Chapter - 11 Crazy All Along (2/2)

Although the scent made Duan Yu feel suspicious, it was very light and nearly unnoticeable. Jiumozhi and the other two didn't smell the fragrance at all. The only reason Duan Yu himself was able to notice it was because he and Mu Wanqing underwent a rare life-and-death situation together at the mountain cliff. Nobody else would pay any attention to this faint, virginal smell, but to him this scent made a deep impression within his heart and his very bones. It was a much stronger scent to him than that of musk, white sandalwood, or flowery perfume. Although Jiumozhi possessed an extremely deep reservoir of internal energy, he had strictly followed Buddhist prohibitions against sexual encounters all his life. Rosy cheeks and verdant temples were nothing more to him than skeletal bones and colorless skulls. Fragrant powders and rouge were even less to him. He had no idea that men and women had different scents.

Although Duan Yu suspected that Sun San was actually a woman in disguise, he couldn't spot a single flaw or giveaway. Not only did this person have the bearing and demeanor of a man, his shape and his voice weren't womanly at all. Suddenly, he thought to himself, ”If a woman is imitating a man, she can't fake his Adam's apple.” He secretly glanced at Sun San's throat, but saw that his goat-like beard perfectly covered his larynx. Duan Yu rose to his feet. He pretended to examine the calligraphy and painting on the walls, and casually strolled past Sun San's side. He snuck a side-glance, and saw that Sun San's throat didn't have the slightest bulge at all, and that his chest seemed full and plump. Although Duan Yu still couldn't be absolutely certain that Sun San was a woman, such a skinny man definitely should not have so much flesh and muscle on his chest. Duan Yu, having discovered a secret, felt very amused. ”There's a lot more to be played out in this drama. Let's see what she has planned next.”

Jiumozhi sighed, ”I met with your deceased master by the boundaries of Sichuan. We discussed martial arts and very much admired each other's abilities, and became friends. I wouldn't have imagined that the heavens themselves would be envious of his talents and leave such a useless, mediocre fellow as myself alive, while taking the life of your deceased master and sending him to meet Buddha in the Western Paradise. The only reason I have left Tibet and come to the Central Plains is to pay my respects before his mausoleum, due to our ancient friendship. It does not matter whether or not someone is here to welcome me properly. Steward, I would simply like to trouble you to lead the way.” Sun San wrinkled his forehead, as though he felt extremely awkward. ”This…this…” Jiumozhi said, ”I don't know if there is some difficulty in my request, and humbly request your instruction.”

Sun San said, ”Great master, since you are a bosom friend of my deceased master, you surely must know his temperament. My deceased master hated when people came to pay visits to him. He said that of those visitors who came to the manor, if they didn't come on a mission of vengeance, then they came to try and convince him to take them on as a student. A level below this would be those who came to beg for money, or try to cause trouble and pilfer something from us. He said that monks and nuns were even less trustworthy…ack, sorry!” As he said this, he suddenly seemed to realize that with these words, he must have offended Jiumozhi. He hurriedly pressed his hands over his mouth.

The manner in which she acted was totally in accordance with that of a young maiden. Her round eyes widened, and the black pupils of her eyes spun. Although she quickly drooped her eyelids down, Duan Yu, who was paying close attention, couldn't help but feel a sense of glee. ”Not only is Sun San female, she's a young girl.” Casting a side-glance at Ah Bi, he noticed a trace of a sly smile tugging at the corner of her lips. He no longer had any more doubt in his heart. ”Sun San and old Huang clearly are the same person, perhaps that sister Ah Zhu she was speaking about.”

Jiumozhi heaved a sigh. ”In this world, there are more deceitful people than there are honest people. It is not unreasonable for Mr. Murong to refuse to meet with most folk.” Sun San said, ”Right. Our deceased master's last words were, 'If anyone wishes to conduct memorial ceremonies at my tomb or sweep my grave, politely turn them away. Hmph, those evil baldies probably just want to dig into my tomb.' Ack, great master, please don't think too much. The 'thieving baldies' our deceased master spoke of probably was not you.”

Duan Yu was secretly amused. ”The phrase, 'Cursing about 'evil baldies' in front of a monk' applies to this situation perfectly.” Then he thought, ”This evil baldy has totally maintained his composure and not batted an eyelid. The more evil and loathsome a person is, the better his temper is. This evil baldy really is a remarkable person.”

Jiumozhi said, ”These last words of your deceased master are understandable. His might shook the world, and he left behind many enemies. It's reasonable for him to guard against enemies who did not dare attempt revenge on him when he was living, but who would try to disturb his bones after his death.”

Sun San said, ”If someone wishes to disturb the bones of our deceased master, haha, that would really be like 'an elderly cat smelling salted fish.'” Jiumozhi was startled. ”What do you mean, 'an elderly cat smelling salted fish'?” Sun San replied, ”This is called, 'smelling dried fish, smelling dried fish'. Meaning, 'don't even think about it, don't even think about it.'” [Obviously, this is a linguistic wordplay; the phrases 'smelling dried fish' and 'don't even think about it' sound exactly the same in Mandarin Chinese.] Jiumozhi replied, ”Ah, so that's how it is. I was very good bosom friends with Mr. Murong. My only desire is to pay my respects before his tomb. Steward, no need to be too skeptical.”

Sun San said, ”The honest truth is, I don't have the authority to grant you your wish. If I were to go against my deceased master's last command, when the young master returns and finds out, he'll break my old legs. How about this, I'll go invite the old mistress and ask her to come up with a plan. What do you think?” Jiumozhi replied, ”The old mistress? Who are you referring to?” Sun San said, ”Old Mistress Murong. She was our deceased master's aunt. Every time an old friend of the old master came, they would kowtow to her and pay their respects. With the young master not at home, everything needs to go through the old mistress.” Jiumozhi replied, ”That's very good to know. Please inform the old mistress that Jiumozhi of Tibet has come to pay his respects to her.” Sun San said, ”Great master, you are too polite. You flatter us too much.” As he spoke, he entered the main pavilion.

