Bianyifang, Liuzhai
Senior Brother Cheng helped Liu Xin, who was swaying at the door, to enter Liu's house. Mrs. Li had already come after hearing the news, but Senior Brother Cheng dismissed her with a few words.
Arriving at the courtyard where Liu Xin lived, the moment Brother Cheng closed the door, Liu Xin recovered instantly.
"You drank a lot and used your internal strength to suppress it?" Senior Brother Cheng joked with a smile.
Liu Xin looked up at the sky with disdain, his head was slightly dazed, and a surge of pride rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, but Liu Xin still had some restraint, and he said lightly: "I have a good drinker!"
"Haha." Senior Brother Cheng said with a smile: "Then Liu Licheng reacted very quickly and came directly to you to brainwash you and win you over. Ordinary people might fall into his trap!"
When Liu Xin saw this, his face suddenly turned cold, and he said in a cold voice: "If he were an ordinary person, he would have died in the hands of that death row prisoner long ago. That death row prisoner looks like a Dacheng realm warrior!"
Senior Brother Cheng nodded, his face a little solemn: "At that time, I went to confirm one thing. The identity of the death row prisoner is easy to check. In the Dali Temple prison, there is only one Dacheng realm warrior. White Lotus Sect, Yefang!”
"Dacheng realm warriors should not be unknown people." Liu Xin thought about it and felt that he did not remember the name Ye Fang.
"Yes, he is the Protector of the White Lotus Sect and an introductory disciple of Guan Xiangyi!" Senior Brother Cheng explained, with a serious expression and a trace of fear in his eyes.
A look of surprise appeared on Liu Xin's face, because he was very familiar with this Guan Xiangyi. This name was on the list of the top 100 masters in the world compiled by him and Xuesheng!
The Protector of the White Lotus Sect is in charge of Xiang Yi. Ranked fifth on the Zhengyang Wulin list, he is a proper Grandmaster figure. The top figure in the entire Zhengyang Jianghu pyramid.
When the White Lotus Sect was ordered to be encircled and suppressed by Emperor Kangyang, he came out of nowhere and still protected the leader of the White Lotus Sect in the hands of the empire's warriors. He could still easily deal with the siege of three high-level Dacheng realms.
If it was that disciple, Liu Xin felt that he might be in trouble in the future. Because in the eyes of outsiders, he was the one who killed Ye Fang. Although he did not bear the blame alone, Liu Xin could not afford to bear even 10% of the blame.
That's Guan Xiangyi! Grandmaster realm!
Liu Xin said with a bitter face: "This Liu Licheng is really hurting me!"
"Hey, how do you know it was Liu Licheng who harmed you?"
"Senior Brother Cheng, didn't you say that Liu Licheng reacted quickly to win over me and so on? With his unusual behavior recently, it's easy to guess!"
"Haha, that's it. Yes, it was Liu Licheng who harmed you, but we haven't found out the reason why Liu Licheng did this yet." Senior Brother Cheng said, he felt that there must be a special reason why Liu Licheng suddenly attacked Liu Xin again. And the reason must be strong.
"Also, a suspicious person appeared in the restaurant where Liu Licheng was staying today." Senior Brother Cheng continued.
Liu Xin frowned: "Who?"
"Shao Shiwang, the Thousand Households Office in the Outer North City!"
Senior Brother Cheng said in a deep voice: "We suspect that he is also involved in this matter! Because a White Lotus Sect rebel like Ye Fang is also a Dacheng Realm warrior, Dali Temple will not easily bring up such a person, even if there is Documents from the Ministry of War were not enough. So we continued to inquire and found out that this person was personally recommended by the Right Shaoqing of Dali Temple. The Right Shaoqing of Dali Temple is a distinguished person. And this Shao Shiwang is also a distinguished person!"
"You are saying that Marble You Shaoqing brought up such a serious crime because of Shao Shiwang's relationship. By the way, Liu Licheng is from the Emperor Wu City faction. He and Xungui belong to two major factions. Even if they are in peace with each other, they will never get along until death. We have been in contact with each other for a long time. But this time we met each other and said there was nothing fishy in it. Who would believe it?"
"Shao Shiwang..." Liu Xin chewed on the name and felt like he had heard it somewhere.
