Chapter 185 Why is the salary gap so big?

The next day, early morning.

Chu Yuan and Duan Yu left the inn.

In the hazy morning mist, we rented a small boat, sailed through the vast sea, and headed to Gusu City by water.

Both Chanhe Manor and Tingyu Residence are located in Yanziwu, thirty miles west of Gusu City.

Wuxi City is about a hundred miles away from Gusu City.

If you go by land, it will take about a day.

But if you take the water route, it will only take one or two hours.

Shenhe Village.

Located in Yanziwu, deep in the Dongting Reed Pond.

Neither Chu Yuan nor Duan Yu knew how to row a boat, so when Chu Yuan and his friends hired a boat, they also hired an old boatman in his sixties who was wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat.

The waterways in the south of the Yangtze River are interconnected. If you don’t know the way, it is very easy to get lost even if you can row a boat.

After arriving at Yanziwu, the old boatman refused to move forward no matter what he said.

"That Swallow Valley is the home of the Murong family. People who come in and out are all martial artists, brandishing spears and clubs, and speaking fiercely. Ordinary people like us cannot come in and out at will, especially the Chanhe Manor."

The old boatman stopped the boat outside Yanziwu, in a reed marsh, and hesitated to move forward.

"Don't worry, old man. We are old acquaintances of the Murong family. You just need to send us into the manor, and I will give you double the boat fare."

Duan Yu said.

"OK then."

Hearing that Duan Yu was willing to pay more, the old man agreed.

The ship had just started moving again and had not gone very far.

"Master Duan... Young Master Chu..."

At this moment, a familiar, soft and pleasant girl's voice came from far behind.

"Old man, please stop the boat and wait for a moment."

Chu Yuan shouted.

The old man rowing the boat did as he was told and stopped the boat and waited.

Not long after, they saw a small boat rowing towards them at a very fast speed from not far away. Chu Yuan and Duan Yu took a closer look and found that the person rowing the boat was a pretty girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing green clothes.

It was just yesterday that I met Murong Fu’s maid A-Bi in the apricot forest.

"It's you, Miss Abi!"

Seeing that it was A-Bi, Duan Yu was somewhat happy.

"Miss Abi."

Chu Yuan also greeted A Bi.

"Why are you alone? Where are Miss Ah Zhu and Miss Wang?"

Duan Yu looked around and saw neither Ah Zhu nor Wang Yuyan on the boat, nor any other boats around.

"Master Duan, stop looking. Miss Wang didn't come with me. I just saw from a distance what looked like you two, but I didn't expect that when I got closer, it turned out to be you two."

The little girl Abi said.

Duan Yu said, "My second brother heard that I was bullied by the evil Tibetan monk on my way, so he decided to help me and teach the evil monk a lesson."

Chu Yuan said: "It's mainly because I heard from my third brother that this monk is also a master, and I want to fight him to see who is better."

A-Bi said, "You guys really know how to pick the right time. The big monk is in Chanhe Manor right now. Ever since we got rid of the big monk from my sister Tingxiangshui's "Tingyuju" last time, the big monk sneaked back to Chanhe Manor and refused to leave. We only found out about it after hearing the news from the servants in the manor. I came here to find out about the situation around Chanhe Manor, but I didn't expect to meet you."

Duan Yu was surprised and said, "We originally wanted to go to Chanhe Manor to ask you about the whereabouts of the monk, but we didn't expect that he is in Chanhe Manor now."

Ah Bi looked at Duan Yu, then at Chu Yuan: "Young Master Chu, although you are a skilled martial artist, the monk is not weak either. Otherwise, we would not have let him stay in Chanhe Manor to commit crimes. Why don't you come with me to my Qinyun Cottage to meet my sister and Miss Wang and see what suggestions they have. They are all in my Qinyun Cottage now!"

Before Chu Yuan could say anything, Duan Yu immediately agreed: "Then please let Miss A-Bi lead the way."

Chu Yuan looked at Duan Yu with a strange expression. This kid is really a flatterer!
When they heard that Wang Yuyan was there too, they almost forgot what they were here for.

Abi invited, "Come on board my boat."

