Chapter 267: This Is A Public Place
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Such an action succeeded in making Yao Xingliu and Li Chong forget that the thing outside was a zombie. Much of their fear went away, leaving them with faces twitching in shock.
What the hell was “nope”?
“Thud, thud, thud!” There came the knocking sounds again. However, they were not as hurried as before. Instead, they were slow and calm, seemingly very polite.
“Who is it?” Meng Qi lazily drawled.
Heh, trying to scare me just now? It’s not like I’ve never seen a zombie before!
“I’m the zombie herder.” A low, raspy sounding voice came from outside.
Whew! Youth Yao and Old Li finally heaved a sigh of relief. So it was actually someone responsible for driving the zombies away and not an actual evil zombie!
After sighing, Yao Xingliu seemed to remember something. His face suddenly turned red as he looked up at the dark night sky. “Could it be that some people are always so careless? When faced with an unexpected scenario they casually open the door instead of hiding? How brainless indeed, fools who only know how to drink.”
Meng Qi giggled a bit at Youth Yao’s facade, but said nothing more. He looked at the door and replied, “That’s about right. If you want to come in then you should be honest about your identity.”
He pulled open the door again. Outside stood three figures. At the front was a young man who looked around 20 years old. However, his skin was dark and his face dry and skinny, although he did have decent-looking features. He appeared dark and scary, shrouded in black robes and carrying a rod used to herd zombies. A pointy black hat rested on his head and a black string was tied around his waist. From the other end of the black string hung a Banshan seal.
“A master…” Meng Qi could make a clear judgment.
Although this man had no Protective Upstanding Qi and had yet to open nine acupores, Meng Qi’s “Immortal Pressing Art” could not identify any traces of his genuine Qi flow. It was as if the man were a withered tree or a corpse himself, hiding everything deep within his body.
On the young man’s right was the zombie they had seen just now. Its tongue hung out of its mouth until its throat and it moved around with hops and skips. It did not seem threatening at all. Meng Qi gauged that it was on an ordinary Four Acupores level. As long as they remained unfazed and unyielding, they could get rid of it.
On the young man’s left was a middle-aged man. His face was ashen and his breath seemed weak, like he was part human and part ghost. Yet he stood there like half an iron tower, tall and strong. There was a stern air about him and he did not move at all, which made him appear admirable.
According to Meng Qi’s sensing, he was even more dangerous than the young man. Perhaps he had even opened the Hidden Latch of Life and Death already!
Since they had come to them, Meng Qi would not run away. He maintained his composure and said, “Come on in. Don’t walk about and don’t scare the little kid or the old man.”
“You!” Youth Yao was so pissed that he ground his teeth. However, as one of the Seven Disciples of Zhen Wu, he could also tell that these men had extraordinary strength. Hence he decided against arguing with Meng Qi and quietly drew his Yin-Yang Swords.
The zombie herder solemnly nodded and followed at Meng Qi’s side. He sat down by the fire while the middle-aged man and the zombie stood next to him. They did not seem to be afraid of the fire as supernatural beings usually were.
“Is he actually alive or dead…” Meng Qi casually squatted by the fire as well and continued keeping it burning. He could not help but think about it. How could it be that with his strength, he could not tell if the middle-aged man was dead or alive!
However, he did have many tricks up his sleeve, so he was not afraid.
The one responsible for driving the zombies sized the group up. His gaze lingered on Yao Xingliu for a while longer, whereas he merely glanced at Meng Qi and Li Chong who were using the Eight Nine Mysteries to conceal their level of cultivation. It seemed as though he paid no attention to them because they simply were not worth his time.
Apart from Meng Qi leisurely grilling his mantou, everyone else was silent. After a few moments, the zombie herder looked up at Yao Xingliu and was waiting to speak, when he suddenly turned to look at the wall. In a low and hoarse voice, he said, “Who’s there?”
Meng Qi looked up from his piping hot mantou and turned in the same direction, a small smile hidden on his lips. The zombie herder was still slower than him by a breath.
“I’m terrified of ghosts and supernatural beings the most so I dare not see them. Hence I decided to hide.” A feminine giggling sound could be heard as a lady dressed in red walked out from the corner.
