Myths Begin From Boys' Gong

Yu Si's strength is similar to Linghu Chong's; ninety percent of it comes from swordsmanship. Once he loses his sword, his overall strength drops exponentially.

Moreover, with Meng Zhao, whose martial arts skills were unfathomable, standing in front of him, it was even more difficult for him to turn the tide.

"Well, can you tell me now?"

Meng Zhao had limited patience, but seeing that Yu Si was indeed quite capable, he still gave him a chance.

One can do something once or twice, but not three or four times, otherwise it's considered ungrateful.

Yu Si finally lowered his head and revealed his background, the existence of the pawnshop, and the fact that someone had paid to assassinate him, without any concealment.

Yu Si was not a killer trained by the pawnshop, so there's no question of loyalty or disloyalty.

In particular, the pawnshop offered him a mere five hundred taels of gold to kill Meng Zhao. What's the difference between that and the Nine-Headed Insect going to Bo'erba to kill Sun Wukong?
With hatred welling up in his heart and the pressure of the situation, Yu Sifang appeared so compliant.

In addition, another key factor is that he is not a heartless killer. He has a wife and children, businesses, and a good life. If he can survive, he still wants to struggle.

After listening, Meng Zhao nodded, flicked his finger and tossed a pill in front of Yu Si, who caught it.
"Eat this, and from now on, work for me. I'll spare your life, and I might even help you improve your swordsmanship."

Yu Si had a bitter face, but looking at the expressionless Meng Zhao, he had no choice but to swallow it down.

Unexpectedly, after swallowing the pill, a surge of heat rose up, transforming into a warm current that nourished his internal organs and blood vessels, much like a miraculous elixir.

"Don't worry, this is a replenishing pill that I specially refined. Under normal circumstances, it is no different from the tonics used for cultivation. It only has benefits and no harms. However, you must take it on time."

Otherwise, once the tonic is stopped, it will turn into a deadly poison, flowing into your internal organs and blood vessels, leaving you unable to live or die.

If you do things to my satisfaction in the future, it's not impossible for me to completely eliminate this potential problem for you.

Meng Zhao used a combination of kindness and severity skillfully, and before long, Yu Si obediently took him to the pawnshop.

It was already late at night, and the pawnshop was closed. However, with Yu Si as a backup, Meng Zhao quietly sneaked in and went to the backyard of the shop.

Only one person usually guards this place, so there's no need to worry about waking up others.

Yu Si received a signal from Meng Zhao, woke up one of the people in the room, and brought him to Meng Zhao.

This man was about forty years old, with a broad face and a large mouth. At first glance, he seemed to be an extremely generous and righteous person.

However, according to Yu Si, this guy was a front desk employee put forward by the pawnshop's behind-the-scenes boss. He was nominally the manager, but he was just an employee.

He knows some martial arts, but his main job is handling tedious government affairs and he is good at managing businesses.

Meng Zhao approached him not for any other purpose than to find out who had hired the pawnshop to assassinate him.

Logically speaking, such a thing is absolutely unacceptable and would be a huge blow to the reputation of pawnshops.

For any platform, reputation is paramount. Without it, customers won't visit, and killers won't stay. Sooner or later, the platform will collapse.

The shopkeeper was naturally unwilling to do such a thing, but that damned Yu Si didn't give him any choice at all.

He and Yu Si had known each other for many years. Although they weren't true friends, they had a certain level of acquaintance.

Unexpectedly, Yu Si sold him out so quickly today.

But then the shopkeeper thought again. He knew Yu Si well enough to know that someone who could make him make such a choice must be extraordinary.

Therefore, even though Meng Zhao appeared to be only a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, he was still very cautious and extremely reserved.

At the same time, he was very cooperative, revealing Boss Xu's identity and thoughtfully telling Meng Zhao the address of the Yawenxuan study.

Finally, he said,
"My lord, if word gets out about what I did tonight, I'll surely be dead. I wonder if you could keep it from getting out, otherwise, those bosses won't let me off the hook."

Those who break the rules will definitely be punished.

Meng Zhao nodded.
"Don't worry, this has nothing to do with you and won't involve you. Just pretend you don't know anything."

Also, take back the mission to assassinate me. If anyone asks you about it, just make up an excuse. It shouldn't be too hard!

The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, not daring to raise any objections. Meng Zhao's tolerance had already satisfied him.

As for Meng Zhao, upon learning that the person who hired the assassin to kill him had actually been living in the county town for four or five years and did not seem like a newcomer, he began to have some suspicions.

