Blood sedge

Chapter 1212 Siblings Cherish Each Other (Part Two)

"A letter of apology?" Wu Shuang stared incredulously at Xun Zhen's serious expression, and asked cautiously, "What apology do you want? What crime have you committed, sister?"

"My brother has repeatedly warned me not to fall for Liu Xunyi, but... I may have disappointed him." Xunzhen gazed at Wu Shuang, whose brows were furrowed, with a complex expression. He tried his best to control the turmoil in his heart and said in a slightly trembling voice, "I can only blame my weak will, for I have fallen into the shackles of emotion and cannot redeem myself. I know that I should not have done this on the orders of the Young Prince of Qin, but... In short, please present this letter to the Young Prince of Qin, and I will bear all the consequences alone."

"This..." Wu Shuang clutched the secret letter tightly in her hand, her brows furrowed with conflict, and asked with resentment, "Sister, do you know what kind of punishment you will receive if the Young Prince of Qin finds out about this?"

"No matter what, it's all my own fault, and I deserve what I got."

"You're being foolish!" Xunzhen's stubbornness made Wu Shuang both anxious and angry. "Is it worth losing the trust of the young Prince of Qin and your position in his heart for the sake of Liu Xunyi?"

"Don't you think it's pointless to discuss whether it's worth it or not now?"

“Of course it’s meaningful!” Wu Shuang’s mind raced, and he solemnly instructed, “Xunzhen, listen carefully! You haven’t mentioned Liu Xunyi to me tonight, and I haven’t seen any letter of apology, remember that?”

"What are you doing, brother?"

"I can't just stand by and watch you go down the wrong path!" Wu Shuang rarely showed anger. "I want you to pull back from the brink and turn back from your misguided ways! Let's pretend this never happened. Neither of us should mention it again, and no third person will know about it, understand?"

"Brother, aren't you afraid that if the young Prince Qin finds out, you'll severely punish me for helping me cover this up?"

"As long as you know when to stop and sever your ties with Liu Xunyi, the young Prince Qin will never know."

"But Liu Xunyi and I..."

“Silly sister, Liu Xunyi is not as simple as you think.” Before Xunzhen could retort, Wu Shuang interrupted, “Do you really understand him? Is he truly sincere to you? His thoughts, his plans, his ambitions… how much do you know?”

"What?" Xunzhen frowned slightly, her eyes full of confusion. "What...are you talking about, brother?"

Instead of answering, Wu Shuang asked, "Have you heard about Liu Xunyi's plan to start his own business?"

“I know about this; he told me himself.”

"Did he tell you why he wanted to start his own household?" Wu Shuang continued to ask. "Before this, he had always readily accepted Xie Xuan's arrangements and was well prepared to take over as the head of the Xianwang Mansion. Why did he suddenly change his mind? My sister is always quick-witted and intelligent; there's no way she wouldn't notice something amiss?"

"Strange?" Xun Zhen paused, then pondered, "It's because he sensed discontent within the Prince Xian's Mansion, and even Xie Xuan might harbor ulterior motives. Therefore, he doesn't want to become a figurehead, a puppet manipulated at will. Furthermore, after taking over the Prince Xian's Mansion, he will inevitably drift further away from other sects, and might even become estranged from his closest relatives due to sectarian interests—none of these are the outcomes he desires..."

"Did he tell you?" Wu Shuang scoffed at Xunzhen's answer. "I thought Liu Xunyi was a person of integrity, but I didn't expect him to be able to utter such high-sounding excuses without batting an eye."

"What do you mean by this, brother?" Wu Shuang's mockery of Liu Xunyi displeased Xunzhen.

"Besides that, did he give any other reasons?"

"This..." Faced with Wu Shuang's questioning, Xun Zhen hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"Sigh!" Wu Shuang sighed and said with a bitter smile, "The reasons he gave sounded plausible, but they were all empty words. What resentment among the people? Hidden selfish motives? They were all just his conjectures. Now, let me tell you something real. The reason Liu Xunyi didn't mention this before was because he didn't have enough resources. He simply didn't have the ability to support a force on his own. At that time, everything he possessed came from the Xianwang Mansion, Jueqing Valley, the Xiangxi Teng Clan, and the Xilu Martial Sect. Therefore, he couldn't presume to talk about establishing his own power, much less be qualified to do so."

