Chapter 71 Twists and turns

"Brother, how do you feel now?"

Su He brought Liu Xunyi to a stream. Liu Xunyi lay on the bank and took a few gulps of the clear stream water. He suddenly felt extremely cool in his stomach. His dizzy head became much clearer, and his ears and eyes became clearer. Although his limbs were still a little weak, compared to the dying look he had just had in Luohan Temple, he was now much more normal.

The cold stream water wet Liu Xunyi's clothes, but the feeling of being stimulated by the cold made him feel comfortable and refreshed. With the help of Su He, Liu Xunyi slowly sat up and said gratefully: "My younger brother Liu Xunyi, thank you Brother Su for risking your life to save me just now!" As he said that, Liu Xunyi was about to stand up and kneel, but was held tightly by Su He.

"It's just a small favor for Su to help the weak when he sees injustice. Brother Liu, don't worry about it." Su He spoke righteously without any hypocrisy.

Liu Xunyi could not see any cunning in Su He's tiger eyes, only clarity and uprightness, which showed that Su He saved him purely out of righteousness and without any conspiracy or intention. He immediately had more respect for Su He and said, "Brother Su is really a man of integrity! No matter what, my life was saved tonight by Brother Su. I am definitely not the kind of person who is ungrateful. If Brother Su has any instructions in the future, just give me a call. As long as it does not violate morality, I will do my best to repay Brother Su for saving my life."

Liu Xunyi's attitude was very sincere, which seemed to have touched Su He. Su He held Liu Xunyi's arms with both hands and laughed, "Brother Liu, you are too kind. I didn't save you for any reward. Today, let's just be friends."

"It is my honor to be friends with a true hero like Brother Su." Liu Xunyi nodded repeatedly in agreement, and moved his limbs which were gradually regaining strength. He changed the subject and said with a wry smile, "I didn't expect that I would fall into that woman's trap. It's really embarrassing..."

"By the way, Brother Liu, why did you come to Luohan Temple tonight?" Su He asked, "Could it be that you are here to save Master Cao as well?"

"Why? Did Brother Su come here for Master Cao?" Liu Xunyi asked in confusion, "But I wonder how Brother Su found Luohan Temple?"

Su He was stunned and asked, "Could it be that Brother Liu was entrusted by Hall Master Cao?"

Liu Xunyi nodded in astonishment. He knew that he must not tell Su He his real purpose, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble. Therefore, he evaded the question and said, "I didn't know about Master Cao before I came here. In fact, I came to look for those Westerners. They stole my things on the street yesterday."

"So that's how it is." Su He was open-minded, so he didn't have any doubts about Liu Xunyi, and said frankly, "I was entrusted by Master Cao of Yuhu Hall to secretly monitor the woman named Xunzhen. This afternoon, Master Long went to Longxiang Inn to meet Xunzhen. I saw that Master Long looked sneaky, so I guessed that there must be some secret between them, so I followed them secretly and came to Luohan Temple."

Liu Xunyi suddenly realized and thought to himself, "Su He's rescue of me was indeed an accident. It seems that I was blessed by God to have escaped. If Su He hadn't been there tonight, I would have died under the swords."

"I didn't expect that they would ambush so many people in the temple. It seems that things are far more complicated than I expected." Su He muttered to himself, then looked at Liu Xunyi again and asked, "Brother Liu, do you have the strength to protect yourself now?"

"I'm fine now." Liu Xunyi nodded and waved his arms a few times. His lost strength had been mostly recovered at this moment. He said with emotion, "Just now, the master in the temple called out the sound of Sumeru, and it dissipated half of the effect of the soul-bewitching incense I was poisoned with. I just don't know who that monk is and why his martial arts skills are so amazing!"

"There are always people better than you. Since we met, it's fate. Brother Liu, why do you have to ask about everything? Haha... Since you are fine, I will take my leave first." Su He stood up quickly and bowed to Liu Xunyi, "I have to rush to Yuhu Hall now to inform Master Cao of Mr. Cao's whereabouts so that he can go to Luohan Temple to save him."

"Xunzhen is a very calculating woman. Now that she has discovered us, I'm afraid she won't stay in Luohan Temple any longer." Liu Xunyi frowned and speculated, "Brother Su, it's too late to report to Yuhu Hall now."

Su He said seriously, "That being said, since I have been entrusted with this, I must be loyal to the person who entrusted me. I will inform Hall Master Cao of what happened tonight no matter sooner or later. Moreover, even if Xunzhen can leave, that Master Long cannot. As for the next plan, it depends on Hall Master Cao's opinion."

"There is no time to lose, Brother Su, hurry to Yuhu Hall!" Liu Xunyi no longer hesitated, stood up slowly, and said goodbye with a bow, "Since I already know that the Dragon King and Xunzhen are in the same group, it is not convenient for me to stay in Long'an Inn any longer. I will go back to pack my luggage and find another place to go. But I don't know when I can see Brother Su again after we say goodbye tonight?"

"Mountains and rivers bring us together, and we will surely meet again if we are destined to!" Su He said with a hearty smile, "Brother Liu, take care!"

"Brother Su, take care!"

After saying goodbye, the two went their separate ways. Su He rushed to Yuhu Hall, while Liu Xunyi went straight to Long'an Inn.

