Longevity begins with slaying demons and eliminating demons

Chapter 356 The leader of "Qingming"

Gu Xu had a dream.

He dreamed that he was back in his childhood and was fighting a child in a golden shirt.

The boy was born with a strong body, Gu Xu was not his opponent at all, and was soon beaten with bruised nose and swollen face, and his mind was blurred.

Afterwards, the boy in the golden shirt dragged him by the collar, dragged him to a small dark room, and kicked him in.

"You just stay inside for me, you don't need to come out."

While talking, the boy closed the door with a "bang" and locked Gu Xu inside.

Gu Xu shouted for help in the small black room and kept punching and kicking the door, but no one could hear his voice.

…………

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Xu finally woke up leisurely.

He slowly opened his eyes, and found himself lying in a dark basement, with faint moss marks on the gray-black rock walls, and a damp and decaying smell in the air.

The only light source in the room was a candle on a wooden stand next to it. The orange flame flickered and seemed to be extinguished at any moment.

Under him was a narrow old wooden bed.As long as he moves a little, it will make a harsh "creak" sound.

"Master Gu, you're finally awake." At this moment, a light and soft female voice came from beside him.

This voice is very familiar, but even though Gu Xu has a memory far beyond ordinary people, he can't remember where he heard it.

He turned his head and saw a woman with slender shoulders and a thin waist guarding the bedside.She was wearing a dark green short jacket, an embroidered pleated skirt, and a half-face fox mask, revealing light-colored lips and a gracefully curved chin under the mask.

Her exposed half face, her quiet and elegant temperament, and the faint fragrance of her body also gave Gu Xu a very familiar feeling.

"What place is this? Who are you? How long have I been sleeping?" He sat up slowly on the bed and asked the woman wearing the fox mask.

"This is a secret branch of 'Qingming' in Xin'an County," the woman replied with a chuckle, "You slept for three full days and three nights.

"As for my identity...Master Gu, please forgive me, I don't want to tell you yet."

"Three days and three nights..." Gu Xu took a deep breath, never expecting to sleep for so long.Presumably the Daqi court has already laid a net of heaven and earth, waiting for him outside.

At the same time, he also noticed that in his meridians, the scorching true essence was surging, containing majestic power.

Apparently, after resting for three days and three nights, his nearly depleted true energy had fully recovered.

"Master Gu, in the previous battle, your true energy was overdrawn so much that you almost hurt your foundation," the woman in green continued, "so, when you were unconscious, our leader of 'Qing Ming' Wenchang Xingjun 'specially gave you the 'Yin Shen Yang Yuan Pill', so that your true energy can recover quickly during sleep and avoid sequelae."

Speaking of this, she paused for a moment, touched her chin with her slender fingers, and said in a teasing tone: "Seeing that you sleep so soundly and deeply, it must have been too long since you had a good sleep."

Gu Xu looked at her without denying it.

Since monks can replace sleep with practice, Gu Xu has spent almost all his sleep time on practice since he traveled to this world.

Although it is harmless to the body, his spirit has been tense for a long time, and he has never relaxed.

It can be seen that this woman in green wearing a fox mask knows herself very well.

But Gu Xu thought and thought, but still couldn't recognize who she was.

At this moment, he lowered his head, and suddenly found that the clothes he was wearing were no longer the plain blue cloth shirt, but a clean and dust-free white singlet. The material was light and soft, and it smelled refreshing. Fragrance.

"This dress—"

"—I changed it for you," the green-clothed woman hurriedly replied before Gu Xu finished his question, "Your original clothes were soaked in sweat and dust in the battle... I don’t want to soil the newly changed bedding.”

Gu Xu thought to himself: So I was in a coma, and I was unknowingly seen by others.

But after thinking about it, he felt that as a big man, he shouldn't care too much about such things.

So without changing his face, he politely thanked the other party.

The woman in green covered her mouth and chuckled, imitating his polite tone, and said, "You're welcome."

Her voice is clear and melodious, like a warbler's cry in spring.

Then she said: "By the way, Mr. Gu, our leader said that he wants to meet you after you wake up."

Gu Xu nodded and said, "No problem. I also want to personally thank him for saving his life."

