Chapter 1120 Winning over the People (Part )

"How dare you hold the young lady hostage, you bastard? I'll chop you into pieces and feed you to the dogs!"

Seeing Liu Xunyi turning the tide and Xunzhen in danger, Abaolu, who had been filled with rage for a long time, could no longer suppress his murderous intent and raised the steel knife that had sunk into the ground. Holding back his anger and staring with bloodshot eyes, he walked towards Yuan Ting, who was beating his chest and stamping his feet, crying out to the sky.

"Searching……"

Seeing this scene, Xie Xuan wanted to speak out a reminder, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he suddenly felt that something was inappropriate, so he stopped abruptly.

"go to hell!"

"No!"

"Deputy Sect Leader..."

"call!"

Without any unnecessary words, Abaolu rushed forward in two steps. With Yuan Xiao's wailing and the exclamations of several people from Hong Temple, he raised his sword and mercilessly chopped at the defenseless Yuan Ting.

Judging from his posture, this knife seemed to be able to split Yuan Ting in half.

"boom!"

At the critical moment, a hand wrapped in layers of white cloth suddenly reached out from the air without warning, and grabbed Abaolu's knife-holding wrist, causing the blade to suddenly stop when it fell about half a foot away from Yuan Ting's head.

At this moment, Abaolu's sturdy arms were as tense as iron, and veins bulged on his dark forehead. He wished he could use all his strength, but he still couldn't move the blade down an inch.

"Liu Xunyi, why are you stopping me?" An angry Abaolu glared at the bored Liu Xunyi and cursed indignantly, "Yuan Ting is an ungrateful wolf. All these years, what he ate, wore, lived in, and used in the Northeast... which one was not given by the young Qin King? Today, he dared to commit treason and held the eldest lady hostage in order to save his life. If we don't kill such an ungrateful dog now, will we keep him for the New Year?"

"If I wanted him to die, why would I give him a chance to turn back?" Liu Xunyi looked lazy, but his tone was extremely firm. "Besides, Xunzhen was just frightened and is fine..."

"That won't work either!" Abaolu sneered at Liu Xunyi's advice, "Whether the young lady is injured or not, Yuan Ting dared to disrespect her, which is enough to show that this person has a rebellious heart and must pay the price with blood."

"You have beaten him so badly that his body is covered with wounds. Isn't that the 'price of blood'?"

"Liu Xunyi, stop making jokes here!" Abaolu glared at Liu Xunyi who was forcing a smile and said with gritted teeth, "Yuan Ting will definitely die today. Not only can you not save him, even the king of heaven can't save him."

Seeing that Abaolu was stubborn and spoke rudely to Liu Xunyi, Hong Si, Yan Shun and Lei Zhen who were standing by were all secretly surprised and embarrassed. At the same time, Xiao Yang, Su Hu and Xun Budao who shared the same hatred with Abaolu also subconsciously changed their faces and looked at each other.

It is worth mentioning that Xie Xuan just watched from the sidelines from beginning to end without saying a word.

"Liu Xunyi, today I just want to punish Yuan Xiao and his son. I don't want to make things difficult for you." As if realizing that he had made a mistake in his words, Abaolu's expression changed slightly under Liu Xunyi's calm gaze, and his tone softened, "Forget it! I know you are exhausted both physically and mentally, go and rest aside! Leave the rest to me..."

"Leave it to you?" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows and asked instead of answering, "How do you plan to deal with them?"

"For your sake... I'll try my best to give them a quick death."

"So you have to kill them?" Liu Xunyi hesitated, "What if... I don't allow you to kill them?"

"Liu Xunyi, I've given you enough face, don't refuse my toast and drink a forfeit!"

"I should be the one saying this to you! If I remember correctly, they are no longer servants of the 'Four Prefectures of Shangjing' for the young prince of Qin. Instead, they are the leaders and disciples of the four branches of the 'Xilu Wuzong' in the Central Plains. Since they are from the Xilu Wuzong, not only you are not qualified to deal with them, but even Xunzhen... is also not qualified. Because I am the deputy leader in charge of the four branches of the Central Plains, and I have the right to decide all matters of the Xilu Wuzong in the Central Plains." Liu Xunyi gradually lost patience with Abaolu, who was not giving in, and his tone was no longer as kind as before, "Therefore, the life and death of Yuan Xiao and his son is decided by me, and it is not your turn to interfere."

"Liu Xunyi, you..."

"I was appointed as the deputy leader of the Xilu Wuzong, in charge of the power of life and death of the four branches in the Central Plains. These are not my imaginary ideas, but the intention of the young Qin Wang. Now, you insist on executing Yuan Xiao and his son, ignoring my obstruction. Could it be that... you are questioning the decision of the young Qin Wang?" "I..."

When Liu Xunyi brought up the Young Qin King, Abaolu's eyes suddenly showed a hint of hesitation. Although he disdained Liu Xunyi's position as the "deputy clan leader", he would never dare to despise the authority of the Young Qin King.

Therefore, facing Liu Xunyi's "using power to oppress others", even though Abaolu was indignant in his heart, he did not dare to argue too much.

"Abaolu!"

Just as Liu Xunyi refused to give in and Abaolu was in a dilemma, and the atmosphere in the room gradually reached a stalemate, a weak voice sounded quietly. Then, Xunzhen, who had calmed down and regained consciousness, slowly sat up with her hands on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were still a little dazed, her breath was still a little disordered, and her face was still a little pale... It was obvious that she was still very weak after being frightened.

