Tao and Heaven

Chapter 22: The Forbearing Heavenly Lord Kills the Yellow Dragon

At three o'clock last night, the old waterman was patrolling the water room and saw a yellow dragon lying at the mouth of the well. He was so scared that he ran away using both hands and feet.

Things are so simple, without too many grudges or hatreds, and it is probably like this in the world.

Gu Wen gave the old sailor ten taels of silver and asked him not to tell anyone.

As for whether the other party really kept it a secret, he didn't care. It was difficult for an old sailor to even talk to the guards, so how could he go to a palace he had never met to tip off the king. Besides, Daqian had a strict hierarchy, and no one would believe him as a sailor reporting on a big merchant.

There are so many mysterious things in Daqian. Even if Zhao Feng heard about it in the end, what would it matter? Zhao Feng didn't cut down the tree on Phoenix Avenue. At most, he just delayed the report.

But there is a yellow dragon in the well, which makes Gu Wen have some different thoughts.

It's normal for spiritual springs to give birth to strange beasts, so there should be treasures, right?
In the following days, Gu Wen came to the water room at sunset as usual, but he could not find the spirit beast.

Sunset, a thin layer of colorful light reappears.

Gu Wen asked someone to fish it out. Suddenly, a huge splash was created when the wooden barrel was put into the water. The rope hanging the bucket was tightened, and the huge pulling force almost made the boatman who was turning the drum lose his balance.

One person ran to the entrance and took a look, then said in a panic, "Master Wen! Something is pulling the bucket!"

"One tael of silver per person who pulls it up, and ten taels for those who work hard."

Gu Wen's heart moved, but he silently took a few steps back to keep a safe distance.

The bucket can pull up to 500 kilograms of water at a time and can wrestle with the water-lifting equipment. It is obviously not a serious creature.

When the waterman, who was originally struggling, heard that there was silver, he suddenly became full of energy, and others joined the pulling team one after another. With the coordinated sound of "one, two, three", the bucket was pulled up slowly.

The first thing that came up was the wooden barrel, followed by a huge creature with light yellow spots. It was as long as a snake, with a big head and small eyes. Its mouth was beyond the back edge of its eyes, and its densely packed fine teeth bit the wooden barrel and sank completely into it, as if it was stuck in a crack in the wood.

The barrel is made of iron birch, which is usually used on city gates. This snake monster can bite through a large barrel, and its head is probably as wide as a person can hug.

Is this an eel?

Everyone opened their mouths wide, including the guards called in by Gu Wen. Some even stood against the wall with weak legs, showing off the strength of Daqian's army.

Suddenly, the eel rolled left and right, and water and mucus splashed everywhere. The four beams supporting the bucket squeaked due to excessive stress. The original structure of the equipment did not take into account the violent left and right shaking.

Gu Wen was the first to come to his senses and ordered the guards around him, "Kill that beast."

The densely packed teeth, huge size, and frantic struggling posture clearly showed that they were not capable of communicating.

The once mighty and powerful leader of the palace guards was like a lost dog. Among them, Qin Mian, who guarded the gate for Gu Wen day and night and was promoted from the border army to Beijing, looked at each other, drew his sword, stepped forward, and stabbed the struggling giant eel left and right.

As expected of a brave soldier coming off the battlefield, he did not move slowly or suspiciously due to shock.

One knife is on the body, the other is on the eye.

The former was slipped away by the hard scales and mucus, and the latter was cut to pieces with one cut. The basilisk struggled even more violently, and it bumped left and right. With a loud bang, the stone at the wellhead was knocked down, and debris flew everywhere.

Seeing this, Gu Wen stopped keeping his distance and instead looked at the snake monster. Since it could be injured by a mortal's knife, there was nothing to worry about.

They have more than a dozen adult "upright apes" and more than a dozen steel knives here, and even a tiger would have to lie down if it came.

"Monster. There is a monster!"

The leader of the royal guards roared in fear, giving the already unstable people's hearts a final push on the accelerator, and everyone began to flee.

Gu Wen covered his face. He thought he had already recognized the quality of Daqian's soldiers, but he didn't expect that there were actually masters among them.

But it was normal to think about it. He was not a pure native, so he probably couldn't understand the ancients' superstition about ghosts and gods. I'm afraid only those who have walked down from the battlefield can truly dispel the superstition of ghosts and gods.

Gu Wen was about to tell his men to retreat, saying there was no need to fight desperately and just leave the rest to the palace.

Suddenly, the fate was shaken, and the imperial juice surged like a flood!

The unknown effect of the imperial juice turned out to be extremely exciting.

He stopped retreating and stepped forward instead, saying to the two people in the distance, "Back off."

It was like the soldiers' instinct, they charged when ordered to do so, and did not hesitate at all when ordered to do so.

Qin Mian stopped fighting and carried the unconscious Rong Leng to escape. He just stood up and took two steps when a figure flashed past him, stirring up a gust of wind.

