Knife splashing

Chapter 585: Murderous Intentions Rise

The side sects in the underworld have their own methods.

Although it is not as good as the orthodox Xuanmen, it also has its roots.

For example, the "Water Mist Ghost Wall" used by the elders of the Cao Gang has a tacky name, but it implies a tragedy.

When the Golden Horde invaded the south and broke through the Yellow River defense line, tens of thousands of canal workers raised an army to resist, but they were brutally suppressed and three thousand corpses sank into the old embankment of the Yellow River.

From then on, fleets often encountered strange fog when crossing the Yellow River at night, and helmsmen all dreamed of corpses floating in the water knocking on the boats and begging for food. Later, the leader of the Cao Gang, "Iron Anchor Li", collected the corpses and set up a "Wusi Altar", which calmed the resentment and created this method at the same time.

Places with dense moisture can be covered with thick fog.

Li Yan's Beidi Xuanshui Dun is better at hiding, while the Cao Gang's magic technique of using magic flags is more suitable for creating fog over a large area.

The flying shuttle skill of Tang Jiuniang from the Swallow Sect is also an ancient heritage, and it originated from the "Shadowless Ladder" of the Xicai Sect.

At the end of the Daxing Yuanjing year, there was a female thief who specialized in robbing corrupt officials and distributed her wealth in Yingtang. Since then, this skill has become famous in the world.

The cooperation between these two people is seamless.

In the distance, the guard at the gate of the Grand Duke's Mansion looked up, puzzled, and asked to the person beside him: "Strange, why is there fog in such a cold weather..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly fainted to the ground.

There was a silver needle as thick as a little finger inserted into the neck.

There was also chaos inside the Grand Prince's Mansion.

First, thick fog rose, and one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. Then, black shadows fell from the sky, killing those who resisted directly, and the servants and maids who did not know kung fu were knocked unconscious by a palm.

The knife flashed in the thick fog, and soon there was no sound.

Those who launched the first raid were all martial arts masters, and the leader, Young Master Wuxiang, looked like a ghost.

The guards of the Grand Prince's Mansion had no power to resist at all.

"The wind from Xun sweeps away the dust, the fire from Li illuminates the netherworld, command, disperse!"

Following a low shout from the Cao Gang elder, the thick fog around them dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye, in no more than half a cup of tea.

At the gate of the Prince's Mansion, two Chengdu underworld masters had already changed into guards' uniforms and were observing the surroundings coldly.

After all, this is the Prince's Mansion. Even if there are some dignitaries nearby, they live far away and no one has noticed them at all.

The same is true in the palace.

As the palace was under control, more than twenty of Wuxiang Gongzi's men climbed over the wall from outside the inn, tied up the maids and servants, and changed their clothes.

This was the plan that had been made before.

Quickly take control of the Prince's Mansion and then set a trap to capture the person.

The hall was also filled with people falling to the ground.

These people included both men and women, young and old, most of them were dressed in gorgeous clothes, and they were all relatives and descendants of the great princes.

Unlike Xiao Jinghong, the eldest prince became a grandfather at a young age.

Right behind the front hall, Master Wuxiang used his bone-breaking hand to pin a man to the ground and pressed his knee on his neck.

This man was wearing a dragon robe, had sinister features and fair skin. He was none other than the Grand Duke.

His eyes were bloodshot, he gnashed his teeth, and roared like a wild beast, but he could hardly move.

Li Yan also walked quickly into the front hall.

His mission was not to invade, but to use his powerful magical powers to explore and search the surroundings to avoid falling into traps.

Although no action was taken, it is more crucial.

"It's really a curse!"

Seeing the appearance of the Grand Duke, many people breathed a sigh of relief.

It's not that they are gloating, but they are taking risks.

After all, the King of Shu being possessed by a demon and the Prince of a county being cursed were simply unheard of. If they were made a mistake, it would be a big trouble.

Seeing the expressions of the crowd, Master Wuxiang didn't care. He turned around and said to the people behind him who were bowing, "Senior Jin, thank you for your help."

Accompanied by the sound of silver jewelry, an old woman in black walked out from behind.

He has white hair and a youthful face. He wears an indigo linen robe, a silver "three-eyed crown" on his head, a silver piece with vertical eye patterns hanging from his forehead, and even his cuffs are adorned with nine copper bells.

