Chapter 821: Tears of Farewell
Liu Xunyi and his companions rode their horses at a rapid speed, galloping for fifty miles before they dismounted and rested in a forest where there was no village in front and no shop behind.

At this time, it was already three o'clock in the night.

"Brother Liu, you've been running around day and night, and drinking like water. If this continues, I don't know when your injuries will heal."

Pan Yuyin stared at Liu Xunyi swallowing the bitter medicine powder, still nagging him: "If you continue to disregard your own health and do what you want, I promise that the medicine next time will be even more bitter than this time."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Liu Xunyi retched repeatedly due to the smell of medicine lingering in his throat, and surrendered, "I don't want to eat this kind of thing every day."

Looking at the "sad-faced" Liu Xunyi, Pan Yuyin felt angry and amused, and playfully stuck out her tongue at him as a provocation.

"Miss Pan, are you really planning to go back to Lin'an with us?"

Hearing Li Haitang's words, Feng Tianba could not help but frown and said, "What do you mean by 'come back to Lin'an with us'? Lord Liu and I are officials appointed by the court, so we should go back to report. You are not from the court, so why are you following us? Could it be that... you really want to ask the emperor for a position?"

"That's wrong!" Li Haitang corrected, "I'm not following 'you', I'm following 'Big Brother Liu'."

"Strange!" Pan Yuyin looked curious, "You have no relationship with Brother Liu, why are you following him?"

"This is a secret between men. You women won't understand." Li Haitang pretended to be mysterious, but in fact it was perfunctory. "But you, you are obviously the apprentice of Granny Taohua, why did you follow Brother Liu to Lin'an?"

"I..." Pan Yuyin hesitated, her cheeks flushed for no reason, and she murmured, "My parents and family are all in Lin'an. What's so strange about going back to visit them?"

"Oh! A visit to relatives!"

Li Haitang nodded seriously, then turned to look at Feng Tianba, who was very secretive. They both laughed out loud at the same time, which made Pan Yuyin very embarrassed.

From beginning to end, Wuchan stood aside without saying a word. While seeing others joking and laughing, he was depressed and unhappy.

"Who has silver on them?" Liu Xunyi asked Feng Tianba and Li Haitang while searching his body, "Can you lend it to me first?"

"silver?"

Feng Tianba and Li Haitang were stunned at first, then frantically rummaged through their pockets, barely scraping together about ten or twenty taels, and gave them all to Liu Xunyi without a second thought.

"Brother Liu, what do you want the silver for?" Pan Yuyin also handed over her purse.

"I'll lend you this money. I'll pay you back double when we get back to Lin'an." Liu Xunyi accepted the money from Feng Tianba and Li Haitang, but pushed Pan Yuyin's purse back intact. "It's a long journey to Lin'an. Miss Pan's money is for us to stay overnight. I'll pay you back double when we get back."

"Master Liu, this is all I have..."

Before Wuchan handed over all his copper coins to Liu Xunyi, Liu Xunyi stuffed all the silver into Wuchan's hands, which startled him and he was unable to react for a long time.

"Master Liu, what are you doing..."

“Young Master, this is the money for the trip back to Shaolin Temple. It’s not much, but… at least it’s a token of our appreciation.” Liu Xunyi bowed to Wuchan and said, “I want to thank you on behalf of the princess for protecting her. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely repay you double!”

"Master Liu, what do you mean?" Feng Tianba was confused. "Could it be... you want to drive the little monk away?"

"All good things must come to an end! It's not that I'm driving you away, but it's time for you to go home." Liu Xunyi smiled at the hesitant Wuchan and said bluntly, "In fact, you have received a secret letter from Shaolin Master Yuanku. He agreed to meet you at Horyuji Temple, right?"

"This..." Wuchan was stunned, and then looked embarrassed, "How did Mr. Liu know?"

