Patrol Captain

Five days later, Tongguan was eighty thousand miles away to the east.

A towering city stands in the distant sky under the sunset glow, like a giant dragon lying on the mountain, shining with golden light and the vastness of the world.

"li"

Outside the city, there was a vast expanse of sky and a howl.

In the distance, a black jackdaw flapped its wings and cut through the sky, heading straight for the majestic city. Its wings swept over the hundred-foot-high city wall, passed through the towering Xizhimen, and startled the copper bells on the eaves of the city gate tower. The crisp sound spread all the way along the crowded Zhuque Street.

Birds fly from west to east, and beneath their wings, an amazing and prosperous scene is revealed!

In the market, the foreign merchants in the West Market opened their tents made of Persian blankets, and the benzoin in the glass bottles mixed with the frankincense of the Arab Empire wafted into their faces. A foreign girl held a guzheng, and the golden bells on her wrists tinkled when she plucked the strings. She sang and danced, attracting passers-by. The silks and satins in the silk shops in the East Market fluttered in the wind. The scarlet Shu brocade and the moon-white Wu silk were hung on carved wooden racks for the rich and powerful to choose from. The sound of forging came from the blacksmith shop diagonally opposite. The bronze-skinned, bare-chested, sweaty blacksmiths held hammers in their hands, and the blades they forged were shining with a cold light.

Among the pavilions with flying eaves, there were noble men setting up banquets with wine cups flowing down the winding canals. Glass wine cups floated along the winding canals. Whoever stopped in front of them would improvise. There were Confucian scholars quoting classics, composing poems and writing beautiful articles, and there were also sword-wielding knights dancing with swords after drinking, which attracted applause. Not far away, on the stage of a certain house, actors were singing the new lyrics that were popular in the capital recently. When the female role raised her sleeves, the white pigeons raised under the eaves were startled and flew into the air. At dusk, the colorful lanterns of Lepingfang were lit up one after another, and the fragrance of rouge mixed with the fragrance of wine drifted in the streets. The singing girl leaned against the carved wooden window and sang softly. The sound of pipa strings wrapped in the sound of drinking orders floated out of the brothel, attracting pedestrians on the road to stop, intoxicated, and linger.

The crow flew over hundreds of miles, and the magnificent scenery in the city was like a fleeting glimpse, splendid and magnificent. Finally, it flew into a magnificent mansion.

"flap"

The black bird jackdaw flew to a high platform, where a dim figure stood tall and upright, leaning on the railing and looking out. The jackdaw landed on the man's outstretched arm, making a cooing sound in its throat.

A pair of dark red eyes seemed to have spirit!
This person seemed to have gotten some information from it, his eyes flickered quickly, and then he raised his arm, and the black jackdaw landed on his shoulder, and then he turned around and walked away quickly.
The man passed through several archways with white curtains fluttering in the wind, and finally came to the outside of a pavilion.

At dusk, the sun sets and its elongated silhouette is reflected through the window pane. There is melodious piano music in the room, with a hint of autumnal bleakness.

The man walked quickly to the outside of the room, bowed down, bent his body to 90 degrees, made a semicircle with his hands, and bowed with a solemn expression.

"Sir, news has come from outside the Divine Capital that all assassinations have failed, and the Lieutenant General from Shu will arrive in the capital soon!"

As soon as these words fell, the piano music in the room suddenly stopped.

After a breath or two, a deep voice came from inside.

"It doesn't matter!"

"I have already guessed it."

"It's no wonder that I can kill the patrol angels. If I can succeed, that would be great. If I can't, I'll just give this Lieutenant General some trouble and make him understand some truths."

"This person will be coming to Beijing soon. Does he need to do anything?" Outside the door, the person who came to report had a tense voice.

"No need. Now that you're here, just wait for something good to happen. This is the capital of Gods, the imperial city. This person has no one to rely on, so he can take his time." In the room, the voice was steady and had a hint of wit.

"Yes!"

The man then withdrew.

As time passed, the afterglow of the setting sun in the west gradually disappeared over the horizon, and the gorgeous sunset faded away.

And this color fell into the night of the capital. At night, the city was dotted with countless lights, like a brilliant starry sky, and became a city that never sleeps.

At some point, there was the sound of horse hooves outside Xizhimen, and there seemed to be some activity on the corner tower of the city gate. Soon after, the closed vermilion city gate rumbled open under the pull of a huge iron chain, making a dull and heavy sound.

next moment

"Sorry"

The clear neighing of horses arose.

