I Received Messages From Future Self!
Chapter 588 - 584 Secret Passage

Chapter 588: Chapter 584 Secret Passage

Men Po lay on the ground, like a tattered rag doll, seemingly on the brink of death at any moment.

Taotie looked at Meng Po disdainfully, curled his lip, and turned to Tom and Unhappy: "What are you two still waiting for? Hurry up and settle old scores. If this Old Witch dies, there’ll be no chance left. If you want revenge, you’d better wait for your next life."

Tom shook his head. "Just kill her."

"She’s already suffered enough punishment."

Tom, unlike Taotie, wasn’t without a bottom line.

Deep down, he was still a gentleman.

Even if his hatred for Meng Po had reached its peak,

he still couldn’t bring himself to harm an elderly person, on the brink of death, who was utterly defenseless.

This wasn’t about Tom being saintly; it was about his principles.

If Meng Po hadn’t been tormented so miserably by Taotie, Tom would certainly have acted.

He’d repay the humiliation he’d suffered a hundredfold.

Make Meng Po regret being born human.

But now, seeing her in such a pitiful state,

Tom felt it was no longer necessary.

Killing someone only takes a moment—why torment a dying old woman just to vent frustration?

Hearing Tom’s words, Taotie sneered.

In the next second!

Taotie kicked Meng Po.

Crack—

The chilling sound of bones shattering resounded.

With that one kick, Taotie snapped Meng Po’s neck.

Another Half-step Super Expert fell just like that.

Had she not encountered Taotie, with her strength, Meng Po might have managed to take that remaining half-step within her lifetime, becoming a true Super Master and extending her lifespan by dozens of years.

But alas, one wrong step led to endless missteps.

Not only did she join the Pawnshop, the Pawnshop unfortunately chose to become an enemy of Fang Xiaocao.

It sealed her fate—

And also sealed the Pawnshop’s downfall.

Cause and effect, fate’s cruel manipulations.

"Get up already."

"How long do you two plan to hold each other?"

After kicking Meng Po to her death, Taotie turned his sidelong glance to Tom and Unhappy, still clinging to each other, and flashed his trademark mischievous smirk.

Hearing Taotie’s teasing, Tom and Unhappy belatedly glanced at each other.

In the next second!

Tom jumped out of Unhappy’s arms as if scalded.

Unhappy stared at Tom, dumbfounded.

The ultimate question marks filled his mind.

What just happened?

I didn’t even pinch Tom’s butt, right?

So why did Tom react like he sat on nails?

Naive Unhappy struggled to understand the human world, where amongst the same gender, there could still be a relationship transcending friendship and gender boundaries.

Moreover, it was a relationship that normal people avoided like the plague, one taboo and often loathed.

Few would openly admit to such preferences, especially men, as doing so often invited prejudices and gossip.

Don’t believe me—

Just ask your friends, especially male ones, if they’re—

They’ll definitely deny it~

Shhh—

This is a secret. Don’t say it came from me.

"Have you found the entrance to the Pawnshop’s headquarters yet?"

Taotie turned to Tom and asked.

The entrance to the Pawnshop headquarters was the key issue.

Tom and Unhappy’s little drama was something Taotie could embellish and resell later, story by story.

After all, there were only four witnesses.

One of them, Meng Po, was already dead.

Tom and Unhappy had experienced it firsthand.

And Unhappy was bad at talking.

Doesn’t that leave Taotie free to fabricate anything at will?

Tom spoke in a low tone: "Yes, I found it."

As he spoke, Tom walked over to a tree.

Knock-knock-knock—

Tom tapped the tree trunk and said, "The entrance to the Pawnshop’s headquarters is inside this tree. But just as I was figuring out how to get in, Meng Po appeared."

Tom pointed to Meng Po’s corpse nearby. "That old lady you killed was the Pawnshop’s Meng Po, a Half-step Super Expert."

Taotie blinked, glanced at Meng Po’s corpse, then at Tom, and finally at the tree.

"So you’re saying, you discovered something strange about this tree, and then that Old Witch suddenly appeared?"

"And before you noticed how she appeared, you were already being toyed with by the Old Witch?"

Taotie’s filthy mouth had a knack for loathsome comments that made Tom’s blood boil.

But after considering the situation—Taotie had just saved him, and also because he couldn’t beat Taotie—Tom took a deep breath and endured it.

It wasn’t that Tom enjoyed enduring.

It was that Tom had no choice.

Meng Po, a Half-step Super Expert, was already someone he could barely withstand, leaving him at her mercy. What’s more, Taotie was an even stronger Super Master.

He couldn’t fight, couldn’t outwit—

All he could do was bide his time and reckon later.

"That’s roughly it,"

"but there’s a detail—Meng Po appeared directly behind me and Unhappy."

"It all happened so suddenly, I had no time to think and attributed it to her high level of strength, evading me and Unhappy’s perceptions."

"But now that I think about it, something feels off. I suspect Meng Po used some kind of secret passage to emerge, with its exit conveniently right behind us."

Tom furrowed his brow slightly, carefully recalling the intricate details of everything from discovering the tree’s anomaly to Meng Po’s sudden appearance.

His brain raced, attempting logical deductions.

Taotie scratched his head, too lazy to think.

He simply watched as Tom continued his analysis.

Compared to thinking, Taotie preferred solving problems with his fists—it was easier and more satisfying.

By now, Tom had circled the hollowed-out yet still vibrant ancient tree three times, stopping exactly where he first noticed the tree’s peculiarity.

Standing still, Tom looked left, then right.

He gazed upward at the ancient tree’s canopy.

Then shook his head and looked down at the ground.

Finally, he spun abruptly, looking at the spot where Meng Po had previously stood.

Fixing his gaze, his steps began to move.

Tom’s every step was peculiar.

He lifted his knees high and placed his feet down heavily.

Tuning his ears, listening intently to the subtle differences in each step.

The first nine steps sounded normal.

But at the tenth step, the sound upon landing differed noticeably.

Taotie’s attention immediately snapped to the spot.

"Here!"

Tom’s face lit with excitement.

He stomped hard on the ground again.

The sound beneath was distinctly hollow—subtle yet discernible if one listened closely.

Taotie walked over, eyeing the ground beneath Tom’s feet. "Judging by the sound, this spot seems to be hollow. Are you saying Meng Po emerged from under here?"

Tom nodded. "That’s correct."

"Meng Po must have come up from below."

"Otherwise, there’s no way she could’ve silently appeared directly behind us."

"Thinking about it now, while Meng Po’s combat strength was immense, her bound feet made her stance unstable, so her Light Body Kung Fu wasn’t particularly strong either."

Tom added, confidently analyzing.

Taotie nodded. "If that’s the case, Old Tom, step aside and let me give this spot a hard punch. If there’s a hidden passage below, my punch will definitely bring it out."