Chapter 507 Imminent
"Report!"

The important matter had been settled, and before the various sects had time to greet each other and say farewell, a hurried report suddenly came from outside the door.

Then, Xu Heng led seven or eight dishevelled, bloodstained men into the garden in a hurry. Before Xie Xuan could ask, Xu Heng could not wait to explain: "Master, something happened in Huashan Town!"

"hiss!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a cry of surprise in the garden. Everyone gathered around and asked Xu Heng what was going on.

"you say!"

Xu Heng pulled a young man behind him to his front and urged, "What's the situation down the mountain? Why don't you report it to the leader of the martial arts world?"

Seeing the young man covered in wounds and full of panic, Luo Tianjin couldn't help but frown and said softly, "Don't be nervous. What's your name?"

"To the leader, I am Pang Xiaohu, a disciple of the Jizhou Mantis Sect."

The Jizhou Mantis Sect is a lowly sect underworld organization. They had no chance of getting an invitation to this martial arts conference, so they were unable to go up the mountain to watch the competition. They have been wandering around Huashan Mountain these past few days, trying to share in the joy of the martial arts conference.

"What happened down the mountain?" Luo Tianjin asked again, "Tell me slowly and clearly."

"Yes! After the martial arts conference ended, we left from the surrounding mountains like other friends who didn't get the invitation. However, when we returned to Huashan Town, a large number of Mongolian soldiers appeared out of nowhere. They killed everyone they met without saying a word. We were caught off guard and could only run for our lives. Even my master... died under the swords. I was running around like a headless fly, and then I met a few of them. It was really difficult for us to fight our way out, so we had to turn around and run to Huashan to ask for help from Alliance Leader Luo and the other leaders."

"what?"

Pang Xiaohu's words caused a huge uproar, making everyone who were worried suddenly agitated.

"Impossible!" Yin Baimei questioned, "This morning, I received a report from a disciple at the foot of the mountain, saying that Huashan Town was safe and sound. Why did a large number of Mongolian soldiers suddenly appear?"

"Everything I say is true. If I tell even a single lie, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!"

Pang Xiaohu's face changed, and he quickly knelt on the ground, raising his head to swear to the heavens. The people behind him followed suit, and kowtowed to Luo Tianjin and the others in fear.

They don't look fake at all.

"When we came down the mountain, Huashan Town was already littered with corpses and blood flowing like a river." Pang Xiaohu recalled, "As I expected, the disciples from various sects who stayed behind in Huashan Town to support the team had already been slaughtered by the Mongolian soldiers."

"hiss!"

Pang Xiaohu's speculation made everyone gasp. While they were feeling sad and angry, an ominous premonition gradually emerged from their hearts.

"Could it be that the rumors are true?" Qingfeng's face turned pale, and he said in a deep voice, "The Mongols really have hidden a large number of ambushes around Huashan, intending to... encircle and suppress us."

“This…” Zhongli Mu pondered, “Right now, the backbones of the Central Plains martial arts world are all gathered in Huashan. If they are really caught by the Mongolian army, the consequences will be disastrous…”

At this moment, it was as if a mountain had fallen from the sky, pressing down on everyone's hearts, making it almost impossible for them to breathe.

Luo Tianjin frowned, and let everyone whisper and talk at once, but he said nothing, as if he was thinking about something.

As the leader of the martial arts world, he encountered such a difficult matter as soon as he took office. It was both an opportunity to prove himself and a disaster that would give people a chance to criticize him.

"How many soldiers and horses are there?" Xie Xuan asked Pang Xiaohu. "There are at least thousands of people in the martial arts world around us. Why don't they join forces to resist?"

"I don't know." Pang Xiaohu recalled with lingering fear, "The streets and alleys were filled with Mongolian soldiers in armor. They were so dense that you couldn't see the end at a glance. There were at least tens of thousands of them..."

"They are well-trained and took us by surprise. We didn't even have time to join forces and were defeated and scattered by them..." another person interrupted timidly.

Hearing this, everyone's faces turned even uglier.

After some whispering, everyone couldn't help but turn their eyes to Luo Tianjin, as if waiting for him to take charge of the situation.

"They have knives, and so do we. At worst, we can just fight them!"

"That's right! We are all martial artists. Are we still afraid of these Tartar soldiers?"

"Even if they are outnumbered, we can still defeat ten of them at once. I don't believe we can't kill them!"

"Here are all the heroes in the world. How can we allow these foreign barbarians to run rampant?"

……

For a moment, the heroes were enraged, their blood boiling, their eyebrows raised, their teeth gnashed.

Seeing this, Luo Tianjin shook his head slowly and said, "Since they are well prepared, it is not a good idea for us to confront them head-on. Even if we can break out of the encirclement, I am afraid we will pay a very painful price."

"It's strange, they were so murderous and relentless at the foot of the mountain, but when they reached the foot of Huashan, they suddenly called off the attack." Pang Xiaohu muttered in confusion, "I don't know why?"

"They want to lure the snakes out of their holes and defeat them one by one." Teng Sanshi pondered, "A soldier knows how to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out and avoid their sharp edge."

"It's not just that! If the stalemate continues, we will starve to death without them attacking us up the mountain." Lu Tingxiang said quietly, "They are surrounding us but not attacking us because they want to cut off our chance of survival."

