not. It might have been techniques and skills of their true self, I know not of it. I was taken when I least expected it. It happened so fast. When I woke up, I found my Space Ring stolen from me. Accursed bastards, the band of them!”

Anger flared from her nostrils as she cursed and cursed with endless profanities. Her colorful swearing remarks hemmed her fragmented account of her experience. Meng Qi beheld her with silence, understanding that no one should further upset an already irate lady.

Yan Wuwo's brows frowned as he continued, ”How did they do it? Have you any recollections of appearances? Any traces of their breaths and aura?”

Qu Jiuniang paused as she breathed deeply. Her chest rose and fell in rhythm to her seething rage. ”No,” she said. ”I was closing my shop, getting ready to retire for the day when a hand with a great golden glow suddenly swung at me.”

”The strike had been swift, so fast that I could barely react to it. My artifact had hardly activated when I was hit and incapacitated. In a nauseous delirium, where I was unable to feel anything, I regained consciousness. I then saw the Crape Myrtle Star and realized that my Space Ring was stolen. It must be those wretched thieves!”

Once again, her tale had revolved back to the very point of her gravest concern: her Space Ring. This was her greatest loss and regret and had her flaring into a rage once more.

Qu Jiuniang's Space Ring might not have contained the entirety of her possessions and wealth. As a Samsara traveler though, she carried within it her artifacts, talismans, elixirs, and exotic resources and minerals that would perpetually answer to her need immediately. The loss of her Space Ring implied that most of her wealth and possessions were forfeited.

”To use only one blow to subdue her, rendering all artifacts useless. It was either a most extraordinary technique, or the assailant was far overpowered for your level.” Yan Wuwo deduced aloud, running through his calculations and his reasoning with unusual verbosity. ”One could only think of the Heaven Sovereign, the Goddess Houtu, the Divine Deity of the Polaris, or the Crape Myrtle Star. These are the four that could possibly best you in sheer strength and power. I couldn't tell if it was an extraordinary skill or technique...”

Meng Qi's Tri-gem Wish Fist would be one of the techniques which were extraordinary by definition. The channeling and concentration of the aura of the Five Virtues held mysticisms that allowed the strokes of the martial discipline to be essentially ”unblockable”. Common artifacts and defensive measures would amount to nothing before its mystics. The techniques of the Tri-gem Wish Fist would be of immense potency and hold devastating effect if its command were to be refined to the levels of the Dharmakaya.

Additionally, Meng Qi held suspicions that the Ruyi Scepter of the Heavenly Primogenitor, which had killed the Ladies of the Three Stars in the Apotheosized dimension, was also forged under the very same basis. The discipline of his Tri-gem Wish Fists might have been devised and created in a similar fashion.

With such unusual means, Yan Wuwo could hardly be certain that of the members of The Myths, only the four which he had already mentioned could be held responsible for Qu Jiuniang's abduction. Even Meng Qi, who has barely stepped across the First Celestial Ladder, had succeeded in subduing Zhou Qiushan, the Blessing-endowed Heavenly Official of The Myths!

Once again, Yan Wuwo turned to Qu Jiuniang. ”Jiuniang,” he asked her, ”do you remember any of the characteristics of the hand that dealt the blow? Or anything else in regards to that technique?”

The hatred that Qu Jiuniang had reserved for the person who had attacked her and had taken her Space Ring was evident. She intently pondered as she tried to search her memory for any viable indications to the identity of her assailant. ”It was only an ordinary hand,” she said, ”White and fair. The joints of the hands are distinct. Five fingers, all normal, none too thin or thick...”

Sadness poured deeply into her as she continued her accounts of her mishap. It seemed that she was indeed taken in the whisk of a gale without hardly a trace left by the perpetrators.

”The Master Primogenitor himself might know of the technique used...” Yan Wuwo surmised, invoking their leader, the Primogenitor Lingbao. ”Jiuniang,” he continued, ”What was stored in your Space Ring? Are there any items that could have implicated The Immortals? Any items related to your tasks?”

”There is one. I will send word to everyone involved to have them all withdraw from the task. An ambush by The Myths might await.” replied Qu Jiuniang while she wistfully, longed for her lost possessions in the stolen Space Ring!

