Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 243 Past Events

Upon hearing the old monk's words, Murong Bo and Murong Fu were both greatly shocked, their faces filled with extreme horror.

Murong Bo, in particular, was already severely injured by Tong Lao's palm strike, and only managed to hold on until now thanks to his profound skill and unwavering will.

Upon hearing this, I felt dizzy and couldn't help but stumble and fall backward.

Murong Fu's head was also spinning. He subconsciously supported his father and felt Murong Bo's body trembling incessantly. Then, large beads of sweat rolled down his head. It turned out that the stimulation had caused his old illness to flare up prematurely. The three acupoints of Yangbai, Lianquan, and Fengfu felt as if thousands of needles were piercing into them, causing unbearable pain.

Murong Fu sensed something was wrong and cried out, "Father, Father, what's wrong?"

Murong Bo was in so much pain that he couldn't speak and just shook his head repeatedly.

The old woman was a great expert in medicine. After taking a closer look, she chuckled and said, "Oh dear, this old fellow's internal energy was originally meant to be gentle and yielding, but he forcefully practiced the Shaolin Temple's Maha Finger and Great Vajra Pestle, which are extremely powerful techniques. As a result, his yin energy is suppressed and difficult to release, causing wind and cold to accumulate inside, leading to a terminal illness. Haha, haha."

She rolled her eyes and pointed at the old monk, saying, "With your high level of martial arts and spending all your time in the Sutra Pavilion, don't tell me you don't know about the illness your adopted son developed from practicing martial arts recklessly. Even if he's an illegitimate child, he's still called you 'Dad' for over ten years. How can you bear to ignore him? You're a heartless person."

The old monk looked dejected and shook his head, saying, "He has copied all of Shaolin's secret techniques and is very ambitious. Even if I were to speak up, would he listen to me? However, I have already come up with a solution. He and Layman Xiao are one with excessive Yin energy and the other with abundant Yang energy. If they are willing to let go of their hatred and attachments, and guide their internal energy to circulate in harmony, their Yin and Yang will naturally be in balance. This will not only eliminate the long-standing problems, but also greatly improve their skills, achieving the best of both worlds..."

Xiao Yuanshan grew angrier as he listened, thinking to himself, "This old monk wants to save his adopted son, but he's actually setting his sights on me!"

He immediately retorted angrily, "Bah! Daydreaming! I'd rather die than reconcile with him, much less save his life."

The old monk said helplessly, "Layman Xiao, saving others is also saving yourself."

Xiao Feng angrily said, "He sowed the seeds, and he reaps the consequences. The cycle of karma is inescapable, and retribution is inevitable."

Murong Bo endured the excruciating pain and screamed tremblingly, "That's right, that's right. I sow the seeds, I reap the fruits. Today, let's settle all these causes and effects one by one, so that no one else will be entangled in them."

He grasped Murong Fu's hand and said with a bitter smile, "It is already pitiful to be obsessed with illusions in life, but it is especially pitiful for you and me, father and son, to have spent our whole lives obsessed with other people's illusions."

Murong Fu's eyes streamed down his face as he shook his head repeatedly, yet he didn't know why he was shaking his head.

Murong Bo shook his hand vigorously: "I am your father now. From now on, you will walk your own path. If you really want to conquer the world, hmph, you and I have been surnamed Murong for so many years in vain. It is only right that we use the name of the Murong family and the wealth and power accumulated over generations. If you do not have this idea, then no matter what ancestral teachings or responsibilities they have, they should not be carried on your shoulders. In short, my child, whatever path you want to take in the future is up to you."

Murong Fu burst into tears, utterly bewildered.

Murong Bo patted his head, then turned to look at the old monk with a complicated expression: "...Father, I've called you Father for sixteen years, and I'll call you Father one last time. Father, you said I'm not your biological son, so who is my father?"

The old monk remained silent for a moment, then sighed deeply, "What a tragedy, what a tragedy! Your biological father is your uncle."

Murong Bo and Murong Fu were shocked again, their faces showing shame. The girls, including Azi, held their breath, their ears perked up like little rabbits.

Granny Tong's face changed drastically, and she shouted, "You're talking nonsense! Impossible!"

The old monk suddenly formed a wall of energy around himself, blocking the palm strike from the old woman, and continued, "The world is full of strange things, and people's hearts are unpredictable. What is impossible? Bo'er, there are some things that I only learned later. In fact, since your mother grew up, your uncle has been secretly in love with her. Your mother also loves your uncle's handsome and dashing appearance. However, because of her sister, she forcibly suppressed her feelings and married me."

