Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Lyu Jian made a clear speech. He first told everything he knew briefly in order to avoid puzzling the listeners.

He saw the young master in a blue robe slowly turn to face him. He was in a laudable tolerant spirit beyond description. His hands were still crossed behind his back, hidden in his own shadow. Except for their slenderness, he could not find the same jade-like feeling now as if it that had only been his hallucination then.

“What did he say?” Meng Qi’s voice sounded mellow.

Over this period of time, Lyu Jian had thought of this matter time and time again. He immediately answered without a second thought, “Jin Li’s arrival at Wen An gave me a pleasant surprise. Since I took over my family business, they have seldom visited me for they were busy adventuring here and there. Actually, I have not seen them for a long time, nor have I heard from them owing to their nomadic life.”

“That day, I entertained him at my private banquet. When we were nearly drunk, he sighed and said, ‘When we live in the world, death does not matter as much, because family members mourn the death while others sing for the passing. Even close relatives and friends will gradually become numb and adapt to the reality, unfettering their mind from grief as time passes by. However, the most awful thing is that they cannot confirm whether he is alive or dead, for they can not find him or his corpse. What they can do is to put up with endless worry day and night. They will look for clues here and there in a lasting feeling of sorrow, anxiety and expectation without happiness.'”

“At that time, I thought what he said was based on his views from his Jianghu adventures, so I did not think much of it. Unfortunately, he really disappeared or has died.”

“That is to say, Jin Li had not been killed by accident but disappeared due to some designed conspiracy. Before he came to Wen An, he had had an ominous presence…If so, could he have left some clues on purpose? If there were no clues, what was the cause…” Meng Qi listened carefully. His robe was gently flapping in the cold wind, forming a steady and lofty image. He asked, “Had you asked him why he came to Wen An?”

Lyu Jian sighed, “Certainly, I did. However, he just told me that he had something to deal with in Wen An and dropped by as I’m one of his best friends. At that time, I did not suspect anything as I did not think that he would deceive me over such a matter, so I completely believed him. I only asked him what was the going on here, but he gave me an ambiguous answer. He said the thing was not important and asked me not to worry about him. Then he changed the subject.”

“This matter must have been very important to Jin Li but he did not want others to know about it…” Meng Qi nodded thoughtfully, “Did you pay attention to Jin Li’s mood at that time? Was he full of worry, self-satisfied or hesitant?”

“If he had looked strange, I would have noticed it.” Lyu Jian said with a bitter smile. He added, “When it comes to something different from before, only this point needs to be mentioned. Jin Li is a silent man, who never cares about rumors and devotes himself to improving his Kung Fu, but that day he unexpectedly mentioned some famous romantic couples in Jianghu with admiration. Thus, I laughed at him and said that he had begun to love women with his increase in knowledge.”

Anybody would act the same as Lyu Jian if they were close friends in such a case.

“Had he had a dispute with someone? Then what was it that had entangled him in such a situation where we do not know whether he is alive?” The water behind Meng Qi was running slowly. Since it was drying, there were lots of huge stones at the bottom of the river appearing in the shimmering waves.

“Or has he fallen in love with a woman he should not love and been trapped in unnecessary trouble?”

“Maybe the disappearance of Jin Li has something to do with love affairs. Could you please investigate whether there is anything like this case in Wen An City after Brother Lyu’s disappearance?”

When he heard Meng Qi called him Brother Lyu, Lyu Jian was a little surprised. He carefully looked at this young master in a blue robe and found it was difficult for him to tell how old Meng Qi was. He looked antique with a peculiar charm and had a mature temperament like a master, famous for many years, but there was no sign of life’s changes on his face, making him appear quite young.

“I’d do anything for Jin Li.” As one of the Turf Lords, it was much more convenient for Lyu Jian to search for such a thing. “Oh, May I have your name? How can I inform you of the result?”

“That’s easy. Place some fireworks in front of your gate, and I’ll come over to see you.” Meng Qi acted as a mysterious master.

After he finished talking, he took a step back and stood near the forest on the bank. He watched the running water, indicating that Lyu Jian could leave now.

Lyu Jian did not ask more since he knew the queer temper of a master. They did not like others to ask them about details. So, he let Lyu Huo and the others come back and then walked to the stone bridge.

Crossing the bridge, he turned around, only to find that the young master in blue had disappeared, but he had not sensed anything!

“How strange it is that the Jin Family should send such a master to find him? Ha, before Jin Li’s disappearance , he wanted to be looked up to but was never satisfied. Only after he opened the nine apertures, did he manage to get the expected respect and slowly reach his long-cherished goals. The god of destiny really makes fools of people! After his disappearance, the Jin Family thinks so highly of him…” Lyu Jian sighed with emotion inside.

…

There were bare trees and fallen leaves on the ground in the forest near the bank. Taking only a few steps, Meng Qi came to the back of a big tree. There was a bookcase covered with a green cloth, in which Heaven Inflicted Pain was hidden.

His Flowing Fire was forged by dragon scales which was as lithe as a soft sword. Meng Qi bought a scabbard to match it and tied it to his waist, but Heaven Inflicted Pain was different. He could not deal with it like the Flowing Fire. He had to carry it on his back or hide it in the bookcase or in a big parcel. Otherwise, it would be easily recognized due to its obvious characteristics, ruining his disguised appearance.

