Poor Taoist Qiu Chuji

Chapter 99: The Emperor is Shocked to Death by a Command

Time is like flowing water, disappearing without a trace.

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed since Qiu Chuji, alone with his mace, killed Jin Wushu in the midst of three armies.

As time went by, Qiu Chuji himself disappeared without a trace. Although the story about this incident became more and more mysterious among the people, its credibility was constantly decreasing.

Many people who think they are smart prefer to believe that Qiu Chuji used assassination to kill Jin Wushu by surprise, and that he was a contemporary figure like Jing Ke and Zhuan Chu, rather than the rumored belief that he beheaded the chieftain in front of the three armies.

This is also the result of intentional guidance by the powerful and wealthy in various countries.

For many things, the more you deny, the more people believe it.

On the contrary, if you add fuel to the fire, praise the process and results of this matter even more, and make it sound even more mysterious, many people will not believe it.

For example, when Song Mu Guiying led the army to break the Tianmen Formation, people in the Song Dynasty regarded the Dragon-Subduing Wood as extremely magical, saying that the formation was broken because of this magical wood. However, this largely negated Mu Guiying's own strategic planning and battlefield response skills.

As for those people, they believe whatever you say.

This type of people are always the easiest to be swept away and led astray. As long as there is no leader, they pose no threat at all.

As for why we need to downplay Qiu Chuji's deterrent power, isn't this reasonable?

It is the 'nature' of the powerful to eat people, but now that Qiu Chuji has appeared, they are also afraid that someone will be really bullied, so they bypass numerous obstacles and go to Mount Zhongnan to appeal for justice.

If we really provoke that living devil to come out, wouldn’t it be the end of my life?
Indeed, Qiu Chuji is only one person and it is impossible for him to really monitor the world. Unless he has the ability to clone himself, it is impossible for him to really eliminate all the people who are harming the people in the village.

But he is not alone. He has fellow disciples and followers. When he deals with the evil deeds of powerful forces in small places, he can get the job done by some Quanzhen disciples who have learned martial arts.

If this kind of punishment and supervision gradually becomes a rule that everyone tacitly accepts, then the status of Quanzhen Sect will be above both the martial arts world and the imperial court, becoming the other extreme.

Looking at it from a longer-term perspective, if everything develops according to Qiu Chuji's wishes, wouldn't the head of Quanzhen Sect become the Pope of the East many years later?
Anyone with real foresight would definitely not allow this to happen.

Then reducing Qiu Chuji's real influence became a tacit understanding among all the powerful people.

······
Outside the city of Lin'an, in front of the Lingyin Temple, in the Lengquan Pavilion, Zhao Gou was on a secret visit with more than a hundred palace masters and eunuchs and palace maids serving him.

It is early winter again. The air in the mountains is cool and some early-blooming plum blossoms have already opened their stamens, dotted among the mountains, adding a bit of pretty color.

Zhao Gou spread the drawing paper on the stone table and was hunched over painting.

With just a few strokes, the aura flowing between the mountains and rivers has already been imprinted on paper.

After drawing a few more strokes, Zhao Gou stood up, stroked his beard, and suddenly felt a little bored.

However, I feel that although the scenery of Feilai Peak is beautiful, it lacks a sense of grandeur compared to the mountains and rivers in the north.

"What a pity! What a pity!" Zhao Gou felt melancholy for no reason.

Instead, his brain waves coincided with those of the last emperor, Li Yu, and he felt a bit like "I can't bear to look back at my homeland under the moonlight".

Of course, he was just sighing.

At this time, I suddenly heard a traveler coming from afar in the mountains, singing as he walked: "In the thickets and deep forests, people are walking on the top. The mountains are steep and rugged, and the trees are intertwined, and the trees are lush. There are green grasses and trees, and the reeds are lush. The white deer are jumping and leaning."

The song was distant and although not very pleasant to hear, it made Zhao Gou feel much more open-minded when placed in this place and scene.

He then ordered the eunuch beside him, "Go! Invite the hermit to me. I want to drink with him."

The eunuch went there immediately.

Soon, the traveler came over carrying a load of firewood still covered with dew. When he saw Zhao Gou from a distance, he first exclaimed, and then said, "No wonder I have been feeling nervous this morning. It turns out that I am going to meet my old friend."

The eunuch next to him immediately scolded him: "Who are you to dare to speak nonsense?"

The traveler laughed and said, "Back in the Heavenly Palace, I was in charge of the Seven Treasures Glazed Lamp, and he was in charge of the Mountains and Rivers Multi-Treasure Seal. We both served before the Heavenly Sovereign. We were colleagues and old friends. Seeing each other again today makes me feel very emotional."

These words actually put himself on an equal footing with Zhao Gou. It seemed similar to the method that Lin Lingsu used to deceive Song Huizong back then, but there were actually some differences.

"Oh? I wonder what the explanation is?" Zhao Gou was not annoyed, but asked in detail.

The traveler said, "Although I am in charge of the Seven Treasures Colored Glass Lamp, I was distracted and broke the wick, so I was demoted to the mortal world. But you are born rich and noble, and you deserve to enjoy all the splendors of this world. Coming to the mortal world is the reward from the Heavenly Sovereign for your years of hard work."

These words touched Zhao Gou's heart.

