Knife splashing

Chapter 169: People are treacherous and have their own plans

Feng Feiyan's question interrupted everyone's thoughts.

Sharifei's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained calm as he said nonsense: "This thing is interesting. I made some money and wanted to buy a batch of goods to resell before the Lantern Festival."

"Since we're going to sell it, we have to figure out what's going on."

"Forget it."

Feng Feiyan shook her head and said, "I heard a piece of news. This time, the public is not allowed to release this item privately. Only the opera troupes designated by the court can do so. Anyone who resells it privately will have it confiscated."

"And there's this!"

Sha Lifei glared, then said with a look of relief: "Thank you, Shopkeeper Feng, for reminding me, otherwise I, Old Sha, would have lost money..."

As he said this, he exchanged glances with Li Yan.

The real identity of Feng Feiyan is a secret agent of the Duwei Division.

She said she would investigate, so there was no getting away.

The imperial court strictly investigated the "drug-induced puppet", probably because they were afraid that Maitreya followers would use it as a cover to cause trouble and save people during the Lantern Festival.

Feng Feiyan seemed to have something else on her mind. She nodded slightly and said, "Everyone, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first. Sister Hong, you must be careful."

After saying that, he bowed and said goodbye and left.

Looking at the other person's leaving figure, Li Yan frowned, "Sister Hong, did you come to Chang'an this time to accept a mission?"

"Yes."

Hong Yaksha's expression became solemn. "Tai Xuan Zhengjiao summoned all the top monster hunters in the city to go to the City God Temple to suppress the corpse."

Sharifei got anxious when he heard this, "Sister Hong, that thing is too dangerous, you must not go, find an excuse to refuse."

After hearing this, Red Yaksha smiled and shook his head, saying seriously: "If it was an ordinary errand, I would refuse it, but not this one."

"I have received news. It is a drought demon. It practiced evil magic during its lifetime. After its death, it was sealed in a coffin with a seven-star soul-suppressing nail and buried in the Yinshaqiao acupoint in Qinling Mountains. If its grudge is leaked, disaster will surely occur!"

"I am from Chang'an, how can I just stand by and watch?"

Wang Daoxuan heard this and said thoughtfully, "From what you said, I'm afraid someone is raising it on purpose with evil intentions."

Hong Yasha shook his head and said, "We don't know the details yet. I came here just to remind you."

"I heard that the Law Enforcement Hall suffered heavy losses in Qinling Mountains. I guess they will find someone from other places to escort it. Chang'an will be safer only after the thing is transported away."

"In that case, Sister Hong, please be careful."

"Well, bye!"

Red Yaksha waved his hands, clasped his fists, and strode away with a big sword on his back.

Seeing him leave, Sharifei couldn't help but curse: "Which wicked person came up with this thing? Aren't they afraid of damaging their virtue and cutting off their descendants?"

Wang Daoxuan sighed, "This kind of thing has happened in every dynasty, and man-made disasters are sometimes worse than natural disasters."

"Fortunately, it is much easier to deal with if we can find out in advance."

Qinling…

Li Yan suddenly thought of the precious painting that the tomb snake Dugu Qian tried to steal.

He had a hunch that it might be related to that thing...

…………

On the other side, after Feng Feiyan went out, she took a sedan chair and headed east towards Changlefang.

Changlefang is connected to the East Market and is close to the city wall. Most of the residents there are wealthy families in the city. The mansions are far apart and separated by green rivers, which is quite grand.

As soon as they arrived at the market entrance, Feng Feiyan got out of the sedan chair and walked.

She looked behind her calmly, always on the lookout for anyone following her. She turned into the alley again, and after going back and forth several times, she finally arrived at the side door of a large house.

Boom boom boom!
The knocks on the door were long and short, and very rhythmic.

The side door creaked open, revealing a cold face, who said in a deep voice: "Go in, the master has been waiting for you for a long time."

Feng Feiyan didn't dare to say much and followed the man through the corridors and into the backyard garden.

