M49S Vol 1 Chapter 28. Lion’s Head

Xiao Xiao left to carry out the task, and the room quieted, leaving only Meng Qiqi and Chen Boyan behind. Until now, Chen Boyan had never questioned anything Meng Qiqi did. But this time, he could not stay silent.

“Little Martial Uncle, what you just gave to Senior Brother Xiao… was that the token from Cangtian?” His tone carried no harshness, yet the gaze fixed on Meng Qiqi was one that could not be avoided.

Meng Qiqi had expected the question. He glanced at the faint shadows moving behind the paper window and casually took a seat by the table. “Don’t worry. Your Little Martial Uncle doesn’t steal or rob. That token was obtained fair and square.”

Chen Boyan sighed. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh? Then what did you mean?”

Chen Boyan got straight to the point. “That token bears the Holy Sovereign’s personal seal. So allow me to ask boldly. Is the Holy Sovereign currently in Jinling? And what is your relationship with her?”

“You think I’m secretly in league with her?” Meng Qiqi raised a brow.

“You’re Little Martial Uncle of Gushan Sword. Master is still waiting for you to return. I can’t let Cangtian take you away,” Chen Boyan said.

Meng Qiqi lifted his veil, resting his chin on one hand as he looked at Chen Boyan. He gave a light laugh. “I’m your Little Martial Uncle. Of course I wouldn’t abandon you.”

The phrasing gave Chen Boyan a pause, though he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Meng Qiqi continued, “Besides, the Holy Sovereign is a woman. No matter how beautiful, she’s not the one my heart longs for.”

Chen Boyan was not so easily fooled. How could he not hear what Meng Qiqi was implying? But this was far too brazen. How could such words be spoken so casually?

He looked more closely at Meng Qiqi’s expression, only to find the man watching him with a smile, half teasing, half amused. That gaze seemed to pierce straight into his heart.

“Ahem.” Chen Boyan quietly averted his eyes and lowered his gaze. “Who Little Martial Uncle likes is not something this disciple dares to question.”

Meng Qiqi said nothing. After a long silence, he spoke softly. “Fangjun always did know how to make jokes.”

He was gritting his teeth. This man used to protect him like a mother hen, even standing guard on the riverbank with a hatchet while he bathed. Not dare to question? One day when you finally remember, your granddaddy Meng will teach you what’s what.

Forget it. No point getting upset at a block of wood who can’t remember anything.

Meng Qiqi poured himself a cup of tea to calm down, then said, “Cangtian is the strongest force beyond the passes. They have their own secret realm, hidden deep in the endless sands. But unlike in the interior, the realms beyond the passes are closed off to outside cultivators. A year ago, while investigating my Little Martial Uncle’s whereabouts, I found a way to sneak in. Back then, the current Holy Sovereign wasn’t yet the Holy Sovereign. Cangtian was fractured, torn by internal strife. Some factions even tried to kill her inside the secret realm. And it just so happened that I was there.”

“You saved her?” Chen Boyan asked.

“No. It doesn’t count as saving. We were just helping each other to survive. In the end, we both made it out of the secret realm alive. I left Cangtian, and she became the Holy Sovereign. People say the current Holy Sovereign is full of ambition and will one day lead her forces into the interior, but do you know what she wanted most after becoming Holy Sovereign?” Meng Qiqi asked.

Chen Boyan shook his head.

Meng Qiqi picked up another cup, poured him a serving of tea, and gestured for him to sit. Then he continued, “The Holy Sovereign is just like Xiao Yu’er and Qing Gu. she may have grown up beyond the passes, but she’s a native of the interior through and through. She came to Jinling this time to look for her biological father.”

The phrase Holy Sovereign seeking her kin surfaced in Chen Boyan’s mind, and the surprise outweighed his curiosity. Meng Qiqi reminded him, “But don’t go telling anyone. And definitely don’t let her know it was me who told you, or she’ll come after me again. When the grand competition begins, she’ll show herself.”

“Her father… who is he?” Chen Boyan could not help but ask.

Meng Qiqi pressed his palms together, imitating Master Yinian’s gesture. “The Buddha says, it cannot be spoken.”

