Chapter 826: Strong on the outside but weak on the inside (Part )

"Madam, why do you say that? Even if I have the courage of heaven, I would never dare to have such an idea!"

"Xie Xuan, I want to remind you that the reason why the Xianwang Mansion has not declined and been excluded after encountering a great change, and why it has survived to this day, is all due to the protection of my father and Wudang. Now, we are closely related to Wudang, and we share honor and disgrace. If my father encounters an accident, how can the Xianwang Mansion survive in the stormy and turbulent rivers and lakes with only the current strength? Luoyang is a prosperous place in the north. I wonder how many people outside are coveting the interests of the Xianwang Mansion? How many people are dreaming day and night to replace us?"

"Madam, you should be prepared for danger in times of peace. I admire you..."

"You have to remember that when the nest is overturned, no egg can be left unbroken!" Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes turned cold and she threatened, "Don't think that you can stay out of trouble for my daughter and I. From the day you betrayed Brother Jin, we are grasshoppers tied to the same rope. We live together and die together. Once the truth comes out, it will be of no benefit to you or me!"

Ling Xiaoxiao's intimidation made Xie Xuan feel so ashamed and angry that he wished he could smash her head with one palm.

Unfortunately, even though Xie Xuan was furious, he had to consider Luo Hongxuan, who was still seriously injured, and Luo Ningyu, who had lost her father's love. No matter how bad Ling Xiaoxiao was, she was still Luo Tianjin's first wife and the biological mother of Luo Hongxuan and Luo Ningyu. In addition, her blood relationship with Wudang made her the biggest support for the Xianwang Mansion to survive.

If Ling Xiaoxiao had an accident, the first person Xie Xuan would feel sorry for would be Luo Tianjin. Whether it was for the two children of the Luo family or for the foundation that Luo Tianjin had worked so hard to build, Xie Xuan could not watch them all destroyed.

He may not care about his own life, but he cannot ignore Luo Tianjin's "hard work".

If not for this, Xie Xuan would have followed Luo Tianjin on the night he got into trouble. Why should he live in shame and humiliation?
Thinking of this, Xie Xuan had to choose to endure it again: "Madam, your words are deafening, and I am extremely frightened. I know myself well, and I dare not harbor evil intentions, let alone become an enemy of the leader of the martial arts world."

"I'm not forcing you, I really have no choice." Seeing Xie Xuan was silent, Ling Xiaoxiao was satisfied, and her expression relaxed. She said lightly, "My father, as the leader of the martial arts world, has issued a killing order for more than half a year, but Liu Xunyi is still missing. If we continue to delay, not only will the Xianwang Mansion lose face, but even my father... will be criticized."

"Xie understands..."

"Also, outsiders are hunting down Liu Xunyi for fame and fortune. They can help or not, and no one can force them. But we are different. We want to avenge Brother Jin and do our duty. Of course, we also have to protect my father's prestige." Ling Xiaoxiao warned again and again, "Even if everyone in the world loses interest in Liu Xunyi, or even gives him a break, we must track him down to the end and fight to the death. Outsiders are outsiders after all, and it is their nature to seek profit and avoid harm. Therefore, at this critical juncture, we must not count on outsiders, but should rely on ourselves, because only we understand our own pain best."

"Xie will definitely do his best to track down Liu Xunyi's whereabouts and give Madam and Leader Qingfeng a satisfactory explanation..."

"Not only for us, but also to give you and Brother Jin a satisfactory explanation."

"Xie will keep this in mind." At this moment, Xie Xuan did not want to stay in front of Ling Xiaoxiao any longer, so he took the initiative to say goodbye, "If you have no other instructions, Xie will take his leave first..."

"Wait a moment!"

Before Xie Xuan left, Ling Xiaoxiao's voice sounded again: "There is one more thing, I want to... ask you again."

"What the madam said is..."

"Brother Jin and that bitch Xiao Zhirou left behind a pair of bastards who are still alive today. I have guessed that one of the bastards is Yun Jianping, but she is a girl after all, so she can't cause any trouble." Ling Xiaoxiao's eyes flashed coldly, and the muscles on her face trembled slightly due to her inner anger. "The one who really makes me feel uneasy is the other bastard, but I don't know... who is he?"

