Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 241 Forty-Three Years, A Fleeting Dream

Kumārajīva and Xiao Yuanshan both understood, so how could Murong Bo not understand?
Even though Murong Fu's cultivation level was much lower than these people, he had practiced the "Star Shift" technique since childhood and now understood that the method used by the nameless old monk was the highest level of the "Star Shift".

He exclaimed in surprise, "My family's 'Shifting Stars' technique has always been passed down to men, not women. How could he possibly know this skill?"

Murong Bo's face was also ashen, but his composure was far superior to his son's. He remained silent for a moment, only staring at the old monk from head to toe.

Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "Uncle Murong, you should know the origin of the Lingbo Weibu martial art. How did your Murong family manage to inherit this skill?"

Murong Bo was silent for a moment, then forced a smile: "Nephew, since you ask, I will answer you with sincerity. To be honest, my mother has a close relationship with the Xiaoyao Sect. Well, the Lingbo Weibu was passed down to my mother by my aunt. There is also the Xiaowuxiang Gong, which my mother learned from my aunt. Unfortunately, my mother refused to teach it to me, so I had no chance to learn it."

Jiang Mingzhe sighed, "That's a pity. The Murong family is famous for its 'returning the favor' technique. The Lesser Formless can activate any martial art in the world, which is extremely compatible with the Murong family's martial arts philosophy. If you, Uncle, were to learn it, with your talent, you would be no less than this master when you use the 'Star Shift' technique."

The old monk sighed and said, "Young benefactor, why are you being so aggressive? It is true that I have some knowledge of the Lesser Formless Skill and the Lingbo Steps, but you don't need to beat around the bush. This Layman Murong and Young Master Murong have no connection with me whatsoever."

He spoke slowly, but his tone was resolute.

Jiang Mingzhe blinked and asked in confusion, "Then, did you steal your skill of 'Shifting Stars' from the Murong family?"

The old monk's expression grew increasingly sorrowful. He opened his mouth but said nothing, and then remained silent for a long time.

Murong Fu stared at him for a long time. Seeing that he hesitated to speak, he concluded that he was guilty and said sternly, "Father, our family's secret skills must never be passed on to outsiders."

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in the old monk's eyes, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Family secret techniques, family secret techniques, humph, the Murong family's family secret techniques have long been passed on to the wrong people, so what's the point of talking about family secrets!"

Jiang Mingzhe looked puzzled.

Based on his understanding of the original work and his observation of the old monk's martial arts characteristics, he decisively deduced that the old monk was the previous head of the Murong family, that is, Murong Bo's biological father!

The Yellow-Eyebrow Monk once encountered the young Murong Bo, dressed in mourning clothes, and his mother. This period was also around the time the old monk recounted being enlightened by the Shaolin Lingmen Zen Master and entering the Sutra Repository.

Murong Bo's mother is most likely Li Qiushui's younger sister.

The old monk's Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) and his familiarity with the martial arts of the reclusive Xiaoyao Sect clearly revealed his identity.

Furthermore, the old monk's actions in the original work are also questionable.

He orchestrated the historic reconciliation between Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo, bringing their ambitions and deep-seated hatreds to dust.

But if you think about it a little more, what kind of grand ambition does Murong Bo have? He can't just say that he wants to be emperor, and that's what grand ambition means, can he?

All that remains is the blood feud that the Xiao family father and son could have avenged.

He also had Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo pass on their skills to each other, healing their internal injuries.

It seems fair, but the injuries of the two people are actually quite different.

The source of their injuries was that they relied on their own internal strength to forcefully practice Shaolin techniques.

According to the old monk, the 72 Shaolin skills are divided into two aspects: "body" and "application". Body refers to the internal force itself, while application refers to the method of using it. What Lao Xiao and Lao Murong practiced was actually the method of application.

Old Xiao's injuries were: "distant pain" in the Liangmen and Taiyi acupoints, and "numbness" in the Guanyuan acupoint, which was only the size of a little finger ten years ago, but gradually grew to the size of a teacup. Murong Bo's injuries were much more serious: every morning, noon, and midnight, the Yangbai, Lianquan, and Fengfu acupoints were "pierced by thousands of needles, causing unbearable pain," and once he used his internal energy, "the pain of the needles penetrated even deeper into his bone marrow."

