Pavilion of Fragrant Listening

“Take them!”
Lady Wang gave the order.
The nine pairs of maidservants in green, who had disembarked from the boat, drew their swords and charged at Tang Xuan and Duan Yu, their murderous intent chilling.
These eighteen maidservants had been trained by Lady Wang herself, each at the twentieth or thirtieth rank.
In the martial world, they would be considered third-rate experts, comparable to the second and third chiefs of the Black Wind Stronghold, capable of commanding bandits and wielding power.
Yet here, under Lady Wang, they were mere servants.
Lady Wang had once moved all the martial arts manuals collected by the Carefree Sect and left by her parents in the Blessed Land of Langhuan to Manduo Manor.
With so many superior techniques, cultivating a few maidservants was hardly difficult.
These eighteen maidservants, though young, were already third-rate experts at the twentieth or thirtieth rank. The swordplay, agility, and footwork they employed were all of the third or fourth grade, considered excellent among martial arts.
Working together, they were not to be underestimated.
Not to mention ordinary second-rate experts—they would be no match for them.
Even top experts of the fortieth or fiftieth rank would struggle against a coordinated assault by so many.
This was why Lady Wang, who often captured people to use as fertilizer in Manduo Manor, remained untouched and lively—otherwise, she would have been eliminated long ago!
Of course, her kinship with the Murong clan, and their protection over Manduo Manor, was another reason.
The eighteen maidservants in green attacked Tang Xuan and Duan Yu together; they were all seasoned, having seen blood and taken lives, their strikes merciless.
Duan Yu was startled.
Tang Xuan swiftly drew the Violet Phosphorus Rod from his game inventory and struck.
The rod became a blur of shadows, the sound of clashing steel ringing out incessantly.
All eighteen maidservants' swords fell to the ground.
Their expressions changed dramatically, clutching their wrists as they retreated.
Tang Xuan’s martial prowess was equivalent to a top expert at the fiftieth or sixtieth rank, even above the best of the fortieth or fiftieth rank.
His Dog Beating Staff Technique was a perfected skill, far beyond the ordinary.
These maidservants were defeated as soon as he covered their faces.
Had these twentieth and thirtieth rank maidservants been of value to Tang Xuan—who was already uninterested in those below his own thirtieth rank, having slain countless guards of similar rank while repeatedly clearing the Dongming ship instance—they would have been killed outright.
Tang Xuan’s martial arts were known only to Ah Zhu, Ah Bi, and Duan Yu.
Lady Wang, Wang Yuyan, and the others were all astonished.
This young man’s skills rivaled Murong Fu’s?
And he was much younger than Murong Fu!
Tang Xuan looked at Lady Wang’s shocked face, pointed to Duan Yu, and smiled, “Allow me to introduce: this is the son of the Prince of Zhen South from Dali, Duan Yu.”
“What?”
Lady Wang cried out, her gaze upon Duan Yu filled with shock, surprise, and inexplicable hatred.
This was the son of Duan Lang?
Born of that wretched Dao Bai Feng?
Meeting Lady Wang’s eyes, Duan Yu braced himself and said, “I am Duan Yu, greetings, Lady Wang.”
Lady Wang’s feelings were complicated; unsure what to say, she wished to teach Dao Bai Feng’s son a lesson, but Tang Xuan’s superior martial arts left her powerless.
Tang Xuan laughed, “We’ve come today to take Miss Wang—no, Miss Duan—back to the royal palace of Dali.”
He was making things up, but since he’d decided to pursue the “Fairy Sister” Wang Yuyan, the peerless beauty of “The Great Wuxia,” naturally, he had to take her away.
Duan Yu was stunned—he’d come to acknowledge kin, but when did it become about taking her away?
Ah Zhu was equally surprised.
No one had mentioned taking Wang Yuyan away.
Hearing “return to the palace,” Ah Zhu was excited; if she went along, she could see her biological father.
Duan Yu’s feelings were even more tangled—facing his “Fairy Sister,” now his own sister, daily, was almost too much to bear.
Only Wang Yuyan herself was confused, not understanding what was happening.
Hearing they wanted to take “Miss Duan” away, Lady Wang shouted, “How dare you!”
Tang Xuan smiled lightly, “Do you think I dare?”
For this domineering Lady Wang, who had tried to capture him as fertilizer, Tang Xuan felt no need to be polite.
He darted forward, reached Wang Yuyan, took her with him, and in a flash was aboard the small boat they had arrived in.
Lady Wang’s maidservants, their wrists injured by Tang Xuan’s Dog Beating Staff Technique, were unable to stop him.
Lady Wang herself knew some martial arts, but lacking interest, she was merely a second-rate expert at the thirtieth or fortieth rank, not even reaching the first-rate level of the fortieth or fiftieth rank.
Had she applied herself, with the inheritance from her father, Wu Yazi, and mother, Li Qiushui, she would have been a top master of the martial world.
“A peerless master delayed by matters of love.”
Tang Xuan shook his head, looking at the bewildered Wang Yuyan whom he had brought along, and smiled, “Come, let’s go meet your biological father, the Prince of Zhen South of Dali.”
“What?”
This time, it was the Fairy Sister’s turn to cry out. Wang Yuyan looked at her mother and asked, “Mother, is it true? Is my father really the Prince of Zhen South of Dali?”
Lady Wang looked at her daughter, sighed softly; she did not confirm, but neither did she deny, tacitly admitting the truth.
Tang Xuan turned to Duan Yu, Ah Zhu, and Ah Bi, and said, “Let’s go!”
None of the three dared linger at Manduo Manor, quickly boarding the boat.
They had arrived as four, and now departed as five, leaving Manduo Manor behind.
Lady Wang watched the little boat fade into the distance, lost in her thoughts.
...
On the boat.
Duan Yu, Wang Yuyan, and Ah Zhu had already acknowledged each other as siblings.
Only Tang Xuan could see Duan Yu’s heartbreak.
As dusk approached and mist thickened over the lake, Ah Zhu suggested, “We’re close to my residence here; why don’t we rest for the night and leave tomorrow?”
The day’s events had been overwhelming, and Ah Zhu had not yet returned to her senses.
Was Tang Xuan, together with her brother Duan Yu, really going to take her and her cousin to the Prince of Zhen South’s palace in Dali?
In truth, Duan Yu did mean to do so.
Though Tang Xuan had suggested it, since Wang Yuyan was his biological sister, he wanted to bring them both home.
How could the daughter of the Prince of Zhen South of Dali remain a servant to the Murong clan?
Even if her status as a maid was not low, she was still a servant—an insult to the Duan royal family of Dali.
As for Wang Yuyan, the cousin from Manduo Manor, she had not suffered but rather enjoyed wealth and honor.
Yet somehow, Duan Yu did not want to leave his Fairy Sister, even if she was his own sibling.
The boat continued for a while longer, the mist thickening over the lake.
Everyone’s vision grew hazy; to the east, there was a flicker of lantern light on the horizon.
Ah Bi, who was rowing, smiled and said, “Where the lights are is Sister Ah Zhu’s Fragrant Pavilion.”
Everyone’s gaze converged, and the boat headed straight toward the lights.