The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

"Duan Lang? What's wrong? Are you fighting with someone? Did you get into another romantic entanglement?"

A gentle yet resolute voice came from the bamboo house, followed by a pretty woman with a mischievous air.

Duan Zhengchun: LOL.

"Hmph!" Upon seeing this, Mu Wanqing immediately turned her head away.

Wang Yuyan became even more determined to pretend she didn't know this person...

"Huh? There really are so many beautiful girls? And... Duan Lang, you're so old, you shouldn't still be..." Ruan Xingzhu couldn't help but look at Duan Zhengchun with feigned disdain.

Upon hearing this, Duan Zhengchun said somewhat displeasedly, "Ah Xing! What nonsense are you spouting in front of the children!"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Xingzhu immediately realized, "Child? Your child with whom? Your son with Dao Baifeng is the heir of Dali... Hmm? This young lady looks quite like Li Qingluo from back then?"

That's right. The Li Qiushui lineage has a very strong hereditary tendency in appearance. Ruan Xingzhu didn't even recognize her own daughter, but she did recognize that Wang Yuyan looked like Li Qingluo!

"Let's not talk about this for now, my dear..." Duan Zhengchun quickly reassured him.

He could also tell that Wang Yuyan didn't want to acknowledge him for the time being, after all, she had been surnamed "Wang" for so long, and Duan Zhengchun didn't want to force her.

Ruan Xingzhu's expression darkened as she said, "You only remember the child you had with someone else, but you've forgotten our child!"

“I remember, I remember, Ah Xing, don’t worry, it’s just in the Jiangnan area, right? I, Duan Zhengchun, promise you, I will definitely find both of the children with the character ‘Duan’ on their shoulders and wearing gold locks!” Duan Zhengchun said in a low voice.

She didn't want others to laugh at her, but she also didn't want Ruan Xingzhu to be sad!

"A'Zhu, be careful! What's wrong? Is your injury not fully healed?" Qiao Feng suddenly felt A'Zhu's body go sluggish. Fortunately, he caught her quickly and prevented her from falling.

Murong Fu frowned and looked at A'Zhu...

Murong Fu had also seen A'Zhu's gold lock!

"Stars in the sky, twinkling brightly, forever shining, bringing peace to Chang'an..." A'Zhu murmured the words engraved on her golden lock.

Upon hearing this, Duan Zhengchun and Ruan Xingzhu couldn't help but look at A'Zhu, whom Qiao Feng was supporting—this little poem was written by Duan Zhengchun when he spent the New Year with Ruan Xingzhu.

The second half of the poem reads, "Bamboo by the lake, lush and green, brings peace and joy." Later, when Ruan Xingzhu gave birth to two girls and was forced to abandon them at the door of a wealthy family, she had these two poems wishing for peace engraved on the gold lock.

Murong Jiu:......

In other words... did I mess up again?

Chapter 348 Foresight is Priceless

Seeing Duan Zhengchun and Ruan Xingzhu recognizing A'Zhu in front of her, Murong Jiu felt a pang of grievance.

Happiness belongs to others; I have nothing...

Originally, I thought Wang Yuyan was nothing special except for being obedient. Although she was easy to control, she was of little help in restoring the kingdom, so I only kept her as a backup plan. But then... Wang Yuyan suddenly became the Princess of Dali?

I knew earlier...

Just now I thought that A'Zhu had hooked up with Qiao Feng, but I couldn't count on her at all. I should hurry up and raise her favorability with the Prince of Dali so that I could propose marriage or bring her in as a strong ally. But then... A'Zhu suddenly became the Princess of Dali?

I knew earlier...

Hindsight is always 20/20!

Murong Jiu seemed like a seasoned stock market investor, always able to accurately sell off before a major price surge.

The same is true in the original work. Wang Yuyan, Duan Yu, Tianshan Tonglao, Xiao Feng... always missed the opportunity to buy at the limit up price. They chased the highs and sold the lows without fail, which explains why they eventually went crazy.

Seeing A'Zhu transformed into the Princess of Dali, Murong Jiu's mentality collapsed. She walked aside, heartbroken, without trying to suppress the feeling of detachment.

