Chapter 175 Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron
"Don't...don't kill me..."

Li Lao Hu panicked and threatened: "Now that things have come to this, even if you kill me, it will not do you any good. Instead, it will attract the revenge of other disciples of the East Lake Clan. Before coming here, I have already told them to set up a secret sentry every 300 meters along the way. As long as I show any abnormality, they can come to rescue me immediately."

Liao Chuan said coldly: "We have just dealt with all the spies you have deployed. Now no one knows that you are in Gaosheng Inn, let alone your situation. As for the disciples of the East Lake Gang, I am afraid they are still in their lair, eating and drinking while waiting for your good news. Today, no one can save you!"

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Li Lao Hu's heart instantly sank to the bottom. He looked at Liu Xunyi, whose eyes were full of murderous intent, and thought of a way out. He begged bitterly: "It was the Hexi Qin family! They were behind the scenes instructing me to deal with the Pan family. I was helpless, I was forced... Please don't kill me, I can give you money, all my money... I will return everything I took, and I don't want anything from the Pan family..."

"Go on!" Liu Xunyi asked coldly, "How did Hexi Qin Clan instruct you?"

When Li Lao Hu saw Liu Xunyi give in, he immediately showed excitement and said in a hurry: "Do you remember Li Bao? He was my disappointing brother, and he was killed by the Qin family. Later, I made inquiries and learned that there was only one cripple in the Hexi Qin family, and that person was called... Qin Tianjiu. Yes, it was Qin Tianjiu who killed Li Bao, and he has personally admitted it. After he killed Li Bao, he deliberately left your bill of lame, intending to put the blame for Li Bao's death on you, and then to sow discord between me and you, and to use me to kill you."

"But you didn't fall for it." Liu Xunyi continued, "Instead, you used the bill of lading to attack the Pan family and took the opportunity to seize half of the Pan family's assets. Right?"

"Yes." Li Lao Hu regretted deeply and kept admitting his mistakes, "I was obsessed with money at that time, I was confused for a moment!" After that, he hurriedly raised his head and defended himself, "But I only wanted money, not life. Later, Qin Tianjiu took the initiative to find me and threatened me to help him get rid of Pan Wu. I had no choice..." Li Lao Hu did not continue, because he knew what happened next, and Liu Xunyi already knew it clearly.

"You are afraid of the Qin family in Hexi, but aren't you afraid of Prince Xian's Mansion?" Xu Heng said angrily.

"I'm afraid!" Li Lao Hu sighed helplessly, "I'm afraid of both of you two. Yingchuan is just a tiny place, and my Donghu Gang is like an ant in front of you, so I dare not offend anyone, and I can't afford to offend anyone. But I had no other choice at the time. If I didn't agree to Qin Tianjiu's request, he would make my Donghu Gang disappear within ten days."

"Why would it take ten days to get rid of the Donghu Gang?" Tang Cong sneered, "A few hours will be enough."

“Yes, yes, yes!” Li Lao Hu nodded repeatedly, “At that time, I was also afraid of offending the Xianwang Mansion, but Qin Tianjiu said that the Hexi Qin family would protect me, so I… I was also helpless, everything is Qin Tianjiu’s fault…”

"Oh?" Liu Xunyi's eyes lit up and he asked, "Then when you see Qin Tianjiu again, will you recognize him?"

"I can recognize him even if he turns to ashes!" Li Lao Hu said indignantly, "He hurt me so badly, but in the end he just walked away. I can't swallow this anger."

"Okay!" Liu Xunyi nodded and said, "On the first day of March, are you willing to come with me to Shaolin Temple and testify against Qin Tianjiu in person? If you can gain merit by doing so, I will spare your life!"

"Yes! Yes!" At this moment, Li Lao Hu agreed to any conditions in order to save his life. Then he raised his eyebrows, a cunning look flashed in his eyes, and took the opportunity to say, "Since I have agreed to be your witness, can you... let me go back first..."

Liu Xunyi sneered and said, "The deadline for the East Lake Gang has come. The Palace Master has ordered that they be expelled from Yingchuan. Do you think I will let you go back?"

Liu Xunyi's words were like a bolt from the blue, a blow to the head, causing Li Lao Hu, who had originally held on to a glimmer of hope, to suddenly become depressed. His face turned pale, and he muttered to himself, "It's over... It's all over..."

