Starting from a peasant family, he mastered the profound art of martial arts.

Chapter 53 The Moon

Meng Chen's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

It was late at night, and the north wind was howling incessantly.

"The envoy said," Gong Ziming lowered his voice, "that if our matter succeeds this time, he will choose an opportunity to meet with you."

Envoy? You haven't joined some evil cult, have you?

"The envoy wants to see me?" Meng Chen had expected this. Since he had invited someone to preach, it was only natural to see the person.

Besides, people are desperate and will try anything, so they don't care whether the remedy is evil or not.

"That's right. The envoy said that the Dao is not easily passed on. Whether or not it is passed on depends on how well we handle our affairs, and also on your character and temperament," Gong Ziming said.

"So, it's not certain whether the teachings can be passed on? Even if I help you get things done, it's still not guaranteed that the teachings will be passed on?" Meng Chen felt like he was being tricked.

"Not only that. The envoy also said that regardless of whether the message is relayed or not, you will have to answer his orders again afterward." Gong Ziming even raised the price.

It's like going to a brothel for a night, not paying a cent, and then being forced to eat and take things before leaving, and then getting to sleep with them again for free afterwards!

Meng Chen has long since reformed, but how can he act like this? He's even more ruthless than the Yan family!

If we go along with this, we might end up on a black ship, and it won't be easy to get off later.

But now, unable to attain the Way, and wishing to reach the other side, the only option left is this black ship.

Even if I look for opportunities again after the New Year, they seem elusive and I have no idea where to find them.

"Junior brother, sometimes a single opportunity is a chance that others may never encounter in their entire lives. We can't compare to their background, so we can only fight for this chance!" Seeing that Meng Chen remained silent, Gong Ziming gently patted Meng Chen's shoulder and said sincerely, "Junior brother, if you want to take another step forward in martial arts, or even rival Yan Long, the envoy may be able to help you achieve that."

Meng Chen poked at the charcoal fire, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Who should we kill?"

"The white-robed scholar Qu San," Gong Ziming said.

It turned out to be an acquaintance! Meng Chen had previously investigated on behalf of the Di family and found that the white-robed scholar was the leader of the Bamboo Basket Gang in the South City. He had close ties with Gao Yuan and specialized in gambling dens, prostitution, and forcing women into prostitution.

"Why did you kill him?" Meng Chen asked.

"Being entrusted with this task is something I must do to take my career further," Gong Ziming said, but he declined to elaborate.

Meng Chen gripped the hilt of his knife and said, "Let's finish!"

The red glow of the charcoal fire reflected on Meng Chen's face, and Gong Ziming felt that Meng Chen, who had just been hesitant, was now full of murderous intent, as if he had taken several lives.

Gong Ziming wasn't one to dawdle. Having made his decision, he immediately pulled out a booklet from his pocket and, by the glow of the stove, began to explain it to Meng Chen.

He had done his homework thoroughly, knowing exactly where the Bamboo Basket Gang's territory and manpower were, and also knew Qu San's background.

The white-robed scholar, Qu San, had also studied at the Zhengxin Boxing Academy in the past, and was a classmate of Yan Long. However, he was of ordinary talent and only managed to pass the first level. After falling into the mire of the South City, he broke through two more levels, but still failed to reach the second realm.

Two years ago, when Gao Dianshi took office, Qu San somehow managed to curry favor with him and later even became the leader of the Bamboo Basket Gang.

This gang wasn't considered a big one in the southern part of the city. It only controlled two or three alleys and had about thirty men under its command. It was far inferior to gangs like the Sihai Gang and the Jinshui Gang.

"Brother Gong, you tell me what to do, and I will do my best to assist you." Seeing that Gong Ziming was well prepared, Meng Chen wanted to ask about Gong Ziming's plan so that he could fill in any gaps.