She seemed very refined, like the young lady of a powerful family or the young wife from an aristocratic family. Her red robes, skirt and shoes made her resemble a blazing torch that illuminated everyone’s hearts. It was none other than the “Pink and Mellow Hand” Xiao Yue!
“So it’s head keeper Xiao. What’s your business here so late at night?” Her appearance was a matter of course for Meng Qi, who looked like everything was within his expectations.
Xiao Yue’s lips pressed together into a smile. “What ‘head keeper’? You make me sound like a bandit. Arrester Little Su, you should call me Lady Xiao instead.”
“Bandit? Bandits aren’t as ruthless as you!” Meng Qi criticized inwardly.
Xiao Yue had remembered his name from when Zheng Jushan had instructed Meng Qi and Li Chong to guard the place.
Xiao Yue paused for a moment, then continued. “I saw Xingliu hurry out of the city overnight. I was worried that he had run into trouble and so I followed after him.”
She called him in such an intimate manner that Yao Xingliu’s eyebrows jumped, as if he was about to go nuts.
“As if I’ll believe that… I’d say you probably intentionally revealed the information to Yao Xingliu to use him to find the way here…” Meng Qi kept his muttering to himself and his expression unchanged. With a cheery smile, he responded, “The night is cold and dark. Lady Xiao, you should enjoy the fire for a while before you leave.”
I do want to see what kind of tricks you’ll be pulling!
“How sweet of you, arrester Little Su. Oh, with those features of yours and that smile, you’d get swallowed alive by the ladies in my tower.” Meng Qi’s words were exactly what Xiao Yue wanted to hear. However, her gaze was not on Meng Qi. She was guardedly sizing the zombie herder and Yao Xingliu up.
Xiao Yue was in charge of 80 percent of Yangxia’s brothels.
Ever since Xiao Yue’s arrival, most of the zombie herder’s attention had been focussed on her. It was not because he was tempted by her beauty, but rather she seemed to be the most powerful one out of them, with her genuine Qi being projected outwards to protect herself.
After sitting down, Xiao Yue did not even look at Meng Qi again. She put on an act of warming up by the fire, stretching out her long fingers and showing off her fair, delicate skin. She exuded an indescribable type of charm.
Seeing the zombie herder remain unmoved, she coughed and appeared to speak to the emptiness before her. “I wonder what you might be looking for?”
“Someone,” came his raspy reply. The zombie herder did not raise his head.
“Old Zhong and I have quite the history together. I left some things here with him for too long. I wonder if took them away.” Xiao Yue vaguely rambled.
Yao Xingliu narrowed his eyes. He was not stupid– he knew that he had been used as a pawn by Xiao Yue to find her way there.
“I’m going to kill him and take something back. I wonder if it’s the same thing you’re looking for.” The zombie herder tightened his grip on his rod.
The tension between the two of them escalated. Only a small amount of their attention was placed on Yao Xingliu, the majority of it was on each other.
Li Chong was chanting Amitabha in a small voice and asking for divine protection. He was an experienced arrester and could easily identify the turbulent undercurrents. He was alarmed and afraid, desperately praying that he would not get caught up in the mess.
The zombie herder slowly got to his feet. Xiao Yue did the same. Their gazes collided and there almost seemed to be sparks flying.
“Cough.” A sudden cough broke the silence. The duo looked in the direction of the sound from the corner of their eyes, only to realize it was Meng Qi, with his handsome features and clean smile. Meng Qi casually stood up.
“Some things need to be stated upfront first. This is where the crime occurred, and it was a serious matter at that. It is under the jurisdiction of us Six Fan School and is considered a public place. No matter what you want to do, you first have to seek permission from me before you can proceed. For example, if you want to fight, you can’t damage the crime scene or the corpses.” Meng Qi wore an expression of impartiality. Since he was an arrester, he had to act like one!
Li Chong’s mouth fell open and he forgot to close it. “Could arrester Little Su not tell that those two were both vicious characters?”
To think he still dared to assume the position of an arrester before them!
