Chapter 1122 The Gentleness of Women
"Ting'er, why don't you kneel down and thank the deputy sect leader?"

Yuan's father and son made a big mistake, but Liu Xunyi not only did not kill them, but instead "promoted them in public and demoted them in private". In particular, the decision to depose Yuan Xiao and re-employ Yuan Ting seemed to be "atonement for the father", but in fact it was "the son inheriting the father's business", which made Yuan's father and son overjoyed and unbelievable.

How could such a generous act of repaying evil with kindness not make the Yuan father and son grateful to Liu Xunyi?

"Ting'er, the lives of my father and I were saved by the deputy sect master. From now on, you must regard the deputy sect master as your reborn parent, and no matter how old you are, you must not have the slightest disloyalty!"

"Please rest assured, Dad. I will definitely regard the deputy lord as a role model in life. I will learn from him about virtue, character, wisdom, and martial arts... Although I dare not compare myself with him, I will strive to reach one-tenth of his level in my lifetime. If I do so, I will die without regrets."

Yuan Xiao and Yuan Ting, who had "come back from the dead", were filled with gratitude to Liu Xunyi. Regardless of their own dignity and the strange looks from others, they respectfully kowtowed to him three times and nine times, expressing their gratitude profusely.

"Since the deputy sect leader has shown you special favor, I won't say anything more. I just hope you can learn from this and not do stupid things that are ungrateful and put the cart before the horse. If it happens again, even if Liu Xunyi spares you, I will report it to the young king of Qin and punish you severely. I hope you and your son will take care of yourselves."

Seeing that the matter was settled, Xunzhen could do nothing even if he was dissatisfied. He gave a few words of admonition to Yuan's father and son, and ordered Hong Si, Yan Shun, and Lei Zhen to take them out of the inner court.

"Miss..."

"You guys get out too!"

Under Xunzhen's absent-minded urging, Abaolu, Xiao Yang, Su Hu and Xun Budao, who were hesitant to speak, looked at each other and left in disappointment.

In a blink of an eye, the lively room became very deserted. Only the indignant Xunzhen, the calm Liu Xunyi and the taciturn Xie Xuan were left.

"Are you satisfied now?" After a long silence, Xunzhen took the lead in breaking the deadlock. "With a simple 'torture trick', you not only easily replaced Yuan Xiao, who was loyal to the Young King of Qin, but also made the immature Yuan Ting grateful and devoted to you. What's more, it made Hong Si, Yan Shun, and Lei Zhen, who were 'staying out of the matter', secretly admire you. Now, the Yuan Clan, which has the largest and strongest influence among the four branches in the Central Plains, has been firmly in your hands. Next... are you planning to take in the Hong Clan, the Yan Clan, and the Lei Clan one by one?"

"I don't understand what you are saying." Liu Xunyi looked at Xunzhen who was glaring at him with a confused look on his face, and asked in a half-understanding tone, "It was you who made me the deputy leader of Xilu Wuzong, and it was you who made me take charge of the four branches of the Central Plains. It was you who told me whether the Yuan family father and son lived or died... You told me this yourself. Why did I act according to your instructions and make you unhappy? Could it be that... as the deputy leader, I shouldn't be in control of the four branches of the Central Plains? Shouldn't I use them for my own benefit?"

"Liu Xunyi, don't pretend to be ignorant in front of me!" Xunzhen seemed very angry at Liu Xunyi's neither humble nor arrogant attitude, "I never dared to expect you to obey my orders, but if you could listen to my advice... you wouldn't be so indulgent to the Yuan family father and son! If you say you have no selfish motives, who can believe it?"

"What selfish motives?" Liu Xunyi was angered by Xunzhen's aggressive pressure, and said in a deep voice, "Are you afraid that I will win over the Yuan family father and son? Are you worried that they will be bribed by me and no longer obey the orders of the Young Qin King? If so, the Young Qin King can take away my power of life and death in Xilu Wuzong with just one word, just like I deposed Yuan Xiao..."

"I have no objection to you winning them over, and it is not a bad thing to make them grateful to you. But you created a gap between them and the Young King of Qin, and alienated them because they were close to you... It was your selfishness, and it was your fault." Xunzhen said, "There are some things that I can guess even if you don't say them. I don't expose you because I don't want you to make a fool of yourself in public. Since we are cooperating, we should be sincere to each other, and we should not be suspicious of each other and have ulterior motives. I am not exaggerating, but I am kindly warning you that if you dare to pretend to obey the Young King of Qin and disobey him, no matter how high your martial arts skills are or how powerful your influence is... In the end, you will be the one who suffers."

"Cough cough!"

Seeing Xunzhen openly threatening Liu Xunyi, Xie Xuan frowned and said quietly, "I am not exaggerating, but giving you a good warning. Although the Young Prince of Qin is powerful, Miss Xunzhen is still in the territory of the Xianwang Mansion. Please...be careful with your words."

"Master Xie, do you think that I am angry and jealous of Liu Xunyi?"

"Stop talking!"

