Chapter 315 Enemies meet
Late at night the next day, after a day and night of speeding, Liu Xunyi and his party left Bancheng with Yang Huai and were invited to the Tianshan Yulong Palace.

Along the way, no matter how Liu Xunyi asked, Yang Huai only said "The Palace Master has invited you" and said nothing else. As for what exactly Ren Wuya was up to, Liu Xunyi and the others were all confused and full of doubts.

As the saying goes, "If you are here, make the best of it." Since Liu Xunyi came here on orders, he could not avoid him out of suspicion. Therefore, even if he could not guess whether Ren Wuya was good or evil, he had no other choice but to follow Yang Huai up the mountain. All he could do was to be cautious in what he said and did, and the rest had to be flexible and take things one step at a time.

In the guest room, the candlelight was dim, quiet and cold.

"Master, have some wine to warm yourself up." Tang Cong shivered as he leaned against the kang, wrapped in a thick blanket. After throwing the wine bag to Liu Xunyi, he quickly put his hand back into the blanket and complained, "It's freezing cold here, and they didn't even want to give us a stove. How can this be considered hospitality?"

"It's past midnight, and most of the Yulong Palace disciples have gone to bed. Where can we find a stove in the middle of the night?"

Liu Xunyi, who was sorting his bag at the table, took the wine bag and gulped down two mouthfuls. He couldn't help but let out a refreshing burp from his throat. He smiled and said, "Don't complain. You've been traveling for days and your body is already exhausted. You can just lie down and fall asleep. Why do you care whether you're warm or not?"

"It's okay for a grown man, it won't matter if he freezes all night." Tang Cong looked cunning, pretending to be worried, "It's just a pity for Miss Xunzhen, she is a weak woman, I wonder if she can bear such cold weather?"

After that, Tang Cong suddenly rolled his eyes and said with a wicked smile: "Master, I think Miss Xunzhen has a good fate with you. Tonight is a godsend opportunity, why don't you go to her room..."

"Shut up!" Before Tang Cong finished speaking, Liu Xunyi suddenly glared at him and scolded him, "If you dare to speak nonsense again, I will let you freeze outside all night!"

“No, no, no!” Tang Cong was shocked. He quickly wrapped the quilt tighter around himself and said with a smile, “I am a dog that cannot spit out ivory. Master, please do not bear grudges against me. Please do not bear grudges against me. Hehe…”

"Remember, Xunzhen and we are not the same kind of people after all. Be careful with your words in the future, especially those indecent words. Don't say a word of them again." Liu Xunyi warned, "This concerns the reputation of a woman. If you continue to speak nonsense, be careful that she will cut off your tongue."

Hearing this, Tang Cong subconsciously retracted his tongue, and then raised his hand and swore solemnly: "What the Sect Master taught me is that jokes are small, but tongues are big."

Liu Xunyi was amused by Tang Cong's "shamelessness" and sneered, "Besides, Xunzhen is not a weak woman. She was born and raised in the Western Regions and has been accustomed to wind, frost, snow and dew since she was a child. Her ability to resist the cold is much better than you and me. Instead of worrying about others, you should worry about yourself first!"

"That's right." Tang Cong's face darkened, and he murmured worriedly, "I don't know what Ren Wuya wants to do. He sent people to invite us up the mountain, but he refused to tell us the reason. I've been feeling very nervous..."

At this point, Tang Cong's eyes suddenly changed, and he whispered: "Master, will Ren Wuya kill us?"

"Why does he want to kill us?" Liu Xunyi asked without even raising his head while folding his clothes.

"Because he and Jin Fuyu are birds of a feather..."

"Shh!"

Liu Xunyi interrupted Tang Cong and said sternly, "Don't make up stories or make assumptions. Be careful... the walls have ears."

Tang Cong nodded solemnly and hissed, "Master, do you think Ren Wu...Palace Master Ren will kill us?"

"I don't know." Liu Xunyi hesitated, "But... I guess not."

"Why?"

"The Jade Dragon Palace is in the area of ​​hundreds of miles. If they wanted to kill us, why would they go to such great lengths to invite us up the mountain?" Liu Xunyi said, "If the Jade Dragon Palace wanted to deal with us, it would not have been just Master Yang who showed up at Yangchun Inn yesterday. Since they invited us up the mountain, it is very likely that they wanted to make peace with us."

"Maybe they want to catch the turtle in the jar so that there won't be any fish that slip through the net..."

"That's also possible." Liu Xunyi's eyes rolled, and he nodded seriously, "Perhaps Xunzhen is in the same group as them, deliberately luring us into the trap. In this case, we will be imprisoned and most likely dead."

"What should we do?" Tang Cong's face suddenly changed, and he asked anxiously, "Do you want me to wake up Liao Chuan and Liao Hai and prepare for it early..."

"No need to go to such trouble." Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows, pointed at the door, and said in a serious tone, "Why don't you go and guard outside? I'll take a nap first to recuperate. If anything unexpected happens, you have to wake me up in time."

"This……"

Tang Cong was stunned for a moment, then looked at Liu Xunyi with a confused expression, then looked outside the house. Hearing the whistling cold wind, he suddenly felt cold all over, and his limbs were sore. He shook his head and said, "How about... I should stay in the house? What if the people from Yulong Palace don't do anything, but I'm frozen to death? Wouldn't that be unfair?"

"Is it unfair?" Liu Xunyi asked back with deep meaning.

Seeing this, Tang Cong suddenly realized that Liu Xunyi was making fun of him, and felt ashamed and embarrassed.