After hearing what A-Bi said, Duan Yu paid the boat fare and boarded the boat rowed by A-Bi with Chu Yuan.

The boat is not big. Although it doesn’t even have a canopy, it can only be considered a small boat, but it can accommodate three people without any problem and it is not crowded.

After Chu Yuan and Duan Yu got on the boat, A Bi skillfully paddled the boat, sailing through the sparkling waves and the endless reed marshes.

Although A-Bi is young and not very tall, her rowing skills are superb.

Soon, A-Bi rowed the boat to the shore, where there were several willow trees with branches hanging down to the water. A wooden ladder made of pine branches hung down to the water.

A-Bi tied the boat to the trunk of a willow tree nearby. A-Bi went ashore first and said in a clear voice, "Please come ashore, both of you!"

Chu Yuan and Duan Yu went ashore together. Duan Yu seemed to be very familiar with this place. After going ashore, he walked straight inside.

A Bi smiled and explained to Chu Yuan: "Young Master Chu, please don't worry about Master Duan. This is not the first time Master Duan has come to my place, but he came with the big monk last time."

Chu Yuan was quite interested in this after hearing this: "Big monk?"

A-Bi continued, "It was the evil Tibetan monk. Later, the big monk chased us and went to my sister's Tingxiangshui Pavilion."

While chatting casually with A-Bi, the three of them boarded the island one after another.

There are four or five houses sparsely scattered on the island. The houses are small and exquisite, and quite elegant.

They walked to a pavilion-like house. On the plaque above the door were inscribed the words "Qin Yun" in freehand and elegant handwriting.

"Sister, Miss Wang, look who's here?"

Abi shouted as she returned to the island.

Not long after, two beautiful girls came out of the house.

These two beautiful girls were Wang Yuyan and Azhu, and they were holding luggage in their hands.

"Master Duan, Young Master Chu, why are you here?"

Ah Zhu was somewhat surprised when she saw Chu Yuan and Duan Yu.

"Miss Wang!"

Duan Yu looked somewhat surprised when he saw Miss Wang.

"I heard that the Tibetan evil monk chased my third brother all the way. My third brother and I were going to deal with the big monk. We happened to meet Miss A Bi. She said that the big monk was very powerful. You were at her residence, so she invited us to come over to discuss countermeasures."

Chu Yuan explained.

"This is what you are doing?"

Then Chu Yuan looked at the luggage in their hands and said.

"Just now, the young master sent a letter saying that a senior monk from Shaolin Temple was murdered a few months ago. Rumors in the martial arts world all say that the young master did it. The young master has gone to Shaolin Temple to cooperate with Shaolin Temple to investigate the truth of this matter. Now that Chanhe Manor has been occupied by that senior monk, it is not safe to continue staying in Yanziwu. We are going to Shaolin Temple to meet up with the young master."

Ah Zhu explained.

"May I ask who the high monk who was murdered in Shaolin Temple was?"

Chu Yuan asked Ah Zhu with an idea in his mind.

Could it be that Qiao Feng’s master Xuan Ku?

If it is really Xuan Ku, then it means that Xiao Yuanshan has already started to take action.

I don’t know if it will be too late for Qiao Feng to rush over now.

But the time doesn’t seem right, so it shouldn’t be Xuan Ku.

"It's Master Xuanbei!"

Wang Yuyan said.

Chu Yuan asked: "Who is Xuan Bei?"

Ah Zhu said: "Master Xuanbei of Shaolin Temple died in Dali Shenjie Temple under the "Vedo Pestle" which he was best at. The murderer's martial arts are similar to the "Dou Zhuan Xing Yi" of my Murong family. That is why our son was mistaken for the murderer."

Chu Yuan had a strange expression on his face. It seemed that Murong Fu was indeed the biggest scapegoat in the world.

Ma Dayuan is dead, it was Murong Fu who did it!

Xuan Bei is dead, and it was Murong Fu who did it!

All the bad things were done by Murong Fu!
I wonder what Murong Fu felt when he heard this...

However, time has changed?
In this world, Murong Fu is not the only one who can change the world!
And there is Murong Fu’s father, Murong Bo!
In other words, it is very likely that Murong Bo did this, and Murong Fu is taking the blame for his father Murong Bo.

