Chapter 748: Great Wisdom Appears as Foolishness (I)

Ever since entering Cuixiang Tower, Zhang Shun's demeanor has become increasingly strange, and his words and actions are all filled with a sense of awkwardness, as if he brought Qin Ku to Cuixiang Tower not for fun, but for trouble.

When he entered the private room, Zhang Shun's lips were pale, his face was as white as wax, and his palms were covered with sweat.

Qin Ku sat at the table with a swagger, looking around the luxuriously decorated room.

Zhang Shun, who was worried, trembled as he poured tea for Qin Ku. He smiled and said in a calm tone, "Brother Qin, you... drink some tea first. I'll go find the madam and ask how the Persian beauty is preparing."

After saying this, Zhang Shun didn't wait for Qin Ku to respond, but walked impatiently towards the door, as if he didn't want to stay here for a moment, and looked anxious to escape as soon as possible.

"and many more!"

However, before Zhang Shun turned around and left, Qin Ku suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist, which made the panicked Zhang Shun tremble, his legs went weak, and he staggered uncontrollably a few times, almost falling to the ground.

"Qin...Brother Qin, what are you doing..."

"That's enough!" The greed in Qin Ku's eyes gradually subsided, replaced by a cunning look, "There are no outsiders here, you don't have to pretend in front of me. What Persian beauty? Do you think I will believe it?"

“This…” Zhang Shun looked at Qin Ku, who seemed to be smiling but not smiling, helplessly, and forced a smile that was uglier than crying. “What does this mean? Cuixianglou has indeed had several new Persian beauties recently…”

"Enough!" Qin Ku interrupted with an impatient look on his face, "Even if there really is a Persian beauty in Cuixiang Tower, that's not a reason for you to trick me here."

"This……"

"Zhang Shun, you and I have been playing together since we wore open-crotch pants. You can hide your thoughts from others, but not from me." Qin Kuhen laughed, "On weekdays, you are very excited and spit when you mention women, but today you are absent-minded and incoherent. You look weird, there must be something wrong. Tell me straight! You tried every means to trick me to Cuixiang Tower, what exactly do you want to do?"

Zhang Shun was startled and said bitterly, "I knew that this kind of thing could not be hidden from Brother Qin's eyes. Actually...someone wanted to see you, but couldn't find a chance, so he asked me for help..."

"You are an honest boy!" Qin Ku said with a calm look as if he had expected this. "Don't say such nice things. If I ask you for help, I must have given you a lot of benefits, right?"

"Yes..." Zhang Shun didn't dare to play tricks in front of Qin Ku, and answered timidly, "That person did give me some benefits. In fact, I wanted to tell you just now in the carriage... Since Brother Qin is so observant, why didn't you expose me earlier, and why did you follow me to Cuixiang Tower?"

"I came with you to Cuixianglou, firstly out of curiosity, and secondly because I didn't want you to get into trouble." Qin Ku said nonchalantly, "You have always been greedy and never give up until you see the rabbit. Now, someone can make you sell me out willingly, so he must have given you a lot of benefits. As the saying goes, 'taking money from others is to help them get rid of disasters'. If you took the money but didn't trick me into coming to Cuixianglou, what do you think would have happened to you?"

"This..." Zhang Shun's expression became even more interesting when Qin Ku exposed his trick in front of him.

"Let me guess!" Qin Ku pretended to be serious and said, "If you fail to do your job well, the result will definitely not be as simple as vomiting out the benefits you have swallowed. I am the patriarch of the Qin family. A person who can make you betray me must be very powerful. Once such a person retaliates, the means will definitely be very terrifying... Tsk tsk tsk tsk, even I dare not offend such a character easily, let alone you? As I expected, if I let you step out of the door just now, you must take the money and run as far as you can, and you will never dare to appear in front of me again in this life, right?"

"Brother Qin, I..." At this moment, Zhang Shun felt guilty and scared. He was so confused and speechless.

"Tell me!" Qin Ku asked with curiosity in his eyes, "How much did you ask for betraying me?"

"Palace Master Qin, your friend is definitely the most greedy person I have ever met. Hehe..."

Before Zhang Shun could answer, a teasing laugh suddenly came from outside the door. Then, a young man with a bright and imposing manner pushed the door open and walked in, followed by four solemn men holding knives and swords.

Although Qin Ku was not familiar with the visitor, he was not a stranger to him.

The leader was Zheng Songren, the eldest disciple of Wudang Sect. The other four were Wudang disciples Zhang Songyi, Liu Songli, Hu Songzhi and Ma Songxin. They had played an extremely important role in the dramatic change in the Xianwang Mansion on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month last year.

"I just asked your friend to invite Lord Qin to Cuixiang Tower for a chat, but he asked me for 10,000 taels of silver." Zheng Songren was not in a hurry to greet him. Instead, he complained to Qin Ku as if he was meeting an old friend, "It's really not easy to see Lord Qin nowadays. The price is much more expensive than that of a Persian beauty." "Ten thousand taels?" Qin Ku looked at Zhang Shun in surprise, and suddenly realized, "No wonder you dared to betray me? It turns out that you took so much money from others. Come to think of it, ten thousand taels of silver is enough for you to live an carefree life in anonymity. You really don't have to follow me for free food and drink."

After saying that, Qin Ku cast a suspicious look at Zheng Songren again, and said in disbelief: "You...are you a fool? You are willing to pay 10,000 taels of silver just to see me? If you had known this, why didn't you come to me directly? You don't need 10,000, you can take off all your clothes for 1,000 taels and let you enjoy it."

