Detective Conan: Birth of the Demon Child

One of them was Ding Mian, the second junior brother of the leader of the Songshan Sect, known as "Pagoda-Bearing Hand". He was tall and strong with a face full of scars.

The other person was extremely tall and thin; he was Lu Bai, known as "Crane Hand," who held the third-highest position in the Songshan Sect.

"Junior Brother Ding, is what you just said true? You can't just say things like colluding with the Demonic Sect!"

Upon hearing this, Abbess Dingyi stared into Ding Mian's eyes and asked, "Do you have any solid evidence?"

"Of course we have evidence! If we didn't have solid evidence, how would we dare to take action against the Liu family in front of so many heroes and valiant men?"

Ding Mian first bowed to Abbess Dingyi and the guests present, then turned to Liu Zhengfeng and asked, "Junior Brother Liu, may I ask what your relationship is with Qu Yang, the protector of the Demonic Sect?!"

Chapter 434 A thousand pieces of gold are easy to find, but a true friend is hard to come by

"..."

Upon hearing the name "Qu Yang," Liu Zhengfeng's face immediately turned ugly. Although he wanted to deny it, the fact that the Songshan Sect dared to come to his door meant they must have obtained evidence of his communication with Qu Yang.

A resolute glint flashed in Liu Zhengfeng's eyes, and he nodded vigorously, saying, "That's right! Brother Qu Yang, I not only know him, but he is also my only confidant and my best friend in my life!"

"What?! He actually called the Demonic Sect's Protector Brother Qu!"

"This Liu Zhengfeng is indeed colluding with the evil cult. No wonder he's in such a hurry to retire from the criminal world!"

"Fortunately, Alliance Leader Zuo had great foresight and saw through Liu Zhengfeng's true colors; otherwise, the righteous path of the martial world would have been in grave danger!"

Liu Zhengfeng's words were like a bucket of cold water poured into a hot oil pan, causing an uproar throughout the hall.

Of the thousands of guests in the hall, at least half had suffered at the hands of the Demonic Sect. Some had their fathers and brothers killed, and some had their teachers and mentors murdered. Everyone hated the Demonic Sect with a vengeance.

The Five Mountains Sword Sects formed an alliance to jointly deal with the Demonic Sect, an external enemy.

Upon learning that Liu Zhengfeng had colluded with members of the Demonic Sect, the sympathy shown to him by the crowd vanished instantly, and they began to agree with the actions of the Songshan Sect.

In some ways, those who like to stab their own people in the back are more detestable than members of the evil cult.

"Liu Zhengfeng, since you're willing to admit it, that's all the better! A real man is courageous and responsible; you're quite a man indeed."

Seeing that the winds were beginning to blow in favor of the Songshan Sect, Fei Bin couldn't help but laugh and said, "Leader Zuo once said that Liu Zhengfeng is a rare talent in the Hengshan Sect. Even if he accidentally associates with scoundrels and goes astray, he should still be given a chance to reform."

Therefore, the leader of the Left Alliance is giving you two choices. The first choice is to kill the Demonic Sect Elder Qu Yang within a month, in which case all past transgressions will be overlooked, and we will still be good friends and brothers.

As for the second option, if you would rather die than kill Qu Yang, then we can only treat you as a member of the Demonic Sect.

"..."

Hearing Fei Bin say this, even the hot-tempered Abbess Dingyi couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Good and evil cannot coexist. Zuo Lengchan had Liu Zhengfeng kill Qu Yang to show that he had no connection with the Demonic Sect, which was not exactly making things difficult for him.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhengfeng revealed a desolate smile and said, "Brother Qu and I hit it off immediately and became friends at first sight."

He was a master of the seven-stringed zither, while I enjoyed playing the xiao (vertical flute). Whenever we met, we only talked about music, never about martial arts.

You may not believe it, but in this day and age, Liu Zhengfeng believes that no one can match Brother Shangqu in playing the zither and other musical instruments, and as for playing the xiao (vertical flute) according to the gong, I am undoubtedly the best.

Although Brother Qu is a member of the Demonic Sect, I know from his music that he is of noble character and is by no means a treacherous villain.

Liu Zhengfeng admired him greatly and considered him his only confidant. He would never harm Brother Qu for his own survival.

