Chapter 249 Kindness Remains
"Oh no! We've been tricked by that brat Long Yu!"

Seeing that Tang Afu and the "Eight Wonders" had given up on chasing Long Yu and Ya Kun, and were instead pressing towards the three of them, Huo Biao's eyes changed, and he was filled with anger and hatred, and he cursed, "Brother, that turtle bastard Long Yu sold us out. He let us be bait to attract these people, but he and Ya Kun ran faster than fucking rabbits!"

"Stop talking nonsense and kill them first!"

Faced with Tang Afu who was rushing towards him, Hu Zhen was suddenly shocked. He gave up jumping out of the window to escape and instead drew his knife to fight with Tang Afu.

"Ah, ah, ah! I'm so mad!"

Huo Biao looked out the window at the endless darkness, and yelled, "Long Yu, you bastard! You are so afraid of death, and you betrayed your own people. You have completely abandoned us, but you are still running wild. Bastard! You son of a bitch, you turtle bastard! When I get back, I will skin you alive!"

“Second brother, stop scolding!” Qiu Zheng, who was trapped in the sword formation, was beaten by Feng Wuxin and others without any resistance. He quickly asked Huo Biao for help, “Come and help me!”

“Don’t panic, Third Brother, I’m coming!” Huo Biao snorted angrily, then flipped the steel knife in his hand and roared towards the “Qiao Bajue”, “At worst, I’ll die. I’ll fight you!”

At that time, Huo Biao and Qiu Zheng, with the help of Hu Zhen and Ya Kun, were still struggling and confused in the Seven Star Sword Formation.

At this moment, Ya Kun escaped and Hu Zhen was also tightly entangled by Tang Afu, leaving only Huo Biao and Qiu Zheng. They were no match for the "Eight Wonders of Qiao". After struggling for thirty rounds, the two gradually lost.

"Capture them!"

With Feng Wuxin's roar, eight sharp swords came from all directions and rushed towards Huo and Qiu who were caught off guard. The two suddenly felt their eyes blurred, and before they could find the right time to resist, they were already firmly held by several sharp swords around their necks, and they dared not move at all.

“Brother…Brother, help me!”

Hearing Huo Biao and Qiu Zheng's panicked cries for help, Hu Zhen, who was in the midst of a tough battle, couldn't help but become mentally confused.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tang Afu drew his sword and swung it forward. His ruthless sword was as fast as lightning and as swift as thunder. In a moment, he was in front of Hu Zhen and stabbed out dozens of swords in a row. Countless messy sword flowers bloomed in front of Hu Zhen's eyes, which frightened him. He retreated quickly and was unsteady for a moment. His steps were wrong and his moves became messy.

"Keng!"

Tang Afu took the opportunity to counter the attack and with a light thrust of his sword, the steel knife in Hu Zhen's hand was instantly knocked high into the air.

Hu Zhen's face suddenly changed as he lost his weapon. Before he could even catch his breath, the Merciless Sword came through the air. With a "whoosh" sound of the sword, a "silver dot" quickly enlarged in Hu Zhen's pupils.

Hu Zhen had nowhere to retreat, and his heart was dead. He simply closed his eyes and left everything to fate.

But he waited for a long time, but still saw no movement.

When Hu Zhen slowly opened his eyes full of suspicion, he saw the tip of an extremely sharp sword suspended in the air less than an inch in front of his forehead.

"Hmph!" Facing Tang Afu's indifferent expression, Hu Zhen snorted angrily and urged, "I am already defeated by you. You can kill me or chop me up as you please! If you are a man, you might as well give me a quick death!"

"That's right!" Qiu Zheng echoed angrily, "Even if his head falls off, it will only leave a scar the size of a bowl. Twenty years later, he can be a brave man again!"

"Go ahead!" Huo Biao said viciously, "A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated. I would rather die than surrender!"

After that, Huo Biao cast a resentful look at Hu Zhen again, and said indignantly, "The most hateful thing is that I was used by Long Yu. It's really not worth it!"

"Long Yu only cared about his own escape and ignored the lives of our brothers. He is so disloyal!" Qiu Zheng said, "If the Khan knew that he abandoned us, he would definitely not let him off easily!"

