Chapter 38

"Another 500. Looks like I really might have guessed right."

"Also, is 500 the current daily reward limit?"

Jiang Sishui pondered, then had another sudden thought: "Right, why can't 'Dugu Nine Swords' directly add Martial Arts experience? Is it because it wasn't obtained as a system reward? Or is the Grade too low?"

"On the flip side, if I cultivate 'Heavenly Sword Drawing Technique' myself to strengthen my sword intent, how much Martial Arts experience would a day's Hard work amount to?"

One question after another popped up, and Jiang Sishui couldn't help falling into deep thought.

Shaking his head to dismiss these thoughts, the image of a gentle, graceful young girl involuntarily surfaced in Jiang Sishui's mind.

The ice-and-snow girl Bai Axiu from that childhood drama had always been the moonlight in his heart.

Thinking and thinking, he unknowingly fell asleep.

The next morning, the escort caravan continued its journey.

With the precedent of the day before, Zhao Qiying took Jiang Sishui and deliberately avoided Zhao Mengjiao, not wanting to listen to the jealous second sister's cold barbs.

This move truly infuriated Zhao Mengjiao; she gnashed her teeth, stamped her foot, and ran off to pour poison in Zhao Tianhao's ear.

But Zhao Tianhao had lived a long life and had long since seen through everything, so he paid her no heed.

Zhao Mengjiao had no choice but to slowly let the matter go.

At the same time, at Wuliang Mountain in Yunzhou, Seeing Yao Yue was throwing a furious tantrum.

The chilling, sinister Bright Jade true qi sent fierce palm force crashing down on the lake surface again and again, as if trying to flip the entire lake over, venting the fury in Seeing Yao Yue's heart.

Two days!

A full two days of searching, and not even a shadow of the secret manual had been found.

She had already guessed: either there was no secret manual here at all, or it had long been taken by someone else — possibly even earlier than when Jiang Sishui wrote his diary.

In other words, she had traveled thousands of miles only to come away empty-handed.

How could Seeing Yao Yue's heart not be utterly frustrated?

Mu Wanqing and the other five women watched Seeing Yao Yue "fry fish" from the side, their moods none too good either.

After all, they had come full of expectation, and when they discovered the cave, they had been so thrilled they could barely contain themselves.

Now it had all been for nothing — who could let it go?

Suddenly, Seeing Yao Yue stopped, her gaze swept over the women, and she said coldly: "Lady of the Moon."

Hua Yuenu stepped forward at the sound: "This servant is here."

"Go, call them all back. No need to keep searching."

"Great Palace Master?"

"Hmph, my Yihua Palace's 'Bright Jade Art' and 'Flower-Shifting Jade' may not necessarily be inferior to those two sects' martial arts. This Palace Master has had quite enough of this game of hide-and-seek."

"Yes, Great Palace Master."

Hearing the resolve in Seeing Yao Yue's words, Hua Yuenu turned and went to carry out the order.

Seeing Yao Yue suddenly thought of something, drifted into the stone chamber, and came to the jade statue's side.

After one final look, Seeing Yao Yue gave a cold snort: "Some smelly man's handiwork, wantonly desecrating a woman — better destroyed."

As her words fell, she suddenly struck out with a palm, shattering the jade statue into pieces.

Seeing Yao Yue's gaze swept over the broken spot; finding nothing else, she no longer hesitated, and left with the Yihua Palace maids without looking back.

Zhong Ling watched Seeing Yao Yue's retreating figure and said to Mu Wanqing: "Sister Mu, so many sisters from Yihua Palace searched for so long without finding anything — that secret manual probably isn't here."

"Anyway, we have the diary copy for protection, so we don't need to worry about others harming us. Let's just stop looking, alright?"

"Let's go to Suzhou, find Big Brother Jiang. Maybe if he mentions us more, we'll get rewards."

Mu Wanqing heard this and felt a little tempted, but still said tsundere-ly: "Hmph, if you want to go, go by yourself!"

Saying so, she turned and walked off on her own.

"Sister Mu, wait for me! Where are you going?"

"Wherever I want to go — Zhezhou, Jingzhou, Qingzhou, Nanzhou — no one can say for sure. What's it to you?"

"What about Suzhou? Are we going to Suzhou or not?"

"Little imp, asking for a beating!"

Watching the two girls banter as they walked off into the distance, Dugu Yiren smiled slightly and said to Lan Xiaodie and Mei Jiangxue: "I'm heading to Suzhou. Are the two elder sisters interested in coming along?"

Lan Xiaodie shook her head: "Many thanks for the kind offer, sister. I still have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."

