Zongwu: Eavesdropping on the inner voices, the female warriors have become strange

Chapter 266 Murong Father and Son

On a fishing boat in Taihu Lake, an ugly young fisherman looked up at the tiny outline of Mantuo Island in the distance, his eyes filled with immense resentment. If looks could kill, he would absolutely kill everyone on the island with his gaze.

"Dad." The young fisherman looked back at the old fisherman who was rowing slowly and called out.

"No hurry, we have to get them all together so we can catch them all in one net." The old fisherman said slowly, "New Year's Eve is only one day away, let's go back first."

"It's still early, are you going back? Without wanting to take a look?" The young fisherman was a little surprised.

"What time is it now?" asked the old fisherman.

"It's about 3 p.m." said the young fisherman.

"Fu'er," the old fisherman sighed, "I've taught you many times that you should think carefully before doing anything. Is that what I meant?"

After a pause, the old fisherman continued, "I know you hate Wang Yuyan very much. I do too. If it weren't for her, our Murong family wouldn't be in this situation, but you can't let hatred blind you."

These two fishermen, one old and one young, were the Murong family's conspiracy to rebel, which was exposed by Wang Yuyan. They were chased out of the Song Dynasty by the Song Dynasty court and fled to the Ming Dynasty to help the Southern King rebel. However, they were framed by Wang Yuyan and seriously injured and fled.

It could be said that if one were to choose the person these two hated the most, it would be Wang Yuyan. If it weren't for Wang Yuyan, Murong Bo would still be hiding in the Shaolin Temple, secretly learning martial arts secrets, and Murong Fu would still be a handsome and elegant young man respected by the martial arts world of the Song Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, Murong Fu only cut off his relationship with Wang Yuyan, but was retaliated by Wang Yuyan, destroying the foundation of their Murong family. Women are really unreasonable.

With such a deep hatred, both Murong Fu and Murong Bo wanted to kill everyone in Mantuo Villa and even the Gusu Wang family, but they still couldn't eliminate the hatred in their hearts.

Therefore, after Murong Bo's injuries recovered, they secretly sneaked back to the Song Dynasty, preparing to kill all the people in Mantuo Villa during the New Year when all the people in Mantuo Villa gathered together.

After a pause, the old fisherman, oh, that is, Murong Bo, continued: "It's already the 29th day of the lunar year. Look at how many fishermen are still fishing in Taihu Lake at this time? And how many fishermen in the entire Taihu Lake area don't know that Mantuo Villa is not allowed to approach? We have been fishing here for half a day. If we don't leave now, if the people from Mantuo Villa find us, won't they be suspicious? Let's go. You are the hope of our Murong family to restore our country. From now on, you must think carefully before doing anything."

"Dad, look at me now, can I still restore the country?" Murong Fu lifted the human skin mask on his face with grief and anger, revealing the face covered with scars.

Murong Bo and Murong Fu were able to escape the Daming Imperial Palace, but it wasn't without a price. Murong Bo was critically injured and near death, and it took him over two weeks to recover. It took him over a month to slowly resume normal activities. Murong Bo was a Grandmaster, and their life force was already different from that of ordinary people. Their vitality was also incredibly strong; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived. This shows the enormous price Murong Bo paid to escape the Daming Imperial Palace.

Murong Bo's injuries hadn't healed yet. Even if he used all his strength, he could only unleash a third of his peak power. But he didn't want to wait any longer. Wang Yuyan had not only destroyed his Murong family, but also ruined his cooperation with the Southern King of the Ming Dynasty. This made Murong Bo hate her to the core. Even if he could only unleash a third of his peak power, he had to eliminate Wang Yuyan, the culprit and the scourge.

Murong Bo was a Grandmaster, and Grandmasters were far superior to Grandmasters. Even the weakest Grandmaster could be crushed as easily as an ant. Last time in the Daming Palace, Wang Yuyan was still a Grandmaster, and her lover, Chen Liu, was a congenital master. These two were the strongest forces in Mantuo Villa. If he could defeat Wang Yuyan, the people of Mantuo Villa would be crushed like chickens by the father and son.

Furthermore, it was the Lunar New Year, so Wang Yuyan, Li Qingluo, and Chen Liu would surely be gathered together. They could also take advantage of Wang Yuyan's lack of development to catch them all in one fell swoop. Otherwise, Murong Bo was worried that if Wang Yuyan broke through to the Grandmaster level, they would have no hope of revenge.

