My enemies became my companions

Chapter 431: Accompany or Not (Two in One)

The nun-like girl had not run a few steps before she was suddenly pulled back.

The girl struggled desperately, but the man in scholarly robes covered her mouth and held her down tightly no matter how she punched and kicked.

The man in the Confucian robe said with a smile, looking timid:
"Children are ignorant and speak nonsense."

As he spoke, he had already stepped back slightly, and the man who was accompanying him also restrained the boy, even though the latter was trembling and dared not move.

Min Ning narrowed his eyes.

The man in the scholar's robe had a nervous look on his face. He glanced at them, and everyone put their hands on their swords.

The knight took a step forward.

Everyone was sweating coldly and their teeth were chattering.

"Brothers on the word He, let's have a bowl of water." Min Ning paused and said, "The little boy is good, give me some money."

The man in the Confucian robe was slightly stunned, then he came to his senses, wiped the sweat off his face and smiled:

"That's good, that's good. So you are brothers in the same family. Which family are you from?"

"It was pushed down by gold."

The Golden Roof, the imperial palace is the Golden Throne Roof, and the one coming down from the Golden Roof comes from the capital. When Zhao Yuanwang heard this jargon, he immediately understood.

I thought he was a chivalrous man who stood up for justice, but it turned out that he was just a bandit from another world.

Zhao Yuanwang traveled to many places to sell human beings, so of course he knew the jargon of the capital. This man seemed to be a dragon from outside, and since he wanted to get a piece of the pie, it would not be easy to send him away easily.

"What's up with these two little kids?" Min Ning asked.

"They are some Taoist or Buddhist children. In short, they are talented boys and girls who are to be sold to the immortals."

Zhao Yuanwang said with an apologetic smile, motioning for the men to put away their weapons, thinking of giving them some money to get rid of them.

The girl's face gradually turned pale, and her eyes soon became desperate.

Min Ning just glanced at it and said:
"It seems to be worth a lot of silver. I'll give you a figure: thirty percent."

Zhao Yuanwang glared and stopped reaching into his pocket. Thirty percent of the money was a huge sum and he couldn't take it out at all right now.

One of the four people couldn't sit still and said, "This brother is really unkind. He wants 30% of us with just one sentence?"

Min Ning said slowly: "I hope you have a safe journey."

Zhao Yuanwang immediately glanced at the dead spider demon on the ground, pondered for a while, gritted his teeth and said, "Thirty percent is thirty percent. When we send the person to you, you will definitely not lose a cent."

Min Ning raised his lips and said, "I believe you will have a lot of them."

Send Buddha to the West...

When they get to the land, they'll be wiped out.

………………

The fire in Yuanfeng Building was so severe that the surrounding houses were also damaged, and the place where the opera troupe lived was also pitch black.

This house was rented by the opera troupe, and now that Yuanfeng Building has been destroyed, they naturally have to cancel the lease. In addition, after the fire in Yuanfeng Building, Huang Jing spent all his money. Many people were jealous of the opera troupe's past glory and came to ask for money. How could they handle it? Master Fang had let go of the past glory and now just wanted to get away from this place of trouble as soon as possible.

Shan Tongcheng was still in poverty. After Huang Jing's death, he could not even afford to support a drama troupe.

The pensions of this opera troupe were naturally taken over by the government. Not only the opera troupe, but also the pensions of all the servants in Yuanfeng Building were taken over by the government.

As for why the usually high-handed county government was so easy to talk to, Master Fang certainly knew who deserved the credit.

"Captain Min, our opera singing profession worships Emperor Tang Minghuang as our ancestor. Every day we practice to warm up our voices and legs, and we practice for hours, but this still doesn't allow us to go on stage..."

Master Fang chatted with Chen Yi attentively about family matters, telling him about the difficulties this opera troupe had gone through over the years.

The reason is simple. Who asked Chen Yi to bring them money?
Even though the money he carried was Dayu treasure notes given by the government, it was better to have some compensation than no compensation. As for the deaths and injuries that occurred a few days ago, Master Fang seemed to have forgotten about it.

Who among the lowest class has not seen people die or get injured?

"How will Master Fang deal with the injured and dead ones?" Chen Yi didn't want to talk too much about trivial things. He and Donggong Ruoshu came here, in addition to visiting Miss Xiaotao, to understand how the troupe would handle funeral affairs.

