Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 185 The storm is coming

The boat sails on the lake, cutting through the waves.

On the boat, some people admired the lake scenery, while others drank tea and chatted.

Zhong Ling huddled up next to Wang Yuyan, and the two girls chattered away, seemingly talking about something.

Jiang Mingzhe grinned at Kumārajīva and said, "Great monk, why aren't you reading in the Repaying Water Pavilion? Why are you joining in this fun?"

Kumārajīva, beaming with joy, said, “Young Master Murong has already agreed. The first batch of copied books will be sent to Dengfeng County in Henan Prefecture. The Murong family also has businesses there. When I brought Young Master Duan to Jiangnan, I had my entourage split up to attract the attention of the Dali people. They will meet up in Dengfeng later. I have nothing to do, so I might as well go to Shaolin Temple to broaden my horizons. Once my entourage has arrived, I will take the secret manual back to Tibet.”

He sighed and said, "I met Master Murong in Dengfeng County back then. Now, I am revisiting this place, but I can no longer see my old friend. It makes me feel lost."

Dengfeng County is located at the foot of Mount Song. When Jiang Mingzhe first met "Yan Longyuan", the other party told him that he wanted to do some jewelry business in the Dengfeng area.

I couldn't help but think to myself: Kumārajīva's return to his old haunts this time might just lead to him encountering old friends, and it would certainly be quite a lively affair.

As the group chatted and laughed, the boat continued its journey, entering a waterway from the northwest corner of Taihu Lake. After a short while, they came to another body of water, but it was much smaller than Taihu Lake.

Deng Baichuan said, "This is Dongxi!"

Kumārajīva turned his head and looked around, asking in surprise, "This is clearly west of Taihu Lake, so why is it called Dongxi?"

Murong Fu laughed and said, "Master, this 'east' does not refer to Taihu Lake, but to this county town. The water here is located to the east of the county, hence the name Dongxi (East Stream). In front of it are Tanjiu (Pool Lake) and Xixi (West Stream)."

Sure enough, after crossing this stretch of water, there was another river, and soon we entered another lake. A city stood tall on the lakeshore, with its houses neatly arranged, quite prosperous.

The boats circled the city and entered the West Creek, which was about the same size as the East Creek.

Jiang Mingzhe suddenly realized and thought to himself: Oh my, this is Yixing. Dongxi, Tanjiu and Xixi are three lakes, like pearls strung together.

Before long, they passed Xixi and entered another river. The setting sun had dyed the river surface golden. The strong servants of the Murong family took turns rowing vigorously, making the river sometimes wide and sometimes narrow.

Deng Baichuan kept introducing the river: "This is the Beixi River!" "This is Linjin Pond!" "This is Luoxia Market..."

Jiang Mingzhe gradually forgot all those details, only feeling that he had traveled about forty or fifty miles, and after turning behind a scenic hill, a vast expanse of water suddenly came into view.

Deng Baichuan said loudly, "Haha, we've arrived at Changdang Lake. It's getting late. There's a town called Rulin over there. I heard that a high-ranking official came from there during the Tang Dynasty. Why don't we stop there for a meal?"

The boat then rowed along the shore, and after a few miles, they arrived at a small town. By then, it was already late. The group went ashore, and Gongye Qian said, "I came here two years ago on business. There's a restaurant here that serves the freshest fish."

He then led everyone to the restaurant he had mentioned. Although it was not very big, it was clean and tidy. A waiter came up to greet them, and Gongye Qian said, "No need to ask any questions. Fresh fish and shrimp, good wine and good dishes, just bring them up."

After saying that, he slapped down a silver ingot, which weighed five taels. The waiter was overjoyed and warmly invited him to sit down.

Before long, one steaming dish after another was served, and the waiter called out the names loudly: braised crucian carp in thick soup, braised angpo, catfish with chopped peppers, steamed soft-shelled turtle, stir-fried flounder slices, steamed mandarin fish, hand-grabbed prawns, and pearls from Changhu Lake...

The various kinds of products are numerous and mostly local specialties of Changdang Lake.

Jiang Mingzhe tasted each dish, and they were indeed incredibly delicious. Zhong Ling also ate with great relish, constantly piling food onto Wang Yuyan's plate and instructing her, "Miss Wang, is this your first time venturing into the martial world? You must know that in the martial world, your stomach is the most important thing. Eat quickly, eat as much as you can, eat your fill." Wang Yuyan grew up in Taihu Lake, and her daily diet naturally included plenty of seafood. However, she had always been particular about the finest and most delicate dishes, and she rarely tasted such steaming hot food. Moreover, it was a rare treat to eat with so many people, truly embodying the saying "the food from another pot smells better." She ate with exceptional sweetness and filled her stomach completely with all the dishes Zhong Ling had served her.

Zhong Ling beamed with joy and eagerly poured more rice for her: "Is it delicious? Have another bowl, no, ten bowls!"

Wang Yuyan blushed and said, "How could I possibly eat so much? No need, no need, I'm already full."

Zhong Ling had already filled a bowl with rice for her and said, "Even if you're full, you still need to eat. Traveling the world, we often go through wind and rain, sometimes going two or three days without food. We rely entirely on what we've stored up. Now that we have something to eat, you must eat as much as you can."

