Chapter 170: Breaking the Tiger's Courage
"Haha... Lord Luo really knows what I mean, and he really sent little brother Liu to help me... No, no, now he should be called Sect Master Liu. On New Year's Eve, at the Fengming Tower in Luoyang City, Sect Master Liu single-handedly challenged the Golden Sword Sect with a sword. This incident has long been famous and has shaken the world. I admire you! I admire you!"

On the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month, Liu Xunyi led Xu Heng, Tang Cong, Liao Chuan, and Liao Hai to the Pan residence in Yingchuan. Other disciples of Jingmen followed secret orders and disguised themselves as coolie boatmen, coming in batches by water.

Early in the morning, Pan Chuba personally led the Pan family to welcome Liu Xunyi and his party outside the mansion gate.

The Pan family had just experienced a series of disasters not long ago, and everyone was worried and sad, and had no appetite. Today, Liu Xunyi came here on orders, which was like a timely help to the Pan family. Pan Chuba also showed a rare look of joy on his face.

"Master Pan, I am here to help you on the orders of the Lord of the Mansion. Before I left, the Lord of the Mansion specifically told me to obey Master Pan's orders after I arrive in Yingchuan." Liu Xunyi smiled and bowed. Since he had been here once before, he was quite familiar with the Pan family. After a few pleasantries, they stopped talking too much.

"Please!"

Pan Chuba's expression straightened up, and he took the initiative to grab Liu Xunyi's arm and enthusiastically invited him into the mansion.

Inside the hall, everyone sat down as host and guest, and the eldest lady personally poured tea and water for Liu Xunyi and the others.

"A few days ago, Lord Luo sent me a secret letter saying that Patriarch Liu has agreed to a fake marriage with Yuyin, and is willing to fight against the Hexi Qin family on behalf of the Pan family." Pan Chuba said with a smile, "Patriarch Liu is really a chivalrous man. He does not avoid life and death disasters for the sake of our Pan family and becomes the enemy of the Qin family. Here, please accept my greetings first!" After saying that, Pan Chuba actually stood up and bowed deeply to Liu Xunyi.

"I absolutely don't deserve it!" Liu Xunyi said in fear, "My master and Mr. Pan are close friends regardless of age. The affairs of the Pan family are the affairs of the Xianwang Mansion. As a disciple of the Xianwang Mansion, I should take it as my responsibility and do my best to serve him."

"Okay!" Pan Chuba nodded with satisfaction, then turned to look at Pan Yuyin who had a complicated expression on his face, and said with a meaningful smile, "If I could really have a grandson-in-law like Sect Master Liu, what else could I ask for? Haha..."

How could Liu Xunyi not know Pan Chuba's feelings? However, he had already decided on Zhao Xin in his heart, and he would never tolerate any other woman except her. Even though Pan Yuyin was a graceful lady with both talent and beauty, in Liu Xunyi's eyes, she was just a jade to be admired from afar, worthy of respect and admiration. Apart from that, he had no other thoughts.

Moreover, Pan Yuyin and Liu Xunyi met by chance and had no feelings for each other. The reason why she agreed to this matter was also for the sake of the overall situation of the Pan family, and she was willing to sacrifice her own reputation.

"Although it's a fake marriage, in order to conceal our true identity, the wedding ceremony must be meticulous and detailed." Pan Wen said with a wry smile, "Not only that, but we also have to send out wedding invitations to invite the prominent people in Yingchuan City to attend this wedding. After all, our Pan family is a well-known family in Yingchuan. If we don't make some noise, I'm afraid that the Hexi Qin family will not recognize us in the future."

"Yes!" The eldest lady smiled and said, "Once you get married in front of the world and your relatives, you will be husband and wife in name only. So..." At this point, the eldest lady couldn't help but look embarrassed. She turned to look at Pan Yuyin with a complicated expression and said, "So my daughter is considered to be married once. After this, Master Liu will part ways with Yuyin. Although you are husband and wife in name only, for Yuyin..."

Liu Xunyi looked suspiciously at Mrs. Pan Wenhe who was hesitant and hesitant to speak, and asked, "If you two have anything to say, please feel free to speak."

Pan Chuba stared at Pan Wen with dissatisfaction, and continued, "What they meant was that they hoped that Master Liu could write a divorce letter in advance, so that Yuyin could be free in the future. I think people in the martial arts world should not be too particular about trivial matters. There is no need to go through so much trouble, but they insisted..."

"Of course!" Liu Xunyi agreed readily, then changed the subject and said, "But if I write a divorce letter, it means that Miss Pan has acknowledged this marriage. Will it affect her reputation..."

