Chapter 87 Life and Death Determined by Heaven
Liu Xunyi was under house arrest in a guest room. The arrow wound he received had been properly treated by Ding Ao. Although it did not hit his vital parts, his face turned pale due to excessive blood loss.

As the night deepened, Liu Xunyi leaned against the window, looked up at the stars and the moon, and repeatedly thought about how to escape in his mind.

There was a lot of noise outside the whole day, and it was not until the evening that it gradually became quiet. Liu Xunyi planned to wait for a few more hours and try to escape in the middle of the night.

"Little brother, do you like the food in my Jade Dragon Palace?"

Accompanied by a burst of brisk footsteps, Ding Ao led Xunzhen and Abaolu to the door. He took the initiative to greet Liu Xunyi enthusiastically, as if Liu Xunyi was really an honored guest he "invited".

The gatekeeper disciple unlocked the door, Ding Ao pushed it open and walked in, saying with a smile: "Little brother, an old friend wants to see you." Before he finished speaking, Xunzhen and Abaolu had walked into the room one after another.

When Liu Xunyi, who was full of doubt, saw Xunzhen, although his brows were slightly frowned, his face did not show the surprise that Ding Ao and Xunzhen expected.

It was not that Liu Xunyi was calm and composed, but because he had experienced the strange incident of the unruly ruffian "Ding San" turning into the leader of the Golden Scale Banner "Ding Ao". Therefore, although Liu Xunyi was surprised by Xunzhen's sudden appearance in the Yulong Palace, he was somewhat not surprised.

"Liu Xunyi, we meet again." Xunzhen had a slightly smug smile on her lips. With her nearly perfect face and flawless, snow-white skin that seemed as delicate as a baby's, the beauty looked even more charming under the candlelight.

"You? Him?" Liu Xunyi pointed at Xunzhen and Ding Ao and said thoughtfully, "You have known each other for a long time... No wonder Master Long of Huodu dared to go against Cao Qin for you. It turns out that you have the support of the Lord of the Golden Scale Banner behind you."

"It's not too late to know now." Xunzhen took the initiative and walked to the table and sat down. He also extended his hand to Liu Xunyi and made a "please" gesture. He looked at him tenderly and asked worriedly, "You have been treated as a chess piece from the beginning. You must be very sad now, right?"

Liu Xunyi was stunned, then smiled bitterly and said, "My skills are inferior to others, so I have no choice but to accept the defeat."

At this moment, Liu Xunyi was no longer restrained and sat opposite Xunzhen in a very free and easy manner, with a sense of frankness in his words and deeds.

Ding Ao came to Liu Xunyi, put his hand on his shoulder, and said jokingly, "Little brother, that night at Long'an Inn, I took the 'Qin Banliang' to cause trouble for you, and it was also the eldest lady's intention." Then Ding Ao turned his head to look at Xunzhen and said with a smile, "In fact, I have always been unable to understand, what is so outstanding about Liu Xunyi that the eldest lady attaches so much importance to him that not only does she let me keep an eye on him, but also let me do everything possible to lure him to compete for the Jingfenghuayutu?"

"Alas!" Although Liu Xunyi had expected this, she still felt a little distressed when she heard Ding Ao admit that she was instructed by Xunzhen. She thought to herself, "It turns out that I was played by her from the beginning. I was so smart. Now that I think about it, it's really ridiculous and pathetic."

Xunzhen stared at Liu Xunyi, whose face was complicated, and said, "From childhood to adulthood, I have always been the only one who teased others. No one has ever teased me. But at Yanmen Pass, I fell into your hands. That was the first and only time I made a mistake in my life. I was unwilling to accept this, so I must get my face back from you."

Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows and smiled bitterly, "Does saving face mean you're going to great lengths to lure me into the trap?"

"Killing you is easy, but it won't help me to avenge my shame." Xunzhen chuckled and said, "Seeing you now, I am very satisfied."

"In other words, even if Su He hadn't rescued me that night at Luohan Temple, you wouldn't have killed me?" Liu Xunyi asked, "Because you haven't played enough tricks on me yet."

"You were so bad that time, more vulnerable than I thought. I actually showed up in front of you on purpose at Longxiang Inn that day, just to let you see me so I could have a good time with you. But you were so reckless that you actually ran to Luohan Temple and fell into my trap. I really can't understand why I fell into the hands of a fool like you at Yanmen Pass." Xunzhen snorted, "But you don't have to overestimate yourself. In my eyes, you are no different from a stray dog. It doesn't matter to me whether you kill me or not."

"Now you win." Liu Xunyi had to admit that he was indeed defeated by Xunzhen this time, and sighed, "I accept the defeat wholeheartedly."

Hearing this, Xunzhen, who had a smug look on his face, suddenly glared at him and shouted in dissatisfaction, "Liu Xunyi, are you a man? You actually gave in so easily?"

"What else?" Liu Xunyi looked around at Ding Ao and Abaolu, shrugged and said, "It's obvious that you have a close relationship with Yulong Palace. I have been imprisoned here by you and can't escape. What else can I do but lose?"

"You have no spine!" Xunzhen seemed very angry at Liu Xunyi's attitude of taking things as they come and not getting angry or fighting.

"I know." Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly lit up and he laughed, "You want to see me in extreme pain because you teased me, and you want me to be furious and beat my chest and stamp my feet. You will feel satisfied when you see it, and you will feel a sense of accomplishment in defeating me. But now I act so calm, but you can't feel relieved, right?"

