Knife splashing

Chapter 692 Nine Gates Yinxu
"Oh? Senior, please tell me..."

When Li Yan heard this, he immediately became alert.

The British royal palace has fallen, and the remaining people will not have a good fate either. Even if they don't know the inside story of the "Peach Banquet", all the evil things they have done and the people they have offended over the years will explode. It is truly a case of monkeys scattering when the tree falls and everyone pushing down the wall when it falls.

The same is true for the "Peach Banquet".

The rich and powerful who had eaten human flesh to keep themselves alive are now dead, and the old and young in their families will not be able to escape being held accountable.

But this matter is far from over.

The real mastermind behind the scenes, whether "Zhao Qingxu" or "Kong Hui", has not been caught...

To refine the "Peaches", boys and girls are needed, but no one knows where to find them...

Jianmu must have arranged more than just the "Peach Banquet" in the capital, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten rid of it so easily...

Perhaps the only benefit is that the powerful people in the "Peach Banquet" have died, and we can no longer use the power of the court to deal with them.

The Night Wandering God is one of the arrangements of Jianmu.

The other party borrowed the evil spirit of the demon god Liu Yuanheng to infect Li Yan. Li Yan has searched all the City God Temples in the capital, but found nothing.

Unexpectedly, this fox fairy found a clue...

"Don't worry."

"Hu Yuanyuan" took a few more puffs of her local cigarette and said, "I am just guessing, old immortal."

"Have you ever heard of 'the gong rings at midnight and the lights are lit at midnight'?"

Li Yan frowned slightly, "Isn't it the gong at three o'clock in the morning and the lanterns at five o'clock in the morning?"

Before she finished speaking, Hu Yuanyuan's body trembled slightly, her eyelids trembled wildly, and she said anxiously: "The girl is not good enough, she can't bear it. I mentioned it to her, let her tell you herself..."

After saying that, his body stiffened and his head drooped.

Li Yan could smell the fox scent quickly leaving and sinking into the wall behind him.

There is a dark room there, and the incense hall for worship must be hidden in it.

At the same time, Hu Yuanyuan groaned and regained consciousness, but her face was pale and sweat was on her forehead.

Widow Wang next to her hurried forward and took off the gourd from her waist.

After opening it, the pungent smell of alcohol wafted away, and Li Yan could also smell the scent of tiger bones and deer antlers.

He was not surprised, because it was not easy to ask a fairy to possess you.

If the righteous gods do not come to the body, no matter it is "inviting gods from the Xuanmen" or "inviting immortals from the Xiantang", what are invited are evil spirits. They are just powerful and gather evil spirits, which will inevitably cause a burden on the human body and deplete the yang energy.

Just like the daughter of Widow Wang, who was first a disciple of the fox fairy.

But he was too young, and after several attempts, he felt a little weak.

That girl had good talents, but they were afraid of damaging her foundation, so they replaced her with Hu Yuanyuan.

Tiger bones and deer antlers are both great for replenishing yang energy and can provide temporary relief.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Young Master Li..."

Hu Yuanyuan felt a little relieved and continued to explain: "It is indeed 'the gong rings at three o'clock in the morning and the lights are lit at three o'clock in the morning'."

"Young man, you have heard of it. The first watch is for watchmen, the second watch is for gongs, the third watch is for ghosts, the fourth watch is for thieves, and the fifth watch is for chickens. The third watch is when the yin energy is strongest and ghosts are active, so it is also called the 'ghost watch'. The watchmen beat the gongs to patrol the night, which not only tells the time but also drives away evil spirits."

"At five o'clock in the morning, the cock crows, the yang energy begins to flourish, the people light lanterns, the city gates open, and it is time to prepare for the morning court..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Yan realized something, "The light that lit up at midnight was a ghost lantern?"

"You could say the same thing."

Hu Yuanyuan said in a deep voice: "There are similar caves in this world, but only the ghosts of immortals or the lost souls of people in dreams can enter. 'The gongs ring at three o'clock in the morning and the lights are lit at three o'clock in the morning', just like the confusion of yin and yang, and this cave in the capital will open."

