Seeing that he was about to leave, Su Xiaoliu quickly grabbed his clothes and shouted, "Don't go! I'm not here to collect debts..."
The old man Qiannan turned around with a surprised look on his face and whispered, "Really?"
Su Xiaoliu was taken aback. She wondered if she had really borrowed something from him. She nodded blankly and said, "Really."
The old man Qiannan continued to look at her and whispered, "Then you don't want that small Avalokitesvara statue either?"
Avalokitesvara statue?
Su Xiaoliu was a bit puzzled. She looked at him and asked, "What small Avalokitesvara statue?"
The old man Qiannan looked at her, hesitating to speak. He recalled that once when he passed by an old temple and went in to ask for water, he found a very valuable Avalokitesvara statue in the thatched pile of the old temple. He secretly hid it in his sleeve. Feeling guilty, he simply left some silver and advised her to open a teahouse...
The old man Qiannan coughed lightly and said, "It's okay."
After entering the house, Ke Yan turned to the other side to make tea. Su Xiaoliu and the old man Qiannan sat down at the table.
Su Xiaoliu looked at the old man Qiannan and said, "Sir, I've come to ask you something today."
The old man Qiannan looked up at Su Xiaoliu, stroked his beard, and stared at her with his bright eyes. "What is it?" he asked.
Ke Yan brought the tea over and placed it in front of them.
The old man Qiannan picked up the teacup and waved his hand at Ke Yan. "You may leave first," he said.
Ke Yan bowed his head. "Yes," he replied, then turned and left.
The sound of the wooden door closing echoed. Su Xiaoliu looked at the old man Qiannan, pursed her lips, and got straight to the point. "Who was the alliance leader twenty years ago?"
The old man Qiannan spat out his tea all of a sudden. He quickly wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, stared at Su Xiaoliu with wide eyes, and said, "Girl, do you want to choke me to death?"
Su Xiaoliu looked at him and twitched the corner of her mouth. "Don't change the subject," she said.
The old man Qiannan took a deep breath and looked at Su Xiaoliu. A hint of solemnity gradually appeared in his eyes. He whispered, "Girl, how do you know about the alliance leader twenty years ago?"
Su Xiaoliu looked up at him. "I want to find out something," she said. She continued to ask, "The identity of the Painting Immortal and the alliance leader twenty years ago."
The old man Qiannan looked at Su Xiaoliu. Seeing her serious expression, he said after a while, "Twenty years ago, I worked for the former alliance leader. I happened to be away on the night when the alliance leader's family encountered trouble, so I managed to escape this disaster by luck." After a moment, he added, "The Painting Immortal you mentioned, is his name Feng Yufei?"
Su Xiaoliu nodded. "That's him," she said.
The old man Qiannan put down his teacup and said, "The former alliance leader only had two wives in his life and didn't even have a concubine. One year at the Ping Shan Assembly in the martial world, the former alliance leader met a woman of peerless beauty. This woman's identity was very mysterious. Many people were captivated by her, and the alliance leader was no exception."
Su Xiaoliu looked at him and listened quietly.
The old man Qiannan sighed and continued, "After the Ping Shan Assembly ended, that woman disappeared. The alliance leader couldn't handle official documents properly for three months because of this. At that time, the martial world was quite peaceful. Everyone minded their own business, and there were few conflicts. So, nothing major happened during those three months when the alliance leader was derelict in his duties. However, one year later, a beautiful woman in a bright red dress suddenly appeared in front of the alliance leader again. The alliance leader recognized her but didn't recognize the child in her arms..."
Now it was Su Xiaoliu's turn to be surprised. She couldn't help twitching the corner of her mouth. She was just about to praise the alliance leader for not being a philanderer, but it turned out that he was not only a philanderer but also had a child...
"Later, that woman in red disappeared with the child. After she disappeared, the alliance leader realized that the child in her arms was his. The alliance leader searched for her for a long time but couldn't find her. He thought that this woman had really disappeared, so he was dejected for a long time."
Su Xiaoliu wasn't stupid. Hearing this, she pursed her lips and said, "You mean... Feng Yufei is the child in that woman's arms?"
The old man Qiannan looked up at Su Xiaoliu, twitched the corner of his eye, and said, "You girl can't listen to a story. You guessed it all after hearing just a bit."
Su Xiaoliu looked at him speechlessly and said, "You tell your story, and I'll listen. Besides, you've made it so clear. If I still don't know, I'd be a fool."
The old man Qiannan coughed lightly, waved his hand, and said, "Forget it. Let me continue." He picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said, "The Painting Immortal Feng Yufei is indeed the former alliance leader's child, but the alliance leader couldn't give him an identity. That's the sad part."
Su Xiaoliu was silent for a moment. She thought that it seemed she was the only one who knew about this matter.
That woman in red had actually married the old valley master of the Wanhua Valley at that time. I'm afraid even the alliance leader didn't know this painful truth.
"After that woman disappeared, the alliance leader was dejected for a long time. He slackened his vigilance for a while and was actually taken advantage of. He didn't even know that there were informants around him. So, the murder of the alliance leader's family that night was also a premeditated thing."
Sure enough, people should always stay vigilant.
Su Xiaoliu looked at the old man Qiannan and asked, "Do you know who killed the alliance leader's family?"
The old man Qiannan looked at Su Xiaoliu. After a while, he shook his head and said, "I don't know."
Su Xiaoliu looked at him expressionlessly, stood up, and said, "Goodbye."
With that, she turned and was about to leave.
The old man Qiannan was stunned for a moment and quickly said, "Girl, what do you want to do by asking these questions?"
Su Xiaoliu turned around, glanced at him, and said, "I want to figure all this out." Since they had all given up, it was time for her to step forward.
The old man Qiannan stared blankly at Su Xiaoliu and still didn't quite understand what she was saying.
Su Xiaoliu hooked her lips into a smile and said, "Sir, thank you. I'll leave first."
She turned around, pushed open the door, and left, leaving the old man Qiannan sitting at the table in a daze.
Ke Yan, who was hanging clothes on one side, saw Su Xiaoliu coming out. He smiled slightly and said, "Have you got your answers, miss?"
Su Xiaoliu nodded and smiled. "Yes, I have. Thank you, Young Master Ke," she said.
Ke Yan hung the clothes on the rope, walked over, and escorted Su Xiaoliu to the carriage.
"If you have anything else, miss, you can come again," Ke Yan said with a smile as he looked at Su Xiaoliu.
Su Xiaoliu nodded and pursed her lips into a smile.
Just as Su Xiaoliu was about to get into the carriage, she heard the voice of the old man Qiannan coming from behind.
"By the way, girl, there's something I think you may not know."
Su Xiaoliu paused, turned around, and looked at the old man Qiannan. "What is it?" she asked.
The old man Qiannan looked at her. His bright eyes were shining. He pursed his lips and said, "The former alliance leader's two wives gave birth to two sons for him. If they are still alive, the younger son should be about the same age as the Painting Immortal."
Su Xiaoliu's heart trembled violently. She stared blankly at the old man Qiannan and asked, "What was the former alliance leader's surname?"
The old man Qiannan looked at Su Xiaoliu, was silent for a moment, and replied, "A double-barreled surname, Situ."