Chapter 639: Secretive Action
December 6th, afternoon.

In Ling Xiaoxiao's room, Qingfeng seemed to have aged dozens of years in an instant, with a sad and exhausted face.

Just now, Ling Xiaoxiao had revealed to Qingfeng her plan to join forces with Zhao Yuan. Qingfeng felt mixed emotions and was extremely upset after hearing this.

He originally thought that the conflict between Ling Xiaoxiao and Luo Tianjin was just an emotional one, but he did not expect that the two of them were so incompatible that they were in a desperate situation.

Although Qingfeng was dissatisfied with Luo Tianjin, the two of them were, after all, master and disciple, as well as father-in-law and son-in-law. Decades of cultivation and support had been exchanged for such an ending, which really made Qingfeng sad and sighed.

Regardless of Luo Tianjin's current status as the leader of the martial arts world, his close ties with Wudang are enough to make Qingfeng hesitate and unable to kill him.

On one side is his beloved disciple whom he personally trained, and on the other side is his precious daughter. Both the palms and the backs of his hands are made of flesh, and it hurts to hurt either of them.

Today, Qingfeng is undoubtedly facing the most difficult decision in his life. He cannot bear to put his beloved disciple to death, nor can he bear to hurt his daughter.

For a moment, I was in a dilemma and felt very conflicted.

"Dad, are you willing to help me?" Facing the hesitant Qingfeng, Ling Xiaoxiao asked again, "Now that things have come to this, I have no choice."

"Xiaoxiao, is this matter... really impossible to ease?" Qingfeng said worriedly, "As the saying goes, 'husband and wife never have grudges overnight'. You and Tianjin have been married for many years, and your children have grown up. How can you act on impulse? Moreover, this matter is very serious. Daddy doesn't want your children to hate you in the future, and I don't want you to regret it for the rest of your life because of a momentary impulse."

"If Luo Tianjin was willing to think of our old friendship, why would I resort to such a desperate measure?" Ling Xiaoxiao said in despair, "It's not that I am cruel and ruthless and will not let Luo Tianjin live, but he wants to force me into a desperate situation. If I am soft-hearted, my end will only be more miserable. As for Xuan'er and Yu'er, sooner or later they will understand my difficulties."

"Of course, Dad understands your situation. Every word in your letter is written with tears and full of bitterness. Dad knows that you must have suffered a lot of injustice in the Xianwang Mansion." Qingfeng sighed, "Before coming here, Dad was already full of resentment. I wanted to vent my anger for you and teach Luo Tianjin, the ungrateful and bad disciple, a lesson. I hope to scold him and wake him up so that you and your wife can reconcile. But unexpectedly... the situation is so serious that the two of you have reached a situation where you can't tolerate each other. Alas! Today, it seems that you have become as hard as stone. It is completely unnecessary for Dad to teach Luo Tianjin a lesson."

"That's right!" Ling Xiaoxiao said stubbornly, "He is now beyond help. The only way out is death."

"But... can you really do it?"

"Why not?" Ling Xiaoxiao asked angrily, "Dad is so hesitant, could it be that he can't bear to make an enemy of your beloved disciple? If you are unwilling to help me, you can just stand by and watch, and let me solve it myself..."

"How could Dad not help you?" Qingfeng's face changed, and he said hurriedly, "I promised your mother that I would take care of you for the rest of your life, and would not let anyone bully you or let you suffer any grievances. Dad keeps his word and will never let your mother down..."

"If my mother were still alive, I wouldn't be so ashamed to cry. At least... I would have someone to confide in."

"Xiaoxiao, stop talking! You are my only daughter. Even if my reputation is ruined and I am condemned by thousands of people in the future, I will definitely help you to the end..."

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Before he could finish his words, there was a knock on the closed door.

"Who?"

"Master, Senior Sister, I am Zheng Songren."

"Come in and talk."

"squeak!"

With a slight sound, the door opened and Zheng Songren, looking anxious, walked quickly into the room.

Qingfeng relaxed his mind, the worry on his face disappeared, and he asked, "Songren, what's the matter?"

