Tianlong: Starting with Mantuo Manor as fertilizer

Wu Liang paused for a moment before speaking.

"Grandmaster Uncle, you know more than just the Immortal Pointing the Way move. You also promised to teach me the other two. If I master them, what is there to say about my junior brother!"

Before he could finish speaking...

The blindfolded old man reached out with his left hand and snatched Wu Liang's longsword.

With a flick of his wrist, he lightly twirled the sword and unleashed two moves in quick succession.

The sword light was like flowing clouds and swirling snow, light and fleeting.

Her movements were elegant and refined, graceful and ethereal, captivating all who saw her.

Sun Sanba stared in disbelief: "Damn it, there's actually such beautiful swordsmanship in the world!"

He shook the captured henchman and demanded sternly, "Why aren't you speaking? Is your swordsmanship bad?"

The henchman was so frightened he almost jumped out of his skin, nodding repeatedly, "Okay, okay, okay."

Sun Sanba then said, "Old man, your swordsmanship seems to be no worse than the skills my master taught me."

With a flick of his wrist, the blindfolded old man had already sheathed the longsword back into the scabbard at Wu Liang's waist.

"How dare this old blind man compare his three tricks to those of Cheng Yaojin?"

Sun Sanba was overjoyed, looking around smugly: "I never imagined that after living in seclusion in Suzhou for so many years, the old man would actually know of my master's reputation!"

The blindfolded old man smiled and nodded at him, then turned to look at Wu Liang.

"The Immortal Points the Way is merely the starting move of this sword technique, and you've already studied it for several years. How long will it take you to learn the remaining two moves?"

"Besides, I'm guiding you, but your junior brother has no one to guide him? Don't forget, his swordsmanship is based on deducing the true from the false. I've only seen this skill in the old master of the Murong family, Murong Bo."

Wu Liang remained silent for a moment, then said, "Grandmaster Uncle is right."

Sun Sanba viciously grabbed the henchman's throat.

"Tell me, where is that kid surnamed Xie?"

"Is it in a cave, or on a large ship?"

The henchman coughed twice and replied, "Young Master Xie... is not on the island. I just saw him with two veiled women, sailing towards the center of the lake."

Sun Sanba said domineeringly, "Alright, let's lie in wait here and wait for him to return, then we'll catch him off guard!"

The blindfolded old man then asked, "Is there only a young woman with him, and no old man?"

The henchman shook his head: "No!"

Grandmaster Wu Liangzhi asked about the person who taught Xie Buruo swordsmanship, and then followed up, "Is there an old man here?"

The henchman replied, "There are two old women, though."

The blindfolded old man smiled, looking as if he had everything under control.

"That makes sense. I once heard Master Murong say that Mantuo Manor has an extremely rich collection of books, no less than his Huanshi Water Pavilion. There are many extraordinary people in the world, and it is likely that these two old women are the ones who came to guide your junior brother."

Upon hearing this, both Wu Liang and Sun Sanba agreed that it made sense.

Before the henchman could say anything, Sun Sanba snapped his neck.

Seeing this, Wu Liang sighed slightly: "Brother Sun, you were too impulsive!"

He then said to the old man, "There are two old monsters on the island. It seems we cannot ambush them here. We must find another opportunity."

Sun Sanba scoffed, "It's alright. I've already left marks along the way to notify Master and Senior Brother Tan Qing. As long as they arrive, with our combined strength, even if that Xie fellow has powerful backers, we can eliminate him as well!"

The blindfolded old man was slightly puzzled: "To deal with mere disciples of the Boundless Sword Sect, is it necessary to summon the Four Evils beforehand? Do you have another enemy?"

Sun Sanba and Wu Liang were both slightly embarrassed.

Wu Liang sighed, "We have a small grudge against Lingjiu Palace, and they're pursuing us quite closely."

The masked old man shook his head: "Lingjiu Palace? Never heard of it."

Before he could finish speaking...

A series of screams echoed from the island.

Interspersed among the sounds were a few cracks of whips and a rebuke from an old woman.

Wu Liang frowned: "That voice sounds like Liu Lu's."

Hearing the wailing, Sun Sanba felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end.

He was originally a disciple of Yue Laosan, and he had done a lot of torture in his daily life. Just by listening to the screams, one could tell how cruel the torture was.

"That's too brutal!" Sun Sanba swallowed hard and hurriedly said to Wu Liang, "We can't stay here any longer, let's go!"

The three pushed the boat into the water and quietly left.

Wu Liang frowned, knowing that this was the perfect opportunity to hunt down Xie Buruo, but he was troubled by not knowing where Xie had gone.

