Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 128 A gentle and delicate beauty

"Brother!" Duan Yu said with a beaming smile, "We can finally join forces and roam the martial world together!"

Duan Yu slapped the sword at his waist, which was one of the "Twin Green Peaks" given to him by Xin Shuangqing.

The other sword was at Jiang Mingzhe's waist. Jiang Mingzhe glanced at Duan Yu's sword and thought to himself, "How much does Kumārajīva look down on my brother? He's been escorting him north for thousands of miles, and he hasn't even taken his sword off."

At this moment, in the wilderness west of Suzhou, only Jiang Mingzhe and Duan Yu remained.

The rest of the group followed Duan Zhengchun to check into the famous chain hotel "Yuelai Inn" in Suzhou.

Seeing that Jiang Mingzhe did not respond, Duan Yu did not care and asked again, "Brother, brother, where should we go now?"

Jiang Mingzhe frowned and thought: If this were a game, I should be meeting Abi by Taihu Lake right now. She would take us to her Qinyun Xiaozhu, where Azhu would be performing on the variety show. Then Kumārajīva would cause a ruckus, and Abi and Azhu would lead us to escape to the lake. Because we needed to pee urgently, we went to Mantuo Villa to pee in the wild...

But this isn't a game; who knows where I might run into Abi? Besides, even if I did, the villain Kumārajīva wouldn't be around anymore...

Just as he was in a dilemma, a sharp voice suddenly called out, "Oh my! Isn't that Young Master Jiang up ahead!"

Jiang Mingzhe turned his head and looked over, his face immediately filled with joy: "Oh, Grandma Rui, Grandma Ping! I knew you were alright! I've been waiting for you here for days, and every day I've been more worried than the last, fearing that something might have happened to you two grandmas."

Granny Rui and Granny Ping smiled and said, "Young Master Jiang is so thoughtful. We've been worried about your safety all the way here, so we deliberately slowed down to wait for you. By the way, do you know whether that little slut is dead or alive?"

Jiang Mingzhe sneered inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. He shook his head and said, "I don't know. I was so frightened that day that I got lost and wandered around for several days before I finally found my way out. The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt, so I followed the trail all the way to Jiangnan. I happened to meet my sworn brother Yu Duan, so I asked him to lead me to Taihu Lake to find out where my senior sister's home is and to see if the old women have returned safely."

The two old women said gratefully, "Young master, you are such a person that you care about the safety of us two old women. We are truly grateful. However, our manor is very hard to find. If we hadn't met you, we probably would have searched for a long time and still not found it. Young master, please come with us to the manor as our guests."

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and said, "Alas, in principle, as a junior brother, I should pay my respects to my senior sister when I arrive in Suzhou. However, I wanted to help the old ladies with something, which was to capture the girl who offended my senior sister. But I messed up the task. How can I face my senior sister? Now that I see that the old ladies are all well, I will go back."

The two old women exchanged a glance, both thinking: "That's right. Although we were prepared to say that the little wretch was eaten by the toad, we couldn't find her alive or dead. This mission has ultimately failed. We don't know how Miss will torment us. This junior brother of hers is the old master's favorite disciple. He's handsome and has a charming mouth. We might as well take him to see Miss. Maybe if Miss is pleased, this matter will be over."

These two old women, having been companions for many years, understood each other perfectly. A glance was enough for them to know what the other was thinking. They both smiled and said, "How can you pass by your own home and not go in? Young Master Jiang, you mustn't leave. You must see your senior sister. Besides, judging by the days, the old master will be arriving soon. Isn't that perfect?"

As they spoke, they grabbed Jiang Mingzhe from both sides, as if afraid he would run away, and pulled him away with a grin.

Duan Yu followed behind, and before long, they passed through a grove of weeping willows and then a grove of apricot trees, arriving at a very secluded dock.

Granny Rui took out a short jade flute from her bosom, held it to her lips and blew hard. Immediately, an extremely unpleasant sound rang out and spread far and wide.

Jiang Mingzhe's heart stirred. He thought to himself, "I have this flute too. I received it when I started learning. Where did I put it?"
After a short while, a boat glided across the lake. Two middle-aged women with rough hands and feet bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Granny Rui and Granny Ping."

The two old women gave a stern snort as a response, then smiled and invited Jiang Mingzhe up. When Duan Yu was about to go up as well, Granny Ping blocked him with her pregnant belly and looked at Jiang Mingzhe with a troubled expression.

