No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 769: A Thousand Mistakes

Inside the ice cave, Wei Mei looked somewhat dissatisfied.

Lu Ya still had an expressionless face and remained silent.

He suddenly bowed towards Li Guoer:
"Thank you, Princess. We will close the shop ten minutes later."

Just now, when Lu Ya rescued Cai Shou, Shun Bo and others, he wasted time. Li Xian and others who had originally planned to enter the ice cave in advance had to close the door of the ice cave on time just in case.

But Li Guoer stopped Wei Mei, who was directing the door to be closed, and waited for a while.

However, it was because of this pause that some rebels were allowed in, which almost ruined the situation.

All we can say is that Lu Ya is making amends for his mistakes.

The little princess with plum blossom makeup was wrapped in a blanket, looking like a lady, quiet and peaceful.

After Lu Ya finished speaking, she stood up, walked to the wall in front of her, lightly tore off the thunder talisman that still had some power on the corpse, and put it into her sleeve.

Returning again, when passing by the young man with facial paralysis, Li Guoer left a few words in a rather plain tone.

"You really should listen to Ouyang Lianghan."

Lu Ya lowered his head.

This time, he really acted on his own and didn't even listen to Li Guoer's orders.

Wei Mei raised her eyebrows and wanted to speak again, but Li Xian quietly pulled her sleeve, so she stopped.

Li Xian sighed, took out a blanket that he had prepared for Li Dalang, and handed it to Lu Ya:

"Tan Lang has indeed considered more than us, so we'd better listen to him more... Never mind, it's already come to this point, there's no point in saying anything more. The ice cellar is a bit cold, has Taoist Lu been injured? Keep warm."

Lu Ya waved his hand and refused to take it, with a guilty look on his face.

Wei Mei asked, "Since you are back, have you found Dalang?"

Lu Ya felt more and more ashamed and shook his head:

"I was useless. I didn't find the prince. As soon as I arrived at Xunyang Ferry, I encountered a large number of pirates who raided the ferry. Outside Xunyang Ferry, I met Brother Yan and sent him to a safe place. Seeing that these pirates seemed to be heading straight for our palace, I was worried and turned back. When I rushed back to the inner house of the palace, I met Miss Caishou and Uncle Shun who were arranging the Jiao Oil..."

Having said this, he stopped talking.

The people around were also silent.

The development of things has indeed gone somewhat beyond previous plans.

Wei Mei worriedly said, "The pirates raided the ferry, and General Yan escaped. Where is Dalang? Was he captured by these pirates?"

Lu Ya lowered his head further and further: "I don't know."

Li Guoer suddenly said: "Brother is not that stupid. After swallowing the magic water, he is very smart when encountering things."

Lu Ya raised his head and glanced at Li Guoer.

Li Xian and Wei Mei looked at each other, both with lingering fear on their faces.

Wei Mei sighed:

"It is Tan Lang who was very clever and prepared this method of drinking ice in the fire in advance. This fire does not produce thick smoke. Although the temperature is scorching, fortunately we have an ice cave to cool down. If it were an ordinary fire, the choking smoke would billow into the ice cellar and we would be choked to death if not killed by the heat.

"Those thieves outside probably never thought that someone would dare to hide in the fire. Once the inner house above is burned to ruins, the entrance to the ice cave where we are will be even more difficult to find. If they search in vain and find no bodies, they will surely turn around and chase after us in Kuanglu Mountain."

Li Xian worriedly said:
"Will Xie Xian's niece be in danger? She drove a carriage alone and pretended to escape. She looked a little frail."

Li Guo'er shook his head:
"Don't worry about Sister Xie. Once all the pursuers have passed, she can escape into the mountains. She can just abandon the carriage and leave. She is a sixth-rank Qi cultivator and can move quickly and easily. There are also many supply points and hiding places prepared by Pei Shisanniang in Kuanglu Mountain. Although Sister Xie is a little directionally challenged, she brought a map with her, so she should be safe."

