Chapter 229: Peach Blossom Fate (I)

In the western suburbs of Chenzhou, where people rarely live, there is a solitary house in an empty field covered with wild flowers, which is particularly eye-catching.

This place is Taohuawu.

Although it is deserted outside Taohuawu, it is very elegant inside with red pillars and carved rafters, painted buildings and carved beams, rockery, ponds and lakes, and winding corridors.

It's a pity that no one appreciates the elegance of Taohuawu. On the other hand, in front of Taohuawu, the situation is tense and the swords are ready to be used.

At noon, the murderous Tang Sect disciples, accompanied by the Xiangxi Teng Clan, confronted the disciples of the Emei and Qingcheng sects. Both sides stared at each other, refusing to give in, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

"Huichun, no matter what, you must give the Tang Sect a satisfactory explanation today!"

Tang Ren's face was gloomy. He pointed angrily at Tang Qian's body lying in front of him, and showed the rosary in his hand to everyone. He was furious and his eyes were full of grief and indignation.

Huichun, however, frowned coldly and said with disdain, "The Tang Sect in Shu is studying lowly things like hidden weapons and poisons every day, and has made countless enemies in the martial arts world. Who knows how he died? You are now framing this matter on us with just a rosary? You really don't take my Emei Sect seriously!"

"You still want to quibble?" Tang Ren said angrily, "Tang Qian held your Emei Sect's rosary in his hand, and he died under the Emei Spear. The evidence is irrefutable, you have no choice but to admit it."

"What nonsense!" Seeing Tang Ren insisting that Tang Qian was killed by the Emei Sect, Hui Chun was furious. At this moment, she even lost the patience to explain and shouted, "Tang Ren, do you think that we are all women in the Emei Sect and are easy to bully? If I hadn't considered Senior Ye's face today, I would have cut off your tongue."

"Last night you had a feud with Senior Brother Tang Qian at Chenfu Inn, and he was killed early this morning. Who else could it be except you?" One of the Tang Sect disciples argued indignantly.

"We are here at the invitation of Mr. Ye. We don't want to bother with you. Please stop making trouble!"

After saying that, Huichun simply ignored Tang Ren and the others and turned around and walked towards Taohuawu.

"Where to go!"

Seeing this, Tang Ren's face suddenly changed. He suddenly grabbed Huichun's shoulder and shouted, "You can't go anywhere if you haven't made your words clear!"

"Be bold!"

Huichun felt a gust of wind coming from behind, and his face suddenly darkened. He shouted angrily, then swung his arms, and his right arm collided heavily with Tang Ren's arm.

The two arms separated as soon as they touched, but Tang Ren refused to give up. He moved his feet and suddenly pounced forward. His moves were as fast as lightning, and he started to fight with Huichun in a rotating manner.

Upon seeing this, the Tang Sect disciples and Emei Sect disciples rushed forward with swords in hand, and a fight was about to break out.

"stop!"

Seeing that the conflict between the two sides was intensifying, Xu Zhun couldn't help but get anxious, so he stepped forward and joined the battle, obstructing Huichun's offensive against Tang Ren while resisting Tang Ren's counterattack.

Although Xu Zhun came forward to defuse the conflict, his every move seemed to be biased, and it was obvious that he was helping Huichun deal with Tang Ren.

Seeing this scene, Teng Qin'er was not willing to be outdone, and flew forward to help Tang Ren.

The four of them all retained their last bit of rationality, so no one was the first to draw their weapons. They just fought with fists and feet, dodging and moving, and the fight was very lively.

"Who is making noise outside Taohuawu?"

With a delicate shout, a person quickly walked out of the dock. It was the woman in white who appeared at Chenfu Inn last night and resolved the conflict with a few words.

As soon as she appeared, Tang Ren and his men withdrew their attacks, glaring at each other with hostility.

At the same time, Liu Xunyi and others also hurried over. Chen Yong waved to Huichun with a playful smile, but she rolled her eyes coldly in return.

Since Huiying's death, although Chen Yong nominally worshipped Master Miao'an as his teacher, and was considered to be from the same school as Huichun and other nuns, in fact, in the minds of Huichun and other nuns, Chen Yong was the culprit who killed Huiying, so naturally they didn't have a good face for him.

