Chapter 50

PS1: Thank you, Baili Yunyan and Chuan Shuo Zhong Bai Ba, for your generous support!

"……"

Yang Guo stared expressionlessly at Yue Yuan, who was savoring his wine with a look of enjoyment, thinking to himself, "Daozhang, are you trying to change the subject?"

Without speaking, Yang Guo simply glared at Yue Yuan.

"Um!"

"Word has it that the wine in Jiangnan is also quite good, like huangjiu and nüerhong… By the way, Miss Wushuang and Miss Chengying, do you have any good recommendations for me?"

Yue Yuan completely ignored Yang Guo's gaze and instead turned his head to look at Lu Wushuang and Cheng Ying, who were sitting on either side of him, and asked.

"…Daozhang Yue, are you trying to change the subject?"

Cheng Ying, noticing Yang Guo's twitching face, asked in a very gentle tone.

"Am I?"

Yue Yuan widened his eyes, looking surprised, and said, "Am I changing the subject?"

Definitely!

Too obvious!

On the side, Wanyan Ping and Lu Wushuang nodded in agreement with Cheng Ying's words.

"…"

Yang Guo continued to be silent, glaring at Yue Yuan without any expression.

"Alright!"

Seeing that he couldn't avoid the topic, and also not considering it a serious matter, Yue Yuan glanced at the four of them and then put down his wine cup, speaking in a very profound tone, "It was a late afternoon with the sun setting, a beautiful day, and I was riding my little donkey…"

…

"And just like that, my sword fell into the hands of the Crimson Lotus Fairy!"

With a deep and emotional recollection, rich intonation, and a sad expression, Yue Yuan seemed to be telling a very sad story in the eyes of everyone.

"Alright, I've explained how my sword ended up in the hands of the Crimson Lotus Fairy!"

"Let's eat!"

Clapping his hands, Yue Yuan roused the four from their slightly dazed state and immediately called out warmly, "If we don't eat, the food will get cold!"

Everyone looked at Yue Yuan, who had started eating again, and was momentarily speechless.

It was clear that Yue Yuan was trying to avoid the topic.

As for how the sword ended up in Li Mochou's hands, it was definitely not as Yue Yuan had described, accidentally falling onto her donkey.

"Could it be that Daozhang and Li Mochou are on the same side? What you're doing is aiding a tyrant!"

Yang Guo was very dissatisfied. He felt that the Daoist in front of him was completely deceiving him. Moreover, due to his upbringing in Quanzhen and the influence of Yin Zhiping, Yang Guo already had a bad impression of Daoists.

At this moment, with Yue Yuan's obvious deception, Yang Guo felt a surge of anger.

At the beginning, Li Mochou was hard for Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü to defeat individually, and they could only defeat her with their combined swords. Now, with the precious sword in Li Mochou's hands, even their combined swords might not be enough.

In his eyes, Yue Yuan and Li Mochou must have some connection.

Similarly, Wanyan Ping also thought so.

Cheng Ying, however, looked puzzled, feeling that the matter was not so simple. Lu Wushuang, the girl with the limp, frowned, recalling Yue Yuan's inquiries about the Crimson Lotus Fairy during their journey, deep in thought.

"Ah?"

"Brother Yang, how can you say that?"

Faced with Yang Guo's slightly cold and accusatory tone, Yue Yuan found it amusing. In fact, Yue Yuan could see through Yang Guo more clearly than anyone else.

In the early part of "The Return of the Condor Heroes"…

"Ha! I remember the Crimson Lotus Fairy is from your Ancient Tomb Sect! So, she should be on your side!"

"Although Li Mochou is now dressed as a Daoist nun, her roots are still from the Ancient Tomb!"

Lifting the wine jug, he slowly poured himself some wine and said, "About aiding a tyrant… Brother Yang, I have a question for you!"

"What question?"

Yang Guo's face was solemn, showing no other expression. Hearing Yue Yuan's words, he frowned and continued.

"Putting aside the troubles caused by the Crimson Lotus Fairy, just from Brother Yang's perspective, if Li Mochou hadn't provoked you, would you care about her having a divine weapon?"

Yue Yuan's gaze was on the wine cup in front of him, watching the wine flow like a silver thread into the cup, slowly filling it. He said, "In the early part of 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' Yang Guo cannot be considered a great hero. He only cares about himself."

If Yang Guo could be as righteous as Hong Qigong or Guo Jing, Yue Yuan would have nothing to say, and he would even openly express his intention to save Li Mochou and seek her as his Daoist companion, resolving the enmity between Li Mochou and the Ancient Tomb Sect.

