The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

She had been interrupted by Chu Luren once before, but Haitang had already rejected Wan Sanqian afterward. However, Wan Sanqian insisted on pestering her, so Haitang would only remind him about matters between men and women when he brought them up.

Wan Sanqian didn't go into too much detail, after all, he was Shenhou's collaborator and even the financial backer of the number one manor in the world. Moreover, everything was fine when they were brothers, so Haitang didn't want to make things too awkward with him.

Looking at Wan Sanqian, Murong Jiu shook her head with a complicated expression.

"What's wrong? Are you regretting that the rich man didn't choose you?" Chu Luren asked in a low voice.

"My father killed several prominent families, including Ke Baisui, to raise funds for the uprising. It seems... this tactic cannot be used on Wan Sanqian," Murong Jiu said regretfully.

Chu Luren: ...

Chu Luren had already guessed that Wan Sanqian was a human train – the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi had received a great debt of gratitude from Wan Sanqian, and were completely his shadows and servants.

The Four Ghosts of Xiangxi were already extremely skilled in light-footed movement, and even with four of them and one of them, they wouldn't be much slower...

Chu Luren and Murong Jiu, however, still had to make some concessions to Shangguan Haitang.

Although Shangguan Haitang, as a disciple of Wuhen Gongzi, is particularly skilled in light-body techniques, she is limited by her internal energy and is certainly not as good as Chu Luren and Murong Jiu for long journeys.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Wan!" Chu Luren said, taking his seat. Then he looked at Wan Sanqian and Shangguan Haitang, who were standing there dumbfounded, and said, "Hmm? This is a gathering of ordinary friends, not a date, right? Is it inconvenient for you to bring me along?"

"Hehe, of course not," Wan Sanqian said politely.

Afterwards, most of the ingredients ended up in Chu Luren's stomach. After he was full, Chu Luren asked the famous chefs that Wan Sanqian had hired to pack him some salted fish and drunken crab.

After spending the night at the inn booked by Wan Sanqian, Shangguan Haitang politely declined Wan Sanqian's other invitations at the crack of dawn the next day, and the three of them continued their journey north.

When they arrived in Minzhou that evening, several servants rushed over as soon as they entered the city, inviting Shangguan Haitang to a banquet. When the three of them arrived, they saw that it was indeed the dazzling Wan Sanqian once again…

Chu Luren ate and drank to his heart's content, being the first to sit down and the last to leave. The intense journey did not affect his appetite at all!

After all, Chu Luren was still working on his body-strengthening skills, which was already very taxing. He ate and excreted a lot along the way. If it weren't for his excellent lightness skill, he wouldn't have been able to keep "excreting" and catch up with Shangguan Haitang and Murong Jiu.

"Brother Chu, you should rest early after you finish eating." Wan Sanqian was a little depressed. After all, Haitang had already left, and only Chu Luren was still eating. He could only stay until the end, since the banquet was nominally for three people!

"Don't worry, I won't take your food for nothing... I reckon Haitang will either change her route or travel further tomorrow, and won't follow the original plan. I'll have Xiao Hong let you know where she's going in advance, and you should take this with you." Chu Luren was already addicted, and what he gave Wan Sanqian was snake medicine made from the Divine Wood King Cauldron!

When Wan Sanqian comes into contact with Xiao Hong, Xiao Hong can pretend to be stupid, making them underestimate Xiao Hong's "intelligence".

"By the way, I think Haitang probably likes to eat seafood and crabs..."

"Don't worry, Brother Chu! I understand," Wan Sanqian said helplessly.

……

As expected, on the third day, Shangguan Haitang doubled her pace, and the three of them didn't arrive in Wenzhou until midnight. The city gates were already closed, and they only managed to enter the city with a warrant from the Dragon Guard Manor. And then…

As soon as they entered the city, a servant was waiting at the corner of the city wall to invite the three of them to a banquet!

What Wan Sanqian displayed was not just "force." In addition to the four ghosts of Xiangxi who were willing to be carried in his sedan chair, he also needed money. After all, wherever he went, he would invite famous chefs and musicians from the surrounding area, and transport precious delicacies from afar.

More importantly, the fact that they had hordes of servants wherever they went shows that the thousands of merchants were very wealthy.

However, Wan Sanqian's "thoughtfulness" made Haitang a little resentful - I traveled so fast, yet I was not as fast as him?

The three of them managed to return to Lin'an on the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, a journey that took only five days.

Even Murong Jiu was clearly somewhat disheveled, and Haitang was even worse off...

As it turned out, Wan Sanqian returned to Lin'an earlier than expected and excitedly invited Shangguan Haitang to a welcoming feast.

This domineering CEO vibe is a bit too strong...

"That silly Wan Sanqian doesn't even know that Shangguan Haitang is already angry, does he? Hahaha..." Chu Luren teased Murong Jiu through telepathy, but his face was full of disdain and sneers.