While the two of them were quietly conversing, Xiao Yu’er had already entered the Wang residence under Wang Ziqian’s guidance. Wang Ziqian was not entirely without suspicion, but first, the boy said he was looking for an elder from his sect, which made sense. Second, Xiao Yu’er was only twelve years old, with a face as sweet and pristine as jade. Wang Ziqian simply could not bring himself to be wary.

When he dropped him off at the entrance, Xiao Yu’er stood on the steps and bowed with perfect courtesy. “Thank you, Brother Ziqian.”

Still baby-faced, and so very proper.

Wang Ziqian walked away, turning to glance back every few steps. Tang Li came out to greet Xiao Yu’er and, upon seeing such an adorable junior disciple, quickly took his hand and led him inside. He had originally planned to go to Chanhua Tower to keep an eye on Meng Qiqi, just in case something went wrong, but after tossing and turning all night, he decided he would rather not see it happen with his own eyes.

Trouble was inevitable. People would be provoked. Why be there to witness it? Let the senior disciple take the brunt of it. He would just step in later to smooth things over.

To make sure the smoothing went well, Tang Li had not spoken much with the other sects today. Now that Xiao Yu’er had arrived, he finally had someone to talk to, and he could not be more pleased.

But Xiao Yu’er only sweetly called out “Fifth Martial Uncle” before running off to the inner room to change clothes. Then, under Tang Li’s startled gaze, he took off his eye patch and revealed a perfectly healthy left eye.

“Y-you… your eye is fine?”

“That’s right!” Xiao Yu’er tucked the eyepatch carefully into his robe. It had been sewn by his master, and he intended to keep it safe. But Tang Li was confused. “If your eye is fine, why do you keep it covered?”

Xiao Yu’er instantly turned serious. “Master said my eye mustn’t be shown lightly to others.”

“But haven’t you just shown it to me?” Tang Li was even more puzzled. He bent down to examine Xiao Yu’er’s left eye more closely, trying to figure out what was so special about it.

Xiao Yu’er quickly stepped back. “Master really said I mustn’t show it carelessly.”

But it was already too late. Tang Li suddenly caught sight of a tiny red speck in that left pupil. Xiao Yu’er had retreated so fast that the speck quivered, and then, like a flower, it began to bloom.

The beautiful red-and-black petals continued to unfurl, rippling outward like rings of water.

Thud! Tang Li’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the floor.

Xiao Yu’er let out a startled “Ah!” but it was too late. He frowned in frustration. He really shouldn’t have taken off the eyepatch so early. Still, he hadn’t expected Tang Li to keel over so quickly.

With no other choice, Xiao Yu’er used all his strength to drag Tang Li onto the bed. Once he confirmed it was only a brief fainting spell, he pulled a square kerchief over his little face and prepared to sneak off toward the courtyard of the Third Elder.

By now, it was already the third quarter of the Shen hour. Sunset was close.

---

The Lion Tower had returned to its usual lively calm, but whether it was the bustling waiters or the guests drinking at their tables, all of them were quietly keeping an eye on the closed door upstairs.

Inside that room sat the Little Martial Uncle of Gushan.

A glance to the right revealed the adjacent private room, where the disciples of Beidou were gathered.

Everyone was waiting for Yexin to arrive. The wait was agonizing. Hearts pounded with excitement, as though they were on the verge of witnessing a battle for the ages.

Jiang Xie, however, could not sit still for a moment. With his hands behind his back, he paced the room, his expression so dark it seemed to drip with tension. He knew full well that whether Elder Yexin showed up or not, Meng Qiqi’s earlier words would still leave a mark.

The real trouble was that no one had a clear grasp of Meng Qiqi’s cultivation level.
His background was already shrouded in mystery, and his movements were far too elusive. In recent years, all the stories about him came from beyond the borders, yet within the cultivation world, there were hardly any who truly knew him.

Jiang Xie felt a sudden chill. Only now did he realize that when it came to Meng Qiqi, they knew almost nothing.

Just then, a loud voice rang out from outside, slightly impatient and thoroughly unbothered. “Who ordered the braised lion’s head?”

Jiang Xie frowned and waved a hand for his junior to go check. Meng Qiqi suddenly looked up. “He’s here.”

