Knife splashing

Chapter 518: Fire at Lingquan Temple
"Isn't that Lingquan Temple?"

"Why is it on fire?"

For a moment, there was a lot of discussion in the attic.

No one had time to eat their meals and they all gathered at the window to watch the fun.

Li Yan was no exception and stood in front of the window with a glass of wine.

Suining is located in a basin plain, which is all hills and mountains, so Lingquan Peak in the distance is very conspicuous.

Before coming, Sharifei had collected intelligence.

It is said that there is a spring on the mountain that drips from the rocks and flows endlessly, so it is called Lingquan. What makes it even more famous is the Lingquan Temple on the mountain.

"The three sisters of Guanyin Bodhisattva eat from the same pot, but they practice separately. The eldest sister practices in Guangde Temple, the second sister practices in Lingquan Temple, and only the third sister practices far away, in Putuo Temple in Nanhai."

In Lingquan Temple, two Guanyins are enshrined.

People in Suining worship Buddhism, especially Guanyin, who is worshipped by every household.

The most eye-catching thing in Lingquan Temple is undoubtedly the towering Guanyin Hall, with its wooden arches and golden glazed tiles. It looks like a golden scene between the mountains and waters, and can be seen clearly even from the Wangjiang Tower.

At this moment, not far from the Guanyin Temple, thick smoke was rising, which was particularly obvious under the gloomy sky.

"Why did the water leak out of nowhere?"

"A Dharma Assembly is about to begin, so the temple has to make some arrangements. Some lanterns and Buddha lamps may have been caught by the wind..."

Everyone watched the excitement for a while and then paid no more attention.

The same is true for Li Yan.

Along the way, he crossed mountains and rivers, and had seen too many landscapes and experienced different folk customs.

Faith is a complicated thing.

Especially in the vast land of China, the gods worshipped are often related to history, land, and customs.

This side believes in Guan Gong, that side worships Erlang, they are different.

Sometimes, there are even contradictory statements.

But no matter what gods or immortals they are, they can be passed down for a long time and integrated with local customs. There is only one reason behind them:
People’s expectation for happiness and well-being.

As long as it has nothing to do with him, Li Yan doesn't bother to care.

"Come, everyone, drink this cup to its fullest!"

Zou Shaohai called out and the banquet continued.

Since Wangjiang Tower costs so much, it is natural that a fine banquet is arranged.

The most popular is the three-course meal.

One is the "Suizzhou No. 1 Scholar Goose", which was named after the great talent Yang Shen many years ago. After he won the top spot in the imperial examination and returned to his hometown to visit his relatives, the locals used their family tradition to make braised goose to entertain him, and later it was called "No. 1 Scholar Goose".

The second is "Lotus Pond Lotus Seed Matchmaker Meat", and the third is "Fresh Bamboo Shoots Zhuotong Chicken", both of which have delicious and unique taste.

Needless to say, the Shu cuisine is delicious.

Not to mention Wu Ba's eyebrows flew up, even Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan, after a few rounds of punches, buried their heads in the food.

Having been exposed to the elements for many years, one knows how difficult it is to get delicious food.

But some people don't care about eating and drinking.

For example, the Red Head Mage of the Lushan Sect, most of the time, chats with the leaders of the Shu martial arts world and builds good relationships with them.

Although those who had enemies with Li Yan had put aside their grudges this time, they still felt uncomfortable and left early.

Not long after, some sects and forces also said goodbye.

Zou Shaohai went out to see them off one by one.

After he had been busy running around and had almost sent all the guests away, he turned around and found Li Yan and others were still sitting at the table.

They were the only ones left in the attic.

Even Luo Junan from the Luo family went to see off the families who came to help and went to the ferry to take the boat.

They were already full and satisfied, but Wu Ba still wanted to eat, so they drank tea while waiting, not paying any attention to the looks of those around them.

"Young Master Li, you have a good heart!"

Zou Shaohai raised his thumbs, then sat beside him. After drinking a few cups of tea, he said in a deep voice, "I'm grateful for what happened today."

"Senior, you are joking. I have benefited a lot from it."

Li Yan made a casual polite remark.

He knew that Zou Shaohai had something else to say.

Sure enough, Zou Shaohai pondered for a moment and said, "I'm sure Young Master Li can see that the current situation in the Shu martial arts world is in chaos. What are your plans for the future?"

Li Yan smiled slightly, shook his head and said: "Senior, we are wandering immortals. Although we will stay in Shu for a while, we are just passers-by and will not take root here."

"Travel to the North Sea in the morning and reach Cangwu in the evening, great!"

Zou Shaohai smiled and praised, but secretly thought it was a pity, and then said: "I have just taken over the Divine Fist Club, and I don't have enough masters. Some things may trouble you, the Twelve Yuanchen."

"Easy to say!"

Li Yan also smiled, "Senior, you should know what we can do, and the price is good."

