Cheating Craft Chapter 26

Flaming Arrow

“So amazing! How’d you solve them?”

The practice tests had been finished. Bai Jiu looked at Meng Ming’s perfect paper and asked him in shock, “How come no matter how much I calculated this question, I kept getting a different answer…but Meng Ming is able to solve it immediately? Can you teach me first?”　　

Meng Ming felt that managing to copy the entire test paper was already quite difficult. He had originally wanted to relax, but then Bai Jiu immediately asked him how to find the answer instead. Unable to endure it any further, he could only feign, “I’ll explain it to you after school next time…”　

“But…” Bai Jiu pa.s.sionately said, “I still want to understand how to derive the solutions to these questions first….! Otherwise, I won’t have any appet.i.te to eat…” n.o.body could possibly move her from her desire to solve the questions.　　

Meng Ming could only feel extreme admiration towards her dedication…　　

“Ah, right, the bet just now with Meng Ming…” Bai Jiu asked in embarra.s.sment. Because she hadn’t gotten a higher score, Meng Ming could make a request.　　

“Yea, of course I remember!” Meng Ming tapped his fist to his palm. “Then, if I make a request now, you’ll agree?”

Bai Jiu’s face suddenly turned red. Her back nervously straightened stiffly and she nodded, “Yea….”　

Phew, it’s finally over. Meng Ming happily said to her, “Then, can you give “Ravine Apparition” to me?” Meng Ming didn’t know how to mention the ring, so he just asked for “Ravine Apparition” once more.　　

”Ah? The text?” Bai Jiu didn’t understand.　

“No, not that!” Meng Ming hurriedly explained, afraid that Bai Jiu would talk about something related to studying again. “I’m referring to a ring. It should’ve been…placed here by your father.”　　

“Meng Ming knows my father?” Bai Jiu thought back, but couldn’t recall it. She said, “Apparition, I’ve never heard of any apparition…”

“Ah?! But…! Well more precisely, that ring is actually a carving tool…you don’t know of it?”

Meng Ming was dumbfounded. He hadn’t thought that after putting in so much effort, Bai Jiu actually didn’t know anything about it at all! ….I, I did that all in vain?!　　

“Ah! If you say it’s a carving tool, I seem to have some memory of it…” Bai Jiu suddenly recalled something.　　

“Mm?!” Meng Ming hurriedly focused again.　　

“I remember Mother once said that name to me…! It’s Ravine…”　　

Before she had even finished speaking, the frightening sound of breaking gla.s.s suddenly rang from the inner room.

Bai Jiu jumped in alarm, and Meng Ming also raised his guard, “Who’s there?!”　　

The two of them quickly ran into the inner room. The room was completely dark, and the window had been broken open. The gla.s.s fragments were scattered around the ground, and the contents in the cabinet had all been flipped through.　

Suddenly, two black figures appeared in the room, and jumped from the window with something in their hands. “Halt!” Meng Ming wanted to shout, but they were both very nimble. With a single leap, they disappeared into the air above with a whoosh, leaving no traces behind!　　

“Who were those people?” Meng Ming hurriedly asked Bai Jiu.　　

Bai Jiu said she didn’t know; something like this had never happened in her home before!　　

Thieves?! Meng Ming reacted extremely quickly, and immediately realized—not only were those two people thieves, they also had a specific objective!　　

Bai Jiu told Meng Ming that n.o.body ever came into this room, and it was used to store random items. She didn’t know what kinds of things were here either.　　

Don’t tell me…..

—“It’ll be quite difficult to obtain the Ravine Apparition~”

Carron’s words suddenly echoed in Meng Ming’s ear!

The Ravine Apparition had been stolen! Meng Ming immediately came to a realization. Could it be that the old baldie knew this would happen, that people would come to steal Ravine Apparition? That’s why he asked me to come and retrieve it…?!

He realized that because the Ravine Apparition was a ring made of diamond, it was very valuable. His mood grew darker: d.a.m.n baldie, why didn’t you tell me that first! …The ring has already been stolen away…?!　

