Chapter 1041: The Anti-Traitor Conference (Twenty-one)

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Just as everyone was secretly sighing at the fact that Xiao Zhirou and Liu Xunyi had gone through countless hardships to finally be reunited as mother and son, a crisp, loud but extremely inappropriate applause suddenly rang out in the bluestone square, instantly pulling everyone back to reality from their trance and ruthlessly interrupting Xiao Zhirou and Liu Xunyi's confused thoughts of "being unable to part".

"Good tactics! Good skills! Good acting skills!"

With a look of contempt on his face, Qingfeng gave Xiao Zhirou and Liu Xunyi a thumbs up in front of everyone, and uttered three "good"s in a row.

"If I didn't know about your dirty deeds, your despicable crimes, and your devilish tricks, I would probably be moved to tears by your true story of 'motherly love and son'." Qingfeng said sarcastically, "The mother wanted to make up for her mistakes, but the son didn't want to implicate his mother and insisted on taking responsibility for his own actions... Tsk tsk tsk! I'm afraid that the stories in the Book of Filial Piety are not as touching as yours."

"Qingfeng, you old thief, don't go too far!"

Liu Xunyi, who was already in a very anxious mood, felt the anger that had just been extinguished in his heart burst out again after hearing Qingfeng's unscrupulous ridicule. The trace of rationality that had been "tamed" by the warmth and gradually recovered broke through the shackles again, and his murderous eyes instantly turned red as blood.

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him..."

At this moment, a hideous and terrifying yet illusory voice quietly echoed in Liu Xunyi's ears. A ball of anxious, depressed, dull and violent hostility was like an lingering ghost, hanging over him from all sides.

They appeared and disappeared, sometimes near, sometimes far away, which made Liu Xunyi uneasy and distracted. He became very annoyed and restless.

"Liu Xunyi, you sold out your master for fame and fortune first, and then colluded with foreign countries. You are the number one villain in the Central Plains martial arts world, and the number one traitor among the descendants of Yan and Huang... Do you know your crime?"

The aggressive breeze made the upset Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly freeze, emitting two bone-chilling cold rays of light. At the same time, a black cyclone containing the power of a dragon and a tiger, and the might of thunder condensed from his palms.

Liu Xunyi ignored the doubts of the heroes all over the world and blatantly wanted to kill Qingfeng again. Everyone gasped when they saw this.

After all, he made unexpected moves time and time again, making it difficult for people to understand and even more difficult to let go.

Could it be that... Liu Xunyi really turned into an arrogant, domineering, and bloodthirsty demon because of his martial arts skills? Did he really dare to ignore the existence of heroes in the world? Did he really intend to fight against the entire Central Plains martial arts world on his own?
Seeing this scene, not only the bystanders were amazed, even Murong Bai, Deng Quan, Lin Fangda, Xu Heng, Ling Qing and other "old friends" who had a close relationship with Liu Xunyi felt incredible.

In their impression, Liu Xunyi has always been a man of morality and rules. Even if he can't be called "gentle, respectful and frugal", at least he is "courtesy before force". He will never act on his own like he did today, killing people without mercy when a disagreement arises.

At this moment, even Qingfeng, who had taken the initiative to provoke, couldn't help but change color. He felt a tightness in his heart for no reason and subconsciously took a step back.

It seemed that the "exchange" with Liu Xunyi just now had made him feel fearful, and he dared not confront him head-on again.

"Liu Xunyi, are you speechless in the face of overwhelming evidence, and therefore you are angry and want to... use force to suppress others?"

"Old thief Qingfeng, I don't want to argue with you today. No matter how eloquent you are, wait until we get to Senluo Palace and see if those Hades and Judges are willing to believe your nonsense? Will those evil spirits condone your nonsense?"

"you……"

"Stop talking nonsense! Prepare to die..."

"Looking for clothes!"

Before Liu Xunyi, who was determined to kill, could make another move, Xie Xuan had already rushed forward impatiently and blocked his way with his own body.

"Thank you, Master. Please move aside..."

"Don't be reckless!" Facing the imposing Liu Xunyi, Xie Xuan showed no fear and did not give in. "Can't you see that this is Qingfeng's way of provoking you? He deliberately provoked you just to anger you and induce you to say some impulsive and extreme words and do some perverse things. How could you fall into his evil plan?"

"So what?" Liu Xunyi sneered nonchalantly, "To deal with such despicable and shameless people, we must fight violence with violence, tooth for tooth..." "If he was 'just' Qingfeng, you wouldn't have to do anything, I would be the first one who would not let him go. But he is not... or it should be said that he is 'not just' Qingfeng, but also the leader of the Central Plains Wulin. At least... he is still sitting on the position of the leader of the Wulin." Xie Xuan earnestly explained the pros and cons, "If you are unwilling to explain the cause and effect clearly, it will not be enough to convince the heroes of the world... your kindness to him is... "The grudge can never be a personal grudge, but a matter of order in the martial arts world, of justice in the martial arts world, and of respect for the young and the old. You should know that the leader of the martial arts world represents the orthodoxy of the Central Plains martial arts world, and anyone who is against him... is regarded as an evil heretic. Therefore, if you rashly attack him, it is tantamount to declaring war on the entire Central Plains martial arts world, and it is tantamount to admitting that you have colluded with the young Qin King to plot against the law. This is not only a taboo in the martial arts world, but also a taboo in life. Xie is entrusted with the important task of the 'Northern Sage King', and I cannot watch you cut off your own path..."

"Explain clearly?" Liu Xunyi looked at Xie Xuan in disbelief, teasing him, "Qingfeng confused the audience, calling a horse a zebra, and fooled everyone present with just a few words... Second Master Xie actually expected to 'explain clearly'? Excuse me, even if you are willing to speak, are they willing to listen? Even if you speak clearly, can they understand?"

