Chapter 850: Valley Scenery and Clouds (V)

A moment of trance is like a world of change, but in fact it only happens in a flash.

When the terrifying light returned to Liu Xunyi's eyes, the aggressive soldiers had already approached impatiently.

"Liu Xunyi, hurry up..."

"Thank you, young prince, for the wine!"

Without waiting for Zhao Xie to persuade him, Liu Xunyi suddenly raised his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp under the malicious gaze of everyone.

"Good wine! Delightful!"

"Boom!"

Liu Xunyi sighed to the sky, waved his hand and threw the wine glass far away. The crisp sound seemed particularly loud and even a little harsh in the dead silent Jingyun Pavilion.

Seeing Liu Xunyi's sudden change of character, Lord Qian couldn't help but frown and urged: "The wine has been drunk, quickly capture him!"

"As ordered..."

"My lord, I'm sorry!"

It happened in a flash. When the soldiers were about to attack, Liu Xunyi suddenly smiled desperately at the worried Zhao Xie. He moved as fast as lightning, and took Zhao Xie into his arms, grabbing his throat tightly with his five fingers like eagle claws.

The reason he took action was because he didn't want to sit and wait to die unjustly.

The reason for his despair was that he knew that once he took action against Zhao Chen, there would be no turning back in this life.

In other words, today Liu Xunyi will completely break with the court to which he has served loyally for more than twenty years.

The thought of "leaving the court" had never occurred to him even when he was treacherous and determined to frame Luo Tianjin. But he did not expect that he would be forced to this point today.

The sudden change was beyond the expectations of everyone present.

When everyone covered their faces in fear and exclaimed that something was wrong, Zhao Yu had already been clamped tightly in front of Liu Xunyi. He was so weak that he was like a lamb to be slaughtered in front of the tall and burly Liu Xunyi, and he had no room to resist at all.

"Boom!"

In an instant, dozens of soldiers and guards in Jingyun Pavilion drew their swords and rushed forward with fierce eyes, surrounding Liu Xunyi in three layers inside and outside.

At the same time, many archers appeared on the second and third floors, ready for battle. They drew their bows and arrows, aiming at the center of the vortex, Liu Xunyi.

Liu Xunyi looked around, feeling even more sorrowful in his heart, but the smile on his face became even crazier: "It's just an ordinary banquet, but there are so many assassins ambushing in secret? Are you here to drink? Or to kill? Or... to kill me?"

"Liu Xunyi, you are so brave!" Lord Qian's face was as dark as water, and he shouted angrily, "If you dare to hurt even a hair of the young prince, I will tear you into pieces and grind your bones to ash!"

"Okay!" Liu Xunyi smiled instead of getting angry, "Let's see who will kill me first, or I will kill him first?"

After saying that, Liu Xunyi increased the strength in his hands again. Zhao He's face instantly turned from red to white, his eyes rolled up slightly, and his breathing became more and more difficult.

"Don't act rashly!"

Seeing that Zhao Xie's life was hanging by a thread, Prince Rong's face changed color. Although he tried his best to remain calm, the fear deep in his eyes had already completely betrayed his heart.

"Liu Xunyi, what on earth do you want to do?" Prince Rong pushed away the guards blocking his way, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "If you have anything to say, please speak slowly. Don't hurt Xi'er..."

"Your Highness is right! Liu Xunyi... No, no, no! Lord Liu, everything can be discussed. Let the little prince go first."

"Holding the young prince hostage is a serious crime. Don't just give up!"

"The young prince has treated you with great affection, how can you repay his kindness with hatred?"

"That's right! That's right! Let go of the little prince first. At worst... I'll be your hostage."

……

"Stop talking nonsense! If you don't want Zhao Yu to die young, all of you should step back!"

Faced with the threats and inducements from all around, Liu Xunyi became increasingly disgusted with these hypocritical "gentlemen" and "virtuous men", and even felt very disgusted. He took Zhao Yu hostage and forced everyone to retreat, and slowly came to the gate of Jingyun Pavilion.

Keep an eye on all directions and listen carefully to all directions. Liu Xunyi leaned against the wall, curled up slightly, observing the positions of the archers and soldiers through the gap under Zhao Xie's armpits, while reaching out to pick up the Wuji sword that was left at the door.

"Let the archer retreat!" Liu Xunyi threatened, "Otherwise I will break his neck."

"you dare……"

"Don't take the risk!" Lord Jia hurriedly stopped Lord Qian's rebuttal and reminded him, "Liu Xunyi is from the Tianji Pavilion. You may not know him well, but I know his methods very well. He is a very skilled martial artist and has been in the Tianji Pavilion for many years. If we anger him and force him to attack the young prince... the consequences will be disastrous."

"Liu Xunyi's life or death is of minor importance. My son's life is more important!" Prince Rong said without question, "No one should take risks. If you accidentally hurt Xi'er, I will kill all nine clans of yours."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present hesitated and was hesitant about what to do next.

After all, if it's none of your business, why take the risk?
Among all the people, Lord Qian had the most complicated feelings. He was more anxious than anyone else to kill Liu Xunyi, but due to the young prince's special status, there were some things he could not say in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

"Everyone, get out of the way! If anyone dares to block my way again, I will cut off one of Zhao Chen's ears."

Liu Xunyi kept his word and drew his sword before he finished speaking. The sharp blade pressed tightly against Zhao Xie's ear, causing another exclamation.