It was late at night, and when Liu Xunyi was about to sneak back to the inn quietly, he met an acquaintance with an anxious look outside the inn.

"Feng Tianba?"

Seeing the anxious Feng Tianba, Liu Xunyi frowned slightly, quickly stepped forward and dragged him to a dark alley. After confirming that there was no one around, he asked suspiciously, "Why haven't you left Huodu yet? Could it be that you still don't give up and want to take me back to Pingjiang Prefecture?"

"No, I came to you to tell you something." Feng Tianba explained in a low voice, "When I was in Quanzhou, I heard... I heard that you had a close relationship with that woman of Lu Tingxiang..." "What do you mean?" Liu Xunyi interrupted in an unhappy tone, "What do you want to say?"

Feng Tianba was startled by Liu Xunyi's sudden and serious questioning, and quickly explained: "The woman named Bai Shuang was kidnapped."

"what?"

"I know you have some relationship with her, so I think it's necessary to tell you about this." Feng Tianba said resentfully, "As for whether to save her or not, that's your business, you decide for yourself. I came here to tell you this, I'm leaving now!" After saying that, Feng Tianba was about to turn around and leave, but Liu Xunyi suddenly grabbed his arm. Facing Liu Xunyi with a complicated look in his eyes, Feng Tianba said in a weird and sarcastic tone, "Look at your expression... Could it be that you really have an affair with Lu Tingxiang's woman..."

"What exactly is going on?" Liu Xunyi was in no mood to pay attention to Feng Tianba's teasing at the moment, and asked hurriedly, "Who took her away? And when did it happen?"

"About half an hour ago, at Longfu Inn, Lei Biao from Yuhu Hall led people to capture Bai Shuang and killed two people who were traveling with Bai Shuang. They must have been the guards that Lu Tingxiang arranged for her." Feng Tianba said, "The body is still in Longfu Inn. Do you want to go and take a look?"

"And killed someone?" Liu Xunyi's expression was extremely solemn.

"Killed him. I saw it with my own eyes." Feng Tianba nodded. "He was quick, accurate and ruthless. He killed her with one blow. It was obvious that he had no intention of leaving her alive from the beginning. The people Lei Biao brought with him were all good fighters. Bai Shuang's two guards had no room to resist. I really can't understand why Lu Tingxiang would let his woman come to such a place? I can't understand why he didn't give her a few decent guards to accompany her?"

Liu Xunyi thought for a moment, and suddenly recalled what Ding San had said to him. Ding San said, "Cao Qin once intended to invite a beauty from the Central Plains to Yuhu Hall for a chat, but was delayed because of Mr. Cao's affairs." Now that he thought about it, the beauty from the Central Plains mentioned by Ding San was Bai Shuang, and Cao Qin sent someone to take Bai Shuang away in such a rough way, his purpose...

When he thought of this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but shudder, because he didn't dare to think about what happened next.

"Did they say why they took Bai Shuang away?" Liu Xunyi asked.

Feng Tianba shook his head slowly, and said with a bitter smile: "If only a few mediocre people came, I would like to help her, after all, they are all Han Chinese. But they are all tough guys, even if I take action, the result will only be one more corpse, so..."

"This matter has nothing to do with you. You have done your best to tell me." Liu Xunyi replied absentmindedly, "Cao Qin must have had no good intentions in suddenly sending people to capture Bai Shuang."

"Although I don't know Bai Shuang, she is a Song person after all, and she is also a weak woman. In a place like Huodu where there is no one to turn to..." Feng Tianba said indignantly, "I can't just sit there and watch. How about I rush into Yuhu Hall with you to rescue her, and then leave Huodu overnight?"

Liu Xunyi knew Feng Tianba's character. He said this not out of lip service, but out of genuine desire to save Bai Shuang. Although he was touched, Liu Xunyi knew better that Yuhu Hall was not a place that could be easily entered. If they forced their way in, they would not only fail to save Bai Shuang, but also lose two lives in vain.

"This matter cannot be delayed. If you want to save her, you must make a decision as soon as possible." Feng Tianba reminded, "Although I don't know what the relationship between you and Bai Shuang is, I can feel that you will not turn a blind eye to her if something happens to her."

Liu Xunyi, who was upset, could not hear Feng Tianba's rapid-fire muttering. After a moment's silence, Liu Xunyi's expression suddenly straightened up and he said in a hurry, "I'll go to Yuhu Hall now." Before Feng Tianba could reply, Liu Xunyi's hand was already firmly on his shoulder, and he said solemnly, "I'll go alone."

"Although I was unable to help at Longfu Inn, I, Feng Tianba, am definitely not a coward!"

"If I go alone, I still have a chance of survival. If we go together, we will surely die." Liu Xunyi explained hurriedly, "You go back and wait for my news. If I can rescue Bai Shuang tonight, you can take her and leave Huodu overnight. If I am not back by dawn, you will leave by yourself tomorrow morning."

"You're just going to die in vain if you go alone..."

"I don't have time to explain to you. If I dare to go, I will find a way to survive. You can go back and wait for my news!"

Without waiting for Feng Tianba to ask again and again, Liu Xunyi turned around and quickly flew in the opposite direction of Long'an Inn, and soon disappeared into the night.

……

(End of this chapter)