Knife splashing

Chapter 225: Mystery in the Ancient Village
"That village is called Erbeiwan."

Bringing a few people to the Xuan Priest's Palace, Yulingzi picked up a file on the table and handed it to Li Yan.

"All the information is here. The disciples sent there can't find the cause, so they can only record the situation carefully."

"That village is a little special. This matter has spread to everyone. If it is not dealt with soon, the trouble will only get bigger..."

Li Yan raised his eyebrows, "What's the special method?"

Yulingzi shook his head helplessly and said, "The village is in Zigui County, five miles east of the city. There are two stone tablets at the entrance of the village. One tablet is engraved with 'Qu Yuan's Residence' and the other is engraved with 'Song Yu's Residence'."

Li Yan was stunned, then nodded and said, "It is indeed special."

"Yes." Yu Lingzi became more helpless.

"So, over the years, the village's literary tradition has long been cut off, and there hasn't been a scholar in the past hundred years, but the location is very important."

"There are scholars and poets who go there all year round to reminisce about the past. It is close to some native mountain towns. If the land temple is demolished and evil gods are worshipped, it will be a joke if it gets out."

"Right now, those villagers who stormed the City God Temple are still being held in the government jail. If we just convict them but don't address the issue, you can imagine what kind of controversy that will cause."

"Don't worry, Taoist priest. We will do our best."

Li Yan nodded and picked up the file to look at it.

Just as Yulingzi introduced before, the village planted rice seedlings continuously, but all of them died mysteriously.

Neither Feng Shui nor rites to ward off disasters had any effect, and all kinds of divination could not reveal any clues.

Later, a wandering Taoist priest entered the village and spread rumors everywhere, saying that this was a disaster caused by the court's failure of virtue and a disaster sent from heaven.

Muramasa was afraid and sent people to capture him, but the Taoist walked into Qu Yuan's stone tablet and disappeared in broad daylight.

The villagers were in panic, thinking it was Doctor Sanlu's warning.

That night, someone dreamed of the Taoist priest again, saying that the disaster in the village originated from the land temple. Someone directly smashed the land statue and found that it was full of human blood and internal organs!

The villagers became even more panicked, and not knowing who had bewitched them, they ran to Yichang City to attack the City God Temple.

"This is clearly the work of a demon!"

Li Yan shook his head slightly and handed the file to Wang Daoxuan. "Master, see if this is the same as what you encountered back then?"

When Wang Daoxuan heard about this for the first time, he said that he had seen it before and had made preparations overnight.

Wang Daoxuan took it and looked at it, stroked his beard and nodded, "It looks very similar, but the details need to be checked again when we get there."

Yu Lingzi, who was standing by, was immediately curious after hearing this, "Daoyou, have you ever seen this technique?"

Wang Daoxuan nodded and said, "I was traveling around the world and saw this when I passed by Jiaozhou. It was a wooden ghost who was causing trouble."

"The wood spirit is a spirit in the wood. One of the villagers cut down a thousand-year-old tree in the nearby mountain to build a house. The wood spirit took revenge and caused the grass and trees to die, and also killed several people in succession."

"I am not proficient in magic and could not find the cause. It was a Meishan Sect water master who passed by here and captured and killed the wood spirit."

"Wooden spirit?"

Yu Lingzi frowned slightly, "The wood ghost is causing trouble, there should be some yin energy left, but I didn't find anything at the time."

When Li Yan and others were in Yunyang, Lin Yu, a wealthy young man from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, once controlled the "wooden guest" to spy on them.

But "Mumei" and "Muke" are two completely different things.

"Mu Ke" is a mountain spirit with a physical body, more like a natural alien species like the cockatoo. In some places, it will even communicate with humans and exchange spiritual wood from the mountains for food.

Wood spirits are old tree spirits.

The old tree is the main body, and the spirit transforms into a spirit wandering around.

Moreover, the wood ghost has another characteristic, that is, it is not afraid of sunlight and likes to appear in broad daylight. It is just as the saying goes, "wood ghosts walk in the morning, mountain ghosts scare at night."

Sometimes people who go into the mountains will encounter ghost walls during the day, with thick fog and no way to tell east from west, south from north. This may be the cause of this thing.

They are usually gentle in character and use the Ghost Wall to prevent people from getting close to their real bodies.

However, once the main body is destroyed, bloody revenge will be taken.

Li Yan said coldly: "If someone is involved and tries to spread rumors to disturb the people, we will naturally take action to erase the traces. As long as we catch this person, the problem will be solved."

"makes sense."

Yu Lingzi smiled bitterly and said, "The elite members of the Law Enforcement Hall have all been withdrawn. The disciples who are going to check are not experienced enough, so we have to rely on your help."

"Easy to say."

Li Yan smiled slightly and changed the subject, "Master, we have something to ask you for help. We want to refine a magical instrument and are short of some treasures and spiritual materials. Do you have any in the City God Temple?"

"what do you need?"

“Mandrill hair and lichen.”

Li Yan just asked casually. After all, this thing is rare and the strength of Yichang City God Temple is average.

