Seeing Guan Cheng's vehement denial, Xie Laodao asked casually, "What do you mean it's not true? I can still recognize my master's handwriting. Are you saying my master lied?"
"this……"
Guan Cheng's chest heaved, and after hesitating for a moment, he knelt down on the ground with a thud.
“Xiao Jiu, I really didn’t mean it. That person gave me some money and said that if Master Xuanqing came out in a hurry, I should stop him. I didn’t expect it to be like this. I didn’t expect him to kill Master Xuanqing. Xiao Jiu, I really didn’t mean it.”
Master Xie clenched his fists tightly and said through gritted teeth, "You say you didn't do it on purpose, then why didn't you help when he stabbed my master? If you had helped, my master wouldn't have died."
"I……"
Guan Cheng was speechless for a moment.
“I was so scared. I was only 16 years old, just a kid. When I saw that person’s fierce look, I was afraid, so I ran away.”
"Are you scared???"
Upon hearing this, Xie Laodao grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up with one hand.
"What are you afraid of?! Don't use age as an excuse. Didn't we kill enough Japanese soldiers back then? Can you compare a 16-year-old back then to a 16-year-old now? He's doing this on purpose! He's deliberately trying to kill my master, isn't he?"
Guan Cheng shook his head frantically; "No, no! Xiao Jiu, I was really scared. You know me, I always hide at the back when I'm on a mission. I'm a coward! That person had a knife in his hand, and I didn't have a gun at the time. What could I do but run?"
"Then why didn't you say so later?"
"I didn't dare! I know your temper. I was afraid you would kill me. I was really scared at the time, but I hesitated. I wanted to explain to you, but Hu Kui found me and told me not to tell you. If you want to blame someone, blame Hu Kui!"
"Hehe, you're really good at making excuses."
“It’s not that I’m making excuses. I really thought about telling you back then. I wanted to ask for your forgiveness, but Hu Kui said I couldn’t do that. He said if I did, you would definitely leave. Back then, you were the best person in our team. You were good at calculations and had great skills. If you left, our team wouldn’t be able to survive.”
Hu Kui had said he was stopping Guan Cheng, which is why Xie Laodao made such a threatening statement when he left the Hu residence, saying he would come back to settle accounts with Hu Kui. But even so, he could not forgive the person in front of him.
"Xiao Jiu, please forgive me for the sake of our past relationship, okay? I really didn't mean to do what happened to your master."
Master Xie nodded.
"I can let you go, but you have to promise me one thing."
Upon hearing that the other party was willing to let him go, Guan Cheng immediately nodded; "No problem, not just one, but ten!"
"Okay, your family has already found out that I barged in like this, so I need to get out safely."
"Of course!! You don't need to worry about that. I'll just call them over and say a word. We'll see you off respectfully."
Master Xie shook his head; "No need for that trouble, I can leave by myself, but there are too many of you, so you'll need to do me a favor."
"Oh, how can I help you?"
"Just a small favor."
...
Outside the study, Guan Yingjie and Guan Sheng had already surrounded the place with many bodyguards.
"Xiao Jie, are you sure that person is hiding inside?"
Guan Sheng asked.
“I’m absolutely certain I don’t have a sister, but Grandpa said it anyway, which is a reminder that the person who broke in must be hiding inside.”
Guan Sheng nodded; "Then we can't go in rashly. Let's hide and listen to what's going on first."
"yes!"
A group of people were lying in ambush nearby.
Just then, the door opened, and an old man carrying a bottle ran out quickly.
Guan Yingjie immediately shouted, "It's him!!! Make your move!!!"
At his command, the hidden gunmen pulled the trigger. After several shots, the old man quickly fell to the ground, his eyes wide open.
Guan Yingjie and Guan Sheng immediately stepped forward.
"I want to see who you really are!"
The two men approached and were horrified to see that the person lying on the ground was not the intruder or thief, but Guan Sheng's father and Guan Yingjie's grandfather, Guan Cheng.
"Dad!!! How could it be you?"
Guan Sheng knelt on the ground and hugged his father.
Guan Cheng's mouth was taped shut, and the clothes he was wearing were not his own.
Guan Sheng tore off the tape; "Dad, why did this happen?"
After the tape was torn off, blood kept flowing from the corner of Guan Cheng's mouth, and the bullet wounds on his body were also bleeding profusely.
He looked at his son and grandson, and asked with difficulty, "Who fired the shot at his mother?"
He ran out quickly, thinking he could escape, but he didn't expect to be shot in the dark.
Guan Sheng and Guan Yingjie exchanged a glance and fell silent.
"Speak up!! Who fired the shot?" After forcefully uttering these words, Guan Cheng coughed up a mouthful of blood, his breathing becoming labored, and he looked like he was about to die.
"Dad, hang in there, I'll go get the doctor right now!"
Guan Cheng held his son's hand; "No need, I can't go on. Asheng, take some men and kill the person inside. He's hiding inside!"
"Okay! I'll go right away!"
Just as Guan Sheng was about to rush in with his bodyguards, Xie Laodao's voice came from inside the courtyard.
"The net of Heaven is vast, its meshes are wide, yet nothing escapes it. Guan Cheng, your retribution today is the fruit of your own evil deeds. Heaven has ordained that you die at the hands of your descendants. This is destined, and you cannot change it, hahaha!"