Subsequently,

"tap"

"tap"

"tap"

The neat and rumbling sound of horse hooves stepped on the bluestone slabs in the city. One by one, the black-armored soldiers, glowing dimly in the night, rode on their horses, and with a shout of "Gee", they galloped into Beijing!
Fast horses, wearing iron armor, galloped on the wide Suzaku Avenue, breaking through the night. Hundreds of cavalrymen rumbled and turned into afterimages. Behind each cavalryman were three command flags. A banner was rolling in the night, with a black background, a gold border, and a mountain pattern in the middle.

On the wide street, the common people saw a group of black cavalry entering the capital, and they let out low cries and made way, then their eyes fell on these soldiers and horses.

Not the Jinwu Guards of Longting!

Nor is it the Sky Marching Army of the Sky Patrol!

These soldiers were wearing black armor, and it was obvious that they were heavy cavalry. The flags fluttering in the night were unrecognizable, which attracted the attention of various people in the street vendors, taverns, and brothels, and caused a small-scale discussion.

"Where did these troops come from? They entered the capital at night!"

"The military flag does not belong to the Jinwu Guards and Tianxing Army of the Divine Capital."

"The individual cultivation of these soldiers is not that strong, but they have a strong murderous aura and it seems that their hands are stained with blood. They are not easy to deal with." There was a sharp-eyed person in the tavern who saw something.

"Look, the man riding a horse next to the carriage in the middle seems to be an important figure from the Sky Patrol Department." Someone seemed to recognize one of them and spoke in a surprised voice.

"That's a deputy inspector of the Sky Patrol Department!" someone whispered, recognizing him with awe in his eyes.

"The person walking side by side with him is a Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple!" The capital is full of hidden talents and rich people. Someone even recognized the heavyweight figure next to him.

Now, many people looked through the darkness of night and looked at the black carriage between the two important figures of the court with suspicion and surprise.

Who is the person in the carriage who can be protected by two senior officials from the Astronomical Survey Department and the Ministry of Rites?

For a moment, many people along the way were surprised and confused, and there was a burst of whispers.

And in sight, hundreds of fast horses galloped through the streets in the night, heading straight to the center of the capital!

In the distance, there is a majestic Dragon Court that gathers all the dragon energy in the world. It is the residence of the emperor and the place where the great fortune of Daqian lies. In the night, it can only be described as spectacular.

The palace walls stand tall like the nine-layered palace of heaven, and the glazed brick walls are flowing with starlight. Bronze Yinglong totem poles stand every hundred feet. There are floating islands in the sky like forests, and palaces stand in the sea of ​​clouds, like the residences of gods in heaven. A magnificent world is looming in the night, revealing solemnity and divinity.

The horses galloped at full speed with the rumbling of hooves all the way to the foot of the palace wall, where someone shouted and blocked their way.

There are golden armored guards under the palace wall. These soldiers have different armor styles from the Tianxing Army. They have dragon-patterned arm guards. Each of them has a heavenly aura, which is really impressive. They are used to guard the Dragon Court gate.

These are the Jinwu Guards who guard the Dragon Court!

"Who is coming?"

The Jinwu Guards blocked the road.

The black-armored cavalry dispersed to both sides, revealing the carriage in the middle, and Xu Liang and Gou Yue on both sides.

The two of them traveled from Shu and, after thirteen days and nights, finally accompanied the Ninth Mountain General back to the Divine Capital.

As for the second half of the journey, they experienced some assassinations and were delayed for some time.

"It turns out to be Lord Xu and Lord Gou!" When the leading Jinwu Guard saw the two dignified faces, his expression relaxed and he clasped his fists.

Xu Liang sat on a tall horse, his face straightened, and he explained,

"Your Majesty has summoned the Ninth Mountain General of Jiannan Road to the capital! We will follow him."

Then he spoke,
"Hand over General Chen's memorial!" A black-armored soldier in the front dismounted, walked quickly to the front of the Jinwu Guards, took out a memorial in his hand and handed it to the leading Jinwu Guard.

This memorial was called "Qinganzhai". When officials from other places arrived in the capital, they would use it to inform the emperor in the Dragon Court that they had arrived in the capital.

When the leading Jinwu Guard heard the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple explain the origin of the people in the carriage, he was immediately shocked and his eyebrows and eyes changed involuntarily, but he quickly controlled his expression.

He took the letter, then turned around and said a few words to his soldiers.

Another Jinwu Guard quickly ran into the deep palace wall.

The leading Jinwu Guard had a normal expression on his face and said politely, "Please wait for a moment, sirs. After submitting the petition, a special person will take the general to the Hanging Temple to stay."

This is the procedure that officials from other places must follow when entering Beijing!
Xu Liang naturally knew it and didn't say anything else. The carriage was very quiet and Chen Yuan inside didn't say a word.

Before long, a eunuch in eunuch's clothes walked out quickly from the shadow of the deep palace wall corridor.

