The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Hua Wuque: ? ? ?

What does this have to do with you?

Neither of us brothers have joined the Righteous Alliance!

And even if you join, it's not a gift to you, is it?

Upon learning that Wan Sanqian was so sensible, Chu Luren decided not to go see him in person, as he was better at communicating with those who didn't know their place.

“Then I’ll go outside the city to look for Xiaoyuer, lest he be stupid and get tricked! Murong…” Chu Luren was about to make arrangements for Murong Jiu.

"I'm going straight back to Lin'an," Murong Jiu said directly.

"What? Of course not! What did you promise me before!" Chu Luren said angrily.

"Don't worry, of course I'm not going to fight that old monkey, I'm just going back to the Prince Consort's residence..." Seeing that Chu Luren still didn't quite understand, Murong Jiu explained, "I've been missing for a long time, that's why the old monkey became suspicious. Otherwise, even if he wanted to stage a coup, he wouldn't have any reason to directly target the Prince Consort and the Princess, would he?"

This time, Murong Jiu's plan was indeed thorough, and Chu Luren nodded in agreement after hearing it.

Afterwards, Chu Luren and Murong Jiu left the city together. Murong Jiu headed towards Lin'an, and at her pace, she would arrive in Lin'an in the afternoon.

Chu Luren then searched for Little Fish along the way...

Finally, he was found with a young woman paying respects at what appeared to be a hastily laid grave. Chu Luren was shocked to see this—could it be... the legendary affair?

Should I tell Tie Xinlan? The main concern is whether I should tell Tie Zhan. What if the old folks' band decides to stand up for Tie Xinlan? Tsk tsk…

"Cough!" Chu Luren suddenly spoke from behind, startling the two of them.

After all, the Chu Lu people appeared suddenly without making a sound, without even disturbing the insects and birds.

However, upon seeing that it was Chu Luren, Xiaoyuer was not alarmed. Instead, she rolled her eyes, as if complaining about why Chu Luren was so frightening.

The young woman was even more startled and quickly said, "Alliance Leader Chu! I did not leave without permission. I asked the sisters in the palace to ask the two palace masters for permission!"

Chu Luren was stunned upon hearing this, completely baffled...

It was Xiaoyuer who introduced her at this moment: "Young Master Chu, this young lady is Tie Pinggu of Yihua Palace, and also... the granddaughter of the senior Tie Wushuang."

Little Fish is usually a nickname that the Chu Lu people like to hear.

"What are you doing here?" Chu Luren really wanted to ask, "Is this your reason for seducing that young girl behind Tie Xinlan's back?" But seeing that Tie Pinggu was already terrified, he didn't say it.

Little Fish looked at the grave again, and Chu Luren also noticed that the cemetery had no name.

However, considering that Xiaoyuer and Tiepinggu had just been worshipping together, it's not hard to guess who is buried inside...

The only connection between the two is that Li Dazui, who doesn't eat human heads—Little Fish's Uncle Li and Tie Pinggu's biological father.

"So, the code you saw earlier was given to you by Li Dazui?" Chu Luren suddenly realized.

“That’s right, Uncle Li and the others… were wicked their whole lives, and in the end, they even wicked their own people.” There was sadness in Xiaoyuer’s eyes, but he instinctively wanted to make a joke, but he held back because Aunt Tieping was there.

The five villains were at Turtle Mountain before. Although they failed to retrieve the treasure, they escaped unscathed, much luckier than the Chu Lu people.

In addition, Bai Kaixin actually stole Ma Yiyun as his wife. Ma Yiyun was promiscuous and had strange sexual fetishes, so she also half-heartedly went along with it. The villains even went so far as to steal someone else's wedding and use it for the two of them to get married.

At that time, Baishanjun happened to meet Guitongzi. Upon learning that his wife was going to marry someone else, he was actually relieved. With Guitongzi's support, he appeared on the spot, divorced his wife, and left...

Disappointed, Ma Yiyun harbored resentment and malice, colluding with Bai Kaixin and sowing discord among several villains.

Even though the five villains had spent most of their lives together in the Valley of Villains, they were still "old friends who still held their swords." After Ma Yiyun stirred things up several times, he directly started the "chicken dinner mode."

After a series of schemes and infighting, the six villains, along with Ma Yiyun, were all dead and one seriously injured...