Now that they've arrived in Lin'an, they naturally need to put on an act.

Murong Jiu glanced at him, ignored him, and went straight back to the Dragon Guard Manor—this lack of acting was completely natural!

Chapter 822 Testing

After arriving in Lin'an, Chu Luren checked into an inn alone.

When Murong Jiu returned to the Princess's residence, Yun Luo was still insisting on seeing Chu Luren, but Murong Jiu stopped her. Yun Luo then started making a scene, which angered Murong Jiu to the point that she almost enforced family discipline...

Of course, this was something that none of the other servants knew, except for Xiao Nu.

As for Xiao Nu, she was Yun Luo's personal maid. Although she did not know that the prince consort was a woman, she knew that the prince consort and the princess had not fallen out with Chu Tai Sui in private.

However, in the end, Murong Jiu forcefully suppressed Yun Luo's willful behavior, saying that he would secretly invite Chu Luren to his residence the next day.

The next morning, Chu Luren arrived at the Dragon Guard Manor at the invitation of Shangguan Haitang.

When they met Shenhou, the two stared at each other, both looking down on the other.

However, in the end, the Divine Marquis first tossed the small sandalwood box on the tea table to the Chu Deer Man...

"Regardless of any past grievances between you and me, today I will give you this Divine Wise Ultimate Pill. After that, you will help me protect and heal someone. You don't need to do anything else... After that, we will be even." The Divine Marquis said stiffly.

If it weren't for Su Xin, he wouldn't have come to ask Chu Luren for help.

After all, Chu Luren's conflict with him wasn't just about interests; she had even repeatedly used Su Xin's situation to mock and ridicule him...

"Deal." Chu Luren was concise, unwilling to say anything more to the old man.

"I'll tell you the specifics later, Doctor Wan," said Shenhou, picking up his teacup and then putting it down again.

Chu Luren's eyes lit up upon hearing this—Wan the Divine Physician? The Divine Marquis actually brought Wan Chunliu along as well?

That's quite a grand affair...

This also gave Chu Luren a hint: he could also ask Doctor Wan for help to reconnect Lianxing's meridians!

Of course, Chu Luren could discuss this matter with Wan Chunliu himself, since Wan Chunliu was not a member of the Dragon Guard Manor or the Number One Manor in the World, and the Divine Marquis had only invited him over, not been his superior.

He just didn't know if Yan Nantian was by his side...

Although Chu Luren was 90% certain that Yan Nantian was not the kind of person who would stop Wan Chunliu from treating others because of some grudges, after all, as long as Hua Wuque's background was not exposed, the two palace masters of Yihua Palace were only closely related to Jiang Feng's death, but not the direct murderers. However... it was uncertain whether Wan Chunliu would be stingy enough to refuse to treat the wound. He hoped that the favor from Zhao Min's father and the favor he had done for Xiaoyuer would be useful.

Seeing that the Divine Marquis had already served tea and seen the guest off, Chu Luren turned and left. The two of them had exchanged less than three words.

Just as Chu Luren was about to step out the door, Shenhou suddenly said, "You saw the wealth of 13,000, right? If you are willing to join forces with me, wealth and power are within your grasp! As for Murong Fu... anyway, you and he are just putting on an act."

Chu Luren was startled by these words, but remained outwardly calm, coldly saying, "What use are power and money to a nobody like me?"

You'd never guess he was the one who used to freeload at meals.

As for the claim of "playing a role with Murong Fu," Chu Luren didn't answer at all and simply turned and left.

However, the more Chu Luren thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He realized that he had been a little nervous when facing the Divine Marquis's question, so his performance was not perfect!

"If the old fox really suspects Murong Jiu? Murong Fu and I are putting on an act... You could say we're pretending to fall out with him, or you could say that Murong Fu and I were just putting on an act when we were on good terms before."

My answer just now wasn't problematic. If I really fell out with Murong Jiu, I'd definitely be happy to see him suspect Murong Jiu, rather than proactively explaining 'we weren't acting' or anything like that. Not answering was the right thing to do! But should I have shown more anger?

Chu Luren sat in a side hall of the Dragon Guard Manor, inwardly reflecting on his actions...

A short while later, an elderly man with gray hair, a white goatee, and a gaunt appearance walked in.

"But is it the Divine Physician Wan in person?" Chu Luren quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

His own nephew Xue Muhua and Ren Yingying's subordinate Ping Yizhi were both "miracle doctors," but unfortunately, they had no way to deal with severed meridians.

"I dare not accept such praise from Lord Chu." Wan Chunliu was not too impolite, but he seemed somewhat indifferent.

This was probably due to his "favorability rating at Yihua Palace," which influenced Wan Chunliu's first impression of him.

