Chapter 74: Intrigue and Deception

"Thank you for the gift, I am grateful, Shen Hou pays respect."

As this sentence was read out, the atmosphere in the main hall was indescribably frozen, and the expressions of the twenty masters present seemed to be surprised and suspicious, and they also revealed an unconcealable ugliness.

Surrounded by people, in full view of the public, Shen Hou could actually steal the white jade Buddha statue without anyone noticing. This was really shocking and unbelievable!

But no matter how hard it was to believe, the facts were already in front of them, and they had no choice but to believe it. For a moment, some people's faces turned red, some people's faces were ashen, some people's hands were shaking, and some people were gritting their teeth.

"How could this happen?" Finally someone roared.

"There must be a ghost inside!" The old man in the Fu Lu robe stared at the others.

Unless Shen Hou has become a Buddha or a saint, there is only this possibility!

Seeing that everyone was about to argue, You Tongguang sighed: "You are all good friends of You, please don't hurt the harmony because of this matter. The white jade Buddha statue is just an external thing."

"Old You, this matter concerns our old face, don't say too much. Although the white jade Buddha statue is not big, it is still easy to be discovered if it is hidden on the body. I will let everyone search it first!" The old man in Fulu robe patted his chest frankly.

To prove their innocence, everyone agreed, but after a check, including You Tongguang, no one had the white jade Buddha statue on their bodies.

The scene fell into an awkward silence again.

…………

In various hidden places near You Mansion, when the rumbling sound broke out, everyone was excited and excited, and they all looked out to find the figure "running" in the dark night.

The "boiling" situation made Meng Qi couldn't help but complain in his heart, this is just like waiting for the emperor superstar to appear.

After a while, the chaos in You Mansion gradually calmed down, and the night became deeper.

"Shen Hou retreated in the face of difficulty?" Nie Yao's round face was full of disappointment. She thought that there would be a grand scene of Shen Hou fighting against twenty masters. In that case, she could make up the enemy from the side.

"Of course, twenty senior masters surrounded the white jade Buddha statue in the center. Even if the master took action, it would not be so easy to succeed, let alone Shen Hou? Hehe, he must have retreated, and his reputation will be ruined in the future." Ji Xin said with disappointment and joy.

Ning Daogu and Le Shishi had the same expression as them, and obviously had similar thoughts, but thinking that there was a great master around them, they turned their heads and asked sincerely: "Master Zhending, what do you think?"

"What do I think?" Meng Qi laughed, "Shen Hou is probably somewhat confident, otherwise there would be no need to provoke Master You."

"Maybe Shen Hou's purpose is other, and the Buddha statue is just a cover. Anyway, the Twelve Gods have always been known for their cruelty, insidiousness and cunningness, and the ruin of his reputation has no effect on him." Ning Daogu said thoughtfully.

"Yes, as long as the real goal is achieved, no one in the martial arts world will laugh at Shen Hou, but will only be more afraid of him." Le Shishi and Nie Yao nodded at the same time.

Before the voice fell, there was a slight noise in front, and it did not subside quickly, but became louder and more chaotic, gradually spreading over.

"Shen Hou stole the Buddha statue!"

"Shen Hou took the Buddha statue silently!"

The suppressed surprised voices came into the ears of Ning Daogu, Le Shishi and others, leaving them stunned and unable to recover.

"How is it possible? Twenty masters surrounded the white jade Buddha statue, even a mosquito could not fly in!"

"Did they defeat twenty masters directly?"

"If this is the case, I can only sigh that Shen Hou is probably a master, but didn't I say it was silent? This is really unimaginable, it's really close to ghosts and gods!"

Soon, they woke up, and discussed in shock, confusion and excitement, feeling that they had waited for half a night. Shen Hou was really mysterious and terrifying!

Meng Qi listened to the exclamations around him, and a barely visible smile appeared on his face.

…………

Half a day ago, in the woods near Dabei Temple.

"This is the treasure map, where is my son?" You Tongguang lost his friendly smile, and his face was so gloomy that water could drip from it.

"Of course it's in a safe place. Wait until I confirm that the treasure map is correct, then I'll tell you the location, and you can pick it up yourself." Meng Qi still wore the monkey head mask with a smile.

He was looking for information everywhere today, but no one knew what happened in Dabei Temple last night, as if the battle between the White-robed Sword God and the eight Xiang Shen was just an illusion. There was no information about the White-robed Sword God being injured or killed, nor was there any rumor that the Xiang Shen failed and died.

"Hand over the person in one hand and the map in the other." You Tongguang's eyes were cold and icy.

Meng Qi said leisurely: "There are four copies of the treasure map in total. I don't know when I can get them all together. I'm just trying it casually and I'm not too enthusiastic. Although you, Mr. You, have three sons, only the youngest one is a good person. I can give up the treasure map, but can you give up You Hongbo?"

"You!" You Tongguang said angrily.

Meng Qi's voice was hoarse and he laughed strangely twice: "So, you can only listen to me."

"If Hongbo has any problem, I will tear you into pieces even if I have to spend all my wealth." You Tongguang gritted his teeth and threw the treasure map to Meng Qi.

Meng Qi took it and found that the treasure map was not very old. It should be copied from scratch. He immediately knew what was going on. After a quick glance, he said: "Have you presented the original to Cui Xu?"

"Yes, this is the copy left by me." You Tongguang did not hide it.

"I will trust you, Mr. You, for once. If the treasure map is fake, we can't do anything to you, let alone your family. Unless you can keep them from going out, you can't escape the fate of the first day." Meng Qi said the villain's lines casually.

