Chapter 660: The Beginning of Jianghu (I)

A storm comes out of nowhere, like a bolt from the blue.

On the seventh night of the twelfth lunar month, a shocking change occurred in Prince Xian's palace, causing an uproar in the Central Plains martial arts world.

Luo Tianjin, the once powerful and influential leader of the martial arts world, died tragically at home. The Central Plains martial arts world suddenly lost its pillar, and the vast martial arts world collapsed.

The bad news spread like wildfire, and in just a few days it had become known to everyone in the world.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Ling Xiaoxiao ignored the surprise and suspicion of the guests, and even ignored the eagerness for revenge of the disciples in the mansion, and insisted on her own way and made a dictatorial decision to postpone all worldly affairs to a later date. The Xianwang Mansion was currently doing its best to do one thing, which was to hold the funeral for Luo Tianjin, under the euphemism of "letting Brother Jin rest in peace."

On this day, the Xianwang Mansion was filled with white horses and plain carriages, and everyone was in mourning. Luo Tianjin's mourning hall was set up in the middle hall, and all the disciples knelt in front of Luo Tianjin's spirit tablet, crying out to the sky and the earth, weeping and beating their chests, clenching their fists and claws, and gnawing their teeth and gums.

Grief and anger have become the only emotions in Prince Xian's palace.

Seeing this scene, the guests were inevitably saddened and wept. They knew very well how great a blow Luo Tianjin's death had dealt to the Xianwang Mansion. At this moment, any consolation seemed pale and powerless, so they did not say much and could only accompany him silently.

In front of the mourning hall, Ling Xiaoxiao and Luo Ningyu looked dull and dazed. They bowed and thanked the guests who came to pay their respects like puppets. They turned a deaf ear to others' consolation and did not react at all.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this poor mother and daughter are undoubtedly the most hurt people in the whole incident. The head of the family passed away, and the only man in the family, Luo Hongxuan, was in a coma. Their lives fell from heaven to hell in an instant, which was bitter and sympathetic.

Su Tang, Luo Qi, Lin Fangda and other core disciples knelt behind Ling Xiaoxiao and Luo Ningyu, their eyes red and silent. They were only focused on burning paper money for Luo Tianjin and had no interest in anything happening around them.

Last night, the eight disciples were patrolling the city, so they knew nothing about what happened in the palace.

This morning, when they dragged their tired bodies and returned to Prince Xian's Mansion in groups of three or five, talking and laughing, what greeted them was not rice porridge and cakes, but devastating bad news.

Although Ling Xiaoxiao did not explain a word, Liu Xunyi's disappearance had allowed them to gradually guess the truth.

Just imagine, the Black Handicapped Shan who shared life and death with me and called me my brother turned out to be a traitor who betrayed his master and killed him? How could people accept such a huge change?
Shock, suspicion, anger, sadness, depression, fear, heartache... all kinds of feelings, all different.

At this moment, the complex state of mind of Lin Fangda and others cannot be described in words, nor can it be understood without personal experience.

Since Liu Xunyi is the Black Fan Master, the ones with the most complicated feelings today are Xu Heng, Ling Qing and other disciples from the lower three gates. Faced with the contempt and resentment from Su Tang, Luo Qi and other disciples from the upper three gates and the Zhongping gate, the disciples from the lower three gates feel ashamed, hateful and sad, but they have no face to refute them. They can only bow their heads and shed tears, enduring silently.

The feeling of being betrayed by the person you trust the most makes life worse than death.

Luo Tianjin's mourning hall was set up for forty-nine days. The current General Luoyang felt mixed emotions and was also very nervous for those forty-nine days.

He was happy that once Luo Tianjin died, the power of life and death in Luoyang City would be in his hands. He was worried that the gathering of heroes, most of whom were unruly desperadoes, would bring disaster to Luoyang City?

To be on the safe side, General Luoyang decided to express his sincerity to the Central Plains martial arts world first and ordered all the people in the city to mourn for Luo Tianjin.

