In the heavy rain, the magnificent mansion stood in the rain curtain. The raindrops hitting the tiles gradually became noisy, and finally turned into the buzzing sound of gongs, drums, gold and stone. From a distance, it sounded like thousands of troops and horses fighting in unison, and countless soldiers buckled. A, it’s scary to hear that.
But only when you get closer will you find that every brick edge and tile joint of this single-eave, four-corner, pointed-roof mansion is soaked with rainwater. The heavy rain falling from the sky floods the roof and flows endlessly, fleetingly. It disappeared into the ground, and it seemed that it had to soak all the way to the beams and foundations and soak the masonry on the ground before it stopped.
One after another, ethereal figures sneaked into the mansion with the door open. There were shadows all around but no one came close. There were no fires or lamps in the darkened mansion, and it was dim and silent, as if the people occupying this place at this time could be human beings, or they could just be lingering ghosts unknown to humans in the world.
Chen Jialuo's Qinggong was ethereal and swift, and he followed Ying Laodao into the Luo Mansion. Along the way, he did not see the expected sight of weapons and murderous intent. On the contrary, even the disciples of the Luo family who had been in and out of the manor and wore fish-like patterns also There was no trace. The raging fire that had been on the day of the Golden Pen Washing Conference had been extinguished by water, and now there was only a dark, dark remnant.
"Director Chen, let's go..."
Ying Laodao's footsteps didn't stop at all, as if some invisible enemy was about to arrive at any time, and the tall woman also looked around with a wary expression. The worry between her eyebrows was so thick that she couldn't let it go. Chen Jialuo held his breath and looked around intently. , and even felt that he was being led by a seducer in human skin, rushing non-stop to the underworld.
But he had to take this road. Even if the underworld was really ahead, he had no reason to look back.
After not seeing each other for a few days, the Luo family's mansion seemed much older. Thick moss covered the cracks in the wall bricks, and the red walls and black tiles were stained with a misty, unreal shadow. It seemed that everything They are all getting wet and rotting rapidly. No matter how sturdy the palace is, one day it will sink to the bottom of the sea together with the city of Guangzhou in the heavy rain, and become a rotting corpse covered in algae mud lakes in the endless ocean. .
The road soon came to an end, and they stopped at the main house of Luo Mansion, which was so spacious that it was almost oversized. Chen Jialuo frowned as he looked at the hall with flickering candlelight and sealed doors and windows, but still reached out and pushed open the withered wooden door.
Chen Jialuo had no doubt that the Ten Palaces of Hell and the Gongcao Judge would be sitting in the house, carrying the brilliance of the underworld to confront him, so he secretly used the deep and wonderful fist power inherited from his family, and shot open the door with a strong wind. Then he stepped into it without hesitation.
After a moment to adapt to the fading light, he found that the strong wind he opened the door caused the candlelight to tilt and fall, swaying and almost extinguishing, while the two figures sitting in the room looked sideways and watched together. She looked at him with uniform movements and the same gloomy expression.
In the main room, all the gang leaders who had not been captured by Prince Pingnan were sitting in the room with serious and gloomy expressions, silent to each other, as if they had transformed into stone statues of Weng Zhong, only possessing the appearance of Weng Zhong. A hint of humanoid appearance.
There was still an empty wooden chair in the room, which was obviously the place prepared for Chen Jialuo. As Ying Laodao hinted, it was not an accident that they came here. More than one person knew that he would come and knew it very well. He will appear here.
Everyone who should come must have already come - Chen Jialuo thought, so he sat in the chair reserved for him.
The group of people in the room were no strangers, but what was strange was that opposite, there was a tall, thin man with a golden face that he had never seen before. Yang Chengxie, the new leader of the Red Flower Club and the leader of the Qingqi Gang, was also in the room. But he had no chair to sit on.
Yang Chengxie and Chen Jialuo looked at each other and nodded slightly, then continued to stand behind a skinny old man, still like a majestic iron tower unmoving in the rain.
Chen Jialuo didn't know what they were waiting for. He grasped and rubbed the handle of the wooden chair with his palms, feeling impatient and restless. But as Ying Laodao closed the door again with a mysterious expression, the hall was once again covered by the lonely twilight, and everyone's faces were confused. It was shrouded in a deep shadow, and no matter what expression he was making, he looked so mysterious in the half-light and half-darkness.
Slowly he discovered that these martial arts masters were not sitting in silence. Their gazes follow a fixed frequency, often moving inconspicuously to the depths of the hall and the back hall, which is blocked by heavy screen partitions.