Duan Yu thought to himself, ”This girl is both intelligent and strange. I wonder why she is playing all these pranks on this evil baldy?” After a long period of time, a clattering of rings and ornaments could be heard as an old lady tottered out of the inner pavilion. Before she herself arrived, that light fragrance arrived first. Duan Yu couldn't help but smile. He thought to himself, ”This time, she's dressed up as an old lady.” The old lady wore an ancient, copper-colored satin skirt and coat, wearing jade bracelets around her wrists, and pearls and jade ornaments in her hair. Her appearance was graceful and luxurious, but had many wrinkles on her face. Her eyes seemed confused and misty, as though they could no longer see. Duan Yu secretly cheered, ”This young lass is incredible. Whatever she dresses up as, she looks like. What's even more amazing is that she was able to change in such a short period of time. Her movements are so swift. It really must be acclaimed as the height of perfection in the art.”

The old lady supported herself on her walking stick, entering the pavilion with faltering steps. She said, ”Ah Bi, have friends of your old master arrived? Why haven't they kowtowed to me?” Her head turned left and right, as though she had very poor eyesight and couldn't tell who was present. Ah Bi gestured towards Jiumozhi and said in a low voice, ”Quick, kowtow. As soon as you kowtow, the old mistress will be happy and will agree to anything.” The old lady turned her head around, cupping her hands around her ears so as to hear more clearly. She loudly said, ”Girl, what did you just say? Did they kowtow yet?”

Jiumozhi said, ”Old mistress, how are you? This humble monk has come to pay his respects to you.” He bowed deeply, his hands folded together. His twin hands exerted power, and a deep booming sound came from the bricks on the floor, as though someone had kowtowed.”

Cui Baiquan and Guo Yanzhi looked at each other. Both of them were equally struck dumb with amazement. ”This monk's internal energy is so profound! I fear that we won't be able to take even a single stance from him.”

The old madame nodded. ”Excellent, excellent. In this world, there are more deceitful people than there are honest people. Even for something like kowtowing, some evil scoundrels want to be deceitful. Even when they clearly have not kowtowed, they make booming sounds on the floor as though they have, so as to deceive this old lady's bad eyes. But you, kid, you are great, you are very obedient. You kowtowed very loudly.” Duan Yu couldn't resist a snort of amusement. The old lady slowly turned around and said, ”Ah Bi, did someone just fart?” She reached out her hand and pinched her nose. Ah Bi, holding in laughter, said, ”Old mistress, that isn't the case. Young master Duan let out a laugh.” The old lady said, ”Broken? What's broken? [Duan Yu's surname, 'Duan', sounds the same as the Chinese character for 'broken' or 'snapped']” Ah Bi replied, ”Nothing's broken. His surname is 'Duan'. He's the young master of the Duan family.” The old lady nodded. ”Right, young master this and young master that. Day in and day out, you are always thinking about your young master.” Ah Bi's face reddened. ”The old mistress's ears aren't good. She needs to be more careful when gossiping.”

The old lady turned towards Duan Yu. ”Kid, why haven't you kowtowed yet?” Duan Yu said, ”Old mistress, there's something I want to tell you.” The old lady said, ”What is it?”

Duan Yu replied, ”I have a niece who is very intelligent and clever, but who is also extremely mischievious. She loves dressing up as a little monkey to mess around. One day she'll dress up as a male monkey, the next day a female monkey. She knows how to do acrobatics too. Old mistress, you'd love to meet her. It's too bad that I didn't bring her along to have her kowtow to you.”

The old lady really was the other servant girl of the Murong family, Ah Zhu, dressed up in disguise. Her abilities in the arts of disguise and makeup were godlike. Not only could she make herself look different, her words and her mannerisms were impeccable as well, not revealing a single flaw. Thus, even extremely intelligent people such as Jiumozhi or experienced jianghu veterans such as Cui Baiquan didn't suspect her in the slightest. Unexpected, Duan Yu was able to ferret out the truth, using the faint aroma which her body gave off and which she had no way of hiding.

Hearing him speak thusly, Ah Zhu was startled, but didn't change her demeanor in the slightest, continuing to appear like a senile, doddering old lady with bad vision and half-deaf ears. She said, ”Good kid, good kid, you are really smart. I've never met such a smart child as you before. Good kid, don't talk too much. This old lady will definitely take care of you.”

Duan Yu thought to himself, ”What she means is that she wants me to not reveal her secret. She's trying to fend off this evil baldy, Jiumozhi. That makes her a friend, not an enemy.” He said, ”Old mistress, please put your heart at ease. Now that I am at your manor, naturally I am at your disposal and will obey your commands.”

Ah Zhu replied, ”You are an obedient kid to listen to my words. Great, first kowtow three times to this old lady. I definitely will give you great benefits if you do so.”

Duan Yu was startled. ”I am the regal son of the Imperial Crown Brother of Dali. How can I kowtow to a little girl like you?”

Ah Zhu, seeing the awkward look on his face, sneered. ”Good kid, let me tell you right now, the best choice for you is to obediently kowtow a few times to your granny.”

Duan Yu turned his head, and saw Ah Bi, lips pursed in a smile, casting side-glances at him. Her skin was as white as freshly peeled water chestnuts, and a small, fine black mole was at the corner of her lips, making her look all the more charming and lovely. His heart was suddenly stirred. ”Sister Ah Bi, I heard that there is a sister Ah Zhu in your respect manor. Is she…is she was beautiful as you are?” Ah Bi smiled. ”Aha! How could an ugly freak like me be worthy of such praise? If sister Ah Zhu heardja askin' questions like that, she'd definitely be real unhappy-like, yeah? How can I compare to her? Sister Ah Zhu is ten times more beautiful than I am.” Duan Yu asked, ”Truly?” Ah Bi grinned, ”Why would I lie to ya?” Duan Yu said, ”For a person to be ten times more beautiful than you is totally impossible, unless…unless it's the goddess of the jade cavern. For a person to even be on your level would make them a rare beauty.” Ah Bi's cheeks flushed red. She bashfully said, ”The old mistress asked you to kowtow. Who asked you to praise me so highly?”

Duan Yu said, ”The old mistress must have originally been a nationally famous, heaven-like beauty as well. To tell you the truth, I don't really care if I get any benefits, but am more than willing to kowtow a few times to a world class beauty.” As he spoke, he fell to his knees. He thought to himself, ”Since I am going to kowtow, I might as well do so loudly. I already kowtowed a few thousand times to the jade statue. What's the big deal if I kowtow to a beautiful lady of the jianghu a few times?” He immediately kowtowed loudly three times.

