Wei Yuefu naturally noticed Meng Zhijie and Meng Mingzhu attempting to flank him.
With his little brother watching from the sky, Wei Yuefu saw every detail with complete clarity.
"Don't move, you two," Wei Yuefu said leisurely. "Take another step, and I'll give it two more hammer strikes.
"Right now, you still have a chance to piece this Eight Treasures Golden Body back together.
"If it takes two more strikes from my hammer, that might not be the case."
Hearing this, Meng Zhijie and Meng Mingzhu froze in their tracks.
Then, they covertly glanced at Meng Wei.
Seeing this, Meng Wei could only give a slight, helpless nod before gesturing for the two to fall back.
"Leave now, and I will let bygones be bygones," Meng Wei said in a low, heavy voice.
Wei Yuefu was amused by the remark.
Meng Wei still hadn't adjusted his mindset regarding "Ding Shoucheng."
He still treated him like his third disciple.
"Fine. Step back another ten paces," Wei Yuefu said. "Leave me a way out."
"Very well, but put away your golden melon hammers first," Meng Wei countered, fearful that Wei Yuefu might do something desperate.
"You step back first, and then I'll put them away," Wei Yuefu replied bluntly, refusing to indulge him. "Otherwise, what if you throw daggers at me the moment I lower them?"
"Impossible. If you—" Meng Wei naturally refused to agree.
Yet before he could finish speaking, Wei Yuefu raised a golden melon hammer, poised to smash it down again.
"Fine, fine, fine! We'll fall back!" Meng Wei ultimately gave ground. After all, they held the upper hand; what did backing up ten paces matter?
Once the three reluctantly retreated ten paces, Wei Yuefu promptly squatted down and swung his golden melon hammers, pounding the fragments of the Buddha statue with resounding thuds.
Portions were instantly pulverized into dust, while others became completely illegible.
Even if they got their hands on the pieces, they would never be able to reconstruct the Eight Treasures Golden Body; only a tiny fraction remained readable.
Witnessing this, the trio was stunned, then charged forward without hesitation.
They couldn't comprehend why Wei Yuefu was doing this.
Seeing them rush in, Wei Yuefu smashed the final section into powder to ruin it completely, tossed aside the golden melon hammers, and ran.
The pair of golden melon hammers was far from light, especially while he wore thick cotton armor. Otherwise, how could those two flying daggers that struck him earlier have left him completely unharmed?
The daggers had looked as though they hit his shoulder, but in reality, they had struck the thick cotton armor, which functioned much like ancient body armor.
This gear was standard issue for iron ruler constables. Thick cotton armor effectively defended against ordinary punches, kicks, and slashes from blades that were not razor-sharp, while absorbing blunt-force trauma to the greatest extent possible.
Not only that, but as he ran, he cast off all non-essential equipment besides the thick cotton armor to maximize his escape speed.
Behind him, seeing Wei Yuefu flee, the trio hurled every flying dagger on their persons in their fury.
With his little brother's help, Wei Yuefu dodged whatever he could. When he truly couldn't avoid a blade, he tucked his head in to shield his vitals.
Though he avoided many daggers, several still struck his back, waist, and flanks.
The three didn't pursue him very far. Once they ran out of flying daggers, they were forced to return to the shattered Buddha statue.
"This... how are we supposed to explain this to Junior Brother?" Meng Mingzhu asked anxiously.
"Explain?" Meng Wei snapped irritably. "Explain what? I am his master."
"We can only tell the truth. What else can we do?" Meng Zhijie said, equally exasperated.
The three felt suffocated by frustration.
Their frustration stemmed not just from failing the task, but from being played for fools by "Ding Shoucheng."
In their memory, "Ding Shoucheng" was an honest, simple man, so it had never crossed their minds that he might scheme against them.
Although he had shown signs of change before, this was practically a completely different person.
***
Meanwhile, Wei Yuefu sprinted all the way back to Six Doors.
"Quick, quick, sound the alarm!" Wei Yuefu shouted the moment he returned. "I was ambushed on my way back!"
As he spoke, he displayed the flying daggers lodged in his thick cotton armor.
The yamen runners on duty were horrified at the sight. What kind of outlaws were bold enough to commit such an outrage?
A runner immediately rang the warning bell and hurriedly asked, "Lord Ding, what about Lord Tian and the others...?"
"They are fine. They transported the felon overnight to the prefectural capital to report in," Wei Yuefu explained. "Lord Tian assigned me the mission of escorting the stolen goods back, but I was ambushed.
"The evidence was lost, and even I barely made it back alive."
Hearing this, the runner was stunned. What kind of person were they transporting for something like this to happen?
"Lord Ding, change your clothes and go seek out the county magistrate to demand justice," the runner hurriedly advised. He knew Wei Yuefu had only assumed office a few days ago and was unfamiliar with many procedures.
"Alright," Wei Yuefu said. "Don't remove the daggers. This thick cotton armor will serve as evidence in court."
With that, Wei Yuefu changed into his official robes, gathered a squad of yamen runners, and headed straight for the county magistrate's estate.
If this succeeded, they might even pin a charge of treason onto Sifang Martial Arts Hall and wipe out all nine familial branches.
Along the way, however, Wei Yuefu wondered about something: the Buddha statue was destroyed, so why hadn't the quest registered as completed?
He checked the quest description again, and only then did the truth dawn on him.
After "destroy," the objective also included the words "extinguish the transmission."
Although the Buddha statue was destroyed, Wei Yuefu still held a handwritten copy in his hands, which meant there was still a chance it could fall into Shen Qianjun's possession.
Therefore, what he needed to do next was simple: memorize the text, then burn it. Only then would the transmission truly be severed.
Once they arrived at the county magistrate's estate and Wei Yuefu recounted the events, the magistrate's expression darkened.
"Constable Ding has worked hard these past days. Return and rest well; leave the rest to me," the county magistrate said in a heavy voice. "Before Lord Tian returns, I guarantee that the entire county yamen and Six Doors will remain safe."
If Shen Qianjun had merely been snatching credit, the magistrate would have had no recourse.
However, the other party had crossed the line. Ambushing and attempting to assassinate a constable on the road was murder of an imperial official.
Who could say whether they might target him next?
The magistrate naturally did not rely on Wei Yuefu's words alone; he had seen the flying daggers embedded in the thick cotton armor.
Those weapons were certainly not standard Six Doors issue.
"Understood, my Lord," Wei Yuefu acknowledged, before taking his men and leaving.
He didn't need to worry about what came next. The county magistrate would handle it, and Tian Muchuan would also take action upon his return.
As for him, once he returned, he would focus on gaining basic entry into the Eight Treasures Golden Body first.
Even if he couldn't master the basics, he had to commit the entire text to memory.
Otherwise, the quest could never be completed.
Only a few days remained before the quest deadline. If he failed to achieve either requirement before time ran out, he would simply have to discard the Eight Treasures Golden Body.
The two quest rewards—a heaven-and-earth treasure and a heaven-and-earth marvel—were both far more valuable than the martial art of the Eight Treasures Golden Body.
Nevertheless, with his Earth Grade aptitude, gaining basic entry into the Eight Treasures Golden Body within the remaining few days should pose little difficulty.
Chapter 15