"This……"

Xie Xuan was stunned when Ling Xiaoxiao brought up the past. He answered the same as before: "Even my wife can't guess his identity, so how can I know?"

"You really don't know?" Ling Xiaoxiao suddenly turned around, staring at Xie Xuan with a pair of shrewd eyes, as if she wanted to see through his heart. "You are the person that Brother Jin trusts the most. You brothers have always been able to talk about everything. Could it be that... he really didn't mention this matter?"

Xie Xuan pretended to be thinking hard and shook his head seriously: "No."

"Don't lie to me."

"What are you talking about, Madam?" Xie Xuan said self-deprecatingly, "After the Palace Master passed away, I was like a dog that had lost its home. If it weren't for Madam's kindness, I would have been left dead in the wilderness. How dare I lie to you today?"

"Check it for me!" Ling Xiaoxiao was still skeptical about Xie Xuan's answer, but she did not ask him any more questions. Instead, she changed the subject and said meaningfully, "With your ability, as long as you try your best, nothing in the world can stump you."

"Madam, you are so kind. I am ashamed to accept your compliments."

"From today on, all the miscellaneous matters in and out of the Xianwang Mansion will be handed over to Yan Bugui and Murong Bai. You just need to concentrate on doing two things." Ling Xiaoxiao's words were gentle, but her tone was unquestionable. "First, solve the troublesome Liu Xunyi as soon as possible. Second, find the bastard of Brother Jin and Xiao Zhirou, and... kill him without mercy."

The more ruthless Ling Xiaoxiao was, the more worried Xie Xuan was about Liu Xunyi's situation. Helplessly, he had to both appease Qingfeng and Ling Xiaoxiao, and secretly protect Liu Xunyi. It was a difficult struggle to survive in the cracks.

His situation is even more complicated than Liu Xunyi who is at the center of the vortex.

After a brief greeting, Xie Xuan left Ling Xiaoxiao's room with an uneasy heart. Half an hour later, Wudang disciple Zheng Songren rode into Luoyang City and headed straight for the Xianwang Mansion.

Ling Xiaoxiao's attitude towards Zheng Songren is completely different from that towards Xie Xuan. In her heart, Zheng Songren is the real one. "How is Daddy's health?" Ling Xiaoxiao personally handed a cup of tea to the sweaty and breathless Zheng Songren, and asked, "You rushed to Luoyang in a hurry, is Daddy in trouble?"

"Don't worry, Senior Sister, Master is doing fine." Zheng Songren drank the tea in one gulp, and his dry throat gradually became more relaxed. "He asked me to tell you that the plan to ambush and kill Liu Xunyi has failed. Senior Sister, there is no need to waste any more time."

"Failure?" Ling Xiaoxiao was secretly surprised, "What do you mean?"

"Master said that Liu Xunyi has a master behind him. We are in the open while they are in the dark. If we continue to fight, it will be more disadvantageous for us. Moreover, Liu Xunyi has been missing for more than half a month. Master speculates that he is probably pretending to be a traitor and has returned to Jiangnan during the chaos. Now, the heroes of Jianghu are gradually dissatisfied and have complaints about Master's methods, especially since they are being played around by the imposter 'Liu Xunyi'. It is inevitable that they are... angry and embarrassed."

"The more this happens, the more I can't let Dad start off well but then finish badly." Ling Xiaoxiao pondered, "Wudang didn't participate too much in the previous hunt for Liu Xunyi, which allowed Lu Tingxiang and Jin Fuyu to fish in troubled waters. Their failure greatly reduced their prestige in the martial arts world... especially Lu Tingxiang. Even so, there is still room for easing the situation because they are not the leaders of the martial arts world. Now it's different, Dad is in charge personally, and there are countless eyes watching closely, but Liu Xunyi still slipped through the net. I'm afraid... it's hard to explain this matter."