The zombie herder and Xiao Yue appeared dazed for a moment, and the dangerous air around them dispersed. They both stared at Meng Qi, taken aback that he had so much nonsense to spew. “Did he really think that just by waving the name of Six Fan School around, they would not dare to attack?”
Yao Xingliu pretended not to know Meng Qi. He directly turned his head to the side. He was confident in “arrester Little Su’s” strength, but such pretentious acting was really asking for a beating!
Xiao Yue held back her smile. Two dirks slid out from each of her sleeves. “Arrester Little Su, what if I want to spar with you?”
The hilts of her dirks had silk ribbons that connected them to her hands.
Li Chong snapped out of his trance and was about to grab arrester Little Su with an apologetic smile. However, arrester Little Su stepped into the middle of the compound instead. He unsheathed his Long Sword, which appeared to have black and white faintly swirling on it. “Then let’s duel here in the middle of the compound.”
“Oh? Now you’re not afraid of damaging the scene or the corpses?” As soon as she finished her sentence, there was a flash of ribbons in the air. Two dirks were aimed straight at Meng Qi.
However, most of her attention was still on the zombie herder. She gently projected some of her genuine Qi outwards and wrapped her dirks in it. Meng Qi was not a master anyway, so it would be impossible for him to break through her Upstanding Qi!
Yao Xingliu sighed, but it was unclear what he was sighing about.
Meng Qi drove his Long Sword forward in an ordinary manner.
There was a gentle cracking sound as Meng Qi’s sword directly pierced through the Upstanding Qi Xiao Yue had wrapped her dirks in!
The Long Sword reflected a blinding light that seemed like it was about to snip the ribbon in half.
Xiao Yue was caught completely off-guard. Her expression drastically changed and her chest that had been puffed up with confidence now trembled. She performed graceful variations in Body Movements and with a lift, had her dirks in the air again. They moved rhythmically to block Meng Qi’s Long Sword.
Meng Qi’s Long Sword was mid-course when it suddenly changed direction. It slipped between the dirks and flew towards Xiao Yue’s chest.
Xiao Yue was unable to change her moves quickly enough. She could only take a step back and reassume a defensive position.
Li Chong was dumbfounded. “Arrester Little Su could actually force Lady Xiao back?”
“That was unrealistic!”
Was he hallucinating from being possessed by a zombie?
Whereas Meng Qi’s Long Sword had not stopped its assault. It turned towards the silk ribbons once again.
With much effort, Xiao Yue took another step back and lifted her dirks again. The silk ribbons shook and the dirks shone like the night lights of Jiang Hai. It was astoundingly beautiful.
However, she had not expected the grinning arrester Little Su to follow suit and vary his moves as well. He coordinated with her with an unusual tacitness, as if he were moving his own wrists towards the tip of the blades.
Hatred towards Meng Qi surged within her. If she had not been so wary of the zombie herder at the start and been careless, she would not have fallen into such a state!
Her “Array-breaking Sword Dance” had quite the reputation in Yangxia. It had always been slow and graceful– it could kil, yet never lost its elegance. However, presently her dirks could not even fully extend their reach. They moved like puppets on a string, unusually awkward.
Xiao Yue had a killer move, but once she used it, there would be no way out for her. On top of that, she felt that arrester Little Su harbored no killing intent towards her, and thus could not muster her own killing intent.
After taking another step back, Xiao Yue suddenly slipped. She directly fell to the floor, but had fallen all the way to the edge of the stairs.
Her genuine Qi split into two and violently clashed with each other. The force of the eruption caused her to rebound, but the Long Sword hung above the crown of her head. If she leaped up, she would definitely die!
Xiao Yue had no choice but to use the Thousand Pounds Falling to anchor herself to the ground, saving herself from the blade.
She was about to strike again when she suddenly stopped. That was because she realized that bright flames were swaying behind her, emitting a familiar warmth. She was sitting right where she had been since just now, not an inch off from it!
Not a single inch!
“That’s more like it, sitting properly.” Meng Qi gave a half-smile as he sheathed his sword. He continued, “If you’re dueling with me, you don’t have to worry about damaging the scene or the corpses.”
This response, however, was answering her previous question.