The Villain's Counterattack

The men in black were very cautious as they walked along. There were people to meet them along the way, and there were people to cover their retreat from behind. All of them had extraordinary martial arts skills, at least second-rate in the martial arts world, or even first-rate.

But they were also cautious and alert, and were unwilling to come together easily. They dispersed to form a loose circle and continued to lurk towards the outskirts of the mountain.

Seeing that he was gradually leaving the control range of Piaomiao Peak, the man in black took a deep breath, and his legs felt a little sore. At this moment, he heard a sharp whistling of wind, and a chill came over him. His legs and shoulders were hit instantly, and he fell straight to the ground.

A fragrant breeze blew in, accompanied by the clear and pleasant laughter of a woman: "Looking at the way you're dressed, I know you're not a good person. You little thief actually set your sights on my Piaomiao Peak Lingjiu Palace. You really don't know how to spell the word death."

The man in black stiffened when he heard that, his heart beat faster and he begged for mercy repeatedly. He was even thinking of committing suicide to avoid unbearable pain. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and two figures attacked from the left and right. They were his companions who had not left far and came to support him.

The woman was quite skilled in martial arts. When she waved her hands, a chilling aura filled her air. She could easily gain the upper hand against two masters at the same time. A whistling sound was heard, and two figures came running quickly. One went straight to the woman in purple, and the other picked up the fallen man in black and ran away quickly.

But just as he was about to pick up the cloth bag on the ground, a piece of ice hit him and knocked his outstretched hand away. The men in black were greatly shocked. There was actually someone else in the dark!

"How brave!" The purple-clothed woman became more and more excited as the fight went on. She fought three masters alone and did not lose the upper hand. Instead, she slowly suppressed them. People kept coming to her aid from all sides, but they still could not make her retreat. Instead, the noise of the fight alarmed others.

"Let's go!" Seeing the man in black being rescued, the other five or six people joined forces to capture the woman in purple. Every time they gained the upper hand, ice cubes would pop out from the dark and disrupt their formation. It was obvious that the woman was not alone, and there were masters supporting her in secret. However, they could not find her at such a distance, which shows how high her martial arts skills were.

The information they wanted was already in hand, and they themselves had not been caught. Even if they were suspected, they would not be in immediate danger. They looked at each other, and when someone gave the order, they immediately exerted their strength to temporarily force the woman in purple back, and then turned and ran.

They were all veterans with extraordinary martial arts skills. They knew it was dangerous to leave their backs to the enemy, so they took turns releasing hidden weapons to cover their retreat. They coordinated well with each other and ran a long distance in the blink of an eye.

The woman in purple did not chase after them. Instead, she stayed beside the cloth bag, knocking down the attacking hidden weapons one by one, and watched them leave with a smile.

After they were far away, the purple-clothed woman picked up the cloth bag, jumped a few times, and disappeared into the forest, leaving only traces of a chaotic fight on the ground.

"Husband, is this considered a case of thieves robbing thieves?" The purple-clothed woman was naturally little A Zi. She practiced the Mysterious Nether Palm with the help of a thousand-year-old ice silkworm, and with the help of Murong Fu, her martial arts had already reached a top-notch level, roughly on par with Wang Yuyan, and even better than A Zhu, A Bi, and A Qing.

But she is still young after all, and her martial arts level is still far from enough. She lacks experience in real life-and-death battles. If she did not have Lingbo Weibu and Xuanming Shenzhang, she might not be able to escape from those five or six masters. But if she is really experienced, those five or six second-rate or bottom-of-the-first-rate masters will probably not be able to escape.

Murong Fu took the cloth bag and took little A Zi into the mountains. After a while, they stopped beside a hidden cliff and opened the cloth bag. He saw a little girl of eight or nine years old lying inside. Although the little girl had her eyes closed and seemed unconscious, she was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had an extraordinary appearance.

"Damn human traffickers. They have superb martial arts skills but they don't learn from them. Instead, they become traffickers of little girls. They deserve to die!" Little A Zi couldn't help but get furious when she saw it. She was not an ignorant young lady who had never done any housework. Although she grew up in the Murong family and had everything she wanted, she also received a lot of education, compiled a lot of intelligence, and knew the sufferings of the people. At the same time, because she was an abandoned orphan, she was even more jealous of human traffickers and parents who abandoned their children.

The ancients said: Confucians use literature to disrupt the law, and knights use force to violate the ban. Throughout the Song Dynasty, literati had a high status. Not only did they occupy a large amount of resources and not pay taxes, they also deceived the king, corrupted the country and oppressed the people. The constant rebellions throughout the Song Dynasty were not without reason. Before Murong Fu, the entire Sichuan and Shu were the hardest hit areas of rebellion.

Confucianism flourished in the Song Dynasty, and new scholars and officials were constantly added. These people would naturally favor their own people when they were in power. Not only were officials not punished, but they also enjoyed support from the court, which made the finances of the Song Dynasty court quite tight. However, the evaluation of Song Dynasty officials was basically based on the completion of tax collection, which undoubtedly brought many conveniences to local officials to oppress the people.

Was it really a coincidence that Murong Trading Company spread throughout the Song Dynasty? Was it really just because Murong Fu was so powerful and had a government background?

This is not the case. The main reason is that Murong Fu was willing to give concessions to local officials so that they could complete their tax collection tasks and bring better official reputation. Profits are the first priority.

But wealth does not appear out of thin air. If Murong Fu takes it and has to share it with others, there will be people who cannot get it or even have to pay. These people are the ones Murong Fu is secretly targeting: the illegal gangs of the lowest class.

