Chapter 1157: Betrayal and separation
“See clearly! This is the fate of betraying me!”

“Crack!”

Qin Wei threatened with gnashing teeth and then crushed the dragon’s neck with his foot, breaking it instantly and killing the already dying dragon on the spot.

“Big brother…”

Tulong died tragically, and the most saddened person present was Tuhu.

He watched helplessly as his eldest brother risked his life to plead for everyone, and was then brutally tortured to death by Qin Wei. The shock and grief in his heart instantly filled his chest, and he wished he could rush up and tear Qin Wei into pieces.

At this time, Tu Hu hated Qin Wei’s cruelty and was also annoyed by his own cowardice. He secretly blamed himself for not daring to stand up and support Tu Long, causing him to be alone in danger and suffer an unexpected accident.

At the same time, Tu Hu’s only remaining awe of Qin Wei completely disappeared with Tu Long’s death.

However, with the previous experience of Tu Long, Tu Hu did not dare to act rashly even though he was resentful. Because he knew very well that both Qin Wei and Long Yu were masters that he could never defeat. If he wanted to survive tonight, his own strength would definitely not be enough.

“Tu Hu, your elder brother was cowardly in battle, and his death is not a pity!” Qin Wei seemed to see Tu Hu’s grief and anger, as well as his dissatisfaction with himself, so he pretended to be very righteous and comforted him, “In fact, Tu Long should have been dealt with by you personally, but I, as a marquis, thought that you two were brothers, and I couldn’t bear to force you to kill your brother, so… But you can rest assured, Tu Long is Tu Long, and you are you, and I will never blame you for Tu Long’s sin.”

At this point, Qin Wei cast a gloomy look at the others and reminded them, “And you, always remember that you are an official appointed by the court and a lieutenant of the Tianji Pavilion. You must not be afraid of fighting at any time, let alone betray your master! Not to mention that Long Yu will not let you go easily tonight, even if he is merciful, how can you have a good life after returning to Lin’an? If I die in battle, and you, as my subordinates, save your lives, the court will definitely regard you as traitors who surrendered to the enemy. According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, anyone who surrenders to the enemy and betrays the country will be executed along with his entire clan. At that time, not only will you all be beheaded, but even your relatives and friends will be implicated.”

“This……”

“At this point, you have no choice but to fight to the death with me, the marquis, to have a chance of survival.” Qin Wei looked around at the people who were looking at each other in bewilderment, and said righteously, “Even if you unfortunately die in battle, you will be honored and rewarded by the court, and your family will not only be spared from the pain of being implicated, but will also receive a sum of money for compensation.”

“This……”

“May I ask, Lord Marquis, can you take this seriously?”

Just when everyone was undecided, Tu Hu’s inappropriate voice sounded quietly, which immediately made Qin Wei’s face change. He said angrily: “Do you think I am joking with you?”

“I dare not!” Tu Hu bowed to Qin Wei fearfully, and then changed his mind and said, “May I ask, Lord, when you were seeking to ascend to the throne, when you were cleaning up Qiu Han, Ding Chou and the elders of Tianji Pavilion, when you were hunting down Liu Xunyi, and… when you were helping Qingfeng to gather information outside the Great Wall, all of your brothers died unfortunately… I wonder where are the posthumous awards for these brothers? Where is the compensation money?”

“Tu Hu, what is your intention in saying these things at this time?”

“Your Majesty keeps saying that we are your trusted ones… but little do we know that we are your trusted ones and also the ones who help you solve problems privately.” Facing Qin Wei’s livid face, Tu Hu not only did not hold back, but his words became more and more sharp. “Others may not know, but I have done many shameful things for you, so I know a little about your style and methods.”

“you……”

“Brothers, will you still believe him?”

Seeing Qin Wei, who was angry and wanted to attack him, Tu Hu, who had been prepared, raised his knife to his chest and shouted to others: “For his own future, he can kill Zhao Yuan, who raised him and cultivated him, and even sell out Liu Xunyi, who grew up with him. What about you and me? Moreover, the current court is weak and dim. Once they know that it was the Mongols who killed us, they will definitely turn a blind eye and pretend that nothing happened. What about posthumous awards? Pension silver? It’s nonsense. Not to mention that there is no silver, even if there is, it will be embezzled by officials at all levels, and not a penny will fall into the hands of you and my family. Qin Wei has always been a flatterer and mean-spirited person. He said so much just to use our lives to delay the opponent and win a chance to breathe. To put it bluntly, he… he is sincerely dragging us to be buried with him!”

“Tu Hu is right!” Finally, some of the Golden Sword Lieutenants began to agree. “Tu Long just said a few fair words for his brothers. He didn’t do anything outrageous, but Qin Wei directly accused him of treason. He didn’t care about Tu Long’s life and death for Tianji Pavilion and his contributions to him. Not only did he kill him without any humanity, but his methods were extremely cruel. We brothers just survived a life-and-death struggle with him in Luoyang City not long ago, and Tu Long was loyal to him. Even when he was tortured by that group of bandits, he still didn’t say a word against him. With such a loyal heart, how could he be a coward who sells out his master for survival as he said?”

