The Fragrance Scripture was a set of Qi Cultivation Internal Power circulated within the Celestial Fragrance Sect. Wang Sen claimed it was gifted by a demon fox, containing a mind-bewitching scripture and a True Qi Guidance mnemonic. All followers of the Celestial Fragrance Sect practiced the Fragrance Scripture, but ordinary followers were only taught the scripture, not the mnemonic. Only to devout believers and the Sect’s upper echelons would Wang Sen pass down both the scripture and the mnemonic.
The real Meng Yuanshu, as authenticated by the system panel before Chen Xin’s eyes, clearly had the Fragrance Scripture listed in his Martial Arts column. In other words, this sole survivor of the Changfeng Escort Agency massacre was also a core member of the Celestial Fragrance Sect. At the same time, he harbored hostility toward Chen Xin, otherwise the enemy panel wouldn’t have appeared.
Chen Xin rested his hand lightly on the hilt of his saber, Unstoppable. He made no move to strike, nor did he expose the man, choosing instead to watch quietly.
"Divine Robe Guards, Wind-Catching Secret Agents..."
By the light of the Luminous Pearl, Meng Yuanshu had long since deduced the identities of the five from their attire. He muttered these two terms under his breath before his tone shifted, becoming incredibly despondent. "If you lords have tracked me here, I fear my father, mother, and the Escort Master uncles have met a grim fate. I wonder... how are my younger brother and sister? Are they safe?"
For a moment, Leng Lianyun and the other three were at a loss for words, unsure if they should bluntly tell him that, aside from him, his entire family had perished.
"Heh..."
Seeing no response, Meng Yuanshu understood. He let out a series of miserable laughs, beating his chest in anguish, before wailing bitterly like a man driven mad. He kept muttering that it was all his fault, that he had failed them.
"Let us head up and talk. The air here is stale and the space is too cramped. Once you’ve calmed down, Meng Yuanshu, we will explain everything to you," Chen Xin stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and spoke softly.
Meng Yuanshu agreed. The six of them promptly went up to the study.
"I couldn’t control my emotions, making a fool of myself before you lords." Meng Yuanshu’s mood had gradually stabilized. He cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Please, tell me what happened at the Escort Agency."
Leng Lianyun spoke up, skimming over the details of the murders at the Escort Agency so as not to provoke him further, and then asked about the alliance between the Beihai Sword Sect and the Celestial Fragrance Sect mentioned by the fake Meng Yuanshu.
"It is all my fault," Meng Yuanshu said, his voice brimming with remorse. "Some time ago, while traveling in Dongchang Prefecture, I befriended a disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect. We had a great time conversing, hitting it off instantly, and I considered him a confidant.
"Once, after drinking too much, I let it slip that my ancestor had left behind a Miraculous Skill. I never expected that this person was actually a follower of the Celestial Fragrance Sect, who took note of this and secretly coveted my ancestor’s Miraculous Skill.
"Ignorant of this at the time, I brought him back to the Escort Agency and introduced him to my father and the Escort Master uncles. Later on..." Meng Yuanshu paused, every subtle expression on his face screaming of regret. "My father noticed something amiss with him and warned me to be careful, but I always brushed it off.
"Yesterday, feeling uneasy, my father conducted an investigation and discovered multiple thieves lurking in the courtyard, with experts watching from the outside. He then called me to the study, brought me into the secret chamber, and ordered me not to leave for twelve hours.
"After that, you lords appeared."
Leng Lianyun asked a series of questions regarding various details and points of suspicion, to which Meng Yuanshu answered them all flawlessly.
"Which ancestral Cultivation Skill of the Meng family does the Celestial Fragrance Sect covet? Is it Dragon Slayer and Flood Dragon Slayer in the Sleeve?" Chen Xin interjected.
"To think that you know of this Martial Arts... But of course, it must have been that thief impersonating me who told you. Alas, I also told my ’good friend’ about this." With that, Meng Yuanshu shook his head. "If handing over this skill could have saved the Meng family, I would have gladly done so. But what the Celestial Fragrance Sect has their eyes on is a Miraculous Skill that could endanger the world in the hands of the wicked. Our Meng family could never hand it over."
At these words, the curiosity of all five was piqued.
"I will explain everything clearly to you lords, and... I will also hand this skill over to the Court to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.
"The Meng family descends from Fan Meng of the previous dynasty. Our ancestor was from Qii County, Kaifeng Prefecture. Though from a poor family, he possessed considerable Martial Arts Talent. In his youth, he saved a white-haired Daoist, who unexpectedly possessed extremely high Martial Arts, and thus he obtained his True Inheritor Secret Manual."
Meng Yuanshu detailed their family’s secrets:
"However, our ancestor’s ambitions didn’t lie in the Martial Dao. He studied texts diligently with the intention of serving the illegitimate Yuan dynasty. Yet his official career was rocky, and due to his identity as a Han person, he was often made things difficult for and ostracized by his superiors, serving as nothing more than a lowly clerk.
"Our ancestor once said, ’I shall surely kill such sorts.’
"Therefore, he took up the Martial Dao once more. With astonishing Talent, he comprehended two great Martial Arts from the old white-haired Daoist’s True Inheritor Secret Manual: one being Dragon Slayer and Flood Dragon Slayer in the Sleeve, and the other being the Soul-Stealing Secret Manual.
"The Soul-Stealing Secret Manual is the Miraculous Skill that the Celestial Fragrance Sect covets. This is a Spiritual Secret Technique created by our ancestor to adapt to his circumstances. It involves striking first to seize the initiative, using intimidating might to snatch a person’s soul, and then controlling their mind.
"The Yuan people cultivate their bodies but not their minds, making them susceptible to having their souls stolen by sheer imposing aura.
"Afterward, our ancestor and his old friend Huo Bashi disguised themselves as Imperial Envoys, gathered the high-ranking officials of Henan Province at the time, and killed them. He then appointed himself Grand Marshal of Henan Jiangbei Province, using the Soul-Stealing Secret Manual to subdue both internal and external officials, establishing a state within a state.
"Our ancestor secretly amassed power, plotting to overthrow the Yuan and restore the Han. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by a subordinate, and his secrets were leaked. He was assassinated by the Yuan Court’s Thirteen Wings, and his grand enterprise of rebelling against the Yuan was nipped in the bud."
After hearing Meng Yuanshu’s recounting, everyone present stood frozen in place. They had already known from the Changfeng Escort Agency’s records that Fan Meng had stirred up the vast Central Plains bureaucracy in the guise of a lowly Imperial Envoy. When they first learned of it, though shocked, they were mostly struck by how decayed and laughable the Yuan Court’s administration was, to have the entire bureaucracy fooled by a fake Imperial Envoy.