Chapter 444: Many Gratitudes and Revenges
After leaving the villa in Longxiang Mountain, Xiao Zhirou couldn't calm down for a long time. Along the way, she frowned and said nothing, her mind full of her two children and every word Yun Zhuiyue had just said.

Tang Afu followed Xiao Zhirou silently. Seeing that she was melancholy and silent, he did not ask any more questions and just kept walking forward with his head down. Why? He seemed to be worried as well.

Suddenly, Xiao Zhirou stopped, but Tang Afu's mind was wandering and he couldn't dodge in time and stumbled into Xiao Zhirou.

"hiss!"

Tang Afu subconsciously uttered a cry of surprise, hurriedly took two steps back, and apologized repeatedly.

"Afu, you have been absent-minded and unhappy since you went up the mountain. Is there anything on your mind?"

"Me?" Tang Afu quickly wiped away the worry on his face and denied it, "Everything is fine, there is nothing wrong."

"I raised you, how could you lie to me?"

"This……"

"But it doesn't matter."

"I heard... Shen Dongshan also came to Huashan."

Hearing this, Xiao Zhirou's eyes suddenly fixed, and she looked at the uneasy Tang Afu meaningfully, and nodded, "It's true."

Tang Afu's face changed, and a cold murderous intent immediately escaped from him. He muttered to himself, "It's really hard to find it, but it's easy to get it."

"So what?" Xiao Zhirou asked suspiciously, "What do you want to do?"

"I……"

Tang Afu hesitated to speak, and suddenly bowed to Xiao Zhirou and asked: "I want to go out for a while, please allow me, Master!"

"You want to kill Shen Dongshan in Huashan?"

"That's right! This bastard is hypocritical and selfish. He cheated me of my family property and killed me. How can I face my dead parents if I don't take revenge?" Tang Afu said with gritted teeth, "I have long wanted to cut him into pieces, but unfortunately he has many burrows and it is very difficult to find him. Tonight, I am very close to him. This is the best time to kill him."

"Stupid!" Xiao Zhirou scolded, "This martial arts conference was organized by him, and he contributed money and effort to help the Central Plains martial arts community solve problems. Right now, everyone here owes him a favor. You want to kill him? That's just wishful thinking."

"I know Shen Dongshan has made a lot of bad friends in the underworld, but they can't protect him every step of the way." Tang Afu argued, "If I hide carefully and wait for an opportunity to strike, I can take his life in a snap. I swear, no matter success or failure, I will never implicate Jueqing Valley..."

"No!" Xiao Zhirou said angrily, "Afu, it's not that I'm afraid of being implicated, I just don't want you to die in vain. What's more, the purpose of our coming to the martial arts conference has not yet been achieved. Before that, no one is allowed to cause trouble."

"But……"

"Master has made up his mind, there is no need to talk about it." Xiao Zhirou said coldly, "A gentleman's revenge is never too late. When you are fully grown, it will be easy to kill him, so why rush it now?"

Although he was unwilling, due to his status and his respect for Xiao Zhirou, Tang Afu could only suppress his anger and agree.

"Go back and recite the 'Calming Technique' three hundred times, and present it to me tomorrow morning."

As soon as these words came out, a hint of gloom flashed across Tang Afu's eyes. It seemed that in front of Xiao Zhirou, none of his thoughts could be hidden.

"Valley Master!"

Suddenly, Chang Wuhui, with an anxious look in his eyes, trotted over and handed a letter to Xiao Zhirou without saying anything. He explained breathlessly, "Valley Master, I don't know who left this letter outside the gate of the garden. I was worried that the matter was urgent, so I didn't dare to delay."

On the envelope, there were six powerful characters as elegant as iron strokes and silver hooks: "Personally written by the master of Jueqing Valley."

Xiao Zhirou, confused, slowly opened the letter, only to find that it contained only two short lines of poetry.

