Chapter 881 Tit for tat
"I've always heard that Valley Master Xiao is the long-lost daughter of Patriarch Teng. I was really shocked when I first heard this news. Haha... Since it's a father-daughter reunion, why didn't Valley Master Xiao go to Xiangxi to talk about family affection with Patriarch Teng, but instead came here... to do such a 'strange' thing?"

Having said this, Qing Feng glanced at the unconscious Lord Qian and said, "Could it be that... Lord Xiao has a grudge against the Deputy Privy Envoy?"

"Could it be that Taoist Qingfeng is friends with him?" Xiao Zhirou asked instead of answering, "When did the dignified leader of the martial arts world become a lackey of the imperial court? If this matter were known to the world, I'm afraid... it would be unpleasant to say the least."

As soon as these words were spoken, Qingfeng's face changed color, and a hint of anger appeared in his embarrassed eyes.

"Assassinating an imperial official is a serious crime. Master Xiao is from the Central Plains Wulin. As the leader of the Wulin, how can I watch Master Xiao bring disaster to the Central Plains Wulin?" Qingfeng avoided the question and said something else. "What's more, Chief Teng is not only the deputy leader of the Central Plains Wulin, but also an old friend of mine. I can't bear to watch his daughter get into such a disaster. Therefore, I hope Master Xiao can give me a satisfactory explanation for what happened today."

"Explain?" Xiao Zhirou smiled indifferently, "Are you representing the Central Plains martial arts world or the Song Dynasty court now?"

"Xiao Zhirou, you are too presumptuous!" Gu Yue scolded in a deep voice, "Even your father Teng Sanshi would not dare to be so rude in front of the leader of the martial arts world. Don't forget that it is not easy for Jueqing Valley to return to the orthodox martial arts world. Don't forget your lesson and repeat the same mistake. If you abandon the light and join the dark this time and become a heretic demon again, it will not only be you who will be unlucky, but also not only the Jueqing Valley..."

"Noisy!"

Seeing Gu Yue speaking rudely and pointing the finger at Teng Sanshi, Xiao Zhirou couldn't help but look cold. She raised her hand seemingly casually, but ripples appeared in the air, and swept towards the unsuspecting Gu Yue with lightning speed.

"careful!"

Qingfeng's face changed. He pushed away Gu Yue, who was trying to resist hastily, with his left hand. He bent his right palm and swung it in the air, releasing a strong internal force, and faced the radiating energy ripples head-on.

"boom!"

With a muffled sound, the two internal forces suddenly collided with each other, shocking Gu Xing and Gu Yue who were standing on the left and right. They retreated three steps in a row, but Xiao Zhirou and Qingfeng remained calm and did not move at all.

The difference is that Xiao Zhirou can turn her hand into clouds and her hand into rain with a flip of hers. She can attack and withdraw her moves in a single thought. She appears to be relaxed and at ease from beginning to end.

On the other hand, Qingfeng was calm and did not retreat a single step, but his feet had unknowingly sunk about an inch into the ground, and his whole body was like a steel nail, deeply "stuck" in the spot.

In terms of the depth of internal strength, Qingfeng is definitely among the best in the martial arts world, but compared to Xiao Zhirou... there is still an insurmountable gap.

When masters fight, the winner is decided immediately.

Although Qingfeng had witnessed Xiao Zhirou's superb martial arts at the martial arts conference, and had also witnessed the amazing scene of her defeating Yun Zhuiyue with one palm, no matter how much he had seen and heard, it was not as good as experiencing it personally.

Qingfeng boasted that he could not get the slightest advantage in front of her. Unless, like in the martial arts conference, Xiao Zhirou suffered a hidden illness while practicing martial arts, and lost her fighting power in a short period of time.

At the same time, Qingfeng became more and more curious about Xiao Zhirou. She was a weak woman, not very old, so where did her astonishing martial arts come from?

However, Qingfeng was certain that her martial arts skills definitely did not come from Teng Sanshi.

"Wudang is one of the two major sects in the martial arts world, and its reputation is far-reaching. Why do the elders here not know the rules?" Xiao Zhirou said unhappily, "In terms of seniority, you may be the same age as my father. But in terms of status, I am the leader of a sect, and I am on an equal footing with Qingfeng. As disciples of Wudang, how dare you take advantage of your age and ignore the distinction between superiors and inferiors?"

