no one knows better than me

"Sect Master Pei?!"

Mei Siji blurted out in the dark: "Are you crazy? Little Sect Master Pei is dead, where did you come from? Did you call the second son Pei Yi by mistake?"

What answered her was the puffing sound of a sword blade piercing into flesh, and then in the darkness, all kinds of sounds of breaking the wind stopped abruptly.

"I'm not old yet, how could I be calling it wrong? From the crowd, I was most suspicious of him at the beginning. Because it's obviously not me, why did he summon the spirit for no reason to point to me."

Zhuang Qingliu said from the invisible left front: "I didn't have a clear guess until we encountered the curse of the fir forest just after we descended from Meiling."

Mei Siji couldn't care less about using her brain, so she hurriedly asked blindly, "Who was injured? Is Mr. Duanzhu alright?"

Mei Hualan's voice sounded at the right time, and said briefly in four words: "How could it be, nothing happened."

Mr. Duanzhu talked a lot in the night not long ago, and now he has returned to the incomprehensible style in the blink of an eye.

Zhuang Qingliu sighed, drew his sword a few steps away, and then raised his hand and threw it back at Mei Siji.

Mei Siji didn't care about why her sword was pulled out so easily, she tried to ignite the fire talisman, but it still couldn't ignite, so she had to ask: "What's wrong with the curse of the fir forest? What's the problem? "

Of course, if Meihualan was going to settle in Xuanzhou, it would be superfluous for the fir forest to pull coffins and suck away corpses.If it is not an accident, it can only mean that someone behind the scenes deliberately led them to discover these curses in Xuanzhou, and then tore away the illusion of peace that the Pei family has whitewashed for many years, and found out the gang of sanctimonious people who cursed themselves.

Zhuang Qingliu said: "This matter will start with some of Pei's private affairs. Should we remove the magic circle that blocks the spiritual power first, and let the little Sect Master Pei or Butler Pei talk about it?"

At the same time as her words fell, all the fires in the cave suddenly lit up, illuminating everyone's faces in an instant.

On the left front of the cave, Zhuang Qingliu and Mei Hualan stood side by side. In front of them was a young man in white with his left arm drenched in blood. He was holding a sword with one hand hanging down. It really was the rumored young suzerain Pei Xuan who had disappeared and died.

The moment the fire was lit, Pei Xuan said to Zhuang Qingliu in a very calm tone: "How do you know it's me?"

Butler Pei, who had a small drop of blood on his neck next to him, turned his head, and looked at Pei Xuan cautiously for a moment, then he understood everything, and then retreated to the side, turning his head calmly. Question: "How does Young Master Zhuang know that Mrs. Pei has a secret affair?"

When he was in the secret realm, he used the perspective of Pei Xuan himself, so Zhuang Qingliu did not see his face. This time, after looking up and down for a while, he said: "Although the curse is common, it can be cast on dozens of people at a time." The person who curses must have extraordinary skills and cultivation, if it is not one of them, how could the Pei family let such an outsider in the boundary?"

Steward Pei wiped the blood from his neck with his hands, finally sighed, and admitted openly: "Yes, this matter is a long story."

The few people were not in a hurry, a long light golden rope suddenly jumped out of Mei Hualan's palm, temporarily tied up Pei Xuan, who had lost one arm, and said: "I would like to hear more about it."

Steward Pei saw the long pale golden rope coming out of Mei Hualan's palm, his face seemed to have moved, and then he turned to Mei Hualan and Zhuang Qingliu, and said, "Our Pei family is in the Baijia of Xianmen. The ancestors of Lipai are different from others, they are twin brothers, you all know that, right?"

Mei Siji, who was the most serious in her studies, responded immediately: "I know, it is recorded in all history."

Butler Pei nodded: "But what you don't know is that this is actually the family history that the ancestors of the Lipai felt guilty for, so that the younger generations wrote down the family history. In fact, from the beginning of our family's founding of the sect, there was only one ancestor. The other of the twin brothers One is already dead, by the sword of the ancestor himself."

What is this saying?Zhuang Qingliu raised her eyebrows slightly as Mei Siji heard it in a fog.

"It means that Pei's cultivation method originated from the internal struggle between two brothers. After one person fought with the other for a long time, he unintentionally devoured and refined all his cultivation methods, and took them for himself. Only then did he create a powerful cultivation method that no one can match. Law."

