Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 99 Hardness of Heart, Firmness of Will

At Zhong Ling's soft call, the lightning sable in the leather pouch at her waist responded and leaped onto Zhong Ling's shoulder. With a flick of its tail, it pounced on Duan Yanqing like lightning.

Duan Yanqing was even faster. With a swift movement, he raised his left hand and pinched the lightning ferret's neck with two fingers. Zhong Ling turned around and saw the lightning ferret in danger. She cried out "Ah!" and pounced on Duan Yanqing.

Despite losing three of his limbs, Duan Yanqing remained calm and composed. He swung his left elbow and knocked Zhong Ling down, then tilted his body to the side, pressing his elbow against Zhong Ling's temple. His eyes coldly stared at Jiang Mingzhe, who had already leaped two zhang away.

Jiang Mingzhe immediately slammed on the brakes, thankfully without getting a stitch this time. He gave a wry smile and slowly backed away.

Zhong Ling cried out, "You owe me my Lightning Sable! You killed my Lightning Sable!"

Duan Yanqing thought to himself, "I haven't even had a chance to snap that little beast's neck yet, what are you crying about?"

Looking over instinctively, I saw that the weasel's limbs and tail were limp and drooping, its eyes were closed, and it was indeed dead.

Without thinking much, he ventriloquitedly said, "You don't need to cry. All that is alive will eventually die. My second sister was chopped in two by your father. Did I cry?"

After saying that, he casually tossed the dead weasel away.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the lightning ferret landed, it immediately jumped up and ran far away. Only then did it turn around and see that its master was still in its clutches. It squeaked anxiously but dared not go any closer.

Duan Yanqing was also taken aback, only then realizing that the sable was actually pretending to be dead, and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

He grabbed Zhong Ling by the throat and pulled her to sit up, saying in a muffled voice, "Your sable is faking death, but my second sister is really dead. Little girl, don't be afraid of death. They won't let me go today, so I have no choice but to crush you to take the fall first. Hehe, my fourth brother has only been dead for a few days, his spirit is still far away. I'll take you down to find him to play with."

Zhong Ling burst into tears, shaking her head desperately, "No, no, no, I don't want to see that bamboo pole ghost. I promise I'll get my dad to let you go, and please let me go too, okay?"

Duan Yanqing said coldly, "Your father is nothing. The person who wants to kill me here is this bastard whose surname is either Jiang or Long. By the way, is his surname Jiang or Long?"

Zhong Ling then realized that by repeatedly calling him "Brother Jiang," she had inadvertently revealed Jiang Mingzhe's identity. She quickly shook her head, "I don't know, I don't know. I call him Brother Jiang on odd-numbered days and Brother Long on even-numbered days..."

Seeing Zhong Ling trembling with fear yet still protecting him, Jiang Mingzhe was secretly moved. He shouted in one breath, "Boss Duan, what kind of ability is it to make things difficult for a little girl? I am Jiang Mingzhe of the Xingxiu Sect, and my master is Ding Chunqiu, the Old Immortal of Xingxiu. Because my Xingxiu Sect has a bad reputation, I use the alias Long Aotian when I serve as an offering in the Duan family. If you want to know anything else, just ask me, and I will tell you!"

Zhong Ling stopped crying immediately, looked at Jiang Mingzhe through her teary eyes, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

Overjoyed, he thought: Brother Jiang's kindness to Zi Yatou is all out of fraternal affection. Actually, he's the one who's good to me. When Zhu Ganzi bullied me, he risked his life to save me. Now, he's even willing to bow down to this zombie for my sake. That makes sense, since I'm so gentle and Zi Yatou is so fierce, Brother Jiang must prefer gentleness.

Thinking of this, tears welled up in my eyes, like crescent moons floating in the clouds, and I forgot my fear.

Duan Yanqing, however, asked bluntly, "Is the martial art you practiced the Duan family's? The Xingxiu Sect never mentioned any Nine Yang Divine Skill."

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and said, "It's just that you're ignorant. Our sect's Dissolving Power Technique is famous throughout the world. In fact, it can not only dissolve internal energy, but also dissolve the yin energy in the human body. Once the yin energy is purified, one becomes a Taoist pure yang body, and internal energy will naturally turn into pure yang internal energy. The highest level is nine, hence the name Nine Yang Divine Skill."

Duan Yanqing was stunned: "It has nothing to do with our One-Finger Divine Skill?"

Jiang Mingzhe continued to shake his head: "I didn't create the Nine Yang Skill, and you didn't create the One Yang Finger either. Whether it's related or not, what I say may not be correct. Perhaps the people who created these skills had discussed and exchanged ideas in the past. I can only say that, as far as I know, there should be no connection."

His answer was extremely rigorous, and Duan Yanqing believed most of it. He immediately regretted it: If I had known it wasn't my family's martial art, why would I have gotten entangled with him? Then I wouldn't have lost my arm, and Ye Erniang wouldn't have died...

