Chapter 29: Unjustly Implicated
"I'll take you back to the Water Pavilion!"

Liu Xunyi gently held the white slender waist and flew down from the attic. In order to avoid any unnecessary trouble, they deliberately avoided the crowd that came to hunt down Tang Afu, and chose a secluded alley to return to the water pavilion.

"We only met once, why did you risk your life to save me?"

During the process, Bai Shuang subconsciously pulled her cold hand away from Liu Xunyi's. It was not until this moment that Liu Xunyi suddenly realized that he had been holding Bai Shuang's hand, which was inappropriate. In the previous moment, Liu Xunyi only regarded Bai Shuang as his sister, so he did not care about the intimacy between men and women.

Liu Xunyi looked ashamed, coughed twice to ease the embarrassment, and replied softly: "To be honest, Miss Bai looks a lot like an old friend of mine."

"Old friend?" Bai Shuang's mood had completely calmed down at this moment. She looked at Liu Xunyi suspiciously and said, "Are you talking about my sweetheart?"

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi thought of "Liu Xunyu" again, and subconsciously smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, I have always been thinking about her in my heart."

"Even if that's the case, you shouldn't save me." Bai Shuang said calmly, "Since you already have someone you love, you shouldn't care about other women so much."

Liu Xunyi was stunned by Bai Shuang's words, but he soon figured out the reason. Although he knew that Bai Shuang had misunderstood what he meant by "sweetheart", he did not want to explain too much. He just smiled slightly and changed the subject, asking, "Where is Miss Bai from?"

"Quanzhou." Bai Shuang answered softly.

"Miss Bai is from Quanzhou?" Liu Xunyi felt disappointed and said, "But I don't know where her family is..."

"My parents have passed away, and I was raised by my adoptive father." Bai Shuang didn't seem to want to mention anything about his family, so his answer was very straightforward.

Liu Xunyi frowned and continued to ask unwillingly: "But I wonder who the lady's adoptive father is?"

"The former head of the Lu family, Lu Chongyang." Bai Shuang stopped and stared at Liu Xunyi without blinking. Her cold eyes seemed to be blaming Liu Xunyi for being so nosy.

"So Miss Bai is Senior Lu's adopted daughter." Liu Xunyi was a blockhead who could not see Bai Shuang's displeasure and exclaimed, "If that's the case, then Miss Bai should be Mr. Lu Tingxiang's adopted sister. Why is she in Sushui Pavilion..." At this point, Liu Xunyi suddenly realized all his gaffes. After all, he couldn't ask the girl in front of her why she wanted to be the top girl in a unclear place like Sushui Pavilion, right?

"Young Master, you have done me a favor. Bai Shuang is grateful to you." Bai Shuang ignored Liu Xunyi's hesitation and said, "When we return to Sushui Pavilion later, I will find two girls to serve you well to thank you for saving my life. As for my private affairs, please don't ask about them anymore."

Seeing Bai Shuang actually saying "find two girls" like a brothel madam, the curiosity lingering in Liu Xunyi's heart suddenly disappeared, and he shook his head secretly and said, "This girl is definitely not Yu'er. Yu'er would not say such a thing. Wrong! Wrong! I made a mistake again. Alas!"

"Sir, do you want to ask anything else?"

Facing Bai Shuang's questioning, Liu Xunyi shook his head repeatedly and said, "I was offended just now."

Bai Shuang nodded slightly, then turned around and walked quickly towards Sushui Pavilion. Liu Xunyi, full of emotion, looked at Bai Shuang's delicate back, sighed helplessly, and followed her in dismay.

The lights were still on in the Sushui Pavilion, but compared to the usual hustle and bustle, it was surprisingly quiet at this moment, even a little scary. Silence did not mean that there was no one there. On the contrary, the lobby of the Sushui Pavilion was now crowded. In addition to the guests sitting around and watching the excitement quietly, there was also a group of Lu Mansion guards holding swords and looking at them eagerly.

In the middle of the hall, two armchairs were placed steadily, with a tea table between them. Two people, one on the left and one on the right, were leisurely sipping tea. Everyone in the hall focused their attention on them, but no one spoke a word.

The person sitting on the right was Shen Dongshan, who had just encountered an assassination attempt on the second floor. Sitting opposite Shen Dongshan was a sixty-year-old man wearing a navy blue brocade robe.

The old man has gray hair on his temples and wrinkles on his face as if he has experienced a lot of vicissitudes of life. He has a kind face and seems very approachable, but there is always a sharp gleam in his slightly drooping eyes. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that this person must be extremely cunning, with all his edge hidden but a hidden scheming.

The old man's name is Sikong Zhu, he is the chief steward of the Jiangnan Lu Mansion, and he has served three generations of the Lu Mansion's masters. Sikong Zhu has lived alone all his life, and he has practiced a set of boy's skills, which makes his internal strength bottomless, and his innate energy as pure as fire is unmatched in the world.

