Chapter 424 A Leaf Knows Autumn

The next morning.

"Master, please look, these are the weapons we found in the grain field of Xingyao Village last night."

Liu Xunyi displayed all the weapons he brought back from the grain field last night in front of Luo Tianjin.

Seeing this, Luo Tianjin and Xie Xuan looked at each other and said suspiciously: "These weapons are still sharp, they don't look like they were abandoned."

"That's right." Liu Xunyi said, "Xingyao Village has been abandoned for many years and is sparsely populated. How could so many weapons appear out of thin air?"

Hearing this, Luo Tianjin's eyes changed quietly, and he asked back: "You mean... someone deliberately hid a large number of weapons? Intended... the martial arts conference?"

"It's definitely not a coincidence." Liu Xunyi was not completely sure, so he didn't dare to answer directly, and said implicitly, "Huashan Town is neither a prosperous place nor does it have complicated forces competing with each other. Apart from the martial arts conference on September 9th, I really can't think of any other reason."

"Weapons mean killing." Murong Bai guessed, "I'm afraid the people who hid these weapons are not only targeting the martial arts conference, but also the people who participate in the martial arts conference."

"hiss!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone gasped. Luo Ningyu said in horror: "The martial arts conference has attracted heroes from all walks of life. Almost all the martial arts in the Central Plains have come. If someone has ill intentions, the consequences will be disastrous."

Xie Xuan pondered and said, "Xun Yi, you came a few days earlier. Can you find out something strange in secret?"

"Except for these ownerless weapons, there is nothing else suspicious." Liu Xunyi pondered, "In fact, not only we have deployed spies, but all the martial arts sects have sent people to lurk around Huashan Town to secretly monitor the various people coming and going here. During this period of time, there are at least more than 10,000 people from the martial arts world who have come to Huashan to join in the fun. If someone wants to cause trouble at the martial arts conference, he must have prepared a lot of people, otherwise he will not be able to compete with so many sects. But according to our investigation, among the various forces that have come to Huashan, no one has such strength yet."

"In that case, there are only two possibilities." Yan Bugui continued, "One is that the weapons went first, but the troops did not arrive yet. The other is to break up the whole into small groups and mix the fakes with the real. Split tens of thousands of troops into several groups, or even dozens of groups, and sneak into Huashan Town in batches. Then when the time is right, gather the small groups into a tower and respond to the call."

"Could it be Yuwen Xiu?" Deng Quan said worriedly, "He has the imperial court as his backer. If he returns in defeat, the imperial court will immediately send troops to encircle and suppress the righteous men."

"Not likely." Xie Xuan shook his head. "Right now, the Huashan area is under the influence of the Mongols. How can the Song army easily set foot there?"

Xu Heng argued, "Perhaps as the Fourth Master said, tens of thousands of soldiers sneaked in in batches."

"No." Liu Xunyi said firmly, "There are tens of thousands of people in the martial arts world, and there are many of them who are quite skilled. If the court wants to encircle and suppress them, it will at least send 30,000 soldiers. However, 30,000 soldiers are not a small number. Once they start an army in Huashan, it will definitely alert the Mongolian court. At that time, the Mongolian Khan will definitely dispatch the surrounding garrisons to encircle Huashan. The 30,000 Song Dynasty soldiers will be isolated and helpless, and will be trapped in a jar, with only one way to go. According to the national strength of the Song Dynasty today, 30,000 soldiers are extremely precious and will never be easily abandoned. More importantly, this move by the court is not only of no benefit to the Song Dynasty, but also helps the Mongols weaken their military strength in disguise. If you are not stupid, you will definitely not commit this taboo."

"Could it be Jinjianwu..."

"Don't guess." Luo Tianjin interrupted everyone's discussion and said calmly, "It's just a few weapons. Maybe someone is just trying to be mysterious. You don't have to worry about it."

After that, Luo Tianjin changed the subject and asked Liu Xunyi: "Can the white-clothed expert who led you to the valley last night introduce himself?"

Liu Xunyi apologized, "To be honest, I still don't know that person's name."

