Chapter 953 A hundred secrets and one sparse

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the heavy snow that had lasted for three days and three nights showed no sign of stopping, and the snow on the ground was high enough to reach the knees of an adult man.

The weather in Mohe was freezing cold, the rivers were frozen, and the red sun hanging high in the sky was like an ink painting, icy without a trace of temperature. The cold wind was howling like a sharp knife or sword, and there was not a single pedestrian on the street in broad daylight.

Those who know that local people have already prepared enough firewood and food to stay at home to avoid the cold and keep warm. In the cold winter, they often do not go out for ten days or eight days. This is the local custom. Those who do not know that Mohe is a deserted border town just by looking at the closed doors and shops.

"Miss!"

In the morning, in the only inn in Mohe, Xiao Yang, Su Hu and Xun Budao came to Xunzhen's room in a hurry and handed over the secret letters they had received one after another.

Abaolu, wrapped in a sheepskin coat, brought the kettle from the stove to the table. While making tea for Xiao Yang and the other two, he cast a curious look at Xunzhen who was sitting by the window, quietly reading a letter.

"What the hell is this place? It's freezing!" Su Hu sat by the stove, holding a steaming cup of tea in both hands. While soothing his almost frozen body, he complained tremblingly, "We've been going out early and coming back late these past few days, looking for news about Su He around Mohe, but we haven't seen any trace of him. What do you think... could it be that the news from Hong Temple is wrong?"

"Even if he has ten guts, Hong Si would not dare to deceive the young lady." Xiao Yang sneered, "In my opinion, Su He did appear in Mohe, but he left before we arrived."

"If that's the case, why should we keep looking?" Xun Budao said teasingly, "Liu Xunyi is 'loyal and righteous'. He never abandons his sworn brother, but he doesn't treat us as outsiders. He was reluctant to let Tang Afu and Pan Yuyin go out to suffer the cold, but he completely abandoned us brothers, working day and night in the wind and snow, and he wanted to use us like animals..."

"Shut up!" Abaolu's face darkened and he scolded, "Liu Xunyi is now the deputy leader of Xilu Wuzong, so stop talking nonsense!"

"Every word I said is true." Xun Budao defended unwillingly, "Among the twenty or so brothers who came with us, at least half of them can't stand such a bad climate. Most of them feel unwell, and several have high fevers and have been bedridden. If we continue to suffer for a few more days, I'm afraid all the brothers will fall ill. By then, if we are the only ones to go out and look for people...even if we don't freeze to death, we will be exhausted to death."

Seeing Xun Budao indignant and Abaolu's face gloomy, Xiao Yang stepped out to smooth things over: "You can't say that. Miss Pan is just a weak woman, how can we compare ourselves with her? As for Liu Xunyi and Tang Afu... they have not been idle during this period. While we are leading people outside, they are also going door to door to inquire about Su He's whereabouts."

"Can……"

"Have you sent anyone to the Mohe Horse Farm?" Abaolu stared at Xun Budao, who was hesitant to speak, and asked Xiao Yang and Su Hu without turning his head, "Is there any news about Su He there?"

"We sent people there three times, but each time we returned empty-handed." Su Hu answered helplessly, "We paid the soldiers guarding the horse farm to inquire, and they said they had never seen Su He, and there was no one named Su He in the horse farm."

"This……"

"Boom!"

Just as Abaolu and Xiao Yang were expressing their opinions and discussing, Xunzhen, who was quietly reading the letter, suddenly threw the teacup he had just picked up heavily on the table. In an instant, the cup overturned and the tea spilled, shocking Abaolu and the others who were chattering so much that their faces changed and their voices stopped abruptly.

"Miss, you are..."

"The four prefectures of Shangjing went south to the Central Plains, and everything was going smoothly. Everything was within our expectations and control. Yuan Xiao successfully eased the dilemma of the tiger's den and dragon's pool, and successfully approached Wudang. The appearance of Yan Shun can help Qin Ku balance the internal opposition forces, and now he has established a firm foothold in Hexi. Not to mention Lei Zhen, under the arrangement of Xie Xuan, he has gradually integrated into Luoyang City. The first step of Xilu Wuzong's entry into the Central Plains should have been prosperous and flourishing, but what he feared came true. When everyone was strict with themselves and cautious, there were still bad apples who jumped out to disrupt the situation and ruined the mood!"

"boom!"

Having said this, Xunzhen seemed to get angrier and angrier. She slammed the letter on the table, letting the tea soak the letter paper and wet her delicate hands, but she was still completely unaware.

"This……"

Seeing Xunzhen getting furious, which was very rare, Xiao Yang and the others couldn't help but look at each other.

After hesitating for a while, Abaolu finally tried to probe carefully: "Who went wrong? Just now you mentioned that Yuan Xiao, Yan Shun, and Lei Zhen all achieved twice the result with half the effort. Could it be that the person who had an accident was... Hong Si?"

"It's Hong Si's nephew, Hong Yang!" Xunzhen said angrily, "The closer they are to each other, the harder it is to discipline them. The letter said that Hong Yang relied on being Hong Si's nephew to think highly of himself and act independently. Hong Si, considering the relationship between uncle and nephew, often turned a blind eye to his mistakes, causing Hong Yang to become more and more unruly and daring. This time when he entered the customs, Hong Yang disregarded Hong Si's strict orders and went out to spend money and drink without permission more than once, and even stayed out all night."

It is not difficult to guess from Xunzhen’s words that the person who tipped her off... was not Hong Si.

