Chapter 942 Lost in the East
On November 23, frost fell in Jingjiang Prefecture and snow covered the Jiumo Cliff.

In the morning, Jin Fuyu, wearing a purple and gold cloak, sat silently in the Qingtian Pavilion, leaning against the fence, with a pair of bright eyes quietly looking at the snow-covered Lijiang River. No matter howling in the cold wind and fluttering in the snow, he remained as still as a clay statue, motionless.

A delicate stove carved with dragons and phoenixes stands in the Qingtian Pavilion. The smoke from the stove rises up, emitting waves of warmth and fragrance, making people feel relaxed and happy.

At this moment, Song Yu, Leng Yiyi, Ding Ao, and Dong Xiaoer stood on the left and right, each of them looking solemn and confused. In addition to them, there were two people kneeling in the middle, trembling and submissive.

These two people were Ji Hou and Fu Yin who returned to Jingjiang Prefecture from Shenzhou.

In fact, they had arrived at Jinjianwu yesterday afternoon, but were turned away when they asked to see Jin Fuyu.

Knowing that they had returned to Jingjiang Prefecture from Shenzhou without permission, Jin Fuyu would be displeased. Ji Hou and Fu Yin were secretly worried, so they sought a way to reconcile with Song Yu.

Song Yu's advice to them was: "The owner likes to meditate in the Qingtian Pavilion. If you want to see the owner, why don't you go to the Qingtian Pavilion and wait for him?"

Song Yu's words enlightened Ji Hou and Fu Yin. They came to Qingtian Pavilion yesterday evening and knelt there all night to show their sincerity.

This morning, Jin Fu Yu arrived late, but still ignored their hospitality.

After breakfast, he sat by the river and didn't say a word for nearly two hours. This not only made Ji Hou and Fu Yin feel choked up, but also made Song Yu, Leng Yiyi, Ding Ao, and Dong Xiao'er, who were waiting with him, feel uneasy.

"Cough cough!"

Suddenly, Jin Fuyu, who was deep in thought, coughed lightly, which made Leng Yiyi and Dong Xiaoer, who were distracted, change their expressions. They hurried forward, one on the left and one on the right, one handed over hot tea and the other handed over a handkerchief.

"You are said to be loyal, but you 'act on your own'. You are said to be fickle, but you 'keep your word'. Could it be... that this is the rule taught by Peach Blossom Sword Island?"

With a calm question, Jin Fuyu slowly turned his head, and his eyes, full of mystery, silently examined Ji Hou and Fu Yin who were looking at each other in bewilderment. After a moment's hesitation, he seemed to be unable to suppress his inner curiosity, and continued: "You are veterans who have been in the martial arts world for many years. Why are you being led by Tang Afu? You do whatever he says, and you are so negotiable. How can you be martial artists? You are clearly businessmen."

"Master, Tang Afu swore to us that he had his own plan and didn't want outsiders to interfere. We knew that he was the key person sent by the master to assassinate Liu Xunyi, so we didn't dare to fall out with him... In addition, the 'ruthless swordsman' has a bad reputation, so we didn't expect that he would go back on his word..."

"Notorious?"

Before Ji Hou finished speaking, Jin Fu Yu suddenly let out an intriguing laugh. He pointed at Ding Ao nonchalantly, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared without a trace. The rapid change in attitude made Ji Hou and Fu Yin feel like they were falling into the abyss, and their hearts were in turmoil.

"Read it to them!"

"what?"

"As you command!" Before Ji Hou and Fu Yin, who were confused in their thoughts, showed surprise on their faces, Ding Ao had already accepted the order with his hands raised, and then he took out a letter from his sleeve and read it expressionlessly, "Master Jinwu, I boast that I can take Liu Xunyi's head by myself, but I didn't expect that I was not well-trained and not as skilled as him. Even if I tried my best, I was still no match for him. Don't dare to say more excuses. I am powerless to save the situation, and I am heartbroken. I am ashamed of the gentleman's agreement and the blood oath. Now that I have failed, I am overwhelmed with sorrow, so I hope you can find someone else who is more capable, and I will no longer bother you with the old grudges of the Tang family. From now on, we will be separated by mountains and rivers... and we will never see each other again."

"hiss!"

When Ji Hou and Fu Yin heard that Ding Ao was reading a letter from Tang Afu, their hearts sank and their faces instantly became extremely ugly.

"This...this is..."

"This is Tang Afu's handwritten letter, which arrived at Jinjianwu before the two of you." Ding Ao said calmly, "As for the meaning of the letter... I believe the two of you have heard it clearly, so there is no need for me to elaborate."

"This……"

Ji Hou and Fu Yin never expected that their keeping their promise to Tang Afu would not only not achieve twice the result with half the effort, but instead... all their previous efforts would be wasted.

"What a saying 'The mountains are long and the waters are far, and there is no end to the rivers and lakes'." Jin Fuyu asked with a half-smile, "Can you tell me what 'there is no end to the rivers and lakes' means? Tang Afu started and ended up breaking the agreement between us. Not only did he not feel guilty, but he sent me away with a hypocritical letter and a few irrelevant words. What does this mean? Who was so sure that the 'ruthless swordsman' would not go back on his word? And who patted his chest and assured me that Tang Afu would definitely get back Liu Xunyi's head? You were confident that you would reap the benefits, thinking you were in control, but in the end, he turned against you at the last minute. What does this mean?" "Master, if we had known earlier that Tang Afu was such a cowardly villain, we would never have left Shenzhou. This matter... is our fault for being blind and being easily deceived by Tang Afu's sweet words. I dare to ask the master to punish us!"

