Tianlong: Starting with Mantuo Manor as fertilizer

Chapter 73 In the Valley

Emperor Baoding and his entourage cleared roads through mountains and built bridges over rivers, eventually reaching the outside of Wanjie Valley.

The Duan family was originally a martial arts family. They had been in power for hundreds of years and never lost the traditions of their ancestors.

When martial arts practitioners come to visit or seek revenge, they follow the rules of the martial arts world and never put on airs like royalty.

Emperor Baoding gave instructions to Zhu Danchen.

"Although the Four Evils and the Master of Wanjie Valley are our enemies, we cannot break the rules of the martial world. We should first send a visiting card to inform them that the head of the Duan family of Dali has come to pay a visit."

Zhu Danchen obeyed the order and entered the valley.

Preparations had been made in Wanjie Valley long ago.

The servant accepted the visiting card, but received no response for quite some time.

After waiting a while, a servant came out, but did not bow to the Duan brothers.

A wooden sign was hung on a big tree at the mouth of the valley, with the words "Rest" written on it.

After hanging up the sign, the man turned and disappeared into the tree hole.

Upon seeing this, Duan Zhengchun's expression darkened: "What does this mean?"

Xie Buruo offered his analysis: "It's probably revenge. Didn't the Prince also give Zhong Wanchou the cold shoulder?"

Dao Baifeng's resentment grew even stronger, and she snorted, "I'm afraid Zhong Wanchou wasn't just turned away at the door, was he?"

She was worried about her son, Duan Yu, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn't help but shed tears.

Duan Zhengchun was anxious and paced back and forth in front of the valley.

In a fit of rage, he ordered Gu Ducheng and the other four guards to cut down the large tree painted with the words "Anyone with the surname Duan who enters this valley will be killed without mercy."

Emperor Baoding comforted them, saying, "They kidnapped Yu'er with the intention of targeting my brother and me. They will not simply ignore this. Let's wait and see."

While everyone waited at the valley entrance, Xie Buruo accompanied Hua Hegen to survey the surrounding terrain.

See where we can dig a hole and where we can excavate soil.

Hua Hegen's real name was Agen. He came from a poor family and was a strongman of the Unloading Ridge before he became successful.

Once, while robbing a tomb, he found a martial arts manual for burial in a coffin. He practiced it according to the manual and mastered an extraordinary set of external martial arts skills.

Ever since he heard Xie Buruo's idea of ​​digging a tunnel, he's been itching to get his hands dirty and all he can think about is going back to his old ways.

After looking at the map drawn by Zhong Ling and observing the surrounding environment, he was already confident of success.

Xie Buruo, always respectful of the civil engineering expert, asked, "How long will it take Hua Situ to dig this tunnel?"

Hua Situ said, "One day and one night should be enough."

Xie Ruo nodded slightly, saying that the original work was roughly the same.

Hua Situ squeezed Xie Buruo's strong arm and said happily, "But it's different with Young Hero Xie in the mix."

Ok?

Xie was taken aback.

I never imagined I'd have to dig myself up again.

However, he was also very interested in the techniques of digging pits for tomb raiding and did not refuse.

Hua Situ looked at Xie Buruo with envy.

"I read in a secret manual years ago that the Shaolin Great Vajra Pestle and some kind of divine skill from the esoteric religion would make one's strength increase exponentially if one mastered them."

"Such divine skills are truly a gift from heaven for digging graves!"

"Although the external martial arts I have learned are not bad, they are ultimately no match for these two divine skills."

As he spoke, he handed Xie Buruo an iron shovel.

He then whistled.

About thirty men emerged from the woods, each one strong and muscular.

These people were all subordinates of Hua Hegen, and they had worked with him as unloading warriors in the past, so they were very familiar with the job.

After selecting the terrain, the group began digging a tunnel.

Xie Buruo unleashed the divine power of the Great Vajra Pestle, causing clods of earth to fly wherever the iron shovel struck.

Hua Hegen saw this and was not to be outdone. He used all his external martial arts skills, increased the force in his wrist, and made his shovel shadow even faster.

The two displayed their respective strengths, secretly competing with each other, causing dust to billow everywhere.

Xie Ruoqiang was superior in strength.

Hua Hegen, however, was a seasoned expert.

Seeing that Xie Bushuo was a promising candidate for tomb raiding, he taught him various tomb raiding techniques while they were digging.

Duan Zhengchun was not idle either, and addressed the Emperor of Baoding.

"I have a plan. Tomorrow, all we need to do is send one item, and it will surely provoke Zhong Wanchou to come out of the valley to see us."

Emperor Baoding listened without comment, leaving Hua Situ and others to guard outside the valley, while he led a portion of his troops back.

The reason why everyone was not in a hurry was because Zhong Ling was sending messages from time to time through the Lightning Sable.

Duan Yu is currently imprisoned in a stone house and is not in any danger to his life or body.

In the valley, Zhong Wanchou and others had already hosted a banquet for many guests.

The area is predominantly populated by martial arts practitioners, with other groups including heroes from the Central Plains.

