Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

This is an example of someone attempting to rise to the position of the Dragon King's son-in-law and then failing.

However, Prince Jin... Chu Mingkong remembered that Prince Jin was also a suspect in his eyes, and perhaps Young Master Ling could use this as leverage to investigate him.

“Master’s wife, may I ask you to temporarily suspend the punishment of Young Master Ling and just imprison him? I would like to use Young Master Ling to ask Prince Jin some questions.”

"Are you asking me to do something for you?" Shen Xuejun looked at the boy calmly.

This is a strange question, but its actual meaning is self-evident.

"From now on, Mingkong will love and respect his master's wife with the same respect he has shown to his master. He will do everything in his power, even if it means exhausting himself," Chu Mingkong said firmly.

Zuo Qiuchi looked at the little brat strangely, wondering if there was something hidden in his words.

Shen Xuejun nodded in satisfaction. This was exactly the statement Chu Mingkong wanted. Even if she couldn't directly snatch the disciple from Zuo Qiuchi, it was practically the same.

She's a person who clearly distinguishes between self-interest and wouldn't try to gain any advantage from a boy, Shen Xuejun said.

“I’m doing you a small favor, and you expect me to treat me like a master? I’m taking advantage of you.”

No, no, no, I didn't gain any advantage, it's fine!

The aloof and beautiful mature female sect leader continued:

"Here's what we'll do. From now on, I'll treat you as my own disciple and guide you with the respect due to a master. As for the matter you entrusted to me, consider it half of your gift in return."

This is truly fair and just, without taking any advantage. She could have directly offset the gift of the "Tao Te Ching," but she knew the weight of the "Tao Te Ching." Even if several young masters from Ling came, they couldn't compare to the weight of this one copy of the "Tao Te Ching." Therefore, she only considered the matter of dealing with young masters from Ling as repaying half. As for how to divide the remaining half into several parts to repay, that's another story.

etc--

Chu Mingkong watched Shen Xuejun blink her eyes and noticed something was amiss.

Since this is how etiquette is calculated, wouldn't it have been better to just mention the matter of Prince Ling from the beginning and offset the etiquette of the Tao Te Ching? There's no need to add the "etiquette of a master," is there? Was this deliberately misleading him into saying this?

This really shows that experience matters; pizza is best made by mature women!

Mature woman in a Chanel-style dress, amazing!

Zuo Qiuchi also saw through Shen Xuejun's wishful thinking and raised an eyebrow, saying:

"Didn't you realize that Pavilion Master Shen, who cultivates the Path of Ruthlessness, is quite shrewd with his own calculations? Why don't we follow the example of the apprenticeship ceremony that Mingkong and I had back then and have a similar ceremony with Pavilion Master Shen?"

Knowing the inside story, Xiao Yunhan hesitated to speak.

Shen Xuejun thought for a moment, saw nothing wrong with it, and nodded: "Okay. Mingkong, how did you and your master perform the apprenticeship ceremony?"

Chu Mingkong said with difficulty, "We... went to a brothel to drink and have fun."

Shen Xuejun: "...?"

She suddenly realized that she might have made a rather unwise decision.

Just then, Kazekage returned.

The woman with exotic features entered the room and, seeing an unfamiliar woman, was slightly puzzled, wondering where Chu Mingkong had picked up such a beautiful woman. However, seeing that Chu Mingkong had returned to his small stature, she didn't dwell on the details.

After a brief introduction of their identities, Feng Ying didn't say much else and went straight to the point, saying:

“Mingkong, during my investigation, I first checked what we overheard at the teahouse. Xiao Fengnan and one of his martial arts teachers had an accident. Since I couldn't investigate Xiao Fengnan for the time being, I went to investigate the martial arts teacher who had the accident.”

Chu Mingkong was overjoyed. He learned from Ru Yu that Elder Renji of Baicao Valley was also hinting to those who wanted to investigate to look into the person who had been involved in the same incident. Chu Mingkong had been planning to investigate himself later, but he hadn't expected Feng Ying to do it for him first.

"What results did you find?" he asked quickly.

She said:

"That martial arts teacher was named Lu Zhicai. He was a grandmaster in the straight sword style. I wanted to check his remains, but I found that they had been destroyed. Later, I went to find the people who had seen his body and learned that when his body was found, his left arm was missing. Several people had also died at the time. The government investigation said that he got into a fight after drinking, and both sides were injured and died tragically."

With the fact that his left arm was severed, and considering the attitude of the Hundred Herbs Valley elders towards Xiao Fengnan, Chu Mingkong had already guessed seven or eight out of ten things.