Saying so, she cradled her pipa and swayed gracefully away.

Clearly, she too had given up on the secret manual that might or might not still exist here.

Mei Jiangxue was even more aloof; she gave the two girls a slight nod of acknowledgment, then Unleashed Lightness Skill and left.

"Young Lady, are we really going to Suzhou?" Zhutao asked from behind.

Dugu Yiren glanced at her and said: "Suzhou is tens of thousands of li from Yunzhou. By the time we get there, he may well no longer be there."

"Ah? Then we're not going?"

"Whether we go or not is another matter. First, let's leave Yunzhou, wander around a bit. If fate wills it, we'll meet; if not, so be it."

"Then do we leave now, or go back and inform the Master?"

"Inform him of what? What's there to inform? I'm grown up now, not a child. Let's go!"

"Yes, Young Lady."

Not long after the women left, another group of uninvited guests arrived at Wuliang Mountain and, following the clues, found the bottom of the cliff.

"Little Princess, is this the place you were looking for? Are there treasures here?"

A coldly beautiful girl of about sixteen or seventeen turned to look at a little loli two or three years younger than herself, her eyes filled with doubt.

The little loli had faint brows, long lashes, a small mouth, a straight nose, and clear, sparkling eyes full of innocence and naivety. Her dress was gorgeous, and she carried an innate noble air that did not press upon others.

She was none other than the little princess of the Mu Wang Fu — Mu Jianping.

And that cold, beautiful young woman was Fang Yi, Mu Jianping's senior sister.

Both are characters from "The Deer and the Cauldron"; later, both became the protagonist Wei Xiaobao's wives, while that Mu Fu was an organization dedicated to overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming.

However, in this world, Mu Fu has a different background.

Over a hundred years ago, Mu's ancestor followed Emperor Taizu of Ming to conquer the world; due to outstanding merit, he was granted the hereditary title of Duke.

Just before Emperor Taizu of Ming was to abdicate, to clear obstacles for the crown prince about to ascend the throne, he launched a massive purge of the court.

And among those kings, marquises, generals, and ministers, the founding fathers, how many had clean bottoms?

Normally, Emperor Taizu of Ming turned a blind eye, so nothing happened, but once the time came, when Emperor Taizu of Ming dug up old accounts and got serious, not a single minister was wrongly accused; every single one of them was guilty.

At that time, the heads of the meritorious officials and veteran elders were chopped off again and again.

Mu's ancestor, because he disciplined himself and governed his domain strictly, did not collude with others, and thus escaped disaster.

However, seeing those old brothers he had fought alongside killed, even though their crimes were proven, Mu's ancestor still felt deeply distressed, so he submitted a memorial to resign, wishing to retire and return to his hometown.

Emperor Taizu of Ming granted his request.

On the way back to his hometown, Mu's ancestor happened to meet his old friend Duan Siping.

Duan Siping had always harbored great ambitions, wishing to establish a kingdom, so he asked Mu's ancestor to lend him a hand.

However, having witnessed the entire process of Emperor Taizu of Ming killing meritorious officials, Mu's ancestor no longer wanted to get involved in such matters.

Duan Siping left in regret.

Two years later, Mu's ancestor passed away, and Duan Siping came to pay his respects.

Mu's ancestor's descendants did not wish to be mediocre and waste their remaining lives, so they took this opportunity to express their intentions to Duan Siping, willing to fight alongside him to establish a nation.

Duan Siping naturally rejoiced and agreed.

Thus, the Mu family moved to Yunzhou from then on and assisted Duan Siping in establishing the Dali Kingdom.

Afterwards, to commend the Mu family's achievements, Duan Siping, having ascended the throne as emperor, personally issued an edict to grant them the title of Prince.

Mu Fu was thus born.

Continuing to the present, it has a history of nearly a hundred years!

However, because Mu Fu is located in the southern part of Yunzhou, a bit far from Wuliang Mountain, it took Little Princess Mu Jianping several full days to arrive.

Upon seeing the situation at the scene, Mu Jianping's heart went cold halfway.

She did not know there were no Wu Gong manuals here, so she assumed someone else who possessed a duplicate diary had gotten there first; her small face immediately showed a look of regret.

"Ah, Senior Sister, there were treasures here originally, but now they should be gone," Mu Jianping said dejectedly.

Fang Yi looked at her suspiciously: "Little Princess, how do you know there were treasures here?"

A few days ago, Mu Jianping had forcibly dragged her here, full of promises that there were treasures at Wuliang Mountain; at that time, she had felt very strange.

Because Mu Jianping, as the Little Princess of Mu Fu, held a noble status, and was still young, she rarely went out.