The sound gradually faded into the distance.
Everyone present was stunned.
Looking back, Guan Cheng, lying on the ground, was no longer breathing.
The surrounding air was very oppressive.
"Dad... what should we do? Should we still pursue them?"
"Chase him!!! We must stop this man and prevent him from spreading what happened today!"
"good!!"
Guan Yingjie and his bodyguards chased after them.
He returned with his men an hour later.
"Dad, we didn't catch up."
Guan Sheng sighed; "Could this be fate?"
"What divine will?"
Guan Yingjie asked.
Guan Sheng looked at his father's corpse, then glanced at the portrait of his mother on the table.
“Before your grandmother died, she kept telling me that your grandfather had done too many bad things in his life and would be punished. She ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist prayers, wanting to accumulate more good karma, but... this kind of thing still happened.”
"Dad, this is not retribution at all. Grandpa was murdered, and I will definitely find the murderer!"
"The murderer? Xiao Jie, the murderer is us. We ordered the shooting of your grandfather."
"This...this doesn't count, we didn't know..."
"What can we do if we don't know? Does not knowing cover up the facts? The bodyguards present all know that we can't change anything."
Guan Yingjie squinted; "Then we have to shut them up and not let them spread this around."
Guan Sheng nodded; "That's right, we really need to shut them up. You take care of this, and do it cleanly. Don't reveal a single word about what happened tonight. As for your grandfather's cause of death, just tell the outside world that he died of a sudden illness."
"Okay, I'll go right away!"
...
late at night.
Hu Residence.
Hu Kui didn't lie down; he sat in the courtyard waiting. He breathed a sigh of relief when Xie Laodao appeared.
"Xiao Jiu, is everything done?"
Master Xie's expression was indifferent.
“Hu Kui, my matter with him is settled. Now it’s your turn. I won’t hold you accountable for exposing me back then, but you kept my master’s death a secret from me for so long. That’s a debt we still need to settle.”
Hu Kui was not surprised by Xie Laodao's words; he had expected this when he took out the letter.
He smiled calmly, opened his arms, and faced Xie Laodao, saying, "Xiao Jiu, if you want to take my life, then go ahead. I have nothing left now. My entire Hu family is dead, and I'm the only one left. There's no point in me living."
Master Xie nodded; "Then I will help you find relief."
As he stepped forward and pointed the dagger at Hu Kui, Hu Kui suddenly said, "Xiao Jiu, before I die, can you promise me one more thing?"
"explain."
"I would like to ask you to tell my fortune."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to know if my granddaughter is still alive?"
Master Xie hesitated for a moment.
"What? You won't even grant me this last request?"
"That's not how it is, no need to calculate it, your granddaughter is still alive."
"Um???"
Upon hearing this answer, Hu Kui became excited; "Xiao Jiu, are you telling the truth?"
"Yes, it was my suggestion that she fake her death, so I don't need to calculate it."
"Good!! Good!!! Good!!! Hahaha!! Then I can die in peace. Our Hu family still has hope for revival. Heaven did not exterminate our family. Xiao Jiu, do it. Cut my neck with your knife. Don't hesitate. I am sorry to Master Xuanqing. I am sorry to you. It is right for you to kill me."
Hu Kui closed his eyes, awaiting death.
But a minute passed, and the knife still hadn't made its move. When he opened his eyes, Xie Laodao had already put away the knife and sat down to the side.
He smiled. In fact, he had already guessed that Xie Laodao wouldn't really kill him.
"Xiao Jiu, thank you for sparing my life."
"You don't need to thank me. I already calculated it before I came. You won't die by my hand. I can't go against the will of Heaven."
Hu Kui shook his head.
"Xiao Jiu, I'll take this as your excuse. I know your personality well. I saved you before, so you won't kill me, right?"
"Since you know, why ask again? You brought me here to use me to kill Guan Cheng, and you succeeded, sir. You're still the same as before, truly cunning and calculating. Although I'm a fortune teller, I can't compare to you in this respect."
Hu Kui sat down with a smile. "Xiao Jiu, I must admit that you're very accurate in many things. But you're not a god after all. Even if you're a cultivator, you can't necessarily let go of your emotions and desires. I admit I don't want to die yet, at least not until I've taken my revenge. I hope you can help me. Don't worry, if you can help me, I promise I'll give you back everything you lost before. How about it?"
Master Xie was speechless.
“I’m almost in my grave. Fame and fortune are not important to me. I am a Taoist practitioner. I don’t need your promises.”
"That's not necessarily true. Although you are a cultivator and nearly a hundred years old, you still have a granddaughter, Xiao Jiu. Don't you want your granddaughter to have a better life?"
“My granddaughter also studies Taoism. She is like me. We are people who live outside the world and do not covet worldly things.”
"Oh... I understand. I believe she does have the same open-mindedness as you. But her crush is named Chen Zhe, right? Aren't you going to help him out?"
Old Master Xie narrowed his eyes; "You've been investigating me all this time?"
"Hehe, Xiao Jiu, don't be nervous. I just want to tell you that I can help him. I can use all the resources of my Hu family to help him reach the top. Are you satisfied with this deal?"
...
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