However, the current Yang Guo is not the Yang Guo of sixteen years later, who is called the Condor Hero. That Yang Guo was influenced by Guo Jing and did good deeds out of boredom while searching for Xiaolongnü.

It can be said that in Jin Yong's martial arts world, there are very few true heroes. One is Qiao Feng from "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," another is Hong Qigong from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes," and another is Guo Jing, who defended Xiangyang. Even Qiu Chuji of the Seven Daoists of Quanzhen is more deserving of the title than Yang Guo.

Therefore, in the later ranking of the Five Greats, Yang Guo can only be called the Western Madman, and he is only mad.

Moreover, Yang Guo has caused trouble for many people, especially women.

Cheng Ying, Lu Wushuang, Wanyan Ping, Gong Sun Lüe'e, and Guo Xiang, Huang Rong's youngest daughter, were all victims. This can be seen as a case of like father, like son, with Yang Guo surpassing his father, Yang Kang, in this regard.

When Yang Guo caused trouble for Guo Fu, he also caused trouble for himself, losing his arm to Guo Fu.

"…"

Yang Guo was momentarily speechless, feeling that Yue Yuan was still making excuses.

Then he heard Yue Yuan say, "Of course, this is just my doubt. Whether it is true or not depends on how Brother Yang thinks. Now, let's talk about the troubles caused by the Crimson Lotus Fairy!"

"Do you know about the Crimson Lotus Fairy's past? Why she is called the Crimson Lotus Fairy?"

Lifting his head, Yue Yuan's gaze swept over the four, finally settling on Lu Wushuang and Cheng Ying.

Hmm!

Lu Wushuang looked up, her gaze meeting Yue Yuan's. Cheng Ying, on the other side, frowned in thought.

Both had experienced the massacre of the Lu family and knew the reason why they survived, which was the handkerchief!

Even when Lu Wushuang, the girl with the limp, fell into Li Mochou's hands, she was not in danger of her life, at most just beaten and scolded. There must have been a very special reason for this.

Seemingly thinking of something, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang both looked up at Yue Yuan, waiting for his explanation. On the side, Wanyan Ping and Yang Guo also listened intently, as they were unfamiliar with Li Mochou's past.

Even though Yang Guo had seen Li Mochou's prowess as a child, he did not know the details.

"Let me tell a small story as an example!"

With a smile, Yue Yuan turned his head and looked at Lu Wushuang, the girl with the limp, with a very affectionate gaze. When she started to blush and look down, Yue Yuan said, "One day, I fainted there because of an injury, and you unexpectedly saved me!"

"Then we fell in love at first sight, and we made vows of eternal love. Because I had to go home, we exchanged tokens of our affection, and I promised to come back and marry you in a grand flower sedan."

Lu Wushuang felt her face heat up, her heart pounding. Although she wanted to meet Yue Yuan's gaze, she did not have the courage.

"However… when I returned home, my parents arranged a marriage for me! I had to marry another woman." Yue Yuan said this, slowly turning to look at Cheng Ying with a deep gaze.

Cheng Ying's body trembled, a sense of unease spreading through her.

"This girl came from a good family and had a highly skilled elder. Under my parents' arrangement, I agreed to marry her."

Yue Yuan then turned to look at Lu Wushuang, the girl with the limp, and said, "You waited for me, but when you found out I was about to marry someone else, you forgot our vows and our promises!"

"But you didn't forget. On the day of my wedding, you came on a donkey to try to take me away, but in the end… you could only watch as I married someone else."

Yue Yuan did not say more, but Lu Wushuang, Cheng Ying, and Wanyan Ping all turned pale, clearly imagining the situation.

Lu Wushuang and Cheng Ying clearly understood the reference, knowing who the heartless man was.

Wanyan Ping thought of herself, turning to look at Yang Guo with a pale face.

Similarly, Yang Guo, who had also been drawn into the story, turned pale and could not meet Wanyan Ping's gaze.

In an instant, the atmosphere at breakfast changed completely.

The only one whose mood remained unchanged was Yue Yuan.

PS: In Jin Yong's novels, there are two main characters who specifically deceive women, Yang Guo and Duan Yu. Duan Yu initially had some affection, but others pointed out that they were siblings, which was enough to resolve many situations. As for Yang Guo… he completely deceived!

By the way, why are the images I uploaded so small? I need to fix that. If you want to see clear images, you can search for "Chunyang Nanhuang set" and "Pili Northern Beauty" to see the costumes.