"The longer this matter is delayed, the more disadvantageous it will be for us. Please make a decision as soon as possible, Lord Luo."

Speaking of this, everyone couldn't help but look anxious.

Qingfeng said: "The Mongolian troops have been lying in ambush in Huashan Town for more than a day or two. Why didn't they take action earlier or later, but waited until the end of the martial arts conference? Could it be... there is some hidden conspiracy?" Qingfeng's words caused everyone to think.

Only Tang Xuan, after hearing the news brought by Pang Xiaohu, had a changeable look on his face, his face changed color, as if he was very conflicted.

"Shen Bing from the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce wants to see the new leader of the martial arts world!"

Suddenly, a clear voice sounded from outside the garden.

A young man with dark skin and regular features walked quickly into the yard in full view of everyone.

As soon as this person appeared, he immediately attracted everyone's curious gazes.

Shen Bing stood with his hands behind his back, neither humble nor arrogant. He first looked around silently, then bowed and asked, "May I ask who is the new leader of the martial arts world? I am here on the orders of my master to see you for an important matter."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes turned to Luo Tianjin who was standing on the steps.

Seeing this, Shen Bing straightened his expression, bowed respectfully to Luo Tianjin, and said, "I am Shen Bing, the head of Huazhou of Dongshan Chamber of Commerce. I am honored to meet the leader of Wulin."

"No need to be so polite. What does Mr. Shen want you to do?"

"My master has instructed me to personally hand over this letter to the new leader of the martial arts world after the martial arts conference is over." Shen Bing answered as he took out a secret letter from his bosom and carefully presented it to Luo Tianjin, explaining, "My master has instructed me that this letter is of great importance, so it can only be opened by the leader of the martial arts world himself."

After saying that, Shen Bing spread out his hands, and everyone could clearly see that the envelope had been sealed tightly with wax to prevent anyone from peeping.

"Oh?"

A gleam of suspicion flashed across Luo Tianjin's eyes, and he reached out to take the letter. Seeing this, the people around him consciously stepped back a few steps, leaving Luo Tianjin a relatively private space.

After opening the letter and reading it carefully, Luo Tianjin's expression changed from confusion to shock, then from shock to anger, and finally from anger to contemplation.

The twists and turns of emotions made people who didn't know the truth feel emotional and surprised.

"Alliance Master Luo, may I ask..."

"Everyone!"

Before the nosy person could ask, Luo Tianjin suddenly put away the letter and said loudly: "Please go back and rest for a while. This matter is of great importance. Let me think twice before acting."

"I don't know the contents of the letter..."

"That's right! The content of the letter is related to the Mongolian ambush." ​​Luo Tianjin said frankly, "It's not that I am deliberately making things mysterious, nor that I don't trust you. It's just that there are so many people in Huashan right now, and I don't know if there are any Mongolian spies among them. In order to prevent the news from leaking, I decided not to make the content of the letter public for the time being, so as not to waste Mr. Shen's efforts. But I can assure you that this matter will be properly resolved, and you will never become innocent souls under the sword of the Tartars."

Although everyone was curious, what Luo Tianjin said was not groundless. Now that the Mongolian army was at the foot of the mountain, nothing was more important than saving their lives.

Therefore, out of trust in Luo Tianjin and consideration for their own safety, everyone agreed and bowed to Luo Tianjin one after another to say goodbye.

After a while, only Luo Tianjin and Xie Xuan's close associates were left in the villa.

"Palace Master, this letter..."

"Murong Bai!" Luo Tianjin suddenly said, "Go and invite Chief Teng back!"

"what?"

"Remember, please invite each other in secret and don't alert anyone."

"Yes."

Murong Bai was puzzled, but seeing Luo Tianjin's serious expression, he did not dare to ask more questions. After receiving the order, he hurriedly walked out of the garden.

"Palace Master, what happened?" Xie Xuan supported Luo Tianjin back to the hall, dismissed the people around him, and asked in a low voice, "This letter from Shen Dongshan..."

"Shen Dongshan said in the letter that on the eve of the martial arts conference, Yun Zhuiyue had a secret meeting with Yan Wuji and Sui Zuo in a dilapidated temple thirty miles south of Huashan."

"Hiss!" Xie Xuan's face changed, and he asked, "Does the letter mention the content of their secret meeting?"

"No." Luo Tianjin said absentmindedly, "But even if the letter didn't mention it, I can guess it. Just think about why the Mongols waited until the end of the martial arts conference to take action?"

"Why?" Xie Xuan thought about it, looking surprised.

“Because they’re waiting!”

"Waiting for what? Waiting for the martial arts conference to end?"

"No! They are waiting for news from Yun Zhuiyue."

"News about Yun Zhuiyue?" Xie Xuan suddenly realized and said in disbelief, "Could it be..."

"That's right! They are waiting for news on Yun Zhuiyue's success or failure in the fight for the leader of the martial arts world. If he succeeds, they will withdraw their troops secretly and let the Central Plains martial arts world serve the Mongolian court. If he fails, they will kill us all to prevent us from becoming a stumbling block for the Mongolian army's southward advance."

……

(End of this chapter)