Chapter 273: Merchants Talk About Righteousness
The departure of the Mongols made the originally united scene become somewhat awkward.

In the drizzle, the six major sects and the four major families stood opposite each other in the huge Qin family martial arts field. Everyone had their own thoughts and remained silent.

However, compared to the initial incompatibility and confrontation, the atmosphere at this time is much more relaxed and calm.

After a moment of silence, Xuanming coughed twice and spoke first: "The truth has been revealed. The death of the Shaolin monks and the incident in Chenzhou were all caused by Mongolia. Therefore, today's incident... is actually a misunderstanding. I was confused for a moment and fell into the trap of the traitor. Here, I apologize to the Lord Qin first!"

After saying that, Xuanming clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully to Qin Ming.

"Qin is definitely not a petty person, Abbot Xuanming doesn't have to be like this." Qin Ming replied calmly, "But now that the facts have been investigated, the deaths of the eleven monks have nothing to do with my Qin family. But I don't know... Regarding the theft of 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan', when will Abbot Xuanming give Qin a satisfactory explanation?"

"This……"

Qin Ming brought up the old matter again, making Xuanming and the Shaolin monks all look embarrassed.

On the other hand, Xunzhen, the instigator of the theft of "Xuan Shui Xia Juan", was calm and composed at the moment, as if the grudge between Shaolin and the Qin family had nothing to do with her.

Xunzhen's calmness and composure made Liu Xunyi feel a little suspicious.

In the past, Qin Ku appeared in the Lingqiu mountain stream and ambushed and killed a Mongolian caravan. Later, by chance, he learned that Xunzhen and Qin Ku were secretly colluding. More importantly, Liu Xunyi once learned in the back mountain of Shaolin that Qin Ku had always coveted the "Xuanshui Xiajuan".

These things seem to have nothing to do with each other, but if you look closely, it is not difficult to find that some of the coincidences are incredible.

Liu Xunyi never believed in "coincidence", so he was more willing to believe that there must be some unspeakable secret between Xunzhen and Qin Ku. And this secret is most likely the "Xuanshui Xiajuan" lost by Shaolin.

Although there was no real evidence, Liu Xunyi had been secretly observing Xunzhen during this period, trying to find some clues from her to support his speculation.

It's a pity that Xunzhen is meticulous, intelligent, and his words and deeds are flawless, which makes Liu Xunyi's attempts fail again and again.

Qin Ming's questioning caused an indescribable awkwardness in the martial arts field.

As a last resort, Xuanming had no choice but to turn to Luo Tianjin for help.

Seeing this, Luo Tianjin thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "Palace Master Qin, I once sent someone to Yingchuan to investigate this matter, and I did find a clue."

"Oh?" Qin Ming raised his eyebrows and asked, "I wonder if there is any clue?"

"The person who hides in Yingchuan pretending to be Qin Tianjiu and repeatedly causes trouble for the Pan family is one of the Ten Impermanence of Longxiang Mountain, Xu Ren." Luo Tianjin told Qin Ming the information that Liu Xunyi had found out truthfully.

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

"Longxiang Mountain, one of the four great heretical religions?" Qin Ming frowned and said doubtfully, "Lord Luo means that the people of Longxiang Mountain are pretending to be Uncle Jiu and deliberately targeting the Pan family?"

"That's right." Luo Tianjin said solemnly, "I can guarantee this with my life. This is not an empty promise."

Qin Ming asked suspiciously: "So, what Lord Luo really meant is..."

"The person who stole the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' from Shaolin is most likely related to Long Xiang Mountain." Luo Tianjin said bluntly, "If not, I really can't think of any other reason that would make Long Xiang Mountain, far away in Dali, travel thousands of miles to Yingchuan to commit crimes."

"hiss!"

Luo Tianjin's words caused the martial arts heroes to ponder secretly, and also surprised Liu Xunyi.

Luo Tianjin knew that Longxiang Mountain was coming for the Xianwang Mansion, but now he deliberately linked Longxiang Mountain with "Xuanshui Volume 2". This move was undoubtedly to transfer the conflict between Longxiang Mountain and Xianwang Mansion to the Hexi Qin family.

More importantly, to outsiders who don't know the inside story, Luo Tianjin's explanation is reasonable and there is nothing wrong with it.

With this thought in mind, Liu Xunyi looked at Luo Tianjin with a hint of contemplation again.

Before coming to Xijing Prefecture, Liu Xunyi boasted that he knew Luo Tianjin very well and believed that he was a true hero with an upright character. But after arriving in Xijing, within just two days, Liu Xunyi felt that Luo Tianjin's mind was fickle and unpredictable.

Luo Tianjin first sacrificed his pawn to save his master, which made Liu Xunyi see his selfish and ruthless side. Now he is talking nonsense and making it sound like the truth, which makes Liu Xunyi see his other side of viciousness and sophistication.