Ah Zhu didn't know what Chu Yuan was thinking, so she asked Chu Yuan: "Master Chu, are you really going to deal with that big monk?"

Chu Yuan came back to his senses: "I heard that the monk is the Tubo national teacher, and he has a past with the old patriarch of the Murong family. Since I have this opportunity, I will definitely meet this master from the Western Regions."

Ah Zhu said happily, "That's perfect. Our Murong family's Swallow Valley is almost occupied by that monk. I heard from the servants in the village that the monk has been staying in the "Huanshi Water Pavilion" since he entered it and has never come out."

Chu Yuan suggested: "Let's go now!"

Ah Zhu looked at the sky and said, "Don't rush to find the monk. It's already noon. This is the first time that Young Master Chu comes to the Murong family. We should do our best to be a good host. We can't let Young Master Chu go hungry. Help us deal with the strong enemy. After we have a full meal, it won't be too late to go to Chanhe Village."

After hearing what Ah Zhu said, Chu Yuan decided not to rush for the time being.

Then Chu Yuan and Duan Yu were invited to a reception hall. Not long after, servants served them tea, cakes, and some Jiangnan-style dishes.

After a hearty meal and lunch, Ah Zhu, Ah Bi, and Wang Yuyan rowed a slightly larger boat at the dock and took Chu Yuan and Duan Yu to Canhe Manor. Canhe Manor, Qinyun Cottage, Tingxiangshui Pavilion...all belong to Yanziwu.

This is a huge, sprawling island.

It’s just that Chanhe Manor is Murong Fu’s usual residence, while Qinyun Cottage and Tingxiangshui Pavilion are the daily living places for Azhu and Abi, the two personal maids given by Murong Fu to himself.

"I have to say, maids in wealthy families are great. Not only do they have their own islands given by their masters, but they also have servants serving them on the islands."

Chu Yuan thought back to the Qinyun Cottage where he had just visited.

"Young Master Chu, you and Master Duan stayed in Jiangnan. I wonder where the other members of your Beggars' Sect and Leader Qiao are?"

On the boat, Ah Zhu sat at the stern, rowing and asking Chu Yuan.

Duan Yu at the bow glanced at Wang Yuyan from time to time, staring blankly there, while the two girls, Wang Yuyan and A-Bi, sat in the middle of the boat, whispering and giggling, and no one knew what they were talking about!
Chu Yuan's heart moved when he heard this. After all, the girl Azhu in front of him was his future sister-in-law.

"I don't know if she and her elder brother fell in love in the apricot forest yesterday!"

Chu Yuan said in his heart.

"Miss Ah Zhu, you want to ask about my elder brother, he has also gone to Shaolin Temple!" Chu Yuan said, "All the disciples of the Beggars' Sect have returned to the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect."

"Boss Qiao also went to Shaolin Temple?" Ah Zhu paused while rowing, then resumed rowing.

"After analyzing it, we feel that there might be something fishy about Brother Qiao's life experience. The leader killed Brother Qiao's biological parents. This is too coincidental. I'm afraid it was set up by someone. Now that Brother Qiao's identity has been exposed, the person behind the scenes might take action. So Brother Qiao will go back to Shaoshi Mountain first."

Chu Yuan said.

Ah Zhu heard this and suddenly understood: "So that's how it is. There must be another reason for this. I was wondering why Brother Qiao's life story is so bizarre. It turns out that someone planned it."

"Not only was someone designing it, but the person who designed it was your young master's father."

Chu Yuan said secretly in his heart.

Ah Zhu chatted with Chu Yuan in a random manner. On the surface, it seemed that she was chatting with Chu Yuan, but in fact, she was trying to find out the news about Qiao Feng from Chu Yuan in a roundabout way.

Chu Yuan took a look and knew that his elder brother's wife was basically secured.

Because if a girl is interested in another man, it means she is already halfway into his trap.

Chu Yuan also tried his best to help both parties. Basically, he would tell Ah Zhu everything he knew.

In less than half an hour, they arrived at Chanhe Manor from Qinyun Cottage.