"Hey! Now that things have come to this, in front of outsiders, Miss Pan has long been the Sect Master's wife. If the Sect Master does not write this divorce letter, won't it make Miss Pan embarrassed?" Tang Cong smiled evilly, rolled his eyes, and jokingly said, "Could it be... that the Sect Master does not want to cut off ties with Miss Pan in the future?"

"Nonsense!" Liu Xunyi scolded in a low voice, "This is a last resort. Miss Pan sacrificed herself for others, and she is innocent. Stop talking nonsense!"

After that, Liu Xunyi stood up and bowed to Pan Yuyin, saying, "Don't worry, Miss Pan. Today, I will not only write a divorce letter, but also leave a signed document to explain the whole story. When Miss Pan meets her true love in the future, she will give him this document to read. Then everything will be clear, and this will prove Miss Pan's innocence."

"Master Liu is indeed very thoughtful." Pan Wen was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. "With this document, my daughter can prove her innocence in front of her future husband's family. Good! Very good!"

"Then I'll leave a letter and sign it as well." Pan Yuyin said gratefully, "To prove Brother Liu's innocence!"

"Okay!" Liu Xunyi agreed happily.

Seeing that Liu Xunyi and Pan Yuyin hit it off immediately, a hint of disappointment inadvertently flashed across Pan Chuba's eyes.

The big thing was settled. Xu Heng, who had been silent all the time, quietly listening to Liu Xunyi and Pan Yuyin discussing the "marriage", looked at everyone who was so happy, and a hint of impatience flashed in his eyes.

After a long time, Xu Heng finally couldn't hold back his boredom anymore and asked calmly, "May I ask Mr. Pan Ba, how are you going to deal with the Donghu Gang?"

Hearing this, Pan Chuba was startled, and then cast a suspicious look at Liu Xunyi, as if asking what he meant.

"What the mansion master meant is that the East Lake Gang has gone too far. If we only give them a small punishment and a big warning, it will probably not be effective. Leaving them in Yingchuan will sooner or later be a disaster for the Pan family. So we have to get rid of them as soon as possible." Liu Xunyi explained, "I have secretly recruited 300 disciples of the Jing Sect to sneak into Yingchuan and hide them in various places in the city. I plan to choose a day to lead the disciples of the Jing Sect to attack the East Lake Gang's lair and set a big fire to burn everything in the East Lake Gang to prevent them from reviving and causing endless troubles." Hearing this, Pan Wen nodded excitedly and said, "That's really... "Good! If we don't uproot the East Lake Gang this time, our future will be difficult. Master Liu, you don't know that since the East Lake Gang seized our Pan Huai ship dealer, they have driven away all our original partners and replaced all the important positions with Li Lao Hu's cronies. They said they only took up half, but in fact they took up all. To be honest, even I... haven't been to the dock for several days, and it's rare to see the account books and books. Now we have no idea whether the ship dealer is profitable or not, and how much profit it is. We have become outsiders. Alas!"

Xu Heng thought as he listened, and said quietly, "I heard that there are more than a thousand people in the East Lake Gang. If we force our way in with only three hundred brothers...even if we can win a great victory in the end, I'm afraid we will pay a very painful price."

"Don't worry. Although the East Lake Gang claims to have over a thousand members, most of them are street bullies. They are rude but not very good at martial arts. They used to be in small groups, but later they succumbed to the tyranny of Li Lao Hu and had to join the East Lake Gang. In fact, there are only a handful of people who are truly loyal to Li Lao Hu." Pan Yun explained hurriedly, "When Li Lao Hu was around, they still had some reservations, but once Li Lao Hu was gone, they were all scattered. These rabble are all for money and will never dare to fight to the death. So, when the time comes, just show them a little color, and they will be scared to death."

"What is a mob?" Xu Heng seemed to disagree with this, and shook his head slowly, "They have no other skills, but they still have the ability to bully others and use their numbers to bully the few. Don't forget, in the old nest of the East Lake Gang, there are gold and silver treasures that they have accumulated over many years of hard work. If we set it on fire, wouldn't it cut off their financial resources? Destroy their family business? Once these misers are driven to red eyes, it is not impossible for them to fight to the death. What's more, that is the territory of the East Lake Gang. They must be very familiar with the terrain, layout, secret rooms, secret compartments, and mechanisms there. We only have 300 disciples, and we have to fight with fewer people. If we rush around in an unfamiliar place, what if we accidentally fall into an ambush or a mechanism, wouldn't we be caught in a trap? Although the martial arts of the disciples of the Jing Sect are far from comparable to those of the mob, a head-on confrontation is not a foolproof plan after all. This matter... please consider it carefully, Master."

