Chapter 267 Dancing Red Flower

In the early morning, wisps of smoke rose from Kefeng Peak. The Queen Mother was in very good spirits. She got up early and started to light a fire and cook.

The Queen Mother was worth a fortune, so cooking for anyone would be considered shortening her life. But the other party was Marquis Weiming, so the masters of the palace didn’t say much. Jing Jin stood beside the Queen Mother, helping her, and said, “Should we go and wake the Marquis up?”

“He was tired yesterday, let him sleep a little longer, and we’ll talk after dinner.” As she spoke, the Queen Mother remembered something and looked at Jing Jin, “Last night, the Marquis seemed to be with the Imperial Tutor and my sister, but he didn’t sleep in his own room?”

Jing Jin nodded and guessed, “The Marquis absorbed the power of the Xiayun Gu last night. The Imperial Master and Little King of Hell were probably protecting him.”

The Queen Mother withdrew her gaze and nodded slightly, but some doubts were already rising in her heart… The Queen Mother was not someone who was easy to fool. It was just because she loved to play and make mischief that she seemed as innocent as a teenage girl most of the time.

With her familiarity with Mu Lier, her every move and every word had already made her realize that something was wrong.

“Let’s wake them up so we can discuss whether to go directly to Qingcheng Mountain or go to Chengdu first… Never mind, I’ll go by myself.”

The Queen Mother took a kitchen knife, left the kitchen, and went straight to Zhao Wumian’s villa.

In the bedroom, Mu Lier’s dress was scattered, and both feet were still wearing white socks… A thin quilt was draped in front of her, and when she moved slightly in her sleep, the quilt slipped off.

Zhao Wumian had just woken up and was sleeping next to her. His left hand was under the quilt, and his right hand was supported by Mu Li’er. His forearm was bent, with his palm and fingers sunken in.

Zhao Wumian really wanted to take another bath early in the morning, but Mu Lier was already exhausted, and at this time, the Queen Mother and Luo Xiangzhu were basically awake, so he began to think about his own strength.

Shen Xiangge said at the time that only the first time would result in such significant progress. After all, the dual cultivation technique is not omnipotent… This technique is mainly used to assist in healing.

If you really want to improve your skills through this, you either have to accumulate it day by day for decades; or go to extremes and learn the Cai Bu method of Benwotang; or you have to work hard on the “quality”.

What quality? Of course, the higher the martial arts level of the target, the better the effect.

Mu Lier is one with nature and there are no more than ten people like her in the whole world. She has learned all the true teachings of the Sword Sect, so the benefits are naturally great. Zhao Wumian even feels that the benefits gained this time alone are enough to offset the total amount of poison pills that Zi Yi had sent him before, and even exceed it by a lot.

It was just slightly inferior to the Xiayun Gu… This was natural. How many warriors above the level of Heavenly Man were there in this world? How many women were there among them? How many of these women had Yuan Yin?

After screening through layers of conditions, Zhao Wumian estimated that there were only five candidates left: Mu Lier, Xiao Yuanmu, Lady Canghua… and that was it. At most, there would be Meng Po from the Western Regions.

Maybe there is more, but it definitely has nothing to do with Zhao Wumian.

And this benefit mainly lies in the quality of Qi, blood, tendons, and internal breath, that is, the ‘value’, rather than the ‘technique’ of martial arts… But Zhao Wumian has the Naraku Red Silk, and his technique is not bad. The main difference between him and the top masters who communicate with the bridge between heaven and earth is this ‘value’.

This is undoubtedly a timely help.

This was only Mu Lier’s vital yin. Coupled with the Xiayun Gu which had been completely digested by him, Zhao Wumian’s strength had already risen to a level that he could not even dream of before he came to Emei.

If he fought with Tang Weiyu again at this moment, using the Heavenly Demon Blood Solution, he would surely be able to overpower him with his strength alone… After all, Tang Weiyu was best at using light skills and hidden weapons, and his “values” were considered relatively low among all the martial arts masters.

