Chapter 585: Everything is in the Game

Two hours ago...

Qin Ku put a knockout drug into the wine, knocking the defenseless Liu Xunyi unconscious in the room.

While Liu Xunyi was sleeping soundly, Qin Ku left Prince Xian's Mansion alone.

Under the moon and stars, the streets were quiet and silent, but Qin Ku was feeling uneasy and restless.

"You finally figured it out!"

Suddenly, a very familiar laugh came from a dark alley on the street.

"who?"

Qin Ku's face changed, and he subconsciously held the Changkong Sword horizontally in front of him. At the same time, he narrowed his eyes and looked into the alley cautiously.

"it's me!"

With a calm reply, two figures slowly walked out of the alley. In the alternation between darkness and moonlight, Luo Tianjin and Xie Xuan revealed their true faces one after another.

"Master? Second Master?" Qin Ku was shocked and asked awkwardly, "It's so late...you haven't slept yet?"

"Deputy Zhishan knocked Black Zhishan unconscious and wanted to assassinate Qin Ming alone." Luo Tianjin got straight to the point. "With such a big thing happening, how can I, as the lord of the palace, sleep well?"

"This..." Qin Ku couldn't help but flash a trace of surprise on his face when Luo Tianjin revealed his thoughts. "It turns out... the Palace Master has already seen through everything."

"Actually, I've been waiting for you to make a decision."

Hearing this, Qin Ku was stunned for a moment. After thinking about it carefully, a look of horror suddenly appeared on his face.

"What do you mean, Lord? What do you mean...wait for me to make a decision?"

"Besides you, who else can get rid of Qin Ming legitimately without giving others a reason to criticize him?" Luo Tianjin asked with a half-smile. "Qin Ming came here with great fanfare and refused to leave Luoyang City. He was in a stalemate with me, trying to disrupt my plan to promote the 'Zongji'. He was so bold and reckless, and his biggest support was nothing more than my promise to help him recover the 'Xuanshui Xiajuan'. He was sure that I would not dare to destroy my reputation, so he left me speechless and unable to speak out my grievances."

"so……"

"So if you want to solve the problem, I can't do it, and neither can Liu Xunyi, but you can." Luo Tianjin said, "Because you are the eldest son and grandson of the Qin family, and the legitimate heir of the Qin family. It's the Qin family's family affair for you to deal with Qin Ming, and no one can make any gossip about it."

Qin Ku frowned and asked tentatively: "But how does the Palace Master know that I will definitely take action?"

"Given your personality, you won't risk a life-and-death battle with Qin Ming unless it's absolutely necessary. Therefore, you have been keeping a low profile these days, shrinking back, fearing a head-on confrontation with Qin Ming. Is that right?"

"The Lord of the Palace has a good idea." Qin Ku said self-deprecatingly, "It's true that I want revenge, but to be honest... I'm not completely sure I can kill him now. Therefore, I want to wait until I have mastered the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan', and then I will use the momentum of a high-rise building to kill him with one blow."

"Humph!" Xie Xuan said disdainfully, "In the end, it's nothing more than fear of death."

"That's true..." Qin Ku replied without denying it, "After all, a good death is worse than a miserable life."

"Haha..." Luo Tianjin praised, "That's the truth."

"Wait!" Qin Ku suddenly had an idea and interrupted, "Since the Palace Master knows that I am afraid of death, how could he..."

"Yes!" Luo Tianjin smiled mysteriously, "Since you don't want to die with Qin Ming, why did you take action tonight?"

"Because..." Qin Ku stammered, "This matter was caused by me and has nothing to do with Xun Yi. I can't just watch him die for me..."

Looking at Luo Tianjin's unfathomable smile, Qin Ku's voice stopped abruptly, and he said in disbelief: "Could it be that... the Palace Master had already guessed that I would stand up for Xun Yi, so he deliberately wanted to kill him, in fact... to force me to take action?"

"You have feelings for Liu Xunyi, I can see that." Luo Tianjin and Xie Xuan smiled at each other and said bluntly, "You appear to be timid, greedy and selfish. In fact, you are a person who values ​​friendship and loyalty. Of course, it is not easy to convince you to take the risk of fighting Qin Ming to the death. Even if I am the leader of the martial arts world, I don't have the ability to do so. Therefore, I have to find another way to help you."

"Are you 'helping' me, or 'forcing' me?" Qin Kuxin was dissatisfied, but he didn't dare to lose his temper in front of Luo Tianjin, so he muttered softly, "In the final analysis, you can't bear to see your son-in-law get into trouble, so you push me to be the scapegoat..."

"How dare you!" Xie Xuan's eyes turned cold and he interrupted Qin Ku's complaints.

"That's wrong!" Luo Tianjin waved his hand nonchalantly, "Qin Ku, I'm not pushing you to be a scapegoat, but to make you stand out and gain both fame and fortune."

"What do you mean?"

