Chapter 89 Daozu Fish Meat

"The Shocking Wind... The Rain-Transforming Picture?"

Liu Xunyi looked at the black bamboo tube in his hand with shock, which was exactly the same as the one he gave to Tang Afu. What puzzled him most was that Tang Afu's bamboo tube also contained a "Wind and Rain" painting.

If the painting Xunzhen gave him now is the real picture of the wind and rain, then what is in Tang Afu's hand?
"This..." Liu Xunyi was full of doubts, but for a moment he didn't know where to start.

"You only need to tell Palace Master Luo that this map is a gift from Ren Wuya to Prince Shao Qin. I believe that Palace Master Luo will understand its importance." Xunzhen said, "This map was personally handed to me by Ding Ao, the leader of the Golden Scale Banner, on the orders of Palace Master Ren. Now I am handing it to you, and I hope you can also hand it over to Palace Master Luo in person." Xunzhen's words were quite sincere, and there was no trace of joking between his brows.

"So... this is the real painting of the wind and rain?" Liu Xunyi asked in surprise, "Then the painting that Cao Qin took out from Ye Zilin today..."

"Of course it's fake." Xunzhen smiled faintly, "The bloody battle in Ye Zilin was just a show. I sent people to kidnap Cao Rui here and exchange maps with Cao Qin face to face. In fact, I didn't expect them to leave alive from the beginning." Xunzhen couldn't help feeling sad when she said this. After all, those who died were all her loyal subordinates.

But there are some things that he absolutely cannot tell Liu Xunyi, so Xunzhen can only suppress the sigh in his heart and pretend to be cold-blooded and regard human life as worthless.

"No wonder you didn't show up." Liu Xunyi nodded thoughtfully, "So you guys had colluded from the beginning and deliberately used a fake picture as bait, but what was your purpose?" Liu Xunyi asked puzzledly, "Isn't Cao Qin trying to deal with the robbers who kidnapped his son? Did you know from the beginning that Tang Afu and I also coveted this picture? So you set up the trap to trick us?"

Liu Xunyi himself felt that this speculation was full of loopholes, and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "No, no, even if you prepared a fake map in advance to prevent any unexpected events, there is no need to sacrifice so many people? Your men plus the disciples of Yuhu Hall, that's more than a hundred lives. I think it's not worth it for either Tang Afu or me to pay such a high price, right?"

Xunzhen waved his hands impatiently and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you. You just need to know that this painting is authentic."

"If that's the case, then why did you hand this map over to Mansion Master Luo?" Liu Xunyi asked subconsciously.

"Because the young prince of Qin wants to make friends with the Lord of Luo sincerely." Xunzhen said seriously, "Since we want to make friends, we must show enough sincerity. The young prince of Qin knows that the Lord of Luo has been in love with the Jingfenghuayutu for a long time, so he uses this as a meeting gift to show his affection."

Liu Xunyi frowned slightly and was about to speak when Xunzhen's face darkened and he asked in a cold voice, "How many questions do you have?"

Liu Xunyi was stunned, thought for a moment, stretched out his hand and said with a smile: "The last two! First, who is the Shao Qin Wang you mentioned? I guess he should be your master, right?"

"This matter has nothing to do with you." Xunzhen snorted coldly, "Regarding the matter of Young Prince Qin, you can go back and ask Palace Master Luo. I'm sorry I have nothing to tell you."

"Then the second one." Liu Xunyi did not give up after hitting a wall, and asked again, "Why did you ask me to give you the picture? Aren't you afraid that I will keep it for myself?"

Xunzhen smiled mysteriously, shook his head and said, "First, I have just tested your character. Your insistence on 'clearly distinguishing between gratitude and resentment' is enough to prove that you are a man of your word. Since you are here to find the map under the order of the Northern Sage King, I believe that you will definitely bring this map to him. Second, whether it is the King of Shaoqin or the Northern Sage King, they are both powerful forces that you cannot afford to provoke. If you dare to hide their things, even if you escape to the ends of the earth, you will definitely die. You are not a fool, you should understand the principle of biting off more than you can chew. Third, in addition to your identity as a disciple of the Sage King's Mansion, you have another true identity that cannot be revealed. And there must be a huge conspiracy between these two identities. As I expected, your real purpose... is far from being comparable to a picture of the Wind and Rain. Lord Liu, I wonder if I am right?"

Every time Liu Xunyi heard Xunzhen call him "Lord Liu", his heart would tighten, for fear that the matter would become public.

"I understand." Although Liu Xunyi had many questions in his mind, he was more unwilling to continue facing the scheming Xunzhen than to be curious, so he hurriedly put the black bamboo tube into his sleeve, and then looked around at the Western Region swordsmen who were eyeing him covetously, and asked tentatively, "Then... can I leave?"