I just heard Senior Brother Cheng continue to say: "You are now in a lot of trouble. You have to think carefully about what to do next."
Liu Xin suddenly relaxed, leaned back, leaned against the back of his chair, and said to Senior Brother Cheng with a smile: "I can't help it, but I still have Senior Brother Cheng, the sect, and the secret investigation team. You will definitely help." It’s mine!”
Senior Brother Cheng: "You are a contemporary disciple, Senior Brother, how can you rely on the sect so much!"
Liu Xin waved his hand: "These troubles must be encountered during normal tasks. It's not caused by them. They came to the door themselves!"
...
Imperial City, Hall of Supreme Harmony
On the broad white jade Danbi platform in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there are sundials, one for each scale, a pair of bronze turtles and a pair of bronze cranes, and eighteen bronze tripods, symbolizing imperial power and longevity.
The three-story white marble base is surrounded by railings. Under the railings are countless stone water dragons. During the rainy season, the spectacle of thousands of dragons spitting water can be seen here.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is about twelve feet high and is the tallest palace with double eaves and verandahs in the world today. The big owl kisses at both ends of the main ridge on the top of the hall are each composed of 13 pieces of glazed glass. On each corner of the eaves are lined up the glazed immortals and mythical beasts, namely dragon, phoenix, lion, celestial horse, seahorse, fish, Suan Ni, Xie Zhi, and bullfighting. OK.
Although the Hall of Supreme Harmony was originally built in the previous dynasty, due to continuous reconstruction, expansion, reinforcement, re-decoration, etc., it now has the status of a fairy palace. It is praised by countless literati as the Imperial Palace of the Emperors of the World.
Although several emperors had renamed the Hall of Supreme Harmony to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Kangyang changed it back to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The decoration inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony is very luxurious. Dense brackets are built under the eaves, and the beams and beams inside and outside are decorated with Hexi paintings. The upper parts of the doors and windows are inlaid with plum blossom grids, and the lower parts are embossed with cloud and dragon patterns. The joints are decorated with gilt copper leaves engraved with dragon patterns. The floor of the palace is paved with gold bricks, and a throne is set in the open room, which is the emperor's royal chair, also called the dragon chair.
Today's Emperor Xuyang stipulates one morning dynasty every three days and one morning dynasty every day. A large dynasty summons hundreds of civil and military officials, while a small dynasty summons several ministries and important military officers.
Today is not a day of great dynasty, but because there is something urgent, all officials are summoned to hold a great dynasty meeting.
In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, hundreds of civil and military officials were arranged on both sides, with military officials on the left and civilian officials on the right. This is exactly the current situation in which military officials suppress civilian officials.
On the emperor's dragon chair, Emperor Xuyang sat upright and listened carefully to the story of a military attache in the palace.
Emperor Xuyang is now approaching the age of destiny. After reigning for eleven years, his temples are already pale, his lips are thin, his eyes are clear and full of nobility. The face is upright, with a hidden Sichuan pattern between the eyebrows, and he is not angry but has authority.
Emperor Xuyang listened carefully to the stories of the officials below, while his eyes slowly wandered around, scanning each official's face within a certain period of time, so that all officials could faintly feel the emperor's gaze. He seemed to be a born emperor, looking down at his ministers.
It's early in the morning today, and what we're talking about is the urgent Shandong report that arrived from eight hundred miles away early this morning.
In Zhengyang, the banditry in Shuibo, Liangshan, Shandong is now huge, and the imperial court has been unable to eradicate it, and it has been delayed from the time of Emperor Kangyang to this day. As a result, bandits also gathered in Sichuan, Shaanxi and other places to imitate the Liangshan Uprising. Banditry is like a weed that cannot be burned away no matter how hard it is burned.
Nowadays, each bandit in Sichuan and Shaanxi is gradually becoming more powerful. The local government and the military have also launched encirclement and suppression campaigns, but they have failed. After a long period of clearing up, the bandits have begun to unite, and more and more people have joined the bandits. I'm afraid it won't be long before the bandits become too powerful and it's time to attack the city.
So the officials from the two places sent many urgent reports, and this morning there was an urgent report from 800 miles away. It was sent from Shandong. There seemed to be internal strife in Liangshan Water Park, and many corpses floated out along the river. And three days ago, some bandits in Liangshan secretly sent a letter to the governor's office in Shandong, saying that they were asking for an imperial edict and that they could act as internal agents to solve the problem in Liangshan.
