Chapter 893: The Suspected Crime
Seeing Qingfeng's foresight and thorough approach, Ling Xiaoxiao, who was in a state of panic, gradually felt at ease.

"Now, not only does my father not dare to reveal Liu Xunyi's background, Xiao Zhirou is also worried." Qingfeng's eyes flashed with a treacherous look, and he said faintly, "They think we know nothing about Liu Xunyi's secret. If we take the initiative to expose it, they are worried that our pursuit of Liu Xunyi will become more crazy and unscrupulous."

“If I were Teng Rou, I would not leak the secret rashly. After all, when it comes to the safety of our own flesh and blood, we dare not take chances, let alone make the slightest mistake.” Ling Xiaoxiao nodded thoughtfully, as if she agreed with Qingfeng’s idea.

"But the truth will eventually come out. Liu Xunyi's secret is about to be revealed. In the future, more and more people will know about it. It is destined not to be hidden forever." Qingfeng changed the subject and said, "Therefore, we must do everything we can to get rid of Liu Xunyi before the truth comes out. Otherwise, once Shao Qin Wang and Xiao Zhirou 'join forces', we will have endless troubles."

"We think so, and Xiao Zhirou must think so too." Ling Xiaoxiao said fiercely, "She has learned from the Deputy Privy Envoy that the Young Prince of Qin rescued Liu Xunyi. This is extremely disadvantageous to us. Now, it depends on who moves faster, who has better luck, and who can find Liu Xunyi first."

"If they get there first, and we want to kill Liu Xunyi..."

Having said that, Qingfeng couldn't help but recall Yun Zhuiyue and Teng Sanshi who appeared outside Lin'an City that day. His complicated mood became heavier and he let out a meaningful sigh.

Shao Qin Wang, Xiao Zhirou, Yun Zhuiyue and Teng Sanshi, if the four forces share the same hatred and jointly protect Liu Xunyi, what can it do even if Qingfeng is the leader of the Central Plains martial arts world?

Just as Yun Zhuiyue said that day, although Qingfeng is the leader of the martial arts world, the Central Plains martial arts world is not entirely under his control. Once Qingfeng is stuck in a quagmire because of Liu Xunyi's affairs, it is expected that people like Jin Fuyu and Lu Tingxiang will take advantage of the situation and fish in troubled waters.

By then, the world that had just returned to peace will be in turmoil again, adding many variables and setting off a bloody storm.

"There is no time to lose. Let's send someone to find out about Liu Xunyi as soon as possible..."

"On the way from Lin'an to Luoyang, your father has issued a hunting order, inviting the martial arts sects, martial arts families, and green forest gangs in Xingyuan, Jingzhao, Lintao, Xingqing, Xiliang, and Xuanhua to track down Liu Xunyi's whereabouts and set up a dragnet at the junction of the Central Plains and the Western Regions. If Xunzhen and Liu Xunyi plan to escape to the west, they will be trapped and unable to escape." Qingfeng said slowly, "At the same time, I sent a secret letter to the head of the Kunlun Sect, Yin, asking him to send people to set up ambushes outside the Yumen Pass. If Liu Xunyi escapes from the Central Plains by chance, the Kunlun Sect will kill him outside the pass and will never let him escape to the Western Regions alive."

"Be careful of Qin Ku and Young King Qin's cooperation!" Ling Xiaoxiao reminded, "One of them is inside the pass, and the other is outside the pass. Both of them should not be underestimated."

"Don't worry, your father has sent people to keep a close eye on the Hexi Qin Clan. If Qin Ku dares to make any move, I will make him regret it."

"Xunzhen is born with a cunning mind, full of tricks, sly and treacherous. Will she... expect that we set an ambush in the west?" Ling Xiaoxiao said worriedly, "What if they avoid the real situation and do not flee to the west... won't our efforts be in vain?"

"It's possible." Qingfeng could not deny it, but his attitude was very firm, "No matter what, the west can't let down their guard. They can choose not to go, but we can't let down our guard."

"That makes sense." Ling Xiaoxiao nodded helplessly, "We can't let go of even the slightest chance. But if we fail..."

"Xiaoxiao, there's something that's been bothering me, but... I don't know whether I should tell you?" Qingfeng suddenly interrupted Ling Xiaoxiao's doubts, looking hesitant, and blurted out a sentence for no reason, which caught Ling Xiaoxiao off guard and startled.

"Dad doesn't allow his daughter to be polite, so why should I be so formal?" Ling Xiaoxiao pretended to be displeased.

"Have you ever suspected... that there is a 'traitor' in the Xianwang Mansion?" Qingfeng narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke intermittently, "Even we don't know Liu Xunyi's background, how could the young Qin Wang know in advance? But if he didn't know, how could he send Xunzhen all the way to Lin'an to rescue him? I can't think of any other reason. Do you think... will someone tip him off?"

"Hiss!" Qingfeng's words made Ling Xiaoxiao's heart tremble, and she subconsciously took a breath of cold air, "Could it be that Dad suspected..."

"As far as I know, the Shao Qin King is cautious by nature and would rather have few friends than the wrong ones. He doesn't have many acquaintances in the Central Plains, and his closest friend... is undoubtedly Luo Tianjin, who conspired with him to rebel. Therefore, the person who could contact the Shao Qin King without anyone noticing and knew the mystery of Liu Xunyi's life experience... must be a close confidant of Luo Tianjin, or even a close confidant among the close confidants." Qingfeng raised his eyebrows and asked meaningfully, "Xiaoxiao, who do you suspect?"

"Xie Xuan!" Ling Xiaoxiao blurted out without thinking, "If there really is a 'ghost', it must be Xie Xuan. He is the person that Brother Jin trusts the most, and he knows more of Brother Jin's secrets than me, the wife who sleeps in the same bed with him..."

