Chapter 277 A false alarm

The dungeon of Prince Xian's Mansion was actually a storage room half-hidden underground. Luo Tianjin ordered it to be vacated and it was used exclusively for disciples who made mistakes to reflect on their mistakes.

There were four stone walls, an iron door, a dilapidated square table, a lame wooden chair, and a dirty and smelly toilet in the corner. Apart from that, there was nothing else.

Because it is in a dark and damp environment all year round, the dungeon is filled with a strong smell of decay and mold, which makes people feel nauseous.

"Crack! Squeak!"

Suddenly, the copper lock rang and the iron door opened. Luo Tianjin and Ling Xiaoxiao walked into the dungeon one after another.

At this moment, Liu Xunyi was sitting at the table thoughtfully, staring at the flickering candle flame the size of a soybean without blinking. In the dim light, his expression looked even more gloomy.

The musty smell made Ling Xiaoxiao frown slightly, and then she covered her mouth and nose with her hands and stepped aside. On the other hand, Luo Tianjin was walking towards Liu Xunyi.

"Master? Madam?" Liu Xunyi was stunned at first, then quickly stood up and saluted.

“Forget it!” Luo Tianjin waved his hand nonchalantly, and at the same time, he lowered himself to sit on the chair, and said in a low and frightening tone, “Liu Xunyi, in just a few days, I have thought of killing you at least ten times!”

"Yes." Liu Xunyi felt sad and had a complicated expression, but he didn't dare to refute rashly.

Luo Tianjin stared at the timid Liu Xunyi with expressionless eyes. After a long while, he suddenly sighed and said, "But after thinking about it, I still can't kill you. Even for Yu'er, I can't put you to death."

"The great kindness of the mansion master and the young lady will never be forgotten by Liu Xunyi!"

"Unforgettable?" Luo Tianjin sneered, "That day in the Qin family martial arts field, you had already thrown my kindness to the winds, how can you say that you will never forget it?"

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi's body trembled, and he quickly apologized: "I was confused for a moment, I hope the Palace Master will forgive me."

Luo Tianjin taunted, "You are not confused, I am! If I were not confused, how could I indulge you again and again? Liu Xunyi, are you sure that I really don't dare to kill you? I tolerate you time and time again, but in return you contradict me again and again, ignore me again and again, and even betray me! You have no rules in your eyes, you do things lawless, and you are getting worse and worse. In my opinion, in your eyes, I, the lord of the house, am simply a figurehead and have no dignity at all!"

"I don't dare!"

Liu Xunyi was so frightened that his face turned pale. He fell to his knees with a plop and said in defense, "My life was given by the mansion master. I would never dare to overstep my authority in the slightest."

"Stand up!" Luo Tianjin said sternly, "I didn't see you being so obedient in Xijing, why are you pretending to be so now?"

"I……"

"stand up!"

Faced with Luo Tianjin's order, Liu Xunyi did not dare to disobey and could only stand up slowly, looking trembling with fear and trepidation.

"Liu Xunyi, I originally wanted to lock you up for life, so that you would never be able to get out in this life. But I couldn't resist the pleadings of those people outside the dungeon who were bribed by you." Having said that, Luo Tianjin couldn't help but let out a bitter sigh.

Ling Xiaoxiao already knew Luo Tianjin's "helplessness". He came to visit Liu Xunyi not because he was forced to do so, but to take advantage of the situation.

In fact, in Luo Tianjin's heart, he had never thought of imprisoning Liu Xunyi for life.

"Let me ask you a few questions." Luo Tianjin changed the subject and said bluntly, "If you answer well, I will give you another chance and let you go, and you can make amends in the future. But if you answer poorly, I will lock you up here for ten years! After ten years, you will be expelled from the Xianwang Mansion and will never be used again."

"hiss!"

As soon as these words came out, Liu Xunyi's heart was shocked, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. However, he thought hard for a long time, but still couldn't get the point, so he asked anxiously: "I wonder what the mansion master wants to ask?"

"What do you think of what happened at the Qin Family Martial Arts Field on the second day of August?"

"August 2?" Liu Xunyi was startled when he heard this, and his heart, which had been hanging high, was immediately relieved. He thought Luo Tianjin wanted to ask about his origins, so he was a little panicked just now.

Liu Xunyi looked suspicious and asked tentatively: "I wonder what the mansion master is asking..."