He thought to himself with smug satisfaction: This girl was born plump and fair-skinned. I'll make her grow up to be a big fatso. Brother Jiang will naturally look down on her. Humph, so what if she's pretty? I'll fatten her up into a pretty pig!

Murong Fu gradually saw through Zhong Ling's thoughts. Seeing his cousin burp from being so full, blushing with embarrassment, while Zhong Ling was still mixing fish soup with rice for her, he couldn't help but feel annoyed. On the surface, he smiled and said, "Miss Zhong is right. When traveling the world, one's stomach comes first. But Yu Yan is not a child anymore. Miss Zhong, you don't need to take such good care of her. Look at yourself, you haven't even had time to eat."

As he spoke, he asked the waiter to bring over a large bowl, filled it with soup, and handed it to Zhong Ling, saying, "If you don't eat your fill, your Brother Jiang will definitely worry."

Zhong Ling originally didn't want to eat, but when she saw Wang Yuyan looking over, she thought to herself: If I don't eat, and she finds out what I'm thinking, then it won't be good to feed her as a pretty pig.

With a determined effort, he took the food and began to slurp it down.

Seeing how much she enjoyed her meal, everyone's appetite was whetted, and even Kumārajīva couldn't resist mixing fish soup with his rice and feasting.

Just as they were enjoying their meal, seven or eight monks suddenly walked in from outside. Each of them was muscular and carried a weapon.

Jiang Mingzhe and the others subconsciously looked over and saw a bearded man in his forties wearing a kasaya. He seemed to be the leader. He looked at the group, raised one hand in a gesture of respect, and asked, "May I ask you all, is that large boat on the river your boat?"

Gongye Qian stood up and said, "That's right, it's our ship."

The bearded monk nodded and said, "That would be perfect. We are monks from Pumen Temple on Mount Fu. We are in a hurry to cross the lake today, but we cannot find a boat because it is getting late. May we borrow your precious boat?"

Wang Yuyan whispered, "The small mountain we went around when we entered Changdang Lake was Dafu Mountain. It is surrounded by water and is known as Little Putuo. Pumen Temple on the mountain was founded in the Tang Dynasty. The first abbot, Master Tieniu, studied martial arts at Shaolin Temple and Qingliang Temple. He created the Tieniu River Blocking Fist and the Vajra Embracing Anger Knife Technique, which are very powerful. The temple also has the inheritance of Shaolin Scattering Flower Palm, Indra Claw, and Qingliang Temple Pumen Staff Technique."

The bearded monk looked at her with surprise, and seeing that she was a young girl, he couldn't help but praise, "Amitabha, young lady, you are so learned at such a young age, it is truly admirable!"

When Wang Yuyan saw that he had heard her, her face turned red and she lowered her head. Zhong Ling took the opportunity to say, "Speak less and eat more. Here, I'll give you this bowl of rice too!"

Gongye Qian glanced at Murong Fu and saw him shake his head first and then nod. Knowing what he meant, he smiled and said, "I'm sorry, we've been traveling by water all day and are really tired. If you want to cross the lake, monk, you can come back early tomorrow morning and I'll give you a ride."

Hearing that he refused to cross at night, the bearded monk showed a hint of anxiety and frowned, saying, "I see that you are all martial arts practitioners. I wonder if you are going to Shaolin Temple? If so, if you arrive late, I'm afraid you will miss this important matter."

Jiang Mingzhe and the others exchanged glances. Jiang Mingzhe stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Zen Master! Although we are people of the martial world, we have not been out and about recently. We wonder what important matter the Zen Master is referring to?"

The bearded monk said, “Don’t you know about such a momentous matter? Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars’ Sect, is actually a Khitan dog. Now that his true identity has been exposed, and he has learned that his parents died at the hands of Abbot Xuanci of Shaolin, he has vowed to take revenge. This dog has learned the ultimate skills of the Central Plains martial arts world, but now he repays kindness with enmity and wants to kill a pillar of the Central Plains martial arts world. We, who have any sense of righteousness, will not allow him to have his way. Therefore, we must rush to Shaolin and join forces to kill this dog!”

Murong Fu and the others were shocked to hear this. Xiao Feng had clearly stated in the Apricot Grove that he wanted to go to Shaolin Temple to see Abbot Xuanci. If Abbot Xuanci confirmed that he was a Khitan, he would choose a place to live in seclusion and not concern himself with worldly affairs.

It has only been three days since this incident occurred, yet it has already spread like wildfire and become completely unrecognizable, turning into a story about Qiao Feng wanting to kill someone for revenge.
A cold glint flashed in Jiang Mingzhe's eyes as he quickly thought: In the original story, the culprits were Elder Xu and Madam Ma. Now, Elder Xu's prestige and spirit have been diminished by me, and Madam Ma has been handed over to Duan Zhengchun. They are determined to wreak havoc in the harem of the Prince of Zhennan's mansion. Who is making a big fuss about this? If it were Xiao Yuanshan or Murong Bo, how could they have acted so quickly?
(End of this chapter)