At this point, a terrible thought could not help but flood into Ling Xiaoxiao's mind. In a blink of an eye, her face was as gloomy as water, her eyes were as cold as ice, and she grumbled to herself with gritted teeth: "No wonder I asked him to investigate the matter of the 'illegitimate child'. He kept making excuses and evading it. It turns out that he was secretly building a plank road to Chencang. What a traitor Xie Xuan is. On the surface, he is respectful to me and obeys my orders, but behind the scenes, he is colluding with that bitch Teng Rou. I pushed him to the throne of the mansion lord in vain, but I didn't expect him to repay my kindness with enmity and turn against me in the middle of the battle. How can this be tolerated! I will call him to confront him face to face. If it is really him who tipped off the young king of Qin, I..."

"What do you want?" Qingfeng frowned and asked suspiciously, "Do you want to kill him?" "Traitors can be killed by everyone, so why not killing him?" Ling Xiaoxiao was filled with righteous indignation and fury.

"Why not? I just want to ask you, after Xie Xuan's death, how will you explain to the disciples of Xianwang Mansion? How will you explain to other martial arts sects?" Qingfeng did not answer but asked, "Xie Xuan is not an ordinary person, he is the dignified master of Xianwang Mansion. Within a year, two masters of Xianwang Mansion died one after another. Such a bizarre story is bound to attract rumors and various opinions. If you say there is no hidden conspiracy, who in the world will believe it? Once Xie Xuan dies, troubles for you and me will inevitably follow. Isn't it just tying ourselves up in knots?"

"This……"

"To take a step back, with Xie Xuan's martial arts, it is not an easy task to kill him. What if I can't kill him on the spot, but let him escape, and tell the world our secret and Liu Xunyi's life experience in the future, how should we end it then?" Qingfeng ignored Ling Xiaoxiao who was timid and said, "Let's not talk about the distant past. Just say that these disciples in the Xianwang Mansion are most likely to swear allegiance to Luo Tianjin and admire Xie Xuan with all their heart, so they must believe what Xie Xuan says. Especially Murong Bai and Deng Quan, the two of them are brothers who share weal and woe with Xie Xuan. They are powerful and prestigious in the Xianwang Mansion, and many disciples obey their orders. Once we force Xie Xuan into a desperate situation, the two of them will surely rise up and respond to the call of hundreds of people. By then, the Xianwang Mansion will not need a strong enemy to suppress it. Just an internal conflict... is enough to collapse and disappear."

"This……"

"Let's take a step back. What if Xie Xuan refuses to admit it? Do you have evidence to prove that he tipped off the young prince of Qin? Even if you have evidence, do you dare to make it public?" Qingfeng asked in rapid succession, "What if... our suspicion is wrong and we wrongly accuse an innocent person?"

"This..." Qingfeng's three consecutive questions made the flustered Ling Xiaoxiao completely at a loss. She stared blankly at Qingfeng's confident words and said incoherently, "Besides him...who else? He is the person that Brother Jin trusts the most, and he even knows Teng Rou's secrets... Doesn't Dad suspect him?"

"If he wasn't suspected, why would Dad ask so much? It's just that right now is a time of trouble, so it's better for us to stay still than to move." Qingfeng sighed bitterly and explained patiently, "If it wasn't him, we would have exposed Liu Xunyi's secret and chilled Xie Xuan's heart if we had rashly launched an attack to accuse him. If it was him, once we broke up with him and forced him to do something desperate, the consequences would be even more disastrous. Now, we treat Xie Xuan just like Xiao Zhirou treats us. Before we know how many secrets the other party knows, we dare not confront him rashly, nor can we let him do what he wants. Therefore, we must learn to strike a balance, and we can't act too hastily, nor can we act too slowly."

"In Dad's opinion, how should we treat Xie Xuan?"

"Keep an eye on him in secret, but don't act rashly, lest you arouse his suspicion." Qingfeng pondered, "If necessary, we can scare away the snakes. If he is really a traitor, he might guide us to find Liu Xunyi's whereabouts."

"What dad means is..."

"Find a chance to 'reveal' the news that Xunzhen rescued Liu Xunyi to him and see his reaction." Qingfeng said in a secretive manner, "Tell Xie Xuan that your father has set up a dragnet and is determined to catch them. Xunzhen, Liu Xunyi and others will be wiped out within a month. If he is a traitor, he will do everything he can to tip off Xunzhen and tell her our plan to prevent Liu Xunyi from falling into our hands. Then, we will follow the clues to find Liu Xunyi's whereabouts and eliminate them in one fell swoop..."

"What a great trick of throwing a stone to test the waters. It's really a smart move." Ling Xiaoxiao showed ecstasy on her face, and her eyes could not hide the excitement.

"Therefore, we have to pretend that everything is going according to plan and we must not rush for quick success. As for Liu Xunyi's life experience... Heaven and earth know it, you know it, and I know it. Don't tell anyone else for the time being, and don't let the wild geese not return, so as to avoid leaking the news."

"Everything is subject to Dad's arrangements!"

"it is good!"

……

Just as Qingfeng and Ling Xiaoxiao were sighing, plotting, and gradually turning their grief and anger into murderous intent, at the foot of the wall outside the room, the pale, emaciated Luo Ningyu was covering her mouth and nose tightly with both hands, trying hard to suppress her increasingly rapid breathing due to her inner excitement, and dared not make a sound.

Even though her heart was broken and tears were pouring out.

Even though she was crying so hard that she couldn't even look up, and was in so much pain that she wanted to die.

……

(End of this chapter)