"That's it!"

Hu Zhen stared at Tang Afu and said with gritted teeth: "Hurry up and do it! The heroes of the grassland would rather die than surrender to the Han people!"

"Hero?" Tang Afu showed contempt and sneered, "Stealing, sowing discord, and sowing discord are also acts of heroes?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Zhen and the other two blushed and wanted to explain themselves, but they couldn't think of any rebuttal for the moment. They could only turn their heads away and simply ignore Tang Afu.

"Big Brother, how should we deal with them?" Feng Wuxin asked.

"These three are tough guys. Even if we don't kill them, there's no guarantee that they won't commit suicide." Ye Wuhen hesitated, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy to get them to go to the Qin Mansion in Hexi to testify..."

"Then they will be unable to die even if they want to."

Tang Afu snorted coldly and swung his left hand quickly. A fierce force shot out from his fingertips, instantly sealing Hu Zhen's acupoints and making him unable to move.

Seeing this, Feng Wuxin and Shan Wuling took action one after another without waiting for Huo Biao and Qiu Zheng to resist, sealing the acupoints of the two men, making it impossible for them to live or die.

"Put it down!"

At Tang Afu's command, the "Eight Wonders" tied up Hu Zhen and the other two without saying a word, and then "rewarded" each of them with a punch, knocking them unconscious.

"Boom..."

The sudden noise made Tang Afu frown. He turned and looked towards the corner of the lobby, where the innkeeper and several waiters were huddled together and shivering.

When they made eye contact with Tang Afu, their bodies stiffened and their faces turned pale. One timid fellow even peed his pants because of the heat in his crotch. As the saying goes, "There is always someone stronger than you, and there is always someone better than you."

Long Yu and his gang were ruthless and domineering enough, but they did not expect that Tang Afu and his gang were even more powerful and domineering than Long Yu and his gang.

"Sir, spare us! We are all Han Chinese! We are all Han Chinese!"

At this moment, the shopkeeper and his employees knelt down on the ground in a hurry, kowtowed to Tang Afu and begged for mercy.

Tang Afu frowned slightly, but ignored it. He slowly put away the Merciless Sword, then looked around the inn again, and then walked towards the gate.

"Afu, thank you for your hard work! I will definitely take credit for you when I get back, hehe..."

Suddenly, an old voice sounded from outside the inn.

Then, with the help of Pan Yuyin, Granny Taohua slowly walked into the inn. When she saw the seven or eight bodies lying on the ground, an indescribable complex look appeared in her eyes, like pity and boredom.

Seeing this, Tang Afu quickly stepped forward and said, "It's my job, I don't dare to take credit for it."

After saying that, Tang Afu's eyes moved slightly, and a hint of curiosity flashed across his face. He hesitated and said, "I still have one thing I don't understand. I wonder if Granny Taohua can teach me something?"

"What's the matter?"

"When we were in Chenzhou, Granny Taohua clearly told Liu Xunyi that you had no intention of interfering in the affairs of the martial arts world, let alone helping him. But why did you suddenly change your mind after arriving at the Jueqing Valley?" Tang Afu hesitated.

Granny Taohua smiled faintly and asked, "Don't you want to help Liu Xunyi?"

Hearing this, Tang Afu was stunned for a moment, a trace of embarrassment surged across his face, and he said abruptly: "I am only following the orders of the Valley Master, otherwise I would never interfere without authorization..."

"Then who rescued Chen Yong and Xu Heng from Long Yu?" Granny Taohua smiled mysteriously and asked in a strange tone.

"This..." Tang Afu looked embarrassed and stammered, "I just want to repay Liu Xunyi's favor. I don't want to owe him anything."

"No wonder you and Liu Xunyi can be friends." Granny Taohua said with a smile, "Liu Xunyi cares about the world and even always wants to do things beyond his ability and solve problems that should not be solved by him. And you, too, are affectionate and righteous, and you can clearly distinguish between gratitude and resentment. In this respect, you and he are quite similar."

Tang Afu's face changed slightly, and he denied it: "I'm afraid Granny Taohua has misunderstood. Liu Xunyi and I have only met a few times, and we are not friends..."