Meng Ming remembered that the two thieves had jumped out the window to escape, and had actually disappeared upwards…this was the ninth floor, the tallest floor. Thus, he could determine that they had definitely used ropes to flee to the roof! Meng Ming didn’t know what exactly was going on with this ring, but he believed that he had to chase after it! If he didn’t retrieve the ring, he not only would be ridiculed by the old baldie, but he’d probably be told something like “You lost it, so you have to go retrieve it”.

Meng Ming hurriedly ran out of the inner room while asking Bai Jiu, “Cla.s.smate Bai Jiu, do you have a pistol?”　　

“Pi—pistol?!” Bai Jiu was alarmed, “No, I don’t…”　　

Meng Ming had calculated the time, and he’d still be able to make it if he tried to catch up now! But if he wanted to face off the two people on the roof at the same time, a gun would be the easiest way.　

But Meng Ming still didn’t know that China forbade guns!　　

“Not even a pistol?!” Meng Ming began to panic. If he was later by just a step, those thieves would be able to escape from the corridor. Meng Ming suddenly thought of something, and grabbed a bunch of normal pencils from the table. He said to Bai Jiu, “Wait here!” and immediately charged out of the door, racing towards the roof.　

“Meng Ming…?”

Meng Ming left immediately, leaving behind the bewildered and dazed Bai Jiu standing there.Pistol…? What she really didn’t understand was why Meng Ming had grabbed all those pencils.　　

The old, run-down door to the roof was violently kicked open by Meng Ming.

As expected, the two black figures were still on the roof, and were just about to run away through that door!

“Ha! You guys can’t flee anymore!” Meng Ming laughed. When the two black figures saw Meng Ming, they immediately increased their distance from the door, cautiously jumping back quite a few steps.　　

Meng Ming walked onto the roof and said, “This is the only path down. You can return the items you stole now.”

The black figures had cloaks over their bodies, and had masked their faces. They wordlessly and coldly glared at Meng Ming.　

“I’ve already said that you guys no longer have any place to run to.” Meng Ming continued to provoke them, trying to get the other party to speak. “If you could safely jump down from such a height, you would’ve already done so. As long as I obstruct this exit, you guys won’t be able to leave here.”　　

The two people silently flashed their weapons.

One had taken out a thick and heavy chain, while the other had taken out a bunch of knives to toss out.

They want to fight with me?! Meng Ming inspected them more closely. Their positions… Meng Ming seemed to have seen the techniques they were using on TV before!　　

The two arranged themselves into formation, then came charging at Meng Ming. They were planning on knocking him down to run away!　　

Their speeds aren’t that fast, I should be able to defeat them… Meng Ming prepared himself to face the attacks. Although he wasn’t a physical type of person, the Zhuge Style Cheating Technique didn’t only study agile motions. There was also another point—even the weak can defeat the strong! Meng Ming definitely wouldn’t have a problem defending the area around this exit.

Meng Ming lifted a pencil in each hand to block the two incoming attacks!

The enemy’s movements were nimble, but Meng Ming didn’t show any weakness. He used flexible movements and graceful steps to neutralize the enemy’s attacks one after another. The chain and knives were surprisingly unable to break the pencils! During their exchanges, Meng Ming had managed to block the chain’s powerful attacks and seal the knives’ blades just by changing his pencils.　　

“Zhuge Style Cheating Technique—Secret Exchange!”　　

Meng Ming took advantage of the opening he had generated and charged forwards, immediately searching their bodies for the hidden items. In an instant, he managed to retrieve the ring!　　

He reached out to touch it: Fake?　　

At that moment, the two enemies shot each other a meaningful glance, and immediately rushed towards the exit, planning to just directly leave! Meng Ming didn’t relax at all, and bounded over in a single step to block their paths.　　

“Unfortunately for you, I’m a gambler. Regardless of whether it’s paper money, gold, or diamonds, I can tell what’s fake or not from a single touch.” Meng Ming threw the fake ring onto the ground and thought: As expected, these people are circus performers…

Meng Ming determined that if they had prepared a fake ring, they had definitely come to steal the Ravine Apparition! But there was still a question that remained: Why would circus performers try to steal that ring? Is it because it’s valuable?　　

Meng Ming said, “Hurry up and hand over the item now. Otherwise, I’ll act.” They had only exchanged some moves, but Meng Ming already knew that while the opposite party’s movements were nimble, feeder fish were still feeder fish. His own strength was superior to these two’s.