Or perhaps this person is from the Hongmen and was specifically planted in Kaiyan County as a spy or spy.

Either this person has no connection to the Hongmen, but he is involved with the group that was hunting down Hong Minghui and her daughter.

Therefore, after Meng Zhao killed eight people and let one person go to take back a message, he took the initiative to hire assassins to kill Meng Zhao.

This is an extremely valuable clue. At the very least, Meng Zhao can follow the clues and most likely find out which faction is chasing Hong Minghui.

Without hesitation, Meng Zhao used his Wind God Leg technique, blending into the wind in the darkness, and rushed to the location of Ya Wen Xuan without stopping.

The remaining four stayed at the pawnshop to deal with the issues between themselves and the shopkeeper.

At this moment, Mr. Xu had already fallen asleep, but was suddenly awakened by a nightmare. He was soaking wet, and his heart was pounding wildly.

I have a heavy feeling in my heart, a sense of foreboding.

I got up, lit the oil lamp, poured myself a glass of water, and tried to calm myself down.

Just as I hadn't even taken a sip, a gust of wind surged towards the door, so violently that it blew off the latch, leaving the door wide open.

Mr. Xu quickly got up and closed the door, intending to go back to bed.

Suddenly, he saw a person sitting at the table, appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

"Who are you, trespassing on private property? Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the authorities?"

Mr. Xu certainly didn't believe in ghosts, so this could only be a human.

Recalling the gust of wind that had swept through earlier, and the nightmare that had suddenly awakened him, a heavy feeling settled in his heart, and his sense of foreboding grew stronger.

However, he was still a very good actor, and at this moment he pretended to be a proper bookstore owner and reacted to this situation.

It seems that by relying on the authority of the government, they can embolden themselves.

But in fact, Mr. Xu himself is a master of internal martial arts, and his skills are quite strong.

"Mr. Xu, you must have a bad memory. I sent someone back to find you a few days ago, and it's been several days now. Why haven't you made a sound?"
Oh, right, it's not that there's been no activity. Tonight, an assassin came to kill me, but his martial arts skills were too weak, and I killed him instead.

I wonder if this person has any connection with Boss Xu?

Meng Zhao toyed with the teacup in his hand, his gaze falling on the man who was rather refined and elegant. To be honest, ignoring the man's internal martial arts cultivation, it would be difficult to associate him with a martial arts practitioner.

He is more like a well-read Confucian scholar or a hermit who enjoys nature, serene and indifferent to turmoil. His life should be as plain and tasteless as water, but that is also a kind of return to simplicity.

Mr. Xu was filled with surprise and doubt. It turned out to be that young man named Li Zheng! For a moment, he hadn't even thought of him.

So, how did Li Zheng find his way here?

Could it be that someone at the pawn shop leaked his identity?

According to his understanding, the other party was a reputable platform for assassins.

Moreover, he had just heard that the other party had made it clear that they had been assassinated and that they had killed the assassin. This meant that the assassination attempt by the pawnshop staff had failed, and that the lead had been cut off.

Soon, he realized that the survivor he had taken in was probably the breakthrough point that led the other party to come to him.

He had been wondering why the other party had released just one person without any follow-up.

Now it seems that it wasn't that they didn't have any tricks up their sleeves; they clearly used methods, but neither the survivor nor he noticed.

Now that things have come to this, Mr. Xu also feels that the situation is somewhat tricky.

The other party's demeanor was domineering, yet showed a degree of propriety.

The so-called domineering nature is that even though he knew that someone was going to find Hong Minghui, he still managed to kill them all, leaving only one person alive.

The reason he was considered disciplined was that he didn't go all out, but instead left one person behind to make a phone call and request negotiations.

However, in order to test the waters and mainly to avoid too much trouble, he sought external help and hired an assassin to try to kill his opponent.

Success is ideal, but failure and being confronted by authorities are difficult to resolve.

A life for a life, a debt for a debt. Although Meng Zhao was clearly not harmed, this does not mean that Boss Xu's motives can be forgiven.

After a moment, Mr. Xu, with a stern face, said...
"What do you want? You should know very well how troublesome Hong Minghui's problems are."

"If you had withdrawn in time, that would have been fine. But now you've taken the initiative to intervene. Are you trying to shield Hong Minghui from the subsequent pursuit?"

Meng Zhao nodded, his posture appearing very upright, yet an invisible aura of dominance emanated from him.
“Indeed, Hong Minghui has a lot of troubles, but what you see as troubles are nothing to me.”