The ones who came out to do their job were an old eunuch and a young eunuch, holding lanterns!

"I am on duty today and have been assigned an errand. I will take General Chen to bed first!"

The old eunuch kept his head down as he spoke, and spoke very simply without looking or saying much.

The men in black armor automatically gave up two horses to the two eunuchs and let them ride.

Next, there was a set of procedures. The old eunuch led Chen Yuan and his party to a mountain near the palace wall. There was a Hanging Temple on the mountain. This was a royal garden and a place for officials from other places to stay.

Of course, ordinary officials from other places cannot live in this royal garden. This place is generally used to entertain officials of the level of provincial governors.

Logically speaking, he was not qualified with the rank of General of the Central Army, but Chen Yuan was a different matter.

The old eunuch led Chen Yuan to the Hanging Temple on the mountain. Only the horse-drawn carriages were driven up, and the other several hundred cavalrymen who accompanied them were told that they could not enter the mountain and had to stay and camp at the foot of the mountain.

"General Chen!"

"arrive!"

"This is the Hanging Temple! It's where the general is staying."

The carriage arrived at the gate of a thousand-year-old temple. The leading old eunuch sent the young eunuch to knock on the door to notify the abbot inside.

He dismounted, lowered his head, and walked to the front of the carriage. His tone was a little respectful, but if you listened carefully, you would find it a little unnatural.

At this time, the curtain was pulled open, and Chen Yuan finally emerged from the carriage.

He got off the car, looked at this thousand-year-old temple surrounded by tall banyan trees, with yellow walls and green tiles, and a strong aroma of incense, and nodded.

"Thanks for your hard work!"

At this moment, the copper-locked gate of this thousand-year-old temple opened under the moonlight shining through the trees.

Several monks came out.

"Amitabha!"

"Your distinguished guest has come to my house, but I am sorry that I failed to greet him in person."

Leading the group, an old monk wearing a cassock and a patchwork robe came over to chant the Buddha's name in a long and leisurely voice.

Chen Yuan looked up and saw the old monk with drooping eyebrows and ears hanging to his shoulders. The golden light in his eyes was passively triggered and condensed into golden lacquer. It couldn't help but flash for a moment, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Chen Yuan's mind was slightly startled, and his Dharma Eye was automatically triggered. This was the first time he had encountered this.

This old monk has the appearance of an arhat, and it is hard to tell his depth.

He did a good job of hiding the vision in his eyes.

"Master Abbot, this general is the Ninth Mountain General from Shu. He has been summoned by His Majesty and is lodging here." The old eunuch explained his origins to the abbot and then made way for him, showing great discretion and assurance.

Chen Yuan stepped forward and held the handrail, "Thank you for your help, Master Abbot!"

The old monk nodded and said, "Don't bother me. The general is truly a young talent, amazing."

The old monk said this, then looked at Xu Liang who was standing behind him and bowed, "Xu Shaoqing is here too. I'm sorry."

Obviously know.

Xu Liang quickly returned the greeting.

"Master Three Rings!"

Next, without much greeting, several people were invited into the temple, and the two eunuchs, one old and one young, completed their task and left.

After a cup of tea, Chen Yuan was settled in a side room.

The abbot only showed up at the beginning, and then left it to other monks in the temple to arrange meals and accommodation.

Xu Shaoqing and Gou Yue also completed their mission and prepared to leave.

"General Chen, now that we have arrived at the Divine Capital, it is time for me to go back and report!"

Outside the wing room, Xu Liang and Chen Yuan said goodbye.

At this time, the journey ended and they arrived in the capital. The atmosphere between the three people had obviously changed.

That comes from a kind of uncertainty.

In other words, the combination of three people was originally temporary and there was no solid relationship at all.

Gou Yue also held the handrail beside him, but did not say anything.

Chen Yuan could clearly feel the subtle changes, his eyes were thoughtful.
"No matter what, this trip is all thanks to you two. Whether it's Bailongtan, Baoqing Mansion, or the few times you enlightened me later, I will remember this."

"But Chen hopes that before you two leave, can you tell me the locations of those stores?"

"After all, I'm new here and I'm unfamiliar with the place. I need to get to know more people in the court. I need to visit these gentlemen, so I have to prepare a visiting card in advance!"

Chen Yuan said this with a smile.

When Xu Liang heard this, he frowned and was even more unconvinced.

"General Chen really wants to visit these families?"

These families had revealed their true colors in the assassination attempts on the road, and he didn't believe that the General wanted to visit them.

He wanted to advise the general not to act rashly since he had just arrived in the capital.

“It’s true!”

Chen Yuan nodded, "Isn't it possible to simply fight and kill in this world?" (End of this chapter)