Chapter 89: Killing Toward Dongying

Duan Fengyun and Zhu Huang, having changed their clothes, walked out the front gate.

A grinning Duan Fengyun saw a fast horse galloping toward them from afar; he instantly wiped the smile from his face and watched the horse approach.

When the rider appeared within Duan Fengyun's field of vision, he recognized the person at a glance.

It was the general who had been beside the Emperor at the Wushen Jue Palace that day, seemingly called something like Lv Jun.

Duan Fengyun was extremely puzzled; why had this fellow run to Duanqing Ju?

Lv Jun, whipping his horse to go faster, finally arrived at Duanqing Ju, jumped off the horse in a single leap, and said:

"Lv Jun pays his respects to Hero Duan."

Duan Fengyun asked:

"General Lv, what brings you here? To think that even my Duanqing Ju could be found by General Lv.

Truly, the world is vast, yet nowhere is outside the King's domain; it is indeed effortless for General Lv to find us."

General Lv replied sheepishly:

"Hero Duan, you jest. I have been searching for you for two days, and it was only after receiving guidance from Senior Wuming that I managed to find you."

Hearing that it was Wuming who had directed Lv Jun here, Duan Fengyun realized there must be some truly major matter, so he said:

"General Lv, you have traveled far and are exhausted; please come inside for a drink of water before we talk."

Lv Jun cupped his hands in thanks:

"Thank you, Hero Duan."

Bu Jingyun, Nie Feng, and the others were all in the courtyard; seeing Lv Jun arrive, they understood that something major must have happened.

After Lv Jun had drunk a few mouthfuls of water, Duan Fengyun asked:

"General Lv, you went to such lengths to find us; has some major event occurred?"

Having caught his breath, Lv Jun looked at Nie Feng and said:

"Hero Nie, there is something I must say, and I hope you can hold yourself together."

Upon hearing this, Nie Feng immediately had a bad feeling in his heart.

Seeing that Nie Feng did not speak, Lv Jun took it as silent consent and continued:

"Not long ago, our garrison stationed by the sea leading to Dongying discovered a female corpse, and this corpse is none other than Hero Nie's biological mother—Yan Ying!"

The world spun for Nie Feng; he never expected his mother to have died so miserably by the sea and been left exposed in the wilderness.

Upon hearing this news, Nie Renwang immediately rushed forward, grabbed Lv Jun, and asked:

"What did you say?

How could Yan Ying be dead?

Didn't she return to Dongying with Jue Wushen?

Speak clearly, or I will hack you to pieces today, old man."

Duan Fengyun grabbed the frantic Nie Renwang and urged him:

"Senior, please accept my condolences.

Let go of General Lv first and let him finish what he has to say."

Under Duan Fengyun's persuasion, Nie Renwang finally loosened his grip.

Duan Fengyun asked:

"General Lv, do you know who killed Feng's mother?"

After taking two deep breaths, Lv Jun replied:

"After searching through many channels, we finally found the eyewitnesses at the time—two fishermen.

These two fishermen were out at sea and hid when they saw Jue Wushen and a large group of people approaching.

Then they witnessed Yan Ying having a dispute with the man in the lead, after which another young man killed Yan Ying.

After comparing our sketches, the young man is Jue Wushen's eldest son, Juexin."

After hearing this, Nie Renwang roared:

"Jue Wushen, Juexin, I, Nie Renwang, swear I will kill you both to offer a sacrifice to the spirit of my Yan Ying."

Nie Feng was also filled with regret now, wondering why he hadn't just killed Jue Wushen and Juexin when he had the chance that day.

Nie Feng asked:

"May I ask General Lv, where is my mother's body now?"

Lv Jun replied:

"When your mother's body was discovered, it had been soaking in the sea for a long time, so I took the liberty of cremating her remains."

Lv Jun took off the bundle on his back, produced a ceramic box, handed it to Nie Feng, and said:

"Hero Nie, this is your mother's ashes; please give her a proper burial."

Nie Feng carefully took the urn, thanked Lv Jun, and walked out holding the urn with Nie Renwang.

Duan Fengyun looked at Lv Jun and said:

"General Lv, your visit this time isn't just to tell us this, is it?"

Lv Jun nodded, knelt directly on the ground, looked at Duan Fengyun with a pleading gaze, and said:

"My main purpose in coming this time is to beg Hero Duan, Hero Nie, and Hero Bu to go to Dongying and eliminate these Dongying people.

To restore the prestige of our Central Plains Martial Arts and ensure that the tiny land of Dongying dares not invade our Central Plains again."

Duan Fengyun smiled and said:

"It is your Emperor who fears his dragon throne is not secure, so he sent you to find us to resolve his future troubles, right?

Go back and tell your Emperor that we have our own arrangements; it is not his place to point fingers.

If he wants his dragon throne to sit securely, it depends not on us, but on himself."

"If he can manage to be diligent in administration and love the people, everyone will support him."

Lv Jun stood up and replied:

"Very well, Hero Duan.

I will certainly convey your words to the Emperor; please take care, everyone.

I shall take my leave now."

After Lv Jun left, Nie Feng and Nie Renwang, who had gone to bury Yan Ying, also returned.

The group gathered together, and Duan Fengyun began:

"Everyone, please share your thoughts on this matter."

Nie Renwang spoke first:

"In my opinion, we should just charge into Dongying and wipe out Jue Wushen and his son Juexin, root and branch."

Qin Shuang spoke up:

"We must avenge the mother of Junior Brother Nie, but the matter of going to Dongying requires careful deliberation; after all, that is Jue Wushen's lair.

If we rush in blindly, we will surely suffer heavy losses.

