469: Chapter 113 Ma Xianhong's Past

After a moment, Ma Xianhong began to recount his past in detail.

In short, when Ma Xianhong was a child, he lived with his family in a remote mountain village, where the elders were craftsmen by profession. One day, his grandfather Ma Yuanlu, whether by intentional selection or by accident, gave the Devouring Pouches he had made to several children in the family to use as toys.

As it turned out, among several children who had never been in contact with Qi refining, only Ma Xianhong could see the Dharma Light on the Devouring Pouch.

This indicated that Ma Xianhong possessed a talent for Artifact Refining, and an extremely high one at that.

After Ma Yuanlu learned of this, he let Ma Xianhong follow him to learn the craft. However, he did not immediately teach him the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, but instead only taught him some ordinary skills for further observation and testing. This was because, although the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements was miraculous, with the example of Ma Ben Zai being hunted down before them, it was also a source of calamity.

Ultimately, Ma Xianhong, who was a natural-born technical geek, successfully passed the test and learned the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements. He strictly followed Ma Yuanlu's instructions and never used it in front of others.

But fate is unpredictable.

After Ma Xianhong reached adulthood, those who coveted the Eight Peculiar Skills still found his family.

Ma Xianhong's family found it difficult to resist and could only flee.

During this process, Ma Xianhong was separated from his family and lost his memories related to them.

At this point, Ma Xianhong stopped speaking.

Zhang Chulan thought for a moment and said tentatively to Ma Xianhong, "You said you lost your memories related to your family. Is everything after that point missing too?"

Ma Xianhong nodded.

Zhang Chulan continued, "Skipping that blank period, the reason you can't tell me about your subsequent memories is because they are related to the person we're dealing with, right?"

Hearing this, Ma Xianhong frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Zhang Chulan didn't answer. He pulled up several pictures on his phone, handed them to Ma Xianhong, and said, "Take a look at these. They are photos of the scene after you disappeared."

Ma Xianhong took the phone. Seeing the people who died miserable deaths in the photos, his brow furrowed even deeper.

Zhang Chulan then said, "You just said you didn't do anything during that process and were even knocked unconscious. But what about Guo Liang? He was one of your men before, and he's dead too."

At that moment, Ma Xianhong happened to see the photo of Guo Liang's miserable death, and his brow furrowed into a deep ' river' shape.

Guo Liang had been by his side for a long time, responsible for the liaison between him and Qu Tong. He remembered that before Zhang Chulan and the others went to Biyou Village, Guo Liang had gone to hand over Mei Jinfeng to Qu Tong. He hadn't returned since and was completely uninvolved in the matters between the Company and Biyou Village.

Logically, Guo Liang shouldn't have died, but he did...

This caused Ma Xianhong to feel a surge of suspicion, but he quickly felt resistance toward this doubt.

Seeing this, Zhang Chulan took the opportunity to say, "Haven't you ever suspected the people around you even a little bit?"

Ma Xianhong's expression changed. He threw the phone back to Zhang Chulan, stood up, and said with a cold face, "I see. Zhang Chulan, you're here to sow discord."

This reaction, seen through Zhang Chulan's eyes, made him very puzzled.

Because a normal person in Ma Xianhong's situation would naturally suspect the people around them without needing a reminder. Yet Ma Xianhong not only failed to do so, but after being reminded, he felt resistance and subconsciously felt it was an attempt to sow discord.

This abnormal situation made Zhang Chulan realize that the person behind Ma Xianhong must have done something to him.

To get Ma Xianhong to side with him, he had to figure out the specifics of this situation.

Therefore, Zhang Chulan quickly consoled him, "Old Ma, don't get excited. I'm just here to bring you a message on behalf of the Company's President Zhao."

"Also, Brother Meng, Meng Li, left a message for you too."

"Zhao Fangxu? Meng Li?" Ma Xianhong was somewhat surprised.

Zhang Chulan nodded, pulled up the videos Zhao Fangxu and Meng Li had pre-recorded, and handed the phone to Ma Xianhong.