"Oh, I see..."

Li Yan pretended to be suddenly enlightened, but he was startled in his heart.

As soon as the other party explained it, he understood what this place was.

The layer between the Daluo Dharma Realm and the human world!

The cemetery, the palace of the Lord of the Clouds, the Dragon Palace and the water palace...are all the same existence.

He didn't expect that it would appear in the densely populated area of ​​the capital.

Yes, after all, the capital city is a place of national sacrifice, with many mysterious arrangements. Even if the other party infects the Night Wandering God with evil spirit, he will be discovered after a long time. Only this kind of interlayer can hide for a long time.

Thinking of this, Li Yan couldn't help but ask, "Where is that place?"

"That place is not easy to find."

Hu Yuanyuan shook her head and said, "If a mortal wants to enter, he must enter a dream or a ghost patrol and follow the patrol route of the nine gates of the inner city."

"After the night watchman knocks the gong for the third time, a rat spirit will sometimes appear behind him. This guy will follow the night watchman when the yin energy is the heaviest and steal the land cakes offered by each family. He dares not to do so at other times, and only has the chance at the third watch..."

"Once the third watch is over, the oil-stealing rat demons will run back. Wherever they appear is the entrance."

Li Yan frowned when he heard this. "It's so secret, how did Senior Hu know about it?"

This matter sounded so mysterious that he couldn't help but wonder if it was a trap.

Hu Yuanyuan said in a deep voice: "In this world, where there is yang, there is yin. The capital city is full of incense, so it will naturally attract a lot of things."

"The immortal was patrolling at night and saw the Rabbit God running on the street. He muttered that he wanted to save the child, but was stopped by the Night Wandering God..."

Li Yan's pupils shrank, and he clasped his fists and said, "Thank you."

At this moment, most of his doubts had been eliminated.

In every place, in addition to the righteous gods, there are also secular gods worshipped by the people for protection.

There is the "Rabbit God" in the capital.

It is said that the Golden Horde and the Daxing Dynasty fought, which led to a plague. Chang'e sent the Jade Rabbit to save people. The Jade Rabbit borrowed the golden armor of the Bodhisattva Weituo and turned into a doctor. After treating the plague, he fell asleep under the flagpole due to exhaustion. The people were grateful for his kindness and respectfully called him "Rabbit Lord".

Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, the people of the capital would make a rabbit shape out of clay, dress it up and sit like a human, and then offer sacrifices and worship it.

After more than a hundred years, the incense is still strong enough.

The purpose of worshiping the Rabbit God is to ward off disasters and avoid epidemics.

The children they wanted to save were probably related to the "Peaches"...

…………

After saying goodbye to Hu Yuanyuan, Li Yan immediately went to the north of the city.

After what happened last night, they followed Luo Mingzi back to Priest Xuan to rest for a while.

Xuan Jisi is located in the southwest corner of the imperial city, not far from the Imperial Observatory, with its back against the Dawei Ling Temple, also known as the City God Temple, forming a pattern of "astronomy in the left and yin and yang in the right". It is also located in the White Tiger position, which means to suppress evil spirits from all directions.

After passing the City God Temple and arriving at the street behind, a huge palace suddenly appeared before our eyes.

The Xuan priests in other cities were all in the City God Temple, while the capital had an independent gate.

Above the black lacquered gate hangs a gilded plaque with the words "Xuan Priest". On both sides of the gate stand stone xiezhi statues, which symbolize the ability to distinguish between good and evil.

Outside the door, two Taoists holding swords were guarding it, and many people were coming in and out in a hurry.

Li Yan knew that it must be because of what happened last night.

"Young Master Li is back."

The Taoist guarding the gate saw him and hurried forward to greet him, "Senior Brother Luo Mingzi asked me to wait for you here, Master Pei is here."

"Oh?"

Li Yan was a little surprised, "Master Pei is back, isn't he in Tianjin?"

The person they were talking about was Pei Zongti, the Left Vice Minister of Rites.

