Chapter 483: Chief Arrester
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Ruan Yushu froze. Unlike questions about Luoyang cuisine, she could not answer these kinds of questions as fluidly.
After thinking for a moment, she had a slight frown. Still pondering, she answered, “According to my grandfather, there are now two Half-step Dharmakaya masters in the Zhao family from Luoyang: Zhao Wuyan and Jingshi. Zhao Wuyan was born several generations ago and is over 180 years old. If he hadn’t lengthened his lifespan when he was young, he probably would have died long ago. Jingshi, the youngest uncle of our emperor, is just 80 years old, 50 years older than Evil Master and Mad Prince. He was truly somebody before.”
“It’s a shame that in his prime he was defeated by the much stronger Evil Master. That failure cast a shadow on him. So, he chose to guard the Imperial Mausoleum for 30 years. That is, until recent years. He finally rid himself of that shadow and reached the Half-step Dharmakaya level.”
“In terms of the fight power among aristocratic families, aside from the Cui family from Pinjin and the Gao family of Changle, Luoyang’s Zhao family was nearly on par with the profound Wang family of River East…” Meng Qi praised in his heart. “Are they in Luoyang now?”
The reason Meng Qi put the Gao family from Changle in first place was that he thought his own “sworn senior brother” Gao Lan, formerly known as Mad Prince, had secretly condensed Dharmakaya!
“At least one of them is in Luoyang. The Eight Extremity Samsara Beast, Zhao Jingshi, might still sit in meditation in the Imperial Mausoleum consummating his soul.” Ruan Yushu was favored by the seniors, so she knew a lot of secret information. “There are too many masters in the imperial family. I couldn’t possibly know about each and every one of them. Well, two out of Eight Distinguished Super Arresters are disciples of the Zhao family…”
She told them all she knew in detail in a calm, melodious voice.
Meng Qi listened to her while thinking about which master of the imperial family wanted the throne, and tried to make use of the chaos. However, he could not figure that out because there were too many possibilities.
When he was about to drop the matter and bid them farewell, he suddenly frowned.
“Anything wrong?” Ruan Yushu’s eyebrows moved slightly.
Meng Qi sucked in his breath. “I originally thought it was reasonable, but now I think it’s really weird. Primogenitor Guangcheng was much stronger than Changqing. Even though he was much too righteous and kind to kill, it would have been easy for him to knock out Changqing before he even noticed. How could Changqing see Primogenitor Guangcheng’s mask? And how was Primogenitor Guangcheng exposed and involved in such matters?”
“Had Primogenitor Guangcheng intended to inform me?”
“Does this mean that he knew about my true identity?”
Meng Qi was obsessed with this question but couldn’t figure it out.
“Those escort items were divided into two parts. The Luo Denomination and the Destruction Sect got the rest. However, they hid their tracks very well, making it hard for others to find them. So, in order to get all of the escort items, attracting the snake from its nest may have been the best choice.” Ruan Yushu’s black eyes didn’t show any sign of confusion as she thought it was a reasonable explanation.
Meng Qi suddenly understood. Primogenitor Guangcheng deliberately left a trail to lure the Luo Denomination and the Destruction Sect out to find him. Otherwise, in as big a place as Luoyang, it was really hard to find these two evil sects which were capable of perfectly covering their tracks.
“Wouldn’t each worry that the Luo Denomination or the Destruction Sect knew of their attempts and counterplot?” Meng Qi thought The Immortals’ move was too risky because nobody knew the number of masters in the Luo Denomination or the Destruction Sect here.
Ruan Yushu pressed her lips together. “Maybe they had some other kind of support.”
After a pause, she asked, “If you meet them, what will you do?”
“What should I do? An ordinary person like myself had better keep away from fights of The Immortals’.” Meng Qi answered without even thinking.
Ruan Yushu shook her head. “Grand Formation of Luoyang has been triggered, so it could sense the movement and react. If they don’t want to stay in Luoyang forever, they will definitely cut the connection. If that happens, the strength gap between you and them would narrow down immensely and you could display your strength in full.”
Meng Qi nodded as he thought about it. “That’s right. If they were to fight in Luoyang, luring their enemies out would have been too obvious. I’m sure that no one would be trapped.”
“Actually, I hope that they both take half of those escort items and stop this plot. In this case, they would not destroy the Sumptuous Fruits Banquet and we could successfully finish our task. But the current evidence shows that they neither side wants to reconcile at all, so a fight is inevitable. It would be better if The Immortals got the escort items though.”
Ruan Yushu’s words made Meng Qi suddenly feel that it was possible for him to have a direct fight with experts of the Exterior!
It was nearly dusk after Meng Qi left Yushu’s house. He headed for the Six Fan School headquarters.
After the previous sneak-attack, Meng Qi could slip into Six Fan School. As long as he did not go there too often, he would not be suspected.
“Master Su, long time no see. How are you?” Upon entering the old yard, Meng Qi met an arrester who had a thick beard and whose eyes were narrowed into mere lines. He was in dark clothes and had a slivery badge hung around his waist. The silver thread of the badge was replaced by a purple ribbon.
Meng Qi recalled his name. He smiled and cupped his hands in front of his chest. “Arrester Qian has been stationed at the headquarters in Luoyang?”
The man was Sliver-badge Arrester Qian Kai of Ying City who had cooperated with Meng Qi to trace Old Zhong before.
Qian Kai chuckled. “At that time, I forced out the Myths and saved the Crown Prince from danger by pure luck, but I was promoted and transferred back to Luoyang.”
