The Villain's Counterattack

"Senior Sister, can you please lend me a well in Xiji Garden for a while?" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came to visit together, yes, in secret.

Dugu Feng held the sword in his hand, practicing a sword technique and slowly moving the sword. He was not surprised to see the two boys. A bright smile appeared on his face and he said, "It is not impossible to enter Yang Gong's treasure house through the well in Xiji Garden. You must first ask my senior sister about my sword."

Kou Zhong was shocked when he heard this and exclaimed, "Senior Sister actually knew that?"

Dugu Feng curled his lips in disdain and said, "It's not a big secret. Not to mention that Master Lu Miaozi has already joined the Xiaoyao Sect as a guest elder, even when Lord Chu Yang Xuangan was defeated and hunted by the Buddhist sect, it was Master who rescued him. When Master entered Lord Yang's treasury to retrieve the Evil Emperor's relic, I was by his side. Do you think I knew about it?"

Kou Zhong approached with a smirk, wanting to pry for details, but Dugu Feng rolled her eyes and retorted, "I was only guarding the well at the time, and I've never actually been inside, so how could I possibly know what's inside? But one thing is certain, Master values ​​the things on the other side very highly. He even had 100,000 taels of gold, but he only took a box and left nothing else."

"One hundred thousand taels of gold?!" Even Xu Ziling couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"I'm rich, I'm rich!" Kou Zhong, the money-grubber, had golden light in his eyes.

Dugu Feng chuckled and said, "Two junior brothers, as the saying goes, we share half when we meet. You entered the treasure house from Senior Sister's house, so shouldn't you give her a share? Senior Sister is not greedy, so half is not necessary. Ten percent should be fine, right?"

"Senior sister, what is our relationship? Talking about money will only hurt our feelings." If it was just ordinary things, it would be fine, but this Yang Gong treasure was too rich. Just one tenth of one hundred thousand taels of gold was ten thousand taels. Kou Zhong really couldn't bear to part with it.

Dugu Feng rolled her eyes and curled her lips in disdain, saying, "You are such a greedy little brat, blinded by money. Never mind, my family is quite wealthy, so I won't joke with you. As long as you can satisfy the sword in my hand, I will make things easier for you and at the same time fend off a few of the pursuers who will follow."

"Pursuers?" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged bewildered glances. Dugu Feng sneered, "You're not naive enough to think your identities are so secretive that no one knows them, are you? Even if your disguised identities are unknown, the Yuema Bridge mechanism will shake the earth and mountains once activated. Anyone with a keen eye will be able to detect even a little bit, and your whereabouts will be impossible to conceal."

"If Senior Sister's prediction is correct, the pursuers are probably already close and will enter the mansion to investigate within a quarter of an hour."

Kou Zhong jumped up as if on fire, "That senior sister is so leisurely teasing us two brothers."

"Because I, Senior Sister, love trouble the most, whether it's causing trouble for others or being troubled by others." As Dugu Feng spoke, her aura gradually increased, and then she said firmly: "As Master's disciple, firm belief and an unyielding spirit are essential. Otherwise, how can I follow Master to the peak?"

"I'll take your advice!" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shocked when they heard the words, and then bowed respectfully.

"Stop talking nonsense, you don't have much time left, attack!" Dugu Feng unsheathed his sword, and the cold light flashed towards the two of them. The inexplicable coldness was bone-chilling.

Xiji Garden, the old residence of the Dugu family in Chang'an City, was bustling with people coming and going. More than ten servants, all of them first-class, were hurriedly leaving in brocade clothes. Just as they were leaving the house, they ran into a team head-on.

"Wait a minute, you are all from the Dugu Mansion, why are you in such a hurry? Is there something big happening in the mansion? It looks quite lively." The leader was a little ugly, but he had a strong aura, and his clothes were luxurious with hidden dragon patterns.

