Chapter 147: Mutual Fear
"Luo Tianjin, how dare you allow your men to go against the imperial court?"

Wang Xutong was shocked to see that the Xianwang Mansion had been prepared. He glared at Luo Tianjin and asked, "Do you know what you are doing? Do you know that you are not the only one who has offended me, but..."

"I know exactly what I'm doing!" Before Wang Xutong could finish his words, Luo Tianjin interrupted him coldly, "We Han people have a saying, 'A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated'. Now you've let your son commit a crime, not only humiliating my daughter, but also humiliating all the disciples of the Xianwang Mansion and all the Han people in the world. Luo has been fighting and killing in the martial arts world for decades, and has long lived with his head hanging on the edge of a knife. Over the past few decades, I have gone through countless hardships and dangers, and have survived countless deaths before I can get to where I am today. Over the years, countless people have wanted to kill me. Do you think I'm still afraid of death? If I were afraid of death, I wouldn't be standing here today!"

Wang Xutong was heartbroken. Although he was extremely sad about his son's death, he knew that he could not completely fall out with Luo Tianjin. At least, not today.

The Mongol Khan once issued a secret order to Wang Xutong, ordering him to do his best to win over the various martial arts sects in the Central Plains after he came to Luoyang, so that when the Mongolian army marched south in the future, he could cooperate with the Mongolian army from inside and outside to create civil strife for the Song court and reduce the resistance of Mongolia to unify the world.

The Northern Sage King Luo Tianjin was one of the people personally named by the Mongolian Khan to surrender.

To a certain extent, Wang Xutong's real intention of serving as the general of Luoyang was not to manage the people's livelihood in Luoyang, but to recruit Luo Tianjin and make him serve the Mongolian court.

To this end, Wang Xutong had used many means, both soft and hard, to persuade, scare, and force, and even wanted to propose marriage to establish a Qin-Jin relationship with Luo Tianjin. But the results were repeatedly beyond his expectations, so that it has become so difficult to resolve today.

What Wang Xutong regretted most was that he took the initiative to help Wang Qingshu and Luo Ningyu get married. Even the move of "forcing the woman" was taught to Wang Qingshu by Wang Xutong himself.

Now that he thought about it, his words had come true, and his son had indeed died at the hands of Luo Ningyu. Although he was not killed by her, he died because of her.

"Your Majesty, calm down. We should always put the overall situation first!"

Qi Tai, the steward of the General's Mansion, walked quickly to Wang Xutong's side and whispered in his ear, "The young prince has gone. If we turn against Luo Tianjin again today, I'm afraid we will lose both our wife and our army."

Hearing Qi Tai's consolation, Wang Xutong struggled with his eyes and slowly took a step back, very reluctantly waving his hand to signal the Mongolian soldiers to put away their weapons first. Seeing Wang Xutong give in, Luo Tianjin gradually regained some rationality and ordered the disciples of the Xianwang Mansion to step back three steps.

The tense situation just now finally eased. For this reason, Qi Tai, Xie Xuan and others secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lord Luo, I know you are a hero of the time, not afraid of power or life and death." Wang Xutong suppressed the pain of losing his son and said in a trembling voice, "I led the troops here today. I don't want to make things difficult for you. I just want to catch the murderer and use his head to comfort my son's soul in heaven."

Luo Tianjin stared at Wang Xutong with deep eyes, thinking rapidly in his mind. Although he was angry about what Wang Qingshu did to Luo Ningyu, now that Wang Qingshu was dead, it was also retribution. In comparison, the grief and anger in Luo Tianjin's heart was far less profound than that of Wang Xutong, who lost his son in old age.

After a moment of silence, Luo Tianjin slowly said, "As far as I know, Liu Xunyi did not kill Wang Qingshu last night. I'm afraid there is some misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Wang Xutong wanted to get angry, but then he thought of Luo Tianjin's identity, so he sighed and asked in a calm tone, "Last night, Liu Xunyi went on a killing spree in Fengming Tower. Could this also be a misunderstanding?"

