Meng Jianqing circled back to the small path from Tiantai Temple to Ninghai Guard, first going to the broken grass hut where Master Yan Er lived outside the village for a look around, then entering the village. Several dogs wandering the streets immediately barked furiously, but after only one or two barks, they recognized Meng Jianqing and all surrounded him ingratiatingly, wagging their tails vigorously. Meng Jianqing rubbed their heads, finding them quite amusing. These bullying cowards, after being severely beaten by him once and then fed a pile of meat bones, even though he was rarely home, still remembered his scent clearly. Every time they encountered him, they had this same ridiculous appearance of eagerly trying to curry favor.
He pulled down one of the two wild rabbits hanging from his shoulder and threw it to the pack of dogs.
If he had still gotten stained with opponents’ blood despite such caution, these two hunted rabbits should be able to cover up the true origin of any blood traces on him.
He stepped onto the stone steps and had just raised his hand when the door opened.
Meng Jianqing called out softly, “Mother.”
Yu Shi rubbed her eyes and said in a low voice: “I heard those dogs bark twice then stop, so I guessed it was you coming home. Last time was also at this hour… Are you hungry? I’ll go cook for you.”
Meng Jianqing silently handed over the wild rabbit. Yu Shi took it and hurried into the kitchen.
The light in the main room came on. Meng Jianqing hesitated briefly, then walked to the window and said: “Father, Madam, I’ve returned.”
There were rustling sounds of getting dressed from inside the window. Meng Zhiyuan said while dressing: “I have something to discuss with you. Wait in your room.”
When Meng Jianqing lit the oil lamp, Meng Zhiyuan’s clumsy, bulky body had already squeezed in. After sitting down, he said, “Jiangwu Hall has begun recruiting in Zhejiang. I’ve already registered both you and Jianchen. I was planning to send word to Tiantai Temple to call you back quickly to prepare—your timing is perfect. Come, come, let me tell you about the examination situations from the past two years.”
Meng Jianqing closed the door and turned to look at his smiling father: “Do you hope we’ll enter Jiangwu Hall? What do you hope we’ll do after we get in?”
Meng Zhiyuan scratched his head: “You little rascal, what nonsense are you talking? Isn’t this asking something you already know? Don’t tell me those monks at Tiantai Temple have addled your brain?”
Meng Jianqing was too lazy to keep beating around the bush with this old fox and asked directly: “Father, is the flame tattoo on your chest still there? Is that bronze mirror still there?”
Meng Zhiyuan was severely shocked and stood there speechless with his mouth agape.
Meng Jianqing’s eyes stared at him unblinkingly.
After a good while, Meng Zhiyuan came to his senses and smiled bitterly: “You little devil, you have to see it with your own eyes before you’ll be at ease, right?”
Meng Jianqing remained silent.
Meng Zhiyuan could only continue his helpless, bitter smile, thinking to himself that both his sons had this unforgiving nature—he didn’t know which ancestor they took after. He was Ninghai Guard’s famously good-natured Buddha-like Old Meng.
He turned slightly and pulled open his chest garment.
The flame tattoo that Meng Jianqing had glimpsed by chance in childhood had been completely deformed by his father’s bloated, thick chest muscles, transformed into the yellow-fronted tiger pattern most beloved by ordinary soldiers. It would only take a few additional needle pricks to complete the change.
Meng Zhiyuan said self-mockingly, “Your old father has been idle these years, and once I put on weight, it was truly unstoppable. Jianqing, in another two years, I’m afraid your old father won’t even be able to lift a sword. As for that broken bronze mirror, I already said it was a broken bronze mirror. Who knows how many dozens of pieces it shattered into—where could you still find it?”
Meng Jianqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately asked again: “What position did you hold then?”
What he wanted to ask was: “How many people recognized you?”
He guessed that not every sect member could have such a bronze mirror; might the flame’s shape also be related to each person’s position? If Meng Zhiyuan had held Xu Qiao’s current status back then, many people would have known him. Even after all these years, finding a witness shouldn’t be too difficult.
If that were truly the case, what could he do to protect this deadly secret?
Meng Zhiyuan sighed: “The things I did were all unsavory matters—how would I dare show my face publicly? Let alone talk about any position.”
Yan Wu and Yan Qi had once said that within the Ming Sect, there was a Fragrance Transmission Hall specifically responsible for informants and secret posts throughout the land. The hall had eighteen envoys who managed affairs in eighteen provinces. Apart from the Fragrance Transmission Elder and the sect leader, no one knew the envoys’ identities.
Meng Jianqing examined his father with uncertainty.
If that were the case… The Ming Sect leader and Fragrance Transmission Elder had long since died, and the provincial fragrance transmission envoys and personnel were said to have also suffered devastating casualties during the heroes’ struggle for supremacy. The Ming Sect’s intelligence network had failed, which was why the armies had successfully surrounded and eliminated them. The Fragrance Transmission Hall had been abandoned with no successors for a long time. This meant no one knew his father’s identity? No wonder he had been careless enough to keep the bronze mirror and tattoo for so many years, allowing him to discover them.
Had he sent him to Tiantai Temple to study martial arts because of local Zhejiang customs, or because, from his years in the all-seeing, all-hearing Fragrance Transmission Hall, he knew the identities of Ming Xin and Ming Xing? However, perhaps since he had decided to sever ties with the Ming Sect, he wouldn’t have intentionally sent him to Yan Wu and Yan Qi’s side. Their choosing him was merely a coincidence.