However, it was these two short lines of poetry that made Xiao Zhirou's expression freeze, her eyes turned red, and an indescribable sadness and sorrow appeared between her brows.

"The elders know I am here after receiving this letter, and I will open my pavilion by the water for you."

This was the first poem that Teng Sanshi taught Xiao Zhirou when she was just learning to speak. This line in particular fully depicts the love between father and son, so it was loved by Teng Sanshi and left a deep impression on Xiao Zhirou. The old memories come alive on the paper, and the deep love between father and daughter seems to be vivid in my mind and in my ears.

……

The Qin family's villa in Hexi.

Inside the hall, Qin Ming looked thoughtful, playing with a dagger in his hand, his eyes flickering, as if he was thinking about something.

On the side, Qin Tianjiu's face was as gloomy as water, with a hint of sinisterness between his brows.

In the hall, Qin Da, Qin Er, and Qin San stood in a row with their heads bowed and eyebrows lowered, looking respectful. In front of Qin Ming and Qin Tianjiu, the three arrogant brothers were actually submissive and trembling, not even daring to breathe.

"Did you see it clearly?" Suddenly, Qin Ming's eyes moved and he asked again, "Is it really him?"

"It's absolutely true!" Qin Da assured confidently, "His appearance hasn't changed much since he left home, except that he has become more bloated."

"Having said that, this boy's martial arts not only did not decline with his bloated body, but became more and more advanced." Qin Tianjiu's hoarse voice sounded quietly, "The name of 'Ghost Sees Sorrow' is becoming more and more famous in the martial arts world. As the saying goes, a high name attracts slander, and a tall tree attracts the wind. There are already many people in the world who are curious about Qin Ku's origins. Now, many heroes have gathered in Huashan. Once Qin Ku openly becomes our enemy at the martial arts conference, the old things that have been sealed for more than ten years may come to light again. If this shameful secret history of the Qin family is revealed to the world, the reputation that the Hexi Qin family has accumulated in the martial arts world for decades... I'm afraid it will become a joke. The lord of the mansion doesn't want someone to poke his spine behind his back and say that you killed your elder brother and usurped the throne."

At this point, Qin Tianjiu's face suddenly showed a sinister look. He turned to look at Qin Ming, who was frowning, and reminded him: "Although Qin Ku is living outside, he is the eldest son and grandson of the Qin family after all. If you don't get rid of him, you will never be the orthodox Qin family."

As soon as these words came out, a trace of helplessness flashed across Qin Ming's eyes. He smiled bitterly and said, "If Dad hadn't been so biased towards my eldest brother and ignored my diligence, why would I have resorted to such a bad idea? And I wouldn't have gotten to the ridiculous point of a quarrel between brothers. Back then, my grandfather founded the Hexi Qin family. In order to maintain the prosperity of the Qin family and its undefeated position in the martial arts world, he set the family motto of 'the capable are promoted and the mediocre are demoted'. Unexpectedly, Dad took his words out of context and only considered seniority and martial arts skills, but not politics, intelligence and scheming. He loved my eldest brother in every way and taught him everything he knew, but he ignored me and didn't care about me. In his eyes, my eldest brother is always perfect, while I have nothing. If Dad hadn't been so unfair, I would never have killed him all."

"Those who have accomplished great things since ancient times are all cruel and ruthless." Qin Tianjiu comforted him, "Think about it, in order to seize the throne, Emperor Taizong of Tang did not hesitate to launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident, beheaded his brothers and sisters, and forced Li Yuan to make him the crown prince. It was inhumane and cruel. However, what was the result? During the prosperous Zhenguan period, the world was peaceful, the civil and military preparations were improved, the country was rich and the army was strong. People in later generations all sang praises to him, and historians of all dynasties also praised him. Even though Li Shimin killed his brother to seize the throne, It still does not prevent him from being remembered and famous for generations. As the saying goes, 'No gold is pure, no man is perfect', and the winners are the losers, which is an iron rule that never changes. At the beginning, although your elder brother had the right time, place and people, he was too indecisive and too proud to take on the responsibility. If he had been in charge of the Qin family, I'm afraid it would have been destroyed in the bloody storm of the martial arts world, and it would never have had the status and achievements it has today. Therefore, in terms of being the head of the Qin family, you are far better than him."

