Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 281 The Divine Cult's Complete Victory, Purple Clouds in a Dream

When a bird is about to die, its song is mournful; when a person is about to die, their words are kind.

In the final moments of his life, Murong Bo may have seen a scrolling slideshow of his death, finally realizing that all his efforts throughout his life had seemingly yielded no results.

In the end, I am just an incompetent person.

The biggest thing Murong Bo did in his life was to spread rumors when he learned that a Liao warrior was planning to visit relatives in the Song Dynasty. He claimed that the warrior was going to steal martial arts manuals from Shaolin Temple. This incited Xuanci of Shaolin Temple to lead many masters to fight the Liao warrior outside Yanmen Pass, resulting in heavy casualties.

In fact, this matter doesn't stand up to close scrutiny.

At that time, Xuanci and Murong Bo were good friends. Firstly, because of their friendship and the Murong family's long-standing reputation, and secondly, because it was the time when the younger generation of Shaolin Temple was vying for the position of abbot.

Therefore, Xuan Ci chose to trust his friend, which led to this incident.

But Xuan Ci wasn't stupid; he easily saw through the many flaws in it.

Although he later made the case a closed one to gain merit for himself, he secretly began investigating Murong Bo.

For this reason, Murong Bo had no choice but to fake his death to escape.

But he didn't tell anyone about his faked death.

Even his wife.

This directly led to his wife becoming ill from worry, and she died a few years later.

Murong Fu lost his father at a young age and his mother in his youth, thus embarking on a tragic life.

When he grew up and finally gained the reputation of Nan Murong, rumors spread throughout the martial arts world that many masters had died under the Dou Zhuan Xing Yi technique.

He certainly didn't do these things.

Who is that?

It was Murong Bo, of course.

There are many instances in the world of spoiled brats who bring shame upon their fathers.

But when applied to the father and son of the Murong family, it's the father who ruins his son's life.

And there was another father in the State of Song who treated his son this way...

"Father..." Murong Fu cried out, "I've dragged you down."

If it weren't for saving him, Murong Bo wouldn't have needed to show himself, and he wouldn't have been defeated by Dongfang Bubai.

Murong Bo shook his head and said, "What kind of father can watch his son die?"

The red figure floated down and said, "If you have so many last words, go down there and say them."

Immediately, an embroidery needle flew out, instantly ending Murong Bo's life.

Murong Bo is indeed skilled; if he were to unleash other unique techniques, he might actually be able to fight Dongfang Bubai for a while. However, he insists on using his swordsmanship in front of Dongfang Bubai.

For a swordsman of Dugu Qiubai's caliber, the easiest people to deal with in the world are probably other swordsmen.

As Dugu Qiubai's disciple, Dongfang Bubai was naturally quite accomplished in this area.

With Murong Bo dead, Murong Fu lay on the ground, his face ashen, awaiting his own death.

Yi Jifeng immediately made his move, killing Murong Fu with a single sword strike.

In the room, only Gongye Qian remained as an outsider.

Gongye Qian gave a bitter laugh and looked at Yi Jifeng: "As the successor of Mingjian Villa, you actually colluded with the Demonic Sect... The great reputation of Mingjian Villa is going to be ruined by you!"

Yi Jifeng's heart skipped a beat.

A streak of crimson-gold light pierced through Gongye Qian's brow.

"Whether the Sun Moon Cult is good or evil, right or wrong, they have no right to judge!"

Dongfang Bubai said, "Furthermore, no matter which path you choose, remember to persevere. If you waver, you won't succeed on either path!"

Yi Jifeng came to his senses, clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."

"Okay, take Murong Bo's body away and bury it somewhere."

"it is good."

Immediately, Yi Jifeng took Murong Bo's body away, while Dongfang Bubai stayed behind to clean up the scene.

When Tong Baixiong led the group to the scene, they saw two corpses on the ground.

Tong Baixiong's eyes lit up with joy, and he was about to step forward when a dark figure darted out from beside him.

"What the hell?"

"Uncle!"

But Zhu Renjin rushed out and knelt down in front of the corpse with a thud: "Your blood feud has finally been avenged. You can rest in peace in the afterlife!"

He then turned to Dongfang Bubai and kowtowed three times: "The leader killed Murong Fu, allowing my uncle to rest in peace. The Zhu family is deeply grateful for your great kindness!"

"Damn it! That sycophant!"

Everyone cursed inwardly and hurriedly stepped forward, but suddenly another figure darted out from the crowd and knelt directly in front of Dongfang Bubai.

It was Pu Lingzhi.