"Back then, Qin Ming used tricks and schemes to take away the position of the head of the family that should have belonged to your father. As a son, shouldn't you take it back?" Luo Tianjin asked, "I do want to use you to get rid of Qin Ming, so that he won't threaten me with the matter of "Xuan Shui Xia Juan" every now and then. But this matter is not only to help me, but also to benefit you, and the benefits are greater."

"The Palace Master wants me to take away Qin Ming's position as the Patriarch?"

"It's not taking it away, it's taking it back!" Luo Tianjin corrected, "That position was originally yours."

"But..." Qin Ku looked worried and hesitant, "But I have been separated from the Qin family for many years..."

"Wrong again! You didn't break up with the Qin family, you only broke up with Qin Ming."

"Even so, Qin Ming holds great power, and everyone in the Qin family is his confidant. How can I just take it away?"

"Of course, a head-on confrontation won't work. But don't forget, you have an important bargaining chip in your hand." Luo Tianjin reminded, "The importance of 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' to the Hexi Qin family is self-evident. As long as you hold 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' firmly, it is equivalent to holding the life and death of the Qin family. Once Qin Ming is dealt with, why worry that other people in the Qin family will not accept you? Just now you also said that who in the world is not afraid of death? I think the Qin family disciples don't want to be restricted by 'short life' from generation to generation, and die young one by one."

"This……"

"Tonight, you use the 'Xuan Shui Volume 2' as a bargaining chip and openly negotiate with Qin Ming. The conditions are 'Xuan Shui Volume 2' and the position of the family head." Luo Tianjin said confidently, "Even if Qin Ming disagrees, the Qin family disciples will be tempted for their own interests. As long as you can shake the Qin family disciples, Qin Ming will have no choice but to agree."

"This..." Qin Ku quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

"In this way, your trip is not an assassination, nor is it a suicide mission." Luo Tianjin added, "but a fair and honest way to take back everything that belongs to you."

After that, Luo Tianjin pointed at Xie Xuan and said, "Don't worry about Qin Ming's large number of people. I will let Xie Xuan lead people to help you tonight."

"Help?" Qin Ku was startled and said hesitantly, "Second Master's intervention is almost the same as the Palace Master's intervention. You have been avoiding him before, so won't all your efforts go to waste?"

"Xie Xuan's appearance is certainly not because of the grudge between you and the Qin family." Luo Tianjin comforted, "but because of Song Yu. I have received news that after Song Yu rescued Ai Mi, he did not leave Luoyang City, but disguised himself and sneaked into the east mansion of the city. Now he is in cahoots with Qin Ming." Qin Kuru was surprised and asked, "How did the Palace Master know?"

"If you don't want others to know, don't do anything unless you do it yourself!"

"So, the Palace Master already knew about Song Yu and his men's night raid on Prince Xian's Palace?" Qin Ku was horrified and asked, "Then why..."

At this point, Qin Ku's eyes suddenly changed, and he suddenly realized: "I understand! The Lord of the Palace has already seen through everything and set up a big plan. The purpose is to take advantage of this issue to put pressure on Liu Xunyi, making everyone think that the Lord of the Palace is furious and wants to kill Liu Xunyi to vent his anger. The real purpose is to use my feelings for Liu Xunyi to force me to take action against Qin Ming..."

"I guess so!" Luo Tianjin answered ambiguously, "I don't like to force people to do things, because the result is often counterproductive. Therefore, I hope you can take the initiative to take responsibility for this matter."

"Is it really worth it to sacrifice twenty-two lives just to lure me into action?" Qin Ku had an incredible look on his face, looking at Luo Tianjin, who was calm and composed, with complicated eyes.

“Whether it’s worth it or not depends on your thoughts.”

"The Palace Master told me everything. Isn't he afraid that I will regret it?"

"I'm helping you, not harming you." Luo Tianjin shook his head and said, "You are a smart person. Now that things have come to this, there is no turning back. Right now, you only have two choices. One, follow my plan and take back everything that belongs to you. The other is to pretend that you have never met me and continue to assassinate Qin Ming. One way to live, the other way to die."

Qin Ku raised his eyebrows and asked boldly: "If I regret it now..."

"If you regret it, Liu Xunyi will definitely die." Xie Xuan said coldly, "Even if the Palace Master is unwilling, as long as the deadline is up, Liu Xunyi will not be able to deal with Qin Ming, and there is only one way to go, which is death."

"The leader of the martial arts world has a word of his own, how can we take it lightly?" Luo Tianjin sighed, "This is a huge gamble. I'm betting Liu Xunyi's life against the friendship between you and him. I'm betting that you're not a selfish person, and that you'll stick your neck out for your friends and sacrifice your life for justice. Do you know how long I hesitated about this? For days, I lost my appetite and couldn't sleep at night. It wasn't until the moment you walked out of the Xianwang Mansion that I felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief."

