Chapter 279 Secret Confession
At noon, in the quiet and silent study, there were only Liu Xunyi and Luo Tianjin.

Liu Xunyi, trembling with fear, looked blankly at Luo Tianjin, who was silently flipping through the book. He dared not to disturb him, nor leave rashly. He could only stand aside with trepidation in his heart. The atmosphere seemed a little depressing.

By the time the incense had burned out, two hours had passed unknowingly and the light in the room had become dim.

Suddenly, Luo Tianjin's eyelids twitched slightly, and then he put the book on the table with a dull look, and asked faintly: "Xunyi, do you know why I don't want to hand Tang Afu over to Master Shen?"

Liu Xunyi speculated, "Although Tang Afu is a disciple of a heretic, when he was in Hexi, he brought the three leaders of the Hu Ma Gang and Granny Taohua to clear up misunderstandings for the martial arts heroes, which can be considered a good thing. The mansion master is clear about gratitude and resentment, and knows that Mr. Shen has a grudge against Tang Afu. If Tang Afu is handed over to Mr. Shen, he is afraid that his life will be in danger, so he did not agree to Mr. Shen's request."

"What is your relationship with Tang Afu?" Luo Tianjin's question was completely unrelated to the subject. Liu Xunyi was caught off guard and was stunned. He asked in surprise, "What do you mean by this, Lord?"

"Although you didn't say it clearly, I can still see that you were actually very nervous when Shen Dongshan asked me for Tang Afu." Luo Tianjin said with a half-smile, "I think you are not nervous about Shen Dongshan, right?"

"My Lord, I am ashamed."

"You and Tang Afu didn't know each other until you fought. You don't want to watch him fall into the hands of his enemies. I understand this and I can understand it." Luo Tianjin waved his hand and smiled nonchalantly, "Whether it's a decent sect or a pagan sect, it's just a name. Among us in the martial arts world, whose hands are not stained with blood? Who doesn't carry a few lives? Pagans kill people, and decent people also kill people. There is no difference in essence. It's just that decent people kill those who deserve to be killed, while pagans kill people without scruples and kill innocent people indiscriminately. I have three sworn brothers. Their Baimatang, Qingfengzhai, and Kuaihuolin are not famous and decent sects. They can even be called 'gangsters'. They often rob people on the road and force merchants to pay tribute, but this does not affect my friendship with them. So, it's the same for you and Tang Afu. There is no need to explain, and there is no need to hide it either."

"The Palace Master is righteous." Luo Tianjin's words touched Liu Xunyi deeply.

"Xunyi, I abandoned you when we were in Xijing Prefecture. Do you hate me?" Luo Tianjin changed the subject and asked meaningfully.

"This……"

"Tell the truth!" Without waiting for Liu Xunyi to evade, Luo Tianjin suddenly straightened his expression and ordered without question, "Don't be perfunctory."

"It would be a lie to say I have no resentment..." Liu Xunyi spoke reluctantly, "At that time, I was indeed dissatisfied with the Palace Master, and even... resentful. But later I gradually calmed down, figured out the reasons, and knew that I had sinned deeply. Everything was my own fault. The Palace Master abandoned me for the sake of the overall situation. It was a wise move to 'sacrifice the pawn to save the master'."

"Haha..." Luo Tianjin laughed, "Xunyi, every failure is a learning experience. I hope you can always remember the lesson of Xijing Prefecture."

"Please keep this in mind!"

In fact, Liu Xunyi's words were not sincere, but on the surface he pretended to be serious.

"That's it!"

Luo Tianjin waved his hand nonchalantly, and then said: "There is no need to mention the past. Now that I have re-employed you, I will treat you as before and will not have any bond with you. I hope you will do the same."

"Yes."

"I summoned you alone because I want to explain two things to you." Luo Tianjin said seriously, "I said explanation, but it's actually a discussion. I've been thinking hard about one of the things for several days, but I can't make up my mind, so I want to hear your opinion."

"Master, please give me your orders. I will do my best to carry them out." Liu Xunyi said respectfully.

"First of all, I want to borrow someone from you."

"Borrow someone? Who?"

"Your right-hand man, Xu Heng." Luo Tianjin said bluntly, "Chen Yong died in Chenzhou, and the 300 disciples of the Death Gate were leaderless, like a pile of loose sand. Now that Chen Yong has been buried, it is time to nominate a new person to take over Chen Yong's leadership of the Death Gate. So, I want Xu Heng to take on this task, what do you think?"

"So good!"

Liu Xunyi was first sad for Chen Yong, and then overjoyed for Xu Heng. For a moment, she felt both sad and happy, with indescribable complex feelings.

"Brother Xu has been the leader of Jingmen for many years. He is both wise and brave, and has a lot of experience. If he were to take over the Death Gate, he would be the best choice."

Luo Tianjin nodded with satisfaction and said with a faint smile: "I have discussed this matter with Di Mo, and his opinion is the same as yours. I dismissed Xu Heng before because I wanted to train him. During this period of time, he has been with you through life and death, and his contribution is not small. I believe that he will no longer be hesitant and submissive in the future. However, you will lose a capable helper."

"No problem! No problem!" Liu Xunyi waved his hands repeatedly and said, "I have Tang Cong and the Liao brothers, which is enough for me! Brother Xu is very smart and brave. If he is inferior to me, it would be too unfair to him."

"That's good! After Xu Heng recovers from his injury, he will take up the post immediately."