Chu Luren was watching Uncle Duan, who was becoming increasingly adept at recognizing women, and he was inwardly marveling at how well he was doing it...

Upon noticing Murong Jiu's unusual behavior, although he wasn't particularly pleased, he still took two steps back and followed her—after all, there were too many variables if Xiao Jiu Jiu came out later and he wasn't around.

Of course, Chu Luren didn't feel sorry for Murong Jiu, or rather... there must be something hateful about a pitiful person!

Murong Jiu's repeated wrong decisions were not just due to luck; the more fundamental reason was her eagerness for quick success and instant benefits!

Lacking any independent stance and prioritizing only "national restoration," he was a typical opportunist.

"Big brother!"

When Chu Luren accompanied Murong Jiu to the lakeside, Xiao Jiu Jiu had already come out and was about to cling to Chu Luren again.

However, Chu Luren quickly pressed his head down, and then he quickly turned his head to look at the bamboo house. Seeing that everyone's attention was on Duan Zhengchun's family, he breathed a sigh of relief.

When I turned around, I only saw Xiao Jiu Jiu being held down, pouting, her eyes red, glaring at me...

"Be good, little Jiu Jiu, don't let anyone else find out," Chu Luren said in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu Jiu nodded vigorously and said, "Yes! She needs my protection!" as if she were the one protecting Murong Jiu.

Chu Luren kept looking back, worried that the family reunion on the other side might end at any time, and that they would definitely notice the situation here.

"Sleep a little longer, and I'll play with you again tonight?" Chu Luren asked the dazed-looking Xiao Jiu Jiu.

Xiao Jiu shook her head vigorously: "No, no, she doesn't want to come out right now, I have to protect her!"

Chu Luren didn't know whether Murong Jiu didn't want to come out or Xiao Jiu Jiu didn't want to go back, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Then you watch my expression later... never mind, just don't say anything, just stand next to me. If anyone asks you anything, just fan yourself and smile without saying a word, understand?"

"Okay!" Little Jiu Jiu nodded obediently.

"So tight..." Xiao Jiujiu frowned, rubbed her chest, and said, trying to straighten up again.

Seeing this, Chu Luren quickly stopped him, saying, "Wait! This is how it is here!"

……

When Chu Luren and Young Master Murong returned, the latter, with an innocent smile, opened his fan with a "KU" sound and began to fan Chu Luren.

Chu Luren: ...

Chu Luren broke out in a cold sweat and quietly nudged her wrist with his elbow, making the fan return to its original position.

Wang Yuyan and Mu Wanqing also noticed Murong Jiu's strange behavior and awkwardly turned their heads away.

Fortunately, Qiao Feng, A Zhu, Duan Zhengchun, and Ruan Xingzhu were not paying attention to anything else at the moment.

After a thorough family reunion, Duan Zhengchun learned that the "ugly monster" Qiao Feng had risked his life to save at Juxian Manor was none other than his daughter...

"Thank you... Qiao... Young Master, for your righteous help. I am deeply grateful." Duan Zhengchun was somewhat embarrassed by the way he addressed him.

I used to call him "Brother Qiao".

However, considering their ages, Duan Zhengchun could indeed treat them as equals or regard himself as an elder.

Even though Duan Zhengchun had vaguely heard that his unfilial son had sworn brotherhood with someone, he didn't act like a senior to him as soon as they met, despite the fact that he was known as "Northern Qiao Feng".

However, looking at his daughter whom he had just found... Duan Zhengchun felt that it was better not to treat her as an equal.

"Young Master Murong, I was just being impatient. Please don't take offense," Qiao Feng said, cupping his hands in greeting.

Qiao Feng was straightforward. Even though this Murong Nan seemed to be looking for trouble, at least he came with his brothers. It was just a misunderstanding, so he took the initiative to apologize.

Murong Jiu smiled silently while waving her fan... It didn't seem like mockery at all, leaving Qiao Feng completely baffled.

Azhu also felt that the young master was acting strangely, but she was not in the mood to think about him right now.

Duan Zhengchun also said, "I thank Young Master Murong for his public-spiritedness." Although it sounded somewhat forced, the other party had indeed acted on his behalf.

Murong Jiu continued to smile without saying a word.

