229: Chapter 9: We've just acquired a wild Azi!

Meng Li returned to the garden, preparing to secretly take Ding Chunqiu back to Canhe Village.

Initially, he had planned to kill him directly, but upon further thought, he realized the man still had some use.

For instance, he could be used to farm favorability with Su Xinghe and Wu Ya Zi, thereby obtaining a series of Xiaoyao Sect martial arts like the Beiming Divine Skill and Swift Steps through peaceful means.

Therefore, he did not deliver a killing blow.

Unexpectedly, just as he returned to the hiding spot, Meng Li saw a petite figure looting Ding Chunqiu's 'corpse'.

That figure was actually A Zi, who had left a step ahead earlier.

After searching for a while, A Zi pulled a booklet out from Ding Chunqiu's robes.

“The Huagong Great Technique?!” she exclaimed in a low voice, then said excitedly, “This lady is going to strike it rich!”

With that, she hurriedly tucked the Secret Manual for the Huagong Great Technique into her own robes.

Immediately after, she continued to scavenge through Ding Chunqiu's person, only stopping when there was truly nothing left to find.

Having finished looting the body, A Zi looked at the still-unconscious Ding Chunqiu and pulled out a dagger from her person, her eyes flickering with indecision.

A few seconds later, she retracted the dagger and huffed at the prone Ding Chunqiu, “Even though you're a villain who forced me to be your disciple and kept me living in fear within the Xingxiu Sect, you were my Master after all. I'll spare your life this time, and consider our Master-disciple bond severed.”

After finishing her piece, A Zi prepared to leave, but the moment she turned around, her entire body froze.

Because Meng Li was looking at her with a beaming smile.

“Young Master Murong, didn't you leave?” A Zi forced a smile and asked. It was called a smile, but it was stiff and strained, looking more like a cry.

Meng Li said, “I suddenly remembered I left something behind, so I came back to get it.”

“Then... when did you arrive?”

“Right when you were feeling all over Ding Chunqiu.”

Hearing this, the last shred of hope in A Zi's heart shattered. She immediately changed her strategy, rubbing her eyes with both hands as teardrops began to fall pitter-patter. “Young Master Murong, listen to my explanation. This Ding Chunqiu isn't human, he...”

“How did you find him?” Meng Li directly interrupted her performance.

“Huh?” A Zi didn't understand.

Meng Li walked over, looked at her, and said, “How did you find out Ding Chunqiu was hidden here?”

A Zi thought for a moment and replied, “I didn't realize Ding Chunqiu was here at first; I just felt something was strange.”

“What was strange?” Meng Li asked with interest.

A Zi backed away stealthily while answering, “First, I smelled a special fragrance here. Although it was very faint, I definitely smelled it.”

“It's the scent of a medicinal powder unique to Ding Chunqiu. So, I thought he must have been here. Later, you said Sister Yu Yan's mother fainted because she drank too much wine, but I observed that the food and wine on the table were barely touched.”

“Therefore, your words were likely not the truth.”

“Combining these two points, I concluded that something must have happened here.”

“So, after you all left, I returned to investigate and unexpectedly found the unconscious Ding Chunqiu.”

Having explained everything, a fawning smile appeared on her face. “Young Master Murong, I was only just taken in as his disciple, and it was forced. Today is actually the first time we've met. Whatever grudge you have with Ding Chunqiu has nothing to do with me.”

“How about you just pretend I was never here today?”

As she spoke, A Zi raised her hand in a swearing gesture. “I swear, I will never tell a soul about today's events. If I violate this, may I be struck by lightning!”

“Sure, hand over the things you took from Ding Chunqiu.”

A Zi's expression froze, clearly reluctant to part with them.

Seeing this, Meng Li didn't waste words. He raised his hand and flicked his finger lightly toward her from a distance.

A Zi realized something was wrong but couldn't dodge in time. In an instant, her acupoints were sealed, leaving her unable to move.

She was greatly shocked.

Sealing acupoints from a distance—this technique surpassed her imagination.

Even Ding Chunqiu couldn't do that. No wonder he had been knocked unconscious.

Next, Meng Li walked up to her and reached into her robes to pull things out.

A Zi's face immediately turned red, and she said with shame and annoyance, “How can you be so handsy with a young lady? You lecher!”

Meng Li glanced at her, ignored her, and quickly pulled out the items.

The Secret Manual for the Huagong Great Technique, some bottles and jars, banknotes, and a small gold locket.

