Was Kiu Fung publicly exonerated of the crimes he was accused of?

[Ken Cheng]

The real culprit (i.e. Siu Yeun San) in the murders of the Kiu family, Kiu Fung's Shaolin teacher, and various other wulin figures whom Kiu Fung had been accused of murdering was finally revealed at the Heroes' Conference at the Shaolin Temple. From that point forward, was Kiu Fung officially exonerated of those crimes by the wulin public? Not that they'd welcome him back with open arms considering that he was still a Khitan (and moreover, a powerful Khitan warlord), but did they at least take the stain of "murderer" off his reputation?

[qiaofeng]

dont think so. even thou he didnt kill those guys, he did still kill and seriously injure lots of wulin fighters at juxian manor. i dont think their freinds n relatives would forgive him for that. + like u pointed out, he was a khitan and nan yuan da wang, so they'll still be wary of him

[Ren Wo Xing]

Considering that when he was captured by the Liao Emperor, a LOT of wulin figures, including Beggar clan and Shaolin came to rescue him, I'm pretty sure that, in most people's minds, at least, he was exonerated, regardless of an official 'proclamation'. That's really not how things work anyhow in Wulin, I think.

[Ken Cheng]

Considering that when he was captured by the Liao Emperor, a LOT of wulin figures, including Beggar clan and Shaolin came to rescue him, I'm pretty sure that, in most people's minds, at least, he was exonerated, regardless of an official 'proclamation'. That's really not how things work anyhow in Wulin, I think.

True. Kiu Fung might still have been a public pariah, but he still had alot of loyal friends in wulin who loved the guy personally and never really believed all that slander that was put upon him in the first place.

[qiaofeng]

esp the beggar clan, since they wanted him back to clean up the mess that quan guanqing and you tanzi made

[Guo Xiang]

Wasn't the Juxian Manor meeting started to talk about how to get Qiao Feng and make him pay for those crimes that was mentioned in this thread? Since he never did them and was later revealed that he wasn't the one whom had harmed the people, the meeting of the Juxian Manor would be unjustified.

And the guys in the manor made Qiao Feng angry first by saying mean things, I believe.

[Ken Cheng]

Wasn't the Juxian Manor meeting started to talk about how to get Qiao Feng and make him pay for those crimes that was mentioned in this thread? Since he never did them and was later revealed that he wasn't the one whom had harmed the people, the meeting of the Juxian Manor would be unjustified.

And the guys in the manor made Qiao Feng angry first by saying mean things, I believe.

The family and friends of those whom Kiu Fung killed at Jui Yin Manor would undoubtedly and understandably still be very angry at him, but they could not reasonably pin him for any crime. The people whom Kiu Fung killed at Jui Yin Manor died in fair combat with him, and they attacked him first. It wasn't murder. In wulin, killing an opponent in fair combat is not considered immoral.

[Ren Wo Xing]

Actually, Xiao Feng attacked first. They didn't have the balls to assault him, so he initiated the melee

[qiaofeng]

+ they tried to kill a defenceless ah zhu. that was when he really lost it

[Carefree Assassin]

but in wulin the actions of father and son aren't separated. each can be held responsible for the other's actions.

[Yang Guo]

The family and friends of those whom Kiu Fung killed at Jui Yin Manor would undoubtedly and understandably still be very angry at him, but they could not reasonably pin him for any crime. The people whom Kiu Fung killed at Jui Yin Manor died in fair combat with him, and they attacked him first. It wasn't murder. In wulin, killing an opponent in fair combat is not considered immoral.

That wasn't fair combat... that was a MOB of vetran fighters... XD

p.s. I don't think it really mattered much since the killer was his father and he announced himself liable for his father's killings. But on that, it still means he was innocent AND a man amongst man

[Zhuge Liang]

After XF's performance at Shaolin i doubt many still had the ability or balls to go against him.

As for the manor folk - the beggar clan and the disk throwing duo figured most. Beggar clan realised their errors eventually. And You Tanzi was like the culmination of all the other rabble's hopes for revenge... we saw how distracted he was by Ah Zhi in his quest, his bowing down to Ding Zhuan Chow and defeat at Shaolin basically saw any sympathy or moral righteousness crumble. Indeed he became beggar clan no. 1.

Shaolin were grateful for XF's help in warding off the threats posed by You Tanzi and Ding even if they reserved in expressing it at the meet. Couple that with the fact they wrongly accused him of murder more than once. And then they accepted his father as a monk.

The huge group of fighters that rescued him at the end would probably be able to sway wulin opinion around.

[qiaofeng]

i dont think the shaolin monks were actually that magnaninous, they were pretty petty. i feel their acceptance of xiao yuansan was more like they had to give sweeper "face" cus hes afterall an englighted monk with godly powers

[Zhuge Liang]

They were petty, no doubt about it but i think it is more than giving face to Sweeper Monk since they went the extra mile and risked their lives to save him at the end.

[Ken Cheng]

Another thing to wonder about is how Kiu Fung was treated historically by future generations of the Beggar's Union. Was he ultimately remembered as a great, but tragic Union Chief and hero who was victimized by circumstances beyond his control? Or was he remembered as a disgraced Union Chief whose ethnicity and alleged crimes condemned his name to eternal infamy?

[qiaofeng]

i think he was pretty much forgotten as there was no mention of him in roch n loch. but the beggar clan in dgsd respected him till the end. even when he was labeled a traitor and murderer, there were still quite a number of beggars who believed he was innocent

[Black Night Sea]

He would’ve been most likely remembered as the former instead of the latter. Even North Beggar of LOCH spoke briefly to Guo Jing about his success and the martial art world under his thumb.

Why he was condoned in the end was the fact that his opposition against the Liao emperor could save a whole nation. In comparison to his massacre at Ju Xian Manor, it would be something like 1,000,000:1. This compassion for the millions of Song people led them to believe that he was a Song person disguised as a Khitan. Not only was he cleansed of his infamous bloodshed from this point onwards but was moreover treated like an idol during the final moments of his life. Beggar Clan were even more glad to accept him as their Chief and would’ve garnered more respect than what he previously earned.

[Tazzy1972]

he would have been else why would so many people come to his rescue in the end?

[CC]

Some of the more stubborn elders were still convinced that he was a Song person in the end.

[Athena]

In the third edition of LOCH, he was remembered as the leader of the Beggar's Association who engaged numerous heroes at the Juxian Manor, the leader who used 28 Dragon Subdueing Palms to blast away several heretic thugs, forcing the Liao emperor to swear never to try to conquer the south----> a true hero.
This is chapter 27 of LOCH (the new third revised version). Huang Rong told this story to the three elders, proving to them that she was an outsider. It seems when Hong Qigong, Guo Jing and her trapped on the uninhabited island, Hong Qigong told Guo Jing and Huang Rong the heroic deeds of Qiao Feng. It seems that the Beggar's Association remembers him as Qiao Feng and not as Xiao Feng.
Qiao Feng was the respected, loved chivalrous leader of the Beggar's Association cheered by the entire world of martial arts, while Xiao Feng was scorned disowned by his friends and turned into a tragic, misunderstood hero.