Song Qingshu understood what this guy was trying to do very clearly. Zhang Zhaozhong was obviously aiming for this woman from the start, and he was only using Song Qingshu as a pretext.
Song Qingshu couldn’t help but feel a little strange, he didn’t know whether he should feel angry or curious about what this guy wanted to achieve from this.
A trace of anger flashed across Sang Feihong’s face, and she scolded, “Does Master Zhang want to create a show of robbing a civilian woman in broad daylight? Sisters, pack your things and let’s go.” After speaking, she turned to the troupe and the group of people started to pack up.
“Want to leave?” Zhang Zhaozhong sneered. He jumped and stopped in front of the other party.
“I have heard of Master Zhang’s reputation as a Fiery Hand Judge for a long time, and this one would never dare to test it.” Sang Feihong did not expect the other party to be so shameless.
“You guys leave first.” She asked the others to go out first.
She had a clear plan in her heart. She has never been weak in movement technique, and depending on the situation, it would actually be quite easy for her to fight or escape. On the contrary, if these sisters under her command were to be used by Zhang Zhaozhong to threaten her, she would fall into a dilemma.
Song Qingshu didn’t expect such a petite woman to be quite good in martial arts. He saw her suddenly shoot forward and raised her feet like a mandarin duck raising its tail. It seemed that most of her martial arts were focused on the legs.
“What an exquisite Mandarin Duck Kick!” Zhang Zhaozhong’s eyes lit up. His original intention was capturing Sang Feihong. Naturally, he didn’t care about the rest of the troupe getting away.
The two fought for more than ten moves, and Song Qingshu had already become quite clear about the end result. Although Sang Feihong had exquisite leg techniques, she was quite weak in terms of physical strength. After parrying Zhang Zhaozhong’s palm strikes a few times, an expression of pain flashed on her face, and she quickly changed her mind. From now on she would use a more fancy way of fighting, and unless it was a last resort, she would never confront Zhang Zhaozhong again.
If it wasn’t for Zhang Zhaozhong not wanting to seriously injure her, Sang Feihong would have been captured long ago. At that moment, Song Qingshu gave a laugh,”Master Zhang’s martial arts skills seem to be from the Wudang Sect, and I also happen to know a bit about it. How about we compare our skills for a bit?” After saying that Song Qingshu didn’t wait for him to answer, he directly used the Wudang Tiger Claw and stopped between the two.
Sang Feihong was gradually falling into a disadvantage and was starting to feel anxious in her heart. Suddenly, a young man appeared in front of her with his left hand still behind his back and he made a secret gesture towards her to run away.
Zhang Zhaozhong was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood that the other party was intending to let Sang Feihong escape. But he was not annoyed. Instead, he smiled, “Master Song is one of the top experts in the world. It would be an honor to compare our skills.” Then he readied his Claw and parried the attack.
The two men exchanged several moves—Tiger Claw against Tiger Claw, Wudang Silk Palm against Wudang Silk Palm, and they started to deeply admire each other’s accomplishments.
“Let’s stop fighting. Lord Song has been merciful, how can the lower officials not know.” Zhang Zhaozhong laughed and jumped out of the battle circle.
“Master Zhang is an expert of Wudang martial arts, but may I know which branch of Wudang did you learn them from?” Song Qingshu asked in confusion. He naturally knew that Zhang Zhaozhong was not a direct descendant of Purple Cloud Temple. Although there were many branches of the Wudang Sect, what Zhang Zhaozhong learned was the authentic martial arts of the Wudang Sect. Naturally, it was not something that some small branches could teach.
“Taoist Ma Zhen was my Senior Brother.” Zhang Zhaozhong didn’t show any respect for his Senior Brother.
“It turns out that it is Taoist Ma Zhen. In terms of seniority, Master Zhang should be my martial-uncle.” Song Qingshu said in a depressed tone.
Zhang Zhaozhong laughed and said, “As the saying goes, strength comes first. Based on the realm of your martial arts, you would be giving me face if you said that were equals. Besides, I have already been expelled from the Sect by my Senior Brother, so I can’t be regarded as a part of Wudang.”
“Oh?” Song Qingshu raised his eyebrows, “If that’s the case, then we are indeed both exiles from Wudang.” After speaking, he couldn’t help laughing.
Zhang Zhaozhong obviously didn’t take the Wudang Sect that seriously, and said with a smile, “Lord Song, do you know why I took the initiative to let you borrow my sword at the banquet last night?”
“Could it be because I am also an exile from Wudang?” Song Qingshu said with a weird smile.
Zhang Zhao nodded his head, “Yes. Lord Song is highly skilled in martial arts, although I admired you for that, I don’t feel close. On the contrary, I later learned that that Song was also banished from Wudang… Hehe, I felt a sense of intimacy.”
“This identity has really bothered me for a long time. It’s rare to see a brother in the same boat,” Song Qingshu said, and hugged Zhang Zhaozhong’s shoulders, “Let’s stop calling each other Lord Song and Lord Zhang! I’ll call you Brother Zhang. Wouldn’t it be better to call me Brother Song as well?” Song Qingshu subconsciously thought of Wei Xiaobao, he had learned the ability to “make brothers” from him.
Considering that the other party’s official rank was much higher than him, Zhang Zhaozhong said with great joy after a moment’s surprise, “Who dares to disobey!” He quickly ordered his subordinates to prepare wine and food.
The two chatted while drinking wine, first about the Wudang Sect to the various masters of wulin, and finally Song Qingshu brought up the topic about Prince Bao’s Palace.
Zhang Zhaozhong was slightly drunk and said, “Prince Bao has recruited experts from all over the world over the years. Although there are no martial artists at the master level, he has more or less gathered a lot of capable people. You must have seen that Yu Zhenzi, although he was easily defeated in your hands, but his martial arts is indeed extraordinary. He was someone who was able to tie with Yuan Chengzhi, the Golden Serpent King.” AS he said that, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.