Luo Tianjin got straight to the point and said, "What do you think of Shen Dongshan? What do you think of Jin Fuyu? What do you think of the leaders of the six major sects and the four major families? What do you think of me, the Palace Master?"

Hearing this, a strange gleam flashed in Liu Xunyi's eyes. Then, under Ling Xiaoxiao's curious and nervous gaze, he slowly said, "In my humble opinion, I dare to speculate that Mr. Shen's offer of amnesty for the court was fake, and he teamed up with the Palace Master to put on a show... that's the real reason!"

"hiss!"

Just this one sentence made Ling Xiaoxiao's face instantly become interesting.

"Keep talking!"

"As I expected, the mansion master and Master Shen have probably already discussed everything in secret." Liu Xunyi pondered, "Master Shen knew that if he directly proposed to nominate the leader of the martial arts world, he would definitely be strongly opposed by the martial arts heroes. In the end, not only would he not be able to achieve his wish, but it would be counterproductive. Therefore, he deliberately staged a good show of recruiting in the name of the court, and through this farce, he deeply imprinted the imminent situation of the Central Plains martial arts world in the hearts of the martial arts heroes, paving the way for everything that happened later."

Hearing this, Luo Tianjin suddenly laughed and nodded, "Go on!"

"As for Master Jin, I guess he also received some rumors in advance, otherwise he would never agree so readily." Liu Xunyi's eyes flickered, and he analyzed quietly, "I suspect that there seems to be some hidden secrets between Master Jin and Mr. Shen. Therefore, the good show on the second day of August seemed to be performed by Mr. Shen alone, but in fact it was performed by three people. Mr. Shen, the Lord of the Mansion, and Master Jin. It's just that..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that the Palace Master and the Golden Dock Master are not of the same mind, they just take what they need." Liu Xunyi continued, "As for Mr. Shen, he is just a chess piece for you to contain the other party." "From what you said..." Luo Tianjin asked suspiciously, "It seems that we should not restore the system of the leader of the martial arts world?"

"No!" Liu Xunyi shook his head and said, "Whether to nominate a leader of the martial arts world? It's not important. What's important is that the real situation right now is far less critical than what Master Shen said."

"How do you say this?"

Liu Xunyi smiled bitterly and said, "Master Shen said that Sui Zuoding would falsely accuse us of plotting a rebellion to the Mongolian court, and the Mongolian Khan would march south to wipe out all the factions in the Central Plains... These words sound reasonable, but in fact they are extremely absurd. This is absolutely impossible!"

"Why?"

"If the Mongolian Khan could really lead his army south, why would the three northern religions have to go to so much trouble again and again? Why would they seek amnesty from the palace lord? Why would they covet the Central Plains martial arts world? Why would they let us cooperate with them from the inside and outside?" Liu Xunyi sneered, "In the final analysis, the Mongolian court has no intention of launching a large-scale invasion to the south, let alone the power to do so. That's why the Mongolian Khan handed the matter over to Yan Wuji, asking him to use underworld means to win us over and corrupt us, so that the various factions in the Central Plains can become the new force of the Mongolian court. Therefore, the Mongolian court is now too busy trying to win us over, so how could it tear its face with us? If so, wouldn't it force us to join forces with the Song Dynasty court, fight to the death, and fight to the end? Unless the Mongolian Khan is a fool, he will never do such a stupid thing to bring trouble upon himself."

“That’s true!”

"Why did Su He suddenly appear at the Qin family? Why would he rather risk his own life to stop the war? The reason was not because of loyalty, but because he could see the overall situation and knew the real intentions of the Mongolian Khan." Liu Xunyi said, "Sui Zuo is just a general. How much can he know about the overall plan of the Mongolian court? Therefore, he only knows one side of the story, and the reason why he suddenly appeared at the Qin family is, as I expected..."

"how?"

“Perhaps someone deliberately tipped off Sui Zuo and asked him to bring his troops here to put pressure on the martial arts heroes.” Liu Xunyi speculated.

"You mean... Shen Dongshan?" Luo Tianjin raised his eyebrows and asked in a mysterious tone.

"Yes!" Liu Xunyi said frankly, "Mr. Shen's move may seem risky, but in fact it is helping him create a sense of crisis for the martial arts heroes. Therefore, even if Su He did not show up that day, Mr. Shen would have come up with other ways to deal with it and eventually let Long Yu and others go. No matter what, the final result will not change, but Su He's appearance makes this scene... become more real."