Ji Hou and Fu Yin realized that they were being played like monkeys by Tang Afu, and they were so ashamed and angry that their fists clenched until they made a crackling sound. If it weren't for Jin Fuyu's affection, they wouldn't have lost their temper on the spot. I'm afraid they would have already been furious and cursed.

The martial arts world is no longer what it used to be. The "there is a code of conduct for thieves" that Ji Hou and Fu Yin adhere to are not only not accepted by anyone in today's martial arts world, but also show their pedantry, making them a laughing stock of the world.

"You told me last night that Tang Afu was young and hot-tempered, and his words were not profound." Song Yu said in a deep voice, "He said, 'Peach Blossom Sword Island has been isolated overseas for many years, and you two have been living in comfort for many years and have not been on the battlefield for a long time. It is inevitable that you will become complacent and make mistakes.' It sounded a bit harsh at the time, but it sounds very painful now. However, your repeated mistakes are by no means 'human nature', but 'unforgivable crimes'!"

At this point, Song Yu's eyes turned cold, and he righteously proposed to Jin Fuyu: "Ji Hou and Fu Yin listened to Tang Afu's instigation first, and then disobeyed the order of the owner of the valley, making a huge mistake. Their crimes are unforgivable. In my opinion, they should be beheaded and their bodies should be hung at the mountain gate for seven days and seven nights to serve as a warning to others!"

"hiss!"

Song Yu's cruelty not only made Ji Hou and Fu Yin nervous, but also shocked Leng Yiyi, Ding Ao, and Dong Xiao'er. For a moment, everyone's eyes were cast on the calm Jin Fuyu.

From beginning to end, Jin Fu Yu's expression was neither positive nor negative, his tone was neither happy nor sad, and his eyes with deep meaning kept looking back and forth at Ji Hou and Fu Yin, as if he was considering Song Yu's words, or weighing his own gains and losses.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch." After a long silence, Jin Fuyu finally spoke, "In the final analysis, it was my idea to use Tang Afu to get rid of Liu Xunyi. Ji Hou and Fu Yin didn't dare to quarrel with him, and they were also worried about ruining my plan. As for Tang Afu's temper... you have all seen it. He is still unruly in front of me, let alone facing Ji Hou and Fu Yin? Therefore, I am responsible for 80% of the fault. The remaining 20%... they and Tang Afu each account for half. Song Yu, if you want to behead them in public, then as the culprit, won't my body be left exposed in the wilderness?"

Song Yu was so frightened that he trembled and quickly explained: "Master, I have no such intention..."

"It's just a joke, don't take it seriously." Jin Fuyu interrupted Song Yu's defense, and then cast his eyes on Ji Hou and Fu Yin who were secretly relieved, and changed the subject, "That being said, you made your own decisions after all. If I turn a blind eye, how can I establish my authority over other disciples? Therefore, I will give you two choices now, you can choose one. One is to avoid the death penalty, but you can't escape the punishment of life. According to the rules of Jinjianwu, those who disobey orders will have one hand and one foot chopped off at the lightest, and will be reduced to human pigs at the worst. Considering that you are first-time offenders, I will treat you as a minor crime."

"Master, we..."

"Don't worry!" Jin Fuyu smiled calmly, waved his hand to interrupt Ji Hou and Fu Yin who were extremely terrified, and said calmly, "Second, make up for your crime by making meritorious service. Liu Xunyi escaped from under your noses, and it is up to you two to retrieve his head. However, Qingfeng, with all the power of the Central Plains martial arts world, was helpless against him. If it were just you... it would be even more difficult. Therefore, I decided to settle for the second best and give you another choice."

"What the owner of the dock means is..."

"Tang Afu!" Jin Fuyu answered frankly, "As long as you can get Tang Afu's head back, I will forgive the incident in Shenzhou."

"Why did the owner of the dock want to kill Tang Afu?"

"Because he provoked someone he shouldn't have provoked and couldn't afford to." Leng Yiyi answered Fu Yin's curiosity on behalf of Jin Fuyu, her tone as gloomy as ice, "The owner just said that Tang Afu can't think of getting rid of us with a false letter and a few insignificant greetings. Since he chose to betray us, we can't blame us for being ruthless. Even if it's just to vent his anger, Tang Afu must pay the price with blood."

"You have to let him know that Jinjianwu is not a place where he can come and go as he pleases." Dong Xiaoer added unwillingly.

"Understood……"

"Nonsense!" Jin Fuyu frowned slightly, his face showing displeasure, "The grudges in the martial arts world are not children's quarrels, how can we act on impulse? If I just want to vent my anger, I will never kill him. After all, Tang Afu is Xiao Zhirou's apprentice. If I kill him... Jueqing Valley will be irreconcilable with us."

"Then why did the owner of the dock ..."

"Because in the eyes of some people, Tang Afu's head is far more valuable than Liu Xunyi's head." Jin Fuyu said calmly, "Since Tang Afu can't get Liu Xunyi's head back for me, why don't I use his head to exchange for a huge favor? At least... it can make up for the energy and effort we have spent during this period of time."

"Isn't the owner afraid of offending Xiao Zhirou?"

"It's not about whether I'm afraid or not, but whether it's worth it." Jin Fuyu's eyes showed a cunning look, and he said meaningfully, "As the saying goes, 'new clothes are worse than old friends'. I prefer dealing with 'old friends' to Xiao Zhirou, who I have never met before. If I don't kill Tang Afu, Xiao Zhirou will still be a stranger and won't thank me. But if I kill Tang Afu, more than one 'old friend' will be grateful to me and repay me generously."

……

(End of this chapter)