Chapter 752: Heaven’s Dragnet (I)

"Mr. Lu...Mr. Lu? You..."

Ding Qinghong seemed to not believe his eyes, looking at the triumphant Lu Tingxiang, he could not help but let out a cry of surprise. Then, he seemed to be aware of the surrounding environment, and the question that was about to come out of his mouth stopped abruptly, and he swallowed back his curiosity.

"Mr. Lu, why are you here?" Ding Qinghong subconsciously looked towards the second floor, and then asked in a low voice, "Didn't you plan to take action in the middle of the night? Why are you..."

"I'm worried that the longer the night, the more trouble there will be."

Facing the cautious Ding Qinghong, Lu Tingxiang was surprisingly open. Under Ding Qinghong's anxious gaze, he sat at the table as if no one was around, leisurely pouring himself a glass of wine.

Seeing this, Ding Qinghong's face became more nervous, and his anxious eyes kept wandering between the second floor and Lu Tingxiang.

"Right now, Liu Xunyi and Su He are upstairs. If they see you and I sitting together, I'm afraid..."

"So what if he saw it?" Lu Tingxiang drank by himself and smiled nonchalantly, "Since I dare to sit here, Liu Xunyi is doomed to be unable to escape tonight."

"What do you mean?" Ding Qinghong was stunned, and asked thoughtfully, "Could it be that Master Lu has set up an ambush outside the inn?"

"Not just outside the inn?" Lu Tingxiang smiled slightly, looked around the bustling lobby with a sly look, and said meaningfully, "The business of Weizhou Inn...is not as prosperous as it is tonight every day."

"hiss!"

Ding Qinghong suddenly came to his senses and couldn't help but take a breath of cold air, while looking around with scrutiny.

It would not matter if he did not look, but once he did, he was shocked. Before, he had not paid any attention to the bustling crowd of diners around him and had never looked at them. Now, after a careful look, he found many familiar figures among the groups of guests.

Sikong Zhu, Ding Ao, Dong Xiaoer, Lu Yao and others were hiding among "horsemen and porters", or sitting among "rich gentry", or chatting and laughing with "literati and poets"... The diners who seemed to be of all kinds of people and coming from all over the country were most likely disciples of the Lu family in disguise, which made Ding Qinghong, who suddenly realized the truth, tremble with fear and be stunned.

He never expected that Lu Tingxiang was so bold and presumptuous as to weave a trap right under Liu Xunyi's nose.

Seeing Ding Qinghong's speechless shock, Lu Tingxiang's smile became more intense, and he jokingly said, "The most dangerous place is often the safest. Instead of hiding, it's better to show up openly. For many things, the more you hide, the more likely you are to arouse your opponent's suspicion. But if you expose your plan in public without reservation, your opponent will not believe it."

"This..." Ding Qinghong looked at the cheerful and talkative Lu Tingxiang with complicated eyes. He was silent for a long time before he slowly uttered five words, "Mr. Lu, your opinion is great!"

Lu Tingxiang smiled at Ding Qinghong's insincere words and asked, "Brother Ding, have you had enough food and drink?"

"What?" Ding Qinghong was stunned, as if he didn't understand what Lu Tingxiang meant.

"If you are well fed and well watered, could you do me a little favor?"

"what's up?"

"Go upstairs and invite Liu Xunyi down."

"What?" Ding Qinghong was shocked. "Master Lu wants to fight Liu Xunyi openly?"

"Who says that an ambush can only be done sneakily and with fighting?" Lu Tingxiang could not deny it. "Lu and Liu Xunyi are old acquaintances. If I can drink a glass of wine with him and solve everything without bloodshed, wouldn't everyone be happy?"

"Isn't Mr. Lu afraid of alerting the enemy?"

"This is a 'smart snake'. He knows that if I kill him, he will have no way to escape." Lu Tingxiang said confidently, "I will save his dignity. I'm sure Liu Xunyi won't embarrass me."

