Blood sedge

Chapter 1199 A Great Drunken Experience

Night falls in the inner courtyard of Danfeng Garden.

The bright moon hangs in the sky, and a ray of soft light pours down, making the unique courtyard appear exceptionally tranquil.

Beside the stone table, Liu Xunyi, dressed in plain clothes, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing blankly at the starry night sky. A faint trace of melancholy could be seen in his thoughts. For whom was he feeling sorrow? And what was he grieving over?
"It's chilly at night, and you've only recently recovered from your injury, so be careful not to catch a cold."

Suddenly, a clear, cold voice rang out from outside the courtyard gate. Before the words had even finished, Tang Afu, who had walked slowly over, had already taken off his outer cloak and gently draped it over Liu Xunyi's shoulders.

"Brother Tang, you... have arrived." Liu Xunyi pulled himself back to reality and smiled at Tang Afu.

Although Liu Xunyi's behavior was very natural, as if he were no different from usual, his gaze towards Tang Afu was slightly evasive, as if he dared not look directly at him because of his self-blame and shame.

"These dishes and wine..." Whether Tang Afu failed to notice Liu Xunyi's odd behavior or was feigning ignorance, he pointed directly to the abundant dishes and wine laid out on the stone table and asked with a smile, "Were these prepared for me?"

“I guessed you wouldn’t be attending Shen Dongshan’s banquet, so I prepared some dishes in advance.”

Liu Xunyi made no attempt to avoid the topic, and instead brought up Shen Dongshan, which surprised Tang Afu slightly, and the smile on his face became somewhat unnatural.

“Xunyi, you… shouldn’t have said it.” Tang Afu pretended to be absent-minded as he complained to Liu Xunyi, while picking up his chopsticks and bending down to select dishes, using this to hide his inner turmoil. “Even if you knew, you shouldn’t have said it.”

"Why?"

“Because I hope you… know nothing.” Tang Afu stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth, chewing it with relish, and laughed without looking up, “If you don’t know, I won’t blame you.”

Tang Afu's words made Liu Xunyi's heart sink. She nodded slowly, seemingly agreeing, and said with a wry smile, "They said the same thing just now."

Upon hearing this, Tang Afu paused slightly in his chopsticks, remained silent for a moment, and ultimately did not ask who the "they" Liu Xunyi was referring to were.
Because he was afraid of hearing names he didn't want to hear, he really didn't want to know, just as he hoped Liu Xunyi didn't know either.

“That’s right!” Tang Afu sat at the table and poured a bowl of wine for himself and Liu Xunyi. At this moment, he didn’t even have the courage to say the word “they,” not even a simple reference… he couldn’t say it.

"You wouldn't know if I didn't tell you?" Liu Xunyi slowly sat down opposite Tang Afu, her words filled with contempt and mockery towards herself and "them." "I've already remained silent about this once, and I don't want it to happen a second time..."

"Looking for clothes!"

Only now did Tang Afu and Liu Xunyi truly meet eyes. Without hesitation, he interrupted Liu Xunyi's apology and handed her a full bowl of wine, saying in a tone that was both serious and joking, "This bowl is your apology to me!"

"it is good!"

Liu Xunyi glanced deeply at Tang Afu, whose eyes were red and whose lips were pursed in a smile, then took the wine bowl with both hands and drank it all in one gulp without hesitation.

"This bowl is my way of thanking you!"

When Liu Xunyi finished his bowl of wine, Tang Afu also poured his full bowl of wine into his stomach.

"Brother Tang, why are you thanking me?"

“Shen Dongshan told me that the Tang family has three biggest enemies, two of whom…you have already done it for me.”

"What?" Liu Xunyi was completely confused. "What do you mean?"

"One is the former prime minister of the Song Dynasty, and the other is the Jian family..."

Under the moonlight and with strong liquor by his side, Tang Afu, his mind in turmoil, recounted the truth that Shen Dongshan had told him to Liu Xunyi in detail, without missing a single word.

It took nearly two hours and seven jars of wine for Tang Afu to slowly stop talking.

When Liu Xunyi learned everything, she was also so shocked that she couldn't speak for a long time.

"So!" At this moment, Tang Afu was already seven-tenths drunk. His eyes were half-closed, his cheeks were flushed, and he swayed as he held up the overflowing wine bowl. Between hiccups, he said to Liu Xunyi indistinctly, "You avenged my Tang family and wiped away the shame for my Tang family... Whether it was intentional or unintentional, you are a great benefactor of my Tang family, a great benefactor of me, Tang Afu... Come! Please accept my bow..."

