Tianlong: Starting with Mantuo Manor as fertilizer

Wang Yuyan was sitting by the window, turning the pages of an old book by candlelight.

Seeing Xie Bushuo come in, she closed the book and revealed her usual serene expression.

Xie Buruo could no longer contain himself and immediately asked for clarification on the difficult points in the sword manual.

That move, "The Immortal Points the Way," is complex and contains many hidden secrets that he has never been able to fully comprehend.

Before she could even open her mouth, Wang Yuyan spoke first.

"Young Master Xie, I heard you're setting off for Dali tomorrow?"

Xie Buruo nodded: "That's right, that move from Miss Wang's sword manual..."

He was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

"I'd like to hitch a ride on your boat and visit Swallow's Nest."

Wang Yuyan lowered her eyes and said shyly.

Xie Buruo hesitated for a moment, then said, "That's not a good idea."

If I anger the old woman and she revokes my access to reading, that would be a very bad situation!

Wang Yuyan had spent some time with Xie Buruo and knew that this guy wouldn't act without expecting something in return, so she quickly said...

"If you help me, I'll explain swordsmanship to you."

Xie Buruo immediately became serious and asked earnestly.

"Miss Wang, how can I help you?"

Wang Yuyan's face lit up with joy: "I'll go and inform my mother tomorrow. You can give me a ride."

Upon hearing that Madam Wang was unaware of this, Youcao shook her head repeatedly and began to explain it to Wang Yuyan.

"Miss, you absolutely mustn't!"

"In the past, when you went to Swallow's Nest, you always accompanied Madam. Madam has always been strict and never allowed you to go alone."

Madam Wang was quite averse to her daughter meeting with her cousin.

Firstly, it's because Murong Fu's mother kept spreading rumors about Li Qingluo.

They said she cheated on her husband, had an affair with her lover, and even suspected that Wang Yuyan's background was questionable.

Secondly, Murong Fu's ambitions were too lofty.

He actually wanted to revive the Yan Kingdom, which had been extinct for countless years, to the point that even Lady Wang thought it was outrageous.

Madam Wang often said, "Fu Guan is intelligent and skilled in martial arts, which are all good, but he is too influenced by his family education, and there is something wrong with his mind."

What mother would want her daughter to be with someone who has mental problems?

He himself was merely killing people indiscriminately, while the people next door were actually rebelling.

In particular, Murong Fu had expressed some dissatisfaction with Li Qingluo for killing too many people.

They believed that this affected the harmonious relationship between the Murong family and the government.

There's nowhere to reason with them!

Therefore, Madam Wang was not very willing for her daughter to go to Yanziwu for no reason.

After listening to Youcao's analysis, Wang Yuyan immediately deflated, her shoulders slumped, and her head drooped.

She knew she definitely wouldn't be able to leave the house.

Xie Buruo originally thought that traveling together would allow him to learn swordsmanship and improve his skills at any time.

Now that the opportunity has slipped away, it's hard not to feel regret.

He turned to look at Youcao and asked, "Youcao, what would you do if you were in her shoes?"

Youcao laughed smugly, "I come from a wild background, so naturally I have many ways of doing things. Sneaking onto the ship without making a fuss isn't difficult at all."

Xie Buruo then asked, "How can we conceal this from others?"

Seeing that Xie had asked the question sincerely, Youcao was in a great mood and answered immediately.

"What's so difficult about that? Just tie up any maid, drug her with some sleeping pills, dress her in her clothes, put a veil on her, and say she has a rash and is afraid of the wind. Wouldn't that be enough to sneak onto the ship?"

After saying that, she proudly raised her chin.

"Anyway, Madam is Miss's biological mother and loves her the most. At most, she'll scold her."

Finally, he added in his mind: Could it be that he killed his own daughter?

Thinking of this, Youcao's expression changed drastically. Realizing she had spoken out of turn, she quickly covered her mouth.

If Madam Wang can't kill her own daughter, can't she kill her too?

Youcao felt a headache coming on and wished she could slap herself twice.

Stealing a glance at Wang Yuyan, I saw that her young mistress's eyes were shining, as if she was quite interested.

Her alarm bells immediately went off, and she quickly tried to dissuade him.

"Miss, you can't do that! Think about it, which maid would you attack? You see every maid in the manor all the time! You're inexperienced, and you'll give yourself away if you're not careful. You absolutely mustn't do that!"

Xie Buruo and Wang Yuyan's gazes fell directly on her at the same time.

Youcao felt a chill in her heart, realizing something was wrong, and retreated step by step.

Why are you setting your sights on me?!

She opened her mouth to argue, but then thought that it would be pointless to say anything more, so she simply stomped her foot and stopped struggling.

Youcao walked to a chair, lay down sprawled out, closed her eyes, and looked resigned to her fate, calmly facing her death.

"bring it on."

"What's coming?" Wang Yuyan was completely confused.

Youcao opened one eye, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Tie me up! Otherwise, Madam will definitely think I'm Miss's accomplice and send me to Madam Yan's fertilizer room."

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Buruo had already silently pulled out a hemp rope.

Youcao quickly closed her eyes, then whispered a few words of advice, still worried.

"Remember not to tie it too tightly, it will hurt."

Before he could make a move, Xie Buruo suddenly heard a very faint, strange noise outside the window.

He turned around abruptly, his figure blurred, and he leaped towards the window.

"Who goes there!"

A gentle night breeze blew outside, carrying only a faint, exotic fragrance.

He looked around, and the moonlight shone on the ground, but there wasn't a shadow in sight.

Youcao rushed out with her sword drawn, her face pale: "Oh no, did someone overhear us?"

As the ringleader, she was naturally afraid of being exposed.

Xie Bu Ruo said, "Smell it, what's the scent? Is it human face powder?"

Youcao sniffed hard.

She shook her head and said, "There's only the fragrance of flowers, not the fragrance of people."

Xie Buruo felt a little strange, as he had indeed heard a noise just now, and the fragrance seemed different from that of camellias.

Youcao was on tenterhooks all night, fearing that someone would go to Madam Wang and tell her the truth.

However, the night passed peacefully, and nothing happened.

Youcao finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself: It seems that Young Master Xie really does have a problem with his nose?

Since everything is alright, we still need to get down to business.

Youcao was quite straightforward, telling Xie Bu to tie her up with a rope.

Xie should follow her advice and tie the rope neither too loosely nor too tightly.

As for acupoints, they weren't pressed.

After all, Wang Yuyan doesn't know martial arts, so this matter has nothing to do with Xie Buruo; it was all done by Wang Yuyan herself.

Youcao then asked Xie Buruo to pour her some sleeping potion to drink, as a way to calm her nerves.

She hadn't been sleeping well lately, so this was a good opportunity to catch up on her sleep.

Before the medicine could even reach her lips, she tilted her head and fell fast asleep.

Early that morning.

Xie should prepare himself and go to pay his respects to Madam Wang.

Madam Wang sat upright in the hall and took out a carved wooden box, handing it over.

The box contains hidden mechanisms in two layers.

The box has several small buttons embedded in its edge; these must be opened in sequence to reveal the layer underneath.

Madam Wang fiddled with the box in front of Xie Buruo, teaching him how to use it.

After she turned it a few times, there was a click, revealing the next layer.

There was a letter on that shelf.

The letter was sealed with sealing wax on the back, and the front of the letter was addressed to "The Second Young Master of Dali, Duan".