Knife splashing

Chapter 85: Mass Grave
"stop!"

Ten miles away from the mass grave, the three were stopped.

It turned out to be a group of soldiers setting up a checkpoint at the intersection, and in the distant plains and grasslands, there were cavalry patrolling with mastiffs.

Sharifei quickly dismounted, clasped his fists and said with a smile, "Soldier, we are invited by Taoist Luo of the Law Enforcement Hall of the City God Temple to watch the ceremony. We hope you can help us."

"City God Temple..."

The soldier who blocked the road looked suspicious and asked, "Do you have a pass?"

Sharifei was stunned and looked behind him, while Li Yan shook his head.

Luo Mingzi only made a verbal invitation and was busy as hell after he came back. Li Yan went to the City God Temple to inquire about Master Lengtan You, but he couldn't find anyone, so where did the warrant come from?

"No?"

The leading soldier's expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, "Military Captain Fan has ordered that the mass grave be put under martial law today to prevent any gangsters from sneaking in and causing trouble."

"You guys don't look like good people at first glance, so be smart and leave quickly!"

Today is the Double Ninth Festival. He had originally begged his superior to go home to visit his father, but his plans were disrupted by this temporary transfer order. He was already unhappy and naturally spoke harshly.

Sharifei still greeted him with a smile, secretly took out a string of copper coins, and whispered: "This soldier, please do me a favor. If you don't believe it, send someone to ask..."

"Shut your bitch!"

The leading soldier's expression immediately changed, and he raised his spear, "Everyone, get off your horses and stop them. They must be gangsters!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of cavalrymen rode over from a distance, drew their bows and aimed their sharp arrows at the three people.

When Li Yan saw it, he frowned immediately.

These soldiers were all from the local garrison in Xianyang and were under the jurisdiction of the Chang'an Military Command. Even though they received rigorous training on a daily basis, they were no match for veterans who had fought in hundreds of battles.

Just like the little flag in front of him, it seems that he has not yet stepped into the dark energy. Even with the help of his colleagues around him, they cannot stop him.

But if you fight with the army, you will have no choice but to escape afterwards.

What's more troublesome is that these soldiers have gone too far. If you are caught by them, you will definitely be whipped. If you meet a bad-hearted person, even the money and property on you will be taken away.

Li Yan was about to speak when he suddenly had an idea and looked behind him.

"stop!"

The sound of horse hooves rang out, and a group of knights came rushing over.

There were seven people in total, all dressed in black brocade clothes with Ya Zi and Bi'an embroidered with silver thread on their chests and backs. Each of them had a deep aura and excellent riding skills.

Duwei Division?
Li Yan narrowed his eyes and recognized the clothes.

The Duwei Division is similar to the Jinyiwei. They act ruthlessly and unscrupulously, and have a very bad reputation in the underworld. In the Chundian, they are called "hawk dogs, black dogs."

What surprised him even more was that the leader was Guan Wanche.

Isn’t he the head of Xianyang Police? When did he join the Duwei Division?
Li Yan suddenly remembered that Guan Wanche had already found evidence that Zhou Pan had harmed his father, but he kept silent about it and left it to him to expose it.

Behaving strangely, this guy is definitely not as simple as imagined...

While Li Yan was thinking, Guan Wanche came riding over. He first took off his badge and showed it to the public. Then he asked in a cold voice, "What happened?"

The leading soldier clasped his fists and said, "General, these guys are sneaking around, we are about to catch them!"

When Sharifei saw Guan Wanche, he was relieved and said with a playful smile, "Master Guan has been promoted, congratulations. We were invited by Taoist Luo from the City God Temple to attend the ceremony."

"Watch the ceremony?"

Guan Wanche snorted coldly, and was about to say something, but he held back and said in a deep voice: "These people are indeed related to the City God Temple. I will take them to see the person. If they are lying, I will personally arrest them and bring them to you."

"Yes, my lord!"

Although the soldier was unwilling, he had no choice but to order his men to open the barricades.

