Tian Ding City is the hub of water transportation in the north and south, controlling the throat of east-west traffic. It's one of the most prosperous places under heaven. At noon, the main street is crowded with people, bustling with activity.

  "Pack and listen" Cao Manzi hummed the opera, holding his purse, not feeling that anything dangerous would happen under the bright daylight and public gaze, and recently set up a gambling den, with two invited thugs following him.

  As he walked, he suddenly felt a hard object pressed against his waist, and a hoarse voice whispered in his ear: "Take a detour to the side alley."

  The sun was shining brightly, but Cao Manzi's forehead was sweating coldly. He didn't dare to take a risk to test whether the thing at his waist was real or not, nor did he dare to question whether the other person had the courage to commit murder in broad daylight. All he could do was slowly change direction and walk into a nearby alley.

  In this process, he found that the "bad guys" around him had medium stature, with a towel hanging down in front of their heads, covering up more than half of their faces.

  At this time, his two henchmen also discovered that something was wrong, but they did not dare to act rashly. One followed cautiously, while the other rushed forward quickly to spread the news and seek help.

  Through two small alleys, the crowd gradually thins out, white walls and black tiles, green moss and weeds.

  "Alright, let the one in the back retreat to the alley entrance." Meng Qi continued to instruct in a suppressed tone, his index and middle fingers pressed against Cao Manzi's waist didn't loosen - when fully operating the Golden Bell Shield, his two hands were as good as weapons.

  Cao Manzi's voice trembled as he ordered his henchmen to retreat, while pleading: "Brother, we're all traveling the jianghu road, and harmony brings wealth. If you have any difficulties, I, Cao Manzi, will definitely help."

  "I heard you're the one who's been snooping around Tian Ding City." Meng Qi didn't mention that he had been observing for two days.

  Hearing this sentence, Cao Manzi's heart was greatly settled, and he just wanted to answer the question quickly and send away the plague god: "Thanks to everyone's support, many friends know more about each other."

  "Very well, if I want to ask the Twelve Gods of Heaven to do something, how should I contact them?" Meng Qi asked in a low voice.

  The Twelve Heavenly Generals must have a way to receive external missions, otherwise they would all be like Duanmu Xi who went door-to-door searching for clues and would have "starved to death" long ago.

  Of course, Meng Qi suspected that Duan Xiang had also tried to contact him and obtained intelligence, otherwise how could they have met so coincidentally.

  Cao Manzi's whole body was nimble, and he immediately felt the hard object at his waist tighten. He could only lick his lips and say: "I don't know what you want to do with the Twelve Xiang Shen, nor do I want to know. You can go to Huai Shu Street 'Qiu Chun Tang' to try, ask the shopkeeper to buy seven taels and six mace of Wugen Flower, and then directly report the task and the reward you are willing to give."

  "If the Twelve Spirit Gods agree to take it on, on the second day, 'Autumn Cicada Hall' will sell a kind of ointment called 'Forget Worries'. You can go in and talk directly with the shopkeeper. Oh, and you need to pay part of the reward in advance."

  "Not bad, quite honest." The hoarse voice echoed in Cao Mengzi's ears, and then he heard a crisp sound, and several pieces of silver appeared on the ground.

  Just as he lowered his head to look at the silver, a flower appeared in front of his eyes, and the person who had just hijacked him had disappeared on the other side of the alley.

  "This skill......" He stood there in a daze, slightly frightened, if he hadn't cooperated like that, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

  His martial arts skills are not high, but he has a wide range of connections and good eyesight.

  …………

  Meng Qi planned to use the task delegation method to lure out the Twelve Divine Generals, but he didn't rush into it. Instead, he monitored the You Mansion at night and practiced martial arts during the day, gathering information from all sides. After all, the news of the Sect Master's duel and Shen Hou stealing the Buddha had just spread, so the nearby Twelve Divine Generals might not have arrived yet. If he delegated tasks now, it would definitely be accepted by "Shen Hou", which would be a waste of effort.

  By the fourth day, people from nearby Wulin had arrived one after another, and Tiandu City was increasingly bustling. Many inns and wine houses were overcrowded.