“Get out of the way! Get out of the way!” Prince Rong was so concerned that he gave a hasty order while trying to comfort Liu Xunyi, “I can plead for you in front of the emperor, as long as you release Xi’er…”

"Your Highness, please forgive me for being disrespectful!" Liu Xunyi sneered at Prince Rong's softness, and his attitude was still as cold as ice. "After I leave safely, I will release the young prince. But now, he must see me off."

"you……"

"If you don't want the young prince to get into trouble, none of you are allowed to step out of Jingyun Pavilion, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless with my sword!"

After leaving a vicious threat, Liu Xunyi dragged Zhao Xie out of Jingyun Pavilion, leaving the audience looking at each other in bewilderment, at a loss as to what to do.

On the busy street, pedestrians coming and going were all startled by the sudden scene. In order to avoid getting into trouble, they scattered and watched the excitement from afar.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Along with a questioning voice, Qingfeng and others on the second floor of Gufengxuan looked out of the window, but saw Liu Xunyi holding Zhao Xie hostage and walking away, while a group of soldiers and guards holding sharp blades gathered at the entrance of Jingyun Pavilion, looking around and standing still.

"That's... Liu Xunyi? Not good!" Qingfeng reacted very quickly and ordered, "Chase him quickly, don't let Liu Xunyi get away."

"As ordered..."

"Wait a minute!"

Before the Wudang disciples could fly downstairs, the horrified Bai Jin hurriedly spoke out to stop them: "If I am not mistaken, the person Liu Xunyi is holding hostage is the young prince. No wonder so many guards at Jingyun Pavilion dare not rashly chase him down."

"What do you mean?" Qingfeng frowned, his tone quite impatient, "Master Qian swore to me that I could watch a good show here today and take away Liu Xunyi's head. Could it be... this is the 'good show' you keep talking about?"

"Master, you don't know that the young prince is the son of Prince Rong and the nephew of the current emperor." Bai Jin looked embarrassed and explained quickly, "According to common sense, Liu Xunyi and the young prince have known each other since childhood. Even if he wanted to escape, he couldn't hold the young prince hostage. The current situation... is indeed unexpected."

"How can a dying man care about past friendships?" Gu Yue said angrily, "Your Lord Qian claims to be a master of strategy, but he doesn't even understand such a simple principle. Such a childish mistake has occurred, it's simply..."

"In any case, today is a godsend opportunity to kill Liu Xunyi. If we let the tiger go back to the mountains, it may not be easy to find him again." Guxing was worried that Guyue would speak without restraint in the heat of the moment, so he quickly interrupted.

"If we let Liu Xunyi go today, we can still send people to arrest him in the future. But if the young prince is injured by mistake, I'm afraid that no one present today will have a good ending."

"This..." Seeing Bai Jin's words without any bluffing, Qing Feng was stunned. He waved his hand to stop Gu Yue and others who were indignant, and said hesitantly, "Is this young prince... really that important?"

"The emperor has three thousand concubines, but only gave birth to a princess. The legitimate bloodline of the royal family... Currently only Prince Rong has a son, and this person is the little prince who was held hostage by Liu Xunyi." Bai Jin said in a veiled manner, "The Taoist priest is a smart man. I will stop here. I believe you should understand what the little prince means to the emperor, the court, and even the Song Dynasty..."

"hiss!"

The implication of Bai Jin's words was obvious. Qingfeng and the others were all shocked, and their gazes toward the window became more and more meaningful.

"I never thought that Liu Xunyi would dare to hold such a person hostage in order to save his life..."

"It's a pity that we finally set up a dragnet, but in the end we have to watch him escape."

"The imperial court set an ambush inside, and we hid outside. We thought that the two powerful forces would work together perfectly, but we did not expect that the whole situation would be disrupted by a young prince who was inexperienced. Alas!"

"Forget it!" Qingfeng interrupted Guxing and Guyue's complaints, cast a meaningful look at the bewildered Baijin, and said quietly, "Is the agreement between me and Mr. Qian still valid?"

"It counts! Of course it counts!" Bai Jin said solemnly, "Master, don't worry. I will immediately suggest to Lord Qian to seal the city gates and order a city-wide search. I will make sure that Liu Xunyi will not be able to escape..."

"With Liu Xunyi's ability, once he decides to hide, even if you dig three feet deep in Lin'an City, you probably won't be able to find his trace." Qingfeng pondered, "I am not a nitpicking person. Since we have an agreement, we should help each other. I am willing to... offer you a plan, maybe you can lure Liu Xunyi out."

"Oh?" Bai Jin's eyes lit up, "May I ask the Taoist priest for guidance?"

"Liu Xunyi is very loyal. He may not care about his own life, but he will definitely not ignore his friends being implicated." Qingfeng said calmly, as if he had it all planned out. "I know a person who has been through thick and thin with Liu Xunyi, and the two have a deep friendship. This person is far from being as capable as Liu Xunyi. As long as the government takes action, it will be easy to capture her. Using her as a hostage... we are not afraid that Liu Xunyi will not show up. The most important thing is that this person is in Lin'an right now, and you can easily get her."

"What the Taoist said is..."

"Don't be impatient!" Qingfeng frowned and said hesitantly, "I can tell you about this person, but you must promise me that you can only use her as bait to lure Liu Xunyi out, and you must not frame her or harm innocent people."

"Master, rest assured! We are officials appointed by the imperial court, not bandits. The imperial court has its own laws. As long as this person has not committed any crime, I guarantee that he will be safe."

"So good!"

"May I ask who that person is..."

"Miss Pan from Wangchuan Silk Shop, Pan Yuyin!"

……

(End of this chapter)