However, dual cultivation requires both parties to advance and retreat together, which is beneficial to both parties. Zhao Wumian felt the smoothness and elasticity of his mature and beautiful master’s skin. He didn’t know how much his master had benefited, but he thought it was quite a lot…

“Master, someone is coming. Judging from the footsteps, it doesn’t sound like someone wearing purple clothes…”

Mu Lier woke up immediately. The scandal of her sleeping with her apprentice must not be spread out. She immediately became alert, lifted the quilt and started to get dressed.

Pfft————

Although Mu Lier fell asleep, her body still responded honestly when she was stingy. At this moment, her posture changed, and Zhao Wumian withdrew his hand, and a strange sound was heard.

Mu Lier’s body softened and she glared at Zhao Wumian in shame and anger, but she didn’t bother to say anything more. She raised her hand and used the Controlling Crane and Capturing Dragon Skill to suck up the clothes that were scattered on the ground.

Bang bang bang————

There was a knock on the door, along with the Queen Mother’s voice, “My Lord, are you awake? Breakfast is almost ready.”

But since the Queen Mother came to “catch an adulterer”, she would definitely not wait patiently for Zhao Wumian to open the door, so she knocked on the door twice casually and reached out to push it open.

When Zhao Wumian contradicted his master, the doors and windows were naturally locked, but the door bolt could only stop ordinary people. Although the Queen Mother was not strong, she knew martial arts. At this moment, she used her internal energy and exerted a little force, and the door bolt made a “click”.

Seeing that the door was about to be pushed open, Mu Lier just put on her bellyband and skirt. If the Queen Mother found out that she and her apprentice had slept with each other, Mu Lier would simply not live.

After all, Zi Yi was still unfamiliar, so it was fine to treat her as a half-stranger, but the Queen Mother grew up wearing the same skirt as Mu Lier… But no matter how high her martial arts skills were, it was impossible for her to dress neatly in such a long time, after all, a girl’s clothes were complicated.

Mu Lier couldn’t help but show some panic in her eyes, and she even thought about whether to knock her out with a hidden weapon the moment the empress dowager opened the door. Fortunately, Zhao Wumian reacted quickly and his clothes were relatively simple. He put on pants and a coat, and then directly used the “Heavenly Demon Blood Solution”, and then suddenly exerted force before opening the door.

boom—-

The empress dowager’s hand had just touched the door bolt when she saw the wooden door suddenly explode. Then a figure pounced on her like a wild beast, clamping her forearm with one hand and holding her shoulder with the other.

No matter how skilled the Queen Mother was in martial arts, she had no power to fight back in front of Zhao Wumian and was thrown to the ground. It was as if Zhao Wumian was so bold as to pluck the Queen Mother, the most noble flower in the world.

“Zhao Wumian! You!” The queen mother’s eyes were a little flustered, and then she saw Zhao Wumian’s slightly red skin and fierce eyes, and immediately understood… After a night, the Xiayun Gu has not been digested yet? It is worthy of being the poison of the king of Gu, it is fierce.

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother was no longer panicked, and her face turned cold, “What do you mean, Lord? I cooked for you and asked you to get up, and you treat me like this?”

The surrounding palace masters were startled and rushed over. Zhao Wumian seemed to have reacted as well. He took the kitchen knife from the Queen Mother, stood up and apologized sincerely.
“I haven’t completely absorbed the Xiayun Gu yet, so my mind is a little unclear… The Queen Mother came over with a kitchen knife. Instinctively, instinctively… I scared the Queen Mother. Sorry…”

The Queen Mother’s skirt was a little dirty. She stood up with a cold face, looked at Zhao Wumian, and suddenly smiled, but there was no warmth in her smile.

“Once last night, once this morning… Marquis Weiming absorbed the Xiayun Gu and is unconscious. I understand, but the Marquis is not cruel to others, but he repeatedly contradicts me… It seems that I have made the Marquis very dissatisfied in the past, and now he is relieved…”

“The Queen Mother is very kind to me. She knows my character very well. Why do you have to say such angry words?”