The price Murong Fu paid was his handsome face. His mouth was now twisted, his eyes slanted, his muscles contorted, and his features all but tangled together, leaving him no trace of his former handsomeness. Even Wang Yuyan, who knew Murong Fu best, would not have recognized him in person. Murong Fu wore a human skin mask not to conceal his identity, but to hide a face that could frighten even adults to tears.

Murong Fu's current appearance was truly terrifying. Even if he succeeded in restoring his country, could he still be emperor in this state? Just don't scare the ministers to tears. This also made Murong Fu hate Wang Yuyan even more. He wished he could cut her into pieces and stomp on her a thousand times, so that she would never be able to stand up again.

"Fu'er, put on the mask." Murong Bo also had mixed feelings.

Seeing Murong Fu's face now made him feel sick, and he also knew that Murong Fu could not become the emperor in this state, otherwise the face of his country, Murong Yan, would be humiliated. However, he was not wrong when he said that Murong Fu was the hope of their Murong family to restore the country. It was just that the person who would restore the country was not Murong Fu, but his descendants.

Originally, after Murong Bo reached Grandmaster status, he was still relatively young and could still have children. However, he was besieged by several Grandmasters of the Ming Dynasty in the imperial palace. He had to rescue Murong Fu, and they accidentally destroyed his sac of offspring. As a result, Murong Fu was the only one of his lineage left who could still have children.

Moreover, their Gusu Murong clan was destroyed. Now only the two of them were left, father and son, without money, property, or people. They had become the rats crossing the street in both the Ming and Song dynasties. What could they use to restore the country? Therefore, Murong Bo did not expect to restore the country in this generation. He could only place his hopes on Murong Fu's next generation.

After killing Wang Yuyan and everyone in Mantuo Villa tomorrow, he will take Murong Fu to the Sui Dynasty and find him ten or eight women to have children with.

It was said that the Sui Dynasty was in chaos because of Emperor Yang Guang's tyrannical extortion and widespread military campaigns. Uprisings and wars were everywhere in the country, a sign of utter chaos. It was also his fault that he had been hiding in the Shaolin Temple secretly learning martial arts, and had never paid attention to the once powerful Sui Dynasty's current decline. Otherwise, why would he have gone to the Ming Dynasty? Wouldn't it be better to go to the Sui Dynasty and fight for its rule?

Murong Bo believed that as long as he and Murong Fu and his son worked together, they would be able to conquer a vast territory for his grandson in the Sui Dynasty.

Chapter 267 Wang Yuyan Becomes Paranoid

With the arrival of the New Year, Mantuo Villa becomes more and more lively.

On New Year's Eve, the entire Mantuo Villa was filled with joy. Whether it was the master, the servants, or the maids, everyone had happy expressions on their faces. They slaughtered chickens and sheep to prepare for tonight's New Year's Eve dinner.

In the garden of Mantuo Villa, in addition to Huang Rong, who loves cooking and will personally prepare tonight's New Year's Eve dinner, and Hong Lingbo, Qu Feiyan, Lu Wushuang, and Cheng Ying, the four girls who were taken away by her to serve as soldiers, Chen Liu and Wang Yuyan, Mu Nianci, Mu Wanqing, Lin Shiyin and other girls, as well as Li Qingluo, Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua, Di Yun and Qi Fang gathered together, eating melon seeds and snacks and chatting, while watching the performance of the acrobatic troupe invited by Mantuo Villa.

Normally, Ding Dian and Di Yun wouldn't come to Mantuo Villa, after all, it was all women, no men at all. However, after Chen Liu and Wang Yuyan returned, this situation had changed somewhat, and Chen Liu would occasionally invite Ding Dian and Di Yun to Mantuo Villa for drinks. Today was New Year's Eve, and Ding Dian and his wife, along with Di Yun and his wife, had been invited to Mantuo Villa to celebrate the New Year and watch the acrobatics together.

"Mother-in-law, should we select a group of loyal maids and servants to train a guard team for the villa next year?" Chen Liu asked Li Qingluo, who was sitting at the same table with him, Wang Yuyan, Mu Nianci, and Mu Wanqing.

In fact, Chen Liu felt that Mantuo Villa had martial arts secrets in the Langhuan Jade Cave, but they had been hiding them, not using them to cultivate loyal subordinates. This was a huge waste. The Murong family also had four generals, but they didn't know how to utilize such a valuable resource. As a result, the most powerful servants in Mantuo Villa were only one or two acquired masters, not even a congenital one. So many martial arts secrets were wasted.

