Chapter 208: The Secret Revealed
At four o'clock in the morning, the central hall of Prince Xian's mansion was brightly lit, and everyone present had a solemn look on their faces, except for Pan Yun, who had come to announce the death. He was kneeling on the ground in mourning clothes, crying bitterly.

Liu Xunyi had not yet reached the main hall, but he could already clearly hear Pan Yun's loud crying from several feet away.

"Uncle Luo, grandpa died unjustly, you must seek justice for our Pan family!"

When Liu Xunyi stepped into the hall, Pan Yun was begging Luo Tianjin with tears in his eyes.

At this moment, in addition to Luo Tianjin, Ling Xiaoxiao, Luo Ningyu, Xie Xuan, Deng Changchuan, Di Mo, Chen Yong, Ling Qing, Lin Fangda and others were all present in order. But what surprised Liu Xunyi the most was that Xunzhen, who had nothing to do with the Pan family, was also present at this moment.

"Liu Xunyi, you're late." As soon as he saw Liu Xunyi, Di Mo's cold voice came instantly, "You will go to the East Hall later and receive twenty blows of the Merciless Stick."

"As ordered."

Liu Xunyi didn't dare to refute, and nodded awkwardly. He then turned his doubtful eyes to Pan Yun, and when Pan Yun saw Liu Xunyi, he cried as if he saw a "relative", crawled to Liu Xunyi's feet, and wailed: "Brother Liu, grandpa is dead... Grandpa is dead..."

"What happened?" Liu Xunyi felt compassion when he saw Pan Yun's pitiful appearance. He personally helped Pan Yun up and asked softly, "Please accept my condolences, Mr. Pan! Please tell us slowly, when did Mr. Pan Ba... die? I heard that Mr. Pan Ba ​​was seriously ill, but his condition worsened, so..."

"No! Grandpa didn't die of illness!" Pan Yun cried, "Grandpa was killed! As soon as Grandpa died, a group of uninvited guests rushed into the mansion overnight, rummaging around, threatening to find the 'Xuanshui Xiajuan', and would beat anyone who dared to stop them. The servants in the mansion were scared and hid or fled... Then, the remnants of the Donghu Gang took advantage of the situation and looted and plundered our Pan family unscrupulously. Dad was so angry that he went up to argue with them and was seriously injured. Mom and sister were also scared and hid somewhere else, not daring to go home. The Panhuai ship merchant quickly declined because no one took care of it. Now, our family is broken up... Brother Liu, you must avenge Grandpa and the Pan family!"

"hiss!"

Pan Yun's words shocked Liu Xunyi. He originally thought that Pan Chuba had just died of an illness, but he didn't expect there were so many twists and turns, and even caused so many misfortunes.

"Mr. Pan, please be patient. We will not sit idly by and watch this matter." At this moment, Liu Xunyi felt mixed emotions and had nothing else to say but to comfort him again and again.

"Liu Xunyi, the Lord of the Palace has entrusted you with the matter of the East Lake Gang." Xie Xuan said in a deep voice, "Why are there still remnants of the gang jumping out to cause trouble now?"

Liu Xunyi looked guilty and regretful, and took the initiative to admit: "It was because of my kindness that I did not order the Donghu Gang to be wiped out... This matter is my fault!"

"I'll remember your mistake for now, and I'll settle with you later!" Di Mo's face was as dark as water, and his eyes were wide open. As the fan holder of the lower three gates, he was naturally to blame for his subordinates' mistakes. If it weren't for the occasion tonight, I'm afraid Di Mo would have taken Liu Xunyi back and severely punished him.

"Nephew, do you know who killed Master Pan?" Luo Tianjin ignored everyone and asked Pan Yun directly.

"It was someone from the Hexi Qin Clan!" Pan Yun gritted his teeth, veins popping out on his forehead, and said viciously, "Grandpa was killed by a knife. I'm not good at martial arts, so I couldn't catch the enemy. But not long after that person killed Grandpa, the Qin family's lackeys rushed into the Pan Mansion and demanded the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'. Dad said he didn't have it, so they attacked and injured him. Then they rummaged around in the mansion, but ultimately found nothing, so they left in anger."

"Then how do you know that the person who killed your grandfather was from the Qin family?" Xie Xuan raised his eyebrows and asked back.