"Our leader has slain Murong Fu and restored justice to the Pu family. The Pu family is willing to serve our leader with utmost loyalty!"

Although Dongfang Bubai was used to flattery, the actions of these two men still broadened her horizons.

"Well, there's no need to thank me for this. Just follow the Sun Moon Cult in the future, and you'll have your own riches and glory."

The two kneeling men quickly clasped their hands in greeting.

Immediately, the group carried the bodies of Murong Fu and Gongye Qian back home in high spirits.

Those captured this time, Bao Butong, Deng Baichuan, and Feng Bo'e, who had been captured earlier but not killed, were also dealt with subsequently.

The Sun Moon Cult pressed its advantage and completely conquered the entire city of Suzhou overnight. Its vast power then spread in all directions.

The other factions only learned the next morning that Jiangnan had changed hands.

The alliance and the Sun Moon Cult fought for several months, but neither side could gain the upper hand.

They thought that Murong Fu's addition would greatly increase the alliance's strength, but they didn't expect that this guy was a good-for-nothing. Not only did he not lead the alliance to victory, but he also led it to a complete defeat.

At the same time, the several corpses hanging up by the Sun Moon Sect also meant that Murong Fu lost not only his prestige and reputation in the process, but also everything he had!
For the past three generations, the Murong family has only had one son per line, resulting in a small number of descendants.

With Murong Fu's death, the Murong family, which had been passed down for many years, was completely wiped out!

After achieving victory, the most important thing, of course, is to line up and divide the cake.

First, all the businesses belonging to Jiangnan belonging to the merchant families who have sided with the Sun Moon Cult will remain theirs.

Some of these items were stolen by the Sun Moon Cult during previous struggles and have now been returned.

It is worth mentioning that the Sun Moon Cult returned all the properties belonging to the Zhu family to the second branch of the Zhu family.

As for those families that did not pledge allegiance, they were naturally all annexed.

The biggest piece of the pie belongs to the Murong family.

Naturally, they all belong to the Sun Moon Cult, and no one dares to compete with them for them.

Dongfang Bubai then divided all his businesses into two parts: real estate and shops.

Land and estates belong entirely to the Sun Moon Cult. However, shops within towns have land deeds belonging to the Sun Moon Cult, while the right to operate the shops is given to individual families who only need to pay monthly tributes and rent.

As for the other major family in this area, the Wang family, the Sun Moon Divine Sect did not directly exterminate them, but gave them a chance.

"The Wang family has always been at odds with the Sun Moon Cult, whether it was when Yi Jifeng was the leader or later when Murong Fu was the leader."

Tong Baixiong said, "Logically speaking, even if your Wang family were wiped out, no one would say anything. However, the sect leader is merciful and is willing to give your Wang family a chance. As long as the Wang family follows the same rules as the Murong family, submits to the Sun Moon Divine Sect, exists as a vassal of the Sun Moon Divine Sect, pays tribute regularly, and submits an additional sum of sincerity within a month, the sect leader will allow the Wang family to continue to exist and will not forcibly seize any of the Wang family's property!"

Inside the Wang family's Mantuo Manor, Li Qingluo slowly nodded and said, "Thank you for your mercy, Master Dongfang. The Wang family is willing to submit, but I wonder what your 'sincerity' is?"

Tong Baixiong smiled and took out a list, saying, "This is the sincerity of each family in pledging allegiance to the Sun Moon Divine Sect. Madam Wang can take a look."

Li Qingluo glanced at it briefly and was already astonished by the numbers.

But he nodded in the end and said, "I understand. I will definitely deliver my sincere offer within a month!"

"That's good."

As Tong Baixiong left, a young girl in the inner room could no longer contain herself and rushed out: "Mother! You knew that the Sun Moon Cult killed my cousin, so why did you still choose to submit?"

"why?"

Li Qingluo angrily smashed her teacup, shouting, "Do you think I had a choice?!"

She had always looked down on Murong Fu, thinking he was a good-for-nothing who talked about restoring the country all day long but never took any effective action.

They were even more worried that the court would discover the other party's actions and implicate the royal family.

But the daughter was bewitched and fell in love with Murong Fu.

For the past month, Wang Yuyan has been constantly nagging Li Qingluo to help the Murong family.

Li Qingluo ignored it completely and instead reduced her support for the alliance.

Unexpectedly, even now that Murong Fu is dead, Wang Yuyan is still stubbornly clinging to her delusions, which makes Li Qingluo so angry that her chest hurts.

"You've been through the martial world, how can you not understand the principle that the strong are respected and strength is king in this world!"