  After eating and drinking enough, Meng Qi returned to the temple with a single hanging, and saw that there were two more men and women in the courtyard. They were all young people in their prime, with the men wearing rolled-up crowns and large-sleeved shirts, tall and straight. The two girls, one wore a long dress of lake water green, with white boots, and the other wore a plain white tight-fitting outfit, slender and graceful, both looked pleasing to the eye.

  They all use swords, but I don't know if they can even wield them well... Meng Qi muttered to himself, looking at the two men and two women with long swords hanging from their waists.

  There was Jiang Zhi's subtle and exquisite swordsmanship ahead, and her words reminding him that her sword techniques were difficult to learn and master, Meng Qi always had a few more scrutinies for people who used long swords.

  Because they couldn't be too conspicuous while gathering information, Meng Qi didn't wear the white monk's robe he had bought. When the two men and two women saw a grey-robed monk come in, they thought it was just one of the temple's monks and didn't pay much attention to him, continuing to chat among themselves about Cui Xiang and Luo Qing's battle for the position of sect leader, discussing Shen Hua leaving behind a book on stealing Buddha, and seeming very excited.

  "If we can witness the duel between the two greatest swordsmen of our time, our sword skills will definitely make rapid progress." The girl in the green water skirt said with a gentle and wistful tone, her facial features were elegant, her skin was pale and delicate, with a few faint freckles on her face.

  A relatively tall man laughed and said: "At that time, our reputation as the Four Heroes of Jiangnan will spread throughout the Yangtze River basin, east and west."

  "But only the invited masters can enter the city lord's manor to watch, sigh...". The girl in a plain white dress had a round face and looked cute.

  A slightly shorter man looked at him and said hopefully: "Ning brother, aren't you well-connected? Is there any way?"

  ……

  A few people's discussion was no different from the wine house outside, Meng Qi really couldn't muster up any interest and directly walked towards his own dwelling Zen room.

  A monk with a knowing smile came forward, his hands clasped together: "Master Zhen Ding, why have you returned so early today?"

  "There are too many people outside, it's noisy and annoying, I'd rather go back and find some peace." Meng Qi said casually.

  The monk pointed at the two men and two women inside the courtyard: "Yes, many donors can't find guest rooms, so they have to stay in the Zen forest."

  There are indeed many people from the rivers and lakes, even this broken temple has someone to stay... Meng Qi muttered a sentence, exchanged pleasantries for a moment, pushed open the Zen room and entered.

  Knock knock knock, Meng Qi had just sat down when someone called out and knocked on the door.

  "Is this the donor?" Meng Qi opened the door and saw that the taller of the two men, who was standing outside with a smile on his face.

  He was dressed in a somewhat old-fashioned way, with a pair of eyebrows that left a deep impression, and smiled: "I am Ning Dao Gu, one of the Four Heroes of Jiangnan. These three are my sworn brothers and sisters, Ji Xin, Yue Shi Shi, Nie Yao. I don't know which master you are."

  I don't need to know your nicknames... Meng Qi muttered to himself, and then replied: "This humble monk is Zhēn Dìng. What brings Master Ning here?"

  Ning Dao Gu strove to appear elegant: "Just now, I thought the Dharma Master was a monk from this temple, but it seems I was mistaken. Which temple is the Dharma Master from? Has he come to watch the battle between the Orthodox and the Monkey King's theft of the Buddha?"

  "This humble monk is a wild fox Chan master. I arrived in Tiandingshan City a few days ago, and it's not that I came specifically for this." Meng Qi said frankly.

  Ning Dao nodded and chatted for a few more sentences before bidding farewell and leaving.

  He closed the door and walked back to the common room, vaguely hearing Ning Daogu say to the other three: "It's just an ordinary monk, nothing special."

  "Looking at his extraordinary appearance, I thought he was a fellow Jianghu practitioner like us, a renowned high monk." The green-water skirted girl, Le Shi Shi, said with a smile.

  Ji Xin snorted: "Good-looking but full of nonsense, isn't that not uncommon? Is a prestigious school's recruitment based on looks? I think he probably just casually practiced some Three-legged Cat Knife Technique."

  "Never mind him, it's almost time for Shen Hou to steal the Buddha anyway. Shall we go wait near Yu Fu?" Nie Yao said excitedly.

