Chapter 189 A bad start
The next morning, the weather suddenly changed. The sky was covered with dark clouds, the sun and moon were dim, and the world was bleak. In the early morning, the sky was as dark as dusk, and it was scary.

The mountain wind suddenly rose, the jungle was restless, and gusts of wind swept through the Manjusri Dharma Field from time to time, raising a cloud of dust and making the several large flags erected around it flutter.

At the beginning of the morning hour, people from the Pan family, the Qin family, Shaolin, the Xianwang Mansion, and the Jinjianwu gathered at the Wenshu ritual field. Xuanming ordered people to set up a row of tables and chairs on the north side of the ritual field and prepare Zen tea for them.

Shaolin Abbot Xuanming sat in the middle, with Pan Chuba and Qin Ming on his left and right. Luo Tianjin was on Pan Chuba's left, and Song Yu was on Qin Ming's right. The other disciples sat behind the heads of their respective sects.

Since no invitations were issued for this competition, and even irrelevant people were not allowed to come and watch, there were not many people on the sidelines. In contrast, the huge Manjusri Dharma Field seemed a little deserted at this moment.

"Mr. Pan Ba, I heard that Guanyin Temple caught fire last night. Is anyone injured?" Song Yu took the initiative to greet Pan Chuba in a familiar manner. In fact, he and Pan Chuba did not know each other. Today was the first time they met.

Hearing this, everyone in the Pan family looked embarrassed. Pan Chuba coughed twice and said, "Thank you for your concern, Master Song. We are fine."

"Humph! You guys were fine, but you almost burned Guanyin Temple to ashes." Qin Da mocked, "Although Guanyin Temple is usually not inhabited by monks, it is a branch of Shaolin Temple after all. You just burned it down as you said, isn't that too casual?"

"What did you say?" Pan Yun said angrily, "It was the thieves who set the fire last night, we didn't burn it on purpose!"

"Why didn't the thieves set fire to the Great Hall? Why didn't they set fire to the Sutra Library? Why did they set fire to your Guanyin Temple?" Qin Da sneered, "Besides, Guanyin Temple has been safe and sound for decades. How come someone deliberately set fire to it when you have only lived there for half a day? Even if there were thieves who set the fire, it was you who caused it."

"you……"

"Shut up, Yun'er!" Pan Chuba stopped Pan Yun with a gloomy face before he could argue. "No point in saying more. No need to explain." Then, Pan Chuba turned his slightly guilty gaze to Xuanming and whispered, "Master Abbot, the Guanyin Temple caught fire last night. My Pan family is to blame. I will shoulder all the materials and money needed for the reconstruction, and I am willing to compensate Shaolin several times over for the losses."

"Amitabha, everything has its cause and effect. Donor Pan does not need to blame himself. The fire at Guanyin Temple was just an accident and has nothing to do with the Pan family." Xuanming said, "The most important thing is that Buddha is merciful. No one was killed or injured in the fire last night. Good! Good!"

Facing the greetings between Xuanming and Pan Chuba, Qin Ming sneered and said indifferently: "The time has come, Master Xuanming, please start!"

Hearing this, Pan Chuba had to swallow back the rest of his words, and took the opportunity to glance at Qin Ming, who had an expressionless face, with a bit of dissatisfaction.

Xuanming looked up at the sky, slowly stood up, put his hands together and bowed to everyone, saying: "At the invitation of donors Pan and Qin, today I, donors Luo, donors Song, and two Shaolin disciples of the 'Yuan' generation, two disciples of the 'Guo' generation, two disciples of the 'Jing' generation, and one disciple of the 'Wu' generation, are here to witness this competition. In this competition, Pan and Qin will each send three people to fight. There will be no restrictions on the arena. The last person to fight will be the one who voluntarily admits defeat or has no strength to fight back. Only then can he obtain the relic of the former Guihai Dao Sect, the 'Xuanshui Lower Volume'. I am grateful for the trust you have placed in me. If the result of the competition is a loss for both sides, the winner will be determined by me based on the performance of both sides."

At this moment, the mountain wind was raging, blowing Xuanming's cassock up and down.

"Master Xuanming is a highly accomplished monk and a senior in the martial arts world. You can make the decision. I believe everyone will have no objection." Luo Tianjin said with a smile.

Qin Ming's eyes flashed with disdain, and he said without looking away: "No need! If both sides are defeated, then my Qin family loses, and there is no need to bother Master Xuanming anymore."

Qin Ming knew that Xuanming's friendship with Luo Tianjin was much better than his own. If Xuanming were to judge, even a fool would know that he would definitely favor the Pan family. Instead of watching them collude and pretend, it would be better for him to take the initiative to speak, which would also show the Hexi Qin family's broad-mindedness and dominance.

