Chapter 886 Blood is Thicker than Water (I)

The night wind blows, the autumn air is slightly chilly. Under the starry sky and the moon, people feel melancholy.

In the evening, Xiao Zhirou, Yun Zhuiyue, Teng Sanshi and their group came to an abandoned ancient temple thirty miles away from Lin'an, intending to rest there for the night.

From ambushing the Deputy Privy Councilor halfway, to meeting Qingfeng unexpectedly, and then to the arrival of Teng Sanshi and Yun Zhuiyue, the twists and turns made Xiao Zhirou uneasy and worried.

In particular, a secret conversation between Yun Zhuiyue and Qingfeng unexpectedly changed the tense situation. The aggressive Qingfeng led his men away inexplicably, and the farce of enemies meeting on a narrow road ended in a mess.

Xiao Zhirou could guess without asking that Yun Zhuiyue and Qingfeng must have reached some kind of "tacit understanding" that could not be revealed, otherwise the arbitrary Qingfeng would not easily compromise. As for what it was? She actually didn't care. Because in Xiao Zhirou's heart, nothing was more important than Liu Xunyi at the moment.

Today, the thing that bothered her most was that she spared the life of the Deputy Privy Envoy and failed to avenge Liu Xunyi.

If Teng Sanshi had not been present, Xiao Zhirou would not want him to be involved in this turmoil. Even if Qingfeng wanted to settle the matter peacefully, she would not let it go.

Therefore, all the way from Lin'an to here, Xiao Zhirou has been worried and unhappy. Not to mention being cold and indifferent to Yun Zhuiyue, even in the face of Teng Sanshi's concern, she just made up a few words and didn't raise any spirits.

The exhausted people arrived at the ancient temple, ate some dry food, and found a place to sleep.

As the night deepened, the bonfire in the ancient temple was dimming, and snoring could be heard everywhere. Except for a few disciples who were on night watch, most people had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

In the inner courtyard's meditation room, a sudden knock on the door startled Xiao Zhirou, who was meditating with her chin in her hand. She frowned slightly and a hint of caution flashed in her eyes.

"who?"

"Rou'er, it's me." Yun Zhuiyue's voice came from outside the door.

"What's the matter?"

"Regarding...Liu Xunyi's matter..."

Hearing this, Xiao Zhirou's eyes changed and she stood up suddenly.

"squeak!"

With a slight sound, the door opened to the left and right, and what came into her sight was not only the humble and polite Yun Zhuiyue, but also the pale-faced Li Haitang.

Seeing these two people, Xiao Zhirou couldn't help but be stunned, and a trace of confusion appeared between her brows.

"What are you..."

"Your Majesty!"

Before Xiao Zhirou could finish her words, Yun Zhuiyue suddenly straightened his eyes and gave an order in a deep voice, which immediately made Li Haitang, who was walking in a sluggish manner, tremble and fall to the ground with a plop. He accidentally hit his knees heavily on the doorstep and couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

"What's going on?" Xiao Zhirou subconsciously took a step back, looking surprised.

"Explain it to Valley Master Xiao yourself!" Yun Zhuiyue watched coldly, his tone as cold as ice.

"Xiao... Valley Master Xiao, I'm sorry..." Li Haitang kowtowed tremblingly to apologize, "The Holy Lord ordered me to protect Liu Xunyi every step of the way, but I was careless for a moment and failed to stay by his side, causing him to be imprisoned..."

Listening to Li Haitang's tearful recollections, Xiao Zhirou finally understood Yun Zhuiyue's intention, and her face gradually became as gloomy as water.

"Rou'er, how do you want to punish him?" Yun Zhuiyue asked angrily, "Just one word from you, I can kill him or chop him up..."

"Got it." Xiao Zhirou ignored Yun Zhuiyue's courtesy, leaned over to help the bewildered Li Haitang up, and said calmly, "You can't be blamed for this, go back and rest!"