Who would have thought that Yulingzi nodded without hesitation and said, "We have these two things in the City God Temple in Yichang."

As he spoke, he smiled and said, "Yichang is a place that connects Shennongjia in the upper part and the wild mountains of western Hunan in the lower part. Many places are untouched by humans, and there are many spirits and various spiritual creatures in the mountains."

"Last autumn, a mandrill was causing trouble in Xingyang County, kidnapping women and taking them to Shennongjia. At that time, the elite members of the Law Enforcement Hall were still there, and they brought along the demon hunters from the Meishan Law Sect to capture it."

"The bones of the mandrill were taken away by the Meishan disciple and used to make a magical instrument. The skin and hair were placed in the City God Temple and have not been sold yet."

"As for the lichen, it was sold to us by a treasure hunter in the mountains in exchange for some magical instruments."

"That's a good feeling!"

Upon hearing this, Sharifei was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

These two kinds of spiritual materials can be made into powder to eliminate odors. Lin Yu has passed on the production method to him. With this thing, using gunpowder to deal with the sorcerer is almost certain.

"Everyone, please come with me."

Seeing the expressions of the few people, Yulingzi was actually happy. He took them to the back hall of the City God with enthusiasm, opened the warehouse, took out two boxes, and handed them directly to Li Yan.

"These two spiritual materials are sold for a total of two thousand taels. I won't ask for more. I just want to get back my investment."

"Don't worry, I dare not say anything else, but at least in Yichang City God Temple, all spiritual materials and magic tools will be discounted for you."

"Thank you, Taoist Master."

Li Yan and others hurriedly bowed to express their gratitude.

This matter is of great help to them, and they save as much as possible.

Yu Lingzi was also very happy. These spiritual materials were not that important to him. As long as he could stabilize the situation in Yichang and wait until the imperial court quelled the chaos in the future, he would reap the rewards.

For a while, both sides were very satisfied.

Li Yan smiled and bowed, saying, "Senior, please send someone to accompany us to the government office to ask the people. Perhaps we can get more information. Then we will set off."

"What a coincidence, I was just about to talk about this."

Yu Lingzi stroked his beard and said, "Last night, the Duwei Division followed the trail, but the remnants of the Longxiang Army had already fled through the east gate into the nearby mountains and are nowhere to be found."

"The Commander-in-Chief came this morning and asked some questions. He said he would send someone to follow you. Maybe we can catch those remnants."

Li Yan frowned after hearing this and immediately refused, saying, "The Duwei Division is too arrogant. I'm afraid it will alert the demon, which will be inconvenient."

"It doesn't matter."

Yu Lingzi smiled and said, "They will only send one centurion, disguised as an attendant, and will not be a hindrance."

"Moreover, Erbei Bay is located in Zigui County, close to the mountainous area of ​​the natives. The people there are very tough. In some places, the people will even disguise themselves as river bandits and rob people during the slack season."

"And to get from Yichang to Zigui, you need to pass through Xiling Gorge, which is the most dangerous part of the Three Gorges waterway. Few people there can speak Mandarin, and no one will help you. I'm afraid you won't even be able to find the way."

Having said this, Li Yan had no reason to object.

Moreover, judging from the situation, the Duwei Division already has a plan. According to their character, they will follow it secretly even if there is opposition.

Thinking of this, Li Yan winked at Shalifi.

Sharifei immediately understood.

They also discussed how to deal with this situation.

That is to use the opponent's force to your advantage!

Whether it is the Duwei Division, the Law Enforcement Hall, or the Dharma Lineage, as long as there is a need, they can all be used for support.

As long as the goal can be achieved, everything is fine.

Sure enough, less than half an incense stick of time passed, and a man came outside to ask for a meeting, and was then led into the City God Temple by a Taoist boy. The man was a middle-aged man with a regular face, medium height, strong back and strong waist, dressed in coarse cloth, wearing a bamboo hat, carrying a fishing rod, dressed like a fisherman.

He smiled widely, and as soon as he entered the room, he clasped his fists and said, "I am Yuan Kejian, the captain of the Duwei Division. Nice to meet you all."

When Li Yan and others saw this, they all secretly praised it in their hearts.

Many people in the Duwei Division have an official air about them.

That is a habit developed over the years. He uses his power to suppress ordinary people and looks down on people in the underworld as if they were bandits.

There was once a funny joke in the underworld, saying that the people in the Duwei Division liked to wear official boots even when they were in disguise.

But this man was wearing tattered straw shoes, and even deliberately got his hands and feet dirty, looking no different from an ordinary fisherman.

"I've met my lord."

Li Yan and others also clasped their fists slightly.

"Eh~"

The former captain waved his hands quickly and said with a smile on his face: "I think the Taoist priest has also told you that I am just following you and will not get in your way. You can just call me Brother Yuan."

"Your Excellency is joking." Li Yan just smiled faintly.

The other party said so, but they would not really do it.

None of the people who could become a hundred households in a place like the Duweisi were good people. There were many smiling tigers and old cunning people.

The former captain laughed and said nothing more.

