Knife splashing

Chapter 665 Mendes

Is there a criminal?!

Li Yan was surprised and happy, but also a little astonished.

He collected a lot of intelligence along the way.

Even though he spent most of his time on the boat, he asked the Cao Gang to find out where there were suspected criminals.

However, nothing was achieved.

Not surprising.

After all, those who escaped death are afraid of being discovered by the underworld, so most of them hide in paradise.

Li Yan's several great harvests also came from these places.

Most of those who hang out in the streets are ordinary people who have accidentally returned to life.

Unexpectedly, I gained something in this Jinzhou Guild Hall!
Without any hesitation, Li Yan immediately held the certificate in his hand and immersed himself in the task.

In an instant, the surrounding sounds disappeared and were shrouded by thick fog.

He was already used to it, because he was still in Jinzhou Guild Hall, and he had to speed up to avoid being noticed.

But after passing through the thick fog, the scene before him stunned him.

There was actually a bronze well in front of them, with chains tied around it and black water swirling around it.

It's the evil ghost that escaped from the underworld!
The underworld issues missions, and different wells represent different goals.

Ishii is the one who captures the resurrected people.
The bloody water in the black well is used to capture evil spirits.

As for this bronze well, it is the evil ghost that escaped from the underworld.

According to the mission introduction, these "evil ghosts" usually do not belong to the human world, but are terrible creatures born in the underworld or the Daluo Dharma Realm. They are powerful, only know how to destroy, and cannot communicate.

This kind of mission is usually more dangerous.

So just like capturing evil spirits, there will be no punishment for failure.

How come Jinzhou Guild Hall has this thing?
Li Yan was curious and quickly placed his hands on the edge of the well.

Wow~
The black, murky well water swirled.

The accident happened again.

Under normal circumstances, a yellow edict would appear in the center of the vortex, telling the root of the evil.

But this time, only a ball of black fog appeared, surging up and down, changing continuously.

The underworld can’t tell the difference?!
Li Yan's eyes were full of surprise.

He had already vaguely understood the process and general principles of catching the criminal.

Like the bronze Nuo mask, the Gou Die is also a magical instrument that connects to the Daluo Realm. Once it senses the breath of Yin offenders, it will be recorded, and then the underworld will identify it and issue an order.

This situation means that the underworld cannot find the roots...

Just as he was thinking, a huge red-robed figure appeared again in the gray sky in the distance. It was blurry and only a human shape could be made out, with two short black shadows beside him.

"what happened?"

A loud and majestic voice came from the air.

Li Yan already knew that this person was the famous Cui Pan.

He pretended to be confused and looked at the dark fog on the well, but in fact he was listening attentively.

"Return to my lord."

A strange and sharp voice sounded, "This time the evil is not from the underworld, it should come from somewhere else."

"From somewhere else?"

Judge Cui seemed to have thought of something and said in a deep voice, "It seems that the human dynasty has opened the sea, and the evil creatures from his world have also entered Shenzhou. Let him investigate it thoroughly, and the reward will be doubled."

"Yes, my lord!"

As the strange voice responded, the black fog in front of Li Yan also changed rapidly.

Amidst the surging water, it turned into a yellow edict.

Sure enough, the higher-ups not only wanted him to arrest the man, but also to investigate the source.

The rewards are also very generous, including a Gang order and a divine Gang.

Li Yan was afraid of revealing a flaw, so he pretended to be surprised. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Huang Zhao, which fell into his palm.

Then, he pretended not to see it and quickly disappeared into the thick fog.

When I came to my senses, I saw the guild hall in front of me.

The back and forth only took a brief moment, so no one noticed.

Li Yan's expression remained unchanged, pretending nothing had happened, but in fact he was already on alert.

As they passed through the screen wall, they ran into a group of men in short coats carrying lacquered wooden cargo boxes across the courtyard.