The other party is a master of Confucianism and is in charge of the Xuan priests. Li Yan had met him at the Qingcheng Cellar Opening Ceremony.

Luo Mingzi said that when he went to Yuzhou to participate in the formulation of the calendar, he followed the Imperial Observatory's Director Baichen Mountain back halfway and then ran to deal with the unfinished business in Tianjin. He was so busy that he never left the place. "Just came back this morning."

The Taoist guarding the gate replied and led him into the gate.

The layout of Xuan Ji Si is very regular, with three main building complexes on the central axis.

The front yamen is the law enforcement hall, the middle courtyard is the Xuantan and the Fumo Well, an open-air altar, and the back courtyard is the national teacher's residence and dungeon.

After all, land in the capital is extremely expensive and it is located at the foot of the imperial city, so the space is naturally a bit cramped.

The two men came to the front yard, but saw a huge brass scripture scroll hanging in the main hall of the middle hall.

Before he got close, Li Yan's magical powers had been suppressed and he could not sense anything.

He knew that this was the "Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Supervision Lu", a treasure of Priest Xuan, which was connected to the qi veins of the thirteen provincial city god statues in the Capital City God Temple, forming a "supervision network" covering the capital city. As long as there was abnormal qi, the direction would be displayed on it.

Of course, this treasure can't cover everything.

Just like what happened in Piaoxiang Tower, the first one to run over was the "Night Wanderer" who was controlled by evil spirit.

Even if you have a sacred artifact for national sacrifice, this thing can't sense it.

The side hall on the right is the case library, which stores the files of Taoist ordination certificates from all over the world and intelligence on the Taoist world in various places.

The side hall on the left is where the Law Enforcement Hall is dispatched and is responsible for routine office work.

At this time, the doors of the two halls were open and many people were coming and going.

As soon as Li Yan walked in, he attracted a lot of attention.

"That's Li Yan?"

"How can you be so young..."

Li Yan ignored them and walked into the hall quickly under everyone's gaze. He clasped his fists and said, "Greetings, Brother Luo, and Lord Pei."

In the main hall, Luo Mingzi and Pei Zongti were talking.

"Young Master Li, please don't be so polite."

Pei Zongti was a Confucian who valued Yan Jiuling very much. He was acquainted with Li Yan, so he was not polite when he spoke. He shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "I heard about this when I was still in Tianjin. As soon as I came back, the emperor called me in and gave me a lecture. Fortunately, Li Shaoxia found out, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."

"My lord, you're welcome."

Li Yan was about to speak, but he closed his mouth and looked behind him.

Pei Zongti immediately understood and waved his hand. A guard behind him immediately stepped forward, closed the door and stood guard outside.

"Don't worry, Brother Li. No one else can hear what we are saying here." Luo Mingzi explained.

Li Yan nodded, and then said: "I'm afraid the matter is not over yet..."

As he spoke, he told his guess and did not hide the matter of the "Night Wandering God".

After all, if we want to investigate this matter, we cannot do without the help of Priest Xuan.

"That place is called 'Nine Gates Yinxu'!"

After hearing this, Pei Zongti's expression became solemn.

Li Yan was not surprised. After all, he was a mysterious priest and must know more than the fox fairy, an outsider.

But seeing that Luo Mingzi also looked surprised, it was obvious that this matter was somewhat secretive.

Looking at the two people's eyes, Pei Zongti hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "Don't mess around in that place."

"This matter is a secret, and few people know about it. The capital was originally the capital of the Wolf Kingdom of the Golden Horde. When the Wolf Kingdom was destroyed, the remnants burned down the capital and left some arrangements behind. Therefore, when the imperial palace was rebuilt, a lot of arrangements were made to suppress the resentment of the previous dynasty."

"Over time, many strange things happened. Fifty years ago, at midnight, a night watchman saw a ghost market with flickering candlelight. It was commonly known as 'the Yinxu midnight'. There are nine gates in the inner city of the capital, and all the things happened near the nine gates, so it was called 'the nine-gate Yinxu'."

Li Yan frowned, "Since there is such a dangerous place, why not deal with it sooner?"