Ah Zhu was extremely delighted. She though to herself, ”This young master clearly knows that I'm just a little servant girl, but is actually willing to kowtow to me. This is really rare.” She said, ”Good kid, very good, very good. It's too bad that I didn't bring you a meeting-present.” Ah Bi interjected, ”Old mistress, just don't forget about it an' jes' give it to'm next time.”

Ah Zhu glanced at Ah Bi. She said towards Cui Baiquan and Guo Yanzhi, ”Why haven't these two guests kowtowed to me?” Guo Yanzhi let out a 'hmph' sound. In a rough voice and with a rough attitude, he said, ”Do you know martial arts or not?” Ah Zhu said, ”What did you say?” Guo Yanzhi replied, ”I asked if you know martial arts or not. If you possess a high level of martial arts, then I, Guo Yanzhi, am willing to die underneath your hand, Mistress Murong! But if you aren't a member of the wulin, then there's no need for me to bother wasting my breath with you.” Ah Zhu shook her head. ”What's this about a hundred-legged centipede? Naturally, we have centipedes here. When they bite people, it's very painful!” [Centipede sounds similar to martial arts]. Turning towards Jiumozhi, she said, ”Great monk, I hear you want to go check out my nephew's tomb. What type of treasure do you intend to pilfer from the tomb?”

Although Jiumozhi still did not realize that she was actually a girl, he had long sinced figured out that she was just pretending to be deaf and dumb, and that she wasn't as near-sighted or as muddle-headed as she pretended to be. He became more guarded, and thought to himself, ”Mr. Murong was such an extraordinary figure. His family members must be exceptional as well.” He pretended to not have heard the words, ”pilfer from the tomb”, and said, ”This humble monk was a close bosom friend of Mr. Murong. After hearing the horrible news of his passing, I have rushed here from Tibet to pay my respects before his tomb. In the past, I made a promise to Mr. Murong to bring him the manuscript for the Duan family of Dali's 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' and let him check it out. For me to still have not carried out my promise fills my heart with shame.”

Ah Zhu and Ah Bi exchanged glances. They both thought to themselves, ”Finally, this monk has brought up the relevant issues.” Ah Zhu asked, ”And what happens if you are able to bring the manuscript for the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians'? What happens if you are not?” Jiumozhi replied, ”In the past, Mr. Murong and I made an agreement; as long as I was able to retrieve the manual of the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' for him to read for a few days, he would allow me to read for a few days in the 'Water Pavilion of Bestowal and Repayment'. Ah Zhu suddenly felt afraid. ”For this monk to actually know the name, 'Water Pavilion of Bestowal and Repayment'…maybe he is telling the truth after all.” She immediately pretended to be confused and said, ”What's this about porridge and boiled dumplings? Do you want some porridge and chicken broth dumplings? That's easily done. You are a monk. Can you eat meat or fish?”

Jiumozhi turned his head towards Ah Bi. ”I don't know if this old mistress is truly confused or just faking it. For her to be so unwelcoming cannot help but to give a feeling of coldness in one's heart.”

Ah Zhu said, ”Oh, so your heart is feeling cold? Ah Bi, quick, go and make a bowl of hot chicken and duck blood soup so as to warm this great master's heart and lungs.” Ah Bi held in her laughter. ”The master doesn't eat meat.” Ah Zhu nodded. ”Then don't use real chickens and real ducks. Use vegetarian chicken and vegetarian duck meat [usually made from tofu and veggies].” Ah Bi said, ”Old mistress, vegetarian chicken doesn't have any blood.” Ah Zhu said, ”Then what are we to do?”

The two of them exchanged one phrase after another, and all their words were full of nonsense. Most people of Suzhou had quick teeth and clever mouths. In later generations, the story-telling abilities of Suzhou people became famous throughout the world because of this. These two girls were used to messing around and teasing each other, and they now rendered Jiumozhi unable to do anything.

Originally, he came to Gusu with the intention of discussing an important matter with young master Murong. Unexpectedly, the young master was not present, and everyone he met intertwined falsehoods with obfuscations, sometimes seeming to do so inadvertently, other times seeming to act in such a way on purpose, intermixing lies with truth. This rendered him unable to decide how to handle the situation. After a brief moment of pondering, he concluded that madame Murong, Sun San, old servant Huang, and Ah Bi were all trying to ward him off. Since they would not let him visit the mausoleum, they definitely would not be willing to allow him to enter the 'Water Pavilion of Bestowal and Repayment' and read secret martial arts manuals. At this moment, he decided, what he should do would be to clearly explain the situation and ignore their play-acting and deception. That way, in the future, regardless of whether they treated him with respect or came to blows with him, he would have already claimed the moral high ground. He immediately said in a calm, even-tempered voice, ”I have brought the manuscript for the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians'. Thus, I make the daring request that we act in accordance with the agreement and I be allowed to go read in the 'Water Pavilion of Bestowal and Repayment'.” Ah Bi said, ”Old master Murong has already passed away. First, there's no evidence of this agreement. Secondly, even if you brought the manual, there is nobody present who is capable of reading it. Any agreements made in the past are naturally no longer valid now.” Ah Zhu said, ”What sword manual? Where is it? Let me check it out first.”

Pointing to Duan Yu, Jiumozhi said, ”Within this young gentleman's mind lies the fully memorized manuscript for the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians'. I have brought him here; this is the same as bringing an actual manuscript.” Ah Bi smiled. ”I thought there really was a manual. So you were playing a joke on us, great master.” Jiumozhi said, ”I wouldn't dare. The original manual for the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' has been burnt to ash by elder Kurong at the Heavenly Dragon Monastery. Fortunately, this gentleman has fully memorized it all.” Ah Bi replied, ”If young master Duan memorized it, then it's his business. Even if we were to invite someone to the 'Water Pavilion of Bestowal and Repayment' to read, it would be him. What does it have to do with you, great master?” Jiumozhi replied, ”In order to fulfill my promise of latter days, I intend to immolate him in front of Mr. Murong's mausoleum.”

Upon hearing these words, everyone was astonished. But seeing the calm, placid, serious expression on the face, he definitely did not appear to be making a joke. This astonished them all the more. Ah Bi said, ”Great master, you must be jesting! How can he allow you to just casually cremate him like that?” Jiumozhi said dully, ”If I want to immolate him, I don't think he would be able to resist.” Ah Bi smiled. ”Great master, you say that young gentleman Duan has memorized the manual for the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', but that clearly cannot be true. If young gentleman Duan really memorized such a fearful martial arts as the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', how could he be so easily controlled by you?” Jiumozhi nodded. ”Miss, you know only half the story. I have sealed all of his major acupoints, and he is unable to exert any energy at all.”