You Tongguang snorted: "I won't take risks with my son. Can you tell me the location?"

"No hurry, I still have a few questions to ask." Meng Qi chuckled.

"Didn't we agree to just take the treasure map?" You Tongguang was extremely angry.

Meng Qi chuckled and tried to make his eyes cold: "I said, you can only listen to me."

You Tongguang clenched his fists, veins bulging, and it took a while for him to calm down: "Ask."

Meng Qi suddenly shouted: "Where did Cui Xu imprison Duan Mingcheng?"

You Tongguang stepped back and looked at Meng Qi with a frightened look: "You, where did you hear the rumor?"

"I am sure, I just want to ask you where Duan Mingcheng is imprisoned." Meng Qi said calmly.

"Absurd, how is it possible!" You Tongguang sneered.

Meng Qi laughed hoarsely twice: "Mr. You, do you know why I am sure that you are the descendant of the guardian of the Snow God Palace and have inherited the treasure map?"

"Didn't you get the news from the remnants of the Snow God Palace?" You Tongguang addressed the people of the Snow God Palace without any courtesy.

Meng Qi smiled and said, "No, it was Fei Zhengqing who told me. I originally wanted to investigate the whereabouts of Duan Mingcheng, but he deliberately drew my attention to the direction of the Snow God Palace, and specifically named you, Mr. You, as a remnant of the Snow God Palace, and had correspondence with people from the Snow God Palace."

"Correspondence? Fei Zhengqing!" Hearing about the correspondence, You Tongguang immediately believed Meng Qi, because the people of the Snow God Palace who had correspondence with him had been killed by him that night, but he didn't know whether the letters were destroyed or whether Fei Zhengqing got them.

Meng Qi said calmly: "I shouldn't have done that. City Lord Cui attacked me that night and let me know the real whereabouts of Duan Mingcheng, so I asked you where he was imprisoned."

"Fifth brother attacked you?" You Tongguang looked at Meng Qi as if he was looking at a monster, not believing that he could survive after Cui Xu's attack.

Meng Qi laughed and said: "I have something to save my life. City Lord Cui retreated when he saw the difficulty. Mr. You, can you answer me now?"

You Tongguang's expression changed several times, and he sighed: "To be honest, Fifth Brother never told me about this matter. Maybe he was worried about my background in the Snow God Palace, but I have been running it for many years and I am willing to spend money, so I still got the news. Duan Mingcheng is currently imprisoned at the bottom of the dungeon of the City Lord's Mansion."

"I thought there was only a corpse left, but City Lord Cui is kind and soft-hearted." Meng Qi's eyes were fixed on You Tongguang's face, not letting go of any change in his expression.

"He was worried that the treasure map that Duan Mingcheng repeated was false, so he didn't kill him for the time being. When Jinhua's nephew returned from a preliminary exploration of the treasure, Duan Mingcheng would be silenced." Since he had started, You Tongguang didn't cover it up anymore.

Meng Qi said, "No wonder the young city lord has been away since Zhang Zongxian and his wife presented the treasure map to Miss Cui."

"Only his son can make him feel at ease about this kind of thing." You Tongguang smiled bitterly.

"So, City Lord Cui and Chief Constable Fei left the tunnel in the middle of the night to kill Monk Zhending to silence him?" Meng Qi said his own judgment.

"I don't know about that. I was completely excluded." You Tongguang shook his head.

Meng Qi didn't say anything more and asked directly, "Tell me the location of the dungeon, the defense layout, etc."

You Tongguang explained it in detail and said at the end, "Shen Hou, can you tell me where Hongbo is now?"

"I have another request, the last one." Meng Qi laughed.

You Tongguang took a deep breath and said, "Go ahead."

"I believe you have a way to 'steal' the white jade Buddha statue tonight." Meng Qi looked into You Tongguang's eyes and said.

"The white jade Buddha statue is valuable, but it is not priceless..." You Tongguang was puzzled.

Meng Qi smiled and said, "I don't want to say that I can't do it."

I am such a face-saving person!

"Okay." You Tongguang nodded.

Meng Qi nodded and said, "Tonight, I will send You Sanye to the Dong Mansion Garden. After you 'steal' the white jade Buddha statue, you will go there to pick him up and throw the statue into the well."

You Tongguang looked at Meng Qi deeply, turned around and left without saying anything.

Meng Qi stood there, watching his back disappear. Suddenly, he chuckled twice and said to himself, "The acting is really good. The effect of only telling part of the truth is very interesting."

…………

The next day, just as the incident of Shen Hou miraculously stealing the Buddha statue from the protection of many masters was in full swing, Meng Qi received an invitation from Cui Jinxiu. As a great master who could defeat Mu Shan, Mu Hengtian, and Shen Hou, and who also had a chance encounter with Cui Jinxiu, Master Zhending was naturally invited to watch the battle.

"It depends on today." Meng Qi smiled, took out a white monk's robe and put it on, and walked out leisurely.

"Master Zhending..." Ning Daogu and others had been waiting in the yard for a long time, looking extremely excited.

But they just finished the ceremony, and suddenly froze, because Master Zhending, with his white monk's robe fluttering, had red lips and white teeth, and a sense of freedom and transcendence.

A few days ago, Master Zhending was just a little monk with great martial arts skills, but today he really had a little bit of the color of a high monk.

Meng Qi was very satisfied with this situation. He turned his Buddhist beads and said with a smile, "Amitabha. The four donors, please follow me to the City Lord's Mansion."