Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 265 The Two Evils Combined
Not just Jiang Mingzhe.

Mu Wanqing, Wang Yuyan, Zhong Ling, A Zi, and even Duan Yu all had strange expressions.

Duan Yu, in particular, looked terrified and his face turned pale.

Jiang Mingzhe knew that whether Abi was Duan Yu's child or not didn't affect Duan Yu's relationship with her. Fearing complications, he quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Hey, I'm telling you, you don't need to overthink things. There are plenty of dashing and romantic people in this world. Is Uncle Duan the only one?"

Ah Zi looked at him with ill intent: "Yes, yes, and his nephew Jiang Xian too."

Duan Yu said impatiently, "No, no, it definitely can't be my father's. My father and that Senior Shi have met before. If they really had some past relationship, how could they be so indifferent?"

Jiang Mingzhe breathed a sigh of relief: "Third brother is right. If there really was a story, how could it be... wait? Have those two met before?"

The group frowned simultaneously as they tried to recall the events, piecing together what had happened.

Shi Qinglu's first appearance was at Shaolin Temple, but Duan Zhengchun was not there;
Later, the Eight Friends were tricked by Jiang Mingzhe into going to Longyuan Baosi, just as Duan Zhengchun was captured by Tong Lao;
After Jiang Mingzhe rescued them and brought them back, the Eight Friends had already gone to rest;
At this moment, Li Qiushui arrived, first dismissing Duan Zhengchun and Li Qingluo, before summoning the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass...

After thinking it over, everyone was surprised to find that although they were all under the same roof of Longyuan Baosi, Duan Zhengchun and the Eight Friends had not actually taken a picture of them by the time they left!
Azi didn't believe it: "But they stayed for a long time after we left. The mansion is big, but how could we say we never encountered them?"

Wang Yuyan nodded thoughtfully: "Why is it impossible? My grandmother tricked the Eight Friends of Hangu into healing her injuries and pretended to be her own little sister. In this situation, she might not want her son-in-law to see her. Conversely, if she was pretending to be the old lady of the Murong family, how could she let others find out that she had a daughter?"

Duan Yu's face turned even paler, and he murmured, "No, no..."

Jiang Mingzhe chuckled inwardly, thinking that this was indeed not impossible.

It should be noted that Duan Zhengchun spent his life hunting for women, traveling far and wide, but the place he stayed with the longest was Ruan Xingzhu.

The couple had two daughters in a row, so they must have spent at least two years together.

In the past two years, Ruan Xingzhu became pregnant repeatedly, but Duan Zhengchun refused to give an explanation. No matter how good-tempered Ruan Xingzhu was, she couldn't help but argue. If the argument got heated, given Duan Er's personality, it was perfectly normal for him to run away for a few days to clear his head.

Unfortunately, the Flower Fairy Shi Qinglu was also from Zhongzhou, and the place where she lived back then was not necessarily far from here.

Oh, and there's Kang Min too. Xinyang County, where she lives, is only a few dozen miles away from Tongbai County. Judging by the timeline, she was probably seduced by Duan Zhengchun around the same time!
"The case is solved!" Jiang Mingzhe exclaimed to himself.

No wonder Lao Duan was able to get along with Ruan Xingzhu for so long; it turns out that during this time, he had many other close friends besides Ruan Xingzhu!
However, upon closer reflection, this is normal. Duan Zhengchun's experiences and the number of women he had must have far exceeded the descriptions in the original novel.

Otherwise, Duan Zhengchun wouldn't have doubted himself when facing Ye Erniang.

Seeing red as green is confusing!

Azi glared at him and said, "Big Ginger, what are you grinning about? Are you envious of my father?"

Jiang Mingzhe immediately stopped smiling and said seriously, "Azi, has anyone ever told you that you are very beautiful?"

Azi's eyes widened and then curved into a smile as she said smugly, "Yes! You do!"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded and said, "I have a really good eye. Hmm, actually, thinking about it carefully, you are so beautiful, and my sister-in-law Azhu is also beautiful, so my aunt whom I have never met must also be extremely beautiful. Although Uncle Duan is a womanizer, he has such a beautiful aunt, and he probably doesn't have enough time to spend with and pamper her every day. Where would he have time to get to know other people?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Yu felt as if he had escaped death and quickly said, "That's right, that's right. My father and the other aunts only had one child each, but he and this aunt from Xiaojing Lake had A'Zhu and A'Zi in succession. How could they have time to get to know other people?" A'Bi also nodded and said, "Yes, my sister A'Zhu and I are only three months apart in age, and Prince Duan can't be in two places at once."

After speaking, her face flushed red. After all, she was an unmarried young woman, and she felt very shy when talking about having children.

Duan Yu was all smiles, and the other women also agreed, saying, "Abi is right, he doesn't have the magic to create clones."

Jiang Mingzhe sneered inwardly, thinking that as long as a man has breath and two legs, time management is easy, right? But these young men and women are still innocent, and I cannot expose them.