"Uncle Jiu's words make me feel ashamed." Qin Ming said modestly, "Qin Ku's fate is completely different from his father's, but he was able to make a name for himself single-handedly, which shows that this boy is indeed extraordinary."

"Qin Ku has been gifted since he was young. It only takes him a few days to master the same sword skills that others need three to five months to master." Qin Da said with emotion, "Qin Ku is still less than 30 years old, young and strong, with a bright future. I am worried that if he cannot be stopped in time, he will become a great concern for the Palace Master in the future."

"Contain?" Qin Ming raised his eyebrows and asked, "How to contain?"

"This..." Qin Da was stunned, and at the same time hesitant. Under Qin Ming's interested gaze, his eyes suddenly turned cold, and he said viciously, "Wildfires cannot be extinguished, and spring breezes will bring new life. My suggestion is..."

Having said this, Qin Da reached out and gently touched his neck, the meaning was self-evident.

"You want to kill him?" Qin Tianjiu taunted, "Qin Ku dared to come, he must have made all the preparations. Right now, he is eager for us to find him."

"Uncle Jiu is right!" Qin San murmured, "Now, even if we don't kill Qin Ku, I'm afraid Qin Ku will chase us and cause trouble."

"In that case, why are we still hesitating?" Qin Er urged, "Instead of waiting for him to come to us, why not take the initiative?"

"How easy is that?" Qin Tianjiu sneered, "Where is Qin Ku now?"

"With the people from the Xianwang Mansion..."

"That's it!" Qin Tianjiu interrupted, "Qin Ku has always been a loner, why is he hanging out with the people in the Xianwang Mansion now? It is rumored that Liu Xunyi had recruited Qin Ku into the Xianwang Mansion not long ago, and Luo Tianjin did not object to it, and Qin Ku did not deny it. From today's perspective, this news is very likely to be true."

"If that's the case, it will be very difficult for us to deal with Qin Ku." Qin Da suddenly realized and couldn't help but look worried. "With Luo Tianjin as his backer, it's no wonder Qin Ku is so fearless."

"Luo Tianjin?" Qin Ming said with disdain, "He is now a clay Buddha crossing the river, he can't even protect himself, how can he protect Qin Ku? Last year, he conspired with Shaolin and the Pan family to stage a drama, causing the whereabouts of "Xuan Shui Xia Juan" to remain unknown. I haven't settled the account with him yet, how dare he interfere in the feud between Qin Ku and me again?"

"That's true." Qin Tianjiu said, "Qin Ku is a descendant of the Qin family after all. The grievances between us are, after all, the Qin family's family affairs. As an outsider, how can Luo Tianjin interfere? What's more, the Xianwang Mansion is now imprisoned, and Luo Tianjin is surrounded by enemies. How can he have the energy to care about Qin Ku's affairs?"

"In that case, can we strike first?" Qin San's eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty gleam, and he took the initiative to ask, "Master, I would like to meet Qin Ku."

"No hurry!" Qin Ming waved his hand slowly and said, "If we fight Qin Ku privately, it will violate the rules of the martial arts conference and make things difficult for Master Jinwu and others. Right now, Qin Ku knows that we are right in front of him, but he has been silent all the time. I guess he has this concern. Since he doesn't move, then we won't move either. The most urgent task is to help Master Jinwu deal with Luo Tianjin. If we take down Luo Tianjin, Qin Ku will lose his greatest support. By then, I have ten thousand ways to discipline this good nephew who likes to stir up trouble everywhere and is bent on murdering his uncle."

……

(End of this chapter)