In order to keep a mysterious master’s image, he thought it was not appropriate to carry a bookcase on his back to see Lyu Jian. Therefore, he had hidden it in the forest within his mental scope. He proudly stood there with his hands behind his back, in harmony with heaven and earth.

Carrying the bookcase on his back, he operated Eight Nine Mysteries and his temperament changed at once. Though he was dressed like a Confucian scholar, he was quite different from what he looked like before. Now he was romantic yet bookish while he had been mature and learned before. He strode towards the outside of the forest.

It was late at night. Meng Qi directly went to the only mass grave in Wen An and took out a crimson bead.

This bead was made by Yun Zhongzi. He had used the blood lineage of the Jin Family as bait since it could create unnatural symptoms in corpses of the same blood lineage within a radius of 300 miles. He could not come here, so he deposited these three beads and the details in The Immortals.

Meng Qi wanted to see whether there was a corpse for Jin Li in this mass grave with the help of this wonderful bead. After all, if he had been murdered, this was the most suitable place for hiding his corpse. Generally, the hidden corpses were under flourishing bushes, and many were casually buried in shallow holes, smelling terrible by themselves. Nobody would investigate them for no good reason.

Holding his breath, Meng Qi crushed the blood bead and a red light immediately spread around, dying the mass grave a layer of bright red, which looked even more bloody and terrible.

Suddenly, there was a red light flashing in the distance, as if someone were setting off fireworks.

Could it be that the corpse of Jin Li was really here? Meng Qi was slightly shocked, since he never expected that he would find it so easily.

As he moved, he seemed to be free from the dirt under his feet. He rushed to the place where the red light shot up, skimming over the long grass irrigated by flesh and blood on his way.

The vegetation was particularly lush here. Obviously there were some corpses buried underneath. Meng Qi waved his right palm, making the vegetation flying away, and pushed away the dirt.

The surface of the soil was very shallow. After only one palm, Meng Qi easily saw the dead body below. It had already turned into white bones. There was no piece of rotten cloth on his body, and his bones were not all there. Only a few of them were left.

The white bones stained with dirt were giving out a layer of bloody light, indicating the identity of the owner.

At first sight, he could not find any clues from the shallow pit and the white bones. It seemed that he needed a top exorcist to help him, but Jin Li had been dead for a couple of years. His soul and spirit must have disappeared, so it was no use asking an exorcist for help.

“Come out.” Meng Qi suddenly said. His voice spread very far in such a dark and quiet environment, where only dog barking could be heard.

“Plop!” A figure rolled out from the back of a pagoda tree. He was in rags with a broken felt cap on his head. His stench assaulted Meng Qi’s nostrils. He was a beggar who lived on the items found from the corpse here.

“Great, Great Master, please spare me. When I saw the red light shining here, I came over to find out what happened.” The beggar hurriedly explained.

His face was dark and full of dirt. It was difficult to tell how old he was, but he was at least more than forty years without even a little Kung Fu judging from his body and voice.

Meng Qi, who had cultivated Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth, was very sensitive to the spiritual state of others, especially when the opponent’s strength was far inferior to his and he could directly spy on the opponent’s soul.

He perceived the strange emotion of the beggar and asked in a heavy voice, “Why do you ask me to spare you before I say anything? Is this related to you or have you done some shameful things?”

“Don’t Jianghu heroes like you hate others spying on them very much? That’s why I asked you to spare me,” the beggar explained.

Meng Qi snorted coldly, “Well, I hate being cheated much more.”

Meng Qi’s sharp eyes pierced the beggar’s, making a shock of terror go through his body. He abruptly knelt down and begged, “Great Master, do spare me! I have not done any bad deeds. I happen to know how this corpse ended up here, so I rashly rushed over after seeing the red light.”

“Do you really know how this happened?” Meng Qi frowned.

The beggar answered fast, “Yes, every day, I roam on this mass grave to look for some valuable items in exchange for clothes and food. Hence, whenever any new corpse arrives here, I’ll go and see it unless that the person is a top master who can bury the corpse without a trace.”

“That night, I was so hungry that I intended to hunt a stray dog to feed myself. Just then, I found two servants of the Chen Family quietly carrying a corpse up, hurriedly dig a pit to bury it and leave in a rush. Since then, this corpse has been bitten by stray dogs, leaving only a few bones now.”

“The Chen Family?” Meng Qi asked in a calm voice.

The beggar immediately answered, “Chen Changgeng, Master Chen’s family.”

“How could it be them…” Meng Qi was confused, “Chen Changgeng is a famous figure nearby. He is more like a landlord than a Jianghu hero. In their family, the top master’s Kung Fu is below the level of nine apertures, so how could they wipe out Jin Li, who had had a premonition of this catastrophe.”

…

At the Chen Family.

Chen Changgeng was humming a song, followed by his close guard as he headed to his most beloved concubine’s room.

Upon pushing the door open, he was immediately taken aback, because he saw a mysterious man in a monk robe with a mask sitting at the table.

His mask was a common one of the “Heavenly Primogenitor”. He was staring at Chen Changgeng with deep sharp eyes.