Chapter 1128: Stop at the End

"Who's sneaking around?"

At night, in the villa where Xunzhen was staying, Abaolu, who was on night patrol, suddenly saw a dark shadow standing outside Xunzhen's room. His eyes changed immediately, and he shouted softly. He quickly stepped forward, drew his sword, and in the blink of an eye, he was behind the man.

"it's me!"

"Liu Xunyi?"

When the black shadow slowly turned around, a handsome face that was still a little haggard was reflected in the moonlight. Abaolu, who was full of murderous intent, was stunned at first, and then slowed down his pace, but the scimitar in his hand showed no intention of putting it back into the sheath.

"Why are you here?" Abaolu seemed to be particularly surprised by Liu Xunyi's appearance. He was at a loss for words for a moment, "What... are you doing here?"

"Xunzhen she..."

"Are you looking for Xunzhen?" Abaolu glanced at the window frame where the candlelight was flickering, and said in a rather unfriendly tone, "It's late at night, she's asleep."

"I have something important to do..."

"Of course you have something to ask her." Abaolu interrupted Liu Xunyi's questioning with a sneer, "The great hero Liu never comes to see her unless he has something to ask."

"What do you mean?" Abaolu's sudden hostility made Liu Xunyi a little confused. "Could it be that my forgiveness of the Yuan family father and son...has always been bothering you?"

"How dare you! You are the deputy leader appointed by the young king of Qin. Even if you worship the Yuan family father and son as your ancestors, it has nothing to do with me." Abaolu said sarcastically, "But I want to remind you that although the lives of the Yuan family father and son are in your hands, Xunzhen and I are not under your jurisdiction, and you cannot order us around."

"To be called upon to do something?" Liu Xunyi was even more puzzled. "Abaolu, do you have any misunderstandings about me? Why are there so many resentments in your words..."

"I have no relationship with you, so why would I hold a grudge against you? I just..." At this point, Abaolu suddenly paused, pondered for a moment, and then changed the subject impatiently, "Forget it! Forget it! Go back!"

"Xunzhen she..."

"She's tired!" Abaolu's indignant tone seemed to contain dissatisfaction with Liu Xunyi, but due to some reasons, he couldn't express it clearly. "You also saw what happened today. Yuan Ting, that bastard, dared to coerce the eldest lady, and not only did you not punish him, but promoted him to the leader of the Yuan Clan. Humph! After this incident, Xunzhen was exhausted physically and mentally, how could she have the leisure to deal with you? Don't forget, she is just a weak woman, not like you and me, who are five big and three strong men. She can't stand such a toss."

Abaolu's words were full of hidden meanings, which made the meticulous Liu Xunyi suddenly realize and feel guilty. After all, Xunzhen not only saved his life, but also reshaped him. On the other hand, Liu Xunyi, from the aggressive negotiations to the treatment of Yuan Xiao and his son, almost stood on the opposite side of Xunzhen, criticizing him everywhere and showing no mercy.

Even so, Xunzhen still tolerated and gave in to him again and again for the sake of the overall situation. Although Xunzhen's tolerance was to some extent to imprison Liu Xunyi, judging from the facts, Liu Xunyi's vigilance and calculations against Xunzhen were indeed a bit harsh.

"Without Xunzhen's help, how could you have overthrown Qingfeng? And you wouldn't have been as successful as you are today." Abaolu stared at Liu Xunyi, who seemed to be thinking about something, with contemptuous eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Xunzhen didn't allow us to say some unpleasant things to save your dignity, and I don't want to disobey her orders. But don't go too far! Don't talk about deceiving or taking advantage of me... At least before today, Xunzhen didn't owe you a penny. On the contrary, you owe her countless things."

"I……"

"If you still have a conscience, you should care about whether she was injured by Yuan Ting and the severity of her injuries. Instead of treating her as a servant who can be summoned and dismissed at will, disregarding her feelings and questioning her in the dark!"

"I……"

Every word Abaolu said was heart-wrenching, and Liu Xunyi, who was feeling guilty, felt mixed emotions and was speechless for a moment.

Abaolu was right. Liu Xunyi came late at night not just out of concern for Xunzhen's injury.

