Chapter 57: The Real Culprit

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Shi Fei cracked melon seeds while watching A-zhu's movements and said, "Is this a blind turtle meeting a dead cat, or have they truly fallen for each other?"

A-bi smiled and said, "Young Master, who is the turtle and who is the cat?"

"Naturally, my A-zhu is the cat!" Shi Fei said as he glanced toward Wang Yuyan's side.

Wang Yuyan exerted her divine might once again, shattering Duan Yanqing's staff with a single blow.

Both of the fine steel staves had been broken bare-handed by Wang Yuyan. Realizing the situation was turning against him, Duan Yanqing prepared to flee.

However, Wang Yuyan had long anticipated his escape. With a dragon-like roar, a surging wave of white internal energy formed a massive palm print, striking Duan Yanqing squarely in the chest.

A mouthful of fresh blood erupted from Duan Yanqing's mouth, spraying three zhang high.

Anyone could tell that this blow was excruciatingly painful, and Duan Yanqing was severely wounded.

Having taken the palm strike, Duan Yanqing collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up. Seeing Wang Yuyan radiating battle intent, he knew he was doomed this time.

Wang Yuyan raised her hand to finish Duan Yanqing off when she heard Shi Fei shout, "Take him alive! We need the antidote! He's still useful!"

"Where is the antidote?" Wang Yuyan demanded, glaring down at Duan Yanqing.

With a sigh, Duan Yanqing replied, "In my inner pocket, a small green vial. Open it and hold it right beneath your nose to inhale."

He had no choice but to speak. If he didn't, Elder Yue would know anyway.

Wang Yuyan pressed his acupoints to immobilize him and retrieved the small green vial from his pocket.

With a hint of triumph, she walked over to Shi Fei's side, intending to boast about her live capture of the number one villain in the world. However, upon seeing A-zhu warmly inquiring about Qiao Feng's well-being, her expression instantly shifted.

That little bitch moves fast!

Qiao Feng was the man she had her eyes on!

In truth, could she really not tell what was on Duan Yu's mind?

It was simply that she found Duan Yu a bit too delicate and not quite aligned with her aesthetic. She was still young and not yet at the age where she wanted to keep a pampered lapdog.

Qiao Feng, on the other hand, possessed genuine martial arts prowess, a strong sense of responsibility, and an upright demeanor—a rare and true hero in this world!

"Cousin, what is wrong with you?" Shi Fei asked with keen interest, noticing the change in Wang Yuyan's expression as she glared at A-zhu.

"Nothing!" Wang Yuyan snapped.

Shi Fei chuckled and said, "Cousin has captured Duan Yanqing, the number one villain under heaven, and rescued the martial arts heroes trapped in the forest. The title of the Female Overlord of Suzhou will surely echo far and wide across the jianghu!"

The Female Overlord Wang Yuyan—how wonderfully that rolled off the tongue!

Back when he had simply told Wang Yuyan to read whatever books she liked, how could he have ever foreseen such a development?

As expected, one must always give others infinite possibilities!

Only then would things truly be interesting!

"Wah! So stinky!"

Murong Xing, whose poison had just been cleared, was finally able to speak.

The antidote for the Soul-Melting Fragrance was stored in a small vial; one simply had to open it and hold it beneath the nose of the poisoned person to neutralize the toxin. The only drawback was that the antidote smelled intensely foul!

After curing Murong Xing, Wang Yuyan walked over to Qiao Feng.

Amidst Qiao Feng's surprise, Wang Yuyan used the antidote to lift the poison afflicting him.

"This time, you owe me a favor!" Wang Yuyan declared.

Qiao Feng cupped his fists toward Wang Yuyan and said, "Many thanks to Miss Wang for the antidote!"

"And me too!" A-zhu said, looking at Qiao Feng with a beaming smile.

Qiao Feng turned and apologized to A-zhu as well, saying, "Many thanks to you too, A-zhu!"

"Huh?" Wang Yuyan hadn't expected Qiao Feng to address A-zhu so familiarly as "A-zhu."

A-zhu gazed back at Wang Yuyan with a smiling expression.

Sparks seemed to flash invisibly between their eyes.

Stinky bitch!