Song Qingshu understood what this guy was thinking. Obviously, the other party didn’t understand why Yu Zhenzi was so embarrassingly defeated despite his realm of martial arts. Song Qingshu naturally didn’t want to clarify the reason, so he just smiled and listened to the other party continue speaking.
“The next person would be me. Although, my martial art is only so-so. In the entire palace, except for Yu Zhenzi, I have the highest martial arts.” Zhang Zhaozhong snorted and continued, “But there might be a few masters of the same level as us, such as the Golden Grasping Iron Hook Bai Zhen, who has a single hand, and is an expert in the Eagle Claw, which is extremely fierce. The general of the palace is also quite powerful, he is considered the number one master among the people of the palace. There is Hai Lanbi and Debu, who have the title of guards, and their martial arts skills are also good. As for the other so-called masters, they may not be worth mentioning in your eyes, Brother Song.”
Song Qingshu’s heart moved, and he pretended to ask unintentionally, “How about Tian Guinong, the head of Heavenly Dragon Sect, I heard that he is also a master under Prince Bao.”
“Tian Guinong?” Zhang Zhaozhong smiled, “His martial arts is really quite good, but some time ago, he might have somehow offended the Prince. The Prince imprisoned him and tortured him every day. I’m afraid he will be removed from the palace in the future.”
‘So Tian Guinong is really locked up in Prince Bao’s Palace?’ Song Qingshu frowned. Although he had guessed as much before, now that it has been confirmed, he still felt that the matter was quite thorny. But on second thought, he was here to save Xia Qingqing, so even if Prince Bao’s mansion is a Tiger’s Den, he would have to break into it. Saving another person didn’t seem like a big deal.
“It’s a pity that his wife, whose name is famous all over Shengjing, will probably be left alone in the future.” Zhang Zhaozhong showed a gloating expression on his face.
“Is his wife beautiful?” Song Qingshu asked knowingly.
“She’s more than beautiful, hehe, you may not know, but which of our colleagues doesn’t drool thinking of his sweet wife? During Tian Guinong’s misfortune, everyone thought it was an opportunity. But since the Heir also has his eyes on her, we naturally don’t dare to make a move.” Zhang Zhaozhong suddenly looked regretful, “Brother Song can go to Tian Mansion to see if you have time, and you will know that what I said is true.”
“He he… I really want to go and see.” Song Qingshu smiled inwardly, ‘I will do more than just seeing, I have already played with every inch of her skin…’
“It’s only natural for Brother Song to be young and romantic.” Seeing his eyes light up, Zhang Zhaozhong felt it was necessary to remind him, “For now, it doesn’t matter if you touch a woman like Sang Feihong, but for Madame Tian, Brother, it would be best for you to only take a look. She will be in the Heir’s pocket sooner or later, and it would be unwise to offend him for a woman.”
“Thank you Brother Zhang for reminding me. Come, let me give you a toast,” Song Qingshu asked suspiciously after putting down the wine glass, “Just now, I saw that you seemed to be deliberately targeting that Sang Feihong…”
“It was because the Prince felt that there were many unfamiliar faces in Shengjing recently, and he specially ordered me to check it out. That Sang Feihong, don’t be fooled by her young and delicate appearance, she is a woman from the wulin. She is the famous leader of the Five Lakes Sect.” Zhang Zhaozhong explained.
“Five Lakes Sect?” Song Qingshu was in charge of the Pole Arms, and naturally had a general understanding of the sects in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, “Aren’t they just a sect of performers, what kind of threat do they pose to Prince Bao?”
Zhang Zhaozhong sneered and said, “I just wanted to give her to my Brother as a welcome gift. How could I know that you pity flowers and let her go on purpose.”
Song Qingshu also felt a little embarrassed, said with an embarrassed look on his face, “You saw through it.”
“It doesn’t matter, isn’t it just a woman? Come, drink, drink…” Zhang Zhaozhong did not take this matter to heart. One Sang Feihong left today, and another Zi Feihong will come tomorrow. He wasn’t worried that there would be no women, not to mention that he had managed to befriend Song Qingshu through this, which would bring many benefits for him in the future.
Song Qingshu suddenly remembered something, and reminded him in a low voice, “Brother Zhang, you should also know the relationship between Prince Bao and the Emperor. You and I appear very close now, and if it falls into the eyes of someone who has bad intentions, I am afraid it will be a little disadvantageous to you. “
A hint of warmth flashed in Zhang Zhaozhong’s heart, and he lowered his voice and said bluntly, “Brother Song treats me with sincerity, and I will not hide it from you. I took the initiative to invite you today by the Prince’s command.”
“What?” Song Qingshu was startled, could it be some kind of trap?
“Don’t worry, the Prince just asked me to create a good relationship with you, saying that I might be able to get some information in the future.” Zhang Zhaozhong said with a smile, “But you and I have a relationship with the Wudang Sect, so I will naturally not harm you.”
Song Qingshu smiled reluctantly, but the doubts in his heart were not resolved. Zhang Zhaozhong’s greed and viciousness in the original book left a deep impression on him. He could even kill his own Senior Brother, who he knew for seven or eight layers.
‘Maybe he really feels empathetic, that’s why he is so enthusiastic about befriending me today?’
At that moment, the sound of broken porcelain came from the backyard. Although they were far apart, they were both experts, so they could hear it clearly. Soon a servant ran over, “Master, the Miss is losing her temper again.”
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Thanks for the chapter. Things are getting interesting yet again!
Thanks for reading!
More action let’s go! Ty for the translations.
Thanks for reading!