There were three reasons. First, Liu Xunyi wanted to ask Xunzhen about Wu Shuang and Master Kongsheng to help Xiao Zhirou get rid of a worry. Second, Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen were unhappy today because of the matter between Yuan Xiao and his son. After thinking it over, he planned to explain a few more words to try to eliminate the grudge. Third, under the instigation of Tang Afu, Liu Xunyi intended to show his goodwill to Xunzhen.

But even so, in Liu Xunyi's heart, he still had no idea that Xunzhen might be "hurt" or "frightened" because of Yuan Ting's hostage-taking. He always compared Xunzhen to a powerful opponent who was scheming and omnipotent, and imagined her to be an "indestructible body" who had gone through thousands of trials and tribulations like himself, and was even more indestructible than himself, ignoring the indisputable fact that she was just a weak woman.

Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi, who realized it belatedly, couldn't help but realize that his actions were somewhat inhumane and even cold-blooded.

"I know Xunzhen's attitude towards you as the deputy sect leader very well. If you insist on meeting her, she... will definitely not reject you." Abaolu seemed to have gotten rid of the frustration in his heart, so his expression relaxed and he said helplessly, "Although I don't want you to disturb her, but..."

"No buts!" Liu Xunyi said hurriedly, "Actually, I... I was just taking a walk in the garden when I had nothing to do, and I happened to pass by here."

"But you just said..."

"Oh! I just wanted to ask her when to let Yuan Xiao return to the border?" Liu Xunyi evaded the question casually, "Just now I thought, there is no need to mobilize a large force for such a small matter, Yuan Xiao and I can just discuss it."

"Sure?"

"Of course! Of course!"

Liu Xunyi felt a little embarrassed by Abaolu's skeptical gaze. He responded hastily, exchanged a few words, and then quickly fled.

Watching Liu Xunyi's slightly thin back gradually disappear into the darkness, Abaolu turned his head with a frown on his face and looked at the door that was always closed. A hint of entanglement appeared in the depths of his eyes. After hesitating for a long time, he finally sighed and walked away with his head down.

In the dead silent room, the dim candlelight made everything look like a dream. Xunzhen, who should have gone to bed early, was leaning against the door quietly, his eyes seemed to be filled with thousands of thoughts.

I don't know when? I don't know why? She was choking with sobs and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

……

"Don't agree?"

When Liu Xunyi walked out of Xunzhen's courtyard quickly, a doubtful voice sounded quietly. Then, a black shadow floated out like a ghost and followed behind Liu Xunyi slowly.

The person who came was Tang Afu.

"It's not that we don't get along, but... we haven't met." Liu Xunyi was not surprised by Tang Afu's appearance. He didn't even stop walking and laughed at himself, "Abaolu is right. Maybe... I was too impatient."

"According to the current situation, Xunzhen will not abandon you for a while. As for Wu Shuang... I don't think he will leave without saying goodbye." Tang Afu said faintly, "You don't have to rush. Even if you want to help the Valley Master and Granny Taohua find the whereabouts of Master Kongsheng, you don't have to rush tonight." Hearing this, Liu Xunyi's mind moved, and he suddenly stopped, turned to look at Tang Afu who was hesitant to speak, and asked suspiciously: "Is there something wrong?"

"Something's going on!" Tang Afu couldn't deny it. "Qin Ku sent someone to tell you that he has a 'gift' for you."

"Gift?" Liu Xunyi looked curious, "What gift?"

"I don't know." Tang Afu shook his head slowly, "But the Qin family's visitor said with certainty that you must go."

"So mysterious?"

After an incense stick of time, Liu Xunyi and Tang Afu came to the courtyard where Qin Ku stayed. At this time, Qin Ku and Qin Da, Qin Er, Qin San and other Qin family disciples gathered in the courtyard, drinking and playing with money, it was very lively.

"Looking for clothes? Come quickly!"

As soon as he saw Liu Xunyi, Qin Ku greeted him warmly, but he did not go forward to greet him. He still had one foot on the stool and the other on the stone table. Under the eager and excited gaze of Qin Da, Qin Er, Qin San and others, he raised his hands high above his head and shook the dice cup excitedly, making a series of clattering sounds that touched the hearts of gamblers.

"Bet big or small, buy and leave!"

"boom!"

The dice cup fell on the table with a dull thud, and the noisy scene suddenly became silent. The people surrounding the table all stared with their bloodshot eyes at the dice cup that Qin Ku slowly lifted up, without blinking.

"Three sixes! Leopard! They take all sizes! Hahahaha..."

