Chapter 825: Strong on the outside but weak on the inside (I)

In this world, no one is indispensable. Even if he is a martial arts overlord who is famous all over the world and dominates a region?

Luo Tianjin's death did indeed cause a huge uproar in Luoyang City. Even the government ordered the whole city to mourn for three months. During this period, red, weddings, prostitution, and gambling were banned... Almost all industries in Luoyang came to a standstill, and the lives of the people were greatly impacted.

However, as time passed, Luo Tianjin gradually faded from people's memory. The "Northern Sage King" who was once the focus of everyone's attention and admiration has now completely become a topic of jokes among the people.

This situation was just like the situation when the Golden Sword Sect and the Iron Palm Gang were expelled from Prince Xian’s Palace overnight.

The dead Luo Tianjin is no different from Zheng Tiandiao and Zhuge Xiong, who have long since become dead bones in the grave. No matter how powerful and glorious you are when you are alive, you will still be a thing of the past after you die. You will become an "old friend" who can be talked about, laughed at, and ridiculed by everyone.

In just a few months, Luoyang City has recovered and regained its prosperity.

The streets and alleys of the market are bustling with people coming and going every day in shops of all sizes. Teahouses, wine shops, gambling houses and brothels are still full of extravagance and debauchery, with music and singing every night... Everything is exactly the same as when Luo Tianjin was alive.

Time flies, and the stars move. It is August 15th, the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, again.

The city is decorated with lanterns and colorful lights everywhere, and the atmosphere is full of joy. Every household gathers together and is happy. People walking on the street are all smiling and enthusiastic, and the rich festive atmosphere can be seen.

Today, the Xianwang Mansion was just as lively as ever. To be more precise, it was just as "noisy" as ever.

Since Luo Tianjin's death, there have been people visiting the Xianwang Mansion almost every day and every night. Most of them are passers-by from the martial arts world who come here in the name of condolences to find out about Liu Xunyi's background in order to snatch the generous rewards promised by Qingfeng and Ling Xiaoxiao.

After all, Liu Xunyi was once the Black Fan of the Xianwang Mansion and lived here for several years. If you ask who in the martial arts world is familiar with his habits? At least eight of the top ten are disciples of the Xianwang Mansion. Even if he is just an ordinary disciple, his understanding of Liu Xunyi is far more comprehensive and profound than that of outsiders.

In addition, "Liu Xunyi" has been appearing everywhere in the martial arts world during this period, so many people who are eager to win credit have flocked to the palace, either to provide clues to the Prince Xian's Mansion, or to directly kidnap "Liu Xunyi" and send him to the door.

Unfortunately, everything was just a false prosperity. For a long time, no clues could stand up to scrutiny, and no "Liu Xunyi" was genuine.

As a result, the heroes of Jianghu were greatly disappointed and returned home in anger. The people in the Xianwang Mansion stayed up all night and felt dizzy.

In order to avoid being overwhelmed and being mistaken for someone else, Xie Xuan, the "new master" of Prince Xian's Mansion, ordered the setting up of three barriers outside the mansion gate, guarded by Lin Fangda, Su Tang and Luo Qi respectively. They were responsible for answering and investigating each person one by one, and keeping out those who imputed "Liu Xunyi" and fictitious clues.

Xie Xuan's method worked immediately, especially for Ling Xiaoxiao, who was overwhelmed with worries and felt at ease. It brought her a rare moment of peace and tranquility.

Luo Tianjin's death dealt a heavy blow to Luo Ningyu, and her temperament changed drastically. The once lively, cheerful and quirky "young lady" completely turned into a pessimistic, world-weary and depressed "miserable person".

Now, her son Luo Hongxuan is still in a coma, and her daughter Luo Ningyu is becoming increasingly haggard, which makes Ling Xiaoxiao, as a mother, worried and unable to sleep or eat, but she can do nothing about it.

Even during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ling Xiaoxiao had no interest in it. The Xianwang Mansion was dull and depressing, without any joy at all, which was completely different from when Luo Tianjin was alive.

In the early morning, Ling Xiaoxiao visited Luo Hongxuan and Luo Ningyu as usual, and then returned to her room with a heavy and tired heart, and sent all the maids away.

Sitting alone in front of the dressing table, she quietly stared at herself in the bronze mirror. Under the increasingly heavy makeup was an increasingly thin and old face. No matter how good the rouge and powder were, it could not hide her decadence and haggardness from the inside out.

As the saying goes, "Appearance reflects the heart." Due to her sinister and cunning heart, as well as her vicious behavior of murdering her husband, her originally dignified, handsome and elegant appearance changed drastically day by day.

His thin figure and withered face give people a feeling of being unapproachable and sarcastic.

Unconsciously, two lines of tears flowed down the corners of her eyes.

Although Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes were still cold and her expression was still indifferent, in fact her heart was already broken and in great pain.

It seemed that her violent "revenge" on Luo Tianjin did not bring her the happiness she had imagined. On the contrary, when she lost Luo Tianjin, she also lost her own life, which made her completely lost in the dark and dirty endless abyss.

In front of outsiders, Ling Xiaoxiao always has to wear a mask, a hypocritical mask full of "pride" and "strength". Only when she is alone, the sadness buried deep in her heart will break through the shackles and quietly reveal itself.

Ling Xiaoxiao's life now seems to be peaceful and smooth, but in fact, she is living a miserable life.

"Bang, bang, bang!" Suddenly, someone knocked on the tightly closed door, which shocked Ling Xiaoxiao, who was silently crying. She quickly wiped the tears from her face and said without turning her head, "Come in!"

"squeak!"

With a slight sound, the door opened, and Xie Xuan, with a serious mind, slowly walked into the room.