"This……"

Li Haitang had prepared himself to be killed without a complete body, but he did not expect that the notorious Jueqing Valley Master would show him mercy. Not only did he not kill him to vent his anger, but he did not even scold him. For a moment, Li Haitang was timid and stunned, and he could not recover for a long time.

"Rou'er, you..."

Yun Zhuiyue was about to speak to encourage him, but seeing Xiao Zhirou's serious words, he swallowed the words back and waved at the flustered Li Haitang, saying absentmindedly, "Go back and reflect on your mistakes. I'll settle the score with you later."

"Thank you, Lord..."

"Thank me for what?"

"Oh! Thank you, Master Xiao! Thank you, Master Xiao..."

Under Yun Zhuiyue's impatient urging, Li Haitang, who had escaped death, was surprised and happy. He kowtowed to Yun Zhuiyue and Xiao Zhirou in a hurry, and then staggered out of the inner courtyard. "Rou'er, Li Haitang didn't expect Liu Xunyi to dare to send a sheep into the tiger's mouth, and he didn't expect that he would be knocked unconscious. When he woke up, it was already... too late to regret." Seeing Li Haitang walking away, Yun Zhuiyue cast a guilty look at the expressionless Xiao Zhirou, and stammered, "When I received the news from Li Haitang, I didn't dare to delay for a moment, and led people to Lin'an at night. But unexpectedly, I was still one step behind you..."

"enough!"

Before Yun Zhuiyue finished speaking, Xiao Zhirou's eyes suddenly turned cold, and she said coldly: "I am not interested in your explanation, and I don't care about your false apology. Xunyi is my flesh and blood, even if you all abandon him, I will not abandon him."

"This……"

Xiao Zhirou's inhumanity made Yun Zhuiyue's eyes full of sadness. But he did not quibble for himself, but shamelessly approached and said guiltily: "I know you blame me for not protecting Liu Xunyi well, and I also know that you are in a bad mood now. All the mistakes are my fault. If you want to... kill, chop, beat or scold me tonight, I am willing and will never dodge..."

"What did you promise me at the beginning?" Faced with the shameless Yun Zhuiyue, Xiao Zhirou could no longer bear it and angrily rebuked, "You said you would send people to protect Xunyi and never let him get hurt. But now he is surrounded by enemies and his life is in danger. Is this your promise? Is this the 'protection' you always talked about?"

"I……"

"I'm telling you, if Xunyi is safe, I won't bother with you about this matter. But if Xunyi gets into trouble... none of those who hurt him will survive, and you and your Longxiang Mountain... won't be able to stay out of it either!"

"Rou'er, this matter was my negligence, don't blame you for being angry. In the past, I sent Si Wudao to secretly protect Liu Xunyi, and there has never been any mistake in the past ten years." Yun Zhuiyue said bitterly, "Li Haitang is young after all, and lacks experience in the martial arts world..."

"You don't have to blame others. Li Haitang has done his best. You are the one who has ulterior motives." Xiao Zhirou interrupted in a deep voice, "Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its creditor. In the beginning, it was you who tried every means to prevent us from recognizing each other as mother and son. It was you who prevented me from helping him eliminate his opponent, and it was you who made a solemn promise to me. If anything happens to Xunyi, you will be the first person I will not let go."

"I stopped you from recognizing each other at the beginning because Liu Xunyi was blessed by heaven and had the emperor's order. Even if the Central Plains martial arts world could not tolerate him, the court would be his backer. Once you recognized each other, Liu Xunyi would be in danger. But I never expected that everything would change after I came back from a trip to Mobei to escort the bride..."

"On the way back to Lin'an from Mobei, Xunyi was surrounded by enemies and murderous intentions. Their portraits were known to everyone in the martial arts world. If it weren't for Qin Ku's help, I wouldn't even have the chance to help secretly." Xiao Zhirou regretted, "I had a bad premonition at the time, but you repeatedly advised me to wait and see, but I made mistakes again and again, and finally hurt Xunyi... If I had known this would happen, I really shouldn't have believed your nonsense..."