Compared with Qinyun Cottage, Chanhe Manor is much larger.

Not only are there more than a hundred houses on the island, the island is also nearly ten times larger than A-Bi's Qinyun Cottage. Chu Yuan and his friends went ashore at the pier.

Seeing Ah Zhu, Ah Bi, and Wang Yuyan coming back, two servants with anxious expressions came over and said, "Miss Zhu, Miss Bi, cousin, something bad has happened. Not long ago, my aunt came to the manor to look for my cousin. My aunt didn't know that the foreign monk was in the manor, so she ran into him. Later, the monk and my aunt rowed away together.

Wang Yuyan was shocked when she heard this and asked, "What did you say?"

Jiumozhi's martial arts skills are so high that if her mother falls into his hands, she would be in great danger.

Seeing Wang Yuyan's anxious expression, Duan Yu comforted her: "Miss Wang, let's not be anxious yet. Let's think about where they will go first."

Ah Zhu said: "Langhuan Jade Cave."

Wang Yuyan nodded and said, "Yes, Langhuan Jade Cave. Since Jiumozhi came here to return the Shishui Pavilion, he must have set his sights on my Langhuan Jade Cave."

Ah Bi also said, "Our master had anticipated that the Water Pavilion would attract evil guests like the foreign monk Jiumozhi who coveted martial arts secrets, so he had already hidden the powerful martial arts secrets in another secret room. There were only some very ordinary martial arts secrets and some books read by scholars such as "Commentaries on the Thirteen Classics", "Twenty-two Histories of the Palace Edition", and "Collection of Various Philosophers". This monk must have failed to achieve his goal in the Murong family, and just when the cousin's wife came, he set his sights on the Wang family's Langhuan Jade Cave."

Wang Yuyan said anxiously: "Let's go back to Mantuo Villa."

Since Jiumozhi was no longer here, Chu Yuan and the others could only leave Chanhe Villa first and continue rowing towards Wangmantuo Villa.

Mantuo Villa is also near Gusu City and not far from Yanziwu. It only takes about two hours to row a boat there.

When Chu Yuan and his friends arrived at Mantuo Villa, it was already dusk.

There was a golden color in the distance. As the sky darkened, the mist on the lake became thicker.

Fortunately, they finally made it back to Mantuo Villa before dark.

The boat turned around a row of weeping willows and saw in the distance a cluster of flower trees by the water, their red reflections on the water, as bright as clouds.

"Brother, this flower is called Datura, and it is also the camellia of Dali."

Duan Yu, who had been to Mantuo Villa once, pointed to the row of camellia trees and said.

"Mr. Duan, you seem very familiar with it!"

Ah Zhu teased Duan Yu as she moored the boat at the shore.

“This is my second time here.”

Duan Yu responded with a smile.

"Aren't you afraid that your aunt and madam will want to chop off your limbs and make them into fertilizer?"

A-Bi teases Duan Yu.

"Mrs. Wang is indeed a bit cruel, but I am not afraid this time since my second brother is here."

Duan Yu said.

Several people were chatting and laughing, but Wang Yuyan had a gloomy face and looked anxious, as if she was worried about her mother.

Chu Yuan was also looking at the Mantuo Villa in front of him.

As the boat approached the shore, he could no longer see any houses, but he could see that the shore was covered with colorful datura flowers, which looked like a cluster of flowers.

The identity of Mrs. Wang gradually emerged in Chu Yuan's mind.

This Madam Wang's original name was Li Qingluo, and she was Ding Chunqiu's adopted daughter.

Her father is Wuyazi, her mother is Li Qiushui. Her mother had an affair with her father's apprentice Ding Chunqiu, and was informed by Tianshan Tonglao. The two took the initiative and knocked Wuyazi off the cliff...

This is somewhat similar to what happened to him.

However, he was not like Ding Chunqiu who betrayed his master and ancestors. Not only did he commit adultery with his master's wife, he also joined forces with her to kill his master.

Although Wuyazi was not killed by the two men, he was rescued by his disciple Su Xinghe and pretended to be dead.

Later, Li Qiushui did not stay with Ding Chunqiu. She went to Western Xia and married Li Yuanhao, the founding emperor of Western Xia, and became Li Yuanhao's queen.

