Chapter 655: Life and Death Determined by Fate (Thirteen)
"Keep someone under the sword!"

When the Wuji Sword was about to pierce Luo Tianjin's throat, an old voice suddenly came from the night sky.

Then, a sharp force broke through the air and hit the sword as fast as lightning, making a crisp sound. At the same time, Liu Xunyi's wrist sank, and the sword tip involuntarily deflected half a point. The sharp blade lightly brushed Luo Tianjin's neck and slashed out.

Although this sword left a horrifying bloody mark on Luo Tianjin's neck, it did not kill him.

"Xunyi, ignore him and kill Luo Tianjin quickly!" Zhao Yuan's eyes changed and he urged repeatedly.

Liu Xunyi was stunned. Before he could react, several white energy shot out from the air again, forcing him to retreat repeatedly. He had to abandon Luo Tianjin and wield his sword to protect himself.

"boom!"

In the chaos, the tightly closed courtyard door was suddenly kicked open, which surprised Zhao Yuan and others again.

Looking closely, I saw Ling Xiaoxiao and Yun Zhuiyue leisurely walking into the courtyard accompanied by Wudang disciples and Longxiang Mountain disciples.

At the same time, Qingfeng led the two Taoist priests Gu Yue and Gu Xing to descend from the sky. The three of them surrounded Luo Tianjin tightly, preventing him from escaping and preventing others from getting close.

However, what surprised Liu Xunyi the most was that behind Ling Xiaoxiao, four Wudang disciples were carrying two door panels, on which lay two corpses, who were Deng Changchuan and Huang Yulang, with holes all over their bodies and covered in blood.

Behind Yun Zhuiyue, there were also two disciples from Longxiang Mountain carrying a door panel. However, there was no corpse on the door panel, but a wounded man who was hanging on his life by a thread and only had a breath left. This man was Xie Xuan, who had fought against Yun Zhuiyue, Shao Yuanqing, and Wuming but was defeated.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Yuan and Luo Tianjin's faces changed at the same time. The difference was that Luo Tianjin's face was full of resentment and unwillingness, while Zhao Yuan's face showed a hint of speculation, neither happy nor sad.

"Congratulations!" Upon seeing Zhao Yuan, Yun Zhuiyue was the first to bow and smile, "Congratulations to Lord Zhao for living up to everyone's expectations and fulfilling the emperor's orders. He has forced the traitor Luo Tianjin into a desperate situation and made an unprecedented contribution to the court."

However, in the face of Yun Zhuiyue's insincere flattery, Zhao Yuan replied with a deeper meaning: "I am ashamed. I have sacrificed the lives of more than 300 soldiers to wipe out Luo Tianjin's followers, and I am still one step away from wiping out the rebels. On the contrary, you two came at the right time, as if... you had discussed it beforehand."

There was something else Zhao Yuan said. While blaming Ling Xiaoxiao and Yun Zhuiyue for being late, he was also taking the opportunity to test their attitudes.

Seeing Zhao Yuan, Ling Xiaoxiao and Yun Zhuiyue treating each other with respect, talking and laughing, Luo Tianjin's rage grew even more.

When Liu Xunyi learned that Zhao Yuan was secretly colluding with Yun Zhuiyue, he felt a bitter feeling of disgust and helplessness in his heart.

"Lord Zhao gained a lot in the battle tonight." Ling Xiaoxiao looked around at the piles of corpses, her tone as calm as water, making it impossible to tell whether she was happy or angry.

"I have something to ask Madam Luo." Zhao Yuan was dissatisfied and spoke in a very stiff tone, "The eight sects of the Xianwang Mansion had clearly been dispatched by Liu Xunyi, so why did Luo Tianjin still find eight hundred ambushes? Madam, where did these ambushes come from? Did you know about this in advance?"

"Luo Tianjin is the leader of the martial arts world after all. He has been entrenched in the north for many years and has deep roots, so it is easy for him to gather some friends in the martial arts world." Ling Xiaoxiao said slowly, "As for the origin of these ambushes... I don't know."

"Are you serious?" Zhao Yuan was skeptical, and seemed deeply dissatisfied with Ling Xiaoxiao's excuse.