Steward Pei said: "You may not understand it, but in short, the cultivation techniques passed down by the Pei family from their ancestors are indeed flawed. It's like two forces have been fighting in the body, and one of them has nowhere to go. If it is released, it needs to be consumed and offset by foreign objects on a regular basis, otherwise it will explode and die."

Zhuang Qingliu understood a little bit, and raised an eyebrow: "Such as dealing with evil spirits or continuing to fight each other?"

"Yes." Pei Guanjia said, "It's ridiculous to say that the land of Shangzi is an auspicious place full of aura, and some corpses and evil things are rare. So at the beginning, many Pei family children just sneaked into the tomb by themselves. Pick up some corpses or refine some evil spirits, and use them to suppress them and kill each other, which would not hinder others—but later, some family members who had their own minds gradually began to use their methods in other places."

For example, curse ordinary people, slay evil spirits in their houses, or let people be invaded by evil spirits, and then resolve it by themselves.

In this way, the ordinary people rescued by the monks of the Pei family will be grateful, and they will offer money for a while, and rumors about which immortal head has outstanding ability and kindness will spread widely.

It's simply fame and fortune.

Mei Siji was stunned: "It's still possible to do this?"

"Not only can you do this, but you can also do more things." Zhuang Qingliu turned to Pei Xuan, who looked calm and slightly sarcastic, and said word by word, "For example, to exclude the same clan and compete for fame and fortune."

Mei Siji: "What do you mean?"

Zhuang Qingliu looked at her: "Let me ask you, your family controls seventy cities. If a certain family resides in a city where evil and sinister things happen frequently, the Xianmen family stationed in the city are often unable to suppress them, causing ordinary people to be punished." Infestation and death, what will happen?"

"With as much ability as you can control, it is natural to replace someone with more ability." Mei Siji didn't think about it.

"Yes, not only the Mei family, but among the hundreds of families in Xianmen, it is basically a consensus that the incompetent should give up the virtuous. Many families do this, and the Pei family is no exception." Zhuang Qingliu turned to Pei Xuan, and met his indifferent eyes .

In the scroll given by Mei Xiaohan back then, it was mentioned that Pei Xuan's family was not originally stationed in the remote Xuanzhou, but in the prosperous and auspicious Phoenix City. Frequent attacks by evil spirits occurred, causing many innocent people to die, and causing chaos in Phoenix City, and everyone was in danger. That's why they were held accountable by the family. With the shame of incompetence, they were forced to move the family to Xuanzhou .

If Zhuang Qingliu's guess is correct, Huangcheng is a rare good place in Shangzi, and this matter was done by the envoys of the same clan.After all, there are good lands and bad lands, and there are abundant and sparse auras. Why does your family always get good places?And the grandparents were assigned to poor villages because of their mediocrity, so how can the outstanding juniors make a career for themselves and get something that matches?

The Pei family started fighting with their own brothers, and gradually became proficient in setting fire and extinguishing themselves during the long-term infighting. Therefore, some people frequently committed evil curses and evil things in Huangcheng, and the Pei Xuan family was exhausted. Claw fish, these people can also easily make nine piles of fire, and then use the name of incompetence to drive their family to the remote southwestern poisonous miasma, which is tantamount to exile.

There may be more than one family. It is said that Pei Xuan's family is bright and clear, and his actions are upright and respected by the people. Therefore, he has always been unwilling to join forces with the rest of the Pei clan who gradually went astray. Therefore, someone may have framed what happened back then. Some people set blame, some watched with cold eyes, some took the lead, and some fished for profit, and finally drove the whole family to a dead end.

And the Pei family has made a fortune in internal fighting from the very beginning. If the family is like this, how to manage the division of clans, besides, it is difficult to obtain evidence for this kind of thing. Even if one or two can be caught, it is impossible to deal with most of the clan at the same time. If this kind of scandal is thoroughly investigated and turned upside down by hundreds of families of the immortal sect, how will the Pei family be able to establish a family again.

So a small side branch family being excluded is "innocuous" in the final analysis. Other sects such as the Mei family, even if they can't rub the sand in their eyes, except for a few words, how can they intervene and manage it? How should those involved in the family deal with it?All in all very tricky.