The more this happened, the more Liu Xunyi felt that Luo Tianjin's scheming was much deeper than he had imagined. Standing next to Luo Tianjin at this moment, he could even faintly feel a hint of coldness and terror from the bottom of his heart.

Qin Ming frowned, looking thoughtful, and said quietly: "According to Palace Master Luo, the 'Xuan Shui Volume 2' is now in Longxiang Mountain?"

"Alas!" Luo Tianjin sighed with pretended regret, "Originally, I had sent people to Dali to find out the truth. But unexpectedly, I received the 'willow leaf copper coins' on the way. As a last resort, I ordered Liu Xunyi to go to Chenzhou, which delayed the matter until now. Blame me! Blame me!" After saying that, Luo Tianjin patted his forehead seriously to show his regret.

"It doesn't matter!"

Qin Da was a reckless person who always acted on impulse. Seeing that Luo Tianjin was being very serious, he could not help but said, "Don't bother Palace Master Luo with this matter. I will take people there tomorrow..."

"Cough cough!"

Before Qin Da finished speaking, Qin Tianjiu suddenly coughed twice, which immediately choked Qin Da's bold words.

Qin Ming hesitated for a moment, and finally cast a complicated look at Jin Fu Yu, who had remained silent, as if asking what he thought.

"Since Palace Master Luo has already found the clues, Palace Master Qin doesn't have to rush." ​​Jin Fuyu said with a faint smile, "Palace Master Luo can say this in front of all the heroes in the world today. I believe he will give the Qin family a satisfactory explanation in the future."

After saying that, Jin Fuyu turned his gaze and looked at Luo Tianjin with a smile, and asked, "Lord Luo, I wonder if what I said is right?"

Luo Tianjin's eyes were like arrows, shooting straight at Jin Fuyu, who was smiling but hiding a knife. After a long silence, he uttered a word lightly: "Yes."

Seeing Luo Tianjin and Jin Fuyu confronting each other, Tang Yuan suddenly laughed a few times and said, "Since it's just a misunderstanding, we can't stay in the Qin family any longer. It's better to end it and go back!" "Wait a minute!"

Amid the scattered voices of the crowd, Shen Dongshan suddenly said, "Everyone, if we disperse today, we will be destroyed in the near future!"

"What?" Shen Dongshan stirred up a huge uproar with his words, and he would not stop until his words shocked the world.

Zuo Hongxuan's eyes turned cold, and he asked back: "Master Shen, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Why did we suffer such a catastrophic disaster? Where did this disaster come from?"

"North!"

Shen Dongshan waved his hand and said righteously: "Everyone has seen the scene just now. Now it is not only the grudge between the Central Plains martial arts and the northern martial arts, but also the blood feud between Han Ren and the Mongols. Today, Sui Zuo dared to mobilize 30,000 troops to besiege the Qin Mansion. There is no guarantee that there will not be 100,000 troops to rush into the Central Plains and slaughter the Han people tomorrow. You are all heroes of the world! A real man should be dignified and awe-inspiring. He should serve the country and the people and swear to protect the country. How can you watch the Tartars poison the Song Dynasty?"

"Mr. Shen, you are too polite." Tang Yuan said, "How can we, the ruffians, interfere in the war between nations? If the Mongolian army dares to invade the south, there will be millions of soldiers of the Song Dynasty fighting to the death. I'm afraid it won't be the turn of a few thousand of us."

"What Mr. Tang said is wrong! How can the eggs remain intact when the nest is overturned?" Shen Dongshan shook his head and said, "As the saying goes, if there is no peace in the country, there will be starving people in the wild. If the Song Dynasty had millions of soldiers, how could it have fallen to the point where only half of the country is left today? If the country was strong, why is it so difficult to recover the lost territory and live in a corner? The people's livelihood in the Song Dynasty today has long been in decline, and the country is getting worse and worse. Once a war breaks out, the Song Dynasty will surely perish! Given the cruelty of the Mongols, when the country is destroyed, the Han people will surely suffer the disaster of national destruction. By then, does Mr. Tang still think that this matter has nothing to do with us?"

"Not bad!"

Hearing Shen Dongshan's heartfelt words, Liu Xunyi was immediately indignant and echoed: "Now that jackals and wolves are everywhere and hawks and dogs are blocking the way, the Song Dynasty is unable to pacify the world. In this critical moment, if we, the heroes of the martial arts world, do not stand up and subdue the demons, wouldn't we just sit back and watch the country fall and our families perish?"