"What? Don't you believe me, sir?" Ling Xiaoxiao stared at Zhao Yuan with her beautiful eyes without any hesitation, and there was a hint of threat in her tone.

Zhao Yuan was no fool, and naturally understood the principle that "a man has to bow his head under the eaves". At this moment, his own troops had been almost completely wiped out, and the remaining Liu Xunyi and Qin Wei were also exhausted and seriously injured. If they fought head-on, they would definitely not be a match for the Wudang people.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yuan's eyes softened a little, and he said, "Of course I believe in you, Madam. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths to kill the rebels tonight."

Seeing Zhao Yuan take the initiative to give in, Ling Xiaoxiao raised a smug smile at the corner of her mouth.

"There is one more thing!" Zhao Yuan hesitated for a moment and spoke again, "Madam and I had an agreement before. When I lead people to deal with Luo Tianjin, Madam must hand over the heads of the two remnants of the Western Liao to me. I wonder..."

"I have led people to Xunzhen and Yeluqin's rooms." Ling Xiaoxiao replied calmly, "However, we came to nothing. They had already left the room without a trace. I think... they must have noticed some clues in advance, so they fled early."

"What?" Zhao Yuan was shocked and angry, and asked, "Yelü Qin and Xunzhen ran away? Madam Luo, how could you let these two thieves escape under your nose? What did you promise me in the beginning..."

"Master Zhao is wrong." Ling Xiaoxiao said unhappily, "They fled at the sight of the enemy, what has it got to do with me? Besides, I am not a worm in their stomach, how can I predict everything?"

As if sensing the disdain in Ling Xiaoxiao's words and the toughness in her tone, Zhao Yuan realized that Ling Xiaoxiao's attitude tonight was a little unusual, even... a little deliberately difficult.

After hearing the conversation between Zhao Yuan and Ling Xiaoxiao, Liu Xunyi felt mixed emotions and couldn't calm down for a long time.

It turned out that Zhao Yuan had been hiding many things from him, but Liu Xunyi was completely unaware of it, and even naively thought that Zhao Yuan could only rely on him in Luoyang City.

"No matter what, let's kill Luo Tianjin first!" Zhao Yuan gave in again. He didn't want to argue with Ling Xiaoxiao in vain, so he pointed the spearhead at Luo Tianjin who was in a precarious situation. "If it is delayed until dawn, all the disciples of the Xianwang Mansion will return home, or the various sects will wake up, and things will become extremely troublesome. I think it's better to strike first..."

"Wait a moment!"

Before Zhao Yuan finished speaking, Ling Xiaoxiao's beautiful eyes suddenly turned, and she said with a smile: "Lord Zhao has taken the trouble to come all the way here to help me punish Luo Tianjin, a heartless and ungrateful man. We, an orphan and a widow, are really grateful."

Zhao Yuan was secretly surprised and corrected, "Madam, you are wrong! I dealt with Luo Tianjin because of the emperor's order, not because of your love affair..." "Whether it is for the public or for private. In short, I am lucky to be able to cooperate with you, and I have benefited a lot." Ling Xiaoxiao bowed to Zhao Yuan solemnly, "Here, I would like to thank you first."

"Madam, why are you like this?" Zhao Yuan was confused, unable to guess Ling Xiaoxiao's intentions. "You and I joined forces to get what we need, Madam, you don't have to thank me."

"Master Zhao said it well." Ling Xiaoxiao nodded and said, "You and I joined forces to get what we need, but we have a common goal, which is Luo Tianjin."

"Not bad!"

"Now Luo Tianjin is already in a cauldron, killing him is as easy as pie, therefore..." Having said this, a cunning look flashed in Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes, and she smiled faintly: "Therefore, my cooperation with you will end here!"

As soon as the words fell, the Wudang disciples led by Zheng Songren and Zhang Songyi quickly drew their swords and surrounded Zhao Yuan, Qin Wei and Liu Xunyi, staring at them eagerly, ready to strike.

"This……"

The sudden change made Zhao Yuan stunned. He was so confused for a moment that he didn't know how to start.

Yun Zhuiyue stood quietly aside, as if thinking about something, saying nothing, as if he was watching what was going to happen.