"Of course." Xunzhen smiled slightly, waved his hand and ordered everyone to make way for Liu Xunyi, and before leaving, he did not forget to greet, "Take care on your journey, Young Master Liu!"

Liu Xunyi saw Xunzhen's charming smile, but felt a chill in his heart. After taking another deep look at her, Liu Xunyi left Ye Zilin without looking back and disappeared at the end of the moonlit night.

"Just let him go like that?" Abaolu looked at the direction where Liu Xunyi was going away, and asked unwillingly, "Do you really believe him?"

"Killing him now will do us no good at all." Xunzhen said with a smile, "On the contrary, keeping him will be of great benefit to us in the future. Only we know the secret of Liu Xunyi now. Maybe one day, he will become our killer move, so I didn't tell Ding San and Yulong Palace about his relationship with the Song Dynasty court."

“That picture…”

"We used a picture to exchange for friendship with Luo Tianjin, it was worth it." Xunzhen smiled faintly, "Ren Wuya wanted to kill two birds with one stone. While forming an alliance with us, he also did not forget to please Jinjianwu. Then we should learn from this shrewd Palace Master Ren and not hang ourselves on a tree at Yulong Palace. The Northern Sage King has a deep foundation in the Central Plains martial arts world, far beyond the reach of pagans like Tianshan Yulong Palace. If we can rely on Luo Tianjin, then whatever we do in the future will be even more powerful and twice as effective with half the effort."

Looking at Abaolu who was thinking hard, Xunzhen smiled and said softly: "More importantly, Liu Xunyi knows everything that happened today. When he sees Luo Tianjin, he will report it truthfully. So no matter what the facts are, in front of Luo Tianjin, we are the most sincere 'honest people'. Even if any 'accident' happens, it is the old fox Ren Wuya who is interfering. Luo Tianjin will never blame us. Do you understand?"

Hearing this, Abaolu's doubtful eyes suddenly flashed with a look of sudden enlightenment, and he bowed to Xunzhen with admiration and said: "Miss, you are a master of strategy. Compared with you, Song Yu is just a name for nothing. He can't even tell the real picture from the fake one. He is a waste. I, Abaolu, admire you very much!"

"There is no point in talking more. Let's leave this troubled place as soon as possible, so as to avoid any changes." Xunzhen said seriously, and then she looked back at the Yulong Palace looming on the top of Tianshan Mountain. Her beautiful eyes were shining, and she whispered as if talking to herself: "I have said it before, from childhood to adulthood, I have been the only one who manipulates others, and no one has ever played tricks on me. Except for the time when Yanmen Pass fell into the hands of Liu Xunyi, no one will be able to plot against me in the future..."

After saying that, Xunzhen's mouth suddenly raised a sly smile, and then he led his men away in the opposite direction of Yulong Palace.

……

Just after midnight, a furtive figure suddenly appeared outside Piaomiao Pavilion of Yulong Palace.

A moment later, a cautious and low voice suddenly came from outside the pavilion: "Palace Master, Cao Qin wants to see you!" "Squeak!"

Before Cao Qin finished his words, the door of Piaomiao Pavilion opened a crack without any warning. Cao Qin looked around cautiously and then quickly walked into the pavilion.

"Palace Master." Cao Qin came outside the white veil and knelt on the ground respectfully.

"You're here." Ren Wuya's intimidating voice came from the cabinet, "Did you bring the things?"

"Cao Qin will follow the orders of the Palace Master and will not slack off for even a moment." As Cao Qin spoke, he carefully took out a red bamboo tube from his sleeve and presented it to the outside of the white gauze curtain with both hands. "Long before I went to Quanzhou, the Palace Master had specifically told me that the real Jingfenghuayutu would be kept in my hands for the time being. I will find a chance after the Jade Dragon Festival... to present it to the Palace Master alone... alone!"

"Smart!" Ren Wuya sounded quite satisfied and praised, "I really didn't make a mistake about him."

"It's all because of the Palace Master's good teaching!" Cao Qin nodded repeatedly, "In order to successfully hand over the Jingfenghuayu Tu to the Palace Master, I specially prepared four pictures. Three of them are fakes in black bamboo tubes, and the original is in a red bamboo tube. The one that Tang Afu robbed, Song Yu took away, and the one that the Palace Master asked me to hand over to Master Ding San in person, are all black bamboo tubes containing fakes. It's because I always remember the Palace Master's orders, and I will never take out the original unless we meet alone."

"Good!" Ren Wuya smiled faintly, "You did a great job this time. I heard from Ding San that when your son was kidnapped, you would rather give up your precious son's life than not protect the Jingfenghuayu Tu. I have seen your loyalty. Now you have successfully deceived Jueqing Valley, Jinjianwu and Shao Qin Wang. You have killed three birds with one stone. You have made a great contribution."

