Knife splashing

Chapter 220: The Dilemma of the City God Temple
"What happened?"

Li Yan frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask.

Where is the City God Temple? It is the place where the soldiers of the community are stationed, and it is also the place where the Great Xuan Dynasty holds sacrifices to the community of grain and grain.

In all provinces of the world, even in Guangdong Province where the Dharma lineage is the most prosperous, the City God Temple is a place to suppress the area, but the blessed land is under the management of the Dharma lineage.

At the same time, he pinched the Yang Jue with his hands and his face changed slightly.

The incense in the City God Temple was a little scattered.

The feeling that the divine power inside gave him was incomparable to places like Chang'an and Yunyang, even some small towns he passed by could not compare to it!

This is the war front line. Could it be that the City God Temple has met with a disaster?

Yu Lingzi looked a little embarrassed. "This... this is a long story. Let's settle down first."

Li Yan and others exchanged glances with each other and remained alert secretly.

The inn is not far away, just across the street from the City God Temple.

In any city in China, any inn that can be opened in such a prosperous area will not be of bad quality, and the large inns with sleeping arrangements are usually found on the edge of the city.

This is a large inn with three entrances, all of which are two-story buildings, with blue bricks and ancient tiles, and carved wood, which has a very ancient charm.

On the huge plaque, the four words "Changfeng Inn" were clearly written.

In addition to some merchants in luxurious clothes, there were also many people in official uniforms and even military captains coming in and out of the door.

When Li Yan saw it, he frowned immediately.

This inn must be related to the government office. People in the underworld usually avoid staying in such inns.

If you have different ideas, any quarrels or arguments will cause trouble.

"Don't worry, everyone."

Seeing this, Yu Lingzi smiled and whispered, "I gave you the name of Taixuan Orthodox Sect, no one will provoke you."

"Besides, in today's Yichang City, this inn is the safest..."

"Oh?"

Li Yan heard the hidden meaning in his words and said no more.

In inns that could accommodate court officials, the waiters were very considerate and neatly dressed. They would run to greet the guests before they even entered the door.

"Hello, Taoist priest. The room has been cleaned up."

"As you requested, a banquet has been prepared."

"Guys, please come with me."

The waiter, with an attentive look on his face, led everyone to the backyard.

The layout here is unique. There is a rockery and flower pond in the center of the yard, as well as several tall trees. There are two-story buildings all around. Although it is not an independent courtyard, it looks elegant and quiet.

There was a small pavilion next to the rockery in the courtyard, where several officials were drinking tea and chatting. Although they looked leisurely, they all had serious expressions.

When they saw several people entering the yard, they immediately stopped talking and bowed slightly to Yulingzi, obviously knowing each other.

Yulingzi must have known something about their situation, as he directly booked four rooms that were connected to each other.

Although the room is not big, it is clean and tidy, only slightly worse than the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in Yunyang City.

As soon as everyone put down their luggage, someone unfolded a round table and set up the feast. There were eight cold and eight hot dishes, various cakes, and a pot of old yellow wine, which was very exquisite.

"Please enjoy your meal."

The waiter smiled and said, "If you need hot water, just ask and someone will bring it to you."

After saying that, he carefully closed the door and left.

"Come, come, please."

After sitting down, Yulingzi immediately picked up a glass of wine and said with a smile: "You all have come from afar and have worked hard on the way. Please drink this glass."

"Thank you, senior."

After a few polite words, Li Yan didn't care about eating, and directly clasped his fists and said: "I am no better than a nobody. I feel guilty for your hospitality. If you have something to say, please tell me."

"You guys are joking."

Yu Lingzi shook his head slightly, "You are now very famous. The Iron Corpse Nonda and the evil monk Karma were both defeated by you. It is not something that ordinary people can do."

Li Yan was confused, "Who are these?"

Yu Lingzi was stunned at first, then he stroked his beard and laughed, "If these two knew that they died at the hands of Young Master Li and were treated as nobody, they would probably be so angry that even the coffin lid would not be able to hold them down."

"Nongda, the 'Iron Corpse', is the barbarian sorcerer you killed in Qinglong Mountain. He was originally a corpse driver in western Hunan. Later, he secretly robbed and killed caravans under the guise of corpse driving and was wanted by the Law Enforcement Hall."

"He fled to the Jingchu Mountains for refuge, and colluded with the underworld villains and evil sorcerers there. He also used the old zombies passed down by his master to commit several major crimes, earning him a notorious reputation."

"This person has joined the Tiansheng Sect. His old zombie can release corpse poison. Fortunately, he died in the hands of Taoist friends. Otherwise, if the imperial army entered the mountains and forests, I don’t know how many soldiers would be harmed…"

"As for the evil monk Karma, he was the one you killed at the Zhujiabao Phosphate Mine. He was originally a secret monk of the Tibetan Red Sect, but later he got into trouble and fled to the Central Plains, where he acted recklessly and was also hunted down by the Law Enforcement Hall."

"Afterwards, I don't know which faction he joined. He disappeared for several years, but he eventually died in your hands..."

"Oh I got it."

After hearing this, Li Yan suddenly realized what was going on. He had long felt that the two men were extraordinary, but unfortunately they both had weaknesses, one was killed by explosives, and the other was burned to charcoal by the Hellfire Gun.

Without someone's help, it would definitely not be that easy to kill.

