Chapter 1003: The Struggle of Reason and Emotion (Part )

"Bastard!"

"Snapped!"

Before Lin Fang could finish his boast, Ling Xiaoxiao, who could no longer bear it, rushed forward and slapped him loudly in the face without hesitation.

This slap not only made Lin Fang, who had spoken rudely, dizzy, but also frightened the indignant disciples of the Xianwang Mansion, making them tremble in their hearts and look terrified.

In an instant, five bright red fingerprints slowly appeared on Lin Fangda's cheek, and a trickle of blood slowly flowed out from the corner of his mouth.

However, compared to the burning pain on my face, the despair in my heart is truly worse than death.

Lin Fangda stood there motionless, like a wooden sculpture or clay statue, staring blankly at the angry Ling Xiaoxiao, tears rolling down his cheeks unknowingly.

"When I was a child... every time I was lazy in practicing and was punished by the mansion master, it was the lady who protected me..." Lin Fangda murmured to himself, as if crying and laughing, "I was alone and helpless since childhood, and it was the mansion master and the lady who raised me... In my heart, the mansion master is my father and the lady is my mother..."

Whether it was because she was moved by Lin Fangda's heartfelt words or because she recalled the happy memories of the past, Ling Xiaoxiao's body froze, and her hand raised in the air began to tremble uncontrollably. Her lips and teeth trembled, and she wanted to say something several times but stopped herself, but in the end she couldn't say anything.

"Madam hit me... Even if you beat me to death, I have no regrets. But I can't forget the blood feud of the Palace Master, even if Fang Daning dies..."

"If you can't do it, just bear with it!"

I don't know when? Xie Xuan has come forward, interrupting Lin Fangda's complaints, and pointing at the disciples, commanding in an unquestionable tone: "It is not your turn to make decisions about the Xianwang Mansion. My wife and I know our limits. Remember, keep your mouths shut when you go out. If anyone dares to talk about Lord Qin in private, don't blame me for turning my back on you!"

"This..." Xie Xuan's intimidation made the disciples of Prince Xian's Mansion so frightened that they were at a loss for words.

"Are they all dumb?"

"Yes...Yes, sir..." Xie Xuan shouted loudly, and all the disciples in the Xianwang Mansion were frightened and bowed their hands intermittently to receive the order.

"This time, considering your loyalty to the 'former lord', my wife and I will not pursue your crimes. If you do it again, you will be severely punished!" Xie Xuan looked around at everyone and shouted angrily, "Except for Lin Fangda, everyone else should go back and reflect on their mistakes. Lin Fangda has no respect for the elders and speaks rudely. This is intolerable..."

"Palace Master, Lin Fangda was just being filial to the 'former Palace Master' and he just said something out of carelessness..."

"Don't beg for him!" Xie Xuan waved his hand and interrupted Murong Bai's explanation in a bad tone, "You heard clearly what he said just now. If he is not severely punished, where is the rule of the Xianwang Mansion? I..."

"Thank you, Lord. Although Lin Fangda made mistakes, his loyalty is commendable. I hope you can forgive him for once, considering that he has little education and is young and hot-tempered and does not know his limits."

Seeing Qingfeng begging for mercy, Xie Xuan's expression eased a little. After hesitating for a while, he said in a deep voice: "For the sake of the leader Qingfeng, I will spare your life, but you can avoid the death penalty, but you can't escape the living punishment. Go to the study and kneel down to wait for the punishment. I will slowly settle the account with you later!"

"Yes……"

At the command, Lin Fangda and all the disciples of the Xianwang Mansion who participated in the riot were disheartened, their faces pale as wax, and they staggered out of the hall.

"Wait a minute!" Suddenly, Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes moved, and she quickly called out to the distraught Lin Fangda, asking, "Where is Yu'er?"

"This..." Lin Fang was stunned, as if he didn't understand what Ling Xiaoxiao meant. "Madam, I just returned home yesterday and haven't seen Ning Yu yet. I don't know where she is..."