“Your personality? The Marquis used the Xiayun Gu to contradict me step by step, first with words, then with actions, and finally I’m afraid he was going to bed… Wow.” The Queen Mother pretended to be surprised, and then hugged her chest, “I usually joke with the Marquis about ‘destroying the harem’, the Marquis wouldn’t really mean that, right?”

When the palace masters who had rushed over from nearby heard this, their faces froze, and they looked around at the same time, pretending they heard nothing.

“…Is this the image of me in the Queen Mother’s mind?”

“Haha, now that you’re up, tidy up your clothes, wash up, and eat.” The Queen Mother glanced at the coat that Zhao Wumian was casually wearing, turned around and left with a cold face, then turned her back to Zhao Wumian, her eyes began to light up, and she showed a slightly excited smile.

Mu Lier had already taken advantage of the opportunity created by Zhao Wumian, put on her clothes, opened the window, and left quietly.

The Queen Mother’s little hobby was satisfied, and she forgot about the matter of ‘catching an adulterer’.

Tang Weiyu also came to the dinner table and bowed slightly to Zhao Wumian.

As a martial arts master, he was naturally arrogant. He was afraid of the court, but he was afraid that it would bring disaster to his family. However, he himself had no respect for the court. The only person who was convinced was Zhao Wumian. Therefore, he only saluted him and said straight to the point:

“I gave Fan Hongsheng some medicine last night, and he confessed everything. The Jiuli tribe is controlled by five major families, and the Fan family is one of them. The Jiuli headquarters is not actually in Miaojiang, but somewhere else. But Fan Hongsheng himself is just a dog raised by the Fan family, and the exact location is unknown.”

“If not in Miaojiang, where else could it be?” The empress dowager frowned slightly. When it came to business, she was still very serious.

Zi Yi found out a lot about Jiuli and knew a little more. “Jiuli is in Dali, and the area with the greatest influence is Miaojiang… If the headquarters is not in Miaojiang, then it must be in another country.”

There is not only Dali in this world, there are also many small countries, but not many of them can be fought. But if they are in other countries, it will be a bit troublesome.

Zhao Wumian pondered for a while, drank a sip of soy milk, and shook his head slightly. “Even if Jiuli is really a foreign force, as long as he dares to cause trouble in Dali, we will find a way to uproot him. However, it is too early to talk about wars between countries at this moment…”

He paused, somewhat surprised at Tang Weiyu’s efficiency, “You can get something out of him in half a night… Is Fan Hongsheng afraid of death, or do you have other strengths in the interrogation method of your Tang family?”

Tang Weiyu took out the porcelain bottle from her bosom, poured it carefully into her palm, and said, “This is the improved version of Wu Shi San. After taking it, you will feel confused and confused, but you will feel refreshed. However, it is still a poison. Not only is it extremely harmful to the human body, it is also a bit addictive…”

After listening for a while, Zhao Wumian reacted and raised his hand to interrupt Tang Weiyu’s words, saying in a serious tone, “Your Tang family also refines opium!?”

“Opium?” Tang Weiyu looked puzzled and explained:

“My Lord, the Five Stones Powder has long been circulated. It is made from five ingredients: stalactites, sulfur, white quartz, purple quartz, and red stone. It has a hot and dry nature. After taking it, the whole body will become hot, confusing the mind for a short period of time, and even has a yang-enhancing effect…

But this is just a rumor. The only effect of Wu Shi San is to confuse people’s minds for a short period of time, and it is extremely harmful to the body. The bottle in my hand is a modified one, specializing in the effect of ‘confusing people’s minds’, but it is still used as a poison.”

“Let me have a look.” Zi Yi also heard of this improved version for the first time. She took the small porcelain bottle, opened it and sniffed it. Her eyebrows immediately raised, “There is a medicine in it that I don’t recognize… What is it?”