Li Xian was touched and sighed: "That's good, that's good. It was really hard for Tan Lang and her this time to lead the thieves away... Tan Lang is very resourceful. The most dangerous place is the safest place."

After a while, he looked up and frowned:
"Master Lu, you said that a large group of pirates came... Who sent these pirates? Are they really the rebels from Tiannan Jianghu? I have no grudge against Yunmeng Jianze, why are they acting like this? Were they deceived by the rebels from the Kuangfu Army?"

Li Guoer frowned, wrapped her shoulders with a soft blanket, and walked to the pile of corpses in front with her arms crossed, looking down at them carefully.

Lu Ya groaned and said:
"It doesn't have to be someone from Tiannan Jianghu. With Senior Brother Zhang there, the eldest lady will surely not break her promise and do such a despicable thing. Besides, I remembered something."

"what's up?"

Everyone looked over.

Lu Ya said, "I was helping Mr. Ouyang's men investigate a case in Hukou County and found that someone from Princess Anhui's residence was interacting with a pilgrim who was suspected to be a pirate at Guanyin Temple."

Li Guoer suddenly pointed at the corpse on the ground:

"Are these two both military practitioners, like regular soldiers? They don't look like idlers or undisciplined pirates."

Lu Ya nodded: "Yes, the little princess is smart, this is also a big doubt."

At this point, the biggest one may come to everyone’s mind.

They looked at each other.

The atmosphere suddenly became silent.

Li Guoer narrowed her eyes, kicked the corpse with her toes, and picked up a bloodstained white cloth that had fallen to the ground with the toes of her embroidered shoes:
"It is indeed the Wei family. What a trick to fish in troubled waters and kill someone with a borrowed knife. If I am not mistaken, it is most likely the work of the King of Wei. Their Wei Palace has the strongest motive. Previously, when the Xingzi Lake Buddha collapsed, Ouyang Lianghan and we borrowed the Tiannan Jianghu rebels to block the knife and solved the problem of Wei Shaoqi, Lin Cheng and others.

"It seems that they were suspicious at the time, or were inspired to do the same thing.

"Earlier, they pretended to send people to suppress the bandits. They were just crying thief. I guess it was just for today's move. They are the pirates. But once they destroy our palace, all the blame will be put on the Tiannan Jianghu, haha."

At this time, Wei Mei pointed out one thing:
"Duan Quanwu of the White Tiger Guard is in charge of suppressing bandits in Hukou County. Does he know about this?"

Li Guoer said coldly: "It would be strange if we don't know. He has a connection with Qiu Shenji, and it is very likely that he was bribed by the Wei family."

Li Xian said hesitantly:

"Then shouldn't we transfer Li Congshan, Miaozhen and the others away?"

When Wei Mei heard a name, she turned her head away.

Upon hearing this, Li Guoer frowned, looked at Li Xian and the others, then looked down at the pirate's body on the ground, and said:
"No, we still have to be transferred. At this critical moment, we can't trust anyone. Ouyang Lianghan is right. What if Li Congshan, Miaozhen and others have also been bribed? Otherwise, we won't even have the chance to hide in the ice cave today. We are under their eyes and under surveillance.

"So we have to be on guard. Ouyang Lianghan is right. We can't rely on others. We still have to rely on ourselves."

Thinking of Ouyang Rong's ice transportation plans that everyone had previously considered "incomprehensible", everyone's faces showed a mixture of guilt and gratitude.

At this moment, Lu Ya raised his head and said:

"Where is Master Ouyang now?"

"Twin Peaks, over there on the Big Buddha side."

Lu Ya asked:
"If the worst-case scenario is the case, Duan Quanwu and Li Congshan can be bribed, then Yi Qianqiu, as the immediate superior, will surely be in trouble. What about Ms. Rong Zhen and Deputy Supervisor Song from the Imperial Observatory? Is it also a trap over at Shuangfeng Peak? These pirates from the Wei family dare to come and kill people. Is it possible that they are so fearless because of the connivance of Shuangfeng Peak?"