The blue brick floor was shiny from being stepped on. The sunlight lengthened the shadow of the hip-and-gable gatehouse, making the gold-painted plaque "Hui Tong Tian Xia" on the lintel even brighter. The footsteps startled a few gray pigeons on the eaves, which fluttered past the old pine tree in the courtyard.

The layout of the Shanxi Merchants Guild Hall remains essentially the same despite all the changes.

The entire guild hall is centered around the Guandi Temple. The main hall is dedicated to Guan Gong. Larger ones will also have a mountain gate, a stage, a Guandi Temple, etc. The east and west side halls are used for meetings, and the courtyard is used for activities.

If someone entertained guests, it would usually be held in the East and West Halls, and a theatre troupe would also be invited.

The yard at the back is where guests stay and eat, and there is also a tea room and study.

"Hahaha…"

Hearty laughter was heard from the east wing.

"Those Portuguese were dishonest in their business. The quality of their silver dollars was suspicious. Twenty boxes were just seized."

A voice with a Jinzhong accent came from the west wing, with a hint of gloating.

Li Yan took a quick glance and looked through the carved lattice window.

I saw several businessmen dressed in brocade clothes sitting around an octagonal table.

Among them, there was a foreigner with red hair and blue eyes.

He was dressed in Hangzhou silk and, if it weren't for the crystal glasses on his hooked nose, he would have looked no different from a local merchant.

The old man in a purple flowered jacket tapped his hookah and said, "It's only been three years since the imperial court opened the sea, but the tax rate at Yuegang has increased four times. The Siamese rice on my ship was claimed by the tax collector to be Siamese fragrant rice, and I was charged 30% more for the ship's materials."

He slipped a Spanish silver coin from his sleeve, ran his fingertips over the cross pattern on the coin, and looked to the side:

"I heard that your country has set up a mint in Southeast Asia?"

The Portuguese merchant nodded quickly and continued in stiff official language: "The self-ringing clocks and glassware brought by our merchant ships are worth the same weight of silk and tea in Jiangnan."

He flipped open his account book and lowered his voice: "If you are interested, we can bypass Yuegang."

"Be careful with your words!"

The bearded man sitting on the main seat suddenly lowered his voice.

However, they discovered Li Yan and others and looked through the carved windows at the same time.

Li Yan had already retracted his gaze and followed the guild owner to the backyard.

Although the person left, he was secretly eavesdropping by practicing the Yang Jue technique.

Those people lowered their voices to discuss again, but Li Yan heard it clearly.

"The Guangdong Province tax inspector is not easy to fool. I will pack up and leave from Zhangzhou."

"This plan works!"

"Humph! The profits from opening the sea are huge. The imperial court from top to bottom are all eyeing this fat piece of meat. The imperial court wants to collect it, the local governments want to collect it, and anyone who comes here wants to get a piece of the juicy money."

"Don't you think about it? We have been through life and death. If the boat capsizes, we will lose everything. Now we all come to ask for money. Do we still want to do business? If not, who would want to take this risk!"

"Didn't you see the chaos at Linqing Bank the other day?!"

"Hush, be careful what you say..."

Li Yan immediately understood that this group of businessmen were discussing smuggling and tax evasion.

He was too lazy to deal with such matters.

But the foreign businessman just now was not simple.

After Gou Die got the jade sword, he could already locate the target. The aura of the criminal was directed at the other party.

No wonder the underworld couldn’t find out.

It turned out to be a foreign ghost!
This Shanxi Merchants Guild Hall enshrines Guandi Emperor.

The other party dared to appear openly, and no one detected the warlock's aura.

Could it be that he has a national sacrifice artifact on him...

Just as Li Yan was lost in thought, they had arrived at the backyard.

The Shanxi Merchants Guild indeed treated them as guests of honor and chose a separate courtyard for them. There was no one to disturb them, and the beds were covered with clean bedding. Several servants were working together to carry hot water into the room.

The shopkeeper's surname was Xie. After he asked the servant to carry the luggage into the room, he smiled and bowed, saying, "Young Master Li, you are a distinguished guest of our Chamber of Commerce. Please forgive me if the hospitality is not good enough."