“Dancing Red Flower has only been circulated in a small area in Shu in recent years. It is probably a new type of poisonous grass that has just been cultivated. It is only circulated on the black market in very small quantities. Our Tang family only had the channels to buy some because we are famous for poison.” Tang Weiyu recalled a few points and then said:
“The Dancing Red Flower itself has large, gorgeous flowers and a strong fragrance, but if we extract the juice from dozens of flowers and condense it into a small bottle, it will have addictive and hallucinogenic effects. If we mix it into the Five Stones Powder, it can confuse people’s minds. However, the Dancing Red Flower itself is too rare and expensive to make. The cost and value are far apart, so our Tang family has not done much research on this flower.”

Isn’t this just opium?

Zhao Wumian’s face immediately darkened. “It has only been circulated in the black market in Shu in recent years… So this flower was specially cultivated by someone? The Fan family cultivated it?” Tang Weiyu shook her head. “Fan Hongsheng doesn’t know, but the Fan family has cooperated with Dao Kui in recent years. The specific cooperation is unknown. If they cultivated the Wuhong Flower together, the time is right.”

Hearing this, Zhao Wumian felt a surge of anger rising in his heart.

He killed Fan Li, so the Fan family wanted to kill him. Zhao Wumian had nothing to say. The grudges and hatreds in the martial arts world have always been like this, and it is difficult to distinguish right from wrong. Zhao Wumian would not claim that Jiuli had the Jiuli Gu he needed, or that the Fan family had a grudge against him, so Jiuli had a way to die, and so on.

If he had a choice, Zhao Wumian would even want to buy the Jiuli Gu from Jiuli through trading. There was no need to directly rob someone else’s heirloom. He was not an unreasonable bandit.

But when the red flower dance comes out, the meaning is completely different.
Seeing Zhao Wumian’s expression suddenly darken, Mu Lier looked a little puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

“Things like Wuhonghua can be beneficial to the medical field if used as medicine in moderation. But if it is not controlled and cultivated on a large scale, and the Five Stones of Master Tang are allowed to circulate throughout the world, the result will be the destruction of the country and the ruin of the family.” Zhao Wumian said coldly.

Dancing Red Flower is a bit like opium poppy in terms of its effects, which means that it has just reached the stage of cultivating drug raw materials, and even the cultivation method has not yet been systematized. It can only be regarded as a prototype of the drug prototype. Therefore, others cannot see the fate of this thing after large-scale breeding, but Zhao Wumian is naturally clear about this.

Everyone present is smart and will understand after just a few words.

The Queen Mother’s face immediately turned cold, and she showed the majesty of a mother of a country, “Mobilize troops to pacify Qingcheng Mountain.”

Luo Xiangzhu was shocked. Was the situation serious enough to require sending in the army?

Zhao Wumian pondered for a while, but still shook his head. “It’s useless to flatten Qingcheng Mountain. The key is to catch the person behind the scenes who has the method to cultivate the Dancing Red Flower. This needs to be investigated slowly. Once the troops are mobilized, he will run away immediately after hearing the news. It will be difficult to find him again. What if we find the wrong person? This thing has nothing to do with Qing Liantian, and it will be difficult to explain.”

The empress dowager frowned, thought for a moment and nodded.

Zhao Wumian looked at Tang Weiyu and said, “Please, Patriarch Tang, in addition to infiltrating the Fan family, please keep an eye on the black market for me. If there is any news of the sale of Wuhonghua, please inform me, or Patriarch Tang can send someone to follow the clues and investigate.”

Tang Weiyu nodded, then pondered for a while, and said: “The person who wants to kill the Marquis is Fan Shunan, the eldest son of the Fan family. He is less than 30 years old this year. He has a good talent for martial arts, but he is not as evil as the Marquis, so he has not entered the Tianren.