The guests present couldn't help but marvel at Liu Zhengfeng's heartfelt words.

If it were a master from another sect who claimed that his communication with the members of the Demonic Sect was simply a matter of exchanging music, no one would believe him.

However, those who know anything about the Hengshan School know that both Master Mo Da, the leader of the Hengshan School, and Liu Zhengfeng in front of them are indeed people who are extremely obsessed with music.

The reason why it is widely rumored in the martial arts world that Master Mo Da and Liu Zhengfeng had a bad relationship is because Master Mo Da liked mournful music, while Liu Zhengfeng preferred more cheerful music.

"Liu Zhengfeng, the fact that you became acquainted with the Demon Qu through music has already been thoroughly investigated by the Left Alliance Leader."

Seeing that everyone was affected by Liu Zhengfeng's words, Fei Bin hurriedly spoke up and said, "Alliance Leader Zuo once said that the Demonic Sect harbors evil intentions. In order to prevent our Five Mountains Sword Sect from growing stronger, it tries every means to sabotage and sow discord, resorting to all sorts of extreme measures."

Over the years, members of the Demonic Cult have used money or women to win over or sow discord among the Five Mountains Sword Sects.

"Liu Zhengfeng, you have always been upright and principled; money and beauty cannot sway you. Therefore, the Demonic Sect, catering to your desires, sent Qu Yang, an elder of the Demonic Sect skilled in music, to befriend you. Why can't you wake up to this fact?"

That makes sense!

Upon hearing Fei Bin's words, everyone couldn't help but show expressions of agreement.

Perhaps Liu Zhengfeng was simply obsessed with music, which is why he befriended the members of the Demonic Sect, but that doesn't mean Qu Yang was the same kind of person!

The members of the Demonic Cult have always been despicable and shameless, and their behavior is lawless. Who would really believe that Qu Yang, that elder of the Demonic Cult, is a good person?

“Junior Brother Fei is right. The most powerful aspect of the Demonic Sect has never been its martial arts, but rather its mastery of intrigue and treachery.”

Master Dingyi couldn't help but advise, "Junior Brother Liu, I believe you are a righteous gentleman. As long as you kill that devil Qu Yang, our fellow practitioners of the Five Mountains Sword Sect will naturally not blame you for this matter."

Taoist Tianmen nodded slightly and said, "No one is perfect, who can be without fault? To know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue!"

Faced with the earnest advice of Abbess Dingyi and Daoist Tianmen, Liu Zhengfeng's bitter smile deepened. He turned to Yue Buqun and asked, "Brother Yue, you are a gentleman who can distinguish right from wrong. They are all forcing me to betray my friends. What do you think I should do?"

"Junior Brother Liu, what we people in the martial arts world value most is loyalty and brotherhood. We should naturally go to great lengths for our friends!"

Yue Buqun suddenly changed the subject halfway through his sentence: "However, that devil surnamed Qu is obviously trying to befriend you through music, wanting to ruin your family and destroy your reputation."

If such a person can be called a friend, wouldn't that be an insult to the word "friend"?!

Even the ancients had the saying "to put righteousness before family," so there's naturally no need to adhere to chivalrous codes when dealing with such demonic cult members!

"Good! Well said!"

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but clap and shout, "Sect Leader Yue couldn't be clearer! We should be ready to go to great lengths for our friends, but what loyalty is there to speak of when it comes to our enemies?"

"Hahaha……"

Just as everyone was getting excited, a childish laugh suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Suzuki Seimei lying on the tea table next to the chief seat, laughing so hard he was rolling around on the table.

Yue Buqun first glanced at Li Maozhen, who was resting with his eyes closed, then frowned slightly and said, "Brother Qin Ming, may I ask what I just said that was funny?"

"No... I wasn't laughing at what you said..."

Suzuki Seimei waved his hand, wiped away the tears that were about to come out of his mouth from laughing, and pointed at the crowd present, saying with a smile, "I'm laughing at you old hands who have been completely fooled by the Songshan Sect, and you all still don't know anything?"

Chapter 435 There was no choice from the beginning

"You brat, don't talk nonsense!"

Upon hearing this, Fei Bin's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly shouted, "Our Songshan Sect deeply admires all of you heroes and valiant men. When have we ever made fun of them?"

