Chapter 1137 There is a difference between intimacy and distance
Nothing happened that night, until the next morning.

Pan Yuyin came to the inner court as usual to check on Liu Xunyi's injuries, and was shocked to find three figures standing upright in front of the courtyard gate, facing the disciples of Jueqing Valley who were guarding the inner court. From a distance, it seemed like they were in confrontation.

However, when Pan Yuyin walked closer to take a look, she found that only the Jueqing Valley side was facing a formidable enemy. On the other hand, the three people on the opposite side not only did not show any arrogance, but were rather humble.

Among the three, the one on the left had a solemn expression and a tangled look in his eyes. He was Tang Xuan, one of the four guardians of Longxiang Mountain. The one on the right had a smile on his face and a calm expression. He was Si Wudao, another guardian of Longxiang Mountain.

Between the two was Li Haitang, the "Invincible Arrow" who was entrusted with an important task by the four guardians of Longxiang Mountain last night.

It is worth mentioning that among the three, Li Haitang is the youngest and has the lowest status, but at this moment, he stands straight between Tang Xuan and Si Wudao, even a half step ahead of the two. At the same time, Tang Xuan and Si Wudao both stand empty-handed, but Li Haitang holds a wooden box carefully in both hands, and looks respectful, just like a "gift-giving" posture.

"Brother Li, what are you doing..." Pan Yuyin and Li Haitang were very familiar with each other because they had accompanied Liu Xunyi to Mongolia to escort her bride. Seeing his strange behavior, they couldn't help but ask, "What are you holding in your arms?"

"Meet Miss Pan!"

Since Tang Xuan was standing nearby, Li Haitang did not dare to be rude. He first bowed slightly to Pan Yuyin, and then explained angrily: "This is a gift from the Holy Lord to Brother Liu, and he ordered me to deliver it personally. As for what treasure it is... hehe, I am not qualified to open it, so I don't know. But I weighed it, and it is probably jade..."

"Cough cough!"

Before Li Haitang finished speaking, Si Wudao suddenly coughed twice, as if to remind him not to joke around. He then turned to Pan Yuyin, clasped his hands together, and said in a sincere manner, "They said that Young Master Liu went to bed in the middle of the night and is still dreaming, so we are waiting here. If Miss Pan sees him later, please pass on a message for us..."

"I'm here to change the medicine for Brother Liu. If you have anything to say, go ahead and tell me!"

After all, Pan Yuyin is Pan Chuba's granddaughter. Longxiang Mountain has a grudge against her for killing her relatives. Although she has a gentle temperament, it does not mean that she can forgive everyone without any bottom line. The reason why she spoke softly to Li Haitang was because the two had shared hardships. As for the other people in Longxiang Mountain, she still had no good impression of them, so she rejected Si Wudao's request without thinking.

"The Valley Master has said that Miss Pan is not an outsider and does not need to report to the court before entering."

At Chang Wuhui's signal, the disciples of Jueqing Valley quickly made way for Pan Yuyin to enter.

"Master, Brother Liu and the Holy Lord seem to be... not getting along." After Pan Yuyin gradually disappeared from sight, Li Haitang could no longer suppress his inner doubts and asked without turning his head, "Based on the current situation, isn't it... a bit abrupt for us to come and give gifts?"

"shut up!"

Tang Xuan, who was worried, heard Li Haitang's criticism and became even more worried. He said angrily, "You should do whatever the Holy Lord says. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"

"Of course, I dare not question the Holy Lord's decision. I just think the timing is not right, and the method is... not very smart." Li Haitang said as he looked at the wooden box in his arms, muttering unwillingly, "Luoyang is prosperous, and the rare treasures in the Xianwang Mansion are countless, and now they all belong to Brother Liu..."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

"I want to say..." Li Haitang didn't dare to beat around the bush when she noticed that Tang Xuan was getting angrier. She could only bite the bullet and answer obediently, "I want to say that Brother Liu can get whatever he wants now. I'm worried that our gifts won't be appreciated..."

"Excuse me! It's obvious that you are afraid of being embarrassed!" Tang Xuan scolded, "This is a serious matter. Last night, the three guardians and I have explained everything to you clearly. Now, your master and the guardian are here to stand with you. Why are you still being so hypocritical?"

"Master, I'm not being pretentious. It's just that based on my understanding of Brother Liu, he shouldn't be a vain person." Li Haitang defended aggrievedly, "I can appeal to his emotions and reason, and even beg him, but giving gifts is really..."

"Traitor, you dare to talk back..."