Was the assassination of Hung Shing Tong, the leader of the Hung Society, done by someone you knew?
Who in the Hongmen is hunting down Hong Minghui?

"Don't be nervous. Since I'm going to take the blame for Hong Minghui, I'll naturally find the right person and make preparations."

What do you want? What can I give? What do I want? What can you give? We can discuss and decide together.

Of course, if we really can't reach an agreement, we can fight. I'm ready anytime!

Mr. Xu was at a loss for what to do.

Should we inform the other party of Uncle An's information?
Judging from Li Zheng's behavior, he doesn't seem that difficult to approach; at most, he's just a bit arrogant for a young man.

In fact, Hong Minghui may have simply been using this young man without informing him of the seriousness of the situation.

Of course, deep down, Mr. Xu was still afraid.

He had been away from the martial arts world for four or five years, living a quiet and law-abiding life for four or five years.

Four or five years may not seem like a long time, but in reality, it is still a long period of time.

Far from conflict and bloodshed, Boss Xu has long lost the fierce and courageous spirit he once had when he roamed the world.

When faced with a dispute, his first thought is never to retaliate in kind, but to find another way to resolve it.

For example, the matter of Meng Zhao.

If it were him in his earlier years, he would never have taken out his treasured possessions to hire an assassin. Instead, he would have personally taken action to test Meng Zhao's abilities.

Now all I can say is that as people get older, they become more timid.

Is he afraid of death?
Of course I'm afraid.

Is he confident he can deal with Meng Zhao?
No, not at all.

Therefore, faced with the aggressive Meng Zhao, Boss Xu hesitated for a long time before finally giving in.

He was still grateful to Uncle An, of course, but at this moment, he encouraged himself in his heart.
"Uncle An, this young man is terrifying. I'm not betraying you, but trying to help you find a more suitable path. It's a win-win situation!"

Her heart softened, and naturally, she revealed his relationship with Uncle An.

Meng Zhao then learned that the people who were chasing Hong Minghui were all from the Hongmen. However, these Hongmen members were all loyal followers of Cao Quan'an, the deputy leader.

"Cao Quan'an, so it was him. As far as I know, he and Hong Chengtong are sworn brothers and have been friends for decades. Why did he do this?"

This is something Meng Zhao cannot understand.

Even if Cao Quan'an is a descendant of the original Eighteen Iron Bandits, the last piece of the mechanism diagram is on him.

Even if Cao Quan'an discovers the identity of Hong Minghui's husband, Lü Guang.

But, doesn't he trust Hong Chengtong's character and their decades-long friendship?

In Meng Zhao's view, if things were really as he thought, and if the matter were laid bare, Hong Chengtong would most likely side with Cao Quan'an.

The most appropriate course of action would be for everyone to join forces and plot against Kou Laoxi's treasure.

Now things are really messed up. Hong Chengtong is dead, but he's still relentlessly pursuing Hong Minghui, which is going to cause endless trouble.

If this matter were to spread throughout the Hongmen in the future, everyone would despise Cao Quan'an.

Boss Xu listened to Meng Zhao's ramblings, completely puzzled.
"I don't understand either. As far as I know, Uncle An and the leader of the Hongmen were sworn brothers when they were young, and later they became sworn brothers and co-founded the Hongmen. What exactly happened in between, I'm afraid only they themselves know."

Meng Zhao nodded. It didn't matter if he didn't understand. Finding clues and having a target was enough.

Cao Quan'an was the direct instigator of the manhunt for Hong Minghui. Even if he wasn't the mastermind behind the whole thing, he was certainly an important figure involved, or even a pawn.

Meng Zhao only needs to wait patiently for a while. Either Cao Quan'an will send someone to find him again, or he will personally go to Longxiang County to visit Cao Quan'an.

However, Mr. Xu had other ideas at this time.
"Your martial arts skills are superb, but you may not be able to contend with the mighty Hongmen. How about this: whatever your needs are, I will speak to Uncle An on your behalf. As long as you agree to let us take Hong Minghui away, the rewards will be beyond your imagination."

Mr. Xu is very smart. Since Cao Quan'an has taken such a big risk, he must want to do things perfectly.

As long as Meng Zhao dares to agree, he will definitely keep his promise.

I imagine Uncle An would agree with his approach.

It is better to dissolve enemies than to make enemies.

Moreover, this was a master as unfathomable as Meng Zhao. (End of Chapter)