Chapter 111 A Temporary Solution: Searching for the Snake and the Valley
Chapter 111 A Temporary Solution: Searching for the Snake and the Valley
Chapter 111 A Temporary Solution: Searching for the Snake and the Valley
Inside the inn's room.
Huang Rong fed her daughter with an unnatural expression, then held her in her arms. She changed into a set of clothes that Wei Wu had taken out from somewhere. The pants didn't fit her well, but the top, especially the bellyband, was a perfect fit.
Li Mochou, carrying several bamboo tubes, said, "These bamboo tubes were specially prepared. If it's inconvenient on the road, you can squeeze into the bamboo tubes and rinse yourself with clean water later."
She was overjoyed, thinking that Huang Rong would leave today, so when Wei Wu took out the bamboo tube, Li Mochou was extremely happy.
Huang Rong had obviously thought of this as well. Her inner thoughts were complicated and difficult to understand, but she smiled sincerely and said, "Then I thank you, Sister Mochou."
She got up and casually tied the bamboo tube around her waist. The thin, long bamboo tube hung down from her waist and rested on her round thighs. As she walked, you could hear the crisp sound of the bamboo tube colliding.
When the two came out of the inner room, Wei Wu was sitting at the table drinking tea, and there was still a cup of tea left on the table that was still warm.
The visitor was Meng Gong. His purpose was clear: he hoped that Wei Wu would hand over Huang Rong to him, or at the very least, Guo Fu.
Wei Wu ignored the other party's promise and simply replied with "Get lost".
Although Huang Rong was in the inner room, she heard the brief and straightforward exchange outside. She was naturally very grateful to Wei Wu. Therefore, when she came to Wei Wu, she did not hesitate to ask him to leave Xiangyang City with Wei Wu and Li Mochou the next day.
Li Mochou's face immediately fell.
Wei Wu disagreed, but did not refuse either. Instead, he said, "We are going to the Jin Kingdom."
Huang Rong hugged Guo Fu and said with a smile, "Today I can gather some Beggar Clan disciples and obtain intelligence about the Jin Kingdom in recent days."
However, I'm currently being watched by several forces, both overt and covert, so it's probably inconvenient for me to go alone.
There was a hint of bitterness in her smile. When she was alone, she even dared to disguise herself as a beggar and wander the streets. Now, without a master by her side, she didn't even dare to leave the inn.
Li Mochou pouted, displeased, and said, "We can investigate ourselves when we go to the Jin Kingdom."
"Chief Huang should know that letting you accompany us is to give you convenience, to help you, not to help us. So, what benefit do we get from it?"
Cao Cao was very straightforward.
Huang Rong, however, breathed a sigh of relief. If Wei Wu hadn't asked for anything, she would have been overthinking things and thinking that Wei Wu had grand ambitions. Now that he had spoken up, it proved that he didn't have any grand ideas.
She presented her prepared answer: "Since you are able to defeat Master Yideng and Qiu Qianren, you must look down on Peach Blossom Island in terms of martial arts. Although Peach Blossom Island has the Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pill, you also have superb medical skills, so you probably don't need it."
Therefore, I can only offer the Nine Yin Manual as payment.
Huang Rong had an indescribable sense of ease on her face. The Nine Yin Manual, as the catalyst for the Mount Hua Sword Tournament, had been the thread that ran through the struggles of the martial arts world for the past twenty years. The Five Greats fought fiercely over it, which shows how precious it was.
But what unsettled her was that Wei Wu showed no sign of being moved.
Wei Wu nodded, then shook his head and said, "I understand your intentions, but unfortunately, in my eyes, all martial arts in the world are merely different schools of thought. If I want to learn, one glance is enough."
"After meeting Guo Jing yesterday, I already knew about the Nine Yin Manual. Therefore, Chief Huang's offer to trade me with what I already have is not enough."
Huang Rong clearly did not believe Wei Wu's explanation.
