Chapter 139: New Year's Eve Change (I)

When Liu Xunyi returned to the Xianwang Mansion alone, the New Year's Eve banquet had not yet ended. From afar, he could still hear the bustling laughter of the disciples in the mansion, but at this moment, Liu Xunyi no longer had the interest to "not return until drunk".

Liu Xunyi looked lonely and dejected, his body staggering, his steps difficult, his brows furrowed, and his whole body filled with gloom.

Liu Xunyi's eyes kept on seeing the scenes that happened when he was with Luo Ningyu just now. Luo Ningyu's sad and choking words echoed in his ears. A variety of feelings gathered in his heart, and the myriad of thoughts made him upset.

Liu Xunyi knew that he would never like another woman besides Zhao Xin. He knew that Lin Fangda had deep feelings for Luo Ningyu and he must not steal her love. He also knew that his blunt rejection of Luo Ningyu was undoubtedly a wise move to cut off the emotional ties and the mess.

But no matter how wise it was, when Liu Xunyi thought of Luo Ningyu's heartbroken and pitiful appearance, he suddenly felt guilty and felt very uncomfortable.

Liu Xunyi returned to the Xianwang Mansion with a melancholy feeling. At this moment, Lin Fangda was not drinking with everyone in the mansion, but standing alone outside the mansion gate, staring at him with a serious expression.

"Brother?" Liu Xunyi was stunned at first, then he quickly put away the distress on his face and forced a smile, "Why are you here?"

"Where is Ningyu? Why didn't she come back with you?" Lin Fangda was not as friendly and enthusiastic as usual. Instead, there was a hint of gloom between his brows.

However, Liu Xunyi was restrained at the moment, so he did not notice Lin Fangda's abnormality. When he suddenly heard him mention Luo Ningyu, the smile on Liu Xunyi's face froze, and after a moment of silence, he casually said, "I am a little tired, but Ningyu still wants to hang out in the night market for a while. I saw someone behind her secretly protecting her, so I came back alone..."

When Liu Xunyi said this, he always avoided Lin Fangda's gaze intentionally or unintentionally. For some reason, he always felt that he owed Lin Fangda something.

Strangely, Lin Fangda did not ask Luo Ningyu questions as usual, but just nodded. Suddenly, he changed the subject and asked in a strange tone: "Xunyi, do you regard me as your elder brother?"

Liu Xunyi was cheered up. His mind was full of Luo Ningyu. When he suddenly heard Lin Fangda ask this, he subconsciously thought that Lin Fangda came to punish him because he had stolen her love.

Liu Xunyi raised his head abruptly and said righteously, "Big brother, you have been very kind to me. I not only regard you as my big brother, but also as my closest relative."

"Okay then!" Lin Fangda nodded heavily, his tone still heavy, "Since you treat me as your elder brother, shouldn't you treat me with sincerity?"

"Of course." Liu Xunyi responded without hesitation.

"In that case, I have something to ask you." Seeing Liu Xunyi's sincerity, Lin Fangda's expression suddenly became complicated. He stared at Liu Xunyi with a tangled gaze and said thoughtfully, "You must answer truthfully and don't lie to me in the slightest."

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi was more certain of Lin Fangda's intention, so he took the initiative to say, "Brother, I actually have some doubts about Ningyu..."

"That's not what I wanted to ask." Without waiting for Liu Xunyi to explain, Lin Fangda suddenly interrupted, "It's not about Ningyu, it's about you."

Lin Fangda stared at Liu Xunyi with his fierce eyes, as if he didn't want to miss any subtle expression on his face.

Liu Xunyi looked suspicious and smiled awkwardly: "It's winter and snowing heavily. Why do you and I stand in the snow and talk? Why don't we go back and sit by the fire, drink and talk?"

After saying that, Liu Xunyi was about to drag Lin Fangda into the mansion, but Lin Fangda suddenly grabbed his wrist with his backhand, shook his head slowly with a serious look, and said word by word: "No! Say it here! If you can't explain it to me clearly here, I'm afraid that after we go in later... I don't know how to help you."

Lin Fangda's words made Liu Xunyi suspicious. In his memory, Lin Fangda had never seemed so serious.

Liu Xunyi leaned over to look at Lin Fangda holding his hand, and chuckled, "Brother, what you said...why don't I understand?"

"Who are you anyway?"

Lin Fangda suddenly spoke, and just this one sentence made Liu Xunyi's heart tremble suddenly, and the thousands of thoughts that had just lingered in his mind disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Liu Xunyi stared straight at Lin Fangda with a deep gaze. Their eyes met and neither of them avoided looking away.

"What do you mean, brother?" Liu Xunyi asked calmly.

"Where are you from?" Lin Fangda asked quietly, "Where did you get your martial arts skills from?"

"Haven't I already told you about my origins?" Liu Xunyi pretended to be relaxed and said with a faint smile, "I am from Jiangling and was once a disciple of Fan Humen in Jiangling. I studied under the leader of Fan Humen, Zhao Tong. What's wrong with you, brother? Why are you suddenly asking these questions again? Could it be..." "Are you serious?" Lin Fangda suddenly interrupted.