Meng Zhiyuan was also studying him while shaking his head: “Back when your father hadn’t put on weight, he was quite a handsome youth. You two brothers are much better than your old father, but your tempers are greatly annoying.”
Meng Zhiyuan had gained at least thirty pounds over the years. Even former acquaintances would probably be unable to connect this current, clumsy, heavy centurion with that handsome youth of the past.
Meng Jianqing also thought of this point and unconsciously showed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
This old fox!
But what followed was an indescribable anger.
If he had known about this earlier, he would have guessed that the masked person recognized Master Yan Er rather than his father. The Imperial Guard rushing to Ninghai Guard were also looking for Master Yan Er, not his father.
During five years at Tiantai Temple, he had studied literature and martial arts, practicing hard day and night, hoping that one day he would emerge like a sword from its sheath, drawing everyone’s attention. Yet all his efforts had almost turned to ash in the blink of an eye.
Only now did he realize what enormous risks he had taken when ambushing those Imperial Guards. If even one had escaped…
Yu Shi knocked on the door outside, bringing in a plate of smoked fish, a bowl of vegetables, and a large bowl of white rice, then silently withdrew and closed the door.
Meng Jianqing now felt he was indeed quite hungry.
Meng Zhiyuan still smiled as he watched him eat with his head down.
Meng Jianqing suddenly said gloomily: “You should have told me these things earlier.”
This time, Meng Zhiyuan’s sigh was genuine: “Those were things I did in my youth when I didn’t know heaven’s height or earth’s thickness. They’re long past, and both the people above and below are all dead and gone. Why should I still mention them? Not only have I never said half a word to you, but I’ve never mentioned them to your stepmother or your mother either. You should forget them completely, too. None of this concerns you.”
He guessed that Meng Jianqing was asking about this matter simply because news of the Maitreya Sect uprising in Yanzhou had made him worried—everyone knew the Maitreya Sect was a branch and transformation of the Ming Sect, worshipping the same blazing fire that purged darkness and demons.
Meng Zhiyuan sighed again and stood up: “Jianchen should return tomorrow too. I’ll discuss Jiangwu Hall matters with you both then.”
As he was about to leave, Meng Jianqing said in a low voice: “Father, I didn’t understand before why you wouldn’t let Jianchen and me get tattoos like other people. But now I understand.”
In Meng Zhiyuan’s heart, probably no tattoo could compare to the beauty of that cluster of flames; yet it was also a cluster of flames that would only bring disaster to his sons. The new dynasty could not tolerate this heretical flame.
Rather than tattoo a substitute that would leave him unable to let go, better to leave a blank space.
Let his sons begin their lives from this blank space.
But Meng Zhiyuan soon learned that Meng Jianqing could never again begin his life from a blank slate.
The Imperial Guard arrived at Ninghai Guard at dawn the next day. Learning of this major case on the post road, Meng Zhiyuan’s face immediately turned pale and cold sweat poured down—without thinking, even if this wasn’t Meng Jianqing’s doing, it was connected to him. Otherwise why would he suddenly ask about those matters?
Heaven and earth as his witness, he had never dreamed that his rascal son Meng Jianqing would get involved in such a deadly major case. If he had known earlier, he should have told that rascal these secrets. Now what could be done…
The presiding officer of this case, Colonel Shen Qianhu, looked quite refined and amiable. He had Meng Zhiyuan sit opposite him and studied his sweat-drenched face with understanding. This was understandable—nine Imperial Guards had died within Ninghai Guard’s territory. What a major incident! Moreover, the suspect who died at the scene was Uncle Gen, who had lived in Ninghai Guard for five years and had even saved Meng Zhiyuan’s young daughter’s life.
Meng Jianqing was also called in for questioning. His timing in returning home made him a suspect of having possibly witnessed the battle.
This was his first time meeting Shen Guangli. This meeting seemed nothing special to him. Though somewhat nervous inside, the shock and unease he displayed were all within reason. He also answered frankly that the small path he took was quite far from the post road—even if the timing coincided perfectly, he probably couldn’t have seen a battle separated by two mountain ridges. As for horse neighing, this was common on the post road. He might have heard it, but paid no attention.
He was confident his words and actions had no flaws.
It would be several years before he learned that people who didn’t understand Shen Guangli would greatly underestimate this Lord Shen’s insight and methods when first meeting him—he was no exception.
Shen Guangli listened to his words calmly and indifferently, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, only turning to say to Meng Zhiyuan: “The Uncle Gen you mentioned was Master Yan Er. He lived in Ninghai Guard for five years, and you never noticed?”
The cold sweat on Meng Zhiyuan’s head poured even faster. He could only repeatedly claim he was derelict in duty and deserved death.
Shen Guangli didn’t pursue the matter further, only saying indifferently that Master Yan Er could be considered a grandmaster of his generation and should not be treated lightly. Since he had shown grace by saving Meng Zhiyuan’s daughter, Meng Zhiyuan should be responsible for the burial.
During the burial, Meng Jianqing quietly placed a small wooden carved Maitreya Buddha beneath Master Yan Er’s skull.
Let the Maitreya he had worshipped all his life guide his path to rebirth.
Soil was pushed into the pit, covering the white cloth-wrapped body.
After winter passed and spring came, this patch of earth would quickly grow green grass, and no trace of the grave would be visible.
And Meng Jianqing was about to step into a new world.