"Besides the Qin family, who else wanted to kill Grandpa?" Pan Yun argued indignantly, "They stole first, and when they couldn't steal, they demanded it by force. But they never got what they wanted, so they got angry and killed Grandpa..."

Xunzhen, who was sitting aside and listening silently, suddenly shook his head slowly, and then said lightly: "The person who killed your grandfather was not Hexi Qin's, the murderer was someone else."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the hall.

Pan Yun's facial features were ferocious, and he glared at Xunzhen, scolding her, "My lady, my Pan family has no grudge against you, why do you say such things? Could it be that the Hexi Qin family gave you some benefits?"

Before Liu Xunyi could try to smooth things over, Xunzhen smiled contemptuously and said indifferently: "You don't have to be angry, I'm just telling the truth. Because you have a grudge against the Qin family, you can only swallow your anger when being bullied by the Qin family, so you hate the Qin family in your heart, and therefore believe that the Qin family is the murderer of your grandfather. In fact, it is not the case. With the means of the Hexi Qin family, if they really wanted to kill people, why would they wait until today? How could they only kill your grandfather? They could just kill your entire Pan family and turn this matter into an unsolved case. Wouldn't it be easier this way? Why leave you alive and come to the Xianwang Mansion for help? Even let you spread the word that the Hexi Qin family bullies the weak, isn't this asking for trouble?"

Although Xunzhen's words were a bit unkind, they also expressed the doubts in other people's minds.

Pan Yun hesitated for a moment, then turned to Luo Tianjin and knelt down and begged, "Uncle Luo, no matter what, I beg you to make the decision for my Pan family!"

Luo Tianjin's expression straightened up, and he agreed, "Don't worry, nephew! Mr. Pan Ba ​​and I are close friends. Now that he died in an unclear manner, I, Luo, will never ignore it. What's more, I promised Mr. Pan Ba ​​a long time ago that once he passed away, I would take care of the descendants of the Pan family for him. You go down and rest. After dawn, I will send someone to rush back to Yingchuan with you. First, to mourn Mr. Pan Ba. Second, to find out the cause and effect of this matter and comfort your grandfather's spirit in heaven. Third, to help your Pan family clear the troubles, get rid of the difficulties, and return to peace."

"Thank you, Uncle Luo!" Luo Tianjin's words made Pan Yun feel relieved, and two lines of tears rolled down again.

"Go!" After sending Pan Yun away, Luo Tianjin turned his inquiring eyes to Xie Xuan and asked, "What do you think?"

"Master, this matter can be big or small, we should handle it carefully." Xie Xuan said with a worried look in his eyes, "If we break off relations with the Hexi Qin family because of this, I'm afraid there will be a big mess in the future. In my opinion, the murderer may not be the Qin family. Although Qin Ming is resentful of the Pan family because of the "Xuan Shui Xia Juan" incident, judging from his actions during this period, he still knows how to measure the degree and tries his best to restrain his subordinates. Although the Qin family keeps clamoring, they haven't really done anything out of line."

"Right now, the number of people supporting the Qin family in the martial arts world far exceeds that of the Pan family. Qin Ming doesn't need to do anything out of line." Ling Xiaoxiao analyzed, "He only needs to keep building momentum and use public opinion and rumors to force Shaolin and the Pan family to make an explanation. It is said that 'people's words are scary'. Shaolin has always been highly respected. Now that people are pointing fingers at it, how can it turn a blind eye? During this period of time, Shaolin has been tracking the whereabouts of 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'. It's a pity that whoever stole the sword manual from Wu Chan, until today... still hasn't found any clues."

Hearing this, everyone showed regret on their faces. Only Xunzhen, who was sitting in the corner, had a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Rumor has it that the Shaolin Temple's guardians stole the property," Deng Changchuan said in a deep voice. "I didn't believe it at first, but there has been no news about 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan', as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth. So now I am beginning to have some doubts..."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Luo Tianjin stopped Deng Changchuan's speculation and said in a deep voice, "Shaolin has always been upright and honest, and would never do such a shameful thing. At this moment, you don't need to discuss the whereabouts of "Xuan Shui Xia Juan", just tell me, how should the Yingchuan matter be handled?" After that, Luo Tianjin turned his gaze to Xie Xuan again and said, "You just said that this matter can be big or small, what you mean is..."

