Chapter 945 News from the North
"father!"

Upon seeing Yun Zhuiyue, Yun Jianping couldn't help but look delighted. He subconsciously let go of Xiao Zhirou's hand and quickly walked towards the river.

It seems that, deep in Yun Jianping's heart, Yun Zhuiyue is still the person closest to her and most familiar to her.

After all, Yun Zhuiyue raised her and had been her "only" relative since she was a child. In front of Yun Zhuiyue, she could laugh, scold, and show her "childishness" without any restraint, without any taboos.

Although Xiao Zhirou is Yun Jianping's biological mother, they have been separated for more than 20 years and have only known each other for a few months, so there is still some estrangement and unfamiliarity between them.

Therefore, Yun Jianping is not as lively and straightforward in front of Xiao Zhirou as he is in front of Yun Zhuiyue.

Looking at Yun Jianping's back and feeling the remaining warmth in her palm, the thoughtful Xiao Zhirou suddenly felt a pang of bitterness. Although she knew that no one was to blame for this, she could not help but feel a little sad and disappointed as she watched her precious daughter smile in front of Yun Zhuiyue but be cautious in front of her.

At the same time, she felt even more guilty towards Yun Jianping and regretted her original choice more and more.

After all, it is the cycle of cause and effect, and retribution will come.

"Ping'er!"

Seeing Yun Jianping from afar, Li Haitang waved excitedly.

"Dad, you're here!"

However, Yun Jianping's mind was entirely on Yun Zhuiyue. She only nodded slightly to Li Haitang, who had an earnest look on his face, without exchanging any further greetings.

"I want to talk to your mother. You guys go back to Jueqing Valley first."

It is true that "like daughter, like father", Yun Jianping is completely focused on Yun Zhuiyue and is absent-minded towards Li Haitang. On the other hand, Yun Zhuiyue is completely focused on Xiao Zhirou and is also indifferent to Yun Jianping.

"But……"

"obedient!"

Before Yun Jianping could start to act coquettishly, Yun Zhuiyue's eyes straightened and his tone became unquestionable.

"Oh well!"

Yun Jianping sticks out her tongue playfully at the serious Yun Zhuiyue, then smiles awkwardly at Xiao Zhirou who is lost in thought, and finally jumps onto the boat with the help of Li Haitang.

"Dad, Mom, we're leaving first!"

"Be careful and walk slowly!"

Yun and Li bowed in greeting one after another, and then, under Xiao Zhirou's instructions, they went upstream, gradually moving away.

"What were you talking about just now? You both looked like you were in a good mood." After watching the two of them walk away, Yun Zhuiyue rolled her eyes and waited for an opportunity to tease them, "Ping'er just called us 'Dad' and 'Mom'. In a trance... it felt like we were a family."

Xiao Zhirou had no intention of being ambiguous with Yun Zhuiyue, so she turned a deaf ear to his "test" and asked expressionlessly, "That Li Haitang...seems to be interested in Ping'er?"

"This is something that everyone in Longxiang Mountain knows, so it's not a secret." Yun Zhuiyue said angrily, "They were childhood sweethearts, and it's natural for Li Haitang to be interested in Ping'er. This boy is diligent and studious, and has good character, but it's a pity... Flowers have feelings, but water flows without emotion. Ping'er only regards him as a fellow disciple, but she doesn't like him."

"Oh?" Xiao Zhirou seemed to hear something strange in Yun Zhuiyue's words and asked suspiciously, "Do you know who Ping'er likes?"

"Rou'er, why do you ask when you already know the answer?" Yun Zhuiyue asked instead of answering, "Don't you know that she likes Wu Shuang?"

"I was just about to ask you, who exactly is Wu Shuang?" Xiao Zhirou frowned slightly and asked in a serious tone, "How much do you know about him?"

"I only know that he single-handedly assassinated the governor of Jiannan, and that he was close friends with the four senior monks of Shaolin Scripture Library. Other than that, I know nothing." Yun Zhuiyue said frankly, "I have sent people to find out his details more than once, but they have always returned empty-handed. This guy seems to have fallen from the sky, and it is impossible to investigate him... There is no way to start."

"He and Ping'er are..."

"Maybe it's because they are a perfect match and fell in love at first sight." Yun Zhuiyue joked, but she saw Xiao Zhirou's displeasure. Her eyes immediately changed and she quickly explained, "Rou'er, don't look at me like that. A woman's heart is like a needle in the sea. She never tells me her thoughts, so I don't know much..."

"Since you know so little, why don't you take the initiative to care? Do you really treat Ping'er as your own daughter?" Xiao Zhirou asked indignantly, "What if Wu Shuang has bad intentions..."

"If he dares to do anything bad, I swear I will be the first to kill him." Seeing Xiao Zhirou getting angry, Yun Zhuiyue quickly promised solemnly, "I will never give him the chance to hurt Ping'er."

"Don't bother me. I will personally take care of Ping'er's affairs in the future." Xiao Zhirou said calmly, "By the way, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"There's news from the north." Yun Zhuiyue said as he pulled out a secret letter from his sleeve and added, "It's a letter from Tang Afu to you." "Afu?"

Xiao Zhirou's face changed, and she quickly took the letter. As her eyes wandered between the lines, her expression gradually evolved from initial worry and curiosity to shock and horror, followed by shame and anger, and finally to relief and excitement.

Looking at Xiao Zhirou's changing expression, Yun Zhuiyue was full of doubts and asked cautiously, "What does the letter say?"