"you……"

"Shut up!" Before Gu Yue could retort, Qing Feng stopped her, "Valley Master Xiao is right. The martial arts world has its own rules. Heroes are not judged by their origins, and masters are not judged by age. Only the hierarchy cannot be messed up. If she is the daughter of Chief Teng, you as a senior can give her instructions. But if she is the Lord of Jueqing Valley, you as a Wudang disciple cannot overstep the boundaries of hierarchy. Gu Yue, apologize to Valley Master Xiao!"

"But……"

"Apologize to Master Xiao!"

Under Qingfeng's unquestionable urging, Gu Yue glared at Xiao Zhirou indignantly, and reluctantly bowed his hands to apologize: "I spoke out of turn, I hope... Master Xiao will forgive me."

"Haha... Master Xiao is just like your father, both of whom understand and abide by the rules." Qingfeng smiled meaningfully, "That's great! Now, as the leader of the martial arts world, I seek an explanation from Master Xiao. I hope you can continue to abide by the etiquette of respect and inferiority and tell me everything you know."

"What explanation do you want?" Xiao Zhirou's tone became increasingly hostile as she gradually realized that she had fallen into Qingfeng's trap.

"Why did Master Xiao appear here today? And why did he... assassinate the Deputy Privy Envoy?" Qingfeng's eyes flickered, and he asked with a hint of meaning, "It is said that the Deputy Privy Envoy just encountered an assassination attempt ten days ago, and the assassin at that time was the 'Public Enemy of the Martial World' Liu Xunyi. I wonder if Master Xiao's assassination today is related to Liu Xunyi's assassination ten days ago?"

"Since everyone knows it, why bother pretending?" After a moment's silence, Xiao Zhirou suddenly changed her expression and decided to get straight to the point with Qingfeng, "Why don't we just talk it out face to face? It will save everyone from guessing and making you work hard... and it's annoying for me too."

"Okay!" Facing Xiao Zhirou's blunt words, Qingfeng's eyes moved and he took the opportunity to ask, "What does Master Xiao want to say?"

"I have never met the Deputy Privy Envoy before. I came here today because of Liu Xunyi."

Xiao Zhirou knew that the truth would come out even if she didn't mention it. Even if she didn't mention it, Lord Qian and the remaining soldiers would spread the news. It would be impossible to hide it from Qingfeng. Instead of being evasive and covering up, it would be better to come straight to the point and make it clear.

In this way, Qingfeng will know that Liu Xunyi is not alone and has the support of Jueqing Valley behind him, so he will be more cautious in the future.

"hiss!"

Xiao Zhirou's truthful answer surprised Qingfeng. He couldn't help wondering, "Xiao Zhirou and Liu Xunyi... don't seem to have much in common, why did she suddenly jump out to defend him? What is the connection between the two of them?"

Although he was full of doubts, Qingfeng remained calm on the surface and asked suspiciously, "Master Xiao, what you mean is... you assassinated the deputy envoy of the Privy Council to avenge Liu Xunyi?"

"I guess so!" Xiao Zhirou's ambiguous answer made Qingfeng and the other two think a lot.

"What's your relationship with Liu Xunyi?" Qingfeng repeated his words and carefully tested, "Why did you stand up for him?"

"I just can't stand seeing good people being wronged." Xiao Zhirou evaded the question.

"A good man is wronged?" Qing Feng asked with a smile, "How do you know he is a good man?"

Hearing this, Xiao Zhirou's heart seemed to rise to her throat. With Qingfeng's shrewdness and experience, it was impossible for her to deceive the world by making up stories, but in a hurry, she couldn't think of a perfect plan.

Therefore, Xiao Zhirou hesitated for a long time but still could not say anything further.

"Is there something you can't tell me?"

Qingfeng frowned, and his pair of deep and shrewd old eyes stared at the hesitant Xiao Zhirou, as if he wanted to see through her white veil, see into her eyes, and look directly into her heart.

"Just now, Master Xiao solemnly told me that he would explain everything to me face to face. Why did he become hesitant and evasive when the time came?" Qingfeng observed Xiao Zhirou's reaction and asked loudly, "Is there some secret between Master Xiao and Liu Xunyi?"

After these words were spoken, not only Gu Xing and Gu Yue became curious, even the "outsider" Qin Wei couldn't help but cast a hesitant look at Xiao Zhirou.

