Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

Mu Wanqing had just had her internal energy drained, and her expression was somewhat pale. Facing the old woman who was attacking her, she could only barely hold her weapon, but it was clear that she could not fight back.

Seeing the group of people charging towards them, Zhou Feng felt little anger; he just suddenly felt like laughing.

Neither the old woman nor the two seemingly experienced martial artists gave the order to kill them without even exchanging pleasantries. Weren't they afraid of encountering some tough opponents and causing trouble that Mantuo Manor couldn't afford to offend?

Or have they gotten so used to running rampant in Suzhou that they really think no one in the world can rival their Mantuo Manor?

"Nation-building, the old rules."

Zhou Feng patted Tie Jianguo on the shoulder, and the latter nodded knowingly. At the same time, he and Bai Lang drew their guns and pointed them at the four attackers.

In their eyes, there is no distinction between men and women, young and old; there are only two options: enemy and comrade-in-arms.

Moreover, that old hag even ordered that Zhou Feng be harmed, so she's definitely an enemy!

Like the members of the Wuliang Sword Sect, the four people from Mantuo Manor had never seen the guns in Tie Jianguo and Bai Lang's hands before, assuming they were just short sticks or similar weapons and didn't take them seriously.

They didn't realize something was wrong until the gun muzzle sparked and the bullet was fired, but it was too late.

After the two pulled the trigger, the muffled sound of the silencers immediately rang out. Facing only four enemies, the two decisively chose to fire in bursts, with the most important thing being to protect the horses the four men were riding!

Although they were all elite soldiers from modern times, they were not skilled in horseback riding.

But just by looking at the size of the horses and the luster of their coats, it was clear that the horses these four men were riding were of far superior quality to the horses they had bought in town.

These people are really kind; they not only brought internal energy, but also even better horses.

The man at the front only felt a gust of wind in front of him before he was shot in the chest. He was pulled off his horse by the force and fell heavily to the ground.

The other three quickly used their lightness skills to leap high into the air, trying to dodge the hidden weapons.

Little did they expect that such actions would only make them even better targets!

When it comes to hitting targets of this size, Tie Jianguo and Bai Lang don't even need to aim precisely; they can almost hit exactly where they point.

The sound of the silencer continued, and the other three people in mid-air were accurately shot down, letting out screams as they fell to the ground, their weapons falling from their hands.

The two then put away their guns and sat back in their seats, their expressions remaining unchanged throughout the entire process.

Duan Yu stared dumbfounded at the four pursuers lying on the ground not far away, then glanced at the black iron pipe that Tie Jianguo and Bai Lang had placed behind them. He couldn't help but swallow hard, then turned to Zhou Feng: "Brother Zhou... what kind of hidden weapons did your two disciples use? How could they be so powerful?"

Zhou Feng leaned against the carriage wall, took the potato chips Qin Jingru handed him from behind, and crunched a few times before replying indistinctly, "Sect secrets and unique hidden weapons are never passed on to outsiders."

Mu Wanqing, still leaning against the tree, saw the two still talking and cautiously raised her wrist, about to fire a short arrow, when Zhou Feng pressed it down, and the arrow shot directly to the ground.

"I have other plans for these people. If you dare to make any further moves, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Zhou Feng didn't even glance at Mu Wanqing, casually tossed her arm aside, and walked towards the four people who had fallen in front of him.

Judging from their martial arts skills, these people should be no less skilled than Zuo Zimu and Xin Shuangqing, the two novice village chiefs.

What a great power bank! How could Mu Wanqing just kill it like that?

Mu Wanqing remained silent for several breaths before finally managing to squeeze out, "I...I'm sorry, I understand."

After absorbing all the internal energy from these people, Zhou Feng finally let out a long sigh of relief. He then used the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) to move around the arena.

It has to be said that the Northern Darkness Divine Skill and the Lingbo Steps are a perfect match. If we use a hard drive as an analogy, one of them is responsible for downloading, and the other is responsible for expanding storage capacity. They complement each other perfectly.

After Zhou Feng drained these people dry, Zhao Pan'er and the other girls got off the carriage.

Duan Yu's eyes widened immediately, and he rushed over in three steps: "This humble one is Duan Yu, greetings to Sect Leader Zhao!"

Although the women around Zhao Pan'er were all quite beautiful, they were clearly inferior to Zhao Pan'er, and Duan Yu didn't even glance at them.

"Madam Zhou Zhao greets Young Master Duan."