"Yesterday, my daughter was trapped in Fengming Tower by Wang Qingshu. Liu Xunyi wanted to take her away, but was stopped by Zhuge Xiong and his son. In desperation, the two sides had no choice but to fight." Luo Tianjin said quietly, "If you look into this matter in detail, it was actually the Golden Sword Sect who used their numbers to bully the weak, but in the end they were not as skilled as others, so they were defeated by Liu Xunyi."

"It would be good if Lord Luo admits this matter." Wang Xutong said, "I know that what happened in Fengming Tower yesterday had nothing to do with Lord Luo and Xianwang Mansion. It was all caused by Liu Xunyi alone. I can turn a blind eye to how many people he killed last night, and I can even stop pursuing the matter. But he was ruthless and killed Shu'er. I can't just ignore this matter. Lord Luo is also a father. He was furious when his daughter was humiliated, let alone someone killed my son. Lord Luo has always been very righteous. Why don't you put yourself in my shoes and think about it? How can I not avenge the murder of my son?"

"The revenge for my son's murder should be taken." Luo Tianjin nodded without denying, "But we should also find the culprit to take revenge. Liu Xunyi did kill many people in Fengming Tower last night, but he definitely didn't kill the little prince."

"Palace Master Luo was not in Fengming Tower last night. How can you make that conclusion?"

Luo Tianjin said calmly, "My daughter can testify to this matter, and I believe the other people in Fengming Tower yesterday can also come forward to testify."

Wang Xutong shook his head with grief and indignation, saying, "Most people hid themselves long ago and don't know the details of what happened last night. Almost all those who saw it were killed by Liu Xunyi. How can I find them? Besides, who else in Fengming Tower could have killed Shu'er last night besides Liu Xunyi?"

"This……"

"Lord Luo, why don't you call out Liu Xunyi and have him confront me face to face, what do you think?" Wang Xutong couldn't help but feel angry when he saw that Luo Tianjin was trying to protect him, but due to the current situation, he had to suppress his anger and stay calm.

Luo Tianjin said: "To be honest, Liu Xunyi is seriously injured and his life or death is uncertain. I am afraid he cannot come out to confront you."

"Except Liu Xunyi, I really can't think of anyone else who would kill Shu'er." Wang Xutong said bluntly, "Lord Luo, you won't let me give up my revenge for killing my son just by saying a few words, right? Even if the murderer is someone else, I will not pardon Liu Xunyi until I find the real murderer. As for today... no matter whether Liu Xunyi is alive or dead, Lord Luo, please hand him over to me for disposal, otherwise how can I be willing..."

"Three days!" Before Wang Xutong finished speaking, Luo Tianjin suddenly said, "Please give me three days, General Wang. I will give you an explanation after three days! I want to investigate this matter thoroughly. Liu Xunyi is from my Xianwang Mansion after all, and he just rescued my daughter from Fengming Tower. If I hand him over to you now, once it is publicized, I am afraid that people in the world will say that Luo is an ungrateful, flattering villain who clings to the powerful."

"How does Palace Master Luo want to investigate?"

"If Liu Xunyi didn't kill the young prince, then the real murderer must be someone else. And this person has evil intentions and wants to sow discord between our two families. It can be said that he is vicious." Luo Tianjin hesitated, "After Liu Xunyi wakes up, Luo will personally inquire about it. If there is really someone behind this, I will definitely find this person out and hand him over to the general's mansion for General Wang to deal with."

Wang Xutong stared at Luo Tianjin with a gloomy face. Hearing these words, he felt that they were all Luo Tianjin's words of cover-up. But at the same time, Wang Xutong knew that since Luo Tianjin had said so much, if he continued to hold out, it would be futile and might even lead to another fight.

Although Wang Xutong had a thousand or ten thousand complaints against Luo Tianjin, he was very clear about one thing. With his current troops, he could not compete with Luo Tianjin at all. So he took the initiative to give in just now, firstly for the unification plan of the Mongolian court, and secondly for his own safety.

Wang Xutong is a man of great shrewdness, so how could he not understand the principle of retreating in order to advance and temporarily avoiding the limelight?

"Okay!" After hesitating for a long time, a ruthless look suddenly flashed in Wang Xutong's eyes, and he nodded and agreed, "I'll give you three days. I hope that after three days, Lord Luo can give me a satisfactory explanation!"

