Chapter 996: Gathering of Heroes (I)

Ever since Qingfeng announced that the "Anti-Traitor Conference" would be held at Prince Xian's Mansion on May 5, heroes from all over the world gathered in Luoyang City, making the business of the city's inns, teahouses, wine shops, gambling houses, and brothels flourish.

Among them, the largest and most famous ones, such as Tianxianglou, Donghai Teahouse, and Sixi Inn, are the most prosperous. Even though their room, meal, and wine prices have increased several times compared to usual, these places are still crowded with people after noon every day, and every household is hard to find a room, a table, or even a seat.

Regardless of how busy the store was, just look at the customers queuing outside the door with money in their hands. There were at least dozens of them in each household.

This shows how much vitality and business opportunities this "Anti-Traitor Conference" that swept across the Central Plains martial arts world brought to Luoyang City.

April 23rd, noon.

The Donghai Teahouse was packed with guests as usual, and the traffic in front of the door almost blocked half of the street. Groups of guests, mostly carrying swords and bags, came in and out in an endless stream.

Even from a distance, people could clearly hear the noise of the guests in the teahouse, the shouts of the waiters, and the intermittent and continuous songs and tunes.

This bustle lasted from at least noon till late at night. Although it made the Donghai Teahouse earn a lot of money, it also made the people in the surrounding area restless day and night.

Helplessly, although the people were suffering, they could only shut themselves in and swallow their anger when they saw the ferocious and muscular gangsters coming and going in front of their homes.

On the bustling streets, a horse-drawn carriage weaved recklessly among the crowd, attracting complaints and curses from time to time.

However, when the passers-by saw the three characters "Xian Wangfu" written on the wooden sign hanging on the carriage, they swallowed the dirty words that slipped out of their mouths. The brave ones just muttered a few words in a low voice, while the timid ones simply hid aside, fearing that their rude words would be heard by the people in the carriage and bring disaster upon themselves.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the carriage slowly stopped in front of the busy Donghai Teahouse.

Half a month ago, the shopkeeper saw that there were more and more customers coming and going, so he deliberately arranged a dozen "helpers" to wait outside the store, one to attract customers, and the other to maintain order.

When ordinary guests came to the door, they either went in or out quickly. If they dared to stay here, they would be urged and pushed by them at best, or suffer physical pain at worst.

These idle men were called "buddies", but in reality they were the ruffians on the streets of Luoyang. They had slanted eyebrows and eyes, were arrogant and domineering, had collars around their necks, and had wooden sticks on their waists. It was obvious that they were not good people.

Although there are many fierce gangsters among the guests, the Donghai Teahouse is backed by the Xianwang Mansion. Therefore, these "guys" are naturally more powerful than ordinary green forest heroes and gang disciples from other places.

From morning till night, they were arrogant, shouting harsh words, and making sarcastic remarks... If you dare to say a few words to them, these people would immediately gather their minions to bully the minority. If they met a tough guy, they would not take it seriously, and would either use the name of the Xianwang Mansion to intimidate the other party, or immediately replace them with a group of people to apologize with a smile.

Of course, these people, in the final analysis, are just taking money and "guarding" others.

The shopkeeper wanted money rather than power, so most of the "colleagues" he hired were "bright-eyed and bright-hearted" and well versed in judging people. They could often tell at a glance what kind of guests could be provoked and what kind could not be provoked.

Just like the carriage that came slowly, it was a "forbidden area" where ordinary guests would be driven away if they even stopped for a moment, but this carriage blatantly blocked the door of the Donghai Teahouse.

The few waiters guarding the door, instead of being overbearing like they did to other guests, swarmed forward, lifted the curtains and placed stools with fawning faces, and respectfully helped the "distinguished guests" down from the carriage.

As he was speaking, a waiter with a pointed face and monkey cheeks hurried out of the teahouse and bowed to the oncoming guests: "I am very happy to meet Taoist Gu Yue and greet all the young men."

Shunxi is Ling Xiaoxiao's confidant stationed in the Donghai Teahouse.

"Are you Shunxi?" Gu Yue looked up and down at Shunxi, who was nodding and bowing, and asked casually, "Do you know why I am here?"

"I know. Madam has explained it clearly."

"Now that you know, what are you waiting for?"

“Yes, yes, yes!” Shunxi seemed to hear the impatience in Gu Yue’s tone, and his face changed in fear. He replied hurriedly, “The distinguished guest has been waiting for a long time in the private room upstairs. Taoist priest, please follow me.”

After saying that, Shunxi led Gu Yue and the others and quickly walked into the crowded and bustling Donghai Teahouse. They squeezed their way through the crowded lobby until they climbed the stairs, where it became relatively quiet and spacious.

"Master, the distinguished guest is inside."

Outside the private room on the second floor, Shunxi knocked gently on the door at Gu Yue's instruction.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"Who is it?" a muffled voice asked from inside the room.

"I am very happy. Mr. Qin's friend has arrived." "Come in!"

After getting the promise, Shunxi carefully opened the door, then stood aside and let Gu Yue and several Wudang disciples into the room.

"Chu Mao, you guys go down and have some tea. I want to chat with Taoist Gu Yue alone."

"As ordered!"

There was a screen in the private room, dividing the room into two. Before Gu Yue and his companions could get around the screen, a casual conversation could be heard from behind it.