The Xixia Yipintang that they encountered in the apricot forest yesterday was founded by Li Qiushui and Xixia Emperor Li Yuanhao.

After Li Qingluo was raised by Ding Chunqiu, she was deceived by the stud prince, Duan Zhengchun, Duan Yu's father, and became pregnant before marriage. She had no choice but to marry into the Gusu Wang family and became the lady of Mantuo Villa.

Because of her abnormal background and her later experiences, after her husband passed away, Mrs. Wang was left unchecked and her character became increasingly cruel. She often captured civilians and brought them back. As long as she was not satisfied with something, she would chop them up and use them as fertilizer, killing innocent people indiscriminately.

This Madam Wang is also another vicious woman in the Tianlong world besides Kang Min...

These thoughts flashed through Chu Yuan's mind. When the ship completely docked at the shore, Chu Yuan and his companions went ashore.

As soon as she got ashore, a maid in green came to greet her. Seeing that it was Wang Yuyan, the maid happily said, "Miss, you are back?"

Wang Yuyan asked, "Did my mother come back with a Western monk today? Where is that Western monk now?"

The maid saw her young lady's anxious look and knew the importance of the matter. She replied, "Madam went out today saying she was going to look for the young lady, and when she came back she was indeed with a foreign monk. Later she had someone take the monk to the Langhuan Jade Cave in our villa."

Hearing the maid's words, Wang Yuyan breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that this monk only came for the martial arts secrets, and he didn't do anything bad to my mother."

"Miss, Madam doesn't allow you to bring outsiders home, so why did you bring this Mr. Duan here again, and this time you brought a handsome young man with you?"

The maid glanced at Wang Yuyan's side. She knew Ah Zhu and Ah Bi. They were the maids of her cousin and often interacted with her young lady. They had a very good relationship. As for the other two young men, she had seen one of them before. He was almost chopped off by her own lady to be used as fertilizer for flowers. She didn't know the other one.

When Wang Yuyan heard the maid's question, her heart moved. She knew that her mother would only respond to tough measures and not soft words.

"Go tell my mother that the Beggars' Sect's Green Lotus Envoy Chu Yuan is visiting our Mantuo Villa."

Wang Yuyan said to the maid.

Even if Chu Yuan's deeds of saving the Beggars' Sect from danger in the apricot forest yesterday had not spread to the world.

However, Chu Yuan's status as the Green Lotus Emissary of the Beggars' Sect and a sworn brother of the Sect's leader Qiao Feng was enough to make his mother treat him with courtesy.

What's more, Chu Yuan has superb martial arts skills.

In comparison, Duan Yu is just an unknown person in the martial arts world, with no fame and no martial arts skills.

"Yes, ma'am."

Upon hearing this, the maid looked at Chu Yuan curiously and went in to report.

Before Chu Yuan and the others had to wait for a moment, a group of young women in green clothes came out of Mantuo Villa, dressed as maids, and stood in two rows at the gate of the villa.

A beautiful woman walked out of the manor. She was wearing a goose yellow silk shirt. She was less than 40 years old, with picturesque features. She looked 70% similar to Wang Yuyan and still had some charm.

Chu Yuan guessed that this should be Mrs. Wang, the owner of Mantuo Villa.

"I was wondering why there were so many happy noises in the villa these days. I didn't expect that Mantuo Villa would welcome a distinguished guest."

Madam Wang looked Chu Yuan up and down and smiled slightly.

Duan Yu felt a little jealous, because it was not like this the last time he came.

Those maids all held swords in their hands, the blades were as white as frost and the sword light was brilliant.

Mrs. Wang also said that she would cut off his feet, dig out his eyes, cut off his tongue, and use himself as fertilizer for the flowers.

In comparison, the treatment my second brother received was completely different from the last time I received it.

Wang Yuyan was also a little surprised. Although she knew Chu Yuan's identity and fame, she knew that he could make her mother worried and would not make things too difficult for her.

But it is hard to imagine why her mother still looked like she was welcoming a distinguished guest when she saw Chu Yuan?

(End of this chapter)