"How many people are there in the East Lake Gang now?" Xu Heng asked, "and how are they deployed?"

In response to Xu Heng's scolding, Li Lao Hu hung his head in dejection and said nothing.

"Say!"

Liao Chuan roared and kicked Li Lao Hu hard in the abdomen, knocking him to the ground. Sweat broke out on his forehead due to the pain.

Liu Xunyi said coldly: "Li Lao Hu, now that you are doomed, what is the point of holding on to these? I can promise you that anyone in the East Lake Gang who is willing to surrender and leave, and never set foot in Yingchuan again, will be spared from death."

"But if you resist stubbornly and would rather die than obey, I will kill you without mercy, not a single one will be spared!" Xu Heng said viciously, "Hurry up and tell me! Although the sect leader will spare your life and point out Qin Tianjiu, I can still beat you half to death, and even chop off your hands and feet and turn you into a human pig."

Under the combined force of Liu Xunyi and Xu Heng, Li Laohu raised his head in despair. After hesitating for a long time, he slowly said, "The East Lake Gang has set up two camps, east and west, both with bow and crossbow ambushes. As long as... as long as you pretend to be the soldiers I invited from the government, you can trick the gates of the east and west camps open, and then you can march straight to Huanglong..."

"If you dare to lie to me, I will make you live a life worse than death!" Xu Heng and Li Lao Hu looked at each other, with a hint of suspicion in their eyes.

"It's come to this. It's already hard for me to save my life, how dare I lie to you again?" Li Lao Hu said dejectedly, "I've already fallen into your hands. If I lie to you, wouldn't I be asking for trouble?"

Liu Xunyi looked at Li Lao Hu cautiously and asked word by word, "Really?"

"Every word is true..." Li Lao Hu replied with trembling lips, "My brothers... have been with me for many years. I have told you everything. I just hope you can show some leniency. They have been bullying the weak and bullying the market over the years. Although they have done many evil things, their crimes do not deserve the death penalty..."

"You don't have to worry about it!"

Xu Heng snorted coldly, then turned to bow to Liu Xunyi and said in a deep voice: "I lost this bet. I admire the Sect Master's trick of luring the snake out of its hole. Now, just go back and have some tea and rest. I will take people to wipe out the Donghu Gang!"

After saying this, without waiting for Liu Xunyi's response, Xu Heng turned around and left the guest room, quickly disappearing under the starry night.

"Liu Xunyi, I have said everything I can and cannot say. After tonight, there will be no more East Lake Gang in the world, and I, Li Lao Hu, will become a lonely man..." Li Lao Hu asked unwillingly, "Can you let me go now?" "You have done many evil things. Do you think you can atone for your crimes with just a few words?" Liu Xunyi looked down at Li Lao Hu with contempt and said coldly, "Although you can be spared the death penalty today, you cannot escape the punishment of living!"

"you……"

"bass!"

Without waiting for Li Lao Hu to speak, Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly turned cold, and then he swung his sword, and with a series of light sounds, he had already used the sword to cut Li Lao Hu's tendons in his hands and feet. Li Lao Hu wailed in pain and rolled on the ground, in unbearable pain.

"Today I will cripple your hands and feet to prevent you from doing evil again in the future."

After that, Liu Xunyi ordered Liao Chuan and Liao Hai to carry the extremely painful Li Lao Hu out and detain him temporarily, and then send him to Shaolin later.

"The sect master's methods are indeed extraordinary. He was able to lure Li Lao Hu out so easily. I admire him!" In the room, Tang Cong bowed respectfully to Liu Xunyi, and then sneered, "I thought Li Lao Hu was a great man, but after seeing him today, he is just so-so."

"Li Lao Hu's backer is He Shan. For many years, they have been in cahoots with each other, so Li Lao Hu will be on guard against everyone except He Shan. In the martial arts world, even the most powerful masters have weaknesses, and even the smartest wise men have times when they fail to consider things carefully. What's more, Li Lao Hu was born a gangster, but he has some cleverness and sinister means. How powerful and smart can he be?" After saying that, Liu Xunyi murmured to himself with deep meaning, "If I can't even deal with a little Li Lao Hu, how can I accomplish great things..."

"Listening to the master's words is better than reading for ten years. Tang Cong has learned a lot! Hehe..."

