Feng Bo'e

Duan Yu followed Qiao Feng to the Righteous Branch and immediately recognized the two men fighting below: Bao Butong and Zhu Danchen.

Although he didn't know why Zhu Danchen was here, he didn't want him fighting Bao Butong. After all, A Zhu and A Bi had saved his life, and they and Bao Butong were all in Murong Fu's service.

Duan Yu was just about to speak when he noticed three young women standing nearby. They were A Zhu, A Bi, and Wang Yuyan.

The moment Duan Yu's gaze met Wang Yuyan's face, he could no longer look away. He stared at her, utterly transfixed.

Wang Yuyan had watched Zhu Danchen's pressure-point attacks for a while and had already figured out nearly all the moves of his Judge's Brush. Just as she was about to offer Bao Butong a warning, she felt a scorching gaze from the side.

She turned her head and saw Duan Yu staring blankly in her direction.

Wang Yuyan was startled to see him. She turned to look at Chen Feng inside the branch hall. Faced with two identical faces, she was completely at a loss, and the words she had been about to say to help Bao Butong caught in her throat.

Leader Jiang, who had been watching Zhu Danchen and Bao Butong fight, saw Qiao Feng arrive and lit up with joy. He hurried over to greet him, while the Beggar Clan members behind him bowed in unison and called out, "This subordinate pays his respects to the Clan Leader!"

Qiao Feng clasped his hands in greeting. "Good to see you, brothers."

Zhu Danchen and Bao Butong, who had been locked in a fierce struggle, both eased their attacks. Zhu Danchen spotted Duan Yu behind Qiao Feng and was so delighted that he lost all interest in fighting.

Bao Butong, on the other hand, saw that the Beggar Clan had gained another powerful ally. He wasn't afraid for himself, but worried about the safety of the three women behind him, so he too lost interest in fighting.

Both men sensed the change in the other's attitude. They each made a feint and immediately stepped apart.

As soon as Zhu Danchen was free of the fight, he hurried over to Duan Yu and exclaimed, "Young Master, I've finally found you!"

But Duan Yu seemed not to hear him. He was still staring blankly at Wang Yuyan.

"Young Master? Young Master? Young Master!"

"Ah!" Startled awake by the repeated calls, Duan Yu turned and saw Zhu Danchen standing beside him. He gave an awkward smile and asked, "Fourth Brother Zhu, what are you doing here?"

"Of course I came looking for you! Did Monk Pan hurt you? And how did you escape?" Zhu Danchen looked Duan Yu over anxiously as he fired off his questions.

"Oh, Fourth Brother Zhu, you've asked me so many questions—which one am I supposed to answer first?" Duan Yu had missed Zhu Danchen terribly too. He took his hand and led him over to Qiao Feng.

"Let me introduce you. This is my sworn elder brother, Qiao Feng, the Clan Leader of the Beggar Clan. Though I only just found that out myself."

"Zhu Danchen pays his respects to Clan Leader Qiao. Thank you for saving my young master's life." Seeing Duan Yu with Qiao Feng, Zhu Danchen assumed that Qiao Feng had rescued him from Monk Pan. After all, Qiao Feng was certainly capable of it.

"You're mistaken, Fourth Brother Zhu! Qiao Dage didn't save me. Those two young women over there did—A Zhu and A Bi." Seeing the misunderstanding, Duan Yu quickly explained and pointed toward them.

But when he looked their way, he noticed that they were giving him strange looks and glancing at someone nearby.

Following their gaze, Duan Yu saw a handsome young man in white standing off to the side. He looked oddly familiar. Beside him stood an old man holding a chessboard and a young man dressed in blue.

Suddenly, Duan Yu realized something was wrong. That familiar-looking young man was none other than himself!

"Ah, th-this..." Duan Yu gaped in astonishment, pointing at Chen Feng, unable to get the words out.

"Hahaha, Young Master, let me introduce you. This is Young Master Xiaoyao. Doesn't he look a lot like you?" Zhu Danchen laughed at Duan Yu's shocked expression as he introduced Chen Feng.