"But……"

"Thank you, Brother Ding!" Lu Tingxiang urged, "Tell Liu Xunyi that I'm waiting for him here."

Seeing that Lu Tingxiang had made up his mind, Ding Qinghong knew that persuading him was useless, so he stopped talking. After hesitating for a long time, he slowly stood up, walked through the bustling lobby, and walked towards the second floor.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"squeak!"

With a slight sound, the door opened, and Feng Tianba's gloomy and solemn face appeared in front of Ding Qinghong.

"Eunuch Ding, what can I do for you?"

"Where is Liu Xunyi?"

"Master Liu..."

"Eunuch Ding wants to see me for something?"

Before Feng Tianba could answer, Liu Xunyi's voice sounded quietly from the room. At the same time, he came forward accompanied by Li Haitang.

Looking at the bewildered Liu Xunyi, Ding Qinghong's eyebrows twitched slightly, and then he spoke out his carefully considered words: "Just now I was drinking downstairs, and suddenly an uninvited guest showed up. He... asked to see you."

"Uninvited guest?" Liu Xunyi was stunned, and subconsciously glanced at the noisy lobby. Because he had been worried about Zhao Xin's condition for the past two days, he had not thought about his own situation, so he was caught off guard by Ding Qinghong's sudden visit. He asked suspiciously, "Who is it?" "Jiangnan Lu Mansion, Lu Tingxiang!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Xunyi, Feng Tianba and Li Haitang's faces changed at the same time, with three completely different expressions appearing on their faces.

Liu Xunyi is the "protagonist", so his reaction is self-evident. Li Haitang is a man of the world, so he also understands what Lu Tingxiang's appearance at this critical juncture means?
As for Feng Tianba, although he knew little about the affairs of the martial arts world, he had received "special care" from Lu Tingxiang, and therefore had always harbored great contempt and hostility towards this sanctimonious "first gentleman in the martial arts world."

It was not until this moment that Liu Xunyi gradually realized the "strangeness" of Weizhou Inn. Under the gaze of Ding Qinghong, Feng Tianba and Li Haitang, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his sharp gazes were once again cast towards the "peaceful" lobby.

This time, he finally saw through the illusory noise and bustle, and discovered the conspiracy and murderous intention hidden beneath the shouting and drinking.

Liu Xunyi's heart was as clear as a mirror, and he realized that he had been imprisoned without realizing it.

"You should know better than anyone why Lu Tingxiang came here." Ding Qinghong pretended to be an "outsider" and said calmly, "In my opinion, you should go down and meet him. Otherwise, if there is a commotion... I'm afraid it will implicate the princess."

"We traveled all the way from Qinling Mountains to here, and no one noticed our tracks along the way. It's been less than two days since Eunuch Ding reunited with us, and those people from the underworld have already chased us here. Isn't this... too much of a coincidence?" Feng Tianba stared at the calm Ding Qinghong with his tiger eyes, and asked with a hint of meaning, "Should Eunuch Ding give us a reasonable explanation?"

"Master Feng, please don't frame me without any evidence!" Ding Qinghong said angrily, "Since I can find you in Weizhou Inn, how can I guarantee that others won't find out your whereabouts? I was also shocked when Lu Tingxiang suddenly appeared just now. If I hadn't cared about the princess's safety, I would have fought him a long time ago..."

"You are so kind?" Li Haitang said sarcastically, "If I remember correctly, Yuwen Xiu was betrayed by you. Looking at the situation today, it is exactly the same as when Yuwen Xiu was killed."

"Boy, be careful of what you say!" Ding Qinghong stared straight at Li Haitang with his peach blossom eyes, which flickered and were filled with cruelty, making his scalp numb.

Feng Tianba, who was straightforward, ignored Liu Xunyi's dissuasion, suddenly grabbed Ding Qinghong's collar, and angrily said: "Stop talking nonsense! This matter must be related to you."

"Feng Tianba, don't be shameless!"