After clearing the way, Guan Wanche ignored the few people and rode away with a few subordinates.

Li Yan and the other two looked at each other, shook the reins, and followed closely.

A distance of ten miles is really nothing.

After riding for a while, they arrived at the foot of the mass grave.

This was originally a large open space with scattered dense forests around it.

But now, the dense forests around have been cleared, and a three-story altar has been built in the center. It is square in shape, with red wood pillars. There are neatly arranged flags, banners, and streamers on it, with paintings of the Eight Diagrams, Tai Chi, the Big Dipper, and even huge yellow talismans hanging down.

It looked fancy, but Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan both held their breath.

Wang Daoxuan was an expert and he constantly verified what he had learned in his mind.

Li Yan is an amateur, but his supernatural powers make him feel different.

Where the altar was located, the rich smell of incense swirled, connecting to the earth below and the sky above, as if a palace appeared out of thin air, and a solemn and oppressive atmosphere was overwhelming.

Just standing here, he felt a little short of breath.

Among the three, Sharifei was the most relaxed.

As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. He only felt that the air here was exceptionally fresh. Plus, it was the Double Ninth Festival, and fiddling with the dogwood branch in his hand, he actually felt like he was on a picnic.

Li Yan took a deep breath and asked, "Is this the altar?"

"Ah."

Wang Daoxuan said in a deep voice: "The altar I used has at most created a small momentum, but the altar of Taixuan Orthodox Sect has already become a complete situation. There are many century-old instruments enshrined. This altar alone is the accumulation of several generations of other lineages."

"And this is just the City God Temple in Xianyang..."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head with emotion, his eyes full of envy.

Li Yan looked calm and not surprised.

The Taixuan orthodox Taoist tradition has been passed down since the Han Dynasty. Although it has experienced many disasters during the changes of dynasties, the incense has never been interrupted.

The royal families of every dynasty have made it the state religion, so it is no small matter.

Around the altar, tents are set up according to the directions of the Eight Trigrams. Many Taoists are walking back and forth, some are burning incense, some are sweeping, and some are striking chimes and chanting scriptures beside the altar. They seem to be very busy.

These were all newly initiated Taoist children, and were obviously making preparations. As the two were talking, a Taoist priest walked out of the tent on the left. He was wearing a black robe, an eight-sided crown, and had a long sword on his back. It was Luo Mingzi.

He hurried over, and when he saw us, he smiled bitterly and said, "I have been so busy these days that I didn't expect the imperial army to block the main roads. I am sorry that you have been wronged."

"Business is more important. I would also like to thank you for allowing us to watch the ceremony." Li Yan bowed politely.

Next to Luo Mingzi, there was a man from the Duwei Division. Seeing this, he clasped his fists and said in a deep voice, "Master, if this is a misunderstanding, I will go back and report it."

But it was the person sent by Guan Wanche to verify.

Seeing him turning around to leave, Li Yan had an idea. He pulled Sharifei over, whispered a few words to him, and asked him to follow him.

Li Yan learned about the Gushui Village tragedy in the bandit stronghold, and promised Commander Zhao his dying wish, so he would naturally not go back on his word.

However, after returning, there were all kinds of troubles, so there was no chance to report to the police.

Guan Wanche had helped him several times and had just entered the Duwei Division, so he could use this information to repay the favor.

Seeing this, Luo Mingzi ignored it and raised his hand and said with a smile: "Let's go. I have told Uncle Qingyangzi about your situation. He is very interested and may have a solution."

Li Yan's eyes lit up, "Thank you, senior."

After saying that, he followed Luo Mingzi to a big tent.

…………

"Hey, sir, please walk slower..."

Sharifei followed closely behind the captain of the Duwei Division.

"What's the matter?"

The captain turned and asked, his eyes dark.

One of their duties as the Duwei Division is to monitor the martial arts world.

As the saying goes, officials and bandits are on different paths. Although Sharifei is not a bandit, it is obvious that the captain has no good feelings towards these people from the underworld.