"Only with a far-sighted vision can one be open-minded. Many things cannot be judged by appearances alone." Si Wudao interrupted the argument between the master and the disciple and said quietly, "If we want to convince Liu Xunyi to get rid of his grudge against Longxiang Mountain, we must first understand why he is dissatisfied with us. Only by prescribing the right medicine can we cure the disease."

Hearing this, Li Haitang was startled, as if he had some understanding. However, no matter how much he thought about it, he got nothing, and he was still confused: "Could it be that I misjudged Brother Liu's likes and dislikes, and giving gifts... can really be the right treatment?"

"The question now is not whether we can treat the disease, but whether we can get in." Suddenly, Tang Xuan's voice became a little weird, which made Si Wudao, who was very secretive, and Li Haitang, who was thoughtful, slightly stunned. "Humph! Liu Xunyi is not in a dream, but deliberately avoiding us."

At Tang Xuan's signal, Si Wudao and Li Haitang looked sideways subconsciously, only to see Teng Sanshi and Xiao Zhirou approaching from afar, both entering the inner court. Then, under Xie Xuan's enthusiastic guidance, Shaolin Abbot Xuanming, Kunlun Sect Master Yin Baimei, Kongtong Sect Master Zhonglimu, Hexi Qin Clan's Patriarch Qin Ku, and Shuzhong Tang Clan's General Manager Tang Yuan came in slowly, chatting and laughing with each other.

What's interesting is that all of these people entered the inner courtyard smoothly without exception, and when passing by the gate, they all cast strange looks at Tang Xuan and the other two, but no one took the initiative to say hello.

Everyone filed in, passing by Tang Xuan and the other two as if they saw them, and the scene became awkward for a moment.

Among them, the reaction of Tang Yuan, the general manager of the Tang Clan, was the most interesting.

He and Tang Xuan are brothers, and even their nicknames in the underworld are very similar. The younger brother Tang Yuan is good at using hidden weapons and is known as the "Thousand-Handed Shura", while the older brother Tang Xuan is also good at making hidden weapons and is known as the "Ghost Hand Rakshasa".

The brothers who once supported each other became enemies because of the dispute over the chief steward of the Tang Clan, and have come to the point where they have "never spoken to each other again until death".

In the eyes of his elder brother Tang Xuan, Tang Yuan was arrogant because of his favor and colluded with the elders of the Tang family to take away the position of the chief steward that originally belonged to him. He was selfish and shameless. In the eyes of his younger brother Tang Yuan, Tang Xuan never recognized the reality from beginning to end. After failing to seize power, he not only did not reflect on his mistakes, but left home in anger and joined the martial arts heresy to oppose the Tang family everywhere. He was completely unscrupulous and depraved.

Because the two brothers both harbored hatred for each other, when they passed each other and their eyes met, a chill burst out and murderous intent surged. If they were not in Danfeng Garden today, and if Xie Xuan and other Jianghu giants were not here, the Tang brothers would definitely turn against each other on the spot, or even fight.

Tang Xuan had his life on his shoulders, so he just glared at Tang Yuan fiercely with a sinister look without saying a word.

On the other hand, Tang Yuan first looked at Tang Xuan with disdain, and then when he stepped into the inner court, he said something insinuating: "As the saying goes, 'It is difficult to draw the bones of a tiger, and you can know a person's face but not his heart'. Although Lord Xie has a generous personality, he must be very careful in making friends, and beware of being corrupted by the company of bad people."

Xie Xuan was very smart. Of course he could tell that Tang Yuan was taking the opportunity to mock Tang Xuan and the other two, so he just smiled but did not say anything.

"Master..."

Li Haitang was worried that Tang Xuan would not be able to bear the humiliation, and wanted to comfort him quietly, but was interrupted by Tang Xuan in a deep voice: "No need to say more, your master will not be on the same level as a shameless thief."

Having said that, it was not difficult to tell from Tang Xuan's slightly heavy breathing, his slightly rising and falling chest, and his clenched and crackling fists that he was already filled with anger because of Tang Yuan.

Just like that, Tang Xuan and the other two continued to stand in front of the courtyard gate, each with their own thoughts. As the sun rose to high in the sky, Danfeng Garden gradually became lively. People passing by looked at them sideways, adding an invisible pressure to the three of them.

The strange silence lasted for about an hour, and then a noisy sound of talking and laughing could be heard from the inner court again.

A moment later, Xie Xuan and Teng Sanshi, with happy faces, escorted Xuan Ming, Yin Baimei, Zhong Limu, Tang Yuan, Qin Ku out of the inner court on the left and right. Xiao Zhirou and Pan Yuyin followed behind, whispering to each other, seemingly discussing Liu Xunyi's injuries.