The garden is not big, but it is decorated quite exquisitely, with rockery and ponds. The snow has not yet dispersed in winter, the pond water is steaming, and red fish are swimming around.

A man is feeding fish by the pond.

He was not tall but had a strong build. He was dressed in casual clothes, had gloomy eyes and two hanging wrinkles on his forehead, and seemed to be always worried about something.

Feng Feiyan hurried forward, knelt on one knee, bowed and said, "I am Feng Feiyan, the little flag of Tingfeng, and I am honored to meet the captain."

The man was none other than Guo Yuhuai, the commander of the Shanzhou Thousand Households Office and the seal holder of the Thousand Households Office.

According to the Daxuan system, the Duwei Division set up a thousand-household unit in each state, with a total of three thousand-household units, one of whom held the seal and served as the leader.

Hearing the voice, the Chief Seal Thousand Household Guo Yuhuai did not turn his head and remained silent for a long time before suddenly speaking: "Have you found out?"

Feng Feiyan shuddered, lowered her head and said, "I am incompetent."

She groaned inwardly, her heart filled with fear.

Chang Xuan, the former centurion, solved the gunpowder theft case and captured her immediate superior Yu Chen. She is highly regarded by her superiors and now poses a threat to Guo Yuhuai, the centurion in charge of the seal.

It was nothing for her to be under Chang Xuan's command, but she did not expect Guo Yuhuai to suddenly come to her and ask her to investigate the place where Chang Xuan experimented with firearms.

Feng Feiyan dared not offend anyone.

She was afraid of being discovered by Chang Xuan, but she didn't dare to tell on him because Guo Yuhuai had also sent people to monitor her. She was so worried that she couldn't sleep these past few days.

Unexpectedly, Guo Yuhuai was not angry, but said calmly: "You have just joined his team, so it is understandable that you are not trusted. Don't worry, I will not blame you."

"Thank you, sir."

Feng Feiyan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly expressed her gratitude.

Guo Yuhuai sprinkled some bait again and sighed, "You are also an old man in our Shanzhou Qianhu Suo. How did Yu Chen treat you in the past?"

Feng Feiyan was silent for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Master Yu has been very kind to me, and I will never forget it."

"Yes."

Guo Yuhuai said calmly: "I am in charge of the Shanzhou Duwei Division. I only seek stability in everything, just like this pond. Only with grass and insects can the fish live well and look decent."

"It's nice that there are no waves."

"Yu Chen did make mistakes. He was dishonest and gave others a handle on him. But he never treated his brothers unfairly."

"I wanted to save his life, but Chang Xuan acted too quickly. He wanted to take the heads of his brothers and dye his official robe red."

"Do you understand the danger?"

Feng Feiyan lowered her head and said, "I understand."

"clear?"

Guo Yuhuai finally turned around, his eyes full of sarcasm, "No, you don't understand!"

"With Chang Xuan's impeccable character, how could he let you continue to take on the responsibility of Ting Feng Xiaoqi?"

"You are just a chess piece that has not been used yet. He just hasn't found the opportunity yet. When the time comes, he will use your head to pave the way for his men and gradually erode the power of the Shanzhou Duwei Division."

"You are also his subordinate in this court firearms experiment. Have you ever heard him talk about this?"

Feng Feiyan's face turned pale and she shook her head.

"That's right."

Guo Yuhuai said calmly: "You were promoted by Yu Chen. Chang Xuan never thought of keeping you. Do you understand?"

"Please save me, sir!"

Feng Feiyan quickly bowed and saluted.

Guo Yuhuai nodded slightly, "So, you have to be more careful in what you do and find out what Chang Xuan is doing, then we have a chance."

"I received news that Chang Xuan takes people out every night to the mass grave in the south of the city. Go check it out tonight."

"Remember, be careful and don't alert the enemy."

"Yes, my lord!"

Feng Feiyan bowed solemnly, then turned and left.

Half an hour after she left, the cold-faced young man came to the pond and said in a deep voice, "Sir, she didn't say anything nonsense. She has already disguised herself and left Chang'an City." "Two brothers followed her and will kill her halfway."