Looking at the smiling Tang Cong, Liu Xunyi suddenly straightened his expression, put his arm around Tang Cong's thin shoulders, and said with a wicked smile: "Right now, Xu Heng is taking people to deal with the Donghu Gang, Liao Chuan and Liao Hai are busy dealing with Li Lao Hu, what are you going to do?"

"Me?" Tang Cong obviously didn't understand what Liu Xunyi meant. He was immediately confused and surprised. He asked tremblingly, "Why don't I go back and boil water and make tea for the Sect Master?"

"Isn't that a waste of talent?"

At this moment, Liu Xunyi's mysterious smile made Tang Cong feel a chill in his back. He gulped and swallowed hard, then smiled awkwardly, "Master, then tell me... what should I do? Or should I also go to the East Lake Gang and lend a helping hand to Brother Xu?"

"How about this!" Seeing that Tang Cong was quite "sensible", Liu Xunyi raised a sly smile and whispered, "Let Brother Xu and the others do the fighting and killing. I heard that you were a master thief in the past, so why don't you help me steal some things now? It will be a good use of your talents. How do you think?"

"Steal...steal things?" Tang Cong was stunned, looking at Liu Xunyi in astonishment. Although he did not say it, his eyes clearly meant "I didn't expect you, Liu Xunyi, to be such a person. I thought you were a gentleman, but now you want me to help you steal things?"

There were some things that Tang Cong could only think about but dare not say. He asked with an awkward smile, "Where does the Sect Master want me to steal from? Who do you want me to steal from? What do you want me to steal from?"

"Go to Yingchuan government office and steal He Shan." Liu Xunyi said with a serious smile, "Go and steal back the 'Qingchuan Landscape Painting' that I gave him."

"what?"

"I borrowed it from Mr. Pan Ba. This painting is his favorite and precious treasure. All the rare treasures in the Pan Mansion are not as valuable as that painting. So when he lent it to me, Mr. Pan Ba ​​was very reluctant to let me go. If I borrow it again and don't return it, Mr. Pan Ba ​​will definitely complain to the Lord of the Mansion." Liu Xunyi smiled and said, "Fortunately! I found a fake painting in the antique shop these two days. You go to the Yingchuan Mansion and exchange it for the original painting for me." After that, Liu Xunyi quickly took out a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Tang Cong, who looked weird, and urged him, "Go! Go quickly!"

"Master, if I change the map, He Shan will be furious when he finds out the truth. He doesn't dare to cause trouble for us, but aren't you afraid that he will cause trouble for the Pan family?" Tang Cong asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry!" Liu Xunyi smiled confidently, "He Shan has already asked He An to check this painting, and he will definitely not check it again. When he gives this fake painting to his father-in-law, he will definitely get into trouble, and it is estimated that he will not be able to come back. This person is only interested in profit, and like Li Lao Hu, he is not a good person. Teaching him a lesson can also be regarded as venting the anger of the people of Yingchuan. And even if he finds out, how would he know when this painting was replaced? How would he know that this painting is related to the Pan family? Maybe he will even suspect that someone in his own house stole it. Who knows. Haha..."

"The Sect Master only spent 100,000 taels of silver to bribe He Shan and let him stay put while we raided the Donghu Gang's business. As a result, we seized more than 100,000 taels of silver. Not only did we not lose money, but we even made a lot of money. Now we want to steal the 'Qingchuan Landscape Painting' back. He really doesn't want to lose anything." Tang Cong looked up to the sky and sighed, "The Sect Master is very careful with his calculations. He is really smart! If I had the Sect Master's ability, why would I have to resort to stealing? Now think about it, stealing... how can you make money faster than scheming against people? Alas!"

"Go! Go! I'll go back to Pan's house and wait for your reward!"

"And a reward?"

"A portion of the stolen silver seized by the East Lake Gang will be returned to the mansion, and the rest will naturally be divided among the brothers. Otherwise, how can we justify everyone's hard work these past few days?"

Liu Xunyi learned this method from the Tianji Pavilion. He combined kindness and severity, and clearly distinguished between rewards and punishments, in order to win the loyalty of his subordinates.

"Master Sheng Ming!"

Tang Cong had never received such a benefit from following Xu Heng before, and now seeing Liu Xunyi being so generous, he could not help but feel ecstatic. He had said many flattering words these days, but none of them were as real and sincere as the "holy" he said today.

……

(End of this chapter)