Zhao Pan'er gave a slight curtsy, which made Duan Yu feel as if he had been struck by lightning, and he stood there stunned.

"Zhou...Zhou Zhao Shi?"

He swayed as if his bones had been removed, looking at Zhao Pan'er's face, which was almost identical to the jade statue, and then at Zhou Feng not far away. His lips trembled, and his voice changed slightly: "Zhao... Sect Leader Zhao, you've already married?"

"What's so strange about that? My wife and I have been married for quite some time. We hadn't been able to talk about it before because of the inconveniences of traveling the world."

Zhao Pan'er's tone was very calm and her voice was not loud, but Duan Yu felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his ears were ringing.

He took two steps forward, then stepped back, muttering something but making no sound.

At this moment, his mind was filled with the image of the jade statue in Langhuan Paradise, which slowly merged with the face in front of him, becoming Zhou Zhao Shi.

This uncomfortable feeling even gave him an urge to gag.

Mu Wanqing, who was standing to the side, saw this scene clearly.

Her face, which was already weak and pale from having most of her internal energy drained, now showed an undisguised look of disgust.

Originally, because of their time together, although she had always been cold and sarcastic towards Duan Yu, their shared experiences had also stirred up some strange emotions in her heart.

But now he has no emotions at all. The man in front of him is showing such an infatuated and out-of-control look towards a married woman. He is like a lustful ghost!

Without the shared hardships and life-and-death experiences, and with Zhou Feng easily eliminating the enemies of Mantuo Manor, the conditions for developing feelings for each other were lost. She also lost the most important filter she had for Duan Yu, and her attitude naturally changed.

After all, what woman would like another woman's lapdog?

Looking at Duan Yu again, all that remained besides disgust was a detached indifference that seemed to have seen through everything.

Even more violently reacted than Duan Yu were the two old women who collapsed to the ground.

Especially Granny Ping, who had been watching this side, was the first to clearly see Zhao Pan'er's face.

Her features, her eyebrows and eyes, made it seem as if her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets!

"Madam... Madam? No, that's not right! You're not Madam. You're much younger than Madam, but... but also much older than Miss. Who... who are you?"

Granny Rui, who had been lying nearby, struggled to sit up, her cloudy old eyes fixed on Zhao Pan'er. She muttered, "Impossible! How could it be? How could there be people in this world who look so alike? Could it be..."

She stopped mid-sentence, not daring to continue, knowing full well the methods her mistress employed.

Zhou Feng completely ignored the two old ladies, and simply put his hand on Zhao Pan'er's shoulder to assert his dominance.

But Granny Ping tried her best to calm herself down, raised her head again to look at Zhou Feng, her voice trembling slightly: "This... young master, may I ask who your wife is? Why does she look exactly like the lady and young lady of my Mantuo Manor?"

Zhou Feng raised an eyebrow: "Guess?"

As he spoke, he put his arm around Zhao Pan'er and prepared to return to the carriage.

He didn't need to lift a finger against these four people, since they were no longer of any use to him. If they could return to Mantuo Manor alive, it was their own fate.

If you can't go back, then you can only say you're unlucky.

Just then, Duan Yu suddenly turned around, disregarding his earlier lapse in composure, and quickly ran forward a couple of steps, looking at Zhou Feng with burning eyes: "Brother Zhou! Did you hear that old man say that the lady and young lady of Mantuo Manor look exactly like Headmaster Zhao!"

His breathing quickened, and his voice was filled with excitement: "If that's the case, could the person sculpted in the jade statue in Langhuan Paradise be the lady from Mantuo Manor? Since Sect Leader Zhao resembles them, there must be some connection. If we can go to Mantuo Manor to investigate this matter, perhaps..."

"Oh, in that case, let's make a trip to Mantuo Manor."

Zhou Feng nodded before Duan Yu could finish speaking.

The story of Xingzilin takes place after Yanziwu, and he wanted to go there to test the waters, hoping to trick Madam Wang into revealing the Lesser Formless Skill.

The Northern Darkness Divine Skill absorbs internal energy, the Lingbo Steps expand internal energy, and the Lesser Formless Skill drives the process. In this way, he is no less capable than others in terms of martial arts techniques and skills!

Upon hearing Zhou Feng's words, Duan Yu's face was filled with excitement. The disappointment he felt at Zhao Pan'er's marriage had completely disappeared, replaced by anticipation for the upcoming trip to Mantuo Manor.