Gu Xu was very curious about the identity of "Wenchang Xingjun", the leader of the "Qing Ming" organization.

He really wanted to know what kind of person it was that so many masters were willing to serve him, and dared to provide shelter for him under the overwhelming pursuit of the Daqi court.

…………

The woman in green summoned three girls dressed as maids to help Gu Xu wash and dress.

They all wore masks, so that Gu Xu couldn't see their real appearance.

And each of them holds a piece of clothing in their hands, including inner lining, outer robe and belt.

The woman in green took the clothes from them and put them on for Gu Xu herself.

Gu Xu is not used to this feeling of being served by others.

"I'll do it myself," he said.

But the woman in green shook her head repeatedly, holding the clothes firmly in her hands: "'Wenchang Xingjun' told me to take good care of you and provide you with treatment 'worthy of your status'."

"My current status is nothing more than a fugitive, how can I deserve this kind of treatment?" Gu Xu laughed at himself.

The woman in green was too lazy to argue with him.

Without further ado, she put the black brocade robe embroidered with gold thread on him, then bent down again, and carefully fastened the jade belt on Gu Xu.

Then, she pushed Gu Xu onto a rattan chair, took out a small wooden comb, ran her green fingers through his hair, quickly tied his messy black hair into a bun, and He put on a small white jade crown.

After finishing all this, she helped the fox mask, her eyes lingered on him for a long time, dazed.

"It's really handsome again..." she murmured.

"What did you say?" Gu Xu didn't hear clearly.

"I want to say that people rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles," the woman in green smiled, "For a handsome man like Mr. Gu, you should pay more attention to dressing yourself so that you can fully show your beauty."

As she spoke, she took out the bronze mirror for makeup that she carried with her and placed it in front of Gu Xu.

Gu Xu quietly looked at himself in the mirror.

The face is like a crown jade, the eyes are like bright stars, the facial features are beautiful, the appearance is beautiful, and it looks like a fairy.

In his memory, every time his level improved, someone would praise him as "more handsome than before".

But the problem is that it is never mentioned in the book that practice can improve a person's appearance.

Could it be that this is his unique talent?
Gu Xu couldn't figure it out for the time being.

…………

Afterwards, the woman in green led Gu Xu to a dark and narrow conference room.

There were already seven or eight people wearing masks of different styles in the room, sitting on both sides of an old wooden long table.Seven burning candles are arranged in the shape of a big dipper on a wooden table.

The chair at the top of the long table was still empty.

It was an official hat chair carved with exquisite patterns, and the back of the chair was slightly higher than the other chairs in the room.

Gu Xu thought, if nothing unexpected happens, that should be the seat of the leader of "Qingming", "Wenchang Xingjun".

At this moment, a tall and thin man sitting on the right side of the main seat suddenly stood up.His hair is disheveled, and he wears a theatrical mask. The eyes under the mask are sharp and energetic, as if he can see through all the secrets in this world.

"Stand back, all of you!" He ordered in a flat but majestic tone.

His voice also gave Gu Xu a sense of deja vu.But Gu Xu couldn't remember where he heard it.

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Hearing this person's words, all the masked people present stood up, bowed to him, and then left the room one after another.

The woman in the green dress and fox mask next to Gu Xu was also planning to turn around and leave.

But the tall and thin man suddenly pointed at her: "You stay."

So the woman in green stopped and stood obediently on the spot, putting her hands together in front of her.

Seeing that these masked people were all respectful and obedient to this tall and thin man, Gu Xu secretly guessed: This man should be that "Wenchang Xingjun"!

It's just that Gu Xu can't understand why the leader of an organization doesn't sit in the main seat during the meeting, but sits in the side. Could it be that this is a personality leader who likes to "do not take the usual path"?
Just when Gu Xu was wondering, the tall and thin man looked at Gu Xu again, and said kindly, "Gu Xiaoyou, come here and sit down!"

While speaking, he pointed to the main seat next to him—the high-back official hat chair at the head of the long table.

"Me?" Gu Xu suspected that he was wrong.

"That's right," the tall and thin man smiled faintly, "This is the seat reserved for you."