Whether it was a imperial edict or a purge became the focus of controversy in the Taihe Hall.
Most of the military attachés are inclined to clear out Liangshan. Most of the bandits in Liangshan are unruly. Liangshan is also one of the largest and most powerful sects in the Demonic Sect. It can be said that it is second only to the evil sect, but when it comes to the extent of harming the Zhengyang court, Liangshan ranks first among the evil sects.
Of course, the military attachés would not allow these demonic warriors to be recruited and become their colleagues.
The civil servants tended to Zhao'an, and their reason was very simple. Natural disasters were constantly occurring in Zhengyang Kingdom, and the people were in dire straits. If Liangshan was to be wiped out, at least one hundred thousand troops would be dispatched. The baggage, civilians, etc. behind a hundred thousand troops and horses are enough to make the current court breathless.
But Zhao'an is different. Zhao'an uses his spear to attack his shield. There is no cost to the court, just a promise. Moreover, whether the military attache is served by the righteous martial arts or the demonic martial arts, it does not make much difference to the civilian officials, they are all political enemies.
Especially now that the military officials are firmly suppressing the civil servant group. Today's civil servants have clung to each other tightly, unlike the era where they attacked each other and had many mountains and hills in the past few decades.
Emperor Xuyang never expressed his opinion from beginning to end. He just watched silently, watching the two factions of civil servants and military officers making moves against each other. He will wait until both sides have nothing left to do, then forcefully enter the scene and secure victory in one fell swoop.
In fact, the struggle between civilian officials and military attachés is also a microcosm of the struggle between the south and the north. Because of the invasion of the Northern Barbarians from the south 200 years ago, Zhengyang's aristocratic families and civil servant groups almost all moved to the south en masse. Later, after the Restoration War, because the Northern Barbarians were always in embarrassment in the north, these civil servant families in the south had psychological shadows. In addition, the south had fertile soil, outstanding people, and a more comfortable climate than the north, so the north became military attachés. A place where they settle down and live their lives.
More than two hundred years have passed. Although some civil servant families have emerged in the north, they are far less than those in the south. Although some military attache families have risen in the south, of course they cannot compare to the military attache families in the north who have been in business for two hundred years.
In this way, the styles of the north and the south were completely different, and the gap between civilian officials and military attachés became wider.
In fact, twenty years ago, a Confucian general emerged with both civil and military skills. If he could truly rise, he might be able to become a mediator between the civil and military forces of the north and the south. But unfortunately, the last Confucian general, who used martial arts to rise up, failed. Finally died in Wenzhi.
From then on, there was no last chance of mutual acceptance between civil and military forces.
Looking at the civil and military parties who were arguing from morning to noon, even without lunch, but still full of energy, Emperor Xuyang recharged his batteries and felt that he had thought everything through and could end this farce. .
"Ahem!"
The sound of Emperor Xuyang's cough was not loud and could not be transmitted to the back of the hall. But the magical thing was that just after Emperor Xuyang coughed twice, all the ministers in the hall simultaneously silenced and stopped talking.
Emperor Xuyang looked at everything with satisfaction, his eyes bursting with imperial power. He stood up slowly, and the ministers immediately felt as if there was substantial pressure on them.
"Even if you want to recruit Liangshan, you must first show them the power of the imperial court. Otherwise, they will only despise the imperial court and have no scruples and fears in their hearts, and they will relapse!"
Emperor Xuyang paused and expressed his final decision:
"On the Liangshan side, we just need to appease them and let them decide whether to submit to the imperial court. If they choose to submit, then they should show enough sincerity! Fan Shiyan, I will leave this matter to you!"
Fan Shiyan, the Grand Bachelor of the Wenhua Palace of the Cabinet and the Minister of Rites, slowly walked out two steps and shouted yes.
Although Fan Shiyan is a civil servant, he is tall and tall, with clean silver hair and the same behavior. Among the six bachelors in the cabinet, this one is famous for his sharp mouth. He has a sharp mouth that can kill people's hearts, but he doesn't have a tofu heart. The military attachés jokingly called him the Iron Man Minister.
