Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

Inside the inn.

Yang Guo leaned back in his chair, holding a teacup.

Cheng Ying stood by the door, her legs feeling as heavy as lead.

"What? You were shouting so loudly in the stable just now, and now you want to back out?" Yang Guo put down his teacup, his voice turning cold.

Cheng Ying shuddered.

Lu Wushuang walked over, grabbed Cheng Ying's arm, and pulled her to the side of the large wooden tub.

"Cousin, you are now your husband's maid, and it is your duty to serve him while he bathes. Don't worry, your husband is a very good person. I used to do this kind of work, but now he won't let me do it anymore." Lu Wushuang began to persuade Cheng Ying with no emotional intelligence whatsoever.

Cheng Ying looked at the large wooden tub that was steaming.

She gritted her teeth and reached her hand into the water.

The water temperature is just right.

"The water test is complete." Cheng Ying said in a very low voice, her back to Yang Guo.

On the other side, on the streets of Tongguan.

Wang Zhaoxing, supported by several guards, limped towards the palace.

Half of his face was swollen, and the excruciating pain in his stomach had disappeared, but the soreness and distension from the blocked meridians remained.

A shrewish-looking lackey approached.

This man was named Gou San, and he was Wang Zhaoxing's number one hanger-on.

"Young master, you've suffered! That kid was too ruthless!" Gou San supported Wang Zhaoxing's other arm.

Wang Zhaoxing spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"Damn it, I've never suffered such a loss in my entire life!"

"So what if he's the leader of the Quanzhen Sect? Once we get to Tongguan, even a dragon has to coil up before me!" Wang Zhaoxing cursed viciously.

Gou San's eyes darted around.

"Young master, I've thought about this carefully just now, and something seems amiss."

"What's wrong?" Wang Zhaoxing stopped in his tracks.

Gou San leaned close to Wang Zhaoxing's ear.

"Young master, think about it. What kind of sect is the Quanzhen Sect? It is the number one sect in the world."

"The leader of the Quanzhen Sect is the renowned Qiu Chuji, also known as Master Qiu."

"I've heard that Master Qiu is at least seventy or eighty years old, and his beard is completely white."

"Look at that kid again, he's barely in his early twenties, he's not even fully grown yet!"

"How could he possibly be the leader of the Quanzhen Sect?"

Wang Zhaoxing was stunned.

He recalled Yang Guo's appearance; he was indeed excessively young.

"You mean, that kid is an imposter?" Wang Zhaoxing's eyes widened.

Gou San nodded repeatedly.

"It's definitely an imposter! He's probably some charlatan from some remote mountain village who learned a few rudimentary skills and is using the Quanzhen Sect's name to swindle people!"

"Young master, think about it, if it were the true leader of the Quanzhen Sect, would he go out without a large entourage of dozens of Taoist priests? Would he only bring two maids?"

Wang Zhaoxing slapped his thigh.

"Yeah! I was fooled by him!"

Wang Zhaoxing was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

He was actually humiliated in public by a swindler who also extorted five hundred taels of silver from him.

If this gets out, how will Wang Zhaoxing ever be able to face anyone in Tongguan again?

"Go! Go back to the manor and call for help! I'm going to tear him to pieces today!" Wang Zhaoxing shouted.

Gou San quickly grabbed Wang Zhaoxing.

"Please calm down, young master. Although that boy is a fraud, his martial arts skills are genuine."

"Just now, Ah Da and the other three couldn't even withstand a single move from him. No matter how many ordinary soldiers go, they probably won't be able to take him down, and they'll only alert him."

Wang Zhaoxing calmed down.

He touched the acupoint on his stomach, the excruciating pain still haunting him.

Yang Guo's skill of striking pressure points from a distance was indeed uncanny.

"Then what do you suggest we do? Just let it go like this?" Wang Zhaoxing glared at Gou San.

Gou Sanyin smiled sinisterly.

"Young master, have you forgotten the gentleman in our household?"

Wang Zhaoxing's expression changed.

An image of a black-clad man holding a long sword and with an expressionless face appeared in his mind.

Many years ago, Wang Jian, the garrison commander of Tongguan, saved a seriously wounded swordsman.

After the swordsman recovered from his injuries, he was willing to stay in the palace as a guard to repay the debt of gratitude.

This swordsman never spoke to his servants; he spent all his time sitting under a withered tree in the backyard, clutching his sword.

But since his arrival, not a single living assassin has entered the palace.

Wang Jian held this swordsman in high esteem, and the two usually addressed each other as brothers.

Wang Zhaoxing had witnessed it firsthand; the swordsman casually swung his hand, and a sword aura directly cleaved a rockery in the courtyard in two.

