Minglong

Chapter 102 Blood-based alliance
On the other side, Danzhou.

At noon, in a bamboo forest behind the Danyang Academy, there was a white stone chessboard.

Mu Yunling, dressed in a Confucian robe, sat on the right side of the chess table. He had broad shoulders and a strong physique, but his demeanor was quite elegant. He looked like a middle-aged warrior in his forties or fifties.

Across the chessboard, Dan King Zhao Xiao, dressed in a python robe, looked imposing, but smaller than Mu Yunling. After a long moment of deliberation, he made his move:
"The Hidden Immortal Sect has produced such a brilliant disciple, but Mr. Mu hasn't heard anything about it?"

Mu Yunling is only a few years younger than Lu Wuzhen and the others. He is now eighty-four years old. He learned from the "Sage of Books and Swords" Ye Ci, and is a fellow apprentice of Fan Li, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. However, he inherited the "sword" while Fan Li inherited the "book".

As a Confucian double-flowered red stick, Mu Yunling should have been stationed in the capital. After the Dan King was enfeoffed to Danyang, he was transferred to the Imperial Academy. His purpose was to protect the Dan King's safety and to perform a "supervisory" duty.

In order to prevent court officials from gossiping and accusing Mu Yunling of being in cahoots with the Dan King, the Dan King seldom interacted with Mu Yunling. He came here today to discuss some trivial matters.

"I'm not familiar with the Hidden Immortal Sect, but I asked an elder the other day, and he replied, 'Everything has its cause and effect.'"

Dan Wang was slightly puzzled:

"What's the meaning of this statement?"

"From a literal interpretation, it means that Xie Jinhuan's return to seclusion was preceded by a 'cause'. However, it's also possible that the elder didn't understand and was just making a casual remark. Regardless, no matter what happens in the future, this remark will suddenly make people realize the truth."

"Oh... a master is a master, what he said is indeed very sophisticated..."

……

As the two chatted, a sound of wind suddenly came from above the bamboo forest:

Call ~
Shashasha~
King Dan looked up and saw a figure floating across the emerald bamboo canopy and slowly landing beside the chess table.

The figure was dressed in a black and white Taoist robe, a black gauze veil on his head, and a yellow-brown sword case on his back. The robe's sleeves and the veil fluttered in the wind, exuding an ethereal air of being out of this world, and his temperament was like solid ice that had not melted for thousands of years.

Seeing this, the Dan King called out:

"I haven't seen you for a few months. Sect Leader Nangong looks even more divine."

The woman in the veiled hat who suddenly came to the door was Nangong Ye, the head of Zihui Mountain, who was commonly known as the "most beautiful woman in Taoism".

Although he is famous for his looks, Nangong Ye is not just a pretty face. Thanks to the Taoist secrets left by Qixia Zhenren and the family fortune accumulated over 600 years in Zihui Mountain, he used to be the "strongest in Daqian".

After landing, Nangong Ye bowed and saluted:
"Your Highness summoned me, is there something you want to discuss?"

The voice is ethereal, neither hurried nor slow.

The Dan King was always friendly and raised his hand to signal Nangong Ye to take a seat:

"It's not a big deal. News has come from the capital. A few days ago, Fanyun Temple submitted a petition to the court, saying that a demonic aura is rampant in Danzhou. The sect has failed to fulfill its duty to guard against it. If we don't take precautions, it may bring disaster to the people in the future. Therefore, they hope to build a 'Purple Cloud Temple' outside Danyang City to jointly control Danzhou with the Taoist sect to prevent the demonic aura from causing trouble."

Nangong Ye sat down beside the chess table and frowned when he heard this:
"The only blessed place outside Danyang City is Zihui Mountain. If Fanyun Temple wants to come, won't Zihui Mountain have to cede its foundation?"

The Dan King nodded and said, "This is what Fanyun Temple meant. His Majesty asked me for my opinion. It just so happened that Sect Leader Nangong returned, so I asked you to come and have a chat."

As the head of the sect, how could Nangong Ye cede his territory to a Buddhist monk for no reason? He turned to look at Mu Yunling:
"What do you think about this, Mr. Mu?"

Mu Yunling had been pondering the chess game, and at this moment he casually interrupted:
"It's my turn. I'll go to Fanyun Temple tomorrow to give lectures to those monks. I'll come back when I've thoroughly read 'Emperor Wu of Qi Destroys Buddhism'."