"Is this an attempt to steal someone else's martial arts tendons and transplant them into one's own arm?" Zuo Qiuchi frowned.

In fact, when Chu Mingkong heard the name Lu Zhicai, he didn't really want to listen anymore. This person used to be close to him, or rather, he was familiar with him to the point that they could chat and exchange greetings when they met. At most, they would only discuss the issue of straight sword techniques.

Chu Mingkong knew his situation from the beginning, so he never thought about cultivating his own followers or building his own faction. He thought that such behavior of forming cliques and recruiting followers was quite childish.

Besides being naive, these people might also be targeted later.

Having accepted the followers and support of others, one must be prepared to stand before them when necessary, but Chu Mingkong was not prepared for that.

Chu Mingkong preferred to spend his time improving himself rather than dealing with these family conflicts, so he always avoided these relationships.

This can be seen from the fact that when he ventured into the Abyss without any guards and was ambushed by the Wind Shadow, there was no one nearby to provide support.

But it's impossible for him to be completely aloof from everyone and always give them the cold shoulder; there are still occasional jokes and exchanges.

His relationship with Lu Zhicai was pretty much over. Now that he's in trouble with Xiao Fengnan, Chu Mingkong can't say whether it's related to his contact with Lu Zhicai, or whether that's why Xiao Fengnan has targeted him.

"Does Lu Zhicai have a family? How are his family members?"

"His family received some compensation and built a cenotaph for Lu Zhicai."

"Take me to meet his family."

Chapter 197 Chopping Off the Hand

In the courtyard, a handsome man sat on the ground, facing a small garden scene with flowing water. His eyelids were lowered, and his thoughts were immersed in the world of his mind.

Upon closer inspection, his appearance bears similarities to that of the Princess of Chu and Xiao Yunhan. His handsomeness leans more towards the feminine, and his jet-black hair makes his skin appear pale. In the eyes of many girls, he is described as a refined and elegant nobleman.

Inheriting the beauty of the Princess Consort of Chu, coupled with his top-notch strength among the younger generation, Xiao Fengnan is quite popular among young women in the Tianji Empire.

A sword lay beside Xiao Fengnan's left hand. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to grasp the sword, but the trembling of his left hand distorted his handsome features.

The pain from the decaying tendons reminded Xiao Fengnan of something Lu Zhicai had casually mentioned.

At the time, Xiao Fengnan wanted to practice swordsmanship with his left hand. He was a perfectionist, but his left hand was always inferior to his right. However, Lu Zhicai advised him against it.

[Young Master Xiao, there's no need to waste too much effort on your left hand. Talents like the Crown Prince's are rare indeed. Being overly fixated on using both hands will only waste unnecessary energy.]

Xiao Fengnan knew that Lu Zhicai and Chu Mingkong used to have a fairly harmonious relationship. What did he mean by saying these words now?

He was subtly implying that Chu Mingkong was inferior to him, and he said this in his capacity as a teacher, offering him generous treatment as his martial arts instructor. He was saying these things openly and subtly.

Coincidentally, his aunt Xiao An from the maternal clan gave him an ancient medical book that mentioned the technique of tendon transplantation, so Xiao Fengnan used Lu Zhicai as an example.

Let's examine the condition of his teacher's left hand tendons. Unfortunately, something went wrong; the tendons were decaying, causing him to become weak recently.

The voluptuous and beautiful figure of the Queen Consort of Chu appeared at the courtyard gate. Looking at her son sitting quietly, she asked:

"Who taught you this evil and crooked method, and did it at the crucial moment of the martial arts competition, causing your strength to decline? Tell your mother, and I will have it executed!"

"This is my own idea, Mother Consort, you don't need to worry. I don't use my left hand much anyway, so it won't affect the martial arts competition in Tianya City. No one can stop me, even if I can't use one arm!"

The Queen Consort of Chu did not want to say more; she only instructed:

"I have already sent someone to find medicine for you. Once the medicine arrives, it will heal your hand. During this time, you must not act recklessly or make decisions on your own! Do you want to hand over the Tianya City business to someone else? This is an opportunity that your maternal grandfather worked hard to secure for you. You should calmly seize it!"

"I know." Xiao Fengnan replied, then closed his eyes again and sat quietly facing the Qingxin Spring.

After the Princess Consort of Chu left, she turned to her subordinates and coldly gave them the following instructions:

"Find out who instigated Feng Nan to joke about his martial arts tendons, and bring them to me."