"Junior brother, you are the main one, and I am the assistant." Gong Ziming said very seriously, "Let me be frank with you, although I have entered the Xuan realm, I can't actually contribute much in the way of combat."

"Then... I'll be the main force?" Meng Chen pointed to himself and said, "The Bamboo Basket Gang has seven martial artists who have reached the threshold, and besides Qu San, there's another one who has reached the third threshold. How can I possibly defeat them? I think the best course of action is to outsmart them, or lure out the White-Robed Scholar. Otherwise, I have no chance at all."

"I have a clever way to outsmart them," Gong Ziming said with a mysterious smile.

Seeing that Gong Ziming seemed quite confident, Meng Chen asked, "How do we plan to outsmart him?"

The cold wind howled incessantly outside, and the charcoal fire on the stove grew increasingly dim.

The two were full of energy. After deciding on a strategy, they carefully deduced it and worked on it until the rooster crowed.

Without eating breakfast, Meng Chen climbed over the wall to Old Chen's house, entered Qingyu's room, added some charcoal to her brazier, and then pinched her nose.

Qingyu woke up gasping for breath. She rubbed her eyes and, though the room was dark, she still recognized Meng Chen. She groggily asked, "What's wrong? Did you wake up hungry? I'll get up and cook, you can go back to sleep..."

As she spoke, she suddenly tried to lift the blanket.

Meng Chen immediately stopped him, saying, "I'm going to wish my friends in the city a Happy New Year in advance, and I'll also buy some New Year's goods. I'll be back in two or three days."

"Why has it taken so long?" Qingyu was no longer confused. "I'm dressed as a goddess at the village temple fair at the end of the year."

"I'll definitely come back to see you. You can sleep a little longer, it's still early and cold outside." Meng Chen smiled, tucked the blanket around her, and then turned and went out the door.

Before dawn, the north wind grew colder.

Gong Ziming was already waiting. The two of them skipped Laolongtan and instead went east to avoid Yan's residence.

After going around in a big circle, it was already broad daylight when we arrived at the East Gate.

The day was very gloomy, and it was bound to snow tonight or tomorrow morning.

They cut three catties of mutton, and the two of them each drank a large bowl of mutton soup.

After eating and drinking their fill, Meng Chen followed Gong Ziming to a dilapidated courtyard in the southern part of the city.

A short while later, a charcoal seller arrived. After entering the courtyard, he whispered a prayer through the door: "The bright moon shines, illuminating my heart."

"Where the moonlight shines, we share this pure heart." Gong Ziming replied softly from inside the room.

Meng Chen listened silently in the room. At this point, he was certain that Gong Ziming had indeed joined a certain sect and was even its leader.

The dynasty has been established for three hundred years, during which time various sectarian conflicts have emerged one after another, such as the Vegetable Demon Sect, the White Lotus Sect, and the Luo Sect. Most of them picked up some doctrines from Buddhism and Taoism and then took advantage of major disasters such as floods and droughts to start their uprisings.

"A fellow church member is in trouble. His wife is pregnant, but he can't afford charcoal, and she scolds him every day," Gong Ziming said calmly. "Your son is bedridden at home. Why don't you let your wife rest and have this church member do some work for you for a couple of days? His daily pay is five catties of broken charcoal and charcoal dust. How about that?"

"We should help our fellow believers in need, and we don't need to do any hard work for the old man," the charcoal maker immediately said.

"No work, no food; this is the religious rule." Gong Ziming said very seriously, "Your son has already drunk my talisman water, and his cough is mostly cured. If you can help your fellow believers, that will be a merit. Afterwards, I will give you a pill, and your son will recover even faster. You will definitely be able to hold your grandson next year."

Upon hearing this, the charcoal maker immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Remember the rules: do not ask fellow believers about their names or origins," Gong Ziming admonished.

"Yes, I remember it all!" the old man quickly replied.

"Go with this fellow believer," Gong Ziming said seriously, then changed his tone and answered himself, "Yes."