"Zou is certainly not a stingy person."

Zou Shaohai laughed and thought to himself what a little rascal.

Originally they wanted to take advantage of this newly established friendship and ask Li Yan to help them with something, but after hearing what he said, it was clear that friendship is friendship and business is business.

But after thinking for a while, he said, "It's still about Tang Ling. I'll get some information first. If we can find him, the Divine Fist will handle it ourselves."

"But there may be some problems with this matter. I'll say hello first. If something really goes wrong, I'll need your help."

"It's easy to talk about."

Li Yan nodded in agreement, and then asked, "I have something to ask, I wonder if the Divine Fist Club dares to take it?"

"Oh?"

Zou Shaohai's expression remained unchanged, "Young man, please feel free to speak."

"It's about the Cult of the Dragon."

Li Yan explained the origin of the Dragon Worship Sect and what they wanted to do. "This is a big threat in Shu. If the Divine Fist Society can destroy it, it will surely become famous!"

"Lord Jiangshen, wreaking havoc in the Dragon King Temple..."

Zou Shaohai was also shocked after hearing this, his face became solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "One of the responsibilities of the Divine Fist Association is to protect the peace of the area, but with the current strength of the Shuzhong Divine Fist Association, this matter is really impossible to accomplish."

"This is about the safety of Shu, so I dare not keep it to myself. I have an old relationship with Zen Master Zhitong of Guangde Temple. Tomorrow, I ask you to follow me up the mountain and tell me about this matter."

"Let Guangde Temple take the lead and let Emei Qingcheng join in to eradicate these evil spirits, and we will be more confident."

"Alright."

Li Yan nodded in agreement immediately.

He didn't think about fighting alone with the Dragon Worshiping Sect. After all, it was related to the safety of Shu, so how could he let these people sit idle?

Seeing Wu Ba patting his stomach and squinting his eyes while eating, Li Yan stood up and said, "Senior, we'll leave first. See you tomorrow."

Wang Daoxuan, Lu San and others picked up the clothes that were in the way and took out their magic weapons to replace them.

Zou Shaohai noticed something was wrong, "What are you guys going to do?"

Sharifei chuckled, "I'm full, let's digest the food after dinner."

"you…"

Zou Shaohai suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed. He had realized that Li Yan and his men were going to cause trouble for the people in the Prince of Shu's Palace.

Having just used the Shu Palace to break the impasse, the news was naturally leaked.

Unexpectedly, Li Yan and his companions were actually planning to kill someone.

Zou Shaohai was somewhat speechless, "Everyone, are you not going to reconcile with the Shu Palace?"

"Hahaha…"

Li Yan laughed, his eyes full of sarcasm, "There's such a huge gap in status, how can they look at you straight in the eye? Drag them into the mud and beat them up, maybe they will obey you."

Go ahead and leave with a few people.

…………

After leaving Wangjiang Tower, they went directly to Suining County.

According to what Zou Shaohai revealed before, the people from the Shu Palace were hiding in a large house in the west of the city, which was also an oil press. When they came here, their target was naturally them.

That place was on the way to Ruifu's house. They passed by it twice and didn't find it, which shows that these people are very good at hiding.

It is very likely that a formation was set up to conceal the aura.

It was already past noon, but the streets of the county town were still crowded with people coming and going and the constant neighing of mules and horses.

A few people pretended to be full and strolled around, looking around, as if they were looking at some goods in the store.

In fact, the investigation had already begun.

"There are two people following us, a beggar and a porter."

"Don't worry, they are just ordinary people who got paid."

"There's a formation in the yard, so the hawks can't see clearly."

“As long as there are people…”

As they were talking, they were approaching the mansion.

This house is old, shabby, and has a pungent smell of oil. It is indeed a good place to hide.

At least Li Yan would resist instinctively.

"Do it!"

When they arrived at the gate, Li Yan suddenly spoke.

Wu Ba exerted force with his legs, and his huge body suddenly rushed out, crashing sideways into the door of the house.

boom!
With a loud bang, the finger-thick wooden door shattered.

But Li Yan was even faster. He had already jumped into the air and climbed onto the courtyard wall.

The big man in black who was guarding the wooden door was knocked away along with the shattered wooden door before he could react.

These people are indeed the elite of the palace.

Some people were guarding the gate, while others pretended to be oil mill workers, carrying fried oil cakes and pretending to be working.

The loud noise immediately attracted their attention.

"We've been discovered, grab your weapons!"

A sharp sound was heard, and the people who were working pulled out weapons from the basket and threw darts at the same time.

None of the people sent by the Shu Palace were mediocre.

Whoosh whoosh!
The hidden weapon made a sharp sound of breaking through the air, and immediately forced Wu Ba out.

But Li Yan had also fallen from the wall.

To deal with these people, Li Yan didn't even use the Dust-Breaking Sword. He exerted force on his feet and rushed directly into the crowd.

