Chapter 741: Hidden Growth
May 25th, noon.

In Xijing Prefecture, the lobby of Qin Mansion was filled with outlaws from all directions. They gathered in groups of three or five, whispering to each other. At a glance, there were at least fifty or sixty of them.

"This is not the first day. Ever since the incident in Yunya Town, people have come to visit almost every day. Wave after wave, from dawn to dusk, they have been coming, and they wish they could kick down the door of our Qin Mansion."

"That's right! There are so many guests coming in, so we have no time to rest and have to stay here to serve them."

"I kept serving tea and water, which made my legs and arms sore. These people are really shameless. The owner of the mansion refused to see them, but they refused to leave. They even ate and drank, and they didn't treat themselves as outsiders at all."

"What do you know? This is called being a child of the underworld."

"You are so careless, you are just coming to our house to eat and drink for free..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. Be careful not to be heard by the people inside."

Several servants waiting outside the hall gathered together, whispering and complaining, and occasionally stole a glance into the hall, their faces full of contempt.

"Why are you guys gathered here chatting instead of working?"

Suddenly, a displeased voice sounded from behind several servants, causing their faces to change immediately and they hurriedly turned around and saluted.

"Greetings, Master and Second Master!"

At this moment, the two burly men standing in front of them were Qin Da and Qin Er.

"If I see you guys gossiping again, I'll cut off your tongues!"

"Master, calm down. We won't dare to do that again..."

While he was talking, several servants who were at a loss and terrified bowed to Qin Da and Qin Er repeatedly, and then scattered like birds and beasts.

"You bastards, you are becoming more and more unruly!" Qin glared at the servants who were fleeing in all directions, with a gloomy look on his face.

"This is called 'the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam is crooked'." Qin Er teased, "Qin Ku is a careless and reckless person. Now that he is the head of the family and in charge of the power of the Qin family, the people below are naturally becoming more and more indulgent and less and less aware of the rules. Last time, a disciple committed adultery with a maid in the mansion and was caught in the act by me. According to the rules of the Qin family, both of them should be severely punished with eighty strokes of the cane and expelled from the Qin mansion. As a result, I brought them in front of Qin Ku, and our head of the family not only did not punish them, but blamed me for breaking up the couple. In the end, he gave them some gold, silver and jade articles and asked them to keep them for their future marriage. Brother, what do you think, if this is not nonsense?"

"Every country has its own laws, and every family has its own rules. Since Qin Ku came back, the sneaky habits he learned outside have also been brought into the Qin family. Now, there is less and less respect for the superiors and subordinates in the mansion, and the younger disciples are becoming more and more daring and reckless. These are all caused by Qin Ku. If this continues, the Hexi Qin family will definitely make a big mess!" Qin Da said in a deep voice, "In fact, I have long wanted to have a good talk with Qin Ku. If he can't change his bad habits, I will give the power of reward and punishment to someone who knows the rules. We must not let him reward or punish as he pleases. If this matter cannot be resolved, the Qin family will never have peace."

"Brother, let me say something taboo... Now that Qin Ku is in charge of the overall situation, the Hexi Qin Clan is no longer as dignified and majestic as it was when the former head of the family was in power, both internally and externally."

Hearing this, Qin Da's eyes changed quietly, as if he was hesitating about something in his heart, but he did not respond in the end.

"Ugh!"

Following a sigh from Qin Er, Qin Da quickly gathered his thoughts and strode towards the lobby.

"Qin is late and has kept you waiting for a long time. Please forgive me!"

As soon as he entered the hall, Qin Da immediately bowed to the guests and apologized. However, the guests rushed forward like hungry wolves pouncing on their food, asking Qin Da questions all at once.

"Mr. Qin, where is the Lord of the Qin Mansion?"

"We have been waiting for a whole morning. Shouldn't Palace Master Qin come out to see us?"

"What's one morning? I've been here for seven days in a row, but I still haven't seen the shadow of Palace Master Qin."

"Master Qin, is it because we have little influence and our status in the martial arts world is not as high as that of the Hexi Qin family, so the Qin Mansion Master looks down on us and deliberately avoids us?"

"Even when Qin Ming was in office, he never acted so arrogantly! Qin Ku is so young, how dare he neglect a visiting guest?"

"Is this the Qin family's way of entertaining guests?"

...Looking at the crowd who were filled with righteous indignation and talking endlessly, Qin Da and Qin Er couldn't help but look at each other. Both of them had bitter faces, their hearts were in turmoil, and their heads were buzzing from the noise.

"Big brother, second brother, you are finally back!" Qin San, who was entertaining guests in the hall, took great pains to squeeze in front of Qin Da and Qin Er, and asked in a low voice, "Where is the master of the palace?"

Before he finished speaking, Qin San had guessed the answer through the complicated and embarrassed expressions of Qin Da and Qin Er, and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

Qin Da did not respond to Qin San's question, but waved his hands to signal the guests to be quiet, and said loudly: "Please don't misunderstand, the master is not feeling well, so he can't come out to see guests. The Hexi Qin family can be what it is today, thanks to the kindness of friends from all walks of life, how dare we neglect our distinguished guests? The master is indeed not feeling well today, I hope you can understand..."

"We understand Qin Ku, but Qin Ku refuses to understand us!" Dissatisfied doubts broke out in the crowd, "The fight in Yunya Town is a godsend opportunity for us to avenge Alliance Leader Luo. Liu Xunyi fled north in a hurry and must have passed through the Hexi area. This is the Qin family's territory. Are you going to miss this opportunity? In my opinion, the reason why Qin Ku avoided us is not because he didn't want to deal with Liu Xunyi, but because he didn't want to make Liu Xunyi's whereabouts public. He was worried that we would take away his credit!"