“Young Master Jiang, you may not know, but my young lady has a rule: if any man comes uninvited and sets foot on the land of Mantuo Manor, his feet will be cut off.” Jiang Mingzhe frowned and said, “He is my sworn brother. Can’t I even invite him?”

Granny Rui said, "Theoretically, it's certainly possible, but it's best to tell Miss first, otherwise we old women won't be able to bear the blame. Young Master Jiang, how about this? It's not far from here. There's a Qin Yun Xiao Zhu, which is a villa belonging to Miss's nephew. We'll take Young Master Yu there first, where someone will take good care of him. Then we'll go to Mantuo Manor. If Miss agrees, we'll immediately bring Young Master Yu over as a guest."

Duan Yu was not one to cause trouble for others, and the name Qin Yun Xiao Zhu suited his aesthetic taste perfectly, so he immediately said, "Brother, as the old saying goes, when a guest is a guest, he should follow the host's lead. Since your senior sister has this rule, how can we make things difficult for the two old ladies? I am willing to wait for you at Qin Yun Xiao Zhu."

Seeing that he himself had said this, Jiang Mingzhe didn't know what to say and nodded, saying, "Alright, that's settled then. Brother, have a cup of tea and enjoy the scenery. I'll come pick you up after I've explained things to my senior sister."

The group boarded the boat and rowed for about half an hour until they arrived at a lotus pond. There, they saw lotus leaves, reeds, water chestnuts, and duckweed, all of varying heights, a verdant expanse. Duan Yu was full of praise and pulled Jiang Mingzhe to compose a poem. Jiang Mingzhe could only keep talking to the two old women, changing the subject.

The boat rowed for a long time until it reached a shore. It was unclear whether it was a small island or a peninsula, but there were weeping willows and several exquisite houses in the middle, and a wooden staircase that hung down to the water's edge.

Grandma Ping then shouted at the top of her lungs, "Abi! Abi! You little slut! Are you sleepy in the middle of the day? Or are you just too light-boned?"

She called out four or five times, and then a pretty young girl in a green shirt came running over in a hurry, lifting her skirt. She smiled and said, "Grandma Rui, Grandma Ping, are you really free today? Little girl, this is such a shabby place, am I sure I've gone to the wrong alley?"

Jiang Mingzhe looked closely and saw that the girl was about sixteen or seventeen years old. She had a refined appearance. In terms of facial features, she was slightly inferior to Mu Wanqing and Azi, but her gentle and delicate nature added a lot to her charm. She seemed to be a personified version of the poems that described the beauty of Jiangnan, and she had walked out of the painting.

His voice was clear and sweet, just like the pine nut mint candy from Suzhou.

He turned his head and glanced at Duan Yu, only to see his little brother staring intently, completely mesmerized.

Granny Ping said, "Little girl, don't bother with my family's formalities. This young master Jiang is a distinguished guest of your master and mistress, and this young master Yu is their friend. However, you know the proper etiquette here. We must wait for the young lady's approval before inviting young master Yu over. Let them rest for a while! Please pour them some tea and give them a couple of snacks to enjoy!"

Without waiting for the girl's consent, he said to Duan Yu, "Young Master Yu, please. This girl is my cousin's maid. Tell her what you would like to eat or drink. The old woman will take your elder brother to see his senior sister first."

Duan Yu stood up and said with a smile, "Alright, but I don't know if this young lady will find it difficult. If she does, I won't go. I'll just stay on the boat for a while."

The young woman curtsied and said with a smile, "Young master, please don't be so polite! Just call me Abimo. If I weren't your aunt and uncle, I would definitely have to act like this! Otherwise, if your aunt and uncle find out that I've been neglecting you, they'll slap me and wish I were dead!"

"To die is a good thing" probably means "it's all over." As Abi said this, she playfully stuck out her tongue. Duan Yu was already grinning like a lovesick fool, and he said repeatedly, "Thank you, Miss Abi! It's Abi, I didn't say it wrong, did I?"

While talking, they quickly climbed the ladder and went ashore.

Jiang Mingzhe chuckled and said, "Brother, I'll come pick you up as soon as possible."

Duan Yu said without turning his head, "Brother, I'm not in a hurry. You might as well not come to pick me up. You can talk to your senior sister and then take me with you when you go back."

(End of this chapter)