Unexpectedly, there is some story behind it.

As for the fact that Yulingzi learned about this so quickly, he was not surprised at all. Both the Taixuan Orthodox Sect and the imperial court had sent messages by carrier pigeons.

Especially important intelligence can spread throughout the state within a few days, especially in wartime.

Thinking of what he had seen along the way, Li Yan had already made some guesses in his mind, and asked in a deep voice: "Master, is the situation in Yichang not too good?"

“It’s more than bad.”

Yulingzi did not hide anything and started pouring out his grievances directly.

"Yichang is in an awkward position. Although our Taixuan Orthodox Sect is the orthodox one and occupies the City God Temple, and we preside over every large-scale sacrifice, the common people are mainly based on the Dharma lineage."

"We were already short of manpower to begin with, and to deal with the rebellion of the Jingchu mountain people, all the best fighters were transferred away, making the situation even more stretched."

"The situation is delicate now. Secret agents from all sides have gathered in Yichang, including some sorcerers under the command of the chieftains. The court relies more on several local magic schools to suppress the situation."

"The chaos in Ezhou has already emerged, and demons and evil spirits have been causing chaos in various places from time to time. Although the Dharma lineage can also ensure peace in the area, according to regulations, these cases will be reported to the Yichang government office and then sent to the City God Temple."

"We have limited manpower, how can we handle it?"

"You are also aware of some things. The relationship between the Dharma lineage and our Orthodox Church is delicate, and there are also some inseparable connections between them and the local chieftains, which makes our Taixuan Orthodox Church even more embarrassed."

"This is about the stability of the area. My reputation is not that important. I will invite the local Dharma lineage to several banquets and ask them to suppress the evil spirits as much as possible during this period of time."

"Even so, the situation in the southwest is getting worse, and some bad guys are taking advantage of the situation to disturb the people with evil methods and try to overthrow the country."

"These are all the tricks that the Maitreya cult used to use. Once a disaster or chaos occurs, and the imperial court and orthodox religions are unable to stabilize people's hearts, the people will turn to the evil gods for help, which will eventually lead to disaster."

Then he smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest, you saw it on the way here. Do you know who destroyed the City God Temple?"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, "Evil demon?"

"No."

Yulingzi sighed, "It was destroyed by the people of a nearby village."

"It is the spring ploughing season now, and all the rice seedlings they planted died overnight. It is rare for rice to die, and it is not due to water problems."

"One of my junior brothers went there, but he was not capable enough to find the cause. The village was poor, and he could not raise enough money to ask the Dharma lineage to help. After several attempts to replant, the rice seedlings all died."

"I don't know which evil person spread the rumor that the withering of rice was due to the failure of the imperial court, so the villagers smashed the land temple and were bewitched to attack the city god temple."

"Your strength is obvious to all. Young Master Li is of noble status and has a good relationship with our Taixuan Orthodox Sect. Since you are in Yichang, I can only shamelessly come and ask for help."

"Senior is joking."

Li Yan did not refuse, and said with a folded hand: "Although our strength is average, the world is in chaos right now, so we will naturally do our part."

They came to the southwest to exorcise evil spirits and monsters, to gain experience on the one hand, and to accumulate merit on the other hand, so that they could use the resources of Wudang Mountain to practice.

Moreover, influenced by Wang Daoxuan, even if there is no benefit, he will not stand idly by when he encounters someone using evil magic to harm others.

"Good! You are all indeed men of virtue."

Yu Lingzi was overjoyed when he heard this. Given the current situation in Yichang City, the only ones he could rely on were not the Dharma lineage, but these independent cultivators who had good relations with the orthodox religion.

Li Yan's team is just one of them.

Of course, there will be no less benefits.

"Everyone."

Yu Lingzi smiled and said, "There will be Zhenwu Orders for both the Qinglong Mountain and the Phosphate Mine incidents, and the rewards for the two monsters will also be given to you."

"In times of crisis, people's true nature is revealed. Don't worry, my Wudang Zhenwu Palace will never treat you unfairly."

"The matter of that village is the most urgent. Although the people have been arrested by the court, the people are still in turmoil and need to be stabilized as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, senior. However, I have another matter to attend to in Yichang. After I finish it, I will go to the City God Temple to find you."

"That's fine too."

After promising a bunch of benefits, Yulingzi stood up and said goodbye.

Watching him leave, Wang Daoxuan couldn't help but shook his head and said, "The world is indeed in chaos. This is the first time I've seen Taixuan Orthodox Sect so anxious in all my years."

"Brother Yan, you go to the Yan Mansion first. I will stay at the inn to make some preparations. I have seen the matter of that village once in Jiaozhou. If it is really as I guessed, I am afraid there will be some trouble..."

Li Yan nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Uncle Sha, Brother Lu, Yichang is in danger. You should stay in the inn to protect the Taoist priest. Don't go out alone."

"Don't worry, I know."

Sharifei understood immediately after hearing this.

It is still unknown which force owns the "Thunder and Fire Sutra" they stole. The enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, so we must be extra careful.

After giving some more instructions, Li Yan changed into clean clothes, packed his things, and left the inn.

The Yan family was also a wealthy family in Yichang. He asked the waiter for the location and then went to the north of the city alone.

On the street corner behind him, an old beggar who was playing the erhu slowly raised his head, his pupils bloodshot...

(End of this chapter)