"Those who are injured can share some of the money, go their separate ways, and support themselves."

When talking about money, Master Fang looked distressed, rubbing his thumbs together for a long time and said:

"If they're dead... I'll just use some of my own money to buy a good coffin for burial... I won't have to hold a big funeral."

"it is good."

Chen Yi glanced at the yard in front of him. Under the black ashes, it was almost noon and the dining table was set out. There was a large pot of hot soup, a few plates of braised meat and pickles, and some naan bread. The actors from the troupe sat around eating together. The male and female groups ate separately. Usually the male group ate first, and then it was the female group's turn.

The girls' class was having lunch at that moment.

The actors had different looks, and their fair skin looked even more so when they sat under the shade of the trees. Chen Yi had heard that before joining the troupe, the actors would be locked up in a dark room for a month. When their skin became fairer, they became slimmer and more delicate, and their personalities smoothed out, they would be released to teach how to sing.

"I wonder if Captain Min is interested in it?"

Master Fang asked in a low voice.

Chen Yi shook his head, rejected the offer and said:
"I don't like opera."

"Oh...oh...it's me, Meng Lang. At that time, Qian Hu helped Xiao Tao, and I thought you fell in love with Miss Xiao Tao."

Master Fang said, sighing:

"Everyone has their own way of living. There is always a reason to live. Miss Xiaotao has a lame leg. From now on... she can no longer eat at the troupe."

"For my friend's sake, you don't have to worry about her."

"That's right, that's right." Master Fang nodded in agreement, and said greedily, "Miss Xiaotao was bought by the troupe at a cost of three hundred taels..."

Chen Yi pretended not to hear anything. When he saw Dong Gong Ruoshu waving at him, he stood up and went to Xiao Tao's ward.

Master Fang was stunned for a while.

Arriving in the ward, Chen Yi pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Xiaotao looks much better than yesterday." Donggong Ruoshu said with a frown.

When she heard that Chen Yi was helping others, she was so happy.

She was so happy as if she had killed Huang Jing herself.

Miss Xiaotao smiled at Chen Yi and coughed:

"After two days, Qian Hu will arrange for me to go to Mount Taihua...right?"

She was quite incredulous, and the maid beside her also had her eyes slightly lit up.

He was going to be a Taoist priest, or a Taoist priest from Mount Taihua. He was instantly promoted from the lower nine classes to the upper nine classes.

"That's right, you can recuperate there. After you recover, you can become an outer disciple of Mount Taihua."

Chen Yi simply explained that he had already discussed this with Yin Weiying beforehand.

Tears streamed down Xiaotao's face.
"Thank you, thank you... For all your kindness, I will work like a slave in my next life to repay you. The one I owe the most in this life, besides the opera troupe, is you, Qianhu."

They were just casual acquaintances, but Chen Yi could do such a thing, how could she not be moved.

When she was penniless and almost starved to death on the streets, it was this opera troupe that spent three hundred taels to buy her and trained her step by step to become a star. Now Chen Yixue has come to her rescue and helped her. Not only did she get justice, but she also settled the compensation. Either of the two favors is enough to make her grateful for the rest of her life.

"Thanks, but I want to ask you something."

Chen Yi slowly asked about a detail of the fire.
"Did Master Jiang Xin come to Yuanfeng Tower by himself that day?"

"Master Fang invited him. Master Jiang Xin is a great actor. Master Fang would invite him over from time to time during his free time and let the troupe perform for him individually."

"Of course."

After hearing this, Chen Yi nodded slightly.
He didn't even look back at Master Fang.

I see,

The spy that Huang Jing had been looking for was not in Miaoshang Temple, nor in Chongyang Temple.
In his Yuanfeng Building...

……………………“Is this true?” Yin Weiying frowned, “The seal can no longer suppress it?”

The Taoist priest of Chongyang Temple nodded heavily, his face full of pleading: "After the unfortunate accident of the temple master, the seal formation of the Sword Pond Forbidden Land suddenly lost its support. In addition, these few days have been unlucky days. We Taoist priests are now just trying our best to maintain this seal."

Chongyang Temple was originally a Taoist temple of Quanzhen Sect in Shantong City. It was very popular when Shantong City was prosperous, but it also rose and fell with the times. By their generation, there had not been a real person for a long time. They finally waited for Jiang Xin to come, but he died in an unclear manner.