"Brother, you..."

"Wait! Let me finish!" Wu Shuang waved his hand to interrupt Xun Zhen, who was hesitant to speak. "As the saying goes, 'times change.' The reason why Liu Xunyi dares to openly talk about independence now is not because he has seen through people's hearts and is using retreat as a strategy to advance, but because he has accumulated enough capital to raise a banner on his own without relying on anyone."

"I don't understand what you mean, brother," Xunzhen said suspiciously. "What exactly is the difference between Liu Xunyi now and Liu Xunyi from before? And what is this 'capital' you're talking about?"

“My sister should know that to establish a sect in the martial world, one needs at least five things: strength, reputation, connections, money, and territory. None of these can be lacking. Liu Xunyi's current strength and reputation are beyond question; the mere fact that he single-handedly killed Qingfeng, the leader of Wudang, is enough to make him famous throughout the land and a force to be reckoned with. As for connections, Su He and Tang Afu by his side are both top-tier experts. Li Haitang of Longxiang Mountain regards him as a role model, even a god. There are also many loyal followers of Liu Xunyi within the Xianwang Mansion, and even the Xilu Martial Sect… likely has many who admire him. Therefore, with just a call from him, these people will surely abandon their masters and flock to him. Before this, Liu Xunyi only lacked money and territory. Now, Shen Dongshan has offered Danfeng Garden with open arms, a gift from heaven that provides him with a place to settle down that is no less than the Xianwang Mansion. As for money… does my sister know that Tang Afu has forcefully taken back the Tang family's assets from Shen Dongshan?”

"This... we don't know yet."

“Just as I predicted, Tang Afu’s determination to reclaim the Tang family’s legacy is not for his own enjoyment of wealth and luxury, but to help Liu Xunyi succeed,” Wu Shuang said with certainty. “But they are, after all, people of the martial arts world. Fighting and killing are second nature to them, but when it comes to business and trade… they are complete novices. Sister, don’t you think so?”

At this moment, Xunzhen had a vague idea of ​​what Wu Shuang was going to say next, so his face became gloomy and his mood became more and more chaotic.

“Your sister is now Liu Xunyi’s top strategist. If Liu Xunyi truly has feelings for you and is willing to trust you completely, he would entrust the Tang family’s vast wealth to you, or at least… ask for your opinion.” Wu Shuang patiently and persuasively guided her. “But what is the reality? You’ve been with him all day; has he revealed a single word to you?”

"This……"

“I’m not trying to slander Liu Xunyi behind her back, nor am I trying to sow discord between you two. I just hope you can face reality.” Seeing Xunzhen’s furrowed brows and silent contemplation, Wu Shuang shook her head helplessly, then softened her tone and advised, “Sister, actually Liu Xunyi didn’t do anything wrong. After all, you are the young Prince of Qin’s person, and no matter how close you are to him, there is always a layer between you. If I were in his position, I would also hold back on you. He has always known that your relationship is one of mutual exploitation, and he has always been wary of you. He has never truly changed. The one who is wrong now is you. You have changed. You have become confused, chaotic, and even… weak because of your feelings.”

Wu Shuang's words struck Xunzhen like a heavy hammer, hitting her in the softest spot in her heart. She was so frightened and trembling that she couldn't speak for a moment.

Wu Shuang looked at Xun Zhen, who was agonizing over her chaotic thoughts, with eyes full of pity. She slowly handed the secret letter to her and softly asked, "Now, are you determined to have me present this letter of apology to the Young Prince of Qin? Or... pull back from the brink and return to the right path?" "I..."

"How dare you, Wu Shuang! My son has no grudge against you, how dare you slander him like this?"

Before Xunzhen could speak, a voice filled with anger suddenly rang out in the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, a white figure descended from the sky like a ghost, leaving several afterimages in mid-air, and appeared in front of Wu Shuang and Xun Zhen in the blink of an eye.

The person who arrived was none other than Xiao Zhirou.