Li Qingluo angrily reprimanded, "Believe it or not, if my Wang family dares to refuse today, we won't even need tomorrow. This afternoon, the troops of the Sun Moon Cult will storm into Mantuo Manor and kill our entire family."

Hmph! They might even lump us together with your cousin!

Wang Yuyan's face paled slightly: "No...no way?"

“Why not?!”

Li Qingluo shouted, "You're too young to remember, but when your father died, countless members of the Wang family stood up to seize our assets and the Mantuo Manor!"
Back then, if it weren't for my old servant still having some strength and killing a few people, I'm afraid my widow and I would still be living under some dilapidated roof.
If even relatives from the same school are treated this way, what about outsiders? And what about your cousin? Do you really think he's as good as you think?

Wang Yuyan angrily said, "Mother, respect for the dead is paramount. My cousin is dead, why are you still slandering him?"

"I slandered him? Didn't you hear what that person who just came said? He said that the relationship between the Sun Moon Divine Cult and my Wang family is the same as always, just like the Murong family."

Do you understand? For so many years, my Wang family has been a vassal of the Murong family, paying tribute to them every year!

Li Qingluo said, “You keep calling him ‘cousin’ this and ‘cousin’ that, but I haven’t seen your cousin reduce the 20% of silver he’s paying as tribute by even a fraction!”
"But you, you silly girl, are so clueless. You always want to marry Murong Fu. What, isn't sending him 20% of the silver every year enough? You want to send him the remaining 80% too?"

Wang Yuyan was speechless, both from being scolded by her mother and from being shocked by this cruel truth.

I never imagined that there would be such a dirty business relationship between me and my cousin.

It truly tarnished the love in her heart.

So, in a fit of anger, he snapped...

In the end, she was just a weak woman who didn't know martial arts. Her greatest ability was to cry a few times in front of her mother.

Now that her mother doesn't care about her, she has no choice but to accept it.

Li Qingluo certainly wasn't in the mood to care about her. Although the Sun Moon Sect had given her a month, the sooner they offered their 'sincerity,' the better.

Wang Yuyan returned to her room, feeling sullen and unable to hold back her tears.

It's unclear whether she was mourning her deceased cousin or commemorating her tainted love.

However, Wang Yuyan, true to her love-struck nature, eventually figured things out while crying.

"Although the Wang family has to pay tribute to the Murong family every year, the Wang family also enjoys the protection of the Murong family!"
Mother said that the world is ruled by the strong. If the Wang family has no strong members, it will be easy for them to be plundered by those strong people. Naturally, they need other strong people to protect them.

The Murong family is this powerful family, so it's only natural that the Wang family pays tribute to them!

Wang Yuyan thought to herself, "Besides, my cousin is such a good person, he must have wanted to reduce the share of tribute our Wang family has to give for a long time. It's just that the rules have been like this for so many years, and my cousin is young and doesn't have enough prestige, so naturally he can't change it..."

Thinking about this, she managed to calm herself down.

She also felt that her cousin must have done this because of her.

It's such a pity that such a good cousin died like this...

Thinking of this, Wang Yuyan couldn't help but feel sorrow again.

"Why is such a beautiful girl always crying?"

Suddenly a voice rang out, interrupting her grief.

Wang Yuyan was taken aback before she noticed that there was another person in front of her.

The man was dressed in a white scholar's robe, his attire was neat, and he was playing with a folding fan in his hand.

He is looking at her right now.

Those eyes shone with a gentle light, yet seemed to possess immense power beneath their darkness.

"You...who are you?"

"who am I?"

The man said, "That's a good question."

Wang Yuyan suddenly realized that she was not in her own attic, but in a sea of ​​purple flowers in full bloom.

"Where...where is this?"

"Hmm? Where? I'm looking for the answer too," the man said.

"Why am I here?"

"I'd also like to know, how did you end up here?"

Wang Yuyan was immediately annoyed: "Why do you always answer my questions with questions?"

"I'd also like to ask, why do you have so many questions?"

"Ugh..." Wang Yuyan puffed up her cheeks and stopped talking.

A light mist swirled around our feet.

As a gust of wind swept by, the clouds and petals danced together.

The purple of the petals colores the clouds and mist, weaving them into a purple cloud.

Looking at this scene, Wang Yuyan was mesmerized: "What a beautiful view... Am I dreaming?"

"In a dream? Perhaps that's an answer..."

The scholar toyed with his fan and chuckled, "Then, young lady, why did you intrude upon this place and disturb my dream?"

(End of this chapter)