Xiao Er relied on his familiarity with the terrain to get rid of his pursuers in the intricate river channels of Hailing City.
Unfortunately, there are many rivers and bridges in Hailing. The pursuers relied on large and small bridges to fall not far behind the boat.
When the bald monk saw this, he looked back and said anxiously: "If you keep running like this, it will be troublesome if the soldiers are alerted!"
Unexpectedly, the waiter ignored him at all and only tried his best to make a punt at the stern of the boat, trying his best to make the boat go faster without hitting other boats on the shore.
After about a cup of tea, the boat arrived near the Shengxian Bridge in the city.
Shengxian Bridge is a stone arch bridge with several bridge holes under the bridge deck, and the bridge deck is very wide.
Just before reaching Shengxian Bridge, there was no bridge at a fork in the river, so the pursuers needed to make a detour.
The waiter saw that Shengxian Bridge was approaching, so he whispered: "Get ready, drill the bridge hole!"
The great monk was dumbfounded: "How do you drill this?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw a rope hanging on the river directly in front of him.
The great monk turned around in surprise when he saw this.
The waiter smiled and said: "Climb the rope and hide, there will be someone above to help you!"
The great monk asked: "What about you? What should you do?"
"I have my own way!"
When the monk saw this, he quickly held his breath and watched the rope getting closer and closer. When it came to him, he grabbed the rope and climbed up twice. When he lowered his head, he saw that the stern of the waiter's boat was passing under him. , there was almost no movement the whole time.
Seeing the boat sailing away like an arrow, the monk heard someone above his head whisper: "Those people are coming soon, hurry up!"
The great monk was startled. He quickly grabbed the rope and climbed up. In a few breaths, he hid in the middle of the bridge.
There was a dark figure in the bridge hole. When he saw him coming up, he didn't speak to him. He held the thick hemp rope with both hands and gently lifted it up.
Before the hemp rope was completely retracted into the bridge hole, noisy footsteps could be heard on the bridge, and someone among them shouted: "Hurry, the ship is heading east, don't lose it!"
Immediately afterwards, dust fell from the gaps between the stones of the stone arch bridge, making the great monk disgraced.
After a while, the footsteps faded away, and the dust above the head gradually subsided. The dark shadow in the bridge hole looked outside and whispered: "Come on, let's climb out!"
After saying that, he stood on the raised stone bricks on the edge of the bridge hole and walked cautiously towards the shore.
Upon seeing this, the great monk followed him without hesitation. After a while, the two of them came to the shore. Seeing that there was no movement on the left and right, the man led the great monk through the stone street and disappeared into the dark alley.
After walking for who knows how long, the two of them came to a small door. The black shadow gently pulled the copper door knocker, and there was only a "squeak" sound, and the door opened.
When Xu He saw Ding Ze leading a bald man, he knew that the matter was done, so he stepped out of the way and said, "Come in quickly!"
The three of them wandered around in the darkness for a while and came to the guest room. After lighting the oil lamp, the monk realized that the people in front of him were two young people.
He cupped his fists at the two of them and said, "Brothers, how is the brother driving the boat outside?"
Xu He smiled and said: "It seems that you have some conscience!"
After saying that, he said to Ding Ze: "Go and take a look at the back and respond!"
Ding Ze nodded and went back to the room with the waiter after a while.
The elder monk was very happy when he saw the waiter come back with his beard and tail intact, and asked loudly: "Brother, how did you get rid of those chasing soldiers?"
The waiter smiled and said: "It's not difficult. Just push the boat to Fenghuang Pier, go around to the back of Fenghuang Pier, and drive the boat into the backyard of one of the houses!"
The people living on Fenghuang Pier are all wealthy families. When they travel by boat, they usually don't let their female relatives go out to the dock to board the boat.
Those who are more particular will directly dig the river channel and divert the water to their own backyard. Xu He had already greeted Yong Bo and asked the waiter to push the boat directly into Xu He's backyard, and then the waiter walked overland from Fenghuang Pier. Return to the house Xu He just bought in Zhuangyuanfang.
Because Zhuangyuanfang is very close to Phoenix Dun, the waiter came back very quickly.
"What did Uncle Yong say?" Xu He asked the waiter.
"Don't worry, Yongbo called a few servants to move the boat ashore and hide it. There are absolutely no tricks!"
Xu He nodded. He believed that even if these people suspected that the waiter was hiding in a house in Fenghuang Dun, they would not dare to break in and search without permission.
At this time, he cupped his hands towards the great monk and said, "Master, just rest here!"
The great monk also clasped his fists and said, "Thanks to my friends for helping me. I wonder when you will send me out of the city?"
Xu He said: "It depends on the situation. Who are the people chasing you?"
The great monk shook his head and said, "I don't know, but it must have been sent by the imperial court."
Xu He nodded: "You should rest first. You can stay here with peace of mind for the next few days. Let's check the wind direction in a few days!"
After that, he took the waiter and Ding Ze out.
When he came to the courtyard, Ding Ze worriedly said: "Master, this matter is too dangerous. If someone discovers..."
Xu He nodded and said: "This house is relatively safe for the time being. No one should have thought that the monk is hiding here. We will take him away when the wind subsides!"
The waiter said: "Then I will live here for a while!"
Xu He nodded and said: "I've asked Brother Ding to prepare food and drink expenses here!"
After the explanation, he took Ding Ze to open the back door and returned to Tokachi Street from the depths of the alley.
The next day, when Xu He was still teaching Li Sikui and Zhang Sanrang to study at home, Aunt Ding, who came back from shopping for vegetables, said: "Oh no, I heard that people from the government entered Guangxiao Temple and arrested many people inside." Monk!"
Upon hearing this, Ms. Xie clasped her hands together and said, "You have done evil, the temple is a pure place, why are the officials arresting people there?"
Aunt Ding said: "I heard that Guangxiao Temple harbors criminal thieves..."
…
Just when Xu He was stunned, Li Sikui said: "Brother, what's wrong with you? How do you explain this sentence? You haven't said it yet!"
Xu He woke up with a start, smiled and said to the two little children: "You guys read the book by yourself first, I want to go out!"
Seeing this, Mrs. Xie quickly asked: "Breakfast will be ready soon. You can go out after eating!"
Xu Heren had already arrived at the entrance of the courtyard, waved his hand and said, "I'm eating outside!"
When Xu He arrived at the gate of Guangxiao Temple, he found that the temple had been sealed.
One of them asked: "What's going on with Guangxiao Temple? Why is it still closed?"
Another person said: "Harboring a gangster! I have long felt that something is wrong with this temple. On weekdays, the temple door is closed and does not receive pilgrims. How can there be such a temple? It's no wonder that there is no problem!"
"You know nothing!" Another person said: "This is the Vinaya Temple. It does not accept incense on weekdays. It only receives pilgrims during festivals and on the first and fifteenth day of each month. Moreover, the door is closed by Jinyiwei. When did you see Jinyiwei arresting people?" Is Jiang Yang a big thief? Hehe, there are many stories here!"
When Xu He heard this, he drank the last mouthful of fish soup, stood up, paid his bills at the morning tea stall, turned around and left the crowd.