"Master, we need to think carefully about the night watch. After all, we have already stepped into someone else's territory. Whether we guard it or not... I'm afraid we can't escape..." Tang Cong evaded the question vaguely while pulling his hands and feet into the quilt. Then he tilted his body and curled up on the kang.

Liu Xunyi laughed and jokingly said, "What if someone attacks us by surprise?"

"A sneak attack if you want! I haven't had a good night's sleep for several days. I really don't have the strength..."

Before he could finish his words, he started snoring, and in the blink of an eye, Tang Cong fell into a deep sleep like a dead pig.

Liu Xunyi smiled bitterly and leaned over to blow out the lights, but someone suddenly knocked on the door. "Bang, bang!"

The door opened in response to the sound, and Ding Ao, with a playful look on his face, was seen standing outside the door with a plate of food and wine in his hands, smiling.

"My dear brother, the mountains and rivers are always free, and we will meet again in just one year. It is really a great fate that we meet again!"

Tonight's Ding Ao felt very similar to the ruffian "Ding San" that Liu Xunyi first met at the Huodu Long'an Inn. Both of them had a cynical, unruly and playful look.

"Should I call you Ding San? Or should I address you as Master Ding San?"

Liu Xunyi had no good feelings towards Ding Ao. After all, she had been deceived by him and almost lost her life.

"You can call me anything you want. What's most amazing is that you, my little brother, still recognize me? Hehe..."

"I recognize it! Of course I recognize it! Mr. Ding San's 'great kindness' is deeply engraved in my heart and I will never forget it." Liu Xunyi sneered sarcastically.

Facing Liu Xunyi's ridicule, Ding Ao didn't take it seriously and grinned, "Now, it's me who should look at you with new eyes, little brother."

"Oh? Why did Mr. Ding San say that?"

"The last time I saw you, little brother, you were still a young kid and nobody. When I see you again tonight, you have become the head of the Xianwang Mansion and the personal envoy of the Northern Xianwang." Ding Ao praised, "It is said that things change over time. But you have turned the world around in just one year. It is truly admirable!"

“If it weren’t for Mr. Ding San’s ‘mercy’, Liu Xunyi would have been a pile of dry bones in a grave today.” Liu Xunyi replied with a smile, his words seemed peaceful, but in fact they contained murderous intent.

Ding Ao naturally understood that Liu Xunyi was speaking in a counter-intuitive way, so he raised the wine and food in his hand and pretended to be respectful and said, "It is difficult to distinguish between friends and enemies in the martial arts world, and it is difficult to distinguish between gratitude and resentment. In the past, you and I served different masters, so it was inevitable that we had some ties, but tonight you and I are of the same mind, so we should put aside our past grudges and make peace again. You see, when I learned that Master Liu was coming, I immediately ordered people to prepare wine and food, and came to you in the middle of the night in the snow to apologize. This sincerity must be enough to calm Master Liu's resentment towards me, right? Hehe..."

Liu Xunyi glanced at the food and wine, and asked meaningfully, "What if I don't want to accept Mr. Ding San's kindness?"

"Little brother, I know you hold a grudge against me and wish you could tear me into pieces." Ding Ao said with a smile, "But don't forget where this place is and why you are here. Since ancient times, those who know the current situation are heroes. I believe that Sect Master Liu should understand the current situation better than I do."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I dare not. I am advising you. Young man, don't dwell on those trivial things. Only fools would believe in the words 'distinguish between gratitude and resentment'." Ding Ao laughed, "If you can really distinguish clearly, how can there be a martial arts conference next year? How can you stand in front of me tonight? If you want to achieve great things, the most important thing is not to be fussy about trivial matters, but to be fussy about every little thing."

"So you want me to be like you and do whatever it takes to achieve my goal?" Liu Xunyi asked back.

"Little brother, there is something I want to remind you." Ding Ao shook his head and said, "Although I have used you before, compared with today's trouble, the grudge between you and me is not worth mentioning at all. Right now, your biggest enemy is not me, but Jinjianwu and Chifengling."

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi was secretly shocked and asked suspiciously, "What do you mean?"

"Now I am in the same boat with you. We rise and fall together." Ding Ao explained, "You should know that besides the Palace Master, the most important people in Yulong Palace are the three Flag Masters. Except for me, the other two support Jinjianwu... I have said this so far, you should understand what I mean."

Liu Xunyi stared at Ding Ao doubtfully, but did not speak for a long time.

"If I hadn't helped you, would Yang Huai have invited you here?" Ding Ao reminded.

Liu Xunyi frowned and said thoughtfully: "The implication is that Palace Master Ren has not yet..."

"That's right! The Palace Master has not yet made a final decision." Ding Ao nodded heavily and added, "Therefore, being invited to the mountain does not mean that you have won. To be honest, the people from Jinjianwu and Chifengling are also on the mountain at this time."

"what?"

"Don't worry." Ding Ao waved his hand and smiled, "Without the Palace Master's order, none of them dare to act rashly."

At this moment, Liu Xunyi was overwhelmed with emotions and hesitated, "Why do you support us?"

"I don't support you, I support Shao Qin Wang." Ding Ao said with a smile, "If Shao Qin Wang hadn't guaranteed you, you wouldn't even have the chance to go up the mountain. Last time I let you go, it was because someone pleaded for you. Tonight I came to stop fighting and make peace with you, also because someone mediated."

"Who?"

"I!"

Before he finished speaking, Xunzhen slowly emerged from the darkness.

At this moment, when she looked at Liu Xunyi's beautiful eyes, there was a hint of cunning.

……

(End of this chapter)