"Brother Tang!" Liu Xunyi quickly supported Tang Afu, who was about to get up and kneel down. "You're too kind! It was just an unintentional act. You don't deserve to regard me as your benefactor."

"Whoever avenges my Tang family will be my benefactor... This matter is not up to you!"

"Brother Tang, you've had too much to drink..."

“Xunyi, I know you’re in trouble today. I know you have to consider ‘their’ lives and future, so I don’t blame you for not helping me…” As he spoke, Tang Afu was already in tears. He drunkenly put his arm around Liu Xunyi’s shoulder and said intermittently, “I, Tang Afu, swear to heaven, I don’t blame you… I really don’t blame you… I don’t blame Master, I don’t blame Yun Zhuiyue, I don’t blame Xie Xuan… I don’t blame anyone… really! I know you all have your difficulties, and I know I shouldn’t ignore them because of personal grudges…”

“Brother Tang, it’s true we have our difficulties, but haven’t you also been enduring humiliation and shame?” Seemingly moved by Tang Afu’s words, Liu Xunyi’s nose began to sting, and his eyes involuntarily swelled. “I, Liu Xunyi, swear to heaven, I truly want to help you kill Shen Dongshan today, and I’ve even considered disregarding the consequences…”

"No!" Tang Afu quickly covered Liu Xunyi's mouth with his flailing hands, shouting, "You can't act recklessly... If you act recklessly, what will happen to Master? What will happen to the fellow disciples in the Valley of Heartbreak? What will happen to the Prince Xian's Mansion? What if something really happens to you because of me? How can I live the rest of my life with a clear conscience? How can I face Master? How can I... In short, you can't act recklessly in the future..."

"Brother Tang, let me help you back to your room to rest!"

"I really don't blame you, I'm just a little bit..." Tang Afu pushed away Liu Xunyi's support haphazardly, then gently gestured with his right thumb to his little fingertip, laughing and crying at the same time, "Just a little bit! Just this little bit... I feel uncomfortable..."

"I understand! Really! Such a deep-seated hatred, how could one truly understand it without experiencing it firsthand? Brother Tang, I know you harbor hatred in your heart, a hatred that pierces to the bone!" Liu Xunyi knew that Tang Afu could only speak his mind when he was completely drunk. When sober, he was too cautious and too calm, which made Liu Xunyi feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Thank goodness! Thank goodness Wu Shuang gave me a way out, and Shen Dongshan finally told the truth..." Tang Afu said loudly, "Knowing how my parents died back then, I feel... I feel... at ease."

Tang Afu wanted to say his last words with a smile, but no matter how he tried to calm himself down, he could not suppress the heart-wrenching grief and the urge to burst into tears. In the end, he could only forcefully utter the three words "I feel at ease" while holding back his tears.

"Brother Tang..."

Tang Afu pretended to be relieved, but deep down he still harbored a deep longing for his family, which made Liu Xunyi, who was also an "orphan" in the past, feel extremely anxious.

“Xunyi, although I complained to you earlier that you shouldn’t have mentioned Shen Dongshan… but the fact that you brought it up yourself makes me… really, really happy!” Tang Afu cried and laughed intermittently, his face a mess of snot and saliva. “You’re not like ‘they’ who are wary of me, nor are you like ‘they’ who are hypocritical. It proves that you really consider me a friend, a brother, and family…”

"Brother Tang, no one is on guard against you, and no one is being insincere with you. Everything... is a last resort."

Liu Xunyi supported the incoherent Tang Afu, her heart filled with mixed emotions, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You treat me like family, I'd give you my life!" Suddenly, Tang Afu grabbed Liu Xunyi's neck and pulled her in front of him. He looked at the bewildered Liu Xunyi with a mysterious smile and said with a wicked grin, "I've prepared a gift for you."

"what?"

"I've already taken the Tang family's assets back from that scoundrel Shen Dongshan," Tang Afu said confidently. "They're yours!"

"No! Absolutely not! Brother Tang, this matter..."

"No, you mustn't!" Tang Afu didn't give Liu Xunyi a chance to refuse, and asked angrily, "Do you treat me like an outsider? Do you look down on me?"

"How could that be? I just..."

"If you don't know how, don't make excuses! I don't understand business at all, and if you stay in my hands, you'll only face certain death."

“I don’t understand either…”

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand, I've already thought it through for you!" Tang Afu waved his hand and said firmly, "You have plenty of talented people around you, you can choose some trustworthy people to take over. Um... I remember Miss Pan's family is good at business, she will definitely not have any disloyalty to you, you can hand her over to the Pan family..."

