Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 623 Exchange
Master Wu was right. With Fan Yun and Huang Ping's son leading the way, Xie Yuyan's men took advantage of the fact that the guards in the courtyard dared not move and brought the remaining three out of the house.

They took out sharp weapons and held them to the necks of Fan Ming and the others, then quickly walked out of the courtyard, mounted their horses, and headed this way.

Xie Yuyan gave the order: "Mount up, one group will go to meet them, and the other group will clear the way."

The personnel who had been arranged in advance immediately split up and took action upon hearing Xie Yuyan's command.

Master Wu felt the rope tighten around him, and he was lifted up and thrown onto the horse's back. He didn't struggle; he couldn't escape anyway, so he might as well save his energy and make himself more comfortable.

They sped along, and by dusk, they had left all their pursuers behind.

Xie Yuyan did not order a stop, but walked for a while longer before finally leading his men into the forest.

Old Master Wu felt like he had lost half his life. If Yang Kuan hadn't been feeding him water all the time, he might have already fainted. Old Master Wu was conflicted, unsure whether to hate Yang Kuan or place all his hopes for survival on him.

Yang Kuan helped Master Wu down and let him lean against a big tree. He then took out a water bag and let Master Wu drink a few sips. After that, he broke off a piece of cake and stuffed it into Master Wu's mouth.

Unlike Yang Kuan, when Master Wu fled Bianjing, he ate a lot of this kind of thing. The cakes had to be held in his mouth until they were soft before he could swallow them. He wanted to scold Yang Kuan, but he found that he couldn't open his mouth.

Yang Kuan sensed something and said first, "Didn't you want to save Wu Qian? Now those people are just like you. Do you think they might help you rebel against that leader?"

Master Wu closed his eyes, ignoring Yang Kuan, because he couldn't find the words to refute him.

"You should think it through as soon as possible. Now... you're not the only one who can do things for Madam."

Upon hearing this, Master Wu suddenly looked at Yang Kuan, who pointed and said, "There are still five people who can seek refuge with Madam Xie."

Master Wu wanted to send a message to Xie Yuyan, proposing to cooperate with her against the leader, in order to save Wu Qian's life. Now that the nephews and nieces of his sworn brothers were also in Xie Yuyan's hands, they could naturally do the same to protect their own descendants.

Everything hinges on a single opportunity; once lost, it can never be regained.

He refused, and since the other five people agreed, the father and son were no longer useful and would be at the mercy of others.

Seeing that Yang Kuan was about to get up and leave, Master Wu said, "What does Madam want me to do? I... I'll go with you to see Madam right now."

Yang Kuan stopped in his tracks. After a moment, Master Wu realized what was happening and hurriedly struggled to get up, following Yang Kuan to pay his respects to Xie Yuyan.

"Madam."

After Su Man and the others finished discussing the arrangements with Xie Yuyan, Master Wu was able to step forward and speak to Xie Yuyan. He knelt down and touched his forehead to the ground: "Please, Madam, spare my son Wu Qian's life. Although my son is in the Holy... Demon Sect, he has never done anything immoral or heinous, and his hands have never been stained with blood. I dare not exonerate him, I only ask that you save his life."

Xie Yuyan said, "To bribe someone to assassinate me, you can say you haven't done anything heinous?"

Xie Yuyan's voice wasn't loud, and he didn't deliberately emphasize it; it even sounded somewhat casual, yet Master Wu still felt a sense of dread.

Thinking about what Wu Qian had done made me even more afraid.

“Madam, that’s not what I meant… Wu Qian shouldn’t have done that. He… harmed you, and even if he’s sentenced to death, it’s his own fault,” said Master Wu. “I… I just wanted to do something to help him make amends.”

Xie Yuyan remained silent.

Master Wu said, "I am willing to go and persuade my five sworn brothers to serve Madam Xie." He had initially wanted to use this matter to exchange for some benefits with Madam Xie, but now he dared not have such thoughts.

Xie Yuyan said, "The first thing I need is for them to help me rescue the caravan. In exchange for their sons and nephews, use the caravan."

Master Wu stood there stunned, never expecting that Madam Xie had arrested someone for this reason.

Master Wu repeated, "Madam, you're not trying to deal with the leader, are you? You're trying to save someone?"

Xie Yuyan nodded: "I mean what I say."

Master Wu immediately fell into thought: "But those who besieged the caravan might not necessarily follow the sect's arrangements, they..."

Xie Yuyan said, "They are Xie Yizhi's people. Given your leader's connection with Xie Yizhi, Xie Yizhi should be willing to listen to what your leader says."

Before Master Wu could say anything more, Xie Yuyan simply said, "You should all know very well what the background of that second mistress of the Xie family in the capital is."

Master Wu was shocked again: "Madam...you..." It turned out that Madam Xie had already figured all of this out.

Xie Yuyan reached into her bosom, grasped an object, and handed it to Master Wu. As she did so, she loosened her grip, and a jade pendant dangled in front of Master Wu.

It was a Buddhist amulet, with the image of Mani Buddha carved on it.

Mr. Wu was very familiar with this amulet, because it was given to the Venerable Master Lü Shi by the old monk.

Mr. Wu stood there stunned for a long time before taking a deep breath and coming back to his senses.

Master Wu asked in a hoarse voice, "How did this jade pendant end up with you?"

“Perhaps out of guilt, he wanted to use this jade token to save my life,” Xie Yuyan said. “Or perhaps he wanted to find a way out for the Demon Sect.”

After Xie Yuyan finished speaking, he looked at Master Wu and asked, "What do you think?"

Master Wu's lips trembled, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Madam Xie's question was not asked casually. If he answered incorrectly, he would likely not win Madam Xie's favor.

“I think,” said Master Wu, “it’s a combination of both. Xu said that Lü Shi found some evidence that Xie Yisong did indeed want to recruit the Holy Sect back then. The Holy Sect was besieged and completely clashed with the court. They fell into someone else’s trap.”

"It's a pity that he was killed before the truth could be revealed."

As he spoke, Master Wu's eyes darted around, and he found a reason to justify himself: "This jade tablet was given to Lü Shi by the Venerable One. With the jade tablet, Lü Shi can act on behalf of the Venerable One... Before he died, Lü Shi entrusted someone to deliver it to Madam... He wanted Madam to continue investigating until the whole truth came out."

"Over the years, the leader's actions have gradually deviated from his original intentions. The Holy Church has been secretly working for Xie Yizhi, sending a lot of money to Xie Yizhi, and has completely become Xie Yizhi's henchman."

"The followers have blood on their hands and are fighting fiercely. This is not what the old leader wanted to see. In fact, the old leader hoped that the Holy Church could be recruited by the imperial court and that the followers could live a peaceful life. If it weren't for the mistake that happened back then, the Holy Church might have been gone long ago. Since there is more to this matter than meets the eye, it should be thoroughly investigated."

Xie Yuyan said, "Rescue the caravan first, then do this."

Master Wu was taken aback for a moment, then immediately said, "I will follow Madam's arrangements."

“You need to make it clear to them that it’s easy for me to release them,” Xie Yuyan said. “If the caravan is safe, their children and nephews will be safe. If anyone refuses to agree, then they don’t care about the lives of their children and nephews.”

Master Wu's eyes lit up immediately. He understood what Madam Xie meant. If the leader did not agree and insisted on putting the merchant to death, then his five sworn brothers would probably have to confront the leader.

(End of this chapter)