The Dan King smiled and said, "Mr. Mu still likes to convince others with reason. However, Fanyun Temple has its eyes on Zihui Mountain, so it is not appropriate for Mr. Mu to give lectures there. If Sect Master Nangong can explain the Dao to the abbot of Fanyun Temple, then I can give the court an answer."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Ye understood the purpose of inviting her here today - the imperial court suspected that Zihui Mountain could no longer play the role of defending the area, and needed her as the leader to prove that Zihui Mountain was still one of the three giants of the Danding Sect, and not the one that relied on the courtesan to be the boss.

Nangong Ye possesses the secret treasure passed down by Qixia Zhenren, so under normal circumstances he is not afraid of the abbot of Fanyun Temple.

But now she is in some trouble and cannot do anything for a while.

The reason for this has to start from last year.

Before winter last year, she went to the Fire Phoenix Valley in southern Xinjiang and waited for a Phoenix Feather Grass that was about to mature.

Bu Yuehua, the owner of Queyue Villa, has the same level of Taoism as her. They are both female cultivators and leaders of the villa. They had often come into contact with each other in previous years and were also looking for this item nearby at that time.

The gift of heaven belongs to those who are capable. There is only one magical herb. If two people meet, they must fight and decide who gets it based on their abilities.

But what was unexpected was that during the fight, the two accidentally fell into the ground.

The space below the Fire Phoenix Valley is extremely large, and filled with extremely yang energy, which is suspected to be the legendary "Suzaku Mausoleum".

The Vermillion Bird Mausoleum, like the Jiaolong Cave in the East China Sea and the Bingsheng Mountain in the Western Rong, is a legendary secret place full of opportunities. Wei Wuyi started his family in Bingsheng Mountain.

As for selling hooks in Xirong, that is a folk history.

Faced with such a great opportunity, neither of them wanted to give up. Exploring alone was too risky, but they were also afraid that the other party would take action, so they decided to swear an oath of blood alliance!

The way to form an alliance is that she implants the 'Seven Star Nail' into Bu Yuehua, and Bu Yuehua gives her the 'Burning Immortal Gu'. As long as one of them gets into trouble, the other will be in danger of death. In this way, they must help each other. If they get materials and treasures underground, they will split the profits 50-50 afterwards.

Unfortunately, after searching underground for several days, the two only found some broken stones. Bu Yuehua's yin energy was too heavy, and it was difficult to replenish his qi sea in the extremely yang place. The two had no choice but to withdraw and discuss how to go deeper outside.

But Bu Yuehua probably knew that due to his own skills, he couldn't go deep into the ground, and there was no chance to get anything inside, so he secretly picked the Phoenix Feather Grass and said:

"We have sworn an oath of blood, and we are now sisters. All the opportunities in the underworld belong to you, and I will only take this magical herb."

Nangong Ye was not sure whether there were any treasures underground, so how could he agree? As a result, the witch turned around and ran away.

Nangong Ye chased and fought her for a few days, but he stopped. After all, they were still in a "blood alliance". This witch couldn't untie the Seven Star Nail, so she would come after her sooner or later.

As expected, Bu Yuehua found that she did not come to compromise, so not long after, she took the initiative to come to him and said she wanted to reconcile.

Nangong Ye's response was also simple: "Hand over the Phoenix Feather Grass, and let's continue the competition. Whoever wins takes it."

Bu Yuehua felt that she had given up the opportunity at Suzaku Mausoleum and kept it a secret for her, so she should get hush money and was not happy about it. Nangong Ye had not found the opportunity, so naturally he would not agree.

Then the two of them have been together from last year to this year, and are still sisters who live and die together!
Although she doesn't have much time left, Bu Yuehua is almost there too. Now it depends on who can't withstand the pressure and compromise first.

Without removing the Immortal Burning Gu, Nangong Ye could not deal with the abbot of Fanyun Temple.

Fortunately, she already has news about the 'Resurrection Grass' and will go to meet with the mysterious buyer tomorrow. As long as she can remove the Immortal Burning Gu herself, the witch will definitely surrender.

However, the leader is the core of the sect. If his health condition is revealed to the outside world, those with ulterior motives will definitely take advantage of the opportunity.

Facing Dan Wang's question, Nangong Ye simply responded:
"I will go to the capital tomorrow to investigate the situation. If Fanyun Temple doesn't know what's good for them, I will force them to retreat."

Seeing Nangong Ye's confidence, the Dan King smiled:
"That's good. Ling'er has already left and will arrive in the capital tomorrow. Qing Mo and Xie Jinhuan went there a few days ago. Xie Jinhuan is a rare talent. If Sect Leader Nangong has some free time, I hope he can give him some pointers."

Nangong Ye had already heard about Xie Jinhuan's amazing deeds and was quite interested. He nodded:

"It's natural."