He looked very untidy and had difficulty walking. He did not take the tunnel when he came, but was carried in a sedan chair on the street.

Even so, no one dares to underestimate it.

Even Li Yan bowed respectfully.

Mr. Wuxiang also has another ability, which is his extensive network of contacts.

This old woman is known as "Granny Jin". She is the orthodox inheritor of the Twelve Altars of Sichuan Nuo and the Goddess of Bashu Nuo Altar.

He is considered to be a top figure in the side door.

The so-called "Twelve Altars of Sichuan Nuo" is the core system of Bashu Nuo opera, which originated from the ancient Shu witch sacrifices and integrated with Taoist secret techniques.

Nuotan Niangniang belongs to one of these lineages, and reveres the Queen Mother of the West, Magu and Zigu as the Three Saints.

The twelve altars are divided into "upper four altars, middle four altars, and lower four altars", corresponding to heaven, earth and man respectively, and each altar is a Nuo opera.

For example, the four altars guard the human world, the ghost soldiers pass by, Zhong Kui marries his sister, Erlang searches the mountain, and the judge collects wishes.

The "Mulian Saves His Mother" sung in reverse on the Netherworld Stage by Situ Qian before belongs to the lower four altars leading to the Netherworld.

Ever since he knew that Situ Qian brought the Netherworld Stage, Master Wuxiang has been on guard and specially invited "Granny Jin" from near Chengdu to suppress the Yin Nuo Opera.

In addition, you have to ask him to remove the curse.

The old woman, Grandma Jin, came to the Grand Duke, ignored his roar, pinched his pulse, and used secret methods to check.

The old woman's left eye quickly turned grayish white, and she stretched out her dry hand and kept rubbing the center of the prince's eyebrows.

"Ah! Ah!"

Along with the screams, the area between the Grand Duke's eyebrows turned blood red.

The old woman seemed to be thinking about something. She took off her boots and socks, made a hand gesture, and pressed hard on Zusanli.

"what--!"

There was another scream, and everyone was surprised to see that black and purple veins appeared on the meridians on the heel, like a centipede climbing.

"The forehead is covered with blood, and the feet are bound by worms..."

Granny Jin turned her head and looked at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "It is the Yin Nuo opera spell, yes, I need something."

"Senior, please tell me."

Young Master Wuxiang was overjoyed and immediately bowed.

The key to this plan is to break the curse. As long as the curse is broken, everything can be solved.

The old woman said calmly: "I need three-year-old glutinous rice, Bashan coarse salt, mugwort ash, rootless water (rainwater), and a Bagua mirror."

"Go get it!"

Master Wuxiang turned around and gave orders.

After his men left, he looked at Granny Jin again, "Senior, the situation is urgent, how long will it take to resolve it?"

"The curse can be removed quickly, but only at noon."

The old woman said in a deep voice: "What I use is the Yang Rice Breaking Yin Technique. You need to expose the glutinous rice under the Bagua mirror at noon and sprinkle salt to break the curse. At other times, it will only cause the curse to backfire."

"Noon?"

Young Master Wuxiang frowned and turned to look at everyone, "Everyone, we need to delay the time a little bit, and we must not reveal any flaws."

"Also, tell those brothers to hold back the King of Shu's procession. No matter what happens, I will not mistreat their families..."

Listening to the other party's arrangements, Li Yan took out his pocket watch and looked at it.

It is just past Chen hour now, and the parade of the God of Joy at the Wuhou Temple will end at the latest by the end of Si hour.

It might be difficult to hold on for such a long time...

…………

The snowstorm has just stopped and the sun is breaking through the clouds.

Outside the city of Chengdu, a huge procession of the God of Joy was passing across the Wanli Bridge.

Because of the large crowd and narrow bridge, the progress was not fast.

From afar, you can see the frozen surface of Jinjiang River covered with snow like a white silk thread, icicles hanging from the stilt houses on both sides, and red paper scraps fluttering in the wind.

There is another rule for "Xishen Youfang", which is that someone must play the roles of Liu, Guan, Zhang and Zhuge Wuhou and walk at the front of the team.

Even the King of Shu's ceremonial guard had to follow behind.

