Chapter 67: Transformation Strategy
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
North-South Pass was the courtyard behind the shopfront. ng Qi was sitting in the shadow of its cornice, looking at Wu Cheng’s bedroom.
After leaving the letter in You Tongguang’s study, ng Qi rushed through the night to North-South Pass shopfront at North Water Gate of the city to monitor Wu Cheng’s every move.
With the Snow God Palace destroyed for decades, the remaining disciples passed on their secrets discreetly from one generation to another. They were experienced secret keepers, so ng Qi believed he was likely to create a commotion if he entered and interrogated Wu Cheng the sa way he did to Jin Ancheng. There were probably other people from the clan nearby spying on Wu Cheng. Once they felt sothing was off, they would inform others and cut off all communication. Perhaps Wu Cheng kept poison in his mouth and commit suicide at a critical mont to keep his secrets…
Given the circumstances, ng Qi decided to first try other thods first before resorting to force.
So in the afternoon, ng Qi used Dark Clouds Cover the Top and Certain Misfortune to scare Wu Cheng on purpose. Since the Snow God Palace claid to be descendants of the gods and wanted to break the boundaries between man and gods, they were bound to believe in immortals, gods, destiny, and other things. They would be more superstitious than the average people. If they encountered curses from a strange monk’, they would be anxious and uneasy whether or not they believed in it.
Under such circumstances, Wu Cheng would likely seek so psychological comfort to soothe his anxiety, such as worshiping the snow god or looking for a clan superior to relieve his bad luck.
Of course, he based his assumption based on the beliefs advocated by the Snow God Palace and the inheritance that developed into heresy, as well as the clues Duan Xuangfei provided. He did not have complete confidence in his plan, but he would try sothing else if there was no reaction from Wu Cheng.
The black clouds covered the moon, leaving only faint light spilling on the ground amidst darkness. Relying on his eyesight linked with his condensed six acupunctures, he was able to forcibly see Wu Cheng’s bedroom.
After a long ti, a slight squeak caught ng Qi’s attention. Wu Cheng was opening the window, cautiously looking around, and gently nodding at soone diagonally across him.
Diagonally across? ng Qi’s heart leapt and followed Wu Cheng’s sight to see the door of the wing room slowly open.
So there really were people from the Snow God Palace spying on Wu Cheng, and just on the opposite side. He had no idea how many were hidden there… He beca glad that he did not recklessly capture Wu Cheng.
Wu Cheng jumped out of his window and landed light on his feet. His martial arts skills were pretty good. He flashed into the wing room, quietly closing the door behind him.
There was neither candle light in the wing room nor any sounds coming from within. It was as if it was just an empty room.
ng Qi was about to examine the room when he rembered Fei Zhengqing had dug a tunnel. He had a sudden understanding of the situation. Thus, he did not jump into the courtyard, but looked around to observe the nearby ones.
Fei Zhengqing must be afraid that the tunnel would be discovered. The selected route must be short with a focus on not alerting anyone of its existence. This wing room was near two west-side courtyards. Obviously the tunnel would not run through its own courtyard towards the east and north ones. Otherwise, he might as well have chosen the east-side courtyards or the north-side ones as the tunnel entrance.
ng Qi was sure that the tunnel entrance must be in one of the two west courtyards. Even if the Snow God Palace was cautious, the entrance could not be any further than in the west-side courtyards. Luckily, he had the ti to inspect them one by one.
He had not thought about directly entering the tunnel to tail Wu Cheng because he suspected there were others from the clan spying on this wing room. If he went in without careful consideration, he might alert the enemy.
Standing up, ng Qi quietly entered one of the west courtyards under the cover of the night.
Monts later, ng Qi decided that the courtyard belonged to an ordinary family based on its conditions. He sneaked into the other courtyard, listening for movents inside with his ear against the roof tiles.
From ti to ti, he heard the sound of breathing that was deliberately lowered and gradually felt relieved.
Due to the proximity of the wing room to Wu Cheng’s courtyard, ng Qi did not need to spare much effort to hear Wu Cheng’s voice.