Sharifei didn't care and said with a smile: "Why is this official so angry? We have a great contribution to give to Lord Guan."

The captain of the Duwei Division narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, "Then follow me."

After that, he turned around and left.

Sharifei followed him and walked quickly, and soon they arrived at a small mound.

I saw several people standing on the mound on horseback. When they waved their hands, huge falcons flew up, scrambled for the pieces of meat they threw, and then flapped their wings and flew away.

Guan Wanche was among them.

Sharifei felt jealous.

He had heard of this thing. Since the establishment of the Da Xuan Dynasty, it has been collecting rare talents from all over the world. Among them, there were those who were good at eagle training and passed this skill to the Duwei Division.

With the help of the court's huge manpower and material resources, the Duwei Division carried forward the art of falconry. It had golden eagles that could kill wild beasts, peregrine falcons that were extremely fast and good at reconnaissance, as well as hunting dogs, of varying types.

Therefore, the Duwei Division was also called "hawk dog" by people in the underworld.

But having said that, the appeal of this bird of prey to men is not to be underestimated.

Sharifei thought for a moment and wanted to exchange the information for an eagle, but when he remembered Li Yan's instructions and the fierce reputation of the Duwei Division, he gave up the idea.

"What's the matter with you?"

Guan Wanche glanced at it indifferently.

He and Li Hu used to be brothers, so he naturally knew that the other's useless junior brother had never been taken seriously, let alone a close relationship with him.

Sharifei said with a smile: "Sir, please excuse me for a moment and talk."

When Guan Wanche heard this and saw the one-eyed man next to him, his expression immediately turned bad, "Guan is a man of integrity, what can't be said in person!"

What kind of place is the Duwei Division? He has just joined it, so how could he give people a chance to talk about him?

Sharifei meant well, but was scolded for no reason. He was angry and thought to himself, you coward, aren't you afraid that the credit will be taken away by others?

If that’s the case, don’t regret it later!
Anyway, as long as the message is passed on, it means I have returned the favor.

Thinking of this, he did not hide anything and told everything about Gushui Village, the bandit stronghold, the cock-comb snake, and the mysterious sorcerer.

As soon as these words were spoken, all the people from the Duwei Division present changed their expressions.

The one-eyed man slowly turned his horse around and asked gloomily, "Are you lying?"

"Every word is true!"

Sharifei clasped his fists and said, "How dare I talk nonsense about such things? I didn't want to cause trouble. I came here to repay Master Guan's kindness."

In fact, he regretted it a little after he said it in public. After all, Guan Wanche had been promoted and he might need him in the future, so he said this to make up for it.

The one-eyed man nodded and said, "Reward!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one of his men took a bag from his waist and threw it at Sha Lifei's feet with a whoosh. The bag opened and was filled with white silver.

Sharifei raised his eyebrows, "Humanity and morality are worth more than anything else!"

The one-eyed man showed admiration and nodded, saying, "Yes, you are a good man. I advise you to pretend that you didn't know about this matter when you go back, so as not to bring disaster upon yourself."

Sharifei clasped his fists, turned around and left.

Halfway through the walk, he touched his chest, his face full of sorrow, and thought to himself: I am so heartbroken, you coward, it is too expensive to pretend to be a hero, I won’t pretend anymore…

After he left, the one-eyed man's eyes returned to calmness:

"Wan Che, what do you think?"

Guan Wanche clasped his fists and said, "These people are probably the remnants of Maitreya!"

The one-eyed man nodded and said in a deep voice, "It's just as I thought. The man who drives the cockscomb snake is called Dugu Qian, and his nickname is Tomb Snake. He is one of the sixty-four incense masters of Maitreya. He escaped the encirclement and suppression many years ago, and now it seems that he has made great progress in Taoism."

"The remnants of Maitreya have been encircled and suppressed for generations, but they always revive, just like weeds in the spring breeze that can never be wiped out. There are traces of them everywhere in Shenzhou, so they are not a threat at all."

Then he sighed, "The real trouble in this matter is in the capital!"

(End of this chapter)