Chapter 1100 Today is Yesterday (V)

"Although Qingfeng is shrewd and calculating, he is still one step behind you." Liu Xunyi did not completely agree with Xunzhen's idea, and pretended to remind him casually, "After all, the key to yesterday's victory or defeat was that Brother Wu turned the tide with his own strength. As for why Brother Wu was able to show up in time at the critical moment... you understand, I understand too, anyway, it is not a coincidence. Therefore, we can have the last laugh at this "Eradication of Traitors Conference". It seems to be full of dangers, but in fact it is safe. A lively "Eradication of Traitors Conference", don't just look at the heroes from all walks of life on stage, but the person who really controls the overall situation is not me who escaped from death, nor is it the second master Xie who is the focus of everyone's attention, nor is it the self-righteous Qingfeng, but... you who are taciturn and low-key. The variables that may appear in the "Eradication of Traitors Conference" have been calculated by you clearly. All the "accidents" that happened yesterday... are also under your control."

Xunzhen was very intelligent, and she certainly understood that Liu Xunyi was making innuendos and had other intentions.

Was he trying to help Xunzhen on purpose? Or was he unintentionally venting his anger on Yuan Xiao and his son? Just as Xunzhen was distracted and vague in his words, Abaolu's angry voice suddenly rang out: "Yuan Xiao and his son are greedy for life and afraid of death, they are traitors, and if they are not killed, the anger will not be appeased, and if they are not killed, the people will not be convinced..."

"Whether to punish or not, to kill or not, is not decided by us, but by the deputy leader of the Xilu Wu Sect." Xunzhen interrupted the indignant Abaolu, and cast an inquiring look at the complicated Liu Xunyi, pretending to be righteous and said, "The young Qin King has said in advance that all matters of the four branches of the Central Plains Wulin will be decided by the deputy leader. For disciples like Yuan Xiao and his son who belong to the four branches of the Central Plains, the deputy leader also has absolute power over life and death."

"Absolute power over life and death, sounds really impressive. If I remember correctly, Xilu Wuzong has more than one deputy leader. Brother Wu...your 'brother', seems to be the deputy leader of Xilu Wuzong as well."

"That's right!" Xunzhen couldn't deny it. "You two are both 'deputy leaders' of Xilu Wuzong, and your status and power in Xilu Wuzong are equal. The only difference is that you are in charge of the four major branches of Xilu Wuzong in the Central Plains, while Wu Shuang is in charge of other forces outside the Central Plains. He has no right to interfere in the affairs of the Central Plains, let alone exercise the power of reward and punishment on your behalf. The punishment of Yuan Xiao and his son has nothing to do with him. In fact, according to the current situation, you are more important than him..."

"To be on par with Brother Wu is enough to make me feel terrified, but to be more important than him... I dare not even think about it." Liu Xunyi said self-deprecatingly, "Brother Wu is the son of Prince Ning and the nephew of Prince Shao Qin. How dare I compare him?" At this point, a terrifying light suddenly flashed in Liu Xunyi's eyes, "But what I never expected was that you actually have such a powerful brother. Before... I have never heard you mention him."

"You never asked before."

Facing Xunzhen's ulterior motives, Liu Xunyi frowned slightly and asked tentatively with a smile: "If I ask you now...will you tell me?"

"That depends on what you're asking." Xunzhen's answer was still ambiguous and flawless. "I will tell you everything I know. I don't want to make up stories to lie to you about things I can't tell you."

"So, if you lied to me about something, I can't blame you, but should be grateful for your kindness?"

"Cheating is cheating, concealment is concealment, don't confuse the two. If I don't tell you something, it doesn't mean that I am deliberately deceiving you, it only means... those things have nothing to do with you. After all, there is a difference between you and me, and there is a difference between men and women. Do I have to tell you all the private affairs of a girl?" Xunzhen asked instead of answering, with a teasing tone, "A great Liu Xunyi... shouldn't have the habit of asking about the private affairs of a little girl, right?"

"What a far-fetched argument! Is Wu Shuang also my private matter?" Liu Xunyi snorted, seeming to be quite dissatisfied with Xunzhen's sophistry, "Or...his 'brother' is not a 'brother' in the traditional sense, but...your lover brother?"

"So what?" Xunzhen raised his eyebrows, staring at the unhappy Liu Xunyi with his eyes that seemed neither happy nor angry, as if he was deliberately provoking him, "Could it be... are you jealous?"

"Xunzhen, you..." Such a straightforward teasing made Liu Xunyi, who was caught off guard, frightened and panicked for a moment, and hurriedly evaded, "Don't be so self-indulgent here, I'm just worried about Ping'er. If Wu Shuang is really yours... he shouldn't have been so attentive to Ping'er again and again, making Ping'er fall in love with him in vain..."

"How do you know that it was my 'lover' who took the initiative to show his affection to your sister? Maybe your sister was attracted by his character and martial arts, and was unknowingly bewitched by him." Xunzhen refuted seriously, "Besides, it is very common for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Even ordinary people do this, let alone my 'lover' who has a distinguished family background, outstanding talents and looks?"