"What do you think of governing the north and south?"

"It seems that the mansion master is at a disadvantage, but in fact he is giving up small things for big things." Liu Xunyi said seriously, "What the mansion master really wants is not just a title of a person in charge, so you don't care about the little gains and losses in front of you."

"Oh?" Luo Tianjin stared at Liu Xunyi with interest and asked with pretended curiosity, "Then what do I really want?"

"The throne of the leader of the martial world!" Liu Xunyi said bluntly, "The heart of the mansion master is not in the north and south, but in the world! And Jin Fuyu also has the same ambition! That's why the two of you cooperated with Master Shen in acting and fully supported the matter of recommending the leader of the martial world."

Until this moment, Ling Xiaoxiao finally figured out what Luo Tianjin meant by his comment on Luo Hongxuan. Although Luo Hongxuan and Liu Xunyi witnessed everything that happened in the Qin family on the second day of August, the "truth" they saw was completely different.

In some cases, a slight mistake can lead to a huge error. Luo Tianjin's evaluation was absolutely correct. Luo Hongxuan's vision and mind were indeed far behind Liu Xunyi's.

Ling Xiaoxiao looked at Luo Tianjin and Liu Xunyi with complicated eyes, and suddenly an indescribable bitterness surged in her heart.

At this moment, Luo Tianjin looked at Liu Xunyi with a mixture of love and hate, but deep down he could not hide his admiration. This kind of eager and expectant look had never appeared when he was teaching Luo Hongxuan.

Ling Xiaoxiao's heart was filled with conflicting feelings. In a trance, she actually felt that the two people in front of her were more like a father and son who supported each other.

And Luo Tianjin's biological son Luo Hongxuan has become an outsider at this moment.

"Liu Xunyi, I finally understand why Brother Jin has a special liking for you. You really have some abilities." Ling Xiaoxiao said sincerely.

"Madam, you are too kind. It is just my conjecture and I have no real evidence." Liu Xunyi said modestly.

Luo Tianjin raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "In your opinion, did Master Shen secretly communicate with Jin Fuyu? Did he inform Sui Zuo about it? In his heart, does he want to help me? Or Jin Fuyu?"

"This..." Liu Xunyi was embarrassed and smiled bitterly, "The Lord of the Palace should not ask me about this matter, but should ask Master Shen. If my guess is correct, Master Shen will come to visit soon."

"Why?" Ling Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"During this trip to Xijing, Mr. Shen did not hesitate to bear the infamy of being a lackey of the imperial court to help the mansion master achieve his wish of restoring the system of the leader of the martial arts world." Liu Xunyi smiled faintly, "Madam, why not think about it, is there anyone in the world who just works hard and does not ask for wages? What's more, this person is also a careful businessman, and the best businessman in the world."

"Ha ha……"

Hearing this, Luo Tianjin and Liu Xunyi couldn't help but laugh at each other. After thinking about it for a while, Ling Xiaoxiao suddenly realized it and smiled bitterly.

"Madam, are you satisfied with Liu Xunyi's answer?" Luo Tianjin slowly stood up and asked Ling Xiaoxiao with a smile.

Ling Xiaoxiao smiled bitterly and said nothing, thinking to herself: "Brother Jin, you kindly invited me here because you wanted me to release him for you. From the beginning, you didn't plan to continue to imprison Liu Xunyi. Now you throw this difficult problem to me, which not only gives you a way out, but also gives Liu Xunyi a chance to atone for his crime, but puts me in an awkward position. If I agree, you can just do me a favor. If I don't agree, I will be the bad guy in front of Yu'er in the future... Brother Jin, you are getting more and more cunning."

Thinking of this, Ling Xiaoxiao angrily rolled her eyes at Luo Tianjin, and then replied indifferently: "Not bad!"

"Since my wife has pleaded for you, I will give you another chance." Luo Tianjin waved his hand helplessly and instructed Liu Xunyi, "Go wash up and get dressed. In half an hour, follow me to the main hall to meet the guests."

"Meeting guests?" Liu Xunyi asked in surprise, "Meeting what guests?"

"Dear guest, Shen Dongshan."

……

(End of this chapter)