"Ah."

Guo Yuhuai continued to feed the fish and said calmly: "Since Chang Xuan is reluctant to use this chess piece, let's use it first."

"Also, spread the news. Ya Xing Bai Ruoxu is also a Maitreya man. He has not been touched for many years. Now he comes in handy."

"The Maitreya sect stole firearms, and Chang Xuan's men colluded with the bandits and escaped. Let's see how he will play this time!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The cold-faced young man immediately turned around and entered a room in the backyard. He dressed up and became a down-and-out wanderer with an untidy beard. He left the market, merged into the crowd on the street, and disappeared...

…………

Pingkangfang, outside Jinbao Casino.

Today is the fifth day of the first lunar month, and brothels, taverns, and gambling houses are all open for business. From this time until the Lantern Festival every year, the city has the most wealthy and free people, and business is also the most prosperous.

With the addition of this year’s Drum King Conference, it’s even more lively.

It was almost dusk, the lights were just coming on, and the entire Pingkangfang was bustling with people. Amid the hustle and bustle, there were accents from both the north and south.

"Is this Pingkangfang?"

"Tsk tsk, it doesn't look that good. It's much worse than the two banks of the Qinhuai River."

"You don't understand this. This place was a unique place in the Tang Dynasty. Haven't you heard of the young men from Wuling fighting for hair buns? Today, let's be the sons of aristocratic families..."

"Brother, this place is not cheap, right?"

"Why think so much? I'll open your eyes today..."

Because of the Drum King Conference, there are many martial artists from various states in the city, and even some people from the Taoist sect.

It’s so hard to come to Chang’an, how can you not visit Pingkangfang?

A sedan chair moved slowly forward among the crowd.

In the sedan, Bai Ruoxu frowned and looked absent-minded.

Whoosh!
Suddenly, he heard something wrong with the wind. He shook his right hand, and with a rustling sound, the iron fan in his hand suddenly opened and blocked his side.

"Someone is attacking!"

"Protect the Hall Master!"

There was a sudden chaos outside the sedan chair.

"Stop arguing!" Bai Ruoxu lifted the curtain and glanced around, then said in a deep voice, "You are just a bunch of scoundrels, don't pay any attention to them, just keep going."

After saying that, he lowered the curtain.

The gang members looked at each other in bewilderment and had no choice but to move on.

In the sedan chair, Bai Ruoxu reached out and picked up a small stone from under his feet. He smelled it first before unfolding the note on it.

Seeing the words above, Bai Ruoxu seemed to be thinking about something, and murmured: "It seems that I have been exposed a long time ago. Is it so soon that they are fighting among themselves..."

As he spoke, his eyes were filled with coldness.

Arriving at Jinbao Casino, Bai Ruoxu led his men into the casino. As soon as they opened the door curtain, a servant came forward to report:
"Master, Shopkeeper Wu from Xianyang wants to see you."

"Ah."

Bai Ruoxu naturally knew this already, so he strode up to the second floor, asked his men to wait outside, and then pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside the room was the long-awaited Shopkeeper Wu.

"Bye..."

He bent his hands and made the lotus gesture, but before he could say half a sentence, he was held back by Bai Ruoxu's fierce look.

Bai Ruoxu ignored him and first repositioned several screens in the room, then hung up peach charms one by one, and then said in a deep voice: "There have been many people from the Xuanmen sect in the city recently, be careful of ears behind the walls."

Shopkeeper Wu's forehead immediately broke out in cold sweat, "It was my fault for being reckless."

Bai Ruoxu did not continue to scold him, but said calmly: "I already know the matter. Why, do those people suspect that I have ulterior motives?"

"how could be…"

Shopkeeper Wu smiled apologetically, but seeing Bai Ruoxu's look, he felt uneasy. He shook his head helplessly and said, "The hall master did not follow the leader's instructions. They did have some doubts, but they had no idea how complicated Chang'an City is now."