"You can decide this matter yourselves." Li Qingluo was very satisfied with Chen Liu.

In just one year, Chen Liu had leapt from an ordinary person to a Grandmaster. When she first met him, he was still a post-natal master. But after his trip to the Ming Dynasty, his cultivation had skyrocketed, from post-natal to Grandmaster level. The speed of his advancement was simply astonishing. Furthermore, Chen Liu's cultivation was almost entirely self-cultivated, unlike Wang Yuyan, who received initiation from her grandfather. Where could one find a son-in-law with such exceptional talent?

She was wise enough to persuade her daughter to abandon that useless Murong Fu and seize Chen Liu's wealthy husband. Otherwise, how could she have the chance to sit on the throne of the first wife? Didn't she see that the Palace Master of the Yihua Palace of the Daming Dynasty was eyeing him covetously?

If Wang Yuyan hadn't said that they would go to the Sui Dynasty after the New Year, she would have wanted to hand over Mantuo Villa to Wang Yuyan and Chen Liu to manage.

If there was one thing that Li Qingluo was dissatisfied with Chen Liu, it was his fickleness and the whimpering sounds that came from his yard every night. That sound was really annoying.

Xue Muhua couldn't find any physical problems with Chen Liu, Wang Yuyan, or Mu Nianci. Wang Yuyan then secretly invited gynecologists from Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, and Lin'an prefectures to come back for a checkup. After finding nothing amiss, she felt helpless and could only increase the frequency of the women's interactions with Chen Liu, hoping to increase their chances of pregnancy. If Chen Liu hadn't been so unwilling, she would have even considered forcing all the beautiful maids at Mantuo Villa into his bed.

Now the matter of pregnancy has become a concern for Wang Yuyan, Mu Nianci, Mu Wanqing, and Lin Shiyin. They are all the true wives and concubines of Chenliu. Even if they can't get pregnant, they can't let the Chen family be exterminated.

Continuing the family line was a top priority for the ancients. The second of the "Seven Reasons for Divorce and Three Reasons for Not Divorcing" was childlessness. In traditional China, the continuation of the family line was considered the most important purpose of marriage, so a wife's inability to bear a son rendered the marriage meaningless.

Now, for Wang Yuyan and Mu Nianci, anyone who could bear Chen Liu's child would be considered a great benefactor of the Chen family. Wang Yuyan had originally believed Chen Liu's claims that his infertility might be his fault, but after several doctors confirmed Chen Liu's impeccable health, she lost confidence. Wang Yuyan believed the problem was theirs.

Chen Liu was helpless about Wang Yuyan who had fallen into paranoia. What could he do?

A maid entered the courtyard and whispered in Li Qingluo's ear that the head of the Wang family had sent someone over. Li Qingluo then said to Chen Liu and Wang Yuyan, "Liu'er, Yan'er, you two wait and see. The head of the family has sent someone over. I'll go see what's going on."

Because Wang Yuyan's birth date was incorrect, and not long after Li Qingluo married into the Wang family, the Wang family's son died under mysterious circumstances, the Wang family has always suspected that Wang Yuyan was not a daughter of the Wang family, and that Li Qingluo had killed their son. This has caused Li Qingluo's relationship with the Wang family's main family to remain strained. Murong Fu's mother, Madam Wang, also had a bad relationship with Li Qingluo because of this incident.

Although the Wang family still recognized Wang Yuyan as their legitimate daughter, their relationship was cold, especially after Li Qingluo moved to Mantuo Villa. It felt as if they would never see each other again. Only Wang Yunmeng, the Wang family's Fairy Yunmeng, once interacted with Li Qingluo. However, Fairy Yunmeng suddenly disappeared, and with the exception of Wang Yunmeng's son, Wang Lianhua, the Wang family's main family had no contact with Mantuo Villa for a long time.

It was not until the news suddenly spread in the martial arts world that Wang Yuyan had become a master that the Wang family resumed their dealings with Mantuo Villa. They even tactfully persuaded Li Qingluo to take Wang Yuyan back to live in the Wang family's main house, but Li Qingluo flatly refused.

After Li Qingluo left, Wang Yuyan suddenly said, "Husband, after the New Year, Ah Zhu and Ah Bi will be eighteen."

