Chapter 852: End of the Road
When Liu Xunyi returned to the Qin family's secret residence after many twists and turns, it was already afternoon.

At this time, the "excitement" that took place in Jingyun Pavilion had spread throughout the streets. The Lin'an government ordered martial law throughout the city and sent a large number of yamen runners to post wanted notices everywhere, and even began to search house by house for Liu Xunyi's whereabouts.

As the saying goes, "Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles." Unaware of the truth, gossipers who heard rumors from others began to exaggerate and make wild comments. For a time, rumors spread all over Lin'an, and people were in a panic.

In the secret house in the south of the city, Liu Xunyi flew into the courtyard and dropped from the sky, scaring the four servants sent by Pan Yun to serve Qiu Han and Ding Chou so much that they screamed in fear.

"who are you……"

"Master Liu!"

Before the four people could ask about Liu Xunyi's identity, Ding Chou, who heard the voice, came over excitedly.

Since Ding Chou and his companions rarely went out, they were unaware of the rumors circulating outside.

"Are you all from the Pan family?" Liu Xunyi suppressed his inner anxiety and pretended to be calm as he looked the four servants up and down.

"Your Excellency, we were all sent by Master Pan."

Liu Xunyi asked calmly, "Are there only four of you?"

"Yes. Master Pan said that the place is not big and he was worried that it would be crowded, so he only sent four of us to serve."

"it is good!"

While they were talking, Liu Xunyi walked up to the four people and warned them, "Please, please remember to thank Master Pan for me when you go back."

"This……"

"excuse me!"

Suddenly, Liu Xunyi's eyes became fierce, and he knocked them out one by one with lightning speed.

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

Ding Chou was frightened by the sudden change. Looking at the four people lying on the ground, he was extremely shocked.

"Don't worry, I just knocked them out." The smile on Liu Xunyi's face gradually disappeared, replaced by a deep gloom, "Carry them into the house, they will wake up in twelve hours."

"But……"

"No need to ask!" Liu Xunyi urged absentmindedly, "Pack your things, we're leaving Lin'an tonight."

"Leave Lin'an?" Ding Chou was shocked. "Why?"

"It's a long story, I'll explain it to you slowly."

"This……"

"Brother Liu!"

Before Ding Chou could respond, the gate was pushed open a crack and Li Haitang slipped in.

"Haitang, you're back just in time. I..."

"Brother Liu, are you okay?"

Before Liu Xunyi finished speaking, Li Haitang had already rushed over in a hurry. Under Ding Chou's bewildered gaze, he circled Liu Xunyi three times, carefully observing him from head to toe. Seeing that he was safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just now at Jingyun Pavilion... I was almost scared to death."

Looking at Li Haitang who was still in shock, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but frown and asked hesitantly: "How do you know Jingyun Pavilion? Could it be that you..."

"That's right! I was at Gufengxuan opposite Jingyun Pavilion at the time, and I saw you taking the young prince away. It's just that the situation there was complicated, and I saw that you escaped successfully, so I didn't show up in a hurry."

"I see……"

"What?" Ding Chou's exclamation instantly drowned out Liu Xunyi's voice. He looked at Liu Xunyi and Li Haitang with horror, and asked stutteringly, "What Jingyun Pavilion? What Gufengxuan? And...what's the matter with kidnapping the young prince?" "Come in first, I'll explain it to you slowly!"

After saying that, Liu Xunyi and the other two hurriedly carried the four unconscious servants into the room.

In the dim room, Qiu Han, who was lying on the bed, had already heard their conversation clearly and was now anxiously waiting for Liu Xunyi's explanation.

With completely different feelings, several people sat down. Without any extra nonsense, Liu Xunyi got straight to the point and told everything that happened in Jingyun Pavilion today.

After hearing this, Qiu Han's face turned livid, his eyes full of anger. Ding Chou was speechless. Li Haitang looked worried, as if he had other thoughts in mind.

"How could this happen?" Qiu Han asked, gritting his teeth. "How can the imperial court confuse right and wrong? It's obvious that the Mongols broke their promise, how can they put the blame on you?"

"What a shitty imperial court, it's clearly bullying the weak and fearing the strong." Li Haitang said disdainfully, "The dog emperor doesn't dare to offend the Mongols, and doesn't want to be criticized by the people, so he lets Brother Liu take the blame. How despicable and shameless."

"I've known this for a long time... We have no power and influence, and there's no way we can defeat them..." Ding Chou was uneasy, hesitant and helpless, "Right now, Lord Liu has not only lost his salary, but has also become a wanted criminal of the court..."

"In any case, it's a blessing in disguise that Big Brother Liu is alive." Seeing Liu Xunyi looking depressed and haggard, and Qiu Han and Ding Chou making matters worse at an inappropriate time, Li Haitang hurriedly changed the subject and said soothingly, "The court doesn't distinguish between loyalty and treachery, so what's the point of staying here? Big Brother Liu, why don't you come back to Longxiang Mountain with me? With your ability..."

"That's right!" Liu Xunyi's mind turned and he asked suspiciously, "Haitang, why didn't you keep an eye on Qingfeng? Why did you go to Jingyun Pavilion to watch the fun?"

Hearing this, Li Haitang's smile gradually froze, and he began to hesitate, stammering: "Actually, I went to Jingyun Pavilion... not to watch the fun..."

"Aren't you here to watch the fun?" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows, thought for a moment, and suddenly realized something. He said in disbelief, "You mean Qingfeng..."