Sikong Zhu not only has unfathomable martial arts skills, but also has extremely sophisticated methods of doing things. Coupled with his extremely cunning and unpredictable scheming, he is able to assist three generations of the Jiangnan Lu family without being replaced by others. He is also a well-known figure in the world.

Tonight, Shen Dongshan, a distinguished guest of the Lu Mansion, was assassinated in Sushui Pavilion. If this matter were to be spread, it would inevitably affect the reputation of the Lu Mansion. Therefore, Sikong Zhu rushed here overnight after hearing the news, just to find out the truth and give an explanation to Shen Dongshan.

The masters of the Lu Mansion brought by Sikong Zhu stood in a row behind him. Each of them had a strong build, stern brows and cold eyes. It was obvious at first glance that they were not people to be trifled with.

After a cup of tea, Bai Shuang returned to Sushui Pavilion accompanied by Liu Xunyi. As soon as the two stepped into the door, Lin Fang in the hall was the first to come forward and asked Liu Xunyi nervously, "My dear brother, did Tang Afu hurt you?"

Liu Xunyi smiled faintly and patted Lin Fangda's shoulder, comforting him: "Thank you for your concern, brother. Fortunately, I am fine."

"That's good!" Lin Fangda breathed a sigh of relief, then grabbed Liu Xunyi's hand and walked towards Shen Dongshan and Sikong Zhu, saying, "Brother, let me introduce you to Senior Sikong from the Lu Mansion."

"Bai Shuang, is everything okay?" Sikong Zhu first smiled and nodded at Lin Fangda and Liu Xunyi, then turned his gaze to Bai Shuang.

When Bai Shuang saw Sikong Zhu, he quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Master Zhu, I'm fine. It was Master Liu who saved my life." "That's good." Sikong Zhu said, "You can go and rest!"

Bai Shuang seemed quite reserved in front of Sikong Zhu, and did not dare to disobey Sikong Zhu's words. After taking another look at Liu Xunyi, she went upstairs. At the same time, the Lu Mansion guards who went to hunt down Tang Afu and Shen Dongshan's followers also returned to Sushui Pavilion one after another, and greeted Sikong Zhu and Shen Dongshan one after another.

"Where are the people?" Sikong Zhu asked in a low voice without raising his head while holding the teacup.

"This..." The leading Lu family guard couldn't help but look embarrassed when he heard this. He looked around at his companions, but seeing that everyone around him was very secretive, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and whispered, "I didn't find it..."

Sikong Zhu paused with the cup of tea that was already in front of his mouth. He looked up at the trembling guard and asked in a low and hoarse voice: "Bai Shuang is back, but the assassin is not found?" The implication was that he was blaming this group of people for not doing their job well.

"Master Zhu, when we saw Miss Bai, the assassin had already disappeared." The leader of the guards hurriedly explained, pointing at Liu Xunyi and saying quickly, "We saw Miss Bai with this man."

Si Kongzhu frowned slightly upon hearing this, then turned his gaze to the absent-minded Liu Xunyi, and said with a half-smile: "So it was this little brother who rescued Bai Shuang. Thank you for your hard work. The Lu family will definitely reward you handsomely later..."

Liu Xunyi was thinking about other things. He was surprised by what Sikong Zhu said. He waved his hand and said, "Senior Sikong, you don't have to be polite. It's just a small favor."

"Haha...young brother, you don't have to be modest." Si Kongzhu said with a smile, "But I wonder where the assassin is now captured by you, young brother?"

"Assassin?" Liu Xunyi was stunned when he heard this, and said in confusion, "The assassin has already escaped, I didn't catch him."

Before Liu Xunyi finished speaking, the smile on Sikong Zhu's face had already quietly solidified. He stared at Liu Xunyi with a pair of deep eyes and said faintly: "The assassin ran away? How did Bai Shuang come back?"

"After I fought with the assassin, I suddenly heard that a large group of people from your mansion was coming. The assassin was afraid that it would be difficult to escape, so he abandoned Miss Bai and ran for his life." Liu Xunyi explained, "Then I sent Miss Bai back."

"Brother, since you know that our Lu Mansion's troops will arrive soon, why don't you tie up the assassin?" Si Kongzhu looked Liu Xunyi up and down and said, "Brother, you don't have any serious injuries, so I think your martial arts skills are not inferior to the assassin. Otherwise, I'm afraid he would have died under his sword. Since you can fight with Tang Afu without losing, it should be easy for you to fight with him for a while and wait for reinforcements. Why did you let him run away?"

