277: Chapter 57 The Rising Tide of the Azure Sea Suppresses Petty Scoundrels

"No, no!"

"Get away!"

As the flute music changed, many people present fell into illusions, rolling on the ground clutching their heads and wailing in pain.

Only three people were exceptions: Bao Butong, Feng Boe, and Qiao Feng.

Bao Butong and Feng Boe knew the power of the flute music and had retreated far away from the start.

Qiao Feng, on the other hand, had deep cultivation and keen perception; as soon as he noticed something was wrong, he timely circulated his Qi to resist.

After blocking the erosion of the flute music, he saw the state of the crowd and was greatly shocked.

Qiao Feng had heard of techniques that injured people with sound; the Lion's Roar, one of the Shaolin's Seventy-Two Supreme Techniques, was one such kind.

However, he had only heard of it and had never encountered it before.

Because the Lion's Roar was extremely difficult to Cultivate, few people mastered it. Furthermore, the Lion's Roar emphasized a fierce explosion, its sound like a sudden thunderclap; once deployed, an enemy would, in severe cases, have their liver and gallbladder shatter and die on the spot; in milder cases, their ears would be deafened and their souls would tremble, leaving them disabled or idiotic.

This flute music, however, invisibly invaded one's mind, causing a trance that gave rise to illusions, leading to pain or even madness and obsession.

It was truly incredibly bizarre!

The person playing this must certainly not be a kind soul!

With thoughts flashing through his mind, Qiao Feng quickly reached a conclusion, circulating his Martial Arts to eliminate the erosion of the flute music while searching for its source.

Soon, he found the source of the sound and was momentarily stunned.

Because the person playing was actually a young girl.

She stood on the high wall of Canhe Village, her appearance elegant and beautiful, dressed in a green robe, standing gracefully; her whole being had a gentle temperament unique to the Jiangnan region.

This was something Qiao Feng had never expected.

A second later, he came to his senses and shouted, "Young lady, Qiao and his brothers only wish to see Young Master Murong and mean no ill will. Could you please stop this flute music?"

A Bi glanced at him but did not respond.

Seeing this, Qiao Feng frowned slightly, cupped his hands, and said, "I must apologize for the offense."

Having said that, he leaped up and struck a palm toward A Bi.

But just as he reached mid-air, the sound of something breaking through the air came.

Qiao Feng was startled and hurried to twist and dodge, landing back on the ground.

Once he stabilized himself and looked, he found a girl in purple had appeared beside the girl in green.

"Quick reactions," A Zi said with a giggle, then added, "Try this move of mine—Finger Flickering Gatling!"

After speaking, she used both hands like drawn bows, rapidly flicking her fingers toward Qiao Feng.

In an instant, the Protective Aura generated by the Finger Flickering Technique's force formed a sealing formation, shooting down toward Qiao Feng as densely as a rain of arrows.

Qiao Feng was surprised and did not dare to be careless; seeing that he couldn't dodge in time, he hurriedly struck out with Dragon Subduing Palm Force to resist.

The palm force transformed into a Dragon shape and spiraled, successfully blocking the finger force's Protective Aura; the remaining force, not yet exhausted, rushed toward A Zi.

Seeing this, A Zi was not afraid at all and struck out with a Luoying Divine Sword Palm to counter it.

The palm force was as sharp as a sword, slicing directly at the remnant Dragon.

The two palm forces collided in the air, producing a dull explosion and creating a gust of air before canceling each other out.

A Bi's Azure Sea Rising Tide Melody had reached its end; seeing the explosion's interference, she simply stopped.

As the flute music ceased, the erosion on the crowd below naturally dissipated, but the lingering effects remained, so they did not wake up immediately and were all in a very wretched state.

Wailing, fear, weakness, exhaustion...

Because the illusions born in their hearts were different, the negative states each person endured varied.

One person was particularly noticeable—Duan Yu!

He didn't know what emotions had been stirred or what illusions he had fallen into, but his face was flushed and his eyes were blurred.

Most importantly, he had somehow picked up a wooden pole, at one moment hugging it and rubbing against it while murmuring "Ling'er, Ling'er," and the next moment pulling away with a look of struggle, painfully saying, "We can't, we are siblings."

