IQ Offline, One Manor, Two Gangs

Su Yu had chosen this name because "A Thought, Flowers Bloom" had a special effect: it drew people into dreams, dreams designed by the performer. No matter who heard the melody, they would enter the dream for five years. Even rulers were no exception.

This effect was truly absurdly overpowered. Even rulers would be trapped in a dream for five years. Though only an instant or a single night passed in the outside world, those trapped truly spent five years within the dream.

Moreover, the dream could be customized. If Su Yu wanted to deal with someone, he only needed to set the dream as the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and that person would surely wake up mentally broken. Of course, such things were useless against rulers. A hundred years was but the flick of a finger to them, so they would not break down over it.

A woman’s voice came from outside the boat. "A fine name, a fine melody. May I know this young master’s name?"

"Su Yu," Su Yu replied.

The four children, including Huang Rong, froze for a moment. Huang Rou quietly asked, "Brother, aren’t you Huang Shaotian?"

Su Yu said, "…Yes, that’s an alias. When traveling outside, there’s no harm in using an alias. From now on, I’ll be called Su Yu. Got it?"

The four children nodded, somewhat confused. "Oh."

Huang Rong suddenly said, "Stinky Brother, do you think we should take aliases too?"

"Better not. I’m afraid Father will fight me to the death," Su Yu immediately said.

"Fight you to the death? Why?" Qu Xiaoling asked in confusion.

The other three also looked at Su Yu in confusion. Su Yu was speechless for a moment before saying, "Why do you four have so many questions? Are you still playing or not? If not, we’ll go back."

"We’re playing! I don’t want to go back so early!" Lu Guanying immediately said.

"Young master, would you be willing to come aboard my boat for a chat? I am quite fond of the guqin. Perhaps you and I may exchange insights on music," the woman’s voice came again.

Su Yu bluntly replied, "No need. Men and women should keep their distance. Boatman, keep rowing."

"Right away, young master," the boatman answered, then continued rowing.

At that moment, an angry male voice rang out. "You arrogant fool! Situ Miss personally invited you aboard, yet you dare refuse!"

Su Yu said speechlessly, "Damn, I actually ran into this kind of brainless bootlicker."

"Boatman, ignore them. We’ll go our own way," Su Yu said indifferently.

The boatman looked somewhat afraid. "Young master, that man is the son of the Jiangnan Inspector, while that woman is the eldest miss of the Situ Family, one of Jiangnan’s Three Great Families. If you refuse to show them respect, there will be trouble."

Su Yu smiled. "It’s fine. We’ll continue enjoying ourselves."

"Boatman, don’t worry. This young master is the junior disciple of the four manor lords of Peach Blossom Mountain Manor. The other four children are the manor’s eldest miss, second young master, and the two junior sisters of the manor lords. Neither the Inspector’s son nor the eldest miss of the Situ Family would dare casually offend us," a guard said upon seeing how frightened the boatman was.

The boatman said in shock, "So you are from Peach Blossom Mountain Manor."

Su Yu smiled and nodded. "So just keep rowing. There’s no need to be afraid."

"Understood," the boatman answered, then continued rowing.

On a larger boat, a man dressed in purple saw Su Yu’s boat stop and had just revealed a smile when he saw it begin moving again. Furious, he shouted, "How dare he disgrace me like this! Brother Hu, split their boat apart!"

The scar-faced man beside the Inspector’s son nodded, drew his saber, and leaped directly toward Su Yu’s boat, intending to cleave the small vessel in two with a single strike.

This man was a Second-Rate Expert, so such a feat was not difficult for him. Inside the boat, Su Yu frowned slightly before raising the Jade Flute to his lips.

Woo, woo, woo, woo~

A melody of "Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank" arose, once again immersing Situ Miss in intoxicated admiration. Just like one of those cliché dramas, the Inspector’s son was one of Situ Miss’s suitors. He had shamelessly forced his way onto her boat, and seeing Su Yu refuse to show her respect, he had targeted Su Yu in order to show off.

The next instant, the man in midair suddenly felt the internal energy in his body vanish. He immediately fell straight down into the water.

Hearing the splash, Su Yu stopped playing and said, "If there is a next time, it won’t end so simply."

The man in the lake was filled with terror. He had truly never heard of such methods. The most terrifying thing in the world was not facing the Five Greats alone, but facing something unknown.

When the Inspector’s son saw Brother Hu fall into the water, he immediately felt humiliated and roared, "Li Hu, did you do that on purpose to embarrass me? Get up here now!"

Upon hearing the Inspector’s son’s words, the terror on Li Hu’s face gradually vanished and turned into coldness. Li Hu glanced at the Inspector’s son and said, "Zhang Liang, I only promised your father that I would protect you. I am not your dog! Hmph. I have already protected you for a year, and I have nothing to do with the Zhang Family anymore. Farewell!"

After saying that, Li Hu skimmed across the water back to shore and left at once.

Zhang Liang, the Inspector’s son, was utterly dumbfounded. Then he roared, "Li Hu! You dare talk back to me! I definitely won’t let my father pay you!"

Situ Miss looked at Zhang Liang with utter contempt. This thing was supposed to be the Inspector’s son? In this weak court, a Second-Rate Expert could become a great general. His father was merely a Jiangnan Inspector, a martial artist who had only just entered the second rate, yet he dared offend someone clearly stronger than his father.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial court was truly weak. The experts in any great family might outnumber those in the imperial palace. If the court had not still possessed several hundred thousand soldiers, the Southern Song would have long since descended into chaos.

On the boat, the four children, including Huang Rong, continued looking around outside, while Su Yu turned to a nearby servant and said, "Tell me about the forces in Jiangnan."

"Young master, Jiangnan’s civilian forces consist of one manor, two gangs, and three great families. The court has only a Magistrate and an Inspector. The Magistrate is useless, but the Inspector commands a thousand iron cavalry.

Among the civilian forces, the one manor is our Peach Blossom Mountain Manor. Because we have four manor lords, all four of whom are First-Rate Experts, and the eldest manor lord is on the verge of entering the Super First-Rate, Peach Blossom Mountain Manor is currently Jiangnan’s number one force. The two gangs are the Fish Dragon Gang and the Lion Tiger Gang. Both gangs have two First-Rate Experts and respectively control the dock businesses in Jiangnan’s south and north districts."