After that, Liu Xunyi hurriedly took out the portrait of the man in white from his arms, carefully unfolded it in front of Luo Tianjin, and whispered: "Does the Palace Master recognize this man?"

Luo Tianjin, Xie Xuan and others all looked sideways, and then slowly shook their heads.

"This boy is so young, yet he can fight Liu Xunyi and Qin Ku alone without losing. It's unbelievable." Xie Xuan said with emotion, "According to common sense, such a genius cannot be unknown in the martial arts world."

"Perhaps we are ignorant." Luo Tianjin said with a smile, "The martial arts world is vast and full of talented people. How can we know them all? Since he bought the invitation from Qin Ku, he will definitely show up at the martial arts conference. By then, someone will naturally be able to see through his identity."

"Those weapons..."

"It's not worth mentioning. There's no need to mention it again." Luo Tianjin interrupted Liu Xunyi and suddenly changed the subject, pretending to be mysterious, "Xunyi, what did you and Chief Teng say last night? What made him willingly let Qin Ku go? From what I know about Chief Teng, he adheres to principles and is stubborn. He is definitely not someone who will give up easily."

Liu Xunyi's heart moved, and he pretended to be relaxed and evaded the question, "I said that the martial arts conference is about to be held. It will not be good for everyone if there is any trouble at this time. Please ask him to think twice."

Luo Tianjin looked at Liu Xunyi with a half-smile, knowing that he was just being perfunctory, but he didn't expose him on the spot. He just nodded vaguely.

Liu Xunyi didn't want to "make things worse", so he changed the subject and said, "Last night, the mansion master was generous and willing to spend 100,000 taels of silver to help Qin Ku out of trouble. I admire you very much."

Luo Tianjin smiled nonchalantly and said, "Compared with the famous 'Ghost Seer', a mere 100,000 is nothing."

Seeing that Luo Tianjin's words were full of hidden meanings, Liu Xunyi seemed to have an epiphany and asked tentatively: "The Palace Master means..."

"Qin Ku is a rare young talent, and what's even more precious is that he is now alone without any sect or school." Luo Tianjin said with a smile, "You know, all the sects in the martial arts world are eager to get young masters like Qin Ku. Now, you have the chance to become friends with him, and with what happened last night, why don't you take this opportunity to recruit him into the Xianwang Mansion to serve?"

Liu Xunyi had actually anticipated Luo Tianjin's thoughts. Now, upon hearing these words, he couldn't help but secretly say in his heart, "Sure enough!"

But on second thought, Qin Ku had a complicated life experience, and taking him under the wing of Prince Xian's Mansion would be tantamount to going against the Qin family.

Liu Xunyi was alone and didn't care about Qin Ku's background. But the Xianwang Mansion was big and powerful. If he rashly made enemies in the martial arts world, he would be in big trouble and would involve many people. Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but hesitate and said in a deep voice: "Master, Qin Ku is known as 'Ghost Sees Sorrow'. I believe he has made many enemies in the martial arts world. If we recruit him into the mansion, will it be..."

"No problem." Luo Tianjin interrupted, "I love his talent and respect him, so I will tolerate everything about him. No matter how many enemies he has, can they be as many as those in the Xianwang Mansion? No matter how strong his enemies are, can they be as strong as the opponents of the Xianwang Mansion? Longxiang Mountain specializes in taking in martial arts scum who have committed many evil deeds and made enemies all over the world, and it has also been prosperous and thriving. How can a mere Qin Ku control the rise and fall of the Xianwang Mansion? What's more, the mansion has suffered many hardships recently and lived up to its reputation. In the past, there were endless people who wanted to join us, but now there are very few. Right now, the mansion is in need of people. If you can recruit Qin Ku to serve you, it will also be of great benefit to your lower three sects."

Liu Xunyi hesitated and said, "Even if we want to recruit talented people, Qin Ku may not be willing to surrender. If a person is used to being a free and easy person, it would be difficult to let him be controlled by others."