He swung his left arm like an axe, directly breaking the arm of a man who was holding a knife. He leaned forward and knocked the man away, and then used the "Flower Hidden Under the Leaves" move to knock the man on the side away...

The difference in martial arts skills was fully revealed at this moment.

These people were considered elite, but their numbers were not enough to pose a threat to Li Yan, and they were not carrying firearms, so they were naturally no match for him.

Click, click, click!

Their eyesight couldn't even keep up with Li Yan's movements, and before they could react, they fell to the ground screaming with the sound of broken bones.

When the people hiding in the oil press heard what happened, they all rushed out.

But Sharifei and others had also rushed in.

The other side also had a sorcerer. As soon as he raised a black flag and cast a spell on Li Yan, Wang Daoxuan raised his golden sword and pointed it, muttering something.

The warlock froze and couldn't move.

This is called the Nightmare Forbidden Technique, which can be considered a type of curse. The person who is hit by it feels like he is in a nightmare and cannot control his body. The key is that the spell must be cast quickly.

The others who rushed out also felt bad.

"Roar!"

Wu Ba roared angrily, and he actually knocked down a column and broke it. He turned around and swung it out.

There was a sound of breaking air, and some people were directly hit so that their sternums were broken, while others rolled over on the ground, trying to dodge in a panic.

Sha Lifei and Lu San also took the opportunity to rush over.

One of them waved the scabbard, and the other swung the bone flower. They cooperated with each other and broke the hands and feet of several people.

Soon, the yard was filled with people lying on the ground, some with broken limbs, some wailing in pain, others gritting their teeth.

There is naturally a reason why we take all this effort.

After all, this is Suining County. The people in the Shu Palace are afraid of being exposed and cannot use new firearms on a large scale. But Li Yan and his men cannot kill people in broad daylight.

A warrior's body is as precious as oil.

They are not like Li Yan, who can recover quickly with the help of Daluo Dharma Body. Once their limbs are broken, they will be unable to move again for at least several months.

It neither violates the bottom line of the government office nor causes the Shu Palace to lose power.

After killing all the people in the courtyard, Wang Daoxuan immediately took Lu San and Sha Lifei to search in other corners.

Sure enough, although the yard was dilapidated, it was arranged according to the Nine Palaces of Qi Men Dun Jia, with talismans placed in various places to form a feng shui formation.

Wang Daoxuan was busy leading people to crack the code, while Li Yan twisted his neck and came to the side of the screaming man, saying coldly: "Oh, he's an eunuch. I wonder which prince gave him the order?"

The eunuch tried his best, gritting his teeth and saying nothing.

"Tsk, tsk."

Li Yan laughed in silence, "You are still a man, yes, but I don't know if the Shu Palace cares about your loyalty."

After saying this, the eunuch's face was still full of hatred, but there was an obvious flash of panic in his eyes.

Li Yan's words hit him right in the chest.

The current environment in the Prince of Shu's Palace is almost the same as the scene when the princes were fighting for the throne. The old Prince of Shu lets things take their own course, while the princes of the counties fight openly and secretly.

The lives of these eunuchs are as insignificant as those of ants. If they make the slightest mistake, they will be whipped by the commander of the palace.

If you do it well, or even do it right, it's what you should do.

If you make a mistake, the consequence could be losing your life.

"It's Prince Cheng."

The eunuch finally couldn't help it and spoke through gritted teeth.

If I go back to the Prince of Shu's Palace, I might not be able to escape death. It is better to save my life first and then find a way to leave Shu.

"Just as I expected..."

Li Yan nodded, murderous intent rising in his heart.

Prince Cheng is the eldest son of the royal family. He is also the one that Zhai Tianbao of the Salt Gang has defected to. He has been fanning the flames and making things difficult for him.

Thinking of this, Li Yan continued to ask: "How do you plan to deal with me? It's useless to rely on such a small number of people."

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, but when he saw Li Yan's face turn gloomy, he said directly: "We don't know either, but we have received an order to lead you to Lingquan Temple during the Buddhist ceremony."

"Lingquan Temple?"

Li Yan frowned, "What's there?"

Didn’t Lingquan Temple just catch fire?

"This is an arrangement from above."

The eunuch gritted his teeth and said, "You also said that I am a nobody and my words are not taken seriously. Naturally, I will not know about this kind of thing. I only know that someone out there will actually kill you!"

"I really want to know..."

Li Yan narrowed his eyes, "Besides this, what else do you know?"

The eunuch turned his head and looked at the others, sneering: "If I go back, I will only become a stepping stone for these people. At this moment, I just want to leave alive, so why would I continue to hide it?"

"makes sense."

Li Yan nodded and left with everyone.

Not long after they left, the street outside the oil press was crowded with a large group of people who stood on tiptoe to watch the fun.

But soon, the people were attracted away by another roar.

"Go and see! There's a monster in Lingquan Temple!"

(End of this chapter)