Chase Game

Zhuncheng County Town, Mengfu.

When Zhang Qiang returned here, it was also the time when Wang Yun picked up Meng Dong from the dock.

In his tiger form, he ran back to the county town in less than an hour.

The county town was already bustling with activity at this time. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to go back in his tiger form, nor would it be appropriate for him to walk naked down the street after deactivating his beast form.

So he found a family and borrowed a set of clothes that were drying outside, thinking he could change them next time he went out.

When he arrived at the gate of the Meng residence, he happened to see Meng Dong getting off the carriage.

Before one foot even touched the ground, the horse pulling the cart was startled without warning.

The horse's disturbance naturally had no effect on Meng Dong, but the coachman happened to be standing next to the horse.

Beneath the raised hooves of the horse, there was only the coachman's terrified face and his hands, instinctively crossed in front of his chest, trying to block the view.

As a fugitive, Meng Dong and Zhou Jie might not be able to stop him, but Wang Yun, as the pursuer, has the ability to do so.

He did indeed make his move; he drew his sword and was about to behead the horse with a single stroke.

In the critical moment, Zhang Qiang darted forward, leaped into the air, first kicked away Wang Yun's sword, and then pressed down on the horse's head with a palm.

He could have smashed the horse's skull with that palm strike, but he didn't.

Zhang Qiang held the horse's head firmly with one hand and pulled it by its mane with the other, dragging it in front of him.

Then, a deep tiger roar resounded, and the horse's frenzied eyes suddenly cleared.

Not only him, but even the animals around him, and even some ordinary people, were so weak in the knees that they could hardly stand.

clap clap clap...

Amidst everyone's astonishment, a crisp applause rang out.

Zhang Qiang turned his head and saw Meng Dong, whom he had been watching closely. He heard Meng Dong say with a smile:

"Master Zhang is truly skilled in martial arts."

Immediately afterwards, cheers erupted from the crowd, all praising Zhang Qiang.

Zhang Qiang suddenly found himself in the center of the crowd, feeling bewildered and as if something was amiss, but...

Hearing everyone cheer for my name felt pretty good!

However, his expression remained calm.

After handing the reins back to the groom, who looked like he was about to wet himself in fear, Zhang Qiang said:

"It'll be alright, take it downstairs."

The coachman wanted to kowtow to express his gratitude, but Zhang Qiang stopped him. He could only keep bowing and nodding to thank him, while taking the reins from him.

After the incident subsided, Meng Dong stepped forward again. He calmly walked to Zhang Qiang's side, faced the crowd, and said with a smile:

"Gentlemen, I am returning home in early winter today, and I thought I would suffer a bloody disaster."

"I never expected that my Meng family would have such a fierce general, who is so skilled in martial arts without even using weapons."

As he spoke, he turned to Zhang Qiang and smiled:

"Brother Zhang, with your help, it is truly a blessing for the Meng family, and also for Meng Dong."

Seeing Meng Dong extend her hand to him, Zhang Qiang was a little confused, but he still shook it.

Anyway, he remembered that Ling Yi had analyzed it for him. In this game, apart from the two of them, Meng Dong was the only one who could be regarded as a potential ally.

The moment the two clasped hands, another burst of cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.

Only Wang Yun and Zhou Jie, standing to the side, seemed to have a lingering gloom on their faces.

Subsequently, urged by the head steward, everyone entered the Meng residence.

Zhang Qiang also heard something from the head steward: in half an hour, all the elders, along with Meng Dong and Wang Yun, would be holding a family meeting.

Meng Dong also had time to rest and recuperate.

Wang Yun and Zhou Jie left first, and as they passed by the two, they even let out a cold snort.

Zhang Qiang frowned and said, "This is really inexplicable..."

At this moment, Meng Dong smiled and said, "Brother Zhang, that was a brilliant move!"

Zhang Qiang was a little confused: "What's so amazing about it? I just casually saved someone, didn't I?"

Meng Dong shook his head:

"It's not that simple. Guess why this horse wasn't startled in the morning or evening, but only at its doorstep?"

"this……"

Zhang Qiang also found it strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

Meng Dong continued to guide the conversation: "Did you see clearly what Wang Yun did after the horse was startled?"

Zhang Qiang quickly recalled that Wang Yun had already drawn his sword, seemingly intending to rescue the coachman.

He was just kicked away by himself.

Perhaps it's true that those involved are often blinded while bystanders see things more clearly; Meng Dong observed from the sidelines with greater care.

He said, "With Wang Yun's abilities, he would surely be killed with a single sword strike."

"Think about it, what kind of impact will this have?"

Influence?

Zhang Qiang thought for a moment, recalling the cheers he received after he subdued the horse…

He suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap, Wang Yun wants to show off too?"

Meng Dong was stunned for a moment, then said with a wry smile:

"While that's the general idea, we'd still say he wanted to shift the focus to himself."

Zhang Qiang then suddenly realized:

"I see. So, as the young master returning home, everyone was paying attention to you."

"But Wang Yun's move is tantamount to stealing your thunder."

"Holy crap, he almost pulled a fast one! Luckily I reacted quickly!"

Zhang Qiang nodded to himself with satisfaction.

Meng Dong then cast a distant gaze, seemingly lost in thought, and said:

"He wanted to give me a hard time while also building momentum for himself..."

Normally, the pursuers only need to kill the fugitives.

However, in this game, in addition to their game identity, players are also given a "role" to play.

Simply killing your opponent will not win you the game.

It could even lead to the failure of one's own single-line task.

For example, if Wang Yun were to forcibly kill Meng Dong, it would be an adopted son murdering the legitimate son to seize power.

It's fine if no one knows, but once the actions, or even just the intentions, are exposed.

He will be facing not just Meng Dong, but the entire Meng family.

Now, Meng Dong has returned to the Meng residence, but the game has only just begun.

The first thing he had to do was retrieve the will left to him by the old patriarch.

That was a secret that the old patriarch, having foreseen his own death, had deliberately told only to him.

Accompanied by Zhang Qiang, Meng Dong arrived at the old patriarch's room.

Like Zhou Jie, Meng Dong also lifted the floorboards under the table, revealing the hole in the ground, and easily crawled inside.

Zhang Qiang followed behind.

"It's so dark here..."

Meng Dong lit the torches on the surrounding walls. Zhang Qiang looked at the stone door and exclaimed in surprise:

"There's even a door! Where does it lead?"

"I don't know yet, but I think we'll find out soon."

When Meng Dong walked to the stone gate, Zhang Qiang thought he was going to open it, but he saw Meng Dong's legs suddenly sink and he actually assumed a horse stance.

Immediately afterwards, he rolled up his sleeves, clenched his fists, aimed at the two door knockers on the door, and suddenly blasted them out.

The stone door knocker suddenly dented in—no, this was originally a mechanism!

With a whooshing sound of gears turning, two flat-topped stone lions rose up on either side of the stone gate.

A letter lies neatly placed in the mouth of the stone lion on the left, while the contents of the mouth of the stone lion on the right are unknown, resembling a scroll.

Meng Dong picked up the two items and then handed the scroll in his right hand to Zhang Qiang.

He opened the envelope, took out the letter inside, and read it under the torchlight.

Zhang Qiang also opened the scroll-like object in his hand, only to find it completely blank, with nothing inside.

He even took a torch and burned it under the scroll a few times, but no patterns or words appeared.

"That's strange..."

After a while, Meng Dong finished reading the letter, his expression somewhat solemn, and said:

"It's not a scroll, it's a canvas!"