"On the night you and the Wudang disciples had a conflict in the dungeon, Xie Xuan sent you out on a mission, and Yu'er also disappeared that night." Ling Xiaoxiao looked at Lin Fangda, who looked confused, with doubt, and asked suspiciously, "Could it be... that she didn't sneak out with you?"

"Is there such a thing?"

Lin Fangda was extremely shocked. He quickly recalled what happened that night. His face changed immediately and he subconsciously cast a look of astonishment at the silent Xie Xuan for a long time without saying a word.

"I'm asking you, why are you watching Xie Xuan?" Ling Xiaoxiao said unhappily, "Yu'er has loved hanging out with you guys since she was little, and you've helped her cover up her mistakes for at least eight hundred times. This time... are you guys using the same old tricks again?"

“No…no…” Lin Fangda replied incoherently in a panic, “Ningyu didn’t go out with us…”

"You really don't know where Yu'er is?"

"I swear to God, I don't know..."

Ling Xiaoxiao knew that Lin Fangda had deep feelings for Luo Ningyu. Seeing his worried eyes, she didn't seem to be lying, so she relaxed her gaze, nodded vaguely, and said absentmindedly: "It's okay, you can go down!"

"But……"

"Okay, you go down first!" Murong Bai was worried that Lin Fangda would make some mistakes, so he took the opportunity to say, "Madam, don't worry. The young lady has probably gone somewhere to relax. She will come back naturally when she has had enough fun. Nothing will happen to her." Murong Bai's words seemed to be directed at Ling Xiaoxiao, but actually they were directed at Lin Fangda.

After all, the person who took the unconscious Luo Ningyu away from Prince Xian’s Mansion that night was Murong Bai.

"This girl...is becoming more and more of a worry!" Ling Xiaoxiao walked back to her seat worriedly.

"Song Ren, take the brothers down!"

"As ordered!"

Seeing Lin Fangda and others leave, Gu Yue ordered Zheng Songren to lead the Wudang disciples to retreat.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

“What a wonderful show!”

Accompanied by a round of applause, Qin Wei, who had not spoken a word from beginning to end, slowly stood up, looked up and down at Qingfeng with a half-smile, and said teasingly: "Qingfeng Alliance Leader invited me here, and I thought everything was arranged. Little did I know... you haven't even dealt with your own family."

"What did you say?"

"Ahem!" Gu Yue coughed twice, interrupting Murong Bai's questioning, and at the same time bowed to Qin Wei, "Just now, the disciple of the Xianwang Mansion was impulsive and reckless, and I have offended you. I hope Master Qin will forgive me."

"Forget it! I wanted to come quietly and leave quietly. But... before the 'Eradication of Traitors' Conference started, my identity has become known to everyone." Qin Wei's tone sounded a little self-deprecating, a little bitter, and a little dissatisfied. "Thinking back then, Liu Xunyi had been lurking in the Xianwang Mansion for several years, and no one knew about it. In comparison, I am really... not as good as him."

"Lin Fangda is a straightforward person. Xie will apologize to Lord Qin on his behalf." Xie Xuan took the opportunity to change the subject. "I never thought that in just two years, Lord Qin has made such a great leap forward and transformed himself into an important official of the court. This is truly cause for celebration."

"Thanks to the emperor's kindness, it's just luck." Qin Wei waved his hand nonchalantly, "In the past, there were some misunderstandings between this marquis and the Xianwang Mansion. Although it's not like what Leader Qingfeng said, 'I had to do it', but it's also 'I have the emperor's order and I have no choice'. As the saying goes, 'When you are in the rivers and lakes, you can't decide for yourself', but people in the government can't decide for themselves either. Haha... Two years ago, we each fought to the death for our respective masters. Now, we still serve our respective masters, but we sing in unison and chat and laugh happily. If Leader Luo were alive, he would surely sigh at the unpredictable changes in the world, which are really incredible and unpredictable."

"Master Qin has achieved so much at such a young age. His future is definitely limitless."

"Hey! As long as we stop fighting each other, the court and the martial arts world can work together to protect the Song Dynasty. Even if I retire, what's the harm?"

