Chapter 195 Borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha
Xunzhen was neither angry nor surprised when Qin Ku saw through his disguise. Instead, he clapped his hands and praised: "You can see the beginning and the end, and see the beginning of the story. You can see through everything just by listening to a few rumors in the martial arts world. I admire you! I admire you!"

"Hey!" Qin Ku seemed a little too proud of Xunzhen's praise. He smiled foolishly and waved his hands modestly, saying, "I should be the one who admires you. Ever since we parted at Shaoshi Mountain, I have been wondering how you would steal the sword manual from the Shaolin Sutra Library, but I just can't figure it out. But you did the opposite, without using a single sword or a single soldier, and easily got the sword manual. Haha... You are smart and unique, really amazing!"

Facing Qin Ku's compliment, Xunzhen smiled without saying anything. She reached into her sleeve, fumbled around for a while, then took out an old, yellowed secret book and placed it in front of Qin Ku.

Seeing this, the playful look on Qin Ku's face suddenly disappeared, replaced by a look of deep solemnity.

Suspicion, excitement, excitement, surprise... For a moment, a myriad of thoughts flooded into Qin Ku's mind, causing his face to change color and his heart to feel indescribably complicated.

Qin Ku did not rush to look through the secret book. Instead, he raised his head slowly with half belief and half doubt, staring at Xun Zhen with complicated eyes.

Xunzhen just nodded at him slightly, and then began to drink leisurely.

"Gudong!"

Qin Ku swallowed hard, then stretched out his trembling hands and opened the secret book with trembling hands.

Suddenly, a hint of old, musty smell came through the pages of the book. At the same time, lines of formulas and pictures instantly came into his sight.

Qin Ku was born in the Hexi Qin family. He had practiced "Red Fire Volume 1" since he was young, so he could naturally distinguish the authenticity of this secret book.

It wouldn't matter if he didn't look, but once he did, he didn't look up for nearly three hours.

Xunzhen did not urge him, but just sat quietly by the side, watching with interest Qin Ku, who was sometimes excited, sometimes confused, sometimes melancholy, and sometimes happy.

In this way, the two of them sat facing each other in silence without saying a word. One was intoxicated and had forgotten everything. The other drank alone, calm and composed. The sun moved from the zenith to the west. Guests of the East Sea Tea House came and went, one after another, but the two of them remained motionless and at ease.

At dusk, Qin Ku, who was immersed in "Xuan Shui Xia Juan", suddenly let out a long breath and then slowly raised his head. When he saw Xun Zhen sitting opposite him, he was slightly stunned, and a hint of consideration flashed in his eyes, as if he had already forgotten Xun Zhen completely.

"How is it?" Xunzhen said with a smile, "Is 'Xuan Shui Volume 2' as exquisite and unparalleled as the rumors say?"

"Excellent! Excellent!" Qin Ku suddenly realized, and nodded repeatedly, unable to control himself, and said with emotion, "For many years, many doubts that have been lingering in my mind have finally been solved today. It is not only exquisite and unparalleled, but also wonderful! Haha... I can't wait to find an open space right now, draw my sword and practice it happily."

"This is only half." Xunzhen said bluntly, "I will divide 'Xuan Shui Volume 2' into two parts. I will give you half today. After you help me finish the work, I will give you the other half with both hands."

Although Qin Ku looked a little disappointed, he didn't say much. He thought for a moment, and then a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he said frankly: "Since you are so sincere, I will not hesitate any more. Tell me! Who do you want me to kill?"

Xunzhen looked around cautiously and whispered, "I want you to kill a few Mongols for me!"

"Mongol?" Qin Ku was stunned and asked in astonishment, "You won't really let me assassinate the Mongolian Khan, will you?"

"Of course not." Xunzhen shook his head and said, "I don't need to hide it from you. The person I asked you to kill is not the Mongolian Khan, but he is an envoy sent by the Mongolian Khan."

Qin Ku was confused and asked, not quite understanding, "What messengers? What are they doing here? Where are they now?"

"They are from the Red Wind Ridge in Mobei, and they came to Luoyang to make friends with the 'Northern Sage King' Luo Tianjin." Xunzhen explained calmly, "I got news that these people will arrive in Luoyang City soon, and they will bring 'generous gifts', so we must get them."

"Make friends with Luo Tianjin?" Qin Ku hesitated, then raised his eyebrows, stared at Xunzhen with a smirk, and asked, "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am." Xunzhen smiled faintly, "You just need to remember that I am the only one who can give you the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'."

Qin Ku's eyes changed, and he nodded without denying it, saying, "Well! When do you want them to die? Do you need me to stop them from entering the city?"

"No." Xunzhen waved his hand and said, "There's no need to rush about this matter. Not only do I want them to enter the city alive, but I also want them to visit Luo Tianjin safely. It won't be too late for you to take action after they leave Luoyang."

Although Qin Ku didn't know Xunzhen's intention, he didn't want to ask more questions. He just said, "After the matter is done, you must give me the remaining sword manual."

"It's useless for me to keep them, so I'll give them to you." Xunzhen said, "But when you kill them, you have to do one more thing."

"What is it?" "I want you to claim to be from the Xianwang Mansion, and I am here on Luo Tianjin's orders to kill them." Xunzhen pondered, "And you must not kill them all, at least leave one alive, and let him escape back to Mongolia to report the news."

"hiss!"