"Thank you for your courtesy, shopkeeper."

Li Yan nodded and pretended to be surprised and asked, "Just now I saw that there are foreigners in the Chamber of Commerce."

"Young Master Li doesn't know."

Shopkeeper Xie did not hide it and smiled, "Tianjin is connected to the Haihe River. Since the opening of the sea, there have been more and more merchant groups from various countries in the city. It's not surprising that there are merchants from all over the world."

"That man's name is Mendes, and he's a merchant from the Lisbon Merchant Group."

"These red-haired foreigners traveled to the Southeast Asian countries earlier than us. They followed Malacca to pay tribute to the capital, and then stayed in Tianjin. They had three ships and were able to get some rare goods. Gradually, they established connections with Tianjin merchants."

"Nanyang..."

Li Yan smiled slightly, "Tianjin is indeed extraordinary."

Shopkeeper Xie must be hiding something, but after all, it involves the secrets of other businessmen. I guess if he continues to ask, he will just pretend to be confused.

Shopkeeper Xie did not suspect anything and said, "Wine and food will be delivered in a moment. You are all tired from the journey, so I will not disturb you. If you need anything, just tell the servant."

After saying this, he hurriedly said goodbye and left, obviously having other important business.

As soon as he left, Sharifei asked in a low voice: "Brother Yan, is there something wrong with the red-haired foreigner?"

"Ah."

Li Yan signaled Wang Daoxuan to hang up the Ruyi Pearl, and then said, "That person is related to the Yin criminal. I have accepted the mission and need to find out what is going on. San'er, help me keep an eye on him."

Lu San nodded, walked to the luggage rack and removed the black cloth from the cage.

Wow!
The falcon Lidong immediately spread its wings and jumped out.

After Lu San shouted a few times, he flapped his wings and flew high into the sky from the yard.

Soon, several servants brought wine and food.

The food and wine in the guild hall have both the flavor of Jinzhou and the characteristics of Tianjin.

The sliced ​​noodles were served on a blue and white porcelain plate, but the topping was made from the prawn stew from Sanchahekou, fried with Weihe herring belly wrapped in yellow rice flour, and then drizzled with sweet and sour sauce. It was golden and silver, and there was also Tianjin's rice crust mixed in.

Everyone was a little hungry, and after they finished eating, Li Yan assigned tasks.

"Lao Sha, go get some information with Miss Long, and keep an eye on that guy Liang Biaozi. If he finds out anything, tell me immediately..."

"San'er, keep an eye on that red-haired foreigner and find out where he is."

"Brother Zhao Luzi, you and your wife are still injured and are recuperating in the Chamber of Commerce. I heard that there is a special place for people from the Xuanmen to trade in the Ghost Market in Tianjin. Come with me when you are free..."

When they talked about these things, they did not avoid the scholar Kong Shangzhao.

Seeing his curiosity mixed with embarrassment, Li Yan smiled slightly, "Brother Kong, don't be afraid. You have also seen what Xu Fu wrote in Seeking Immortality. We are not bad people, and this matter will not implicate you."

Along the way, they got to know Kong Shangzhao.

The other party was also a sorcerer, one year younger than Li Yan. He was a disciple of Mingde Martial Arts School, and cultivated the Confucian spirit. He had decent aptitude and a lot of strange knowledge, but he was still young and distracted, so he didn't make any progress.

The key point is that he is a chivalrous and kind-hearted person, otherwise he would not have offended the grandson of Yansheng Gong in order to save people.

The other party saw many things, and Li Yan was too lazy to hide them.

"I'm not afraid."

Kong Shangzhao smiled awkwardly, "I think I know a lot. When I was in Qufu, I thought about traveling around China all day long. But now that I'm out, I find myself looking at the sky from a well. No wonder my father always scolds me."

“Traveling thousands of miles is important, but reading thousands of books is even more indispensable.”

