After Murong Fu settled in at Mantuo Manor, he brought A'Bi alone into a study and asked with concern, "A'Bi, the Heirloom Seal hasn't been lost, has it?"
A'Bi smiled, drew out the Heirloom Seal, and handed it to Murong Fu. "Young Master, please look."
Murong Fu stared at the seal with burning eyes for a good long while, then handed it back to A'Bi and said with complete confidence, "A'Bi, no one would ever imagine that I would keep the Heirloom Seal on you. You must guard it with the utmost care."
"Please rest assured, Young Master. A'Bi will protect it with her life!"
Seeing how earnest she looked, Murong Fu smiled. "No need to be so solemn. After all, no one knows that we have obtained the Heirloom Seal, so for the time being we will not run into danger. Besides, if anyone dares come to seize the seal, then he is my, Murong Fu's, mortal enemy!"
Before the words had even faded, he crooked a finger, and a cold gleam shot out the window.
A sharp hiss sounded, and a man outside the door dropped at once.
Murong Fu pushed the window open and looked. A man in night-walking clothes lay on the ground, an iron caltrop buried in his chest. He was already dead.
Murong Fu searched the body. Once he found a token that could mark the man's identity, his face changed sharply. "A secret agent of the Great Song authorities! How could they have come here? Has word gotten out that we obtained the Heirloom Seal? How is that possible?"
He brooded for a while, then turned to A'Bi with a grave face. "No matter what, we cannot stay at Mantuo Manor any longer. Hurry and notify Brother Deng and the others. We set out for Western Xia tonight!"
In Western Xia, he forged an identity under the name Li Yanzong and infiltrated the Western Xia First Rank Hall.
With the cover of that identity, no one would connect him with Murong Fu. It was far safer than remaining in the Great Song.
Before long the group had gathered. Without even taking leave of Madam Wang, they found a small boat and were about to depart.
Just then Wang Yuyan arrived at the ferry, accompanied by a maidservant, her face anxious. "Cousin, you've only just arrived. How can you be leaving already?"
Murong Fu looked helpless. "Our enemies have already come to the door. If we stay any longer at Mantuo Manor, I'm afraid we will implicate Aunt and you, Cousin."
Wang Yuyan was reluctant to let them go. "Is that so? A few days ago I had just worked out some marvelous uses of the Dog-Beating Staff, and I haven't even had time to discuss them with you, Cousin..."
Murong Fu was just about to say a few words to comfort her when the sound of air being split suddenly rang out. Several men in black displayed their lightness skill and came swiftly this way.
"Murong Fu! Hand over the Heirloom Seal of the Realm at once, and come with us to the authorities to turn yourself in!"
At the same time, torches flared upon the river. Several small boats appeared on the pitch-black water—plainly vessels sent by the authorities.
Seeing this, and fearing they would strike at Wang Yuyan, Murong Fu pulled her onto the boat in one motion. "Cousin, leaving you here alone is too dangerous. Come with us for now. Once this blows over, I'll have Third Brother Bao escort you back!"
Delight rose in Wang Yuyan's heart. She nodded with a smile. "Mm!"
As Murong Fu's boat drew away, Duan Yu, who had been hiding in the reed thicket, poked his head out. Utterly baffled, he scratched his head. "How has another young Immortal Brother popped up...
"Just how many Immortal Brothers are there in this world? Is their family a line of hereditary eunuchs?"
While he was still puzzling over it, a man in black suddenly came toward him, shouting as he ran, "There's another of Murong Fu's accomplices here!"
Duan Yu jumped in fright, used his lightness skill, and ran. "I'm not Young Master Murong's accomplice! Don't chase me!"
Even as he spoke, he sprinted madly across the surface of the water, instantly overtaking Murong Fu's boat. Then a line of water streaked out beneath his feet, and in the blink of an eye he had run clear of the ring of official boats.
The man in black stood rigid where he was, staring at the departing back, his eyes wide with disbelief. "??!!"
Confirmed. This one really was not Murong Fu's accomplice. This was a damn immortal!
Duan Yu sprinted on without knowing how long, until the sky was fully bright. Seeing a city appear ahead, with the two characters for Wuxi written upon the city gate, he finally stopped.
After entering the city, he felt a hunger in his belly and only then remembered that he had not eaten anything for a whole day. He searched along the street, found a wineshop facing the road, and went in.
He went upstairs. A waiter came over to greet him. Duan Yu ordered a few dishes and some wine and began to wolf them down.
As he was eating, he suddenly felt a gaze fall upon his face and could not help turning his head.
At the table to the west sat a big man, tall and powerfully built, about thirty years of age. He wore an old gray cloth robe, already a little tattered. Thick brows, large eyes, a high nose, and a wide mouth; a square, dignified face marked by wind and frost. When he glanced about, he carried great authority.
