Tianlong: Starting with Mantuo Manor as fertilizer

After obtaining the sword manual, Xie Bu Ruo went back to his room to peruse it.

The pages recording the sword technique "The Immortal Points the Way" have been rebound.

On top of the original illustrations, several more pages were added, with annotations written in tiny characters by Wang Yuyan herself.

Under the lamplight, Xie should take a closer look.

The sword move was as graceful as a crane's shadow in the clouds, yet it contained twelve variations within a single strike.

Whether spinning and drawing the sword, or slashing and pulling back diagonally, each move connects seamlessly, agile and graceful.

He was so moved by what he saw that he immediately took out his longsword and began to wield it, but after only three variations, he could no longer continue.

No matter how much force I exerted when I swung my sword, I felt that my moves were sluggish and difficult to connect.

Even though Wang Yuyan wrote detailed annotations beside him, he was limited by his own martial arts foundation and was ultimately unable to comprehend its mysteries for a while.

"Never mind, I'll ask Teacher Wang for advice tomorrow."

The next day, he went to the Langhuan Jade Cave and searched around, but could not find Wang Yuyan.

Instead of asking about the secluded grass, I would prefer to thank you.

"Miss, you're probably reading in Room A most of the time?"

"Miss has already read through all the books in these stone chambers and rarely stays here. She was only here a few days ago to help Young Master revise the sword manual."

Xie Buruo frowned upon hearing this.

The three stone chambers, B, C, and D, in the Langhuan Jade Cave are interconnected, and although he hadn't read many books, he had visited them all.

Only Chamber A, though located within the Langhuan Jade Cave, has no known entrance.

Unable to find Wang Yuyan for the time being, Xie Buruo could only try to figure out and practice the sword techniques by himself.

Wang Yuyan still hadn't appeared by the afternoon.

As evening approached, a maid came to announce that Lady Wang summoned him.

Although Xie Buruo was extremely unwilling and felt that the other party was disturbing his studies, he had no choice but to go as instructed.

Upon arriving at a pavilion, Madam Wang sat upright in a chair. Seeing him arrive, she went straight to the point and asked him questions.

"Indeed, during your stay at Mantuo Manor, have you missed your sect? Of course, I'm referring to the Dali Wuliang Sword Sect."

Xie said with a smile, "I'd rather stay here and have no worries about food and clothing, and be able to read martial arts classics. I'll live a comfortable and pleasant life."

"I'm so happy here, I don't even miss Yunnan!"

Madam Wang frowned and said in a deep voice, "Desi!"

She paused, then said, "I have a letter that needs to be delivered to the Prince of Zhennan by a trusted confidant in Dali."

Turns out I was the one who had to deliver a letter to my lover!

On the way to Dali, we can conveniently visit Wuliang Mountain to see if the Beiming Divine Skill and Lingbo Weibu are still there.

Xie Buruo was tempted, but said seriously.

"Lord Duan is my close friend, and his wife has treated me very well. I, Xie, am duty-bound to go through fire and water for this matter."

Lady Wang was overjoyed upon hearing this, and said with a beaming smile, "Indeed, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

Xie Buruo suddenly looked troubled and sighed heavily.

"Delivering the message shouldn't be difficult, but I have many enemies in the martial world, so this trip might be inconvenient. Of course, being beheaded or chopped into mincemeat is nothing to me. If I delay the important matter for the lady and the prince, I will be unforgivable even if I die ten thousand times."

Madam Wang was taken aback and hurriedly asked for the reason.

She couldn't allow her plans to go wrong.

Xie immediately told Madam Wang about being chased, but secretly changed a few details.

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang laughed heartily.

"I see. Since you're working for me, how can I let you suffer?"

As she spoke, her eyes flashed with a sharp light: "Dare to lay a hand on my people in the Taihu Lake area? They're simply courting death!"

"Perfect timing. A while ago, two thieves tried to assassinate me. Hmph, how could they possibly handle me, Li Qingluo? Now they're being hunted down by my men, fleeing all the way to Dali."

"Why don't you go with Granny Ping, Granny Rui, and their gang this time? If anyone dares to cause you trouble, what's so difficult about killing them all?"

Xie was overjoyed.

Now the roles of offense and defense have reversed.

It's not my senior brothers who are coming to cause me trouble, it's me who's going to cause them trouble.

But then he thought of the old woman and maids of Mantuo Manor, who didn't seem to be very capable fighters, and frowned slightly.