"The more critical the moment, the more calm you must be." As if sensing Liu Xunyi's dejection, Xie Xuan's expression changed, and he changed the subject, "Xunyi, regardless of whether we can prove our innocence or not, let's just talk about the current situation. If Qingfeng really died in your hands, it would make him famous for the rest of his life. Once the final verdict is made, no matter how high your martial arts skills are or how powerful your influence is, you will not be able to change the fact that you have killed the leader of the Central Plains martial arts world. By then, not only will you no longer have a place to stand in the Central Plains, but even the Jueqing Valley, the Sanyi Gang, the Xiangxi Teng Clan, and the Hexi Qin Clan will be implicated. Moreover..."

Before he finished speaking, Xie Xuan suddenly lowered his voice a bit: "If Qingfeng dies because of you, and you become disgraced because of Qingfeng, then... who will be able to reap the benefits?"

"What Mr. Xie means is..." After being reminded by Xie Xuan, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but frown and subconsciously cast a scrutinizing look at Jin Fuyu who was watching the fire from the other side.

"Xunyi, you can 'suppress' people with force, but you can't 'kill' people with force." Seeing Liu Xunyi gradually coming to his senses, Xie Xuan nodded with satisfaction, "Some enemies lurking under the water are easy to be ignored by us, but they must not be forgotten by us. Many times, it is not necessarily 'either this or that', nor is it necessarily 'either enemy or friend'. Our life-and-death struggle with Qingfeng does not mean that the final winner must be one of us, but may also be an 'other person' who stays out of the matter. This section is just like what Master Xiao asked Gu Yue just now, 'You are in a hurry to kill him to silence him, is it because you have a guilty conscience'? Once you kill Qingfeng, no matter what the result is, the charge of 'guilty conscience' may not be washed away even if you jump into the Yellow River. And this... may be exactly what some people with ulterior motives want."

"I am guilty of my crime? I..."

"Calm down! Of course I know you are aboveboard, but they..." Xie Xuan cast a mysterious look at the ignorant people and said bitterly, "They don't know who is the noble gentleman between us and Qingfeng, and who is the petty villain? As the saying goes, 'seeing is believing, hearing is false'. So far, the evidence that the heroes of the world have exposed Qingfeng for us is all 'hearsay', while the evidence that Qingfeng has framed us... most of them have been witnessed by their own eyes. Xunyi, if you can step out of your own position and look at the overall situation from the perspective of an outsider, between us and Qingfeng... who will you believe?"

"This..." Faced with Xie Xuan's questioning, Liu Xunyi, who had gradually calmed down, was inevitably speechless.

"You are still young, inexperienced, and not experienced enough in the martial arts world. It is normal for people to be impulsive. When the mansion lord and I were your age, we were willful, reckless, causing trouble everywhere, and making enemies everywhere... The troubles we encountered and the troubles we made were even worse than you are today. At that time, we were also not afraid to make enemies with everyone in the world. But later, as we experienced more and more hardships, we gradually understood that being young not only means being full of vigor, but also means that there is a long way to go. Therefore, we must not give others a handle too early, and we must not block our own retreat too early." Xie Xuan couldn't help laughing with tears when recalling the past. When he mentioned himself and Luo Tianjin when he was young, he was even more meaningful. "The mansion lord's martial arts are indeed unrivaled in the world, but he can achieve hegemony not only because of his high martial arts, but also because he is cautious and considerate in dealing with people."

"I cannot deny that what Second Master Xie said... is reasonable." Liu Xunyi took a deep breath, and stared at Xie Xuan with a pair of bright and deep eyes without blinking, and asked solemnly, "Today, I only ask you one question, and I hope Second Master Xie will tell you the truth. If we don't force Qingfeng and his daughter to submit with overwhelming force... according to the current situation, and honestly follow the 'martial arts order' and 'jianghu morality' mentioned by Second Master Xie... is there any chance to turn the tide and win?"

"This..." Xie Xuan was stunned at first, then his eyes straightened and he asked instead of answering, "Xun Yi, do you... believe me?"

"Master Xie has staked his entire fortune on me, how can I not trust you?" Liu Xunyi didn't seem to understand Xie Xuan's implication, "It's just..."

"If you believe in me, can you give me the power to gamble with Qingfeng? Including... the power of life and death." Xie Xuan did not give Liu Xunyi a chance to ask, and said meaningfully, "It is not only about deciding the war or peace of the Xianwang Mansion, but also about the advance and retreat of the Xiangxi Teng Clan, the Hexi Qin Clan, the Jueqing Valley, the Longxiang Mountain, the Sanyi Gang... all those who share the same hatred and enemy with you. I hope that every decision I make next will be supported by you, without any debate or doubt. Of course... only for today."

In the last sentence, Xie Xuan specifically said this to Xiao Zhirou to prevent her from suspecting that he had ulterior motives.

"This..." As if realizing something, the solemnly-made Liu Xunyi suddenly became a little hesitant, "Second Master Xie, are you planning to...abandon Xunzhen and Xilu Wuzong? If so, I'm sorry I can't agree to it..."

"Xie swears to heaven that I will not touch a hair of Xunzhen or Xilu Wuzong's disciples today."

"then you……"

"No need to ask more questions, just tell me whether you agree or not?"

"This……"

After hesitating for a long time and feeling uneasy, Liu Xunyi finally made up his mind with the encouragement of Xiao Zhirou's eyes, and then nodded heavily to Xie Xuan, who was excited and had trembling eyes.

"Thank you, Master. I...promise you!"

……

　Youth is gone, and it is hard to cure haggardness. My frail body makes me feel sorry for my late return.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)