Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 90 The Tribulations of Two Beauties

Jiang Mingzhe wanted to rush out the door, but Zhong Wanchou's slash was fast and heavy, and the momentum of the slash was extremely fierce.

He had no choice but to step back to avoid the broadsword before leaping out again.

Unexpectedly, Zhong Wanchou changed his move extremely quickly, twisting his waist and raising his arm, swinging his knife back with a whoosh.

Jiang Mingzhe had no choice but to retreat again, thinking to himself: Even a master like the Crocodile God of the South Sea couldn't change his moves this quickly. This guy surnamed Zhong shouldn't be this powerful. Could it be that my word "turtle" forced him to unleash his ultimate form?
At this moment, Zhong Wanchou's eyes were bloodshot, his forehead veins were bulging, he was hunched over, his legs were half-squatting, and he swung his knife again, each slash faster than the last.

Jiang Mingzhe frowned, recalling a double-knife turtle he had seen as a child.

In the blink of an eye, Zhong Wanchou had already slashed twenty-seven times, but Jiang Mingzhe dodged them all with agility and speed, his movements as light as the wind and as swift as lightning.

Duan Zhengchun nodded repeatedly and exclaimed in a low voice, "Yu'er's sworn brother has such excellent agility!"

The four guards behind him nodded in agreement. They had heard Duan Yu say that he had sworn brotherhood with someone under an alias and was even using the Duan family's name as a shield, which they found displeasing. But now, seeing Jiang Mingzhe strolling leisurely through the flashing blades, they realized that their lord had truly struck gold.

Seeing the others' admiration, Duan Yu was very proud. He thought to himself, "I can also have such skillful movements. I must practice properly when I have time. I don't like fighting. If I can train like my elder brother, no one can hurt me."

In the original story, Duan Yu was imprisoned by Wuliang Sword and began practicing martial arts to pass the time out of boredom.

Now that he's with Jiang Mingzhe, life is incredibly exciting. He also has two lively girls, Azi and Zhongling. He's used to being idle, and although he no longer resists learning martial arts, what's more fun than watching the girls bicker?
Since Zhong Wanchou mastered this "Killing Mad Blade" technique, he had never been able to execute it so smoothly and effortlessly. He felt that his understanding of the blade technique had reached a whole new level. Every breath he took was perfectly in sync with his attacks. Yet, even so, he still couldn't harm his opponent in the slightest.

Seeing that this "young Duan" had a graceful and elegant style and an incomparably handsome face, a thought suddenly popped into his mind: the guy who took over the baby's body must also have the same appearance and martial arts skills, which is why the baby couldn't forget him for so long, and even called out "Duan Lang, Duan Lang" in his sleep... Damn it, damn it, all the Duans should die!

Thinking of this, Zhong Wanchou almost went mad. Suddenly, he held the knife in both hands and swung it horizontally with all his might. Although this slash was extremely fierce, the move was already overdone. Jiang Mingzhe's eyes lit up, and he leaped up, intending to jump over his head.

"Come die!"

With a roar, Zhong Wanchou braced himself with a kick, twisted his waist and turned his arm. Despite using an old move, he managed to reverse it and slashed his blade towards the top of the head.

Duan Zhengchun, Zuo Zimu, and Xin Shuangqing's expressions changed simultaneously, with Xin Shuangqing even exclaiming in surprise. They all realized how difficult and how ferocious this strike was!
Jiang Mingzhe was also startled. However, in the past few days, in addition to exploring the functions of the Seven Child Swords, he had also studied the Hanging Cloud Sword Technique. He subconsciously gathered his inner strength, turned around in mid-air, and easily dodged the blade that was suddenly raised. Then, his true energy sank rapidly, and he did a half somersault, head down and feet up, and slapped Zhong Wanchou on the back of the head.

This move should have been executed by swinging the sword horizontally; if it had been done that, Zhong Wanchou's horse head would have been severed from his body immediately.

Jiang Mingzhe, mindful that Zhong Ling had been raised by him for over ten years, couldn't bring himself to kill him. Instead, he used his palm to counter the sword strike, turning a swing into a slap, and delivered a blow that was neither too light nor too heavy.

The reason it wasn't heavy is that Jiang Mingzhe didn't use his full strength. Otherwise, what does the back of the head matter? If he really used his full strength in one palm strike, with Jiang Mingzhe's current internal energy, Zhong Wanchou would be crippled if not killed.

The reason it wasn't light was that Jiang Mingzhe hated him for insulting Azi, so he used some internal force, causing Zhong Wanchou's vision to go black and him to stumble forward several steps, falling to the ground with a loud thud like a dog snatching food.

Thanks to Wuliang Sword for laying a thick carpet inside the door to welcome Duan Zhengchun, Zhong Wanchou would have surely lost his front teeth after the fall, becoming a toothless old horse.

Even so, Zhong Wanchou was so dizzy from the fall that he struggled to get up for a long time.

Jiang Mingzhe ignored him and ran outside as soon as he landed. He hadn't gone far when he heard Azi's voice: "You stinking woman, let me go!"

Jiang Mingzhe's expression changed drastically, his inner strength surged and boiled, and he quickly chased after the sound. In an instant, he had covered more than thirty feet and saw Ye Erniang on the wall with a murderous look on her face. She had Zhong Ling on her left and A Zi on her right. Zhong Ling was crying and A Zi was cursing, but their bodies were stiff and motionless, obviously because their pressure points had been sealed.