The leading servant carefully examined the other party and suddenly bowed deeply, saying, "Is it in person of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi?"

The man who came was Li Yuanji, who had been ordered to track down Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling in an attempt to seize Hu Yanggong's treasure. He had made his way all the way to the Dugu Mansion, but he hadn't expected to find that the Dugu Mansion seemed to be in the middle of something. The servant who met him was surprisingly quite capable, and his words and behavior were neither fearful nor arrogant, which piqued his interest. "It's me, Your Majesty. You haven't answered my question just now. Is there something important happening in your mansion?"

The servant's face was indeed filled with joy. He pulled out a golden invitation from his bosom and respectfully presented it with both hands. "I am a servant of the Dugu Mansion, and I have been ordered by Miss Feng to send out invitations to heroes. We are calling on young talents and martial arts masters from Chang'an City to meet at the mansion to discuss martial arts and the world's young heroes. There are nine golden invitations, eighteen silver invitations, and the remaining are cyan invitations. This is the golden invitation from His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. Miss Feng has instructed that it must be delivered to His Royal Highness personally."

Li Yuanji couldn't help but be delighted when he heard this. He casually took it and unfolded it. It turned out to be an invitation. The time was today at noon. A small banquet for talented people in Chang'an was being held in Xiji Garden of Dugu Mansion. "I wonder what invitations my two brothers, the Crown Prince and the King of Qin, are sending?"

The servant's expression was slightly different, and he hesitated. Li Yuanji looked suspicious, and someone beside him suddenly laughed and said, "Could it be that Miss Feng didn't invite His Highnesses the Crown Prince and the King of Qin?"

The servant was shocked when he heard this and blurted out, "How did you know?"

"Hahahaha!" the man laughed. "Looking at the invitation from the King of Qi, the words are full of fighting spirit and the word 'martial'. Plus, Miss Dugu is going to test the world with her sword. From Liaodong to Chang'an, which young masters can escape her?"

"If my guess is correct, Miss Dugu is planning to challenge the other heroes at the banquet, completing the challenge of Chang'an City before Yin Zhao Fozi can make his move." The man's words seemed speculative, but his tone was extremely certain. "The reason why the King of Qi is here but the Crown Prince and the King of Qin are not is simple. Those two have special statuses, not martial prowess. They would not be of any benefit to Miss Dugu in a challenge, and might even hinder her. If Miss Dugu wants to fight the other heroes, she must not have those two present. I wonder if what I say is correct?"

The servant looked at him carefully, then suddenly realized something. He took out a silver invitation from his pocket and presented it respectfully, saying, "But this is the Nanhai Sect's headmaster, Mei. I was blind and didn't recognize you. Please forgive me, headmaster."

Mei Xun's mouth twitched slightly when he saw the color of the invitation. Li Yuanji was delighted and patted his shoulder vigorously, saying, "I am so grateful to Miss Feng for her attention. I will definitely give her this honor. However, I have an important matter to attend to..."

Mei Xun suddenly interrupted him and said, "Your Highness, Prince Qi, don't you think this place is very close to Yuema Bridge, and that Xiji Garden is also the masterpiece of the skilled craftsman Lu Miaozi?"

Li Yuanji was stunned when he heard this. At this moment, several figures were walking towards him from different directions, and they were all familiar faces.

"Dadaozhi."

"Yu Chi Jingde."

"Li Jing."

"Xue Wanche."

"Duan Zhixuan."

"Feng Liben."

"Yan Li."

"Chang He."

"Feng Zhenzhen."

Mei Xun was speechless. Could he search Xiji Garden openly? He wanted to humiliate Dugu Feng, but with this lineup, he couldn't handle it.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Qi, there's still some time before the banquet begins. Why don't we go in early and ask Miss Dugu to show us the beautiful scenery of Xiji Garden?"

Li Yuanji: "Do you think she will take us to see the scenery or to the martial arts training ground?"

Mei Xun: ...