On that day, leaving Jinshan for Shaoxing Prefecture, I was fortunate to arrive smoothly as I knew the way. Unexpectedly, I was softly imprisoned by my aunt, until my cousin returned home for the New Year, and he quietly released me. However, because of the palm technique my cousin had created when he went abroad to find a place to avoid the dust and observe the waves, which was truly ingenious and elegant, and I intended to show off to Wang Chongyang, I delayed my time asking him to teach me. By the time I returned to Jinshan, Wang Chongyang was nowhere to be found. Later, I learned from Sister Di that he had gone to Yangdi to smash the Jin bandits' armory, so I chased after him day after day, but unfortunately, I got lost on the way. After going in circles, I arrived at this forest and saw the back of "Monkey-Shaped Man." He... was so afraid of being seen by me... Why... Le Fu had been uneasy since she heard Gou Er tell her about him.
Le Fu followed them closely, and Lin Chaoying seemed not to see her. Sun Bole asked twice how she knew his whereabouts and the details of her cousin, but seeing how cunning she was, he spoke little. For the past two days on the road, only Gou Er was close to her, but she only talked about Lin Chaoying's preferences and habits. Gou Er's answers were brief, and she misunderstood it as concealment, so she asked fewer questions.
Early on the fourteenth, we finally arrived at the great road leading to Yangdi! Exhausted and drowsy, Le Fu, despite her best efforts, kept falling further behind them. She thought that since the road ahead was a straight path, she wouldn't get lost again. Even if she lost sight of them, she could find Wang Chongyang after entering the city through the members, so she slowed down to catch her breath. At this moment, she saw a carriage stopped by the roadside. The driver persuaded the person inside, saying, "Madam, you're not feeling well, why don't you rest for a while? We'll definitely arrive before sunset anyway." A stubborn voice from behind the curtain, suppressing her pain, said, "Don't worry about me, hurry up!" Le Fu cried out, "Sister Di."
"Sister Fu." Fang Di, ignoring her pregnant state, lifted the curtain and rushed out of the carriage. Le Fu asked, "Sister Di, weren't you supposed to be in Luzhou recuperating?" Fang Di grabbed Le Fu's arms excitedly and said, "Huo Xinzhi, that wretched girl! Yun Kai's sister entrusted a "fast messenger" to send a letter, informing me that that wretched girl has been seducing him constantly on the road, and my husband has been unstable and fornicated with her! Afterwards, she shamelessly pestered him for a name."
"Speak softly." Le Fu, afraid she would make a scene, advised, "Calm down, there might be some misunderstanding."
Fang Di gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, catch the thief with the stolen goods, catch the adulterer red-handed, I will tear their faces apart in public, and see if he can still be an official as he wishes! Come, let's go together." Le Fu felt conflicted and didn't want to get involved in their petty quarrels, but she feared she couldn't escape now! Moreover, by riding in their carriage, she could meet Wang Chongyang before that strange old woman, so she got into the carriage with her. Along the way, Fang Di was dizzy, nauseous, and cried constantly. Le Fu was surprised that she seemed like a different person, and secretly resented that she was suffering for nothing. She still fed and cared for her with all her heart and mind on an empty stomach.
"Yongliang Inn" was located in a remote ancient ruin on the eastern outskirts of Yangdi. On the surface, it was an inn, but in reality, it was a base for supporting the Song army's attack on Jin.
By the time the carriage arrived, it was late afternoon. Fang Di, upon learning from the innkeeper that the Yangwu Gang members were in the pavilion in the backyard, rushed straight in. Entering the garden, she heard a mournful and melodious pipa sound from a distant corner pavilion, accompanied by incense mixed with the scents of Eucommia and Radix Bupleuri. Fang Di was furious and cursed, "The tricks of a smelly fox!" She barged into the pavilion and slapped Huo Xinzhi, who looked surprised, "Wretched girl, you're stealing my husband!" Then she reached out to grab her hair, but Huo Xinzhi pushed her away. Le Fu stepped forward to block them, saying, "Sisters, let's talk. Where is Yun Kai? Where is Wei Geng?" Huo Xinzhi smiled eerily, her eyes drifting to a distant side room. Fang Di roared and was about to pounce again, but Le Fu stopped her.
Huo Xinzhi said, "I've tolerated you once because you are my husband's original wife. If you dare to be wild again, I'll make you suffer!" Le Fu couldn't help but scold, "Stealing love with a sword, isn't that disregarding sisterly affection!" Huo Xinzhi sneered and said, "Isn't that following what she always brags to us about, breaking free from the shackles of etiquette, do what you want, love who you want? Wake up! When she calls women sisters, it's just to use us and manipulate us. As for men... she undresses and seeks benefits. We've all discussed it in private..." Fang Di pushed away Le Fu's supporting hand. Huo Xinzhi pointed at Fang Di and said, "This belly of yours, Wei Geng complained to me that you forced and tricked him, and only then did you get pregnant."