Yin Weiying frowned slightly and continued:
"Master Jiang Xin invited fellow Taoists from all walks of life to Chongyang Temple to explore opportunities and seek the art of sealing. Why haven't they come up with a solution in such a long time?"

The Taoist suddenly felt a little embarrassed, his eyes dropped, and he stammered:
"Most of the Taoist friends who come here are from small sects or wandering cultivators. They say they will invite Taoist friends from all over, but in fact they mainly invite Taoist friends from Taihua Mountain and Yinjian Mountain of the Goddess."

Yin Weiying couldn't help but ask: "If that's the case, why not speak frankly?"

"…We in Chongyang Temple are Quanzhen Daoists, and we are different from Taihua Mountain and Yinjian Mountain. I am afraid that speaking out about this will weaken the momentum of Quanzhen Daoists…"

Yin Weiying shook his head and sighed, "It's better to die with dignity than to suffer in life."

"What the goddess taught is..."

After the Taoist finished speaking, his hand holding the tea began to tremble slightly, and he felt a little uneasy.

If the situation had not been serious, they would never have come here to speak frankly. The seal of the sword pool had become increasingly loose, and sword energy would occasionally flow out, leaving deep marks several feet deep on the ground. It was extremely horrifying. The Taoists who had gone in to look for opportunities before now retreated when they reached the formation. They had no choice but to send people over to ask the Goddess Taihua for help.

General Yin Weiying took in all the expressions on his face.

Among the several Taoist sects, only Quanzhen Sect attaches the most importance to the disputes among sects. In the past, when Wang Chongyang was in power, he destroyed the Magu Temples built by Tianshi Dao and built Yuegu Temples instead, thus forging hatred with many Taoist sects. Although the disputes among Taoist sects have eased and they are no longer opposed to each other as time goes by, even so, Quanzhen Sect still thinks highly of itself compared with other Taoist sects.

Now people have been forced to bow their heads and speak frankly, which shows how great a blow the death of Master Jiang Xin has dealt to Chongyang Temple, and how serious the situation of Chongyang Temple is.

Seeing that Yin Weiying seemed to be thinking, the Taoist advised:
"We Taoists are of the same blood and have never stood by and watched someone die without helping. Moreover, it is an emergency now. If the seal collapses, I am afraid that not only Chongyang Temple will be in danger, but also the people in the same mountain city will be in danger..."

Yin Weiying immediately glanced at Chen Yi.

After thinking for a while, Chen Yi said, "Go ahead, go with Lu Ying."

Lu Ying, who was quietly sipping tea not far away, raised his eyes slightly, then quickly lowered them.

Yin Weiying turned to the Taoist and said, "If that's the case, then we will go and pay our respects."

The Taoist priest stood up, bowed, and thanked him, saying, "Please come quickly."

After saying this, he was about to turn around and leave, but Chen Yi stopped him and said:

"Master, I want to ask why you came here alone?"

"A group of soldiers said that there were bandits in Chongyang Temple, so the temple was sealed off inside and outside. I was only released after asking for permission."

"Okay, it's okay."

Chen Yi waved his hand, and the maid came over and escorted the Taoist priest out the door.

After the Taoist priest left for a while, Yin Weiying turned and looked at Chen Yi.

She had previously heard that there were spies from the Western Jin Dynasty hiding in Chongyang Temple, and that Xi Que Ge, Huang Jing and others had been fooled by them for many days but had gained nothing.

Now that she was asked to go to Chongyang Temple, although Yin Weiying was not worried about her own safety, it would not be a bad idea for her to show some softness in front of him.

She would pretend to ask him to accompany her. Even though he would be angry with her, he would still protect her tightly. This would make him sink deeper and deeper. One day, he would probably be willing to put on a pig face and call her "good sister" again.

With this thought in mind, Yin Weiying had made up his mind. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he was about to speak in a clear voice.

Lu Ying suddenly asked, "Chen Yi, will you go with me?"

Yin Weiying was stunned.

This is what she wanted to say!

Although it would be the same whether I accompanied her or Lu Ying, it always felt a little weird, as if if it was the latter, I, the eldest lady, would become a foil.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Lu Ying again, only to see that the latter was staring at Chen Yi without blinking.

Eyebrows?

Yin Weiying's heart was in his throat. He bit his lips and stared at Chen Yi.

Chen Yi only felt that the two gazes were slightly heavy, and his scalp was slightly numb. Finally, he said:

"No, I have something to do and I have to go somewhere else."

