Chapter 800: Surrender in vain (V)
"Great, it's Brother Liu!"

When Li Haitang saw Liu Xunyi taking action, he couldn't help but let out an excited shout.

At the same time, due to the huge gap in strength between Feng Tianba and Hu Lan, Hu Lie, Wang Dechen and others who had no interest in watching the battle were all shocked at the same time and subconsciously sat up straighter.

"Princess, don't worry. As long as Brother Liu takes action, there will be no problem!" Pan Yuyin seemed to see Zhao Xin's nervousness and gently held her ice-cold jade hand.

"Let's be merciful when we can. Feng Tianba has already lost, and you have no grudge against him, so why are you so persistent and want to kill him?" Liu Xunyi helped Feng Tianba, who was grimacing in pain, up while complaining to Hu Lan in a drunken and lazy manner, "What's more, Feng Tianba is injured, so it's not fair for you to beat him."

"It's not fair to beat him?" Hu Lan covered his bleeding head with his hands and challenged him with gritted teeth, "What about beating you?"

"Hit me..." Liu Xunyi burped and said intermittently, "It's better to hit me."

"The man just now looked quite sturdy, but he was just a facade and could not withstand a single blow. This man now... looks like a pretty boy, even worse than the one just now." Garu commented seriously on the sidelines, "I guess he can't even withstand a punch from Brother Hulan."

"You know nothing?" another man retorted, "The fact that he just kicked Hu Lan away is enough to prove that he is no mediocre person."

"That was a sneak attack, not a real skill..."

"Shut your stinky mouths and don't distract Hulan!" Temulun scolded, and immediately quieted down the whispering Garu and others.

"Could it be that Lord Liu is also interested in sparring?" Hu Lie asked knowingly, his words intriguing, "If that's the case, this king would be more than happy to do so."

Wang Dechen reminded him sarcastically, "Hulan, this Lord Liu is not like Commander Feng just now. He is a famous master in the Central Plains. Even the leader of the Central Plains martial arts world... was defeated by him."

"What kind of master is that? He's just a weak drunkard!" Hu Lan smeared the blood on his face and looked at Liu Xunyi with contempt in his eyes.

Faced with Hu Lie and Wang Dechen singing the same tune, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but frown. He pondered for a moment and a plan came to his mind.

"Your Majesty, a leg of lamb... doesn't seem to be worth so many people fighting for it?"

"It's not just a leg of lamb, it also represents my respect for warriors." Hu Lie said righteously, "On our grassland, only the strong can win respect and deserve courtesy. If Lord Liu can defeat Hu Lan, he will win the leg of lamb and the respect of me and the grassland."

"Excuse me, I don't want the lamb leg, nor do I want your respect..." Liu Xunyi was not sure if he was still upset about Hu Lie's 'flirting' with Zhao Xin, so his words were far less respectful than before, and his attitude was even a little flamboyant. "Your Highness doesn't like the humility of Han people, so I might as well learn from you Mongolians... and speak frankly, how about that?"

"Okay!" Hu Lie's eyes moved, and he asked with interest, "You don't want lamb legs, then what do you want?"

Hearing this, a frightening light suddenly flashed in Liu Xunyi's eyes. After a moment of silence, he answered word by word: "I want to use this leg of lamb to exchange for a prefecture in the Song Dynasty. I wonder if the prince... dares to agree?"

"hiss!"

When Liu Xunyi said this, the whole audience was in an uproar.

The Mongolians looked at Liu Xunyi with eyes full of shock and shame. On the other hand, the Han people had a complex expression between their brows that was hard to tell whether it was surprise or admiration.

"Liu Xunyi, what kind of joke are you talking about?" After a long silence, Wang Dechen was the first to break the silence. "It's just a fun exchange. What qualifications do you have to bargain with the prince? Besides, what kind of lamb leg can be worth an entire prefecture?"

Liu Xunyi smiled and said, "Of course the lamb leg is not worth it, but the 'respect' bestowed by the prince and the grassland... I wonder if it can be worth the land of an entire prefecture?"

"This……"

Everyone knew that Liu Xunyi was trying to take advantage of the situation, but when he brought up Hu Lie and Cao Yuan, no one could refute him.

After all, they may not care about their own life and death, but they cannot ignore Hu Lie's face.

"Ha ha……"

When everyone was angry but speechless, Hu Lie suddenly laughed out loud and waved his hand to interrupt Wang Dechen's argument.

"What are you laughing at, Your Majesty?" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows and pretended to be ignorant. "Are you laughing at my wild imagination? Or... do you not believe that Hu Lan can beat me?"

Liu Xunyi's insinuation made Hu Lan's face become even gloomier. He bowed to Hu Lie and pleaded: "Your Majesty, I swear to tear his bones apart..."

"shut up!"

Before Hulan finished speaking, Wang Dechen's eyes suddenly turned cold and he said sternly, "Who do you think you are? What qualifications do you have for the prince to bet on you to win with an entire prefecture?"

"Doesn't Commander Wang believe me..."

"It has nothing to do with belief. This competition and the cession of territory by the Song Dynasty are two completely different things." Wang Dechen said in a deep voice, "This is Liu Xunyi's way of provoking me. Can't you see it?"

"This……"

"Liu Xunyi, don't you think that deciding military and national affairs in this way... is a bit of a joke?" Hu Lie's smile gradually faded, and his pair of eyes, shining with brilliance, seemed to penetrate Liu Xunyi's heart.