"Afu has found Xunyi's whereabouts!"

Xiao Zhirou couldn't hide her ecstasy and subconsciously moved closer to Yun Zhuiyue, wanting to share this joy with him.

However, Yun Zhuiyue looked at Xiao Zhirou who was so close to him and smelled the faint fragrance emanating from her body. For a moment, he was infatuated and intoxicated. How could he care about Liu Xunyi's life or death?
As if she had noticed her own loss of composure and Yun Zhuiyue's strangeness, Xiao Zhirou's face changed, and she quickly took two steps back, angrily asking, "What are you looking at?"

"Rou'er, I think..."

“Stop talking nonsense!” Seeing Yun Zhuiyue trying to confide in her again, Xiao Zhirou couldn’t help but look cold and said indifferently, “If you don’t want to be kicked out of Jueqing Valley by me, then don’t embarrass each other.”

"I..." Yun Zhuiyue was in a state of confusion and made up an excuse, "I just want to know where Tang Afu found Liu Xunyi?"

"Afu met Xunyi in Shenzhou and has been with him ever since." Xiao Zhirou answered doubtfully.

"Shenzhou?" Yun Zhuiyue was stunned and asked suspiciously, "Isn't it the same as the rumors? Liu Xunyi really went to Changbai Mountain, but why haven't the people we sent found his trace yet?"

"We were just like the other sects, arriving a step late." Xiao Zhirou explained, "Afu said that Xunyi had quietly left long before the large number of troops from the Central Plains arrived at Changbai Mountain."

"This..." Yun Zhuiyue became more and more confused as she listened. "Since we were all one step late, how could Tang Afu have predicted it?"

"Jin Fuyu told him! Jin Fuyu asked Afu to help them assassinate Xunyi on the pretext of thoroughly investigating the Tang family massacre. Fortunately, Afu stopped at the brink of death and did not help the evildoer. Instead, he was persuaded by Xunzhen in the tiger's den and now stands together with Xunyi."

"This..." Tang Afu's tortuous experience made Yun Zhuiyue unable to get around it for a while, "He was actually in collusion with Jin Fuyu..."

"Afu is also eager for revenge, and he is desperate to seek help from all directions. Moreover, he has already admitted his fault in the letter, so it is better not to mention this matter." Xiao Zhirou waved her hand nonchalantly, "The most important thing is that he is with Xunyi now. He said in the letter that with the help of Granny Taohua, Xunyi not only recovered from her injuries, but also inherited Senior Huang Yangming's lifelong skills by chance."

"what?"

Yun Zhuiyue was shocked when he heard this. He stared at Xiao Zhirou, who was so happy and emotional, with a pair of astonished eyes. He was dumbfounded for a long time and was speechless.

"Liu Xunyi...he inherited Huang Yangming's lifelong skills? How...is this possible?"

"What Ah Fu wrote must be true." Xiao Zhirou said confidently, "This way, it will be much more difficult for Qingfeng and his daughter to hurt Xunyi again. Very good! This is very good!"

"Where are they now? What are their plans next?"

"They knew that the Central Plains was in danger, so they decided to go north to Mohe to ask Su He for help." Xiao Zhirou said with relief, "Su He is Xun Yi's sworn brother, and he is also an upright hero. If he can help, my son will be even more powerful."

"No! No!" Yun Zhuiyue thought and waved his hands repeatedly, "Qingfeng gave the order first, and 'Tiger and Wolf' came out later. The Northeast should be an unbreakable cage now. How can Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen, who are the targets of public criticism, escape from the net laid by Qingfeng? Even if they left Changbai Mountain first, it is impossible for them to go north without being noticed. There must be some clues along the way. The factions in the Central Plains are not all good-for-nothings. How could they not notice anything strange? Could it be... that someone helped them build a plank road in the open and sneak into Chencang in secret?"

"This... shouldn't happen."

Xiao Zhirou read Tang Afu's letter over and over again, but still did not see any news about the "Four Prefectures in the Capital".

In fact, Tang Afu did not want to conceal the news about "Xilu Wuzong". At first, he wrote a letter clearly about what happened in Yuan Mansion in Shenzhou. Unexpectedly, it was discovered by Xunzhen just before the pigeon was sent out.

When Xunzhen learned that Tang Afu wanted to report her whereabouts back to Jueqing Valley, she immediately made her attitude clear and negotiated with him in a stern manner. She knew that Tang Afu had deep feelings for Xiao Zhirou and it was impossible for him to hide it. Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, she decided to persuade Tang Afu with emotion and reason, and agreed to Tang Afu mentioning Liu Xunyi in the letter, but he must not reveal the secret of Shao Qin Wang.

Tang Afu hesitated for a while, thinking that the young prince of Qin and Jueqing Valley had no grudges in the past and no hatred in the present, and the two had never crossed paths. Therefore, Xiao Zhirou must have little interest in the matter of "Shangjing Four Prefectures" and "Xilu Wuzong", so he simply didn't mention it.

After all, Prince Shao Qin and Xiao Zhirou have nothing to do with each other, so why would Tang Afu push Jueqing Valley into the trap and cause trouble for no reason?
Because of this, the letter Xiao Zhirou received today did not mention anything about the "Four Prefectures of Shangjing" and "Xilu Wuzong".

What is intriguing is that when Tang Afu decided to send a letter by carrier pigeon, why was Xunzhen able to discover it in time?

Could it be... just a coincidence?

……

(End of this chapter)