There is indeed something that needs to be done. We need to put an end to the matter of Shan Tongcheng.

But it sounded different to the two girls.

Yin Weiying curled the corners of his mouth slightly and shook his head secretly, sighing in his heart that he had politely rejected Lu Ying after all, and finally followed his own wishes and knew where the line was.

Lu Ying lowered his head in a slightly dejected manner, and whispered to himself, "If you don't want to go, then don't go. You are not derelict in your duty as a Dharma protector, but you are not very competent either. I think this is what Master meant. Your own destiny is what you want. Forget it, I won't say any more, lest you think I am blaming you. I am not really blaming you."

The voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and Chen Yi could only smile bitterly in response.

After hearing this, Yin Weiying was secretly delighted.

Little slut, who can't hear your resentment?
He is my cauldron!

Just as he was thinking, Yin Weiying saw that Chen Yi seemed to want to say something to comfort him, and didn't want to give the two of them a chance to get closer, so he said repeatedly:
"Come with me to see Miss Xiaotao. I have informed my uncles and aunts about this matter, but I still have some things to explain to her."

Chen Yi didn't think much about it. He nodded, stood up and followed her out.

The figures of the two disappeared from Lu Ying's sight. Lu Ying, who had always been calm and composed, lowered his head and sipped his tea for a long time.

But the tea bowl was empty long ago.

.........

Miss Xiaotao and her maid were temporarily placed in Xuan Mansion. They were chatting and laughing in the room just now, but when they saw the two men come in, they suddenly became quiet. The reason was simple and had nothing to do with living under someone else's roof.

It was because the Taihua Goddess who followed Chen Yi in was so sage-like.

Her white clothes were whiter than snow, her figure was ethereal, and her every glance and smile exuded an otherworldly charm. As a female role, Miss Xiaotao had seen many fairy-like figures, but when she saw this one, she did not dare to speak loudly.

Yin Weiying shook his whisk lightly and said:

"I have informed my uncle of this matter. When you can get out of bed easily in this Xuanfu, I will take you to the mountain."

Although Miss Xiaotao had been prepared, she still couldn't help crying when she heard it. She went from the lowest nine classes to the upper nine classes overnight. It was something she had never dared to think about in her dreams for many nights. One must know that one cannot become a monk if they want to. Not to mention that Buddhist temples and Taoist temples have to examine a person's talent and understanding before accepting him as a disciple. Even if a Buddhist temple or Taoist temple sees someone, he still needs a certificate of ordination from the government before he can become a monk.

This was as difficult as ascending to heaven for an actor who was of low status.

Miss Xiaotao's face was covered with tears. She bent her waist and bowed on the bed. The maid beside her also bowed gracefully. Yin Weiying raised his white hands slightly, and an invisible force lifted them up. He refused to be bowed.

"From now on, we are fellow disciples. There is no distinction between high and low among Taoists of our generation, so I will not accept your worship today."

Yin Weiying paused, then smiled calmly like a fairy in a painting and said:

"If you practice diligently, you may be able to enter the inner gate in the future. I will crown you personally then."

"Thank you, Fairy Yin, for taking me in..."

Xiao Tao's face was full of tears.
"If I really succeed in my cultivation, I will set up a tablet for those who are grateful, and pray for your safety and good weather."

"There's no need to put up a sign, but people should always be grateful."

After giving the instructions, Yin Weiying took Chen Yi away.

Miss Xiaotao was still filled with tears of gratitude, and the maid beside her also threw herself on the bed and cried, as if she had finally reaped the rewards of her hard work. Although the female roles seemed to be glamorous on the surface, how long could their glory last? How many actors lost their voice after the age of 20 and were forced to fall into prostitution.

Miss Xiaotao took the maid's hand and whispered:

"Remember, be grateful. You and I have been blessed to be where we are today. We must be grateful and never forget."

"I remember, I remember..."

"Captain Min, and Fairy Yin, you two must remember this. And Master Fang, don't forget him either. He gave us a living. Don't forget him either. If it weren't for the three hundred taels of silver, you and I would have starved to death on the streets..."

Miss Xiaotao seemed to recall her opera singing days and suddenly she started to sing:

"I have read the Heart Sutra many times, but I cannot understand the Peacock Sutra.
Only the seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra are the most difficult to learn. Our master has taught me both in sleep and in dreams..."

(End of this chapter)