At the intersection on the other side of Wanli Bridge, there were more than a dozen people kneeling on the roadside with food and drink in their hands to welcome us.

There were Yanjuntun pot-cakes and a few bottles of Pitong wine in the bamboo basket.

This is an ancient custom of sending off the troops, and is also the most solemn rule for welcoming the God of Joy.

According to the rules, the person playing Liu, Guan and Zhang must go up and take a bite of the pot cake and drink a sip of wine.

However, the four people in front ignored them completely.

One of the "common people" gave a look, and the others immediately rushed forward with bamboo baskets.

"My Lord, please try my cooking." "The God of Joy will travel around, bringing good luck and peace."

These people said nice things, but their backs were all tense.

Clang!
Suddenly, the person playing Guan Yu abruptly raised his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, took a step forward, exerted force with both arms, and swept through the enemy troops.

In an instant, knives flashed, blood and heads flew everywhere.

"Do it!"

Seeing that their strategy was exposed, these "common people" immediately drew short knives from their waists, and some even lifted up the pot-cakes and took out the bamboo tubes of gunpowder hidden underneath.

"Hahaha!"

The person who plays Zhang Fei, holding a Zhangba Snake Spear, rushes out in three or two steps, using the Torrential Pear Blossom Spear Technique.

In a flash, three or four more people were stabbed to death.

The "people" in the rear were about to light the gunpowder barrel, but "Liu Bei" had already jumped up, flying up and down with a double-edged sword in his hand, chopping off arms one by one.

These actors are all experts in dark energy.

Soon, all these "people" were killed.

The last person was stabbed in the heart and fell to the ground, staring at the stone bridge with his eyes full of reluctance and doubt...

"Killing!"

The people in the rear retreated in fear.

At this moment, the eunuch Liu Gonggong, who was in charge of the seal of the Prince of Shu's Palace, gave a wink, and the inner guards immediately unloaded the package, grabbed a handful of loose silver from it, and suddenly threw it into the sky.

"The demon has been eliminated. The King of Shu has ordered us to continue moving forward and not delay the auspicious day—!"

At this moment, the people behind stopped immediately.

They were stunned, and then their eyes became bloodshot and they rushed forward frantically.

What was scattered before was just "money for the god of joy", but now it is real silver.

Although they are cut into small pieces, only the size of a little finger, if you grab one or two, it is enough to cover the entire family's expenses for the month.

Who cares about the dead?

Even if the sky falls, we have to rush up to grab it.

Crowds of people rushed forward, and with the King of Shu's guards quickening their pace, the huge team quickly passed the Wanli Bridge.

A few people fell behind and jumped directly over the stone bridge and ran under the bridge from the shore.

They were sharp-eyed and saw more than a dozen loose silver coins falling under the bridge.

In the cold winter, the river is frozen.

They stumbled under the bridge, and before they could pick up the silver, they were frightened and fell to the ground.

Under the bridge, I saw several people digging through the cracks in the bricks, hiding under the bridge like a gecko climbing a wall, with gunpowder barrels tied around their waists.

But these people have already died by now.

Their faces were pitch black, their muscles were curled up, as if they were burnt by something, but their clothes were still intact...

The last journey was relatively smooth.

The King of Shu's ceremonial procession arrived all the way outside the Wuhou Temple.

They scattered silver several times along the way, which attracted the people to follow them. Only a dozen people were afraid and left the team early.

The King of Shu followed the ceremonial procession into the Wuhou Temple.

But in front of the Sanyi Temple, three sacrificial animals had already been placed, and the temple priest, along with several Taoist children, came to greet us respectfully.

"I have met His Highness."

The temple keeper stepped forward cautiously and greeted him.

Naturally, he had heard about what happened in Chengdu Prefecture. He had thought that since the Wuhou Temple was not in the city, he could avoid trouble. However, he did not expect that the King of Shu had gone crazy and was going to hold the "Happy God Tour".

Even two days ago, people were sent to take control of the Wuhou Temple.

The priest of the Wuhou Temple was also a member of the Huangling Sect. He felt uneasy when he thought of his fellow disciples who were imprisoned in the city and whose lives were unknown.

Before entering the Wuhou Temple, the King of Shu had already gotten out of his sedan chair.