"What do you mean, 'a lot like him'? They're exactly alike!" Everyone except Zhu Danchen had never seen Duan Yu and Chen Feng together before. Inwardly, they all voiced the same complaint.

Seeing the two identical men, Bao Butong realized he had mistaken Duan Yu earlier. But he was proud by nature and refused to lose face, so he certainly wouldn't admit his mistake. Besides, he had come here with a purpose.

Mr. Bao San still wore his usual arrogant expression. "Hmm, you must be Clan Leader Qiao of the Beggar Clan. I'm Bao Butong. I assume you've heard of me."

Qiao Feng smiled and clasped his hands. "So you're Mr. Bao San. I've heard a great deal about you. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Bao Butong shook his head. "Not at all, not at all! What good reputation do I have? A bad one, perhaps. Everyone knows that I, Bao Butong, spend my life making trouble and insulting people. Heh, heh, heh."

"But Clan Leader Qiao, coming all the way to Jiangnan without so much as an invitation—that's where you've gone wrong."

"Hahahahahaha!" The moment Bao Butong finished speaking, a burst of laughter rang out.

Another group of Beggar Clan disciples emerged quickly from the apricot grove, surrounding four old men. The one laughing just now was the man on the far left.

He laughed and said, "I'd heard that Bao Butong of Jiangnan loved spouting dog shit. Seems the rumors were true."

"They say a loud fart doesn't stink, and a stinking fart isn't loud. But that bit of dog shit just now was both loud and stinking. Could the Beggar Clan Four Elders have let it rip?" Bao Butong refused to lose a verbal exchange and immediately fired back.

"You know the Beggar Clan Four Elders are here and you still dare to spout nonsense?" Several Beggar Clan elders glared at Bao Butong, weapons in hand.

Bao Butong showed not the slightest fear. He drew his short sword and roared, "What? Looking for a fight? Fighting is what I love most!"

"Hahahahaha! You love arguing most. I'm the one who loves fighting!" A voice rang out from above.

Everyone looked up and saw a man standing on the branch of an apricot tree. The branch swayed back and forth, and he rose and fell with it.

Wang Yuyan murmured, "Fourth Brother Feng, you came too."

The man leapt down from the branch and immediately attacked the Beggar Clan Four Elders, as if he meant to take on all four at once.

The Beggar Clan Four Elders were all famous figures in the martial world. They were hardly willing to gang up on one man. After a brief exchange, three of them withdrew from the fight, leaving only one elder with exceptionally long arms.

Feng Bo'e didn't care how many opponents he had. As long as there was a fight, one or four made no difference to him.

Elder Chen's weapon was most unusual: a soft cloth sack. With a deft twist of his wrist, he wielded it like a flexible whip.

His boxing was no less remarkable. Though it was only the ordinary Tongbei Fist, he had mastered it so thoroughly that several times he nearly forced Feng Bo'e into a desperate situation.

But Feng Bo'e was no pushover. He had loved fighting all his life and had fought thousands of battles, large and small. His ability to adapt was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Faced with his opponent's strange weapon, he relied on his superb saber skills to block and counterattack, holding off Elder Chen's assault by sheer force.

This was nothing like the version shown on television. The two traded blows back and forth, and in no time they had exchanged over a hundred moves. Chen Feng watched, enthralled and on edge.

Seeing that his attacks weren't working, Elder Chen deliberately left an opening. When Feng Bo'e took the bait, the sack in Elder Chen's hand suddenly sprang open and shot toward him.

Feng Bo'e wasn't about to let his opponent trap him. He raised a hand to block, then suddenly felt a faint sting on the back of it, as if a fine needle had pricked him.

Lowering his eyes, Feng Bo'e was startled to see a tiny scorpion clinging to his arm.

The scorpion was smaller than an ordinary one, but it was covered in brilliant colors and looked terrifying. It was clearly poisonous. He shook his arm a few times and leapt backward, only to lose his footing and collapse to the ground.

Seeing this, Bao Butong and the others hurried over and helped Feng Bo'e to his feet.