Furthermore, this time the Emperor clearly intends to use us as his pawns."

After Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng looked at Duan Fengyun, Bu Jingyun said:

"Junior Brother Duan, why don't you share your thoughts? What is your take on this?"

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Duan Fengyun replied with rare seriousness:

"My thoughts are the same as Uncle Nie's: charge into Dongying, kill Jue Wushen and his son, and avenge Auntie Nie."

Qin Shuang was about to add something after hearing this, but Duan Fengyun gestured for him to listen until he finished.

After signaling to Qin Shuang, Duan Fengyun continued:

"However, it is also just as Brother Shuang said.

If we rashly go to Dongying, it would certainly be an unwise move.

The enemy is in the shadows, while we are in the light.

Therefore, we must first gather information about the experts and factions in Dongying.

This trip should not be too conspicuous, so we must keep it secret and try to go with as few people as possible; too many people will cause too much of a stir.

As for the Emperor, if he wants to use us as pawns, he will have to pay a price."

In truth, Duan Fengyun wanted to charge into Dongying more than anyone else.

Whether in his past life or his current one, he had no fondness for the people of Dongying; in the peaceful world of his past life, he had no way to take action against them.

Now that he had the opportunity and the ability to strike at Dongying, he would not let this chance slip by.

The goal of Nie Feng and the others might only be Jue Wushen and his son, but Duan Fengyun's goal was the entire Dongying populace.

Nie Feng asked:

"Regarding the personnel, Junior Brother Duan, what are your thoughts?"

Duan Fengyun looked at Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng and said:

"I think the three of us going should be enough; too many people bring too many eyes, and with the strength of the three of us, leveling Dongying should be no problem."

Qin Shuang intervened:

"Junior Brother Duan, do not be too arrogant; take me along on this trip."

Duan Fengyun shook his head and replied:

"Brother Shuang, you have just recovered from a major injury, and you are getting married on the eighth of next month.

You should just stay home peacefully and prepare for your wedding, and wait for our return."

Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun also said:

"That's right, Brother Shuang, just stay home and recuperate, and prepare for the wedding.

Trust the three of us, just wait at home for our return."

Nie Renwang walked up to Nie Feng and said:

"Feng'er, be careful on your journey.

Your father will wait for you to bring back the heads of Jue Wushen and his son to offer as a sacrifice to your mother."

Bu Jingyun asked:

"Junior Brother Duan, what is your next move?"

Out of trust in Duan Fengyun, Bu Jingyun knew that Duan Fengyun would not fight a battle he wasn't prepared for.

Duan Fengyun said:

"In the current martial arts world, when it comes to being knowledgeable and experienced, it must be Senior Wuming.

I plan to go to Zhonghua Lou first to find Senior Wuming and learn about the distribution of power in Dongying."

Bu Jingyun and Nie Feng nodded, and Nie Feng agreed:

"Right, we should go to Zhonghua Lou to find Master first and let him give us some guidance."

Without further ado, the three of them packed their luggage simply, grabbed their weapons, and prepared to set out.

Each of the three found their respective lovers, and after a brief moment of intimacy, the three of them set off on their long journey once again.

Duan Fengyun refused the eager-to-fight Nie Renwang and Duan Shuai.

"Leave these things to us young people; Father, you should just stay home peacefully and take care of your daughter-in-law and your future grandchild."

Duan Fengyun said to Duan Shuai.

Under the reluctant gazes of everyone, the three of them mounted fast horses and galloped toward Zhonghua Lou.

Familiar with the way, the three of them arrived at the stables of Zhonghua Lou, tied up their horses, and walked into the main entrance of Zhonghua Lou.

When the waiter saw that Duan Fengyun and the others had arrived, he stepped forward enthusiastically to greet them:

"Hero Duan, Hero Bu, Hero Nie, the proprietor has had me waiting for you for a long time.

The proprietor has been waiting for you in the backyard; please, this way."

Nie Feng asked in confusion:

"Oh, did Master know we were coming?"

The waiter replied:

"After a general visited Zhonghua Lou, the proprietor guessed that you would certainly come, so he instructed me that as soon as you arrived, I was to take you to the backyard."

The three of them were filled with admiration for Wuming's ability to foresee events; without needing the waiter to lead the way, they arrived at Wuming's courtyard, familiar with the path.

Looking at Wuming sitting in the courtyard, Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun spoke up:

"Master, it has been a long time."

Duan Fengyun greeted him as well:

"Senior Wuming, it has been a long time."

Wuming turned around, looked at the three of them, and said:

"You have arrived; come over and sit."

The three walked over to Wuming's side and each found a stone stool to sit on.

Wuming stared at the three and said:

"You three are all persistent people; once you have set your minds on something, outsiders cannot interfere.

Therefore, I will not hinder you; this is what you wanted."

Wuming handed a sheepskin scroll from the table to Duan Fengyun, and when Duan Fengyun looked at it, it was indeed a map of Dongying.

Wuming then explained the power situation in Dongying to the three:

"The current power in Dongying is dominated by the Emperor of Dongying alone.

You have already witnessed the three strongest Martial Artists of Dongying: Quan Dao Shen and Jue Wushen.

The remaining one is the most mysterious and the strongest of the three, the Emperor; it is precisely because of the Emperor that Jue Wushen chose to invade Zhongyuan.

Furthermore, you must be careful of the Eight-Headed Serpent of Dongying when you go there this time.

It is said that this serpent has lived for a very long time and has the ability to bewitch people's hearts.

You must be extremely careful on this trip to Dongying; I will wait for your return."

The three nodded, and after expressing their gratitude, they took the sheepskin map and hurried toward the Garrison Line.