The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 554: The Beginning of the Fate of the Yangzhou Twin Dragons

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stripped naked, washed their clothes by the stream, and then hung them on the bushes beside the stream to dry in the afternoon sun. A strange book, cast from dark gold thread, which remained impervious to water and inflamed by fire, lay quietly on a stone.

Today's experience had left them feeling both thrilled and exhausted. Unlike the original novel, where they were constantly trapped in the depths of the underworld, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling now enjoyed a period of blissful prosperity each year. Not only had they learned a great deal of knowledge, but the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter from the Nine Yin Manual had also left them in exceptional physical shape.

There is some truth in the saying that those who are poor in literature are good at martial arts. Even if Kou and Xu did not really practice martial arts, just the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter would have consumed a lot of their energy. If their skills had not improved rapidly, they would have been very hungry.

That day, they went to Shishi (Shilong)'s dojo as usual to "spy on" and get a fairly hearty breakfast. This was one of the few places where they could get a free meal, and it was also a legacy left by their master Xiaoyaozi. However, Shilong seemed to have received clear instructions not to devote all his energy to training them, nor to even reveal the slightest care for them. He could only give them one breakfast a day, and it couldn't be too hearty.

Kou and Xu quietly came to the Shilong Taoist Temple and were fortunate enough to witness an earth-shaking battle. Master Shi (Shilong) used his Sky-Flipping Palm with a powerful and explosive force, while his opponent was a high-ranking official named Yu Wenhuaji, who had a slender and straight figure and a cold body. Wherever his palm wind passed, there was a gust of cold wind, and he had to beat the top master of Yangzhou, who was at the half-step grandmaster level, to retreat step by step.

As a Grandmaster of the Yuwen clan, Yu Wenhuaji was extremely confident in his power and position within the Jianghu. Among the four major clans, there were only a handful of Grandmasters. Among them, Song Que, the leader of the Song clan, was the strongest, rendering even Emperor Wen Yang Jian helpless. This was also the most important reason for Lingnan's independence. Next in line were senior Grandmasters like Yuwen Shang, the leader of the Yuwen clan; Li Yuan, the leader of the Li clan; and You Chuhong, the elderly wife of the Dugu clan. Then came the backbone of the newly-minted Grandmasters, such as Li Shentong, Dugu Feng, Song Zhi, and Yu Wenhuaji.

The forces in the martial arts world that have masters are all first-rate or even super-first-rate, most of them are Buddhist, Taoist, and demonic sects. Others such as the Baling Gang, Jukun Gang, Haisha Gang, Shuilong Gang, Zhuhua Gang, Yellow River Gang, etc., the so-called eight gangs and ten associations, except for a handful of two or three, the others cannot even produce a half-step master.

Yu Wenzhi was among the masters when he was only forty years old. He was a rare genius among the aristocratic families. He held a high position with outstanding abilities. He was also valued by Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty and entrusted with important tasks. Naturally, he was full of confidence.

This time he came to Jiangdu (Yangzhou) to pave the way for Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. At the same time, he had heard the news about the "Secret of Immortality" and was ready to forcibly seize it and present it to Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. However, he never imagined that this small Jiangdu actually had a powerful half-step master.

The stone dragon was originally just a local tyrant in Yangzhou. Although he had the reputation of being the best master in Yangzhou, he was not taken seriously by the real masters like them. They originally thought that he was just a senior innate master, at most in the late innate stage. They never expected that this person, in addition to the mountain-pushing hand he showed to the outside world, actually had an even more advanced and powerful palm technique. With the strength of a half-step master, he held himself against them for half an hour, and then broke through forcibly.

However, Shi Long did not pay a price for using a half-step master to fight against a master. Yu Wenzhi's "Ice Mysterious Power" was not so easy to deal with either. However, Yu Wenzhi was not a man of the world after all, and he had no intention of fighting with Shi Long. In the end, he was injured and escaped.

Shi Long then gave the Secret of Immortality to his friend Tian Wen for safekeeping, and led the pursuing troops out of Yangzhou City. However, Yu Wenhuaji was very clever and saw through Shi Long's plan, and turned around to capture Tian Wen.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. Yu Wenzhi did not expect that in just half a day, the panicked Tian Wen was robbed on the way because he was too nervous, and the thieves were two orphan thieves.

It is said that the two thieves, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, were also smart and clever people. They had some tricks in Yangzhou City. After stealing the "Eternal Life Secret", they soon realized that they were being hunted, so they used some tricks to escape.