But his father, the head of the Fan family, is a master of the bridge between heaven and earth. According to Fan Hongsheng, the head of the Fan family is much stronger than the sword master. I was defeated by the Marquis, so the next person sent to kill the Marquis will at least be a martial arts master. The Marquis must remember to be careful. “

Zhao Wumian nodded, then thought of something and looked at Zi Yi, “Everything has two sides. The harm of using Wuhonghua in Wushisan is immeasurable, but if used in medicine, it also has a good effect… Why don’t you go with us, Imperial Master? With your ability…”

Zi Yi raised her hand to interrupt Zhao Wumian and smiled. “If you want to travel the world with me, just say it directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush. Just call me sister and I’ll agree.”

Zhao Wumian picked up the bowl and gulped down another big mouthful of soy milk, then said, “After taking the Xiayun Gu, the Imperial Master hasn’t diagnosed me yet, right? This physique seems to be what you’ve been seeking all your life… You don’t want your life’s hard work to be ruined, right?”

Zi Yi’s eyes twitched and he took a deep breath, “I’ve fallen into your hands in this life…”

Zhao Wumian smiled, had breakfast, and without any further delay, he quickly left Emei Mountain, headed north in the rain, and soon disappeared in the drizzling rain.

The destination is naturally Chengdu.

Qingliantian is located on the Qingcheng Mountain, which is less than a hundred miles west of Chengdu. Although there are towns at the foot of the mountain, they are not large in scale. The effect of the Wukui plaque, which means “reducing annual taxes”, was used in Chengdu.

The eldest brother of Sword Master, Yangshe Yin, will hold a birthday banquet in Chengdu in seven days… The reason for choosing Chengdu is probably because most of the martial arts forces in Shu are in Chengdu, and recently because Yangshe Congyun was deprived of the Sword Master plaque, the martial arts world in Shu is not peaceful, and his position as the leader of the martial arts world is in jeopardy.

This birthday banquet is probably also intended to stabilize the Shu Jianghu.

Yangshe Yin colluded with Huanzhen Pavilion to steal Xiao Yuanmu’s Zhan Yan hairpin. Zhao Wumian planned to go to Chengdu first to find out the truth about the Zhan Yan hairpin, investigate the Wuhonghua, and then go to Qingcheng Mountain to compete with Yangshe Congyun.

Zhao Wumian drove the carriage, looking at the rolling green hills in front of him and the hazy mist in the distance.

It was unknown how long Jiuli, Daokui, and Huanzhen Pavilion had been planning in Shu. This trip was like stepping into a spider web… However, Zhao Wumian was not worried. After all, he knew that Xiao Yuanmu and Su Qingqi would definitely show up at the birthday banquet in Chengdu, but he didn’t know how.

After not seeing each other for half a month, Zhao Wumian really missed Su Qingqi, and as for Xiao Yuanmu… Zhao Wumian had complicated feelings towards her, which were difficult to explain at the moment.

Tang Weiyu stood in front of the mountain gate, looking at the carriage going farther and farther away. A voice came from behind her, “Boiling cabbage… Such a complicated dish, I really don’t know how I learned it before.”

Tang Weiyu was stunned for a moment, then turned around and stepped onto the stone steps with the people around him, “You don’t have to force yourself to do these things.”

“I am willing, how can this be considered forced…” The girl turned her head to look at the carriage that had disappeared into the distance, “Has Wei Minghou also lost his memory like me?”

“kindness.”

“Ah… I hope he recovers soon.”

“Because of this, your memory can be restored as quickly as possible?”

“No, I just think that since I have you by my side, he must have someone by his side… That’s all, why bother talking about these nasty things… Boiled cabbage is too troublesome, you should change to something you like to eat.”

“They sell it at the foot of the mountain. Why don’t I buy some and take it back…”

“Hey, do you have a conscience? Are you not happy when I cook for you?”

“Good good…”

The two figures quickly disappeared among the mountains and forests.

The mountain gate had not been repaired yet, and the craftsmen were clanging their tools. Someone saw the girl next to Tang Weiyu and was a little curious, “That girl… doesn’t she look a bit like Madam Tang?”

“The daughter of Patriarch Tang?”

“Claw, why didn’t we know he had a daughter before?”