"Make a big thing small, and a small thing nothing!" Xie Xuan said bluntly, "We only need to send someone to pay our respects, and by the way, help the Pan family get rid of the remnants of the East Lake Gang. As for the death of Mr. Pan Ba... it's best not to delve into it."

"Why?"

"Because once the cause of death is investigated, it will inevitably lead to the Qin family. Now, Qin Ming is like a sharp arrow ready to be launched, just waiting for someone to touch it." Xie Xuan smiled bitterly, "It's not that I'm afraid of the Qin family, but the current situation is chaotic, and the Xianwang Mansion is in a turbulent time. At this critical juncture, it's better to have less trouble than more."

Xie Xuan's words made sense and attracted many people's approval.

Lin Fangda frowned and asked anxiously, "Are you not going to find the murderer who killed Mr. Pan Ba? Isn't Mr. Pan Ba's death unjust?"

"Find? Can you find him?" Ling Xiaoxiao asked back, "No matter who the murderer is, his purpose is obvious. He clearly wants to frame the Qin family. This person has evil intentions and vicious means. Who knows where he has escaped to now? You don't even know what the murderer looks like? How can you find him? Where can you find him? In the vast world, finding someone you have never met is harder than finding a needle in a haystack."

"Madam, you are wrong!"

Just when Lin Fangda was speechless after being refuted, Xunzhen spoke again: "Since the murderer has evil intentions and vicious means, if we ignore him after he kills Mr. Pan Ba, he will not be able to achieve his wish, so he will definitely not give up."

"What do you mean?" Liu Xunyi asked.

"As I expected, the murderer will kill another person. If killing one doesn't work, then kill two. If killing two is not enough, then kill three. He will keep killing until we point our spearhead at the Qin family, or the entire Pan family is wiped out. Big things can be reduced to small things, but small things can never be eliminated."

"I wonder what Miss Xunzhen thinks?" Luo Tianjin asked with interest.

"Wildfires cannot be extinguished, spring breezes will bring them back to life." Xunzhen smiled and said calmly, "If the mastermind behind the scenes is not found, the Pan family will never have peace, and sooner or later the whole family will die unjustly! This person dared to kill Mr. Pan Ba ​​and put the blame on the Hexi Qin family, which is enough to show that he is definitely not an ordinary person, and will not give up easily. Maybe... this is not the first time he has used this trick, but it may not have worked last time, so he used the same trick again, causing today's tragedy. As the saying goes, 'The Qin people had no time to mourn themselves, but later generations mourned them. If later generations mourned but did not learn from them, they would also make later generations mourn later generations.' The death of Mr. Pan Ba ​​was like this. It must be that someone put the blame on him last time, and the investigation was unsuccessful, which led to today's tragedy. If Lord Luo turns a blind eye today, there will definitely be more tragedies in the future."

When Xunzhen said this, Liu Xunyi and Luo Tianjin's eyes changed at the same time. They had recalled one thing from Xunzhen's few words.

Last year in Yingchuan, someone pretended to be Qin Tianjiu, first killed Li Bao, and sowed discord between the Donghu Gang and the Xianwang Mansion, and then used Li Lao Hu and Ding Cui to kill Pan Wu and sow discord between the Pan family and the Qin family. Both times, the Pan family suffered huge losses. Today, Mr. Pan was killed. Thinking about it carefully, it was exactly the same as the previous plan to sow discord.

Could it be that these things were really done by the same person?
Xunzhen was an outsider and had not experienced the Yingchuan Incident, but she was able to reveal the secret today. Such cleverness made Liu Xunyi look up to her even more.

"Even if there is a tragedy, it is the tragedy of the Pan family..." Ling Xiaoxiao hesitated, "It's not that I am cold-blooded, but the Pan family is an outsider after all. Is it really worth it to involve myself for the sake of outsiders?"

"Madam is wrong again!"

Xunzhen gently waved the meteor fan in his hand and said with a faint smile: "The Pan family is just a scapegoat. The Qin family is just a puppet being framed. The mastermind behind the scenes doesn't really want to deal with them." Having said this, Xunzhen suddenly closed the fan, turned and pointed directly at Luo Tianjin, and said seriously, "It's the Xianwang Mansion!"

……

(End of this chapter)