"Hong Yang made a mistake, and Hong Si is to blame. At least, they are also responsible for not disciplining him properly. Alas! Hong Si was cautious in his words and deeds, and was careful in everything. In the end, his reputation was not ruined by himself, but by his nephew." Xiao Yang first complained a few words according to Xun Zhen's thoughts, and then rolled his eyes and cautiously tested, "Excuse me, Miss, is Hong Yang just not following the rules, or... has he made a mistake?"

"I don't know, because Hong Yang's whereabouts are unknown now."

"what?"

When these words were spoken, Abaolu and his companions were all shocked and stunned.

"The letter said that the last time Hong Yang ran out to drink and have fun was on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, when they had already entered the territory of western Hunan. Hong Si had planned to lead people to formally visit the Teng clan the next day, but unexpectedly Hong Yang deserted his post again that night, and he went his own way despite the repeated dissuasion of Hongmen disciples. Before leaving, he asked other disciples to cover for him. If he was discovered by Hong Si, he would say that he went out to gather information, and vowed to be back before dawn. However, to everyone's surprise, Hong Yang went... and never came back." "Hiss!"

The more Abaolu and his companions listened, the more frightened they became. It was only at this moment that they finally understood why Xunzhen, who had always been calm in the face of praise or criticism, was so angry.

Little did they know that Hong Yang, as a trusted nephew of Hong Temple, must be familiar with the secrets of "Liu Xunyi" and "Xilu Wuzong". Once he falls into the hands of the "thief", he is likely to reveal the secret. In this way, not only will Xilu Wuzong fall into endless trouble, but it may also put Yuan Xiao and others in danger.

One wrong move and the whole game is lost.

Xunzhen had been walking on thin ice and facing the abyss in his plan for "West Law Wuzong". However, he never expected that Hong Si, who was known for his integrity, could not even control his own nephew. The truth that a thousand-mile dam is destroyed by an ant hole made Xunzhen more and more frightened and furious.

"Hong Yang hasn't come back yet. Could it be that he is having so much fun that he doesn't want to leave, so..."

"Impossible!" Xunzhen interrupted Abaolu's persuasion directly, "Although Hong Yang has many bad habits, he knows his limits, otherwise he wouldn't be alive and well today. He neglected his duties more than once or twice, why did he come back in time the previous times, but never came back this time? Moreover, he knew that he would visit the Teng tribe the next day, how could he forget such an important matter?"

"That makes sense!" Xun Budao frowned and pondered carefully, "Xiangxi is the territory of the Teng clan after all. Could it be that Teng Sanshi is causing trouble?"

"It's possible, but... the chances are slim." Xunzhen shook his head slowly. "Teng Sanshi and Hong Temple just met by chance, so there's no need for him to have any concerns. If he has any concerns, he can just speak out. There's no need to bypass Hong Temple and deal with Hong Yang privately."

"Miss, what you mean is... Hong Yang might fall into the hands of others?"

"Don't forget, the Xiangxi Teng Clan is next to Jingjiang Prefecture, and Jinjianwu has spies all over the world, not to mention our own doorstep." Xunzhen pondered, "If Hong Yang's whereabouts are still unknown, I guess... he is most likely in danger. If he is not found alive or dead, it will be extremely difficult to track down the truth. Therefore, we cannot predict where Hong Yang is? What has he experienced? Even if we are sure that he has met with an unexpected accident, we cannot know who killed him? We can't determine whether he leaked our secrets before he died? In this way, even if we suspect Jinjianwu, we can't act rashly, because if we are not careful, we will go from 'hiding the truth' to 'making it more obvious'. By then, the secret that others didn't know will become a big deal after we make a fuss... and everyone in the world will know it."

"Then what do we do?"

"Hong Yang disappeared on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, and today is the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month. Such a long time has passed, and there is still no sign of movement in the martial arts world, and Yuan Xiao and others are still acting according to the plan. In this way, there is at least a 30% chance that Hong Yang did not leak the secret of 'Xili Wuzong'. His disappearance... may really be an accident." Xunzhen stared at a round drop of water slowly falling from his fingertips, his tone was complex and solemn, and his words were hesitant and entangled.

It seemed that she lacked sufficient confidence in her own guess. Or, in other words, Hong Yang's death in an accident was just a "luxury" in Xunzhen's heart.

"Then...what is the remaining 70%?" Abaolu asked impatiently, "If Hong Yang didn't die in an accident..."

"If Hong Yang's disappearance was not an accident, or if he had leaked our secret before his death, then... the people who knew our secret deliberately kept it secret, otherwise Yuan Xiao, Yan Shun, Hong Si, and Lei Zhen would not be safe and sound."

"Why?"

"The reason is very simple." Xunzhen said in a veiled manner, "Either this person is a 'friend'. He is taking the opportunity to curry favor with us in order to achieve a certain goal, hoping to reach a cooperation with us. Or, this person is a 'mortal enemy'. He is assessing the situation, secretly planning and strategizing, and when the time is right, he will... defeat us in one fell swoop."

"Which is more likely?"

"Equally so! Because a mortal enemy may become a friend, and a friend may become a mortal enemy..."

Before she finished speaking, Xunzhen suddenly raised her beautiful eyes, and her meaningful gaze went straight through the upset Abaolu and others and went straight to the door.

"Miss, you..."

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Before the confused Xiao Yang could speak, someone suddenly knocked on the closed door.

"Come in."

"squeak!"

With a slight sound, the door opened. Under the suspicious gaze of Abaolu and the others, Liu Xunyi strode into the room with excitement.

"Xunzhen, I found my big brother!"

……

(End of this chapter)