"Girl, who are you?"

Tang Ren stared coldly at the woman in white and asked in a bad tone, "Where is Master Ye?"

"We received the 'willow leaf copper coins' from Mr. Ye and came here specially to pay him a visit. Now that we are here, why hasn't Mr. Ye shown up yet?" Huichun asked.

The woman in white remained calm and replied calmly, "I am Master Ye's disciple. You can call me 'Colorful Butterfly'. Since you are all here, why are you so reluctant to come in? And why are you making such a fuss outside the door?"

"Girl, you can't control this matter." Tang Ren said coldly, "Let Senior Ye come out to administer justice!"

"That's right!" Huichun snorted, "Miss Caidie, please ask Senior Ye to come out and speak a fair word for our Emei Sect."

Being looked down upon, Caidie was not angry, and said calmly, "My master has been waiting for you in the dock for a long time. Please follow me!"

Caidie's attitude was the same as last night, neither salty nor bland. Before she finished speaking, she had already walked towards Taohuawu.

Seeing this, Tang Ren and Huichun looked at each other coldly again, hesitated for a moment, and then led their people to follow, followed by the Xiangxi Teng tribe. Xu Zhun led the Qingcheng disciples and took the initiative to greet Liu Xunyi and Chen Yong, and then they entered Taohuawu together.

"Brother Liu, how have you been since we last met in Quanzhou?" Xu Zhun said with a smile.

"Thank you, Brother Xu, for lending me your sword that day." Liu Xunyi said, "Thanks to Brother Xu, I am doing well."

"As the saying goes, when you've been away for three days, you should look at him with new eyes." Xu Zhun smiled meaningfully, "Last year in Quanzhou, Brother Liu was still an unknown rookie in the martial arts world, but now, in just one year, you've become a big name in the martial arts world. Haha... I heard that you've now taken the throne of the Master of the Jingmen in the Xianwang Mansion, congratulations!" Liu Xunyi said modestly, "Thank you for the love of Lord Luo, I'm just lucky."

While chatting and laughing, the group followed the colorful butterfly to a peach blossom forest.

At this time of year, the peach blossoms have fallen, the petals have withered and merged with the soil, emitting bursts of faint fragrance. From a distance, it looks a bit desolate.

At this moment, a thin old man with white hair and beard was sitting cross-legged on a large bluestone, chatting happily with several people sitting on the stone benches around him.

The old man was dressed in a white robe, with a Taoist demeanor and a vigorous spirit. His every move was elegant and graceful, and he looked full of energy and vitality.

There were three people sitting on the left side of the old man, all of whom were Liu Xunyi's "acquaintances". They were Zheng Songren, a disciple of Wudang Sect, Xun Zaishan, a disciple of Kongtong Sect, and Lü Tai, the fourth elder of Kunlun Sect.

On the right side of the old man sat a man and a woman whom Liu Xunyi had never seen before. The man in green was young, handsome and elegant. The woman was in her thirties, plain in appearance, but aloof and cold.

Liu Xunyi's intuition told him that these two strangers were of noble status.

Xu Zhun seemed to see Liu Xunyi's confusion and explained in a low voice: "Brother Liu, the man's name is Lu Yao. He is a brother of Lu Tingxiang and a disciple of the Jiangnan Lu Mansion. The woman is even more extraordinary. She is one of the four great masters of Jinjianwu, Leng Yiyi."

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but be secretly surprised and asked in astonishment: "One of the four great masters of Jinjianwu?"

"Yes, Leng Yiyi's swordsmanship is superb. She is good at using a strange sword that is as white as jade and as transparent as ice. Her moves are as fast as lightning and the sword's edge is invisible, so people in the martial arts world call her the 'Ice Heart Sword'." Xu Zhun nodded in response.

Upon seeing the scene in front of him, Chen Yong sighed subconsciously: "The Xianwang Mansion, the Golden Sword Fort, the six major sects, and the four major families. All the well-known and upright sects in the Central Plains martial arts world, except for Shaolin and the Hexi Qin Clan, the rest are all here. It seems that Senior Ye's 'charm' is still as strong as before. Haha..."