"Miss!"

When they saw Xunzhen wake up, Xiao Yang, Su Hu, Xun Budao, Hong Si, Yan Shun and Lei Zhen all showed surprise and surrounded her, vying to ask her about her well-being.

"Liu Xunyi is right. He is the deputy leader of Xilu Wuzong. You and I have no right to interfere with his decision." Xunzhen stared at Liu Xunyi, who was hesitant to speak, without blinking, and gave Abaolu an order absentmindedly, "Put away your weapons and step aside."

"But……"

"I don't want to say it a second time."

"Yes……"

Xunzhen's attitude was unquestionable, and Abaolu was indignant but helpless. He snorted angrily and kicked the whimpering Yuan Ting hard. His right hand holding the knife suddenly raised upwards, struggling to break free from Liu Xunyi's restraints, and retreated to the side angrily.

"It is an indisputable fact that Yuan Xiao and Yuan Ting betrayed us. Even if you spare their lives, you should punish them severely, otherwise it will be difficult to convince the people." Xunzhen asked calmly, "I wonder how you, the 'Deputy Sect Leader', plan to punish them?"

Liu Xunyi frowned, as if he had no idea what to do in the face of such a thing, so he humbly asked for advice: "I just want to save their lives. As for how to punish them... I wonder if you have any good ideas?"

"My advice is simple. Once disloyal, never use them again." Xunzhen's tone was calm, without a trace of emotion. "If you are determined to show mercy, you can expel them from Xilu Wuzong and never use them again. But I must remind you that Yuan Ting doesn't matter, but Yuan Xiao... has served the young king of Qin for many years and was once the head of the 'Four Prefectures of Shangjing'. Once the secrets he knows are leaked, the threat he poses to us must not be underestimated."

"That's right!" Under Abaolu's urging, Xiao Yang took the opportunity to continue, "The death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be escaped. Even if we don't kill them, at least we have to chop off their hands and feet, cut off their tongues, and abolish their martial arts. We must ensure that they will not become our enemies after they leave before we can expel them from the sect..."

Before Xiao Yang could finish his words, Xunzhen suddenly shot him a look full of displeasure, which immediately made him shut up obediently.

"Miss, it was my idea to sell you out. It had nothing to do with Yuan Ting." Yuan Xiao struggled hard while slamming his forehead, which was covered with bruises and purple, against the ground again and again, making a series of "bang bang bang" sounds. He kept apologizing to Xunzhen and begging for mercy. "Just now, the rebellious son was possessed by a ghost and offended the young lady on impulse. It's all my fault for not educating my son properly, so that he didn't know the difference between the superior and the inferior and had no manners. Here, I kowtow to the young lady and the deputy sect leader to apologize on his behalf. I hope you adults will not bear grudges and don't treat the rebellious son with the same view. I am his father, and I am willing and should use my life to atone for his sins. No matter how the young lady and the deputy sect leader intend to punish him, even if it means cutting him into pieces... Yuan is willing to bear it all and has no complaints!"

"Dad, if I hadn't underestimated the enemy and been captured by them, how could you have been controlled by them?" Seeing Yuan Xiao actively seeking death, Yuan Ting, who was crying bitterly, quickly raised his head and said regretfully, "In the final analysis, it's all my fault for being arrogant and conceited. I thought I could do whatever I wanted in my own territory. Little did I know that there are always people better than you. My self-righteousness not only caused me to be imprisoned, but also forced Dad to go against his conscience and help the tyrant to commit atrocities. In the end... it led to a big mistake. Even if I have to die to atone for my sins, I should die..."

"Shut up, my rebellious son! What do you know?" Yuan Xiao shouted angrily, "Dad is already half dead, there is no point in him being alive. You are still young, just like the deputy sect leader said, it is time to turn back, and everything can start over..."

"father……"

Facing the touching scene of a loving father and a filial son, both vying for death, the extremely conflicted Lei Zhen made up his mind, ignoring the obstruction of Hong Si and Yan Shun, and pleaded for the Yuan family father and son: "Miss, Deputy Sect Leader, this matter is only because of Qingfeng's despicable means, and Yuan Ting's inexperience and mistakenly fell into the evil plan, and it was also because of circumstances. Yuan Xiao was eager to protect his son and was confused for a moment, so he made a big mistake. Can you... give them a chance to make amends?"

"Make amends?" Xunzhen frowned slightly and said contemptuously, "Do you remember that when we checked the accounts of the 'Four Prefectures in the Capital' in Shenzhou, Liu Xunyi and I gave you a chance to make amends by not reporting your scandal of embezzling money to the Young King of Qin. There is a saying that 'knowing one's mistakes can lead to improvement' and 'knowingly committing a crime will be punished with an extra level'. Now, Yuan Xiao, who was already guilty, has made another big mistake. How can we give him another chance?"

Having said this, Xunzhen cast a disdainful look at the tearful Yuan Ting, and asked righteously: "Do you remember that it was you who begged us to show leniency and let Yuan Xiao and the other four atone for their crimes? Others may not understand the situation, but you are not qualified to seek death. At that time, we made an exception and listened to your advice because of your filial piety. But we never expected that you, who should have been able to distinguish right from wrong, would betray our trust, go back on your words in public, and enrich yourself. How can we forgive you today?"

……

(End of this chapter)