On his table were a plate of cooked beef, one large bowl of soup, and two large pots of wine, and nothing else besides. One could see that even in eating and drinking, he was bold and utterly at ease.
Remembering the jianghu experience he had learned from Qin Zheng, Duan Yu called the waiter over, pointed at the big man, and said, "Put all my wine money on that gentleman's account!"
"Ah?"
The waiter froze on the spot and said, looking peculiar, "Young master, this... will this do? Has that guest agreed?"
Duan Yu showed off. "Little brother, there's something you don't know. We people of the jianghu have always regarded money as dirt. If we think highly of someone, we have that person settle the bill.
"These past few days I have been traveling with a great hero. He thought well enough of me that, all along the road, every expense for food, clothing, and daily needs—he had me pay them all!"
The waiter went blank and could not get a word out for a long while.
Since when has the jianghu had a rule like this? How is it I've never heard a word of it?
Hearing this, the big man beside them slapped the table and stood up, saying heartily, "Well said! Since this brother thinks so highly of me, today's wine bill is entirely on me, Qiao Feng!"
"Brother, eating alone is far too dull. Why not come over and drink with me!"
Hearing Qiao Feng announce his own name, Duan Yu could not help but be startled. "You're that Qiao Feng, from Qiao Feng of the North and Murong of the South?"
Qiao Feng laughed. "Indeed, that is me. May I ask your honored name?"
Duan Yu rose, came up close, and cupped his fists. "Duan Yu of Dali. I pay my respects to Chief Qiao!"
Qiao Feng was mildly surprised. "You're Duan Yu, heir of the Zhennan Prince of Dali, son of the Seed-Slinging Madman Duan Zhengchun?"
Duan Yu: "..."
Is my dad's nickname this famous in the jianghu?!
Seeing the stiffness on his face, Qiao Feng laughed and said, "No matter. We people of the jianghu don't stand on birth. Even though you were born to Dali's imperial house, and even though your father's reputation is poor, that doesn't stop the two of us from being friends!
"Come, first drain this jar!"
With that, he picked up a jar of wine and thrust it at Duan Yu.
Was being of Dali's imperial house actually something shameful in the jianghu?
Gloomy at heart, Duan Yu glugged down a whole jar. He felt a stream of heat travel along the inner pathways his lightness skill followed as he cultivated it. The more he drank, the more spirited he became, and he called for two more jars.
What he did not know was that the lightness skill he cultivated contained the Daoist method of refining essence into qi. The essence of the five grains within the wine was entirely transformed into true qi, which then circulated through his body of its own accord.
In theory, so long as he ate as usual, the internal energy he refined in a single year would be enough to match three years of bitter cultivation by someone else.
Before long, the two of them had finished those two jars as well.
Qiao Feng waved a hand and ordered six more jars. After Duan Yu drank them down, Qiao Feng saw that he could hold his liquor like this, without the slightest trace of drunkenness, and a great joy rose in his heart. "Brother Duan, there are few in this world who can match me, Qiao, drink for drink! I feel as if we are old friends at first sight. Why don't the two of us become sworn brothers?"
Duan Yu answered woozily, "Good. Since Brother Qiao thinks so highly of me, Duan Yu is honored beyond words!"
With that, the two of them swore brotherhood right there in the wineshop.
A moment later, Duan Yu climbed up from the ground, his face full of excitement. "From this day on, you are my elder brother, Duan Yu's big brother! Big Brother!"
Qiao Feng said, face full of delight, "From this day on, you are my, Qiao Feng's, three-thousandth sworn brother—Three-Thousandth Brother!"
The smile on Duan Yu's face stiffened slightly. He rubbed the spot between his brows and said, somewhat questioning his whole existence, "Big Brother, wait a moment. I drank a bit much and didn't quite catch that. What did you just call me?"
Qiao Feng said, radiant with spirit, "I called you Three-Thousandth Brother! My sworn brothers are just a little on the numerous side. Worthy brother, you needn't be surprised.
"The reason I have so many sworn brothers is that my second uncle told me all within the four seas are brothers. So long as I swear brotherhood with enough men, then wherever trouble arises under heaven, I can go and mediate, and the world will never again fall into strife.
"After all these years of putting it into practice, I have come to deeply agree with Second Uncle!"
He had already sworn brotherhood with three thousand brothers. Was that still only a little on the numerous side?
Duan Yu stared at Qiao Feng, dumbfounded. He kept feeling that the way this second uncle of Qiao Feng's spoke seemed somehow familiar, and he asked with great care, "Big Brother, may I ask the honored name of your second uncle?"
Face full of admiration, Qiao Feng bowed from afar toward the west and said, "My second uncle is illustrious throughout the jianghu. He is the Great Hero of Guanzhong, granted the title by His Majesty's own decree—Qin Zheng, Hero Qin!"
At those words, the expression on Duan Yu's face instantly collapsed. "..."
I knew it was you!!
Chapter 18