  Leshi's attention was quickly diverted, and he exclaimed excitedly: "That's right, tonight the heroes of Jianghu will gather together. Even if Shen Hou's martial arts are high, his two fists can't defeat four hands. Once discovered, it's bound to be difficult to escape the heavenly net. At that time, we may have the opportunity to capture him."

  "If we can capture Shēn Hóu, our name will truly spread throughout the land, from the Yangtze River to the seas in the east and west..." Ning Dào Gǔ also had some fanciful thoughts.

  Meng Qi pursed his lips, focused his mind and sat in meditation for a while. After an hour, he got up and walked out the door, heading straight to Huai Tree Street.

  "Autumn Cicada Hall" was an old-fashioned pharmacy, the owner's eyes were dim and his ears were dull, without greeting Meng Qi.

  Meng Qi wore a green casual outfit and a bamboo hat, walked up to the shopkeeper and said: "I want seven taels and six mace of Wu Gen Hua."

  Wú gēn huā is a non-existent medicine.

  The shopkeeper was dialing the abacus, heard this and paused for a moment, then continued to dial, his voice old and hoarse: "Seven taels six mace Wurong flower?"

  "Yes, before the war of the sect masters, I will capture Young Master You Hongbo for you, and the reward is the 'Fantasy Shape Great Method'." Meng Qi said with a deliberate change in his tone.

  Although there is no complete "Fantasy Dharma", it's still possible to fool people, anyway, I'm not afraid of being hunted down by the Twelve Gods after the event, if you have the ability, just chase me into the cycle space!

  Upon hearing "Huan Xing Da Fa", the shopkeeper's eyelid twitched, he suddenly lifted his head, was stunned for a moment, and sighed: "Today there is no Wu Gen Hua goods, come back tomorrow."

  Meng Qi smiled in satisfaction and went out to change his route continuously. In a quiet place, he took off his fighting cap and put on a monk's robe.

  Back at the temple, apart from the "Four Heroes of Jiangnan", there were some more people in the yard who seemed to be their friends, chatting happily.

  "Who is that monk?"

  An ordinary hanging monk.

  "Oh, no wonder you're quite young."

  After a brief conversation, they quickly returned to their own topics, and Meng Qi also focused on his meditation.

  Everyone in the hospital was chatting when they suddenly discovered that another dignified man had entered, probably in his thirties, with thick eyebrows and a red face, looking heroic.

  "Is it true that Master Zhen Ding Fa is residing here?" The man asked with a courteous bow.

  Ning Dao Gu instinctively felt that this man was not ordinary, so he smiled and approached him: "We also arrived today, I don't know who is the real Ding Fa Shi, may I ask your name, we'd like to invite the host to come out."

  "Mu Hengtian." The man replied succinctly.

  Le Shi's face changed, and he exclaimed in surprise and delight: "Could it be that you are Mu Shaozhu of the Eighteen Waters of the South?"

  What? Everyone present gasped, the Southern Eighteen Waterways were one of the top forces in the world, and Mu Shan, the head of the gang, was also a top-notch master. He and City Lord Cui were even sworn brothers.

  But Mu Hengtian was young and famous, rumored to have surpassed his master and would be a respected figure in the future, not on the same level as himself and other so-called Jiangnan heroes.

  "The eighteen waterways jointly promoted the overall scoop, without the title of Young Master." Mu Hengtian said with a stern expression.

  "Yes, what Mu Da Xia said is absolutely right." Ji Xin said with a flattering tone, and everyone echoed in agreement.

  At this time, Mu Hengtian saw Zhi Ke monk coming in and hurriedly asked where the true Ding Fa master was.

  "Zhī kè pointed to Meng Qi's room: 'Master Zhēn Dìng has just returned.'"

  What? That ordinary little monk is actually the real Ding Fashi that Mu Shao has been looking for? Ning Dao Gu and Nie Yao were stunned.

  Mu Hengtian took a deep breath, walked to Meng Qi's door, cupped his hands and bowed, saying loudly: "Zhēn Dìng Fǎ Shī (True Ding Method Master), I am Mu Hengtian, here to wash away my father's shame. Please come out and fight."