Li Yan consoled him and said, "I'm afraid we'll be delayed in Tianjin for a few days. Brother Kong has been working day and night to crack the code, so it's a good time to take a break."

"Well, thank you, Mr. Li."

Kong Shangzhao was already exhausted, so he didn't refute. He took out a few pieces of paper from his arms and said, "These are the ones that have been cracked. Give them to Mr. Li first. I will crack the rest as soon as possible."

After saying that, he bowed and said goodbye, returning to his room.

After Li Yan took it, he looked at it carefully and saw that it was covered with dense handwriting:
"I humbly wish that your majesty's virtue is as brilliant as the sun and the moon. I have observed the images in the River Chart and the mysteries in the Luoshu. The land of Jiugai should be controlled by the Nine Cauldrons, and the essence of the Nine Stars should be captured by the Nine Palaces..."

"Taizong is the position of Tianshu, it is appropriate to cast Xuangui as the base, take 360 ​​mermaid pearls from the East China Sea, and spread the Beidou Xuanji..."

Seeing this, Li Yan's expression became solemn and he handed it to Wang Daoxuan beside him.

Wang Daoxuan took it and looked at it for a few seconds, then sighed, "The First Emperor really knew about this matter, but I don't know what happened, and it didn't work out at that time."

"wrong."

Li Yan shook his head and said, "Look at this first sentence."

"I have observed the stars and found that the nine places of Mount Tai, Mount Yi, Mount Zhifu, Langya, Kuaiji, Yunmeng, Jiuyi, Jieshi and Yingzhou correspond to the nine stars of Ziwei. We should set up the 'Nine Extremes Ascension Array'. When the array is completed, the gate to the immortal world will be opened, and Your Majesty can ride a dragon to the heavens and rule the land of China forever..."

"Back then, the Nine Cauldrons had just been put into the earth veins of Shenzhou, and had not yet transformed into the divine tools they are today. Even if they were taken out, it would not cause unrest in Shenzhou or cause a great loss of luck. Judging from the tone, he is not trying to deceive the First Emperor, but truly believes that he can open the gate to immortality and ascend to godhood."

"I guess Xu Fu is also a pawn. Someone gave this to me through him..."

Everyone looked at each other, unable to figure out what had happened.

"That's all."

Li Yan shook his head and said, “No matter what their plan is, after cracking this thing, they will hand it over to Priest Xuan to deal with it and dismantle all the arrangements on the mountain. No conspiracy will work!”

As he was speaking, there was a sudden sound of flapping wings outside.

Lu San quickly opened the window, and a falcon flapped its wings and flew in, chirping loudly.

"That red-haired foreigner went into a place where Lidong couldn't see him."

"Quick, get the map!"

Li Yan asked Sharifei to take out the map of Tianjin that he had purchased long ago.

The falcon Lidong bent down and drew lines on the map with its sharp beak.

Finally, it pointed to an area near Sancha River Wharf.

It was clearly written on it: "Haihe Water Army Camp"!
"Okay!"

Sharifei sneered and said, "This guy is quite capable. He has connections with wealthy merchants and even the navy."

Li Yan inexplicably thought of the opium, and had some vague guesses in his mind.

Jianmu used special opium to control Yang Laohai and his apprentice to steal Xu Fu's scrolls...

Opium is rampant in Tianjin, and it is said to have flowed in from Southeast Asia...

The red-haired foreign merchants followed the Nanyang embassy to Beijing to pay tribute...

These guys may have colluded with each other for a long time.

"Keep following him and see where he's going!"

Thinking of this, Li Yan carefully instructed Lu San.

"Mr. Lee."

Just then, a servant came hurriedly and said, "There's a man named Liang Biaozi outside who wants to see you."

So fast? !

Li Yan was a little surprised and quickly asked the servant to lead the person in.

"Young Master Li, we found it!"

Liang Biaozi's face was full of excitement. "I dare not neglect it. I will look for it along the street after I go back."

"What a coincidence! There is a family with your design painted on their door, and they are holding a funeral!"

(End of this chapter)