As he spoke, he took off his mask.

Gu Xu stared at his face in astonishment——

Luo Chuan, the head of the Exorcist Department who was supposed to be seriously injured and unconscious in Luojing City, suddenly appeared in front of him!
"Si... Chief Si, why are you here?"

"As the leader of 'Qing Ming', why can't I be here?" Luo Chuan asked with a smile.

Gu Xu took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm.

The leader of the secret organization "Qingming" is actually a powerful saint who holds an important position in the Daqi court!
Once this news gets out, it will definitely cause an uproar across the country.

Gu Xu also finally understood why the other party's voice sounded so familiar.

It's just that he still has a question in his mind——

Why didn't I recognize Luo Sishou's voice at the first time?
Could it be because of that mask?

"Sit down, Gu Xiaoyou," Luo Chuan said again, "This is a small request from your old superior."

Speaking of this, Gu Xu naturally had no way to refuse, so he could only bite the bullet and sit at the head of the long table.

Afterwards, Luo Chuan conjured up a white porcelain tea set out of thin air, and poured a cup of hot tea for Gu Xu himself.

"This is Mengding tea from Sichuan," Luo Chuan introduced, "Many emperors of the Qi Dynasty loved this tea very much, and asked all states and counties in Shu to pay tribute to Luojing every year, calling it 'Xian'. Tea', 'The Crown of Tribute Tea'. Gu Xiaoyou might as well try it."

Gu Xu raised his teacup and took a sip, only to feel that the taste was refreshing, rich and sweet.

Luo Chuan is indeed a well-known tea lover. No matter where he goes, he always carries all kinds of precious tea with him.

After a short silence, Luo Chuan said again: "Gu Xiaoyou, if I'm not wrong, you must have many questions you want to ask me."

Gu Xu nodded.

He really had too much confusion in his heart: such as the agreement reached between Chief Luo and Mangshan Ghost King, such as the true position of Chief Luo and the "Qingming" organization, such as Chief Luo's strange attitude towards himself...

"Just ask." Luo Chuan smiled, "As long as I know, I will try my best to answer."

Gu Xu thought for a moment, and asked the question he wanted the most urgent answer: "Why would Emperor Tianxing want to kill me all of a sudden?"

"This, this is a long story," Luo Chuan took a deep breath, his gaze was a little erratic, it seemed that Gu Xu's question brought back his distant memories, "As we all know, the 'God' that the Great Wilderness people believe in is A deity with two faces in one body - 'Taishang Haotian Jade Emperor God' and 'Zhongtian North Pole Emperor Ziwei' are his two incarnations.

"But in fact, 'Taishang Haotian' and 'Ziwei Great Emperor' are two gods, and they are also a pair of mortal enemies who once fought life and death."

Luo Chuan's words once again caused a strong shock in Gu Xu's heart.

In all the temples of the Daqi Dynasty, there is a statue with two sides in one body, one side is "Taishang Haotian", and the other side is "Ziwei Great Emperor", which correspond to day and night respectively.

In Dahuang's practice system, most of the prayers and mantras also contain the names of "Taishang Haotian" and "Ziwei Great Emperor".

The "Taishang Beiji Town Demon Killing Talisman" that Gu Xu often uses is a typical example.

But now, Luo Chuan told him that "Taishang Haotian" and "Emperor Ziwei" are actually two gods who are mortal enemies to each other!
This simply broke through his long-standing understanding of the world!
Luo Chuan took a sip of tea, and continued: "In addition, Gu Xiaoyou, I also want to tell you that the wild world we live in is not the real 'human world', but the 'underworld'. God's own prison.

"Because of this, the Great Wilderness is not only full of ghosts and monsters, but also has no 'heaven and earth aura'. The monks can only risk their lives and practice with the help of the yin and death."

Luo Chuan's words reminded Gu Xu of the phantom he saw in front of the grave of "Chi Yangzi"——

The sky and the ground are all impenetrable black iron nets.

Outside the iron net, there are raging fires and iron snakes and dogs patrolling back and forth.

Everyone's feet were wearing a pair of scorching iron shackles, which scorched their skin and flesh and blood flowed out.

(End of this chapter)