Why did Murong Bo resolve to die? It was because, "If one dies three times in a single day, what joy is left in life?"

One is a dull ache and numbness, the other is a daily, intense, and excruciating pain caused by being stabbed with needles three times a day. These two symptoms are like Xiao Yuanshan having tendinitis and Murong Bo having late-stage pancreatic cancer.

Given that Lao Xiao is a tough Khitan man, he probably wouldn't even bother to see a doctor for such a minor ailment.

Murong Bo was different. The original text clearly states that no matter what kind of elixir he took, it had no effect whatsoever.

The result was that the two cured each other's illnesses, shook hands and reconciled. So who benefited the most?

This old monk presided over the great reconciliation of the century. Although he was in Shaolin Temple, his backside was completely skewed to Taihu Lake. Only Xiao Yuanshan was honest, Xiao Feng was loyal, and Duan Yu was dull. The others were none of my business, so no one exposed them.

If he weren't Murong Bo's biological father, why would he help him like this?
Another point is that in the original novel, when the old monk pointed out the two men's illnesses, Xiao Feng immediately knelt down and begged for help, but Murong Fu refused to kneel down and wanted to take Murong Bo away. At that time, the old monk said, "How can you bear to do this, letting your father suffer such excruciating pain?"

This statement seems like the compassion of an old monk, but if viewed from another perspective, it is clearly the expression of a grandfather's disappointment with his grandchildren.

These were the principles that Jiang Mingzhe had originally believed in, but judging from the old monk's tone of voice, his guesses seemed to be quite wrong!

Jiang Mingzhe blinked, frowned, disregarded the known clues, and deduced from the beginning, quickly finding the crux of the problem—

Murong Bo faked his death because he saw Xuan Ci's suspicions growing and was afraid that exposing him would make him a public enemy of the martial arts world and affect the great cause of restoring the kingdom.

So why did the old monk fake his death? Why did he watch his wife and son in mourning while he himself became a sweeping monk?
As Jiang Mingzhe was pondering, he suddenly heard Granny Tong say in a sinister voice, "So that's how it is! Murong Bo, you're actually that slut Li Qiushui's nephew! No wonder I felt so angry when I saw you!"

Bitch!

Upon hearing the old woman's loud curse, Jiang Mingzhe's eyes lit up, and a thought flashed through his mind. He shouted, "I know! I know why you old monk were hiding here sweeping the floor!"

His shout drew everyone's attention, even the old woman was intrigued and temporarily put aside her wicked nephew.

Jiang Mingzhe stared intently at the old monk, scrutinizing his appearance. He noted his narrow forehead, high and straight nose with a hooked tip, and narrow eyes. In contrast, he observed that Murong Bo and his son Murong Fu were both handsome and refined.

In that instant, he became even more certain of his guess.

The old monk's face turned pale, and the anger in his eyes grew stronger. His previous kind expression turned into a sinister and ruthless look, and his aura gradually became fierce, as if he was about to suddenly attack and hurt someone at any moment.

Murong Bo and his son exchanged a glance, both feeling a very ominous thought.

The old woman blinked, clapped her hands, and exclaimed with delight, "Oh dear, could it be that the slut's sister has also betrayed her husband and become a little slut?"

The old monk shouted sternly, "Shut up!"

The old woman was not afraid of him at all and laughed heartily. Just as she was about to speak again, Kumārajīva suddenly spoke up and said, "What do you think of what I said? Forty-three years of sweeping and cleaning, the dust may be cleared, but my attachment to self remains. What exactly is this forty-three years of effort?"

The old monk trembled, his anger vanished instantly, he threw down the broom, clasped his hands together and said: "Forty-three years, a dream, a bubble, a shadow, love, hate, passion, hatred, white bones, withered bones, past life, all swept away, the bright mirror is not a mirror, where is the dust? Amitabha, well said, well said!"

(End of this chapter)