Die Faust zerschmettert alle Himmel und unzählige Welten

Kapitel 52

Zhong Sheng's eyes widened, and Feng Ning said fiercely, "Tell the truth, or I won't give you any food." Upon hearing this, Zhong Sheng's eyes widened even more: "Who doesn't give people food?" His reaction made Feng Ning feel extremely pleased; it turned out this trick could be used against others. She said smugly, "This is my home; I can naturally decide whether or not to give you food."

Zhong Sheng frowned, his voice sounding somewhat aggrieved: "Big Brother didn't say anything about surveillance."

"So what did he say?"

"My elder brother said I should remember where my sister-in-law went, what she did, whether she ate and slept well, whether she was sick, and that I shouldn't let her go on long trips or let outsiders bully her. Then I should write to him about my sister-in-law's whereabouts and condition." Zhong Sheng finished speaking in one breath without pausing.

Feng Ning nodded: "Yes, very good. I'll have Aunt Cao make you braised pork knuckle tonight."

Zhong Sheng said, "Sister-in-law, I didn't tell you this because I wanted to eat pork knuckle. I only told you because you asked me. My elder brother didn't tell me not to tell you, so I told you because you asked. It wasn't because of the pork knuckle. If my elder brother had told me not to tell you, I wouldn't have told you even if we didn't get any food."

Feng Ning waved her hand impatiently: "You're rambling on and on, so do you want to eat braised pork knuckle or not?"

"Yes," Zhong Sheng answered decisively.

Feng Ning laughed: "Since Long San didn't tell me I can't say, then tell me, what is Long San going to do on this trip?"

“My elder brother didn’t say,” Zhong Sheng answered honestly.

Feng Ning frowned. What exactly was Long San doing that was so mysterious?

Long San did have many things to do on this trip, but he first went back to the Long Mansion.

"What exactly are you suspecting?" It was Long Er who asked. When Long San returned home, Long Er was half relieved to see he hadn't brought Feng Ning back. But then Long San went to ask the kitchen servants if Feng Ning had cooked or made snacks before she fell into the water and was injured. The answer was "yes." Long Er knew this too, because Feng Ning had made snacks for him several times to please him when Long San was rarely home, always emphasizing that she cooked them herself. Why was Long San bringing this up again now?

“I’m not sure yet. Feng’er is very different from the Feng Ning we knew before, but I can’t think of a reasonable explanation. Before, we just felt that she was too different. Her martial arts and personality could be hidden and disguised, and we never paid attention to how much she ate or what her preferences were, so we couldn’t compare her to the current Feng’er at all. But in the matter of making desserts, she is definitely different.”

"Are you saying that this Feng Ning is an imposter?"

"It's not certain. Just because she's making desserts doesn't prove she's sick. Maybe she's forgotten one or two things she used to do."

"If she's an imposter, when was the bag switched? Would the Long family even mistake their own daughter?"

“If they look the same, and we can prove that it is Feng Ning, the Long family couple naturally did not think anything of it. After all, Feng’er is sick, and many unusual things become reasonable. They are busy arguing and fighting with us and do not have much contact with Feng’er.”

Long Er stared at Long San and suddenly said, "Third brother, do you want to convince yourself that this Feng Ning is a different person, not the one who ruined our family's reputation, lost her virtue as a woman, and stole our family property? That way, you won't feel too much pressure and you'll be able to be with her?"

Long San looked directly into Long Er's eyes and said, "Second Brother, when I was searching for them, I was still struggling with my conscience. But when I saw Feng'er struggling to perform on the street and Bao'er pitifully asking with her little basket, 'Uncle, can you give me some money?' I made up my mind then. No matter who this woman is, no matter what she has done in the past, or how much trouble she will bring me in the future, I am determined to have her now."

Long Er was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "You're too soft-hearted."

"Second brother, one day you will also meet someone who makes your heart soften. At that time, the things you thought you could not tolerate will all become less important than her."

"I won't."

"Just you wait, second brother, just you wait."

"Don't talk about me. You've already made up your mind about your wife and children, so you can handle it yourself. I won't talk to your older brother; you'll have to explain that to him. And you also need to deal with the Feng family's troubles."

"Yes, I understand."

"So what exactly do you want? You've written the divorce papers, removed them from the family register, and now you want to marry her back?"

Long San said, "I've thought about it. To put Feng'er at ease and make her willing to live with me openly and honestly, we naturally need to unravel all those mysteries. She remembered that the square-faced, triangular-eyed man who threw her into the river said she was meddling in other people's business. I think we should follow that lead."

"But didn't you say that person was already dead?"

"The man is dead, but his identity has been found out. He was an assassin from the Soul-Slaying Pavilion, a killer organization in the martial arts world, named Lu Yan. The Soul-Slaying Pavilion is said to be located on the border of Xia and Xiao, but no one knows exactly where it is. I asked someone to investigate Lu Yan's activities or targets in the period before Feng'er fell into the water. If we know this, we can figure out what trouble Feng'er got into that led to her death, and perhaps we can get some clues about what's going on."

Long Er nodded, and Long San added, "There's one more thing I need to ask of you, Second Brother."

"Apart from that woman's matter, I can help with everything else," Long Erchou said upfront.

Long San said, "Right now, I'm only concerned about Feng'er." Long Er pouted, quite dissatisfied. Long San said, "I need to ask Second Brother to help me deal with the Feng family. Feng'er said that Madam Feng once said that she brought her to the Long family because of a great grudge against the Feng family. I've thought about it. That year, when the Feng family suddenly came to our door, we always thought it was for profit, so they stole the Long family's business, forced their daughter into marriage, and stole the Long family's treasures. But if, as Feng'er said, it's because of old grudges, then our previous investigation was completely wrong."

"But the Long and Feng families were sworn brothers in my grandfather's generation. After that, the two families lost contact, and even my parents never had any dealings with them. So where did this enmity come from?"

Was there something fishy about their sudden departure back then?

Long Er thought for a moment, then sighed, "Alright, leave this to me."

Long San smiled and said, "Thank you, Second Brother. I'll be leaving soon."

"Where are you going again?"

"We haven't found out anything about Lu Yan yet, but I've received news that another assassin from the Soul-Slaying Tower has also died mysteriously. I need to go and see if these two things are related, or if they are related to Feng'er."

Long Er frowned: "Women are such a hassle!"

Author's Note: The mystery is huge! Actually, by now you've probably guessed most of it, right? Right? Right?

Actually, the truth... let me tell you slowly!

39

39. Master Long, who is afraid of the truth...

Long San hurried all the way to Jiujiang County. Lou Yu, the renowned Golden Saber Constable, was waiting for him there.

"The body is already rotten beyond recognition, you won't be able to tell anything even if you go to look now. I had them arrange for a burial before you arrived." Lou Yu took Long San to the place where the body was found and said to him, "The wounds on the body are the same as the wounds you told me about Lu Yan, so it's probably the same type of weapon. I checked, the deceased was named Qiu Yan, and he had the same mark on his body as Lu Yan, so he was an assassin from the Soul-Slaying Tower."

"Sorry, I ran into some trouble on the way," Long San explained, explaining his lateness. He carefully examined his surroundings, noticing sword marks carved deep into the stone wall and clear footprints on the ground, clearly indicating the strength of the attacker. Bloodstains were scattered everywhere, suggesting a fierce battle had taken place.

Lou Yu asked, "Are those people from Biyun Palace again? I heard the news, and I was thinking that if you didn't arrive soon, I would go to meet you."