The light from the patio shines through the eaves and hits the ground, stretching out two infinitely elongated figures facing each other. It is only because the shadows are too straight, too determined, and too stable that they are I mistakenly thought it was just the oblique shadow of two pillars.
——And the slight voices were mixed in the annoying rain, and slowly floated over with the wind. The words were blurred, like an illusion of voices coming across the water.
…………
Jiang Wen, who had disappeared for a long time, was still dressed in Taoist robes and jade crowns, and his appearance was not that chic. However, he looked at the sky with his hands behind his hands and said slowly for a long time. His thoughts seemed to be at the same level as those of Yu Lei, but his eyes did not move from Luo Yuantong for even a moment. Walk.
During this hour, Jiang Wen had already tried every possible means to find out the news about Luo Yuantong, but the old fox in front of him did not reveal a word. He only focused on confronting him from afar, making it clear that he was waiting for his patience to run out and leave on his own.
"Senior Luo, we have been standing here for so long. Are the people outside anxious?"
Luo Yuantong, who had both beard and hair white, was smiling, wearing neither a sword nor a sword. He seemed to be a wandering wild crane washing his hands in a golden basin and paying no attention to worldly affairs. His figure was light and indistinct, and would merge with the miserable twilight sky at any time.
"Headmaster Jiang, I said it's not time yet."
Luo Yuantong spoke slowly, stretched out his empty hand, but put his left hand behind his back, and slowly stroked his beard, "Jianghu comrades were implicated and hunted because of my matter, so I will naturally ensure that they leave the city safe and sound, but what Master Jiang said I have never heard of this stuff, so I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you.”
Jiang Wen shook his head noncommittally.
"Of course I won't believe what that liar said. I don't know whether what he said is true or false anyway, so I just let him talk to the dead. When he gets tired of lying and talking about poverty, he will naturally only tell the truth. ”
"I see."
Luo Yuantong echoed casually.
He was extremely tall, and his hands were extremely broad. He held his right hand emptyly from time to time. Jiang Wen squinted his eyes slightly and realized that his body's center of gravity was moving around him imperceptibly, as if he was rehearsing a powerful move. , The extremely concentrated sword skills are already unstoppable even before taking action.
"Senior Luo, this junior has a gracious request. Can you see the Luo family's sword skills?"
Jiang Wen changed the topic and spoke slowly, as if he was just a martial arts man who was delighted to see Hunter and wanted to ask the seniors in the martial arts for some advice.
But Luo Yuantong laughed loudly when he heard this, and suddenly raised his hand and clenched his fist to stop the momentum. Jiang Wen only felt that he had changed from the uncertain posture of wielding the knife to a green pine and cypress unmoving in the wind and rain.
"I am afraid that Master Jiang has forgotten that I have washed my hands in the golden basin and no longer use force. How can I break the rules? On the other hand, Master Jiang's 'Gentleman's Sword' is hidden in a box and will be used when the time comes. Don't you plan to unsheath it today?" ?”
The old man and the young man looked at each other with smiles for a long time, their expressions gradually became serious, but suddenly they changed their colors and said coldly.
"Definitely next time!"
"inconvenient!"
Once again, the words have run out.
Now it happened that Jiang Wen Fengjian and Luo Yuantong were washing their hands. Both of them obviously wanted to test each other, but they always tried to avoid it and had no intention of actually taking action. They tried and tested many times to no avail. This made Jiang Wen also doubt whether he was... Wrong place.
What Jiang Wen didn't know even more was why the old man in front of him ignored all the martial arts people in the room and insisted on coming here to make big fights with him? Could it be that the monks in Luo Mansion are not allowed to go to Pindao? This group of people must have some secret and are deliberately testing whether they are here to disrupt the situation.
But the question is why Yan Yongchun is here and hesitantly refuses to explain to himself?
When leaving Xianggang Mountain, Li Xinghe told Jiang Wen that in Shang Kexi's eyes, Zen Master Tianran and Luo Yuantong were like the towering Mount Tai with one monk, one layman, one civilized and one martial. If there are still people in Guangzhou today who can control Shang Kexi, then It can only be Luo Yuantong who washes his hands in a golden basin.
In order to repay the other party's honesty, Jiang Wen moved a huge stone to seal the ancient Qiulong Well at the former site of Sanyuan Palace, completely blocking the possibility of Li Xinghe's escape. He could only stay in the tomb and wait for rescue.