"I have been down the mountain for many days, and there are many things to do in the sect. It is not appropriate for me to stay for long. It is time to go back home." When he arrived at the door, Yin Baimei was the first to bow and say goodbye to Xie Xuan and Teng Sanshi. "Now that the important matter has been completed, Alliance Master Teng and Palace Master Xie do not need to see me off!"

After that, Yin Baimei cast a slightly expectant look at Xiao Zhirou, and his words were vaguely mixed with a hint of earnestness: "Valley Master Xiao, if you have free time in the future, please remember to come to Kunlun Sect as a guest. I am very willing to visit often with Valley Master Xiao and the young talents of Jueqing Valley."

How could Xiao Zhirou not know what Yin Baimei was thinking? Ever since he learned that Xiao Zhirou was a disciple of Ye Tong and that Jueqing Valley and Kunlun Sect were of the same lineage, he had been thinking about winning over Jueqing Valley to "recognize their ancestry" in order to strengthen the foundation of Kunlun Sect.

It's a pity that the flower is willing but the water is merciless. No matter how Yin Baimei tries to get close to him, Xiao Zhirou remains unmoved and her attitude towards Kunlun Sect has always been lukewarm.

"Master Yin, why are you in such a hurry to go back?" Seeing that Xiao Zhirou was slow to respond, Xie Xuan quickly changed the subject to avoid embarrassment, "Why don't you stay in Luoyang City for a while longer? First, I can fulfill my hospitality as a host, and second, Xunyi can thank the senior for his help."

"Thank you, Lord, for being so polite!" Tang Yuan said with a smile, "Young Master Liu's injuries have not yet healed and he urgently needs to rest. How can we bear to continue to disturb him?"

"Manager Tang is so considerate. I want to thank you on behalf of my grandson." Teng Sanshi bowed his hands in response, "You just saw that my grandson's physique is different from that of ordinary people. He didn't take such a serious injury seriously at all. He slept for a few hours and his internal injuries have healed. I expect that within ten days or half a month, Xunyi will be as strong as ever."

"Young Master Liu has powerful internal strength and a physique far superior to that of ordinary people. We admire him greatly!" Zhong Limu said with emotion, "It is a blessing from heaven that Alliance Leader Teng has such a grandson. We can only envy him!"

"He is my grandson, and he is also the offspring of you martial arts masters." Teng Sanshi waved his hand with great pride and said loudly, "Master Zhongli, please treat Xunyi as your own grandson. If he does anything wrong in the future, you can teach him a lesson in person without showing any mercy!"

"Haha... Alliance Leader Teng is joking!"

Although Xie Xuan and Teng Sanshi tried their best to retain them, the leaders of each faction, except Qin Ku, were determined to leave as soon as possible.

With warm greetings, Xuanming and his companions left one after another. Seeing their reluctant farewell and their satisfied expressions, it was clear that these people had just had a good chat with Liu Xunyi in the inner court.

It seems that with Qingfeng's death, the martial arts world has changed dramatically. These old martial artists who are good at changing with the wind have reached a kind of tacit understanding that can only be understood but not expressed in words with the current "new martial arts elites" and a new martial arts force centered on Liu Xunyi, which does not exist in name but has actually formed.

After today's farewell, the former martial arts world has become history. What are the six major sects and four great families? What are the orthodox martial arts and the heretical martial arts? What are the martial arts leaders and the twelve heroes? They have already won, lost, died, and escaped...

From now on, anyone who is a little smarter will probably never mention the "old almanac" again, so as not to offend the taboos of the "new forces".

Glory cannot be redeemed, just like the dead cannot be resurrected. The long-standing pattern of the underworld has now been reshuffled. Those who are ignorant of the times and stick to the old rules will only have a dead end. Only those who adapt to the times and follow the trend can be invincible.

Those people who just gathered in the inner court, and the factions behind them, have undoubtedly laid a new pattern for the future of the Central Plains martial arts world, and they... are all insiders.

Those who have not joined the game, not counting foreign tribes, are either like Jinjianwu, who are powerful and have formed their own faction. Or like Qingcheng, Emei and Jiangnan Lu Mansion who left yesterday, they have hidden ulterior motives and it is difficult to distinguish between friends and enemies. Or like Longxiangshan, who was "banished to the cold palace" by Liu Xunyi early on and was excluded from the plan from the beginning.

Obviously, Yun Zhuiyue, who has always been arrogant, is willing to humble himself today and even shamelessly send people to deliver gifts, which shows that Longxiang Mountain still has fighting spirit and is unwilling to be eliminated.

……

(End of this chapter)