The ice cave suddenly became quiet.

This is the worst outcome, and it also means that Ouyang Lianghan, who helped them avoid the thieves, has also been drawn into the game and is in danger.

Wei Mei, who had previously been dissatisfied and critical of Lu Ya, suddenly became anxious:
"Then what should we do? Tan Lang goes there alone. If there are only bad guys over there, how can he get there?"

Li Xian couldn't sit still any longer, and was so anxious that he kept turning around, muttering:

"It's all my fault. I've dragged down Tan Lang. I'm such a useless person..."

"Actually... this isn't necessarily the worst outcome."

Li Guoer hesitated for a moment and said:
"After all, Miss Rong Zhen even came to Madam Zhen's birthday party. They have a very good relationship, and there is also some unclear relationship... She shouldn't do anything to Ouyang Lianghan. Besides, Ouyang Lianghan has a strong sense of crisis. It would be difficult to trap him if there is a trap. Don't forget, the secret letter in the morning that used the metaphor of 'dining menu' might have been sent by Rong Zhen..."

Li Xian's worried and anxious expression remained unchanged:

"Although Tan Lang has a sword, Rong Zhen, Nanny Song and other people from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau are already looking for him and are relentlessly pursuing his other identity. If he uses the sword, he will be exposed and put in danger."

Li Guoer didn't know what she was thinking of. She also lowered her eyes, frowned, and sighed softly, "It seems to be true. Once the sword is exposed, it will be even more troublesome. Miss Rong Zhen has always hated the owner of Die Lianhua. Who knows, she might be played badly by him and turn to hate him."

The usually calm little princess with plum blossom makeup also murmured with some worry: "It's indeed a bit bad. Women have a strong desire for revenge. If they can't get the love they want, they will want to eat him alive..."

Hearing this, everyone looked sad and became even more anxious.

At this moment, Cai Shou, Sun Bo and others in the back suddenly looked at Lu Ya.

Li Xian, Li Guoer and Wei Mei, who were standing closer, also noticed something out of the corner of their eyes and looked over.

"What do you think I am doing?"

Lu Ya looked around at everyone with a frown.

He saw that everyone was staring at him, and gradually looking up at the ceiling above his head.

"What's going on?"

Lu Ya looked up in confusion.

The next moment, he suddenly saw a bright red column of light appear above his head, which seemed to have passed through the ice cave and stone chamber and soared into the sky!

His originally expressionless face suddenly changed color.

When everything was in silence, the sound of a piano floated in.

The inexplicable piano sound made them look horrified.

A very bad mood gradually spread among the crowd.

……

There was a big fire in Xunyang Palace today.

It became the focus of the entire Xingzifang, but no one in each household dared to go and check it out.

The news that the Tiannan Jianghu pirates broke into the city from Xunyang Ferry had spread throughout the city since morning. The common people and the rich people in Xunyang all hid in their homes, closed their doors, and prayed for reinforcements from the imperial court at Shuangfengjian.

However, some people speculated that these pirates were heading for the giant Buddha at Shuangfeng Peak.

As for the fire in Xunyang Palace, the common people and passers-by who were watching from afar were all silent in fear. When they found out that there were pirates lurking in the palace, no one dared to approach.

In the inner quarters of the palace, the intensity of the dark green fire gradually dwindled.

The once exquisite and elegant inner house buildings have been burned into ruins.

The number of pirates who had gathered before has now decreased a lot.

The one-eyed man, the leader of the pirates, was leading a group of his brothers, carefully searching the wreckage and ashes in the ruins.

There were about 300 pirates, divided into three groups:

The first group, one hundred and fifty people, took the main road to Mount Kuanglu to chase the people.

The second group, fifty people, took the path behind the palace into Kuanglu Mountain to chase after the people.