Luo Tianjin was quite impolite and laughed loudly: "Palace Master Qin is indeed very righteous. I admire you."

In response to Luo Tianjin's hypocrisy, Qin Ming just snorted, then turned his head and ignored him.

"Stop talking nonsense and make a quick decision!"

Qin Er shouted loudly and jumped into the arena first. With the cold and dim Hidden Ghost Blade, he pointed at the Pan family and asked, "Is there anyone in the Pan family who is not afraid of death and dares to fight me?"

"Qin Er really hasn't made any progress at all. He is so arrogant and conceited." Lin Fangda whispered on the sidelines, "Has he forgotten how Xun Yi taught him a lesson in the Jiangnan Lu Mansion?"

"I come!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pan Yun, with an angry face, rushed into the field in one step. He was holding a narrow knife in his hand, which was quite proportional to his thin figure.

"Who the hell are you?" Qin Er looked down at Pan Yun, scolding him with a smile, "What are you doing here, a sickly person? Is there no one left in the Pan family? With your little weight, you'd better get down by yourself. I'm afraid I'll beat you to death if I'm not careful!"

"Insanity!"

Pan Yun's face turned red with anger and his whole body was shaking. He shouted suddenly and took the lead in drawing his knife and slashing at Qin Er.

During this period, Pan Yun did go through a lot of hard training. Unfortunately, he was not born to be a martial artist because of his mediocre talent and weak constitution. Besides, how could real kung fu be mastered in just a few days?

Under the dual effects of anger and tension, Pan Yun, who had no practical experience, made his moves crookedly, and the blade even trembled slightly.

Seeing this, a hint of regret flashed across the eyes of the people on the sidelines.

As expected, Qin Er did not even blink when facing Pan Yun's attack. When Pan Yun approached him, Qin Er swung the Hidden Ghost Blade fiercely. With a loud "clang" sound, an unmatched force left Pan Yun with no chance to defend himself. The narrow blade and his entire right arm were raised high.

Pan Yunhu felt pain in his mouth, his fingers felt numb, and the narrow knife flew out of his hand. In fact, he had been mentally prepared before going on stage, and today's opponent must be very strong, but he still didn't expect that he couldn't even catch a casual knife.

Pan Yun was horrified and subconsciously turned his head to look at the narrow knife that flew out of his hand. At the same time, Pan Chuba's anxious shout also reached his ears: "Yun'er, don't be distracted, why are you looking back at the knife? The opponent is in front of you!"

"what?"

“Bang!” “Uh…”

Before Pan Yun could come to his senses, Qin Er kicked Pan Yun's abdomen with great force, knocking him flying. His body flew up high like a kite with a broken string, and he groaned in pain in mid-air.

"boom!"

Ten meters away, Pan Yun fell heavily to the ground. His facial features were distorted with pain, and he turned his head to look at Pan Chuba with all his strength, trying to stand up. However, before his hands could support the ground, his head tilted and he fainted, and there was no movement anymore.

"This……"

This scene not only left the Pan family speechless, but also filled the Shaolin monks and the Qin family with astonishment.

Qin Er was equally confused. He stared blankly at Pan Yun, who was lying motionless in the distance, with his brows furrowed and his big hands gently scratching his head, like a monk at a loss, not knowing what was going on.

"What do you mean?" Qin Er looked at the people on the sidelines and asked suspiciously, "What happened just now? Did you send that guy here to...warm up the crowd?"

"puff!"

Qin Er's words caused everyone on the sidelines to burst into laughter. Even the Shaolin disciples couldn't help laughing and covered their mouths.

"Oh! How embarrassing!" Tang Cong covered his eyes with his hands, as if he didn't want to see the scene in front of him anymore.

"That Pan Yun just now..." Qin Ming looked at Xuanming and Pan Chuba hesitantly, and said, "Is he the first person sent by the Pan family?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked embarrassed, and the atmosphere on the sidelines suddenly became a little awkward.

"If I had known that the Pan family was only at this level, I shouldn't have alarmed Uncle Jiu and made him make a wasted trip." Qin Da sneered.

Looking at Pan Yun being carried off the field by Shaolin disciples, Pan Chuba couldn't help but flash a trace of sadness in his eyes, and said lightly: "Although Pan Yun lost, there are still two people in the Pan family who can fight."

After saying that, Pan Chuba turned his solemn gaze to He Hu and said seriously: "You must take down Qin Er no matter what and share the burden with Xunyi." Pan Chuba seemed quite confident about his son-in-law.