"Master Xiao... Valley Master Xiao!"

Xiao Zhirou's sudden appearance caught Wu Shuang and Xun Zhen off guard, and their faces showed panic.

"call!"

However, before the two, still in shock, could find out Xiao Zhirou's intentions, she suddenly attacked, her fingers curling into a claw with lightning speed, aiming straight for Wu Shuang's throat.

"hiss!"

Wu Shuang had not expected Xiao Zhirou to launch a sudden sneak attack. Sensing something was wrong, he instinctively flew back, simultaneously drawing out the two curved swords that were tucked into his lower back with a clang.

"No!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Xunzhen, whose expression changed drastically, quickly ran between the two and used his body to separate Xiao Zhirou and Wu Shuang, forcing the two to temporarily stop their attacks.

"Sister, you..."

"Brother!"

Xunzhen stared anxiously at the wary Wu Shuang, reminding him, "Quickly put the knife away! Do you intend to harm Miss Yun's mother?"

"I..." Urged on by Xun Zhen's urgent gaze, Wu Shuang, looking embarrassed, hesitated for a moment before slowly sheathing the knife.

Seeing this, Xunzhen quickly turned around, bowed to Xiao Zhirou whose face was ashen, and earnestly said, "Valley Master Xiao, please calm down! My brother didn't mean that, you've misunderstood."

"Misunderstanding?" Xiao Zhi's eyes flashed with murderous intent, her coldness intensifying. "Then tell me, what exactly has my son done to offend him that he would go to such lengths to slander him? What were his intentions behind those words just now?"

"After all, my brother is Miss Yun's beloved. Valley Master Xiao, please reconsider!" Seeing that Xiao Zhirou was relentless, Xunzhen had no choice but to bring up Yun Jianping.

Sure enough, upon hearing Yun Jianping's name, Xiao Zhirou's eyes showed a clear hesitation, but her anger had not subsided. She said in a deep voice, "Wu Shuang, if Ping'er knew that the person she loves was speaking ill of her own brother behind his back, what do you think she would think?"

"I..." Faced with Xiao Zhirou's questioning, Wu Shuang was speechless and felt extremely aggrieved.

"Valley Master Xiao, your brother... he's just worried about his sister," Xunzhen interjected again to defuse the situation. "I don't know how much of the conversation you just overheard, but seeing how angry you are, you must already know about my feelings for Liu Xunyi..."

"Don't worry about it. I just arrived and happened to overhear Wu Shuang's slander against my son." Xiao Zhirou's sharp gaze swept back and forth between Xun Zhen's sincere face and Wu Shuang's forced composure but undeniably conflicted expression. She said calmly, "You say he cares about you, but every word he said was meant to drive a wedge between you and Xun Yi..."

"Valley Master Xiao!" Xunzhen, preoccupied with her own thoughts, quickly interrupted Xiao Zhirou's questioning and said bluntly, "This is my matter, and I should make the decision myself. Why don't you listen to my thoughts?"

Xiao Zhirou pondered for a moment, then nodded silently.

"Valley Master Xiao is so wise and righteous, I am deeply grateful!" Xunzhen breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "In that case, please do not make things difficult for my brother any further, Valley Master Xiao."

"But he just said he was looking for clothes..."

"Those were his views on Liu Xunyi, but I... never thought of changing my mind."

"What?" Xiao Zhirou and Wu Shuang were both stunned when Xun Zhen said this.

“Sister, you…” Wu Shuang grabbed Xunzhen’s arm and asked impatiently, “What do you mean by this? What do you mean you haven’t thought about changing your mind?”

“Brother, there’s no need to persuade me any further! Actually, I wanted to tell you just now that I don’t intend to take back this letter of apology… I still hope you can pass it on to the Prince of Shao Qin.” Xunzhen, his expression resolute, stared intently at the shocked and furious Wu Shuang, and said, word by word, “Call me stupid or infatuated, I know you mean well, and I know that the rumors you spread about Liu Xunyi are not unfounded. But… no matter how much he has hidden from me, no matter whether he has any reservations about me, since I have given him my heart, I will… have unwavering faith in him!”

……

(End of this chapter)