"Palace Master Qin, that's easy. If I could find you, why would I resort to such a desperate measure? Do you really think that the money of our Wudang Sect came from the wind?" Zheng Songren said helplessly, "It is said that a friend from the martial arts world visited your house for seven consecutive days just to see Palace Master Qin. However, unexpectedly, this friend was turned away every day, and in the end, he didn't even see the shadow of Palace Master Qin."

"No way?" Qin Ku pretended to be surprised, "How come I don't know about this?"

"Palace Master Qin doesn't know?" Zheng Songren asked tentatively, "Do you really not know? Or are you... pretending not to know?"

"Your words... seem to be full of innuendos. Are you accusing Qin of pretending to be ignorant when you know the truth?" Qin Ku frowned, his tone quite displeased.

"I definitely wouldn't dare!" Zheng Songren apologized in a very secretive manner, "What I mean is, if you don't even know such an important thing, Palace Master Qin must investigate carefully when you return. Be careful... that you will be sidelined and what happened in the palace will never reach your ears."

"Really?" Qin Ku's mouth showed a simple and innocent smile, "Thank you for reminding me. I will definitely ask someone to clarify this matter when I return."

At this point, Qin Ku suddenly changed the subject, looking at Zheng Songren hesitantly, and said ashamedly: "Brother, you look familiar, but I can't remember where I have seen you before. I wonder..."

"Palace Master Qin is really a forgetful person. I am a disciple of Wudang Sect, Zheng Songren!" Zheng Songren knew that Qin Ku was deliberately despising him, but he did not point it out. Instead, he introduced himself in a dignified manner. "In the martial arts conference in the past, Palace Master Qin represented the Xianwang Mansion and fought against the 'lame swordsman' Qin Tianjiu in an unprecedented battle. It can be said that his skills were amazing and his power was feared by all. I am still deeply impressed when I recall it! I don't know if it was fate that Palace Master Qin was still a fierce general under Luo Tianjin's command at that time, but unexpectedly he became the head of the Hexi Qin family in the blink of an eye. Today, when I recall that wonderful battle at the martial arts conference again, I am really a little... filled with emotion."

"Hey!" Qin Ku was not surprised when Zheng Songren brought up the past with a hint of sarcasm. He smiled calmly, "This is a different time. We can't generalize. What's more, I used to be a wandering beggar. Isn't the contrast with today even more different? As the saying goes, 'A good man doesn't brag about his past achievements', and 'A hero doesn't ask where he came from'. Therefore, all the things in the past were forced by the situation. It's hard to tell right from wrong, and it's hard to tell merits from demerits. The most important thing is who I am today? What can I do? What should I do?"

"Palace Master Qin has profound insights, which are indeed unique. I admire him!"

"I don't deserve it!" Qin Ku smiled, and then rolled his eyes and asked curiously, "But you have gone to great lengths to spend 10,000 taels of silver just to see me. This really makes Qin a little... flattered."

Hearing this, Zheng Songren was slightly stunned, a trace of thought flashed across his eyes, and then suddenly he understood, and he saluted and said, "Since Palace Master Qin is straightforward, I will not beat around the bush. To be honest, I disturbed you tonight for two things. But... they are two things, but in the end it is one thing."

"What do you mean two things or one thing? Qin has little education and a dull mind. Can you please say something I can understand?"

"Two things. One is that I'm asking the Qin Palace Master about the Jianghu killing order issued against Liu Xunyi on behalf of my master. Why are other sects taking action, but the Hexi Qin Sect... has been keeping its troops inactive?" Zheng Songren said calmly, "Second, I heard that after the bloody incident in Yunya Town, Liu Xunyi, who was the 'Song Dynasty's envoy to make peace', fled and is now hiding in the Hexi area, so I want to find the Qin Palace Master to confirm. Although they are two different things, they are both related to Liu Xunyi, so I said they are one thing in the end."

"So that's it!" Qin Ku calculated it over and over in his mind. On the surface, he remained calm and pretended to be aggrieved. "In fact, regarding the Jianghu killing order issued by the leader of Qingfeng, it is not that my Hexi Qin family is unwilling to obey the order, but because Qin has just taken office, and there are countless troubles in the Qin family, inside and outside, waiting for me to solve one by one. There are not enough people at the moment, and I can't arrange it, so..."

"Regarding the matter of 'keeping the troops in place', I believe that the Lord Qin has his own difficulties." Zheng Songren was anxious and wanted to find out Liu Xunyi's whereabouts as soon as possible, so he didn't want to play tricks with Qin Ku, so he hurriedly interrupted and said, "I will report this matter to my master after I go back. I believe that he will understand the difficulties of the Lord Qin."

"So good!"

"In fact, compared to the reason for 'keeping the troops in place', I would like to know more about... whether the rumors that are currently circulating in the Hexi area are true?

"Rumors?" Qin Ku raised his eyebrows and asked cautiously, "What rumors?"

"Rumors about Liu Xunyi!" Zheng Songren stared at the bewildered Qin Ku and asked cautiously, "Today, a shocking insider news suddenly emerged in the Hexi area, saying that Liu Xunyi is hiding in Xijing Prefecture. Some people even boldly speculated that the reason why the Qin Mansion Master avoided the heroes of the world was to confuse the public, waiting for Liu Xunyi to fall into the trap, and then take the initiative to kill him at his doorstep, and take the credit for avenging Luo Alliance Master. I wonder... is this true or false?"

……

(End of this chapter)