Hearing this, He Hu was slightly stunned, then he looked at Qin Er on the field, and then looked at Pan Feng who was sitting next to him. He hesitated for a long time, but had no intention of fighting.

Seeing this, Pan Chuba's face darkened and he urged angrily, "He Hu, what are you waiting for?"

"Dad..." He Hu said hesitantly, "It is said that... a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall..."

"What do you want to say?" Pan Chuba was in no mood to listen to his nonsense at the moment, and quickly asked, "Why don't you hurry up?"

He Hu cast an awkward look at Pan Feng again, but saw Pan Feng hesitate again and again, and finally spoke for her husband: "Dad, we can't win this competition today. Instead of making enemies with the Qin family, it's better to hand over "Xuan Shui Xia Juan" as soon as possible. It's useless to keep it in our hands anyway..."

"Feng'er, what did you say?" Pan Chubawan never expected that his beloved daughter would say such words at this moment. He felt bitter, angry and sad, and said angrily, "How do you know you can't win before you even fight? Why do you want to boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige? What's more, don't you think it's too late to back down today?"

"Dad." Pan Feng said bitterly, "In fact, He Hu and I have secretly discussed this matter for a long time, but we have never made up our minds. It was not until the sudden fire in Guanyin Temple last night that we suddenly realized that nothing in the world is more important than one's own life. If a person has lost his life, what is the use of his fame and fortune? Because of half a sword manual, we first lost our family business, and then my second brother also died, and my second sister-in-law and Pan Chun..."

Having said that, Pan Feng couldn't help but sigh, and said, "Because of it, our family has been destroyed, and bad things have happened one after another. Now we have to become enemies with the Hexi Qin family and Jinjianwu for it. It's really not worth it..."

He Hu looked at the furious Pan Chuba and hurriedly explained, "Dad, it's not that I'm afraid of death, it's just that I have no chance of winning. If Pan Wu was still here, maybe... maybe I could still fight. Now Pan Wu is dead, and you saw clearly what Pan Yun did just now. I don't think I'm a match for Master Qin Er, not to mention that there's a more powerful Master Qin San behind him. As for the 'Cripple Swordsman', I don't even dare to think about it... Even if Master Liu is there to support him, what can he do? Can he fight three people alone? If he can, then I don't need to ask for trouble. If he can't, my going to the battle will be in vain..."

"Snapped!"

Before He Hu could finish his words, Pan Chuba suddenly swung his hand and slapped him hard in the face.

Pan Chuba pointed at He Hu and Pan Feng, and angrily cursed: "In the final analysis, you are still afraid of death and dare not offend them! Have you forgotten what you promised me in the beginning? How much gold and silver have I funded your escort agency over the years? Don't you remember all of this?"

"Dad!" He Hu and Pan Feng both knelt down in front of Pan Chuba. Pan Feng said with tears in her eyes, "You also know that my family runs an escort agency. We travel all over the country all day long. Hexi Qin's family is in the north and Jinjianwu is in the south. If we offend them, we will have no place to stand in the north or south. How can you let us do business in the future? How can my husband and I gain a foothold in the world? Even...even who can guarantee that our family will not be destroyed in the future?"

After that, Pan Feng kowtowed to Luo Tianjin several times and said, "Even if Lord Luo is willing to guarantee us, he can't send people to protect us every day. Even if he can protect our family, how can he protect the business and wealth of our escort agency?"

Faced with the frightened and desperate He Hu couple, Luo Tianjin could only remain silent, neither sympathizing nor trying to persuade them.

"Dad!" He Hu pleaded, "If 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' is vital to us, then I don't mind risking my life. But the Pan family has long since retired from the underworld and switched to business. What's the point of keeping it? Not only is it useless, but it will also create many powerful enemies in vain. Why bother? I know that Dad misses the old relationship, but after all, so many years have passed. Now that you are old, why do you have to gamble the life and death of the whole family on this game that has no chance of winning? Even if... even if we win today, what can we do? 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' is not worth eating or drinking. If it is kept at home, it will sooner or later become a disaster..."

"Enough!" Pan Chuba was disheartened and his face was livid. If Pan Yuyin hadn't been there to comfort him, he would have fainted. He pointed at He Hu and Pan Feng with a trembling hand and weakly rebuked them, "Get out! Get out! You two are traitors who are afraid of death! Why didn't you have so many excuses when you killed Ding Cui and Pan Chun? Now you are clearly bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and I... I, Pan Chuba, from today on... I will no longer have daughters and sons-in-law like you..."

……

(End of this chapter)