Chapter 58: Surging Undercurrents, Meeting With Guo Hua
“Too inelegant!”
Hong Yuan looked at the dense forest ahead, his feet standing in the mud, his plain white clothes stained with mud again, making him frown deeply.
Like this, where was the refined gentlemanly demeanor of he, Hong someone?
He didn’t know if, along with the growth of his Root Bone and Comprehension, one day his Force would become so abundant that he could squander it freely, even achieving the effect of a three-foot qi wall from the novels.
After a slight sigh, Hong Yuan’s figure flickered, and he entered the dense forest.
Without much searching, he saw Yang Erhu and Yang Jinbao each holding their arms, leaning back against a giant tree.
The two brothers looked like they were at odds, quarreling nonstop.
Especially Yang Jinbao, whose eyes weren’t eyes and nose wasn’t nose, every sentence like he had taken gunpowder, spittle flying from his fat face as he cursed at Yang Erhu.
There was a strong vibe that if words didn’t agree, he’d roll up his sleeves and start fighting at any moment.
“Second Bro, that’s enough. If you keep cursing, I’ll really make a move.”
Yang Erhu knew it was he who had implicated his younger brother, but his mouth didn’t spare him.
“Pah!” Yang Jinbao wouldn’t indulge him, spitting a mouthful of saliva at Yang Erhu, then cursing: “Who’re you calling Second Bro? You’re the damn Er Gouzi. Call me Treasure Bro!”
“Damn it, you still want to fight me? Treasure Bro here was sipping little drinks, hugging little ladies, what a great life, and you ruined it just like that, and now you think you’re in the right?”
Yang Erhu wiped the saliva from his face and sneered: “I don’t know if I’m in the right, but when my fist hits your face later, you can tell me then.”
“Afraid of you, Er Gouzi? Come on! Let’s see who beats who down!”
Yang Jinbao huffed angrily.
“You’re the second bro, I’ll let you strike first.”
Yang Erhu retorted sharply.
Hong Yuan approached within a few zhang and lightly coughed, interrupting the two’s quarrel.
Yang Erhu and Yang Jinbao turned their gazes and saw Hong Yuan, both showing some embarrassment.
“Teacher and Martial Uncle have quite a good relationship.” Hong Yuan said with a light laugh.
“Heh!” Yang Erhu and Yang Jinbao both sneered in unison.
“Teacher and Martial Uncle, have you decided where to go after leaving Linjiang Prefecture?” Hong Yuan also smiled and asked directly.
Yang Erhu fell somewhat silent upon hearing this.
Yang Jinbao, however, laughed: “Where else? Of course Xingqing Prefecture. Er Gouzi and I traveled there in our youth. Tsk! Xingqing beauties, charming and affectionate, famous throughout the world, that alluring figure, those soul-hooking eyes, had Er Gouzi of that time completely bewitched!”
With that, he side-eyed Yang Erhu again.
“Er Gouzi, you also want to go see your old flame, right?”
Hong Yuan felt there was some gossip here.
But he wasn’t a gossipmonger, so he didn’t ask in detail, just planning to probe Yang Jinbao privately later.
The three didn’t linger much and set off immediately.
Just as Hong Yuan and the other two headed toward Xingqing Prefecture, the undercurrents in Linjiang Prefecture were just beginning to surge.
Important figures from the Guo and Hua Families met in a manor, both sides bringing over a dozen people.
The Guo Family’s person in charge was a stern-faced, unsmiling middle-aged man exuding a killing aura—none other than Guo Zhen’s elder brother, Guo Wei.
The Hua Family Head wore a scholar’s robe, elegant and poised, but his eyes were bloodshot, occasionally flashing with cold gleams—it was Hua Feiyun’s father, Hua Shouren.
One had lost a younger brother, the other had suffered the pain of losing a son. Even though they usually clashed over power struggles, at this moment they both felt a shared enmity.
Hua Shouren looked at Guo Ju, who was behind Guo Wei with his head down, his right ear already bandaged, hatred flashing in his eyes, his voice hoarse and icy: “Good! Very good! That little beast is so rampant, treating us like nothing. Truly great. I was really afraid he’d hide from now on, leaving me unable to vent my heart’s hatred.”
“Hong Yuan… Has this brat’s identity been clarified? That Yang Erhu, a mere Martial Arts School Master? Able to teach such a person?”
Guo Wei’s tone held both loathing and intense shock.
Compiled from Hua Feiyun’s remnants and oral narration from several Dragon King Society members who fled into the prefecture city, the information on Hong Yuan and Yang Erhu lay on the table.
It was very simple, clear at a glance.
But precisely because of this, Guo Wei found it unbelievable.
To people like them, it was a toad rolling in the mud, yet this scabby toad not only smeared mud on their faces but bit them to the bone.
“That Yang Erhu also has some background; he is a successor of Tiger Subduing Sect, which was once as renowned as Dragon Subduing Sect.”
Hua Shouren’s tone was low: “The little beast surnamed Hong was originally a scholar, but he was probably secretly trained by Yang Erhu long ago. Later he fell into Wei Zhenzhu’s den, and the guy surnamed Yang contacted Dragon King Society to break in and rescue him…”
Evidently, Wei Zhenzhu’s so-called Biwu Immortal Realm was known to these upper-class people in the prefecture city; they just turned a blind eye, too lazy to bother.
However, this account had many gaps.
For example, with Hong Yuan’s Martial Arts, how could Biwu Immortal Realm trap him?
There were many contradictions, but what the truth was didn’t matter much to Hua Shouren and Guo Wei.
They only wanted their enemy to die without a burial place.
“Wei Zhenzhu…” A look of disgust appeared on Guo Wei’s face as he said gravely: “What did the Wei Family say? One of their own surnamed Wei died, and they have no response at all?”
Hua Shouren’s expression darkened, and he shook his head: “The people I sent from Hua didn’t see the Wei Family Head; just a steward came out to brush them off.”
As he spoke, he looked toward Guo Wei.
“Looks like the Wei Family has no shame left and just wants to stand by idly.” Guo Wei sneered, paused slightly, and asked: “Brother Hua, what’s your plan?”
Hua Shouren said: “First go to Moon Embracing Garden to check the scene. Whether that little beast truly has three heads and six arms, we need to have some measure in our hearts before we can make targeted moves.”
“Then let’s go!”
Guo Wei nodded in agreement.
The two sides gathered together, each bringing over a hundred guards, with several renowned masters protecting Guo Wei and Hua Shouren, before heading aggressively toward Moon Embracing Garden.
Moon Embracing Garden was a ruin of broken walls, burn marks everywhere, but thanks to a timely heavy rain, large swathes of buildings survived.
Even the four pavilions in the inner courtyard weren’t completely burned.
The looters hadn’t fully dispersed; many were still searching and carrying off Wealth, with fights breaking out from time to time.
As soon as Guo Wei, Hua Shouren, and their group arrived, many fled in panic. With a gesture from the two, teams of men immediately spread out, drawing weapons and charging off.
Soon, the opportunists were either captured or killed, leaving quite a few alive for questioning.
The two families sent experienced Jianghu veterans to examine the remaining corpses and battle traces around. Not long after, a man with thick beard and sharp eyes reported to Hua Shouren: “Family Head, I’ve checked many corpse wounds and found something slight.”
He stroked his beard, a bit smug in his eyes, waiting for the inquiry.