"It turns out that Liu Xunyi and I are just pawns of the mansion master." Qin Ku felt emotional, with mixed feelings.

"Chess pieces are not meant to be manipulated by others. For example, unless you are willing, even the king of heaven cannot force you."

"I..." Qin Ku hesitated again and again, and finally nodded slowly, "Things have come to this point, I have no way to retreat. I am willing to act according to the plan of the Palace Master."

"Very good!"

Qin Ku looked at Luo Tianjin deeply, and seemed to want to say something several times, but in the end he turned around and walked towards the east of the city without saying a word.

"Thank you, brother!"

Looking at Qin Ku's receding back, Luo Tianjin said dimly, "Qin Ku may seem hard-hearted, but he actually has a lot on his mind, especially when facing Qin Ming. Even if he has the hatred for his father's murder, he cannot erase the fact that they are uncle and nephew, and blood is thicker than water."

"The Palace Master means..."

"I'm worried that Qin Ku will be soft-hearted at the critical moment." Luo Tianjin's tone sank and he whispered, "So, if necessary... help him."

Xie Xuan understood, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

"May I ask the Palace Master, how should Song Yu be dealt with?"

"Let Qin Ku decide." Luo Tianjin sneered, "Qin Ku will definitely find an excuse to let him go."

"Why?"

"I just took the position of the head of the Qin family, and my foundation is not stable yet. How dare I make an enemy of Jin Fuyu?" Luo Tianjin said, "Different identities, different positions. After tonight, Qin Ku is no longer the deputy fan of the Xianwang Mansion, but the head of the Hexi Qin family. He will always put the interests of the Hexi Qin family first. Therefore, he will definitely let Song Yu go to resolve the gap between him and Jin Fuyu."

"Since the Palace Master knew that Qin Ku would let Song Yu go, why did he..."

"I've already let Ai Mi go, so what if I let Song Yu go too?"

"In fact, I have never been able to figure this out." Xie Xuan asked intermittently, "Since the Palace Master had long guessed that Jin Fuyu used Qin Ming as bait to divert attention in order to rescue Ai Mi, why didn't he take precautions earlier? Instead, he deliberately let them kill twenty-two disciples and rampage in front of the Xianwang Mansion?"

"There are two reasons. First, I want Jin Fuyu to defeat me once." While chatting and laughing, Luo Tianjin turned and walked towards the direction of the Xianwang Mansion. "Jin Fuyu has an army of 100,000. With our current strength, we are far from being able to compete with him. In the recent battles, Jin Fuyu has been suppressed by me. Now we have imprisoned his daughter. If he is forced to do something crazy, there is no guarantee that he will not do something crazy. Therefore, occasionally letting him taste some sweetness and defeat me once can not only ease the tense situation between the two families, but also relax his vigilance against me, so that we have enough time... to recruit troops."

"The Palace Master is wise!" Xie Xuan suddenly realized and praised, "I wonder if the second reason is..."

"Secondly, put on a show for Yeluqin and Xunzhen." Luo Tianjin sneered, "In fact, they took the initiative to capture Ai Mi. It seems to be a great gift to me, but in fact, they deliberately intensified the conflict between me and Jin Fuyu. In this way, Jin Fuyu will think that I am the mastermind, thus alleviating his resentment towards the Shao Qin King. I don't like being used, and I don't want to be the scapegoat of the Shao Qin King, but due to the current situation, I can't let Ai Mi go with fanfare and offend the Shao Qin King. So, I took this opportunity to do a favor. Letting Ai Mi go can ease the conflict with Jin Fuyu, and it won't give the Shao Qin King an excuse. After all, in the eyes of Xunzhen and Yeluqin, I let Ai Mi go because I am imprisoned and helpless."

"The Palace Master is wise!"

"Haha... Brother Xie, do you know what makes me happiest tonight?"

"Of course the Palace Master killed three birds with one stone, playing with Jin Fuyu, the Qin family, and Young King Qin..."

"Wrong!" Luo Tianjin looked mysterious and cunning, and said cunningly, "The one who makes me happiest is not them, but Liu Xunyi."

"Liu Xunyi? What do you mean?"

"After many times of my training, this boy finally got the hang of it. He learned to go with the flow and use the opponent's force to counter the opponent's force, instead of clinging to his own principles and morality and going down a single path to the end."

"The Palace Master means..."

"Although Liu Xunyi's experience in the martial arts world is not as good as yours and mine, how could he not detect a mere knockout drug?"

Xie Xuan was horrified and said in disbelief: "Could it be that Liu Xunyi did this on purpose..."

"Alright! It's almost time. Ask Yan Bugui and Deng Changchuan to accompany you to the East City Mansion."

Xie Xuan was stunned, knowing that Luo Tianjin didn't want to say more about Liu Xunyi, so he bowed and accepted the order.

"Be careful, you are only allowed to fan the flames, not to burn yourself."

"As ordered!"

……

(End of this chapter)