Then, four or five stern-looking men with steel knives on their waists walked out of the screen one after another. When they saw Gu Yue and the others, Chu Mao, the leader, bowed slightly and then walked out of the room silently.

"You guys go out too." Gu Yue said faintly, "Stand... outside the door."

"Yes."

Bowing and accepting the order, several Wudang disciples filed out and gently closed the door.

"I wonder if the gift I gave to the leader of the Qingfeng Alliance is to his liking?"

With a teasing laugh, a graceful young man in a light fur coat, loose belt, silk scarf and feather fan slowly walked around the screen and appeared in front of Gu Yue with a smile on his face.

This person is none other than the "good brother" who used to depend on Liu Xunyi for everything and was inseparable from him. Today, he is the owner of the Tianji Pavilion in the East Palace of the Song Dynasty court, Qin Wei.

Seeing Qin Wei, Gu Yue, who was about to greet him, was stunned and said in surprise: "Master Qin's outfit today..."

"After all, this is not the territory of the Song Dynasty. As an official appointed by the imperial court, I have no reason to be inconvenienced. I have to disguise myself to avoid causing trouble." Qin Wei admired his outfit with great interest and asked seriously, "How is it? Do I look like a scholar?"

"Lord Qin is a man of extraordinary stature and bearing. Every move he makes exudes a heroic spirit. How can a weak scholar be compared to him?"

"I can't believe that the martial arts masters who roam the world are not inferior to those of us who are in the officialdom when it comes to praising others." After saying this, Qin Wei and Gu Yue seemed to have a tacit understanding and laughed out loud together.

"Before coming here, the headmaster repeatedly told me to thank Lord Qin for his help." Gu Yue bowed to Qin Wei, "The headmaster once said, 'One wrong move, the whole game is lost.' This time, we were so happy that we let our guard down, giving them the opportunity to take advantage of us. If Lord Qin hadn't sent people out to capture Yuan Ting in time, the 'Anti-Traitor Conference' on May 5th would have been difficult to end."

"Oh?" Qin Wei raised his eyebrows and asked suspiciously, "Is Yuan Ting really so important? Just relying on him... can he determine the success or failure of the 'Extermination of Traitors'?"

"Yuan Ting is not important, but the person behind him... is more important than Lord Qin imagined."

"You mean Yuan Xiao?"

"Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be prepared for one. Out of caution, the headmaster has to think of the worst outcome." Gu Yue answered calmly, "As for the person behind Yuan Ting... it's not just one person. To be more precise, there are more than one person. But Sir Qin can rest assured that even if the worst happens, the headmaster can handle it calmly and will never implicate Sir Qin and the officials."

"What's the worst case scenario?" Qin Wei was not fooled by Gu Yue's "vague words" and asked directly, "What's the problem with Yuan Xiao?"

"It's not just Yuan Xiao who has problems." Gu Yue stared at Qin Wei who seemed to be thinking about something. He was silent for a long time before speaking frankly, "The worst-case scenario that the headmaster speculates is that... Wudang is now surrounded by enemies. Luoyang City has become a prison that looks magnificent on the surface but is actually full of murderous intentions. Anyone who gets close to us will not be able to escape the bad fate, and no one will be able to leave alive."

"What do you mean by that?"

Qin Wei's reaction was far less panicked than Gu Yue had imagined. Although he was young, he remained calm in the face of danger and did not panic. This undoubtedly made Gu Yue look at him with new eyes. At the same time, he thought to himself: "The court is not full of good-for-nothings. Qin Wei's mind and courage of 'not changing his face when facing a mountain collapse' are rare in the Central Plains martial arts world."

"The leader suspected that he had fallen into a trap set by Xunzhen and Liu Xunyi, and Yuan Xiao was just a pawn of theirs." Gu Yue answered straight to the point, "Everything was a conspiracy they had planned in advance, including Liu Xunyi being captured alive by Xie Xuan and... The leader wanted to use Liu Xunyi's head to save the face of the leader of the martial arts world, which was the original intention of holding the 'Extermination of Traitors Conference'."

"Qingfeng leader is the leader of the martial arts world. Even if Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen have done everything they can, they can't change their fate of being the 'public enemy of the martial arts world.'" Qin Wei asked in a half-comprehending manner, "It's like a gnat trying to shake a tree if they fight against Qingfeng leader. As for Yuan Xiao and his ilk... they are even less worthy of mention. I don't understand why you are so excited? Could it be that... they have a magic weapon that can turn the tide?"

"If they can 'turn right into wrong', the next step is to 'turn the tide'." Gu Yue shook his head and smiled bitterly, "What happened in the Xianwang Mansion on the seventh night of the twelfth lunar month two years ago? How did Luo Tianjin die? Lord Qin experienced it personally and witnessed it with his own eyes. Don't you remember it?"

"what do you mean……"

"You can remember, and Liu Xunyi can remember it clearly too." Gu Yue nodded heavily with a look of understanding. "If he 'bites back' at the anti-traitor meeting, coupled with the instigation of Xie Xuan, Xunzhen and a bunch of rabble, Lord Qin thinks... that the martial arts factions will still support a martial arts leader who 'stole power and usurped the throne'? Once Wudang is in trouble and isolated on the Dragon Boat Festival in May, wouldn't this 'anti-traitor meeting' be a pity for others? Anti-traitor, anti-traitor, but you yourself have become a huge traitor who deceives the heaven and the earth and puts the blame on others, wouldn't it be... difficult to end?"

……

(End of this chapter)