Only Li Dazui survived, but after seeing Xiaoyuer and Tiepinggu, he also died from exhaustion.

Just then, Chu Luren suddenly heard footsteps and saw Tie Xinlan walking over.

Seeing this, Chu Luren quickly said, "Miss Tie, Xiaoyuer and this Miss Tie are completely innocent. They just happened to meet and were paying respects to an elder. There's nothing between them that's a secret code..."

Tie Xinlan: ? ? ?

Little Fish: ...

Chapter 1039 Sending a Message

Little Fish was very glad that he was quick-witted; otherwise, he might not have been able to explain it clearly!

Tie Xinlan was ultimately kind-hearted and even comforted Tie Pinggu together with Xiaoyuer.

Knowing that Palace Mistress Yaoyue would be coming to Wuxi, Tie Pinggu waited in place, ready to be at her beck and call...

After finding Xiaoyuer, Chu Luren returned to Qunyu Courtyard and saw Wan Sanqian. Wan Sanqian's face was still pale, obviously indicating that his internal injuries had not yet healed.

Actually, he wasn't actually hit by the old monkey, otherwise... how could he possibly survive being injured? By what means? By using fat to cushion the impact?

The reason Wan Sanqian was injured was that at the last moment, the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi joined forces to use the "Phantom Shift," which was very un-martial arts-like and sent Wan Sanqian more than ten miles away!

Unable to control it, it landed directly in West Lake, causing Wan Sanqian internal injuries.

If they hadn't happened to meet Xiaoyuer and Hua Wuque, the efforts of the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi would have been in vain!

"Boss Wan looks quite well..." Chu Luren said sarcastically as soon as they met, after all, he had some unpleasantness with Wanqian Trading Company before.

"I have decided to return the family property to the two young masters Jiang. Let's forget about the 'boss' title." Wan Sanqian looked at Chu Luren calmly, with a hint of melancholy, but neither humble nor arrogant.

"Manager Wan looks quite well..." Chu Luren said without any hesitation.

Wan Sanqian: ...

"Once Zhao Wushi's conspiracy is stopped, I, Wan, will go into seclusion in the mountains..." Wan Sanqian was about to explain that he had no intention of becoming the manager.

Chu Luren interrupted, "What are you saying? You don't even have any family property left. Are you going to pick fruit on the mountain to eat? Even if you can't find a wife, you should at least save up for your retirement!"

Wan Sanqian: ...

So you can't even leave me a single estate? And what do you mean by not being able to find a wife?

Upon hearing this, Wan Sanqian's expression grew even more distressed. He forgot to correct his previous statement about wanting to keep a part of the estate and instead earnestly requested, "I hope Alliance Leader Chu can set aside past grievances and help me find out... Haitang's fate!"

This was also the direct reason why Wan Sanqian and Zhao Wushi fell out.

Otherwise, how could they share the same ideals?

They're all simps, both of them like to fawn over those who don't like them...

"Don't worry, the Qunyu Academy has already dispatched more than a dozen large pleasure boats to search on West Lake." Chu Luren wasn't really confident, but he still tried to reassure him.

They could only use a pleasure boat, since Qunyu Academy was already a name in Zhao Wushi's mind. A large-scale search would only cause Zhao Wushi to immediately turn against the Sun Moon Cult.

However, if the crabapple blossoms were still floating in West Lake, then what we found wouldn't be a living crabapple blossom.

Fortunately, Wan Sanqian was not one to hesitate. He simply nodded upon hearing this—there were countless spies of Zhao Wushi in Wanqian Trading Company, and he dared not show himself easily.

Before eliminating Zhao Wushi, the Wanqian Merchant Guild is no longer a viable option.

For the next three days, Chu Luren went to West Lake every day, searching inch by inch for the possible existence of the dragon vein and the missing Shangguan Haitang. However, he returned to Wuxi every day and did not enter Lin'an City.

On West Lake, Chu Luren was confident he wouldn't be discovered by the guards of the Dragon Guard Manor, but if he went to Lin'an, he might be discovered by Zhao Wushi.

On the ninth day of the sixth lunar month, Chu Luren and Murong Jiu made an agreement that Yunluo would invite Suxin to go boating on the lake, while Chu Luren would seize the opportunity to "abduct" her.