It’s a pity that they were just petty thieves after all, and their whereabouts were soon discovered.

Just as the two were trying to make the best of a bad situation and laughing, they were startled by a cold snort from the shore. They saw a woman wearing a bamboo hat and snow-white clothes standing by the shore. She looked at them coldly with her pretty eyes through her veil.

This woman was none other than Jun'er, the sword master of Goguryeo. She had heard about Yang Gong's treasure from the King of Goguryeo, and she was so fooled that she bid farewell to her master, picked up her sword, and left her home to head straight for the Sui Dynasty.

He was hunted down by the Yang brothers for causing trouble in Liaodong. He was almost caught when he tried to assassinate Yang Guang in Luoyang. He was then hunted all the way to Jiangdu. He happened to meet the pursuers who were hunting down Kou and Xu. He mistakenly thought they were the court's lackeys chasing him, so he paid some price to solve the problem for them.

When Fu Jun'er learned from the captives that they did not know her and were just tracking someone else, she was speechless for a while, but her curiosity was aroused, so she caught up with them.

Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty launched three campaigns against Goguryeo. Yang Xuyan's presence inflicted even greater damage on Goguryeo, but it also inflicted even greater fear on Goguryeo. While Fu Jun'er was proud of her master, she also knew that individual strength wasn't everything. Hadn't her master, faced by so many masters from the Central Plains, ultimately been severely injured?

Let alone the Sui Dynasty, even the tiny Liaodong region rendered Goguryeo helpless. The Liaodong Marquis possessed extraordinary military and civil abilities, commanding numerous soldiers and generals. Military control also governed the entire Liaodong region, making it exceedingly difficult for Goguryeo to plant spies. Because he hadn't understood the situation, he had plunged headfirst into the situation. On the third day, he was stalked by a Liaodong Grandmaster and nearly captured.

This was exactly what Fu Jun'er was very curious about. She was only in the late stage of the innate realm, but she was easily able to escape after being chased by a master for hundreds of miles with only minor injuries. The other party seemed to know her and had been letting her go.

Well, or it would be more appropriate to say that she was just playing around and not caring. Otherwise, it would be difficult for her to enter the Central Plains. After entering the Central Plains, she first went to Chang'an. When she got there, she found out that Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty had actually been in Luoyang the whole time. Only then did she initially explore Yang Gong's treasure and then rushed to the Eastern Capital.

Kou and Xu were also ignorant and fearless. They fully utilized their skills as little scoundrels to flatter and deceive people, and barely managed to trick Fu Jun'er away. However, they turned around and ran into the imperial troops who followed, and they jumped into the river to escape in panic.

On the river, Fu Jun'er, who had been carefully watching the two, suddenly rushed out in a small boat and rescued them. Unexpectedly, there was also a master among the pursuers, and it was Yu Wenhuaji who attacked personally. The two fought together, one stabbed with twelve swords, and the other struck with twelve palms. In the end, because of the geographical advantage, Yu Wenhuaji was forced to retreat.

Yu Wenzhi was a powerful master, so he was naturally knowledgeable. He could tell at a glance that this woman's swordsmanship was extraordinary and somewhat familiar, very similar to the Yijian swordsmanship of the former Yijian master Fu Cailin. So he did not dare to act rashly, and after asking them a few questions, he let them go.

Fu Jun'er pretended to be calm and said nothing, but she was actually seriously injured. After Yu Wenzhi left, she had to meditate in a hurry to heal her wounds.

Sometimes, fate is so incredible. In just two days, Fu Jun'er, who hated the Han people so much, developed an incredible liking for two Han kids who she met by chance but had been through life and death with her. She even reluctantly boarded the Song clan's big ship to help them out of danger.

People always have feelings. Even Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are not without relatives as in the original novel. They have a mysterious master, Master Shilong, who takes care of them secretly, but they can't help but develop some affection for Fu Jun'er.

However, they found Fu Jun'er's evaluation of their future in martial arts somewhat unacceptable. She revealed that they actually had a master, but this master was quite strange. He was a Taoist priest who kept saying that it was not their destiny yet, so he did not teach them martial arts.

Fu Jun'er expressed disdain for this. She had learned from Master Yijian, Master Fu Cailin. Could anyone else surpass the three great masters in martial arts cultivation? She didn't think her eyesight was lacking, but rather that the so-called old Taoist priest had deceived them. She couldn't help but feel even more distressed.