But Wei Wu did not offer an explanation.
It's a seller's market now; Huang Rong should be begging him, not him going out of his way to beg her!
After much deliberation, Huang Rong thought to herself, "I should first find a way to leave Xiangyang City. Once I'm in Jin territory, I'll find a way to leave Wei Wu. It's only a few days' journey, so I don't think it will cause any major problems."
She had already made her plans, but on the surface she only showed a little difficulty. She lowered her eyes, showing no trace of the imposing manner of Chief Huang, but only the fragility of Madam Guo. Her voice trembled as she said, "As long as Mr. Wei can send me and Fu'er to the Jin Kingdom, I will owe you a favor. I will definitely follow your words to the letter and never disobey you."
When Li Mochou heard the beginning, she thought Huang Rong was shameless enough to try to control them with a favor, and she felt disgusted. But when she heard the second half of the sentence, "absolutely no disobedience," she suddenly realized what was going on.
He then looked suspicious: "Chief Huang, could the situation in Xiangyang City really be that dire?"
Huang Rong smiled bitterly, nodded, and poured out her feelings for Xianglan, sighing, "Three years ago, when Guo Jing and I came to Xiangyang City, the city was still being harassed by the Jin people. We two went to great lengths to help the Meng family father and son repel the Jin people, save their lives, and protect Xiangyang City."
Wherever we went, whether officials, commoners, or fellow江湖人士 (jianghu figures), we were all warmly welcomed; we truly enjoyed the support of the people.
That vibrant, flourishing scene is still vivid in my mind, yet this place has suddenly transformed into my final resting place!
Huang Rong was pale, with obvious teeth marks on her white lips. She brushed the stray hairs behind her ears and said with a self-deprecating laugh, "The fickleness of fate is probably no greater than this."
Li Mochou remained silent upon hearing this.
She didn't have a good impression of Huang Rong, but she was very fond of Guo Fu in Huang Rong's arms, which reminded her of her junior sister's cute appearance when she was a child.
He looked at Wei Wu with a moment of weakness.
Wei Wu nodded and said, "Since Chief Huang has already gone to such lengths, it would be too unreasonable for me to refuse."
"I just saw Chief Huang's jade staff in a beggar's hand. Chief Huang, would you like me to help you retrieve it?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Rong's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "If I have the Green Jade Staff, I can still prove my identity even within the Jin Kingdom, making it much easier to gather intelligence."
Wei Wu raised his hand to stop her, "You mean it's needed, right?"
Huang Rong paused, took a breath, and nodded.
"Then there's no need to say so much."
Wei Wu helped Huang Rong retrieve the jade staff, and casually killed nine-tenths of the men sent by Meng Zongzheng, leaving one to go back and deliver a message: "Huang Rong is under my protection, understand?"
The following day, Xiangyang City was peaceful.
Neither Guo Jing's departure nor Huang Rong's "disappearance" caused any significant disturbance among the military and civilians.
Even those martial arts practitioners were initially baffled by Guo Jing's departure, but later, seeing that no one mentioned it, they became too lazy to investigate the details and instead fabricated many entertaining scenarios.
Amidst this tranquility, Wei Wu bought a carriage and left Xiangyang City with Li Mochou and her daughter Huang Rong.
No sooner had they left than news of Guo Jing's true identity spread throughout the city. Many indignant martial artists rushed to the Guo family home, only to find that even Huang Rong had vanished. Naturally, many people thought of the words "identity exposed, family fleeing."
As a result, many martial arts practitioners began to search north for traces of Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
However, Cao Cao did not head directly north. Instead, he first circled around Xiangyang, searching for the valley and the trail of the Pusi Qu Snake described in the original novel of The Return of the Condor Heroes.
It can be said that he missed an opportunity to become famous.
Fortunately, what was lost on one front was gained on another; Wei Wu found the location of Sword Valley without much effort!
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