Chapter 1117 Winning over the People (I)

"Greetings to the Deputy Sect Leader!"

When Liu Xunyi, who was full of worries, returned to the inner court accompanied by Xie Xuan, Murong Bai and Deng Quan, it was almost dusk.

From a distance, Yan Shun, Hong Si and Lei Zhen were seen rushing forward, vying with each other to kowtow and pay respect to Liu Xunyi.

"No need to be so polite, please stand up quickly."

"Greetings, Lord Xie!" The straightforward Lei Zhen hurriedly bowed to Xie Xuan, and couldn't wait to ask Liu Xunyi, "Where has the deputy sect leader been for the whole afternoon? We were really kept waiting..."

"Wait for me?" Liu Xunyi was stunned, then quickly calmed down and asked curiously, "What do you three want to talk to me about?"

"We are not the only ones waiting, Miss..." Having said this, Yan Shun subconsciously glanced towards the room, and then deliberately lowered his voice, "Miss is waiting for you too."

"is it?"

Because the "negotiation" in the morning was not pleasant, when Liu Xunyi heard Xunzhen's name, the smile on his face froze obviously, and his tone was no longer as relaxed as before, and seemed to become a little... resistant.

"Xunyi, Miss Xunzhen must have something important to discuss with you, why don't we go back first..."

"No need!" Liu Xunyi interrupted Xie Xuan without even turning his head, and said nonchalantly, "Second Master Xie just said that we are all family, there is no need to have so many taboos."

"Can……"

Liu Xunyi ignored Xie Xuan and the others who were looking at each other in confusion, and walked straight towards the room.

"Deputy Sect Leader!"

Suddenly, the absent-minded Yan Shun, Hong Si and Lei Zhen's faces changed, and they pushed each other and rushed to Liu Xunyi. Although they did not stop him blatantly, they used their bodies to block his way intentionally or unintentionally.

"What are you doing..." Liu Xunyi, who was surrounded by three people, stopped and looked at Yan Shun and the other two suspiciously, "What do you mean?"

"This……"

Yan Shun and the other two looked at each other, each with a conflicted expression, as if they had something to hide.

"If you have something to say, just say it. If you don't have anything to say... don't stop me."

"Something's going on! Something's going on!"

Seeing Liu Xunyi's impatience, the three of them became more frightened and responded hurriedly.

"What's the matter?"

"That...that..." After hesitating for a long time, Hong Si finally explained hesitantly under the instigation of Yan Shun and Lei Zhen, "Brother Yuan..."

"It's Yuan Xiao!"

"Oh! Right, right, right! It's Yuan Xiao!" At Yan Shun's reminder, Hong Si quickly changed his words, "Yuan Xiao and Yuan Ting... are also in the room right now. The eldest lady brought them here to apologize to the deputy sect leader..."

"I understand!" Although Hong Si hesitated, Liu Xunyi still heard the hidden meaning from his submissive tone, "Do you want to plead for Yuan Xiao and his son?"

"Deputy Sect Master is wise, we admire you!" Yan Shun quickly replied, "Yuan Xiao and his son's betrayal of the Deputy Sect Master and the eldest lady is indeed unforgivable, but we hope that the Deputy Sect Master will take into account their deep love for each other and give them a lighter punishment. At least... spare their lives."

"Yuan Xiao sold out his master to save his life. The three of you are not afraid of being implicated and are willing to stand up and plead for him. It is worth it for you brothers."

"Thank you for your compliment, Vice Sect Leader! Actually, we originally hated Yuan Xiao's selfishness and thought that his actions were a disgrace to the reputation of the 'Four Prefectures of Shangjing'. But on second thought, if the person who fell into the tiger's mouth was our child, perhaps... we wouldn't be able to say such sarcastic words. After all, only the one who is stabbed by a knife knows the pain, and others cannot truly understand it."

"I am not a member of the Xilu Wuzong, and I should not interfere in your family affairs, but after hearing this... I can't stand it anymore, please forgive me for interrupting." Deng Quan said angrily, "Is Yuan Xiao the only one in the world who knows pain? When he betrayed us, did he ever think about whether we were in pain? If Miss Xunzhen had not been prepared for this matter, perhaps all of us would have become ghosts under Qingfeng's knife..."

"This……"

"Cough cough!"

Seeing that the three people from Hong Temple were speechless and extremely embarrassed, Xie Xuan quickly interrupted Deng Quan who was speaking without restraint: "It is not our turn to comment on Xilu Wuzong's family affairs." "But..."

"Alright!" Liu Xunyi took off his robe and handed it back to Murong Bai, while he stretched out his hand to push away the three people from Hong Temple who were blocking him, and said nonchalantly, "Everything has its cause and effect, and there must be a reason. Let's... go in and discuss it."

After saying that, Liu Xunyi no longer paid attention to the people who had different thoughts, and directly pushed the door and walked into the room.

"Good nephew!"

As soon as he stepped over the threshold, an old man with gray hair, kind eyes and a strong body, accompanied by two middle-aged men, rushed to Liu Xunyi at lightning speed, scaring him so much that he was caught off guard and leaned back subconsciously.

"Oh my! It's all my fault for being so reckless. I accidentally bumped into you, my nephew. Please forgive me! Please forgive me!"

Seeing that Liu Xunyi almost bumped into him, the smiling old man immediately felt apologetic. He apologized quickly and reached out to support him, fearing that he would lose his balance and fall to the ground.

"you……"

"Brother Yonglin!"

Before Liu Xunyi could speak, Xie Xuan, who was following closely behind him, suddenly called out and explained the old man's identity.