"Excuse me, I happened to pass by when you were opening this letter, so..." Liu Xunyi smiled awkwardly, "Young Master was reluctant to say goodbye to us, I guess you were afraid that we would be suspicious. In fact, there is no need to be. You have already expressed your deep love for us, the princess, and the Song Dynasty. Now that the wedding is over, it is natural for you to return to Shaolin, why would we be suspicious?"

"Little monk, are you afraid that we will be suspicious? Or are you reluctant to leave?" Li Haitang teased with a sly smile, "Your little trick has been exposed by Brother Liu, why don't you tell the truth?"

"That's right!" Feng Tianba echoed, "After we say goodbye today, I don't know when we will meet again. If you have anything to say, you'd better say it all at once, so you won't regret it later."

Li Haitang and Feng Tianba have always been at odds with each other, and they often quarrel. However, when they tease Wu Chan, their thoughts are surprisingly consistent.

“Actually…” Wu Chan was confused and hesitated, “Actually, I’m worried about Donor Liu…”

"willow……"

Wuchan's answer surprised Li and Feng, who were eager to try.

"Master Yuanku told me in a letter that when we go to Lin'an, people from all walks of life have set up ambushes on all sides, waiting for Donor Liu to show up."

"hiss!"

Li Haitang, Feng Tianba, and Pan Yuyin were all stunned by Wu Chan's news. They subconsciously took a breath of cold air, and their faces turned extremely ugly.

In contrast, Liu Xunyi was calm and composed, as if the "ambush from all sides" that Wuchan mentioned was aimed at others rather than himself.

"I appreciate the kindness of the young master!" Liu Xunyi sincerely thanked the bewildered Wuchan, "When the young master sees Master Yuanku, please convey my gratitude to him."

Liu Xunyi knew that Yuanku was willing to write about the situation in the Central Plains in the letter to Wuchan, which was actually a subtle reminder to himself. Otherwise, with Yuanku's wisdom, how could he not guess that Wuchan would reveal the contents of the letter to Liu Xunyi?

Yuan Ku was very compassionate, but he didn't want to cause trouble for Shaolin, so he used a little trick, which was considered the utmost kindness to Liu Xunyi.

"Donor Liu, please listen to my advice... It's best not to return to Lin'an." Wuchan said anxiously, "Although we have known each other for a short time, through this period of contact, I think Donor Liu is a hero who stands tall and upright. I even suspect... There is another hidden reason for the death of Alliance Leader Luo, so..."

"Thank you, young master, for your kindness." Liu Xunyi was moved by Wuchan's heartfelt words, but he had to face the cruel reality calmly, so he waved his hand to interrupt and said, "Young master, don't worry about me. I have already put life and death aside. If the heavens want to kill me, I will still die even if I hide at the ends of the earth, and vice versa."

"Even if Mr. Liu doesn't care about his own life or death, he should still consider the safety of others..."

In a hurry, Wuchan finally blurted out the worries buried deep in his heart. When he realized that he had said something wrong, his righteous voice suddenly stopped.

"I... I mean..."

"Young Master's reminder is very correct!" Liu Xunyi said solemnly, "I, Liu Xunyi, will do my own thing and take my own responsibility. I will never implicate others. Commander Feng, take Haitang and Miss Pan back to Lin'an by another route. Don't go with me. In case..."

"Impossible!" Li Haitang was the first to reject it. "Brother Liu, you know why I'm here. It would be better to kill me with a sword than to let me abandon you. Anyway, if something happens to you, I won't survive if I go back."

"That's right!" Feng Tianba said righteously, with a firm attitude, "We live together, and we die together. There were hundreds of people when the bride was sent out, and now I have to go back alone to report, which is more painful than killing me."

"I won't leave either!" Pan Yuyin said stubbornly, "I promised the princess to take care of you. If she knew that I broke my promise, she would be very sad. How can I face her in the future? How can I face the people of the Song Dynasty who are protected by her?"