Luo Yuantong's status is transcendent, but Jiang Wen still doesn't know what Luo Yuantong's position is in front of him. He may be a restraining existence, or he may be the main force helping the evil. Even if he shelters so many martial arts people in his house, it does not represent Jiang. You can trust him 100% just by hearing about it. You have to see everything with your own eyes before you can count. All the efforts you make are worth it.
But Luo Yuantong ignored Jiang Wen's metaphor and turned his gaze back to the misty and rainy courtyard. His back was to Jiang Wen, but he was facing a hunchbacked figure in the distance.
Suddenly, Jiang Wen knew why the other party's attitude was so strange, and there was one thing on his mind that he still had to ask.
"Senior Luo, what Li Xinghe said is naturally not credible, but there is one more thing I am here to do today, which is the ink dragon monument in your house that originated from Southern Shaolin."
Jiang Wen suppressed the doubts in his heart and looked at Luo Yuantong pointedly, but the other party looked at him noncommittally, stretched out his right hand wearing a silk glove, and pointed at the ancient sword at his waist.
"Can I borrow the sword and take a look?"
Jiang Wen took off the sword with some surprise and handed it into Luo Yuantong's hand. Then he saw his expression suddenly became serious.
"It's indeed a good sword. What's its name? Where did you get it?"
Jiang Wen also looked at this bronze sword that was still as sharp as ever after thousands of years. The memory of the fierce battles in the past was still vivid in his mind, but he found that he didn't even know if this thing had a name.
“The Supplementary Records record that King Gou Jian of Yue ordered workers to sacrifice white horses and white oxen to the god Kunwu, and then minted gold to cast them into the essence of the Eight Swords. It is a pity that such a good sword has no name.”
Luo Yuantong said what he was thinking without waiting for Jiang Wen's reply, "I think this sword looks like a treasure from the Yue Kingdom. If you search carefully, there will always be a place where you can leave your name."
Jiang Wen silently put the sword back into its scabbard and listened to Luo Yuantong continue to sigh.
"There are many things in the world like this. Those who know cannot use them, and those who use them cannot know. To cut through thorns and thorns with a sword is to cast a bright pearl in the dark. To hide and hold the treasure deeply is to waste it. Since ancient times, it has been hard and easy to break. Only the treasures hidden in the body are waiting for the time. Movement is the right path that will never be broken..."
Luo Yuantong suddenly said at this time.
"But you said that if the pros and cons of a treasure are unknown and used improperly, it will be poisonous and cause endless harm. How should a gentleman hide the treasure in his body? And when should he use it?"
A flash of enlightenment flashed across Jiang Wenlingtai, and he casually shook out a section of the sword on his back. Three minutes after the white jade sword was unsheathed, a cold light shot into the sky, which was heart-stopping. For a moment, even the fading skylight dimmed a bit, as if The glory was also taken away by the sword.
"It is indeed this sword..."
Before Luo Yuantong finished speaking, Ying Laodao's figure turned out from the end of the corridor. He also saw the scene filled with swords and splendor. He nodded slowly to Jiang Wen and Luo Yuantong, his thin, narrow and long face full of sincerity.
"Brother Luo, you have been testing Master Jiang for so long. If you still have concerns, you might as well let the veteran speak for you."
Until then, Luo Yuantong's expression finally changed, "Okay. Mr. Ying told me that you are upright, but your relationship with the Jingnan Palace is very close, so I have to be on guard."
The appearance of the Yue Kingdom's ancient bronze sword and the Great Ancestor's snake-killing white jade sword seemed to have caused a huge change in Luo Yuantong's attitude. The news that he had previously deliberately concealed was revealed by him in a low voice.
"I have already found out clearly in Zhangqiugang Village that my evil disciples sacrificed living people to sunken ships in order to break the suppression of the ancient temple in Nanhai and release the evil dragon ghosts under the water. If you are not careful in this matter, Lingnan will Half of it will sink into the boiling sea and become a thousand-mile country again, and the people will become fish and turtles."
Ying Laodao said with heartache. Although his words did not mention Li Xinghe, there was unhideable regret in his eyes.
Jiang Wen said puzzledly: "Mr. Ying, even if Li Xinghe has the method of moving mountains and reclaiming seas, how can he bring disaster to half of the country with a dozen living people? Isn't this too alarmist?"
Ying Laodao did not answer directly, but just looked at the heavy rainy sky silently. The mysterious look reminded Jiang Wen of the natural Zen master in Guangxiao Temple. He also pointed to the sky mysteriously that day and said "Heavy rain is coming" four words.
