Chapter 300: North Street
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“North Street…”After Meng Qi retold Wang Siyuan’s message, Green-ribbon Arrester Dai Fei furrowed his brows pacing and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.
At this time, Slivery-badge Arrester Yu Wangyuan, the grand master of the Money Sect Sun Ke, “Five Emperors’ Knife” Qing Yu and the others all left to attend to their own errands. Only Meng Qi and Jiang Hengchuan stayed with him.
Neither of them spoke, but patiently waited for Dai Fei to say something instead.
After a moment, Dai Fei finally stopped and looked at Meng Qi and Jiang Hengchuan with a look of hope. “I’d like to ask you to help us to deal with this matter.”
“Why do you mean by that, Green-ribbon Dai?” Jiang Hengchuan replied.
“North Street lies opposite the Jing River. There’re all kinds of different people there, making it an excellent hiding place. To be honest, there’s no place that anyone could prevent us from blocking the streets to search for a top master of the Left Dao Sect or the assassins, once our Six Fan School, the Wang family and the Dajiang Gang have made up our minds.”
“That’s why there will be a master of the Exterior guarding each corner to prevent the person we’re searching for from escaping. Then the arrester and his men will search from door to door. If they’re confirmed to be innocent, they’ll be driven out of the street. That would decrease the number of people in the street, making it harder for anyone to hide.”
He first told them what methods they attached importance to, allowing Meng Qi and Jiang Hengchuan to believe that Six Fan School had not dismissed their responsibility.
Meng Qi gently nodded his head. This was the very attitude and power that represented the forces of justice.
Then Dai Fei said, “Unfortunately, North Street has been chaotic for a long time. Each sect and each school has bumped heads with one another. No one knows how many secret tunnels leading to different places there’re in their houses. If we forcibly block and search their houses, we may act rashly and alert the enemy, allowing Wolf King to run away through the underground tunnels to other streets in Maoling.”
“People in North Street are very familiar with the masters in Maoling. If I go in, I’ll surely alert them. However, you two aren’t only strangers but also have just come to Maoling. With disguised appearances, it should be easy for you to enter the street and find our undercover detectives to pick up Wolf King’s trail.”
“As soon as you find him, please send a signal. I guarantee with my official position that at least one master of the Exterior will come to your aid within the shortest time possible. Even if you’re caught in a dark raid, you’ll be able to stick it out until we arrive.”
He subtly commended them, hoping for them to agree.
Meng Qi hated Wolf King very much because he was attacked by him for no reason. After pondering it for a moment, he readily answered, “No problem!”
“I’m a man seeking revenge for the smallest grievance.”
“I’m in, too.” Jiang Hengchuan was eager to try.
“Thanks a lot. If you need our Six Fan School’s help one day, do tell us.” Cupping one hand in the other before his chest, Dai Fei cheerfully said, “I’ll ask the arrester who is adept at disguising others to help you dress up as you like.”
“Dressing up…” Meng Qi had a good idea and said, “Green-ribbon Dai, please prepare a white robe for me.”
…
Meng Qi was tidying his clothes in the room. His robe was as white as snow. He was wearing a long sword on his waist and carrying a travelling bag containing “Heaven Inflicted Pain” on his back.
Patting the clothes, Meng Qi went to the bronze mirror with a smile and examined his face.
“My smile is so brilliant, it doesn’t match this look in white…” He pinched his face.
“I better stick with 20% of the smile from the corners of my mouth.”
“It’s good for me to hide some coldness in my smile so that my look matches an indifferent swordsman…”
“My eyebrows can’t be too relaxed. Actually, I need to look more serious. Otherwise, I might look too loose…”
“No, this smile is so ridiculous. It’s not suitable for an icy swordsman of the Heavenly Fairy…”
“Of course, I can’t be too aloof either. I’m supposed to be a little casual and elegant…”
“No, no, no. How can I wear the same lifeless expression as Senior Brother Qi…”
After quite a while, Meng Qi finally opened the door.
When Green-ribbon Arrester Dai Fei and Jiang Hengchuan saw Meng Qi, their eyes grew wide for the former “Killing Blade” Su Meng who was handsome and masculine now that he had a new look; donned in snow-white, looking both romantic and cold. With a long sword at his waist, his swordsman’s aura was clear.
“Okay!” Acclaimed Dai Fei when he came back to earth. “It’s even difficult for me to recognize Brother Su, let alone those who have never met you on North Street?”
Jiang Hengchuan chose the most suitable clothes for himself, which was a combination of the natural sense of Oneness of Heaven and Men with a hint of being sun-scorched and rain-drenched. He looked like a standard farmer now. No one would believe he was the top tenth master on the Ranking List of Young Masters.
He forced a smile and said, “Master Su, if we walked together, others would think that I’m one of your attendants.”
“Old Jiang, please don’t regard yourself as my servant but as a promising attendant.” Meng Qi joked with him in a humorless tone.
Jiang Hengchuan shook his head and laughed, “Yeah, I can be your attendant so that it won’t be strange to others.”
Meng Qi took his Meridian off of his waist and held it in his hand. He walked out of the hall door coyly with a neither fast nor slow speed, and said,
“Why aren’t you keeping up with me?”
Both Jiang Hengchuan and Dai Fei were stunned for the time being. “He sure absorbed this role rather quickly!”
…
When they went to North Street, it was getting dark. There were still a lot of people in the street: Some were selling flowers, some selling chestnuts roasted with sugar, and others selling desserts. The street was as bustling as in the day.
