Chapter 1021: The Anti-Traitor Conference (I)

After much anticipation, the Dragon Boat Festival has arrived. It is the fifth day of May, and the sky is clear and blue.

As the day dawned, people from all walks of life who had been eagerly waiting set out on their journey, gathering from all directions into a "torrent" and rushing towards Prince Xian's palace.

In this "Anti-traitor Conference", Qingfeng, in the name of the leader of the martial arts world, sent out hundreds of "hero invitations". All those who are eligible to receive the "hero invitations" are well-known and powerful people in the martial arts world.

In other words, the number of people who were formally invited to come was only a few hundred. Even if their followers and disciples were included, the total number was only two to three thousand.

However, the actual situation was quite different from Qingfeng's expectations.

Since the early morning, the Xianwang Mansion has been brightly lit and people are coming and going. When dawn is approaching, the front of the Xianwang Mansion is crowded with horses and carriages, and canopies are gathered.

Last night, I wonder how many people tossed and turned, unable to sleep all night?
Heroes from all corners of the country filled almost every gap within a radius of three to five miles. There were crowds of people, shoulder to shoulder, and an endless stream of people... There was a crowd that stretched as far as the eye could see, with at least tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people gathered.

Regardless of the size or number of guests, today's bustling and crowded event was common almost every year when Luo Tianjin was alive. But since he was killed, such a lively event has become very rare.

In the final analysis, today’s prosperity is still not due to the prosperity of the Xianwang Mansion, but because Qingfeng is the “leader of the martial arts world”.

At this moment, the warmth and coldness of human nature and the vicissitudes of the world hidden behind the flowers, laughter and joy can't help but make people sigh with emotion.

Those who did not receive the "heroic invitation" were not qualified to enter the Prince Xian's Palace, and could only gather outside the palace gate anxiously and eagerly.

As for those who received the "heroic invitation", they all walked through the crowd with their heads held high and chests puffed out, with their own disciples paving the way for them. Amid the envious and jealous eyes around them, they swaggered up the thirteen white marble steps in front of the Prince Xian's palace.

At this moment, the "heroic invitation" in their hands is not only a certificate of invitation, but also represents a superior status in the world and a great honor that stands above all others.

Although the underworld is not the officialdom, people are still divided into different classes.

However, the ranks in the martial arts world are not clearly divided into first, second and third grades like in the imperial court. Instead, they are implicitly replaced by other factors such as master, seniority, martial arts, virtue, power, wealth, and connections.

However, the essential difference between the "superior" and the "inferior" has not changed at all. Compared with the official ranks in the imperial court, the hierarchy in the underworld is even more so.

The ugliness of human nature will not change because of different identities, but will only be disguised differently because of different positions. But in the final analysis, it is just a change of soup but not the substance.

Of course, being submissive and sticking to the rules has never been the style of people in the underworld.

Therefore, some "troublemakers" who did not receive the "heroic invitation" but were resentful began to incite the crowd and wait for opportunities to cause trouble.

They rushed up the jade steps in groups and scrambled to get to the main door, trying to take advantage of the chaos to sneak into Prince Xian's palace.

Once there was one, there were two, then there were three... Gradually, more and more people joined the ranks of "not following the rules". The surging crowd easily broke through the obstruction of the disciples of the Xianwang Mansion, leaving Su Tang and Luo Qi, who were waiting at the door, overwhelmed and complaining.

Even if they shouted at the top of their lungs, it would be difficult to maintain proper order in such a noisy and chaotic situation.

"Mr. Luo, be careful of someone passing off fakes as real ones!"

"It's not that there are fakes mixed in with the real ones, what's scary is that if the chaos continues like this, the 'Eradication of Traitors Conference' originally scheduled to start at the beginning of the morning hour will definitely be affected and forced to be postponed."

"Postpone it?" Su Tang looked at the crowd pushing and shoving each other and said helplessly, "I'm afraid there will be no peace for three days and three nights..."