Zheng Songren bowed to Qingfeng first, then cast a hesitant look at Ling Xiaoxiao and said hesitantly: "Senior Sister, Shunxi just sent a message."

Hearing this, Qingfeng and Ling Xiaoxiao's faces changed at the same time, and they asked in unison: "What news?"

"Zhao Yuanrang Shunxi told Senior Sister that everything is ready now, and the decision will depend on...on..." Having said this, Zheng Songren suddenly became hesitant, as if he was unable to speak.

At this moment, Qingfeng and Ling Xiaoxiao were both very nervous, and their eyes trembled slightly when they looked at Zheng Songren.

"Why? Tell me!"

"Zhao Yuan decided to take action late at night on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month." Zheng Songren made up his mind and said quickly, "That is, late at night tomorrow. He asked Senior Sister to make preparations early and act according to the plan."

"Hiss!" As soon as these words came out, Qingfeng took a deep breath and his face turned ugly. He had just arrived in Luoyang City not long ago and had only a vague understanding of the whole matter. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yuan was already ready to take action. From the beginning to the end, Qingfeng had no time to carefully consider the pros and cons of it, and he was forced to join the camp that opposed Luo Tianjin.

This feeling of being led by the nose made Qingfeng extremely uncomfortable and uneasy.

Ling Xiaoxiao also had an unpleasant look on her face. Although she had expected this, when this day really came, she still felt a little uneasy.

"Xiaoxiao, once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. Have you...really decided?" Qingfeng frowned, his heart in turmoil, and spoke incoherently, "You know, once this matter is decided, not only you and Zhao Yuan will not be able to turn back, but even Dad...will not be able to turn back. Either don't do it, or if you do it, you must cut the grass and root it out, so as not to leak the news and bring about a horrible disaster."

"That's right!" Zheng Songren agreed. "Once this matter is leaked, the Wudang sect's reputation will be greatly damaged, and Master and Senior Sister will become the target of public criticism. After all, Luo Tianjin is the leader of the martial arts world. To attack him is undoubtedly to declare war on the entire Central Plains martial arts world..."

"That's why we have to do it cleanly and without leaving any evidence behind." Ling Xiaoxiao said without a doubt, "I have already taken the first step. Even if I regret it now, Luo Tianjin will not let me go, and Zhao Yuan will not let me go. Therefore, I have to go all out and persevere to the end."

"Xiaoxiao, at this point, you must not hide anything from your father!" Qingfeng said seriously, "You must tell me your true feelings. Do you really believe in Zhao Yuan's promise?"

"Of course not!" Ling Xiaoxiao sneered, "Zhao Yuan and I are just using each other. We don't really trust each other at all."

Qing Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and praised: "I am very pleased that you can think of these things! What are your plans after this?"

"Zhao Yuan knows too many of our secrets, so after this is done, he must be eliminated as soon as possible." Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes flashed coldly, and she said faintly, "Then, I will put the blame on Zhao Yuan for Luo Tianjin's death, and let the world think that Luo Tianjin was killed by the Song Dynasty court."

"This... may not be easy." Qing Feng pondered, "Heroes in the world are not fools. If no one cooperates with Zhao Yuan, how can he succeed so easily?"

"Of course someone is colluding with Zhao Yuan." Ling Xiaoxiao said with a sinister smile, "But that person is not me, but Liu Xunyi!"

"Liu Xunyi?" Qingfeng asked in surprise, "I heard a little on the way here. Could he really be a spy for the imperial court?"

"Whether he is or not, I will make him a traitor." Ling Xiaoxiao said cunningly, "After the big commotion just now, people have different opinions about Liu Xunyi's identity, and rumors are everywhere. Now he has taken the initiative to propose to send disciples from the Xianwang Mansion to patrol the city, which makes him even more suspicious. Why don't we take this opportunity to add fuel to the fire and make him unable to defend himself?"

Zheng Songren seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "Once Zhao Yuan is dead, Liu Xunyi will die without any evidence. In this way, no one in the world will doubt that Luo Tianjin's death is related to Senior Sister."