Yu Lingzi pretended to be confused, pretending not to notice the awkward atmosphere, and stroked his beard and smiled, "Yuan Baihu's arrival is just in time. Young Master Li and his men are going to the government office to ask for some information, and we need your help with this matter."

"That's natural."

Without further ado, the former captain took Li Yan and others out of the City God Temple and headed to the Yichang government office.

As soon as I got out of the street, I saw a fight.

I saw several men in rough clothes and red belts around their waists, carrying knives, guns, sticks and clubs, rushing into a tavern.

Wow!
The window on the second floor of the tavern suddenly shattered.

An old man broke out of the window, fell to the ground and rolled over to relieve the force, then stood up and tried to escape.

At this moment, a peddler carrying a box nearby suddenly pulled out the shoulder pole in his hand, stepped forward, and shook the horizontal railing.

When Li Yan saw it, his eyes suddenly lit up.

What a great Liuhe gun!

With a loud bang, the old man was hit on the head and fell to the ground unconscious, without making any sound.

A group of men rushed forward and tied him up.

The man dressed as a peddler then picked up his stick, clasped his hands and said loudly to the people around him: "Don't be afraid, neighbors. This man is a bandit killer who sneaked into Yichang City to cause trouble."

"We, the Divine Fist Society, will follow your orders to capture him and bring peace back to the area!"

"it is good!"

The people around cheered.

This is true for both Han and Tujia people.

They have all lived in the city for many years, so how could they not feel something unusual recently? Some of them were scared and decided to move to Hankou with their families.

If the Divine Fist takes action at this time, it will indeed help to calm people's hearts.

Seeing this, the former captain shook his head and smiled, "Young Master Li must have met Lei Zhen. He is an old veteran of the Ezhou martial arts world, a man who can shake a place with just one word."

"The Yichang Divine Fist Association originally had some sects that had connections with the chieftains, and they wanted to have the best of both worlds, which led to this chaos."

"Lei Zhen recruited people overnight and gave a lot of scolding last night. No one dared to object. If the Divine Fist Association fights with all its strength, at least Yichang City will be much calmer and we can breathe a sigh of relief."

Li Yan was a little surprised, and raised his eyebrows and asked, "Master Bai Hu, is your Duwei Division also short of people?"

The former captain was silent for a moment, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, and he said in a deep voice: "Young Master Li is a man of the world, and it is understandable that he doesn't like the style of the Duwei Division, but now it is related to the fate of the country."

"When a war is imminent, the Duwei Division must go first. More than a hundred of our brothers sneaked into the Tusi stronghold to gather intelligence, and now less than half of them are still alive, and they are all good fighters who can be used on weekdays."

"If I can capture the remnants of the Longxiong Army, their pensions will be more generous."

His voice was calm, but his eyes were slightly red.

Li Yan was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Don't worry, Captain Yuan, those people can't escape!"

There is more than one chaos on the street.

The Divine Fist Society is almost out in full force. Some of the hiding methods in the underworld may deceive ordinary people, but not them.

Many outlaws were found, besieged and captured.

Some people resisted.

Some people were beaten to death in the street.

Under the shadow of war, there is no way anyone would hold back.

Of course, many more people sensed that something was wrong and disguised themselves and fled towards the city gate.

Li Yan and others didn't bother to watch the fun and came to the Yichang government office.

As the saying goes, it is easier to get things done if you have someone in the government.

The former captain said something at the door, and a captain of the police appeared with an attentive look on his face and took them to the Yichang prison to pick up the person.

It was Li Yan’s first time to come to the cell.

This kind of place is never a good place.

Many evil ghosts and spirits are formed by extreme emotions and evil energy. If the cells are not decorated, they are no different from ghost caves.

Therefore, each dungeon cell has been specially laid out.

At the entrance to the cell, there is a carving of Bi'an on the stone door frame.

He has wide-open eyes, ferocious fangs, and is in charge of prisons.

The brick carvings on the corners of the wall do not feature the usual auspicious flowers, but instead a series of sunken talismans filled with cinnabar.

Looks very fierce.

Yichang is located on the riverside. All the cells are dark and damp. Coupled with the low-quality and pungent candlelight, the polluted air is unbearable.

Obviously, the jailers also knew that this matter was a big deal.

Any slight mistake will be used as a handle.

Therefore, although the people of Erbeiwan who were imprisoned lived in discomfort and ate even more disgusting food, at least they were not beaten.

They are all ordinary people who got carried away and were instigated to cause trouble. They have only been detained for two days and they are already regretting it.

The chief constable in the government office was very familiar with signing the signature and bringing the person in for interrogation.

"It's unfair, it's unfair!"

A thin man came out and cried out for justice.

"What injustice is there?"

The head constable of the government office looked fierce and angrily shouted, "Cheng San, where did you get the guts to set fire and attack the City God Temple?

"Now you know you're afraid?"

"Woooooo~"

"Why are you crying? These gentlemen have something to ask you. If you tell them a lie, you will rot in this prison!"

The words were spoken harshly, but clearly meant to excuse the person.

The two must have known each other before.

Li Yan was too lazy to pay attention and asked carefully.

This question really gave me some clues...

(End of this chapter)