Travel through the heavens

Suzhou, also known as Gusu, was first built in the Shang Dynasty and got its name in the Sui Dynasty. It is a very rich and famous city in the south of the Yangtze River, with flowers in clusters and silks everywhere.

There is a proverb in the Song Dynasty that goes, "When Suzhou and Huzhou are prosperous, the world is prosperous," which refers to the prosperity of Suzhou and Huzhou.

After Fang Muye arrived in Suzhou, he did not enter the city, but strolled to the Taihu Lake in the west of the city.

As far as the eye can see, the lakeside is lined with apricot blossoms, green willows hang over the lake, and on the lake there are shadowy shadows of boats and islands. The scenery of lakes and mountains is breathtaking.

After standing there for a while, a small black boat floated on the green waves of the lake. A boatman about fifty years old held two oars and rowed slowly to the shore.

The old boatman smiled and asked, "Sir, do you want to go boating on the lake?"

Fang Muye said, "Boatman, I want to go to Mantuo Villa. Could you please take me there?"

The old boatman immediately showed a look of panic, and said in a trembling voice: "My lord, you must not go to Mantuo Villa. There are many evil women living there, all of them are fierce and cruel, and they like to chop people's hands and feet and kill people. I dare not go there, and I advise you not to take risks."

Fang Muye said, "I have important business to attend to at Mantuo Villa. Boatman, please give me some convenience. I can pay you more for the fare and I will definitely keep you safe."

The old boatman still shook his head and refused: "Sir, no matter how much you pay for the boat fare, I am afraid that I will not be able to spend the money! It's not that I don't trust you. Many heroes have been killed by them. It's better for you not to go."

Fang Muye could understand that the old boatman was afraid of rejection. After all, Li Qingluo bore a grudge after being abandoned by Duan Zhengchun. She often took people to kidnap heartless men or people from Dali and bring them back to Mantuo Villa, then cut off their hands and feet and buried them under the Mantuo flowers as fertilizer.

The notorious reputation of Mantuo Villa had long been known throughout Suzhou.

But the Taihu Lake is vast and its waters are vast. If Fang Muye were to go looking for it alone, it would take him an unknown amount of time to find it.

Fang Muye thought for a moment and said in a gentle voice, "Boatman, how about this? I'll give you five taels of silver and you take me there. You don't need to get close, just tell me from a distance which island is Mantuo Villa."

The old boatman frowned and thought for a long time, but he finally couldn't resist the temptation of five taels of silver. He gritted his teeth and said heavily, "Okay, then I will take you there, but we have to make it clear that this boat will not go near Mantuo Villa."

"Well, it's settled."

Fang Muye smiled and nodded, then lightly jumped onto the boat. The boat sank slightly, but there was no shaking at all.

The old boatman rowed with both oars, and the black-sailed boat headed towards the deep waters of the lake.

As the boat sailed on the lake, Fang Muye stood at the bow and looked into the distance. He saw the vast sea of ​​smoke and the distant water reaching the sky. He felt his mind broadened a lot.

After sailing for a long time, the boat first sailed into a reed marsh, then forked back and forth in the criss-crossing, chessboard-like waterways, made several turns, and then weaved and zigzagged through a group of small islands.

After traveling in such a winding way for about an hour and a half, we saw an island in the distance, lush and green. The boatman kept rowing, pointing to the island and said, "Sir, Mantuo Villa is ahead."

The boat continued to move forward. When it was about two miles away from Mantuo Villa, the boatman stopped rowing, looked at Fang Muye and said, "Sir, this is the best we can do. I don't dare to go any further."

Fang Muye smiled and said, "It's okay, that's enough. Thank you, boatman." As he said that, he took out a piece of silver weighing more than five taels from his pocket and handed it to the boatman.

The boatman took the silver and asked curiously, "Sir, are you planning to swim across?"

Fang Muye did not answer. After looking around the boat, he said, "Boatman, I'll take a piece of wood from your boat."

After saying that, he removed a piece of wood about two and a half feet long and half a foot wide from an unimportant place on the boat and threw it into the lake.

As soon as the wooden board entered the lake, it floated on the water. Fang Muye jumped up, using his internal energy to circulate his body, and then landed on the wooden board as lightly and steadily as a feather. The wooden board only sank slightly, and the lake water only soaked the soles of his shoes.

Fang Muye stood still on the wooden board, swung his wide sleeves backwards, and his internal energy surged out and hit the lake surface behind him. The wooden board suddenly shot forward several feet like an arrow. When it was about to stop, he waved his sleeves again, and the board moved forward again.

In this way, Fang Muye exerted force from time to time, and the wooden board flew across the lake, getting closer and closer to Mantuo Villa.

The old boatman had never seen such a miraculous thing. After a long moment of astonishment, he suddenly knelt down on the boat and kowtowed to Fang Muye's back, muttering, "God bless you! God bless you! Those evil women in Mantuo Villa must have harmed too many people, so the gods came down to earth to punish them."

On the other side, Fang Muye was getting closer and closer to Mantuo Villa. Looking over from the lake, he saw rows of lush green weeping willows on the shore, with thousands of branches dancing in the wind. Among the green, clusters of flower trees by the water were reflected in the water, red and brilliant like clouds.

When they were a few feet away from the shore, Fang Muye jumped up and landed on the island like a flying swallow. When he looked out again, he saw red and white flowers everywhere among the green willows.

I thought to myself: These must be the camellias of Dali. The scenery of Mantuo Villa is indeed quiet and beautiful.

Fang Muye stood at the edge of the island with his hands behind his back, and said slowly, "Master of Mantuo Villa, an old friend is visiting, please come out and meet him!"

Although the sound was not loud, it was like water waves, constantly rippling towards the depths of the island and clearly echoing in Mantuo Villa.

The people at Mantuo Villa were immediately alarmed. After a while, they heard chaotic footsteps coming from the bushes ahead, followed by the flashing figures of dozens of people running out.

Leading the way were two old women, followed by twelve women dressed in green, who were dressed as maids. They were lined up in two rows, each holding a long sword in their hands, the blade as sharp as frost.

One of the two old ladies was holding an iron cane. She was short, had white hair, a broad, short face, and was covered with wrinkles. Her white eyebrows drooped, and her eyes narrowed into a slit, emitting a murderous look. She looked Fang Muye up and down, and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into Mantuo Villa? Don't you know that any man who comes here uninvited will have his feet chopped off?"

The other old woman was very fat, with a protruding belly, as if she was seven or eight months pregnant. Her hair was gray, her face was full of flesh, and she had two broad-bladed short knives on each side of her waist. She shouted, "Grandma Rui, why are you talking to him so much? Just let me take him away and bury him alive under the Mantuo flower to use as fertilizer."

His voice was actually a bit rougher than that of an ordinary man.

Fang Muye shot a sharp gaze at the fat old woman and shouted coldly: "Shut up!"

He immediately waved his hand, and powerful internal energy surged out instantly. The fat old woman had no time to react at all, and she flew into the air like a ball, flipped to the side for several feet, and fell to the ground.

Everyone at Mantuo Villa hurriedly looked over, thinking that she must have been seriously injured after flying several feet and then falling from a height of more than ten feet.

Unexpectedly, after she fell to the ground, she got up after a while and ran back happily as if nothing had happened.

However, Fang Muye did not want to have too much of a feud with Mantuo Villa for the time being, so he just punished the fat old woman and used the soft power of Tai Chi to knock her away. Although it looked scary, in fact she would not be hurt at all.