Qin Wei was making insinuations, secretly intending to "recruit the enemy". Xie Xuan and Qing Feng each had their own agenda, and they smiled at each other, neither of them saying anything more.

"My current situation is... quite embarrassing. This is your territory after all. I would like to ask for your advice. What should I do next?"

"Don't worry, Lord Qin. Since the truth cannot be hidden, just stand up and tell it openly." Qingfeng understood Qin Wei's concerns, so he assured with great pride, "Next, I will secretly communicate with the leaders of Shaolin, Kunlun, Kongtong and other sects to let them know that Lord Qin has no ill intentions in coming here, and then they will spread the news. Don't worry! As long as I and Palace Master Xie are here, no one in Luoyang City will dare to touch a hair on your head."

"In that case... I'll have to trouble the leader of the Qingfeng Alliance and the Lord of the Xie Mansion to take care of me." Qin Wei glanced at Xie Xuan meaningfully, and then changed the subject, carefully testing, "This Marquis has always had a feeling... the farce at the Donghai Teahouse was not a coincidence, but someone deliberately arranged it. Especially Qin Ku, who pretended to be crazy and stupid on the surface, but actually had ulterior motives..."

"Qin Ku has a strange personality and often acts unexpectedly. He is always hard to figure out." Qing Feng looked at Xie Xuan with a smile and asked in a veiled manner, "What does Palace Master Xie think?"

"Qin Ku must have been looking for trouble on purpose, but his intentions... should not be as complicated as Lord Qin guessed." Xie Xuan remained calm and answered calmly, "In my humble opinion, Qin Ku is just taking the opportunity to take revenge on Lord Qin for Liu Xunyi. After all, the two of them have a deep friendship, and Qin Ku is very righteous..."

"Wait!" Qin Wei frowned and shook his head slowly. "Even if Qin Ku wanted to speak up for Liu Xunyi, how could he know me? I... don't remember meeting him before."

"This..." Xie Xuan was stunned, "Maybe Qin Ku secretly sent someone to find out the news about Lord Qin."

"That makes sense." Qin Wei nodded slightly, as if agreeing with him.

"To be honest, since I succeeded the leader of the martial arts world, Qin Ku has been against me a lot." Qingfeng smiled bitterly, "Liu Xunyi has repeatedly escaped the net I set up, and this Qin Mansion Master... has helped him in secret. Just because I don't say something doesn't mean I don't know. The reason why I let him live until today is that I cherish his talent and hope that he can face the reality as soon as possible and not seek death. Second,... this boy has always been cunning. We know that many things are related to him, but we can't find any evidence. At present, my foundation is not stable. If I rashly attack the Hexi Qin family, I will definitely be criticized by heroes all over the world..."

"Master Qian has told me not to ask about the affairs of the martial arts world, and that everything will be decided by the leader of the Qingfeng Alliance. Of course, I am not interested in knowing about your old grudges." At this point, Qin Wei's eyes flashed coldly, and he said gloomily, "I will only say one thing, Qin Ku has insulted me too much, and I want him... to die a miserable death."

"Don't worry, Lord Qin. This man appears to be honest but is actually treacherous. I have given him many opportunities to reform, but he is stubborn and stubborn. Now, I have completely lost my patience with him. As long as Liu Xunyi dies, he will be the next one to suffer." After saying this, Qingfeng changed his mind and asked tentatively, "Lord Qin, you and Liu Xunyi are colleagues after all. Right now, he is imprisoned in the dungeon of the Xianwang Mansion, very close to us. Do you want to... meet him?"

Hearing this, Qin Wei's face changed quietly, and a deep sense of entanglement emerged between his eyebrows. Facing the curious eyes of everyone, he was silent for a long time, struggling again and again, and finally his eyes hardened and he slowly shook his head.

"In the past, we were not only colleagues serving in the same court, but also brothers who shared life and death. But now I am a soldier and he is a thief. We have different ideals and cannot work together. Moreover, Liu Xunyi and I have already drawn a clear line between us. We have nothing to say when we meet again. It is better not to meet."

……

(End of this chapter)