Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 632 Punishment
The atmosphere in the room immediately eased, and the tension from before dissipated considerably. Everyone's attention was now focused on Xie Shi.

The elders breathed a sigh of relief; the news had come back just in time, otherwise it would have really caused trouble.

The door was opened, and the disciple who brought the message was initially anxious, but when he saw the scene inside the room, he was somewhat stunned. Anyone could see that the leader and the missionaries had a disagreement.

Before Xu Shu could speak, Fan Yun anxiously asked, "Where is Xie Shi now? Have you only trapped Xie Shi, or have you trapped all the people she brought? Has anyone escaped to report back?"

Sun De also asked, "Are any of our family members over there?"

The disciple was stunned, unsure of who to respond to first. Fortunately, Xue Er walked to his side and instructed, "Tell me the details of what happened over there."

The disciple nodded. Although Sun De was dissatisfied, he was also eager to know the news and did not try to stop him again.

The disciple didn't dare delay and went straight to the result: "We planted spies among the farmers, and we discovered them when Xie sent someone to fetch water."

"The Xie family must have come to scout out our camp. To avoid being discovered, they only brought a dozen or so men. However, they all rode fast horses and were very cunning. They left as soon as they got close to the camp, giving us no chance to make a move. So the missionaries led us to ambush them halfway, and with a dozen or so archers, we stopped the Xie family and their men."

"The men Xie brought were very skilled riders, but our goal was to capture Xie. Under a hail of arrows, Xie indeed fell off his horse."

Upon hearing this, Fan Yun couldn't help but ask, "Is Xie injured?"

The disciple shook his head: "In the chaos, we didn't see clearly. It seemed like she was hit by an arrow, or it seemed like the arrow grazed her hair."

Noticing the dissatisfaction in Fan Yun and the others' eyes, the disciple quickly explained, "Those people were desperately protecting the Xie family, and they took the Xie family away in no time."

Fan Yun snorted coldly: "If we were sent there, the outcome would certainly not be like this."

"Are you willing to go?" Xue Er asked. "Are you willing to obey the leader's orders?"

The group looked at Xu Shu sitting there again. Others might have felt she was in the wrong, but Fan Yun would only stubbornly argue, "The leader didn't ask us, so how do you know we're unwilling?"

Xu Shu continued, "Can you capture Xie Shi?"

“Yes,” the disciple replied without hesitation this time, because before he returned, the leading missionary had instructed him to report in this manner, “The Xie family has been driven into the forest by us. Horses cannot run fast in the forest, so they cannot leave.”

"Then what are we waiting for?" Fan Yun said. "Take us there immediately to see the situation."

At this point, the argument died down. Since they weren't far from the camp, they figured it was better to go and see for themselves than to wait for news there.

Xue Er looked at Xu Shu: "Our leader is presiding over the overall situation here..."

Xu Shu reached out her hand and said, "It's about time I met my niece."

Xue Er was about to speak when Xu Shu said, "She's a woman too, yet she dared to bring more than a dozen people to investigate my background. I have hundreds of guards around me, so why would I be afraid of her?"

Xue Er said, "She is different from the Supreme Leader. The Supreme Leader is related to the entire Holy Sect, while the Xie family is just a merchant after all..."

Xu Shu's face turned cold as she said, "No need to say anything more, I have my own decision." She didn't necessarily want to see Xie Yuyan arrested; her presence would help stabilize the situation within the Holy Sect. There had been many rumors circulating within the sect lately, and she feared that if she didn't display the authority of the leader, many people would lose their temper and cause trouble.

Xue Er dared not persuade him any further and hurriedly went to arrange manpower.

In a short while, Xu Shu led her people to the edge of the forest where Xie Yuyan was.

The leading missionary rushed over and bowed to Xu Shu.

Xu Shu hurriedly asked, "How did it go?" The missionary replied, "They tried to escape, but we drove them back twice." As he spoke, his face was full of confidence, as if Xie Yuyan was already in his grasp.

It's no wonder he thought that way; with the Supreme Leader personally leading the people here, how could Xie Yuyan possibly escape?

“With just a few more men,” the missionary said, “I will lead my men in and we will surely be able to take down the Xie family.”

Xu Shu nodded: "Then I'll give you another hundred people."

Even if there were a hundred more people, and even if Xie Yuyan's men were all experts capable of taking on ten opponents each, they would still be crushed to death here.

The missionary bowed and said, "If we can't catch Xie this time, I won't have to come out to see Your Excellency."

Xu Shu instructed Xue Er to allocate manpower to the missionary.

Xue Er originally wanted to deal with the Xie family himself and get rid of this trouble for the leader, but the missionaries surrounded the people first, so he couldn't very well take credit for it.

The missionaries didn't waste any time and led their men straight into the forest.

Xu Shu stood outside the woods and soon heard the sounds of fighting coming from inside.

Sun De and the others were fine, but Fan Yun couldn't wait any longer. He stepped forward and said, "Sir, I'll take some men in to help."

Xu Shu naturally refused. Fan Yun was pacing anxiously outside. Once the commotion inside gradually subsided, Fan Yun disregarded everything else and rushed inside with only two guards.

Soon someone emerged from the woods. Xue Er drew his blade and stepped forward. When he saw that it was a disciple of the Holy Sect, a look of joy appeared on his face. However, before he could express this emotion, it turned into surprise and astonishment. The disciple looked flustered and trembled uncontrollably. When he saw Xue Er and tried to speak, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

"There's an ambush... there's an ambush in the woods."

Seeing that things were going badly, Xue Er was too late to stop him, and his disciple had already told him the truth.

Everyone heard clearly, but they didn't understand how Xie Yuyan could be ambushed when he was surrounded in the forest. Unless he had arranged for people in the forest beforehand to deliberately lure their people there.

Thinking of this, Sun De felt a chill run down his spine. Perhaps this was the truth?
Did Xie Yuyan realize she was being watched and deliberately escape into this forest? There were people waiting for her in this forest, so she could catch them off guard and make it easier for her to escape.

If that's the case, why not leave sooner instead of waiting for them all to arrive before taking action?
Sun De suddenly had a bad feeling.

Previously, there were reports that if they dared to make any rash moves, their children would be targeted.

So... is Xie Yuyan going to keep his promise now?

As Sun De thought of this, he saw several disciples carrying the missionary who had just stormed in, fleeing out. The missionary's head drooped strangely to one side, and blood gushed from his neck, clearly indicating that he was beyond saving.

No one present cared about the missionary's life; they were more interested in knowing what the situation was.

More people came out, with Fan Yun and a few others walking at the back.

Fan Yun's face turned pale, and he retreated step by step. Just as Sun De was about to step forward to ask what was wrong, he heard a pleading voice: "Don't kill me, don't kill me, Father... save me..."

The sound stopped abruptly, and Huang Ping, who was standing next to Sun De, immediately changed his expression.

　Here I am! I was exhausted when I got back, so I rested for a while before I started writing. I'll post one chapter first, then take a nap and continue writing.

　　(End of this chapter)