The more indifferent Liu Xunyi acted, the angrier Xunzhen became. He shouted in a delicate voice, "Your life is in my hands, and you still have the nerve to laugh."

"Since you know you're going to die, why not die more easily?" Liu Xunyi said, "It's better to die of laughter than to die of anger, don't you think, Miss?"

"you……"

"Xunzhen, don't argue with him. Why don't you let me kill him with a knife?" Abaolu looked at Liu Xunyi coldly and asked Ding San, "Master Ding San, you shouldn't have any objections, right?"

Ding Ao immediately waved his hands and said with a smile: "Of course, you guys want him, I'm handing him over to you now, you can kill him or chop him up as you wish, I won't interfere." As he spoke, Ding Ao showed Liu Xunyi a helpless expression and said jokingly, "Little brother, we had a drink together by chance, after you die I will burn more paper money for you. Don't worry! Don't worry!"

"I still don't quite understand." Liu Xunyi asked suspiciously, "Since you are in the same group, why did you kidnap Cao Qin's son? Isn't Cao Qin one of yours?"

"I won't bother you with that." Ding Ao said with a smile, "Why don't you think about where you want to be buried after you die? How about Ye Zilin?" Xunzhen stared at Liu Xunyi and said, "Since you know you will die, what are your last wishes? Why don't you tell me? Maybe I can agree to it if I'm in a good mood."

"Last wish?"

Liu Xunyi had never thought about his afterlife so seriously. Although he could still pretend to be calm and indifferent, chatting and laughing with Xunzhen and Ding Ao, Liu Xunyi's heart had already sunk to the bottom. If Xunzhen really wanted him to die, he would have no chance of survival in the current situation.

When Ding Ao brought him to Yulong Palace and sent people to treat his injuries, Liu Xunyi was confident that he would not die there, but it seemed that he was wrong again this time. After thinking it over again and again, Xunzhen and Ding Ao were not related to him, so there was really no need to keep him alive.

Although Liu Xunyi has experienced many hardships since he was a child, he has never thought about death.

All the bright future and infinite expectations seemed pale and powerless in the face of sudden death. The abrupt end of life made Liu Xunyi seem a little unbelievable and dazed at this moment.

Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi gradually put away the smile on his face, and an indescribable complexity appeared in his eyes.

"What? Are you scared now?" Xunzhen seemed very satisfied with Liu Xunyi's worried look, and his smile became more and more intense.

Liu Xunyi smiled without saying anything, reached into his bosom and slowly fumbled out two things, gently placing them in front of Xunzhen. They were a handkerchief and a gold hairpin. The handkerchief was a token of love given to him by Zhao Xin. The gold hairpin was regarded by Liu Xunyi as the only gift given to him by his sister.

Xunzhen couldn't help but frown as she looked at them, but she didn't ask any questions.

"I don't know if you will help me, but it seems that now..." Liu Xunyi's voice trembled slightly, and he choked a little, "but it seems that now I can only hand these things over to you."

Before he died, there was not even a person around him who was worthy of entrusting his last wishes to. The more Liu Xunyi thought about it, the more sad he felt for himself.

"These are women's belongings." Xunzhen picked up the handkerchief and the hairpin and examined them carefully. He raised his eyes and asked, "Are they your wife's?"

Liu Xunyi shook his head slowly and said softly: "If possible, please return this golden hairpin to Miss Bai Shuang of Sushui Pavilion in Quanzhou, and this handkerchief..." When Liu Xunyi said this, the image of Zhao Xin appeared in his mind. He felt a pain in his heart and choked up, "Forget it, this handkerchief will be buried with me!"

"It seems that these two things were not given by the same person." Xunzhen sneered with interest, "I really can't believe that you are such a playboy."

Liu Xunyi ignored Xunzhen's teasing, but slowly closed his eyes and said seriously: "I know I can't escape, you guys do it!"

Liu Xunyi's resolute look showed a heroic spirit of going to his death bravely. There was no fear of "death" on his face, but there was a strong reluctance to "live" and a deep sense of guilt towards someone unknown.

"Why... do you want to fight for the Picture of Shocking Wind and Rain?" Xunzhen did not rush to take action, but suddenly changed the subject.

"I guess you have already figured out my purpose. Why ask again?"

"I want to hear you say it yourself." There was some hesitation in Xunzhen's tone, as if there were some things she was not comfortable saying out loud.

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi suddenly had an idea in his mind, and he suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Xunzhen. The two looked at each other, with doubt in his eyes, and a hint of intriguing contemplation in her eyes.

"Northern Sage King." Liu Xunyi said slowly, word by word, "I came here on the orders of Northern Sage King."

"I have long anticipated that after Cao Qin took away the Jingfenghuayutu from the Lu Mansion in Jiangnan that day, the various martial arts sects would definitely not be reconciled." Ding Ao interrupted, with a bit of disdain in his tone.

Xunzhen nodded slightly as if he understood something, and then turned his gaze to Ding Ao, who was stunned by his gaze and smiled bitterly, "Miss, do you want me to do it for you?"

"No!" Xunzhen Wan'er smiled and said softly, "I would like to ask Master Ding San to hand this person over to me... to take him away."

"Take...take him away?" Ding Ao obviously didn't understand what Xunzhen meant.

"Yes, I want to take him away from Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace."

……

(End of this chapter)