Being flooded into the sea seems to be the same nightmare for every seaside city.
The vast ocean outside Guangzhou has been called the South China Sea since the Zhou Dynasty, and the South China Sea has been called the Rising Sea and the Boiling Sea since the Han Dynasty. This is because water comes from three rivers here. The West River flows out of Zhaoqing Antelope Gorge, the Beijiang River flows out of Feilai Gorge in Qingyuan, and the East River flows out of Boluo Tianluo Gorge. , merged into the mighty Pearl River, and finally passed through the mouth of the Eight Gates and rushed into the sea, forming numerous drowning valleys and funnel bays. It is known as the "rising sea" and "boiling sea", and its majestic and unbridled momentum can be imagined.
Luo Yuantong was silent for a long time and then slowly spoke.
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe this, Mr. Jiang, but it's good to believe that you believe it. In the past few years, Pingnan Palace has frequently sent people to arrest Dan people. It is said that Dan households are dragons and can drive away dragons and evil spirits when they enter the water. Only Only by driving them all away can Prince Pingnan’s Mansion release the dragon ghosts from the bottom of the water with confidence and boldness.”
Luo Yuantong also talked about the absurd rumors, but he believed it very firmly in his words, "There have been signs of these things for a long time, and Tong Yangxing, the governor of Guangdong and Guangdong who ruled Guangdong earlier than Shang Kexi, knew it very well, but he still wanted to keep Danhu in the future. Driven by supply, he advocated the establishment of households and unified the people, so that the poor households could be brought ashore to stay effective, but it was a pity that the people died and the government ceased in just a few years."
After saying that, Luo Yuantong said mockingly, "Governing Guangdong and governing Guangdong are not, in the final analysis, just a camp of dogs and flies."
Jiang Wen was silent for a long time, then finally said: "Then according to what you two said, how should we solve this matter?"
"The old man has discussed with the Dan people rescued by Master Jiang. They said that unless three to five hundred young and strong Dan people from the early tribe go into the water together, it will be possible to go deep into the eye of the sea to tame the dragon ghosts again."
The old Taoist Ying let out a long sigh, and seemed to feel that he was unable to make a comeback: "Now that the Danhus have suffered all casualties, the ancient skills of entering the water to exorcise evil spirits have been lost, and they are unable to even deal with the evil spirits sneaking on the sea, so they rashly entered the water. There is only a dead end."
Luo Yuantong, who had white hair and beard, took the initiative and said at this time: "I have a way. Since ancient times, floods have not been able to stop the Nanhai Temple. The changes that have occurred in the Nanhai Ancient Temple today are because the statue of King Guangli Hongsheng in the Tang Dynasty saw blood. , lost its spiritual response, and the golden dragon wall that suppressed the torrential waves also had cracks."
He stretched out his hand and pointed at the clear horizon, "As long as we bury the treasure at the bottom of the dragon's cave, the dragon ghosts have been suppressed repeatedly in the past dynasties. It is not possible to escape with such a small oversight."
Seeing what Jiang Wen wanted to say, Luo Yuantong said without interest at this time.
"Headmaster Jiang, this is all about Guangzhou. You don't need to test me anymore. No matter who is standing behind you, the affairs in the city now have nothing to do with you. If anything goes wrong in Guangzhou, I will be solely responsible for it. , you should just follow them out of the city honestly."
"Out of town?"
Jiang Wen said in great surprise. He had never thought that what the other party meant was this. "Senior Luo, do you mean you can take us out of the city?"
This matter is like a fantasy. Now that the city of Guangzhou is blocked by heavy troops like an iron barrel, and there are countless pursuers from Pingnan Palace lurking in the city, how can Luo Yuantong have the courage to lead people out of the city?
"Is that Miss Yan an old acquaintance of yours? You said that since she can come in from outside the city, why can't you leave from here?"
Speaking of Ying Laodao and Yan Yongchun, Jiang Wen also noticed something was wrong. By the way, these two people were supposed to stay peacefully in Zhangqiugang Village at the Nanhai Ancient Temple outside the city. At this time, they suddenly rushed back into the city like a mountain of swords and a sea of fire. Is Zhangqiugang Village really more dangerous than here?
Ying Laodao nodded and smiled mysteriously, and Luo Yuantong said slowly, "There are secret passages in Guangzhou city that can be passed to and from. I happen to have it in my hand. It will be easy to take you out. Today, when the fire is raised, I will naturally send someone to lead the way. Master Jiang Then just leave the city."