A long-time veteran of the Jianghu, Yan Wuwo's appearance might have resembled a dead corpse, though he was not discompassionate. He avoided a further remark on the issue, steering the subject elsewhere. ”What are your plans for now?” he asked, ”I plan to first head for the Bosten Lake. I will venture near the Gobi Desert and try to free Chun Yangzi.

”Plans?” uttered Qu Juniang sadly. ”My Space Ring is lost along with the rest of my artifacts, my stores of elixirs, my collections of exotic minerals and produce along with my wealth and riches! My inn can never be continued again. What plans can I possibly have?”

Her head hung over her shoulders heavy with sullen anguish, dejection, and grief.

Yan Wuwo and Meng Qi shared a thoughtful look. ”Master Yan,” said Meng Qi hastily, ”I plan to hunt for the deviant monks of the Merriment Temple. We might abduct one of them and torture him for secrets of the Prayer Beads of the Twelve Signs of Correlation.”

”The Merriment Temple? The perverted monks?” Qu Jiuniang's head raised with a start, her eyes burned with rekindled flames of vigor as if a glow of sanctity had burned within her. ”The Heaven's Judgement should have been visited upon these perverted monks!” she exclaimed quickly, ”I shall come with you to help, Su Meng!”

With equal swiftness, she dove beside Meng Qi and whispered, ”The monks must have riches and valuables in their possession. Let's divide the spoils of our lootings between us then? Six-four? I'll have six and you'll have four. How does it sound?”

”She has once again found her purpose in life.” thought Meng Qi, oddly.

Meng Qi could see that Qu Jiuniang was once again clouded by her usual greed for wealth and riches. In an attempt to be reasonable, he agreed to her proposition, ”Very well!”

Qu Jiuniang broke into a wide grin. Delighted and jubilant, she said, ”Let us first return to the Azure Heaven. I shall first report the incident to the Master Primogenitor. I shall borrow some Karma points as well. Added to the current surplus I have, I shall first redeem for some magical artifacts. One does not go into battle unarmed!”

”Is that even possible?” Meng Qi asked in surprise.

”Why not? One must honor their promise and return the amount in a prompt amount of time. The longest allowance is a year. Before the deadline of one year, the debtor will need to pay the amount of interest agreed upon. The interest will stack and continually increase after a year until you are executed...” said Qu Jiuniang. The reference to her former wealth once again brought grief to her.

Meng Qi nodded his acknowledgment. ”This could be an avenue for urgent use in the future.”

Meng Qi hesitated. ”Jiuniang,” he said to her, ”You will first return to the Azure Heaven. I have to first visit the Bosten Lake. We shall meet here tomorrow at the same time.”

Meng Qi had decided to seek Jiang Zhiwei. He wished to hand a Reincarnation Talisman to Jiang Zhiwei in return for the Plenitude Gate. He would need the assistance of Immortal Yunhe as a hidden card up his sleeve in his oncoming skirmish against the monks of the Merriment Temple!

One does not go to a fight unprepared!

Qu Juniang gave no sign of a dispute. She turned to leave when Meng Qi called to her. He handed her a bulk of spoils that he had gathered, shining and gleaming with great value and expense.

”How... how Did you gather so much?” stammered Qu Jiuniang, her eyes fixed upon the Divine Sun Stone hovering before Meng Qi.

”Good fortune,” Meng Qi replied with a smile, ”I would like to ask you to help me bring these back to the Azure Palace. Please display this list in the Immortal-tracking Alley. These items are for sale at eight-tenths of the prices of the Dominator of the Six Samsara Realm's.”

Meng Qi produced a piece of paper from his robes. A list of the items that both the Plenitude Sect and the Darkness Palace had furnished him and Jiang Zhiwei with. They had then both divided the items amongst themselves to sell them.

Meng Qi quietly looked within the Space Ring which he had looted from the Blessing-endowed Heaven Official. There were three exotic ores and minerals, none of which would be of any use to him. In the ring, he had also found a purple-colored pearl and a purple-colored dagger. Without knowing much about the items, he stowed them away. He would need to find out more about these items later, or he could just identify the items once he had returned to the hideout of The Immortals.

Yan Wuwo eyed him and spoke in a flat tone, ”There are members of my order who might have needs for the items you have here. I will exchange for some items that you need from the Dominator. Let us trade when this affair is concluded.”

”Very good!” replied Meng Qi delightedly. The completion of his first deal left him in an immensely good mood that he barely has any intention of profiteering further from the deal.