113: Chapter 113 Mind Your Own Business

"Benefactor Tie, on my way here, this poor nun heard that various Schools of the Martial Forest intend to form an alliance to deal with Yihua Palace together."

"I wonder if you have heard of this?"

Hearing the Divine Nun of the South Sea's words, Tie Ruyun was startled, then shook his head and said, "I have already resigned from the position of Wulin Alliance Leader and have not paid special attention to news of the Jianghu. If you hadn't mentioned it, Reverend, I truly wouldn't have known."

Then, he asked in confusion, "Although Yihua Palace is powerful and overbearing and has long-standing grudges with various Schools of the Martial Forest, its strength cannot be underestimated."

"Yao Yue and Lian Xing have suppressed the Martial Forest for many years; few dare to provoke them."

"And in recent years, aside from capturing heartless men, Yihua Palace has rarely moved about in the Jianghu, gradually maintaining a state of 'well water not interfering with river water' with the various Schools of the Martial Forest."

"Why would they suddenly join forces against Yihua Palace?"

After speaking, Tie Ruyun seemed to think of something and conjectured, "Could it be because Hua Wuchuan took the top prize in the Martial Arts competition at the last Heroes Convention? Those Sect Heads are unwilling to let a fledgling junior serve as the new Wulin Alliance Leader, so they are deliberately targeting them?"

"But that's not right either!"

"Although Hua Wuchuan won the top spot in the competition, those Sect Heads later brought up the matter of eliminating evils for the Martial Forest."

"The target chosen at that time was the notorious flower-stealing thief Flower-Picking Bees of recent years."

"However, that Flower-Picking Bees was unexpectedly encountered by my Li'er and conveniently eliminated."

"Since Hua Wuchuan couldn't complete the task of eliminating the evil, he naturally couldn't become the Alliance Leader. He also didn't seem to mention becoming the Alliance Leader afterward."

"So, it doesn't quite make sense for those Sect Heads to target Yihua Palace for that reason."

"Could there be another reason?"

After saying this, he looked toward the Divine Nun of the South Sea.

The Divine Nun of the South Sea said, "This poor nun only heard the news and does not understand the reasons behind it very well."

Meng Li said thoughtfully, "Is there a possibility that those Sect Heads are resentful because they couldn't beat Hua Wuchuan at the last Heroes Convention and lost Face, so they want to regain their standing by dealing with Yihua Palace?"

Tie Ruyun said, "That should be unlikely."

"In a fair and square Martial Arts competition, losing means one's skills are inferior; one should just admit defeat gracefully."

"If they harbor resentment and seek revenge afterward because of it, their magnanimity would be far too small."

"Moreover, I have defeated them before, and they never..."

At the end of his sentence, Tie Ruyun suddenly paused.

Because he thought of the time he was besieged by ten experts in Chang'an. Those ten were all prominent figures in the Martial Forest; the identities of some were revealed, while others were not specifically known, but judgments could be made from their Martial Arts styles, though they couldn't be confirmed.

Afterward, Tie Ruyun had thought about it repeatedly and confirmed that several of them had fought him at the Heroes Convention.

But he had no evidence, and coupled with being somewhat disheartened, he didn't look into it further.

Thinking about it now, the fact that those few people participated in the siege might have been driven by some desire for revenge.

Seeing this, the Divine Nun of the South Sea asked, "Benefactor Tie, have you thought of something?"

Tie Ruyun had corresponded with the Divine Nun of the South Sea before going to Chang'an and mentioned this matter. Hearing her words now, he omitted the part about Meng Li and briefly explained the situation.

"Amitabha." After hearing this, the Divine Nun of the South Sea recited a Buddhist name and then said, "In that case, regarding the matter of targeting Yihua Palace, it truly is possible that those Sect Heads were moved by resentful thoughts. However, Yao Yue and Lian Xing of Yihua Palace are not kind people."

"If the two sides truly clash, the Martial Forest will be swept into a bloodbath once again. What a sin."

On the side, Jiang Yu Feng's understanding was shaken when she heard about those Sect Heads' small-mindedness and their behavior of seeking revenge when their skills were inferior.

However, after experiencing the matters of Jiang Biehe and Madam Jiang Liu, her resilience had improved significantly, and she snapped back to her senses after a short while.