Liu Xunyi hesitated under Lin Fangda's gaze. He really didn't want to take advantage of Lin Fangda's trust in him and continue to deceive him. But thinking of the heavy responsibility he shouldered, which was related to the safety of the Song Dynasty, the Han people's country, and Zhao Xin who was waiting for his triumphant return in Lin'an, Liu Xunyi had to continue to be cruel and conceal the truth.

Under the moonlit night, heavy snow was falling, scattering on the bodies of Liu Xunyi and Lin Fangda. The two brothers stood motionless on the steps in front of Prince Xian's mansion, allowing the goose-feather-like snowflakes to slowly cover their bodies, almost turning them into two snowmen.

Just like that, the two of them stared at each other in a stalemate. After an unknown amount of time, Liu Xunyi finally spoke slowly with a blank expression, "Every word is true. I dare not lie."

Seeing Liu Xunyi's personal promise, Lin Fangda's eyes once again showed a complicated look.

After a moment, Lin Fangda suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled Liu Xunyi into his arms. Liu Xunyi was surprised and subconsciously hugged Lin Fangda. The two grown men hugged each other tightly in the snow. Lin Fangda whispered in his ear: "Since you said it, I will believe it. No matter what happens later, I will stand with you!"

Liu Xunyi became more and more confused. Feeling Lin Fangda tightly holding his arm, he asked suspiciously, "Brother, what happened?"

"In fact, the Palace Master has never trusted you." Lin Fangda explained quickly, "Many people in the Palace think that you have unknown origins and that you have done everything you can to sneak into the Xianwang Palace for some purpose. But because you once saved my and Ningyu's lives, and because you went to the Western Regions to retrieve the Jingfenghuayu Tu for the Palace Master, we had to summon you into the Palace. But even so, the Palace Master has always been reserved about you, so that many things... don't let you interfere."

At this moment, Liu Xunyi finally figured out why he was unemployed during this period of time. It turned out that Luo Tianjin was deliberately guarding against him.

"So that's it..."

Although Liu Xunyi had expected this, he couldn't help but feel a little sad when he heard Lin Fangda say it himself, and his tone became a little lonely. He smiled bitterly and asked, "Since the mansion master doesn't believe me, it must be more than just idling me. I think... there must be something else behind it, right?"

Lin Fangda slowly let go of Liu Xunyi, nodded indignantly and said, "You are right. The Palace Master and Second Master Xie do not believe you, so they secretly sent Third Master Jiang to Jiangling to thoroughly investigate your background."

"Brother, are you talking about Jiang Yiwei, one of the seven heroes in the Xianwang Mansion?" Liu Xunyi asked in surprise. At the same time, he was also quickly thinking of a countermeasure in his mind.

Although Liu Xunyi used the identity of Fan Humen in Jiangling, he actually had nothing to do with Fan Humen. If Jiang Yiwei secretly visited Jiangling, he was afraid that his lies would be exposed soon.

"That's right." Lin Fangda didn't know what Liu Xunyi was thinking, and thought he was upset because Luo Tianjin didn't trust him, so he changed the subject and said, "Mr. Jiang San is not an ordinary person. Once he takes action, he will find out everything. That's why I asked about your background just now. I did doubt you before, especially your martial arts. How could it be taught by the mere Fan Humen?"

Liu Xunyi smiled bitterly and said, "The boxing and kicking I learned in Fan Humen were just some superficial skills. Later, I had a few good opportunities, so I learned all these martial arts." After that, Liu Xunyi's eyes moved, and he asked tentatively, "But Fan Humen was destroyed many years ago. I wonder where Mr. Jiang Sanye...can find me?"

"The mansion master originally didn't care about his disciple's origins. After all, there are many heroes in the martial arts world, and they never ask about their origins." Lin Fangda explained, "But you are too outstanding, with great martial arts skills and extraordinary intelligence, which has attracted the mansion master's attention and suspicion. In fact, even if you really concealed your identity, it is not a big deal. It's just that now is a time of trouble. If the mansion master knows that you have deceived someone, I am afraid he will also doubt the purpose of your entry into the mansion. Therefore, once the charges are confirmed, at the very least you will be expelled from the Xianwang Mansion, and at the worst..."

"What's more serious?"

"In serious cases, we will follow the rules of the Xianwang Mansion. Anyone who has bad intentions in the mansion will be shot to death by thousands of arrows!" Lin Fangda said this with great hesitation. Obviously, he didn't want to see Liu Xunyi really go this far.

Lin Fangda looked at Liu Xunyi, who had a serious expression, and then comforted him, "Since you haven't lied, there's no need to worry. Although the Palace Master has some doubts about you, he will never wrongly accuse a good person for no reason."

"Since the mansion lord already had suspicions about me when I entered the mansion, it must have taken him more than a day or two to investigate my background." Liu Xunyi's tone became a little strange as he looked elsewhere.

"Yes." Lin Fangda said frankly.

"Then why did you tell me everything now?" Liu Xunyi looked suspicious and asked tentatively, "And you made a special trip to wait for me outside the mansion? Could it be that... the mansion master ordered you to find me?"

"Exactly!"

"Why?"

"Because half an hour ago, Third Master Jiang... returned home!"

……

(End of this chapter)