"Forget it! Forget it!" Granny Taohua waved her hands and said with a smile, "Whether you are a friend or not, at least he saved you and you helped him, that's enough. What's more, you are not the only one around me who wants to help Liu Xunyi."

Having said this, Granny Taohua suddenly cast a doting look at Pan Yuyin, causing her cheeks to blush and a hint of guilt to appear in her eyes.

Apparently, Pan Yuyin had been begging Granny Taohua for help with Liu Xunyi's matter during this short period of time.

"Girl." Granny Taohua reached out and gently touched the tip of Pan Yuyin's nose, and said rather dissatisfiedly, "Why didn't you tell me earlier that you and Liu Xunyi had already been married? If you had told me earlier that he was your husband, I would definitely not have abandoned him."

"Master, that was just a show! It doesn't count..." Pan Yuyin's face flushed, and she was so shy that she almost dripped tears.

"Silly girl." Granny Taohua shook her head and said, "How many men can a woman have such a fate with in her lifetime? How can the etiquette between husband and wife be treated as a joke? Moreover, if you don't have him in your heart, why would you care so much about his affairs?"

Hearing this, Tang Afu looked at Pan Yuyin with a hint of suspicion in his eyes, and interrupted, "Miss Pan, do you really have feelings for Liu Xunyi?"

"That's absolutely not the case!"

Pan Yuyin spoke righteously, shaking her head repeatedly, and said, "I have always regarded Brother Liu as my elder brother, and I am grateful for everything he has done for my Pan family, but I have absolutely no romantic feelings for him. And... and as far as I know, Brother Liu already has someone in his heart..."

"Are you talking about the girl named Xunzhen who follows him?" Granny Taohua frowned and murmured thoughtfully, "Xunzhen is a girl who hides her true colors and has extraordinary thoughts. Although I have only met her once, I can feel that she is very cunning and far beyond the reach of ordinary women. Although you are smart, if you compete with her, I am afraid you will not be her opponent..."

"Master!" Pan Yuyin's cheeks turned red and she complained shyly, "Why should I compete with her? What can I compete with Miss Xunzhen for?" Having said this, Pan Yuyin felt ashamed and annoyed and turned away in a hurry.

Seeing this, Granny Taohua couldn't help but smile bitterly, and turned to explain to Tang Afu: "In fact, I didn't change my mind suddenly. As early as when I was in Chenzhou, I had already thought of helping him. Not only because of you and Yuyin, and not just to clear my husband's name, but also because what Liu Xunyi did, in my opinion, is a rare "just act", a rare "right thing" done by people in the martial arts world, and a "good thing" that benefits the country and the people. He doesn't seek fame or wealth, and has no selfish motives. He just wants to turn hostility into friendship and avoid a catastrophe in the martial arts world. Just based on his innocent heart, I should help him! Little did I know that helping him is helping ourselves. But in Chenzhou, relying on my own strength, I am sure that I can't help him much. So, I decided to go back to Jueqing Valley with you first. I know that for now, the only way to really help Liu Xunyi is to ask Rou'er to help."

Hearing this, Pan Yuyin quickly turned around and looked at Granny Taohua with a look of deep admiration in her eyes.

Granny Taohua gently rubbed Pan Yuyin's head with her hand and smiled meaningfully, "Girl, there are tens of thousands of men in the world, but most of them are mediocre, worldly people, vying for fame and fortune, and aiming high. Good men like Liu Xunyi who are affectionate and righteous, and who care about the world... are rare in the world. Back then, Ye Tong and I hesitated for a moment, and then wasted half our lives. I regret it to this day. As your teacher... I don't want you to follow in my footsteps."

Granny Taohua's words made Pan Yuyin feel overwhelmed and she was at a loss for words.

Tang Afu frowned, thinking over and over again in his mind Granny Taohua's interpretation of "just act", "right thing" and "good thing".

Suddenly, Tang Afu's eyes lit up, and then he hesitated, and said in deep thought: "On the second day of August, Granny Taohua plans to..."

"I will personally go to Hexi Qinfu and expose to the world the truth that the Mongols used my husband's name to kill people and sow discord in Chenzhou."

……

(End of this chapter)