"You...you, as a woman, actually said such shameful words. Not only do you not feel embarrassed at all, but you act as if it's natural. You really...really have no shame!"

"I am not a Central Plains girl. I am not like you Central Plains girls who are angry but dare not speak out. It is pathetic, ridiculous and hateful to always talk about the 'three obediences and four virtues'. What's more, it was you who first insisted that Wu Shuang was my 'love brother'. Are you allowed to make up stories at will and not allow me to retort? You don't feel ashamed to judge right and wrong, so why should I feel ashamed?"

"I... I didn't make it up..." As if realizing his mistake, Liu Xunyi's face changed color. Not only did his voice of rebuttal become smaller and smaller, but his eyes looking at Xunzhen became more and more ashamed, "Just now... I did say something wrong. If I have offended you, please forgive me."

If Liu Xunyi had been stubborn, Xunzhen would have had a thousand words to argue with him. But now he actually apologized on his own initiative, which made Xunzhen a little overwhelmed. It is worth mentioning that after hearing the argument between Xunzhen and Liu Xunyi, Pan Yuyin couldn't help but fall into deep thought. When she carefully understood Xunzhen's ideas, her eyes gradually changed from the initial ignorance to surprise, and then from surprise to thinking. Finally, she looked at Xunzhen with a hint of admiration.

"Forget it! Forget it! Just tell me, what crime should Yuan Xiao and his son be punished for?"

"Xunzhen, you are really smart!" Liu Xunyi's eyes changed quietly, and he praised her with a hint of meaning in his words, "You always know what you are doing? You also know what you want. Fortunately... I am not stupid either."

"What do you mean?"

"In fact, the more you pretend to be ignorant, the more I can't suppress my curiosity." Facing the serious Xunzhen, Liu Xunyi suddenly raised a sneer full of contempt, "Some things... If I don't say anything and you don't say anything, can we pretend that everything is normal? Pretend that nothing happened?"

"I can not understand what you say?"

"You don't understand? Or do you not want to understand?"

"you……"

"In fact, since you walked in... I have been giving you opportunities to explain yourself, but you played dumb and kept talking about this and that. You talked about the situation in the martial arts world, the Western Law Sect, Yuan Xiao and his son, and the secrets of the boudoir... You kept talking about this and that, avoiding the important issues and refusing to get straight to the point with me. Even though I kept bringing up the topic and expressed my thoughts vividly, you still pretended not to see or hear anything, and kept pretending as if nothing had happened. You are not only deceiving me, but also deceiving yourself." Liu Xunyi's face was full of smiles. The smile gradually froze, replaced by an indescribable solemnity and gloom. "Do you really think...if we don't make things clear, we can still treat each other with sincerity like before? Discuss the way forward and retreat together like before? The deputy leader of Xilu Wuzong, holding the power of life and death, sounds so glorious? But in fact, I feel more and more that I and the people around me are like chess pieces, on the chessboard set by Shao Qin Wang and you...at the mercy of others. Xunzhen, what I say...can you understand?"

"I heard it very clearly, and I understood it very well." Xunzhen was disheartened and lost, "As the saying goes, 'When the birds are gone, the bows are put away. When the rabbits are dead, the dogs are cooked.' In fact, I should have expected such an ending..."

"Xunzhen!" Liu Xunyi interrupted Xunzhen's argument without hesitation, "I didn't expect that you would still be stubborn even after all this. Not only are you unwilling to explain it to me, but you are also blaming me? It's really... you won't cry until you see the coffin!"

"Liu Xunyi, you have given so many reasons and made so many excuses, just to draw a clear line between you and the Young Prince of Qin and completely get rid of the constraints of Xilu Wuzong. You can just speak frankly, why bother talking about other things..."

"You know very well that if I deliberately drew a line between us, you two would not be able to walk through this door today." Liu Xunyi sneered at Xunzhen's sophistry, and still spoke with a sonorous and resounding voice, "I admit that you are eloquent and have great eloquence, but today I... don't want to listen to you twisting right and wrong anymore. Considering your kindness in saving my life, I will give you one last chance, and hope you will take care of yourself. From this moment on, I hope that every word you say... comes from the heart. Mutual honesty and trust are the prerequisites for cooperation between the two parties. If you continue to use some irrelevant rhetoric to prevaricate, I, Liu Xunyi, would rather bear the stigma of 'destroying the bridge after crossing the river', and swear to part ways with you. Because... I don't want to be used by others anymore!"

Liu Xunyi's expression suddenly changed, which caught Pan Yuyin and Abaolu off guard.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

However, before they could figure out the situation, Xunzhen, with a look of grievance on his face, suddenly chuckled with inexplicable meaning, and then applauded Liu Xunyi in the incredulous gazes of Pan Yuyin and Abaolu.

"You are not far from the right path, and you realize that you are right today and wrong yesterday. Liu Xunyi, compared with yourself today, do you feel that you were muddle-headed in the past... and lived in vain for more than 20 years?"

……

(End of this chapter)