"It is human nature to be arrogant and conceited. If Qin Ku could be easily tamed, he would never have the reputation and status he has today." Luo Tianjin comforted him, "This is not an order, so whether you succeed or fail, you can give it a try."

"As ordered!"

"Also... no one is allowed to make any comments on the discovery of weapons in the grain field of Xingyao Village. Xie Xuan, please stay, and the others can go down!"

They all accepted the order and left the guest room one after another. After a while, only Luo Tianjin and Xie Xuan were left in the room.

"Master of the Palace..."

"Those who come with bad intentions will not come." Luo Tianjin's eyes narrowed slightly, and the smile on his face gradually froze. He whispered, "Thank you, brother, please invite Shaolin Abbot Xuanming, Wudang Taoist Qingfeng, Kunlun Sect Leader Yin, Kongtong... Sect Leader Zhongli to come here in the evening for a chat."

"Yes."

Luo Tianjin's face was solemn and his eyes were complicated. He added, "As the saying goes, 'It's easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark'. Be careful, otherwise even if you become the leader of the martial arts world, you may not be able to enjoy it in your life."

Xie Xuan was horrified when he heard this and asked hurriedly, "What is the Palace Master worried about?"

Luo Tianjin answered irrelevantly and ordered again: "Write a letter in your own hand and send someone to deliver it back to the Xianwang Mansion as soon as possible."

"Yes." Xie Xuan did not dare to neglect and asked, "I wonder what the content of the letter is..."

"The martial arts conference will last for three days. If nothing unexpected happens, it will end on the afternoon of September 11." Luo Tianjin said quietly, "Tell Deng Changchuan to lead his men by water, along the west bank of the Yangtze River, until they reach the border of Huazhou. They must arrive at the bank of the Wei River before sunrise on September 12 to be ready to pick us up."

"Why not let him come directly to Huashan..."

"The situation is chaotic and it's hard to tell friend from foe. If we rashly gather our troops together, we'll be easily caught in one fell swoop." Luo Tianjin explained, "Let him lead his men to wait in Huazhou. No matter what rumors or noises they hear, they must not move without authorization to prevent being lured away."

"Yes."

"The letter should also state that if we still don't show up by September 15, there is no need to wait any longer. Return to Luoyang immediately to assist Ning Yu in taking over the position of Palace Master."

"What?" Xie Xuan was shocked. "Palace Master, how could you..."

"Brother Xie, don't think I acted calm and nonchalant just now. I was actually afraid that the news would leak out, rumors would spread, and cause unnecessary panic." Luo Tianjin said with a wry smile, "In fact, this matter is extremely dangerous and must not be underestimated. Huashan will soon be a river of blood and a mountain of corpses."

"How could it be so serious?"

Luo Tianjin said to himself: "Order Ling Qing to escort Ning Yu to leave Huashan Town immediately and return to the Xianwang Mansion as soon as possible. If she continues to stay here, I... am really worried."

"Based on the lady's temper, I'm afraid..."

"Even if we have to tie her up, we have to tie her back!"

Seeing Luo Tianjin's serious words, Xie Xuan's face changed and he quickly responded, "As you command. But... just a few weapons made the Palace Master go to such great lengths. Could it be... you have guessed who is behind this?"

"Who are we?"

Faced with the sudden question, Xie Xuan was stunned and replied subconsciously: "Jianghu people..."

"He is not only a Jianghu man, but also a Han Chinese. He is also a righteous man of the Song Dynasty who can fight and kill, and is not afraid of life and death." Luo Tianjin said seriously, "In fact, Deng Quan's guess just now was correct. It is indeed the court that is backing a certain hero, and even dispatched troops and generals to leave a retreat for Sha Yu in advance. However, he guessed the wrong person. The hero who fought for the leader of the martial arts world was not Yuwen Xiu, and the backer behind him was not the Song Dynasty court."

In a moment, Xie Xuan suddenly realized. While showing admiration, his mood also became heavier.

"What the Palace Master said is..."

“Yun Zhuiyue, the Mongolian court. Those weapons are prepared for the Mongolian army that is about to arrive... or has already arrived!”

……

(End of this chapter)