After discussing Xu Heng's matter, the smile on Luo Tianjin's face couldn't help but fade a little, and his expression became much more serious than before.

Liu Xunyi didn't understand and said hesitantly: "Palace Master, you said there were two things you wanted to explain, I wonder if the other one..." "Jueqing Valley." Luo Tianjin went straight to the point, with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Jueqing Valley?" Liu Xunyi was stunned, then guessed something and asked suspiciously, "Could it be that the mansion master didn't hand Tang Afu over to Master Shen... but actually had other plans?"

"That's right." Luo Tianjin nodded and said, "I'm keeping Tang Afu safe for now, not because I want to save him, but because of his special identity."

"Identity?" Liu Xunyi looked doubtful.

"Tang Afu is the direct disciple of the Lord of Jueqing Valley and was adopted by him since he was young, so the relationship between the two of them must be very close."

Liu Xunyi was confused and said blankly: "So what?"

"Among the four major sects in the martial arts world, Jueqing Valley is the most mysterious and low-key. Over the years, they have hardly provoked other sects, but they have always made things difficult for our Xianwang Mansion and confronted us head-on." Luo Tianjin said in a bad tone, "But in my impression, Xianwang Mansion has never offended Jueqing Valley. I guess there must be some misunderstanding."

"The Palace Master wants to take this opportunity to find out everything?"

"Not only will I find out everything." Luo Tianjin's eyes flashed coldly, and he said in a cold voice, "I will also uproot the Jueqing Valley and avenge my previous humiliation."

"hiss!"

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi was shocked and said hurriedly: "Palace Master, this matter is of great importance, we need to consider it carefully!"

"Of course! Eradicating Jueqing Valley is something I will do after I become the leader of the martial arts world." Luo Tianjin chuckled, "Right now, I don't want to fall out with Jueqing Valley. But the martial arts conference is about to be held, and I can't let them stand in my way at this time. As the saying goes, 'The King of Hell is aggressive, and the little devils are hard to deal with.' Compared to Jin Fuyu, I hate Jueqing Valley sneaking around behind my back and making trouble even more. Therefore, I want to find out everything as soon as possible and resolve the misunderstanding with Jueqing Valley as soon as possible."

Now, Luo Tianjin is determined to fight for the position of leader of the martial arts world, and his number one enemy is naturally Jin Fuyu. But in addition to this, potential hidden dangers such as the Jueqing Valley must also be guarded against.

Liu Xunyi was confused and thought about it again and again. He asked hesitantly, "I wonder...what the Palace Master is going to do?"

“Looking at the entire Xianwang Mansion, it seems that only you... have some friendship with the people of Jueqing Valley.” Luo Tianjin hesitated.

"The Lord of the Mansion wants me to go and persuade Tang Afu?"

"No!" Luo Tianjin shook his head and said, "Although Tang Afu has a high status in Jueqing Valley, he is not the Valley Master after all. There are some things he cannot decide. If we want to calm this matter down, we must confront the Valley Master of Jueqing Valley face to face."

"Lord of the Heartless Valley?" Liu Xunyi asked in astonishment, "Does the Palace Master intend to let me go meet Lord of the Heartless Valley?"

"That's right!" Luo Tianjin said, "After thinking it over, you are the best choice. First, you and Tang Afu are old friends. Second, you have some friendship with Granny Taohua, and Granny Taohua seems to have a close relationship with the Lord of Jueqing Valley. Therefore, with her as a guarantor, I think the Lord of Jueqing Valley will not make things difficult for you. Third, you have only been in the palace for a short time and have not had any direct conflict with the people of Jueqing Valley, so the grudge is not deep. Based on these three reasons, you are the only person in the Xianwang Palace who can meet the Lord of Jueqing Valley calmly."

“That being said…” Liu Xunyi hesitated, “But I don’t even know where Jueqing Valley is, so what…”

"Although you don't know, Miss Pan knows it very well." Luo Tianjin interrupted, "Pan Yuyin once went to Jueqing Valley with Granny Taohua, so I plan to let her lead the way for you and take you to see the Lord of Jueqing Valley."

"What do you mean?"

Liu Xunyi instantly understood what was going on, and his expression changed immediately. He asked in surprise, "Does the mansion master not intend to release Granny Taohua and the others?"

"Of course!" Luo Tianjin sneered, "If you let them go, who will protect you? Only by placing Tang Afu and others under house arrest in the Xianwang Mansion will the Lord of Jueqing Valley dare not act rashly against you. Otherwise, I'm afraid that as soon as you step into Jueqing Valley, you'll be killed on the spot before you even open your mouth. What's more, I have to use Tang Afu and Granny Taohua to contain the Lord of Jueqing Valley. At least in the next year, Jueqing Valley won't dare to cause trouble to me again."

"I am willing to go to Jueqing Valley and find out the truth for the Palace Master." Liu Xunyi agreed, "But...if the Lord of Jueqing Valley ignores my 'sincerity' and insists on asking us to release the people, how should I respond?"

Hearing this, Luo Tianjin smiled slightly, as if he had already anticipated Liu Xunyi's concerns, so he replied confidently: "If the Lord of Jueqing Valley is stubborn and unrepentant, then you can tell him a message for me."

"Please give me your instructions, Lord!"

"Either explain everything clearly, or come to Luoyang and meet me in person! There is no other choice. If you are stubborn and stubborn, I may spare the lives of Granny Taohua and Pan Yuyin. But I will kill Tang Afu, Feng Wuxin and other heretic disciples!"

……

(End of this chapter)