Chapter 1071: Unprecedented Battlefront
"Why is it so noisy outside?"

"The closer we get to Danfeng Park, the narrower the road becomes, and the more people there are. Our carriage is almost unable to move."

"Miss, I have seen Hong Si and the others. They must be here."

"Okay! Let's get off..."

In the evening, under Luo Qi's arrangement, Xunzhen led Abaolu, Xiao Yang, Su Hu, Xun Budao and other twenty or thirty Western Regions masters in seven carriages and arrived at Danfeng Garden in the north of Luoyang City one after another.

When Xunzhen got out of the carriage with the help of Abaolu, Hong Si, Lei Zhen and Yan Shun, who had arrived at Danfeng Garden earlier, had been waiting outside the south gate for a long time.

At this time, there was a lot of traffic outside Danfeng Garden, and the garden was crowded with people.

After the various people from the Jianghu dispersed from the Bluestone Square, most of them were unwilling to leave. They rushed to send gifts and visiting cards, all looking forward to a private chat with Liu Xunyi.

"Greetings, young lady..."

"Alright! It's crowded and noisy here, you don't have to be polite."

Xunzhen interrupted Hong Si, Lei Zhen, and Yan Shun who were bowing respectfully, looked around at the bustling crowd, and said hesitantly: "These people..."

"They are using all kinds of slogans, such as 'Congratulations to the Xianwang Mansion for finding the young master', 'Glad that Lord Luo has avenged his great hatred'... They just want to get to know the deputy sect master. They are all servile and flattering people."

"Then...why don't you go in?"

"It's not that we don't want to go in, but that we can't go in." Hong Si replied, "According to investigation, this Danfeng Garden originally had four gates: east, south, west, and north. An hour ago, Xie Xuan ordered the east, west, and north gates to be blocked, leaving only the south gate open for entry and exit... But you can't just go in and out casually. You need a warrant from any one of Xie Xuan, Murong Bai, and Deng Quan to go in and out freely. Otherwise, you can only leave gifts and visiting cards outside the gate. Even most of our men... can't go in. Xie Xuan only allows us to bring a few close followers into the garden. Therefore, when more and more people heard the news and came, the originally spacious south gate and the empty streets immediately became overcrowded and congested."

Xunzhen was secretly shocked and murmured, "So... Danfeng Garden has been put under martial law?"

"Exactly! The security is so strict that it's comparable to that of the imperial palace."

Accompanied by a burst of joking conversation, under the leadership of Hong Si, Lei Zhen and Yan Shun, Abaolu, Xiao Yang, Su Hu and Xun Budao protected the petite Xunzhen tightly in the middle, constantly pushing away the crowded crowd and squeezed towards the South Gate with difficulty.

"Stop! No one is allowed to enter Danfeng Garden without a warrant!"

With the south gate of Danfeng Garden as the center, extending all the way east and west along the courtyard wall to the street entrance, there is a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps. They are all black-clad guards with burly build, fleshy faces, fierce eyes, and holding knives and swords.

Once someone approaches, regardless of gender, age or status, they will immediately be questioned in a deep voice. If someone does not have a warrant, does not listen to dissuasion, and insists on forcing their way in, Xie Xuan's original words are... "Kill without mercy."

Therefore, when Xunzhen and his party arrived at the gate with difficulty, they were stopped by the black-clad guards as expected.

"Brother, we are from Xilu Wuzong. We have just been ordered by Palace Master Xie to go out and pick up my young lady. This is the warrant signed by Palace Master Xie..."

The black-clad guard took the warrant handed over by Hong Si, looked at Xunzhen and the others, and then waved his hand to signal the other guards to let them pass.

From beginning to end, the black-clad guards neither greeted Xunzhen and his party warmly nor showed them respect, not even a word of greeting or a smile.

"Are these people... disciples of the Xianwang Mansion?" Xunzhen kept looking back at the indifferent black-clad guards as he stepped into the garden, and asked curiously, "I have stayed in the Xianwang Mansion for a while, why haven't I seen them? They... don't seem to know me either?"

"I don't know where these people came from. They don't look like disciples of the Xianwang Mansion." Lei Zhen curled his lips, quite indignant, "These bastards are more cold-blooded and heartless than each other. They only have eyes for Xie Xuan, Murong Bai and Deng Quan's warrants, nothing else. Just now in there..."

Having said that, Lei Zhen looked around fearfully, then moved closer to Xun Zhen and whispered, "Just now inside, they didn't even give Teng Sanshi and Xiao Zhirou face, and they almost got into a fight."

"Is there such a thing?" Xunzhen took a breath of cold air, "You mean... there are other black-clad guards in Danfeng Garden?"

"There are more than that. What we saw outside the gate just now is just a tiny fraction of them. Most of them are inside Danfeng Garden." Yan Shun nodded seriously, "It is said that... there are more than a thousand people."

"A thousand men?" Xunzhen couldn't help but smack his lips. "It seems... Xie Xuan has been hiding a 'special force' and has been keeping it a secret from us."

"The world is going downhill, people's hearts are unpredictable, who dares not leave a way out for themselves? We secretly asked the young master for help, and we also didn't tell them." Having said this, Abaolu pointed at the black-clothed guards who were looming in the darkness under the dim moonlight, and hesitated, "This formation... is it Xie Xuan's intention? Or Liu Xunyi's intention?"