“That’s right! If we are to be punished by the imperial court for trying to save our lives, it would be better for us brothers not to return to Lin’an, so as to avoid being wrongly accused and go our separate ways from now on.”

“Or maybe we brothers should just go all out and become bandits! Since Liu Xunyi was able to thrive in the martial arts world after leaving the court, why can’t we do the same?”

“Anyway, it’s better than dying here in obscurity.”

“That’s right! We are not afraid of death, but we can’t die in vain!”

“Long Yu’s target is not us. We don’t need to risk our lives for a selfish Qin Wei.” “Qin Wei has always regarded us as stepping stones for his success and never really cared about our lives. If there is any betrayal, he was the first to betray us.”

……

When someone said the first sentence, someone else said the second sentence. Then, the third sentence, the fourth sentence… More and more dissatisfaction and complaints, more and more disloyalty and ruthlessness, instigated by Tuhu, emerged like mushrooms after rain.

As more and more people expressed their opinions, these golden sword captains became bolder and bolder, and their rebukes and condemnations of Qin Wei became more and more intense.

Sure enough, in the face of life and death, status, power, authority, morality, etc., all became unimportant.

Survival is an instinct engraved in everyone’s bones, and it is also the root cause that drives this group of people to resolutely choose to betray.

In the eyes of these golden sword lieutenants, Qin Wei was no longer the powerful Marquis of Tianji, but a poor creature whose time was coming to an end. He no longer had the power to decide the life and death of these people, or even to decide whether they should stay or go.

Tonight, Qin Wei is no longer the noble man who grants them a future, but has become an obstacle and burden to their survival.

Don’t be fooled by the righteous words of Tu Hu and others. In fact, they are just making the most beneficial choice after weighing the pros and cons.

After all, compared to the terrifyingly powerful Long Yu and Ya Kun, the weak and exhausted Qin Wei is undoubtedly easier to deal with.

Just like Xunzhen’s analysis of human nature, everything is calculated.

It is so tonight, and it was also so in Luoyang City not long ago.

Liu Xunyi at that time was completely different from Long Yu at this time. His feelings for Qin Wei were complex and deep, but he sneered at these new Golden Sword Captains who joined the Tianji Pavilion. He might be reluctant to kill Qin Wei, but he would definitely not be reluctant to kill them. If these Golden Sword Captains chose to betray Qin Wei, Liu Xunyi and his supporters would definitely kill the chicken to scare the monkey without hesitation, so as to vent their indignation against the court and their dissatisfaction with Qin Wei. Therefore, at that time, they had to stay firmly by Qin Wei’s side to have the possibility of being “loved by Liu Xunyi” and have the opportunity to leave Luoyang City alive.

However, the situation tonight was completely the opposite. Long Yu was determined to kill Qin Wei, but he didn’t care about the others.

Looking at this group of close associates in front of him who were promoted by him, and who were showing their disgusting ugly faces in order to save their lives, and taking turns to attack him, at this moment Qin Wei no longer felt the shock and anger he felt when Tulong betrayed him, but more of a chill and regret in his heart, as well as doubt on himself… even denial.

Qin Wei could blame a dragon slayer for running away from the battlefield, but since everyone chose to betray him, Qin Wei had to reflect on his own reasons.

He really couldn’t understand why when Zhao Yuan was the Marquis of Tianji, all his subordinates were loyal and righteous men like Qiu Han and Liu Xunyi. Thinking back to the time when Zhao Yuan led the people to besiege Luo Tianjin in the Xianwang Mansion, so many people followed one after another, ready to die, and no one backed down from beginning to end.

On the other hand, the group of people he had carefully recruited were servile and submissive in normal times, but when the critical moment came, they jumped out to rebel. No one was willing to be loyal to him and share life and death with him.

The huge gap made Qin Wei feel ashamed and angry. Compared with his hatred for the traitor, he hated his own stupidity even more.

At this moment, Qin Wei was extremely angry, entangled, and in great pain: “Why am I so stupid? Why am I blinded by this group of powerful villains? Why am I so obsessed with their flattery? Could it be that… I am really not as good as Zhao Yuan and Liu Xunyi? No! Impossible! Impossible! I work harder and more diligently than them, I give more, and I know how to cherish more. Why can’t I do what they can do? It must not be my problem. It must be that God is deliberately playing a trick on me and making me unlucky, so that a group of ungrateful villains took advantage of the opportunity! It must be! It must be!”

The more Qin Wei thought about it, the more ashamed he felt, the angrier he became, and the more unwilling he became. At the same time, his gaze towards the people around him became increasingly cold, cruel, and hostile.

What Qin Wei hates most in his life is being looked down upon, and he especially cannot tolerate having his dignity trampled upon.

The group of golden sword captains in front of him, with two different faces before and after the event, were tantamount to contempt for Qin Wei’s identity, provocation of his authority, ridicule of his stupidity, and humiliation of his self-esteem.

There is no doubt that these people have deeply touched his reverse scale and stabbed his sensitive, delicate, inferior and fragile heart.

At this point, Qin Wei knew that he had no chance of survival, so he no longer had any illusions. Now he had made up his mind that he could die, but on the premise that none of those who betrayed him could survive!
……