Ah Zhu shook her head continuously. ”I believe you even less now. Unseal his acupoints and let him show off the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' first. I think that ninety nine percent of your words are lies.” Jiumozhi nodded. ”Good idea. We can demonstrate.”

Duan Yu praised Ah Bi as being beautiful, and was absolutely charmed by her vocal and instrumental musical skills. Ah Bi naturally liked him. In addition, not only did he not reveal Ah Zhu's disguise, he also kowtowed to her three times; this made Ah Zhu happy with him as well. Thus, upon hearing that his acupoints had been sealed, both of the girls wanted to trick Jiumozhi into unsealing his acupoints. They didn't expect that Jiumozhi would immediately agree. He stretched out his palm towards Duan Yu's body and tapped his hand a few times towards Duan Yu's back, chest, and legs. Duan Yu instantly felt as though his acupoints became unsealed, and the flow of his blood became unimpeded. As soon as he generated his internal energy, he could feel his qi beginning to circulate throughout his body. He experimentally generated his energy in accordance with the directions for the 'Zhongchong Sword' technique, inciting his internal energy to pass to the middle finger of his right hand. He felt a roasting hot sensation at the tip of his middle finger, and knew that all he needed to do would be to extend his finger and sword qi would immediately shoot out.

Jiumozhi said, ”Young master Duan, mistress Murong does not believe that you have practiced the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians'. Please show off your ability. Do as I do, and chop off a branch from this osmanthus tree.” As he spoke, he sent out a slanting palm strike with his left palm. His palm released its stored up internal energy; it was a stroke from his 'Blazing Sabre' technique. With a light cracking sound, a single branch of the osmanthus tree broke in half and fell to the ground, as though someone had chopped it with a sabre or a sword.

Cui Baiquan and Guo Yanzhi couldn't help but let out an 'Ah!' cry of alarm. Although they knew that this barbarian monk possessed some extremely unusual skills, they thought that his skills were simply heterodox and evil. Only now, when they watched him chop off a tree branch, did they realize how profound his internal energy was. His internal energy was at a level that was rarely heard of and rarely seen.

Duan Yu shook his head. ”I don't know any martial arts at all, much less any 'Divine Sword of the Seven Meridians' or 'Heavenly Sabre of the Eight Channels'. Why did you have to go and ruin a perfectly fine osmanthus tree?” Jiumozhi replied, ”Young master Duan, why so modest? Your level of martial arts is highest amounts the elite martial artists of Dali's Duan family. In this day and age, aside from young master Murong and my humble self, I'm afraid no one is superior to you. Gusu's Murong mansion is a repository of martial arts learning in the world. Why don't you show a few stances and have the old mistress give you some advice? That would be a very good thing for you.” Duan Yu replied, ”Big monk, this entire trip you have taken such wonderful care of me, tugging me here and pulling me there, dragging me all the way to Jiangnan. At first, I didn't want to say another word to you at all. But now that I'm at Gusu and have met such beautiful, heavenly girls here, the anger in my heart has dissipated. From now on, let's make a clean break. Neither of us needs to bother with the other.”

Ah Zhu and Ah Bi, hearing him speak in a pedantic, bookworm like manner, couldn't help but secretly laugh. They couldn't help but feel secretly happy as well upon hearing him praise them.

Jiumozhi said, ”Young master, if you refuse to display your 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', won't you be making me to look like a liar?”

Duan Yu said, ”Well, you were full of nonsense to begin with. If you had an agreement with Mr. Murong, why didn't you come to Dali earlier? Why would you wait until Mr. Murong passed away and became unable to refute your words before coming to the Murong manor and cause an endless ruckus? You know what I think? I think you covet the high-level martial arts skills of the Murong family of Gusu, and came up with a false story to trick the old mistress into allowing you into their library and secretly study their private martial arts, and figure out the secrets behind their 'Using the opponent's skills, exercising them upon the opponent'. How can you possibly not realize that these people, being of a long-standing, famous, aristocratic wulin family, would see right through this trick of yours? If you could really steal away their martial arts techniques based solely upon your lies and rubbish, wouldn't anybody be able to? Who isn't able to make up this sort of nonsense?”

Ah Zhu and Ah Bi agreed in one voice.

Jiumozhi shook his head. ”Young master Duan, your conjectures are incorrect. Although it is true that I made my agreement with Mr. Murong a long time ago, for nine years I sequestered myself in solitary meditation while I mastered the 'Blazing Sabre' technique, and thus could not go to Dali. If I had not mastered the 'Blazing Sabre' technique, I would not have been able to leave the Heavenly Dragon Monastery alive.

Duan Yu said, ”Great master, you possess great fame, great power, and such an incredible level of martial arts. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you just stayed peacefully in Tibet as its dharma king and national protector? Why come to Jiangnan to deceive people? I recommend you return as soon as possible.”

Jiumozhi said, ”Young master, if you refuse to display the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', please do not blame me for being discourteous.” Duan Yu said, ”You've been acting impolite all along. Can it be that you've found a way to be even more impolite still? At worst, you can kill me with a single chop of your sabre. What's the big deal?” Jiumozhi replied, ”Very good! Ware my sabre!” He raised his left palm and a powerful wind rushed towards Duan Yu's face.

Duan Yu had long since hatched a plan. As his martial arts was far inferior to that of Jiumozhi, whether or not he fought back made no difference at all. If Jiumozhi wanted him to show that he knew the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', he would refuse to do so no matter what. Thus, upon seeing Jiumozhi convert his internal energy into a sabre blade and chop towards him, Duan Yu toughened his spine and neither blocked nor parried. Jiumozhi was startled. Duan Yu was his only source of the manual of the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians'; no matter what, he couldn't kill him before he acquired it for himself. He hurriedly lifted his hands higher, and with a 'shua' sound, a cool wind passed over Duan Yu's head, taking with it a large chunk of his hair.

Cui Baiquan and Guo Yanzhi were simultaneously shocked. Ah Zhu and Ah Bi's faces couldn't help but turn pale as well. Jiumozhi said in an awe-inspiring voice, ”Young master Duan, would you really rather die than fight back?”