Zheng!
The iron blade scratched across the stone, sparks flew, and a cold light brought up a bloody circle, and the blood directly stained half of the wooden barrel.

The basilisk's mouth was completely cut open three inches below, and large streams of blood flowed out.

Gu Wen shook off the blood on the blade lightly. Although he only knew how to use a spear, once a mortal martial art was mastered to the extreme, he would naturally be able to learn other weapons without a teacher. At least the techniques of exerting force were the same. As for the money-making Jade Purity Sword Art, as its name suggests, it was not a sword art at all. It only had the sword intent and only talked about the sword intent.

At the same time, although he seldom fought, he knew that flesh and blood could not withstand the cold metal.

Qin Mian was splashed in the face with a stream of sticky and smelly blood. He tried to half-open his eyes and saw a man in plain clothes coming up to him and gently putting the knife into the sheath at his waist.

The sound of the blade cutting through the inner sheath, accompanied by a voice that was neither hurried nor slow.

"If you can't hold the knife steady, you can't save your life."

Qin Mian was completely stunned, as if he saw the general of Daqian who was guarding the border of Daqian and commanding 800,000 border troops.

The illusion flashed by, followed by doubts. Wasn't Wen Hou in poor health? Why did a merchant hold a knife more fiercely than these old soldiers?

Gu Wen said: "I will definitely be granted a title of nobility in the future. This achievement is useless to me. You two have no foundation in Bianjing and need it more than I do."

Qin Mian's breathing stagnated, and then his bloodstained face was gradually filled with ecstasy, and he nodded repeatedly: "Thank you, Master Wen, thank you, Master Wen!"

Who cares how Gu Wen holds the knife? This is a noble man who wants to promote himself! He has gone through thousands of dangers in the frontier army battlefield, isn't it just to fight for wealth?

Gu Wen nodded in satisfaction. During this period of time, Jiang Fugui had been forcing the palace guards to drink and confess the truth. After further investigation, he had already figured out the background of each of them.

Qin Mian and Rong Leng are just peasants who came back from the frontier. They have only been in the palace for two months. Zhao Feng probably doesn't even know that they were recently transferred here.

He turned around and asked someone to report first, so it would be difficult for them to refuse the reward.

People’s hearts are hidden, only interests remain unchanged.

Now that troubled times are approaching, his destiny demands a lot. He needs to lie dormant but not hide, just to increase his strength to the maximum extent possible.

"How are you feeling?"

The two stood up and bowed and replied, "Nothing serious for now."

Gu Wen said, "Let's find a doctor to see him later. I'll pay for the consultation and medicine."

Hearing this, Qin Mian and Rong Leng were so moved that their faces turned red and they bowed their heads repeatedly to express their gratitude.

They were moved and excited. They followed Gu Wen's order to kill the snake monster not for a few taels of silver, but to fight for a good future. The other guards were all military households of the imperial army of Bianjing. Their families had more or less connections, so they wanted to please Gu Wen even more.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside. Even without seeing anyone, Gu Wen could tell that there were at least twenty people.

"Master Wen! I'm here to save you!"

Jiang Fugui came charging forward with a large group of strong men, with a variety of weapons in their hands, including forks, axes, palladiums, shovels, four farm tools, wooden sticks, mallets, benches and chairs.

Since Daqian guarded against the people like guarding against thieves, especially in the Qianjing County area, the policy of "one kitchen knife for every ten households" was implemented since the previous emperor, and it was difficult for ordinary people to find a kitchen knife at home. This also led to the reason that except for the border troops, Daqian's poor army could suppress rebellions everywhere without a single defeat.

The court knows it is rotten, but it just wants to make others worse.

When everyone entered the courtyard, they were all shocked to see the huge yellow eel hanging. But fortunately, there were many people and no one escaped, also because their Master Wen was inside.

This is the one who gives you food!

This is also why when a general rebels, his subordinates often support him.

Then he saw the bleeding wound of the eel and Gu Wen and the other two standing not far away. Jiang Fugui breathed a sigh of relief and almost ran over: "Master! Are you okay? If anything happens to you, how can I follow you and enjoy the wealth and glory!"

Gu Wen pushed him away with disdain and asked, "Where are the guards?"

"They ran away, riding their horses and saying they were going to the palace to get help! Those sons of bitches actually abandoned you and ran away. And those lowly ones, they ate at your hands but didn't know how to protect their master."

Jiang Fugui kept cursing and his whole body turned as red as the braised shrimps in oil.

His idea was very simple. Our master was going to be made a marquis, and he would enjoy a comfortable life in the future. Moreover, he had followed Gu Wen for four years and understood that following this master was not just about drinking soup, but eating vegetables at the table.

"You are the Marquis' precious daughter. What will we do if something happens to you?"

Gu Wen narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately ordered everyone, "Get this snake monster out."

He didn't care about these escapes, as they were expected. But their running back to the palace meant that Zhao Feng's men would arrive soon, not as reinforcements, but to steal food.

Must be as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)