Beside Ye Erniang stood a man in a green robe and carrying a black staff—none other than the notorious Duan Yanqing.

Duan Yanqing was clearly extremely wary of his sword aura. Seeing him rushing over, he immediately raised a black staff and stabbed it into Azi's throat, using ventriloquism to utter a low, unpleasant sound: "Don't stop, she'll die."

Jiang Mingzhe suddenly stopped, his chest heaving with a surge of qi and blood. However, the sudden stop had caused his internal energy to slightly veer off course.

He had only been practicing the Lingbo Weibu for a short time. Although he could use it freely, he couldn't claim to have perfect control over its subtle variations; his mastery was still insufficient.

It's like the difference between a new driver and an experienced driver. Both can drive the same car, but the difference becomes apparent in emergencies.

A sense of panic welled up inside him, and he frantically tried to regain control of his internal energy, while simultaneously maintaining a composed expression as he glanced at Duan Yanqing. Duan Yanqing's icy gaze pierced Jiang Mingzhe's face: "You seem quite concerned about these two women? Do you like her? Or is she Zhong Wanchou's daughter?"

Jiang Mingzhe did not answer. If he opened his mouth now, his internal energy would be in chaos. If Duan Yanqing noticed anything amiss, he would probably kill him on the spot.

"Do you think I wouldn't know if you didn't tell me?" Duan Yanqing said coldly, slightly increasing the pressure on his black staff. "I killed her, so naturally I know who you love."

"Brother Jiang likes me!"

Zhong Ling suddenly cried out, one side of her cheek swollen, tears streaming down her face: "Please, let Zi Yatou go. Using me to threaten Brother Jiang is enough. I am his beloved."

“You brat…” Azi’s throat was pressed tightly against the black staff, making it difficult for her to breathe. She said with great effort, “I didn’t expect you to be so… loyal… but… but… Big Ginger… doesn’t like you… old monster… don’t listen to her… bragging…”

"Coo coo coo coo..." Duan Yanqing's laughter was like a toad's. He moved his black staff slightly down and pressed it on the Tian Tu acupoint, which was located in the middle of A Zi's collarbone, below her throat.

With a slight release of her inner energy, A Zi let out a "uh" sound, unable to inhale any air. In a short while, her face began to turn red.

"Stop, stop!"

Jiang Mingzhe took a deep breath, barely managing to control his inner strength, and said, "You are the most evil person in the world. Don't make things difficult for the little girl. If you have any problems, come at me."

Seeing that Duan Yanqing ignored him, Jiang Mingzhe's eyes flashed with a cold light: "If anything happens to her, I swear to God, I will tear you to pieces and make you die a horrible death!"

"Coo coo." Duan Yanqing chuckled softly, completely unconcerned: "I am already miserable just being alive. If you can kill me, I will thank you."

Jiang Mingzhe's expression changed slightly, thinking to himself that this person's body was indeed worse than death...

At this moment, Azi's face had begun to turn purple. Jiang Mingzhe couldn't care less about anything else and said in a deep voice, "Release your acupoints first, and I'll tell you a big secret that concerns you: Prince Yanqing!"

Duan Yanqing's eyes flickered slightly. In the martial arts world, almost no one knew his identity. Even though Jiang Mingzhe was a retainer of the Duan family, there was absolutely no reason for him to know.

After a moment of contemplation, she released her inner energy again, and Ah Zi gasped as she caught her breath.

"What secret?" Duan Yanqing asked, then immediately turned around and saw Duan Zhengchun and a large group of people rushing towards them. Zuo Zimu and Xin Shuangqing looked up and exclaimed in unison, "Oh dear, it's the wicked and wicked!"

Duan Yanqing snorted coldly, and with a flick of his black staff, Azi let out a muffled groan as the thin red rope around her neck was torn off by the staff, along with a small gold locket, falling from her neck.

Duan Yanqing didn't care and coldly said, "I will wait for you in Wanjie Valley for three days. If you don't come, or if many people come, both of these women will die."

With that, Ye Erniang raised her black staff, and with the two of them in tow, she jumped down from the wall. Duan Yanqing chuckled and left as well.

Jiang Mingzhe's face turned ashen. He walked to the wall and picked up the gold locket that Azi had dropped.

"Good nephew!"

Duan Zhengchun used his lightness skill to arrive first, his expression serious: "Was that man in black the one who was so wicked? Don't worry, since he only plundered and didn't kill, he must have something to do with it. I'll go with you to Wanjie Valley to rescue them!"

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and said, "He said we can't have too many people..."

Duan Zhengchun pressed down on Jiang Mingzhe's shoulder: "We don't need many people. Three days is enough time for me to gather manpower. By then, you and I will be in the open. Our Lord Gao is highly skilled in martial arts, and Lord Ba is exceptionally good at light footwork. We will draw the attention of the villains and let them find an opportunity to rescue people! Huh?"

As Duan Zhengchun was speaking, he noticed Jiang Mingzhe staring intently at the lock in his hand. He glanced at him subconsciously, and his eyes immediately became fixed on him.

The red rope was now very pale, and the locket was exquisitely carved with two lines of tiny characters: "Bamboo by the lake, lush and green, bringing peace and joy."

(End of this chapter)