“Do I need to tell you everything about my family? Master tells you, the most important thing when you are in the underworld is not to take yourself too seriously.”

As they were talking, rain fell on Emei Mountain, and the water drops dropped with rustling sounds.

In a house in Chengdu.

Fan Shunan sat on the armchair, holding in his hand the letter sent by Fan Hongsheng via carrier pigeon, on which was written the words he had extracted from Tang Baicen.

A confidant nearby asked, “Young Master, what do you think? Can Zhao Wumian really defeat a martial arts master at the Heavenly Man level?”

Fan Shunan put the letter down, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head slightly, “Tang Weiyu didn’t use his full strength. Zhao Wumian relied on Xian Yuchen’s secret method to barely compete with Wu Kui, but this secret method has a time limit. We only need to use guerrilla warfare to drag him to death… It’s similar to my previous guess.”

“Even so, he is also a leader in the unity of nature and man. Even if he is not Wu Kui’s opponent, he should have no problem escaping from Wu Kui’s hands. He is not easy to kill…” The confidant frowned, “We still need to rely on Wu Kui masters to fight him, but the head of the family is not in Chengdu at the moment, and we are relatively short of manpower.”

Fan Shunan was also thinking about this problem. He sent Wei Hetong to inquire about Zhao Wumian’s news, thereby causing a conflict between Zhao Wumian and Tang Weiyu. This method was a double-edged sword.

Although he used Tang Weiyu’s knife to test Zhao Wumian’s strength, Wei Hetong’s personality of saying one thing to one person and another to another person would make him betray him unless he was killed by Zhao Wumian at the first sight.

Currently, those who have offended Zhao Wumian have not had a good end. Even if Fan Shunan wants to hide behind the scenes and pretend nothing happened, it is impossible… the feud has already been formed.

“Zhao Wumian came to Shu for two reasons: first, to detoxify Mu Lier, and second, to challenge Yangshe Congyun.” His confidant said at this moment:
“The Tang family doesn’t have an antidote for the Xiayun Gu. Zhao Wumian is doomed to return empty-handed. Although Mu Li’er is also a celestial being, she is poisoned and can’t exert her full strength. If you want to kill Zhao Wumian, there is probably no better opportunity than now. Otherwise, he will go back to the capital and become a coward. It will be difficult to kill him next time.”

“I know.” Fan Shunan picked up the cup of tea. “Yangshe Congyun is a man of the underworld. He abides by the rules of the underworld and is unwilling to surround and kill people with numbers to bully the minority. Yangshe Yin, as the elder brother of Dao Kui, is not so old-fashioned. His martial arts is second only to Yangshe Congyun in Qing Liantian… I heard that he relied on Dao Kui’s relationship to go to Huanzhen Pavilion and comprehend the Nine Bells, but his talent is a little lacking. Does he not have the bridge to communicate between heaven and earth?”

The confidant nodded, “The Sword Master is focused on martial arts, so most of Qingliantian’s foundation is managed by Yangshe Yin, so he can’t be considered a pure martial artist. Although his talent is inherited from the Sword Master and is very good, he is ultimately disturbed by the secular world and has been unable to bridge the bridge between heaven and earth. I guess he must be very dissatisfied in his heart. Why can his brother do it, but he can’t…”

Fan Shunan took a sip of tea and remained silent. After a moment, he put down the teacup, stood up, and suddenly said, “It doesn’t really matter whether Zhao Wumian will die in Shu, but we can’t let the court find Wu Honghua. I’ll go find Master Wei San first. He and I are now on the same boat. We will prosper together and suffer together.”

“How should we use Yangshe Yin?”

“We need to find a way to lure Zhao Wumian to Chengdu.”

——–

A transition chapter. Speaking of which, it’s almost New Year.

This book was published in mid-June, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Time flies so fast.

Thank you all book friends for your company.

At the end of the last month, I will double the monthly votes, hoping to ask for one chapter. If I can make it into the top 200, I can also write a special chapter that the grandfathers are well aware of.

Many thanks.

(End of this chapter)