"Senior sister, you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly what Master is thinking." Zheng Songren complimented, "Master said that Liu Xunyi is of great importance. It is not only to avenge Luo Tianjin, but also to stabilize his position as the leader of the alliance."

Looking at Zheng Songren who was talking freely, Ling Xiaoxiao frowned and asked tentatively, "Did Dad already think of a plan? Don't keep me in suspense!"

"Senior sister is extremely intelligent. I can't hide anything from you." Zheng Songren said awkwardly, "Master asked me to tell you that it won't be long before Liu Xunyi is dead."

"This..." Ling Xiaoxiao was stunned, as if she didn't understand Zheng Songren's hidden meaning, "What do you mean?"

Zheng Songren reported, then looked around, and after confirming that there was no one around, he carefully approached Ling Xiaoxiao and whispered, "Right now, Master and the two uncles Gu Yue and Gu Xing have secretly gone to Lin'an."

"Hiss!" Ling Xiaoxiao was horrified and panicked. "Why is Dad going to Lin'an? Is he going to do it himself? After the last incident, the emperor was furious and all the officials were in a panic. Lin'an City is now heavily guarded and solid as a rock. It will never let the people in the martial arts world take advantage of it again. If Dad takes the risk and takes action, what if..."

"Don't worry, Senior Sister. Master is not going to Lin'an to cause trouble, but... to keep an appointment."

"To go to an appointment?" Ling Xiaoxiao looked stunned. "Whose appointment?"

"In fact, ever since Master succeeded as the leader of the Wulin, people from Lin'an have been coming to Wudang to win us over. But Master has always been aloof, and has always maintained a subtle attitude towards those who have ulterior motives, neither close nor distant..."

"Wait!" Ling Xiaoxiao interrupted with a wave of her hand, "Who are those 'people with ulterior motives' you mentioned?"

"Of course it's someone from the court."

"The imperial court... could it be Zhao Yuan?" Ling Xiaoxiao asked suspiciously, "Could it be that he is still harboring evil intentions? After failing to win over the Xianwang Mansion, he turned his attention to Wudang?"

"Not long after Luo Tianjin's death, Zhao Yuan did send someone to Wudang. But it was only once, and after being hastily dismissed by the master, he never sent anyone again."

"You mean..." Ling Xiaoxiao seemed to be thinking, "Besides Zhao Yuan, there is someone else?"

"Exactly! They are even more shameless than Zhao Yuan. Even though the master ignored them, they refused to give up and sent people to make friends with him again and again."

"Who is it? And what is their purpose?"

"I can't tell which ministers are who in the court, but judging from their tone... they are not on the same side as Zhao Yuan." Zheng Songren recalled, "I heard from them that the people behind Zhao Yuan are now in a difficult situation, and Zhao Yuan is doomed to die. If we continue to get involved with him, we will inevitably suffer. On the contrary, if Master is willing to cooperate with them, we will get many benefits."

"The people in the imperial court are always good at making sweet speeches. Their promises cannot be trusted!"

"Master also said that these people are either traitors or thieves who are only trying to please us. I didn't want to have anything to do with them. But..." Zheng Songren's expression suddenly became a little awkward. "But not long ago, they sent me a secret letter. Master changed his attitude after reading it. He decided to go to Lin'an to have a face-to-face meeting with them. Before leaving, he asked me to come here on horseback to tell me three things. First, there is no need to waste time on the real or fake 'Liu Xunyi'. Second, it won't be long before the matter of Liu Xunyi can be completely resolved. Third..."

"Wait a minute!" Ling Xiaoxiao felt an indescribable sense of uneasiness in her heart, and asked anxiously, "What's in the letter?"

"The secret letter has been burned to ashes by the master, and I don't know the contents of the letter."

"This..." Zheng Songren's answer made Ling Xiaoxiao pale with fear, and she pondered, "What is the third one?"

"Third, Master didn't want outsiders to know that he was going to Lin'an, so he asked Senior Sister to quickly dispatch some trusted warriors from the Xianwang Mansion to go to Lin'an to secretly ambush with the Wudang disciples and respond flexibly to prevent any unexpected events."

……

(End of this chapter)