Chapter 357 Uninvited
March 19th, noon.

Accompanied by Abaolu and the Liao brothers, Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen entered Jiangzhou in disguise and stayed at the Wangshui Inn next to Xunyang Wharf.

Along the way, they saw many martial artists carrying swords and knives. In addition to the disciples of Kunlun Sect and Jinjianwu, there were also a large number of disciples from Qingcheng Sect, Emei Sect, Xiangxi Teng Clan, Shuzhong Tang Clan, Jiangnan Lu Mansion, and Hexi Qin Clan.

The sudden appearance of these martial artists in Jiangzhou not only caused the disciples of Jueqing Valley to retreat and not dare to show up, but also caused rumors to spread throughout the city, making the people panic. Even the Jiangzhou government was alarmed and strictly guarded the inns where these martial artists stayed, patrolling day and night.

The current situation in Jiangzhou City was tense, the atmosphere was heavy, and the fighting spirit was strong, which was far beyond the expectations of Liu Xunyi and others. As the target of public criticism, Liu Xunyi did not dare to show up easily. He went into the inn and closed the door to think hard about countermeasures.

They chose Wangshui Inn as their place of stay because it was close to Xunyang Wharf. If there was any unusual movement, they could leave by water in a moment, thus leaving them an escape route.

At dusk, Xunzhen, Abaolu, Liaochuan and Liaohai, who had gone out to get information, returned to the inn one after another. Seeing that they were safe and sound, Liu Xunyi's heart finally settled down.

"What's the situation outside?"

"Not so good." Abaolu said in a deep voice, "The city is full of Jin Fuyu's people. It seems that his promise to Yin Baimei was not empty talk."

"That's right!" Liao Chuan agreed, "In just half a month, Jiangzhou City has welcomed several groups of troops, adding up to at least a thousand people. If they unite their forces, I'm afraid Jueqing Valley will be in danger."

"The disciples of each sect are scattered in more than a dozen inns of various sizes in the city." Liao Hai added, "while Jin Fuyu and Yin Baimei are in charge of the overall situation in Xunyang Tower."

"Are they really planning to attack Jueqing Valley?" Abaolu said worriedly, "It's hard for us to do anything with just a few of us."

“Whether it’s true or not, the current battle formation alone is enough to deceive everyone in the world.” Xunzhen snorted and laughed, “But I still don’t believe that Jin Fuyu really dares to exhaust the power of all the sects to help Kunlun Sect to attack Jueqing Valley.”

Liu Xunyi asked suspiciously, "Do you think these are all tricks of Jin Fuyu?"

"Yes." Xunzhen said bluntly, "After all, Yin Baimei is not a fool. It is not easy to deceive his trust. If Jin Fuyu does not spend some money, how can he easily lure him into the trap?"

"That makes sense." Liu Xunyi pondered, "Although Jueqing Valley is not strong, it is one of the four major heretical religions after all. If you want to completely wipe it out, you will inevitably have to pay a price. Although Jin Fuyu has the ability to gather people from various sects, it is probably not that easy to make them offend Jueqing Valley for the personal grudge of Kunlun Sect and pay the price of blood."

"More importantly, the martial arts conference is about to be held, and Jin Fuyu is in urgent need of accumulating strength. He will not damage his vitality in Jiangzhou." Xunzhen said with a smile, "So I guess that although Jiangzhou City is on the verge of a war, everyone is in danger, it is actually just bluffing. Jin Fuyu deliberately put on this scene, first, to win the trust of Yin Baimei, and second, to show it to the Xianwang Mansion. Jin Fuyu is putting pressure on the Lord of the Luo Mansion, forcing him to reveal the relationship between the Xianwang Mansion and the Jueqing Valley."

"If this happens, the reputation of the mansion master in the martial arts world will plummet." Liu Xunyi frowned and murmured, "On the other hand, Jin Fuyu will be able to take advantage of the situation and firmly occupy the orthodox position in the martial arts world."

"This man is so vicious!" Abaolu cursed angrily, "Golden Sword Valley has also been trying to win over the Jade Dragon Palace in secret, and now he is making a fuss about the Jueqing Valley. He is simply despicable and shameless."