But Sun Sanba said domineeringly, "Brother Wu, don't worry, Senior Brother Tan is a master tracker from Yipintang. Once he arrives, everything will be resolved."

He then turned to look at the blindfolded old man and asked curiously.

"Senior, Brother Wu told me that your Wuliang Northern Sect Sword Manual only has one ultimate technique. Why do you know three?"

The blindfolded old man's expression shifted constantly, seemingly showing anger, sadness, but mostly fear.

"Because forty years ago, among the disciples of the Northern Sect, only I was stuffed into a sack and sunk into Sword Lake. The Northern Sect's unique skills were earned with my life; why should I hand them over!"

"They were the ones who pushed me to the front lines. Where were they when I was drowned in the lake? Yes, they were so scared they didn't even dare to draw their swords and fled Wuliang Mountain overnight. After I went blind, I barely survived to find them in Shanxi. How did they treat me then?"

"If it weren't for any lingering affection from our past ties, I would have wiped out the entire Boundless Northern Sect long ago, without you even lifting a finger!"

Seeing the other party's outburst, Sun Sanba was slightly taken aback and cautiously asked, "So, senior, your eyes were...?"

The old man's body trembled violently, and his expression revealed extreme fear.

It took him a while to calm down. He sighed deeply but didn't talk about the matter.

"My dear grand-disciple, since we can't find your junior brother right now, come with me to Yanziwu. Once my eyes are fully healed, I will leave Suzhou. I should also visit Mr. Murong's grave to burn some paper money and take care of the Murong family's last matter."

Wu Liangqi asked, "What is it?"

The blindfolded old man shook his head: "I don't know either. The Black Flag messenger only instructed me to go to Mr. Murong's grave, meet a disciple of the Starry Sky Sect, take something from him, and pass it on to Young Master Murong."

Upon hearing the words "Starry Constellation Sect," both Wu Liang and his companion trembled slightly, as if they had heard of some venomous snake or ferocious beast.

……

Mu Wanqing worked hard for about half an hour.

Under the moonlight, a small islet could be vaguely seen, with four or five houses scattered on it.

Wang Yuyan had been here before. Seeing the surrounding scenery, she smiled and pointed to the distance.

"The place with willow trees in front is the entrance to Qin Yun Xiao Zhu."

Mu Wanqing rowed the boat into the shade of the willows. As she approached the shore, she saw a wooden ladder made of pine branches hanging down into the water.

The group disembarked one by one and saw that the house was small and exquisite, with the words "Qin Yun" (琴韵, meaning "the sound of the zither") written on the lintel above the door in a graceful and elegant style.

Wang Yuyan exclaimed happily, "This is Abi's residence."

Mu Wanqing looked around at the fresh and elegant surroundings and was immediately delighted.

"Is this Miss Abi a young lady from the Murong family? Her place is quite nice."

Before Wang Yuyan could speak,

Xie Buruo interrupted, "Abi is not a young lady, she is a maid of Yanziwu."

"What! A maid living in such a nice house?" Mu Wanqing exclaimed in surprise.

"She manages not only this house, but the entire island."

Xie Buruo couldn't stand Mu Wanqing's naive and unsophisticated manner, and said something indifferently.

At the same time, he secretly sighed in his heart.

"No wonder Youcao said she wanted to switch jobs to Yanziwu; the difference in treatment is huge!"

Xie Buruo's words really surprised Mu Wanqing, this country bumpkin.

The richest person she knew was her childhood sweetheart, Zhong Ling.

Even her family isn't this extravagant.

Moreover, Zhong Ling has always been mischievous and likes to keep strange animals at home, such as snakes, insects, rats, ants, toads, and turtles.

Recently, I also got a yellow rat that likes to run around everywhere, making Wanchou Valley a mess.

Thinking of this, Mu Wanqing couldn't help but shake her head, sighing at how different people really are!

Wang Yuyan was also taken aback by Xie Buruo's words.

However, the reason for her surprise was quite different from that of Mu Wanqing.

Wang Yuyan tilted her head and asked, "How did Young Master Xie know that Abi manages this island?"

The words had barely left his mouth.

She let out an "Ah".

He glanced at Mu Wanqing, as if he had thought of something.

Wang Yuyan remembered that Xie Buruo understood Mu Wanqing in the same way.

Mu is an orphan.

Abi also has no parents.

The girl named Mu is most likely the daughter of Prince Duan.

Young Master Xie and Prince Duan are close friends despite their age difference.

Young Master Xie knows them all very well...

Could it be!

Wang Yuyan's eyes lit up, as if she had discovered some incredible truth.

"Could it be that Abi is Miss Mu's sister?!"