The Villain's Counterattack

The Murong family dominated Gusu, and Taihu Lake was their basic private territory. Almost all boats were under their control, and hundreds of fast boats patrolled day and night.

Ever since the rumor that the best martial artist in the world came from Murong clan, people from all walks of life have been flocking to the school. However, it is difficult for them to find the real residence of Murong clan. Gusu Academy has a big target but it cannot resist the official recognition of the court. The Eight Friends of Hangu are all top-notch in skills, and with the help of Wang Erlang who is even better, there is no need to worry.

Furthermore, Gusu College didn't have what they were looking for. Those scholarly books weren't valued by the Jianghu, save for a few officials and aristocratic families. As for petty tactics like kidnapping and extortion, they didn't dare resort to them. The entire Gusu City intelligence system depended on the Murong clan, and the Beggars' Sect was quite friendly with them. Ordinary Jianghu forces wouldn't dare resort to such despicable tactics.

The Murong family dominated Taihu Lake, but they did not prohibit others from having fun there. They even gave many fishermen a better livelihood, and it became a fashion for scholars to visit the lake.

The original islands of Taihu Lake were divided up by the Murong clan and hidden with formations. They built dozens of elegant small buildings of various sizes on Taihu Lake for outsiders to visit, but most of the cruise ships traveling to and from these elegant small buildings were under their control.

There were some people in the martial arts world who were good at water. They drove their own boats to search everywhere, but they all failed without exception. So they set their sights on the ship that transported supplies for the Murong family.

In just one month, dozens of people were arrested. The Murong family did not resort to lynching. Instead, they sent them to the Gusu City government office and punished them according to the law. This made those people in the martial arts world even more afraid to act rashly.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, people in the underworld still valued their reputation. Many of them had good public identities. If they were labeled as lawbreakers, it would cost them their lives. People in the underworld were not just ordinary people. After all, only a few of them liked to be thieves and bandits. Especially those who were powerful in the underworld, who did not have a good public identity? Once sentenced, they would inevitably be ruined.

This move was ruthless, and instantly made most of the people in the martial arts world who hoped to cause trouble for the Gusu Murong family retreat. However, those who were caught were only second- and third-rate rats, and the real first-rate masters were just the servants who transported supplies, and it was difficult for them to do anything.

But with such strict defense, those masters couldn't succeed easily.

There are more than a thousand Gusu Murong family members on Taihu Lake, and they consume a lot of supplies every day. There are three to five large ships just to transport daily necessities. Among them, the one that goes to Chanhe Villa is the largest one, and it has the most masters arranged on it. There are two second-rate water masters in charge throughout the journey.

The large ship gathered the cargo and set sail, circling the water until it arrived at a small water building, and then unloaded the cargo, leaving 20% ​​as reserves and transferring the remaining 80% to another large ship. After the handover was completed, the two masters took charge of the new ship, and the previous large ship returned along the same route.

The new ship continued to sail and arrived at the second small building. It was more like a water fort than a small building. After leaving half of the supplies, the third ship made a big circle and went straight to Chanhe Villa.

The first small building is open to the public, while the second water fort is a garrison completely controlled by the Murong family. It has 300 naval soldiers, two large ships and ten small speedboats, and countless weapons, armor, swords, guns and arrows. It is difficult for ordinary people to find them, and even if they find them, it is difficult to capture them.

The third large ship soon arrived at Chanhe Villa. The guide on the ship held a compass with a piece of paper next to it with strange numbers marked on it. He muttered to himself, "At the third whirlpool, turn left fifty degrees, go through eight whirlpools, there is a green flag, go through two more whirlpools, turn right thirty degrees, go through three whirlpools, there is a lotus..."

The two second-rate masters were born in the Murong family. They were the real elders of the Murong family. They were originally just errand boys with low status. After Murong Fu regained his memory, he taught them martial arts to all the servants. After they grew up, he gave them a good background, which made them even more loyal to the Murong family.

They saw that the Murong family was getting better and better, and the people around them were getting better and better. Their loyalty became higher and higher, and they were even more respectful of the mistress and the young master, and they worked more vigorously.

In addition to their two second-rate masters, there are twenty strong men responsible for delivering goods, ten crew members responsible for operating the boat, a servant responsible for counting the goods, and a guide responsible for leading the way. Among them, these guides are special talents specially trained. It is said that many of them will go out to sea to make a lot of money in the future.

