Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 162 Murong Fu's Thoughts

Jiang Mingzhe came to an abrupt stop.

Then, with a sharp turn, he dodged Duan Yu, who was crashing into him like a dump truck. With his hands occupied, he could only watch helplessly as his third brother plunged headfirst into the bushes.

Azhu and Abi exclaimed in unison.

Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e both burst into laughter.

The young man in blue wore a faint smile as he looked at Jiang Mingzhe, who was adorned with beautiful ornaments, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

Jiang Mingzhe keenly sensed the other party's hostility.

This reminded him of those seemingly charming rivals he used to face when he secured orders.

Azi jumped off Jiang Mingzhe's forearm and hurriedly asked Azhu, "Azhu, weren't you captured by the Xixia dogs?"

A'Zhu looked slightly embarrassed, but quickly composed herself and smiled, "...Ah, yes, luckily we met our young master, who chased that person away!"

Jiang Mingzhe pulled Duan Yu out of the bushes, feigning surprise, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the young man in blue, saying, "Murong in the South and Xiao Feng in the North are the two great talents of today. How fortunate I am! I just became sworn brothers with Brother Xiao yesterday, and today I have the opportunity to see the esteemed face of Young Master Murong!"

Duan Yu's hair was disheveled, and his clothes were torn in several places, making him look extremely disheveled. However, he was carefree by nature and didn't care. He clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Haha, me too."

The young man in blue smiled and returned the greeting with clasped hands, his tone very enthusiastic: "I have already heard about the sworn brotherhood of the three of you from Brother Bao and Brother Feng. It is truly a wonderful story in the martial arts world. It is a great pity that Murong Fu was unable to participate in it!"

At this time, Murong Fu was twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. He had a handsome and refined appearance and a graceful and elegant demeanor. In terms of looks, he was only slightly inferior to Jiang Mingzhe.

He exchanged a few polite words, then put on a sincere expression and said, “Recently, there have been people everywhere impersonating the methods of my Murong family, attacking and killing people from various sects. I have been running around doing this, and I am extremely worried. I just heard from Brother Bao that Brother Jiang yesterday gave me a very good defense in front of the Beggars’ Sect heroes. His arguments were reasonable and well-founded, and he was very convincing!”

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and said, "It's just saying what I really think, it's nothing."

Murong Fu quickly said, "Brother Jiang, it may only be a matter of a few words, but these few words, once spread, have solved my boss's biggest problem. If I don't repay this kindness, how can I feel at ease? If you two brothers and the ladies have nothing urgent to do, please come and stay at my Canhe Manor for a few days, so that I can show you some hospitality."

Upon hearing this, Duan Yu couldn't help but glance at Abi, his eyes burning as he looked intently at Jiang Mingzhe, clearly hoping he would agree.

Jiang Mingzhe had already intended to take back Shishui Pavilion, so he naturally didn't refuse and said with a smile, "That's exactly what I wanted to do, but I wouldn't dare ask you. Besides, I had already promised Miss Azhu and Miss Abi that I would help them deal with the Tibetan National Preceptor Kumārajīva, but I knew I was no match for that Tibetan monk. Now that Brother Murong has returned, that's perfect. If we all work together, we'll definitely be able to take care of him!"

Murong Fu asked in surprise, "Did Azhu and Abi ask you to deal with the Tibetan national teacher?"

He had just led everyone away from the battlefield, hurriedly removed his disguise, and returned to his original appearance. Bao Butong rushed to tell the story of the Beggars' Sect's changes, and Jiang Mingzhe and the others arrived.

Azhu and Abi had not yet had a chance to tell the story of Kumārajīva's rampage at the Qin Yun Xiaozhu.

Seeing him looking at her, Azhu quickly said, "Young master, please allow me to explain. It's like this: a few days ago, Granny Rui and Granny Ping, who worked for Auntie, came to Abi's place. They took Young Master Jiang to Mantuo Manor, but Young Master Duan couldn't go, so they asked us to entertain him..."

She was quick-witted and soon explained the cause and effect.

Murong Fu was even more surprised: "Brother Jiang is actually my aunt's junior brother? Then, doesn't that make him my elder?"

Jiang Mingzhe laughed loudly: "Hahaha, to be honest, Brother Murong, your cousin Wang Yuyan does call me 'little uncle,' but we are about the same age, and I am a few years younger than you, so of course we address each other differently. Your aunt is my sister Qingluo, and you are my brother Murong. As long as we don't meet, why bother with so much?"

Seeing his frankness, Murong Fu smiled and said, "Brother Jiang, you are so magnanimous, I admire you. If you really want me to call you uncle, I would find it hard to say. So let's keep to ourselves and try not to meet my aunt. To be honest, my aunt and my mother don't get along very well, and I am not very pleasing to her either."

