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Chapter 47 The Demon-Slaying Gathering in Luoyang

One day later, outside Luoyang City, at the foot of Beiman Mountain, at the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect.

The Demon-Slaying Conference is officially convened here at this moment.

Outside the Hall of Righteousness, on a wooden platform more than ten feet high, Ma Dayuan, the vice leader of the Beggars' Clan, cupped his hands to the crowd and began to list Russell's crimes.

Among the front row seats below the stage were prominent figures of the older generation of martial arts masters, including Master Xuannan of Shaolin, Zhou Yunting, the master of Wangwu Mountain, Master Zhiguang of Xiangxi, Zhao Qiansun, Tan Gong and Tan Po of Chongxiao Cave in Taihang Mountain, the You brothers of Juxianzhuang, Zhuo Bufan of Yizi Huijianmen, Wang Chongwu, the leader of Huangsha Gang, Lian Lang, the deputy leader of Jiangnan Pili Hall, and many others.

These individuals did not come alone; each brought their own group of skilled fighters. Thus, at this moment, there were nearly three thousand martial arts practitioners gathered in the Beggars' Sect.

Zhou Cailing and Mu Wanqing stood behind Zhou Yunting. The former looked heroic and the latter had her face covered by a black veil, revealing only a pair of clear, cold eyes, standing quietly.

"Vice Chief Ma, since the invitation to heroes was issued, why has Chief Qiao of your gang not appeared at all? Does the Beggars' Clan think that today's matter does not need Chief Qiao's personal decision?" Seeing that Ma Dayuan had finished speaking, Zhou Yunting took the initiative to start the conversation.

His words went unnoticed by others. After all, the Demon Slaying Assembly was a major event that involved the entire martial arts world, yet the Beggar Clan leader was nowhere to be seen from beginning to end. To put it bluntly, it seemed as if the Beggar Clan didn't take them seriously.

"Please forgive me, Master Zhou. A month ago, the leader personally led the elite of the gang to Yanmen Pass to deal with the border dispute with Liao. According to the itinerary, he should have returned a few days ago. I have also sent messages by carrier pigeon many times to inform him of the situation here and ask him to return quickly to take charge of the overall situation. However, every time I sent a message, it was like throwing a stone into the sea. I suppose the leader has other important matters to attend to."

Ma Dayuan smiled apologetically, but inwardly he was also starting to have doubts.

Just as he said, he really didn't know where his gang leader was now, or what he was doing, which had never happened before.

Given Qiao Feng's personality, even if he couldn't be there in person, he should have sent a message back. How could he have remained silent like this time?

It's only because he was Qiao Feng; otherwise, he would have guessed that anyone else had been murdered.

Upon receiving this reply, Zhou Yunting stroked his long beard, exchanged glances with the sect leaders and elders from the Henan region beside him, concealing the joy hidden deep in his eyes.

With the numerous account books brought back by Zhou Cailing, they already knew the truth last night. Now that Qiao Feng is not here, it is the perfect opportunity to make trouble.

No rush, no rush, we need a catalyst, let's wait...

"Since Chief Qiao isn't here, what are we waiting for?!" You Ji, the head of Juxian Manor, was an impatient man and couldn't contain himself any longer. He slammed his hand on the table in front of him, stood up abruptly, and addressed the assembled crowd: "Vice Chief Ma! Fellow heroes! That fiend Russell is currently in Kaifeng. We have gathered three thousand heroes here; why waste time here engaging in empty talk? In my opinion, we should immediately muster our forces and march on Kaifeng!"

Second Master Youju also stood up and echoed loudly, "Brother is right! Deputy Chief Ma, we brothers have brought all the elite fighters of Juxian Manor! Every hero present is a powerful figure in their own right. With so many heroes, even Russell can't turn the world upside down!"

With the You brothers taking the lead, the retainers of Juxian Manor immediately followed suit.

Quan Guanqing and Song Qingxi exchanged a glance and stepped forward, bowing to Ma Dayuan, saying, "Vice Chief, what the two Master You have said is exactly what we have been thinking. That demon is cruel by nature. If he stays any longer, who knows how many innocent people will fall victim to his cruelty. Now that the people's hearts are at peace and morale is high, it is the perfect time to eliminate this threat forever! Please give the order, Vice Chief!"

"Yes! Vice Leader! Give the order!"

"Give the order quickly, Vice Leader!"

"Avenge our fallen brothers!"

Seeing so many renowned figures in the martial arts world speak up one after another, how could the disciples below hold back? Many responded, and the sound of their voices rose like a tide.

"This..." Ma Dayuan frowned, his hesitation growing.