"Hulan is a warrior of the grassland. The prince has high hopes for him. How can this be a joke?" Liu Xunyi replied calmly, "What's more, I'm not proposing such a method without investment and huge profits. If Hulan is really capable of defeating me, I will immediately obey the prince's wishes and give him 100,000 dan of rice plus a prefecture. I will never bargain." "Oh?" Hu Lie raised his eyebrows, seeming to be quite interested in Liu Xunyi's proposal, "Are you willing to sign the deed of cession?"

"Of course! If I am not as skilled as others, I will sign the deed of cession immediately. I am willing to bear the eternal infamy alone." Liu Xunyi spoke with certainty, and every word was sonorous.

"It seems... you are very confident in this competition. But what Commander Wang just said makes sense. Why should I take such a big risk..."

Hu Lie nodded slightly and was about to refuse, but his peripheral vision accidentally caught a glimpse of Zhao Xin sitting next to him. He especially saw her uneasy and flustered look, and the words on his lips stopped abruptly, and his eyes gradually became conflicted.

"My beloved, do you... hope that I will agree to Liu Xunyi's proposal?"

Hu Lie's attitude and tone were extremely gentle, as if he was worried that he was too majestic and would scare the frail Zhao Xin.

"me……"

Zhao Xin clearly had the urge to blurt out what she wanted to say, but when she saw the stern looks in Hu Lie and Wang Dechen's eyes, as well as Hu Lan who was full of murderous intent and ready to take action against Liu Xunyi, she hesitated to open her mouth.

Seeing this scene, Hu Lie's eyes flashed with understanding, and he said sadly: "My beloved concubine is unwilling to speak out, not because she agrees with my decision, but because she is worried that Hu Lan will hurt Liu Xunyi's life, right?"

"Your Majesty, I..."

"My beloved concubine, there is no need to say more. This king will not blame you." Hu Lie waved his hand to interrupt Zhao Xin's explanation, and then cast a hesitant look at Wang Dechen, asking with a hint of meaning, "Hulan is a talent you strongly recommended, and he is also the best master of the Wanggu tribe. I wonder... how good are his skills? Can he bear the heavy trust of this king?"

"This……"

Wang Dechen was stunned. He knew that what Hu Lie really wanted to ask was "How does Hu Lan compare to Liu Xunyi?" However, Wang Dechen had never seen Liu Xunyi take action, so he did not dare to make random guesses and could only shake his head helplessly.

"Su He!"

After thinking for a moment, Hu Lie suddenly cast a sharp gaze at the confused Su He, and said meaningfully: "You tell me!"

Hu Lie's words were like a blow to Su He. His face changed immediately and he was stunned.

At this moment, in addition to Hu Lie, Wang Dechen and other Mongolians, Han people such as Zhao Xin and Liu Xunyi also cast expectant and anxious eyes on Su He.

No one present was a fool. They all understood that the reason Hu Lie asked this question was enough to show that he had already intended to agree to Liu Xunyi's proposal. However, he had not made a final conclusion before finding out who was stronger between Liu Xunyi and Hu Lan.

However, Hu Lie's final decision depends entirely on how Su He answers.

Therefore, it was natural that Su He became the focus of everyone's attention in an instant.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Su He, who was full of thoughts, finally broke the silence and stood up tremblingly. He first looked at Liu Xunyi with a very complicated look, then bowed to Hu Lie and said something else: "Reporting to the prince, Su has never fought with Hu Lan, so it is not convenient to speculate about his martial arts."

"Then tell me about Liu Xunyi." Wang Dechen asked impatiently, "How good is Liu Xunyi's martial arts?"

"This..." Su He was stunned and stammered, "Lord Liu's martial arts... are very powerful..."

"Very strong?" Wang Dechen seemed dissatisfied with Su He's answer and said angrily, "I think Hulan's skills are also very strong. What kind of answer is this?"

"Su He, why don't you use yourself as a measure to explain to me and General Wang what 'very strong' means?" Hu Lie had a blank expression on his face, and he looked intimidating without even getting angry. "How does his martial arts compare to yours?"

"This……"

Finally being asked the most crucial question, Su He's heart felt as if being pressed down by a huge rock, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

At this moment, the look in Liu Xunyi's eyes when he looked at Su He could almost be described as "pleading". His legs subconsciously took two steps towards him. He really wanted to rush to Su He immediately and beg him not to flatter him in front of Hu Lie.

However, things have come to this point, and any more fantasies are just wishful thinking.

Under Hu Lie's aggressive gaze, not only did Liu Xunyi not have the chance to instigate Su He to cover up for him, even Su He himself... did not have the courage to be ambiguous.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Liu Xunyi saw confusion, melancholy, entanglement, and shame in Su He's eyes...

The complex and obscure gazes were like thousands of arrows piercing his heart, making Liu Xunyi frightened and terrified. At this moment, the look he gave Su He contained only one emotion.

Lost, deep loss...

Even though he understood Su He's difficulties, even though he felt extremely unwilling, even though he still held on to a glimmer of hope that he knew was impossible but still lingered, the answer that Liu Xunyi was most reluctant to hear still arrived as promised and resounded through his heart.

"Reporting to the prince, although I have never fought with Lord Liu in a real battle, based on his illustrious record in the Central Plains and my understanding of him, Lord Liu's martial arts skills are probably not inferior to mine."

……

　Lay
　　
　
(End of this chapter)