Chu Luren quickly interrupted, "By the way, brother, about Xue Muhua, let's set a time next year to deal with that bastard Ding Chunqiu."

However, I did think of something else: if we were to go to Xingxiu Sea, we could invite Qiao Feng along.

Although it was Chu Luren who asked Xue Muhua to save people, Qiao Feng always felt that he owed Xue Muhua a favor.

Upon hearing this, Duan Zhengchun's eyes lit up, and he said, "The Old Monster of Xingxiu has always been despised by people in the martial arts world, so why don't I..."

Halfway through his sentence, Ruan Xingzhu's gaze pierced through him, so Duan Zhengchun coughed twice and stopped. Chu Luren didn't respond either—"Are you saying you despise Ding Chunqiu? You're just trying to curry favor with Aunt Li. I'm too embarrassed to expose you!"

Ruan Xingzhu then asked, "Thank you, Young Master Murong and Old Master Murong. You took in A'Zhu before. May I ask if the Murong family knows the whereabouts of the child who was with A'Zhu at that time?"

Ruan Xingzhu did not leave the child at the gate of the Murong family, but at another wealthy household. When she later tried to find the family, she discovered that the household had fallen into ruin.

In fact, Ruan Xingzhu also hoped that the Murong family did not know, because A'Zhu did not know that she had a younger sister. If the Murong family knew, it was very likely that the child had died young.

Upon hearing this, A'Zhu looked expectantly at Young Master Murong, while Chu Luren nervously considered how to speak up for her. But just then...

"I don't know." Murong Jiu woke up at just the right moment.

Duan Zhengchun then said mysteriously, "Ah Xing, don't worry... I have a feeling that we will definitely see that child, and... it won't be long!"

Chapter 349 Strange Net

As night fell, A-Zhu and her newly reunited parents had a long talk in the house, with endless things to say.

In the original work, A'Zhu learned about her identity from A'Zi's experience, while others were unaware of it. At that time, she also suspected that Duan Zhengchun was Xiao Dage's enemy, so she kept it a secret.

However, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, A'Zhu naturally has no need to hide anything.

Qiao Feng and Chu Luren were also drinking outside. Qiao Feng originally wanted to invite several guards from the Duan family, as well as Murong Gongzi, whom he had long admired, but the latter refused to drink alcohol, citing mourning as the reason, and only sat with them for a while.

Chu Wanli, Gu Ducheng, Fu Sigui, and Zhu Danchen, the four great retainers, all drank several bowls of wine one after another. The reason for saying "one after another" is that the four guards had people taking turns to keep watch around at all times.

Chu Luren felt...

Given Duan Zhengchun's popularity, it was indeed necessary!

Most of the time, it was Qiao Feng and Chu Luren drinking, and the two of them talked about their experiences over the past few months.

After A'Zhu recovered, Qiao Feng first went with her to the cliff where his parents died. From the stone tablet left by his father, he became completely convinced that his parents had only entered the pass to visit his maternal grandfather—Qiao Feng's mother—who was a Han Chinese from inside the pass.

The result was that this family trip was ambushed by dozens of skilled fighters from the Central Plains. The mother was killed on the spot, and the father, after killing most of the enemies, jumped off a cliff and committed suicide.

Although Qiao Feng was prepared, seeing the heart-wrenching words of the suicide note still filled him with righteous indignation, and he once again had the idea of ​​finding out who the ringleader was.

So A'Zhu came up with a plan to use her disguise skills to get information out of Kang Min—Kang Min had likely read the letter the ringleader had written to Wang Jiantong, before Master Zhiguang tore off the signature.

However, something went wrong. A'Zhu, disguised as Bai Shijing, tried to extract information from him, but the information she obtained was false.

Earlier, when Qiao Feng saw Duan Zhengchun's calligraphy and paintings inside the bamboo house, he had no more doubts...

The leader's handwriting was clearly not in the same style as Duan Zhengchun's.

"Kang Min is a dissolute person, and she might even be having an affair with Bai Shijing." Chu Luren made a disdainful "speculation".

Qiao Feng smiled awkwardly. He didn't want to say more about Kang Min, since it also concerned Ma Dayuan's reputation.