Zhuang Qingliu leaned against the wall and asked Pei Xuan: "So little Sect Master Pei, you will be taken back to the Immortal Mansion by Pei's family in the future, and you will reach the sky in one step. It's not a coincidence and luck, right?"

Pei Xuan gave her a meaningful look: "What do you mean?"

"It means that you have a deep personality, and you can't express your emotions or anger. For example, from wanting to appear as a butler to being exposed, to being injured and tied up, and to the failure of your plan, you have been extraordinarily calm from the beginning to the end." Zhuang Qingliu looked at him deeply, "Then why are there rumors that you yourself have been a bit flamboyant and irritable since the big change in the secret realm, and your emotions and anger are quite visible?"

Pei Xuan didn't seem to care, and admitted lightly: "As you guessed."

"That is to say, later on, there was a vacancy in the direct line of the Pei family. At that time, all the descendants who had the opportunity tried their best to show their best appearance. Only you went the other way and pretended to be a grumpy and flamboyant person. He was chosen as he wished."

Mei Siji was very puzzled: "...what kind of advantage is this?"

"Of course this is not an advantage, but there is a very important point." Zhuang Qingliu saw that Mei Hualan had been silent, and deliberately asked her to say a few more words, "Mei Pan, tell me."

Mei Hualan said succinctly as always: "He is most like the late son of the Pei family."

Yes, he is most like the dead Pei Huang, so he most likely touched Pei Qi who lost his only son, and after watching the secret realm, Zhuang Qingliu estimated that the scene where Pei Xuan went crazy to protect Pei Huang's body at the end, probably It also won Pei Qi a lot of goodwill for him, and then he stood out smoothly.

Zhuang Qingliu looked at Pei Xuan: "So the death of Pei Huang in the secret realm at that time, was it your intentional design?"

"I didn't kill him." Pei Xuan stared at her with dark eyes: "It was an accident."

He said in a deep voice: "When Pei Huang was young, he saw a bird and wanted to raise it forcibly, but the bird had a soul, it was a red crane, and it would never be tamed by humans, so it died in his hands after suffering a lot. , the skeleton was buried in a secret realm, and I don’t know when it became Lisha, and I recognized him that day, it was revenge by mistake.”

An inexplicable feeling flashed in Zhuang Qingliu's heart, and he just continued to ask: "But along the way, he was originally lured by you on purpose, so he jumped into that hole, right?"

Pei Xuan did not deny this sentence: "Yes."

That is to say, Pei Huang was indeed seduced by him. He may have made some arrangements to put Pei Huang in danger, and then rescue him, so as to gain favor and fight for a future for himself.

This is also in line with his intention to please Pei Huang at that time, but he did not expect such a sudden change that day, which directly caused Pei Huang's death in the secret realm.

Mei Siji frowned and asked, "So, what's the difference between you and those who curse themselves and unravel this kind of temptation?"

"I just let him be threatened with his life once, what loss will he really have?" Pei Xuan's obsidian eyes stared deeply at Mei Siji, "while the pearl is covered with dust, the chickens and dogs are singing, and the upright are persecuted and excluded, dirty It's you—are you willing to let the shameless person enter the elegant hall?"

Along the way of cultivating immortals, in the era of abundant aura, the ancestors may be able to concentrate on cultivation and ascension.But nowadays, all the people in Xianmen cultivate to stand out, to prove themselves, or to learn from their families, but there are still some people who work hard all their lives to have greater abilities and do more and better things.

Those of the Pei family who were counted and excluded, how many people had the heart of the moon when they were young, had ambitions, had hard training and hard work, and were excluded and exiled like this, what is the life of so many people?Is it comparable to a corner in the intrigue?

"Why do I want to be their stepping stone all my life? What did the people in my family do wrong? They deserve to die with shame all their lives? They deserve to have no use for their cultivation?" Pei Xuan said in a word, " I don’t want any of this, I don’t want to.”

Zhuang Qingliu was silent for a moment, then suddenly looked at a tiny scar in the corner of his left eye and asked, "If you were given another chance, would you still do it?"

Pei Xuan's face changed drastically, and he took a deep look at Zhuang Qingliu.

"Ah?" Mei Siji became dazed again, turned to Zhuang Qingliu and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhuang Qingliu looked at Pei Xuan's expression without blinking, and the original guess in her heart was finally confirmed. She asked almost silently: "You think the fire in Xuanzhou City that burned all night was because of you, right? ?”