……
-
It’s afternoon in a blink of an eye!

Xie Jinhuan took Mo Mo and Yang Dabiao around for a whole day, searching for clues about the Dark God Cult, but the result was obvious - nothing!
Thinking that he only had nineteen days left and had wasted an entire day, Xie Jinhuan couldn't help but feel worried.

Linghu Qingmo was quite a workaholic. She had been running around all day and had almost forgotten the embarrassment of Xie Jinhuan kissing her. When she returned to the palace, she saw Xie Jinhuan's expression of worrying about the country and the people, and comforted him:
"I know you want to slay demons and eliminate evil, but the Hades Cult has been established for a long time, so this can't be rushed. You've worked very hard, but you haven't gained anything in just half a day."

Yang Dabiao's legs were almost broken from running. He nodded and said:
"Yes, even when handling cases, one must combine work and rest. I heard that His Royal Highness has set up a 'roasted whole elephant' on Changle Street. How about we..."

"Gooji!"

This was probably the first time that Meiqiu had heard of roasting an elephant, and he immediately became excited.

But Xie Jinhuan still had a debt of five thousand taels of silver to collect this week, so he really had no time to see anything strange. After everyone returned to their rooms, they sat down on the chairs and took out the file of the "Haunted Palace Case" to check.

Although I told Uncle Fei that I would deal with Zhou Mingan later.

But it is hard to say whether he will do it in the future. If you don't take revenge on the spot, who knows what will happen in a few days.

Ye Hongshang already understood Xie Jinhuan's character, and now he appeared from behind and asked:

"Ready for the second round?"

Xie Jinhuan had this idea, but after a little consideration, he felt a little worried:
"There's something seriously wrong with Zhou Ming'an. We absolutely have to investigate. But I just killed Han Jingchuan yesterday, and I only got the case file this morning, and Zhou Ming'an was already dead that evening. He acted so brazenly, even Mo Mo could guess it was me. It's not going to be easy to deal with this."

Ye Hongshang, like a good wife, raised her hand and pinched Xie Jinhuan's shoulder:

"Then fake it as 'suicide out of fear of punishment'. I'll let him be possessed by a demon and hang himself. The imperial court can't arrest you by force."

Xie Jinhuan blinked and turned to look at the beautiful ghost wife:
"May I?"

Ye Hongshang held his head high and puffed out his chest: "Zhou Ming'an is just a civil servant. As long as he doesn't have any Taoist skills, it would be easier for my sister to make him evil than to hypnotize Wanyi."

Xie Jinhuan really wanted to find out the details of his father's case. Since there was a way, he naturally didn't waste time. He put away the file, got up and went out.

In a room not far away, Mo Mo, who has always been a workaholic, was sitting at a round table, carefully writing today's "Happiness Quotes".

Meiqiu looked a little tired after wandering around all day. She squatted on the round table and tilted her head to watch Momo write.

Hearing the sound coming from outside the door, Linghu Qingmo turned around:
"You just came back, and you're going out to look for clues again?"

Xie Jinhuan was going to settle the score, but it was not easy to tell Momo about this. After thinking for a while, he said:
"No, let's go to Dr. Lin's place."

"?"

Linghu Qingmo blinked, and his eyes probably meant - you just saw Doctor Lin last night, and you go again today?

But if Xie Jinhuan wasn't allowed to go, he would probably have to get into her bed...

After a moment of silence, Linghu Qingmo said:

"Oh... then go ahead. Ling'er will be going to the capital tomorrow, so remember to come back early."

Xie Jinhuan could feel that Momo's eyes were not right, but he was going to kill people and set fire, so he couldn't take Momo with him:

"Okay. If you're bored, let Coal Ball keep you company."

"You're injured. Um... take care of yourself. Let Doctor Lin check on you more often. Don't overwork yourself."

"Know it."

……

Soon, Xie Jinhuan flew up and disappeared out the door.

After Linghu Qingmo finished writing his inspection notes, he sat alone in his room, kneading the coal balls. He felt a little bored, but he couldn't concentrate on his exercises, so he turned to look at the coal balls on the table.
"What does Xie Jinhuan do when he's bored?"

"Guji?"

Coal Ball blinked twice in its big amber eyes, then raised its wings and wiped Linghu Qingmo's neck.

Linghu Qingmo thought that this should mean "killing demons and eliminating evil", so he carried the coal ball on his shoulder, took up his sword and went out, ready to go hunting evil demons and heretics when he was bored, just like Xie Jinhuan.

Meiqiu didn't expect to have to work overtime with Momo, but it was customary to have extra meals when working overtime, and she immediately became energetic again...

(End of this chapter)