Emperor Xuyang nodded slightly and continued: "The bandits in Sichuan and Shaanxi have summoned the Duke of Wu and the Marquis of Jin back to the capital. The Ministry of War will discuss the countermeasures, and then allocate 10,000 cavalry and 10,000 elite soldiers from the Beijing camp. The deadline is one month. , clear out the banditry in both places!"
Wu Yanai, a bachelor of Wuyingdian in the cabinet and minister of the Ministry of War, stepped out grandly. This minister came from a wealthy family and seemed upright in every word and deed. He responded loudly, then walked back to the team slowly with his head held high and his chest held high. .
"Okay, if there is nothing else to do, leave the court!" As soon as Emperor Xuyang finished speaking, he turned around and walked away quickly, as if he had already determined that nothing else would happen today. Walk cleanly.
The ministers immediately retreated. The civil and military sides were clearly differentiated, but there was no smell of gunpowder as before. The faces of all the officials were calm, showing the good Qi-nurturing skills of the ministers.
...
Outer city, Chongbeifang
Liu Licheng arranged a separate courtyard here to house the women rescued from Baizhifang that day.
That day, the killer entered the house of this group of women. When he was about to kill, he was blocked by the girl, and then rescued by Liu Xin and others. In the end, only one old woman was unfortunately killed. Although the others were more or less injured, But there is no fear of life.
Later, they went to the Shuntianfu County Government Office and were brought here again. They finally rested for the past two days. There were more than a dozen members of the family, all dressed in plain clothes, keeping vigil for the old woman.
The old woman is the eldest among them, and she was also the wife of the former head of the Beast Control Sect. Unfortunately, the Beast Control Sect began to decline more than ten years ago, and then the husbands of these women were also members of that sect. The disciples were all recruited into the palace and there was no news for more than ten years.
Originally, there were fifty or sixty people in these eight households. Unfortunately, some people left, some remarried, and a few even died of illness. Today, only these dozen people remain. Life was already difficult, but something unexpected happened, resulting in a look of deathly silence on the faces of these women.
Only that girl, although her arm was injured and bandaged, her expression was still lively, but this liveliness was that of sadness.
Her name is Xiaoli, her mother died young, and her father's name is Gui Qinchen, one of the eight eunuchs who raise horses. Because her father was summoned to the palace, she was raised and cared for by all the women when she was still in her infancy. She had great respect and love for these nurturing aunts. Especially the old woman, she is the backbone of this group of women and the backbone that supports everyone to continue living.
Now that the pillars have collapsed and the backbone is broken, no one knows how to continue living.
If Liu Licheng hadn't sent someone to bring them some food and clothing, they would have starved to death.
It was already late at night, and everyone was keeping vigil for the old woman, but everyone seemed to be in a state of distraught. The girl Xiaoli was walking around everyone, handing water to this person and medicine to that one. She knew that it was her responsibility now. It’s time to take on the important responsibility of taking care of everyone.
The girl's silver bell-like voice kept ringing softly, causing anger to slowly appear on the faces of the women.
The old woman's body is still in the Shuntianfu County Office. Because it is related to the killer, the county office needs to examine her injuries. Therefore, everyone could only burn white paper and simply arrange it in the yard.
Suddenly, there was a noise outside the yard. It was already noon and the curfew was already in place outside. How could anyone be making a noise. For a time, a fearful emotion quickly spread among everyone.
boom!
The door was suddenly hit hard, and then a faint roar came from outside the yard into the yard.
"Yes...has the killer come to the door again?"
"Ah, no...no..."
"Run! Run away!"
"Where can I escape!"
"..."
All the women suddenly stood up and walked around like frightened little rabbits, and like headless flies, wandering around the yard.
"Escape? No, hurry up! Hide Xiaoli quickly! Hide Xiaoli quickly! Hurry!" The eldest woman among them was confused for a moment, and then suddenly seemed to be awakened by something, and kept turning her head to look for it. What are you wearing?
Other women also realized that Xiaoli was raised by them together, just like their biological child. If the killer really comes, they will fight to the death to protect Xiaoli. This is their last source of courage.
Everyone started looking for Xiaoli, but she was nowhere to be found in the yard.
"Xiao Li! Where have you been!" A woman's voice was full of tears.
