Tianlong: Starting with Mantuo Manor as fertilizer

Chapter 78 Sneak Attack

Zhong Wanchou escaped from Manggu Zhuha, stamping his feet in regret, his cries continuing.

Seeing that the danger had passed, Zhong Ling appeared out of nowhere.

She and the Lightning Sable, one human and one mouse, walked up to Zhong Wanchou.

She comforted him, "Father, don't be sad. It's just a mere Manggu Toad; we can catch another one later!"

Zhong Wanchou wiped away his tears.

He pointed to the tall grass ahead and instructed his daughter, "Quickly, clear all this grass!"

Zhong Ling, puzzled, asked, "Why?"

Zhong Wanchou said tearfully, "It blocked the view of the Manggu Toad!"

Apart from the father and daughter, everyone else was looking at the chessboard from a distance.

Those knowledgeable in chess were astonished to see the three ko fights intertwined and mutually restraining each other.

"A triple calamity, a once-in-a-millennium event, I never expected to witness it here today."

"The life-or-death gamble has now ended in a draw. How should the winner be decided?"

Duan Yanqing slammed his iron staff down heavily with his left hand: "Three consecutive calamities mean a draw."

"7

He glanced at Duan Yu and Xie Buruo, and said coldly, "A draw means you failed to defeat me; not defeating me means you lost."

Emperor Baoding frowned slightly, took a step forward, and had only taken one step.

Duan Yanqing didn't turn his head, but placed his right hand on Duan Yu's shoulder.

"Take one more step forward, and I will send your good nephew to be reborn in the Pure Land and pay homage to the Tathagata."

His battle with Xie Bushu had greatly depleted his strength.

He had always been wary of Emperor Baoding's martial arts skills. If the emperor got too close and suddenly intervened to save Duan Yu, he might not be able to capture him at this moment.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Baoding had no choice but to stop and halt.

Xie Buruo said, "A draw means there's no clear winner, so how can you say you won? Let's play another game."

Duan Yanqing sneered: "If you lose the next round, does that mean it has to be best two out of three?"

Xie Bu Ru clapped his hands: "Best two out of three is great! Best two out of three is fair!"

Duan Yanqing knew that this person was extremely shameless, so he ignored him.

Duan Zhengchun, worried about his son's safety, said, "What exactly do you want in order to release Yu'er? Let's make a deal."

Duan Yanqing looked at the other party and sneered, "My path isn't up to you."

Then they turned their attention to Emperor Baoding.

"His word is law!"

Emperor Baoding understood that the other party was forcing him to abdicate and hand over the throne to a more worthy successor.

He originally had no interest in the throne and had long wanted to become a monk at Tianlong Temple.

If the throne were to be passed to a more worthy successor, Crown Prince Yanqing would have a legitimate claim, and there would be no problem with that.

Unfortunately, Duan Yanqing at this moment is not the Crown Prince Yanqing of the past.

As the leader of the Four Evils, he has absolutely nothing to do with the word "virtuous," and the throne must not be given to him.

The officials of Dali also voiced their opposition, cursing Duan Yanqing for losing all popular support and questioning how he could be compared to Emperor Baoding.

Amidst the chorus of curses, Duan Yanqing's expression grew increasingly gloomy.

Seeing this, Xie Buruo thought to himself, "The old man might actually be desperate enough to kill his own son."

He originally intended to take advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack and rescue Duan Yu.

After a game of chess, Duan Yanqing, both wary of his martial arts skills and disdainful of his character, remained vigilant and found no opportunity to exploit him.

Just then.

Amidst the chorus of curses, several shrill laughs suddenly rang out.

The laughter rose in pitch, sending chills down one's spine.

Dao Baifeng swayed and staggered, removing her Taoist crown and letting her long black hair fall down as she stumbled around to Xie Buruo's back.

Everyone present was stunned.

Duan Zhengchun and Duan Yu were the first to react.

One of them shouted, "Madam, what's wrong?"

The other shouted, "Mother!"

Dao Baifeng ignored them, her hair disheveled, and shouted incoherently.

"Outside Tianlong Temple, under the Bodhi tree, a beggar is disheveled, while Guanyin has long hair."

Those in the martial arts world who knew Dao Baifeng's identity whispered among themselves, discussing the matter animatedly.

"What's going on?"

"The princess seems to have gone mad!"

"How could she not go crazy after her son was arrested?"

"What did the princess mean by those words?"

"It's probably a children's song."

Upon hearing those four sentences, Duan Yanqing felt a sudden jolt.

Upon closer inspection, the woman bore a striking resemblance to Guanyin Bodhisattva in her features.

However, Guanyin's expression was dignified, while this woman's expression was quite insane.

How did she know about this?!

This person's appearance—

Duan Yu calls her "Mom".

The officials of Dali also called her Princess!

He suddenly remembered that when he captured Duan Yu earlier, he noticed that Duan Yu had a gold medal hanging around his neck.

The gold medal is inscribed with the four characters "May you live a long and healthy life".

The reverse side is engraved with "Born on the 23rd day of the 11th month of the year Guihai in the second year of Baoding, Dali".

In February of the second year of the Baoding era, Duan Yanqing encountered a great calamity, but also a serendipitous encounter, a period he would never forget.

She is a princess, and Duan is the heir of the Prince of Zhennan.

Baoding Year Two?

Baoding, Year Two!

An absurd idea popped into Duan Yanqing's mind, and he was shocked.

Fortunately, he has facial paralysis, otherwise others would definitely have noticed the drastic change in his expression at that moment.

In fact, Duan Yu had already felt his right hand trembling slightly.

Duan Yu, however, was preoccupied with his mother and paid no attention to this matter.

The only one who saw through the truth was Xie Buruo, who sat opposite Duan Yanqing.