Mei Siji's expression changed, and she suddenly looked at Pei Xuan: "Did you set the fire yourself? You killed yourself to make the whole line of your family have no worries, or to be adopted as an orphan. family?!"

Zhuang Qingliu: "..."

Pei Xuan's face also suddenly turned cold: "I did it unscrupulously, but I'm not Pei Qi, so I wouldn't be so ruthless."

"Pei Qi? Sect Master Pei?!" Mei Siji became more and more shocked, "You mean that the fire in your house was caused by Sect Master Pei?!"

"The summoning talisman is not a skill unique to the Guangmei family. It is available in hundreds of immortal sects, and it is very convenient to use." Zhuang Qingliu said, "So the three cities closest to Xuanzhou City at that time even came slowly after receiving the summons. , and there is no need to "rush from the evening of the previous day to the early morning of the next day", let alone rush."

So why didn't anyone who was close come?But when he rushed here pretending, the bones of dozens of members of Pei Xuan's family were almost burned to ashes. Was the fire an ordinary fire?

And those three cities didn't all exclude Pei Xuan's family, there were even two cities that could be regarded as helping each other and making friends with each other on a daily basis - so if it wasn't the order of the family, why didn't anyone start the fire?No one came to help?

The scar at the corner of Pei Xuan's eye was left when he climbed to Shanyin City overnight to ask for help... As a result, those people didn't even open the city gate for him.

As for whether it is confirmed that it is the instruction of the family, Pei Xuan will not be sure easily, and must have checked secretly.Therefore, the owners of the three side branches of the three cities that "didn't have time" to save Xuanzhou's fire back then have all changed, that is to say, all three of them died of inexplicable things.

Mei Siji was horrified: "Then why did Sect Master Pei do this?"

"In the ancient mortal kingdoms, there were often monarchs who killed their mothers and kept their sons to help them inherit the great position. Out of ten, the whole family would be affected. Why do you say?" Pei Xuan gave her a slashed sideways look.

Zhuang Qingliu didn't know why, but suddenly felt a little pity in his heart.Things in the world are really weird, because I have a thought of wanting to climb up-indirectly killed the whole family.

It is difficult for people to bear the kind of glory piled up with human life and blood, especially those who lay the foundation for you are your closest relatives.

He finally reached a high place, but his heart fell into a cold abyss.

It is estimated that Pei Xuan has gone crazy since then.This matter became a fire in his heart, burning day and night until he could not rest.

But was the fire really caused by Pei Qi?Is he really going to do this?Another ten thousand steps back, if he really did this, he would not deal with it cleanly, and when Pei Xuan grows up to be capable, will he still leave the city directors of the three cities to investigate?

And through the words of the housekeeper and Pei Yi night, it can be heard that the reason why Pei Qi took Pei Yi back from a side branch in the past two years was because he felt something in his heart, and he felt that the more he thought about Pei Huang's death that year, the more he had something to do with Pei Xuan.

"Is it hard to understand? To deal with a person who is deeply scheming and wants to climb up, what is more vicious than 'give him a high position, but let him bear a sea of ​​​​blood and revenge'?" Pei Xuan's voice was indifferent.

Zhuang Qingliu suddenly understood, so Pei Qi and Pei Xuan... these two people have always been suspicious of each other.

Pei Xuan felt that his secret of designing Pei Huang was discovered, so the whole family was wiped out.

Pei Qi felt more and more that his son was designed back then, and felt that Pei Xuan had scheming plans, so he was always on guard against him.

These two are literally mating dolls.

And it is very likely that someone has reached the point of "strike first and suffer later".

Zhuang Qingliu quickly suppressed the doubts in his heart, and asked Pei Xuan: "So, when Sect Master Pei's cultivation base has been greatly reduced this time, you first disappeared on purpose to let Sect Master Pei relax his vigilance, and then use some method to attack?" , kidnapped him?"

Pei Xuan: "Yes."

"There are more than 1000 cities in Shangzi, and more than [-] missing children of the Pei family are also under your control. Because of their disappearance, no one has dealt with the curses that have been cast down before, and strange evil spirits gradually appear everywhere. Things?"

Pei Xuan: "Yes."