The man who arrived was none other than the owner of the Lion Tower, Wang Wan’nan, the least accomplished yet wealthiest member of the Wang clan.

He was lifting his robes as he made his way nimbly up the stairs, his body round yet unexpectedly agile. From the reactions of the servers and the manager, the guests quickly caught on to his identity, and all eyes followed him as he ascended to the second floor.

Wang Wan’nan stopped halfway up the stairs. He happened to be standing right at the center of the entire Lion Tower. Catching his breath, he turned around, straightened his hat, and dusted off his robe. Seeing no one respond to his earlier question, he snapped irritably, “Who ordered my braised lion’s head? Speak up!”

But everyone looked at one another in confusion. None of them had ordered braised lion’s head. The waiter had said that this dish was a special item, only prepared when the owner himself was present.

Now the owner had arrived, but still no one had placed the order.

Yin Wuhua rubbed his shiny bald head and stood up. “How about I order one?”

“Bah!” Wang Wan’nan spat with such force that all his fat jiggled.

Yin Wuhua clicked his tongue. “Weren’t you the one shouting? Are you making it or not?”

“I asked who ordered my braised lion’s head!”

“Then I’ll order one.”

“Bah, bah, bah!” Wang Wan’nan loathed this kind of troublemaker. He was furious. His aunt had just summoned him for a scolding, and after all that yelling, she even made him come here to cook. Worst of all, she refused to tell him who placed the order, insisting he come ask himself. As if that were easy.

Meng Qiqi was still waiting.

The person he was waiting for had yet to appear, and that slight delay cast a shadow over his expression.

The Lion Tower had an unwritten rule. No banquets unless it was a lion’s feast. In other words, if a banquet were to be held, there had to be braised lion’s head on the table. But this braised lion’s head was no ordinary dish. All the ingredients came from secret realms. For ordinary people, it could strengthen the body. For cultivators, it could enhance their cultivation.

Not only was it exceedingly rare, but the only person in all of Jinling City who could prepare it was Wang Wan’nan, the very one who had created the dish. What made it even more remarkable was that if a cultivator consumed a demonic beast’s core along with the dish, the effects would be doubled.

Though cultivators from major sects normally had no shortage of spiritual pills and elixirs, and thus had no particular craving for such a dish, Meng Qiqi had gone to great lengths to obtain it. Not for its effects, but for something else entirely.

He wanted Wang Ziling to host a lion’s feast. A banquet that would win hearts and allow him to establish a foothold during the Knock upon the Immortal Gate.

But Wang Ziling still hadn’t shown up, while Wang Wan’nan had already arrived. It seemed that for now, Meng Qiqi could only take things one step at a time. He was just about to speak up when Chen Boyan stopped him.

Chen Boyan shook his head and looked past the crowd toward the entrance of the Lion Tower. “Little Martial Uncle, look.”

Meng Qiqi turned to look and saw a chubby figure leaning against the doorway, panting heavily. At first glance, it looked like a younger version of Wang Wan’nan by more than twenty years.

A hand reached over and gently patted the man’s back. “Come on. Say something.”

Wang Ziling turned around and looked blankly at Xiao Xiao’s handsome face. “Say what?”

“Answer your uncle.”

“Huh? My uncle?” Still dazed, Wang Ziling turned back toward the room.

One older, one younger. The two round faces stared straight at each other.

Wang Wan’nan gave Wang Ziling a vicious glare. It was because of this little fatty that he had been scolded to hell and back by his aunt. Not wanting to acknowledge him, Wang Wan’nan raised his voice again. “Who ordered my braised lion’s head? If no one speaks up, I’m not cooking it.”

Xiao Xiao quietly poked Wang Ziling in the back.

Wang Ziling flinched and whispered in protest, “I didn’t order it.”

“You did,” Xiao Xiao replied. “And tomorrow night, you’ll be hosting a banquet for the disciples of all the sects.”

Wang Ziling said, “Me?”

His voice was so loud that Wang Wan’nan heard it and turned to stare at him as though he had seen a ghost. “You?”

Wang Ziling said again, “Me?”

Wang Wan’nan stared blankly.

Was his nephew stupid?