Before Xunzhen could refute Xie Xuan's "kind reminder", the exhausted Liu Xunyi suddenly waved his hand, limped to the table, and found a teapot with a broken ear and a broken teacup in the mess. While pouring tea for himself, he asked nonchalantly: "Xunzhen, since you have already seen my intention of 'winning people's hearts', why did you play a double game with me just now? If you can be kind and tolerant to the Yuan family father and son, instead of glaring at them and being unyielding, I believe that the person who will make them grateful must be you, not me." "Rewards and punishments are clear and orderly. Rules are rules. Do you think everyone is as free as you are?"

"You mean... my womanly kindness?"

"Whether it is a woman's kindness or not, only you know it in your heart." Xunzhen stared at Liu Xunyi's deep and bright eyes without any hesitation, and said word by word, "I cooperated with you to 'play the good cop', not because I believe you are loyal to the Young King of Qin, but because I don't want you to lose face as the 'deputy leader' in front of the four helmsmen. Just like I gave you the power to deal with the Yuan family father and son, it was also to take your face into consideration. I don't want the disciples of Xilu Wuzong to treat you as a 'puppet leader' with no real power. After all, no matter what you plan in your heart, at least on the surface... we are still in the same boat now."

"Why do you have to say it so nicely? It's not that you don't want me to fail, but you don't want Xilu Wuzong to fail." Liu Xunyi sneered, "To be frank, I am still useful to the Young King of Qin, and you don't want to... at least not now."

"We have made it clear this morning what we should and shouldn't say. You want to repay the favor you owe us, and I want to help Xilu Wuzong gain a foothold in the Central Plains. We both know why we are working together." Xunzhen said indifferently, "But some things are better to be known in your heart. If you say them too bluntly... it will be meaningless."

"Don't worry, I will never break my promise to you. Everything I did today was to help Xilu Wuzong gain a firm foothold in the Central Plains martial arts world as soon as possible. As for what you said about 'holding it in the palm of your hand' and 'using it for your own use'... it's pure nonsense. I have never thought of replacing the position of Shao Qin Wang in Xilu Wuzong, and I have no intention of relying on him forever."

"When Xilu Wuzong stands tall in the Central Plains Wulin, the grudges between you and us will be wiped out." Looking at Liu Xunyi's solemn promise, Xunzhen gradually realized that "said three times is as light as water", so his sharp eyes quickly softened, and a trace of fatigue emerged. But she slowly got up with the help of the bed, slightly shaking her still dizzy head, and slowly moved towards the door, while saying intermittently, "Before that... I hope you can be honest with me. Of course, I will also give you help in my ability. Liu Xunyi, I hope we can put aside the past grudges, put aside our prejudices against each other, and advance and retreat together from now on..."

When Liu Xunyi silently watched the exhausted Xunzhen staggering towards the door and almost falling to the ground several times, when he heard Xunzhen's sincere words from the bottom of his heart, and thought of her as a weak and young girl, caught between Prince Shao Qin and himself, and carrying tremendous pressure and responsibility on her shoulders, Liu Xunyi's iron heart trembled involuntarily, and his eyes became inexplicably tangled.

I don't know why? In the depths of Liu Xunyi's heart, he actually felt an indescribable pity and love for Xunzhen. It was as if the Xunzhen in front of him was no longer the sinister and cunning "witch" in his impression, but a "pitiful person" who took risks alone and carried heavy burdens to travel far.

Seeing her haggard face and weak staggering steps, Liu Xunyi even had the urge to drop his teacup and go forward to support her.

However, the myriad changes in his heart were ultimately contained by the fluctuations of his thoughts. From beginning to end, Liu Xunyi stood by the table as still as a wooden sculpture, not putting down the teacup in his hand, and even the expression on his face... was calm, without a single ups and downs.

"You are tired, take a good rest!"

Without even turning back and leaving a word of concern, Xunzhen gently opened the door and slowly left the inner court accompanied by Abaolu and Xiao Yang who looked worried.

"Think about it carefully, she is also a pitiful girl. Born into a famous family, she should have been living a carefree life at such a young age. But now she is running around everywhere, worried and exhausted." Looking at Xunzhen's back as she walked away, Xie Xuan couldn't help but sigh, "In my opinion, she was only following the orders of the Young King of Qin and had to argue with you. In fact, in her heart... she didn't want to argue with you."

Xie Xuan's words made Liu Xunyi's eyes darken as she seemed to be in a trance. She murmured, "Everyone serves his own master. She...did nothing wrong."

"Since you know that she is just following orders, whether she deceived you or used you, it was not out of her heart, so why do you have to be so mean to her?" Whether it was intentional or unintentional, Xie Xuan slowly closed the door while speaking, making Xunzhen's figure completely disappear from Liu Xunyi's sight, "Xunyi, you have always been a person who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment. Since gratitude and resentment are clear, you should understand the principle that every grievance has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor. If you transfer your resentment towards the Young King of Qin to Xunzhen, it seems that it is not fair to her... "

Liu Xunyi was startled, and his chaotic mind gradually cleared up. He looked up at Xie Xuan, who had a look of regret on his face, and asked suspiciously, "Second Master Xie is acting strangely today. He is so protective of Xunzhen? And... you seem to have something else to say?"

……

(End of this chapter)