He was Gan Yonglin, the head of the Gan family in Luzhou who secretly helped Xie Xuan to conceal his true identity and was later "pretended to be retaliated" by Xunzhen. The two middle-aged men following behind him were Gan Lun and Gan Fu.

"Thank you, brother. You are such a busy man. From yesterday till now, it has been so difficult for me to see you."

Gan Yonglin was very happy to see Xie Xuan. While teasing him, a happy smile appeared on his face again.

While Xie Xuan and Gan Yonglin were talking warmly, Liu Xunyi looked around. He saw the graceful Xunzhen sitting at the table, reading a book and drinking tea leisurely, while Abaolu, Xiao Yang, Su Hu, and Xun Budao stood straight as guns behind him. A foot away from them, by the wall, two dishevelled, ragged, scarred, and bloodstained men were tied up with hemp ropes, with their eyes closed, heads down, waists bent, and bodies curled up... They knelt on the ground trembling and cowering.

Perhaps it was because of their inner uneasiness or the unbearable pain from their wounds, but the two people kneeling on the ground couldn't help sobbing and shivering.

Although their hair was disheveled and their bodies were covered in dirt, making it difficult to see their true appearance, Liu Xunyi still recognized their identities from their voices and postures. They were the Yuan Xiao and his son who betrayed him at the "Anti-Traitor Conference" yesterday.

I still remember that when Qingfeng "invited" Yuan Xiao out yesterday, although he was depressed and listless, at least he was neatly dressed and had no illness or injury. Now look at his miserable appearance... It seems that from yesterday to now, in just one day and one night, he has been severely "taken care of" by Abaolu and his men more than once.

At this moment, in the same room, there are three completely different scenes.

On one side is the enthusiastic reunion of old friends, in the middle is the leisurely reading and drinking of tea, and on the other side is the dying cruelty and blood.

Three groups of people showed three completely different mentalities. It is hard to imagine that they could be immersed in their own world without being disturbed. In such a sharp contrast, in front of Yuan Xiao and his son, whose lives were hanging by a thread, Gan Yonglin's smile seemed to become a little cold and cruel, which made people sigh with emotion.

"My dear nephew, when we were at the Luzhou Inn... I was ignorant and foolish. My words and actions were offensive. I hope you will be magnanimous and don't take me, an old fool, at face value." Gan Yonglin smiled and bowed to Liu Xunyi at the signal of Xie Xuan's eyes. His attitude was quite humble and his words were very sincere. "Based on my friendship with the Northern Wise King, if I had known earlier that you were his son... I would have risked my entire family's lives to help you clear your name. I only regret that Qingfeng deceived the heavens and the earth and deceived the world. I have been kept in the dark by him, so..."

"Although Master Gan didn't know the inside story, you and Master Xie were in tune with each other and helped us dispel Qingfeng and Ling Xiaoxiao's suspicion. You are definitely our benefactor." Liu Xunyi, who had suddenly come to his senses, quickly lifted Gan Yonglin up and said gratefully, "Because of me, the men, women, old and young of the Gan family were innocently involved in this bloody battle, causing you to be worried and frightened all day long. We also forced more than a hundred people in the Gan family to leave their homes, and even burned your mansion to ashes. Thinking about all these things... I am really ashamed."

"My dear nephew, you are so distant. Isn't it embarrassing for me?" Gan Yonglin pretended to be unhappy. "When your father was alive, he always took care of our Gan family. I have never found a chance to repay him. Besides, brother Xie and I are friends for life and death. How can I stand by and watch him in trouble? The Gan family of Luzhou and the Xianwang Mansion are of the same blood and are as close as a family. Let alone burning down a house for my dear nephew, even if you burn down my old bones, I won't frown."

"Master Gan is so righteous..."

"In order to properly settle the Gan family, I spent a full five hundred thousand taels of real gold and silver."

Just as Liu Xunyi, Xie Xuan and Gan Yonglin were complimenting each other, a clear, pleasant but extremely inappropriate voice sounded faintly, immediately interrupting the conversation of the three and making the atmosphere in the room extremely awkward.

Xunzhen calmly put the scroll back on the table and continued with a half-smile: "Since Mr. Liu is so ashamed and determined to accept Mr. Gan's favor, remember to reimburse the 500,000 taels of silver I paid for you. As for the other miscellaneous expenses such as carriages, food and lodging... just consider it as a token of your appreciation from the young King of Qin."

Xunzhen bluntly stated the fact that Gan Yonglin accepted the 500,000 taels of silver, which was tantamount to uncovering his "fig leaf" in public. It made the just-mentioned righteousness, life-and-death friendship, kinship, and family ties all become somewhat inexplicably ironic.

"Mr. Gan fled with his family for me. Not only did his house burn down, but even his belongings were destroyed. A mere 500,000 taels is a small consolation... not much." As if seeing Gan Yonglin's embarrassment, Liu Xunyi patted him on the back of his hand to comfort him. Then he turned his gaze to Xunzhen, who was frowning slightly, and said with a hint of meaning, "I have deeply understood the kindness of Miss Xunzhen and the Young King of Qin, and I dare not accept it easily. As for the money I owe you... let me think of a way to repay it in full."

"Young Master's affairs are Xian Wang Mansion's affairs, and the debt owed by Young Master shall be borne by Xian Wang Mansion." Before Liu Xunyi finished speaking, Xie Xuan made a promise without hesitation, "Xie I promise that all the money that Miss Xunzhen paid in advance... we will pay it back with interest. In addition, we are willing to pay another 500,000 taels on top of the 500,000 taels we paid to Mr. Gan, to express our gratitude to the Gan family for their help."

……

(End of this chapter)