Mengqi subconsciously took a deep breath and vaguely grasped something. His heartbeat sped up.
The grey-haired old man did not linger on his own topic. He smiled and said, "Little brother, you seemed a little agitated before?"
He looked at Mengqi without shifting his eyes, as if talking was also something that needed his attention.
It was not until now that Meng Qi finally saw his appearance clearly. He was not as old as he had first thought. It was purely his white hair that gave him an illusion. In fact, there were not many wrinkles on his face. He was somewhere between middle-aged and old. His facial features were ordinary, but because of his concentration, he revealed an indescribable charm.
"Yes." Mengqi suppressed his slightly excited mood. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He chatted as if he was talking to an elder. "I got involved in a muddy water in Maoling."
He quietly changed his way of addressing himself.
The old man did not care about this and listened attentively. In the end, he asked, "Little brother, when you left yesterday, the knot in your heart had been untied and your state of mind had basically calmed down. You were agitated before. Was it because of what happened later?"
He did not deliberately hide anything or show anything. He was calm and said what he needed to say.
Mengqi became more and more certain. He pondered for a while and directly said in a casual tone, "Last night, I got the clue of the thief and immediately informed my companions. Without stopping, I went to the home of Chu Guan, the Xiang Master of the Dajiang Gang. However, I was still one step late. He killed himself with a sword and shouted that Civil Star would avenge him before he died."
"We did not delay along the way. We all hid our breath and changed our clothes in advance so that we would not be recognized by ordinary people. However, the news was still leaked. I suspect that either a very strong master is following me or one of my companions last night is a traitor."
Normally, the enemy did not need to arrange a strong master to know the whereabouts of Mengqi and his companions. For example, they could use a real street vendor to record which street Mengqi and his companions went to and collect the information one by one to determine the target. However, Mengqi had considered this in advance. Everyone had changed their clothes and hid their breath before going out.
The person who could follow Dai Fei and Chen Yasong, who were on high alert at Half-step Exterior Scenery, without being noticed at all must be very powerful.
The old man listened to Mengqi carefully. His expression did not change at all. His face was like a boundless ocean. Even if a boulder fell, it would not make a big wave.
After listening, he did not express his opinion. but smiled as if he had seen through Mengqi's mind. "You have a preference? That is not what you are really upset about, right? "
Meng Qi's face reddened and he scratched his head in embarrassment. His trick of deliberately making conversation had been seen through. "Yes, I already have a tendency. What really annoyed and distressed me was that Chu Guan shouted before he died that Civil Star would avenge him."
"Hmm, do you find it strange?" The old man didn't move his hands or legs, concentrating on chatting.
Meng Qi exhaled and nodded gently. "Yes. We haven't found out who's behind him, but he told us his name so that we knew it was Civil Star. It feels like he deliberately used his death to frame us."
At that time, he had other suspects. Chu Guan's shout exposed at least half of Civil Star's identity. He could no longer hide behind the scenes. It made people think that Chu Guan had a grudge against him!
If Chu Guan had not been forced to commit suicide, keeping silent would have been the best solution. Even if he had gone crazy before his death, he would at most have shouted "someone will avenge me". There was no need to mention Civil Star's name. If he had been forced to commit suicide, he could even give up his life. Why did he do this? Wasn't he afraid that the important "factor" that made him choose death would be destroyed by the person behind the scenes?
At first, he did not feel it. But after thinking about it, Mengqi felt that something was wrong.
"Since you felt something was wrong, why are you still irritated?" The old man asked Mengqi directly with a smile.
Mengqi smiled self-mockingly. "It's because I felt something was wrong that I was irritated. I felt that there was something I hadn't thought through. But I couldn't figure it out. Not until I saw your portrait and calmed down did I suddenly understand it."
"What did you understand?" The old man did not express his own opinion. He just cooperated with Mengqi.
Mengqi looked solemn. "Since the opponent dared to play chess with Wang Siyuan, he shouldn't have been seen through by me so easily. The truth is actually buried deeper."
"After thinking about it carefully, I also felt that it was strange to shout Civil Star. As the person behind the scheme, how could he not think of it?"
"It's like the trap I fell into for the first time. There were obvious coincidences and the clues were quite deliberate. But I felt that such an old-fashioned scheme couldn't be used to harm people. If it was a trap, there were too many loopholes, too stupid, and too much reliance on coincidences. So I thought it was real. So I went to the Flower-viewing Garden and disrupted the opponent's scheme. But it turned out to be a trap."
"Let's not talk about why he could arrange it so well, what was the inevitable reason behind it, and why Wang Siyuan said that he would fall into the trap no matter what. He thought the scheme itself was deeper than me. He knew that I could see something was wrong, so he purposely arranged it in an old-fashioned and deliberate way. It didn't look like a scheme designed by a master at all. It made me feel that it was too fake and too reliant on coincidences. It didn't look like a trap at all."
The old man blinked and chuckled. "In other words, it's the same this time?"