Of course, mere redistribution cannot bring people together. Suzhou University's innovation capabilities and a steady supply of products are equally crucial.

The Beggars' Sect boasted a reputation as the world's foremost gang, but the forest was vast and full of birds, and the culprits behind the beggars' attacks were primarily them. Murong Fu, while collaborating with the Beggars' Sect, also suppressed them, especially the more toxic members, with no mercy. Little A'Zi had witnessed the plight of the mutilated children in certain Beggars' Sect garrisons. She put herself in their shoes, thinking of herself as an orphan herself. If she hadn't been taken in by her husband and the old lady, her fate would have been even worse.

It is said that little A Zi held the girl in her arms. Seeing that she was unconscious, Murong Fu asked little A Zi to take care of her. He found a sheltered place, lit a bonfire, took out some daily necessities from the storage space, set up two hammocks, and then called them over.

The space inside the storage space was not too big. Although Murong Fu did not tell others about it, he had used it secretly several times, but he did not publicize it. The women pretended not to see it, and their guesses were just guesses, but they did not ask any questions.

The maids of the Murong family had received comprehensive training. They were proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting to food, clothing, housing and transportation. Little A Zi took the initiative to take over the cooking task. The conditions in the wilderness were simple, but the tools at hand were still usable, and there were also all kinds of seasonings. Together with the pheasants and rabbits caught by Murong Fu, the aroma of meat wafted in a moment.

"Gurgle~" The little girl's stomach on the blanket suddenly made a series of rumbling sounds. Murong Fu and Xiao A Zi looked at each other and laughed unscrupulously. The little girl turned over and sat up, staring at the barbecue dripping with oil on the campfire with her big, bright eyes, and her gaze swept across Murong.

"Are you hungry?" Murong Fu said softly, "Don't worry, dinner will be ready soon. Although Ah Zi's cooking skills are not as good as mine, they are still pretty good."

Little Ah Zi rolled her eyes upon hearing this. How many people in the entire Murong family can cook better than you? Not even Sister Wang Yuyan can. If I had to say, only Sister Ah Zhu can definitely out-cook you.

The girl looked up and down at Ah Zi and Murong Fu, her eyes flashing with an inexplicable light. Suddenly, her gaze fell on the gem ring on Murong Fu's hand. She couldn't help but pounce on it, grabbed his hand, examined it carefully, and asked anxiously, "Where did you steal this seven-treasure ring?"

Murong Fu's face darkened slightly when he heard this. "You look like a little girl, your voice is old, and you know the Seven Treasures Ring, the token of the Xiaoyao Sect's leader. Who are you?!"

"You know the Xiaoyao Sect, and you have the Seven Treasures Ring in your hand. Could you be the disciple of Junior Brother Wuyazi?" The girl grabbed Murong Fu's hand, but was unable to take off the Seven Treasures Ring. As soon as she came into contact with him, she knew that this young man had extraordinary martial arts skills, and she was afraid that he was only slightly inferior to her.

Without waiting for Murong Fu to reply, the girl spoke hastily, "You appear to be only about twenty years old, yet your internal energy is quite profound. You are undoubtedly cultivating Junior Brother Wuyazi's 'Northern Sea Divine Art'. Your movements are effortless and natural, and your entire body is smooth and unified. It doesn't seem like the mixed internal energy of someone else, but rather it is exceptionally pure. Could it be that Junior Brother Wuyazi passed on his cultivation to you? This must be the case, otherwise how could someone of your age possess such profound internal energy? Boy, who are you? How is my Junior Brother Wuyazi doing now?"

Not to mention Murong Fu who had read the original novel, even little A Zi knew who this little girl was after hearing these words.

In the whole world, apart from Tong Piaoyun, the Child-Grandma of Tianshan and the master of Lingjiu Palace on Piaomiao Peak, who else would call Wuyazi his junior brother?

"Murong Fu of the Gusu Murong family greets Tong Lao!" Murfu bowed slightly before continuing, "Senior Wuyazi was once attacked by his evil disciple Ding Chunqiu, leaving him disabled for thirty years and living in seclusion. I, having learned the Dali One Yang Finger and mastering medicine, used it to cure him. Thanks to Senior Wuyazi's kindness, he passed on the 'Northern Divine Art' and benefited from ten years of his practice, which has enabled me to achieve my current accomplishments. Senior Wuyazi is currently living in seclusion at Chanhe Mountain Villa, having previously killed Ding Chunqiu and purged his clan. He now knows that Tong Lao is about to regain her youth, so he ordered me to come and protect her."

The little girl was the Child-Granny of Tianshan. Upon hearing this, she frowned in pain for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Hmph, Junior Brother, one of your two disciples is pedantic and unfortunate, while the other is a man of bad character who betrays his master and ancestors. At least you still remember me and knew to send someone to help me. But why didn't he come himself, but instead sent you? Wait, your name is Murong Fu. The same Murong Fu in the Central Plains martial arts world, with Qiao Feng in the north and Murong in the south?"

From what you said, my junior brother was rescued not long ago, so she must know what the Dali One Yang Finger is. Using this martial art to heal others will inevitably consume her own internal strength. However, her own cultivation level is still there, so recovery is no less than starting over. If I add to that the ten years of Beiming true qi that my junior brother has infused into her, she will be able to recover in a year or two.

Before, she had heard a lot about the two young masters of the Central Plains martial arts world, Qiao Feng in the north and Murong in the south. She thought they were just two first-rate fighters, top-notch at best. But she never expected that after seeing them today, she found that this boy's martial arts skills had at least reached the top level.

Maybe, it's feasible! An idea emerged in her mind, and a faint arc appeared at the corner of Tong Lao's mouth.