He ignored the temple keeper's ugly expression, stepped forward to the altar, and lit the incense and candles himself.

However, he was reluctant to do so.

The incense in his hand was emitting green smoke, swaying in the wind.

Seeing that the King of Shu did not move, the temple keeper was somewhat puzzled, and hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying: "Your Highness, you..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a guard behind the King of Shu suddenly stepped forward, waved his hand, and swept away all the heads of the three animals on the altar.

Bang bang bang!
The three heads exploded suddenly as they hit the ground.

hum!
Three streams of black smoke rose up, and they were filled with densely packed poisonous insects, calling out to the team.

The temple keeper was stunned and felt cold all over.

Who is behind this?

Isn't this going to cost him his life?
shhhhhh!
On the rooftops on both sides, several white shadows were drawing bows and drawing arrows. They were the "Yinshan Harriers" archers from western Sichuan.

In the darkness on the roof of Sanyi Temple, several figures jumped out and tried to escape, but they were shot by arrows in mid-air and fell to the ground.

The arrowhead was highly poisonous, and before they could even say anything, their faces turned blue, foam came out of the mouth, and they stopped breathing.

"Pity…"

The "King of Shu" looked calm, looking at the trembling temple priest, and said, "I have received news that people from Qingcheng Mountain have arrived. Didn't they contact you?"

"Ah this... no... no."

The temple keeper was stunned and felt even colder in his heart.

What a happy god wandering around, it turns out to be a trap.

Fortunately, he was not very skilled in Taoism, and was only sent here because he was good at business, so he did not participate in this matter...

"waste!"

Just as the Taoist priest was secretly delighted, a cold voice sounded. Before he could react, his head was slapped into pieces by a big blood-red hand.

The person who took action was the one who played Liu Bei.

He grabbed the bulge on his neck and pulled it hard, throwing away the human skin mask, revealing a head full of white hair.

It was none other than Badaiza, the bloody Nuo master who was the confidant of the King of Shu.

"Your Highness, it seems that the old ghost was not fooled."

Badeza said with a gloomy face: "It was those old ghosts from the Cheng family who tried to stop them, but unfortunately they escaped."

The "King of Shu" didn't care either, and shook his head and said, "Cheng Jianxin has been a powerful figure in Shu for decades. Even if something goes wrong, he still has experience in martial arts and won't be fooled so easily."

"What's going on in the city?"

"Preparing."

"Unfortunately, I didn't accomplish my goal today..."

The "King of Shu" had a calm expression. He turned his head to look at the frightened people behind him, and laughed dumbly: "We didn't lure the people out, but we still have to do what we have to do. This may be the last time we "Happy God Travels Around the Square."

After hearing this, the actor playing the role of Guan Gong strode forward, tapping the ground with his artificial legs, making a thudding sound.

It was Situ Qian from the ghost theater troupe.

He messed up the job last time. Although the King of Shu did not blame him, it made him more alert and he dared not be negligent.

Coming to the dilapidated altar, he shook his beard and sang in the high-pitched voice of Sichuan Opera: "Auspicious snow is falling on Wolong Hill, the god of joy has arrived and all evil spirits are gone!"

After singing it, I also felt it was ridiculous.

In the eyes of others, they are demons and evildoers, but they chose to do this in the sacred place of Wuhou Temple...

"Let's go catch the rats in the city."

After this final scene, the "King of Shu" immediately turned around.

But at this moment, he felt a chill in his heart and quickly turned sideways.

Clang!
A flash of sword light exploded in the distance, and a streak of white light whizzed over, carrying with it a fierce murderous intent.

"Be bold!"

The bloody Nuo master Badaiza snorted coldly, suddenly drew out a bloody scimitar from his waist, and suddenly blocked in front of the "King of Shu".

He chanted a spell, and black smoke billowed out of the blood-red scimitar, which collided with the white light like a streak of silk, making a hissing sound.

Then, a tinkling sound was heard, and the white light dissipated, revealing a short sword as long as an arm.

As if all its power was exhausted, the dagger fell directly to the ground, and the metallic luster on its surface became dim.

"Cheng family flying sword?"

Blood Nuo Master Badeza sneered, "You have only learned a few basic skills, but you dare to show off."

"Hurry, seven hundred meters southwest of the temple!"

(End of this chapter)