On both sides of the street there were some old low-rise houses. A few attractive women came out to solicit some masters. They waved their red handkerchiefs or spoke in coaxing voices to seduce the men.
“Don’t underestimate them. Maybe there’re some outstanding assassins hiding inside. While you’re intoxicated with their sexy bodies, they could deliver a fatal blow.” Jiang Hengchuan was a native of River East, so he had heard something about North Street in Maoling.
Cold Meng Qi carried his long sword in white and looked straight ahead with a smile at the corners of his mouth.
“Is that so?” He said briefly.
Jiang Hengchuan pretending to his attendant said, “Yes. It’s said that the strangers whose Kung Fu is average, and don’t know how to restrain themselves, may end up naked on the side of the road the next day. Of course, their belongings will be stolen as well. If they’re ordinary, they might just end up dead in a corner.”
He looked around and glanced at the little girl who was selling flowers and the little boy playing on the street. He said in a low voice, “If necessary, they may all turn into killers in an instant, making it difficult for people to defend themselves.”
“What pleasant land of chaos.” Meng Qi said cooly.
His outstanding appearance attracted a lot of attention.
Then Meng Qi said with Secret Voice-sending, “Actually, there’s no real chaos on this busy street. As time passes by, all things will be in order after the first sign of possible rules. Assassins have their own established practices and leaders, just as these whores. If we can grasp the situation, we’ll easily find the truth.”
“Exactly.” Jiang Hengchuan said happily. “Like in some cases, if a purse is stolen, it’s useless to find an arrester, but if the right person is found, the purse will be returned to the owner in record time. And what we need to do is find the ‘right person’.”
At this time, a little girl came up with a flower basket and said “Sir, please buy a bouquet of flowers. All girls like them.”
She was eye-catching at 14 or 15 years old, trying to push through the crowd. She was about to approach them when she saw the sword wrapped in its scabbard knock into her basket, making it rattle with sounds of metal.
Her face changed, but she saw that the gentleman in white just looked ahead, as if she were not a thief or an assassin, but a girl really selling flowers.
Meng Qi sighed on the inside, feeling that there was filth in human society. If he had the chance, one day he was bound to kill the bastards who train children as inhumane assassins.
“Li Xingkong is such a ‘right person’.” He calmly recited their goal. After what had just happened just, no flower girls or traffickers selling sugar roasted chestnuts bothered them.
Li Xingkong, one of the average Controllers on North Street, was armed with a party of swordsmen and bladesmen. He protected a group of intelligence agents and secretly serviced the Six Fan School. He was the primary goal Green-ribbon Arrester Dai Fei asked them to look for.
The moonlight was dim tonight. Off the main street, the houses were covered in darkness except for a little swaying candlelight.
In the small building, Li Xiankong held a knife in one hand and covered the wound on his waist with the other. He was leaning against a pillar, bitterly looking at the few people in front of him. He said, “We’re brothers. Why have you betrayed me? Why?”
The overflow of the blood squeezed past his fingers. Apparently, he was badly wounded.
Candlelight swaying in the room cast a lot of dark shadows. It was very gruesome.
“It’s you who were unable to see things through. You should have rejected the Snake King’s bribe. What are our men seeking for at the risk of their lives? It”s countless treasure, high positions and great wealth that we are dying to obtain! But you only think of yourself and your position, never taking us into consideration. How dare you say that you’ve treated us as your brothers?”
He was in his 30s and fairly good-looking. His face flushed with trepidation. He was slightly shaking over what he had done. However, the hand holding the blade was very steady. There were still drops of blood flowing from the tip of his blade.
This was the blade that was thrust into Li Xingkong’s waist!
Hovering around the man with the blade that wounded Li Xingkong were four others. They were the men who had struggled to seize power with Li Xingkong. But at this moment, they had all betrayed him.
Though the blade wounded his body, his men’s betrayal hurt his heart. Li Xingkong grit his teeth, wanting to shout that he had managed to set up a secure route of retreat, but he suddenly turned his eyes to look out of the window.
The man who cut Li Xingkong with his blade followed his line of sight and his eyes were fixed too. He saw a handsome young man in white on the tree outside the building. His emotionless eyes were fixed on him. His romantic manner retained an aura of sternness, just like the sword in his hand; sharp, cold and straight!
Then he saw a strip of moonlight, the most beautiful moonlight he had ever seen in his life.
This was also the last time that he would see the moonlight.
The corpse had barely fallen to the ground when Meng Qi, together with Jiang Hengchuan looking like a farmer, entered the building.
“What benefit has the Snake King offered you?” He turned his sword downward, and splotches of blood merged into beads at the tip, slowly dripping onto the plank with a brilliant color.
The other four men were quite frightened, unable to make a sound.
They were famous for assassination and sneak-attacks on North Street. When they saw Meng Qi’s back in white opposite them, they made a sign to each other with their eyes and suddenly took out their blades. They each stood in different directions, making good teamwork.
With a flash of sword light, his sword stopped on one of their throats, scaring him to a full stop. At the same time, the other three men covered their throats and fell to the ground.
“Can you answer me now?” Meng Qi’s voice was indifferent and calm. He imitated the speaking style of Dominator of Samsara in the Six Realms.
He simultaneously gestured with his eyes to Jiang Hengchuan to deal with Li Xingkong’s wounds.
“I, I’ll tell you.” The only survivor was scared out of wits, and nearly had a nervous breakdown.