Ignoring the sycophant, Zhou Feng turned his gaze to Mu Wanqing: "Which direction did you come from just now?"

The latter weakly raised a finger.

Zhou Feng then nodded.

In the original novel, Mu Wanqing and Duan Yu rescued Zhong Ling, and after being chased by the people of Mantuo Manor, they encountered Yue Laosan, the Crocodile God of the South Sea.

He also wanted to try his luck.

If we were to actually run into Yue Laosan, that would truly be considered lucky.

After all, this guy's martial arts skills are incomparable to those of the people Zhou Feng had encountered before.

Of course, the depth of his internal energy cultivation was also unmatched by these people!

If Zhou Feng could find Yue Laosan and absorb all of his internal energy, perhaps Yue Laosan's internal energy alone would be enough for him to digest and get through the time until he arrived at Mantuo Manor.

"Alright, let's go!"

As Zhou Feng led Zhao Pan'er into the carriage, Zhong Ling, who was standing to the side, secretly glanced at Mu Wanqing, gritted her teeth, and ran over to tug at Zhou Feng's sleeve.

"Brother Zhou... Sister Mu has no strength left. If we leave her here alone, and she runs into those bad guys again, she definitely won't survive! You...you...could you take her with you?"

The young girl seemed to know Zhou Feng's preferences. She slightly raised her head, her big eyes blinking with a watery luster, causing Zhou Feng to involuntarily cough lightly and turn to look at his wives.

Zhao Pan'er simply smiled. She and Sun San Niang both grew up in the Song Dynasty, and the doctrine of the husband being the head of the household was ingrained in their bones, so naturally they had no objections.

Qin Jingru and Lou Xiao'e exchanged a glance with Bai Ling at the same time. The two girls had already tacitly agreed to follow Bai Ling's lead. Being a mistress meant having to act like one.

Bai Ling leaned against the carriage wall, flipping through the I Ching that Zhou Feng had put down, and said without looking up, "Take it if you want, we don't mind. But... if this woman tries to ambush you in the middle of the night, I won't be responsible if she gets hurt."

Upon hearing this, Mu Wanqing's face turned pale and then red, but she finally lowered her head and squeezed out a sentence from her throat: "I...I won't..."

She was naturally not afraid of death, but if she fell into the hands of those who were hunting her down, the outcome would probably be worse than death.

Moreover, she also wanted to see with her own eyes what would happen to the powerful and ruthless Madam Wang after she encountered these wicked men.

Perhaps she won't even need to carry out any more assassinations; these people will have already taken care of Madam Wang!

After learning about the other people's attitudes, Zhou Feng finally turned to Zhong Ling and nodded.

The little girl, who had been waiting eagerly, immediately broke into a smile and ran over to take Mu Wanqing's arm, beaming, "Sister Mu, you can sit next to me in a bit. Our carriage is so comfortable, and there's lots and lots of delicious food!"

Mu Wanqing was half-supported and half-pulled by him as they walked towards the carriage. When they passed Zhou Feng, her body trembled slightly and she paused for a moment.

Seeing that Zhou Feng made no move, she lowered her head and followed Zhong Ling into the carriage.

Seeing that they had all made arrangements, Duan Yu stood there anxiously wringing his hands, his eyes constantly scanning the carriage.

But no one paid him any attention. Zhou Feng was already getting into the car when he finally couldn't resist taking two steps forward and bowing slightly to Zhou Feng: "Brother Zhou, are you heading to Mantuo Manor on this trip?"

"That's right, Brother Duan, would you like to come along?"

Duan Yu nodded hurriedly, glanced at Zhou Feng and the others' carriage, and forced a smile: "If it's convenient, I would indeed like to travel together for a while. I'm also a little curious about the connection between Mantuo Manor and that jade statue."

Zhou Feng glanced at him for two seconds, then pointed to the packhorses that had been replaced at the back of the carriage: "Brother Duan can ride that horse behind us. The carriage is small, so we won't invite Brother Duan in. Getting on the road is the priority, let's set off now!"

This horse was probably a reward for Duan Yu's previous kindness in giving them the Beiming Divine Skill and Lingbo Steps.

Otherwise, based solely on the arrogant look he gave Zhao Pan'er just now, Zhou Feng wouldn't have let him off so easily.

Who can blame him when he's the male lead?

Following Duan Yu through the early stages of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' storyline, one can only imagine how much emotional value one can gain.

Dungeons with lots of NPCs yield more rewards!