Ma Xianhong took it and clicked on the video Meng Li had recorded.

In the video, Meng Li looked at the camera and said casually, "Ma Xianhong, if you come, I probably won't be here anymore."

"I feel like there's not much to say, so I'll just talk about why I got involved in this."

"There are two reasons."

"First, the person behind you spread the word that I know the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, which caused me some trouble. They even made a special trip to the Xilin Gol Prairie. So, I want to meet the person behind you through you and settle this score with them."

"As it turned out, I waited until the Execution Day passed, and you never showed up."

"That doesn't fit your personality. If I'm not mistaken, the people around you must have used some means to stop you."

"I won't comment on that. Let's talk about the second reason."

"The second reason is related to your amnesia. As you know, I'm a doctor and I like researching difficult and complicated cases. After I found out you had memory loss, I did some research on it. For intermittent amnesia like yours, I actually found some treatment methods."

"But whether it works or not, we'll only know after trying."

"If you're interested, you can come to me and give it a try."

"Of course, you could also think I'm just baiting you."

"Think whatever you want."

"Well, that's all I have to say..."

"Oh, one more thing. It seems the Company found your missing family. But I only overheard this by chance and I'm not very clear on the details. For the specific situation, you can ask Zhang Chulan, or have him contact the Company's higher-ups to find out."

"Nothing else. That's it."

The video ended there.

Ma Xianhong snapped his gaze toward Zhang Chulan and asked with burning eyes, "The Company really found my family?"

Zhang Chulan nodded. "President Zhao explains the specifics in the next video."

Ma Xianhong immediately clicked on the next video.

The video began playing. Zhao Fangxu didn't mention Ma Xianhong's family right away, but instead expressed the Company's attitude toward Ma Xianhong's 'defection.'

Zhao Fangxu stated clearly that as long as Ma Xianhong hadn't taken action at the time, everything could be discussed. Even regarding the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements and the Self-Cultivation Furnace, once the Company finished dealing with the person behind him, they could sit down and talk with him.

During this period, the Company would cancel the warrant for Ma Xianhong's arrest, and he could go anywhere.

The Company would next take measures against the person behind Ma Xianhong, but they wouldn't force him to cooperate; they only hoped he would stay out of it and not interfere.

After stating their stance, Zhao Fangxu finally spoke about Ma Xianhong's family.

The Company had indeed found Ma Xianhong's family, but they discovered that just like Ma Xianhong, their memories were all partially missing.

They had forgotten Ma Xianhong's existence, and they had also forgotten the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements.

Hearing this, Ma Xianhong's face changed drastically.

His family's memories were missing just like his, and they had forgotten him and the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements?!

This...

Zhao Fangxu's words continued: "Combined with your family's situation, one thing can be certain: the reason for your memory loss isn't an accident like hitting your head, but rather someone using certain means to tamper with them."

Ma Xianhong's face darkened.

In the video, Zhao Fangxu went on: "Based on our analysis, we believe your amnesia wasn't caused by the people who were hunting you back then."

"Those people came after you for the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements. If they had the means to tamper with memories, they could have obtained the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements directly from your grandfather, Ma Yuanlu, when they first found him."

"But they didn't. Instead, they injured him, intending to use coercion to make him hand over the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements."

"From this, it's clear that someone else tampered with your memories."

"These people played the part of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

"Since they could tamper with your memories, they likely obtained the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements. Having already obtained it yet not eliminating your family, it's highly probable that it wasn't out of kindness, but for another reason."

"For example, they might lack the talent for Artifact Refining, or their talent isn't enough to perfectly master the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements."

"In this case, if they want to utilize the power of the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, they can only rely on you."

"And the current situation is that your grandfather Ma Yuanlu's memories regarding the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements have been erased."

"In your family, you are the only one left who has mastered the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements."

"Ma Xianhong, I don't need to say more about what this implies, do I?"

...