Lady Wang had long heard that Xie Buruo had been spending his days in the Langhuan Jade Cave, and thought that he was reluctant to part with his rich collection of books. She thought to herself, "If I want this person to work wholeheartedly for me, I have to invest some money."

She immediately said, "When you return, the Langhuan Jade Cave will still be open to you. You can also borrow some copies of classic texts to take out of the cave while you are away. You should know that even my nephew Murong Fu does not receive such preferential treatment."

Xie Buruo hadn't expected this unexpected joy. While thanking him, she also expressed her concerns.

"Madam, you may not know this, but my senior brother Wu Liang and his gang of cronies are quite formidable fighters."

"Wu Liang? Never heard of him, just a nobody!" Madam Wang scoffed, took out a small black flag from her bosom, and handed it to Xie Buruo. "Keep this safe. The Taihu Lake pirates and the three gangs and seven strongholds near Suzhou will be at your command once they see this flag."

Xie Bu Ruo unfolded the small black flag and saw that it was embroidered with the character "燕" (swallow).

Isn't this the Murong family's Yan-character banner?

How come Madam Wang has this?

He understood after a moment's thought.

Although Murong Fu was wealthy and powerful, in front of Madam Wang, he was nothing more than a poor wretch and a beggar.

What rebels lack most is money.

This flag was most likely given to Murong Fu when he sought investment from Lady Wang.

Xie Buruo, feeling triumphant, tucked the Yan-character flag into his pocket.

In the original story, the intoxicating bees kept at Mantuo Manor were extremely powerful, and he originally wanted to ask for some more beekeeping drugs to protect himself.

But then she remembered that the intoxicating bees were Lady Wang's secret, and anyone who asked would die.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, we decided not to consider it.

Speaking of sleeping potions, Xie Buruo suddenly remembered his neighbor when he was making fertilizer for flowers, the Xingxiu Sect disciple who was buried.

This person might be carrying some kind of poison or something similar.

How could I forget to touch his corpse!

Thinking of this, he feigned surprise and exclaimed, "Madam, wasn't there a disciple of the Starry Sky Sect buried next to me back then?"

Madam Wang had buried too many people to remember them all, and frowned slightly: "It seems like there was such a thing."

Xie Buruo continued, "I've heard that disciples of the Xingxiu Sect are poisonous from head to toe, and that they're used as fertilizer..."

Before she could finish speaking, Madam Wang exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!"

"Quickly, tell Mama Yan to dig that person out. Don't let him defile my camellias!"

Xie Buruo quickly stood up and said, "No need for you to trouble yourself, Madam. I'll go find Mother Yan right away."

After saying that, he headed straight for the fertilizer room.

When they arrived at the fertilizer room, they found the door tightly closed.

Boom boom boom.

Xie knocked several times, but there was no response from inside.

"Where did that old woman Yan run off to?"

Taking advantage of his status as a distinguished guest, he didn't wait any longer, kicked open the door, and went inside.

In the fertilizer room, axes, sickles, saws, and other tools were neatly arranged, and a shovel stood in the corner.

"It's better that he's not here. I'll go dig up the body myself and keep any treasures for myself."

He walked to the wall and picked up the shovel.

Just as I was about to leave, I remembered the saying that a thief never leaves empty-handed.

He immediately began searching the fertilizer room, hoping to see if Granny Yan had any good stuff that he could get for free.

After searching for a while, they arrived at a medicine cabinet.

Xie Bu Ruo leaned closer to sniff, but couldn't smell any medicine.

Each square has a red paper pasted in front of it.

The place name is written on it, and the surname is marked after it.

Ok?

His eyes lit up, and he reached out and opened the medicine cabinet, only to find that it contained not medicinal herbs, but various utensils.

Some were jade pendants, some were folding fans, and some were daggers.

Xie took out a folding fan, opened it and saw that the signature was that of a person surnamed Gao from Dali, which matched the label on the medicine cabinet.

He immediately realized that most of the items placed here were the belongings of the victims of the fertilizer poisoning.

"If I hadn't known the plot, I would have died here too."

"Most of the Starry Sky Sect disciples' belongings are here, which saves me the trouble of digging up corpses."

Xie Bu Ruo hurriedly started searching and soon saw the label on the eighth square on the right that read "Xingxiu Hai Kong".

The compartment was immediately opened, revealing three porcelain bottles and a scroll of silk.