Jiang Wen stared at him dumbfounded, not expecting such an unexpected solution.
Jiang Wen first ruled out the possibility of tunnels. After all, digging a tunnel under such a big city is as difficult as sailing on dry land. Even if you dig out three or five miles with all your troops, it will collapse long ago. This is an unrealistic thing. .
But from a scientific point of view, Guangzhou does have a very unique natural landscape. This "Dragon Vein" starts from Tiantangding, the highest peak in Guangzhou, and follows a mountain vein all the way south. Surrounding Dajianshan, holding the Silver Dragon Peak on your shoulders, climbing over Maofeng Mountain, leaning over Baiyun Mountain, entrenching Yuexiu Mountain, drinking from Pearl River stones, circumnavigating Longtou Mountain, sitting on Lianhua Mountain, leaning on Huangshan Lu, and going straight to Longxue Island.
Could the road the other party mentioned be an underground river?
Jiang Wen thought about it carefully and realized that there might be such a possibility. Maybe there was an underground river buried under the city of Guangzhou, which could allow people to come in and out without anyone noticing? !
"It turned out to be like this..."
Jiang Wen took a breath of air, but his eyes became more and more doubtful. When Luo Yuantong saw that Jiang Wen still had no intention of moving, under Ying Laodao's helpless smile, he finally put on a straight face and led Jiang Wen deeper into the house. He walked out everywhere and finally pushed open a heavily locked door, and you could hear a pin drop in the empty room.
There seemed to be nothing in the dark room, but when Jiang Wen adapted to the darkness and took a closer look, he found that the huge hall was no less than the main hall just now. There was a withered dragon screen placed on a red lacquered square platform about one foot high, which seemed to be deliberately It was blocking something, and there were six tall stone pillars on both sides of the square platform, which were erected strictly outside the screen, forming another tight protection.
Jiang Wen looked at the room thoughtfully, his steps getting faster and faster, and finally he almost pushed open the withered dragon screen, and finally saw a huge, thick, strong and strange dark stone tablet with countless inscriptions carved on it. Among the magnificent and complex patterns, the clouds are flying, the sky is hanging down and the sea is standing, the sky is flying, the sea is standing, the sky is flying, the ghosts are hidden, it is a huge ink dragon hanging down from the sky!
This was the first time Jiang Wen saw the terrifying stone stele circulated in Southern Shaolin. He only felt that the ink dragon on the stele was not a whole, but had been cut and broken into dozens or hundreds of parts. It followed the layout without logic. On the basalt stone, something vague and indescribable was unexpectedly discovered by the creator. Everywhere you see is mysterious and strange, making you dazzled and dizzy!
"...It turns out you want to bury the Southern Shaolin Molong Monument in the dragon's lair as a treasure!"
At this time, a tall, strange-looking man emerged from behind the screen. His eyebrows were tilted to the left and he was looking at Jiang Wen with cold eyes.
"For the sake of his eternal town of Tiannan, Shang Kexi now wants to destroy Tiannan with him. He also takes this opportunity to force Luo Yingxiong to retire and Wu to disappear. Is it possible that we should just sit back and watch him do whatever he wants?!"
These words were resounding, but Jiang Wen's attention was not on the topic itself, but on the speaker.
His eyes also continued to move between the other three people repeatedly, and many things that were usually unexplainable were answered. So Jiang Wen thought of the name of a person who had been missing for a long time. The clues were connected together in a flash, and a thought flashed through him subconsciously——
It turned out that Wu Liuqi, the commander-in-chief of Rao Town who had been missing for a long time, left the city like this? !
That's it, that's it.
On the one hand, Shang Kexi forced Luo Yuantong to wash his hands in the golden basin, and on the other hand, he ordered Wu Liuqi to take the blame for him. At the same time, Shang Kexi's most trusted adviser, Li Xinghe, was bent on dealing with his master Ying Laodao. Under the same external pressure, these three people seemed to The intention to reach some kind of cooperation is just to make the promising plan go bankrupt.
Wu Liuqi, who had been missing for a long time, also held a gleaming sword in his hand. The style was simple and unusual. He walked straight towards Jiang Wen and stood with Luo Yuantong and Ying Laodao. At this time, as the hall shook slightly, Jiang Wen even heard them mutter "so fast" softly.
Luo Yuantong also frowned slightly, as if he noticed something was wrong, and finally said directly.
"Chief Jiang, the secret passage in the city is about to be opened. Now it's up to you whether we join forces or not!"