The two people remained silent and gripped their weapons with an aggressive air. They didn’t seem very willing to reveal their voices and ident.i.ties.　　

“Fine then, I won’t hold back.” Meng Ming said, counting the number of pencils in his pocket.

He took out 3 pencils. With a flick of his hand, the sharp pencils quickly shot out like arrows towards the knife user.　　

The enemy watched the aimed pencils coming at him. With a wave of his knives, he instantly deflected the pencils.

Meng Ming’s attacks were really too ordinary.　　

“Oh, then how about this?” Meng Ming sn.i.g.g.e.red. He grabbed another pencil and brushed it against the wall, “Zhuge Style Cheating Technique—Igniting Flames!”

The pencil tip suddenly lit up, causing the enemies to jump in alarm.　　

Zhuge Meng Ming’s move hadn’t ended yet. He said confidently, “This pencil in my hand makes me think of another interesting move…” Meng Ming raised a few flaming pencils and shot them out towards the knife user, “New Zhuge Style Cheating Technique—Flaming Arrow!”　　

The ignited pencils broke the darkness of the night with its flaming trails, like comets, but more eye-catching! It seemed like this was still a really simple move.　　

A few clanging sounds rang out, and the burning pencils were deflected by the knives once more. But this time, the knife user was unexpectedly pierced by one of the pencils!　　

He cried out sharply in pain. There were a few non-ignited pencils deeply pierced into the palm of his hand, causing blood to endlessly flow out.

The Flaming Arrow in front had been a facade. The flaming trail had caught the people’s attentions, limiting their hindsight. The pencils in the darkness behind were the real attack!　　

Meng Ming said, “The first pencils I threw were to figure out how your knife-wielding hand moved around, and the second time was to capture you. Did you think I was just using pointless attacks?” Meng Ming blocked the entrance, and continued to threaten them with his words, trying to get them to speak.

The knife user’s pierced right hand was already in so much pain that he couldn’t move it anymore; his injury wasn’t light. Judging from the situation, the two people wouldn’t be able to force their way through the door for a while!

It looks like they’re still not willing to reveal their ident.i.ties; as expected, they must have some ulterior motives. Why exactly did they have to break into here and to steal a ring? As Meng Ming was still pondering this, he saw the two people exchange glances again, and immediately disperse, fleeing off to different sides of the roof.

“What? They’re going to split and run away separately!” Meng Ming stepped forward to stop them, but it was clear to see that their objective was to jump off from the roof!

They want to jump off? If they can jump off safely, why didn’t they do so earlier? Unless…　

Meng Ming recalled that just now, when they were in Bai Jiu’s home, they had directly broken in through the windows from the roof!　

That’s right, with their skills, they could flip into another person’s home! Now they want to break into another person’s residence to flee?!

Meng Ming immediately began to chase after them. But the other party had 2 people, who was he supposed to chase? He didn’t know which one of them had the Ravine Apparition…　

“I have to think of a plan—got it!” Meng Ming made his decision, and chose to first chase the chain user. He took out some more pencils and threw them at the chains!

The pencils all accurately pierced through the c.h.i.n.ks between the chain links, and like nails embedded into the cracks on the floor, the chains were completely locked in place!

The person decided to just toss the chain and continue running away. Meng Ming picked up the left behind chain, “Thanks, this is precisely what I wanted.”　

The two enemies were just about to jump off the roof, but Meng Ming brandished the chain! After 2 tugs, the chain tightly wrapped around the enemies’ cloaks. The instant they jumped off the building, their cloaks were peeled off by the chain with a swoosh.　　

The two of them had run away,　　

They got away, hmph, they’re quite quick-witted. But I got the ring back. Meng Ming quickly retracted the chain, inspecting the inner folds of their clothes.　　

When he had used Secret Exchange earlier, he had already felt that there was something strange within the cloaks. He shook the clothes a few times, and heard a series of jangling sounds as many, many rings dropped out.

He picked some up to examine them. They were identical fakes…

Although he could differentiate a fake diamond from a real one, he hadn’t actually seen the true appearance of “Ravine Apparition” yet.　　