At this moment, Liu Xunyi finally felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere. He was obviously trying to save people with good intentions, but Sikong Zhu's words seemed like he was trying to find fault with him. From beginning to end, Shen Dongshan was like an outsider, sitting aside drinking tea by himself, without even looking at Liu Xunyi.

"What do you mean by that, Senior Sikong?" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you suspecting that I deliberately let the assassin escape? Even if it is the case, I am neither a member of the Lu Mansion nor a subordinate of Master Shen. Is it strange that I don't want to fight the assassin to the death?"

"That's right!" Lin Fangda echoed loudly, "My brother's risking his life to rescue Miss Bai has already solved a big problem for you. How can you expect my brother to capture Tang Afu for you?"

Shen Dongshan, who had not said a word, interrupted quietly, "Brother Lin, what you said is wrong. Tang Afu is from Jueqing Valley. All decent people in the martial arts world should be able to kill heretics. How can you say you don't care about Brother Liu's affairs?"

Upon hearing this, Si Kongzhu turned to look at Lin Fangda and asked, "I wonder how you and this little brother know each other? Why do you call each other brothers?"

"We hit it off right away, and we share the same ideals." Lin Fangda answered straightforwardly, then frowned and asked, "What do you mean by asking this, Senior Sikong?"

Si Kongzhu smiled slightly and said calmly, "This young man just came to visit Mr. Shen, and Tang Afu rushed in to assassinate him. This is too much of a coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Lin Fangda stepped forward and asked before Liu Xunyi could, "Senior Sikong, I respect you as a senior in the martial arts world and have been polite to you many times. Are you saying this now because you suspect that my brother and Tang Afu conspired to assassinate Master Shen? This is a serious crime. Senior Sikong has seen the world and should know that you can eat whatever you want but you can't say whatever you want." Although Lin Fangda called him "Senior Sikong" all the time, his words just now had already made clear his dissatisfaction and were quite tit-for-tat.

"Master Shen was assassinated in the Lu Mansion's territory. As the master, I naturally cannot escape the blame for this matter. I must get to the bottom of it and give Master Shen an explanation. I can't pretend that I saw nothing." Sikong Zhu said lightly.

Lin Fangda did not give in to Sikong Zhu's aggressive pressure and said bluntly: "Now my sworn brother is being wronged for saving people with kindness. As the eldest brother, I can't just ignore what I saw when I saw him being wronged innocently."

"Lin Fangda, what qualifications do you have to speak nonsense here?" A Lu Mansion guard standing behind Si Kongzhu angrily scolded, "Do you know that this is the territory of the Jiangnan Lu Mansion? You are not allowed to act wildly."

Lin Fangda was completely enraged, his eyes glared, and he shouted: "Just because I am Lin Fangda from the Xianwang Mansion, don't use the Jiangnan Lu Mansion to pressure me. Others may be afraid of you, but I am not!"

The words of the two undoubtedly escalated the conflict from a trivial matter to a confrontation between the Jiangnan Lu Mansion and the Xianwang Mansion. At this point, they would have to think carefully about what to say. After all, the Jiangnan Lu Mansion and the Xianwang Mansion were both well-known overlords in the martial arts world, and Lu Tingxiang and Luo Tianjin were both people who cared about their reputation. If this matter continued, the consequences could be serious or not.

Before the Lu Mansion master could speak again, Si Kong Zhu suddenly waved his hand to interrupt the man. He looked at Liu Xunyi calmly and smiled faintly, "Before the matter is investigated, I absolutely have no doubts about you. There is no need to alarm my son and Lord Luo for such a small matter. The reason why I am so cautious is, firstly, to give an explanation to Mr. Shen, and secondly, to ensure that everything goes smoothly at tomorrow's hand-washing meeting. Brother, Tang Afu is from Jueqing Valley. His appearance in Quanzhou may not guarantee that there will be other accomplices hiding nearby. You should have heard that Jueqing Valley is one of the four major heretical religions in the world. The people who come tomorrow are all well-known figures in the Central Plains martial arts world. No one wants Jueqing Valley to jump out and make trouble at this time. Do you think what I said makes sense?"

Liu Xunyi knew that at this point, it was impossible to dispel Sikong Zhu's suspicion with just a few words, but he did not want to implicate Lin Fangda or even the entire Xianwang Mansion because of himself, so he stretched out his hand to pull the angry Lin Fangda back two steps, and bowed to Sikong Zhu, "But I wonder how Senior Sikong wants to prove my innocence?"

"That's easy." Seeing that Liu Xunyi was quite sensible, Si Kongzhu couldn't help but smile and said, "Since Tang Afu is missing, it's hard to find out your authenticity for the time being. So in order to avoid complications, I have no choice but to ask you to go back to the Lu Mansion with me for two days. After tomorrow's hand-over ceremony, I will find out everything and give you justice. How do you think?"

……

(End of this chapter)