"Misunderstanding!" Qin Da felt bitter and waved his hands repeatedly. "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by you all. My master had some friendship with Liu Xunyi. Although he hated what he did, he couldn't bear to kill him. Therefore, the Qin family did not intervene in this matter from the beginning, and never sent anyone to hunt down Liu Xunyi. If you say that my master wants to take all the credit, it's nonsense. As for the whereabouts of Liu Xunyi, we really don't know..."

"Master Qin, do you think we are three-year-old children?" another person refuted. "Who in the martial arts world doesn't know that Hexi is the base of the Qin family? There are spies of the Qin family everywhere here, and no movement can be hidden from your ears. If you say that you don't know the whereabouts of Liu Xunyi, who can believe it?"

"This……"

"Even if you don't know Liu Xunyi's whereabouts, as long as you use the Qin family's spies, you can find his whereabouts within half a day." Someone else echoed, "Since the Qin Palace Master is kind-hearted and can't bear to kill his old friend, we won't force him. How about this, you just need to find out Liu Xunyi's whereabouts, and then tell us the results, and then we will go and avenge Luo, without the Qin family taking action, how about that?"

"Good idea!" As soon as this proposal was made, it was immediately agreed by everyone. "The killing of Liu Xunyi is the order issued by the Wulin Alliance Leader. Even if you don't obey, you shouldn't help Liu Xunyi to go against the Wulin Alliance Leader. Master Qin, Master Qin II, Master Qin III, you are all veterans who have been in the martial arts world for many years. You should understand what it means to go against the Wulin Alliance Leader."

"This……"

Being pressed by everyone, the three heroes of the Qin family could not help but look at each other and were speechless.

In fact, they had long wanted to take action against Liu Xunyi, but Qin Ku had strictly ordered the Qin family disciples not to interfere in the matter, so they made mistakes again and again.

Now, Liu Xunyi is stranded in Hexi, undoubtedly a lamb to be slaughtered. It would be a lie to say that the three heroes of the Qin family are not tempted.

"Everyone, please listen to me!" Seeing that Qin Da was already in disarray, Qin San took the initiative to speak up and said, "The power of the Qin family is in the hands of the head of the family. To mobilize the Qin family's forces to search for Liu Xunyi's whereabouts, the head of the family must agree and give the order personally. Apart from this, no one else has the right to mobilize a single soldier of the Qin family. Therefore, the three of us brothers cannot make the decision on what you proposed today. We must report the matter truthfully, and then the head of the family will make the decision."

"That's right!" Qin Er continued, "We agree with your proposal, but unfortunately the master has been ill for a long time and is bedridden. Sometimes he is even unconscious. Even if we want to report this to him, we have to wait until he gets better. I hope you heroes will understand the difficulties!"

"Everyone, please go back first!" Qin Da was upset by the current situation, and his tone became a little stiff. "Birth, aging, illness and death are all God's will, and there is nothing we can do about it. When the head of the family is in better condition in two days, it will not be too late to discuss with you!"

"This……"

Seeing that the three Qin brothers spoke in unison and with a firm attitude, the guests knew in their hearts that they were deliberately evading the question, but they could do nothing but shake their heads and sigh in disappointment.

After all, if you fall out with the Qin family on their territory, it will be difficult for anyone to step down once the situation becomes strained.

Out of consideration for human relationships, everyone did not insist any longer, and said goodbye to the three heroes of the Qin family one after another, leaving in despair.

Looking at the desolate and lonely figures of the crowd, Qin Er couldn't help but sigh: "This time, we have offended a lot of people."

"Since Qin Ku took office, haven't we offended enough people? Ever since we rejected the three letters sent by Qingfeng and insisted on not sending people to Lin'an to kill Liu Xunyi, almost all the major martial arts sects in the Central Plains have stopped dealing with us. As for the people who have come to our door in recent days, they are just some unknown little people in the martial arts world. Compared with the famous and upright sects such as Shaolin, Wudang, Kunlun, and Emei, they are not worth mentioning at all." Qin San said sarcastically, "We have offended all the major sects and families in the martial arts world, and now we have to offend even these small characters. If this continues, the connections that the Hexi Qin family has worked hard to accumulate for decades will soon be completely defeated by Qin Ku!"

"I've had enough!" Qin Da said solemnly, "No matter whether it's because of the status of Qin family disciples or because of Qin Ku's seniority, we can't just sit back and watch this matter, let alone watch Qin Ku make mistakes again and again, dragging the entire Qin family into an abyss of no return. Since he is stubborn and refuses to change his ways, we must stop him from going astray and revive the family tradition!"

Hearing this, Qin Er and Qin San were startled and asked cautiously: "Brother, what... do you want to do?"

"Right now, the Hexi Qin family is being neglected for not obeying the orders of the leader of the martial arts world. Not only is Qingfeng very dissatisfied with us, but all the sects and schools are also complaining about us. If we want to restore the reputation and status of the Qin family, it is far from enough for us to just persuade Qin Ku. We must find an important figure in the martial arts world to help us."

"An important person..." Qin Er was stunned, "Brother, what you mean is..."

"Tomorrow night, you will accompany me to Yingtian Tower to meet an old friend. Then, everything will be clear!"

……

(End of this chapter)