Accompanied by Qin Ku's almost hoarse roar, Qin Da and the others at the table stretched their necks and glared, then beat their chests and stamped their feet, feeling extremely annoyed and uttering wails.

"Congratulations on getting rich! Congratulations on getting rich! Thank you all for taking care of me, hahahaha..."

Under the angry and annoyed gazes of Qin Da and his companions, the smiling Qin Ku swept away the piles of loose change on the table like a whirlwind. His smug look as he danced with joy did not show the dignity of a leader at all, but just a street gambler.

"Master, what are you doing?" Seeing Qin Ku pocket the silver, Qin Da couldn't help but speak up to stop him, "You can't just win the money and leave!"

"That's right! That's right!" Qin Da spoke up for justice, and immediately attracted the support of everyone around him.

"I've just been busy collecting money and rolling the dice. I've worked so hard to earn a few coins. I don't think you'll be so stingy as to make me lose it all, right?" Facing the complaints of the crowd, Qin Ku said nice things, but his hands became more and more agile. "As the saying goes, 'You don't have to lose if you gamble'. You're unlucky today. You can play again tomorrow."

"Master, it doesn't seem to be in accordance with the rules to leave after winning the money..."

"What bullshit rules? My rules are the rules!" Seeing that the people around him were not giving in, Qin Ku simply put on the airs of the head of the Qin family. He sneered at the criticisms of the disciples and scolded them harshly, "If you keep going like this, you might lose your pants!"

"If you lose, you'll be naked..."

"Bah! You don't mind being embarrassed, but I am afraid of being laughed at. At the very least, I am still the head of the Qin family. If I don't even give you a pair of pants to wear, won't outsiders call me stingy? And... with your clumsy tricks, you are not allowed to play with money with outsiders in the future. Our Qin family can't afford to lose face!"

After saying that, Qin Ku glared at the Qin disciples who dared to be angry but not to speak, and then approached Liu Xunyi with a playful smile, put his arm around his shoulders without saying anything, looked him up and down with ill intentions, and jokingly said: "Let me see if Qingfeng hurt your vitals..."

"Brother Qin! Brother Qin!" Before Qin Ku finished speaking, Liu Xunyi, who felt embarrassed, quickly changed the subject, "Why are you in such a hurry to find me?"

"Right, right, right!" Qin Ku, who was still in high spirits, suddenly came to his senses and nodded repeatedly, "I have a huge 'gift' that I'm keeping for you to handle."

"Gift? Tricky?" Liu Xunyi was completely confused. "Why am I getting more confused the more I listen?"

"Over there!" Qin Ku pointed to a dim and dilapidated woodshed in the corner. "Since yesterday, I have 'greeted' you four or five times, but 'greetings' are 'greetings'. How to deal with it... is up to you to decide."

"This……"

Encouraged by Qin Ku's mysterious gaze, Liu Xunyi looked at Tang Afu, who was also puzzled, and walked towards the woodshed.

"Go unlock the woodshed door and bring two lanterns!"

"As ordered!"

At Qin Ku's command, several Qin disciples quickly stopped joking around and got busy.

"Brother Qin, what's in your gourd..."

"Hey!" Qin Ku waved his hand lightly at Liu Xunyi, contrary to his usual behavior, and said with a meaningful smile, "Xunyi, in front of that person, I'm afraid it's not my turn to agree to the name 'Brother Qin'!"

"hiss!"

With just these words, Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly changed, and a face that was both friendly and familiar, yet cold and unfamiliar, emerged in his mind. At the same time, his feet sank, and he could no longer move forward even a single step.

"squeak!"

The copper lock was removed, and the door of the woodshed opened. At the same time, two Qin disciples holding lanterns stepped into the darkness. Two halos of light quickly spread out, illuminating everything in the woodshed in the blink of an eye.

Following closely behind was a pungent smell mixed with dampness, mold, feces, urine, blood and pus, which made people feel nauseous.

However, Liu Xunyi had no time to think about other things at this moment, because his eyes were already occupied by a terrifying face with disheveled hair, blood stains all over it, and swollen to the point of being unrecognizable.

The man in the woodshed, whose life was hanging by a thread, was none other than Qin Wei, the "Marquis of Tianji", a third-rank official in the court of the current Song Dynasty, who had shared joys and sorrows with Liu Xunyi for more than twenty years and who later tried every means to put him to death!
……

(End of this chapter)