Azhu and Abi's faces immediately turned red when they heard this. Wang Yuyan meant that they could also serve the emperor in bed. The two girls secretly glanced at Chen Liu, and their hearts couldn't help but beat fast.

They actually wanted to sleep with the emperor, but Chen Liu said that it would be harmful to the girls' bodies if they slept with him too young. He also said that women who married early were more likely to have difficult births and would generally not live very long. It would be much safer to wait until they were older to get married and have children.

"Azhu and Abi are already eighteen?" Chen Liu looked at the blushing Azhu and Abi and said, "She's eighteen in lunar age, right?"

"Eighteen years old is still eighteen." Wang Yuyan said somewhat domineeringly: "After the New Year, I will arrange for them to sleep with my husband."

"Sister, I'm eighteen too." Zhong Ling quickly raised her hand.

"Then add Sister Ling'er." Wang Yuyan said.

Zhong Ling's face lit up with joy. She had known Chen Liu before Mu Wanqing, and they had secretly agreed to be together before her. But because Mu Wanqing was older, she got ahead of her, which made Zhong Ling very depressed.

"Why don't we wait a little longer?" Chen Liu said.

"No." Wang Yuyan quickly shook her head.

"Can we wait until we return from the Sui Dynasty?"

Chapter 268 Assassination

"Mother, what does the master's family want?"

"What could be the matter? He just wants to invite us to the host's house for New Year's Eve dinner." Li Qingluo sneered twice.

Invite them to New Year's Eve dinner? If Wang Yuyan hadn't suddenly become a Grandmaster at such a young age, showing enough value, would the host family have invited them to the New Year's Eve dinner?

Regardless of how Wang Yuyan acquired her power, she had already achieved Grandmaster status at the age of seventeen or eighteen. Who could guarantee that she wouldn't one day achieve Grandmaster status? A Grandmaster was a highly respected figure in a country, respected even by the emperor. If the Wang family could produce a Grandmaster daughter, their status would at least rise significantly, both in the court and in the martial arts world.

Back then, the Wang family held considerable influence both in the imperial court and within the martial arts world, thanks to the legendary reputation cultivated by the Yunmeng Fairy, Wang Yunmeng. While Wang Yunmeng's reputation was notorious, as flamboyant as a peach blossom, yet as venomous as a snake or scorpion, she was renowned for her legendary weapons, the Tianyun Wuhua Mian (Five-Flower Cotton), and the Soul-Bewitching, Heart-Snatching, and Dream-Inducing Techniques. Even the most formidable masters in the martial arts world were forced to bow down before the Yunmeng Fairy.

However, when Fairy Yunmeng, the one with the best chance of reaching Grandmaster status in the Wang family, suddenly disappeared, the Wang family's status in the court and the martial arts world plummeted. Over the years, the Wang family's power has always been supported by the old lady of the Wang family.

Wang Yuyan's life experience is unknown, and the cause of death of Wang's son is also unknown. However, Li Qingluo was not driven out of the Wang family and has always been a wife of the Wang family. Wang Yuyan has also always been the legitimate daughter of the Wang family. In addition to the reason that her extremely mysterious mother Li Qiushui married her into the Wang family, it is also because Li Qingluo has a good relationship with Wang Yunmeng.

Because of the relationship between Li Qingluo and Wang Yunmeng, Wang Yunmeng's son Wang Lianhua also has a good relationship with Mantuo Villa. This is why Wang Lianhua stood up for Wang Yuyan when she was humiliated by Murong Fu.

Wang Lianhua, who had been inconspicuous in the Wang family, suffered from cold eyes and ridicule, and was even called a bastard, suddenly defeated Murong Fu and showed the cultivation of a master. The Wang family was ecstatic, thinking that the Wang family was finally going to make a name for themselves. But when they wanted to find Wang Lianhua and repair their relationship with him, Wang Lianhua also disappeared.

For this reason, when word suddenly spread that Wang Yuyan had become a master martial artist and had personally defeated Murong Fu, the Wang family naturally couldn't ignore her anymore. Regardless of whether Wang Yuyan was the legitimate daughter of the Wang family or not, as long as she held the title of legitimate daughter, she would bring countless benefits to the Wang family. This was also the reason why the Wang family invited Li Qingluo and Wang Yuyan to the main residence for New Year's Eve dinner.

"Go to the host's house for the New Year's Eve dinner? I think we should not go." Wang Yuyan said.