Qiao Feng frowned at the sight and hurried over to pat Duan Yu's cheeks: "Brother Duan, Brother Duan, wake up quickly!"

After several pats, Duan Yu successfully woke up and then said blankly, "Big Brother Qiao, I... I..."

After two "I"s, Duan Yu's briefly fragmented memory returned, and the subsequent words were stuck in his throat, not daring to come out.

Because the illusions born in his heart were truly unsightly, too shameful to speak of to others.

From Duan Yu's performance just now, Qiao Feng vaguely guessed something; he felt it was strange in his heart but did not show it, instead standing up and turning to look at A Bi and A Zi.

Seeing this, the people around who had regained consciousness followed his gaze; seeing A Bi holding a jade flute, they immediately realized that the illusions and pain they just experienced were thanks to her.

For a moment, many eyes were filled with wariness and fear.

Others were more filled with anger and resentment.

"Sorcery! What she used just now was sorcery!"

"She must be a witch!"

A witch?

Hearing this title, A Bi was stunned for a moment.

This was something she hadn't expected, but she didn't care.

A Zi, beside her, let out a sneer and then retorted, "Sorcery? How ignorant and easily surprised! This Azure Sea Rising Tide Melody is a Righteous Path technique, specifically for countering those with impure hearts and low Martial Arts; Sister A Bi used it openly and honorably."

"The fact that you couldn't resist and fell into illusions is clearly because you have evil thoughts in your hearts and your Martial Arts are inadequate."

"Furthermore, my Sister A Bi is not only elegant and beautiful but also has a gentle and lovely personality."

"For you to call her a witch, you must be blind!"

Hearing these flattering words, A Bi smiled and lightly tapped A Zi with the jade flute to stop her, then looked sideways at Qiao Feng, pointing at several Beggars Sect Elders, including Quan Guanqing, and asked: "Clan Leader Qiao, how does Vice Leader Ma's Martial Arts compare to these individuals?"

Qiao Feng had high Martial Arts and extraordinary insight; as the Clan Leader, he naturally understood the Martial Arts and levels of Ma Dayuan and the various Elders.

With a moment's thought, he arrived at the answer: "Vice Leader Ma was slightly superior."

"Then in your view, could he defeat me?" A Bi followed up with another question.

"This..." Qiao Feng hesitated, then spoke truthfully: "Young lady, you have suppressed the crowd with a single flute melody; although you benefited from the element of surprise, it is enough to see your deep cultivation. Not to mention Vice Leader Ma, even I, Qiao, might fall short."

A Bi smiled slightly and concluded, "In that case, the answer you seek has already come out."

Then, a watery tenderness appeared in her eyes, and she said with pride, "My techniques were all taught by my Young Master. My Young Master's Martial Arts are more than a hundred times superior to mine; Vice Leader Ma couldn't even defeat me, so he was naturally far from being a match for the Young Master."

"If the Young Master wanted to kill him, it would likely take only one move, with no need to use Shifting Stars at all."

"Therefore, the person who murdered Vice Leader Ma is someone else."

"Clan Leader Qiao, please return."

Qiao Feng remained silent.

Regarding the matter of the Murong Family killing Ma Dayuan, he had been skeptical from the start.

The reason was simple: the two sides had no grievances and no intersection; the Murong Family had no motive to kill.

It was just that Ma Dayuan died by his own famous technique, which easily made people think of the Murong Family's 'Returning the opponent's move with their own technique'; Ma Dayuan's widow Kang Min and Elders like Bai Shijing felt it was possible. Coupled with many people in the Jianghu dying by their own Martial Arts, the Murong Family's suspicion grew.

That was why he brought people to Canhe Village to seek an answer.

Earlier, when he and Feng Boe had reached a conclusion in their fight, Qiao Feng already had an answer in his heart.

Although Feng Boe hadn't beaten him, his strength far exceeded Ma Dayuan's, and the Great Subduing Demon Fist and Raging Dragon Palm he used were both seen by Qiao Feng for the first time. With such conditions, the Murong Family had plenty of ways to kill Ma Dayuan that would be enough to prevent anyone from finding out; there was no need to use a signature move like Shifting Stars.

The subsequent actions of A Bi and A Zi further confirmed this, but..."