Starting from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, there were three consecutive months of bans on red, weddings, prostitution, and gambling... almost all industries came to a standstill, and until the end of this year, it became the most deserted and depressing year in the history of Luoyang City.

The common people were inevitably dissatisfied with this, but seeing that the people coming and going on the streets were all gangsters in mourning, they dared not speak out despite their anger.

During the forty-nine days, people from all walks of life traveled thousands of miles to pay their respects.

First, they mourned deeply to show their remembrance of the leader of the martial arts world. Second, since the Shaolin, Wudang and other martial arts sects were all in mourning at the Xianwang Mansion, everyone came to inquire about the future trend of the Central Plains martial arts world, so as not to fall behind in one step and fall behind step by step.

The mournful and depressing funeral lasted until the 27th day of the first lunar month, when Luo Tianjin's coffin was finally buried by the Luo River with the farewell of heroes from all over the world. Deng Changchuan and Huang Yulang were buried on both sides, accompanying each other until death.

At this point, the funeral of the leader of the martial arts world had just come to an end. At the same time, the storm caused by Luo Tianjin's death in the martial arts world had just begun.

On the twenty-eighth day of the first lunar month, heroes from all over the world gathered at the Prince Xian’s palace.

Except for the leader of the Golden Sword Valley Jin Fuyu, the leader of the Jueqing Valley Xiao Zhirou, and the Holy Lord of the Dragon Elephant Mountain Yun Zhuiyue, all the leaders and patriarchs of the major martial arts sects were present.

The head of Emei Sect, Master Miao'an, the head of Qingcheng Sect, Zuo Hongxuan, and the master of Jiangnan Lu Mansion, Lu Tingxiang, although they had a grudge against Luo Tianjin, due to their status as the leader of the martial arts world, they dared not not come in person to burn incense and worship.

What's more, Luo Tianjin's death was more like a happy event to them, so how could they not join in the fun?

Qin Ku, the head of the Hexi Qin family, and Teng Sanshi, the patriarch of the Xiangxi Teng clan, also came after hearing the news.

Their feelings towards Luo Tianjin were very complicated, neither as "close" as Shaolin and Wudang, nor as "distant" as Qingcheng and Emei. Therefore, they came from afar, and they were the most worthy of the title of "condolences" among these people.

To this day, the real cause of Luo Tianjin's death has become a hot topic in the martial arts world, with rumors rife.

Heroes from all over the world flocked to the scene from all directions, some happy, some worried, some sad, some angry, with different thoughts. But they had a common wish, that someone could explain the cause of the death of the martial arts leader and give the world a clear explanation. After all, the martial arts leader is the supreme ruler of the world, the dignity of the place. Now, Luo Tianjin was killed, and everyone in the Central Plains martial arts world felt ashamed and humiliated. Everyone was ashamed.

Therefore, Luo Tianjin’s sudden death is not just Luo Tianjin’s business, nor is it just the Xianwang Mansion’s business, but a funeral, disaster, and scandal of the entire Central Plains martial arts world, and is closely related to every person in the world.

Therefore, this hatred must be avenged, this hatred must be eliminated, and this anger must be vented. It cannot end in vain or be hastily resolved.

Since there were too many people coming to mourn, the Xianwang Mansion could not accommodate them at all. Therefore, Ling Xiaoxiao ordered that only the heads and family heads of various sects and forces, as well as famous Jianghu wanderers, about a thousand people in total, be invited to the East Courtyard of the Xianwang Mansion for a chat.

In the early morning, thick fog blocked the sun, and everything was white, as if God was mourning for Luo Tianjin's death.

In the east courtyard, the stage built by Wei Liang, Qin Wei and others under the name of a "variety show troupe" is still there. After experiencing a bloody battle on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the stage has long been riddled with holes and covered with knife and sword marks.

But even though it is covered with scars, the stage still stands tenaciously and has not fallen down yet.