He began, "Duan Yanqing, you made a wrong step in the first half of your life, leading to your current predicament. Do you intend to repeat that mistake today? Remember, the past cannot be changed, but the future can still be shaped."

Duan Yanqing also thought that Xie Bu Ruo meant that.

But he had something else on his mind, and when he heard these words, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

He muttered to himself, "Yes, this is a matter of great importance. I must not make another mistake and regret it for the rest of my life."

Duan Yanqing turned his head to look at Duan Yu, then at Duan Zhengchun, and saw that one had a square face and the other a pointed face, and their appearances were completely different.

He remained silent for a moment, then removed his right hand from Duan Yu's shoulder.

He said to Xie Buruo and Duan Yu, "Hmph, I am your senior in terms of seniority, and it would be improper for me to compete with you."

Since the game has ended in a draw, it can be considered a victory for you younger players.

97

Duan Yanqing turned and walked away, leaning on his iron cane.

The stick struck the ground three times in succession, making three loud thuds.

He held a cane in one hand and grasped Huahgen in the other, and strode forward.

Yue Laosan had already picked up the other iron staff that had been knocked away earlier and quickly followed.

The officials of Dali intended to stop them.

Duan Yanqing glanced sideways at Emperor Baoding and sneered, "What, you want to win by numbers?"

Emperor Baoding stepped aside slightly to make way: "The green hills remain unchanged, and the clear waters flow on forever. Let's leave today's matter alone. If you continue to cause trouble and harm the people within Dali's borders, even if I tolerate you today, I will not let you off in the future."

Duan Yanqing sneered: "Hypocrites!"

After saying this, he turned and led his men away.

Yun Zhonghe suddenly spoke up: "Second Sister hasn't returned yet!"

Duan Yanqing gave Tan Qing a wink.

Tan Qing took out a signal arrow from his bosom, pulled the pin, and shot it out with a bang that carried for miles.

Duan Yanqing ordered Yue Laosan and others to go ahead, while he and Yun Zhonghe would cover the rear.

Only after they had walked a distance did they toss Huahegen to the other party.

He tapped his staff on the ground, leaped away, and drifted off with Yun Zhonghe.

The four villains departed, and the officials of Dali cheered.

As soon as Duan Yu was freed, he went to see his mother with Duan Zhengchun.

Dao Baifeng had already fainted.

Duan Zhengchun took her pulse and said, "Your pulse is stable. Your mother is just overly concerned and her mind is in a state of confusion. There is nothing seriously wrong. The imperial physician will treat her when she returns home."

Just as Duan Yu was beginning to feel a little relieved, he was surrounded by the Gao family father and daughter.

He wanted to call his older brother for help, but he couldn't find him.

It turned out that Xie Buruo, having tasted the sweetness of the wild toad, went to Zhong Wanchou to try and get close to him, hoping to learn from him how to capture the Manggu Toad.

Fan Hua, Ba Tianshi, and Hua Heliang were like brothers, and they celebrated with their arms crossed when their good brother was freed from trouble.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Baoding smiled and said to Zhu Danchen beside him.

"Three calamities in a row, a rare occurrence in a thousand situations. This time, not only was Yu'er saved, but we also witnessed this extraordinary situation. It can truly be said that misfortune may turn into fortune."

""

He looked around but couldn't see the Yellow-Eyebrow Monk. He laughed and said, "If Master Yellow-Eyebrow knew that he had missed this opportunity, he would probably be very regretful."

""

Zhu Danchen smiled and agreed, but a chess proverb came to mind.

"The three calamities are ominous. The four great villains have not been brought to justice, and it is unknown whether what will happen next will be auspicious or inauspicious."

The martial artists from all walks of life who had been invited to the valley had never seen the emperor before, so they flocked to the chessboard to pay their respects to the Duan family leader.

Emperor Baoding was humble and approachable, greeting everyone and watching the chess game together.

Most of these people are uncouth and few of them know anything about chess. They mostly just spout nonsense and flatter others.

"His Majesty's chess skills are undoubtedly far superior to Duan Yanqing's!"

"Duan Yanqing's firefly-like light cannot rival the brilliance of the sun and moon!"

Emperor Baoding shook his head repeatedly.

"In terms of chess skills, I am no match for Duan Yanqing. Looking across Dali, I'm afraid only Yu'er can rival him."

Everyone took it as him being modest and showered him with praise.

Suddenly a voice whispered into my ears, yet it was incredibly clear.

"What's the point of arguing about winning or losing on the chessboard?"

"A true man should contend for victory in the world."

Upon hearing these words, Emperor Baoding felt a chill run down his spine.

He suddenly noticed a barely perceptible fluctuation in the airflow behind him.

Silent and invisible, formless and without appearance.

By the time he realized it, the airflow was already only three inches away from his back.

Emperor Baoding was surrounded by four guards on his left and right, and was further surrounded by a group of martial arts practitioners, leaving him no room to move or dodge.

In the critical moment, Emperor Baoding managed to turn to the side.

With a hissing sound.

A burning sensation ran down my back; there was another finger hole, and blood was flowing out, gradually staining my clothes red.

Before anyone could notice, a businessman dressed in black slipped away unnoticed by the crowd.

He clicked his tongue and shook his head, seemingly quite dissatisfied with his attack just now.

"Alas, I have never been able to cultivate my finger strength to the point of true formlessness and intangibility."

The old man in black walked forward, his bones cracking and popping.

With each step, his body and face contorted and changed.

After a few steps, he had completely changed his appearance.

He tore off his outer clothes and rubbed them together with his hands.

Wherever the true energy passed, clothing caught fire, turning into inch-by-inch ashes that drifted away with the wind.

Only the sound of His Majesty's shouts could be heard in the distance.

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