"Madam Luo, you...what do you mean?" Zhao Yuan tried to remain calm and said unhappily, "Are you planning to destroy the bridge after crossing it?"

"No!" Ling Xiaoxiao shook her head slowly, "I'm just doing something that adults want to do but don't have the chance to do."

"hiss!"

Ling Xiaoxiao's words made Zhao Yuan's face change and he couldn't help but take a breath.

What she said was true. According to Zhao Yuan's original plan, he would first use Ling Xiaoxiao to deal with Luo Tianjin, and then get rid of Ling Xiaoxiao. For this reason, Zhao Yuan once hinted to Yun Zhuiyue at the mass grave not to interfere.

However, they did not expect that Luo Tianjin had secretly hidden 800 ambush troops, which not only wiped out Zhao Yuan's 300 golden sword captains, but also killed seven young guards, causing serious damage to Zhao Yuan's vitality and completely disrupting the entire plan.

Now, Zhao Yuan was powerless and could no longer attack Ling Xiaoxiao. But he never expected that if he didn't kill Ling Xiaoxiao, Ling Xiaoxiao would kill him instead.

If the saying goes that when the birds are all gone, the bows are put away, and when the rabbits are dead, the dogs are cooked, neither Zhao Yuan nor Ling Xiaoxiao needs to boast of being noble, because they are the same kind of people after all. It's just that the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit.

"Ha ha……"

Suddenly, Xie Xuan's laughter broke the silence. He was tied up and glared at Zhao Yuan, who was upset and at a loss, with bloodshot eyes. He said contemptuously: "Zhao Yuan, I didn't expect you to have this day! This is the cycle of cause and effect, retribution is inevitable!"

Xie Xuan's sarcasm made Zhao Yuan's face look even uglier. He was so ashamed and angry that he cast a regretful look at Liu Xunyi, who had a complicated expression, and blamed himself: "Xunyi, you are right. I really shouldn't have believed in Ling Xiaoxiao, this vicious woman... I only regret that I didn't listen to your advice at the beginning..."

"My Lord, don't blame yourself." Liu Xunyi said righteously, "I am willing to lead the charge and risk my life to carve out a way for you to survive!"

Hearing this, Qin Wei wanted to agree with him, but when he thought of the current situation and his own safety, he swallowed the words back into his stomach. He wanted to say something several times but stopped himself. In the end, he did not dare to say the same bold words as Liu Xunyi.

Liu Xunyi spoke from the bottom of his heart, and Zhao Yuan was deeply moved: "I was right about you! Xunyi, based on what you just said, I believe that you have never betrayed the court, and you have never thought of colluding with Luo Tianjin."

"Master Hou..."

"But you don't have to waste your time." Zhao Yuan changed the subject and sighed, "The Wudang Sect is full of masters, and the martial arts of the Sect Leader Qingfeng is not inferior to Luo Tianjin. If they insist on hunting us down, we will have no chance of escape."

"But……"

"It was my fault that I wasted hundreds of lives." Zhao Yuan said ashamedly, "Now that I have failed, I am ashamed to face the emperor and the prime minister. It is better to fight to the last man and die for the country. At least... I can leave a glorious name for the rest of my life."

Ling Xiaoxiao ignored Zhao Yuan's sigh, and walked straight to Luo Tianjin under everyone's suspicious gaze. Looking at the embarrassed Luo Tianjin, she suddenly laughed out loud, then burst into tears, and for a moment she was like a madman, like a madman, making others feel frightened and uneasy.

"Luo Tianjin, I really wish I could cut you into pieces and grind you into ashes!" Ling Xiaoxiao said gritting her teeth.

Suddenly, her expression froze again, her eyes became very melancholy, she reached out and gently stroked Luo Tianjin's bloodstained cheek, crying and complaining: "Brother Jin, no matter who hurt you like this, I will make them pay with blood!"

Ling Xiaoxiao's mood was changeable and she was talking nonsense. In the dark and cold night, she seemed even more eerie and terrifying.

"Zhao Yuan, Liu Xunyi, Qin Wei..." Ling Xiaoxiao suddenly turned around, pointed at Zhao Yuan and the other two, and ordered the Wudang disciples expressionlessly, "Kill them all, don't spare any!"

……

(End of this chapter)