"Yes. I can tell that it is not appropriate to shout 'Civil Star', and I believe that other people can, too, after they calm down. Therefore, they will subconsciously think that it is a setup to cover the real person behind the curtain. Then, they will completely ignore 'Civil Star'!" Mengqi's voice sounded a bit solemn. "Although his name has been exposed, he has truly disappeared from our hearts!"
The old man said cooperatively, "So, it's still Civil Star."
"Yes." Mengqi nodded. "It's a trap on the level of thinking. As long as he thinks one level deeper than us, he can play us like a fiddle."
"But why didn't the person behind the scheme think one level deeper than you? To frame Civil Star and hide himself? "the old man asked with a smile.
Mengqi smiled confidently. "When it comes to thinking, it's not better to think deeper. It depends on the accurate judgment of the enemy's thinking level and then thinking one level deeper than him. Otherwise, it will only backfire."
"For example, if we all thought at the first level, Civil Star would only backfire and make a mess. But I fell into the trap last time. Jiang Hengchuan is not a person who doesn't think. Dai Fei and Chen Yasong are more experienced. One is a Green-ribbon Arrester, and the other is a Deputy Hall Chief of Maoling. They will definitely notice something wrong and go deep into the second level. The possibility of going deeper is very small. The person behind the scheme won't take the risk of burying a trap at the third level and harming himself."
"If Wang Siyuan hadn't told me that someone 'played chess' with him and made me pay more attention to the enemy, I wouldn't have thought of the current level even with my previous experience."
The old man did not comment. "What if you really didn't go deep into the second level?"
"If I was the person behind the scheme, I would …" An idea suddenly came to Mengqi's mind.
The old man did not wait for him to organize his words. He smiled and said, "How about it? You've sorted out your thoughts. Are you calm now? "
Mengqi was stunned. Indeed, he had calmed down. He cupped his hands and said, "Yes. Thank you for listening to my nagging."
The old man did not speak again. He smiled and nodded. He picked up the carving knife and the wooden block again and began to carve the wooden statue. He was focused and pious, like a scenery.
Seeing this, Mengqi understood and stood up to leave. When he reached the entrance of the alley, he secretly clenched his fist and waved it. He looked a little excited.
These days, as long as he had time, he would come here to "increase his favorability"!
…
As soon as he returned to the rented courtyard, Mengqi saw Jiang Hengchuan pacing back and forth at the door.
"Brother Jiang, what's the matter?" Mengqi went to greet him.
Jiang Hengchuan's expression was solemn. "Two things. First, I thought about what happened yesterday and felt that something was wrong. Why would a conspirator introduce himself? Previously, we didn't even have a direction. Now we know Civil Star. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense! "
"Well, I also suspect that it was a deliberate framing." Mengqi was stunned and answered with a chuckle.
Seeing that his opinion was approved, Jiang Hengchuan laughed and said, "Great minds think alike! We have to inform Green-ribbon Dai and Hall Leader Chen about this. "
"What's the second thing?" Mengqi did not comment.
Jiang Hengchuan used Secret Voice-sending instead. "I've been following Qiu Fei. Relying on my Oneness of Heaven and Men, I barely managed to avoid being noticed. I found that he went to a hill by the Jin River for two days in a row. He might go there again tonight. Therefore, I want to invite Young Master Su to hide there with me and see what he's doing."
He did not dare to get too close for fear of exposing himself.
Mengqi pinched the Samsara Charm hidden in his sleeve. He thought for a moment and said, "Okay!"
By the Jin River, there were songs and dances, bustling markets, and secluded and deserted places, such as this hill outside the city.
Mengqi and Jiang Hengchuan arrived ahead of time and found a secret hiding place. They concealed their breaths and erased their traces, waiting for the night to come.
Weeds grew everywhere and footprints could be seen in some places. However, there was no one else except for Mengqi and Jiang Hengchuan.
After an unknown period of time, the bright moon hung high in the sky and the moonlight rippled. A figure sneakily climbed the hill. It was "Wind-chasing Stick" Qiu Fei.
He held a scarlet Eyebrow Staff in his hand as he vigilantly looked behind him and around him.
Mengqi and Jiang Hengchuan used their own methods. One relied on various skills of Will-projecting and the precise control of Eight Nine Mysteries, while the other relied on Oneness of Heaven and Men.
After Qiu Fei finished his inspection, he suddenly stomped on the ground with great force, making loud thumps.
"What's he doing?" Mengqi was slightly surprised. This action was too strange.
Suddenly, the ground wriggled and the soil bulged. Two figures crawled out. Their breaths were weak and their faces were pale.
"The Life-changing Sect!" Waves surged in Mengqi's heart. Some of his past questions seemed to have been answered to a certain extent!
"Why did the Life-changing Sect arrive on the day they discovered Old Zhong's departure?
Why did they only find clues during that period of time, even though they had been hunting Old Zhong for so long?
Why did a non-core disciple bring an Exterior-level Zombie with him?
Why was there no news of the crazy Swordsman of Ning Province after that?