"It's not that easy."

Pei Zongti looked around and whispered, "Where there is Yang, there is Yin. The imperial palace suppresses the evil spirit of the Wolf Country, and it also involves the Daxuan Dragon Vein. The clan office has issued an order prohibiting people from the Xuanmen from getting involved. It is also a taboo in the capital."

Li Yan was speechless when he heard this.

Luo Mingzi beside him said in a deep voice: "Sir, right now there is a possibility that evil spirits are hiding there, how can we just sit there and watch?"

Pei Zongti rubbed his brows with a headache, "Forget it, I will report this matter to His Majesty, and we will talk about it later."

Since it involves the dragon vein of the Daxuan Dynasty, the royal family is very wary of this.

He is also a member of the Xuanmen sect, so he naturally has to be careful and cautious when mentioning this matter.

Li Yan also vaguely guessed the reason, so he changed the subject and asked, "Did Yu Wenhai confess?"

Luo Mingzi said coldly: "Now that he has come to Priest Xuan's prison, how can we leave him alone?"

"The scumbag scholar Kong Hui has indeed come to the capital. They originally wanted to convene the 'Peach Banquet' and use evil magic to control and create chaos in the capital, but they didn't expect us to be faster, so Kong Hui had no choice but to silence us."

Li Yan's heart sank, "Did I reveal my secret?"

"Ah."

Luo Mingzi didn't beat around the bush. "That night when Piaoxianglou had an incident, the people of Jianmu knew that you had sneaked into the capital. They had henchmen hiding in the City God Temple. When they saw you and that 'son of a bitch' leaving, they found an opportunity to come to your house and tortured the old man selling braised meat for a confession."

The old man who sold braised meat is dead, and I don't know where the 'son of a bitch' has gone to."

"They know you have found out something, so they are in a hurry to launch the 'Peach Banquet'."

Li Yan clenched his fist fiercely, "'Son of a bitch' is dead too?"

Luo Mingzi replied: "I have sent people to look for him. Yu Wenhai is still interrogating him. He seems to be hiding something and is biting his tongue tightly. I can't get him to reveal his identity even with the bewitching spell. It must be Jianmu. I haven't found out Zhao Qingxu's identity yet..."

As he was speaking, there was a hurried knock on the door.

Pei Zongti frowned slightly, "Come in!"

wow~
The guard who had just walked in pushed the door open, clasped his fists and said urgently: "Sir, Yu Wenhai is dead!"

"what?!"

Pei Zongti stood up suddenly, his face showing anger, "What's going on? Didn't I tell you to be careful?"

After saying this, he hurriedly left the hall with the two of them.

The three of them followed the corridor to the central courtyard.

In the center of the courtyard, there was a mysterious altar carved from bricks and stones, covered with five-colored soil, and a nine-meter-high bronze flagpole stood in the center.

It is inscribed with "Commands to All Gods" and it is the place where the master priests set up altars and perform rituals.

What attracted Li Yan was the well facing Xuantan.

The stone well was not big, just enough to hold a washbasin, and there was an octagonal demon-suppressing stone covering the mouth of the well.

This is the Demon-Suppressing Well, which is said to be used to suppress the invisible ghosts captured by Priest Xuan.

Li Yan had only heard of it, but this was the first time he saw it.

What surprised him was that this well was very similar to the well he saw in the underworld mission.

Of course, I couldn't ask more questions at this time.

Everyone came to the dungeon at the back and followed the Taoist priest who was guarding the prison into it.

This dungeon was used to detain Xuanmen prisoners, so its design was naturally different. It was dark and depressing inside, with torches flickering along the way. All the cells had large iron doors, and even the walls were cast with cinnabar mixed with iron filings and carved with talismans.

When they arrived at one of the open cells, several Taoists outside the door quickly made way.

Li Yan looked inside and saw Yu Wenhai, who was tied to a pillar and covered in blood.

At this time, Yu Wenhai had a weird smile on his face, his forehead exploded, and his brains were splattered everywhere.

From the scene, it actually exploded from the inside out...

(End of this chapter)