"That's right! Qingfeng and a group of Wudang disciples have been hiding in Gufengxuan opposite Jingyun Pavilion." Li Haitang answered truthfully, "Although I can't get close to them and don't know their true intentions, I am sure of one thing at least. Their appearance in Gufengxuan and Brother Liu's appearance in Jingyun Pavilion... are not accidental. I heard from the waiter that Qingfeng is a guest of Bai Jin, the Minister of the West Palace. Brother Liu just said that the person who was aggressive to you in Jingyun Pavilion today was the Deputy Envoy of the West Palace. These two... are not accidental either."

"Qingfeng, Xifu... Could it be that they have colluded secretly?" Liu Xunyi was confused and confused. "If so, the disciples of Xianwang Mansion who appeared outside the city... are probably related to this matter. In other words, Wudang and Xianwang Mansion have surrendered to Xifu?"

"Although I'm not sure, but... it's almost certain." Li Haitang sneered, "Qingfeng boasts of his high moral character and a clear mind, and always says that he is a free and easy person, and that the Wudang Sect does not fight with the world. But who would have thought that he is secretly working as a lackey for the imperial court behind the backs of all the heroes in the world."

"I understand!" Gradually sorting out the clues from Li Haitang's explanation, Liu Xunyi pondered carefully, and his thoughts suddenly became clear, "I know why Qingfeng has been hiding in the inn and not going out, and I also know why the emperor wants to kill me. From the beginning to the end, I thought I was the key to the whole thing, and the source of the emperor's anger was the Mongols stealing food, but the truth is that I overestimated myself, and underestimated the true intentions of the emperor and the court."

"What do you mean?" Ding Chou looked confused. Li Haitang and Qiu Han also had only a vague idea.

"In a nutshell, this is basically a deal. The two parties in the deal appear to be the West Mansion and Wudang, but in fact they are the imperial court and the Central Plains martial arts community. This is also the fundamental reason why the Emperor, Prince Rong, and even the East Mansion are helping Lord Qian to deal with me. In the face of the overall situation at the imperial court, even if there are huge conflicts between the East and West Mansions, they have to be put aside for now." Liu Xunyi said self-deprecatingly, "And I... am just a bargaining chip in this deal. Not even a bargaining chip, but just an insignificant sacrifice for both parties to show their sincerity to each other."

"This……"

"Although I don't know whether it was Qingfeng who approached the West Mansion or the West Mansion who approached Qingfeng, since they are in cahoots, there must be something to gain. The Mongols robbed the grain, and the court dared not offend the Mongols, so it had to find a scapegoat to take all the blame in order to save the court's face. As the "Song Dynasty's Marriage Envoy", I have a big name but little power, and I am undoubtedly the best candidate for the scapegoat. On the other hand, Qingfeng once swore to the heavens that he would use my head to sacrifice to the spirit of the Northern Sage King in heaven, so as long as I am alive, his position as the leader of the alliance will not be stable. At present, both sides regard me as a thorn in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh, and they urgently need me to be their scapegoat, so they hit it off and became birds of a feather."

"So that's it!" Li Haitang suddenly realized, "It seems that Qingfeng's appearance in Gufengxuan does have other intentions. I guess they wanted to wait for you to be captured by the government and take action on the way out of Jingyun Pavilion, but they were forced to give up because you held the little prince hostage."

"So, neither the imperial court nor the underworld will let you off." Qiu Han laughed in despair. "I thought that Ding Chou and I were in a miserable situation, but I didn't expect that your situation is far worse than ours. In the past, you were at least a well-known official of the imperial court. Even if the underworld people didn't like you, you could still rely on the protection of the imperial court to run rampant. Now, you have offended both the black and white worlds, and they all want to put you to death. Even if you can escape from Lin'an... where can you escape to?"

"I……"

Liu Xunyi thought he could handle all uncertainties with ease, but when the time came, he suddenly realized that he had no way out at all.

Qiu Han's question was like a sword piercing his heart, ruthlessly exposing Liu Xunyi's illusory future, which was basically a blank.

Yes! Even if he escaped from Lin'an, where could he escape to?
He was being hunted by both the imperial court and the underworld, and everyone in the world had the right to kill him. It was impossible for him to live a peaceful life in the future, and even occupying the mountains and becoming a bandit became a luxury.

The world is vast, but there is no place for him to stand. At the moment, Liu Xunyi is undoubtedly truly desperate and at the end of his rope.

"Forget it!" Liu Xunyi took a deep breath, suppressed the sadness in his heart, and said to Li Haitang, "No matter what, let's leave Lin'an first. Tonight, I will take Qiu Han and Ding Chou out of the city. Their target is me, not you, so as long as you part ways with me, you can escape from danger. You can leave the city now and go first. Or you can stay in Lin'an for two more days and leave after I divert their attention."

"Brother Liu..."

"I know you have a life on your hands and you won't leave easily. But right now, it's not you who wants to abandon me, it's me who wants to abandon you." Liu Xunyi interrupted Li Haitang's argument and said without question, "Now, I'm already in a difficult situation and it's meaningless to investigate Qingfeng and Xifu's dealings, so I don't want you to take risks for me again. I will remember your kindness in my heart, and maybe one day in the future I will go to Longxiang Mountain to find you, but today... we must act separately, so that we can have a glimmer of hope."

……

(End of this chapter)