"In public, it is for the country and the people. In private, it is for your survival." Shen Dongshan said, "Let's not talk about national justice for now, just talk about your life and death. Everyone has heard what Sui Zuo said just now. As a general of Xijing, he has suspected that we are plotting something bad and plotting a rebellion. He will definitely report this to the Mongolian court. When the Mongolian Khan sends troops to encircle and suppress us, how will you respond? Even if the Mongols will not march south with a big fanfare, they will definitely send masters to ambush and kill us in secret, just like the death of eleven Shaolin monks and the Chenzhou bloodbath. It is easy to dodge an open spear, but it is difficult to guard against an arrow from the dark. Do you still want to continue to endure the slaughter of the Mongols?"

After that, Shen Dongshan turned his gaze to Jin Fuyu and said loudly: "Master Jinwu, the Tartars are full of tricks. Their strategy for dealing with the enemy has always been to gradually nibble away at them, and then attack them in large numbers when their opponents are in disarray and defenseless. You should understand this better than I do!"

Jin Fuyu was a descendant of the Jin Dynasty, so he naturally understood the deep meaning of Shen Dongshan's words. Jin Fuyu felt more deeply about the Mongolian cannibalism than anyone else present.

Back then, the once prosperous Jin Dynasty gradually declined because of this.

"Outside, the powerful Mongolian enemy is eyeing us covetously." Shen Dongshan said word by word, "Inside, the four major heretics are waiting for an opportunity to make a move. Isn't the Central Plains martial arts world in danger? The most important thing is that even the famous and upright sects in the martial arts world are also operating independently, scheming against each other, and causing great internal friction. In this way, I am afraid that it will not take long before the Central Plains martial arts world will be completely devoured by the Tartars, and it will be impossible for the head and tail to take care of each other, and eventually all will be destroyed."

"When troubles arise in the Jianghu, the Central Plains will be in chaos! Once the Central Plains are in chaos, the Song Dynasty will fall!" Luo Tianjin murmured thoughtfully, "Master Shen's words make sense. Although we are Jianghu folks, we still understand the principle of "the lips and the teeth are cold."

"I'm not afraid of powerful enemies coming from across the border. What I fear most is trouble within the family." Jin Fu Yu echoed in a deep voice.

Seeing Luo Tianjin and Jin Fuyu speaking one after another, all the heroes in the martial arts world fell into deep thought.

In fact, even without Shen Dongshan's reminder, the martial arts heroes had already been feeling uneasy and worried after this disaster. At this moment, Shen Dongshan explained the pros and cons and completely broke the window paper, causing everyone to burst into tears and feel sad.

At the moment, compared with the crisis of the Song Dynasty where the country is destroyed and the family is ruined, they are more worried about their own life and death future.

"It is said that 'one hand cannot clash', but 'unity makes strength'." Shen Dongshan said seriously, "Instead of waiting to die, it is better to anticipate the enemy and take precautions early..."

"Wait a moment." Lu Tingxiang stared at Shen Dongshan suspiciously, and said thoughtfully, "Although Mr. Shen's words were sincere and heartfelt, I heard a hint of...strangeness in them."

When these words were spoken, everyone looked surprised.

Shen Dongshan frowned and asked, "Mr. Lu, what do you mean? What's so strange about it?"

"Mr. Shen is a businessman who only cares about making money. It is rare to hear such high-sounding speeches about 'family, country and the world' from Mr. Shen." Lu Tingxiang speculated in a strange tone, "Forgive me for being frank, but I think Mr. Shen's words are not like those of a businessman, but more like..."

"More like what?"

"It sounds more like the tone of an official." Lu Tingxiang sneered, "Master Shen, I wonder if what I said is right?"

"hiss!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the martial arts heroes looking at Shen Dongshan suddenly turned into contempt.

Facing Shen Dongshan, who looked solemn and hesitant, Qin Ming urged him impatiently, "Master Shen, you just said so many great truths, what is your purpose? Please tell me frankly! Also, you suddenly came to visit today, claiming to be entrusted by someone, I wonder who entrusted you?"

It was not until this moment that everyone suddenly realized that Shen Dongshan's uninvited visit was indeed a bit strange.

On the other hand, Shen Dongshan's eyes began to become vague and his expression became more and more embarrassed.

"I felt it was a bit strange just now, but I didn't dare to say it." Zhongli Mu said jokingly, "Master Shen has always been seeking 'profit', why is he suddenly talking about 'righteousness' today?"

"Mr. Shen, please be frank!" Luo Tianjin asked with a serious look.

"Now that things have come to this... I don't want to beat around the bush any more! Everyone, look, what is this?"

Shen Dongshan made up his mind, reached into his arms, fumbled around for a while, and then took out a square object.

"This is……"

When they saw this thing, everyone was confused. Only Liu Xunyi's doubtful eyes suddenly burst into an indescribable look of horror.

This thing is the official seal of the Song Dynasty court.

……

(End of this chapter)