Chapter Forty-Four: The Fierce Mother Beast

Kumarajiva took up residence at the Canhe Estate. Assisted by several monks from outside the city of Suzhou, he absentmindedly prepared for the preliminary stages of the Water and Land Buddhist Service.

By the end of the day, he was utterly exhausted!

The service itself was tedious, and the preparations were even more so. Moreover, the mute servant from the Canhe Estate kept a strict watch on the side, leaving no room to slack off.

Performing Buddhist rites was tiring!
Preparing for them was even more exhausting!
The Water and Land Buddhist Service was scheduled to last for a full forty-nine days, with nothing but vegetarian meals every single day. It was truly enough to work him to death!

Kumarajiva sighed inwardly. Who asked him to make that promise in the first place?
What a wretched piece of karma!

As for Duan Yu, who was of a similar age to Murong Xing, he was specially invited to stay and treated as an honored guest.

Since Duan Yu had been abducted to the region south of the Yangtze River by Kumarajiva, he needed to send word home to let his family know he was safe. Murong Xing patted his chest and declared, "How do you plan to send word? Surely you don't intend to walk back yourself?"

Dali was more than a thousand miles away!
How could he possibly report his safety to his family?
He had been abducted for so many days, and his parents must be worried sick!
Duan Yu could not help feeling anxious.

Murong Xing continued, "Our Murong family has a tiny bit of influence in the martial arts world. I will arrange for a pigeon messenger to fly a letter to Dali. It is safest for you to wait right here!"

Upon reflection, Duan Yu realized this made sense. If he traveled toward Dali on his own, he might miss his family along the way or encounter unforeseen dangers.
Staying at the Canhe Estate was indeed the safest option.

With this thought, Duan Yu offered his sincere thanks, "In that case, I am deeply obliged, Young Master Murong!"

"You're mistaken, Your Highness. There is only one Young Master in the entire Murong family!" Murong Xing corrected him. "They all call me Brother Xing."

Duan Yu could not help remarking, "Isn't your elder brother a bit too domineering?"

Murong Xing shook his head and replied, "He says the title 'Young Master Murong' has been cursed and is destined to drive people mad."

Under normal circumstances, Murong Xing always referred to Murong Fu simply as "he."

"..." Duan Yu asked, "Do you believe that?"
How could there be such a bizarre curse?

Murong Xing answered, "I have to believe it whether I want to or not. Because I feel like he is already going mad."

Duan Yu said, "Your brother just looks a little strange!"

Murong Xing glanced around. They were talking in his study, and there was not a soul nearby.
So he said, "He is truly strange. When he was my age, he spent the whole day sleeping. Sometimes he would sleep for days on end!"
"Is it normal for a grown man to sleep all day long?"

Duan Yu thought about it. He had never encountered such a peculiar person before, and conceded, "Indeed, that is not normal."

Murong Xing went on, "He has no interest in women, no interest in fame, and no interest in power. It seems he has no interest in anything at all!"
"If I slept the way he does, I would have gone crazy long ago!"

How could anyone speak of their own brother in such a manner?
Duan Yu was kind-hearted and disliked speaking ill of others behind their backs, so he remarked, "He is your elder brother, after all!"

Murong Xing sighed and said, "Never mind, let's not talk about that."
"Get some rest early tonight, and tomorrow I will take you around Suzhou for a tour," he suggested. "There are still many fun places in Suzhou. It's a pity my family won't let me visit those pleasure quarters and houses of entertainment."

"Speaking of the city of Suzhou!" Duan Yu suddenly remembered the fairy-like maiden he had encountered within the city.
He asked, "When I was in Suzhou, I happened to meet a woman riding a horse. She referred to you all as 'cousin'..."

Duan Yu recounted the circumstances of his encounter with Wang Yuyan, only to hear Murong Xing raise his voice in disbelief, "You actually saw that fierce tigress, Wang Yuyan?"

"A fierce... tigress?" Duan Yu could never have imagined that the ethereal fairy-like maiden would be described by Murong Xing as a "fierce tigress."

Murong Xing slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Ah, you have no idea. That fierce tigress is my cousin. When she was little, she was as soft and cute as could be."
"But people change as they grow. Ever since she read his collection of books, she became a completely different person."
"She goes around shouting that women are no inferior to men, and insists on competing in everything. I haven't been bullied by her lightly—her whip stings fiercely when it hits someone!"

So that was what the fairy maiden was really like...

With a look of yearning, Duan Yu said, "But in my eyes, the fairy maiden possessed a heroic and dashing demeanor, drawing her sword to help the wronged on the road. It is truly..."

How could anyone not yearn for a fairy maiden who championed righteousness?

"What fairy maiden?" Murong Xing asked with a look of utter astonishment. "What does 'fairy maiden' even mean? Surely you don't mean the fierce tigress?"
"Ah... well..."

Seeing the genuine longing and yearning on Duan Yu's face, Murong Xing was too shocked to know what to say.
"Hey, hey, hey, Your Highness, you surely haven't fallen for the fierce tigress, have you?" Murong Xing shook Duan Yu by the arm.

"I merely wish to keep the fairy maiden company, I haven't..." Duan Yu felt that using the word "fallen for" was somewhat blasphemous to the fairy maiden in his heart.

"I admire you!" Murong Xing's eyes widened as he gave a thumbs-up. "Anyone who can take a fancy to the fierce tigress—I truly, truly admire you!"
"Your Highness! From this day forth, you are my big brother!"

Murong Xing had never admired anyone so much in his life. He declared, "If you can manage to tame that fierce tigress, I will wrap up a huge red envelope for you!"

"..." Duan Yu said helplessly, "Brother Xing, is that really necessary?"

"You don't understand," Murong Xing sighed. "I grew up right here in the Canhe Estate."
"Aside from myself, the people of the same generation in this estate are just the two maidservants, Azhu and Abihu. They have been clever since childhood, and early on they attached themselves to him, learning quite a few skills."
"By the time they reached fourteen or fifteen, they were managing the entire Canhe Estate, pointing fingers and bossing everyone around all day long."
"It is so annoying!"

"As for the fierce tigress, she is my maternal uncle's daughter. When she was little, I loved pinching her cheeks. Her little face was chubby and quite amusing."

Duan Yu listened to Murong Xing with a bizarre expression, feeling that Murong Xing truly deserved to be whipped by the fairy maiden.

"But this young lady has a natural gift: she never forgets anything she reads, especially martial arts manuals," Murong Xing continued.
"Fortunately, her constitution was unsuited for martial arts, but one day she suddenly comprehended a supreme manual from his book collection."
"Not only did it make up for her congenital deficiencies, but her internal energy advanced by leaps and bounds daily. Moreover, she became as strong as if she possessed divine strength from birth!"
"Originally, I could still exchange a few blows with her, but over the past few years, I've simply become her punching bag."

"My life is so hard!" Murong Xing finally finished his tale about Wang Yuyan.
"I am afraid I shall live under the shadow of the fierce tigress for the rest of my life. If Brother Highness can tame the fierce tigress, that would truly be an act of boundless merit..."

Upon hearing this, Duan Yu felt that Murong Xing's upbringing was rather similar to his own, except that he did not have a fairy maiden for a cousin.
They had grown up surrounded by luxury, yet they were also terribly lonely, without a single playmate.

No wonder Murong Xing had insisted on keeping him here.
The two of them were truly alike.

Duan Yu murmured, "I only fear that after our hurried parting last time, I know not when I shall ever see the fairy maiden again!"

Murong Xing patted him on the shoulder and said, "How difficult can that be? I will help you!"