Although it's not appropriate to directly threaten Zhao Wushi with Su Xin, which would be too despicable, it would be good to distract Zhao Wushi!

What? Abducting people is also despicable?

Chu Luren is stopping a ruthless old nobleman from forcibly taking another man's wife...

Unfortunately, Zhao Wushi was already on guard. Even though he didn't openly fall out with Yunluo, he wouldn't let her take Suxin out like before. He might even have guessed that Chu Luren was near Lin'an!

Even so, Yunluo still went boating on the lake with the prince consort. However, no one else knew that Chu Luren had gone boating on the lake with the princess and the prince consort...

They ate the same food and wine that Yunlu and Chu Luren had eaten at the restaurant the night they returned to the palace before it closed. The two reminisced about it, which angered the Prince Consort. After a fight, the boat disturbed the lake and rippled.

……

Today, Chu Luren returned to Qunyu Courtyard relatively early. As soon as he arrived, a steward came to report: "Alliance Leader Chu, Lu Guanying, the chief of Taihu Lake, has come to Qunyu Courtyard."

Chu Luren: ? ? ?

I never expected Lu Guanying to have such thick eyebrows and big eyes...

Wait! Lu Guanying came to Qunyu Courtyard, what do you want from me? Do you want me to go and tattle on him to Lu Chengfeng?

He's just a young bandit leader, it's not like he's refusing to pay, why are you making such a fuss?

"Head Lu said he was entrusted by someone to deliver a message to Qunyu Courtyard." The steward then finished speaking.

Lu Guanying probably didn't know that Chu Luren was in Qunyu Courtyard. The person who entrusted him with the task most likely didn't know Chu Luren's whereabouts either, and only knew that Qunyu Courtyard was the only way to contact Chu Luren.

Qunyu Academy in Wuxi is the closest one to Taihu Lake.

As for the trouble caused by Chu Luren... the news that good people live long lives and didn't die in Guishan has already spread throughout the martial arts world.

"Yes, take him to the secret room to see me." Chu Luren was also curious about who had sent him and what urgent matter it was.

Chu Luren arrived ahead of time at a secret room in Qunyu Courtyard in Wuxi. The secret rooms in Qunyu Courtyard were mostly decorated with bright red gauze curtains and pink lampshades, creating a unique atmosphere.

However, since he needed to discuss matters with Lu Guanying later, Chu Luren naturally had someone tidy up a bit first.

Lu Guanying was young and had a rather handsome appearance, but as the leader of the Taihu bandits, he was naturally not shy about visiting Qunyu Courtyard. However, he was startled when he saw Chu Luren.

He originally thought it was just a message, but he never expected... that Alliance Leader Chu himself was actually here?

"Greetings, Alliance Leader!" Lu Guanying immediately stepped forward and kowtowed.

Because he was not only a member of the Righteous Alliance, but also a disciple of Peach Blossom Island, Chu Luren was not only the leader of the alliance, but also his... elder.

"No need for formalities. What happened? Who told you to come here to deliver a message?" Chu Luren asked directly.

Although he was right in front of Chu Luren, Lu Guanying couldn't help but lower his voice and say, "It is... the former Master Shangguan of the Number One Manor in the World."

"What? Master Shangguan is still alive? Where did you meet her?" Chu Luren asked in surprise.

"Right at Taihu Lake, Master Shangguan was seriously injured and nearly drowned. She was rescued by people from one of my villages. They recognized her and rushed her to Guiyun Manor. When she arrived, she was still unconscious and barely clinging to life. So I gave her three of my father's Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pills... and she barely woke up. She then instructed me to come to Qunyu Courtyard to relay a message from her to the Alliance Leader." Lu Guanying explained the whole story.

Chu Luren was completely bewildered—Taihu Lake? Isn't that West Lake?

Moreover, Shangguan Haitang was being hunted down by palace guards who were lurking in the palace. It was possible that she could escape to West Lake, but to escape to Taihu Lake... that's too far!

Seeing this, Lu Guanying, who was also wondering how Shangguan Haitang had been injured, explained, "I don't know who was chasing Master Shangguan, but when Master Shangguan regained consciousness, he asked me to come to Qunyu Courtyard to tell Alliance Leader Chu... to go to Tianning Temple immediately."

Chu Luren was taken aback again upon hearing this—Tianning Temple again?