In fact, Xiao Yuhan did not intend to pursue. At this moment, he could not use the power of the Blood King Gu for a short time, and Han Xiong could not use the sect protection sword formation if he was too far away from Kunlun Immortal Sect. As for Qin Yuejiao, although she was also quite strong, she seemed to be much weaker than that fox demon named Qianyu.
The matter had to be dropped, and Xiao Yuhan sheathed his sword.
But the matter was far from over. Although Han Xiong came from the Kunlun Immortal Sect, he had betrayed the sect for many years. Since Han Ying's death, he had always carried the sect leader's sword with him, which would definitely displease the Kunlun Immortal Sect.
As expected, no sooner had the fighting subsided than an elder of the Kunlun Immortal Sect spoke up: "Han Xiong! You traitor of the Kunlun Immortal Sect, hand over the sect leader's sword!"
Han Xiong smiled contemptuously, then shook his head and tossed the sword in his hand over. "Who among you knows how to use this? Call that brat Han Qianzhi here, and I'll teach him how to activate the sect's protective formation. Otherwise, I'm leaving!"
At this moment, Qin Yuejiao called out to Han Xiong, "Uncle, let's go back to the sect to offer incense. Before he passed away, my father-in-law was always thinking about you."
Han Xiong paused slightly, a rare hint of weakness appearing in his usually arrogant eyes. Seeing this, Xiao Yuhan quickly smiled and said, "My disciple is also on the mountain. Why don't you accompany me, Brother Han?"
Han Xiong's expression softened slightly, and he nodded in agreement.
The elders of the Kunlun Immortal Sect seemed somewhat dissatisfied and immediately said, "Sect Leader Qin, you cannot allow this traitor to return to the sect and tarnish our Kunlun Immortal Sect!"
"Yes, this person has been in the Demonic Sect for many years. He is not one of our disciples, so his intentions must be different!"
Qin Yuejiao, having held sway over the Kunlun Immortal Sect for many years, naturally possessed considerable prestige. She immediately declared, "Stop talking! I simply wish for him to return home as a son to offer incense to his deceased father! Anyone who is dissatisfied should leave the sect!"
After these words were spoken, no one dared to say another.
Xiao Yuhan was somewhat surprised. In his memory, Qin Yuejiao was not such a reasonable person. This woman had always hated evil as if it were her enemy. Although she was upright, she was extremely ruthless in doing things. She was the kind of person who could never tolerate the slightest imperfection.
It's hard to imagine that she would invite a traitor like Han Xiong back to the sect to pay respects. Come to think of it, Han Xiong has been notorious in the martial arts world for years, and many sects wish they could get rid of him as soon as possible. Perhaps even Han Xiong himself did not expect that Qin Yuejiao would invite him.
The path up the mountain was slow. Qin Yuejiao had suggested that they could travel by sword, but Han Xiong insisted on walking back along the mountain path, saying he wanted to go for another walk.
Qin Yuejiao didn't say much, and rode her sword to take the elders ahead.
Xiao Yuhan, on the other hand, chose to travel with Han Xiong.
On the mountain path steps, Xiao Yuhan looked at Han Xiong's dejected appearance and seemed to guess his thoughts. He then said, "Given your situation, if you want to return to the sect, you can abandon your cultivation and stay in Kunlun Mountain. Perhaps Qin Yuejiao will agree."
"Who said I wanted to go back to my sect?"
“It’s written all over your face. By the way, why did you betray your sect back then?” Xiao Yuhan continued.
Han Xiong looked up at the not-so-long ladder to heaven, his expression dazed. After a long silence, he said, "Brother Xiao, have you ever been defeated?"
Xiao Yuhan was taken aback, as if the words sounded familiar. He immediately frowned, thinking that he had never really won. Everyone was showing off, while he was the only one getting beaten up. He then said, "Ahem... Isn't that normal? When I was a kid, I sparred with my senior brothers a lot. I was the kind of guy who would beat up the eldest senior brother, then the second senior brother, then the third senior sister. Later, when the junior sister first came up the mountain, I thought it was finally my turn to bully the younger one, but I ended up getting beaten up by all the senior brothers and sisters at the same time."
Han Xiong turned to look at Xiao Yuhan, his expression somewhat unpleasant. He immediately said, "I didn't realize Brother Xiao was such a witty person. Perhaps I didn't express myself correctly. Let me rephrase my question: Have you ever been completely defeated by someone?"
Xiao Yuhan then understood what he wanted to say, and shook her head after a wry smile. "No, I don't have a strong competitive spirit. I accept defeat, and I'm not happy when I win."
Han Xiong seemed to be deep in thought, then continued, "My brother and I were known as the two prodigies of Kunlun since childhood. I showed amazing talent in swordsmanship from a very young age, while my brother, although talented, was inferior to me in every way—talent, cultivation, and appearance. Yet I still lost to him. At that time, my father valued my brother highly and passed the position of sect leader to him. This was my first loss, a loss in terms of status. Later, my father gave the sect leader's sword to my brother, and I challenged him with my proud swordsmanship, but I lost. Although I later learned that my brother had used the power of the sect's protective formation, a loss is a loss. This was my second loss, a loss in terms of ability. Later still, the marriage originally arranged for me was changed to a marriage for my brother. That was my third loss, losing the person I loved most. So, I left the sect, a departure in a fit of pique, and never came back."
Xiao Yuhan seemed to understand something, then smiled slightly, as if she had figured it out. "I met Han Ying in my younger days. He was gentle and kind, with a cheerful and upright character. I must say, he was more suitable to be the sect leader than you."
"Heh, the mistake was that my father shouldn't have given me hope back then. Actually, I don't care that much about the position of sect leader. I just hate that my father gave everything that should have belonged to me to my eldest brother."
Xiao Yuhan shook her head helplessly, "Have you ever thought that maybe everything you think should belong to you was never yours to begin with..."
Han Xiong was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously touched his waist, only to find that the wine gourd he always carried was missing. He sighed helplessly, "Yes... maybe it was never meant to be mine..."
"So...you did this for Qin Yuejiao, just because she was supposed to marry you?"
“It’s a family marriage, Brother Xiao should understand. With the status of the Qin family, it’s natural for her to marry the future sect leader of the Kunlun Immortal Sect. Moreover… the marriage was already arranged that year. I secretly glanced at her in front of the Huai River, and that one glance was all it took to define half my life.”
"And now? How do you feel if you see her again?"
Han Xiong smiled slightly, "What feelings could I possibly have? I can't bully my brother and sister-in-law. Besides, I only met her a few times back then. So what if I liked her? I had already left the sect when she married my elder brother. It was all just my obsession that got the better of me."
At this moment, Xiao Yuhan suddenly smiled and said, "When I first met Jiang Ruoning, I felt that she was somewhat familiar. Now that I think about it, it should be because she and Qin Yuejiao look somewhat alike."
"Really?" Han Xiong said dismissively.
Xiao Yuhan nodded, "Yes!"
Han Xiong shook his head, as if he had already let go of it. "Actually, I only recently figured it out. Maybe I don't like Qin Yuejiao. I just like the me who suddenly fell for her by the Huai River that year."
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