Duan Yu had long since thrown his fear of death into the wind. He laughed loudly and said, ”Greed, wrath, lust, desire, foolishness. Master monk, you possess all of these flaws, and yet you falsely claim to be an eminent Buddhist monk. You really are not deserving of the title!”

Jiumozhi suddenly hacked a palm towards Ah Bi while shouting, ”Unspeakable! I'll first kill this servant girl of the Murong manor to display my power.”

This stroke came very quickly. Ah Bi was shocked, and hurriedly slanted her body to avoid it. Crack! A chair behind her was split into two by this gush of internal energy. Jiumozhi followed that strike with another from his right palm. Ah Bi fell down on the floor and hurriedly rolled away. Although her movements were quick, she was already in a very precarious situation. Jiumozhi let out a fierce roar, and shot out his third sabre attack.

Ah Bi was so terrified that her face turned pale. She had no idea what to do against this invisible internal energy attack. Ah Zhu didn't have any time to think. She shot out her palms and attacked Jiumozhi's back. When she was earlier moving about and speaking, she had the mannerisms of a seventy or eighty year old lady. But now, when she attacked, she displayed strong, vigorous, and quick movements.

In a single glance, Jiumozhi understood everything. With a laugh, he said, ”So there are sixteen or seventeen year old grannies in the world? How long, exactly, did you intend to deceive this monk?” He struck a palm backwards and with a cracking sound, shattered the wooden staff in her hands into three pieces. Following this, he once more chopped towards Ah Bi. In her terror, Ah Bi grabbed a table and used it as a shield. With two clattering sounds, the red sandalwood table instantly disintegrated, leaving only a pair of table legs in her hands.

Seeing Ah Bi forced to the wall, without any place to flee and Jiumozhi striking with yet another palm, Duan Yu no longer cared about whether or not he could defeat Jiumozhi; his only intention was to save her life. He struck out with his middle finger, and his internal energy surged forth from his 'Zhongchong' acupoint with a 'chi-chi' sneering sound. It was the 'Zhongchong Sword' technique. Jiumozhi didn't really want to kill Ah Bi; he just wanted to force Duan Yu's hand. Otherwise, how could Ah Bi manage to dodge the wondrous, brilliant stances of the 'Blazing Sabre' technique for so long? Seeing Duan Yu strike out at him, he immediately sent out a hacking palm towards Ah Zhu. A powerful gust of wind roared towards her, sending her staggering back. The shoulder of her dress was mangled by his internal energy. She let out an 'Ah!', crying in startlement. Duan Yu followed his first attack with a 'Shaoze Sword' attack from his left hand, blocking Jiumozhi's attack on Ah Zhu with the 'Blazing Sabre' technique.

In the blink of an eye, Ah Bi and Ah Zhu both escaped a very dangerous situation, as Duan Yu used his 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' to totally block both of Jiumozhi's sabre strikes. Jiumozhi, wanting both to show off his own ability as well as to prove that Duan Yu really knew the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', intentionally let Duan Yu's internal energy block his own. Having drained the internal energy of so many elite martial artists, at this point in time, Duan Yu's internal energy was actually more powerful than that of Jiumozhi. Unfortunately, he didn't know any martial arts at all, and wasn't able to execute any of the sword techniques which he had memorized at the Heavenly Dragon Monastery. Jiumozhi tricked his powerful internal energy into being dispersed east and west, to the point where the doors and the windows were filled with holes. All the while, Jiumozhi was saying, ”The 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians' really is very formidable! No wonder Mr. Murong admired it so much in the past.”

Cui Baiquan was extremely startled. ”I always believed that prince Duan has no skill in martial arts. Who would have imagined that he possesses such a refined, exquisite technique? The Duan family of Dali really lives up to its fame. Fortunately, I did not do a single bad thing during my time at the South-Subduing Palace. Otherwise, how could this old life of mine remained for so long?” The more he thought, the more nervous he grew, until his forehead and his clothes were soaked with sweat.

Jiumozhi fought with Duan Yu for a while. With each stroke, he was capable of taking Duan Yu's life. However, he wanted to play around with Duan Yu for a bit. But towards the end, he felt less and less contempt towards Duan Yu. He felt that Duan Yu's internal energy was exceedingly strong and vigorous, and definitely not below his own at all. But for some reason, once the energy was actually used by Duan Yu, the end result was not that impressive at all. It was akin to a three year old kid from an exceedingly rich family who owned tens of thousands of strings of cash, but was unable to use it properly. After throwing out a few more strokes, Jiumozhi's heart was suddenly shaken. ”What if in the future, he grows intelligent, suddenly learning how to properly use his abilities as well as the fundamentals of martial arts? With his level of internal energy and this sword technique, what an extremely fearful opponent he would be!”

Duan Yu had long known that his continued existence lay solely under the control of Jiumozhi. He shouted, ”Sister Ah Zhu and Ah Bi, hurry up and run away! If you take any longer, you won't have a chance to escape!” Ah Zhu asked, ”Young master Duan, why are you rescuing us?” Duan Yu replied, ”This monk relies on his high level of martial arts to bully and oppress others. Unfortunately, I don't know any martial arts at all. It is difficult for me to fight him off. Hurry up and run away!”

Jiumozhi laughed. ”Far too late for that.” Taking a step forwards, he struck out with the fingers of both hands, pointing towards Duan Yu's acupoints. Duan Yu let out a cry. ”Aiyo!” He tried to avoid the attack, but how could he? Once more, three of his vital acupoints were sealed, and his limbs immediately felt numb and heavy. Falling on the floor, he shouted loudly, ”Ah Zhu, Ah Bi, hurry up and leave!”

Jiumozhi laughed, ”You are at the brink of death and unable to protect yourself. You still have the desire to enjoy perfume and cherish jade?” He returned to his original seat and said to Ah Zhu, ”Young miss, there's no need for you to continue play-acting and fooling around. Who, exactly, is in charge of the manor's matter? Young master Duan fully memorized the entirety of the 'Divine Sword of the Six Meridians', but does not know martial arts and thus finds it difficult to actually use it. Tomorrow, I will take him to Mr. Murong's mausoleum and burn him in sacrifice. In the underworld, Mr. Murong will understand that his old friend did not renege upon their earlier agreement.”