Later, he heard from his father that the swordsman had reached the mid-stage of the Innate Realm.

That's a top-tier master who can roam freely throughout the entire martial arts world.

"No way! That man has a strange temper; no one but my father can persuade him to come." Wang Zhaoxing shook his head repeatedly.

"I usually avoid him when I see him, how could I dare to order him around?"

Gou San lowered his voice.

"Young master, just because you can't persuade her doesn't mean that the madam can't."

"The general listens to his wife the most. You just need to go back and cry to her, and let her whisper sweet nothings in his ear."

"If the general is enraged, can any lord simply stand by and do nothing?"

Wang Zhaoxing's eyes lit up.

His mother doted on him the most, and from childhood to adulthood, she would give him whatever he wanted, even the moon.

If he goes back and acts pitiful, this will definitely work.

"Good lad, you've got a quick mind! Once I kill that guy surnamed Yang and snatch those two girls back, you'll get your share of the rewards!" Wang Zhaoxing patted Gou San on the shoulder.

Half an hour later.

The inner courtyard of the Prince's Mansion.

A middle-aged woman dressed in luxurious silk sat on a soft couch.

She was Liu, Wang Jian's legal wife and Wang Zhaoxing's mother.

Wang Zhaoxing limped into the room and knelt down in front of Liu with a thud.

"Mother! You must stand up for your son!" Wang Zhaoxing wailed.

Liu was startled.

She quickly stood up and walked over to Wang Zhaoxing.

Seeing her son's face swollen on one side and blood at the corner of his mouth, Liu felt heartbroken and burst into tears.

"Oh my son! Who beat you up like this?" Liu reached out to touch Wang Zhaoxing's face.

Wang Zhaoxing flinched in pain.

"Mother, I went to the mule and horse market today and saw a very fine white horse. I was thinking that you get bored riding in a sedan chair all the time, so I'll buy you a gentle white horse to get around."

"As soon as we paid, a scoundrel jumped out. Without asking any questions, he beat my son up and stole the horse," Wang Zhaoxing fabricated, tears streaming down his face.

Liu was so angry that she trembled all over.

"This is outrageous! Someone dares to steal my son's things right here in Tongguan City?"

"Are Ah Da and the others dead? Are they just standing there watching you get beaten up?"

Wang Zhaoxing continued to weep.

"Mother, that madman is very skilled in martial arts. All four of them, including Ah Da, had their bones broken."

"After that madman beat me up, he pointed at my nose and cursed at me."

"What did he say?" Liu pressed.

"He said... he said my father was a coward, only daring to hide in Tongguan City. He also said that even if my father went there, he would still beat him without hesitation and take down the plaque of our Prince's Mansion to burn as firewood!" Wang Zhaoxing added fuel to the fire.

Upon hearing this, Liu was completely enraged.

Wang Zhaoxing was her precious darling. This madman not only beat her son but also insulted her husband. He was utterly arrogant.

"What an arrogant and ignorant fool!" Liu slammed her hand on the table.

"Guards! Take my token and summon three hundred city garrison soldiers! Shoot that madman to death with a hail of arrows!"

Wang Zhaoxing quickly grabbed Liu's leg.

"Mother, you mustn't! That madman's martial arts are extremely high; ordinary soldiers can't even get close to him. Sending more people will be pointless."

"My son just heard someone say that the madman uses an extremely evil pressure point technique from the martial arts world, and he kills people without blinking an eye."

Liu was stunned.

"What should we do? Are we just going to let him bully us like this?"

Wang Zhaoxing's eyes darted around.

"Mother, don't we have a top-notch martial arts master in our household?"

Liu realized what was happening.

"You mean... that cold-blooded swordsman in the backyard?"

Wang Zhaoxing nodded repeatedly.

"Yes! Only that gentleman can take down that madman."

"But that man has a strange temper. If I go to invite him, he'll definitely ignore me. Mother, please talk to Father and ask him to invite that man to come out of seclusion!" Wang Zhaoxing pleaded.

Liu frowned.

Leng Jianke was Wang Jian's savior, and Wang Jian usually treated him with great respect.

Wang Jian would definitely not be happy to bother others for such a small matter.

But seeing her son in such a miserable state, Liu's heart softened.

"Alright! Mother will go find your father right away!"

"That madman dared to insult your father; your father will absolutely not let him get away with it!"

Liu straightened her clothes and stormed angrily toward Wang Jian's study.

Wang Zhaoxing knelt on the ground, watching his mother's back, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"You bastard surnamed Yang, you just wait."

"I want to watch you get cleaved in two with my own eyes!"