"You detained these people in order to draw out that these things were exactly what they did. As for the fact that Shan Shulin lured Duanzhu Jun and me to Xuanzhou, do you want to use her prestige afterwards and let her prove it for you?"

"Yes."

Admitted to three consecutive.

"Finally, you take advantage of the cover-up that you disappeared first, design an opportunity to be rescued, and make up a set of excuses to push all this on me, so no one will suspect you." Zhuang Qingliu four times for him, "You One link after another, the timing is just right, Sect Master Pei is gone, and you are the one who will take over the position of Sect Master Pei."

Pei Xuan was not full, he sent the filthy facts to Mei Hualan just to let her be the witness.

And the Mei family is quite prestigious in the family of Xianmen, and the family motto is a word of "faith", and they will never tell lies, especially Mei Hualan, who has nothing to make her care about and is tempted. In the future, no one will doubt the testimony given in the testimonial, and the dirty things of the Pei family will come to the fore, and no one will be able to suppress it.

At this time, besides Pei Qi, Pei Xuan can not only occupy a high position, flex his muscles in the name of the suzerain, and solve the Pei family's years of infighting and shameful Shen Ke in one fell swoop... but also avenge the "twice" and goug out Get rid of the abscess in my heart—the whole family was calculated to be excluded once, and Pei Qi should have ignored it. It was undoubtedly the revenge of the accomplices, and the first time was the revenge of the fire that burned for "20 years".

"In the eyes of ordinary people, the immortals are well-dressed and noble-looking, and they will always be saved from fire and water. But no one knows that these immortals who are dignified and well-known by the Shangzi Pei family are the ones who cursed them. These ants Ordinary people, in the process of climbing up the so-called immortals who are superior to them, are just tools, not even as good as tools."

"I was in a disaster for no reason, and I still feel grateful to others, isn't it ridiculous? The common people in the world should be fooled like this, and they don't know how to lose their lives occasionally?"

Pei Xuan's complexion sank to the extreme, and he looked at Zhuang Qingliu without any fluctuation: "Since I am in this position, I should do something to match it. Is there anything wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong with doing good, but—"

"This noble son? Can revenge be used to throw the blame on others?" Zhuang Qingliu looked at him strangely, "You keep saying that you are for the common people in the world, am I not a member of the common people in the world?"

She touched her back again, and asked San Lian: "Does my back look so suitable for taking the blame?"

"He keeps saying that the world is full of people, his heart is full of illusory collective concepts, and he is indifferent and cruel to specific suffering individuals."

"Human hypocrisy is nothing more than that."

Pei Xuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly said something unclear: "Master Zhuang, you still look down on me."

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what old accounts you're digging into." Zhuang Qingliu's eyes flashed, "Your heart is for the common people in the world, and I'm just a flower spirit. I can understand that I'm not within your rescue scope."

She changed her posture leaning against the wall, and looked at Pei Xuan: "But now you are almost successful, can I ask, where did you get Sect Master Pei and those more than 1000 'sanctuary' people?"

"You can find out so many things about me, why didn't Pei Qi check it out?"

Zhuang Qingliu immediately said smoothly: "You are young and beautiful, even if I turn you upside down, turn your family old..." She got stuck, and then said, "What is the old suzerain doing?"

Mei Siji instantly suspected that it was the old man she wanted to blurt out.

Pei Xuan suddenly raised the corner of his mouth in bewilderment: "Young master Zhuang is so capable, he can survive the damn thing, why don't you continue to guess for yourself?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his whole body suddenly fell to the ground head-on with a "bang", his face hit the ground, and he thrashed violently like a goat, rubbing against the ground.

Several people in the cave were stunned, Zhuang Qingliu hurriedly lowered his head, staring at his feat of "wiping the ground with his face": "Uh... is there any hidden disease?"

"No." Mei Hualan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, then glanced at the ground from the corner of her eyes, "Probably because she has a long mouth but can't speak well."

"..." Zhuang Qingliu immediately came to her senses, and looked at her slightly moved in her heart.

It turned out to be... the big brother's petty mind broke out and took revenge on the spot.

Mei Hualan glanced at her as if there was nothing there, then moved away quietly, and turned to the place where the painting hung on the wall seemingly naturally: "I may know what took Sect Master Pei away."

The author has something to say: I originally wanted to finish the dungeon in one chapter, but I didn't expect to expand so much.