His father, Song Huizong Zhao Ji, was greedy for pleasure, favored treacherous ministers and corrupted the government, resulting in most of the country falling into the hands of the Jin people.

Therefore, after moving the capital south to Lin'an, although Zhao Gou often behaved out of line, there were often court officials who stood up and criticized him directly, or even secretly warned him with the story of Huizong, which made him very annoyed.

Now the traveler said that his wealth and glory were innate and were a pleasure given to him by the Heavenly King.

This gave him some comfort.

To put it bluntly, it's just to find an excuse for that little bit of guilt.

Just like many of my friends feel guilty after washing feet, they will make excuses, thinking that they are helping poor girls and solving their life problems.

Those rhetoric like "father gambles, mother is sick, and younger brother studies" only have a market where there is demand.

"Why do you still remember things in heaven, but I... I don't remember anything?" Zhao Gou was happy in his heart, but continued to ask the traveler.

He knew that the old man in front of him was lying, but what did it matter?

If someone is willing to lie to make him happy, why wouldn't he accept it?

The old man was indeed well prepared, and he told the story of the heavens in a lavish manner, which gradually made Zhao Gou fascinated. The boredom and sadness of the past few days were dissipated by this story. As he was talking, a horse suddenly came quickly, but was stopped by the master of the palace guarding in the dark.

"Sir! Sir! No...something's wrong!" the knight shouted from afar, with suppressed panic in his voice.

Zhao Gou waved his hand calmly and looked down: "Why are you so panicked?"

The knight opened his mouth, gritted his teeth, took something out of his arms, and raised it high above his head, fearing that he would be angered.

Before coming to deliver the letter, all of them, the imperial guards, drew lots for life and death.

Unfortunately, he won the lottery, and Shangguan promised to send three thousand taels of silver to his family, so he risked his life to deliver the gift.

"Just two hours ago, this thing suddenly appeared above the palace gate, two inches into the palace gate. If it weren't for the palace servants looking carefully, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been discovered."

Zhao Gou's eyesight wasn't that good, so he couldn't see clearly what the knight was holding in his hand at first.

He took a few steps closer and was about to order the eunuch to fetch the thing, but before the eunuch could take the thing in his hand, he let out a sharp scream and then collapsed to the ground. He was actually frightened to the point of peeing his pants.

Zhao Gou immediately realized that something was wrong and subconsciously turned around to escape, but stopped.

Looking more closely now, wasn't what the knight was holding in his hand the very thing that had plagued his nightmares for the past six months?

Killing Heaven Order!
It turned out to be such a plague-inducing ghost thing.

Zhao Gou's heart was trembling, but he asked, "Is this the only thing you have? Is there anything else?"

He still had hope, just like the last time when Qiu Chuji broke into the imperial palace and only captured Qin Hui, but did not attack him.

This time may be similar.

This token is not for him, but for someone else.

Zhao Gou's eyes swept over the people who were accompanying him.

Most of these people avoided his sight and dared not make contact with him.

Zhao Gou was angry.

They are all people without a king or a father.

"And...I didn't see it! Only this order!" said the knight.

Zhao Gou felt relieved when he heard this. Only the token was fine... Only the token was fine!
Perhaps there is room for maneuver.

However, right behind Zhao Gou, the old man suddenly said, "I see. Thank you for your enlightenment. It turns out that today is the day I should return to the Heavenly Palace."

"Die at your command, die at your command! Hahaha!"

The old man laughed three times, then his body suddenly stiffened and he fell straight to the ground.

In just a moment, his body turned into a wisp of green smoke and began to rise up into the sky, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Only a pile of coarse linen clothes remained on the ground, telling that there was a person standing here before.

Zhao Gou did not feel happy at all, but instead felt a tremor in his heart.

The words the old man had said before quickly flowed through his mind.

"Die on command!"

"Is today the day for me to die?"

"Is this the end of my wealth and glory?" As the thought came to his mind, he was greatly shocked.

He didn't know what was happening in the Heavenly Palace, but he was unwilling to give up the wealth and prosperity he had now.

But suddenly I felt like there was something blocking my throat and breathing became difficult.

His whole body was shaking, as if he was having a seizure.

The entourage around them all fell into chaos.

The chaos lasted for about an incense stick of time.

At this moment, Zhao Gou's face had turned blue and he was no longer moving. He lay there stiffly, as if he had been dead for several days.

As soon as the imperial physician placed his hand on Zhao Gou's wrist, he was shocked and kowtowed heavily to the ground.

"The emperor... the emperor has passed away!"

The city of Lin'an is destined to be in chaos for some time.

This is related to Qiu Chuji, who had returned to Mount Zhongnan not long ago, but it can also be said to be unrelated.

However, this order came from Zhongnan, and no one had seen it, but it had already taken away the order of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. It would surely spread throughout the world, adding more mythological colors to his legend.

"Zhao Gou is dead, but given the current situation in the Song court, changing the emperor is meaningless. Even if Emperor Taizu of Song were reborn, it would be difficult to save the country from collapse."

"The Jin people have long intended to raise an army. There will definitely be chaos in the Song court at this time. They will never let go of the opportunity."

"The dragon energy has been stimulated, and the situation has become a flying dragon in the sky. I should also go north to kill another emperor, so that these dragons will be leaderless. Then Master will lead the Central Plains righteous army to rise again, occupy the Central Plains, and recover the old mountains and rivers!"

(End of this chapter)