"I dare not! It is all thanks to the Palace Master's many years of cultivation!" Cao Qin was overjoyed when he heard this and bowed his head, "My son is indeed precious to me, but the Palace Master's life is more important to me. Even if Rui'er dies an untimely death, I will never dare to fail the Palace Master's trust."

"I'm sorry that Cao Rui has suffered this time. I will find a way to compensate him in the future and will not let him lose his hand in vain." Ren Wuya said softly.

"Thank you, Palace Master! Thank you, Palace Master!" Upon hearing that Ren Wuya wanted to personally train Cao Rui, Cao Qin was overjoyed and almost got carried away. After calming down a little, he tentatively asked, "It's just that... the Palace Master has kept this a secret from the three flag masters, and I always feel..."

"If we don't hide it from them, how can they make the play look realistic?" Ren Wuya said with a smile, "Hu Yanba and Dong Xiaoer thought that the painting you gave Song Yu was the original, so I asked them to discuss the alliance with Jin Jianwu. They thought that Jin Jianwu had obtained the real Jingfenghuayu painting, so they must be full of confidence and would definitely not arouse Jin Jianwu's suspicion during the negotiation. And I asked Ding San to send the other fake painting you hid to Xunzhen, so that he could appear confident enough in front of Xunzhen, even righteous, so as to win the trust of the Young Qin King in Yulong Palace."

"But what if they find out the picture is fake after they go back? Then..."

"Even if they find out it's fake, they won't blame the Jade Dragon Palace, because they all know that the Wind and Rain Map has never passed through my hands, and I know nothing about it. Even if they find out the map is fake, they will only..." Ren Wuya's tone suddenly stagnated at this point. Under Cao Qin's nervous gaze, he was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke, "They will only think that it was you, Cao Qin, who made a mistake, and that something went wrong with the Wind and Rain Map when it was in your hands, and it has nothing to do with the Jade Dragon Palace. What I want to give them is sincerity. As long as there is sincerity, it is a favor. As long as they accept this favor, it is enough for me. Therefore, even if they suffer a loss, they have swallowed it the moment they received the map, and they can't spit it out even if they want to. It's just... I have to wrong you a little."

Cao Qin was so frightened and horrified that he could not recover for a long time.

The moment before, Cao Qin thought he had really made an unparalleled contribution to Yulong Palace, but after the truth came out, he became Ren Wuya's scapegoat. Ren Wuya got the advantage of killing three birds with one stone, but he had to bear all the consequences for Ren Wuya.

"You don't have to worry too much. How many people in the world can tell the difference between the real and fake Jingfenghuayutu?" Ren Wuya said calmly, "Even the three flag owners of Yulong Palace were kept in the dark about this matter. Now the truth is known only to heaven and earth, you and me. As long as you refuse to admit it, Jinjianwu and Shao Qin Wang can't accuse us of giving you a fake. They are all smart people. Even if they find out that the fake is not the original one day, they will never cause trouble for Yulong Palace for it."

"Palace Master, rest assured, Cao Qin will not reveal a word about this matter even if he dies!" Cao Qin is not a fool, of course he knows the pros and cons. Now he is so scared that cold sweats are pouring down his face, and he swears to the sky, "I will keep this matter to the grave and will not reveal a word."

"I believe you." Ren Wuya replied with a smile, "I believe you will take this matter to your grave..."

"Oh!"

Before Ren Wuya finished speaking, a fierce energy suddenly shot out from the inner cabinet. Before Cao Qin could react, his chest suddenly sank, and then the clothes at the back of his heart were instantly torn. This energy instantly penetrated Cao Qin's body, shaking his internal organs into a pool of mud, and his tendons, veins and bones were completely shattered.

Cao Qin's body did not fall apart. Even though he fell to the ground with his eyes open, his body still remained intact. All this was thanks to the green silk armor he was wearing.

"Whoosh!"

A gentle force swept past Cao Qin's body, rolling the red bamboo tube into the white gauze.

In the outer pavilion, Cao Qin stared with a pair of eyes full of surprise and unwillingness. His chest became shriveled as he exhaled. Blood and flesh mixed with organ and bone fragments slowly flowed out from under his body. In a short while, the whole Piaomiao Pavilion was shrouded in a pungent and unpleasant smell of blood.

The eerie atmosphere and the terrifying Piaomiao Pavilion were filled with only the sounds of excited breathing coming from the white gauze. Other than that, the entire Piaomiao Pavilion was as quiet as a dead building.

"This... this is impossible... this is simply too much!"

It was unknown how long had passed, but an infuriated roar suddenly came from the cabinet, followed by a loud "bang", and the red bamboo tube was smashed to the ground by Ren Wuya, and rolled down the edge of the white gauze to the side of Cao Qin's body. Also thrown out along with it was a torn and fragmented scroll of "The Picture of Shocking Wind and Transforming Rain".

The reason why Ren Wuya was so angry was because... the picture of the wind and rain in the red bamboo tube was actually fake!
……

(End of this chapter)