Bai Ruoxu looked calm and continued, "We'll talk about this later. What happened in the mountain? Have you found out?"

"Ask clearly."

Shopkeeper Wu smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid we've been fooled."

"After the leader understood the treasure map, he and Long Sanjiu subdued the bandits on Niubeiliang and went into the mountains to dig for treasure."

"Somehow the news of this matter leaked out, and the Law Enforcement Hall came out in full force, along with the troops from Zhongnan Mountain and Taibai Mountain, to conduct a search and capture."

"The leader led his brothers to fight against the Law Enforcement Hall. Although they took advantage of the Qinling Mountains, they were gradually caught up by the other side."

"Later, the leader was more skilled after all. He led the others away himself and let Long Sanjiu lead the others to dig for the treasure."

"Did you find it?"

"Well, I found it, but it's a trap!"

"There is no treasure in that place. It is a strange underground palace filled with coffins. As soon as it was opened, many zombies appeared. Except for the masters, the remaining bandits were almost wiped out."

"Of course, the zombie tide also alerted the Law Enforcement Hall. They turned back and used soldiers to suppress the zombie tide."

"The leader met us and asked about the situation, and then he figured out that this was a dark hand left behind by someone who was resentful before the demise of the Daxing Dynasty."

"They turned it into a corpse-raising ground, using the drought demon that was suppressed long ago to infect the dragon veins of the Qinling Mountains, causing natural disasters."

"The so-called treasure is only to lead people to open the underground palace in the future."

"In order to suppress the zombie tide and the drought demon, the people of the Law Enforcement Hall suffered heavy losses. They suppressed it at all costs. The leader was captured in order to protect everyone."

"trap?"

Bai Ruoxu was surprised at first, then sneered, "Sure enough, those old men always think that the world belongs to them."

"When he was in power, he made life miserable for the people. After he lost his power, he turned into a demon and caused trouble. He deserves to be killed!"

"Damn it indeed!"

Shopkeeper Wu also echoed, "All the brothers in the church who took this path were forced by those corrupt officials."

"But Master Bai, right now, rescuing the Master is the most urgent matter. Long Sanju and the others are waiting outside the city and want to discuss countermeasures with you. What do you think..."

"see me?"

Bai Ruoxu smiled, his eyes cold, "I'm afraid you want to kill me!"

Shopkeeper Wu froze and shook his head, saying, "They also have some suspicions. Once the hall master meets them, the misunderstanding will naturally be resolved..."

Before he could finish his words, looking at Bai Ruoxu's indifferent face, Shopkeeper Wu also closed his mouth and sighed, not knowing what to do.

Logically speaking, he and Bai Ruoxu are more familiar with each other, but he is more anxious to save Dugu Qian. He doesn't want the two sides to fight each other, and he is already anxious and angry.

Seeing that Shopkeeper Wu was in a dilemma, Bai Ruoxu said coldly: "These idiots are just thinking about robbing the prison, but others have already set up a trap, how can they succeed?"

"Go tell them that there is only one chance to save the leader. Wait for me tonight. Get enough rest and prepare for action!"

Shopkeeper Wu's eyes lit up and he nodded, "Okay!"

After saying that, he hurriedly left Jinbao Casino.

After he left, Bai Ruoxu was silent for a long time, then stood up, looked around reluctantly, and murmured: "Dugu Qian, you are a mess at what you do, how dare you call yourself the leader?"

"It's a pity that my identity has been exposed. I can't stay in Chang'an any longer..."

After saying this, he suddenly exerted his strength in his legs and leaped up onto the beam. He lifted up a piece of wood and found a secret compartment inside.

There is a lacquered wooden box in the secret compartment.

After opening the wooden box, a pile of silver bills was neatly stacked inside.

Putting all the banknotes into his arms, Bai Ruoxu came to the window again, looked at the bustling casino below, sighed, and then entered the secret passage through the closet and disappeared...

That night, there was murderous intent outside Chang'an City.

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(End of this chapter)