He wasn't stupid. This Demon-Slaying Conference was suspicious in every way. Although Russell's accusations were serious, the chain of evidence was vague. His idea was to delay as long as possible, preferably until Qiao Feng returned and he made a decision.

But now that the crowd is indignant and the will of the people is strong, if he were to obstruct them again, he would not only lose his own prestige, but also make the Beggars' Sect a target of public criticism.

They've spun their own cocoon and are now trapped in a predicament; they can't get off the tiger now!

Ma Dayuan sighed inwardly. For now, the only option was to take it one step at a time to avoid the situation spiraling out of control.

"If that's the case..."

"Wait a minute." Seeing that things had escalated to the point where he could no longer contain himself, Zhou Yunting immediately stood up and, before Ma Dayuan could finish speaking, said directly, "Vice Chief Ma, before issuing the order, I have one more thing I need to ask publicly!"

All eyes were drawn to the scene, and the frenzied atmosphere momentarily subsided.

Ma Dayuan vaguely sensed that something was amiss, but he couldn't very well remain silent, so he could only say, "Does Master Zhou have any further questions? Please speak freely."

Zhou Yunting stroked his beard and slowly said, "The Beggars' Sect has repeatedly accused Russell of committing heinous crimes such as kidnapping women and children and trafficking in people. If these crimes are true, they are indeed outrageous and deserving of universal condemnation. However, I would like to ask, does your sect have any solid evidence to support such a serious accusation? If it is only based on verbal statements, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the public, and it is hard to guarantee that there are no misunderstandings."

Ma Dayuan's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition suddenly intensified. He asked in a deep voice, "What does Lord Zhou mean by that?"

Seeing this, Quan Guanqing cursed the old man inwardly for being nosy, but on the surface he had no choice but to step forward immediately to make amends, sighing:

"Lord Zhou, you may not know this, but that demon is meticulous and ruthless. After each massacre, he would burn the scene to destroy the evidence. As for the kidnapped, most of them have been sold or killed by him and are difficult to find. Our Beggars' Sect also investigated from many aspects and combined the confessions of the surviving disciples with some clues before we were able to confirm his crimes."

Zhou Yunting chuckled: "No evidence? That might not convince the public. If one day any of you here inadvertently offend the Beggars' Sect, wouldn't they fabricate some charges against us, just like today, and then be killed by a mob?"

"Lord Zhou! You flatter me!" Upon hearing this, Ma Dayuan's expression changed drastically, and alarm bells rang in his mind. But since things had come to this point, he could not allow the Beggars' Sect's reputation to be tarnished.

"Oh dear, Master Zhou," Tan Po, with her fiery temper, couldn't help but shout, "What's the point of talking to this fiend about evidence! It's true that he killed so many people, isn't it? It's also true that he slaughtered the twenty-seven branches of the Beggars' Sect, isn't it? Why waste words on this kind of evil heretic! Everyone, let's charge forward and chop him to pieces! Why bother with all this nonsense?"

"Junior Sister is right!" Zhao Qiansun jumped up in agreement, "Regardless of whether he trafficked people or not, just for killing so many people and practicing such evil arts, he deserves to die! He deserves to die!"

"Good! What a damned one!" A clear voice rang out from above. Everyone, whether it was Ma Dayuan and Quan Guanqing on the high platform, or Zhou Yunting, Master Xuannan, the You brothers, or the three thousand Jianghu warriors below, all trembled and looked up in unison.

A figure stood atop the high-reaching eaves and brackets of the Hall of Gathering Righteousness.

Clad in white, pristine and immaculate, he stood with his hands behind his back, his posture as upright as a pine tree, looking down at them with great interest.

"It's Bertrand Russell!" shouted a wandering swordsman who had seen Russell's portrait.

In an instant, the crowd erupted into chaos, and everyone present stood up, their faces changing drastically.

How could he be here? Shouldn't he be in Kaifeng? Shouldn't he have fled at the first sign of trouble, hiding his face? How dare he? How dare he!?

Zhou Yunting and the others were also stunned. Why was Russell here now?

The correct approach would have been for them to confront the Beggars' Sect, present the evidence, and publicly humiliate them in front of all the heroes of the world, ruining their reputation. Then, Russell could have appeared as the victim, pleading his innocence and protesting the injustice, garnering sympathy and approval, achieving a magnificent reversal, and finally settling the matter.

This should have been a win-win situation with both fame and fortune, so why did Russell make such a grand entrance at this time?

Of course, Russell didn't know what these people were thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.

He took a step forward, landed gracefully in the center of the arena, and grinned at the crowd: "Who's going to kill me?"