Chapter 659: Pendant

Originally, Lu Yang and his companions had planned to gather concrete evidence to expose Kang Wei’s true face, thereby breaking Zhong Qing’er’s illusion of love.

Now there was no need; she had transferred her affections, falling instead for Shi Chan.

“Brother Meng jesters, this poor monk is merely a trifle more handsome than the average man.”

“Alas, the world only takes note of this poor monk's fine skin and flesh, remaining utterly indifferent to my Buddhist doctrines.”

Meng Jingzhou’s urge to strike someone grew increasingly intense.

On the other side, the little pavilion still played host to the drama of two men vying for one woman.

“Kang Wei, you are a good man, but we are not suited for each other.”

Zhong Qing’er nestled in the false Shi Chan’s embrace, watching his expressions even as she spoke to Kang Wei, terrified of displeasing him.

The false Shi Chan tapped Zhong Qing’er's nose lightly. “Little fool, how could I be unhappy? You rejected him and chose me; my joy knows no bounds.”

“Shi Chan, you are so good.”

Shi Chan, watching his own facsimile and Zhong Qing’er locked in mutual affection, found the sight somewhat unbearable and gave a silent nod of assent.

How could this be? Everything was perfectly fine yesterday, so how had he been cuckolded today?

“This poor monk has stayed his awakening. I must ask both Senior Brothers to wake, proceed to Benefactor Kang’s residence, while I remain here to guard against any unforeseen changes.”

“I’ve had my eye on you for a long time, brat, so behave yourself!” Meng Jingzhou said savagely, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace.

Unless the other party was deliberately concealing it, or had achieved a realm of returning to nature.

Suddenly, Kang Wei’s figure began to fade. Quick of eye and deft of hand, Shi Chan conjured a talisman and slapped it onto Kang Wei’s forehead, halting any further alteration.

“How could an ordinary man employ the Art of Dream Intrusion?” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou frowned, for did this not make the two of them look exceedingly foolish?

“Shall we just strike? I really cannot bear to watch any longer; I am covered in goosebumps,” Meng Jingzhou proposed.

“Who goes there!”

The three of them rushed forward together, pinning Kang Wei to the ground, and with a mere thought from Shi Chan, a rope materialized to bind Kang Wei securely.

“You too.”

Shi Chan silently gazed at Zhong Qing’er, resolving to stay as far away from the Zhong manor as possible once this matter was concluded.

“Looking at Kang Wei like this, he is just an ordinary mortal, devoid of any traces of cultivation.”

Kang Wei: “……”

And moreover, it was within a dream.

“Charge!”

“Very well, but how are the two of us to wake up?”

Only then did Zhong Qing’er react: “T-Two Shi Chans?”

Even when cultivators do not manifest their prowess, their manner of breathing and walking differs from that of ordinary, uncultivated mortals.

Kang Wei was the first to react, being lucid within the dream. Zhong Qing’er was the master of the dream, yet her mind was muddled and her reactions sluggish.

Meng Jingzhou bellowed with a roar so thunderous it gave even Lu Yang a start.

It was of no use for Kang Wei to react quickly; against the combined strike of the three great geniuses of the contemporary world, even a Soul Formation cultivator would temporarily avoid the edge and dare not clash head-on, let alone an ordinary mortal like him.

“Follow my lead.” Shi Chan traced a hand seal before his chest, leaving the flow of spiritual energy through his meridians unconcealed; with the natural talent of Lu Yang and his companion, they could learn it with a single glance.

The two of them leisurely awoke, kicked aside their blankets, and leaped up with a nimble carp-kick.

They had already inquired about Kang Wei’s address from Zhong Ming; carrying Shi Chan between them, they trotted along, ignoring the astonished stares of the passersby, and after running down two streets, they located Kang Wei’s house.

Kang Wei’s home was a very ordinary brick-and-tile house, far inferior to the grand, multi-courtyard mansion of the Zhong family.

The two kicked open the door and found the soundly sleeping Kang Wei within the room.

“He is indeed an ordinary mortal.”

“What is that he holds in his hand?”

With fingers interlaced across his chest, Kang Wei clutched a pendant.

“There are fluctuations of spiritual energy on the pendant; it must be a magical artifact. His ability to invade Miss Zhong’s dreamscape is related to this pendant.”

Lu Yang shook Shi Chan. “Wake up, we have arrived.”

Within the dreamscape, Shi Chan felt himself awakening and preemptively threw Kang Wei out of the dream.

Otherwise, had he emerged alone while Kang Wei remained within, the adversary might have taken Zhong Qing’er hostage.

Kang Wei and Shi Chan awoke one right after the other.

How could Kang Wei not realize the other party were cultivators, whom he could certainly never defeat?

“Benefactor Kang, this poor monk hopes you will confess truthfully.”

“Choose: will you confess submissively, or shall we beat you before you confess?” Meng Jingzhou cracked his knuckles with a sharp pop, pinning Kang Wei against the wall and slamming a fist right beside his ear.

Lu Yang remained silent, extending two fingers from which a zhang-long azure sword-qi erupted; with a casual slash, a corner of the nearby table fell away, leaving Kang Wei struck with terror.