“Thank you for your explanation, Han Shi. The tension has clouded my mind, enough to make worry about a small monk’s casual nonsense.”
ng Qi heard a slightly older voice. “Fearing God and worshiping the heaven are the foundation of our Snow God Palace. You’ve done nothing wrong. But you need to distinguish those who are dishonest. Alas, it’s also due to our heavy loss this ti. We’re so jittery and the Venerable is missing as well. We can’t help feeling panicked.”
The Venerable had gone missing?
ng Qi had no idea what the secret inheritance of the Snow God Palace was, but he could tell the Venerable was higher-ranked than Han Shi.
“Frost Herald, there’s still no news about the Venerable…”
And then Frost Herald said coldly, “Co down, the friend on the roof.”
Had Han Shi noticed him? ng Qi received a shock. To avoid making a mistake, he did not imdiately act.
Frost Herald spoke again, “The friend on the roof, you’ve heard that we’re from the Snow God Palace. Then you must not be unaware of Transformation Strategy. I’m not talented and my cultivation isn’t deep, but I have extraordinarily sharp senses.”
ng Qi knew he had exposed himself when he heard this. But he gained courage from his skills and he laughed heartily. He jumped off the roof, openly knocked at the door, and entered.
There were four people in the room. They were Wu Cheng, a hunchbacked old man, and two who seed to be retinues flanking the elder.
“So it’s you, Mr. Ennea Monkey.” The elder’s eyes widened in shock when he saw ng Qi’s smiling monkey mask. It seed like he did not expect this.
He was wearing short suits, as if he was a poor, busy man on a dock.
“Transformation Strategy is truly remarkable.” As if he were visiting old friends, ng Qi closed the door at will and hit at the sleeping acupoints of the two retinues.
Frost Herald did not resist in any way. He laughed and said, “It’s really wonderful, but it’s not as mysterious as the rumors say. Why are you here, Mr. Ennea Monkey?”
After easily killing Jin Ancheng last night, ng Qi estimated that his strength was limited. He decided to frankly tell them so unimportant secrets and find a chance to escape.
“I have two purposes. First, I’m here to learn about the mysteries of Transformation Strategy.” This was sothing he made up.
Han Shi said doubtfully, “Are you planning on interrogating about Transformation Strategy? Then you got the wrong person. I’m yet to reach the level of the Venerable, so I’m not granted the full extent of Transformation Strategy. I only know a little about it.”
“You should be more knowledgeable about the effects of Transformation Strategy, no?” ng Qi asked calmly with a smile.
Han Shi nodded. “Transformation Strategy is no stranger for anyone who is deeply familiar with the Snow God Palace. It specializes in the Primal Acupore at Mid-brows. It’s a miraculous technique to open its cultivator’s spirit Secret Chamber in the body. Even if the cultivator didn’t succeed in the end, their spirit will be much stronger than the average person. This is why they can sense almost everything within a certain distance without seeing or hearing.”
This was not a secret, but it was not information available to just anyone. It was normal for Ennea Monkey not to know about it.
The Primal Acupore at Mid-brow? The Secret Chamber of spirit? ng Qi’s interest was piqued about Transformation Strategy. He smiled and said, “So that’s how you discovered earlier.”
After a pause, he cautiously asked, “If one achieves the ultimate point of Transformation Strategy, can they use their powerful spirit to produce illusions, like ghosts and gods, and leave others unable to defend themselves?”
“How do you know this?” Frost Herald replied with a question, surprised. ng Qi showed no knowledge of Transformation Strategy earlier, but how could he know the horrors of Transformation Strategy once it was completed?
“I fought with such a figure last night. I could only hit the illusion with each strike. It took a lot of effort to force him to back off. I suspect he’s the Venerable.” ng Qi deliberately revealed so information to Frost Herald to see what judgnt he would make.