Ma Wude, Master Jiaye, and others were also there.

They originally followed Sikong Xuan to Shenjie Temple in Luliang Prefecture.

Not long after they set off, Yue Laosan suddenly appeared halfway and insisted on treating everyone to a meal. They were no match for him and had to change their route.

Sikong Xuan had once cursed Zhong Wanchou as a bastard, fearing it was a trap, and secretly slipped away halfway there.

As for Ma Wude and others, they had no such concerns.

It doesn't matter where you eat, since the other person is paying anyway.

The next morning, the Duan brothers returned to Wanjie Valley.

Duan Zhengchun presented a visiting card and also gave an extra gift box.

Inside the Wanjie Valley hall, the seats were full of guests, and there was a great deal of noise.

The servants presented the visiting card.

Zhong Wanqiu sat high in his chair, carefully examining the letter.

The post was written neatly and carefully.

"Master Zhong's Memorial to the Throne:"

I have heard that a true man distinguishes between gratitude and resentment. When enemies are face to face, how can one extend that to younger generations? The enmity between you and me is a contest between dignified men, and we should settle it on the battlefield and decide the victor.

Now you avoid battle, instead taking out your old grudges on my son, bullying the weak and avoiding the strong, acting hesitantly. Such behavior is not that of a hero; how is it different from that of a woman?

After reading it, Zhong Wanchou was initially furious.

He suddenly stood up, walked to the gift box, opened it, and found a woman's dress inside.

He was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud. The laughter grew louder and louder, filling the hall and surprising all the guests.

Zhong Ling, standing behind him, was utterly bewildered: "Why is Father laughing?"

Zhong Wanchou said, "Duan Zhengchun sent me women's clothing to humiliate me and provoke me into battle."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Ling feigned great anger: "How dare Duan Er of Dali do this!"

She stepped forward and saw that the women's clothing was of excellent quality and the color was pleasing to her eye. She reached out to take it and claim it as her own.

Zhong Wanchou, however, thought she was angry because of her father and wanted to tear the woman's clothes, so he stopped her.

"Guards, be the Valley Master—"

As he said this, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Duan Yu, who was on display in the center of the hall, and smiled knowingly.

"No, put more clothes on Young Master Duan!"

Two servants immediately draped the woman's clothes over Duan Yu's body.

Duan Yu was both ashamed and anxious.

He was already extremely ashamed to be dressed as a Miao woman in front of all the martial arts practitioners.

Now, having to put on extra clothes in front of everyone, she felt utterly ashamed and sighed, "Father, you've really put me through this!"

Zhong Wanchou became even more smug, his laughter lasting for a long time.

Of the four villains, apart from Ye Erniang who seemed preoccupied and Duan Laoda who remained expressionless, the others all wore smiles.

The guests, however, were rather uninterested. Apart from Shi Anfei, who was writing rapidly with the Black and White Sword, almost no one else reacted.

Zhong Wanqiu was greatly surprised and puzzled, thinking to himself, "Could it be that these people are afraid to speak or laugh because they are afraid of offending the Duan family?"

He went up to see what Shi An was writing.

On a blank scroll, the words "The Duan family's heir is dressed in women's clothing" were written.

Zhong Wanqiu stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Shi An, the Black and White Swordsman, is quite famous in the martial arts world.

He practiced with both black and white swords.

During the day, he uses a white sword to dazzle people; at night, he uses a black sword to make himself invisible.

His swordplay was extremely fierce, and his methods were quite insidious.

Judging solely from martial arts skills, they are merely passable.

Shi An is most famous for his love of gossip.

Unlike others, the gossip he spread was always accurate, like a historian recording events without altering a single word.

It is said that this person had a grand ambition: to compile a history book for the martial arts world today, called "Hanqing Bian," so that it could be passed down to future generations.

Zhong Wanchou was largely relieved to see him write down the events of the day in such a way.

Ma Wude, standing nearby, disagreed.

"Brother Shi, is there any need to record such a trivial matter?"

Shi An remained silent, simply putting down his pen and refusing to say anything more to him.

Duan Yanqing listened from the side, utterly puzzled.

"The descendants of the Duan family dressed as women, making a laughingstock of themselves. Isn't this something worth making a big fuss about?"

Ma Wude wanted to laugh, but fearing his reputation as the greatest villain in the world, he agreed.

"Mr. Duan is right."

Seeing that his words were perfunctory, Zhong Wanchou and Duan Yanqing were puzzled, but they did not put on airs and sincerely asked for his advice.

Ma Wude was a major tea merchant in southern Yunnan.

In terms of wealth, none of you here can compare to him.

But in the martial arts world, what matters is martial arts skills and reputation.

Ma Wude has no family background to rely on, so how can he have a reputation?

In addition, his martial arts skills were mediocre, and he was never respected by people in the martial arts world.

At this moment, both the greatest villain in the world and the master of Wanjie Valley sincerely sought his advice, which made him feel very comfortable, so he spoke freely.

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