"It seems that our guess is correct." Liu Xunyi pondered, "Senior Ye summoned us here to intervene in the feud between Shaolin and the Qin family. But whether he wants to mediate or has other requests, that is unknown."

At this moment, a hint of suspicion flashed across Liu Xunyi's eyes as he looked at the old man.

Just now at Chenfu Inn, Liu Xunyi suspected that Ye Tong assassinated Tang Qian, so he hurried over to find out. He thought that people from all sects would be in danger when they arrived at Taohuawu. But he didn't expect that they would chat and laugh in the peach forest, respecting each other like guests.

"Master Chen, is that old man Ye Tong, the former number one master in the martial arts world?" Xunzhen asked Chen Yong curiously.

Chen Yong smiled bitterly and said, "Senior Ye has disappeared from the martial arts world for more than 20 years. When he left Kunlun Mountain, I had not yet become his disciple, so... I have never seen Senior Ye's true appearance. Even if I had seen him, he would have already changed in the past 20 years. How could I recognize him?"

When these words were spoken, Liu Xunyi, Xunzhen and others were stunned.

"But judging from his appearance...it must be Mr. Ye." Chen Yong smiled awkwardly.

"Why?"

"The fourth elder of Kunlun Sect, Lu Tai, is here. Although I have never met Senior Ye, he must have."

"Haha... everyone is here. Come on! Come on!"

Suddenly, Ye Tong's hearty laughter interrupted the whispers of Liu Xunyi and others.

Seeing this, Tang Ren, Huichun, Teng Qiner, and Xu Zhun all stepped forward and bowed to Ye Tong. Unlike the legend, Ye Tong in front of them was easy-going and approachable. Not only did he not put on airs, but he also nodded and smiled in return.

"I am Liu Xunyi, a disciple of Xianwang Mansion, and I am here to pay a visit to Senior Ye on behalf of Mansion Master Luo."

In response to Liu Xunyi's greetings, Ye Tong remained silent with a smile. After everyone finished introducing themselves, Ye Tong said self-deprecatingly, "It seems that I am really old. In the past, everyone who received my 'willow leaf copper coins' came here trembling with fear, fearing that I would get impatient waiting. After more than 20 years, I once again extended an invitation to the martial arts heroes, but unexpectedly, the leaders of various sects did not come in person, but only sent some juniors to represent me. I am old, really old! I am afraid that there are not many people in the world who still remember my name. Haha..."

Although Ye Tong's words were joking, the deep meaning behind them made Liu Xunyi and others feel ashamed. For a moment, no one dared to speak in response.

The old age of a hero is often more miserable than that of an ordinary person.

"As the saying goes, the younger generation is better than the older generation, and the younger generation pushes the older generation forward. Today, I am so happy to see that you, the younger generation, have grown into heroes who can stand on your own." Ye Tong waved his hand and smiled, "I was just joking with you just now, don't take it seriously."

"Senior Su Wen Ye and Granny Taohua have retired from the martial arts world together and become a pair of immortal lovers. They are so comfortable. I really envy them." Xu Zhun took the initiative to smooth things over in order to ease the awkwardness, "But I wonder where Granny Taohua is now?"

Hearing this, the smile on Ye Tong's face froze a little, and he smiled bitterly and said, "Everyone has their own destiny, and the world is unpredictable. The old woman can heal but not herself. She passed away many years ago... and left me."

After saying that, Ye Tong couldn't help but reveal a hint of sadness in his eyes.

Before anyone could comfort them, a very inopportune and sharp voice suddenly rang out from among the Tang Sect disciples: "Senior Ye is the leader of the Central Plains martial arts world. Today I have a question and would like to ask for your advice."

Before he finished speaking, Tang Ren, who seemed as calm as water, had already walked towards Ye Tong.

"You can talk about it." Ye Tong said with a smile.

"Is it natural that a person should pay for his life and a debt should be paid?"

"It's natural."

"Well then!" Tang Ren smiled coldly, then waved his hand and pointed at Huichun and his group, saying sternly, "Huichun, Senior Ye has spoken in person, you have nothing to say now, right? The Emei Sect killed my Tang Sect disciples, today I want you to pay with blood!"

……

(End of this chapter)