Today's Xie Xuan is also completely different from the high-spirited "Second Master Xie" of the past. His temples are gray, wrinkles are everywhere, his deep eyes are a little cloudy, and his originally vigorous and upright figure has become a little hunched.

In just a few months, Xie Xuan seemed to have aged dozens of years.

"Meet my lady."

As he approached, Xie Xuan bowed towards Ling Xiaoxiao with his hands clasped in greeting. His attitude was extremely respectful, but his tone was as dull as water. His voice was not as deep and loud as before, but rather low and hoarse, as if... weak.

"Now you are the lord of the Xianwang Mansion, so there is no need to be so restrained in front of me." Ling Xiaoxiao did not turn around, but observed Xie Xuan's reaction through the bronze mirror.

"Madam is Madam after all. I cannot overstep the boundaries of etiquette at any time." Xie Xuan said calmly, "Madam, you suddenly came to me. What instructions do you have?"

"We live in the same mansion, but it's rare for us to see each other." Ling Xiaoxiao looked at Xie Xuan in the mirror, with his eyebrows lowered, and said with a smile, "There's nothing special today, I just want to chat with you."

"Thank you for your concern, Madam. I am unworthy of it." Xie Xuan knew that Ling Xiaoxiao was just pretending to be polite, but he did not point it out and his reaction remained indifferent.

While combing her hair, Ling Xiaoxiao asked casually, "By the way, have you found any clues about Liu Xunyi in the past few days?"

"None of the rumors circulating in the martial arts world are true at the moment. Liu Xunyi's whereabouts are still unknown."

"Overnight, all kinds of rumors and impersonations have disturbed the peace of the martial arts world. It seems that... someone is secretly helping Liu Xunyi to survive." Ling Xiaoxiao said quietly, "What do you think about this matter?"

"Even the leader of Qingfeng is helpless, how can I, a reckless man like Xie, dare to talk about any brilliant ideas?" Xie Xuan said modestly, "Even if someone helped Liu Xunyi to conceal the truth, we can't find any evidence. Most of those who pretended to be Liu Xunyi have clean backgrounds. The 'Zhang San' and 'Li Si' they mentioned are probably aliases. Trying to find them in such a big world is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"You must pay more attention to this matter and don't neglect it." Ling Xiaoxiao warned, "Liu Xunyi must pay the price for Brother Jin's death. As long as he is not dead, you and I will not have peace."

"I got it!" Xie Xuan bowed and accepted the order, his tone still calm.

"I don't know why? I always feel that... you don't seem to be very concerned about hunting down Liu Xunyi." Ling Xiaoxiao's pair of shining eyes stared at the dull-looking Xie Xuan in the mirror, and asked meaningfully, "You know that there are fake people in the world, but you still let them lead you by the nose, wasting your energy on those false rumors, and instead you have no interest in the real whereabouts of Liu Xunyi. What? Don't you want to avenge Brother Jin? Or do you think Liu Xunyi...doesn't deserve to die?"

As soon as Ling Xiaoxiao said this, a hint of panic suddenly flashed across Xie Xuan's calm eyes.

In fact, Xie Xuan had been avoiding the main issue of hunting down Liu Xunyi. The reason was that Xie Xuan knew that Liu Xunyi was Luo Tianjin's flesh and blood, and Luo Tianjin had entrusted him with the care of his son more than once before his death.

Out of his loyalty to the former master, Xie Xuan has been trying his best to please both sides. On one hand, he pretended to be busy and exhausted to deal with the constant pressure from Qingfeng and Ling Xiaoxiao. On the other hand, he pretended to be stupid and deliberately let the rumors lead him by the nose. He chose to turn a blind eye to anything that might touch upon the truth about Liu Xunyi.

"Madam, please understand. I have been carefully tracking down Liu Xunyi's whereabouts for a while now, and I dare not take it lightly. But Liu Xunyi is too cunning. Since his last appearance in the Jingbei camp, he seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth, and there is no other news."

"It is not an ordinary person who can make Liu Xunyi 'disappear' in Hexi. It can only be the Mongolians or the Qin family." Ling Xiaoxiao reminded, "Since the news of his appearance in the Jingbei camp has spread widely, it means that the Mongolians have no intention of keeping it a secret for him, let alone helping him. In this case, only the Qin family is left. Why don't you start with Qin Ku..."

"Madam, you are right. Qin Ku... is indeed a suspect." Xie Xuan hesitated and said, "However, Qin Ku is no longer the same as before. He is no longer the young boy who wandered around the world. He is now the head of the Qin family who holds great power. At present, I have no evidence. Not to mention that I dare not rashly come to his house, even if it is the leader of Qingfeng... I am afraid it is not convenient to charge him with an army."

"Excuses!" Ling Xiaoxiao's face darkened, and her tone became more and more unfriendly. "My father is the leader of the martial arts world. He must remain neutral and be fair and strict in everything he does. But you are different. You are the new owner of the Xianwang Mansion and a good brother of Brother Jin. Even if you do something extreme, it is human nature. I believe that people in the world will not make random comments. But now, you actually use the excuse of 'no evidence, dare not rashly come' to play deaf and dumb, allowing Liu Xunyi and Qin Ku to sing a double act, but you turn a blind eye and keep saying that you dare not take it lightly. Isn't it too ironic? Isn't it too far-fetched to use such an excuse to evade me?"

"Madam, I..."

"In the final analysis, the person you have been holding a grudge against is not Liu Xunyi, but me!" Ling Xiaoxiao said sternly, "You deliberately indulged Liu Xunyi in order to take revenge on me, or even on my father. You want us to be helpless, to be disgraced, to be laughed at by the Central Plains martial arts world, and to be spurned by all the heroes in the world!"

……

(End of this chapter)