Seeing Xu Heng making things difficult for Liu Xunyi again, Tang Cong, Liao Chuan, and Liao Hai suddenly looked embarrassed. This kind of deliberate sabotage was not the first time. On the night of the Lantern Festival, Xu Heng temporarily gave in because of Di Mo's intimidation, but in fact, in his heart, he had always been resentful of Liu Xunyi.

One is the former sect leader, and the other is the current sect leader. It would not be appropriate for Tang Cong and his companions to help either of them, so they had to pretend to be deaf and dumb and remain silent.

Liu Xunyi pondered and said, "If that's the case, then we should try to lure Li Lao Hu out alone. As long as the East Lake Gang is leaderless, they will surely fall into chaos."

"Good idea." Xu Heng nodded, then raised his eyebrows and asked, "But I wonder how the Sect Master plans to 'lure the tiger away from the mountain'?"

Facing Xu Heng's aggressive pressure, a sense of oppression gradually spread in the hall. Everyone in the Pan family looked at Liu Xunyi and Xu Heng in astonishment, who were seemingly in harmony but actually at odds with each other. For a moment, no one knew how to smooth things over.

Liu Xunyi slowly put down the teacup, stared straight at Xu Heng, and asked softly: "Even if the East Lake Gang has more than a thousand disciples, Li Lao Hu can't always bring them with him to protect him all day long. There will always be times when he is alone. Such a small matter..."

"A small matter?" Xu Heng sneered. "I received news that before we set foot in Yingchuan, Li Lao Hu had issued a strict order to recall all the gang members to their old nest and to guard it strictly in preparation for war. It seems that Li Lao Hu has already realized that we are not here with good intentions, so he is now as cautious as facing a formidable enemy. I heard that this man has always been cunning, and I expect that he will stay at home during this period of time and wait for the situation to change. How could he be so foolish as to leave his impregnable old nest and go out alone to fall into a trap?"

Hearing this, Pan Chuba smiled awkwardly and agreed, "That's true. Sect Master Liu slaughtered Fengming Tower and annihilated the Golden Sword Sect. Now he is famous and renowned. Li Lao Hu had heard the news a long time ago and knew that Sect Master Liu was about to become my grandson-in-law. He naturally expected that you would seek revenge on him for the Pan family. He was already scared out of his wits by Sect Master Liu's reputation, so how could he dare to challenge you again? Therefore, Li Lao Hu recalled all his disciples early on and guarded the place day and night, intending to...stay put."

"If Li Lao Hu refuses to come out, then we can only attack them head-on." Liao Chuan said in a deep voice, "But since they have made sufficient preparations, if we attack head-on... I'm afraid we will be the ones who suffer in the end."

For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Xunyi, as if waiting for him to give a final answer.

Liu Xunyi smiled slightly, looked at Xu Heng meaningfully, and said, "Brother Xu said it well. Li Lao Hu is always cunning. If he knows that we are here with ill intentions, he will definitely hide and wait for the situation to change."

"In that case, does the sect leader have no solution?" Xu Heng's words were full of sarcasm.

Liu Xunyi was not angry, still calm and composed, smiling lightly, "How about I make a bet with Brother Xu? If I can lead Li Lao Hu out of the East Lake Gang... then Brother Xu will lead people to do the hard work of clearing out the remnants and setting fire to the gang. I have a rare chance to relax for half a day, so I will just brew a pot of tea in the Pan Mansion and wait for good news. How do you think?"

Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed. Xu Heng was even more suspicious. He pondered, "What if the Sect Master can't lure him out? Do you still want to go alone and massacre the East Lake Gang? In this case, even if you agree, I'm afraid we won't be able to explain ourselves to the Palace Master when we return."

"Don't worry, Brother Xu. Although I don't know my own strength, I'm not stupid enough to think I can fight a thousand people alone." Liu Xunyi shook his head and smiled, "If I can't lure Li Lao Hu out of the Donghu Gang, then I'm too weak and incompetent to continue to lead Jingmen. This matter will be left to Brother Xu to decide, and I will follow your orders. After meeting the Lord of the Mansion, I will take the initiative to resign and hand over the position of the Lord of Jingmen to you. How do you think?"

Xu Heng was stunned, a hint of ecstasy flashed across his eyes, and he asked, "Are you serious?"

"If you lie, I will strike you with lightning! But before that, you must all follow my orders and not disobey me!"

"Okay! Okay!" Xu Heng nodded excitedly and agreed without hesitation, "You and I will make this a deal, and no one can regret it!"

"A gentleman's word!"

"Hurry up and whip your horse!"

……

(End of this chapter)