He then changed the subject: "Then this matter becomes clear. More than ten years ago, my master, the Starry Sky Immortal, came to Zhongzhou to hunt down the Eight Friends. During this time, he happened to kill the person who adopted Sister-in-law A'Zhu. Fortunately, he met Murong Bo. Considering the time, Murong Bo frequently traveled between Shaolin and Suzhou at that time, so it's not surprising that they met."

Everyone nodded, and then he said, "Later, my master adopted Azi, which means that he either found Little Mirror Lake or met Azi's mother elsewhere. It is too much of a coincidence that the two sisters, Azhu and Azi, had one encounter with my master. Unless he stayed in Zhongzhou for a long time and traveled around, the probability would be much higher."

Azi exclaimed, "He's been traveling all over Zhongzhou, he must be looking for his senior brother Su Xinghe!"

Abi said, "That's right, no wonder he wanted to capture my master. He probably wanted my master to reveal where my great master was hiding."

Wang Yuyan continued, "If that's the case, then everything makes sense. My grandfather didn't find Leigu Mountain back then. This time, he was going to Shaolin Temple and accidentally discovered where his senior brother was hiding. Hmm, I see. It was probably more than ten years ago when his senior brother's new disciples in the Deaf-Mute Sect hadn't yet mastered their skills. Now that these people have completed their skills and come out of the mountains, my grandfather has discovered the clues."

Jiang Mingzhe gave her an approving look: "That makes sense. Learning martial arts is not an easy thing. The disciples of the Deaf-Mute Sect are both deaf and mute, so wouldn't it be twice as difficult for them to learn martial arts? That's why they have only started to emerge from the mountains in recent years."

Seeing that he agreed with her, Wang Yuyan was secretly pleased. She continued with a straight face, "That's right. Then Grandpa stormed Leigu Mountain and killed many people. Most of the people around him were spies from Yipintang. After informing Grandma, Grandma led the Eight Friends of Hangu to bury those people and chased after Grandpa all the way... Hmm, but if that's the case, why did Grandpa come to Xiaojing Lake? Could it be that he misses Azi?"

Azi found it amusing and was about to retort when she suddenly saw Duan Yu's expression change. She changed her words and said, "Duan Xiaoyu, why do you look so upset? Are you still worried that Abi has become your sister?"

Duan Yu shook his head and said, "Don't talk nonsense. How could Abi be my sister? I was just thinking that when we were collecting Uncle Chu's body earlier, we found that his fatal wound was in his chest..."

He held up a finger: "It looked like a finger poking out, but the wound went from his chest through his back. A human finger couldn't be that long, so I didn't think much of it. I just thought the enemy's finger strength was superb. Just now you asked why Xingxiu Laoxian came to Xiaojing Lake. I suddenly remembered another great villain. That person's weapon was a thin iron staff, which was just right to cause such a wound."

Azi and Zhong Ling said in unison, "They are utterly wicked!"

Among the crowd, there were several top experts, but when it came to rich experience in the martial arts world, none of them could compare.

The bodies of Chu Wanli, Wu Lingjun, and Feng Asan were highly decomposed, a gruesome sight and a nauseating stench. None of them instinctively wanted to touch them, and surprisingly, no one thought to check the specific cause of their deaths.

Fortunately, when Duan Yu was burying them, he noticed Chu Wanli's wounds. When he mentioned it, Azi and Zhong Ling, who had both suffered at Duan Yanqing's hands, immediately thought of him.

Jiang Mingzhe's expression changed slightly, and he said with a wry smile, "This is the karma I sowed. When I let him go in Wuliang Mountain, I hinted that he should seek refuge with the Murong family. At that time, I had no connection with the Murong family and only wanted to make a casual move. Now it seems that after recovering from his injuries, he really did come to Suzhou. However, he did not meet Murong Fu, but instead met my master Ding Chunqiu!"

The rest of what he wanted to say was still unspoken: He had once boasted to Ding Chunqiu about his plan to become a god through incense offerings. Given Ding's personality, he would not have taken it lightly, and would most likely have been thinking about how to gain more initiative. Duan Yanqing was the former crown prince of Dali Kingdom. Once Ding found out about this identity, how could he not care?

Duan Yu said in a low voice, "If that's the case, then Ding Chunqiu's arrival in Zhongzhou may not have been just to watch the Shaolin Temple, but rather to help Duan Yanqing deal with my father!"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded slowly, thinking that this made sense. Duan Zhengchun was accompanied by women and guards, making him highly recognizable. If Ding Chunqiu and Duan Yanqing were chasing him towards Dengfeng, they would happen to pass by Leigu Mountain on the way!
Most likely, after the massacre at Leigu Mountain, they followed Duan Zhengchun to Xiaojing Lake, where Li Qiushui and the Eight Friends then arrived, leading to a great battle.

(End of this chapter)