"Brother Tang, you've had too much to drink!"

"I'm not drunk, nor am I talking nonsense." Tang Afu slowly pushed away Liu Xunyi's support, struggling to control his swaying body with his own will, and said word by word, "The Valley of Heartbreak... I know it better than you. My master has always disliked money, so compared with other martial arts sects... the Valley of Heartbreak is quite poor. With your personality, you would never ask the Teng Clan for money, much less get involved with Dragon Elephant Mountain... but you can't be without money. With your current status in the martial arts world, you will inevitably need money to pave the way for both superiors and subordinates."

"I still have the Prince Xian's Mansion..."

“But you can’t rely on the Prince Xian’s Mansion forever!” Tang Afu shook his head like a rattle drum. “Although you are Luo Tianjin’s son, the Prince Xian’s Mansion is not the foundation you built, and you are not the only heir to the Prince Xian’s Mansion. If you want to use money in the future, you will definitely have to consider the opinions of old guys like Xie Xuan, and they… do not agree with your decisions in everything, do they?”

"This……"

“I advise you to build a nest to attract phoenixes, and to cultivate your own foundation, because only your own foundation can be completely at your disposal! Only your own foundation can obey you unconditionally! And this foundation... is not only people, but also money.”

"Brother Tang, I didn't expect you to have thought of even these things for me."

"Master has commanded that I, Tang Afu, will follow you to the death for the rest of my life! Therefore, my money is your money. As long as you don't fall, I will not fall into poverty. As long as you can gain a foothold in the Central Plains martial arts world, why should I worry about wealth and luxury?" Tang Afu laughed nonchalantly. "Although Shen Dongshan is wicked, he made a very reasonable point. With my abilities, I simply cannot control the Tang family's wealth. If this business were handed over to me, I'm afraid it would be completely lost in just a few years..."

"Can……"

"I heard that Xie Xuan is preparing for the ceremony to take the throne and intends to hand over full power of the Prince Xian's Mansion to you." Tang Afu pressed down on Liu Xunyi's shoulders with both hands and said righteously, "It's not that I'm deliberately trying to sow discord between you and Xie Xuan, but I always feel that what he says and what he thinks are not quite the same. The so-called 'handing over of power' may not be as smooth as we imagine. You must not be careless about this matter, lest you fall into his trap without realizing it."

"Brother Tang, why are you suddenly saying these things?" Liu Xunyi's mind was racing, but his face was full of confusion.

"In a way, the Valley of Heartbreak is your 'natal home,' and now that you're marrying into the Prince Xian's mansion, your natal home can't just leave without giving something in return. Consider this property as my 'dowry' for you on behalf of your master," Tang Afu said jokingly. "With it, you can hold your head high in the Prince Xian's mansion and face anyone and anything with your head held high. You won't be held back at every turn, you won't have to submit to anyone, and you won't have to be subservient to anyone."

"Brother Tang..." Tang Afu's kindness moved Liu Xunyi deeply, and she choked up repeatedly.

"Besides that, I... I also have a selfish motive." Tang Afu grabbed Liu Xunyi's arm with one hand and gestured in the air with the other. "Do you know why I'm so determined to take back the Tang family's assets? Because I never intended to really let Shen Dongshan go! Now that I know his true weakness, it would be much more satisfying to see his family's wealth scattered than to take his dog's life! One day, I will make this arrogant 'richest man in the Song Dynasty' die penniless and fall into the streets, becoming a beggar despised by everyone! I won't kill him, I will make him live like a pig or a dog, I will make his remaining life a living hell!" By the time he finished speaking, Tang Afu's face was contorted with rage as he roared and howled.

“I understand!” Liu Xunyi nodded slowly as if she had realized something. “You hope to use the Tang family’s businesses to rival the Dongshan Trading Company, and then gradually devour it.”

"Exactly! Exactly!" Tang Afu clapped his hands excitedly. "But I can't do these things. Only you have the chance! Only you can sever his cooperation with the young Prince Qin, and only you can command a large following in the Central Plains, Xiangxi, Hexi, and Northeast, making it difficult for his Dongshan Trading Company to stand firm. Xunyi, will you... help me?"

"What do you think?" Liu Xunyi asked instead of answering.

"call!"

Seeing that Liu Xunyi no longer refused, Tang Afu finally smiled heartily. Relieved, he let out a long breath of alcohol, but suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. In a daze, everything went black, and he slumped into Liu Xunyi's arms.

"Xunyi, I know your heart, you know my mind, we are brothers... no need for more words. I've said my piece... I feel relieved... and at peace..."

……