"Do you think I'm afraid of you..."

"Brother Liu, what happened?"

As if disturbed by the noise in the corridor, a hesitant voice came from the guest room. Then, Su He stepped out with a curious look on his face.

Seeing Su He appear, Ding Qinghong, who was about to attack Feng Tianba, immediately restrained his momentum and cast a cold gaze at Liu Xunyi, saying: "It's up to you whether to go or not! In short, I can only protect the princess's safety. As for your life or death, I have no time to care about it."

Su He looked at the troubled Liu Xunyi and the angry Feng Tianba, and asked worriedly, "Did something happen to the princess?"

"Master Su, the princess is safe and sound." Li Haitang came close to Su He and instigated, "It was Ding Qinghong who led the people from the Jiangnan Lu Mansion here. Lu Tingxiang is downstairs right now..."

"Boy, if you dare to talk nonsense again, I will cut off your tongue!" Seeing that he was about to become the target of public criticism, Ding Qinghong pretended to be furious to show his innocence.

"Is there such a thing?" Su He cast a doubtful look at Liu Xunyi.

"Brother Su, Lu Tingxiang is indeed here. As for whether it was Eunuch Ding who brought her here... there is no evidence at the moment." Having said this, Liu Xunyi looked at Ding Qinghong with a hint of hesitation in his eyes, "But I believe that Eunuch Ding would not do such a thing."

Liu Xunyi was not trying to excuse Ding Qinghong, but he did not want Su He to have a prejudice against the Song Dynasty court. After all, Ding Qinghong was the eunuch sent by the emperor to escort the bride. If he betrayed the emperor, it would inevitably damage the reputation of the Song Dynasty emperor.

Su He nodded vaguely, as if he had no interest in whether Ding Qinghong was wronged or not. He asked Liu Xunyi directly, "Brother Liu, how are you going to deal with this? Do you want me to accompany you down..."

"No need!" Liu Xunyi waved his hand and said, "I appreciate Brother Su's kindness, but the princess's condition has just improved a little. She just took medicine and went to bed. Now she needs to rest in an absolutely safe environment. The situation here is complicated and changeable. I am worried that Master Wuchan can't take care of it alone. Therefore, I hope Brother Su can stay with the princess to take care of her in case of emergency."

Although Liu Xunyi's words were very obscure, the "unforeseen need" he was really worried about was Ding Qinghong, who was difficult to distinguish between a human and a ghost and full of doubts. Just now, Ding Qinghong vowed to protect the princess, which made Liu Xunyi feel even more uneasy.

"I'll go with you!" Feng Tianba said in a muffled voice, "The princess is under the protection of Master Su and Master Wuchan, so it would be redundant for me to stay. I might as well go with you to meet Lu Tingxiang."

"But……"

"No buts!" Feng Tianba waved his hand and said firmly, "We are officials appointed by the court after all. I don't believe that Lu Tingxiang dares to openly go against the court."

Su He agreed, "As the saying goes, 'Don't judge a monk by his appearance, judge a Buddha by his appearance'. If Commander Feng represents the court and talks to Lu Tingxiang, maybe... he will change his mind."

"That's...okay!"

Liu Xunyi reluctantly agreed, and then cast a solemn gaze at the confused Li Haitang, and said in a mysterious way: "Thank you!"

"rest assured!"

The two of them understood each other tacitly. Under Ding Qinghong's suspicious gaze, Li Haitang picked up his bow and arrow and ran to the end of the corridor.

"Brother Su, no matter what happens down there, don't alarm the princess. She is the key to calming the conflict between the two countries. As long as I can protect the princess, I will die without regrets."

After saying that, Liu Xunyi looked at Wu Chan, who was sitting cross-legged outside Zhao Xin's room, with eyes full of concern but hesitant to speak, and gave him a comforting smile. Then, without any hesitation, accompanied by the murderous Feng Tianba, he walked towards the lobby downstairs without looking back.

……

(End of this chapter)