Having said that, Xiao Zhirou couldn't help but think of Liu Xunyi's difficult situation, whose life or death was uncertain. She couldn't help but feel worried, ashamed and angry, with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Rou'er, the dangers of the imperial court are even worse than those of the martial arts world. I never expected this..."

"Right now, Xunyi has completely broken with the court, and there is no more 'fame' or 'official career' to speak of. Therefore, I don't have to worry anymore, and I don't have to resign myself to fate." Xiao Zhirou said with a choked but firm voice, "Now that my son is in trouble, as a mother, I can no longer be hesitant and timid. No matter how many people he has offended, how many enemies he has made, no matter how powerful his enemies are, or how deep their foundations are, I don't care at all. As long as I'm alive, I won't allow anyone to hurt my son again!"

"What do you mean?" Yun Zhuiyue was secretly surprised and asked tentatively, "Could it be... that you are planning to recognize Liu Xunyi?"

"If you don't admit it now, when will you?"

"Do you know that by doing this... you are very likely to make enemies with everyone in the world?"

"As long as Xunyi and Ping'er are no longer harmed, what does it matter if I, as a mother, become the enemy of the whole world?"

"Then...what are your plans next?" Looking at Xiao Zhirou who had made up her mind, Yun Zhuiyue felt confused and overwhelmed with emotions.

"Send my father away tomorrow, and then return to Lin'an. Cut Lord Qian, Lord Jia, Lord Qin and their gang into pieces and avenge my son!"

"what?"

Yun Zhuiyue's heart tightened, and his eyes suddenly changed. He no longer cared about Xiao Zhirou's resentment. He grabbed her wrist and said worriedly: "Rou'er, you must not be impulsive! Today's incident has already alerted the enemy. Lin'an City must be heavily guarded and impregnable. Although you are a martial arts expert, the court is not all good-for-nothings. Once they send out the masters of the palace to set up a lot of ambushes, you will be caught in a trap if you go there rashly. What's more, Liu Xunyi is no longer in Lin'an..."

"Of course we have to find Xunyi, but these despicable villains who killed innocent people must also be killed." Xiao Zhirou was deeply in love with her son. She was determined to avenge Liu Xunyi, who had been exposed to the wind and rain, and she ignored Yun Zhuiyue's earnest advice.

"Rou'er, what is your current identity? Before you find Liu Xunyi, do you want to make your relationship public in advance? If you don't want to take risks, why would you stand up for Liu Xunyi, a stranger? You know, if things get out of hand, the agreement between Qingfeng and I today will be in vain." Yun Zhuiyue advised unwillingly, "In this way, not only will Liu Xunyi not be saved, but Jueqing Valley and Longxiang Mountain will be pushed into an abyss of no return."

"I am originally a martial arts demon, and Jueqing Valley is originally a heretic in the martial arts world. Why should I care about those false names?"

"Of course we can not care, but what about the Xiangxi Teng Clan?" Yun Zhuiyue was extremely anxious and tried her best to refute, "Father is the vice-leader of the Central Plains martial arts world. If we become the target of public criticism, how will he cope with it?"

"This..." When mentioning Teng Sanshi, Xiao Zhirou's "heart of stone" couldn't help but waver a little.

Right now, the only thing that could make Xiao Zhirou's fearless and fearless maternal love hesitate is probably her filial piety and guilt towards Teng Sanshi.

Seeing this, Yun Zhuiyue was secretly delighted and hurriedly struck while the iron was hot: "Rou'er, you are willing to make the world your enemy for your children, and I am willing to go against the world for you, but my adoptive father and the Teng clan are innocent..."

"Who said I'm innocent?"

Before Yun Zhuiyue finished speaking, an old and trembling voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard. Then, Teng Sanshi, with a solemn and complicated look, slowly appeared in front of the two.

"I heard everything you just said. Rou'er, there are some things... do you owe your father an explanation?"

……

(End of this chapter)