"But this news absolutely cannot be released by the Mingjiang Evil God or Jing Deng."
"You trust the Evil God that much?"
Mr. Feng asked Zhou Xuan.
"Of course," Zhou Xuan replied. "I could recognize articles written by Jing Deng even if they were reduced to ashes. We’re old acquaintances."
Before Zhou Xuan came to Mingjiang Prefecture, he had already noticed secret codes from the Blood Well Society embedded in Jing Deng’s articles on the newspapers.
Over the following days, Zhou Xuan developed a habit—checking the newspapers daily to see if Jing Deng had hidden any new codes.
Over time, Zhou Xuan became thoroughly familiar with Jing Deng’s writing style.
"If it’s neither Jing Deng nor the Ancient Tattoo Clan, then naturally it must be you kidnappers."
Zhou Xuan continued, "Today, the Kidnapper Hall is nearly eradicated, leaving only Mo Tingsheng at large.
The numerous defamatory articles about me appearing in the newspapers must have been directed by Mo Tingsheng."
Mr. Feng remained silent, his attitude indirectly confirming Zhou Xuan’s suspicions.
"Your silence means you agree," Zhou Xuan said, "which brings us to the most crucial question—
how does Mo Tingsheng, while defaming me, know details that he absolutely shouldn’t know? For instance,
one article mentions that I bought Old Painting Pavilion to raise zombies, claiming I wanted to use raised zombies to harm people and devastate Mingjiang Prefecture."
Back then, Zhou Xuan couldn’t advance further in the tattoo practice, as the second Incense remained stagnant. Then, after renting the shop, he inadvertently broke through the ceiling and unearthed a corpse of a Lao Jiang.
By absorbing the Jiang Qi, Zhou Xuan managed to make some progress in burning the second Incense. At that time, Zhou Xuan and his fifth senior brother had an idea—if they kept failing at mastering tattoo techniques, to accelerate progress, they might as well start raising zombies and absorbing Jiang Qi to fuel the incense.
But it remained just an idea; neither Zhou Xuan nor Lv Mingkun implemented it.
Later, when Zhou Xuan discovered the Peach Blossom Ancestor Tree, given his cultivation progress, he no longer needed to raise zombies and absorb "Jiang Qi."
"A fleeting thought of mine somehow became a piece of ammunition for Mo Tingsheng’s smear campaign. Mr. Feng, can you guess why?"
Mr. Feng shook his head.
He did know the smear campaign in the newspapers was orchestrated by Mo Tingsheng—
a result of the Kidnapper Hall’s thirty-year-long schemes. They had planted undercover agents across every field of society.
These agents were spotless, with impeccable records, so no one would ever suspect them.
However, when the time came for the hall to activate these agents, they stepped out with unwavering allegiance.
Mr. Feng understood the newspaper attacks against Zhou Xuan, but he absolutely couldn’t figure out how Mo Tingsheng knew about Zhou Xuan’s past idea of raising zombies.
"You don’t know? But I do."
Zhou Xuan paced in the stone house, clasping his hands behind his back, and then pointed to his left wrist. "The Ancient Clan once implanted a connection on me, allowing them to see my every word and action. Naturally, they’d know I once toyed with the idea of raising zombies.
So for Mo Tingsheng to know about it, it’s simply because the Ancient Clan people found him and formed an alliance."
Zhou Xuan turned his gaze sharply to Mr. Feng, a smirk twisting his lips. "As I mentioned earlier, the Ancient Clan rarely roam the martial world and are unfamiliar with Mingjiang Prefecture,
while Mo Tingsheng is so crucial to the kidnappers, holding control over their revenge plans, that they must have hidden him long ago.
So here’s the real question: how did the Ancient Clan find Mo Tingsheng?"
Mr. Feng thought Zhou Xuan was asking him and immediately shook his head.
"The current leader of the Ancient Clan is the Three-headed Stone Buddha. He’s from Buddha Country—this is beyond dispute."
Zhou Xuan explained, "The Bone Elder Association and the City God have searched for Mo Tingsheng endlessly but to no avail, yet the Ancient Clan managed to locate him. Thus, I’m confident Mo Tingsheng is also from Buddha Country. Between factions from Buddha Country, they likely have ways—resembling the Great Hall’s secret communications—to maintain contact."
The Bone Elder Association, City God, and Witches all exchanged secret messages, with their identities indicated by diverse designs on the messages.
For instance, Li Chengfeng’s secret message took the form of a lantern with a "book" motif inscribed on it.
"Buddha Country must have a similar system of communication, which would explain how the Ancient Clan reached Mo Tingsheng so quickly.
Now, with their shared intention of targeting me, Mo Tingsheng and the Ancient Clan have launched a ’borrowed blade to kill’ strategy. This..."
Zhou Xuan lifted the newspaper, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it. "Defamation via public opinion is merely the first step, just the tip of the iceberg. Mo Tingsheng, this Buddha Country native and Ancient Clan member, surely has further plans,
but I’m not afraid. When the enemy comes, I’ll face them head-on. Whatever floods or fires they bring, I’ll handle them."
Then Zhou Xuan sneered, turning to Mr. Feng: "But you, Mr. Feng, you’re just a pitiful worm. Thirty years ago, when Buddha Country caused the Corridor River drought, it was unmistakably tied to Mo Tingsheng,
yet here you are, stewing in your so-called revenge plan, collaborating with Mo Tingsheng, the man responsible for the tragedy at Corridor River, and dreaming of waging war against the Gods. All you’ve managed to do is fight in vain, grieving the wrong graves. Get it?"
Having said his piece, Zhou Xuan left the stone house, signaled to the Painter with a glance,
and together they exited, leaving Qing Feng inside to watch over Mr. Feng.
As the door to the stone house closed, the Painter gave Zhou Xuan a big thumbs-up, saying, "Young Master, your predictions cut deep."
"I’ve done my homework,"
Zhou Xuan replied. "If Mo Tingsheng is from Buddha Country, it implies both Mingjiang Prefecture and Jing Country are rife with danger. When a cockroach appears in your home, you can bet there’s already a nest hidden in the shadows."
"This Mo Tingsheng must be captured and brought to justice—alive."
The Painter added, "Young Master, all of Mingjiang Prefecture relies on you. Even if the Saint Heir and Saintess come out of seclusion and seek to trouble you, I’ll step in and back you up."