He was a mere mortal; when had he ever witnessed such a spectacle?

“I’ll confess, I’ll confess everything. Where should I begin?”

“Begin from how you met Miss Zhong, and where you obtained that pendant!”

“Yes, yes.”

“The first time I saw Miss Zhong was a month ago; it was a chance encounter, I saw her on the street and fell in love at first sight.”

“From then on, I lost my appetite and sleep, completely unsettled, my mind entirely filled with her.”

“But I knew that with my own circumstances, I was unworthy of a wealthy family's lady, yet I simply could not let her go.”

“It was then that Boss Hong approached me, saying he possessed a pendant. So long as I aimed it at Qing’er, I could enter her dreams every night, and over time, under constant suggestion, she would fall for me.”

“To purchase this pendant, I even borrowed a great deal of money from the merchant guild.”

“Who is Boss Hong?”

“He is the local tyrant around these parts, I met him at the gambling den. He has some thirty men under him and once cultivated at the Bamboo Leaf Sect; he is a cultivator of unfathomable power who was later expelled for committing an error in the sect.”

“Though expelled, I hear he still maintains private relations with the masters of the Bamboo Leaf Sect.” Kang Wei attempted to invoke the name of the Bamboo Leaf Sect to frighten the three away.

“Where is Boss Hong?” Lu Yang remained unmoved by a minor sect he had never even heard of.

When Kang Wei failed to answer, Meng Jingzhou assumed a wrathful countenance like the legendary Acala, terrifying Kang Wei into a trembling wreck, forcing him to lead the three to find Boss Hong.

The place where Boss Hong resided was not far from there, just a street away.

“The Hong Mansion, quite grand indeed.”

Boss Hong’s residence was even larger than that of the Zhong family.

“Halt! Who go there!”

As the local tyrant, Boss Hong had stationed guards at the main gate of the Hong Mansion to prevent enemies from calling upon him.

How could Lu Yang and his companions bother to answer them? With a casual wave of their sleeves, they sent them flying.

Inside the Hong Mansion, Boss Hong’s henchmen were shouting and carousing over food and wine; seeing the three barge in, they swarmed forward in unison, intending to block their path.

Meng Jingzhou threw a punch into the empty air, the resulting sonic boom knocking them senseless instantly.

……

Deep within the chambers of the Hong Manor, Master Hong was conversing with a young woman: "Junior Sister, your request is rather daunting. The authorities maintain a strict oversight on such matters, and should they trace it back to me, I fear my life would be utterly forfeit."

The young woman smiled faintly, presenting a wooden box to Master Hong: "I must trouble you to expend every effort, Senior Brother Hong."

Master Hong opened the wooden box, his heart skipping two full beats in its cage.

To his astonishment, it contained a Foundation Establishment Pill! And its quality was far from the basest grade!

He quietly tucked the box away, a slick grin spreading across his face: "Though the authorities rule with an iron fist, your senior brother is no ordinary man; how could I possibly be left without a way? Tell me, though, who is it that you wish for me to kill?"

"Her name is Poria, a native of Xuancheng, possessing a cultivation only within the first three layers of the Qi Refining stage. She has come here merely to negotiate some business—nothing more than a girl of modest beauty, yet she dares contend with me for my beloved brother. She truly possesses no inkling of how the word death is written!"

Master Hong offered a sycophantic smile: "If that is indeed the case, she is truly deserving of death."

Suddenly, the clamor of combat echoed from outside the chamber.

Master Hong furrowed his brow: "I shall step outside to see what the commotion is about."

"Who goes there!"

Master Hong strode from the room, unleashing the formidable aura of the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage, intending to frighten the trio into retreat.

A young woman followed closely behind him, dressed in splendid attire, well-proportioned, and bearing a pitifully delicate countenance.

Initially, Lu Yang assumed she was an innocent captive taken by Master Hong, only to discern that she was actually at the Foundation Establishment stage.

A disciple of the Bamboo Leaf Sect?

"Was it you who sold this pendant to Benefactor Kang?" Shi Chan chanted a prayer to Buddha, producing both Kang Wei and the pendant.

"And what if it was?" Master Hong frowned, never expecting this to be the cause of their intrusion.

Selling a pendant breached no laws; why then, in the dead of night instead of sleeping, did a monk and two protectors seek him out?

Lu Yang sneered: "Selling a pendant is indeed no crime, but your instigation of Kang Wei to lure and deceive the young mistress of the Zhong family is entirely corrupt."

He harbored another reason left unspoken: the pendant was a magical artifact, and Kang Wei was nothing more than an ordinary mortal. That he could afford it purely through a loan suggested the artifact's origins were far from honorable.

"Who do you think you are? Your hands reach entirely too far!" Master Hong, having navigated the cutthroat underworld for years, was no helpless prey; he let out a low shout as two massive, obsidian hands composed of black mist materialized behind his back.

"The Wendao Sect, Lu Yang."

Clatter.

Without a single word more, Master Hong dropped to his knees, clasping his hands tightly behind his head: "I am guilty, I surrender myself."