----------

Chu Mingkong arrived at the outskirts of Tianya City.

After the disaster, the surviving refugees gathered outside Tianya City. Even those from afar flocked there, taking advantage of the safe environment surrounding Tianya City. In a short time, a new outer city was built around Tianya City, and with the presence of cultivators who were compatible with the earth element, construction proceeded even faster.

Due to a lack of planning, the houses appear to be of varying heights and uneven, creating a very messy overall appearance.

A luxurious mansion might be right next to a thatched brick hut.

Fengying's investigation naturally went directly to the gate, and Chu Mingkong followed her to the vicinity of Lu Zhicai's house.

A sword cultivator at the Grandmaster level wouldn't have a bad reputation; their mansion was quite well-built, but at this moment, funeral items were pasted on the door, and white paper was scattered on the ground.

Through the brick wall, the woman inside could be heard sobbing incessantly, and the child, affected by the atmosphere, cried anxiously.

Chu Mingkong took half a step, but didn't dare to go over.

"Forget it, I'd better not go in. It feels weird, like I'm dragging someone else down with me. Fengying, can you take this storage ring in for me? Just say it's for Old Lu's keepsake."

This storage ring contains a sum of money, intended as future compensation for the deceased.

Fengying took the ring, went into the Lu family home, and quickly returned. She picked up the boy and comforted him:

"It's not necessarily because of you. Don't assume everything is related to yourself. Sometimes you don't need many reasons to harm someone. Maybe Xiao Fengnan just has his eye on his Grandmaster potential martial tendons. If you assume everything is related to yourself, then you're being too overconfident."

Chu Mingkong understood this principle, and he pursed his lips and said:

"That makes sense, but many things are hard to explain. It may be related to me, or it may not. If it's not related to me, then I'll just consider it as venting my anger for an old friend. But if it is related to me and I turn a blind eye, the thought of that possibility makes me want to vomit."

Whether Xiao Fengnan was responsible or not, and whether the wrong person was being accused, Fengying will naturally investigate later. However, the attitude of the Hundred Herbs Valley elder is clear: he has made his stance clear and instructed those who wish to investigate to look into the martial arts teacher who was involved in the incident earlier. It would be too much to think of using someone else to do the dirty work.

"So what do you plan to do? We're hiding in Qingxin Mansion right now, are you just going to climb over the wall, rush over, and chop Xiao Fengnan to pieces?"

"What's my mother saying now? And what's Xiao Fengnan's reaction?" Chu Mingkong leaned against Feng Ying's delicate body, wrapped one arm around her head, and pressed his cheek against her forehead.

"We are still looking for someone to help Xiao Fengnan with his treatment. However, Elder Renji of Baicao Valley has already provided a treatment method: cut off the arm and then use precious medicinal herbs to regenerate it. Princess Chu is currently seeking to purchase these precious medicinal herbs."

With the resources of the Chu Prince's Mansion and Tianya City, it would be more than enough to take a few suitable herbs from the storehouse. However, the Chu Princess would definitely want to take advantage of the large number of people in Tianya City to purchase better herbs at higher prices.

Because the martial arts competition is imminent, regenerating a severed arm is not like growing leeks; it will deplete one's vital energy. Using herbs only stimulates the regeneration of the severed arm's flesh and bones, and Xiao Fengnan still has to bear the loss himself. However, if there are better herbs, this loss will be greatly reduced and will not affect the martial arts competition.

Fengying recalled the information he had gathered and found it amusing:

"That Elder Renji of Baicao Valley is also a strange one. After diagnosing Xiao Fengnan, he didn't want to treat him. He just left the treatment method and left with a bad look on his face. If he really disliked him so much, he might as well not have given it to him at all."

Chu Mingkong knew something about the physicians in Baicao Valley. They practiced medicine, which was also a path, and many of the rules and principles they set for themselves were strange.

Baicaogu advocates for benevolence in medicine, treating everyone equally and avoiding refusing to help those in need. However, if you encounter a disgusting person, not helping them violates your principles, but helping them makes you feel uncomfortable, like eating next to a latrine.

Therefore, their approach was to provide a treatment method as a compromise, which was considered to be doing their best as doctors. As for whether he could get better, that was up to fate.

"It's probably just like what Madam Shen said, that's the rule."

What are you planning to do?

Chu Mingkong said:

"I will use my medicine and effort to heal Xiao Fengnan's hand so that he can go to the martial arts arena to compete for the title of city lord."

"and then?"