Ling Xiaoxiao chose this place to meet everyone, and she also wanted to express her emotions through objects. She wanted to prove to the world that although Luo Tianjin was dead, the Prince Xian's Mansion would not collapse.

To this day, one can still smell a faint smell of blood in the air of the East Courtyard, as if the fight between Luo Tianjin and Zhao Yuan has not stopped yet, and the souls of those who died tragically in the courtyard are still lingering.

"Everyone!"

Suddenly, Ling Xiaoxiao's voice sounded from the stage, slightly hoarse and full of fatigue.

Today, Ling Xiaoxiao looks haggard, thin, and has hesitant and desperate eyes. She looks so pitiful that I feel pity for her.

At Ling Xiaoxiao's call, everyone slowly gathered in front of the stage, and each of them cast their nervous and solemn gazes towards the stage.

"Forty-nine days ago, my late husband was buried here. Today, I chose this place to meet you all because I hope that if my late husband is still alive, he can see so many heroes and great men who are in harmony with him and always by his side. In this way, my late husband... should feel very relieved!"

Ling Xiaoxiao's words were like a knife, piercing everyone's heart, and a faint sob could be heard from the crowd.

"If Lord Luo is still alive, please protect us and help us find the traitor who murdered you as soon as possible, cut him into pieces, and scatter his bones and ashes!"

"That's right! The leader of the martial arts world died tragically in his own house. This is a great shame for the martial arts world in the Central Plains. We will find this bastard and chop off his head to offer sacrifices in front of his grave to comfort the soul of the leader in heaven."

"We will kill the traitor and let Lord Luo rest in peace!"

For a moment, the heroes were indignant, and everyone was talking at once, and the scene gradually became lively.

"Madam, I am sorry for your loss!"

Suddenly, a shrill voice overwhelmed the noise of the crowd. Zuo Hongxuan, the head of the Qingcheng Sect, stepped out and bowed to Ling Xiaoxiao on the stage, saying, "As the saying goes, 'The dead cannot be resurrected.' Although the leader Luo has passed away, his disciples and friends are all over the world. Therefore, no matter what difficulties the madam and the young lady have in the future, just speak up and we will do our best to help you."

"hiss!"

Zuo Hongxuan had a vicious mind. His words seemed to be consolation, but in fact they were ridiculed. He was mocking the fact that the Xianwang Mansion was doomed, with only orphans and widows left, unable to survive.

No one present was a fool, so when faced with Zuo Hongxuan's "rude remarks", they could not help but look at each other, with thoughts surging.

In fact, Zuo Hongxuan stood up to "provoke" at this time in order to see how many people could support the Xianwang Mansion without Luo Tianjin?

"Left Sect Leader is thoughtful!" Before Ling Xiaoxiao, who looked grim, could respond, Qing Feng's voice rang out quietly, "Although Tian Jin is gone, the Xianwang Mansion is still there, and there are still Xie Xuan, Murong Bai, Deng Quan and the eight disciples who are dedicated to assisting us. What difficulties will there be in the future?"

"Haha... Taoist Qingfeng is right. I made a mistake." Zuo Hongxuan pretended to apologize, and then changed the subject and said, "Although Alliance Leader Luo has been buried, his death concerns the dignity of the entire Central Plains martial arts world. Therefore, I dare to ask Madam, who killed Alliance Leader Luo?"

Hearing this, everyone was shocked and their eyes became more eager.

Ling Xiaoxiao looked around, nodded slowly, and said the words she had already memorized: "In fact, even if Sect Leader Zuo doesn't ask, I will make the truth public. Because I can't let my late husband die in obscurity, and I can't let the traitor who killed my late husband go unpunished."

Qin Ku frowned and said hesitantly: "May I ask, Madam, what do you mean by 'traitor'?"

"Don't be afraid of being laughed at by you. In fact, the culprit who killed my late husband was Liu Xunyi, the black fan holder of the Xianwang Mansion in the past!"

……

(End of this chapter)