He coveted Jiang Mingzhe's kung fu, not only because of his own greed, but also because he had a thought: one day he could take it to Tianlong Temple and confront the old masters there, asking them: "You sided with the collateral branches back then, and look at the good deeds they've done!"
Jiang Mingzhe was also wicked. He seemed to be honestly confessing, but in fact, he was full of words that were meant to stab Duan Yanqing in the heart. He kept his eyes fixed on Duan Yanqing, ready to pounce and save him if Duan Yanqing was distracted for even a moment.

However, the sheer number of setbacks Duan Yanqing suffered throughout his life can be summed up in four words: outrageous! His willpower and perseverance were truly first-rate, and few throughout history could compare to him. Therefore, although he felt regret, it was only fleeting, and he quickly rallied.

I thought to myself: The Four Evils have been causing trouble for many years, but they have only made a small fuss and have not been able to achieve anything significant. Now that they are all dead, it can be said that there is no new beginning without destruction. Since Murong Fu intends to use my identity, I might as well go and cooperate with him now that I have escaped death. Isn't Murong Fu alone better than the Three Evils?

He then thought: I wonder what relationship this kid has with Murong Fu. He has mastered such martial arts at such a young age and is a disciple of an evil sect. Since Murong Fu has the ambition to restore his country, it is not surprising that he would deliberately befriend him. There may not be any true friendship between them...

He thought of a brilliant idea and nodded to himself: "Hmm, this kid betrayed Murong Fu, and he probably won't admit it. I'll just pretend I don't know. As long as I find Murong Fu, he'll naturally try to use me to seize Dali. I'll go with the flow and wait for the right moment. Hehe, who will win in the end is still unknown!"

Thinking of this, he felt greatly encouraged. He took out a pill from his pocket, pried open his jaw, put it in his mouth, closed his mouth with his hand, swallowed it with a gulp, and then stopped talking.

For a moment, the four people in the room were: Duan Yanqing with his eyes closed, recovering from his injuries; Jiang Mingzhe staring at Duan Yanqing; Zhong Ling staring at Jiang Mingzhe; and the beautiful woman looking at her daughter, then at Jiang Mingzhe, and suddenly whispering, "Young Master Jiang, are you my daughter's friend?"

Jiang Mingzhe clasped his hands and said, "Auntie, I was in a tense situation just now and forgot to greet you. Please forgive me. I am indeed Zhong Ling's friend."

Zhong Ling stared intently at him, afraid that he would say: I am A Zi's junior brother, and my senior sister is Zhong Ling's friend.

Hearing that Azi was not in the relationship, he was even happier and said with a smile, "When I was captured by Big Bamboo Pole, it was Brother Jiang and a clown monster who rescued me."

Although Jiang Mingzhe had warned Azi, the two girls were playful and often called Duan Yu a clown or monster behind his back, and threatened to report him to each other for amusement. Zhong Ling was in high spirits at the moment and slipped up without realizing it.

The beautiful woman exclaimed in surprise, "Who is that clown monster?"

Jiang Mingzhe suppressed a laugh and said, "That's my sworn brother, Duan Yu, the heir of the Prince of Zhennan in Dali. His face was swollen and red from poisoning, which made the girls laugh at him. Actually, he's quite handsome."

Upon hearing the name "Prince of Zhennan," the beautiful woman trembled and instinctively said, "That makes sense. His son couldn't possibly be some ugly monster."

Before the words were finished, a loud laugh was heard: "Well said. Although my son is useless, he is not bad-looking at all."

The beautiful woman trembled again, her eyes instantly turning red with tears as she looked at them, her voice trembling as she said, "Your son is handsome, but our daughter is going to die!"

Zhong Wanchou had no choice but to invite Duan Zhengchun into the valley. His long face, already stretched long, grew even longer. Seeing his wife's tears, he became even more jealous and shouted, "That's right, your stinking son is fine, but our daughter has fallen into someone else's hands!"

Duan Zhengchun immediately said, "Please don't cry. You know I can't bear to see you cry. Don't worry, now that I'm here, your daughter will be alright!"

Having said that, he took two steps forward, puffed out his chest, and said, "You great villain, I, Duan, am here now. Whatever your demands, just draw them. Even if you want me to exchange my life for your baby's child, I will gladly do it!"

Jiang Mingzhe clicked his tongue in admiration, thinking to himself, "Old Zhong, you ox-headed and horse-faced demon, Teacher Duan is giving a live lesson, and you're not even taking notes, all you do is get angry!"

Zhong Wanchou roared in anger, "Damn it, how dare you call me 'baby'?"

Jiang Mingzhe raised his hand and punched Duan Zhengchun in the back of the head. He shook his head repeatedly, thinking that the other man was full of vigor and spirit, while he had a long face. The situation was already difficult enough. Now that the other man was generous and upright, he was sneaky and attacked. Wasn't he just becoming an incompetent ruler?

　I've been writing 10,000 words in four shifts. I've been trying to write 10,000 words in three days now, it's really hard!

　　It's too late for 12:05, see you tomorrow, brothers.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)