"Liu Xunyi once sneaked into the Xianwang Mansion as a traitor and became Luo Tianjin's most trusted confidant. Could it be... that this matter is related to Luo Tianjin?" Qingfeng was relentless and his words became more and more sharp. "Master Xiao, you clearly know that Liu Xunyi is the public enemy of the martial arts world, and you clearly know that all the heroes in the world want to eat his flesh, drink his blood, pull out his tendons, and sleep on his skin. You clearly know that I have issued a hunting order in the martial arts world, vowing to cut Liu Xunyi into pieces and grind his bones to ash. Why do you go against the will and stand up for him at the risk of the world's disapproval? You have raised a tiger and left it with trouble, and it has grown into a snake. Have you ever thought about your own reputation? Have you ever thought about the honor and disgrace of Jueqing Valley? Have you ever thought about the feelings of the head of the Teng clan? Have you ever thought about the rise and fall of the Teng clan in Xiangxi?"

Under Qingfeng's aggressive questioning, Xiao Zhirou felt mixed emotions and became dissatisfied. She angrily asked, "Are you interrogating me?"

"No! I am trying to help you stop before it is too late." The smile on Qingfeng's face gradually faded, and his tone became more solemn. "Valley Master Xiao, you are no longer a martial arts demon, and Jueqing Valley is no longer a heretic. You are now the orthodox martial arts sect. You can no longer act arbitrarily and do whatever you want. You must keep morality in mind and distinguish between good and evil. Be careful... one misstep can lead to eternal regret."

"Eternal hatred?" Looking at the sanctimonious Qingfeng, Xiao Zhirou laughed angrily, "In your opinion, Liu Xunyi is now an evil demon?"

"Even the imperial court is looking for him... How can he be a good person?" Qingfeng said righteously, "Let's not talk about the blood debts owed by Liu Xunyi today. Just talking about the heinous crimes he has committed that have harmed the people is also hard for the benevolent and righteous people in the world to let go. We, the people of the martial arts world, never care about the country, but when it comes to the rise and fall of the country and the lives of the people, we can't just sit back and watch. Liu Xunyi colluded with foreign countries, causing the granaries of the three prefectures of Xingyuan to be robbed, and millions of people were starving. Even if this kind of vicious traitor didn't murder Luo Tianjin, the heroes of the martial arts world would still enforce justice and eliminate this harm for the people."

"It's just nonsense!" Xiao Zhirou couldn't hold back her anger any longer after seeing Qingfeng making up stories about her own flesh and blood. She immediately flew into a rage, pointing at the serious Qingfeng and scolding him mercilessly, "In the end, you heard everything from hearsay, not from your own eyes. In my opinion, you have completely become a running dog of the court, helping them to frame loyal officials without knowing right from wrong. Qingfeng, you are the traitor who is helping the evildoers and abetting the evil. You keep saying that you are doing justice for the people and getting rid of harm for the people, but in fact, the evil that should be eliminated is you!"

"Xiao Zhirou, how dare you speak disrespectfully to the leader of the martial arts world..."

"Wait!" Qingfeng stopped Guxing and Guyue who were eager to try, stared at the angry Xiao Zhirou, and said in a serious tone, "Valley Master Xiao, why do you think I can't tell right from wrong? Why do you insist that Liu Xunyi was wronged?"

"I..." Faced with Qingfeng's quibbling, the infuriated Xiao Zhirou was speechless.

Yes! She just accused Qingfeng of hearsay, and she was also a person who loved Qingfeng. After all, they were not from the court, so no one could produce solid evidence.

"Today, if Master Xiao cannot explain everything clearly, I will forgive you for not considering the old relationship between me and Chief Teng. I will... treat you impartially and put an end to my personal feelings for you."

"Don't show up yet!"

Before Qingfeng finished speaking, Gu Yue suddenly gave an order.

In an instant, dozens of Wudang disciples led by Zhang Songyi, Liu Songli, Hu Songzhi and Ma Songxin poured into the woods from all directions.

At the same time, dozens of disciples from the Xianwang Mansion, led by Yan Bugui and Su Tang, came like the wind, joined forces with the Wudang disciples, rushed to the front in the blink of an eye, and surrounded the lonely Xiao Zhirou without saying a word.

……

(End of this chapter)