"you……"

"Little monk, there's no need to persuade me anymore, just go!" Li Haitang urged him impatiently, "We appreciate your kindness, but we are in a different situation from you, so we can't just leave. However, you don't have to feel guilty, because you are different from us. You are a Shaolin disciple, and you carry the reputation of Shaolin. Nowadays, all the factions in the martial arts world regard Brother Liu as an alien. Commander Feng and Miss Pan are not from the martial arts world, so they naturally don't care about these things. I am from Longxiang Mountain, and I am an alien among aliens, so I don't care even more. But you are different. If you hang out with us, it is inevitable that others will use you as a handle, and it may bring disaster to Shaolin."

Li Haitang's words hit the nail on the head and severely hit Wu Chan's soft spot, leaving him in a dilemma and unable to move forward or backward.

"Donor Liu, little monk..."

"Young Master, don't be embarrassed. Haitang's words are very painful. In fact, if you leave now, it is not unkind or unjust, but it is a great kindness and righteousness!" Liu Xunyi comforted, "Even if you don't leave, you can't keep me safe in the ambush from all sides, but will drag Shaolin into an abyss of no return. If you leave, not only can you save Shaolin from the dire straits, but you can also make me one less fetter. Isn't it the best of both worlds?"

"Donor Liu..."

Looking at Liu Xunyi, who was speaking with sincerity and earnestness, Wuchan suddenly felt his throat tighten, and the words on his lips could no longer come out. Then his nose felt sore, and tears rolled down uncontrollably.

“Donor Liu, Donor Feng, Donor Li, Donor Pan…” Wuchan looked around at the four people, Liu Xunyi, who looked indifferent and relaxed, with tears in his eyes, and choked up with sobs as he said word by word, “Shaolin has brought me up, and I will never abandon my master…”

"Little monk, don't be so shy like a woman." Feng Tianba's eyes were red, and his words were still joking, "We have experienced life and death together in Mobei, this is a great fate. Haha..."

"I will definitely chant sutras and pray for you day and night. You are all good people. Buddha will definitely keep you safe and sound..." Wuchan cried and laughed, with tears and snot all over his face. "We will definitely meet again alive..."

"Let's go! This is already the territory of the Central Plains martial arts world. If someone finds out you're with us at dawn, it will be another big hassle."

Li Haitang pushed Wuchan directly onto the horse. Before he could be reluctant to leave, Feng Tianba waved his hand and slapped the horse hard. With a neigh, the horse ran towards the end of the woods in pain.

"It's not far from here to Horyuji Temple. Little monk, don't get lost! Take care!"

"I am leaving now... Take care, all donors..."

Amidst a burst of laughter and playfulness with tears in their eyes, Wuchan gradually disappeared from everyone's sight on his horse.

"Let Wuchan walk a little further, we will continue our journey later."

Liu Xunyi collected his thoughts and gave a grateful smile to Li Haitang and the others who were full of thoughts. Everything was said without words.

"Brother Liu, this is Hexi, the Qin family's territory." Li Haitang rolled his eyes and asked tentatively, "You and Qin Ku have a deep friendship. Now that you are in trouble... why don't you ask him for help?"

"The reason why I refused to stay overnight in the Jingbei camp was because I didn't want to alarm Qin Ku." Liu Xunyi said self-deprecatingly, "Wuchan is right. Now that you are too close to me... it is too dangerous..."

"Dangerous? Isn't it dangerous to make me wait for you in the freezing cold all night?"

Before Liu Xunyi finished speaking, a displeased complaint suddenly came from the depths of the woods. Then, under the astonished and cautious gazes of Liu Xunyi and the others, a bloated figure staggered out of the darkness.

Due to the cold night wind, his body trembled from time to time, and he kept rubbing his hands to keep warm, looking both pitiful and funny. Even so, he still did not forget to joke: "I opened this mountain, I planted this tree, if you pass by here... you have to drink with me first! Haha..."

The dark clouds dispersed, the moonlight poured down, and the face of the person who came gradually appeared in front of Liu Xunyi and the others.

It was the head of the Qin family, Qin Ku, whom they had just been talking about.

……

(End of this chapter)