“Impossible! How could you push back a man who has reached the ultimate point of Transformation Strategy?” Han Shi obviously did not believe in ng Qi’s strength. But he soon recovered from his shock and thoughtfully said, “I have been handling the Venerable’s province in Destiny for a long ti. I still can’t get touch with him and I fear he’s already dead. Who you et is likely not him. Even if it’s him, his Transformation Strategy isn’t to that terrifying level.”
“Could it be the master of your Palace?” ng Qi also believed that a re Venerable’s Transformation Strategy could not be that powerful. Otherwise, the disciples of the Snow God Palace would not be secretly inheriting this since a long ago.
Han Shi shook his head, visibly amused. He pondered for a mont before saying, “It might not be Transformation Strategy.”
“Ah?” ng Qi expressed his doubt with his nasally voice.
With a grim look on his face, Han Shi said, “Transformation Strategy is a powerful martial art to open the spirit Secret Chamber, but it isn’t the only one. If other sects cultivated the Primal Acupore at Mid-brows and opened the Secret Chamber, they could interfere with the senses and leave their opponents making wrong estimations and false figures by himself, whether or not he has Transformation Strategy.”
“Having opened the Secret Chamber…” ng Qi thoughtfully whispered and then changed the topic. “I ca here for another reason. I want to know the treasure deposits in the Snow God Palace, but now I have one more question. Why did your Venerable disappear and when did it happen?”
He did not directly ask Duan Mingcheng, but did it in a roundabout way.
Han Shi smiled bitterly again. “Those two things are actually the sa. I’m not afraid Mr. Ennea Monkey will laugh at us. When our Snow God Palace broke up, the four guardians each took a Treasure Map. The treasure could be found if the four maps are put together. But as you know, it is difficult to read man’s mind. In the end, there was only one guardian who would continue the inheritance of the Snow God Palace remaining. So we only have one Treasure Map.”
“As for the other three maps, one is missing, one in the hand of the Living God of Wealth, and another taken by Duan Mingcheng, Mr. Leisure’s son. Duan Mingcheng also coveted the treasure deposits and often contacted with us. Just as we planned to work together, the Venerable who was going to negotiate with him disappeared with him.”
The map with unknown whereabouts was in ng Qi’s hands… His heart stirred as he thought this. It seed Duan Mingcheng did go and see the mysterious man. And he disappeared with the man, not dragged away…
Of course, the descriptions from the Snow God Palace might not be true.
For the Venerable’s disappearance, Han Shi sent a lot of people to look for him. But before hearing any news, Fei Zhengqing was chasing after him and he was forced to go to ground. It made it difficult for him to spy on the Venerable and he also had no clues.
ng Qi woke up Frost Herald’s retinues and inquired them again. What they said were in accordance with Han Shi’s words.
Seeing there was no more information, ng Qi slightly smiled. “Please forgive for nagging at night. Right, I’ll be leaving soon. I wonder if you can write down what you know about Transformation Strategy from mory.”
He did not intend to minor in Transformation Strategy. After all, Han Shi was likely to tamper with the wording. He just wanted to know the thoughts of the cultivation of the Primal Acupore, pondering the truth in it.
Frost Herald made a long sigh and found a pen and paper to write the front part of Transformation Strategy. What he wrote was not the core chapter of it anyway.
After getting the first part of the strategy, ng Qi quickly exited the wing room and watched the outside for two hours. He found that no one ca looking for Frost Herald, but the old man did not leave either.
He repeatedly changed the directions to Jinshui Bridge.
He was about to leave the North City when a flurry of doubts appeared in his mind. Even if Frost Herald feared death, he did not have to cooperate as he did. ng Qi need not ask too many questions and Frost Herald was already speaking without hesitation. For example, he had doubted the use of Transformation Strategy by the intruder earlier.
His heart sinking, ng Qi travelled on the sa way and once again made it back to the courtyard.
It was completely quiet in the wing room. When ng Qi faintly felt that sothing was wrong, he thrust at the window paper to snoop.
The room was full of the fallen people. Frost Herald’s back was against the beam, his frozen expression showing he had died.
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