Ah Zhu knew that no one currently at the Pavilion of Zither Melodies was a match for this monk. Wrinkling her forehead, she laughed. ”Fine! Master monk, we'll believe your words. The old master's mausoleum is a day's journey away by water. Tonight, it is too late to leave. Tomorrow morning, the two of us will personally escort you and young master Duan to pay your respects at the tomb. The four of you, please wait just a short moment. Dinner will be served soon.” After she spoke, she grabbed Ah Bi by the wrist and retreated into the inner pavilion.

After an hour passed, a male servant came out and said, ”Miss Ah Zhu would like to invite the four of you to the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain' for supper.” Jiumozhi said, ”Many thanks!” Stretching out his hand, he seized Duan Yu's arm and followed the man in. They winded their way through hundreds of feet of paved cobblestone alleys and a few stone parks before arriving by the waterside. Beneath the willow trees lay a small boat. The male servant pointed to a cabin with windows on all four sides that was situated in the middle of the water. ”It is right there.” Jiumozhi, Duan Yu, Cui Baiquan, and Guo Yanzhi stepped onto the boat, and the male servant rowed them there. They arrived after a brief period of time.

Duan Yu walked up the wooden oak stairs of and entered the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain'. He saw Ah Bi waiting to attend to the guests, wearing light green clothing. By her side stood a young maiden who wore a light red yarncloth garment. She was also around sixteen or seventeen years of age, and she aimed an expression that seemed like a smile yet wasn't quite towards Duan Yu. Her face was full of mischieviousness and cleverness. Ah Bi had a 'melon seed' face and was elegant and beautiful. This maiden had a 'goose egg' face. Her eyes were lively and intelligent, and she displayed a different type of stirring aura.

As soon as he entered the room, Duan Yu once again smelled that faint fragrance. Laughing, he said, ”Sister Ah Zhu, you are such a beautiful woman. It must have been tough for to so convincingly portray an old lady.” That maiden was indeed Ah Zhu. She batted him a glance, then laughed, ”You kowtowed to me three times and aren't content in your heart. Am I right?” Duan Yu shook his head repeatedly. ”There was a lot of reason for me to kowtow three times to you. Only, my guesses were a bit off.” Ah Zhu asked, ”What did you guess wrong?” Duan Yu replied, ”I guessed from the beginning that you were just like Ah Bi, that both of you were beauties the likes of which are rarely seen in the world. But in my heart, I imagined that you must have been about on par with Ah Bi. I didn't imagine that upon actually seeing you…well…well…” Ah Zhu interjected, ”You found that I was far inferior to Ah Bi?” Ah Bi said at the same time, ”You were greatly startled, because she is ten times more beautiful than me, right?”

Duan Yu shook his head. ”Neither. I just felt that the heavens are really capable and are truly worthy of mankind's admiration. After wracking their brains and creating such a beautiful girl as sister Ah Bi, they should have totally exhausted all of their ability to portray the spirit and beauty of Jiangnan. Who would have imagined that they would be able to create a sister Ah Zhu as well? The two of you look totally different, yet each of you possess you own unique beauty. It makes me want to say a few things in praise, but I couldn't manage to say a single word at all.”

Ah Zhu laughed. ”Bah! You glibly just said a lot of things in praising us, and still want to claim that you couldn't manage to say a single word?”

Ah Bi smiled slightly, then turned her head and spoke to Jiumozhi and the rest. ”I'm afraid that we don't have the resources to properly welcome you four esteemed personages. I'll have to ask that you just make do with our watery wine and do your best to enjoy some of our local Jiangnan dishes.” She immediately invited the four of them to be seated, with her and Ah Bi taking seats to the right.

Duan Yu saw that the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain' was surrounded by water on all four sides. Glancing out the window, he saw mist covering the waters of the lake. Turning back to the table, he saw that all of the dishes on the table were made of exquisite porcelain. In his heart, he couldn't help but exclaim in praise.

Shortly afterwards, the male servants brought some dishes made from fruits and vegetables. Four vegetarian dishes were especially prepared for Jiumozhi. Next came a number of cooked dishes; white water chestnuts with shrimp meat, lotus leaf and winter bamboo shoot soup, cherry ham, dragon well vegetable leaves with chicken, and the like. Every dish was extremely unique. In the middle of the fish, shrimp, and meat were intermixed flower petals and fresh fruit. The dishes were extremely beautiful, and gave off a natural, pure fragrance. Duan Yu tried a few chopsticks of every single dish. All of them were wonderful and tasty. He praised, ”Only such a wonderful landscape as this place can produce such talented people. In turn, only such talented people can be so intelligent and wise as to produce such elegant dishes.”

Ah Zhu said, ”Guess if I cooked the dishes, or if Ah Bi cooked the dishes?” Duan Yu replied, ”The cherry ham and the plum blossom duck are fragrant, tender, and rosy. I think you made them. The lotus leaf and winter bamboo shoot soup and the round jade fish slices are verdant and cleanly chopped. Naturally, they were made by sister Ah Bi.”

Ah Zhu clapped her hands and laughed. ”Your guessing abilities are really good! Ah Bi, what should we reward him with?” Ah Bi smiled. ”If young master Duan has any instructions for us to carry out, we would naturally do so to the best of our abilities. What's all this talk about giving him 'rewards' and 'awards'? We're just servant girls. We aren't worthy of such.” Ah Zhu replied, ”Hah, as soon as you open your mouth you flatter others. No wonder every says you're good and I'm bad.” Duan Yu laughed, ”Gentle and refined, lively and clever. The two are equally good. Sister Ah Bi, earlier, when I heard you playing songs on the soft whip, I felt relaxed and carefree. I'd like to ask you to play some melodies on actual instruments. If you do so, even if I am turned into ash tomorrow by this great monk, my time on this earth won't have been spent in vain.

Ah Bi slowly rose to her feet. ”As long as you don't find it unpleasant to hear, I am willing to embarrass myself to give some joy to our guests.” As she spoke, she went behind a screen, then came out with a precious jade zither. Ah Bi sat up straight on a brocade seat and placed the jade zither in front of her. She waved towards Duan Yu and laughed, ”Young master Duan, why don't you come over and see if you can identify what type of zither this is.”