After saying this, Gong Ziming pushed open the door, went out, bowed to the old man, and then the two of them bowed to the door together.

Meng Chen couldn't imitate Gong Ziming's tone, so naturally no one answered from behind the door.

Gong Ziming had changed his clothes, putting on tattered winter clothes, and wrapped a cloth around his head to cover his mouth, nose and ears.

In winter, this is the typical attire worn by ordinary people when they go out, or by street vendors. Those with a little more wealth will wear earmuffs and sheepskin hats.

Gong Ziming didn't say anything more. He grunted twice and followed the old man out of the courtyard.

According to the plan discussed by Meng Chen and Gong Ziming, the charcoal maker was the key figure on this trip.

These past two days have been the days when the Charcoal Master delivers charcoal to the Bamboo Basket Gang's branches. This trip is to use the Charcoal Master's help to deliver the charcoal to the Bamboo Basket Gang's branches.

Of course, the charcoal is good charcoal, but it has been treated with some chemicals.

Gang leaders like Qu San are always accompanied by someone when they go out, so ambushes or ambushes are not guaranteed to succeed, and they would make too much of a commotion.

Therefore, Gong Ziming and Meng Chen both felt that poisoning was the best method to find a way that would cause little disturbance, be carried out steadily, and not attract attention.

Of course, poisoning must be done by someone you know well, and the worst thing is that some people are poisoned while others are not, which actually makes people more wary. Therefore, this poison is not a ruthless substance that kills instantly upon smelling it, but rather a medicine that works silently, making people weak and sleepy.

The winter chill and the smoky warmth of a charcoal fire are nothing new.

According to Gong Ziming, this medicine was bestowed by an imperial envoy; it was colorless and odorless, and the longer one smelled it, the better its effects.

Moreover, it's not enough to just deliver the charcoal to the Bamboo Basket Gang; you also have to add charcoal to their charcoal stoves. It's best to do this at dusk or just as night falls, so that the two of them can take advantage of the darkness to carry out their plan.

Gong Ziming was well aware of the effects of the medicine, so only he could have done the poisoning.

The plan was carried out through Charcoal Master's hands, but Charcoal Master was unaware of the details and thought it was just brothers helping each other within the sect. He didn't even know who Meng Chen was.

Of course, there is no foolproof method in the world. This plan could easily be traced back to others, but Gong Ziming was full of confidence, saying that he had his own way of dealing with it, so Meng Chen could not say anything.

After Gong Ziming and the charcoal maker left, Meng Chen didn't dare stay there. So he put on a bamboo hat and wandered around the streets to inquire about the prices of the secret service.

As darkness fell, Meng Chen finally saw Gong Ziming return.

Meng Chen didn't show himself either. After watching Gong Ziming enter the courtyard, he stood guard outside for a while. Seeing that no one was following him, he circled around the area before following him inside.

Gong Ziming's clothes and face were covered in charcoal ash, making him look like a charcoal seller.

"Did you get it done?" Meng Chen asked.

"It's done!" Gong Ziming said confidently, a smug look on his face. "Old Liu had originally arranged to deliver it to Qu San's brother-in-law at noon. I made him have diarrhea, so it wasn't delivered until evening. I didn't let him lift a finger; I did all the delivering and adding of the charcoal myself. I made sure to add charcoal to the stoves of those guarding Bamboo Basket Lane, those guarding the entrance to the brothel, and those drinking and brothel-brothel-brothel-running. That scholar in white was drinking so happily that he didn't even glance at me!"

Gong Ziming took a sip of hot tea and continued, "Even the lowliest person can be surprisingly effective if used properly."

He was even somewhat arrogant, saying, "The Tao is divided into Yin and Yang. The sun is Yang, and the moon is Yin. The sun in Qingshui County is the county government, the Yan family, and the Zhang, Wang, and Zhao families. But the moon in Qingshui County will henceforth belong to only me."