Qin Ku understood it completely this time. He stared at Xunzhen suspiciously and said in a serious tone, "You want to pin the crime of murder on the Xianwang Mansion? If so, the Mongols will never let Luo Tianjin go. Who are you? What do you want to do?"

"What's the matter?" Xunzhen asked instead of answering, and chuckled, "Could it be that you have some kind of friendship with Luo Tianjin? Can't bear to put the blame on him?"

"Although I have no contact with Luo Tianjin, I have a relationship with Liu from the Xianwang Mansion..." Qin Ku hesitated, thought for a moment, and hurriedly changed his words, "I have a friend in the Xianwang Mansion. If you put the blame on the Xianwang Mansion, aren't you indirectly harming him?"

Xunzhen looked at Qin Ku, who was swearing, with doubt. After a moment's hesitation, he said bluntly, "Don't worry, I won't harm the Xianwang Mansion! The reason I want to do this is just because I don't want to watch Luo Tianjin become a lackey of the Mongols." After that, Xunzhen pretended to be melancholy, sighed, and said meaningfully, "The ambitions of the Mongols are known to everyone in the world. As a Han Chinese, you don't want the Xianwang Mansion to be used by the Mongols, right?"

Qin Ku frowned, thought hard, and asked, "But after I kill the Mongols, they will definitely not let it go. In the end, won't the Xianwang Mansion still suffer?"

"No!" Xunzhen said, "Because the Mongolian court has limited energy, it will do everything it can to win over the martial arts forces. Who is Luo Tianjin? If the Mongols really dare to confront him head-on, Luo Tianjin will surely respond with a hundred responses. At that time, all the heroes in the martial arts world will rise up and fight against the enemy together with the Xianwang Mansion. The Mongols are not fools, they will never do such a stupid thing that will thank you for nothing."

"It seems to make sense." Qin pondered, "From your appearance... you don't seem to be a Han Chinese. Why on earth do you want to do this? What good will it do for you?"

Xunzhen's eyes flashed with impatience, and he said coldly: "You don't need to ask more about my affairs. You just need to understand that this matter will be of great benefit to you, that's enough. Do you want to do this deal or not?"

Qin Ku saw Xunzhen's unhappy face, and immediately put on a playful smile and apologized, "Do it! I have already received your deposit, how can I go back on my word? I was just asking out of curiosity, if you don't want to say it, forget it. Hehe..."

"Very good!" Xunzhen nodded with satisfaction and instructed, "I will send someone to inform you when to start. You can walk around the city in the next few days and be careful not to be discovered by the Xianwang Mansion and the Mongols."

After that, Xunzhen took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve and said generously: "All your food and drink expenses in Luoyang City these days are all on me. After the task is completed, in addition to the other half of the sword manual, there will be a large reward!"

"Thank you!"

Qin Ku was blinded by the money, and his eyes suddenly sparkled. He quickly stuffed the banknotes into his arms, and then carefully put away half of the secret book. Then he stood up with the knife in his hand, stretched his slightly stiff limbs a few times, and said with a silly smile: "I have heard that Luoyang Night Market is prosperous for a long time. I just want to find a place with flowers and brocade, and enjoy it. Hehe... But that kind of place is not suitable for women, so I won't invite you to go with me."

After saying that, Qin Ku threw down a few copper coins and laughed, "This cup of tea tonight is my treat, drink slowly!"

Seeing Xunzhen's slightly frowned brows and a hint of anger, Qin Ku immediately looked embarrassed, and then left the Donghai Teahouse in a huff under the watchful eyes of Abaolu and others.

After Qin Ku left, Abaolu sat next to Xunzhen with a pot of fresh tea and asked suspiciously, "This person is greedy for pleasure and has no ambition to make progress. He is always smiling and frivolous and has no seriousness. Is he really...trustworthy?"

"Not credible." Xunzhen replied calmly, and then, under Abaolu's puzzled gaze, he explained with a half-smile, "It is precisely because he is not credible that I want to use him."

"Why?"

"First, this person is highly skilled in martial arts and ruthless, and he is more than capable of dealing with those Mongols." Xunzhen said with a smile, "Second, he has been coveting the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' for a long time, and he will not dare to disobey orders. Third, this person is crazy and has a strange personality, and no one will trust him easily. So even if he turns against me in the future and exposes me in front of Luo Tianjin, I am confident that Luo Tianjin will believe me instead of him."

Abaolu pondered and said, "You let Luo Tianjin be Qin Ku's scapegoat and offend the Mongols... and you let Qin Ku be our scapegoat and offend Luo Tianjin. In this way, even if the truth comes out one day..."

"Don't worry, that day will never come! Even if it does, Luo Tianjin has already lost his choice and retreat, and can only continue to play dumb with us." Xunzhen interrupted, "As for Qin Ku, now that the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' is in his hands, he can't even hide, how dare he flaunt it in public? This is his weakness. If he dares to harm us in the future, we will spread the news that the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' is in his possession. Then he will be hunted down by the Hexi Qin family, Shaolin Temple, and the Xianwang Mansion, and even the entire martial arts world. Either everyone is happy, or both sides suffer. Although Qin Ku is crazy, he is not stupid. He can tell the difference between the important and the unimportant."

Hearing this, Abaolu could not help but show admiration on his face, and said seriously: "The Mongols will arrive at the Xianwang Mansion soon, what should we do now?"

"Hurry up and prepare a generous gift!"

"A generous gift?"

"Yes, it's a gift to the Northern Sage King! As soon as the Mongols leave, we will go to the Sage King's mansion... to pay him a visit!"

……

(End of this chapter)