"No one cares what means you use, they only care whether you can succeed in the end." Xunzhen said, "Lord Luo also planned to win over the Tang Sect. His approach was no different from Jin Fuyu's attempt to win over the Kunlun Sect. It was just a failure at the last moment."

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Suddenly, someone knocked on the closed door and the room instantly became silent.

"Who?"

As Liu Xunyi asked, Liao Chuan and Liao Hai quickly drew their swords and ambushed quietly on both sides of the door.

"Excuse me, is it Mr. Liu Xunyi who lives in the room?" The waiter's voice sounded outside the door.

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi and the others' faces changed. They sneaked into Jiangzhou without revealing their identities to anyone, and now the waiter revealed their identities, how could they not be shocked?

Liu Xunyi tried to remain calm and asked, "What's the matter?"

"There is a Mr. Jin who wants to invite Mr. Liu for a drink. I asked a little guy to pass on a message and ask if Mr. Liu would be willing to do me the honor of visiting you."

"Mr. Jin?" Liu Xunyi frowned and asked suspiciously, "Which Mr. Jin?"

"I don't know. Master Jin only said that if you want to find your friend, you must come and talk to him."

With such a coercive and lucrative invitation, Liu Xunyi could guess without asking that the "Uncle Jin" mentioned by the waiter must be Jin Fuyu.

Liao Chuan was surprised and said, "Jin Fuyu is really powerful. He actually knows our whereabouts."

"Since he knew that, why didn't he come and attack us in a high-profile manner?" Liao Hai asked in return.

"Come and kill? Why would he come and kill me?" Xunzhen said with a smile, "Don't forget that the Xianwang Mansion and Jinjianwu have long since put aside their past grudges and made peace. Before the martial arts conference is held, no one can start a war. In other words, we and Jin Fuyu are friends now, not enemies."

Liu Xunyi thought for a moment and asked loudly, "Where is Mr. Jin?"

"We are waiting for you in the guest room upstairs."

"Got it! Report to Master Jin, I'll go up right away."

Liu Xunyi readily agreed, and turned to explain to Xunzhen: "Since we are here, we should make the best of it. Since they have come to our door, we can no longer be cowards. You wait here, I will go up to see what Jin Fuyu is up to."

"be careful!"

"I'll be back as soon as I go!"

After a few hasty instructions, Liu Xunyi quickly left the guest room and headed upstairs. On the third floor of Wangshui Inn, in a guest room near the corner, Jin Fuyu sat alone, with two cups of bitter tea on the table.

"My name is Liu Xunyi, nice to meet Master Jinwu!"

Before he finished speaking, Liu Xunyi had already opened the door and walked in without being invited.

"Master Liu, please take a seat." Jin Fuyu was not angry at Liu Xunyi's impoliteness. He gently pushed the cup of bitter tea on the table towards Liu Xunyi and said with a faint smile, "Second brew, moderately strong, to moisten Master Liu's throat."

"Thank you for your kindness, Master Jinwu. I am not thirsty."

"Hey!" Jin Fuyu waved his hand and smiled, "Master Liu must have been talking downstairs just now, so how could he not be thirsty? Haha, you don't have to be polite. Even Master Luo praised my bitter tea. Why don't you try it?"

Liu Xunyi glanced at him and said self-deprecatingly, "How dare I, a mere warrior, sit at the same table with you and drink tea?"

"You don't dare? Or don't want to?"

"Not daring means not wanting, and not wanting means not daring. In my opinion, there is no difference between the two." Facing the hidden meaning in Jin Fuyu's words, Liu Xunyi was neither humble nor arrogant, and remained calm.

"Good." Jin Fuyu clapped his hands and praised, "No wonder my adopted son died at your hands, you are indeed different."

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi was stunned and asked in astonishment: "Adopted son?"

"That's right! Jian Zhong, who died in your hands, was Jin's adopted son." Jin Fuyu was gentle and smiling. However, in his calm eyes, there was a hint of coldness that made Liu Xunyi's heart chill.

"This……"

Liu Xunyi was stunned and didn't know what to say. He thought Jin Fuyu and Jian Zhong were master and servant, but he never expected that they were actually father and son.

"You seem surprised?" Jin Fuyu's tone was calm, and his smile was still as warm as spring breeze. "In fact, you should have expected that the relationship between Jian Zhong and I is unusual."