Walking to her, Duan Yu saw that her zither was a foot shorter than ordinary seven-stringed zithers. In addition, it had nine strings, each of which had a different color. He muttered to himself, ”This is the first time I've seen this nine-stringed zither.” Ah Zhu walked towards them and plucked a single string on the zither. The sound was very loud and clear. The string was made out of metal. Duan Yu said, ”Sister, this zither is…”

Just as he spoke these four words, the floor suddenly disappeared underneath him. His body fell straight down. He couldn't help but let out a loud cry of alarm. Next, he felt as though he landed on a soft location. At the same time, he seemed to hear someone else say 'Aiyo!' and 'Not good!', followed by two splashing sounds. His body suddenly swayed, as the thing he was resting on began to move. This strange event happened very quickly and was totally unexpected. Startled and frightened, he hurriedly sat up. He saw that he was sitting in the middle of a small boat, with Ah Bi and Ah Zhu each sitting on one end of the boat. Each of them had an oar and were hurriedly paddling. Turning around, he saw that Jiumozhi, Cui Baiquan, and Guo Yanzhi's heads had just popped above the surface of the water. After but a short period of rowing by Ah Bi and Ah Zhu, the small boat was far away from the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain'.

Suddenly, a drenched person shot up from the surface of the lake. It was Jiumozhi. He landed on the side of the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain'. He easily snapped off part of a wooden pillar, aimed it at Ah Bi, then urgently cast it towards her. The makeshift missile made a whirring sound as it tore through the air with great force. Ah Bi cried out, ”Young master Duan, duck!” Duan Yu and the two girls ducked at the same time, as half of a wooden pillar flew right over their heads. The powerful wind made by its passing actually hurt their neck.

Flexing her body, Ah Zhu turned the boat slightly sideways. Suddenly, a series of loud splashing sounds could be heard, and the small boat suddenly lifted up in the air before immediately falling down again. A large amount of lake water entered the boat and all three of them became wet. Turning his head, Duan Yu saw that Jiumozhi had already wrecked the wooden portion of the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain', and was repeatedly tossing stone vessels, incense burners, and other objects towards them. Watching the trajectories of the missiles, Ah Bi turned the boat to avoid them. Meanwhile, Ah Zhu kept on paddling forward with all her might. With each stroke of the oar, the boat travelled several feet further away from the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain'. Jiumozhi continued to lob missiles at them, but the distance between the boat and where they landed grew greater and greater. Even if his strength was greater, he couldn't compete with the ceaseless tugging of the oars by the two maidens. Turning his head again, Duan Yu saw that Cui Baiquan and Guo Yanzhi had managed to scramble onto the steps of the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain'. He felt delighted, but upon seeing Jiumozhi leap into a small boat, let out a cry of alarm.

Ah Zhu cried out, ”That evil monk is following us!” She exerted all her might to paddle as fast she could, but after turning her head to take another glance, burst into loud laughter. Duan Yu also turned his head and saw that Jiumozhi's boat was just spinning in place. Evidently, although Jiumozhi possessed a very high level of martial arts, he didn't know how to row a boat.

The three of them immediately felt relieved. But after a short period of time, they saw that Jiumozhi had managed to stabilize the boat and was now hurriedly paddling after them. Ah Bi sighed, ”This great master is really intelligent. Anything he doesn't know, he learns in a flash.” Ah Zhu replied, ”Let's play hide and seek with him.” Tugging on her oar, she brought the boat into the middle of a dense forest of water chestnuts. The great lake had hundreds of harbors and thousands of waterways. After making several turns, their boat entered a small river. They thought to themselves that it was very unlikely that Jiumozhi would be able to locate them.

Duan Yu said, ”Unfortunately, my acupoints are sealed, and I can't help you two row.” Ah Bi comforted him, ”Young master Duan, don't be worried. The monk won't be able to chase after us, yeah.”

Duan Yu said, ”The secret mechanism in the 'Dwelling for Listening to the Rain' is really interesting. This boat was precisely placed underneath the location where you play the zither, right?” Ah Bi smiled. ”Right. That's why I invited you to come check out the zither. Sister Ah Zhu's plucking of the zither was the sign for the male servants outside to remove the planks underneath us and have everyone go plop, plop, plop!” The three of them laughed loudly in unison. Ah Bi hurriedly covered her mouth and said with a smile, ”Don't let that monk hear us.”

From far away, a voice could be heard. ”Miss Ah Zhu, Miss Ah Bi, please row the boat back. Please hurry back, I am a friend of your master and definitely will not give you a hard time.” It was Jiumozhi's voice. His voice was gentle and amiable, capable of causing people to naturally obey his instructions.

Ah Zhu was startled. ”The great master asked for us to come back and says he definitely won't hurt us.” As she spoke, she stopped paddling, as though she was seriously considering it. Ah Bi chimed in, ”If that's the case, let's go back!” Duan Yu's internal energy was very strong, and so wasn't bewildered in the slightest by Jiumozhi's voice. He hurriedly said, ”He's lying. How can you trust his words?” Jiumozhi's pleasant, amiable words entered their ears. ”Young misses, your master has returned. He says he wants to see both of you, and that you are to return immediately. Yes, return immediately.” Ah Zhu was compelled to agree. ”Yes!” Lifting up the oar, she turned the boat around.

Duan Yu thought to himself, ”If young master Murong had really returned, he himself would call out to Ah Zhu and Ah Bi. Why would he rely on Jiumozhi? This is no doubt an evil technique meant to delude the minds of others.” Having come to this conclusion, he reached down and grabbed a few water chestnut leaves, rolled them together, then stuck them into Ah Bi and Ah Zhu's ears.

Her wits returned to her, Ah Zhu involuntarily cried out, ”Ack! Close one!” Ah Bi was also frightened. ”This monk knows some sort of soul-affecting technique. We almost fell for his trick.” Turning the boat around, Ah Zhu hurriedly began paddling again. She cried out, ”Ah Bi, paddle as fast as you can!”

The two of them paddled the boat directly into the middle of the water chestnut fields. After a long time, Jiumozhi's voice grew faint and indistinct, until finally he could no longer be heard. Duan Yu gestured to the two of them, signaling that they could now remove the leaves from their ears.