The real goods must be in here somewhere. He couldn’t be bothered to search through them all, so he just pocketed all the rings on the ground. But who were those people…　

There was a large pile of rings in Carron’s office. The sun’s rays struck it, forming a glittering rainbow…

“Look, I brought them all!” Meng Ming declared. “How about it, this is what you requested.”　　

“Oh~! Not bad, not bad!” Carron sat across from Meng Ming and picked a ring. “There are so many, but is the real one among them?”　　

“Probably.”

“Have you checked?”　

“No.” Meng Ming hadn’t really verified it yet. He just thought that if he brought back all the rings, the real one would be among them somewhere.

“Actually, I…” Carron thought a bit before continuing, “Always had a matter that I was too embarra.s.sed to speak about…”

“Ah? What did you say?” Meng Ming asked in interest. He thought: Could it be that the old baldie saw this large pile of rings and finally admitted to my intelligence?　　

Carron said, “Actually, after you guys left that day, I remembered something. My Ravine Apparition was in my office drawer this whole time.”　　

“AH—?!” Meng Ming’s jaw dropped open.　　

Carron turned around to flip through his own drawer, and momentarily found it!　　

“See, it’s here.” Carron flashed the Ravine Apparition for Meng Ming to see.　　

This ring was indeed the real Ravine Apparition. Its outer appearance was extremely exquisite, and much more brilliant than the fakes on the table. The ring’s head had an esepcially sharp diamond carving edge that glittered and sparkled.　　

Carron put the Ravine Apparition on his left finger.　　

Afterwards, he rubbed his sungla.s.ses for no reason, and immersed himself into sculpting again.　　

Meng Ming stood there, stunned, unable to speak for the longest time.　　

No wonder Bai Jiu hadn’t known where it was, the ring had never been placed in her home in the first place!

Carron had said before: The difficulty lies in the fact that you don’t know where exactly the Ravine Apparition is located.

　　……

Meng Ming finally realized: No wonder the old baldie wasn’t impatient at all…!　　

He said crankily, “I obtained this stuff by putting in tons of effort you know…”

“Oh, it was indeed difficult, wasn’t it?” Carron said as he played around with some wood. “I said before that it was very hard, but you insisted on doing it. Moreover, you clearly didn’t complete the task. —In the end, the item was found by myself.”　　

“Oi,” Meng Ming stamped his foot. “That’s because you tricked me!”　　

“No, I just remembered wrongly.” Carron said, “Besides, aren’t you very smart? Why didn’t you just use that smart brain of yours to figure out that I was spouting nonsense?”　　

Carron suddenly sensed that Meng Ming was slightly angry, and he hurriedly laughed at himself, “Haha, don’t be mad. I just wanted you to go out and do an errand for me. Don’t take offense to it.”　　

His words became more and more infuriating! This simple errand had screwed him over so much?!　　

Meng Ming shouted angrily, “How could it be so convenient! Your daughter first tormented me for a long period of time, and then some people came to steal it!”

“Oh, what kind of people were they?”

Carron’s voice suddenly became very steady, and he stopped his working hands as he asked the question.　　

Huh?　　

Seeing Carron’s manner, the angry Meng Ming was suddenly shocked. He thought back to how those fishy thieves weren’t even willing to reveal their voices. Did that mean they had some relations.h.i.+p with Carron?

…The old baldie’s true motive is to get me to scout out the other party’s ident.i.ties? Because he’d scare them off? That d.a.m.n baldie…” Meng Ming could only tell him that there was a knife user and a chain user, both of them having some sort of performance skills.　　

　　……

Carron straightened his body and rubbed the Ravine Apparition with one hand. He then immediately laughed and said, “Oh~! That’s fine then. You can go back first.”　　

　　“…………”

Hearing this, Meng Ming’s anger was ignited again. Carron’s tone gave Meng Ming that impression that he was clearly judging Meng Ming as a scaredy-cat! Meng Ming thought back to the moment when Carron had said: Ah, guiding him will actually be beneficial to me!

Meng Ming argued, “Your so-called benefit was getting me to help you run errands, right?!”

Carron didn’t respond, and simply continued to make those strange ‘oh’ sounds.

“Oi, don’t put on a pretense! You d.a.m.n old baldie, you can’t just randomly send people off on errands, you have to at least give an explanation!”