"Of course it was Xie Xuan's idea!" Yan Shun said confidently, "Because the deputy sect leader didn't even make it to Danfeng Garden. He had exhausted all his energy and fell into a coma halfway through. I heard that..."

Before he finished speaking, a team of patrolling black guards approached from afar, making Yan Shun's voice stop abruptly. After the guards gradually went away, he pinched his throat and continued: "I heard that... when the carriage arrived at Danfeng Garden, the deputy sect master was already unconscious and was directly carried into the inner court. Miss Pan has been guarding beside him, and Murong Bai and others have found more than a dozen doctors to treat the deputy sect master's injuries. He has not woken up yet. How could he arrange everything personally? Therefore... at present, no matter big or small, Danfeng Garden is under the control of Xie Xuan alone."

"I heard?" Xunzhen paused and asked meaningfully, "Didn't you see it with your own eyes?" "This..."

Yan Shun and the other two looked at each other, with a hint of embarrassment on their faces.

"Strange!" Xunzhen looked back and forth at the bewildered Hong Si, Yan Shun, and Lei Zhen, and asked with a hint of meaning, "Your deputy leader's life and death are uncertain, as his subordinates... why don't you stay by his side? Even if you come out to pick me up... you don't have to come together, right?"

"This……"

"Tell me! What's going on?"

Gradually realizing something was amiss, Abaolu glared at the three people from Hongsi and asked them stern questions.

After hesitating for a while, Lei Zhen steeled his mind and answered with a stiff upper lip: "Miss, I am ashamed to say this! The three of us... have long been rejected. Right now, we don't even have the qualifications to enter the inner court, so how can we stay by the deputy sect master's side?"

"what?"

Lei Zhen's words made Xunzhen, Abaolu and others exclaim in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" Abaolu said in a deep voice, "What do you mean by 'rejected from the door'? What do you mean by 'not qualified to enter the inner court'? Who made this stupid rule?"

"Who else could it be?" Hong Si sighed, "Don't you think about whose territory this is? Apart from Xie Xuan, who else can give orders? Who else dares to give orders?"

Abaolu was furious and cursed with gnashing teeth: "He is so bold that he doesn't even give face to Xilu Wuzong..."

"Let alone Xilu Wuzong, what about Jueqing Valley, Sanyi Gang, and Longxiang Mountain? What about Xiangxi Teng Clan and Hexi Qin Clan? In this Danfeng Garden, everyone must abide by the rules set by Xie Xuan. Otherwise..."

"What else?"

"Otherwise, 'I'm sorry, but please go back to where you came from'..."

"This……"

Xie Xuan's strong attitude not only made Hong Si, Yan Shun and Lei Zhen, who were "rejected", angry, but also made Xunzhen and Abaolu, who were "newcomers", frightened.

"Xie Xuan said that the life and death of the deputy sect master is the top priority of the Xianwang Mansion. Everyone must compromise and give in to everything. If Danfeng Garden is the forbidden area of ​​Luoyang City, then the inner court is the forbidden area of ​​the forbidden area. Except for the deputy sect master's close relatives, no one else can step into the inner court unless they get the consent of the deputy sect master or Xie Xuan." Seeing that Xunzhen and the others seemed to understand, Yan Shun had to explain patiently, "Because it concerns the life and death of the deputy sect master, no one can afford it if something goes wrong. Therefore, even though Teng Sanshi, Xiao Zhirou, and Qin Ku were dissatisfied with Xie Xuan's "repeated orders", they did not say much. As for others... For example, we are insignificant and our words are useless."

"This...are they treating us as outsiders?" Abaolu shouted in anger, "They are sneaking around like this, can't they let it be seen in public? It's really confusing..."

As if Abaolu's shouting disturbed his thoughts, Xunzhen's face darkened and his tone was quite unhappy: "What don't you understand?"

"Qingfeng is dead, and the situation is set. Right now, everyone is trying to curry favor with Liu Xunyi, so who else would harm him? What 'forbidden land within a forbidden land' is simply unreasonable."

Hearing this, Xunzhen, who was about to scold him, suddenly changed his expression and asked calmly, "What exactly do you want to say?"

"I want to say... the current situation is much more stable than before. Xie Xuan, who always likes to take risks, suddenly put on an attitude as if he was facing a great enemy. Who is he... guarding against?"

"hiss!"

As soon as Abaolu said this, the expressions of Hong Si, Xiao Yang and others suddenly changed.

"Good question!" Abaolu's words cleared up the doubts that had been lingering in his mind, and Xunzhen's thoughts suddenly became clear. He asked with approval, "In your opinion, who is Xie Xuan on guard against?"

"I feel that... the 'big fanfare' outside is just a cover. The person Xie Xuan really wants to guard against is not outside Danfeng Garden, but... inside the garden."

"This..." Hong Si was stunned and said in astonishment, "No way? Those who can enter Danfeng Garden are all 'our own people'..."

"Just now at the Bluestone Square, didn't you feel the undercurrent?" Before Abaolu could explain, Xunzhen, who had suddenly come to his senses, spoke quietly, "As the saying goes, 'You can guard against thieves at home even if you guard against them day and night.' Now, what Xie Xuan fears most is not foreign invasion, but sudden changes. Therefore, he deliberately set up such a big battle to guard against... his own people."

……

(End of this chapter)