The third group, that is, the one-eyed man, was leading the remaining one hundred people to inspect the ruins.

As for the eleven Qi Refiners who were in the hall before, they also had division of labor.

The first group was divided among five people;

The second group of two people included Cheng Baldy;
The remaining four, including the one-eyed man, are now searching the ruins of the inner house.

However, as the search came to an end, the one-eyed man frowned.

The ruins of the inner house were very large, and after a brief search, no body was found.

I don’t know if this fire is strange, but it can burn people to ashes.

As for some secret passages and secret rooms, it is not impossible, but in a fire, unless such secret rooms are completely sealed, people will be suffocated to death by the heat wave and thick smoke. But if there is no exhaust port and it is completely sealed, there will be insufficient air and people will be suffocated to death, unless there is some underground river, but this is unrealistic because Xunyang City is not of this kind of terrain.

This was the case when Master Zhong Ma of the Pure Land Palace of Donglin Temple passed away. The lotus pagoda caught fire, and thick smoke and heat waves rushed into the underground palace and suffocated him to death.

At this time, a fellow pirate suggested again:

"Boss, we've searched everywhere, but there's no body. It looks like it's not here. Should we continue searching? Should we go to Kuanglu Mountain to chase him, or search other suspicious places in Xiushuifang?"

The one-eyed man hesitated.

In fact, there was a doubt that had always lingered in his mind.

When they occupied Xunyang Ferry, they, disguised as pirates, sent a small team in advance, equipped with two skilled mid-level Qi-refining masters, to serve as vanguards to scout the area and raid the palace in advance.

But now no body can be found and no one knows where the person has gone.

Since they didn't die in the fire, what happened after they arrived at the palace in advance?
Was he killed by the Qigong practitioner from Prince Xunyang’s Palace?

However, if Prince Xunyang's family and Ms. Xie had fled in a carriage a quarter of an hour before the fire, then why did the Qigong practitioners in the palace stay behind and kill them?
If they were not killed, why didn't they gather at the outer house?
Even if it was an emergency and they went to hunt down Prince Xunyang and his family, why didn't they leave someone to pass on the message?

All these doubts made the one-eyed man, who had always been calm, a little irritated.

After a while, he turned around and ordered:
"Pass my order, brothers, retreat first..."

At this moment, a subordinate came to report from outside:
"Boss, Master Wu's men are here and have something to tell you."

"what's up?"

While the one-eyed man was wondering, a messenger wearing a white cloth came over and whispered something to him.

The one-eyed man looked puzzled at first, then he gradually narrowed his eyes.

After a while, he slowly opened his mouth:
"Master Wu is very smart... You have worked hard. Go back and tell Master Wu that in order to repay the prince's great kindness, we must capture Li Xian today. We must find him alive or dead, otherwise we will bring his head back to see the prince."

After watching the messenger walk away quickly, the one-eyed man raised his hand and signaled everyone to stop.

Just as the hundreds of pirates in the ruins stopped their actions, thinking that their leader was going to give new orders.

The one-eyed man closed his eyes and rested, without giving any instructions.

Seems to be waiting for something.

The hours ticked by.

Just when many pirates were getting impatient and ready to urge.

"Zheng——"

There was an inexplicable sound of piano floating in the air.

Before anyone could react, bright red beams of light shot up into the sky from the ruins.

Everyone looked around and discovered that these light beams were coming out from the middle-grade Qigong practitioners among them.

After a rough count, including the one-eyed man, there are one, two, three, four... five, a total of five.

and many more.

Five paths?

They originally had eleven mid-level pirates, but after the division, weren't there only four mid-level pirates left?
How come there is one more?
All the pirates looked confused. They followed the one-eyed man whose eyes gradually turned cold and cast their gazes towards a rockery pond twenty meters away that had been burned bare by a fire.

From the rockery pond that was originally inconspicuous in the ruins, a crimson beam of light was now rising into the sky.

It comes from underground.

(End of this chapter)