A gold locket?

Meng Li's eyes flickered slightly as he looked closely. He saw several lines of small characters engraved on it: Bamboo by the lake, lush and green, brings news of peace, and much joy.

Noticing he had taken the gold locket, A Zi's expression changed instantly, and she cried out, “That's mine, not Ding Chunqiu's! Give it back to me!”

Meng Li looked at her and asked, “Where did you get this locket?”

A Zi replied without thinking, “I've carried it since I was a child. It's a keepsake left to me by my parents.”

“A keepsake?”

“Do you have any markings on your body?” Meng Li asked, knowing the answer.

A Zi was stunned, her eyes then flickering as she spoke truthfully, “I have the character 'Duan' on my shoulder.”

Meng Li pulled aside the clothes on her shoulder and saw that there was indeed a 'Duan' character.

Seeing him actually pull at her clothes, A Zi became extremely ashamed and annoyed. “Rogue! Lecher!”

“You pulled my clothes and saw my body; you must take responsibility for me!”

“Otherwise, I won't want to live anymore!”

“Then go ahead and die.” Meng Li replied, following her lead.

A Zi was instantly choked up, then wailed, “You scoundrel! You bastard! You're not...”

Before she could finish, Meng Li sealed her mute acupoint and conveniently tidied her messy clothes.

Then, he put away the spoils, checked Ding Chunqiu's condition, and after confirming everything was fine, he picked up Ding Chunqiu with one hand and tucked A Zi under his other arm, using Lightness Skill to depart.

Throughout the process, none of the servants from Manda Mountain Villa came to the garden.

It was likely that Li Qingluo had specifically ordered them not to approach before setting her trap.

Now, it had instead made things convenient for Meng Li.

Although he had two extra people, Meng Li was very familiar with Manda Mountain Villa and managed to return to the boat without alerting anyone.

Subsequently, Meng Li rowed the boat back to Canhe Village.

Just as he entered the villa, he encountered an unexpected person—Kang Guangling!

Kang Guangling, nicknamed the 'Zither Maniac', was a Master of music, especially skilled in the zither.

He was the eldest disciple of Su Xinghe of the Xiaoyao Sect.

Su Xinghe had taken a total of eight disciples, collectively known as the 'Hangu Eight Friends'.

The other seven were the 'Chess Demon' Fan Bailing, the 'Bookworm' Gou Du, the 'Painting Madman' Wu Lingjun, the 'Divine Doctor' Xue Muhua, the 'Skilled Craftsman' Feng Asan, the 'Flower Enthusiast' Shi Qinglu, and the 'Opera Fan' Li Kuilei.

As can be seen from their titles, these eight people each had their own strengths and were considered leaders in their respective Domains.

Among them, the most famous in the Jianghu was naturally Xue Muhua, for the simple reason of being a Divine Doctor.

However, the head of the Hangu Eight Friends was the eldest Senior Brother, Kang Guangling.

In addition to this, Kang Guangling was also A Bi's Master.

As for how the two became Master and disciple, the 2003 version of the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils TV series did not explain.

It was only after Meng Li arrived in this world that he learned it was related to the Murong Family.

As the personal maidservants of the future heir of the Murong Family, A Zhu and A Bi were, without surprise, the intended concubines and naturally needed to be cultivated. They didn't need to be Masters of the four arts, poetry, wine, and tea, but they at least needed some exposure and one specialty.

But the Murong Family's lineage was not flourishing, so it was impossible for them to maintain a dedicated group of teachers.

Therefore, the Murong Family could only hire people as needed.

Kang Guangling, the 'Zither Maniac', was specifically invited by the Murong Family to teach A Zhu and A Bi the art of the zither.

Between the two, A Bi was interested in music and had talent, so she established a Master-disciple relationship with Kang Guangling.

However, although the relationship was official, A Bi did not have close contact with Kang Guangling.

Because she was young and a maidservant of the Murong Family, it was impossible for her to stay by Kang Guangling's side.

Therefore, the teaching of the craft mostly involved Kang Guangling visiting the villa.

Some time ago, when the Murong Bo couple passed away one after another, it was inappropriate for the Murong Family to play music, and Kang Guangling himself had matters to attend to.

So, he hadn't visited for a while.

Encountering him now was a bit of a surprise to Meng Li.

However, Kang Guangling was even more surprised than he was.

“Ding Chunqiu?!”

...