"Yun Zhuiyue seems to know a lot of secrets." Qingfeng thought, "But he is a scum of the martial arts world. Even if he makes the truth public, I'm afraid no one will believe it."

"But Zhao Yuan is definitely not a reckless man. If he wants to take action, he must have made all the necessary preparations." Zheng Songren said worriedly, "It may not be easy to get rid of him."

"Do you know why Luo Tianjin agreed to Liu Xunyi's proposal and willingly sent his disciples to patrol the city?" Ling Xiaoxiao asked mysteriously, "Isn't he afraid that Song Yu's surprise attack will happen again?"

"Yes!" Qingfeng nodded repeatedly, "This is also what I don't understand. There are many guests in the mansion, and they are a mixed bunch. He sent all his disciples out. Isn't he afraid that someone will take the opportunity to cause trouble?"

"The reason why Luo Tianjin dared to do this is because he had already left a backup plan." Ling Xiaoxiao sneered, "To be honest, Luo Tianjin and the Young Qin King conspired to rebel. Although they joined forces, they had their own thoughts. He once told me that he intended to secretly recruit soldiers and train a group of loyal and brave warriors for himself to meet emergency needs. Yelu Qin and Xunzhen didn't know about this, and I'm afraid only Xie Xuan and I knew about it in the mansion."

"You mean... Luo Tianjin has hidden a group of assassins in the mansion?" Zheng Songren exclaimed in disbelief.

"I don't know! But based on my understanding of Luo Tianjin, he is cautious by nature. He will never take risks unless he is absolutely sure. At the beginning, Qin Ming came to Luoyang City to cause trouble. It seemed that Luo Tianjin fell into a trap, but after careful consideration, I found that Luo Tianjin was the real winner." Ling Xiaoxiao speculated, "Therefore, I suspect that the Qin Ming incident was a trap set by Luo Tianjin from the beginning to the end, with the purpose of deceiving everyone."

"Could it be that... Luo Tianjin has already guessed that Zhao Yuan would do something bad to him, so he..."

"I believe that Luo Tianjin could not have hidden the secret meeting between Zhao Yuan and I at Xiangyun Silk Shop." Ling Xiaoxiao interrupted, "Since he knew that Zhao Yuan and I had a secret meeting, he should have guessed that Zhao Yuan was very likely to know about his conspiracy with the Young Qin King to rebel. In this case, it is reasonable for him to guess that Zhao Yuan would harm him."

"No way?" Zheng Songren stared with a pair of horrified eyes, and said in astonishment, "This matter has many twists and turns. Although Luo Tianjin is smart, he is only a mortal after all. How can he predict everything?"

"No!" Qing Feng said in a deep voice, "Luo Tianjin is very good at planning, especially at using a series of tricks, which often puts people to death without them knowing it. In this regard, just look at the death of Ren Wuya at the Wulin Conference, which is enough to give us a glimpse of this."

"That's right!" Ling Xiaoxiao said, "Luo Tianjin is extremely smart and thoughtful. He will make full preparations for anything that is even slightly dangerous. Therefore, I suspect that he agreed to Liu Xunyi's proposal in order to lure Zhao Yuan into the trap. I am 70% sure of this."

After a moment of hesitation, Qingfeng's face suddenly changed, and he hurriedly asked: "Regarding Luo Tianjin's secret recruitment of soldiers and horses, can you..."

"Don't worry, Dad. I have never told Zhao Yuan about this. He still thinks that Luo Tianjin only has disciples from the Xianwang Mansion and no other people can be used." Ling Xiaoxiao smiled sinisterly and said cunningly, "I deliberately didn't tell you, in order to induce Zhao Yuan to take action rashly and fight Luo Tianjin to the death, with both sides suffering losses. When the overall situation is determined and the winner is decided, I will ask Dad to lead the Wudang disciples to wipe them out with a high-level momentum. Afterwards, I fabricated Luo Tianjin's last words in the name of my lonely and deceased wife, claiming that he entrusted the Central Plains martial arts to Dad before his death, and Dad... took over the position of the leader of the martial arts world and presided over the overall situation of the martial arts world!"

……

(End of this chapter)