Although he had no grudge against Yihua Palace, he had taken care of Yan Nantian for so many years, and especially treated Xiaoyuer as his own son, so it was inevitable that he would view Yihua Palace in this way.

Moreover, Wan Chunliu had caused the deaths of nearly a hundred people by misdiagnosing their illnesses in the former Song capital. He was wanted for being a quack doctor and thus hid in the Valley of Villains, where he gradually developed a reclusive personality.

Based on this, it can be inferred that among all the eccentric doctors, Wan Chunliu should be the most ethical. After all, the so-called "quack doctor killing people" happened during a major epidemic. Without this kind of benevolence, who would dare to plunge headlong into the epidemic?

As for the deaths of hundreds of people, it's hard to say it's a matter of skill. Wan Chunliu's medical skills were already among the top five in the world. It's just that when faced with an epidemic, no one can control the plague god. Even without Wan Chunliu, people would still die from the epidemic. Wan Chunliu took the blame and gambled on a strong medicine to treat the patient, but he failed... This accusation is truly unjust.

Chu Luren did not immediately bring up Lianxing's matter, but first listened to Wan Chunliu's "entrustment".

When Su Xin takes the second Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, Chu Luren and Wan Chunliu will be waiting by her side. There are two foreseeable difficulties. First, Su Xin has been trapped in the millennium-old Xuanbing for a long time. Although her life force has been preserved, it has also caused her to be poisoned to the bone. Once she wakes up, she may suffer a backlash from the poison and die suddenly. Second, her life force has been stagnant for a long time. She may not be able to adapt to the sudden activation by the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom. It may cause her life force to dissipate and her to age rapidly.

Of course, this doesn't mean that these two potential problems will be left to the Chu Lu people to handle.

When the time comes, Shenhou will absorb the cold poison from Suxin's body. The dissipation of vital energy is only a theoretically possible hidden danger. Once symptoms appear, Wan Chunliu will immediately administer acupuncture to lock in her life force.

Having Chu Luren stand aside was also just in case—with the "Divine Illumination True Qi" around, Chu Luren was essentially a human emergency rescue device!

In reality, Chu Luren was mostly unnecessary, but since he anticipated potential problems and knew that Chu Luren could act as a safety net, the Marquis invited him along.

"Is there anything still unclear?" Wan Chunliu asked Chu Luren for confirmation.

"Dr. Wan, I have something else to tell you personally... You saved Hero Yan, didn't you?" Chu Luren quickly brought up the topic.

"Yes." Wan Chunliu frowned slightly, but he wasn't too cold-hearted and answered concisely.

"It is said that... Master Yan was not only seriously injured back then, but also had all his meridians severed?" Chu Luren further confirmed.

"Yes." Wan Chunliu was already getting impatient.

"As expected of Doctor Wan! Not only are his medical skills superb, but he also has a compassionate heart. It's all thanks to Doctor Wan that Master Yan was saved from danger!" Chu Luren said, then added, "Little Fish must have been taught by Doctor Wan to retain his kind nature despite his mischievousness. When I first met him, he was in danger for a stranger..."

Wan Chunliu only shows his kind side to Xiaoyuer.

Chu Luren was also reminding Wan Chunliu, "I am, after all, Xiaoyuer's savior. Can you at least be a little more polite?"

Upon hearing this, Wan Chunliu recalled some rumors circulating in the martial arts world, and his attitude indeed improved considerably—however, he did not believe that Xiaoyuer would be unable to escape without Chu Luren's words!

"To be honest, I have a friend who was injured by the leader of the Four Spirits. Although I saved her life, her meridians were completely severed, and most of her martial arts skills were ruined... Could you please trouble the divine physician Wan to treat her?" Chu Luren did not forget to emphasize that his friend was also injured by a great villain.

"The leader of the Four Spirits? Then this friend of Chu Tai Sui must be a rare master in the world."

Since even the legendary physician had asked this question, Chu Luren had no choice but to answer, "That's right, it's... Miss Lianxing."

Wan Chunliu was stunned for a moment when he heard this. Who was this Miss Lianxing? Then he realized that putting "Lianxing" and "Miss" together was really awkward!

Meanwhile, Wan Chunliu stroked his beard and remained silent...

Chapter 823 Persuasion

"The relationship between Chu Tai Sui and Yihua Palace... is very good, isn't it?" Wan Chunliu frowned.

"The Flower Palace is alright." Chu Luren didn't say much more, after all, Yaoyue was likely about to break through.

"Does Lord Chu know that Hua Wuque, the successor of the Yihua Palace, is chasing after Xiaoyuer?" Wan Chunliu said coldly.

"I know, I even tried to stop him... Que'er actually has a good relationship with Xiaoyuer, but he can't disobey his master's orders. Since Yaoyue wasn't around, he didn't do anything to Xiaoyuer, did he?" Chu Luren casually reminded Wan Chunliu—I have saved Xiaoyuer more than once!