Apart from her brother Wang Lianhua, who is a few years older than her and has the same amazing memory and extraordinary talent as her, Wang Yuyan has no impression of the Wang family and has no close relationship with the rest of the Wang family.

However, Wang Yuyan has a good relationship with Wang Lianhua. She is the only one who knows that Wang Lianhua, who is bullied and ridiculed by other brothers and sisters in the Wang family, is a rare genius.

Wang Lianhua was not only a master of both civil and military arts, but also possessed a remarkable talent. His diverse and extensive knowledge and breadth of knowledge made Wang Yuyan believe that, aside from her husband, few could match him. He was not only proficient in astrology, physiognomy, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but also in medicine, disguise, and the art of self-disguise. He mastered everything that ten others could not. It was also Wang Yuyan who witnessed him mastering the entire martial arts manual in the Langhuan Jade Cave, realizing that her brother, similarly undervalued within the Wang family, had been hiding his abilities.

Wang Yuyan didn't know why Wang Lianhua was hiding his abilities, but she also promised to keep his secret and not tell anyone about his affairs.

"I've already refused." Li Qingluo said.

Wang Yuyan nodded.

As night fell, the New Year's Eve dinner at Mantuo Villa, prepared by Huang Rong herself, began.

Of course, only Chen Liu and Wang Yuyan, Mu Nianci, Mu Wanqing, Lin Shiyin, as well as Li Qingluo, Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua, Di Yun and Qi Fang could enjoy the delicious meal prepared by Huang Rong herself. The rest of the maids and servants in the villa still ate the food prepared by the maids.

However, Mantuo Villa has been targeted by Murong Bo and Murong Fu, father and son, who have sneaked back to the Song Dynasty, so their New Year's Eve dinner is destined to be uneasy.

Before Chen Liu and Wang Yuyan and the other girls could even take a bite, two dark shadows swooped down from the broken tiles on the roof of the Mantuo Villa restaurant. They attacked Wang Yuyan and went straight for Chen Liu. Along with the two shadows, countless broken tiles slashed like sharp swords.

"Assassin." Wang Yuyan, who was the first to react, turned pale and slapped the table with one hand. The soup ladle, plates and chopsticks on the table rushed up from the bottom, and also flew towards the two black shadows and tile fragments like countless sharp swords.

Lian Xing at the other table also reacted immediately when the tiles on the roof above her head broke. With a wave of her hand, the soup pots and pans on her table turned into countless sharp swords and flew towards the two black shadows. At the same time, she rushed forward like a ghost and killed one of the black shadows.

"Sword!" The moment Wang Yuyan's hand slapped the table, the chopsticks in Chen Liu's hand turned into a sharp sword and stabbed towards the person who was rushing towards him at a strange angle.

Today is New Year's Eve. No one would have thought that someone would be so ignorant as to come to Mantuo Villa to assassinate someone, and this is done under the premise that there are four master masters in Mantuo Villa. Therefore, no one will carry a sword with them tonight.

But now they have come to assassinate them, which means they are not afraid of Wang Yuyan and Chen Liu, or they are not aware of their strength, but the second possibility is very small. Even if they are not aware of Chen Liu's strength, Wang Yuyan's ability to defeat Murong Fu is not fake. Even so, they still dare to come to assassinate them, which means that the strength of the assassins is at least as strong as Wang Yuyan.

Chen Liu wasn't a pure swordsman; without his sword, he'd be at the mercy of others. However, his strongest moves were sword techniques, such as the Dugu Nine Swords and the Fourteen Deadly Swords. Therefore, he needed a sword to unleash its full power. However, he didn't have a sword, and he couldn't leave, so he had to ask someone to fetch his sword.

"Di Yun, escort the ladies away." After Chen Liu took action, Ding Dian also took action, and together with Chen Liu, they attacked Murong Fu who was attacking Chen Liu.

"Four Grandmasters? Fu'er, retreat quickly."

When Lian Xing moved, Murong Bo's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected that besides Wang Yuyan, there was another master in Mantuo Villa. Lian Xing had followed Chen Liu and Wang Yuyan to the Song Dynasty, a fact few people knew about.

By the time Chen Liu casually thrust out that chopstick, Murong Bo's face had already changed. He had never expected that Chen Liu had already broken through to the Grandmaster level.

When Ding Dian also rushed over and attacked Murong Fu together with Chen Liu, Murong Bo had already started cursing.