Fang Di cursed, "Nonsense! Lies!" Huo Xinzhi said, "Wei Geng also told me that you devised a plan to make Tian Kai pretend to assist the fallen dog Chong Yuwu, to obtain his intelligence with Jin, and to steal the 'Warrior in Palm' tranquilizer. In fact, you used Chong Yuwu to get rid of that blockhead, so he wouldn't hinder your entanglement with Wei Geng to force marriage!" Le Fu was very shocked and stopped Fang Di, intending to continue listening. Huo Xinzhi was unwilling to give up and said, "Wei Geng is faking it, he actually despises your dirty body. Hey, in the whole gang, only that fool Tian Kai treats the rotten goods like a treasure..."
Fang Di pushed Le Fu away and rushed to fight her. She had fallen into Huo Xinzhi's trap. Seeing her raise her hand and hook her foot, Fang Di was about to fall to the ground on the right. Even if she didn't die, the fetus might not be safe.
A black shadow flashed, and the Monkey-Shaped Man appeared. He crouched down and extended his palm to steady Fang Di, then leaped up like a monkey, scratching Huo Xinzhi's attacking arms, and then slapped her more than ten times with "left and right open arms." Huo Xinzhi was hit until her ears rang and her eyes blurred, and she fell to the ground.
Le Fu, who was about to step forward to stop the two women, exclaimed in surprise, "Tian Kai, it's really you!"
Meng Tian Kai suddenly turned to flee, but happened to meet Fang Di. He tried his best to regulate his breathing, but could only emit a whimpering sound. The images in his mind overlapped, and he couldn't focus his vision. He raised his trembling right hand to touch the front. Fang Di showed fear, and her hands involuntarily covered her belly as she retreated a few steps. Meng Tian Kai felt guilty about this and suddenly felt the bitterness of his hopes dashed, which made his mind suddenly clear for a moment. He said with difficulty, "You! You? You..." Fang Di hid behind Le Fu, who had rushed back. Meng Tian Kai swayed his body, suppressing the agitation within him, to avoid hurting the person in front of him.
At this moment, Sun Bole and Gou Er, who had been following, appeared. Sun Bole said, "Meng Tian Kai, you..." Meng Tian Kai roared, waved his arms wildly a few times, kicked a pillar to gain momentum, and fled out to the pavilion's terrace, then disappeared into the bushes. Sun Bole turned to Huo Xinzhi and asked, "Where is Shi Wei Geng?" Huo Xinzhi pouted and didn't answer. Sun Bole sneered, "I'm not confident I can heal the wounds on your face, but I'm sure I can make them look worse." Huo Xinzhi trembled all over and confessed, "He went to Shaolin Mountain to invite masters for help." Gou Er then asked, "Where is Wang Chongyang?" Huo Xinzhi said, "He went with Da Yi Er to the Jin bandits' warehouse at Fuliu Mountain." At that time, Le Fu, whose body and mind were exhausted, finally fainted from exhaustion. Huo Xinzhi hurried to help her back to the guest room.
Gou Er had intended to "take" Le Fu's bottle of antidote at the opportune moment. Considering that they were both from the Yi clan, she didn't want to interfere and left with Sun Bole over the wall. She wondered where Meng Tian Kai could go? Would they give him the antidote?
Sun Bole was also thinking about Meng Tian Kai. He had seen that he did have some strange moves to save his life. He didn't expect him to have this "monkey-like" martial art. Who did he learn it from?
What Meng Tian Kai used were the "Shadow Shifting Form" and "Screaming Ape Green Form" from the lost "Cloud Calling Eight Treasures" of the Jade Destruction Gang. By chance, he was taught by a beggar from Haizhou. He disliked the monkey-like form of "Screaming Ape Green Form," fearing it would be ridiculed by Fang Di, so he abandoned it. Instead, he was willing to use the "Shadow Shifting Form," which he had only learned three moves of, to save his life, and only unconsciously used it when he lost his senses. Shi Wei Geng saw that Chong Yuwu had lost his reliance due to the change of Jin rulers and set a trap to have Chong Yuwu arrested by the Song army, luring Meng Tian Kai to pretend to assist him, steal his intelligence with Jin, and the tranquilizer of the Warrior in Palm. Chong Yuwu knew what was going on, and after escaping pursuit, he secretly administered poison to him. Fortunately, Chong Yuwu's dosage was always light, and the "Cloud Calling Eight Treasures" was "one injury, one soul saved." The "Shadow Shifting Form" he learned injured bones and muscles but saved his mind, reducing some of the drug's harm. Therefore, he was sometimes crazy and sometimes suddenly sober. At this moment, Meng Tian Kai, hiding in the green shade, was dazed, and feeling a sense of familiarity from Gou Er's back, he quietly followed her to Fuliu Mountain.