"You bastards! How dare you break into the Xianwang Mansion without a 'hero invitation'?"

"We...we were just impulsive. I hope Master Qi won't blame us..."

"Where did this scoundrel come from? How dare you act wildly here! You can come in and go out as you please. What do you think the Xianwang Mansion is?"

"Master Ba, calm down. We know we are wrong! We know we are wrong..."

Just as chaos was breaking out in front of the door, a stern shout suddenly came from inside the mansion, followed by a terrified explanation.

The dozen or so men who had sneaked into Prince Xian's mansion during the chaos had no time to feel complacent before they hurriedly backed out of the mansion, bowing and apologizing in front of everyone's surprised and stunned gazes.

Following closely behind were Murong Bai, who both had gloomy faces, Deng Quan, and the two Taoist priests Gu Ri and Gu Yue from the Wudang Sect.

As soon as the four people appeared, Su Tang and Luo Qi, who were busy and exhausted, immediately showed ecstasy, and quickly ordered their disciples to "ask" all those who gathered in front of the door without the "heroic invitation" to step down the stairs.

"Seventh Master, we are not causing trouble intentionally, but we don't want to miss the once-in-a-century 'Eradication of Traitors' Conference." A brave man in the crowd was the first to voice his dissatisfaction, "The leader of the Qingfeng Alliance is really biased. The 'hero invitation' is only given to those powerful and famous sects. Aren't we, the helpless little people, and those wandering knights without a sect or school, considered as the people of the Central Plains martial arts world?"

"That's right! Back then, when the leader of the Qingfeng Alliance summoned heroes from all over the world to hunt down Liu Xunyi, he did not show favoritism. Although we are weak and have little influence, we also obeyed the orders of the leader and worked hard in the hunt for Liu Xunyi. As the saying goes, 'even if we have no credit, we have worked hard.' Since we have contributed, we should be allowed to participate in today's 'Anti-Traitor Conference', otherwise it will be too unfair!" "Yes! Unfair! Unfair..."

The outspokenness of a few people, like a stone that stirs up a thousand ripples, instantly resonates with the majority and creates a huge uproar among the crowd.

In an instant, all kinds of doubts, complaints, even ridicule and abuse came one after another.

The arguments and shouts of tens of thousands shook half of Luoyang city to the ground.

"What you said... makes sense!"

Murong Bai looked down at the enthusiastic crowd with an expressionless face, and used all his internal strength to make his voice thick, clear, and loud like a bell. Every word was clear and echoed between heaven and earth, and it took a long time to dissipate. At the same time, the noisy scene gradually quieted down.

For a moment, countless indignant and expectant eyes were cast towards Murong Bai and the other three in front of the gate of Prince Xian's Mansion.

"It's less than half an hour away from the beginning of the morning hour, but the Xianwang Mansion is still in chaos. Leader Qingfeng did not expect so many friends from the martial arts world to come to participate in the 'Extermination of Traitors Conference'. At the moment, he is both pleased and guilty. He is pleased that the heroes of the world value the 'Extermination of Traitors Conference', which means they value him as the 'Master of the Martial Arts World'. He is guilty that the situation is in chaos due to insufficient preparations in advance." Murong Bai said calmly, "At this moment, Leader Qingfeng does not want the 'Extermination of Traitors Conference' to be delayed due to the disorder, nor does he want to favor some over others and increase the gap between heroes. Of course, he does not want friends from the martial arts world who have not received the 'Heroic Invitation' to come here with high hopes and return with disappointment."

"The leader of the Qingfeng Alliance is always thinking about us, which makes us obey him without hesitation."

"That's right! We are just trying to save face instead of fighting for the bread. We have absolutely no intention of slandering the leader of Qingfeng."

"I knew that Leader Qingfeng would not let us make this trip in vain..."