Patting her chest, Ah Bi let out a long sigh. ”Whew, that was real scary-like, yeah! Sister Ah Zhu, whaddya think we should do?” Ah Zhu said, ”Let's just paddle around in circles and waste the monk's time. If we get hungry, we can pluck water chestnuts and lotus roots to eat. Even if we face off against him for ten days or half a month, we wouldn't be in the slightest danger.” Ah Bi smiled. ”What an interesting idea. Young master Duan, would you be too bored though?” Duan Yu clapped his hands and laughed. ”There's no shortage of sights to see on this lake. With the two of you accompanying me in touring this place for ten days, I would be happier than a celestial being.” Ah Bi's smooth lips gently smiled. ”We're heading towards the southeast right now. There's a lot of tributaries to this river. Aside from local fisherman, nobody can easily remember the routes. After we enter Lake Baiqu [Baiqu means 'Hundred Melodies'], the monk will definitely become unable to catch up to us.” Duan Yu lay down on the boat, gazing upon the many glittering stars in the sky. Aside from the rustle of the oars and the boat brushing against the water caltrops, there was no sound at all. There was a gentle breeze on the lake, which carried with it a faint aroma. He thought to himself, ”Even if I lived the rest of my life like this, I wouldn't mind.” Then he thought to himself, ”With Ah Zhu and Ah Bi being such nice people, young master Murong can't be some sort of horrible villain either. I wonder if he really was the one to kill master Xuanbei of Shaolin and Mr. Huo's martial brother. Alas, although my family has a lot of servant girls, none of them can match sister Ah Zhu or sister Ah Bi.”

After a long time, just as he was about to close his eyes and fall asleep, he suddenly hear Ah Bi let out a quiet laugh and say in a low voice, ”Sister Ah Zhu, come over here.” Ah Zhu also spoke in a low voice, ”Whaddya want?” Ah Bi said, ”Come over here, I have somethin' to say.” Ah Zhu lowered the oar and walked to the stern of the boat. Ah Bi pulled her over by the shoulder and quietly laughed into her ear, ”Help me think of something so I aint gonna be shamin' mahself.” Ah Zhu laughed, ”Whassa matter?” Ah Bi said, ”Quiet, quiet. Is young master Duan a'sleepin' yet?” Ah Zhu replied, ”Dunno, jus' go'n'ask'm.” Ah Bi said, ”Can't, can't. Ah Zhu, Ah Zhu, I…I…I need to relieve myself.”

Their voices were as soft as the buzzing of mosquitoes, but Duan Yu's internal energy was extremely profound. Naturally, he heard every word clearly. Upon hearing Ah Bi say these words, he didn't dare move in the slightest. He pretended to let out light snores and be asleep, so as to prevent Ah Bi from being embarrassed.

Ah Zhu laughed quietly. ”Young master Duan is a'sleepin'. Just go ahead and relieve yourself.” Ah Bi bashfully said, ”Aint gonna try. What if I'm half-way through and young master Duan suddenly wakes up? It'd be unthinkable!” Ah Zhu couldn't help but let out a peal of laughter. She hurriedly covered her mouth, then said in a low voice, ”Whaddya mean, it'd be unthinkable? Everyone needs to relieve themselves from time to time. Nuthin' weird about it.” Ah Bi shook her body, then said in a pleading voice, ”Please, sister Ah Zhu, help me think of an idea.” Ah Zhu replied, ”I'll stand in front of you. You go ahead and relieve yourself. Even if young master Duan wakes up, he won't be able to see nuthin', yeah?” Ah Bi replied, ”But there would be noise! I can't have him hear either. I…I…” Ah Zhu laughed. ”Yer sis is outta ideas. I guess you can just relieve yourself on yourself. He won't smell anything.” Ah Bi said, ”I can't! When someone's in front of me, I can't go.” Ah Zhu said, ”There's no place to go. Just go ahead and do it.” Ah Bi was so anxious she began to cry. ”I can't, I just can't!”

Ah Zhu suddenly let out another peal of laughter. ”It's all your fault. If you hadn't said anything, I would've been fine. But now I need to go too! From here to Madame Wang's residence lies only a half-nine away. Let's paddle there and relieve ourselves.” Ah Bi said, ”Madame Wang forbid us from entering. If she catches us, she'll slap us upside the head a few times.” Ah Zhu said, ”Aint no need to worry. Madame Wang and our old mistress cursed at and insulted each other, but our old mistress has already passed away, yeah. We're just a pair of servant girls. How could we have offended her, and why would she slap us upside the head, yeah? Let's just quietly sneak on land and relieve ourselves, then immediately leave. How would she ever know we were there?” Ah Bi replied, ”That be so.” After mumbling to herself a moment, she said, ”Then we need ta have young master Duan go ashore and relieve himself first. Otherwise…otherwise, if we just rush ashore, it'd be real awkward-like, yeah?”

Ah Zhu let out a soft laugh. ”You really know how to take care of people. Careful, if the young master finds out, he'll be jealous.” Ah Bi sighed. ”How could the young master take this sorta small matter to heart, yeah? We're just a pair of little servant girls. The young master has never taken us to heart.” Ah Zhu said, ”And I don't want you takin'm to heart, yeah? Sister Ah Bi, stop daydreaming about him day and night. Aint no use.” Ah Bi let out a quiet sigh and did not reply. Ah Zhu clapped her on the shoulder, then said in a low voice, ”You are thinking of relieving yourself, but also thinking about the young master. The two thoughts are getting mixed together, yeah? Aint that a laugh!” Ah Bi let out a soft laugh. ”Sis, you're gossiping. Don't you have something to do?”

Ah Zhu returned to the front of the boat and began paddling again. After they paddled for some time, the sky began to brighten.

Duan Yu's internal energy was very vigorous, and his internal energy could not remain sealed forever. Previously, Jiumozhi would reseal his acupoints after every few hours had passed. Now, after so much time had passed, he gradually felt his internal energy circulation begin to smooth out as the sealed acupoints began to unlock. Letting out a lazy yawn, he sat up and said, ”I took a long nap, while you two were working so hard. There's something I need to say which is a bit inappropriate. Please don't be offended. I, uh, I need to relieve myself.” He thought that it would be best for he himself to broach the topic first, so as to allow the girls to not feel awkward.

Ah Zhu and Ah Bi simultaneously let out a burst of laughter. Ah Zhu said, ”Not too far away is the abode of a relative of ours, the Wang family. Just go ashore there to relieve yourself.” Duan Yu said, ”If that's the case, wonderful.” Ah Zhu immediately adopted a stern expression. ”But Madame Wang has a very strange temperament. She doesn't allow strange men to visit. As soon as you take care of business, immediately return to the boat. We don't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.” Duan Yu replied, ”Alright, understood.”