Chapter 99: The Xiao Family's Old Residence (Part 2)

  The man in black walked along the small path, looking around cautiously, walking extremely slowly, as if he was reminiscing about something, and also as if he was on guard against something.

  The path was not long, and when he walked through the corridor of the waterside pavilion by the lake, he appeared in Xiao Ziyang's line of sight.

  Xiao Ziyang stared at him, carefully observing his every move, watching as he slowly made his way along the small path by the pool, and came to a stop in front of the mound. He stood silently for half a moment, then took down the package that had been slung over his back, set it on the ground, and opened it up, revealing some incense sticks, candles, and paper money inside.

  He turned his back to Xiao Ziyang, knelt in front of the grave, lit incense and candles, burned paper money with the candle flame, and murmured unclearly.

  Xiao Ziyang gazed silently for a moment, then suddenly darted out the window like a giant night owl, gliding noiselessly over the pond and landing behind him without making a sound.

  The man's murmurs ceased abruptly, he grasped the hilt of the long sword beside him like lightning, and then with a fierce cry, the long sword, scabbard and all, shot straight at Xiao Ziyang's chest.

  As he grasped the hilt of his sword, Xiao Ziyang flipped his hand to grasp the hilt of his shoulder-head knife, and with a long whooshing sound, the blade flashed out of its scabbard and chopped down onto the tip of Lian Pao's sword.

  Swords clashed, internal forces surged, and the scabbard shattered with a loud crash.

  The man in black took advantage of the force of the clashing swords, flipped his body, and turned to face Xiao Ziyang. He shook his wrist, and the sword light spread out like mercury, transforming into nine cold stars that targeted nine major acupoints on Xiao Ziyang's face and chest.

  Xiao Ziyang lightly shouted, raised his knife and chopped down, the sound of metal clashing, once again accurately chopping onto the sword tip.

  One Sword Nine Outs, is now in Xiao Ziyang's eyes already can't be considered a high-level martial art.

  The swordsmanship was broken, and the man in black was not surprised at all. He sheathed his sword, stood upright, and began to circle around Xiao Ziyang with his feet, while the sword light in his hand splashed again.

  Xiao Ziyang's long knife unfolded, opening and closing, still the Wu Hu Duan Men Knife Method. This crude knife method in his hands transformed from clumsiness to magic, seemingly clumsy yet actually clever, often a simple single knife could break through the opponent's boundless sword light.

  That man in black was getting more and more horrified, how could he not recognize the Five Tigers Breaking Knife, the moves were still those moves, no, even simpler than the original Five Tigers Breaking Knife. But this person's timing of each knife's move was simply sublime, he always managed to find the weakest point in his own moves and then simply broke it.

  His opponent only defended and didn't attack, the black-clothed man should have been under no pressure at all, but after five moves, he felt that the long sword in his hand seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. At the sixth move, he had countless moves in his chest, but for a moment, he didn't know which one to use. This hesitation made the long sword in his hand unable to stab out again.

  The man in black was as if he had been petrified, his long sword suspended in mid-air. Fortunately, his opponent also withdrew his blade and did not launch a surprise attack.

  After a moment of silence, the man in black let out a deep sigh and dropped his long sword, smiling bitterly: "I didn't think that Auxiliary King would think so highly of me, Song! He actually sent someone as skilled as you to deal with me. To die at the hands of such an extraordinary master, I, Song, can also be said to have died without regret."

  Xiao Ziyang heard this and revealed a faint, imperceptible smile, saying: "I am not some auxiliary country's running dog. On the contrary, I and that old thief Su are irreconcilable enemies."

  The man in black was taken aback by the words, and immediately changed his tone: "Are you teasing Song? If you weren't a subordinate of the Duke, how would you be here?"

  Xiao Ziyang said: "This is my home, I am not here, where can I go?"

  The man in black took a step forward, carefully examining Xiao Ziyang's face. Suddenly, his face showed an excited expression, "You are... you are Ziyang? ... You, you must be Ziyang, look at your face, it's almost identical to Shouqing's, as if they were molded from the same template..."

  As he spoke, the man in black became increasingly agitated, and he couldn't help but take two more steps forward, reaching out to touch Xiao Ziyang's face.

  Xiao Ziyang took a slight step back and asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"

  The man in black looked at him with tears in his eyes and said sorrowfully, "I'm your Uncle Song! I was the fourth person to hold you after you were born! Zi Yang, don't you recognize me?"

  Looking at Xiao Ziyang's bewildered eyes, the man in black let out a bitter laugh and said: "I'm really confused, you just turned one month old and followed your father to escape from home, how could you possibly remember me."

  The man in black wiped away the tears on his face and asked: "Is your father all right?"

  Xiao Ziyang said in a low voice: "He died five years ago, killed by an assassin sent by Old Su."

  The man in black let out a long sigh and said softly, "Auxiliary country public methods ruthless, do things regardless of means, your father at that time also did not want to learn martial arts, alas... Zi Yang, from now on you follow Song Shu Shu, I have gathered some strength in the rivers and lakes over the years, you have now practiced this set of extraordinary martial arts, our uncle and nephew will join forces, we must help your father and grandfather avenge."

  Xiao Ziyang listened to his words, and with a thud, he knelt down, saying sorrowfully: "...... My father fled to Ganbei back then, and his will was disheartened, never mentioning revenge again. I didn't expect... I didn't expect that you would still remember the great hatred of my Xiao family all along... Please accept Xiao Ziyang's bow."

  Having said that, Xiao Ziyang's head knocked down immediately.

  The man in black looked at Xiao Ziyang's back of the head, and a hint of ferocity flashed across his face. His right hand formed a knife-like shape, as if he was about to attack Xiao Ziyang who was bowing his head in gratitude.

  At this moment, a hint of fear flashed across his face, and after a slight hesitation, Xiao Ziyang had already lifted her head.

  He hastily put on a smiling face, stretched out his hand to support Xiao Ziyang, and said: "I was deeply indebted to your grandfather in those years, and I was close friends with your father. When I heard that your family had undergone a great change, I vowed to avenge the Xiao family. But Song Mou is incompetent, and for many years he has been rushing around, but the matter of revenge is still far away, alas!"

  Xiao Ziyang stood up and asked: "After saying so much, don't you know Uncle Song's name?"

  The man in black laughed and said: "My surname is Song, my name is Nancheng. I was a lieutenant under your grandfather's command. Your grandfather showed me great kindness."

  Xiao Ziyang said again: "Colonel? I don't know what position my grandfather held back then, how could he have been on par with that powerful and corrupt old thief Su?"

  Song Nan Cheng was taken aback by his words and exclaimed in surprise: "Your father didn't even tell you about these things?"

  Xiao Ziyang sighed, "Father had long given up hope of avenging the past and never mentioned anything about the Xiao family's history. It wasn't until after my parents were assassinated that I found some clues at home and inferred that the mastermind behind their murder was Su Dingbei, the old scoundrel. This old mansion of the Xiao family was also discovered by me based on some subtle hints from Father's daily life. Su is so powerful and influential that I didn't dare to ask around in town, all I know is that my grandfather used to be an official in the imperial court... Alas! I don't even know my grandfather's name!"