Luo Tianjin didn't expect Wang Xutong to compromise so easily. He was secretly surprised, but on the surface he still looked indifferent and said softly, "Thank you!"

The storm ended abruptly with a compromise that was only in name only.

Watching Wang Xu lead his troops away, Luo Tianjin's expression suddenly changed, and he whispered to Xie Xuan: "From now on, secretly block the whole city, and don't let even a fly out."

"What the Palace Master meant is..." Xie Xuan asked suspiciously, "Wang Xutong was not really willing to withdraw his troops just now?"

"How can I let go of my son's murder so easily?" Luo Tianjin said in a deep voice, "I guess Wang Xutong compromised just now because he knows how to judge the situation and knows that he can't confront me head-on today. If we had fallen out just now, not only would he not be able to get revenge, he might even lose his life. But if I were him, I would immediately write to the Mongolian court after returning and summon a large army to attack Luoyang City. Wang Xutong is not that simple. If he doesn't want to fight, it's fine. If he wants to fight, he will fight us without any chance of fighting back, so we must be on guard."

"Hiss!" Hearing this, Xie Xuan couldn't help but take a breath of cold air, and hurriedly responded, "I will send people to monitor the general's mansion day and night. If there is any disturbance, then..." Xie Xuan didn't finish his words, as if waiting for Luo Tianjin to give him an order. But when Luo Tianjin's eyes flashed with cold light, Xie Xuan immediately understood, and nodded slowly with a solemn expression.

After a moment, Jiang Yiwei suddenly asked, "Palace Master, you asked Wang Xutong for three days. Are these three days really for investigating the cause of Wang Qingshu's death? Or... is there something else?"

Luo Tianjin raised his eyebrows and asked in a mysterious tone, "What do you want to say?"

"During these three days, the mansion master is probably waiting for someone, right?" Jiang Yiwei said with a mysterious smile, "Cheng Qiu from Fan Humen will arrive in Luoyang City within three days, and then he will know whether Liu Xunyi is a human or a ghost. If Liu Xunyi's origin is true, then the mansion master will try to protect him, but if he finds that Liu Xunyi's origin is false, then... then he can be handed over to Wang Xutong and get rid of him with the help of the Mongols."

Jiang Yiwei's words made Lin Fangda's face suddenly change, and he hurriedly asked: "Palace Master, Xun Yike just rescued Ningyu, how can we ignore his life and death? If we hand him over to Wang Xutong, won't he be dead for sure?"

"He disregarded my orders and took it upon himself to kill Wang Qingshu. Shouldn't he pay with his life?" Luo Tianjin retorted with a hint of meaning.

"This..." Lin Fangda frowned and said hesitantly, "Does the mansion master also think that Xun Yi killed Wang Qingshu?"

Luo Tianjin narrowed his eyes slightly and said angrily, "Today, we are at loggerheads with the General's Mansion. It is a pipe dream for the two families to live in peace. I expect that there will be a bloody battle between us and Wang Xutong sooner or later. If we are not careful, the Xianwang Mansion will be seriously injured or even destroyed. The root cause is the death of Wang Qingshu. We didn't have a rift today because we were both concerned about each other, and Wang Xutong had to swallow his anger, but I don't believe he will continue to endure it. I am not angry about Liu Xunyi killing Wang Qingshu, but about him ignoring my orders and ignoring the life and death of the Xianwang Mansion."

"But the mansion master just told Wang Xutong that... the real murderer is someone else..."

"That's just my excuse!" Luo Tianjin said coldly, "You should know very well that there was only one person in Fengming Tower who could kill Wang Qingshu last night, and that was Liu Xunyi. Apart from him..."

At this point, Luo Tianjin's voice stopped abruptly. A hint of suspicion flashed across his angry eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly raised his head with a serious face and muttered to himself thoughtfully: "No! There were obviously two very important people in Fengming Tower last night, why didn't Wang Xutong mention them just now?"

"What the Palace Master said is..."

"Wang Qingshu used that bait to trick Yu'er away. Where are the singing father and daughter?"

……

(End of this chapter)