Nearby, Qiao Feng inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine. He said to Wang Yuyan, "Since Miss Wang has obtained the antidote, I must ask you to save the various martial arts heroes trapped in the forest."

"They all believed you were a Khitan and wanted to kill you. Do you still wish to save them?" Wang Yuyan asked.

Qiao Feng let out a sigh and said, "In the past, they were all my brothers and friends. Now that my true heritage has been revealed, I still harbor lingering doubts in my heart and must investigate the matter thoroughly. Let us simply forget each other in the rivers and lakes!"

He turned to the members of the Beggar Sect and declared, "The Beggar Sect is a renowned and righteous faction under heaven—how can it possibly be led by a Khitan? I will no longer serve as the Sect Master!"

With that, he tossed out a green wooden staff.

It was the sacred token of the Beggar Sect, the Dog-Beating Staff, which commanded: "To see the staff is to see the Sect Master."

Able to hold on, yet equally able to let go—Wang Yuyan grew even more appreciative of Qiao Feng.

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the bottle of Soul-Melting Fragrance poison directly to Qiao Feng.

"The antidote is yours now; save whoever you wish!" Having said this, she shot a glance at A-zhu and signaled with her eyes.

A-zhu understood her meaning. Bidding a brief farewell to Qiao Feng, she followed Wang Yuyan to the other side of the apricot grove.

"Stay away from him!" Wang Yuyan stated bluntly, cutting straight to the point.

A-zhu smiled and retorted, "Why don't you stay away from him instead?"

"Oh?" Wang Yuyan looked at A-zhu and sneered, "Out of respect for my cousin, I have never competed with you since we were children."

A-zhu replied, "Out of respect for the Young Master, I have always yielded to you since we were children as well."

"No one asked you to yield!" Wang Yuyan said. "I am warning you this time. Next time, I won't be nearly so polite."

A-zhu touched the curved blade at her waist and asked, "And how will you be impolite? I'd actually love to see it."

Wang Yuyan stared at A-zhu, and A-zhu stared back at Wang Yuyan. The murderous intent in their eyes was on the verge of erupting.

Kill her, and that handsome man will be mine alone!

This was the identical thought echoing in both of their hearts.

Just as they were about to make a move, Shi Fei's voice echoed through the apricot grove.

"Qiao Feng, you now know the identity of the Leading Big Brother. But do you know why the Leading Big Brother wanted to kill your parents?"

Qiao Feng, who had just used the antidote to cure two martial arts practitioners of the Soul-Melting Fragrance and handed the bottle to them so they could cure the rest, suddenly froze upon hearing these words.

"What does Your Excellency know?" Qiao Feng asked, cupping his fists.

Shi Fei put away his melon seeds and said with a solemn expression, "The Leading Big Brother was none of other than Xuanci back then, now known as Master Huanci. Someone told him at the time that the Khitans were planning to raid the Shaolin Temple to plunder its martial arts manuals."

"That is why their party decided to strike first, ambushing and killing the Khitans who had crossed into the Central Plains at the Song-Liao border, never expecting to mistakenly murder your parents."

"However, the Khitans had no such intentions at the time; it was entirely false intelligence."

"It was precisely because of that false intelligence that your parents were killed. And the person who provided that false intelligence was none of other than the former master of the Murong Estate, Murong Bo!"

"What?" Qiao Feng was utterly shocked. He never imagined there would be such a deeply hidden secret.

If Murong Bo had provided false intelligence, then that meant...

"Could it be that Murong Bo is the true murderer who killed my parents?!" Qiao Feng blurted out.

"Correct!" Shi Fei nodded.

With immense gratitude, Qiao Feng asked, "May I ask how Your Excellency is addressed? Qiao is deeply grateful for your revelation!"

Shi Fei replied, "I am the master of the Murong Estate."

The Murong Estate...

Qiao Feng felt the name sounded vaguely familiar. Then he heard Shi Fei continue, "Murong Bo is the former master of the Murong Estate."

He watched as Shi Fei pointed toward the young man standing beside him and said, "And this is Murong Xing, the son of Murong Bo!"

"Go ahead and kill the son of the murderer who killed your parents!"