"With witnesses and physical evidence, you still want to argue? Fine! Then I'll analyze it with you properly."

A hint of mockery flashed in Suzuki Seimei's eyes as he turned to Yue Buqun and asked, "Sect Leader Yue, if one of your disciples made friends with members of the Demonic Sect, would you handle the matter secretly behind closed doors, or would you want to make it public knowledge?"

"This one……"

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun was momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Suzuki Seimei waved his hand and said, "Actually, even if Sect Leader Yue didn't say it, I'm sure you all already have the answer in your hearts."

As the saying goes, "Don't wash your dirty linen in public." The Five Mountains Sword Sects are known to be of one mind and one branch, so Zuo Lengchan should naturally regard Liu Zhengfeng as his junior brother.

If Zuo Lengchan truly wanted to help Liu Zhengfeng solve his problem, he could have handled it privately.

Why wait until the day of the "washing hands of the martial arts world" ceremony, in front of so many heroes, to expose this matter?

That makes sense!

Upon hearing what Suzuki Harumi said, everyone present immediately looked enlightened.

No wonder everyone felt something was off from the very beginning.

The posture adopted by the Songshan Sect today clearly indicates that they came prepared, with the intention of launching an attack on the Hengshan Sect!

But just now Fei Bin said that Leader Zuo gave Liu Zhengfeng two choices, making it seem as if he really had Liu Zhengfeng's best interests at heart.

"You brat, don't talk nonsense, you..."

"Shut up! Your explanation is just a cover-up, and a cover-up is the truth. Even if you want to defend yourself, you have to let me finish what I have to say first."

Suzuki Seimei stopped Fei Bin, who was about to curse, and then said, "As the saying goes, a tree needs bark, and a person needs face!"

Gentlemen, you might want to think about this carefully: if you were Liu Zhengfeng, even if you were willing to kill Qu Yang to save your own life...

But with so many heroes and valiant figures in front of them, who could truly bring themselves to say it?

"..."

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun and the others' expressions changed slightly, and they fell silent.

Don't be fooled by how righteous and stern Yue Buqun and the others appeared when they were trying to persuade Liu Zhengfeng.

If Liu Zhengfeng really sold Qu Yang without hesitation just to save his own life, everyone present, even if they didn't say anything, would think he was a treacherous and disloyal person.

What people in the martial arts world value most is loyalty and brotherhood. If Liu Zhengfeng is defined as a treacherous villain who doesn't uphold loyalty, then he naturally won't be able to survive in the martial arts world.

The idea of ​​putting righteousness before family sounds good, but how many normal people can actually do it?

Favoring one's relatives over reason is actually a true reflection of most people's behavior!

"Seniors, if I were Zuo Lengchan, I would definitely handle this matter privately. Wouldn't that increase the chances of persuading Liu Zhengfeng to repent and reform?"

Moreover, handling this matter privately would allow Liu Zhengfeng to use himself as bait, luring Qu Yang to his doorstep, where an ambush could be set up beforehand, making his assassination effortless.

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces, Suzuki Seimei pressed on, saying, "But Zuo Lengchan deliberately sent people to force Liu Zhengfeng to agree to kill Qu Yang in front of thousands of people at the Golden Basin Washing Hands Ceremony."

Even if Liu Zhengfeng is truly shameless and agreed to this in order to save his life, do you think what happened here today can be kept secret from outsiders?

Today, this place is a mixed bag. Since even the disciples of the Songshan Sect can disguise themselves and blend in with the guests, who can guarantee that there aren't a few members of the Demonic Sect here?

It seems that the moment Liu Zhengfeng agreed to kill Qu Yang, the news would spread throughout the entire martial arts world.

Zuo Lengchan gave Liu Zhengfeng a one-month deadline on the surface, but Qu Yang, who was able to become an elder of the Demonic Sect, was certainly not a fool.

After learning that Liu Zhengfeng wanted to harm him, do you think Qu Yang would still be foolish enough to come to his doorstep?

As long as Qu Yang hides on Blackwood Cliff for a month, Liu Zhengfeng will still only face certain death.

Therefore, Zuo Lengchan appeared to have given Liu Zhengfeng two choices, but in reality, no matter what Liu Zhengfeng chose, he was doomed to die!