"Aunts!" The young girl Xiaoli's voice came from one side. The women looked over and saw Xiaoli walking out of the side room, holding a bright kitchen knife in her left hand and a rolling pin in her right hand.
Xiaoli walked to the center of the yard, facing the door, her chest heaving violently, her eyes half filled with determination and half filled with fear. She suppressed the fear in her heart and said to the women behind her in a trembling voice:
"Aunts! If a killer really comes, I will protect everyone!"
The women were stunned for a moment, and then someone reacted, rushed forward, hugged Xiaoli's waist, and tried to drag her back.
Xiaoli twisted around and broke away from the weak woman, who suddenly fell to the ground.
"Aunt Qin, please come into the house quickly, I...I have learned martial arts after all, and I will protect everyone!" Xiaoli said resolutely, with a very solemn expression.
More than a dozen women seemed to be infected. The oldest woman thought for a while and suddenly rushed into the room. When she came out again, she held a long-handled broom in her hands and put it on her chest. The look on her face was The fear was visible to the naked eye, but she still held on to herself and said:
"Anyway, it's death, so we might as well fight. No matter what, we are all children of the world, so why fear life and death!"
Because of the woman's words and the emotions infected by Xiaoli, these women actually looked for someone to take advantage of them. For a while, pots, pans, chairs and pillows, the women held their own "weapons" and looked at them warily. The direction of the gate.
The girl Xiaoli did not stop the aunts. She only had one belief at the moment, and that was to live and die together with the aunts.
Time passed slowly, and there seemed to be no other movement outside the door. After a long silence, there was a knock on the door. The women immediately raised the "weapons" in their hands, each of them looking frightened and determined.
Boom, boom, boom!
"I am the captain of the Jin Yiwei. Some gangsters just approached and we have driven them away. Don't be afraid. Have a good rest!"
The women still maintained their movements, but saw each other's confused and wary eyes.
After a while, seeing that there was no movement inside, the man outside the door knocked on the door a few more times, but the frequency was faster than before. Then the man outside the door said in a slightly urgent tone, ""
"Everyone... aunt, is there anything going on inside? If nothing happens, please call back!"
The women remained silent, but the girl Xiaoli hesitated for a moment, then took two steps forward with determination, approached the door, and said slowly: "We...we are fine!"
The voice outside the door seemed to relax and said: "As long as nothing happens, you guys, go to rest early! There are guards guarding us outside the door, everything will be fine, don't worry!"
Only then did the women finally feel relieved. Suddenly, the pots and pans fell to the ground, and a low cry could be heard. The girl Xiaoli put down her kitchen knife and rolling pin, and hurriedly came forward to comfort her. However, there were too many people crying, and she Time is too busy.
After constantly saying that it's okay, it's okay, the girl Xiaoli suddenly raised her head to look at the starry sky above her head, and secretly made a wish in her heart:
God, I want to practice martial arts, and I want to protect everyone. If God has mercy on us, please help me, help me!
In an alley not far from the small courtyard, a dozen or so Jinyi captains in fish-dragon uniforms were holding sword hilts in one hand and torches in the other, looking around warily one by one.
The captain who knocked on the door came over and reported to the leader of Baihuhui:
"Nothing happened in the yard, and our sentries on several rooftops found nothing unusual."
"good!"
The hundred households turned around, and the torchlight reflected his face. It was none other than Liu Licheng's Baihu, Wu Hao.
Wu Hao looked at the seven corpses neatly arranged in the alley. They were all wearing black clothes. Just now, they tried to sneak into the other courtyard where the women lived, but they were ambushed here by Wu Hao and a group of schoolmates. Lieutenant made a sneak attack, and seven of the eight killers were left behind. The other one was injured by Wu Hao, and one of his arms was considered useless.
"As expected by Mr. Qianhu, these killers are so bold. They kill people again and again. These women and children are really hiding some secrets! The person who escaped just now should be their leader, who has a cultivation level of Xiaocheng. , is slightly weaker than me, if I hadn't been in a hurry to escape, I wouldn't have been able to hurt him easily." Wu Hao lowered his head and murmured to himself.
He ordered several captains to put the corpses on the carriage and send them to Qianhu Station overnight. He still had to watch here. The killer took action again and again, probably because he would not give up until he achieved his goal.