“He helped the Crown Prince, so he was sent back to Luoyang…?” Meng Qi glanced at Qian Kai. “Did he secretly desert the Crown Prince?”
“I didn’t know that you were a nephew to Super Arrester Su of Duke Mightiness’ Mansion. It was my fault not to have recognized you.” After greeting him, he continued to say, “I am hosting a dinner in a few days. It would be a great honor if you could come.”
Meng Qi chuckled. “If I have time, I will definitely go.”
He had decided not to go to the dinner because he didn’t want to get involved in matters concerning the Crown Prince.
In the center of the yard was Red Attire Villa, the office building of Six Fan School’s Chief Arrester. Surrounded by several big trees, it was partly hidden and partly visible, and the surroundings were quiet.
Upon arriving at the door, Meng Qi saw a man in light gold arrester attire walk out. He was a good height and his hair was grey, but his eyes were deep his gaze was sharp. It seemed as if no secret could escape his watchful eye.
He had a crooked nose but no wrinkles could be seen on his face. He looked serious, as if he seldom smiled.
What frightened Meng Qi was that gold thread and Dark Gold Dragon Claw that was hanging around his waist!
He was Ke Weilan’s father, Dragon’s Claw Arrester Ke Yuzhang, a grandmaster from the Eight Distinguished Super Arresters!
Seeing Meng Qi, Ke Yuzhang calmly nodded, neither angry nor annoyed.
“Well done. Were it not for your attacks, they would never understand that many people are stronger than them, and therefore would never work hard to avoid being mere playboys.”
Even though Meng Qi had mastered Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth, which was good at sensing the opponent’s mood, Meng Qi failed to tell whether Ke Yuzhang was sincerely praising him or if this was just satire. His countenance was like a dead sea in which no wave could be seen!
“I don’t deserve your praise.” Meng Qi cupped his hands in front of his chest.
“Hurry in. Chief Arrester is waiting for you.” Then Ke Yuzhang left with his hands behind his back.
Meng Qi took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Then he walked into a most mysterious, most authoritative, most attractive place.
Red Attire Villa’s decor was simple, like that of a normal house.
In front of Red Attire Villa stood a round-faced man whose facial features were fairly good-looking. If he had been thinner, he could have been considered a quite handsome middle-aged man, but he was too fat.
A sword and a blade hung around his waist. An ornament with a gold thread also hung around it. It was a purple roc with a sword and a blade as its wings.
“Glad to meet you, Uncle Liu.” Although they hadn’t met before, Meng Qi recognized him. He was Purple Roc Arrester Liu Shengming, one of the Eight Distinguished Super Arresters, and Liu Shuyu’s father, a Peerless Master Pro of the Sixth-fold Heavens.
Liu Shengming smiled like a Maitreya. “I really envy the Su family for having a disciple like you. You’re pretty good. No wonder Suyu could not stop praising you.”
“Well, the emperor and Chief Arrester are waiting for you upstairs. We’d better talk during dinner.”
“Dinner?” Meng Qi was confused.
Liu Shengming chuckled. ” The Yu family of the South Province arrived in Luoyang last night. Your father helped them several years ago, so they came to express their gratitude to you.”
“We haven’t seen each other for many years, so your father planned to host a dinner in the side yard, and invited myself and others to socialize with friends and create an opportunity for you youngsters to meet each other.”
“It sounds like a matchmaking dinner…” Meng Qi’s eyes twitched.
Without another word, Liu Shengming turned around and guided Meng Qi upstairs.
The stairs were plain and old. Stepping on them caused them to make creaking sounds. But Meng Qi and Liu Shengming were not ordinary people, so they easily went up to the second floor without making any sound at all, as if they were flying over water. Then they entered Chief Arrester’s office.
There were many bookshelves in the room. The screen prevented others’ from peering in. It was actually a precious weapon, for Meng Qi’s senses failed to bypass it!
A man sat in front of the screen carved with the pattern of an immortal saluting Heaven Sovereign. In the imperial robe and hat, he had a similar countenance to Zhao Heng. He must have been handsome and full of vigor when he was young, but now his eyebrows were thin, his hair was grey and many wrinkles could be seen at the corner of his eyes and lips.
Meng Qi felt weird. In his view, although the emperor was not as strong, he was still a Top Class Master Pro. He was thought to have lived for over 120 years, but now only in his sixties, he looked fairly old. He may only have had 20 years or less to live.
On the left side of the emperor was a chair with a cushion on it. A man sat in it. He looked neither humble nor arrogant.
His hair was black with a hint of yellow. It was hard to tell his age from his ordinary appearance. In loose clothes and a headscarf, he looked both like an ordinary old man and a middle-aged man.
His demeanor made Meng Qi think of the vast, mysterious, deep, majestic and boundless universe.
“Chief Arrester of Six Fan School Sima Shi…” Meng Qi whispered to himself.
He didn’t have a famous sobriquet, but the reputation of Chief Arrester threatened people all the same.
“I sincerely salute you, Emperor, Chief Arrester.” Meng Qi saluted them in the manner that he would saluted a senior instead of kneeling down before them.
The emperor slightly lifted his eyebrows. Meng Qi couldn’t tell whether he was angry or annoyed. Suddenly, he burst into laughter and turned to Sima Shi. “Sima, when you first met me, you acted exactly like him. Killing Blade truly deserves his reputation.”
Meng Qi was slightly relieved because he had acted that way on purpose. Since he was called Killing Blade, he had to be arrogant.
Chief Arrester Sima Shi replied coldly, “A real Kung Fu master should be like him.”
Then, he turned to Meng Qi. “Tell me about your stories. We’re all curious.”