The old monk shook his head with a wry smile: "Back then, I was just like you are now, my mind was filled with thoughts of restoring the kingdom. I thought that she was a princess of the previous dynasty, possessed superb martial arts skills, and was extremely beautiful. She was naturally a perfect match for me, so I loved and doted on her wholeheartedly..."

"After a few years, her sister and brother-in-law had a falling out. It was said that her sister had found many handsome men and was intimate with them in front of her brother-in-law. Her brother-in-law got angry and came to her to complain. I didn't take it seriously at first. I just thought that it was too shameful for a grown man to be humiliated by his wife and then complain to his sister-in-law. So I didn't bother with it and just let her receive him and listen to her brother-in-law's endless nonsense. But I never expected that the two of them were so in love that they were doing something shameful behind my back."

Granny Tong frowned and said, "Nonsense! Did you see them having an affair with your own eyes? I bet you're just jealous and overthinking things."

The old monk glanced at her sideways and said, "Your junior brother has always been fickle. Don't you understand his character? Besides, the Murong family are all upright men. How could we be so petty? I never thought much of it until more than ten years later, when Bo'er's mother confessed herself, that I found out."

The old woman asked in bewilderment, "That doesn't make sense. You, as her husband, didn't even notice, and she didn't divorce you at the time. Did she lose her mind and then tell you after a long time?"

The old monk coldly said, "That's because later, Li Qiushui had an affair with Ding Chunqiu, which you, this gossipy old woman, reported. When the matter was exposed, Li Qiushui and Ding Chunqiu struck first and together knocked Wu Yazi off a cliff. Wu Yazi's eldest disciple, Su Xinghe, rushed to Yanziwu, wanting my wife and me to help him seek justice. When I saw that he called himself Su Xinghe, which was the same as my wife's maiden name, I asked him who gave him the name. Ironically, Su Xinghe didn't know his junior aunt's maiden name and said that Wu Yazi gave him that name after he joined the sect. I was quite angry at that time and drove Su Xinghe away. I also forbade Bo'er's mother from leaving the house, so we argued. That's when she unintentionally revealed that my son was not actually my bloodline!"

Duan Yu was furious and said, "This woman is despicable! She has a son with another man, how can she let you raise him? Isn't this blatant bullying?"

Jiang Mingzhe glanced at him with pity, thinking to himself that he would have to teach his silly brother a lesson later, and that he should never speak too confidently.

The old monk nodded gratefully to Duan Yu, and said sadly, "Originally, it would have been fine if she had an affair and had a child with someone else, but the internal energy of my Murong family is more yin and soft. The higher the level of cultivation, the less likely it is to have offspring. Therefore, the number of offspring has been small for generations. At that time, Bo'er was already sixteen years old. He was intelligent and wise from a young age and very eager to improve. I had such a fine son, so I naturally let him practice martial arts. By the time I learned about this, my internal energy had already reached an extremely high level. It would have been harder than climbing to heaven to have another son!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanshan couldn't help but feel sympathy and said with a sigh, "You are quite magnanimous. If it were me in this situation, I would definitely beat that bitch to death."

The old monk smiled bitterly at Murong Bo: "I was also furious at the time, and really wanted to kill your mother, but that day you suddenly came to find me, overjoyed, and said, 'Father, I have mastered the Murong sword technique. Test me and see if I have done well.'"

A look of reminiscence flashed in Murong Bo's eyes, and he nodded repeatedly, clearly recalling this matter, his eyes reddening involuntarily.

The old monk sighed, "I was going to kill you then, but when I saw the way you looked at me, my heart softened. You've called me 'Father' for sixteen years, and you've been so filial and respectful to me. How could I bear to kill you? I had to force myself to think that even in ancient times, people who had no direct descendants would adopt a son. Although you are not my biological son, you are intelligent and capable. It's better to have you inherit the foundation of my Great Yan than to let it end like this..."

At this point, the old monk sighed again: "However, my heart is not as magnanimous as I thought. From then on, whenever I saw you or your mother, I felt as if my heart was being torn apart and my insides were burning. I was afraid that one day I would not be able to help but hurt you, so I simply faked my death and ran away. I wandered the world for two years and met Zen Master Lingmen. He was a compassionate man. When he learned of my plight, he taught me the sweeping Zen method. I then stayed here incognito. I never expected that more than ten years later, you would come here too."

After the old monk finished speaking, everyone had their own thoughts and felt that nothing could be more bizarre than this.

(End of this chapter)