"Beat the drum once and go into the water to check!" Five crew members wearing leather jackets jumped into the water with a "splash" and "splash". After checking around the big ship three times, they boarded the ship and continued to set sail.

"Beat the drum twice and light the lamp to send the message!" The guide's pass could not lead to Chanhe Villa. Soon, a solitary boat floated in the mist ahead. An old man boarded the boat to check it and handed over a new pass.

"Beat the drum three times, enter the village and go ashore!" The big ship turned three times and five times, and the front suddenly opened up. An isolated island in Taihu Lake came into view. It was quite bustling with people coming and going, and the buildings and pavilions were beautiful, but most of them were occupied by young people and women.

There were more than a dozen archers stationed at the small dock, and a number of horse-drawn carriages had been waiting for a long time. When the ship docked, twenty strong men unloaded the cargo, and people on the carriages transported the cargo according to the numbers. Two second-rate masters re-counted the cargo and handed over the warrant. The guide took the new pass and then returned to the water fort.

Over a hundred feet away from the dock, a gray figure quietly emerged from the water. The air sac in his arms had been depleted. He took a deep breath, wiped the water stains from his face, and cursed softly, "You little brat have quite a few tricks up your sleeve. Zhuge Wuhou's Bagua formation is so bizarre, but in the end, I managed to find it in Chanhe Manor. When I find you, I'll make sure you're in trouble."

After getting ashore, the man in gray quickly found the direction and disappeared into the mountains in a blink of an eye. After walking only a dozen steps, he found that the surrounding scenery was a little strange. The faint fragrance of flowers made him feel relaxed. The scenery in front, behind, left and right was actually basically the same, but he seemed to have lost his way.

"There's something wrong with this scenery and the fragrance of flowers!" The man in gray hurriedly circulated his internal energy and reached the top of a tree in three or two steps. Looking around, he found that he had deviated from the direction unknowingly. He was only a dozen steps into the forest, and he couldn't help but feel horrified.

"This little brat's methods do have some merits, but unfortunately they are still a little short of those of a true master." As soon as he finished speaking, the whole person rushed out and landed on another tree. After seven or eight times, he came out of the woods and arrived at a flower bush. The flower bush seemed to be a little mysterious, which made him feel dizzy and he dared not look closely.

From the front came the sounds of cheerful singing and laughter. A dozen or so little girls, around ten years old, came bounding over, carrying baskets of flowers. They walked along the blossoms of specific colors, chatting and laughing as they picked the flowers they needed. One of the little girls said with a smile, "Young Master is selecting four maids this time. We need to train them by our side. Ah Bi is the most promising of us. You must work hard and don't let our group down."

The little girl named A Bi carefully plucked a blood-red flower and carefully placed it in the basket. Then she responded, "My cousin has made it clear that the selected maid will stay with her for six months to improve her skills. After the hype has died down, she can be taken by the young master's side. We little girls are not so bad. Any one of us would be a top-notch talent. But we are too young and our skills are too weak. I'm afraid we will be a burden to the young master."

Ah Bi sighed softly and said with displeasure, "Those people outside are the most jealous of others' success. Young Master has earned everything through his own hard work, but they insist on taking it away by force. When they can't get it, they resort to trickery. Young Master is such a hero, he won't let them succeed so easily. Unfortunately, we useless people are holding him back. If he has another five or six years, we will definitely be able to help him."

The maids all nodded in unison, then turned to discuss how many ancient books the young master had brought back from his recent trip, and which martial arts manuals were suitable for young girls like them. Several of them had once spent time at Gusu Academy and remarked on how hard life was for their peers out there, how maids were naturally inferior, how cruel the intrigues were, and how life at Chanhe Villa was better.

"Sisters, it's getting late. The old lady is still waiting for the hundred-flower medicinal bath. We must not miss the time. The old lady is kind-hearted, but we cannot be arrogant because of her favor. The rules of the Murong family must be strictly followed." The little girl named A Bi wiped the sweat from her forehead. This hundred-flower bath was quite particular. Even little girls like them who had martial arts skills could not stay here for a long time.

Everyone quickly completed the collection work and returned to the village along a specific route. At this time, the sun gradually turned west and set behind the mountain.