"I..." Liu Xunyi suppressed the shock in his heart and stammered, "Master Jinwu misunderstood. Jian Zhong was not killed by me, but..."

"It doesn't matter who killed Jian Zhong." Jin Fuyu interrupted, "Once you are in the martial arts world, you have no choice. From the day he stepped into the martial arts world, he should have expected that this day would come sooner or later."

At this point, Jin Fuyu suddenly raised his eyebrows and said with a half-smile: "Similarly, you should have expected that day to come sooner or later."

"Master Jinwu came to me overnight. Could it be that he wanted to avenge your son?" Liu Xunyi asked anxiously.

"In the martial arts world, it's either you or me who will die. You were able to get rid of Jian Zhong because of your ability. He died in your hands because of his incompetence." Jin Fuyu shook his head and said, "I won't avenge him, and I won't make things difficult for you. After all, Lord Luo and I have already reconciled our past grievances and turned hostility into friendship. If I kill you, others will say that I am bullying the weak and that I am deliberately destroying the friendship of my fellow practitioners."

"Then why did Master Jinwu come to me?"

Jin Fuyu smiled and said, "My son died tragically. You were the last person to see him. Do you have anything to say to me?"

"I?"

Liu Xunyi looked at Jin Fu Yu with confusion, thought hard for a while, and then slowly shook his head.

"Before my son died, could he have left any last words?" Jin Fuyu looked at his nose, then his mouth, then his heart, and asked calmly, "After all, we were father and son. Now that he has passed away suddenly, I feel really bad. If I could hear his last words and help him fulfill some of his wishes, it would be worth it that he once called me 'Dad'."

"I... don't quite understand what Master Jinwu meant." Liu Xunyi frowned and said frankly, "As the saying goes, 'the dead are the greatest', Jian Zhong never left any last words. If there were any, I would never dare to hide them without permission." At this point, he suddenly changed the subject and said tentatively, "Of course, although Jian Zhong and I had a fight, we each served our own masters after all, and there was nothing we could do. In fact, I have no personal grudge against him, and I deeply sympathize with his death. If Master Jinwu... and Jian Zhong have anything unfinished... I am not talented enough, but I am willing to do my best to thank Master Jinwu for not killing him."

"Unfinished business?" Jin Fuyu stared at Liu Xunyi meaningfully. His deep eyes seemed to be able to see through his heart. He asked with a fake smile, "I wonder what...unfinished business Master Liu is talking about?"

Seeing Jin Fuyu on guard, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but hesitate. After thinking it over again and again, he decided to take another step and slowly said, "Jian Zhong is the adopted son of the Jinwu Master, but he is little known in the martial arts world. In fact, with Jian Zhong's martial arts ability, he is enough to be among the four great masters of the Jinjianwu, but why is there no place for him in the Jinjianwu? I wonder if the Jinwu Master loves his son so much that he doesn't want him to be involved in the grudges of the martial arts world? Or... does he have other arrangements?"

Jin Fuyu remained calm and said calmly, "All parents in the world hope their children will become successful. I am the same. I have placed high hopes on Jian Zhong, hoping that he will one day be able to make the leap and achieve success."

"Master Jinwu means..."

"Master Liu, why do you ask questions when you already know the answer?" Jin Fu Yu suddenly shouted, catching Liu Xunyi off guard.

"This……"

"To be honest, there are indeed some unfinished business between Jian Zhong and I. But I'm afraid that Sect Master Liu can't do anything about it." Jin Fuyu waved his hand and smiled, "I hope he can get married and have a few grandchildren for me soon. How can you help with this? Haha..."

"Master Jinwu, I mourn for you!"

"No problem!" Jin Fuyu waved his hand gently and ordered him to leave. "Since Sect Master Liu has no interest in my bitter tea, I will not force you. Please go back!"

"There is one more thing. Master Fifth Deng and Sect Master Ling..."

"They are the guests of Master Yin, and I have no right to interfere." Jin Fuyu interrupted, "Tomorrow night, Master Yin will hold a banquet in Xunyang Tower to thank all the sects for their help. If you want someone, you can go and try. You don't like tea, but Xunyang Tower's best wine may suit your taste. Haha..."

……

(End of this chapter)