Seeing everyone agreeing, Gu Ri and Gu Yue nodded with a smile, but Deng Quan, who was standing aside, showed contempt inadvertently.

"Therefore, after repeated deliberations by the leader of the Qingfeng Alliance and the Lord of the Xie Mansion, it was decided to move the 'Eradication of Traitors Conference' held in the east courtyard of the Xianwang Mansion to the bluestone square in front of the Xianwang Mansion."

Having said this, Murong Bai suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the "glazed archway" surrounded by the crowd of people and carriages, and said in a loud voice: "It is right under this archway with the words 'Purple Air Coming from the East'. I hope you will take the initiative to step back ten feet so that more friends in the martial arts world can witness this... 'Eradication of Traitors' that only happens once in a century."

After saying that, Murong Bai, Deng Quan, Gu Ri and Gu Yue looked at each other, then waved his hand, and more than a hundred disciples of the Xianwang Mansion headed by Lin Fangda, and dozens of Wudang disciples headed by Zheng Songren filed out of the Xianwang Mansion. Before the people around could react, they had already cleared the place in a hurry.

With a burst of whispers, the crowd within a ten-foot radius of the "glazed archway" was forced to retreat again and again. More than a dozen disciples from the Xianwang Palace hurried over and cleaned up the messy bluestone square like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves.

Clean water was poured on the ground and a red carpet was laid out on the road. Armchairs were neatly placed at intervals of ten feet in the east, south, west and north.

Behind the chair stood a large flag, on which were embroidered in a flamboyant manner the golden names of famous sects such as "Wudang", "Shaolin", "Kunlun", "Kongtong", "Emei", "Qingcheng", "Xianwang Mansion", "Jinjianwu", "Jiangnan Lu Mansion", "Tang Clan in Shu", "Hexi Qin Family", "Xiangxi Teng Clan", "Jueqing Valley", "Longxiang Mountain", and "Sanyi Gang".

Interestingly, there is another armchair next to the seat of Qingfeng, the leader of the martial arts world, but there is nothing behind the chair, without any flag.

This position was reserved by Qingfeng for Qin Wei. Due to Qin Wei's special status, it was not appropriate to be too ostentatious in Luoyang City under Mongolian rule, so no flag was raised.

The scale of today's "Anti-Traitor Conference" is no less than the "Central Plains Martial Arts Conference" two years ago.

Just like back then, there were only a handful of "big shots" who were qualified to take seats, and the vast majority of "unknown people" could only stand around and watch the excitement from afar, so that the entire street in front of Prince Xian's Mansion was blocked by the dense crowd.

The surrounding pavilions, towers, and roofs were all "forcibly occupied" by the excited outlaws.

How could ordinary people have ever seen such a scene? At this moment, they couldn't even leave their own house, let alone report to the police. They could only hide at home and swallow their anger, letting the "chirping" and "banging" sounds above their heads. They were helpless and dared not speak out.

"Boom!"

Amid the chaos, half an hour passed in a flash. The sudden sound of a gong was so deafening that it instantly quieted the scene.

Everyone was startled and looked up.

For a moment, thousands of hot and eager eyes were focused on the solemn and dignified gate of Prince Xian’s Palace.

Tens of thousands of people held their breath and concentrated their attention. The crowd was completely silent. The solemn and strange atmosphere lasted for about half an incense stick of time, until the sound of "clattering" of iron chains and shackles rubbing against each other came quietly from the Xianwang Mansion.

Then, a low and slow sound of footsteps came from afar, and everyone's hearts were hanging in their throats.

Liu Xunyi, who had been elusive for hundreds of days and nights, and whose whereabouts were erratic, making heroes all over the world "think about him day and night" and "haunted in his dreams"... finally showed up today.

……

　There have been many things going on recently, and my head is a bit heavy. So I took advantage of the weekend to take two days off to clear my mind and sort out the complicated clues. I hope everyone will forgive me~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)