Bao Butong said indignantly, "I, Bao San, strongly disagree with that aunt's standards. My young master is an outstanding person, and she doesn't even look at him. Then who in the world would she look at?" Azi said proudly, "Of course she looks at my junior brother! Didn't you hear my junior brother call her Sister Qingluo? If she didn't like my junior brother, why would she let him call her that?"

Bao Butong said, "No, no, this young lady has long hair but short wits..."

Ah Zi shouted, "Hmph, why don't you say that it was me, a short-sighted woman with long hair, who saved you with that stinky medicine from that smelly bottle! You don't even know how to repay kindness, yet you try to imitate other people's classical Chinese."

Bao Butong was not angry at all, but overjoyed: "Not at all, not at all! This is what they call keeping things separate. What your big ginger said yesterday is that people are people, things are things, right is right and wrong is wrong. Although you saved me..."

The two began arguing back and forth, but Murong Fu seemed to have long been used to Bao Butong's big mouth and ignored it, still laughing and saying, "Brother Bao thinks too highly of me. In fact, Brother Jiang and Brother Duan are truly outstanding people. It is only natural that my aunt has such high regard for me."

Duan Yu said sullenly, "Don't count me in. Your aunt will beat me up whenever she sees me. I'm never going to her manor again."

Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "Brother Murong, you may not know this, but the person my aunt reveres most in her life is my father and Azi's master, the Old Immortal Xingxiu. I am a disciple of the Xingxiu Sect, so she naturally treats me differently. It's nothing special. On the other hand, there is that Kumārajīva, who is proficient in all kinds of Shaolin martial arts and has an incomparably powerful invisible palm force. If he stays in Suzhou, that is Brother Murong's real concern."

He subtly changed the subject, bringing it back to Kumārajīva. Murong Fu was greatly puzzled and asked, "He wants to find my father's grave. What is his intention?"

Jiang Mingzhe sighed, “I do know a thing or two about this matter. It seems that your father once gave him some Shaolin secret manuals. This monk wanted to return the favor with the Duan Family Six Meridians Divine Sword. Later, he mastered the divine skill and broke into Tianlong Temple alone to capture my third brother and bring him to Jiangnan. He wanted to bring him to your father’s grave to be burned. My uncle, Prince Duan of Zhennan, chased after him all the way. It just so happened that I came to visit my senior sister, so we joined forces to defeat him and save my junior brother.”

Murong Fu was shocked: "To burn Brother Duan's sword manual? This is too absurd. My Murong family is not a heretical sect, how could we do such a thing?"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded and said, "The innocent are innocent. We can see clearly that it was this foreign monk who had designs on the Six Meridians Divine Sword. I once suggested that my third brother go to your father's grave and either recite or write it down from memory and burn it, but the foreign monk refused to agree and insisted that it be written down and handed over to him."

Murong Fu was furious upon hearing this and gritted his teeth, saying, "He's trying to steal the Duan family's secret techniques, yet he's doing it in the name of my Murong family. What a despicable person!"

He added with emotion, "Brother Duan's willingness to go to my father's grave to tell him the method of the Six Meridians Divine Sword shows his sincerity. I don't know if my father really had such thoughts when he was alive, but I appreciate Brother Jiang and Brother Duan's good intentions on my father's behalf."

After saying this, he bowed deeply.

At this moment, Feng Bo'e interjected, "Young master, since someone is eyeing the old master's burial site, we must inquire about it. We'd better hurry back."

Murong Fu nodded, took a firework from Bao Butong's pocket, lit it, and held it up. With a bang, a firework exploded in the sky, and countless sparks flowed in all directions.

Zhong Ling exclaimed in surprise, "Fireworks? It's broad daylight, so we can't see them clearly. They're much better at night!"

Murong Fu laughed and said, "Miss, if you like watching fireworks, we can set off a few hundred more tonight. Hehe, my manor is right next to the water. When we set off fireworks, the sky and the water are filled with color. It's quite a sight to behold."

Zhong Lingxi exclaimed, "Wooden Man, did you hear that? This Young Master Murong is going to set off fireworks for us!"

Mu Wanqing said coldly, "If you like it, then go ahead and look, or you can simply stay in Jiangnan and get married, so you won't have to go against my husband's wishes every day."

Zhong Ling immediately retorted, "You wish! Fine, I won't watch it then!"

Murong Fu was surprised to hear this. He thought to himself that this woman had been so excited and full of anticipation just moments before, but now, for the sake of this man surnamed Jiang, she immediately said she wouldn't watch. Clearly, she liked him very much.

Strange, I think this Jiang fellow is just an ordinary person, and he's also Ding Laoguai's disciple, so why do all these princesses love him so much? I want to be the prince consort of Dali Kingdom, so isn't this man my formidable rival?

As she was pondering this, she suddenly noticed Duan Yu glancing at Abi from time to time. A thought struck her: "Hmm, this prince of Dali seems to be quite interested in Abi. If I befriend him, his sister should listen to him, right?"

As the group talked and pondered, about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a fast horse suddenly galloped by!
(End of this chapter)