Hearing this now, she asked in confusion, "That's not right. Yao Yue and Lian Xing of Yihua Palace have long been famous; those Sect Heads couldn't possibly not know how formidable they are. Moreover, Yihua Palace has always acted powerfully and ruthlessly; once they are provoked, nine times out of ten, one will lose their life."

"No matter how resentful those Sect Heads are, they wouldn't risk their lives just for a moment of anger, would they?"

Meng Li replied, "Perhaps it's because Yao Yue and Lian Xing haven't made a move in recent years, causing them to lose their fear, while at the same time, someone is pushing this from behind the scenes."

"Someone is pushing from behind the scenes? Who?" Jiang Yu Feng asked.

Meng Li shook his head. "I'm not sure for now, but I guess it's most likely the Red Leaf Pavilion."

Then, without waiting for anyone to ask, he explained, "When I was traveling with Xinlan and the others before, I heard about something. Yao Yue and Lian Xing of Yihua Palace took out their anger on the Red Leaf Pavilion because of an old matter from over ten years ago. Not only did they personally come to demand accountability, but they also almost killed the previous head of the Red Leaf Pavilion, Old Red Leaf, and finally burned the headquarters of the Red Leaf Pavilion, which contained many important dossiers, to ruins."

"If the Red Leaf Family hadn't been clever and built branches in other places, their foundation of nearly a hundred years would have been destroyed by that fire."

"With such a great grudge, Old Red Leaf and Little Red Leaf will certainly not let it go."

"And the Red Leaf Pavilion holds many secrets of the major Schools of the Martial Forest and has the ability to influence them."

"So, it makes sense for the Red Leaf Pavilion to be pushing this matter."

After hearing Meng Li's speculation, Tie Ruyun, the Divine Nun of the South Sea, and Jiang Yu Feng all felt it was reasonable.

After a moment, the Divine Nun of the South Sea said, "Amitabha, that is likely the case. But in that way, the matter becomes difficult to handle."

Meng Li asked curiously, "Could it be that Senior wants to stop this?"

The Divine Nun of the South Sea nodded, then sighed. "Though I have the heart, my strength is insufficient."

Meng Li was speechless.

He didn't intend to get involved in this mess.

This matter was ultimately a Jianghu vendetta, just on a larger scale; if they really fought, it would be a gang war.

As for the result...

There was a 98% chance that those people from the Schools would never return.

After all, in the original drama, even Hua Wuchuan could wipe them all out.

Facing the even stronger Lian Xing, they had even less of a chance of winning.

Not to mention there was also Yao Yue, whose strength was temporarily unknown.

Although Yao Yue's Martial Arts had been completely drained by Meng Li, after some time had passed, she must have recovered to some extent.

It was hard to say exactly how much she had recovered, but with Lian Xing there and the characteristic of the Wedding Dress Divine Skill to absorb people's Martial Arts, Yao Yue certainly wouldn't be too weak now.

Perhaps the experts of these Schools going there would just allow Yao Yue to get a massive gain.

In short, Meng Li didn't care much about this matter.

Tie Ruyun also stroked his beard without speaking.

If it were before, he would have found a way to stop it to prevent the Martial Forest from being plunged into misery, but now...

He was already disappointed in the Martial Forest and had gradually become accustomed to and fond of the retirement life Meng Li spoke of, only wanting to spend his remaining years in peace.

As long as the matter didn't involve himself or the people he cared about, Tie Ruyun was too lazy to bother with it.

Fighting for justice, presiding over fairness, maintaining the peace of the Martial Forest?

That was for young people to do.

As a retired Wulin Alliance Leader, what he should be doing is planting tea, raising flowers, teasing birds, and fishing.

Jiang Yu Feng also didn't speak.

Thus, the scene fell into silence for a moment.

A few seconds later, Tie Ruyun broke the silence. "The grudges between the various Schools of the Martial Forest and Yihua Palace have a long history. Although there is an incentive this time, it cannot be separated from those accumulated grievances. Old grievances are not so easily resolved. Reverend, you are compassionate and do not wish to see the Martial Forest in a bloodbath again; that is a good thing."

"But some things cannot be achieved by human effort; there is no need to force it."

"Reverend has come from afar and must be tired. Why not stay at my place for a few days to rest and recuperate, while also catching up with your disciple?"

"As for subsequent matters, we can make plans later."

"How about it?"